"Yes, that's the one—the notorious thief who's been stealing Romanov dynasty treasures across the globe. Rumor has it, he's also a killer who specifically targets his victims' right eyes," Tsuneo continued.
Megure nodded thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, there is an international warrant out for this thief." His eyes widened in disbelief. "Tsuneo, are you saying he's the culprit this time?!"
"Exactly. The one who sniped Kid was probably him too," Conan said, clutching his butterfly-shaped voice changer and hiding behind Tsuneo's legs, piecing together the clues for the police.
Unlike the others, who were fixated on the repairman, Officer Shiratori's gaze lingered on the half-hidden elementary schooler.
"What did you say?!" The group was stunned. No one expected this Scorpio to be connected to Kid.
"Kid's monocle, the one he always wears over his right eye, was shattered by a bullet. That was likely Scorpio's doing, since the egg is also a Romanov treasure," Conan explained through Tsuneo's voice. "Hattori and his team arrived at the scene quickly, so he didn't have time to retrieve the Memory Egg."
Tsuneo, tired of lip-syncing, turned around.
When you take someone's money, you play along with their deduction game.
"But if Scorpio's the culprit, why would he hide the stolen ring in Mr. Nishino's room?" Megure asked, puzzled.
That ring belonged to Maria, Nicholas II's third daughter, didn't it? Another Romanov treasure. If it was just to frame someone, couldn't he have used something else?
"Good point," Uncle Maori said, staring at the ceiling, equally stumped.
"That's a question for Mr. Nishino," Tsuneo said, glancing at Masato Nishino.
"Me?" Nishino blinked, confused. Wasn't he already cleared?
"Yes. Think back. Why did Mr. Hikawa panic and flee when he saw you at the Suzuki Art Museum?" Tsuneo pressed.
He'd even discussed it with Hattori at the time—what was the deal between those two?
"Was there such a thing?" Nishino said, having been too distracted to notice Hikawa's reaction.
"Mr. Nishino, you've traveled abroad for years. Could you two have crossed paths overseas?" Conan prompted, using Tsuneo's voice.
Nishino thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "That's right! Three years ago, while traveling across Asia, I ran into Mr. Hikawa. He was filming a little girl whose house had just burned down, laughing as he did it. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't listen, so I ended up decking him."
"That must be why Hikawa held a grudge against you," Conan started to say through the voice changer, but Uncle Maori suddenly clapped his hands.
"I've got it, Mr. Nishino! You're Scorpio!"
Megure's face twitched with exasperation. "Maori, the feather allergy rules him out, doesn't it…?"
Seriously, if you're not going to sleep, at least keep quiet…
"Oh, right." Uncle Maori flushed, scratching his head, pretending nothing happened.
"But it's true that Mr. Nishino was saved because of this," Tsuneo said, looking at Nishino. "If Hikawa hadn't been killed, you'd have been framed as the thief who stole the ring."
"A thief?"
"Wait a minute…" Uncle Maori seemed to catch onto something again.
Megure had zero expectations left for his old friend. If Tsuneo weren't here, he'd be tempted to knock him out.
"I see, Inspector Megure!" Uncle Maori exclaimed. "This case is actually two cases overlapping!"
Tsuneo strolled to the side, sat down, and started munching on fruit.
Conan tucked away the voice changer, visibly relieved.
He'd been on edge, feeling Shiratori's eyes on him, constantly shifting to stay hidden.
"Two cases?" Megure asked, a beat behind.
Uncle Maori nodded, noticing Tsuneo had slipped away, and laid out his deduction:
"The first case was Hikawa's plan to frame Mr. Nishino. He deliberately showed off that valuable ring in front of everyone to set him up. While Nishino was busy, Hikawa sneaked into his room and hid the ring under the bed. Then he stole the pen Nishino always carried. With that evidence, he could prove Nishino had been in his room. Once the ring was found, Nishino would have no defense!"
Megure nodded, following along.
"But Hikawa didn't expect the second case to happen before he could act. Scorpio showed up and ended him with a single shot."
Rubbing his chin, Uncle Maori thought of the missing videotapes and continued, "I'm thinking Hikawa's tapes might've captured something revealing Scorpio's true identity. That's probably why the room was torn apart—Scorpio was looking for the ring."
Conan grinned and chimed in, "Uncle, that's awesome! A true master detective!"
At least you're finally on the right track.
"No big deal," Uncle Maori said, hands on his hips, beaming with pride.
"Heh heh…" Conan glanced at Tsuneo, who was quietly eating melon.
Come on, don't you have something to say?
Tsuneo caught his look and offered him the melon rind.
Want some…?
"So you're saying Scorpio's likely the one behind this?" Megure's face grew serious at the thought of an international fugitive still on the ship.
"Inspector Megure, I noticed one of the ship's lifeboats is missing," Shiratori said.
"Could Scorpio have escaped on it?" The group turned to him.
Conan's eyes flicked to the guy who'd asked the Doctor to investigate Scorpio early on.
"Did you already know about Scorpio?"
"Maybe even what he looks like?"
Tsuneo pulled a handful of melon seeds from his pocket, a grin spreading across his face. "What, you want to pay me to fix that guy? You know I always keep my word. Throw in some extra repair fees, and I guarantee he won't see tomorrow's sunrise."
(End of Chapter)
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