"What exactly did you 'get'…?" Tsuneo glanced at Uncle Maori, an ominous feeling rising in his chest.
Some unspoken law seemed to dictate that this man would always spout nonsense at critical moments.
"The culprit must have scouted this place in advance!"
"They probably learned long ago that actor Sunaoka would be staying at this villa."
"They prepared the rifle and rope ahead of time and left them here."
Uncle Maori's theory: the killer had planned everything and was just waiting for tonight.
"Mr. Maori, you mean…?" Yokomizo thought it sounded plausible.
"I think your earlier idea was right, Inspector. The culprit escaped downstream by rubber raft or something…" Uncle Maori nodded confidently.
"Then why, after firing, would they carefully place the gun back exactly on the original dry patch?" Conan asked with a deadpan smile.
That would explain why the ground under the rifle was dry.
But why bother putting it back precisely…?
"…" Uncle Maori shot Conan a glare, brain scrambling for a comeback.
"There's only one possibility: after the rain, the culprit never came here at all. This whole scene was staged for us," Tsuneo said, turning toward the villa.
"Staged… for us?" Yokomizo blinked.
Spend all that effort just to take pictures for the police?
To hide the real shooting location?
But this cliff was the perfect sniping spot—less than a hundred meters to Sunaoka's room, not a difficult shot at all.
And whether climbing up from below or crossing the suspension bridge, the culprit would have had twenty to thirty minutes to escape. Plenty of time.
"Exactly. The culprit wants us to believe the killer came from outside the villa," Tsuneo confirmed.
"Wants us to think it was an outsider… You mean?!" Uncle Maori whipped around to stare at the seemingly peaceful villa.
The killer was inside the villa the whole time?
Then how did they fire the shot?
Conan looked up at the starry sky and grinned.
The rain really was unkind—it left the culprit far too many slip-ups.
No footprints, and that one dry patch under the rifle.
Come to think of it, why is the repairman so fired up about solving this one today?
Tsuneo's mind was racing, piecing together every tiny detail and what it meant.
Having zero memory of this case had apparently piqued his curiosity.
"For caution's sake, still send some men downstream to search," Yokomizo ordered. Tsuneo's words made sense, but until everything was clear, they had to cover all bases.
"When did you start suspecting something was off?" Conan asked Tsuneo on the way back across the bridge.
"I heard the gunshot, but I never heard glass breaking," Tsuneo said, tapping his ear.
Don't doubt my hearing.
"I was hanging over the railing looking everywhere after the shot and saw nothing," Conan added, shaking his big head.
This is a hunting ground, and Sunaoka had been out hunting earlier.
A gunshot or two in daylight is normal. Why risk exposure at night by sniping from across the valley?
There were far easier opportunities and methods. Hard to believe anyone would choose something this awkward.
"Only one reason: to create an alibi for themselves."
The two continued discussing the case and clues; everything was gradually falling into place.
…
"So, when the gunshot rang out, where was everyone?"
In the first-floor lobby, Inspector Yokomizo began questioning the three people connected to Sunaoka.
"Right then, the TV station called me. I was at the front desk and heard the shot while on the phone," producer Nagatsuka Katsumi answered first.
The officer taking notes beside him nodded. "We already confirmed that with the caller."
So the producer was telling the truth.
"Did you stay in place the whole time?" Yokomizo asked.
"Yes. It was the villa's landline—the receiver is corded," Nagatsuka confirmed.
He couldn't have moved far or the call would've ended. His cell had died, so the station rang the villa phone.
"Understood. Mr. Tahara?"
Yokomizo verified the call with the owner, then turned to the scriptwriter.
"I was in the garden restaurant organizing my thoughts for the script."
"I was so focused I didn't react right away to the gunshot. By the time I joined Mr. Maori and the others at the railing, I didn't see anyone," Tahara said, glancing at Uncle Maori.
"Right. The shot came shortly after Mr. Nagatsuka went to take his call—just past eight," Uncle Maori recalled.
Nagatsuka had checked his watch before leaving the table.
"Yes. By the time you all rushed to the desk for the master key, I'd just hung up. Check the records and you'll see," Nagatsuka added smoothly.
"You folks really know how investigations work!" Yokomizo chuckled. They were volunteering details before he even asked—saved him effort.
Manager Tanigawa Noe was still dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, looking genuinely heartbroken.
"Miss Tanigawa?"
No matter how many tears, she still had to answer.
"After I took Sunaoka back to his room tonight, I went to mine to shower. I'd just stepped out of the bathroom when I heard the shot."
"I thought I'd imagined it, so I put on my bathrobe, went to the balcony, and confirmed what happened," she said, wiping her eyes.
"Tonight, besides us four, the only guests were Mr. Sunaoka's group, right?" Tsuneo asked from the second-floor landing with Ran and Conan, watching the scene below.
"Yep…" Conan nodded.
The only people connected to the victim were those three downstairs.
The culprit is among them!
(End of Chapter)
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