When Judy finally brought the car to a stop, the three passengers crammed into the backseat let out a collective sigh of relief.
As the two young women regained their composure, their faces flushed slightly with embarrassment.
The worst off was young Shota, Akashi, who had been completely squashed at the bottom of the pile.
To his left was Sonoko Suzuki, and to his right was Ran Mōri.
If it weren't for the girls' soft bodies providing some cushioning, he might have been in serious trouble.
Ran quickly adjusted herself and helped pull Akashi upright.
Finally free, the little Shota exhaled in relief.
His reaction made Sonoko's ears turn bright red. She instinctively waved a hand in front of her face to cool herself down before quickly changing the subject.
"Judy-sensei, if we had known you were going to drive like that, we definitely wouldn't have come with you!"
Judy clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.
"I'm so sorry! I just arrived in Nihon not too long ago, and I'm still not used to driving a right-hand-drive car."
She quickly opened the door and hopped out. "Let's get moving, or we won't make it in time~"
Ran pulled Akashi along and followed closely behind.
But Sonoko didn't move.
Ran turned back, concern evident in her eyes.
"I'm fine. I just feel a little nauseous. Let me sit here for a moment."
The sight of Sonoko looking so unwell triggered a strong sense of déjà vu in Ran.
Just yesterday, on the drive to the hot spring hotel, she had acted the same way.
A flash of suspicion crossed Ran's lavender eyes.
Could it be that Sonoko also…?
Before she could pursue the thought any further, little Shota tugged on her hand, pulling her forward.
With no choice but to move on, Ran let the thought slip away.
Once the three of them were out of sight, Sonoko let out a long sigh of relief.
The wild ride from just moments ago replayed in her mind—it had been thrilling, terrifying, and exhilarating all at once.
She recalled how Akashi's head and hands had been completely trapped beneath her.
Was it just an accident?
How could it be?
Ugh, why am I like this right now?!
Sonoko clutched her head, suddenly questioning everything.
Akashi and Ran had just stepped into Masuo's home when a terrified scream rang through the air.
They rushed toward the entrance hall, only to find Keizo Masuo collapsed on the floor near the living room doorway, his face pale with horror as he backed away.
Upstairs, Miwako and Takagi reacted instantly. Meanwhile, Conan and Judy, who had been standing in the corridor, quickly trotted over.
Ran and Akashi hurried to catch up.
As the group pushed open the living room door, a chilling sight met their eyes—Mrs. Masuo lay face down on the floor, a knife buried in her back.
A stationary exercise bike stood beside her, eerily out of place in the grim scene.
"H-How could this happen…?" Keizo Masuo stammered, still in shock.
Miwako and Takagi wasted no time stepping forward to assess the situation.
A quick check confirmed the worst—Mrs. Masuo was dead.
Miwako turned to her partner. "Takagi, take this down."
"At 2:16 p.m., the body of the deceased, Mrs. Masuo, was discovered. Reinforcements are being called immediately."
The case had just escalated to murder. Given its gravity, they needed backup from the Metropolitan Police Department.
Judy, watching intently from the side, suddenly spoke up.
"Could it be that Mrs. Masuo was assassinated while we were on the phone just now?"
"If that's the case, then her time of death should be around fifteen minutes ago."
Miwako Sato nodded. "Most likely."
Judy placed a hand on her chin, deep in thought.
"If that's true, then this could be directly connected to the bank robbery case from two days ago."
"The timing is too much of a coincidence—she was killed right as she was on a call with the police, just before her scheduled meeting with them this afternoon."
"It's hard to rule out the possibility that she was silenced before she could reveal something crucial."
Judy's sharp mind quickly connected the dots between the current murder and the bank heist—an instinct honed through her work as an FBI agent.
But as she finished speaking, she noticed something odd.
Miwako, Takagi, and even Ran were all looking at her with strange expressions.
"Haha…"
Judy let out a dry laugh.
"I've seen detectives do this in TV dramas. Doesn't it look similar? Hahaha!"
Only then did everyone withdraw their suspicious gazes.
Miwako nodded thoughtfully. "It's definitely possible."
"If Mrs. Masuo recognized one of the robbers during the bank heist, and that person realized she could expose them, then this could be why she was killed."
"However, we'll need to wait for our colleagues to arrive and conduct a proper investigation before we can confirm anything."
With that, everyone settled in to wait.
Among them, the little troublemaker Conan turned his sharp gaze toward Keizo Masuo.
No doubt about it.
The killer is definitely this guy.
But how did he do it?
How could he murder his wife while on a phone call with the Metropolitan Police Department, when he was kilometers away?
Still full of doubts, Conan rested his chin on his hand and fell deep into thought.
Judy, observing from the side, narrowed her eyes slightly.
This kid is really strange.
Meanwhile, Akashi also knew who the murderer was, but he wasn't in a rush to reveal it.
After all, someone had just died in this villa, and the air was thick with yin energy.
The sinister aura only grew stronger with each passing minute—so why not take a little time to absorb it?
Besides, if he checked in at this eerie murder scene, the rewards might be even better.
With that thought in mind, Akashi casually strolled around the villa, searching for the best spot to check in.
Eventually, he reached the end of a dimly lit corridor.
A window stood there—closed, yet the curtains fluttered eerily in the breeze.
A circular hole was visible in the glass, as if someone had used a window opener to unlatch it.
Just then, a mature female voice spoke behind him.
"You really are a sharp one. You noticed this too, huh?"
The unexpected voice sent a chill down Akashi's spine.
He spun around to find Judy standing right behind him.
With a teasing smile, she lowered her gaze and murmured, "But you're even cuter up close. I've never seen such a good-looking kid before."
She squatted down slightly to meet his eyes—
And then disaster struck.
The heel of her high-heeled shoe suddenly snapped.
The blonde beauty lost her balance, tipping forward uncontrollably.
From Akashi's perspective, it was like watching an unstoppable force charging straight at him—
Like a scene from a horror movie, where the Eight-Foot Tall Woman (Hachishakusama) loomed over her victim.
No! Stay back!
But there was no escaping it.
With terrifying accuracy, Judy's body crashed into him, knocking him flat onto the floor.
The impact was brutal.
And what made it worse…
It was just like those annoying mobile apps in his past life—every time he clicked on something, an unwanted pop-up would appear.
The color was an alluring shade of pink, but the quality? Completely subpar!
No, little Shota was reliving the traumatic experience of being a baby all over again!
All he could do was silently curse at the outrageous precision of his passive ability『Pear God Fall』.
Hearing the sudden commotion, Takagi poked his head out from the living room.
"What's going on?"
From his angle, he could only see Judy's back at the end of the corridor. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Just as he was about to step forward and check—
Judy quickly shouted, "It's fine! No need to come over! You guys focus on the investigation! Everything's totally under control!"
Her voice was just a little too urgent.
But Takagi, oblivious to the situation, simply nodded and returned to work.
Meanwhile, Akashi lay on the floor, internally screaming.
This was getting way out of hand.