"Ah, Ms. Eri, the famous lawyer, this is just a misunderstanding."
Inspector Megure quickly waved his hands.
"Alright, I'm just joking," Eri Kisaki said with a faint smile. However, the light on her glasses said she wasn't entirely joking.
Heiji ignored Eri Kisaki.
The victim had died inside a bathroom stall. The body was lying across the floor, blocking the door so it couldn't be pushed open from the outside. There was a pool of blood on the floor. A blood-stained knife, an emptied wallet, and scattered makeup were lying nearby.
The stall where the victim was had a window, but the stalls on either side did not. The window was wide open, and there was some mud and sand on the window frame.
There was a gap between the top of the stall and the ceiling. Heiji estimated the gap was about 60 centimeters wide.
"Inspector Megure, the cause of death was a single fatal stab to the heart. She died from massive blood loss," the forensic officer said.
"A single fatal stab?"
Inspector Megure walked up to the body, covered his mouth with his hand, and thought deeply. He glanced at the stall... Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"I see! This is a robbery and murder case."
Heiji looked at Inspector Megure.
"Why is that?" Conan asked curiously.
"This stall has a window. Outside the window is a small, deserted path. The killer first came in through the window, then hid behind the stall door. When the victim came in, they tried to steal her bag. But because the victim struggled, the killer panicked and stabbed her directly in the heart. In the confusion, they grabbed the money and escaped through the window. Because the victim fell, her body happened to block the door," Megure deduced proudly.
"But Inspector Megure, if the killer escaped through the window, why is there only mud on the window frame and no blood?" Conan asked, sounding curious.
"What does escaping after a murder have to do with whether there is blood on the window frame or not?" Megure said, looking speechless.
"Inspector, based on the amount of blood the victim lost, the killer would definitely have blood on them during the struggle. If they escaped through the window, there should be blood on the window frame. Kid, that's what you mean, right?" A sharp look flashed in Eri Kisaki's eyes.
"Ah... yes."
Conan looked at Eri Kisaki in surprise. Who is this lady? She's intense.
Inspector Megure looked at the bathroom, and his eyes suddenly lit up again. "There are tissues inside the stall. The killer used them to wipe away the blood when they left. The proof is that there is mud here on the window frame. Because they were in a hurry, they didn't have time to clean the mud."
"But the murder weapon, the knife, was left at the scene. How would someone who forgot to take the murder weapon think to wipe the blood clean?"
Inspector Megure looked at Heiji and Eri in surprise. The two of them spoke at the same time.
Heiji and this lady really are in sync, Conan thought dryly. Then his face turned serious. But they were right. The marks on the window frame felt like they were left there on purpose to distract us.
"But now the trail has gone cold," Megure said helplessly.
Eri Kisaki glanced at Heiji. A sharp look flashed in her eyes behind her glasses. "Mr. Hattori should have a clue by now."
Heiji looked at Eri and smiled faintly. "It seems the famous lawyer Eri also has a clue."
These two are taking it pretty easy, Conan thought, speechless.
"Why didn't the killer take the murder weapon? It's not that they didn't want to; it's that they couldn't," Heiji said.
"What?" Megure looked at Heiji in surprise. "Heiji, explain it more clearly. Why couldn't the killer take the weapon?"
"Inspector, don't you understand yet? The killer is someone from this cafe," Eri Kisaki said calmly with her arms crossed.
"And the killer is someone who entered or left the bathroom during this period of time," Heiji added, settling the matter.
"Quick! Immediately investigate who went in and out of the bathroom during this time!"
Whether it was Heiji or Eri Kisaki, Megure had seen their abilities with his own eyes. If both of them agreed on something, then it was almost certainly the truth.
Exactly. Heiji and that lawyer are right. The killer is inside this cafe, Conan thought.
Soon, the officer in charge of questioning returned. "Inspector Megure, because there are no cameras, many people said they used the bathroom, but they forgot the specific time."
"That makes things difficult," Megure said with a frown.
"Inspector, I remember who it was!" Conan suddenly shouted.
"What? Really... Conan?"
Based on Conan's identification, a total of three people had gone in and out during that time. A large man, a man with glasses, and...
"What? The famous lawyer Eri also went in and out of the bathroom at this time?" Megure was dumbfounded.
"Ah? Now that I think about it, I guess I did. But kid, you have a very clear memory," Eri Kisaki's glasses reflected a strong light.
Cold sweat poured down Conan's back. What's going on? Why do I feel a sense of fear when I see this lady?
"Officer, why did you call for me?" the large man asked curiously.
Heiji looked at the large man's clothes and thought deeply.
"Officer, I didn't kill anyone." The man with glasses vaguely guessed what was happening.
"What is your name? Why are you here?" Megure asked the large man.
"Me? My name is Juzo Tonoyama. I came here today to argue with the manager," the large man replied.
"Do you know the victim?"
Juzo Tonoyama glanced at the body and shook his head. "How would I know a woman like that?"
Megure glanced at Tonoyama's large build. He was even bigger than Megure.
"What about you? What are you doing here?"
The man with glasses trembled. "My name is Yuichi Ouji. I am a college student. I came to the cafe today to write my thesis."
"Huh? Shouldn't you go somewhere quiet to write a thesis? This place faces the street and is very noisy. Can you actually write here?" Conan said innocently.
"Conan, you're not simple. You even know about theses," Heiji looked at Conan suspiciously.
Cold sweat poured down Conan's back. "Well, I just heard Ran mention it once in a while."
"Ran? What are you to her?" Eri Kisaki looked at Conan with doubt.
"I... I am staying at Ran's house."
Conan felt an odd sense of fear around Eri.
"This brat is just freeloading. Only Ran would take him in," Heiji said calmly.
"No, I'm not!" Conan said unhappily.
"Hmph."
Heiji walked into the neighboring stall. His eyes narrowed. The toilet lid was actually dented.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly walked out of the bathroom. A moment later, he returned with a chair.
"Heiji, what are you doing?" Megure asked curiously.
However, Heiji didn't speak. He put the chair in the stall he was just in, stepped up on it, and checked the partition between the stalls. The partition was slightly deformed.
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Looks like they used a different method again.
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