[How did this guy even make the force?]
Conan stared, dumbfounded.
"Officer Kamijo, isn't this a violation of police protocol?"
Kogoro Mouri's expression became serious.
"Ah, sorry. Mr. Heiji is my idol, so I lost my composure a bit." Officer Kamijo looked embarrassed, but his expression quickly shifted. "But, shouldn't we ask Mr. Heiji to do the deduction? Let him prove his innocence himself..."
"No!"
Kogoro and Conan shouted simultaneously.
"Who told you to imitate my catchphrase?"
Kogoro retracted his fist and straightened his tie. "Officer Kamijo, with me, the Great Detective Kogoro Mouri here, there is no need for that Hattori brat to lift a finger..."
Suddenly, he felt that his words sounded a bit strange.
[Hehe... Uncle, aren't you basically admitting you're inferior to Hattori?]
Conan held his head and chuckled, but a flash of defiance passed through his eyes.
This time, I have to let Hattori see my reasoning ability.
Heiji smiled faintly. "Officer Kamijo, since I am a suspect, I shouldn't interfere in this investigation. With Uncle Mouri here, he will surely clear my name."
Hearing Heiji's words, Kogoro felt immensely gratified. He adjusted his collar, looking triumphant. "The Great Detective Kogoro Mouri is on the case!"
"Dad, do your best!"
Watching Kogoro walk around the crime scene searching for clues, Ran cheered him on.
[Uncle looks full of energy... I need to work hard too.]
Conan didn't run around aimlessly like Kogoro. Instead, he walked to the side of the corpse, examining it quietly.
When the body was first discovered, they had to rush to call the police, so there was no time to check thoroughly. Then the police blocked off the area.
Now that Officer Kamijo finally stopped obstructing them, Conan could see clearly.
Morio Anzai lay in a pool of blood, his wrist also coated in fresh crimson. One hand wore a watch, and next to the other hand were several characters written in blood.
[Stone Lion?]
Conan frowned, then looked at the officer standing guard. "Hey, Mister Police Officer, has anyone touched these letters?"
"Oh, no. That is a vital clue, you can't touch it, little boy."
"Okay~!"
Answering innocently, Conan's gaze instantly turned solemn as he turned away, rubbing his chin and staring at the letters.
What exactly does "Stone Lion" mean?
He looked at the actual stone lion statue not far away. It was splattered with blood.
[Blood?]
Conan's expression changed, and he looked sharply at Morio Anzai's wrist. That skull-patterned watch had not a single trace of blood on it.
[This is impossible. The whole hand is covered in fresh blood. It's impossible for the watch to be clean unless...]
He turned back instantly to look at Heiji and the others. Although he didn't believe Heiji was the murderer, as a detective, he couldn't let personal feelings cloud his deduction.
[Someone wiped the bloodstains off.]
"Ah! I know who the murderer is!"
Kogoro suddenly shouted, one hand in his pocket, the other pointing confidently.
All gazes instantly concentrated on him.
"Mr. Mouri, is that true?"
Officer Kamijo was still a bit overly excited, despite his earlier fawning over Heiji.
"That's right. Mr. Anzai already told us the murderer's identity before he died," Kogoro declared proudly.
Really?
Everyone was stirred, looking at Kogoro expectantly.
"Mr. Mouri, good luck!"
Yoko Okino looked at him with admiration.
[Miss Yoko is cheering for me!]
Kogoro's serious face instantly melted into a love-struck, goofy grin.
"Cough, cough."
He composed himself instantly. Kogoro cleared his throat. "Actually, we all ignored a very important issue from the beginning: the Dying Message Mr. Anzai left for us."
"Dying Message?"
The others looked at each other.
"Look. Next to Mr. Anzai's hand are written the characters 'Stone Lion'."
"There is indeed a stone lion here, but what does it indicate?"
Officer Kamijo asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
Kogoro shook his head with a smug smile. "'Stone Lion' is just the literal meaning. Actually, what Mr. Anzai wanted to express is that the murderer is the owner of this place—and the only one with a grudge against him is you, Miss Taeko Mamegaki!"
Kogoro pointed sharply at Taeko.
The whole place fell silent instantly.
"But Dad, wasn't Miss Taeko with you the whole time during the crime?" Ran suddenly asked weakly.
Kogoro was dumbfounded. "How did I not know that?"
[Hehe... you drank until you were dizzy. How would you remember?]
Conan shook his head, bowing his head in thought again.
Miss Taeko cannot be the murderer. At that time, we just happened to meet her and Mr. Anzai at the door... unless the Mr. Anzai we saw then was a ghost.
Smiling helplessly at the absurdity, a thunderbolt suddenly flashed through his mind.
Ghost?
Conan froze in shock.
If the "Mr. Anzai" we saw at that time was someone impersonating him, then the time of death wasn't between 10:00 and 10:30. It would have been pushed forward.
[If the time of death is earlier, then Miss Taeko becomes a suspect, and Mr. Yuji Shimazaki's suspicion is ruled out. But where is the evidence for this theory?]
Conan lowered his head, staring intensely at Morio Anzai's corpse.
Heiji looked at Kogoro and Conan, shaking his head with a knowing smile. He turned to the idol beside him. "Yoko, do you wear a watch?"
"A watch? I don't wear one often."
Yoko Okino shook her head.
"As a big star, keeping track of time is very important. I'll give you a watch later."
Yoko's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. She lowered her head slightly and gave a soft, shy hum. "Mm."
[System Warning: If the Host forcibly intervenes in the event again, 100 Sin Points will be added to the current mission.]
Hearing the System's warning, Heiji shrugged.
[Watch?]
Conan glanced at Heiji, a sharp light flashing in his glasses.
That's right, it's the watch. It seems someone helped cover up for the murderer.
Seeing Conan focusing on the watch, Heiji stayed silent. Actually, if not for Kogoro interrupting just now, perhaps the little guy would have found the evidence long ago.
"Heiji-san, I'm sorry. I originally wanted you to come here to relax. I didn't expect you to encounter this kind of thing."
Yoko was full of apologies.
Heiji smiled faintly. "It's okay. Murders happen everywhere we go, it seems."
"If Kazuha-chan and Sonoko-chan find out, I'm afraid they'll blame me," Yoko said helplessly.
"Yoko-san, don't worry. My dad will definitely help Heiji find the real culprit," Ran comforted her.
A slight mechanical click reached Heiji's ears. A smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.
It seems Kudo finally solved the case.
The next moment, Kogoro staggered backward, bumped heavily into a tree, and slid down to sit on the ground, his head bowing low.
"Dad?"
Ran looked worried and started to walk over.
"Ran, don't worry. I have already found the murderer."
"Found the murderer?"
Everyone's gaze instantly snapped toward Sleeping Kogoro.
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