"Brother Mouri?" Inspector Megure looked at him, puzzled. "Did you... just speak?"
"I think so?"
Mouri Kogoro touched his head, unsure. He wanted to say no, but he clearly heard his own voice.
Could it be that he had another personality inside him? So much so that he spoke, but he himself wasn't aware of it.
Officer Takagi leaned in, a little excited. "Mr. Mouri, are you practicing ventriloquism? I've seen it on TV, many detectives know how to do it."
"Ventriloquism?" Mouri Kogoro was even more confused, he didn't remember ever learning such a thing.
Conan, hiding behind the sofa, immediately seized the opportunity and, using Mouri Kogoro's voice again, affirmed.
"That's right! Officer Takagi, you're very observant! I've just been studying ventriloquism recently! I didn't expect to use it by accident, haha, hahahaha..."
"So that's it..." Inspector Megure was half-convinced, but he couldn't think of any other possibility.
As for Mouri Kogoro himself, after the shock of his voice unexpectedly coming out, he attributed it to being drunk.
He stomped his foot hard, trying to sober up a bit, but this action only made the alcohol rush back.
"Ugh... my head is so dizzy..."
Mouri Kogoro shook his head, his eyes becoming hazy again.
"This is more like it, the familiar feeling is back..."
As if resigned to his fate, he stumbled to the nearby sofa, plopped down, and very skillfully adopted the posture of deep thought, head bowed.
Inspector Megure was overjoyed at the sight, Mouri Kogoro in this state was certainly reliable.
"Then, Brother Mouri, please continue your deduction!"
"Ahem,"
Conan continued, using Mouri Kogoro's voice.
"Just as I... no, just as Burnice-san pointed out earlier, the water level difference is key. If I'm not mistaken, the four drinks they ordered had ice cubes secretly added to them by the culprit.
And hidden deep inside these ice cubes was the deadly cyanide!"
"Poisoned ice cubes?" Officer Takagi recorded it in surprise.
"Exactly." Conan explained the method.
"The culprit is Komure Monpei. While everyone's attention was on dancing, he secretly placed the pre-prepared poisoned ice cubes of varying sizes into the four drinks.
The ice cube he put into the drink that the deceased, Shushi Usuda, ultimately drank was the smallest, so it melted the fastest.
When Minister Usuda returned to the bar first, the poisoned ice cube in that drink had already mostly melted, and the cyanide had evenly diffused into the liquor."
He paused, giving everyone time to think, then continued.
"And because Minister Usuda had a stomach ailment and disliked cold drinks, he instinctively chose the drink that appeared to have the fewest ice cubes!
This played right into Komure Monpei's hands! And by the time the police arrived, the larger poisoned ice cubes in the other three drinks had also gradually melted due to the passage of time, which is why the forensic lab detected poison in all the drinks!"
"Then, what's the evidence?" Inspector Megure looked at Komure Monpei, whose face was ashen.
"The evidence is this thermos he carries!"
Conan lifted Mouri Kogoro's hand and pointed to the thermos Komure Monpei carried.
"This kind of high-quality thermos can not only keep things hot but also cold! He used it to carry and preserve those specially made poisoned ice cubes!
If it's handed over to the forensic lab for careful inspection, I believe there's a high probability they'll find trace amounts of cyanide residue in the internal crevices of the cup."
After hearing Conan's deduction, Komure Monpei's legs gave out, and he completely collapsed to the ground.
The thermos he carried also clattered to the ground, revealing several ice cubes.
Komure Monpei covered his face with his hands, and his long-suppressed emotions finally broke, as he burst into tears.
"It was me, yes, I did it! That bastard Usuda... he drove Ogura to his death... Ogura was my best brother!
He just took photos of a department event with a digital camera, and Usuda targeted him everywhere, calling his work soulless electronic garbage,
and pushed all the dirty and hard work onto him, ultimately driving Ogura to his death!"
Komure Monpei sobbed uncontrollably, intermittently recounting the pain and resentment of his friend being forced to commit suicide, and how he meticulously planned this revenge using ice cubes.
Officer Takagi stepped forward and silently put handcuffs on him.
The truth of the case was finally revealed, and Inspector Megure directed the officers to wrap up the work.
Conan, taking advantage of no one paying attention, tapped Mouri Kogoro awake.
"Hmm... ugh..."
Mouri Kogoro groaned, shaking his head as he woke up. He looked around blankly.
"It's... it's over? The culprit is Komure? Oh, it seems I've perfectly solved another case without even knowing it! Hahahaha!"
He rubbed the back of his head, laughing triumphantly. Although he couldn't remember the deduction process at all, this didn't prevent him from enjoying the sense of accomplishment after solving the case.
Conan looked at him speechlessly and urged, "Uncle, we should go back. Ran-neechan must be getting anxious."
"Oh, right, right! Let's go, let's go!" Although Mouri Kogoro had sobered up a lot, his head was still a bit fuzzy. Supported by Conan, he greeted Inspector Megure and left the Three Little Pigs bar.
Conan supported the unsteady Mouri Kogoro, walking towards the detective agency.
Not long after they left, he heard the sound of a motorcycle engine approaching from a distance.
Lucy and Piper rode their motorcycles, executed a stylish drift, and stopped in front of the bar.
Burnice, seeing them, immediately waved happily and greeted them warmly. They seemed very familiar, and after a few words, they walked into the bar together.
Conan sharply looked up at the sign of the Three Little Pigs bar.
Lucy and her friends are so close with Burnice? Burnice is probably also a member of the Sons of Calydon, right?
Perhaps this bar is their base, he thought.
Just then, the sound of a car engine came.
Conan instinctively turned his head, only to see a black sedan driving out of the parking lot behind the video store, passing right by them.
The car window wasn't fully closed, and Conan saw Alexandrina in the passenger seat.
But what immediately shocked him was the man in the driver's seat.
It was Lycaon, the mysterious man who had taken Miyano Akemi, Haibara Ai's older sister, from the dock warehouse earlier!
"Lycaon! Why is he here? And driving out of the video store's parking lot with Rina-san?!"
In a flash, Conan suddenly remembered that Lycaon had claimed to be affiliated with Victoria Housekeeping.
And Alexandrina, he clearly remembered, had also mentioned that she currently worked in household-related services... "Could Rina-san also be with Victoria Housekeeping?!"
Conan's eyes widened, utterly disbelieving.
Are Rin and Ellen also connected to Victoria Housekeeping?
Conan watched as the black sedan silently disappeared into the depths of the night, remaining silent for a long time.