A villa in Kamiyama Town.
Kurosawa Hoshino and his group arrived with Izumi Takeo in tow. A uniformed officer at the door escorted them inside.
As they entered the living room, a woman's corpse immediately came into view. She lay on the floor in pajamas, a face mask covering her features—but her eyes were wide open, frozen in death.
Forensic investigators worked busily—photographing, examining. The moment they spotted Kurosawa Hoshino, their eyes lit up. Collective sighs of relief swept through the room. Smiles spread across their faces, as if they'd just encountered something wonderful.
"Gentlemen, we'll continue later." Inspector Megure, his expression grim, excused himself from the man and woman beside him and walked over to the newcomers.
"Yo, Inspector Megure!" Kogorō Mōri grinned, ready to exchange pleasantries.
Megure walked right past him.
He stopped directly in front of Kurosawa Hoshino, a fawning smile on his face.
"Hoshino-kun! I'm so sorry to trouble you like this. I didn't expect to run into you while investigating. Terribly sorry for disturbing your evening at home."
Izumi Takeo, head bowed, was drenched in nervous sweat. He'd recognized Kurosawa Hoshino on the way over—the recently famous high school detective, rumored to solve cases with lightning speed and deadly accuracy.
He glanced at the corpse in the living room and felt his stomach churn.
"Inspector Megure," Kurosawa Hoshino said calmly, "fill me in on the scene."
"Of course." Megure led them to the body and spoke softly. "The deceased is President Kojima Ikuko. Businesswoman. Cause of death: strangulation. Three people visited the house before her death."
"Was Mr. Izumi one of them?" Kogorō asked.
"Correct. Mr. Izumi arrived first—8:00 PM sharp. He left at 8:45. Next was the deceased's daughter, Ms. Kojima Chihiro. She arrived at 8:50 and left at 9:10. Last was Mr. Yoshioka Juro. He arrived at 9:20 and called the police at 9:31."
Megure beckoned the man and woman nearby—Kojima Chihiro and Yoshioka Juro. All three suspects now stood together.
"Inspector Megure." Kogorō crossed his arms confidently. "Mr. Yoshioka called the police. Ms. Chihiro didn't. That means the murderer is one of them. If Ms. Chihiro had found her mother's body right away, she'd have called immediately. But Mr. Yoshioka called later, claiming he found the body. So the killer has to be one of them. One is lying."
Izumi Takeo breathed a quiet sigh of relief. No one suspects me.
"What are you saying?! My mother was alive when I left! I couldn't have killed her!" Kojima Chihiro shot back.
Yoshioka Juro frowned. "So you're saying I'm the murderer?"
Chihiro ignored him. She turned to Kurosawa Hoshino. "You're a detective, right? I've seen you on the news. Kurosawa Hoshino?"
"That's right."
"Then—"
"Wait." Kurosawa Hoshino cut her off, his tone even. "Let me ask you one thing first. Is everything you just said the truth?"
Without waiting for an answer, he walked past her and crouched beside the corpse. Conan was already there, examining the body on the sly—the forensic team didn't stop him.
"Find anything?"
Conan jumped. He spun around, meeting Kurosawa Hoshino's gaze. "Hoshino-nii! I didn't find anything. I was just... looking around."
"Conan, don't disturb Hoshino's investigation." Ran walked over and scolded him.
"Okay..." Conan obediently stepped back.
Ran lowered her voice. "Hoshino, did you find something?"
"Yeah."
Kurosawa Hoshino examined the corpse. Everything matched his memory. This case had appeared in the original story—simple, straightforward. He recalled it instantly. No complicated deduction needed.
Conan stiffened. Okay, okay, he just found a clue. He hasn't solved it yet. I still have a chance.
Then Kurosawa Hoshino spoke again.
"Inspector Megure. I'm done. I know who the killer is."
Conan's burning passion was doused with ice water.
"Hoshino-kun!" Megure practically sprinted over, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it vigorously.
Kogorō scratched his head and grumbled, "You brat. You're so fast it makes the rest of us look incompetent."
"Sorry, Uncle Mōri." Kurosawa Hoshino shrugged, then fixed his gaze on the three suspects.
"Mr. Yoshioka. According to Inspector Megure, you waited ten minutes before calling the police. That means you stayed in the villa for ten minutes. Why? Why didn't you call immediately?"
Murmurs rippled through the room. It was strange. Finding a dead body and waiting ten minutes to report it?
"Normally, there are only two explanations," Kurosawa Hoshino continued. "One: you're the killer. Two: something in the villa delayed you. Which is it?"
"I... I..." Yoshioka knew the stakes. If he didn't tell the truth, he'd be tagged as the murderer.
He lowered his head. "The president found out I'd been embezzling. I came today to beg her not to expose me. But when I arrived, she was already dead. So instead of calling immediately, I searched for the files documenting my embezzlement."
"Tch." Kogorō scoffed. "I think you two couldn't reach a deal, so you killed her."
Megure nodded thoughtfully.
"No! I swear, she was already dead when I got there!" Yoshioka's voice rose with panic.
Kurosawa Hoshino turned. "Ms. Chihiro. Anything to add? You might want to start hoping your fingerprints aren't on that face mask packaging."
Kojima Chihiro's face went paper-white.
Megure's eyes widened. "Hoshino-kun, you mean Ms. Chihiro killed her mother? Mr. Yoshioka isn't the murderer?"
"Inspector, let's hear what Ms. Chihiro has to say first."
"I didn't kill my mother." Chihiro pointed at the corpse. "When I arrived, she was already dead. But the guards knocked on the door. I had no choice but to answer in my pajamas and mask. My figure is similar to my mother's. I fooled them."
"Then why didn't you just say that from the start?" Megure frowned.
Chihiro laughed bitterly. "Because I fight with my mother every time I visit. All the guards know it. If I said I found her dead, everyone would assume I killed her."
"Mr. Izumi." Kurosawa Hoshino turned to the sweating man. "You're the last one. Let me ask you: are you lying?"
"No... no." Izumi's voice cracked. "The president was alive when I left."
Damn it. Conan finally understood. Kurosawa Hoshino must have found evidence on the body—something that pointed directly to the killer.
What is it?
Conan rushed back to the corpse, scanning frantically. Head to toe. But he was rattled. He couldn't focus.
Wait. The face mask. Kurosawa mentioned the face mask.
Conan stared at the mask for ten long seconds. Then it clicked.
No creases. If someone's strangled while wearing a mask, their expression would distort—the mask would wrinkle. But this mask is smooth. It was put on after death.
That explains the mask, but it doesn't ID the killer. What else? Where's the real clue?
Before he could dig deeper, Kurosawa Hoshino's voice echoed through the room.
"Mr. Izumi. Where do you think the contact lens President Kojima lost during the struggle would have fallen?"
"The living room, obviously." Izumi saw nothing odd about the question.
Conan's eyes snapped to the victim's wide-open eyes. One eye had a contact lens. The other didn't.
He spun to the forensic team. "Uncle, did you find a contact lens during your investigation?"
"No, we didn't." The forensic investigator answered kindly—Conan was always at crime scenes with Kurosawa Hoshino.
Their voices carried.
Everyone heard.
Kurosawa Hoshino glanced at Conan, then looked away with a slight smile. "Mr. Izumi. You heard that. The lens wasn't at the scene. So why would it be on your rolled-up trouser leg? There's only one explanation. It fell there when you were strangling President Kojima. Otherwise, how would it end up there by accident?"
"What?!" Izumi's head jerked down. He stared at his own leg.
"Mr. Izumi. Don't move." Megure crouched and searched the trouser leg. He pulled out a contact lens.
"Mr. Izumi. Anything to say?"
"I... I... I..." Izumi's voice failed him. His knees buckled. He knelt on the floor, his face twisting with pain and regret.
Sigh... I lost again. Conan wanted to collapse right there. The clue was so simple. And he'd only found it because Kurosawa Hoshino pointed it out.
If I get another chance, I swear I'll find it faster. I'll solve it faster than him.
He looked up at Kurosawa Hoshino, standing there so casually as Inspector Megure and the officers showered him with praise. A pang of jealousy twisted in Conan's chest.
That used to be me.
Before I shrank, that was all mine.