I learned the details of the case from Inspector Otaki.
The murderer was someone familiar with today's competition, because the murder knife used to kill the victim was one of the two real knives that the referee was going to use for a knife demonstration during the afternoon finals. Someone who wasn't familiar with the competition would never know that.
There are currently four suspects.
They were the deceased Atsushi Tsurumi's four university classmates: the tall Masamichi Hakamada, the big-nosed Mineo Menya, the chubby Noriyuki Doguchi, and the gloomy-faced Shun Otegawa.
The four men and the deceased were all members of the Shin-Nei University Kendo Club. They were the first to find the body in the warehouse of Building 2, but after they called the police, the body went to the changing room next to the swimming pool.
After hearing the entire case, Kogoro Mouri, as always, prioritized eliminating one incorrect answer.
"The person who first discovered Atsushi Sumi's body in the warehouse, and was also the last to leave, is the most likely person to have moved the body here, which means..."
Kogoro Mouri stared at the four college classmates of the deceased in front of him, then suddenly clapped his hands and pointed at the fat man with glasses standing in the middle, "The murderer is you, Noriyuki Dōguchi!"
"No, it wasn't me! It really wasn't me!"
Doguchi Noriyuki looked flustered, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he hurriedly waved his hands in denial.
However, Kogoro Mouri became even more certain of his reasoning.
He strode aggressively up to Noriyuki Doguchi and demanded, "Then explain yourself! You only went to the meeting room next to Hall 2 to call someone, why did it take you more than ten minutes? That's enough time for you to do many other things!"
"But why would I kill Sumi? What's the reason? What's the motive?"
"Reason? Motive? Uh..."
Kogoro Mouri was instantly speechless. He really didn't know that. A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face, and his eyes began to wander.
After this chaotic series of deductions, the other classmates who discovered the deceased were also getting impatient.
Kotekawa Jun snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Famous detective, you're speechless now? You want to convict someone based on this ridiculous deduction? That's really disappointing."
Menya Mineo chimed in, "Exactly, exactly. I think you're just making wild guesses. We should just wait for the police to investigate properly."
The group started arguing and tried to leave the scene.
Without evidence, Inspector Otaki couldn't very well stop them.
Yuzuru, who had been watching the drama unfold from the sidelines, suddenly asked, "Officer Otaki, may I go to the warehouse to take a look?"
Officer Otaki immediately agreed: "Of course."
"Thank you for your help."
Yuzuru nodded to him, and as he led Ran and the others past the four college students, he paused and then said, "Officer Otaki, could you please have them come over here as well?"
"What are you talking about? Why should we go with you?"
"And who is this guy?"
"You think you can just let us go like that? Who do you think you are?!"
The four of them naturally disagreed with going together.
But with Yuzuru speaking up, Inspector Ōtaki didn't care whether they agreed or not. He waved his hand, and several police officers walked in and stood behind the four of them.
"Gentlemen, please! If you don't want to be charged with obstructing official business..."
Inspector Ōtaki said seriously.
"..."
The four fell silent, exchanging bewildered glances.
As it turns out, being a police officer is still very useful.
The four college students who had been arguing about leaving immediately followed the police to the warehouse of the second building upon hearing that they were going to be prosecuted. Their faces were full of reluctance but also helplessness.
Seeing this, Hattori Heiji and Conan, who were searching for clues, exchanged a glance and decisively followed, intending to see what Hanyu Nan was up to.
A girl not far away also noticed what was happening.
"That's... Heiji?"
The girl's voice held a hint of surprise.
"Yes, miss."
"Interesting. It seems some kind of case has occurred. Iori, let's go take a look."
"Miss, the murderer hasn't been found yet, there might be danger."
"Hehe, don't worry, Heiji's here, he'll protect me..."
...
Second Hall Warehouse
This is where students usually store their equipment. The environment is dark, without any lights, and only supported by the faint light coming in from the corridor, making it seem gloomy and terrifying.
"It really is dark."
Yuzuru pushed open the door and walked in. His gaze lingered on the box directly in front of him, where there was a pool of blood, the place where the body was first discovered.
"Nan, do you know who the murderer is?"
Xiao Lan asked curiously from the side.
Ikeba Shizuka wasn't too concerned about who the murderer was; what she cared about more at the moment was not affecting her disciple's match later.
She glanced at the time and whispered, "Xiao Nan, we need to hurry, the competition is about to start."
"OK! It'll be done soon."
Yuzuru gave them an OK sign.
He didn't originally intend to get involved in this case; solving cases was the detectives' job. But since Kogoro Mouri had just given him a pleading look, and after all, he was Ran's father, his father-in-law, he figured he might as well take care of it.
After scanning the warehouse, Yu Sheng Nan walked towards the box in the center.
He knelt down in front of the box and examined the pool of blood.
The bloodstains had dried, turning a dark red color, with some splatter marks around the edges.
“This isn’t blood.” Ai walked over, glanced at the bloodstains, dipped her finger in it, and sniffed it gently. “It’s a red pigment…”
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