The tourists panicked, and some tried to approach the waterfall but were blocked by the rushing water.
Kogoro Mouri and Heiji Hattori immediately rushed towards the top of the waterfall.
As for Conan... he'll be here soon.
Ran and Kazuha covered their mouths in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Dead, dead..."
Ebihara Tomi's body was suspended in the middle of the waterfall, swaying gently with the current, with a thick hemp rope around her neck and a heavy wooden stake tied to the other end.
Her expression froze in extreme fear, her eyes wide open as if she had seen something terrifying.
"Make way! Make way!"
Shimabukuro Kimie's face was perfectly etched with "panic." She turned around, feigning helplessness, and asked anxiously, "What happened?!"
"Miss Kimie!" Kazuha hurriedly grabbed her hand. "Miss Kotomi...she's at the waterfall!"
Shimabukuro Kimie stared at the waterfall in "shock," then shouted "anxiously," "Quick! Go get the lifeline! I'll go call the police!"
Her performance was flawless; no one could tell that this "panicked" witch was the murderer.
.........
The atmosphere above the waterfall was solemn.
Ebihara Tomi's body had been pulled up by everyone working together and lay flat on the cold ground. Kogoro Mouri habitually stroked his chin, beginning his routine of eliminating one wrong answer.
"I see, I understand now. Miss Sumi must have lost her balance when she reached this riverbank in the dark, and then fell in. She grabbed onto this piece of wood with the safety rope attached, but because the current was too fast, she was strangled to death by the rope."
"Hehe, but don't you find it strange, uncle?"
Hattori Heiji chuckled twice, not placing any hope in Mouri Kogoro, and frowned as he said, "The festival is clearly being held below, so why is Ms. Kotobuki here above the waterfall? It's dark and dangerous here, it doesn't make any sense."
"She's probably looking for the mermaid's grave."
"The mermaid's grave? What?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the other winner, Naoko Kuroe, who had come over from the side.
Naoko Kuroe explained, "Because the mermaid's grave is somewhere in this forest. Three years ago, after the shrine's warehouse caught fire, the mermaid's bones were reburied here. Perhaps Sumi wanted to take advantage of the festival to explore this place."
“That’s possible,” Shimabukuro Kimie chimed in. “I know that Sumi has always been very concerned about that matter. She’s always been very curious about mermaid legends, so she might actually come here to look for the mermaid’s grave.”
"Wait a moment!"
Hattori Heiji, who had been listening in the conversation, couldn't hold back any longer: "You guys keep talking about mermaid graves and stuff, are you sure that skeleton really is a mermaid? Could it all just be a rumor?"
"Hard to say."
Shimabukuro Kimie shook her head, her hands unconsciously clenching beneath her shrine maiden robes: "That's what the villagers on the island say. They all firmly believe that those are the remains of a mermaid, but the police from the mainland believe that it is the body of a middle-aged woman, and there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that it is a mermaid."
"That's utter nonsense!"
Naoko Kuroe suddenly became agitated.
Her face flushed red, and she interrupted loudly, "That skeleton only makes sense if the bones below the waist are still intact, right? If it were a normal human skeleton, how could such a situation occur?"
"Huh? Below the waist?"
Kogoro Mouri looked completely bewildered.
At this moment, another young man who had come over saw the crowd's confusion and spoke up to explain: "Because a beam that burned down back then hit the skeleton right at the waist. After the villagers moved the beam, they found that the place where the foot bones should have been was completely smashed."
"It is precisely because of this strange situation that everyone feels that this skeleton is unusual and is very likely to be a mermaid."
"That's why the TV reported finding a mermaid's corpse here, and the longevity woman became a celebrity overnight..."
After listening to everyone's descriptions, the three of them finally understood what had happened.
It turns out that the police determined back then that the skeleton belonged to a tourist who came to visit, and that the warehouse fire was caused by a candle igniting when the tourist went to steal the Dugong Arrow.
Later, because the identity of the deceased could not be found, the shrine buried her here.
However, at some point, the story took a turn for the worse, becoming about a mermaid's corpse, which even attracted many people to come and rob the tomb.
The reason is that mermaid skeletons are the elixir of immortality.
(The only genuine liquor produced by a certain distillery has ever done this.)
"Alright, whether it's suicide, homicide, or an accident, let's just get Ms. Sumi's body down the mountain and wait for the police to arrive before we talk about anything else."
Seeing that everyone had said enough, Kogoro Mouri spoke up and made a decision for them.
After all, he is a famous detective. Apart from Heiji Hattori and Conan, who know the truth, everyone else agrees.
.........
At the foot of the mountain.
The villagers of Mermaid Island all gathered there.
A bald, middle-aged man held the body of Toshimi Ebihara and wept loudly, repeatedly calling out his daughter's name.
"dad."
Xiaolan, holding He Ye's hand, hurriedly squeezed through the crowd.
The two people who were called to report the incident said helplessly that the Fukui Prefectural Police were temporarily unable to come to the island due to the large waves.
"What's going on?!"
Kogoro Mouri made a comment.
They always mess things up at crucial moments; typical of the Japanese police.
Heiji Hattori and Conan were delighted to hear this.
This means that while the police cannot arrive at the scene in time, it also means that the perpetrator cannot take advantage of the chaos to leave the island.
The time before the police arrive is undoubtedly their best opportunity to solve the case. If they can find the murderer during this period, they can bring the truth to light.
The two great detectives exchanged a glance, their fighting spirit ignited.
"Hey, by the way, have you seen that guy, Yuzuru Nanami?"
What was Conan thinking?
Hattori Heiji scanned the crowd but didn't see Hanyu Nanami, and he didn't even see his own mother.
"Where did that guy take my mom this time?!"
The Osaka Black Chicken's face was so black that you couldn't even see it.
He had a feeling that this matter was definitely related to that guy, Yuzuru.
.........
Early morning.
With the police not expected to arrive anytime soon, the island's residents hastily set up a mourning hall for Ebihara Tomi.
White lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze, and candlelight illuminated the portrait in the center of the mourning hall. Toshimi Ebihara's smile was frozen in the photo, forming a stark contrast to the gruesome death hanging from the waterfall.
Ran and Kazuha, two kind little angels, volunteered to keep watch at night, and Akemi joined them.
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