Chapter 90 The Ghosts at the Victory Banquet 2
"This is the show you were talking about."
Conan stood beside Gu Ze, his lips twitching, staring at the crime scene ahead.
"I didn't do it!" Gu Ze hurriedly explained, "I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
"Besides, such a stupid method of committing a crime could not possibly be done by me. If I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't do it myself..."
Gu Ze stopped talking as he spoke, as if the more he tried to explain, the worse it got.
"Ahem, anyway, I don't know why the murder happened."
Conan chuckled inwardly, then focused his attention on the murder case.
The scene has been cordoned off by the police, and guests unrelated to the case have been moved to the adjacent lounge.
The officers in charge of this case are Inspector Megure and Inspector Takagi.
The banquet was ruined, and the two of them still had to go to work. They were really unlucky.
"The deceased was film director Naoki Yuji. At 7:45 PM, he was standing on the stage raising a glass with investor Mr. Kurosawa to celebrate. Less than a minute after drinking the red wine, he died from poisoning!"
Officer Takagi recounted the case as always.
"Officer Takagi, can you confirm where the poison was placed?" Conan left Gu Ze's side, stood in front of the corpse, and looked up at Takagi to ask.
“It’s certain that the poison was put in the drink, and Mr. Kurosawa’s drink was also poisoned.” Officer Takagi changed the subject, “but Mr. Kurosawa didn’t drink any alcohol, so he wasn’t poisoned.”
"It seems Mr. Kurosawa doesn't like drinking; he just picked up the glass as a gesture," he explained.
Conan approached the shattered cup on the corpse, intending to crouch down and examine it closely. At that moment, the collar of his shirt suddenly tightened.
"Kids, don't cause trouble here!" Kogoro Mouri grabbed Conan by the back of his collar and lifted him up.
He turned towards Gu Ze, who was approaching, and threw Conan into Gu Ze's arms. Gu Ze caught Conan with quick reflexes, but was pulled back a step by inertia.
Before Gu Ze could even stand still, Kogoro Mouri's voice reached his ears, "Keep a close eye on this brat!"
"And about the lie you told me, I'll settle the score with you properly after this case is over!"
Kogoro Mouri was clearly still angry, shouting loudly. Knowing he was in the wrong, Gu Ze didn't say much and just smiled awkwardly.
After moving a certain distance from the crime scene, Gu Ze put down Conan, who was somewhat sulking.
"Damn it!" Conan stomped his foot on the spot.
"Alright, alright, I bet you've gotten pretty much all the clues you need." Gu Ze ruffled Conan's hair to comfort him.
"Hmm." Conan nodded and began to analyze seriously.
"The suspects have been narrowed down to screenwriter Akira Shiratori, lead actor Mitsuru Ishii, and assistant director Ozawa Nakagawa."
"The poisoned wine glass was placed next to the stage, and only the three of them were sitting in that area."
Conan looked at the three suspects being questioned: a portly middle-aged man, a handsome and unruly young man, and a woman with a gentle face.
They are lead actor Mitsuru Ishii, assistant director Ozawa Nakagawa, and screenwriter Akira Shiratori.
“I just saw it on the broken glass…”
Conan's voice seemed to come near and far, but Gu Ze, lost in thought, wasn't really listening to what Conan was saying.
Gu Ze smiled broadly, his gaze casually sweeping around before lingering briefly on the doorway connecting the lounge and the banquet hall.
There were two policemen guarding the gate, but some reporters still cautiously peeked out.
These reporters closely observed the situation, each holding a camera and standing ready, hoping for new developments in the case.
"I have a guess as to who the murderer is, but I still need some reliable evidence." After Conan finished speaking, he looked up and saw Gu Ze's absent-minded state, and he was immediately furious.
"Brother Gu Ze, are you even listening to me?!"
"Ahem, haha, I'm listening, I'm listening," Gu Ze added. "If you're struggling to find crucial evidence, I have a way to make the murderer slip up on their own."
As he spoke, he leaned close to Conan's ear and whispered a few words. Conan's eyes lit up, and he suddenly understood.
After watching Conan use a tranquilizer dart to tranquilize Kogoro Mouri, Gu Ze found a seat with a clear view of the entire room and sat down.
As long as nothing goes wrong, once Conan reveals the culprit, the show he's planned will begin.
"If it weren't for him, would I have owed so much money!" Mitsuru Ishii shouted, clutching his head, his eyes bloodshot.
"He clearly has no talent left, but he still dragged me into filming with him, all because of him! Ugh!"
Mitsuru Ishii was tall and didn't seem to be in good spirits. His hands were always in his suit pockets, which made Conan, who was hiding behind Kogoro, feel uneasy.
There is a door on the east side of the banquet hall. Turn a corner after entering the door and you will find the emergency exit. The stairs there lead directly to the first floor of the hotel.
Coincidentally, Mitsuru Ishii was only two or three steps away from that door.
He gritted his teeth and made a firm decision. Since he had embarked on the path of murder, he had considered the possibility of being caught. Now, that door was his only chance to escape.
"Ah!" Ishii roared and pulled out a pen-shaped knife hidden in his pocket, swinging it forward.
Before the police could react, he rammed into the door at top speed.
The wooden door was ruthlessly smashed open with a loud bang, followed by the sound of someone being knocked to the ground.
Someone's there! I never expected there to be someone behind this door! Thank goodness!
With the hostage in hand, what can those police do to me? Ishii Mitsuru was overjoyed.
The person on the ground was draped in a white sheet, which was tied around his body like a cloak, completely covering him.
Without thinking twice, Mitsuru Ishii grabbed the man's arm with his right hand, pulled him up, grabbed his neck with his left hand, and held the knife horizontally with his right hand.
"Don't come any closer! Or I'll kill him!" With that, Mitsuru Ishii made a feinting motion, waving his arms back and forth.
He took the hostage and returned to the banquet hall through a side door, scanning the faces of everyone present.
Inspector Megure and Inspector Takagi looked tense, and all the police officers at the scene gathered around, glaring at the criminal.
Conan stood in front of Kogoro Mouri, his hand reaching for his belt, ready to launch the soccer ball at any moment.
"Don't be impulsive, Mitsuru Ishii! Killing another person will only worsen your crime!" Inspector Megure, with his experience, immediately calmed down and negotiated with the prisoner.
"Don't move, let me leave here safely, and I'll let him go!"
“Okay! We won’t touch you!” Inspector Megure quickly agreed, then gave Takagi a look, signaling him to notify his colleagues outside the hotel.
As Ishii Mitsuru brandished his knife, he moved toward the banquet hall door. The person in his hand remained unusually calm, neither shouting nor crying.
Perhaps Ishii Mitsuru's movements were a little too forceful, because the white sheet loosened inch by inch, and in less than a minute, the sheet slipped to the ground!
The hostage, whose face was previously hidden, now has his figure and appearance exposed to the public.
"Hiss..." Inspector Megure, who was negotiating, fell silent instantly, looking at the hostage's face with disbelief.
Everyone fell silent, holding their breath, some even with expressions of extreme terror.
"It's him! It's him!" someone exclaimed in panic, pointing at the hostage.
A commotion broke out among the guests who came out of the lounge to watch the commotion, all staring in horror at the direction of Mitsuru Ishii.
The reporters were snapping photos like crazy, their cameras clicking away.
"What tricks are you playing?" Sensing something was wrong, Ishii Mitsuru was a little confused, fearing that the other side was up to something.
He belatedly realized what was happening and turned to look at the hostage in his hands.
You won't be surprised if you don't look!
The hostage had fair skin, slightly disheveled silver shoulder-length hair, and striking features with captivating, bright eyes.
Silver hair and blue eyes came into view of Mitsuru Ishii. As the assistant director of the film "Piercing the Darkness", how could he not recognize this face!
Kurosawa Jin! That policeman who's been dead for so long!
Sweat beaded on Ishii Mitsuru's forehead, and his legs trembled slightly.
He was terrified, wondering what he was holding hostage—a person or a ghost?
Should I check this person's heartbeat?
Just as Ishii was struggling with his thoughts and was in a daze, a soccer ball the size of a head flew towards him.
"Ah!" After screaming, Ishii Mitsuru fell asleep immediately.
Freed from Ishii Mitsuru's restraints, the hostage who looked just like Kurosawa Jin took off running at an astonishing speed. He was very close to the banquet hall door and dashed out in a flash.
"Grab him quickly, seal off the hotel, and find that hostage!" Inspector Megure ordered the group of police officers.
Inspector Megure doesn't believe in ghosts. He thinks that if they can find him, the case from years ago might be solved.
So a large group of police officers went after the person, followed by a group of reporters.
They wouldn't miss such a major news story, and the scene was strangely comical.
After the farce ended, Gu Ze stood up from his chair and walked to the motionless Conan.
"Aren't you going to chase after them?"
Conan shook his head, his eyes serious, and said, "Brother Gu Ze, is this the show you were talking about? You arranged that person?"
"To be precise, I lured him here," Gu Ze explained. "I showed him the hotel's layout and devised a plan that allowed him to sneak past security and into the hotel..."
Gu Ze briefly explained what he had done.
[Ding! Shinichi Kudo's approval rating +10]
“Conan, we’re both detectives, but do you know what the difference is between you and me?” Gu Ze asked.
"Why are you suddenly asking this? What's different?" Conan asked, puzzled.
You're missing something!
"What?"
Gu Ze smiled slyly and uttered two words, "Intelligence."
"Abundant and accurate intelligence."
"If you know a little more than others, you can solve cases faster and more efficiently, and even set traps for others."
After listening to Gu Ze's words, Conan understood.
"Want to know where my information comes from?" Gu Ze asked, casting out bait like a fisherman.
"Yes." Conan's eyes lit up.
"Here, this is for you." Gu Ze took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Conan.
Conan unfolded the note and saw that it had a few letters written on it—RACHE.
Above the letters "A" and "H" is an arrow indicating an exchange.
As a die-hard Sherlock Holmes fan, Conan immediately realized that the string of letters was a key clue in Holmes's book "A Study in Blood," which means revenge in German.
"What's this for?" Conan tilted his head and looked at Gu Ze.
"It's a simple riddle. Once you solve it, you'll know how I obtained the information." After saying this, Gu Ze left without giving the other party a chance to ask further questions.
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