Following the mountain path, Kōyū and Ai followed behind the electric light... Conan, jogging back to the foot of the mountain.
"Guangyou, you've come at the right time." Xiaolan greeted Guangyou and the others as they came down from the mountain. "We were just about to go to the police station to give a statement."
"You kids are such a handful," Uncle Mori said, hands in his pockets and pursing his lips. "Hurry up, I need to go back and watch Yoko's show after I finish giving my statement."
"Hehehe..." Kōyū's lips twitched slightly as he glanced at Conan, who was sneaking into the cabin, and thought to himself with schadenfreude, "Uncle, it seems your hopes have been dashed... Sweet dreams..."
"Achoo!" Uncle Mori sniffed and muttered to himself, "Could I have caught a cold? This awful weather is really... Hmm? Here we go again..."
Just as Uncle Mori was complaining about the unpredictable temperature changes, a strong feeling of drowsiness rushed to his head.
Overwhelmed by a wave of drowsiness, Uncle Mori felt his body becoming somewhat out of control, swaying from side to side and backward, just like when he was solving cases before.
Whether it was a coincidence or a navigation system in his body, a second before losing consciousness, Uncle Mori caught a glimpse of a row of benches behind him out of the corner of his eye.
This bench was placed outside the wooden cabin by the mountain management to provide rest for tourists, but now its purpose is to prevent him from falling directly to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, Uncle Mori sat down on the row of benches, head down, hands hanging naturally at his sides, making it impossible to see his expression.
Conan, hiding behind the cabin door, breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, the police wanted to take a statement from Uncle Mori. If the case had been closed as an accident, it would have been troublesome.
For him, knowing who the murderer is, but failing to bring the murderer to justice, is indeed a major headache.
Pulling up his bow tie, Conan spoke directly into the microphone, "Officer, please wait."
"Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Mori?"
The young police officer stopped and turned around to see Uncle Mori sitting on the bench, which reminded him of Uncle Mori's name.
"Is this the 'Sleeping Kogoro'?"
The police officer turned around, looked at Uncle Mori with a slightly serious expression, and thought to himself, "I read in the newspaper that when Mr. Mori makes this pose, it means he's about to deduce something. Could there be some secret behind this case?"
"I've heard that Mr. Mori has never failed before, which means this case isn't as simple as it seems?"
"As expected of Mr. Mori. If I could have Mr. Mori's skills, I would be promoted to inspector very soon."
Watching the officer's constantly shifting expressions, Kōyū smirked, thinking to himself, "What's this officer imagining? All I'm doing is tell you to stop..."
After gathering his thoughts, Conan began his performance: "Regarding this accident, I still have a few questions that I haven't answered."
The young police officer's face showed admiration, and he said softly, "So there really is a problem? As expected of Mr. Mori."
These words almost disrupted Conan's thoughts. Did this police officer also know that this case was a murder?
But why didn't he say it out loud, and instead chose to close the case as an accident?
Is there no evidence?
Forget it, let's keep reasoning. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can leave.
“One of the problems is that we saw someone fall down, but was that person really Mr. Hirai?” Conan said in a deep voice. “Ran, Kosuke, did you two get a clear look at that person’s face?”
"I don't think so." Xiaolan tilted her head slightly, tapped her chin with her finger, and said, "I remember we only saw the person's back at the time."
Guangyou, who was standing aside watching the show, was speechless. He just wanted to be a background character, but he still ended up getting involved.
Is this because they're worried he won't have enough screen time?
But since Conan asked, let's play along and continue the act.
After silently criticizing Conan in his mind, Mitsuyu said emotionlessly, "Just like Ran-neechan, I didn't see him either, I only saw his back."
"To be honest, I didn't see it clearly either," Conan continued his reasoning. "So I have every reason to suspect that it wasn't Mr. Hirai who jumped off the cliff."
These words caused a slight change in the expressions of the three people present: Ran, Kondo, and the police officer who loved to overthink things.
“Judging from what Mr. Mori said, there are indeed some problems.” The officer was puzzled. “But where could the person who impersonated Mr. Hirai have disappeared to?”
“I think Mr. Kondo should know the terrain there very well, right?” Conan turned to the side, stealing a glance at Kondo, whose expression had changed slightly, and said, “Then Mr. Kondo should know that there’s a big tree directly below the observation deck, right?”
Actually, Kondo was already a little flustered when he got to this point, but he still pretended to be calm and nodded without showing any emotion: "There is indeed a big tree, but that tree is lacking in nutrients and is not very thick. It would probably be difficult for it to hook someone."
After hearing the explanation, the police officer turned his attention back to Uncle Maoli.
“Indeed, it’s quite difficult and dangerous for a tree to catch a person and prevent them from falling off a cliff.” Conan glanced at Kouyu, who was standing to the side watching the show, and continued with a sneer, “If a person were to actually fall, it would indeed be very difficult.”
The police officer was completely confused by what he said and asked, "Mr. Mori, what do you mean by that?"
Conan, hiding in the cabin, lowered his head slightly, his glasses reflecting an unusual glare, and said calmly, "I remember you told me before, Kousuke, that there's a path that leads directly to that tree, right?"
"???"
Kōyū, who was chatting with Ai, was stunned. What did this have to do with him?
Moreover, did he actually say that?
"Ahem, Kwangyu?"
After not receiving the response he wanted for a long time, Conan coughed a few times to give a hint.
"Yes, there is indeed a path that leads directly to that tree. It's a small platform there, and the tree grows on the edge of a cliff," Guangyou said casually.
"Because of that platform, I suspect that the person didn't actually fall off the cliff, but jumped off the cliff, or more precisely, jumped onto the platform directly below the observation deck."
Upon hearing Kouyu's answer, Conan continued his deduction with a triumphant smile.
As the saying goes, "If you hold back for a moment, you'll only get angrier; if you back down, you'll only feel like you've lost out."
He forced Guangyou to eat dog food before, so now he'll use his own way to let Guangyou get some attention.
Because he knew that Guangyou wasn't very interested in solving cases and mostly wanted to watch from the sidelines when he encountered one.
Didn't you say you didn't want to be in the limelight?
He was determined not to let Guangyou succeed.
Thinking of this, Conan chuckled inwardly, but continued his deduction with a blank expression. "And that person's purpose was to make others believe that Mr. Hirai had accidentally fallen off a cliff and died."
Following "Sleeping Kogoro's" reasoning, the young police officer realized something was amiss: "If that's the case..."
"You're right," Conan confirmed the officer's guess. "This case isn't an accident; it's a murder!"
...
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