Chapter 55 Accidentally Killing an FBI Agent, Open the Do...
Another fingerprint on the medicine bottle was confirmed to belong to Rena Mizunashi, and her statement about delivering medicine to the deceased perfectly matched the eyewitness testimony.
The time was determined to be three hours before the body was discovered.
The gastric contents report came out shortly afterward, and they basically confirmed that the source of the poison was fluoxetine ingested by the deceased.
However, the police were unable to confirm whether the poisoned pill was delivered by Rena Mizunashi or brought by someone else.
There was another person who saw the deceased around the same time as Rena Mizunashi.
Momoko Oda's presence was never very strong, and her voice was habitually low, but clear enough: "I entered the lounge after Ms. Minami. I was worried that Ms. Nagano wouldn't be used to the makeup artist's cosmetics, so I wanted to help her get her own makeup bag."
Kitagawa Ryusei nodded to indicate that she understood, then turned to Nagano Rika: "Was that bottle of medicine yours? Miss Nagano, do you remember how many pills were left in the bottle back then?"
Nagano Rika remembered this and answered without thinking, "There's only one left. Yuriko texted me from the break room saying she forgot her medicine at home, so I asked Rena to bring it over."
"Are you also taking the same medication?" Kitagawa Ryusei confirmed again.
Rika Nagano didn't hide anything: "That's right."
It's not uncommon for public figures to fall ill due to excessive stress, but this time it's highly likely that someone poisoned her medicine bottle.
Was the person who poisoned her targeting her? She couldn't help but think further.
When Nagano Rika arrived, the police had already put Yamato Yuriko's body into a body bag. She did not see the body of the person who had been standing next to her just a few hours earlier.
The young girl had only been with her for a short time, so apart from the panic of being questioned and the normal sadness, she didn't have many other feelings.
They only showed their panic now.
"Officer, I—"
But Kitagawa Ryusei raised his hand, signaling her not to speak yet.
Remembering what Kogoro Mouri had just said in the lobby, he immediately asked, "Mr. Mouri, you said that Ms. Okino asked you to come. Have you met the person who asked you to come? Was it by phone or some other means?"
Kogoro Mouri was taken aback, not understanding how the topic had jumped to this point.
Before he could react, Conan appeared out of nowhere and spoke before he could: "It was a courier-delivered letter! Judging by the time it was received, it was probably sent out about two and a half hours ago!"
He had just come up from downstairs, having run back and forth in a short time, and was a little out of breath, but he attracted everyone's attention the moment he appeared.
After saying that, Conan Edogawa quietly gave Rukawa Kitagawa a confirmation gesture, indicating that he had just made a discovery.
Unfortunately, Kitagawa Ryusei only nodded and then looked away.
"What... I thought Ryusei-nii would come and ask me," the boy said with a smirk.
"Hiss, I seem to remember..." At this moment, Kogoro Mouri also realized what was happening and took out an envelope from his pocket: "The letter is signed by Ms. Yamato, saying that Ms. Yoko has made a request!"
Inspector Megure felt it necessary to call the evidence police over.
The letter was placed on the table, next to the suicide note.
"The handwriting is consistent, but the letter of authorization is obviously written more neatly."
So here's the question: if the suicide note might have been forged by the murderer, then who wrote the letter of authorization?
The murderer? Or the victim himself?
What is the purpose?
Conan tilted his head back, his blue eyes sparkling, and announced one of his discoveries: "Oh dear, I just went to the restroom and heard the receptionist say that she saw Oda-neechan leave this morning!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the police officers in the room all looked over, their eyes focusing on the woman next to Nagano Rika.
Momoko Oda said weakly, "Y-Yuriko asked me to help mail the letter, but I don't know what's inside."
"After I left the lounge, I mailed a letter, and I haven't seen her since..."
Kitagawa Ryusei asked to confirm, "Did Miss Oda deliver the letter immediately after leaving the lounge?"
Momoko Oda nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't do anything else."
"..."
Kenji Hagiwara and Jinpei Matsuda reacted quickly and realized what was going on.
The police officers fell silent, and the room was briefly quiet.
Thinking she had said something wrong, Momoko Oda didn't have time to consider the flaws in her words. She saw the young police officer staring directly at her, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"May I ask what Ms. Oda did in the lounge during those half hour, after going there three hours ago and delivering a letter two and a half hours ago?"
The silence was broken.
Like a pebble dropped into a still pond, creating ripples on the surface, Momoko Oda's breathing finally became erratic: "I...I..."
Her reaction speaks volumes.
But Inspector Megure still raised his question: "Kitagawa-kun, the time of death doesn't match up."
The autopsy results indicated that the deceased had been dead for approximately two hours.
Rika Nagano added, "Two hours ago, Momoko and I were in the recording studio together, and the staff present at the time can all testify to that."
Kitagawa Ryusei succinctly stated: "The time of death was wrong."
Conan Edogawa continued, "Because the weather is cool right now, has no one considered the possibility that the culprit turned on the air conditioning?"
He didn't forget to use Kitagawa Ryusei as a pretext: "Ryusei-nii just asked me to check, and the air conditioner shows signs of being used!"
Because the weather was relatively cool and the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was not significant, no one suspected that the murderer had used air conditioning to affect the condition of the body.
Similarly, the sudden turning on of an air conditioner that has not been used for a long time is even more noticeable.
With the problem explained, Matsuda Jinpei pondered and said, "If the autopsy report was affected by the air conditioning, then it makes sense. Only Mizunashi and Ms. Oda were in the lounge three hours ago."
Things suddenly became simple.
Kogoro Mouri looked disapproving and offered a different opinion: "Why not have Miss Nagano poisoned the medicine?"
Kenji Hagiwara said solemnly, “If Ms. Nagano wanted to do it, then putting the poison in her own medicine bottle would be the most unwise choice.”
This would not only make her the prime suspect, but she also couldn't foresee that the deceased would definitely ask her for medicine.
Momoko Oda blushed and tried to retort, "But I had no reason to kill Yuriko!"
"What if you just accidentally killed the wrong person?" Kitagawa Ryusei looked up.
In this murder, the time of death is off, but what if even the victim deviates from the killer's expectations...?
The young man said calmly, "That suicide note was written in a hurry because it wasn't intended for Miss Yamato at all, was it?"
Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure seemed to recall something and instructed the officers to bring over the suicide note for careful examination.
Conan Edogawa was the first to notice the incongruity.
The little boy asked in a clear, youthful voice, "Was it because the suicide note mentioned being under a lot of pressure due to public attention and unfriendly comments from the outside world, and the deceased was a celebrity's assistant?"
Neither the content nor the tone was consistent with the deceased's identity. Furthermore, given that Nagano Yoshimi was also taking fluoxetine, this suicide note seemed to be prepared for her.
Perhaps it was because the outcome was unexpected that the handwriting in the prepared suicide note needed to be changed, which is why it was written in a hurry.
And the person who had access to Nagano Yoshiri's medicine box, knew their handwriting, and met with Mizunashi Rena immediately after she gave the medicine to the deceased—
Inspector Megure's face hardened: "So you're the culprit, Ms. Oda."
Although it is a question, the tone is only affirmative.
"..."
This time, the girl did not speak up to defend herself.
Kitagawa Ryusei's voice was unhurried: "Since you planned to lure Detective Mouri here using the identity of Miss Yamato and the name of Miss Okino, didn't you never intend to hide it?"
“…Yes,” Momoko Oda lowered her head, her face hidden by her bangs, “I wanted to kill Rika Nagano, but I rushed here desperately to stop Yuriko first…”
Upon hearing her words, Nagano Rika suddenly froze, as if a pause button had been pressed. She asked incredulously, "...Why?"
"You've been by my side for a year, do you hate me that much?!"
She believes she has never made things difficult for her assistant at work, and even with a new assistant, she is still closer to Momoko Oda.
Upon hearing this, Momoko Oda, who had been silent, suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide, and shouted, "It's all because of you!! You're selfish and demanding! You imposed your pursuit of perfection on me!!"
"How many times have you woken me up in the middle of the night to check my schedule? How many times have I run around checking your makeup details? I haven't had a single day of rest this past year working for you! I even applied to the TV station to arrange a second assistant for you, but you still won't let me off the hook!!"
Her eyes reddened as she spoke, "I shouldn't have put the poison in the medicine, harming Yuriko. I should have swallowed the medicine myself!!"
"..."
For a full minute, no one in the room made a sound—not the police, not Nagano Rika, not the detective; for a moment, only the sounds of breathing and the ticking of the clock could be heard.
After a long silence, Nagano Rika said in a hoarse voice, "...I'm sorry."
“It’s too late,” Momoko Oda’s knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground.
The emotions that had been building up inside her because of Yamato Yuriko's death finally burst forth, and tears fell onto the floor: "...I've already done it."
...
The case was nearing its end, and Matsuda Jinpei came out to get some fresh air, chewing gum.
Suddenly, the hem of her clothes was gently tugged.
Only one person present could reach that height.
The curly-haired officer looked down and, as expected, saw the little brat who looked like an adult.
He raised an eyebrow, took off his sunglasses and hung them on his shirt collar: "What's up?"
Conan Edogawa secretly cheered himself up.
To be honest, of all the people here, he was most afraid of Matsuda Jinpei, whose blue eyes were like searchlights, and he always felt that they could see right through a person.
But he still mustered up his courage and tugged at the other man's sleeve, whispering, "Officer, I want some chewing gum..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Why are you behaving like a child at a time like this...?
"Tsk," the curly-haired youth took out the last piece of chewing gum from his pocket, placed it in the boy's hand, and reminded him, "Remember to spit it into the trash can."
"Thank you, officer!"
Conan took the chewing gum, thanked him, quickly unwrapped it, stuffed it into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and chewed it frantically.
Matsuda Jinpei looked on in astonishment.
Is it hungry?
There were still many details to be discussed at the Metropolitan Police Department. Momoko Oda was handcuffed and followed Inspector Megure into the police car.
The case was successfully solved, and the remaining bystanders dispersed to continue with their own work.
After all, such things are not uncommon in Beika Town.
After finishing her morning work, Rena Mizunashi left the TV station without saying goodbye to the three policemen.
Kitagawa Ryusei stood by the corridor window, tapping a few times on his phone to send a message.
After doing all this, he put his phone back in his pocket and turned his head to see Conan Edogawa squatting obediently beside him.
The boy remained silent, feigning mystery.
He didn't say anything, just stared at the child.
Conan started getting goosebumps from being stared at so intently, his mind racing as he wondered if his plan to get information out of Conan before it even began had been exposed and failed. He even unconsciously raised his voice and asked, "What's wrong, Ryusei-nii?"
Kitagawa Ryusei remained silent, only extending his hand: "Give it to me."
"You know what I want."
Conan Edogawa broke out in a cold sweat instantly: "..."
"Haha...what do you want?"
The two remained locked in a stalemate for a few moments.
Finally, under the unwavering gaze of Kitagawa Ryusei, Conan had no choice but to compromise.
The boy's hands, which were in his pockets, came out and he held a few building block-sized parts in his palm.
Kitagawa Ryusei remained unmoved and did not retract his hand.
"..."
Conan Edogawa had no choice but to slowly pull out some more from another pocket, this time a large handful.
The boy's voice was breaking with barely concealed grievance: "...Could you please not take all of Ryusei-nii's devices? This is a listening device that the professor painstakingly created..."
The arrogant detective even resorted to acting cute and weak.
Kitagawa Ryusei chuckled and flipped his hand, returning the handful of listening devices in his palm to the detective's pocket.
He patted the boy's head with one hand, while the other remained open, his 37°C mouth uttering chilling words: "What I want is the receiver of the bugging device you stuck to the sole of Rena Mizunashi's shoe."
"..."
Conan Edogawa's eyes widened in shock, and he protested flailing his arms and legs: "...That's so unfair, Ryusei-nii! That was the clue I found!"
*
Rena Mizunashi finally returned to the safe house.
To be able to handle unexpected situations, she did not change out of her flat shoes.
"trouble……"
As she rested her head on the sofa, she recalled the policeman's words from not long ago and genuinely felt how difficult he was to deal with.
The uncertainty of not knowing how much information the other party possessed made her feel very wary and uncomfortable.
The last time I had this feeling was when I was dealing with that difficult, mystical information dealer.
"Ring ring ring—"
The doorbell rang in the living room of the safe house.
Rena Mizunashi was not surprised. She glanced at the wall clock, stood up from the sofa, and went to open the door.
A tall, pink-haired man stood outside the door, squinting and wearing glasses. The smile on his lips hadn't faded when she opened the door.
Like a college student visiting a new neighbor.
"Hondo Eikai".
The young man accurately pronounced his real name.
It wasn't a disguise.
Faced with such a bright and cheerful smile, Rena Mizunashi was completely stunned for a long time, unable to come to her senses for a moment.
She felt like she might not have woken up properly:
"...Akai Shuichi?"
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