The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1307 Without the Wings of a Colorful Phoenix

Megure was still discussing things with his dear younger brother Fujino.

Having just finished discussing the matter, Takagi handed over his discovery—the information about the deaths—to Megure.

"A death message..."

"The underworld again, and strange symbols again, sigh."

Megure also noticed this thing, but Takagi's move was a way of giving him a way out.

He looked at it, but didn't seem to see anything, and sighed.

In fact, I didn't see anything.

"Brother Megure, can I take a look at this book?"

"Brother Fujino, feel free to look. You might be able to find some clues."

Fujino glanced at the book and mentioned it briefly. Then, Megure handed the book to Fujino and immediately began questioning the three people present.

It can't really be called interrogation.

After all, if you go down to question someone with the results already in hand, is it still a questioning?
That's called an investigation!

Go down and arrest them, okay? It's just a formality; their names are already written down in their little notebooks.

At the same time, Takagi introduced his younger brother to Megure: Hondou!

"Speaking of which, it was my brother from this hall who discovered this code..."

"Brother from this hall?"

Megure narrowed his eyes and glanced curiously at Takagi, wondering where his subordinate had gotten another little brother.

He looked at Hondo Eisuke and felt that the child looked familiar, but he couldn't remember him.

Then, out of curiosity, he asked, "I remember you came here with Fujino, right?"

Takagi then realized, "Oh yeah, I remember Fujino-kun came here after accepting the request. Why did you all come along?"

"It's just a coincidence..." Hondo Eisuke chuckled awkwardly. "My mother used to be a maid here. Recently, we found her belongings. Detective Fujino happened to have a case here, so I came along."

As he spoke, he tried to take out the photo, only to find that it was gone.

Hondo Eisuke panicked.

The plump maid then pointed out, "I didn't find any photos in the clothes you changed out of."

"Could it be that it fell into the swimming pool?!"

Hondou Eisuke panicked and rushed out. As he passed the doorway, he bumped into the door frame. Ignoring the impact, he quickly ran out.

"..." Everyone watched Hondo Eisuke leave speechlessly.

Xiaolan couldn't help but say, "It seems to be raining outside right now..."

Fujino took out a raincoat from his personal space: "Ran, hurry up and catch up. You just changed your clothes. Don't let them get wet and cause trouble for their maid."

"Oh!"

"Eiyu-kun, wait for me!"

Upon hearing this, Conan, who was secretly investigating, suddenly seemed to have triggered some kind of passive ability.

He immediately turned around and chased after the garden where Xiaolan had gone.

Fujino and Ai Haibara were speechless for a moment as they watched Conan's retreating figure.

This Hakiko is still so jealous and afraid of being labeled...

Fujino turned his head and began to continue reading the parts that Conan hadn't finished.

Conan was just sticking his big butt out looking at the carpet...

Fujino followed the look and saw the coffee stains on the stall.

Fujino: "..."

You can find evidence just by wandering around...

So I have to go fishing?
So Conan really is the chosen one.

Beside him, Inspector Megure had already finished questioning the butler and his wife.

When it came time to question the plump maid, Inspector Megure deliberately stepped forward, staring at her intently as if he were examining a key suspect, having already confirmed that she was the murderer.
"Next up is Ms. Tabata."

"Ms. Tabata, you said that you went to a nearby supermarket to buy milk for the victim to make coffee when the incident occurred?"

Kikuyo Tabata maintained the same expression: "That's how it is."

Inspector Megure frowned upon hearing this: "So, you really did make the coffee?"

“We detected sleeping pills in the coffee.”

When questioned, the plump maid, Tabata, remained calm. She touched her pocket, frowned slightly, and then pulled out her milk receipt from another pocket. She began to explain, "I put the coffee beans in the coffee machine before going out to buy things. When I came back, I found that the coffee was gone."

"At the time, I wondered if the master had been watching the coffee for so long and then brought it in himself after he came out."

"I see. The documents are fine."

Inspector Megure took the receipt and gave the plump maid another suspicious look, but after carefully examining the receipt, he showed a helpless expression.

It's like suspecting her of being the murderer, but having no evidence.

Upon seeing this, Tian Duan remained expressionless, but a slight hint of panic crept into his eyes.

Fujino glanced at Tabata and confirmed a few things.

Immediately afterwards, he turned around, took out the blood-stained book he had just gotten from Inspector Megure, and found Ai Haibara, who was leisurely listening to music.

He patted Ai Haibara on the shoulder.

Ai Haibara gently put away her headphones, raised her head and looked over, her small eyes full of confusion.

Fujino handed her the book and asked in a low voice, "Ai, come and see what the bloodstains in this book represent as a code."

"Do I need to look?" Ai Haibara tilted her head in confusion. "Didn't you already determine who the suspects are?"

Fujino looked back at her with a puzzled expression: "How did you figure that out?"

"Of course it's because you talked with Inspector Megure for so long." Ai Haibara crossed her arms and pondered seriously, "I'm afraid you've already come up with a plan to catch the culprit and make him reveal his weaknesses, right?"

Fujino: "..."

Oh no, Ai-chan actually figured out my tricks!
Is it that obvious?

Ai Haibara felt it was quite obvious.

Of course, that's from her perspective.

Having spent every day with Fujino and lived together, she naturally knew exactly what kind of person Fujino was.

What is this called?
I vaguely remember a line from an ancient Chinese poem...

By the way, though we may not have the wings of a phoenix to fly together, our hearts are connected by a single thread of understanding!
Hmm, it feels a bit ominous, but the meaning is roughly the same, like the natural feeling of breathing.

Thinking this, she looked up at Fujino, who was slightly lost in thought, and smiled gently: "However, if there is information about a death to corroborate it, the chain of evidence should be more complete, right?"

Fujino snapped out of his reverie and said, "Yes, that's how it is."

Obediently, she picked up the book from the evidence bag and began to examine it carefully.

I still have to watch it. After all, I'm your personal secretary, detective assistant, and code-breaking expert!
After thinking for a moment, she asked Fujino, "So, who is the murderer this time?"

"Why do you ask this?"

"Now that we have the answer, we can look at the code..."

"It's that fat maid."

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara glanced at the coded message in the book, and after a moment's thought, softly said:

"The bloodstains here are mainly on the Yellow Springs, and there's something that looks like an equal sign. Judging from this, it doesn't seem to be katakana. Yellow Springs is the same as the Underworld... The pronunciation of Underworld is MEIDO... Hmm, that means meido maid."

After some reasoning, Ai Haibara raised her head and handed the book to Fujino: "The code is 'meido,' which means maid."

"..." Fujino silently took the book, then asked hesitantly, "That's it?"

Ai Haibara replied in a serious tone, "Of course, once you have a conclusion, reverse reasoning becomes very simple."

Fujino was speechless for a moment, then explained to her, "I mean, is this code really that outrageous?"

"It's the Yellow Springs again, the Underworld again, the equals sign again, and 'meido' again..."

At this point, Fujino couldn't help but voice his true feelings to his younger sister: "How did he even come up with that code?"

"Speaking of which, he was probably hanging there, almost dead, right?"

Hearing this, Ai Haibara shook her head helplessly: "It does seem far-fetched, but that's how it is."

Fujino sighed, "But it's still outrageous that the information about a death could be left so accurately. If all cases could be handled like this, it would be so simple."

Ai Haibara nodded in agreement, then guessed, "Perhaps it's because there's something that can leave a coded message that he left it?"

"If there is no opportunity to leave a message of death, then the message of death will naturally not be left."

Fujino nodded in agreement, feeling that Ai was quite right.

Even so, he still felt that the code was quite absurd.

All I can say is that the codes in the world of Detective Conan remain as abstract as ever.

At this moment, Ran, Sonoko, and Conan, who had been chasing after Hondo Eisuke, returned.

At this moment, Hondo Eisuke was soaked to the bone, and the clothes he had just changed into were now completely wet again.

Mrs. Okuping noticed this and looked puzzled.

Sonoko, standing nearby, explained speechlessly, "This guy went down to retrieve the photos, and accidentally fell down again..."

"It was an accident..."

Hondo Eisuke gave an awkward, sheepish smile and offered this explanation.

Conan, meanwhile, squinted at Hondo Eisuke, looking quite displeased.

Immediately, he called out to Fujino, "Fujino-nii, come quickly and take a look at Eisuke-nii! He dislocated his arm after falling once, and now he's fallen again, and it seems even worse. I hope he doesn't hurt himself again!"

Our hall Yingyou: "..."

He recalled the scene of being treated by Fujino just now, and suddenly felt a pain.

He immediately waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, I'm not feeling unwell this time!"

"It should be fine!"

Hearing this, Xiaolan, who was standing nearby, said with some concern, "Why don't we let Fujino-senpai take a look? It would be bad if he didn't notice if there was any injury somewhere."

Conan smiled upon hearing this: "Ran is right!"

"Um...that...wait a minute..."

"Ouch! Ah!"

Hondo Eisuke hugged his arms, on the verge of tears again.

Fujino's powerful healing technique left everyone present feeling ashamed.

Megure's eyes lit up, and he felt that he should ask Fujino to treat the thugs who were injured in the resistance.

Well, it's a treatment procedure, so it's definitely not torture or any kind of violent law enforcement or forced confession!
The maid glanced at Hondo Eisuke and then said, "Your clothes should be dry by now. I'll take you to get them and change out of them while you're at it. It's not good for you to stay wet like this; you'll probably catch a cold."

Hondou Eisuke smiled sheepishly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you!"

Then, she asked Inspector Megure, "Officer, may I take this child to get his clothes?"

Inspector Megure pondered for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "Please do as you wish."

The maid nodded, then turned and led Hondo Eisuke away.

At the same time, Fujino and Conan's eyes were fixed on her.

The plump maid, Tabata, led Hondo Eisuke to the villa's laundry room.

She went inside and closed the door a short while later.

Fujino and Conan followed closely behind.

Ran turned her head and looked at Conan and Fujino with a puzzled expression: "Senpai, and Conan, what's wrong with you two...?"

"Shh!"

Fujino gestured for Ran to be quiet, then activated his Eagle Vision and peered into the laundry room.

Then, the fat maid took something out of her pocket and threw it into the washing machine. Then, she casually took Hondo Eisuke's clothes out of the dryer next to her.

At this moment, Conan raised his head and glanced at Fujino.

He had intended to say something.

However, after thinking about it, I gave up the idea.

When Tabata came out of the laundry room, she still had that same expression that said she owed someone a fortune, and she said to Hondou Eisuke, "The clothes are dry. After you go in and change, just leave the dirty clothes to me..."

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly noticed Conan and Fujino beside her.

Fujino looked at her and said calmly, "Ms. Tabata, go inside and get some clothes. You don't need to close the door, do you?"

"Or is it that you're hiding something you're trying to conceal?"

Tian Duan remained expressionless upon hearing this and explained, "It's just a habit of mine. After all, I was scolded by the master for this."

Fujino narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "Is that so?"

"It's because you were scolded by the deceased master."

"Or are you trying to destroy the evidence that you killed this master?"

Tabata was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, while Fujino continued, "When you were giving Mr. Okudaira the sleeping pills, he fell asleep and accidentally spilled his coffee, right?"

Conan, standing nearby, added insult to injury: "Because there are coffee spills on the carpet!"

Fujino looked at her: "You offered to wash Eisuke's clothes so that you could mix your handkerchief with his dirty clothes, right?"

"..."

Facing the silent Tabata, Fujino continued calmly, "As a maid, you must have a handkerchief on you. When Inspector Megure asked you just now, you subconsciously touched your pocket, and then quickly moved your hand to the other side. That's when you realized that you forgot to dispose of the handkerchief you used to wipe the coffee."

"After you realized what had happened, you found that you had no chance to destroy the evidence. When Yingyou came back, you got anxious and wanted to use this incident to get rid of the evidence."

"Am I right, Ms. Tabata?"

(End of this chapter)