I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 361 I Also Had a Motive to Murder (1st Update)
As dusk fell, before saying goodbye to Conan, Shiraishi E went to the apartment where Kisaki Eri lived.

Arriving at the door, he rang the doorbell with his long, slender fingers.

After a few crisp rings, slightly hurried footsteps came from inside the door.

"You're here." Eri's voice came through the door, accompanied by the soft click of the lock turning.

The moment the door opened, Shiraishi E couldn't help but take a closer look.

The woman in front of me, Eri Kisaki, was dressed in simple home clothes. Her usually meticulously styled hair was now loosely tied behind her head, with a few stray hairs hanging down beside her pale cheeks.

Her lips had lost their former color, yet she still maintained an elegant smile.

"Shiraishi-kun, you've arrived. Please come in." Eri Kisaki stepped aside to make way. "Ran hasn't returned yet. Please go and rest in the living room for a while."

"Excuse me," Shiraishi E replied before going into the entryway to change her shoes.

The two of them tacitly forgot what had happened before.

"Xiao Lan, why hasn't the child come back yet? I'll call and ask." As Eri Kisaki spoke, she suddenly swayed, her fingers unconsciously gripping the door frame.

With lightning speed, Shiraishi E stepped forward and caught her firmly on the shoulder just as she was about to fall.

Eri Kisaki leaned forward, her forehead almost touching Eri Shiraishi's chest.

The faint scent of medicine emanating from her, mixed with the smell of shampoo, wafted into her nostrils, causing Shiraishi E to momentarily lose her senses.

"I'm sorry." Eri Kisaki tried to stand up straight, but found that she couldn't muster any strength in her legs.

"Don't push yourself, your body is still recovering." Without saying a word, Shiraishi E put one hand under her knees and the other hand on her back, easily lifting her up horizontally.

Eri Kisaki gasped and instinctively grabbed his collar.

"This...please put me down, I can manage on my own." Her ears turned red.

"Don't push yourself." Shiraishi E's voice was firm and unwavering as she strode towards the living room sofa. "You haven't recovered yet."

He gently placed Eri on the sofa and casually picked up a cushion from the side to place behind her.

Eri Kisaki awkwardly straightened her clothes, avoiding his concerned gaze.

“Thank you. I’m just a little dizzy,” she explained softly. “The doctor said it’s a normal reaction to the medication.”

“Yes, I know. Damaged cells take time to regenerate, and during that time the body will prioritize resources for repair, which will reduce the energy supply for muscle activity,” Shiraishi E said calmly.

He got up to pour the other person a glass of water and said, "Rest more and move around less."

After taking the water, Eri said thank you and said, "I've rested enough. I'll go to the kitchen to prepare the food... Otherwise, it's too much trouble for Ran to do everything."

“I’ll help prepare the ingredients.” Shiraishi E rolled up her shirt sleeves, revealing her well-defined forearms. “You sit and rest.”

Eri Kisaki watched his retreating figure, opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't refuse his kindness.

She tried to get up by supporting herself on the sofa armrest, but another wave of dizziness hit her, forcing her to sit back down.

The sounds of running water and the rhythmic chopping of vegetables came from the kitchen.

After a moment's pause, Eri Kisaki slowly walked towards the kitchen doorway. She leaned against the doorframe, watching Emi Shiraishi skillfully prepare the ingredients.

His movements were clean and efficient; the cleaver made a rhythmic "clattering" sound on the cutting board, and the carrots were quickly turned into neat shreds.

The setting sun outside the window shone through the blinds, casting dappled light and shadow on him.

A strange, indescribable emotion welled up inside Eri Kisaki. This young man possessed a composure beyond his years.

This made her very curious: what had the other person gone through to have such an aura?

"Do you need any help?" she asked softly.

Shiraishi E didn't even turn her head: "Sitting here is helping."

Eri Kisaki didn't leave, but quietly watched his busy figure, her thoughts involuntarily starting to wander.

But she knew these thoughts were bad and unhealthy.

Eri deliberately changed the subject to distract herself: "How's the case going?" "No need to investigate anymore." Eri Shiraishi continued chopping vegetables without looking up, her voice as calm as if she were discussing the weather.

Eri Kisaki was somewhat surprised and asked, puzzled, "What?"

“I’ve found out. Sawaki Kohei is the murderer.” Shiraishi E neatly arranged the shredded carrots on a plate, then turned and took out a green pepper from the refrigerator. “His targeting of those around Detective Mouri was just a cover.”

Her excellent professionalism prevented Eri from jumping to conclusions immediately, and she continued to press, "Why did he do that?"

“To cover up the real murder target.” Shiraishi’s blade sliced ​​through the green pepper, making a soft “shh” sound.

Eri Kisaki was very smart. She had handled many criminal cases and witnessed many criminal methods. She immediately realized: "So... that's why he didn't kill us?"

If Sawaki Kohei really wanted to kill them, it would be very simple.

For example, coating arrows with poison or increasing the dosage of poison in chocolate.

Whether it was her, or Inspector Megure and Professor Agasa, none of them survived until the ambulance arrived before succumbing to the poison.

Eri Kisaki continued, "Do you have any evidence?"

“I don’t need evidence,” Shiraishi interrupted her, pouring the chopped green peppers into the bowl. “I’m not a police officer, and I don’t need the law to convict him.”

"So the evidence is meaningless to me."

He turned and turned on the tap, the water washing over his well-defined fingers: "However, there are two points to consider."

Eri Kisaki unconsciously took a step forward: "What's the basis?"

“First,” Shiraishi E turned off the water and shook the water droplets off her hands, “the only people besides your family who could accurately know that the chocolate Detective Mouri would give you was the Giguma brand were Sawaki Kohei, who was present at the time.”

"Of course, I got this information from Detective Mori."

Eri Kisaki's breath hitched. Indeed, not many people knew that Kogoro Mouri had given her the gibbon chocolate.

She's not the kind of person who likes to show off.

The place where Kogoro Mouri gave him the gibbon chocolates back then... was indeed the restaurant where Kohei Sawaki worked, and he happened to be there at the time.

"Secondly," Shiraishi Ei said, wiping her hands with a towel and looking directly at Eri Kisaki, "Sawaki Hiroto lost his sense of taste after the accident, and he wants to take revenge on the driver who caused the accident!"

"!!" This news surprised Eri Kisaki greatly. She exclaimed, "If this is true... then it's not surprising at all that he would do such crazy things."

She's a lawyer and has handled many cases. She knows that many people undergo dramatic changes after experiencing accidents, sometimes even doing crazy things!

“But,” her voice was a little hoarse, “without solid evidence…”

At this point, Eri realized that Kohei Sawaki had been hit by a car and was now paralyzed from the waist down.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair!
So, this car accident...

Eri Kisaki's beautiful eyes fell on Emi Shiraishi, and suddenly a bold idea came to her.

"Looking at me like that." Shiraishi E noticed her gaze and sensed her suspicion.

He laughed and said, "Do you think I did it?"

“…No…no.” Eri Kisaki shook her head. Although she had some doubts, she wouldn’t draw a conclusion without evidence.

Shiraishi E smiled slightly and said, "You can also suspect me... after all, I also have a motive to kill."

"What is it?" Eri asked curiously, unaware that the other party also had a grudge against Sawaki Kohei.

"For example, if I saw you being poisoned, I would get so angry that I would run him over with my car," Shiraishi E joked.

"...This motive for murder isn't very good." Eri Kisaki pushed up her glasses, trying her best to hide her emotions with a cold tone.

“There are all sorts of bizarre motives for murder in this world, I’m just one more,” Shiraishi E said, as the doorbell rang at just the right moment.

Eri had no choice but to stop talking and turn to open the door at the entrance.

(End of this chapter)