Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"Lin-kun!" Kitano's eyes lit up when he saw Lin Xiuyi, and he quickly pushed open the shop door. "Great! Inspector Megure is waiting for you inside."

Yoshioka politely nodded to the three girls and made way for them.

Just as Lin Xiuyi was about to step into the coffee shop, he heard a familiar voice calling out, "Onii-chan!"

Immediately afterwards, a small figure, like a cannonball, suddenly pounced into his arms...

Lin Xiu instinctively reached out and caught it. Looking down, he was surprised to see that the person in his arms was his little cousin, Lingzi.

My little cousin was wearing a light blue dress today, with two little braids, bright and sparkling eyes, and a smile on her face that was even brighter than the summer sun.

She hugged Lin Xiuyi tightly around the waist, nuzzling her head against his chest like a spoiled kitten.

"Lingzi?" Lin Xiuyi looked at the girl in his arms in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes, Reiko should be taking a shower in the bathroom right now."

Yukiko's sarcastic voice came from behind.

She crossed her arms, a half-smile playing on her lips, her eyes darting back and forth between Lin Xiuyi and Lingzi, her tone clearly tinged with annoyance at the misunderstanding that had just occurred.

Reiko lifted her head from Lin Xiuyi's embrace and looked at Yukiko with a puzzled expression: "Why would I take a shower in the middle of the day?"

She glanced at Yukiko, then at Hayashi Hideichi, seemingly waiting for a reasonable explanation.

"cough."

Lin Xiuyi coughed lightly to cover up her embarrassment.

He looked up and around, and then he saw the Kujo couple waving at him.

Lingzi's parents, who are also Lin Xiuyi's aunt and uncle, are standing at a table in the corner of the coffee shop.

Keiji Kujo was impeccably dressed in a suit, his expression serious, a typical prosecutor's demeanor, while Kotona Kujo smiled gently and nodded to Hideaki Hayashi.

Lin Xiuyi suddenly remembered that Eri had mentioned that on her way to the izakaya, she ran into Reiko and her parents going out together, their destination being the shopping street.

No wonder we ran into each other here...

"Reiko, let Shuichi go and attend to important matters first."

Kotona Kujo walked over and gently took her daughter's hand.
"This girl forgets everything the moment she sees you."

“I just said that we should have Onii-chan come and investigate,” Reiko said with a smile, “but Mom and Dad insisted on coming themselves.”

"You little rascal..." Kotona Kujou pinched her daughter's cheek, feigning anger. "How dare you laugh at your parents for not being as good as your older brother?"

Both Kujo and his wife are prosecutors in the court and have extensive experience in case investigation.

The fact that the two of them were at the crime scene but still couldn't find any useful clues only further indicated that this case was very troublesome.

Lin Xiuyi ruffled Lingzi's hair and turned his gaze to the depths of the coffee shop.

Inspector Megure was standing next to the bar, staring at something with a worried expression.

His eyes lit up when he saw Lin Xiuyi come in, and he quickly went to greet her.

"Lin Jun, you've finally arrived!"

His voice was filled with a sense of relief and joy, as if he had seen a savior.

Lin Xiu nodded and quickly scanned the environment inside the coffee shop.

This was a small shop, simply and warmly decorated, with about seven or eight tables. At that moment, the six customers, including the Kujo couple and Reiko, had been asked to step aside, and a police officer was questioning them.

Inside a booth in the corner, several police officers could be seen inspecting something on the ground, with camera flashes going off from time to time.

Lin Xiuyi stepped over and saw the deceased curled up on the sofa in the booth. He didn't look like he was dead, but more like he was asleep.

“We’ve examined the body,” Inspector Megure said, pointing to the body. “The cause of death was a sharp object piercing the spine at the back of the head.”

"Judging from the amount of bleeding," Lin Xiuyi frowned deeply, "the wound shouldn't be too big?"

"The wound is indeed very small, less than two millimeters."

Inspector Megure nodded, took a small notebook from his pocket, which contained the preliminary examination results of the forensic officers.
"Denmi said it must have been pierced with a very sharp needle-like object. The weapon was very thin, possibly thinner than a sewing needle, but long enough to penetrate the skin and muscle and reach the spinal nerve plexus."

Less than two millimeters.

Lin Xiuyi mentally pictured the murder weapon. Such a weapon would hardly leave any obvious bloodstains and would be extremely difficult to trace.

After the murderer pulls out the weapon, the wound may even contract and close due to the elasticity of the skin, making the death appear more peaceful and more eerie.

Lin Xiuyi borrowed gloves from Inspector Megure, put them on, and examined the wound on the back of the deceased's neck.

The skin around the wound was a faint bluish-purple, which was a sign of subcutaneous bleeding, but the amount of bleeding was surprisingly small.

Only a small amount of blood flowed down the neck, soaking the deceased's collar, and then it stopped.

“Even if it’s sharp, the deceased should have reacted after being stabbed.” Lin Xiu stood up and scanned the deceased’s face.

There was no sign of pain on his face, not even a trace of struggle.

With relaxed eyebrows, slightly closed eyes, and a relaxed mouth, she looked as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Didn't anyone hear him shouting?"

"That's the problem."

Inspector Megure sighed in frustration and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Even with the air conditioning on in the coffee shop, he still felt unbearably hot, a result of the pressure from the lack of any leads in the case.

"I asked the customers and staff at the coffee shop, and yes, there were five customers and one staff member present at the time."

Inspector Megure opened his notebook and pointed to the records inside.
"Everyone said they didn't hear anything unusual from the deceased. No shouts, no struggling sounds, no sound of a cup being knocked over, nothing at all."

"They don't even know when the deceased was killed."

Inspector Megure continued, his voice tinged with helplessness.

"The reason we found out he was in trouble was because the waitress in the store felt that the deceased had been sitting there for too long, probably almost two hours, while the customers in the store had changed several times, but he hadn't moved at all."

"The waiter came over to ask if he needed anything else. When he got closer, he saw that the deceased had his head down and thought he was asleep."

"The waitress called him twice but got no response, so she couldn't help but reach out and push his shoulder."

Inspector Megure made a pushing motion.
"As a result, the deceased immediately slipped and fell to the side, slumping onto the sofa. Only then did the waiter notice the problem, screaming and running out to call the police."

Lin Xiuyi listened quietly, her gaze never leaving the deceased.

It is clearly abnormal for an adult male to be stabbed in the back of the neck, a sensitive area, in public without making a sound... (End of Chapter)