Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

“Okay, let’s get started now.” Yukiko rubbed her hands together, looking eager to try.

After the two girls discussed it, they began to think about how to find evidence.

They stood in a corner of the coffee shop, their eyes slowly scanning the interior, not missing a single detail.

The sun still shone brightly outside the window, and the hustle and bustle of the commercial street could be faintly heard through the glass, but inside the coffee shop, time seemed to stand still.

"The biggest problem right now is..."

Eri Kisaki frowned, her fingers resting on her chin—a habitual gesture when she was thinking.
"Why did Matsuzaka Yuuki lie and say she was shopping? Whether she went shopping at noon today has absolutely nothing to do with the case, so why did she have to lie about it?"

If Yuki Matsuzaka really just happened to be passing by the coffee shop and stopped in to rest, then she had absolutely no reason to lie about her shopping time.

There's only one possibility for her to lie: she doesn't want others to know what she did at a certain point in time.

"People lie because they want to cover something up."

Yukiko said, following her own habit, that she studied acting from a young age and has a natural sensitivity to human nature.

On stage, behind every line of dialogue of every character lies a secret that cannot be told.

Life is the same.

“She said that because she doesn’t want people to know where she went or what she did before coming to the coffee shop,” Yukiko continued to analyze. “But how do we find out? We can’t just ask her directly, ‘Where did you go before?’”

Eri Kisaki was clearly also struggling with this problem.

Asking directly is impossible; since Matsuzaka Yuuki lied, she will never admit it easily.

But besides asking directly, what other ways are there to find out her whereabouts?
Eri looked around, her gaze slowly moving across the coffee shop.

The deceased's booth, the seats where the three suspects were sitting, the busy figures of the police officers, and... the waitress standing behind the bar.

The young girl stood there looking distressed, clutching a rag in her hand, completely forgetting what she was supposed to be doing.

The sudden murder in the store was a complete shock to her.

Even if the boss doesn't blame her later, the coffee shop's business will definitely plummet.

This month's bonus and next month's salary may be affected.

She's a college student working part-time, earning her living expenses through this job, and now she's encountered something like this. How could she not be distressed?
“Let’s go ask.” Eri’s eyes lit up, and she pulled Yukiko toward the bar.

Yukiko was pulled a couple of steps, then realized, "Ask the waitress? What would she know?"

“She’s been in the shop the whole time,” Eri said in a low voice. “If Yuki Matsuzaka had been to other places before coming to the coffee shop, she might have left some traces—like carrying something else or having any distinctive features. The waitress might have noticed something.”

Yukiko's eyes lit up: "That makes sense!"

The two girls approached the bar, but the waitress, lost in her own thoughts, was completely unaware of their approach. It wasn't until Eri gently tapped on the bar that she snapped out of her reverie.

"Ah! Two guests!"

The waitress was startled and instinctively straightened up.
What do you need?

Her voice carried a professional politeness, but her eyes were still somewhat unfocused, clearly indicating that she had not yet fully recovered from her anxiety.

Yukiko glanced at the name tag on her chest: Tanaka Mayumi.

She gave a friendly smile, trying to make herself look less like she was investigating something.

“Ms. Mayumi,” Yukiko said in a friendly tone.

"Can we ask you a few questions about what happened at the store today?"

The waitress paused, her gaze sweeping over the two girls. She recognized them; they had come in with the young man Inspector Megure had brought in, so they must also be involved in the case, right?
"What...do you want to ask?" she asked hesitantly.

“Don’t be nervous,” Eri Kisaki said gently. “We just want to know about the customers from lunchtime today. For example, Ms. Matsuzaka Yuuki, she came in carrying a lot of shopping bags, right?”

The waitress nodded: "Yes, several bags, it looks like you bought quite a lot of things."

“Did you notice,” Yukiko continued, “that there was anything unusual in her shopping bags? Like, anything other than clothes?”

The waitress frowned, trying hard to remember.

Her gaze became somewhat blank, as she was clearly searching her mind for those long-forgotten images.

"Something special..."

The waitress muttered to herself, then suddenly her eyes lit up.
"Oh right, she seems to be..."

She stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

The waitress looked past Yukiko and Eri Kisaki and towards what was behind them, a look of surprise on her face.

His expression carried a hint of panic, a hint of hesitation, and a touch of inexplicable tension.

Yukiko and Eri Kisaki turned around at the same time.

Yuuki Matsuzaka was standing not far behind them.

The woman stood up from her seat at some point and quietly walked to the vicinity of the bar.

She stood there, arms crossed, staring at them with a gloomy gaze.

Those eyes were like two stagnant pools of water, revealing no emotion, yet they sent a chill down one's spine.

The shop lights shone down from above, casting soft shadows on her face.

Matsuzaka Yuuki's expression was unclear, but her fixed gaze was like a nail driven into the two girls.

Yukiko's heart skipped a beat. She instinctively moved closer to Eri and whispered, "Hey, did she find out something?"

The girl's voice carried a hint of nervousness; after all, this was her first time truly involved in a case investigation, and she hadn't fully adapted to the identity of a "detective."

Faced with Yuuki Matsuzaka's gloomy gaze, she instinctively felt a sense of unease.

Eri Kisaki, however, was not afraid at all.

She pushed up her glasses and calmly met Matsuzaka Yuuki's gaze.

There was no fear or hesitation in those eyes.

"So what if we found out?"

Eri Kisaki also lowered her voice, but her tone was so calm and reassuring.

"We're looking for the murderer, not committing a crime. If she has nothing to hide, what is she afraid of?"

Yukiko paused for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Yes! They are investigating a case and searching for the truth, not doing anything shameful.

Why be afraid of a suspect? The suspect should be afraid of them!
This thought made Yukiko straighten her back instantly.

She took a deep breath, completely casting aside her earlier nervousness, and regained her usual confident demeanor. (End of Chapter)