Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 104: Tomb of the Mermaid
The next day was the day of the festival.

It rained again at night and the sky gradually cleared up in the morning.

Shimabukuro Kimie prepared breakfast, said she had to go to the mountains to visit the graves, and hurriedly left home.

Back mountain.

Seabirds are circling over the Mermaid Island surrounded by rippling waves.

Gao Mo followed the tiny footprints after the rain into the jungle. He smelled a fragrance from afar, crossed a path, and a small stone tomb came into view.

Only when there is smoke curling up does someone offer sacrifices.

Tomb of the Mermaid?

Gao Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly noticed a fallen warning board in the wet bushes on the other side - "There is a cliff ahead, danger."

The small stone tomb is just down the slope of the cliff, with the cliff in front hidden by trees.

There is no fixed stone tablet...

If someone wants to rob the tomb, they will probably be in big trouble.

However, most tourists are unlikely to care about this simple little tomb... unless they are someone on the island who is eager to find the mermaid tomb.

Gao Mo took a few steps closer and saw the cliff and valley behind the gap in the bushes.

"Mr. Maru!" Shimabukuro Junhui hurried out of the bushes, "Why are you here?"

"Professional habit," Gao Mo retracted his gaze and smiled awkwardly, "I was wondering why Miss Jun Hui was visiting the grave today and came here unknowingly..."

I don’t know if it’s because of his job as a detective, but he is indeed much more curious now.

Like Conan, wherever he looks is a murder scene, and he is always collecting clues around him.

"Professional habit? Aren't you an actor?"

Shimabukuro Kimie looked at the small grave behind suspiciously, and gave a light sigh and reminded him.

"It's very dangerous in the mountains, and it's been raining for the past two days... Mr. Maru, don't go wandering around alone."

"Feel sorry."

Gao Mo followed Shimabukuro Junhui out of the mountain.

Looking at the back of the witch, his eyes swept over the place where she had just appeared.

Have you been staying nearby?

It seemed like they had deliberately let him find this place, but they were also afraid that something might happen to him...

Gao Mo understood in his heart.

By now he had gathered enough clues to put the puzzle together.

He may still be lacking in comprehensive abilities, but in terms of analyzing and integrating clues, he is already able to stand on his own in the field of detective.

A famous detective with special skills——

If Kadowaki Saori had not lied, she would probably have become the target of Shimabukuro Kimie's revenge.

Saori Kadowaki's fear of the mermaid disaster, the recent feeling of being spied on, the lost insurance card... and this dangerous mermaid tomb are most likely a carefully planned murder plot.

And the target of revenge is probably not just Kadowaki Saori.

The key to everything was the fire that broke out during the festival three years ago.

Before Shimabukuro Kimie, there was another person who played the role of Chosho-po and was burned to death in a warehouse three years ago.

Saori Kadowaki, who didn't know the inside story, thought that the longevity woman was not burned to death, so she believed in the legend of immortality.

Does he care about this matter?

Even if he turns a blind eye, there are other famous detectives who can solve the case.

Gao Mo quietly looked at Shimabukuro June's lonely figure.

He didn't care about the lives of Kadowaki Saori and others, but this woman...

He stayed at Shimabukuro's house for two days. For someone harboring a profound secret and plotting revenge, it must have been quite a nuisance. Yet, this woman never showed any ill will, and instead treated him with kindness. In this strange world, those who were unaffected by the Death Mark and held no ill will towards him were as rare as treasures.

We can't just sit back and do nothing.

"I won't tell Saori about that tomb." Gao Mo suddenly spoke.

"what?"

Shimabukuro Kimie lowered her head slightly, stopped and looked back in surprise.

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"Mr. Maru, you..."

"Can you tell me what happened to the charred corpse three years ago?" Gao Mo walked past Shimabukuro Kimie.

"Well..." Shimabukuro Kimie said a little uncomfortably, "Actually, I'm not too sure. The police officer from the main island said it was the charred body of a middle-aged woman. It's possible that a tourist stole something from the warehouse and started the fire.

"Perhaps it's because the bones below the waist were crushed by the burning pillar that she became a mermaid..."

"Are they really tourists?" Gao Mo glanced at Shimabukuro Junhui, "But from what I've heard, there haven't been any reports of missing tourists. The one who entered the warehouse that day was actually the previous generation of Changshou Po. The middle-aged woman who was burned to death was your mother, right?
"After that incident, the longevity lady who used to appear frequently suddenly only appeared during festivals. This is the best evidence."

"Ah?" Shimabukuro Kimie shuddered, wiping the sweat from her brow with a dry laugh. "Mr. Maru, what are you talking about? What about the previous generation of longevity women? My mother died a long time ago, in a shipwreck..."

"That's probably to completely play the role of a longevity lady and fake her death by taking advantage of the shipwreck."

Gao Mo walked in front.

"You and Saori deliberately avoided other people and went to the main island to see a dentist. You even lent her your insurance card in order to leave your information with the dentist.

"If there's a charred corpse whose identity can't be confirmed, the police will use the tooth shape records left by the dentist to make a judgment... This should be your original idea. Burn Saori to death and then disguise yourself as yourself, fake your death and escape like your mother, and completely become a long-lived woman.

"Unfortunately, my arrival disrupted your plan, so you had to change your mind temporarily and use Saori's desire to covet the mermaid's tomb to lure me here.

"No one would build a tomb in such a dangerous place. That was just a trap set for Saori and the others. The real 'mermaid bones'... I'm afraid they've already been moved to the ancestral tomb, right?"

Shimabukuro Junhui's body trembled: "Mr. Maru, what on earth are you..."

"Why don't you tell the police directly? If you had made it clear at the beginning, you might not have been able to find out who set the fire." Gao Mo turned around and asked.

"It seems you really know everything."

Shimabukuro Kimie laughed at herself, tears welling up in her eyes, and turned to look down at the shrine and the bustling tourist scene at the foot of the mountain.

There were no performances today, but the atmosphere of the festival was even more lively.

Everyone was looking forward to the evening ceremony.

Looking forward to her grand appearance.

"During the fire, my mother actually called me at the last moment. She said, 'Junhui, I'm leaving everything up to you. I love this island so much... so please don't let Changshoupo disappear like this...'

"How could I possibly say this when Mom begged me like that? Besides, I only learned the truth about the fire from Saori a few days ago, and now..."

Gao Mo turned his head away and didn't look at Shimabukuro Junhui's tear-soaked makeup: "After the knight executes the demon, he will also be stained with the demon's blood. It's not worth it... Why not try to believe that there is divine punishment in this world?"

"Mr. Maru, are you talking about the painting 'Divine Punishment' at the Beika Museum of Art?"

Shimabukuro Kimie's expression gradually became gloomy.

"I've seen a TV report that seems to say the Knight will be punished by God. But if there really is a punishment by God, why wait until the Knight takes action? If there really is a punishment by God..."

"Buzz!"

Gao Mo's cell phone vibrated in his arms.

Kadowaki Saori suddenly called, her voice full of excitement, as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw: "The famous detective my friend hired will be here today, just wait and regret it!"

"Is there really such a strange detective?"

“Beep—!”

Gao Mo looked at the white ship appearing on the sea as a long whistle sounded for docking.

Conan and Moustache are confirmed not to come, so which famous detective will come?
Since Saori Kadowaki can't even afford an ordinary detective, she probably doesn't have the money to hire a famous detective.

(End of this chapter)