Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 172 The Magic Train Murder Case 4: Death Agent

hotel room.

After putting his luggage away, Gao Mo habitually did a quick check of the room.

Although it is a remote place, the hotel is exceptionally luxurious, and this wetland seems to have been glorious in the past.

Gao Mo stepped forward and touched the jadeite rough stone used as decoration; it was a green, broken stone.

That must be the reason, right?

This place used to be famous for its jade, and there was a period of great interest in it.

Five years ago, the Chikamiya Magic Troupe would perform here every year around this time.

Gao Mo drew back the curtains and looked at the theater building surrounded by a thin mist in the center of the pool.

It resembles a giant yurt and is connected to the main building by a suspension bridge...

Should he investigate the case from five years ago?

All the money was collected.

However, this situation doesn't seem necessary.

She died in an accident during rehearsals, and the witnesses were the magicians' apprentices... It will be extremely difficult to get the truth back to Reiko Chikamiya.

In this kind of collective crime, it seems that the only method he can use is to extract confessions.

But even before we can get any confessions, those magicians will probably all be dead.

"problem occurs!"

Suddenly, chaotic footsteps echoed in the corridor outside, followed by screams and shouts from Inspector Megure and his companions.

"That guy called again..."

"It's the leader!"

"The commander has really been killed!"

Room 219, located at the corner of the staircase.

The guest room door was unlocked, and the slightly dimly lit room reeked of blood.

Dressed in a magician's suit, the mountain god leader was suspended in an unbelievable puppet-like posture, his joints fixed and connected by ropes, as if being manipulated at will by a pair of large hands.

"The time of death was probably between 10:00 and 13:00," Hattori Heiji said, examining the body. "It was before the train stopped due to the bomb threat..."

"It seems like they deliberately left the door open so people could see... Where is the guest in this room?"

"The guest just checked out and left." The hotel manager was sweating.

"Just now?" Hattori Heiji asked in surprise, "Was it that strange man who left with luggage?"

“Yes, it’s Mr. Tsuzune who checked in three days ago… I remember him well because he’s been staying indoors all the time. I think his name is Tsuzune Tateo.”

"If you rearrange the pronunciation of this name, it sounds exactly like 'puppet on a string,' which is a pseudonym."

"What a cunning fellow. He probably wasn't even in his room for the past three days. Then today he rode in the car with us and murdered the Mountain God Commander..."

Hattori Heiji continued questioning the manager.

"That guy probably won't make the train... Is there any other way to leave here?"

"No, this place is surrounded by swamps and wetlands. The only road leading out was washed away by heavy rains last month, so the only way to leave is by train," the manager explained. "I was wondering where he was going when he checked out..."

"Just as I thought. That guy checked in with a fake identity three days ago, and now he's checking out to change into his current identity and show us the Mountain God Commander's corpse."

Heiji Hattori, as the top high school detective, quickly shows his talent.

"It's just so strange, why did they have to make us see this?"

"He's probably doing this to perform a magic trick about death and terror," Inspector Megure said, his face grim. "What a lawless bastard!"

Murder is one thing, but to deliberately provoke the police into committing such a cruel crime is quite another.

"Hattori-kun, how did the body get here? I checked all the luggage carefully."

"No body was found on the train."

Hattori Heiji frowned and fell into deep thought, not even noticing the strange behavior of Kazuha beside him.

Unlike previous cases, when Kazuha saw the horrific, twisted corpse, his whole body trembled, and he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Heiji..."

“That’s the biggest problem,” Hattori Heiji stared intently at the puppet-like, suspended corpse. “How did the Mountain God’s corpse end up here… Is there really a magic trick that can teleport corpses out of thin air?”

Unlike Gao Mo, an outsider, he was constantly in the first-person perspective, his mind filled with too many questions, and he was completely immersed in the horror brought by the death magic.

He knew the criminal had used the technique right in front of him, but he couldn't see through it at all.

It was completely different from the magic shows I'd seen before.

It's as if you can see a colossal, unreachable figure...

"This is not true!"

A large crowd of onlookers gathered in the hotel corridor. Amidst the commotion, the magic troupe members squeezed outside room 219, and the troupe leader's wife collapsed to the ground.

"How could this happen? Why..."

"Please accept my condolences, Ms. Yumi."

"Was the missing leader of the Fantasy Magic Troupe murdered?" The crowd of tourists was dispersed by Megure. "Is there another magic show tonight?"

"Given all this, it should be canceled, right?"

“Don’t worry, everyone,” the young nobleman Yura stepped forward with a hint of smugness. “The magic show tonight will proceed as planned. Please be on time.”

"What do you mean, Yurama?" The commander's wife trembled with anger. "My husband is dead, what's the point of performing?!"

“That’s not right of you, Miss Yumi,” the young nobleman brushed aside his long golden hair, “The magic troupe doesn’t belong to you and your husband. Are you going to disappoint the fans who have come all this way?”

"I……"

"No matter what happens, I will give you a perfect performance. Please look forward to it." The young nobleman took the opportunity to boost his popularity. Gone was his previous arrogance and haughtiness. His eyes were cunning, but at the same time, they were full of deadly intent.

Gao Mo stood at the edge of the crowd, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Magic Troupe Manager's lips curling up in a smile.

Junpei Kirishima...

The projected text on the manager's body did not change, but precisely because of this, he became even more certain of the other party's suspicion.

If there are no surprises, this person should be the Hell Puppet Master who committed the crime.

A crazy guy.

When getting off the train, he probably hid the corpse's head in his bag, but deliberately moved closer to Megure in the dark.

As for how the rest of the body was moved to the hotel...

If Heiji Kobe was thinking from the audience's perspective, then he was directly adopting the mindset of a magician.

Eliminate extraneous interference to see the essence.

The other side only has a few methods they can use.

The train's stop at the freight station due to a bomb threat was not accidental; it was part of the Hell Puppet Master's plan, only it was repeatedly concealed.

Most people wouldn't really notice this.

However, considering the overall picture, this death magic was not concealed from him in the slightest.

The unique environment surrounding the hotel, coupled with the fact that no body was found on the train—there's only one truth: the perpetrator took advantage of the train station to transfer the body to a nearby freight train.

"How could this happen?"

Junpei Kirishima has a middle parting, square-framed glasses, and a timid appearance.

"What should we do? Miss Yuumi, Mr. Yurama..."

The manager, who was putting on a dramatic performance, suddenly shuddered, feeling an inexplicable and intense threat. He glanced around but found nothing, and finally frowned as he looked at Hattori Heiji, who seemed to have figured something out.

This high school detective could become an obstacle.

"Evil spirits, begone! Evil spirits, begone..." The fat medium muttered repeatedly from the side, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Logically speaking, a magician shouldn't be superstitious, but the fat man seemed to have seen something terrifying.

“The commander is just the beginning…we will all die…that thing is right beside us…” “What nonsense are you spouting, Sakuraba?!” The commander’s wife was even angrier. “If you want to perform, go perform on stage!”

……

After dinner, the Illusion Magic Troupe's magic show started on time at the theater.

The death of the magic troupe leader did not seem to have much of an impact, and the theater remained packed.

There were even quite a few resident writers in the front row who weren't originally interested in magic—they seemed more interested in the magic troupe itself.

"Welcome to the Shikokuhara Station Theater, I'm Yurama from the Fantasy Magic Troupe..."

On stage, the nobleman Yurama has begun to speak in place of the group leader, appearing like a spirited aristocrat under the spotlight.

Unlike the impromptu performances on the train, the magicians presented their signature magic tricks, which Gao Mo found quite rewarding.

The "Magic Eye" is perfect for learning from others.

However, compared to the magic tricks in the Kidd Guide, it was still a bit ordinary.

Before the most famous "live puppet" performance began, Gao Mo turned his attention to his surroundings.

Instead of coming to find him, Shiratori was talking to the hotel manager who was sitting at the back.

The manager had a wooden box on his lap. Although he hurriedly closed it, Gao Mo could still see the dolls inside.

Reiko Chikamiya's doll.

He roughly understood that the person who sent him the letter was not the Hell Puppet Master himself, but was very likely related to these two people, or even directly to Kid.

Kidd probably knew about the threatening letter sent to the Metropolitan Police Department, so he used the name of the Hell Puppet Master to send him the letter.

Besides stealing treasures, this guy also loves to meddle in other people's business, especially things related to magic.

In that case, it was just a false alarm.

Judging from the manager's and his group's behavior, they had no idea who he was.

The real Hell Puppet Master probably didn't even notice him, treating him like a mere extra.

Gao Mo leaned back in his chair and continued watching the magic show, his mind replaying the images from his precognitive dream, trying to match the silhouette of the shadowy figure with the magic troupe manager.

Is it this person?
But the difference feels huge.

The manager of the Magic Troupe may be hiding something, or he may have a strong criminal ability, but in his eyes he is still just an ordinary person and there is no sign of any superpowers.

They didn't even notice his presence.

Or perhaps the time isn't right yet?

Gao Mo's eyes fluctuated.

If the manager of the Magic Troupe is indeed the agent of Death, what can he do now if he can foresee the future in his dreams?
What's truly terrifying is the unknown.

Perhaps he could also persuade the Magic Manager to become Death's agent...

Since Death will inevitably choose a proxy, why not keep the proxy under your control?

"Next comes the moment everyone's been waiting for: our Fantasy Magic Troupe's proud 'Living Puppet' magic performance!"

The intense drumming on stage interrupted Gao Mo's thoughts, and the atmosphere in the theater officially entered its climax.

A living puppet is said to be a puppet that suddenly gains self-awareness and breaks free from the strings that control it.

To this day, no one has been able to crack the secret, and no one knows how the magician brought the puppet to life.

The puppets, with their strings cut, nimbly jump rope on stage, even crisscrossing the rope, and ride bicycles like humans. After disassembling and falling apart, they reassemble themselves and reconnect the strings...

Any doubts were dispelled during the stage performance, and even though Gao Mo had the magic eye that could decipher magic tricks, he still couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows.

A magic trick that is completely flawless could never be created by a fantasy magic troupe.

"I am a puppet, a sad puppet that can only be manipulated by strings, but I want to be free..."

"why?"

While still pondering the case, Hattori Heiji glared and couldn't help biting his finger.

I thought the magic trick would be easy to see through, but I couldn't understand it at all. It was even more unbelievable than the disappearance of the body in this case.

He had at least guessed that the body had disappeared.

"That's impossible! How could they do that? The threads were definitely cut, and there were no other hidden threads. How was it manipulated?"

"If it's her, nothing is impossible."

The hotel manager in the back row squinted his eyes.

"What a pity that such a perfect magic trick was stolen and performed by her sinful disciples..."

"Theft?" Hattori Heiji glanced at the hotel manager with suspicion, then turned to Gao Mo in a low voice, "Kido-kun, what was that case from five years ago? Did you find anything out?"

Gao Mo tossed the documents in his hand to Hattori: "After reading this, you'll understand. It seems that five years ago, Reiko Chikamiya was killed by her students while rehearsing on this stage. She unfortunately fell from a height onto the stage, and the police investigation yielded no results, so they could only treat it as an accident."

"Heiji."

Kazuha shuddered and hugged her childhood friend's arm tightly, glancing around anxiously.

"Maybe we should just go back and come back to Hokkaido another time..."

“Idiot, how could we go back now? Besides, the train won’t be here until tomorrow afternoon,” Hattori Heiji said, engrossed in flipping through the documents. “If you’re scared, go back to your room and sleep.”

"When have I ever been afraid?"

"call!"

Gao Mo glanced sadly at the two arguing again, then his pupils dilated as Hattori Heiji's despairing face appeared in his mind.

The breath of death...

Kazuha's feeling was right.

Heiji Hattori is being targeted again, and continued investigation could be life-threatening.

Unfortunately, this guy is different from him. He will actively solve cases even without much reward and will never give up easily.

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter erupted in the theater as the puppets performed their comical act.

Megure, who was still worrying about the case, couldn't help but feel happy and was about to clap along when the walkie-talkie in his arms suddenly vibrated, instantly changing the expression of Megure's briefly relaxed face.

"The Fantasy Magic Troupe's magic was pretty good, wasn't it? But the real show is just beginning, and I'll be the one to end it all with my magic trick..."

"What did you say?"

Megure jumped up.

"What do you think you're doing? Stop it right now!"

"Heh, it's too late. The second act of the death magic show..."

The theater lights suddenly went out amidst the laughter of the voice changer. After a brief period of darkness, when the lights came back on, the live puppets who had finished their performance on stage had disappeared, replaced by a white-faced corpse wrapped in silk threads.

As rose petals fluttered down, the nobleman Yura, who was supposed to be controlling the puppet, sat in the puppet's position with wide eyes, a dagger plunged into his heart through the rose petals.

It's as if they're truly showcasing the art of death.

"What's going on? Is this also part of the performance?"

"What kind of performance is this?! Has someone died again?"

"Everyone stay where you are!"

Megure rushed onto the stage and shouted.

"I am an inspector from the First Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department. Please cooperate with the investigation!"

Gao Mo did not leave his seat, but only glanced at the magic puppet stuck on the steel frame in the ceiling.

What could he say?

Despite only having a few seconds of lights out, he activated Eagle Vision in time and witnessed the magic troupe manager and the corpse descend onto the stage together, like playing on a seesaw.

Murder is one thing, but they have to go and do all this fancy stuff.

Is this guy really a future agent of death?
(End of this chapter)