Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 191 New Partner Heiji Hattori

"What? A murder case?"

Kido Detective Agency.

Heiji Hattori was packing his bags to return to Osaka the next morning when he received a call from Gao Mo. His shouts nearly lifted the house up.

It's not surprising that there was a murder; what's surprising is that he missed it.

A feeling of frustration welled up in Hattori's heart.

If Kazuha hadn't been laughing and joking with that Hoshikawa Dogo, he would have gone to Master Seikage's house together.

Maybe the murderer wouldn't have the guts to kill him after knowing he was a detective... or he could solve the case on the spot.

but……

The fact that Kido contacted him first, instead of seeking help from Kindaichi as before, shows that his abilities have been recognized.

Hattori Heiji's spirits lifted.

“Kindaichi has other things to do, so I can only ask you,” Gao Mo said as he walked to the side, listening to the police sirens outside. “Let me tell you about the situation first, and I’ll send you the photos of the scene later if the police agree.”

"Is that so?" Hattori Heiji's smile froze.

It's alright, at least they didn't contact Amuro Tooru first.

"In other words, you followed Xinghe Tongwu to the second floor. Because the corridor was too dark, Xinghe Tongwu wanted to turn on the light, but suddenly the power went out and the circuit breaker tripped... When Mr. Fantian turned the circuit breaker back on, a corpse suddenly appeared at the end of the corridor..."

Heiji Hattori took notes while listening to the phone call.

"The cause of death was asphyxiation. There were ligature marks on her neck, but no signs of struggle. It's very likely she was drugged before being strangled, right? Hmm... Based on the circumstances, the culprit most likely killed Himegami Nobuko in the archives and just happened to run into you coming upstairs..."

Then, there was a power outage. The murderer was afraid that you would go into the archives to look for Himegami Nobuko, so he planned to hide the body in the prop room across the corridor under the cover of darkness. However, because someone downstairs needed to turn on the power, he had no choice but to leave the body in the corridor and hurriedly escape through the prop room window..."

“No,” Gao Mo shook his head. “I think this is just what the murderer wants us to think—the murderer wants to shift the blame to outsiders, but who would carry a corpse and run away in a moment of panic?”

“It is indeed strange,” Hattori Heiji scribbled in his notebook. “If the culprit is an inside man, Hoshikawa Dogo, who went to turn on the lights, is the most suspicious… But weren’t you with him? He shouldn’t have been able to move the body without you…”

"What if it's magic?"

Gao Mo glanced at Kuroba Kaito, who was secretly observing him from the side of the corridor.

“This house was specially designed by the magician Master Zhengying. He once performed a magic trick in this corridor where a Christmas tree would suddenly appear. I suspect that the murderer borrowed that magic trick, which is why I asked you to solve it.”

“You’ve come to the right person,” Hattori Heiji chuckled confidently, his expression serious and professional. “Every magic trick has a flaw. I’ve studied a lot of magic tricks specifically to deal with that arrogant thief. Kido-san, you can rest assured.”

An arrogant thief?

Kaito Kuroba, who had been eavesdropping, drooped his eyelids.

Is this referring to him?

A guy who was completely fooled by him still dared to spout nonsense.

"Let me give you a general description of the scene first."

Gao Mo avoided talking to Kuroba Kaito and continued.

"First of all, the corridor that was originally used for magic performances was only about 70-80 centimeters wide and very long. The fluorescent light switch was broken; it would short-circuit and cut off the power if you pressed it. The only lighting was from the corner stairwell lights, and it would be completely dark when the power went out..."

"The right side of the corridor is the archive room, which has five rows of bookshelves filled with magic materials collected by Master Zheng Ying from all over the world. However, the books are now all pushed to the ground and it's very messy. It's suspected that the culprit is looking for the magic notebook that Master Zheng Ying carried with him 10 years ago."

Like Reiko Chikamiya, these magic masters' personal notebooks are equivalent to secret manuals for ordinary magicians. Whether it's ideas or thought processes, they are a huge treasure that can almost change a magician's life.

After a slight pause, Gao Mo continued, "At the end of the corridor, there was a low cabinet the same width as the corridor, with a vase on it, and behind it was a small window. Strangely, the angle of the moonlight was quite different before and after the power outage..."

"To the left of the corridor is the prop room, where the three magicians are said to often train and design many magic traps..."

"The door feels a bit heavy, but it's very quiet. The corners have been specially soundproofed. It opens outwards, and when it's opened 45 degrees, it hits the wall... The floor tiles in the prop room are the same as those in the corridor, and of course, the ones in the archives are the same too. By the way, the archives door is at the end of the corridor, while the prop room door is next to the fluorescent light switch."

Huh?
Hattori Heiji was slightly taken aback.

It felt as if Gao Mo had become his own eye double, clearly forming images in his mind of places he wouldn't normally notice, making it seem even easier than solving cases on-site himself.

Is this Kido's keen observation?

No wonder he lost to Kindaichi before.

Even my thoughts felt much clearer, as if I had been given a pair of extraordinary eyes.

"What about the prop room?" Hattori Heiji asked, deep in thought.

"The prop room is roughly the same width as the distance from the door to the hallway, with floor-to-ceiling windows of the same width as the hallway, the same style of low cabinets, and the same style of vases..."

"and many more!"

Hattori Heiji's eyelids suddenly twitched.

"What about the right side? Are there any mechanisms on the right side?"

"There's a retractable screen on the right, about the width of the corridor away from the wall..."

"Ha ha!"

Before Gao Mo could finish speaking, Hattori Heiji smiled happily with bright eyes.

"If there's no mechanism to move the body, then it's an illusion magic trick using lights. The arrangement of the prop room and corridor is definitely not a coincidence... Who was the first person to enter the prop room after the body was discovered?"

"After Hoshikawa Dogo said that someone had murdered Himegami Nobuko, he immediately went into the prop room to call the police." Gao Mo saw Megure lead the team into Masakage's house.

Takagi followed behind with his usual obedient demeanor, only widening his eyes with Inspector Megure upon spotting Gao Mo.

Lately, at crime scenes, I've been running into either Gao Mo or Kogoro Mouri—it's like they're clocking in for work, they're even more dedicated than the police.

“Inspector Megure is here,” Gao Mo explained to Hattori. “Let me see if I can send you photos of the scene…”

"It's no longer needed."

Hattori Heiji confidently suppressed his laughter, his gaze becoming even sharper.

“I have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on in this case. If possible, check the door to the prop room. There should be some kind of mirror mechanism there… Let me speak directly with Inspector Megure.”

"it is good."

Gao Mo smiled as he held his phone and met the bewildered Megure's gaze.

"Inspector Megure, Hattori said he has solved the case."

"??"

(⊙0⊙)
→_→

Megure glanced at Takagi behind him, then took the phone with a hint of disbelief.

"Hattori-kun, you're at Masakage's house too?"

"No, I'm going back to Osaka tomorrow, so I didn't go. Like you, I only just found out about the murder."

"what?"

"Anyway, Inspector Megure, please come to the crime scene and let me explain."

"Alright." Megure reluctantly led the group upstairs, his obese body feeling even more cramped in the corridor.

"What a narrow corridor."

Not only is the hallway narrow, but the room door design is also problematic.

The document room door opens inwards, while the prop room door opens outwards, making it impossible to fully open.

While the forensic team was examining the body at the end of the corridor, Megure practically squeezed into the prop room.

"And then?" Inspector Megure asked, turning on speakerphone. "How did you solve the case when you weren't even at the scene?"

"Kido-san has already told me about the situation on the ground."

Hattori checked the situation at the scene again with Megure, and at the same time had the police officers carefully inspect the door to the prop room.

"If I'm not mistaken, that door should have concealed a mirror for reflection. What Kido and the others saw at first was actually a reflected image. The body was always at the end of the corridor, but the culprit took advantage of the power outage to remove the disguise, revealing the true appearance of the corridor..."

"The reason why the doors open outwards and the corridors are designed to reflect light at a 45-degree angle is to achieve this."

"Is this happening?"

Megure stared intently at the prop room door, and with a click, Kaito Kuroba helped him find the mechanism. The door was split into two halves, revealing a mirror hidden inside.

"It's actually this kind of magic trick." Kaito Kuroba was a little dumbfounded, not expecting that Heiji Hattori could break the trick before he even arrived.

Is this kid that good?
Megure leaned closer: "There really is a mirror... but there's no corridor in the prop room, right? Even if it reflects..."

"You can't see the corridor because the culprit disposed of the scene immediately. The most difficult part of this case is that it used a magic trick by Master Sei-ei from 10 years ago. Laymen can easily be fooled. Unfortunately, he ran into Kido-san and me."

Hattori Heiji looked at the structural diagram drawn in his notebook and began to speak.

"Now please recreate the scene as I instructed. Move the low cabinet and vase in the prop room to the wall, and lower the projection screen as well... You will soon be able to see the corridor in the prop room."

"Kido-san noticed the moonlight was off-angled because the reflection caused the corridor to deflect by 90 degrees."

"These kinds of cases are incredibly easy to solve once you know the magic tricks. There's only one person who can do all of this..."

"You're the murderer, aren't you? Master Zheng Ying's eldest disciple, Mr. Xinghe Tongwu?"

"What, are you kidding me?" Xinghe Tongwu's handsome face was covered in sweat. "These are all magic traps set up by the teacher. No one knows the inside story except the teacher... Besides, it's also possible that an outsider committed the crime!"

“If it were an outsider who committed the crime, they wouldn’t have made so many arrangements. And if the investigation is focused on you, they should be able to find a lot of evidence. You simply didn’t have time to leave the Zhengying family home to deal with the evidence.”

Hattori Heiji shattered Hoshigawa Dogo's wishful thinking.

"The biggest suspicious point is that you were the first to run to the prop room to call the police. Most people would call for help immediately... Why are you so sure that Himegami Nobuko was murdered, instead of it being a prank or a magic trick?"
“Mr. Xinghe, you’re not only a criminal, but also a complete failure as a magician.”

Hoshikawa Dogo lowered his head and fell silent, his face no longer displaying the pride, composure, and gentleness that a popular magician possessed.

The teacher has performed so many times, and each time it caused a sensation. How come it was seen through so easily when it came to him?

You should know that he disguised himself exactly according to the teacher's method. Although it was the same low cabinet and vase, it was actually hard to associate it with the hallway after the disguise.

Needless to say, the prop room is exactly the same as the corridor except for the floor, and the entire second floor is like that.

I really don't understand how I was seen through so quickly.

The other party didn't even show up.

"Is that so, Mr. Xinghe?"

With a stern expression, and receiving no response, Inspector Megure quickly ordered the officers to restrain Hoshigawa Dogo before turning to Gao Mo with a bright smile.

"Brother Kido, it's wonderful that you were able to bring Hattori-kun to Tokyo. His reasoning skills are no less than Kudo's, and might even be better!"

Although the Metropolitan Police Department and the Osaka Prefectural Police often conduct joint operations, they are secretly competing with each other.

Normally, sending Heiji Hattori to Tokyo to solve cases would certainly embarrass the Metropolitan Police Department, but since Heiji Hattori is now a detective with the Komo Detective Agency, the situation is quite different.

This is called undermining the Osaka Prefectural Police, and it's not just any ordinary undermining.

"The officer thinks so too? Haha, of course I'm better than Shinichi Kudo. At least that guy hasn't solved a magic case yet. I'm an expert in this area now. No magic trick can fool me..."

Heiji Hattori was in a great mood.

"Kido-kun, I'll definitely crack the puppet's secret next time. Show me Chikamiya Reiko's magic notebook then."

"We'll talk about it after you crack it."

Gao Mo had a slight sweat on his forehead.

This Osaka black chicken is as smart as it is, but it also has its flaws. It gets a little carried away after being praised a few times.

"Star River..."

Mrs. Zhengying and Fan Tianli stood outside the corridor, looking at Xinghe Tongwu who had been handcuffed, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

"Why?" Fan Tianli asked, puzzled. "Is it because Zhanzi is going to perform 'The Witch's Resurrection'? Even if she plagiarized the teacher's magic trick, there's no need for that..."

"It's too late to say anything now."

Xinghe Tongwu's expression calmed down considerably.

"The reason why the teacher left for so many years may be because he was too disappointed in me and Zhanzi. We both unknowingly lost ourselves because of the teacher's notes, just like the other students of Chikamiya Reiko..."

Mr. Fan Tian, ​​no matter how amazing Reiko Chikamiya's notes are, I still hope you can give them up. A magician should value himself most.

“I’m not doing this for Reiko Chikamiya’s notes.”

Fan Tianli quickly explained, but received no further response from Xinghe Tongwu.

All that could be seen was a desolate figure, a stark contrast to what had been before.

Of Master Zhengying's three disciples, he was the one who ended up the worst off.

"Ok?"

Xinghe Tongwu walked downstairs with his head down, then suddenly stopped and met Gao Mo's calm gaze.

It felt like I was back at the Kido Magic Troupe's roadshow.

Gao Mo's eyes were the same at that time, as if they had never changed.

Even after discovering Himegami Nobuko's body just now...

Hoshikawa Tongwu's eyes narrowed slightly, a strange suspicion rising within him, yet he couldn't discern anything.

It feels like Gao Mo deliberately revealed that he possessed Reiko Chikamiya's notebook before, otherwise he wouldn't have invited the Kido Magic Troupe... In that case, he might not have directly clashed with Nobuko Himegami, leading to murder.

But is it possible?

It must be a coincidence.

Hoshikawa Tongwu left the Masakage family with a wry smile.

In any case, his magician career is over.

(End of this chapter)