Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 197 The Legend of the Snow Demon 5
Tokyo.

Kido Detective Agency.

The magic troupe sets off on their roadshow, leaving only Ai and Kuroneko at the agency.

Despite the road closures in Beibing Village, news of the murder of a well-known actress and the stranding of popular idol Yoko Okino in a deserted snow village has spread throughout the country, drawing widespread attention.

Several channels were reporting on the same news.

"Ms. Kano was murdered by an unknown assailant while filming a program in Hokkaido. Several other celebrities from the program, including Yoko Okino, were also involved... The incident occurred at the residence of the genius painter, Ichisei Himuro..."

"Miss Ghana debuted in 1980, known for her beautiful figure and hit song... gentle, generous, and full of feminine charm..."

"Below is a recent interview video of Miss Ghana, and a film she starred in two years ago..."

Ai hugged the black cat and turned off the TV.

Because Gao Mo was in the area, she had much more specific information than these media outlets, and she had no interest in watching these people exploit the lives of deceased women.

Moreover, the real Rie Ghana is not as good as the media portrays her to be—it sounds like they're just trying to please her fans.

"Isn't it about time they solved the case over there?" Ai gazed wistfully out the window.

Gao Mo walks between cases and death like the Grim Reaper, bearing everything alone. She wanted to help but didn't know where to begin, so she could only collect some information.

……

"Dang Dang Dang!"

In Beibing Village, a series of metallic clanging sounds erupted from the long-quiet villas, and the entire production crew was once again called out of their rooms.

"What's going on? I haven't slept well since yesterday, when are you going to stop making a scene?"

"Martial arts actor Da Men complained, sporting two black eyes."

“We’ve already said we didn’t have the time to commit the crime. Everyone was in the main building at the time, and Ayatsuji was on his way there too…”

"Mr. Daimon is probably staying up because he's afraid of the Snow Demon, right? I've already caught up on my sleep."

"Nonsense!"

The doorman whirled around and stared at the stage manager who was speaking.

"Watch out, the Snow Demon might kill you next!"

"That's strange, where's Director Hiruda?"

living room.

Shiratori, who was standing by the heater, was confidently waiting for everyone to gather. In the end, he found that the director, Gao Mo and Okino Yoko were missing, and the fake ice room was nowhere to be seen.

"Domoto and Yoko went out earlier, apparently they found some clues."

"Looking for clues?"

Shiratori raised his thick eyebrows and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You're really persistent. It's a pity I've already solved the mystery. It's too late to look for clues now. You have some cleverness, but not much. I don't know where the real key is."

As he spoke, Shiratori composed himself, and upon realizing that the fake Himuro still hadn't come out, he frowned and said, "Let's go to Mr. Himuro's room first..."

"police officer!"

Dong Fangjian stumbled back to the living room.

"I was going to call the director, but I found a bloodstained 10,000 yen bill on the floor under the door!"

"No way? Could it be that Director Ruda..."

A short while later, Shiratori appeared in Hiruda's room with a grim expression.

The room was empty, as if it had been ransacked, and even the luggage had been taken away.

"Could the director have left? It looks like the car outside has been driven away too!"

"What's that guy doing? Running out by himself at this hour..."

"He probably wants to stay at the main building by himself."

Shiratori told Sato to stay behind and keep an eye on everyone, while he drove out to find someone.

It was still snowing, but it was already light snow.

Not long after leaving the annex, I spotted a familiar van parked at the intersection.

The car door was open, and the nearby snow was dyed red.

Hiruda, his head covered in blood, lay sprawled among a pile of 10,000 yen bills, his face bearing traces of greed, fear, and a hint of astonishment.

On the other side of the car, Gao Mo and Yoko Okino could be seen.

"What are you two doing here?" Shiratori called out as he stopped the car.

"Officer Shiratori?"

"Don't disturb the scene!"

Shiratori hurriedly got out of the car, shuddered, and began to examine the body.

The fatal wound was similar to that of Rie Ghana, except that she had an additional slash wound on the back of her neck.

Strangely, there was a shotgun in the driver's seat... It seems the killer was hiding in the car and suddenly attacked from behind.

After murdering Hiruda, the killer deliberately brought the bloodstained banknotes back to the villa.

Shiratori was in a real headache.

"This guy really knows how to cause trouble. I told you not to go out alone. With us at the villa, it's safer than outside."

"Hiruda is probably being threatened, and he's also probably worried that you'll continue to investigate him."

Gao Mo found a crumpled piece of paper in the car, on which was written crookedly, "You're next—Snow Demon."

What a pathetic guy.

He was tricked by the murderer into escaping the villa, which led him to his own demise.

"Crack!"

Shiratori took several photos of the scene, preparing to deal with the body later.

"Alright, you two can go back now. I already know who the murderer in this case is."

The white bird had a serious expression, and a sense of justice seemed to shine beneath its thick eyebrows.

"It's truly shameful that such a person could kill three people right in front of us police. But that's enough. The deaths of these three people further prove that he is the murderer, regardless of his motive or anything else..."

Paper money fluttered in the cold wind, and the sunlight reflected off the snow gave the young master, Shiratori, an unexpected air of a famous detective.

"Brother Domoto, next I will expose the murderer who committed the impossible crime at the villa and give that guy the punishment he deserves!"

"Do they really know the murderer?"

Yoko Okino glanced at Gao Mo beside her.

After following Gao Mo's investigation, he was still completely confused, but he vaguely felt that Gao Mo had discovered the truth.

The police, who haven't left the villa much, are saying they've found the murderer. It seems a bit unreliable.
Or is it that Officer Shiratori possesses strategic planning skills?

In terms of professionalism, the younger inspectors of the Metropolitan Police Department are indeed stronger, but the senior detective Kido, who disguised himself as Domoto Hajime, is no less capable than the famous detective—and even seems to be much smarter than Mr. Mori.

It might be impolite to say this, but Mr. Mori, whom I usually get along with, is indeed not very bright; he's probably just a master detective who keeps a low profile.

……

"Officer Shiratori!"

Outside the villa, the entire production crew gathered to welcome Shiratori.

Everyone saw what was happening in the distance, but they didn't know what was going on.

"Where's Director Hiruda? Could it be..."

"He has been killed, and the murderer is in this villa!"

Shiratori noticed that the fake Himuro still hadn't appeared, and frowned as he spoke.

"The real culprit behind this Snow Demon murder case is none other than the manor's master, Himuro Ichisei!" "What?"

"Master Himuro is the murderer?!"

"Officer, is there a mistake?"

"Do you know why the killer went back and destroyed the corridor cameras after murdering Ghana? It was actually to take away the self-portrait in the corridor."

The white bird remained calm and composed amidst the arguing of the crowd.

"Once you see through this, the answer will automatically emerge—that is, Himuro Ichisei here is actually an imposter, and the reason he killed Kano, Akashi, and Hiruda was to silence them!"
It all started with a plane crash 10 years ago!

Shiratori led his group straight to the Ice Room of the villa, as if to demand an explanation.

Gao Mo paused slightly behind, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the bespectacled woman following the group.

The whole case needs to be put into a closed loop. Now, the fake ice room should have been committed suicide, right?

What exactly happened 10 years ago?
He has gathered all the clues and completely solved the mystery of the case; the only remaining question is the specific motive.

Akashi's "Why Did You Kill Me?" is also mainly about the real motive—the truth of what happened 10 years ago.

"Officer," the barely noticeable sound engineer asked, puzzled, "is there any connection between the self-portrait and the fact that Master Himuro is an imposter?"

"Didn't you all notice? The buttons on the clothes in the self-portrait are facing the opposite direction. In other words, the painter painted that picture while looking at his own reflection in the mirror. The real master Himuro was actually left-handed."

The white bird explained as it walked.

"After committing the crime, the murderer saw his own reflection in the window and suddenly realized this, which is why he hurriedly took the painting. He thought that if he kept the painting, it might be discovered that it was a fake..."

“But he was with us when the crime happened, so he didn’t have time to kill anyone.”

“This is also very simple. Because we drove back and forth from upstream, we subconsciously thought that we could only go from there. But in fact, the annex and the main building can be crossed by rope. He has been here for 10 years and should be able to do it. I suspect that he even prepared for it in advance. The destruction of the suspension bridge may not be a coincidence.”

The group arrived outside the fake ice room's workshop and found the door locked from the inside.

"If the two resorts were to be traversed by rope or other means, the fake ice room, which was not in the equipment room and was alone at the time, would have had ample time to commit the crime."

Shiratori directly reasoned out the situation right in front of the door.

"But he forgot that he could also see the self-portrait on the videotape, and by taking the painting away, he dug his own grave."

“I think the real Master Himuro probably died in the plane crash 10 years ago. Hiruda and the others probably hired someone to impersonate Master Himuro in order to obtain his huge fortune, but they didn’t expect that infighting would occur 10 years later… In fact, the fact that infighting occurred 10 years later is considered relatively late in similar cases.”

“I’ve heard about that plane crash 10 years ago,” the sound engineer said in surprise, “but could such a thing really happen?”

That's all I wanted to say. For the rest, just ask him directly...

Shiratori patted the door and called out with a frown.

"Come out, you have nowhere to run!"

"Isn't it inside?"

There was no response for a while, and everyone gradually realized that something was wrong.

White Bird hurriedly called to the big guy at the gate: "Break the door down first!"

"boom!"

"Boom!"

After several violent impacts, the already aging door could not withstand the force and collapsed inwards, frame and all.

In the dimly lit studio, the fake Himuro sat quietly slumped over his desk, holding a pen in his hand. Beside him was a suicide note typed on a typewriter, signed "Himuro Ichisei" at the end.

"He's actually dead, the fake Master Himuro..."

"Officer! This way!" The woman with glasses pointed to the paintbrushes scattered on the ground, with a key mixed in among them.

"It's the key to this room, locked from the inside... Suicide?"

Shiratori picked up the suicide note on the table, read it, and handed it to Sato.

"It seems everything is clear now. This person was indeed an imposter. The real Master Himuro died in that plane crash, and then these people, driven by greed, caused this tragedy. The fake Himuro committed the murder and then committed suicide out of guilt..."

"As expected of Inspector Shiratori!" Daimon wiped his sweat, finally letting out a long sigh of relief from his panic. "It's finally over. I thought there really was a Snow Demon... Such impressive deduction, unlike someone else..."

Once out of danger, the doorman reverted from his cowardly self to his previous senior-like demeanor, giving Gao Mo a sarcastic glance.

"He's just an actor, why does he have to pretend to be a detective?"

Gao Mo didn't say anything, but stepped forward, grabbed the fake ice room, looked at it from left and right, and then inspected the studio.

Examine the items inside the drawers and the pockets on the fake ice cream stand.

On the surface, he appears to be right-handed, but in reality, this fake ice shop owner prefers to use his left hand when no one is looking.

"Domoto Hajime!" Shiratori couldn't contain his anger any longer. "Do you still have any doubts? On-site searches are our police's job..."

“Officer Shiratori, perhaps Domoto has made some new discovery,” Sato said, putting down the suicide note.

Shiratori's deduction seemed to make no problem, but she always felt that it was somewhat hasty and deliberate.

Is this case really that simple?

What else could be discovered?

Bai Niao was quite confident, and looked at Gao Mo with a hint of sympathy.

Lost in the praise from the media, they couldn't grasp their own abilities and thought they could really compare to an expert like him... Even at this point, they still refused to accept the facts.

"Just like the fake ice room, it couldn't recognize itself. However, the facts are the facts. No matter how much you deny it, the fake ice room committed suicide in this room... The door was locked, but the key was inside, and all the windows were closed from the inside. It was a completely sealed room."

Shiratori ripped off the burn disguise on the fake Himuro's face.

"This guy's real identity is Mizunuma, the makeup artist who interviewed Hiruda and the others near the crash site 10 years ago. I have to say, he does look somewhat like the real Master Himuro."

What a pathetic guy, even at the very end he had to sign Master Himuro's name on his will.

"Officer!" came the shrill voice from the front door. "There's a Snow Demon mask and clothes over here! And there's blood on them!"

"See?" Shiratori said with even more confidence, glancing furtively at Sato before turning to Gao Mo and continuing, "My reasoning is flawless. This was all a murder plot orchestrated by the fake Himuro to monopolize the wealth, but he made a mistake and ended up with nowhere to turn..."

"probably."

Perfect reasoning does not necessarily equate to the truth.

Gao Mo turned around and smiled. When he noticed that the bespectacled woman, Ayatsuji Marina, had left sometime earlier, his eyes flickered slightly, and he followed her out of the studio.

"What does he mean by that?" Bai Niao felt uncomfortable with Gao Mo's last smile, as if he were fooling a child—"Whatever you say, goes."

“Never mind him, officer,” the gatekeeper flattered. “I bet he’s just ashamed in front of you and desperate to save face. Hehe, if the media finds out he’s a fraud, he’ll be in big trouble.”

"That's how it is for newcomers. They become famous through detective dramas, but they are also prone to backlash... I heard that he came to record this program because the TV series 'City Detective' was kicked out."

"Oh no?"

"How could it not? The new TV series even changed its name, it's called 'City Hunter', and the lead role was played by another famous detective actor."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yoko Okino said angrily. "Domoto decided not to appear in the drama himself; he wasn't kicked out at all!"

"Hmph, who knows? It just sounds nice."

……

Outside the annex.

The wind and snow have completely subsided, and the mountains are shimmering with mesmerizing ice crystal light.

Snow-capped mountains possess the terror of death, yet are so captivating in normal times.

Marina Ayatsuji crouched near the cliff, clutching snowballs in her hands and mechanically throwing them one after another at the withered tree. Snowflakes scattered and landed on the girl's emotionless, puppet-like face.

Sadness, yet no tears flowed.

"rustle."

Ayatsuji Marina paused briefly only when she heard Gao Mo's footsteps in the snow, but quickly resumed her immersion in her own world.

"They all say you're an amateur, but it seems only you've found the truth, Mr. Domoto... When did you start to doubt me?"

(End of this chapter)