Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 205 Fake Sato

As the banquet progressed into its second half, the detectives, who had lost their appetite, began to take action, keeping an eye on Tomonari Makoto and Odagiri Toshiya in various ways.

This wedding banquet was destined to be fraught with undercurrents.

As if driven by some force, all those involved in the incident gathered together.

Megure led his team to keep a close watch on the field, preparing for any potential conflict.

Police outside are also conducting further investigations into the relationship between Tomonari Makoto and Odagiri Toshiya—if they find any important clues, they will arrest them directly.

However, Takagi had no time to spare and was searching for Sato all over the place.

"Officer Sato!"

"rustle."

Powder room.

Gao Mo slightly disguised the unconscious Sato, then turned around and changed into the women's clothes he had prepared beforehand. As if possessing magic, his magic hand transformed him completely into Sato's appearance after putting on the disguise hood and rubbing it a few times.

Disguising himself as a woman is not easy. Under normal circumstances, he would never make such a choice, not because of shame, but because the probability of being exposed is higher than with other disguises, and the technical requirements are far greater than usual.

However, his ability to disguise himself is not much worse than Kid's, and when needed, it is enough to fool the real thing.

Muscle and posture adjustments, application of magic spray, and application of specially made simulated gloves.

Finally, put on your high heels.

Less than a few minutes later, the second Officer Sato was reflected in the dressing table mirror.

Since it was my first time trying this, I was a bit rusty and there were some minor flaws, but it was enough to handle the situation.

"Officer Sato!" Takagi was still shouting outside.

"What are you doing, Takagi?!" Megure called out to Takagi with a dark expression.

"Officer Sato is missing!" Takagi exclaimed anxiously. "We can't find Officer Sato anywhere!"

"What do you mean you can't find it? Isn't that Sato?"

"what?"

"What's wrong, Officer Takagi?"

As Gao Mo left the dressing room and stepped through the door, his soul seemed to transform into Sato's, quickly getting into character and perfectly imitating Sato's every move.

"I just changed my clothes, why are you so nervous? How do I look? Do I look good?"

"Wow, it looks good," Takagi blushed deeply, straightened up, and dared not look any longer. "I... Officer Sato looks good in anything..."

“Sato,” Megure breathed a sigh of relief, “Takagi was worried about you too. I think it would be better to arrange for a few people to protect you. After all, you have investigated that case, and the murderer may very well target you.”

"Need not."

Gao Mo smiled and waved his hand in refusal.

"I'm still very confident in myself. If that guy really dares to show up in front of me, it's hard to say who will suffer."

Just kidding, he disguised himself as Sato to lure out the murderer.

“Officer Sato is something else,” Kyosuke Kazato said, offering a cocktail. “But I think there are police everywhere here, so even if the culprit is something else, he wouldn’t dare to show his face here.”

"Haha, this certainly doesn't seem like a normal wedding banquet anymore, the atmosphere is strange, isn't it?"

"No, I should say I feel very safe."

Kyosuke Kazato smiled, a barely perceptible glint in his eyes.

These police officers knew absolutely nothing.

The strange thing is that the investigation was suddenly reopened, and he is an extremely cautious person who would not allow any possibility of being exposed.

The deaths of the three detectives should be enough to deter the police, and if the plan goes smoothly, it can also perfectly divert attention.

Even if the investigation continues, it will be difficult for other detectives to find anything more about him.

A year is enough time for some minor flaws to disappear without a trace.

"Sorry, I'm going to be out for a moment."

Gao Mo took in Kazeto Kyosuke's reaction and voluntarily left the banquet hall, which was full of police officers.

He kept thinking about how the killer would act.

It was clearly impractical to do it in the banquet hall.

He had already checked the dressing room; it seemed that only the restroom remained…

The structure of the 15th floor appeared in Gao Mo's mind.

Even if there were few people in the restroom, there was still a possibility of being discovered along the way, not to mention that the murderer specifically prepared an umbrella to commit the crime.

The best way to create an opportunity to commit a crime is to sabotage the power supply and carry out the crime during the power outage.

Women's restroom.

Gao Mo entered with a normal expression.

Luxury hotel bathrooms are equipped with makeup mirrors and dedicated hair dryers, and the space is spacious, like a small lounge.

The interior is all cubicles, the odor is well controlled, the air is well-ventilated, and there is a light, pleasant fragrance.

Gao Mo bent down and opened the cabinet door under the sink. A flashlight was turned on and came into view. The light was facing outwards from the cabinet door. Because the outside light was bright, even if a little light shone through the crack in the door, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to notice.

He roughly knew what the perpetrator was planning.

Gao Mo calmly took out a flashlight and turned off the light.

"Officer Sato?" Ran returned from the cubicle, looking at Gao Mo with surprise as he inspected everything. "This flashlight is..."

What's Xiaolan doing here?
"It was probably left behind by a staff member."

Gao Mo snapped out of his thoughts, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. He smiled and replied, but suddenly felt a strong sense of malice in his heart.

"Officer Sato?" Ran called out worriedly, "I heard it all. They said you might be the third detective to be killed..."

"Don't worry, I know my own strength. I can't possibly lose to someone with such terrible marksmanship."

"Bad marksmanship?"

"Yes, it took several shots at close range to kill him. There was no accuracy involved. The killer was just an amateur, not a professional assassin."

"Click!"

The dark figure outside the restroom leaned against the wall, and upon hearing the conversation, he gritted his teeth fiercely.

That damn policewoman, she's about to die and she's still spouting nonsense.

So what if I'm an outsider?

The shadowy figure sneered and pressed the detonation button on his phone. The next moment, a loud explosion erupted in the power distribution room, plunging the entire floor into darkness.

Die, you bitch!

The shadowy figure attached a silencer to the pistol, held his breath, and walked into the women's restroom.

"A power outage?" Xiaolan asked, puzzled. "Did something happen?"

"Go to the cubicle."

Gao Mo turned around and pushed Xiao Lan behind him, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the restroom.

His Assassin Level 4 makes him more sensitive to killing intent, detecting footsteps, the sound of guns being cleaned, and the sound of safety being released...

"Why did the power suddenly go out?"

A brief commotion broke out in the banquet hall, and the already tense police officers quickly took action.

"Go and see what's going on!"

"Only the 15th floor is without power!"

"It looks like there was an explosion in the power distribution room!"

"Putting everything else aside, what if the friendship comes true?"

"What?! It's gone?!"

"Toshiya Odagiri is still alive..."

"clatter!"

Unlike the chaos in the banquet hall, the women's restroom was eerily quiet.

It was so eerie that even the shadowy figure frowned repeatedly.

The expected scenario didn't happen. No flashlights were on in the women's restroom, and the two women inside seemed to have vanished instantly. No, the high school girl's breathing was still there, quite clearly, the subtle trembling sound audible in the darkness.

The strange thing was that the policewoman seemed to be dead; she couldn't hear anything.

We can't wait any longer!

If anyone notices this...

The shadowy figure gritted his teeth, quickly opened the umbrella, and, wearing gloves, pierced the pistol through the hole.

"You can't hold back anymore?"

The sudden sound in the darkness startled the shadowy figure.

"Actually, if you hadn't killed the police, the investigation might not have traced you to yourself. Instead, the flaws you left behind during the serial killings have completely exposed you, and you can't hide from them no matter what... Or are you simply enjoying the thrill of killing?"

Gao Mo stared straight at the exit.

The person in the shadows stopped all movement as if startled.

“There’s no need to hide anymore, Dr. Kazato. No matter how much you plan, the police will eventually find you.”

The shadowy figure's heart raced, but he didn't step forward. He hid even deeper, his heart filled with doubt and fear.

what happened?

What's going on with this policewoman?

"You know too much. You obtained information by using your identity as a psychologist, but you didn't expect that the police would choose to suppress the information because it involved high-ranking officials."

Gao Mo walked towards the exit.

"The first flaw is that when you kill Officer Shiba, you make him hold the police manual in his hand, because the first officer killed, Officer Narasawa, left a death message about clutching his left chest. That's the only way you can do it."

After all, you can't let the police associate you with being a psychologist. If they knew you had provided psychological treatment to Officer Narasawa, they definitely wouldn't let you off the hook. That's why there was a second case immediately, drawing the police's attention to the police handbook...

Unfortunately, this led the police to suspect higher-ups, namely Chief Odagiri. Even Kogoro Mouri, who was cooperating with the police, was not authorized to know about the case. This is one reason.

Secondly, you made a major oversight when setting up the scene; you actually reversed the orientation of the police manual… Well, that makes sense, you're not a police officer and have never used a police manual before, so of course you wouldn't notice those details.”

The shadowy figure's breathing quickened, and unease intensified in his eyes.

It was clearly the policewoman's voice, but it didn't feel like her.

"The second flaw is framing the son of the police inspector who died of a heart attack. It's true that he harbored resentment because his father died while on duty, and his motive is plausible. However, as long as the police consider that the cause of this murder case is to reinvestigate an incident that occurred a year ago..."

Yu Chengzhen was actually the least likely to commit the crime because, compared to the police, he was more concerned about the case that had killed his father a year ago. He had actually been investigating privately for the past year, but without any results—why would he kill the police officer who was reopening the investigation at this time?

Gao Mo is closer to the exit.

"Finally, you actually thought of using this wedding to kill Officer Sato... I saw everything you did, and targeting Officer Sato was your biggest mistake."

"What do you mean?"

The shadowy figure's left hand, holding the gun, trembled slightly.

"You're not Miwako Sato? Who are you?"

“It’s a case from a year ago. Even if the police suspect you, it would be very difficult to find evidence. But now you’ve come forward on your own…”

As he approached, Gao Mo finally found his own space.

"biu!"

Dodging the bullets fired in the chaos by the shadowy figure, Gao Mo activated his extraordinary eyesight in the darkness.

He snatched the silenced pistol in a flash and pressed it against the other person's forehead.

"you……"

Kyosuke Kazato looked straight at Gao Mo in the dim light.

Those inhuman eyes seemed to pierce through hell, as if a pair of deadly hands were tightly gripping his neck.

Having worked as a psychologist for seven years, he had never believed in ghosts or gods, but at this moment he couldn't help but doubt himself.

"You're not human?!"

"You are not human!"

Gao Mo turned on his phone's flashlight, just as Xiao Ai sent him the investigation data from the University of Tokyo Affiliated Hospital.

"You were the doctor whose hand was deliberately cut by Nino Yasushi during surgery seven years ago, weren't you? You were once known as the 'Golden Left Hand,' the youngest genius surgeon at the University of Tokyo Hospital."
But after that, I was transferred to the cardiology department, and I even stopped using my proud left hand, turning myself into a right-handed person...

The ridiculous thing is that he used his left hand to commit the murders, whether it was slitting Renno's throat with a scalpel a year ago or shooting a policeman with a handgun now.

"What do you know?"

Kyosuke Kazato's face contorted with rage at having his secret exposed, and he roared incessantly even with a pistol pointed at him.

“That guy deliberately ruined my left hand, completely cutting off my path in surgery! That kind of scum deserved to die. What's wrong with me killing him? This is also revenge for the patients he killed…”

"What about the police officers who were killed? Were they at fault?"

Gao Mo flicked his fingers, threw down the pistol that had been disassembled into parts in an instant, and punched Kazeto Kyosuke unconscious with a backhand.

I can't be bothered to listen to this guy's ramblings.

If you've committed murder, you've committed murder. Why make up an excuse? If you just surrendered, people would respect you more.

Sensing that the police were on their way, Gao Mo glanced back at Xiao Lan peeking out from the stall, then quickly left the bathroom where the water pipe had been blown up by a bullet.

The power outage actually made it easier for him to drop his disguise.

Regardless of how the police handle it afterward, at least he has completed his mission.

We can give Tamaki Jinno an explanation.

That woman scraped together 500 million yen for the commission...

"What happened?"

"Officer Sato, please be alright!"

Takagi rushed to the restroom ahead of Inspector Megure and his group, nearly tripping over the unconscious Kyosuke Kazato.

After using the light from my phone to get a clear view of the restroom, the scene was completely baffling.

Where is Officer Sato?

"Officer Sato just left," Xiaolan explained, still shaken, from her hiding place in the cubicle.

It should be Officer Sato?
She felt a bit confused.

"Ok?"

As Minister Odagiri was directing the police to block the hotel exits, he heard the commotion coming from the restroom, and his serious face showed a hint of bewilderment.

Although I don't know why, I have this strange feeling that things are over.

"Could it be..."

Department Head Odagiri suddenly looked toward the corner of the banquet hall.

The guests were already being evacuated, and Gao Mo, who was eating and drinking heartily at the table, stood out conspicuously in the darkness.

"Minister, we still haven't found Youchengzhen..."

"Is the murderer Dr. Kazato Kyosuke?" A startled exclamation suddenly rang out from outside.

Hiding in the cubicle, Ran only overheard part of the reasoning due to her nervousness, but she managed to piece together the gist of it: at least Kazato Kyosuke had been caught red-handed.

Gao Mo looked up and calmly exchanged glances with Minister Odagiri for a moment before continuing to enjoy his meal by the moonlight streaming through the window.

He wasn't a child, and he had no intention of slapping the Minister of Criminal Investigation in the face.

The detective community and the police force have a close relationship, and there may be opportunities for cooperation in the future.

In a moment of desperation, he even disguised himself as Officer Sato...

Kidd does these kinds of things—let's just say it's Kidd.

……

The hotel was shrouded in a light drizzle.

After a long and complicated procession, the detectives left in their cars one after another. Despite some twists and turns, the outcome was a happy one, and everyone could go back and get a good night's sleep.

At the hotel entrance, Sato, who had already woken up, was being questioned, but in the end, they didn't get any information out of him.

A master of disguise in women's clothing seems like only the Phantom Thief Kid could be, but when did Kid ever become a detective and help the police solve cases?

(End of this chapter)