Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 289 The culprit is a swordsman assassin

"Heiji! Heiji's awake!"

In the early hours of the morning, Kazuha, who had been keeping watch by Hattori's bedside, finally saw Hattori wake up and was so excited that she rushed outside to call for help.

"Kazuha?" Hattori Heiji was still not fully conscious and thought he was dreaming. He tried to get up, but a sharp pain shot through his head.

The masked man's fierce sword attacks flashed through his mind again.

"Heiji!" Kazuha hurriedly supported Hattori, who was crying out in pain. "The doctor is coming right away!"

"I am fine."

After realizing he wasn't dreaming, Hattori suppressed his chaotic thoughts and looked up in surprise to find Gao Mo and Officer Otaki at the ward door.

"Kido-san? Officer Otaki? You guys..."

“I was so worried, Heiji,” Officer Otaki breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness you’re alright, otherwise I wouldn’t know how to explain this to your father.”

“It has nothing to do with Inspector Otaki,” Hattori said, pressing his bandage on his head and looking at Shiratori, who was with Gao Mo, with a puzzled expression. “And who is this?”

“I’m Shiratori from the Metropolitan Police Department,” Shiratori’s cheek twitched. “Really, we should have crossed paths before.”

"Have it?"

Hattori still felt a headache coming on.

"But how long have I been asleep? Everyone has actually come to Kyoto."

“We rushed here overnight,” Gao Mo made way for the nurse in charge of the examination. “What exactly happened yesterday? How did you get injured like this by a criminal? I heard that if the police hadn’t passed by, you would have been killed.”

“I’m puzzled too,” Hattori replied with a wry smile. “I still have no clue. That guy attacked me once when I came to Kyoto, which is really strange… To be honest, I was no match for him at all, not even in a head-on confrontation…”

"You're finally awake."

Inspector Ayanokoji of the Kyoto Prefectural Police walked in from outside, glanced at Shiratori, and then turned to Hattori Heiji.

"The dagger left at the scene is being tested, and it's highly likely to be the murder weapon used to kill Mr. Sakura. Also, the motorcycle the assailant was driving was a stolen vehicle, and we haven't found anything useful with it. Can you provide any other clues?"

“That guy was very cautious,” Hattori Heiji shook his head, a thermometer still in his mouth. “He wasn’t just wearing a mask; his body was completely covered up. I was hoping to at least leave something behind, but I was utterly defenseless…”

If there's anything else, it seems that guy was also wearing arm guards.

Upon hearing this, Inspector Ayanokouji said nothing more, but instead took out something that looked like a treasure map from his pocket: "Do you understand what this drawing is about? It's tucked inside Mr. Sakura's 'Yoshitsune Chronicle'."

“I don’t understand it at all,” Hattori said, turning his gaze to Gao Mo, “but if Master Kindaichi were here, he should…”

“I’ve already contacted Kindaichi,” Gao Mo quickly explained. “He’s in Kyoto, but he can’t get away right now.”

"Kindaichi? That famous detective from the Kanto region? This is Kyoto, it's best for laymen not to meddle in other people's business."

Ayanokouji didn't seem to care much for the detective. After putting away the drawing paper, he turned and left, completely ignoring Shiratori's gaze.

"That's all for now. You should get some rest. Contact me if you remember anything. Don't worry about your safety here."

"Hmph, Mr. Kindaichi is no amateur."

Shiratori failed to keep up with his old classmate and nemesis, despite still needing to understand much about the case.

"Mr. Kido, feel free to ask me for anything you need. It would be even better if I could hear Mr. Kindaichi's reasoning."

"Can you take me to the crime scene?" Gao Mo asked without any politeness. "I want to help Kindaichi sort out the case."

"Uh, yes, that's possible..."

"Heiji," Officer Otaki said goodbye, "we have to go to a meeting. Take good care of yourself and don't cause any more trouble."

"When did I do anything reckless?"

Hattori watched Officer Otaki leave in silence.

"I was just too careless back then. Who knew that guy's swordsmanship was so good?"

"Is it really that amazing?" Gao Mo asked in doubt.

As far as I know, Hattori himself was also a master of swordsmanship.

“That was swordsmanship I’d never seen before,” Hattori said gravely, gritting his teeth as he recalled his experience from the previous night. “It was so fast. Once they gained the upper hand, there was no way to defend. It was nothing like modern swordsmanship; it felt like it existed solely for killing…”

Hattori frowned again as he spoke.

"What I don't understand the most is that the guy deliberately lured me to the park, then took two wooden swords, threw one at me to start a duel, knocked the wooden sword out of my hand, but didn't continue to attack. Instead, he threw away the wooden sword and took out the short knife..."

When he finally fled, he took two wooden swords but left behind the short sword. That's strange, isn't it?

“Indeed,” Gao Mo nodded thoughtfully, “it doesn’t sound like it’s about killing you.”

“Yes, that guy may have left the dagger on purpose,” Hattori said, clutching his still-painful shoulder wound. “I don’t know why he did it, but it seems he is the murderer who killed the bandit gang members one after another.”

As he spoke, Hattori suddenly pulled out a purse from his person.

"I almost forgot, this sachet fell to the ground during the fight, and that guy actually tried to pick it up."

"what is inside?"

“It’s a crystal bead,” Hattori said, opening his pouch with a troubled expression. “I’ve been carrying it with me because I was looking for a girl from when I was little. I found it about eight years ago at Sannoji Temple. It shouldn’t have anything to do with this case.”

"It's hard to say."

Gao Mo incorporated crystal beads into his mental framework.

Before Hattori woke up, he had already gained a basic understanding of the case, including the details of the request from Sannoji Temple.

It is said that a mysterious letter was recently received, which stated that "the location of the Buddha statue can be found by solving the mystery of the picture."

The so-called Buddha statue is actually the Medicine Buddha statue that was stolen from Shanneng Temple eight years ago, a treasured Buddha statue that is only displayed once every twelve years.

"Do you still have that painting from Shanneng Temple on you?"

“Yes,” Hattori Heiji said, pulling the letter out of his clothes. “It’s the same as the drawing that the inspector just took out. It looks like a five-tiered display staircase with some strange patterns drawn on it: cicadas, tengu, goldfish, roosters, and things that look like loaches. I have absolutely no idea what it means.”

Gao Mo took the painting to examine it, and in doing so, he also saw the stolen image of Bhaisajyaguru Buddha.

He didn't know what Hattori Heiji's first love was all about, but the crystal bead he saw earlier was probably the white urna adorning the Buddha statue's brow.

It's possible that it fell off when the bandits took the Buddha statue back then, and it just so happened that Hattori Heiji picked it up.

This is probably why Hattori was attacked repeatedly—this guy, in order to find his first love, ostentatiously displayed crystal beads in a magazine, making no attempt to hide his experience from 8 years ago.

"call!"

Gao Mo's eyes flickered slightly, and as he turned the pages of his notebook, the premonition resurfaced in his mind.

Unlike the previous vagueness, this time Hattori could clearly feel the aura of death surrounding him.

Just like the Mermaid Island incident before.

"Kido-kun?" Hattori, unaware of the problem, called out to Gao Mo, "Is Master Kindaichi also investigating this case?"

"Okay, I'll help him gather clues first."

Gao Mo put down the drawing, having made up his mind.

The best approach is to act swiftly and decisively, eliminating the root cause.

It's really necessary to go to the crime scene.

The good news is that, unlike the previous murders, the killer did not choose to assassinate in an isolated place last night, and for the first time, a suspect has appeared.

It's possible that the murder was planned specifically to clear himself of suspicion.

“I’ll keep this sachet for you,” Gao Mo said, taking the pouch. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you find your first love.” “Huh?” Hattori Heiji was caught off guard, and anxiously asked Gao Mo, who was about to leave, “Kido-nii, how are you going to find her?”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” Gao Mo turned to He Ye, who was bowing his head beside him. “This kid is yours, He Ye. Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t run away.”

"Huh? Yes!" Kazuha was startled, then, as if receiving a royal decree, she tightly hugged Hattori's arm with a serious expression. "I absolutely won't let Heiji escape!"

"Ouch!" Hattori cried out as his wound was pulled. "Idiot! I'm not a criminal!"

"In short, you're not getting away!"

Let go!

Gao Mo closed the ward door amidst the two's arguing. Outside, Shiratori was frowning and thinking while holding a police handbook. Upon seeing Gao Mo come out, she immediately said with concern, "If the criminal's target is that crystal bead, it's too dangerous to carry it around."

"That's precisely why we should bring it with us; we might find some clues." Gao Mo actually hoped the criminals would come looking for him.

“Alright,” Shiratori sighed, “Don’t leave my side later.”

……

Ponto Town.

A kabuki tea house.

As the scene of the murder, Kyoto police officers are still on duty at the scene.

Gao Mo, led by Bai Niao, entered the teahouse warehouse.

Since a murder had occurred there, and it was during the day, I missed the chance to experience the charm of Kyoto.

“This is the warehouse,” Shiratori said, inspecting the warehouse. “The victim was antique dealer Sakura Seizo. It seems he was murdered while looking for something in the warehouse. His identity has been confirmed as Ise Saburo from Genji Kiri, who appears to be in charge of handling stolen goods.”

The two guests who were with him at the time and a kabuki actor had the opportunity to commit the murder. According to the proprietress, Mr. Sakura said he wanted to go back to his room to sleep after watching the performance and asked the proprietress to wake him up at 9 o'clock.

The people who went to the restroom separately were: Taiga Hosozawa, the owner of the used bookstore; Harutaro Mizuo, the Noh actor; and then Chiga Rin, the Kabuki performer. Shall we go see them? I heard they're having a gathering at Harutaro Mizuo's house today.

Simultaneously, Gao Mo's mind conjured up images of police photos taken at the scene.

Because the statement taken by the Kyoto Prefectural Police last night has become a document, he actually knows more about the case than Shiratori.

I came to the scene specifically for this intelligence.

Gao Mo frowned as he looked at the white bird he was observing.

There is no projected text.

It seems that not encountering the corpse immediately wasn't enough; the antique dealer probably didn't become an evil spirit.

"What's wrong?" Shiratori felt uncomfortable being stared at, and inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine.

"It's alright, we'll go find those people later."

Gao Mo glanced at the warehouse and the surrounding rooms, then went up the stairs to the second floor.

The teahouse is located next to the Kamo River, and from the terrace you can see rows of cherry blossom trees on the opposite bank.

"Kyoto police currently believe that the perpetrator is an outsider who entered and exited through the basement window. However, it should be clear that last night was a full moon, and the scene was clearly visible from the outside, yet there were no witnesses on the riverbank."

Shiratori continued to explain.

"As for the inside of the teahouse, although those people had the opportunity to commit murder, the Kyoto Prefectural Police searched the entire house but found no murder weapon. Of course, they also searched the river outside, but found nothing there either..."

Just then, Shiratori's phone vibrated.

"The results are in. The short knife used to attack Hattori has been tested and confirmed to have the victim's blood on it, and the wound matches the body."

"Let's go see those people." Gao Mo turned his gaze away from the riverbank.

He also happened to receive Ai's email.

Even after he left, Ai Haibara continued to keep an eye on Kyoto.

[The coded picture indicates the location of the Buddha statue. It needs to be deciphered using a very popular local Kyoto place name rhyme. Beware of Benkei.]

When I called back, Yuanzi answered.

Ai was already fast asleep on the sofa.

This hint came at just the right time; he was too unfamiliar with Kyoto and it would be difficult for him to decipher the coded message in a short period of time.

"Place name rhymes?"

Gao Mo checked it on his phone and found it was a ball song.

If it weren't for Ai, he would never have thought of this.

With a direction, solving the mystery no longer seems like a problem.

However, the most important thing right now is to investigate the case. There's no rush to find the Buddha statue; it can only be used to lure out criminals at crucial moments.

“Wait a minute,” Shiratori suddenly said in surprise, holding his phone. “Inspector Megure has sent a new lead. The leader of the Genji clan, Yoshitsune, may have died three months ago, which led to this turmoil. The leader who is still alive is that guy codenamed Benkei.”

……

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The man with the mustache crossed his arms and looked deep in thought.

“I know the general situation. Without a doubt, the one who killed Ise Saburo was Benkei. The reason he was left to kill him last was because Ise Saburo controlled the sales channels, but Benkei found a new sales channel and committed a new murder in order to monopolize it!”

The man with the mustache leaned back confidently.

"Absolutely right, the murderer should be that Kabuki actor. On the surface, he is a Kabuki actor, but in reality, he is a terrifying killer. The reason why the murder weapon has not been found is because there is an accomplice."

“It doesn’t sound like it doesn’t make sense, but,” Megure felt that his old subordinate was unreliable, “that kabuki actor had an alibi for the previous murders.”

“So there are accomplices,” the mustachioed man said definitively, “and perhaps Ise Saburo, who made the initial move, was then betrayed.”

The more I talk, the more confused I get.

Megure, puzzled, wiped his sweat.

"The antique dealer was just an ordinary person. His build didn't match the murderer's; he was too fat. Also, Kyoto authorities have denied the possibility of him being an accomplice."

"Really?" The man with the mustache was stuck in his thoughts.

"Why would you doubt a kabuki actor?" Megure asked curiously.

"Isn't that how it is on TV? The less suspicious someone is, the more likely they are to be the murderer. And Kabuki actors have too many opportunities to kill."

"..."

I'm having a headache and I'm rubbing my forehead.

This guy once said that a beautiful woman couldn't be the murderer.

Why bring this guy over?

"I heard Kindaichi is in Kyoto. Let's wait for more news." Inspector Megure checked Shiratori's reply.

The man with the mustache suddenly wanted to go to Kyoto.

His partner was surprisingly absent at a time like this.

Kido-kun must need him right now.

(End of this chapter)