The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Faced with Aragaki Yu's smile, Miss Shizuka felt a sudden, inexplicable unease.

It was clear that Aragaki Yu had already noticed the way he was sizing up the other person.

At that moment, Miss Jinghua was like a young girl experiencing her first love, blushing slightly and looking away guiltily after her crush discovered her peeping at him.

Chapter 445 Mrs. Mori?

"So, to verify your alibi, could you please give me the phone number of the friend who went golfing with you? Thank you," Officer Yokomizo said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"No, no problem." Kyoko Shibata nodded.

Next, Officer Yokomizo asked Yoshikawa Takezo for the phone numbers of the mahjong partners they had played with at the time.

It took the police a long time to confirm that Kyoko Shibata's friend did indeed pick her up around 5 p.m. to go play golf.

Kyoko Shibata's friend also mentioned that she was taken back here after 7 p.m., which is about the same time that Kogoro Mouri and his group arrived at this place.

Meanwhile, the police also went to the newspaper distribution center and confirmed that the newspaper delivery time in the vicinity was indeed around 6:00 a.m.

"It seems that Ms. Shibata was indeed not lying," Kogoro Mori whispered to Inspector Yokomizo.

"Hmm." Inspector Yokomizo nodded. "Considering the fact that the VCR in the kitchen was playing today's period drama without being turned off and the timing of the broadcast, the time of the incident was probably between 8:00 and 8:45 in the morning."

“That means Mrs. Shibata wouldn’t have had the opportunity to commit a crime!” Kogoro Mori looked at Kyoko Shibata beside him.

"Yes!"

"Well, is that even a question?" Kyoko Shibata, on the other hand, seemed somewhat indignant after hearing Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Yokomizo's words. "How could I possibly kill my own husband!"

Inspector Yokomizo ignored Shibata Kyoko's complaints and instead looked at Yoshikawa Takezo, saying, "Then I'd like to ask you a question, Mr. Yoshikawa."

"what!?"

Yoshikawa Takezo paused for a moment, then his expression became somewhat flustered, because he noticed that the police officer's expression towards him was full of suspicion.

"Your behavior just now was very strange!" Inspector Yokomizo approached Yoshikawa Takezo, stopped in front of him, and stared intently into his eyes, asking, "Do you have an alibi since eight o'clock this morning?"

Aragaki Yu glanced at Inspector Yokomizo with some surprise, not expecting that he had also noticed Yoshikawa Takezo's unnatural expression.

"Well, I was sleeping at home back then!" Yoshikawa Takezo, still shaken by Officer Yokomizo's words, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and explained nervously.

"Can anyone prove this?" Inspector Yokomizo's face drew even closer to Takezo Yoshikawa's.

"How could there be such a thing? I live alone!" Yoshikawa Takezo complained, his face showing displeasure and anxiety.

However, he quickly became excited again, as if he had remembered something. "Oh! I remember now, I left a message on his answering machine today, telling him to get up quickly and that I was coming to pick him up soon. If I really killed someone, there would be no need for such a big fuss!"

“You might be doing this on purpose to mislead people!” However, Officer Yokomizo did not completely believe Yoshikawa Takezo’s words.

"What are you talking about!" Yoshikawa Takezo seemed a little angry at Inspector Yokomizo's response, and then pointed angrily at Kogoro Mouri and his group, "Why do you only suspect me? What about the others? Don't be fooled just because he's familiar with the police!"

"Hahahaha!" Inspector Yokomizo didn't seem to care. Instead, he laughed a few times and said, "I can tell you very clearly that they absolutely cannot kill anyone."

Seeing Yoshikawa Takezo's puzzled look, Inspector Yokomizo continued to explain, "Because he is the detective I respect most, Mr. Mouri Kogoro."

"Haha, thanks!" Upon hearing Inspector Yokomizo's words, Kogoro Mouri scratched his head with a cheerful smile.

"What!?" Yoshikawa Takezo was clearly startled by Kogoro Mouri's identity.

After all, this name has been frequently appearing in news reports across various media outlets recently.

At the same time, Kyoko Shibata's expression changed slightly as she looked at Kogoro Mouri with some shock.

"This young man is high school detective Yuu Aragaki," Officer Yokomizo continued, introducing the others. "The others who came with him are his daughter Ran and Conan, who is staying at their house."

"And this beautiful lady next to me is Mrs. Mori!" Officer Yokomizo pointed to Miss Shizuka standing at the back and introduced her with certainty.

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Ran and Conan: "???"

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri's eyes widened instantly, looking somewhat bewildered.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Mori?” Officer Yokomizo, seemingly oblivious to the strange expressions on the men’s faces, leaned closer to Kogoro Mori and said.

"Haha, do you think it looks like it?" Kogoro Mouri said somewhat embarrassedly.

"No, no..." Xiaolan was about to explain something, fearing that it would cause a misunderstanding.

"Officer, I think you've misunderstood me," Miss Jinghua sighed helplessly and quickly clarified.

"Huh?" Officer Yokomizo looked at Miss Shizuka with a puzzled expression.

"This time, I've come to ask Mr. Mori to help me find my old friend, Mr. Shibata Shiro. My surname is Ikenami, and I look forward to your guidance. The main purpose of my trip is to ask Mr. Shibata to return an old photograph he took thirty years ago so that I can keep it as a memento." She explained her identity and purpose calmly.

Chibo?

Chibo Shizuka?

Upon learning Miss Jinghua's surname, Aragaki Yu glanced at her with some surprise.

Then again, he felt like he'd seen that name somewhere before.

"Photographs?" Officer Yokomizo asked, puzzled.

Conan, who had run to the body, reminded everyone, "I think the photo she was talking about must be the one Mr. Shibata is holding right now!"

"Huh?" Inspector Yokomizo and Kogoro Mouri walked over to the body with some surprise.

After taking the photo from Mr. Shibata's body and opening it, they were surprised to find that the tightly gripped photo showed Ms. Shizuka holding a trophy when she was young.

That's right, this is the very photo that Miss Shizuka entrusted to Kogoro Mouri to find Mr. Shibata and retrieve.

"But... but why would Mr. Shibata be holding it in his hand?" Kogoro Mouri's expression turned somewhat grim, clearly indicating that he had considered a potentially ominous possibility.

Inspector Yokomizo's next words confirmed this: "In my opinion, Mr. Mori, this photo should be the death message left by Mr. Shibata before he drowned!"

Chapter 446 The Mysterious Ikebana Shizuka

"This matter... no, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the beautiful Shizuka!" Kogoro Mouri's lips twitched as he tried his best to defend Shizuka Ikenami. "Besides, this photo should have been tucked inside a book, right? I think he must have found it by chance when he fell down."

For Kogoro Mouri, no case could possibly involve a beautiful young lady.

Inspector Yokomizo opened his mouth, about to say something, but was interrupted by Conan, who was being held firmly by Ran.

Conan pointed at Mr. Shibata's body and said, "Look, it looks like there's something under Mr. Shibata's stomach."

"Oh?" Following the direction Conan pointed, Inspector Yokomizo also pulled out a novel titled "Thor's Gate" from under Mr. Shibata's body.

“That’s right, this is the novel I borrowed from Mr. Shibata before.” Shizuka Ikenami also readily admitted this, “I borrowed it from Mr. Shibata thirty years ago, and it was this book that I accidentally slipped in with a photo.”

“Then…could it be that the murderer is…” Inspector Yokomizo looked at Shizuka Ikenami with some suspicion.

But Kogoro Mouri still refused to believe it. "Wait a minute, isn't all of this too much of a coincidence? How come this photo and this novel both happened to fall on the floor by such a coincidence?"

"Wait a minute, officer, I remember Mr. Shibata received a phone call the day before yesterday!" Yoshikawa Takezo suddenly remembered something.

"Is there something wrong with that phone call?" Inspector Yokomizo looked at Takezo Yoshikawa, wondering why he would suddenly bring up such an unrelated matter.

“Yes, I remember he told the person on the other end of the phone, ‘Yes, this is really good, you must watch it again!’” Yoshikawa Takezo recalled for a moment and then explained the situation to everyone. “He was watching that period drama videotape in this living room when he received this call. Is that right, Mrs. Shibata?”

After saying that, Yoshikawa Takezo looked at Shibata Kyoko beside him.

“No, that’s right.” Kyoko Shibata nodded and added, “After talking to the other person for a while, my husband found that book on the bookshelf. As he was flipping through the pages, he kept laughing and saying, ‘Found it! Found it!’”

"And then, where did your husband put that book?" Officer Yokomizo asked anxiously.

Inspector Yokomizo had a vague feeling that he was getting closer and closer to the truth.

Could it be that this time, I can solve the case on my own without relying on a famous detective?

Officer Yokomizo was incredibly excited when he thought of this.

Meanwhile, Aragaki Yu, who had been watching all of this closely, glanced at Ikenami Shizuka with some curiosity.

Even though the evidence was becoming increasingly unfavorable to her, she still showed no sign of tension and stood there calmly.

She even smiled slightly at Aragaki Yu after noticing his gaze.

"I remember he casually put that book on top of the pile of books in front of this bookshelf," Kyoko Shibata said, pointing to the pile of collapsed books next to the bookshelf.

"Officer Yokomizo!"

At the same time, a forensic investigator suddenly rushed over, saying, "We found a small amount of blood in the corridor!"

Led by forensic personnel, the group indeed found a trace of blood in a crack in the corridor floor.

Inspector Yokomizo stroked his chin and analyzed to Kogoro Mouri beside him, "In my opinion, the real crime scene should be in the corridor!"

Meanwhile, taking advantage of Kogoro Mouri and the others' inattention, Conan sneaked up to the forensic officer and, looking at the novel he had put into the evidence bag, said in a clear voice, "Uncle, can I borrow this novel to take a look..."

……

At this moment, Aragaki Yu, who was lagging behind the group, looked at the calm and composed Ikenami Shizuka beside him and asked with some curiosity, "Miss Shizuka, I think you're about to mistake Inspector Yokomizo for the murderer. Aren't you nervous?"

Upon hearing this, Shizuka Ikenami turned to look at Yuu Aragaki, but her expression seemed somewhat surprised.

However, this surprised expression only flashed by for a moment. Then, she spoke softly with interest, "Since I didn't do such a thing, there's naturally no need to be nervous. But how can you be so sure I'm not the murderer?"

"How could that be!" Seeing that no one else's attention was on him, Aragaki Yu shrugged and said, "After all, if you, Shizuka, were the murderer, and you deliberately returned to the crime scene with Mr. Mori in order to retrieve this photo, you should have found out that the door was unlocked when Mr. Mori rang the doorbell and no one answered, instead of agreeing to Mr. Mori's suggestion to go for a walk around the neighborhood."

At this point, Yuu Aragaki paused slightly, glancing at the photo that the police had put into the evidence bag. "After all, the only time you can retrieve that photo is between the discovery of the body and the arrival of the police here."

"Oh?" Shizuka Ikenami looked at Yuu Aragaki, smiled with her head down, and gestured for him to continue.