Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Conan and the others' expressions changed, and they quickly followed them deeper inside, arriving at the living room.

A middle-aged man covered in blood lay on the ground, his eyes wide open.

He had stopped breathing.

...The police arrived at the scene quickly.

The leader was the coral-headed policeman Sano had seen before, named Yokomizo, Yokomizo something...

Never mind, they're all trivial matters.

Sano watched as Yokomizo Sango finished learning the situation from Kogoro Mori and then went to investigate the suspects—the bald uncle named Yoshikawa Takezo, who was Shibata Shiro's neighbor in the same apartment building, and they often played mahjong together, while the woman was named Shibata Kyoko.

She was undoubtedly the deceased's wife.

...What Sano found somewhat incomprehensible was...

As a police officer who is no longer a novice, shouldn't the first priority upon arriving at the scene be to examine the body?

Chapter 508, 511, Conan: Like two outlaws

The thing is, this guy just listened to Kogoro Mouri's narration and made a verbal analysis based on what he saw when he arrived.

Not to mention the police who came later.

Even the others who arrived early and waited for the police for a while.

No unusual features were found on the body.

That thing almost shoved right into someone's eyes, whispering in their ear—"Look at me! I'm a clue! Whether it's a real clue or a fake one, it's definitely a clue! Look at me, you idiot!"

However, everyone present expressed that—

Sorry, I'm blind, I can't see!

Oh, except for Conan.

Yes, that's very much like Ke Xue's style.

With the aid of a series of testimonies, Yokomizo Sango confirmed that the deceased's time of death should be between 8:00 and 8:45 in the morning.

At that time, Kyoko Shibata was playing golf with her friends.

Yoshikawa Takezo, the bald uncle, however, did not have an alibi.

This successfully caught Yokomizo Sango's attention.

...It's quite strange that this time it wasn't Kogoro Mouri who was leading the way.

Perhaps it's because after doing it many times, gaining experience, that one can be considered to have graduated?

While Sano was distracted, the bald uncle, driven to desperation by Yokomizo Sango, chose to drag Kogoro Mouri and his group into the mess as well.

Some things can only be kept in the dark, not brought into the open.

As a seasoned veteran, Inspector Megure is quite tactful in this regard.

However, Yokomizo's understanding is clearly too young.

He loudly proclaimed that he had absolute trust in Detective Mori.

Undoubtedly, there is no attempt to conceal the bias.

Fortunately, this isn't Tokyo.

That bald uncle was rather ignorant, and for a moment he was genuinely intimidated by Yokomizo Sango.

"This must be Mrs. Mori, they are such a perfect match."

Yokomizo Sango had a sycophantic look on his face.

"Hey?"

Kogoro Mouri paused, then grinned lecherously, "Hehe, does she look like my wife?"

However, Ikenami Shizuka did not allow the situation to continue in this twist of fate.

He quickly explained his situation.

This adds another suspect to Yokomizo Sango's list.

"What photo did you say you came all this way specifically to find?"

"It should be the one the deceased was holding."

Conan finally revealed his discovery, causing everyone present to change their expressions.

I went over to take a look.

As expected, Shibata Shiro was holding the photo that Ikenami Shizuka was looking for.

This is a clue with obvious guiding significance.

But they did successfully guide the situation.

Ikeba Shizuka went from being a suspect to becoming the prime suspect overnight.

It could even be said that he has already been treated as the murderer.

"This must be the last message left by the deceased before they died!"

Yokomizo Sango stared at Ikenami Shizuka with wide eyes: "What excuses do you have now? If not, please come back with us!"

"Wait, wait a minute... such a beautiful woman couldn't possibly have killed someone, could she..."

Kogoro Mori quickly tried to smooth things over... although it was of no use, since his stammering words were based entirely on the idea that "good looks are justice."

It's really not very convincing.

However, Shizuka Ikenami herself remained quite calm.

"I'm sorry, I refuse to go with you."

Everyone present was stunned upon hearing this.

"……What did you say?"

"Didn't you hear me? Let me say it again."

Ikeba Shizuka's eyes were calm: "I said, I refuse to go anywhere. If you insist on taking me back to the police station for questioning, then please apply for an arrest warrant from the court first, and then come and ask me for help, officer... provided that the judge is willing to believe your outrageous statement."

"Of course, if Mrs. Shibata were to sue us for trespassing on someone else's property, it's quite possible that I'd be put in jail."

"..."

Faced with the calm and composed Shizuka Ikenami, Kogoro Mouri and his companions were somewhat dumbfounded.

This approach is clearly worlds apart from the previous bald uncle.

Are you that confident?

However, at that moment, Sano interrupted.

"Aren't you just twisting the facts? What this officer meant was that he wanted you to go back and cooperate with the investigation and interrogation, which is different from needing an arrest warrant to arrest you directly."

The air fell silent once more.

Ikenami Shizuka turned to look at Sano, her eyes dark and unfathomable: "What you said is indeed correct, Detective Sano. As a citizen, I do have an obligation to cooperate with the authorities when necessary, but such an obligation can only detain me for a maximum of 24 hours. Once that is exceeded, it will be illegal."

"If you can prove you broke the law within 24 hours, then you don't have to break the law, right?"

Sano lit a cigarette: "If the police really get serious, an ordinary person might not be able to last 24 hours and would confess long ago... Of course, judging from your appearance, you should be able to get through it."

Shizuka Ikenami looked at Sano and remained silent for a few seconds.

"You seem to have in-depth knowledge of this area?"

"Of course, a detective must first know how to escape legal punishment before he can know how to bring criminals to justice."

Sano replied in this way.

"...Indeed, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle."

Ikeba Shizuka nodded in agreement.

But it was Conan who was looking at Sano and the other two in front of him.

A strange sense of déjà vu arose in my mind... It felt like I was watching two outlaws exchanging experiences and insights, which was very unsettling.

"So, are you planning to use your intelligence to convict me?"

Ikeba Shizuka steered the conversation back to the main topic.

Sano raised an eyebrow: "Of course not. No matter how hard an innocent spectator who is not the murderer tries, they can't be convicted... unless it's a frame-up and everyone around is an idiot who didn't notice."

These words were spoken.

Everyone inside was completely stunned.

"Wait, wait a minute, Sano-kun, you mean she absolutely can't be the culprit... Why? Is there any evidence, or...?"

Yokomizo Sango was interrupted by Sano before he could finish speaking.

"Because I have found irrefutable evidence against the real culprit."

"Varied……"

Before anyone could react, Sano snapped his fingers.

"Ding ding ding..."

A ring fell to the ground with a rather noticeable cracking sound.

Then it began to shake wildly on the ground, echoing continuously.

It drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Especially Shibata Kyoko, whose pupils contracted and she reached for her pocket, only to find it empty, her eyes widened in disbelief... How could this be!?

I clearly put it away carefully, how could it suddenly fall down!?

Adding to that Sano's snap, Kyoko Shibata was even more unable to understand.

Did this guy figure out that he had this ring?

How then did they manage to make the ring appear on its own?