Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"No, this is not suicide, but..."

"It was a murder case."

Conan, who had just noticed something amiss, had only denied half of his statement when Sera Masumi jumped out and stole all his lines: "...You agree, right, Conan?"

Sera Masumi looked at Conan, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Just then, a large hand landed on Sera Masumi's shoulder.

Sera Masumi turned around, and Sano, with his cold gaze, was looking down at her at a very close distance, as if he were looking at an intruder who had broken into his territory.

"I don't seem to remember this kid ever telling you that his name is Conan."

"..."

Sera Masumi and Conan both froze at the same time.

"Yeah."

Sera Masumi smiled and calmly uttered a question that wasn't really a question.

They had absolutely no intention of explaining, and were only prepared to play dumb.

Sano withdrew his hand but didn't press the matter; it was an unspoken understanding among adults.

That's it.

then.

Inspector Megure led a team to the scene and first examined the parking lot where the body was located.

"Oh, Sano-kun, it's been a long time."

Inspector Megure greeted Sano first, and as for Conan and the others... it wasn't a matter of familiarity; they were people he only saw every few days.

All I can say is that it's unnecessary.

It hasn't been too long since Sano was previously reported in the news.

But that's not within Inspector Megure's jurisdiction.

It has indeed been quite a long time since the two met in the same case.

The last time the two had contact was apparently with that case in Ireland, when Inspector Megure called Sano and asked him to come and help out... what was it again?

I think so.

Inspector Megure was quite pleased to see Sano this time.

...Although Sano is a bit of a plague, at least he's not as plague-ridden as other plague gods.

If you think about it carefully, most of the time, Sano appears with the resident plague god, so whose plague is it that caused the case?

It's really hard to say.

Furthermore, compared to other plague gods, Sano is quite stable.

They will not act recklessly on their own initiative, disregarding the reputation of the police.

In addition, he is also very capable. Other troublemakers may sometimes get bogged down in the difficulties of a case, looking like they might fail at any moment, making people worry along with them. But Sano would never do that.

Sano's presence means there are results!

After exchanging greetings, Inspector Megure inquired about the details.

It turns out that the deceased was the son of the owner of the Beika Restaurant.

At the same time, he was also the mastermind behind the fraud gang that caused a great uproar some time ago.

However, due to insufficient evidence, the deceased was not arrested but instead hid in the hotel's annex. Unexpectedly, news from an unknown source attracted a swarm of media reporters, which drove the deceased into a frenzy, causing him to vandalize the place. As a result, all the guests in the annex fled.

This is also why the villa is currently under renovation.

In addition, the three suspects were all victims affected by the death.

The three of them were there because of recent rumors that the owner of Beika Hotel was planning to secretly move his son abroad while the annex was being renovated. That's why they rushed over, intending to get an explanation from the deceased.

Of the three, only the thin woman wearing a green sweater entered the annex.

Next, as mentioned earlier on the rooftop, is what happened.

The drunk deceased said he wanted to apologize, but the woman was a little suspicious, so she went downstairs to find two companions and planned to buy a video camera to record the apology process.

So what's the harm in taking a picture with your phone?

Seeing that no one reacted to this, Sano could only continue to observe.

"How can you be so sure that this is a murder case?"

Upon hearing Inspector Megure's question, Conan immediately explained the situation.

"So that's how it is."

After thinking for a while, Inspector Megure offered his conjecture.

"Could it be that the murderer used something like a fishing line to connect the victim to the car, so that the person would fall off whenever the car moved?"

Conan dismissed this possibility because he immediately had someone guard the scene after the victim fell, and Inspector Megure arrived. If there had been any traps or mechanisms set up in the parking lot, they should have been discovered very quickly.

"Um……"

Just as Inspector Megure fell into deep thought again, Sera Masumi finally spoke up, revealing the unusual thing she had noticed while waiting for the second elevator downstairs after Sano and the others went upstairs.

That is, during the elevator's downward movement.

The question was raised when the train stopped briefly on the sixth floor and the second floor respectively.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask him; he should have seen it too."

Sera Masumi brought Sano in as a witness.

And then he met Inspector Megure's gaze.

Sano nodded, indicating that Sera Masumi was not lying.

Conan, on the other hand, looked rather self-doubting—damn it, so Sano found such an important clue while staying in the elevator?

They didn't even tell me, not even once?

Is this teammate even worth keeping?

"Ok?"

Before Conan could even complain to Sano, Inspector Megure turned his gaze to Sera Masumi, tilting his head in confusion as he asked.

"Speaking of which, who are you...?"

"Ah, my name is Sera, and I'm a detective."

Sera Masumi introduced herself, which prompted Inspector Megure to give her a series of dots.

Detective... It seems a new scourge has finally appeared?

Just then, the police officers who had been assigned by Inspector Megure to investigate the elevator surveillance footage at the Beika Hotel returned and said that because the deceased had caused a disturbance in the annex, all the surveillance cameras were covered in paint, making it impossible to conduct an investigation.

"So there's still a possibility that the murderer is hiding in the annex."

Before Inspector Megure could figure things out, he heard the three suspects behind him chattering away.

What are you talking about?

Inspector Megure glanced over the three suspects, and after some stammering, they finally revealed a piece of information: there were rumors that the annex was haunted.

Such as elderly people in wheelchairs wandering freely in the corridors of the annex at night when no one is around.

"The old man's ghost?"

Inspector Megure appropriately raised a question: "Why is it definitely an elderly person's wheelchair?"

The woman in green immediately offered an explanation, which also revealed her true intentions.

"Motive for murder".

It turns out that rather than saying that the woman in green was a victim affected by the deceased's fraud, it would be more accurate to say that her mother was the real direct victim.

After realizing she had been scammed, the woman in the green dress's mother fell seriously ill and eventually died.

Chapter 534, Chapter 537: What the older brother has, the younger sister must also have.

Therefore, the man in the green shirt's father often came here in his wheelchair, trying to get an explanation from the deceased, but naturally he was repeatedly turned down and got nothing.

Therefore, the man in green's father hanged himself on the second floor of the villa.

Upon learning this secret, everyone fell into a noticeable silence for a while.

Finally, Inspector Megure broke the silence, saying he wanted to go into the annex to see the "scene".

So the group went back into the villa.

Following the principle of starting from the bottom up, the group first explored the suspicious second floor.

The elevator doors on the second floor open in the same direction as before.

Stepping outside, you'll see that the villa is filled with materials and tools for renovation, and all the walls, even the floors and ceilings, are covered with colorful and dazzling graffiti.

"They've really made quite a fuss."

Inspector Megure immediately spotted the wheelchair pushing against the windowsill in front of the elevator door and curiously approached it.

"Is this the legendary ghost wheelchair that supposedly wanders around at night?"

Inspector Megure carefully observed the area and finally found a clump of fishing line that looked to be at least ten meters long behind the electric wheelchair.

Takagi Wataru, who was standing next to him, immediately realized what was going on.

“I understand now. The deceased must have created this ghost story using the fishing line, in order to scare away those troublesome people who came to the annex looking for him.”

"Ah."

Inspector Megure nodded in agreement, then looked at Sano.

"Brother Sano, what do you think?"

Sano snapped out of his daze and said, "I can watch standing up, but I want to watch lying down."

Inspector Megure: "?"