The crime scene was in a private room on the second floor, which had a clear view of the layout downstairs.
The victim died from poisoning, but the key utensils showed no traces of poison.
Now, they needed to figure out how the poison was administered.
"Poisoning method, huh? It must be that couple." Conan looked toward Ren and the others standing nearby.
As Ren turned toward the police, his phone was facing him.
Because of the large smartphone screen and the fact that Ren didn't intentionally hide it, Conan caught a glimpse of a chat between Ren and Gin.
But Conan felt a bit confused—it seemed like the other party wanted him to see it.
"Gin, that damn Gin… He's from the Black Organization. But why? Was it on purpose to expose themselves?"
Ignoring the case for a moment, Conan enlarged his glasses to peek closely at Ren's screen and read all their messages.
"Hennessy? The French liquor brand. They release unique flavors based on different consumers' tastes. Is he a researcher for the Black Organization? Also, he's using a phone I've never seen before."
Conan quietly recorded this information about Ren.
Hearing their conversation, it seemed they wanted to wrap up the case quickly and leave.
This made Conan uneasy. As a detective, he naturally wanted the case solved, but as Conan, he didn't want Ren and the others to get away so easily.
Ignoring the poisoning method for now, Conan hurried downstairs and moved closer to Ren and the others.
Conan's target was clear—he aimed straight at them.
Ren felt puzzled. Although Conan's actions were part of his plan to lure him, it was bold.
Why hadn't the Black Organization noticed Conan yet?
"Conan, don't run around."
Ran stopped him by quickly picking him up to block his approach to Ren and the others.
"No wonder she's a lucky girl. Feels like Conan isn't noticed because of her."
After thinking that, Ren decided not to waste any more time.
"Rain, help me check all the information on the victim, Hiraga Genji."
"Accessing this will invade someone's privacy. Continue?"
"Yes."
Soon, all the victim's information appeared on the phone.
Anything they could find online was displayed in front of Ren.
"He booked three rooms and often contacted three different numbers. Must be three different people. This guy's seriously playing all sides."
Ren looked at the records and commented with some disdain.
"Valentine's Day became the last straw that broke the camel's back," Shiho Miyano said as she leaned closer.
In the world of Detective Conan, doing something like this was really bold. Ren thought the other side was too daring.
After all, in this world, even the smallest things could become motives. But this person just maxed out their buff.
"Officer Megure, I already know who the culprit is," Ren said, walking straight up to the police.
"What? So fast? Are you a detective?" Officer Megure was surprised. They hadn't even finished examining the scene, yet someone already knew the killer?
"No, I'm a researcher," Ren introduced himself.
"As expected of a researcher. What was that just now?" Conan was very curious.
"Takasei Hirami. You're the culprit, aren't you?" Ren looked at a woman who appeared fragile.
"Ah, I... could it be a mistake?"
"Genji Hiraga is your boyfriend, right? I'm not wrong," Ren said.
After hesitating for a moment, Takasei replied, "Yes, but does that mean I'm definitely the culprit because of that?"
"Young man, you still need evidence to confirm the culprit," Officer Megure said as he walked over.
Ren ignored him and continued, "Genji Hiraga has two other girlfriends besides you. Today, Valentine's Day, he booked three rooms. You have enough motive."
"How do you know he has two other girlfriends? Are you his friend?" Takasei's face darkened.
Officer Megure spoke seriously, "Young man, evidence is necessary. Since you know the deceased, you shouldn't close the case this way."
"Genji promised you he'd break up with them, but he didn't. You tolerated it and forgave his cheating multiple times. But you just can't accept that on Valentine's Day, you can't share him with other women. So you bought hydrogen cyanide. Do you want me to tell you where you bought it?" Ren still ignored Officer Megure.
"He broke his promises. I forgave him so many times. Why did it have to be like this? I was just trapped, what's my fault?" The woman knelt on the ground and broke down crying, confessing everything.
"Men don't cherish you because you forgive them. They just think cheating has little cost and act more recklessly. After all, as long as they apologize and make empty promises, they'll be forgiven. It's not a big deal, right?" Ren crouched down in front of the woman and spoke softly.
"Is that so?" The woman looked like a walking corpse.
"Could you provide some of your saliva?" Ren took out a test tube.
Everyone was stunned by Ren's behavior—first solving the case quickly, then asking for saliva? They couldn't understand it.
"Here's the thing, I've been studying love lately, trying to observe hormonal changes in people who are in love or heartbroken. It'd be even better if you could give blood." Ren explained seriously.
Miyano Shiho was speechless. When it came to biology, Ren really wasn't skilled.
"Studying love?" Conan's eyes became tiny dots.
"Love?" The police officers were shocked.
"Yes, by analyzing hormone changes inside the body, you can tell what stage someone is at in love. It's judged through data."
"Um, love can't really be measured by data like that," Ran said softly.
"You have someone you like, don't you?" Ren asked with a smile.
Conan watched Ren warily.
"N-no, I don't," Ran instinctively denied.
"Hey, hey, respect the place. This is a crime scene, not a love research lab." Officer Megure couldn't help but interrupt.
"Is that so? Aren't you curious if the person you care about said they're working on a really hard case, and they weren't just joking?" Ren questioned.
"Shinichi wouldn't do that," Ran said firmly.
"Have you two met again?" Ren kept pressing.
"There was a case before, Shinichi appeared then," Ran recalled.
"Ran-nee, you've fallen for his trick! Let's go home," Conan said cutely, not wanting Ran to keep talking with him.
"He left in a hurry, but someone covered for him, and he didn't even take his clothes with him?"
Hearing Ren's words, Ran stopped. Now that she thought about it, there were many strange things back then.
Why did just a few doors stop them from catching him? And no one outside had seen him.
All they had were Conan's messages, but there were too many suspicious points mixed in.
"Conan…" Ran couldn't help but look at Conan.
"No," Conan quickly interrupted.
Ran understood. She didn't know why, but Conan was afraid she might doubt him in front of this man. If so, then they should go home, and Conan would explain the truth to her.
Watching the two leave, Shiho Miyano analyzed, "Love can lower one's intelligence. You didn't even suspect when you knew so much."
"Fun, right? That's part of the enjoyment. Let's go too." Ren took Shiho Miyano's hand and walked out.
They left behind confused police officers and a killer unsure whether to repent.
After that, the two didn't encounter any more murder cases. Instead, they went shopping together, watched movies, and hugged during warm moments.
They believed this was part of collecting data for their research.
**********
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