"Nishimoto's been unhinged since Kameyama died," Tsuneo said, glancing at Dr. Narumi.
Narumi nodded, pulling out a medication log. Besides alcohol, Nishimoto relied on sleeping pills, his latest purchase just days ago.
"If he's not guilty, I'd be shocked," Narumi said, shaking her head. Though disguised as a woman, her medical expertise was real, including knowledge of mental disorders.
Tsuneo patted his tool bag, smiling. "I've got Nishimoto's recorded confession and a ledger detailing Moon Shadow Island's drug deals over the past decade."
"Drug deals? For years?" Narumi's eyes widened, stunned. She hadn't noticed the village's dark underbelly.
"Plus, he spilled everything about the truth behind that fiery night twelve years ago," Tsuneo added. "Now we need a needle."
"A needle?" Narumi blinked.
"One to weave these threads into a giant net," Tsuneo said, gazing out at the island's scenery.
"Isn't the confession and ledger enough?"
"You think the police will trust a half-madman's words? He might flip his story. The ledger only has dates and quantities—without his testimony, it's meaningless," Tsuneo said, tapping the glass, annoyed.
Chopping them up and tossing them into the sea would be simpler.
Aso's score was his dying message, revealing his family's murder and how those four forced him to smuggle drugs from abroad.
How this played out depended on where the great detective aimed this bombshell.
"What's next?" Narumi sighed, slumping on the desk. Tsuneo's interference had quashed her plans to kill.
"With what we have, the police will take it seriously," Tsuneo said, then doused her hope. "But after a decade, it's likely a dead end."
…
In the community center warehouse, after twenty minutes of searching:
"Found it!" Ran exclaimed, holding up an opened file.
She was the luckiest of the group.
"What? Not a single word," Kogoro grumbled, flipping through Aso's score.
"Uncle, let me see!" Conan cooed, snatching it.
What code hid in these notes?
As he pondered, Ran leaned in. "These sharp and flat symbols—on a piano, they're the black keys, right?"
"Keys…" Conan glanced at her, frowning deeper.
"'To my son, Narumi,'" he decoded.
"To my son, Narumi?!" Conan's eyes widened, turning to the officer.
Starting from the piano's left, assigning the 26 English letters to the keys and mapping the notes as pinyin revealed the message.
The method was simple, but the content…
"Did Aso have a son?" Ran asked.
"He had a son, Narumi, but he fell gravely ill years ago and was sent to a Tokyo hospital. No news since," Nagashima said.
"Really, you didn't mention this earlier?" Ran sighed.
Aso's son likely sent the letters to uncover his father's death. It made sense.
"Sorry, I thought the kid passed long ago," Nagashima said, shaking his head.
"Narumi…" Conan muttered, decoding further.
Soon, he uncovered the truth of the tragedy twelve years ago.
"Hey, kid, what else is there?" Kogoro waved a hand in front of him.
"'Moonlight wails in the flames, an angel destroyed by demons,'" Conan said gravely, laying it out.
Former chief Kameyama, current chief Kuroiwa, candidate Kawashima, and Nishimoto tried to force Aso to smuggle drugs. When he refused, fearing exposure, they killed his wife and daughter, locked him in, and set the house ablaze. Aso perished in the flames, playing Moonlight Sonata.
"Narumi Asai didn't die!" Conan realized, urging the group to guard the score and bolting from the warehouse.
Narumi Asai. Narumi. Dr. Asai!
The doctor avoided Tsuneo's gaze not from shyness—they knew each other.
Tsuneo gave him the score clue at the clinic, waving as Conan left, staying behind to meet his client.
Damn it!
Conan sprinted to the clinic.
"Conan-kun, where are you going?" a familiar, pleasant voice called.
"Dr… Asai," Conan said, spotting Tsuneo and Narumi eating ice cream by the roadside.
Did they scrap their plan? Or was it already…?
"You knew the truth and didn't tell me!" Conan snapped, glaring at Tsuneo, who licked his ice cream, tempted to knee him.
"You're the detective, not me," Tsuneo said with a grin.
"Dr. Asai, you two…?" Conan asked, looking at her.
Laughing and eating ice cream, they didn't look like killers.
"I've made up my mind," Tsuneo said. "Instead of racking my brain over cases, I'll let you solve them. If you fail, I'll pick a nice day to chop them up and toss them into the sea."
(End of Chapter)
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