After lunch, Gustave grabbed his keys, drove from Dr. Agasa's house to fill up with gas, then headed to the Mouri Detective Agency to collect Conan.
"Brother Mouri, where's Conan?"
Gustave arrived at the second floor of the detective agency to find only Kogoro reading a newspaper while the previous night's accident played on television.
"Oh, it's Gustave! What do you need that kid for?"
Kogoro folded his newspaper and looked up with a friendly smile.
"Conan and I made plans yesterday for another drive today. You know how much that kid seems to love cars."
Gustave offered a casual excuse.
"That little troublemaker," Kogoro muttered under his breath before standing up and walking to Conan's room. He opened the door without ceremony and shook the sleeping boy awake.
"Uncle, what are you doing?!"
Conan had been sleeping peacefully, dreaming of capturing the entire Black Organization in one decisive operation, when Kogoro's rough awakening left him distinctly grumpy.
"Conan, didn't you have plans with Gustave? Why are you still in bed?"
Kogoro punctuated his question with a light knock on Conan's head.
"What? Gustave's here? I'll be right up!"
At the mention of Gustave's arrival, Conan immediately snapped to attention. He threw off the covers, jumped up, dressed with lightning speed, completed the world's fastest bathroom routine, and presented himself to Gustave within minutes.
"Well then, Brother Mouri, I'll take Conan off your hands!"
"Go ahead!" Kogoro waved them away impatiently.
The two climbed into the Aston Martin and headed for Metropolitan Police Headquarters. During the drive, Gustave filled Conan in on everything that had transpired and asked the famous detective to apply his considerable intellect to identify any overlooked details.
If they couldn't find evidence proving Tomokazu Yamashita had given Hajime Saionjithe stimulant-laced water bottle, all their previous efforts would be wasted.
"Think, think, Kudo Shinichi, Edogawa Conan!"
Conan kept tapping his forehead, replaying every detail from the previous night.
As they approached police headquarters, Conan's recollection of events became increasingly clear. Finally, just as Gustave parked the car, the memory clicked:
"Wait! Last night someone was filming the entire pre-race preparation with a camera! He said he wanted to make a documentary about Fujiwara and Saionji. There might be evidence on that footage!"
"Perfect. Let's find Inspector Megure right now."
While Conan's excessive curiosity and tendency to wander into crime scenes could be problematic, his analytical abilities were undeniably sharp, and Gustave had complete confidence in the young detective's deductive skills.
As they stepped out of the car, Megure approached them.
"Inspector Megure, skip the pleasantries—we've thought of another lead!"
Gustave cut straight to the point.
"What kind of lead?"
Megure knew that bringing Gustave into this case had been the right decision—anyone he recognized as a "brother" was bound to be capable.
"Here's what happened..."
Gustave relayed Conan's recollection about the documentary filmmaker.
"The problem is we don't know who was doing the filming, so we'll need your help to track them down, Inspector Megure."
After hearing the explanation, Megure nodded thoughtfully:
"Alright, I'll find a way."
"Actually, Inspector Megure, we could go directly to Tsukiko," Conan suggested. "He definitely knows who had the camera, and with his father being National Police Agency Commissioner, he'll certainly help us!"
Searching individually would take too long, and Conan lacked the patience for such delays.
"Approach Commissioner's son?"
Megure hesitated at Conan's suggestion.
"Inspector Megure, don't you want to solve this case quickly and restore the Metropolitan Police Department's reputation?"
Conan had learned the art of strategic provocation.
"No problem! I'll contact Director Odagiri immediately!"
Sure enough, mentioning the department's reputation dissolved Megure's hesitation. Director Odagiri was Odagiri Toshio, head of the Homicide Division and Megure's direct superior.
Megure led Gustave and Conan to Odagiri Toshio's office within minutes.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in."
Megure opened the door and entered with Gustave and Conan in tow.
"Director, I have something important to report."
Megure wasted no time getting to the point.
Looking up from his paperwork, Odagiri Toshio noticed the two additional visitors.
"Director, this is Gustave, a witness to last night's traffic accident, and this is Conan, whom you've met before."
Megure quickly handled the introductions.
"Go ahead, what's the situation?"
Odagiri understood the implications—whatever Megure was reporting obviously involved these two.
"Director, when Conan was at the scene early this morning, he discovered..."
Megure recounted everything chronologically—from Conan's initial clue discovery to the water bottle test results, the fingerprint analysis, and Conan's latest suggestion about the documentary footage.
"Megure, you want me to help you contact Commissioner Tsuki's son?"
"Yes, Director. If we can reach Commissioner Tsuki's son and have him help us locate the person with the camera, this morning's suspected accident could reach a major breakthrough."
Megure stood at attention while nodding affirmatively.
After listening to Megure's explanation, Odagiri Toshio drummed his fingers on his desk, weighing the pros and cons. If they could confirm that the early morning accident was murder rather than coincidence, the pressure on the entire Metropolitan Police Department would be reduced to virtually nothing.
"Understood. I'll call Commissioner Tsuki's son right now."
While the National Police Agency technically outranked the Metropolitan Police Department, as a senior administrator, Odagiri Toshio still maintained channels to contact Tsukiko.
Odagiri first made a preliminary call, then wrote a phone number on a piece of paper—presumably Tsukiko's direct line. He then dialed the number.
On the other end, Tsukiko was somewhat surprised to receive Odagiri Toshio's call. After all, the director's claims were hard to believe—that this seemingly accidental crash concealed a darker truth.
However, with his father serving as National Police Agency Commissioner, Tsukiko maintained a healthy skepticism while still agreeing to help. He promised to personally bring the documentary filmmaker to Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
Hearing this response, both Megure and Conan released sighs of relief. If they could find evidence in the video footage, everything would fall into place naturally and the truth behind the accident would finally be revealed.
Only Gustave harbored lingering concerns. What if no evidence turned up in the footage? After all, such smooth sailing seemed like fantasy in the world of Detective Conan—there were always complications and unexpected twists ahead.