Chapter 9: Kogoro, Make a Contract with Me and Become a Magical Girl!
Tokyo Suburbs, In front of a high-end apartment building. 10:30 AM.
A light rain fell from the overcast sky, slicking the pavement and reflecting the flashing red and blue lights of the police cars gathered outside.
Just as the Professor had said on the phone last night, Kogoro had been called in on a locked-room murder case. A swarm of police officers and detectives moved in and out of the building's entrance, their faces grim.
Kogoro Mouri stood by the elevator, hands stuffed in his pockets. He'd been in a foul mood ever since arriving at the scene that morning. The case files were a mess, and he couldn't make any sense of them.
"How the hell does someone get through this building's high-tech security, commit a murder, and then just vanish without a trace?" he muttered, glancing uneasily at the security camera on the ceiling.
This was a textbook locked-room mystery.
The victim: Kenji Fujiwara, 42, the CEO of a famous video game company. Murdered in his own penthouse apartment. The cause of death was a single, fatal stab wound to the neck. The murder weapon, a uniquely shaped dagger, was left at the scene.
"Mouri-kun!" Inspector Megure called out, stepping out of the elevator and waving him over. "The preliminary forensics are mostly done. Come with me."
Kogoro nodded and followed the Inspector into the elevator. Conan scurried in behind them, his small frame almost completely hidden by the two larger men.
"Time of death is estimated between 8:30 and 9:00 last night," Megure explained as the elevator ascended. "The apartment door was locked from the inside, all the windows were sealed, and this is the 15th floor. There's no way anyone could have climbed up."
"What about the security cameras?" Kogoro asked.
"The footage shows no one entering or leaving the apartment during the time of the murder. But there's something strange. The access log shows the victim's own fingerprint scan was used twice last night—once at 7:30 PM to enter, with no record of leaving, and then again at 9:40 PM to enter, also with no record of leaving."
"How is that possible?" Kogoro grumbled, a headache already forming. "How can a dead man enter his own apartment?" These bizarre cases always tied his brain in knots.
"That," the Inspector said with a weary sigh, "is why we called you."
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out into the crime scene.
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Tom Cat: [Tom_Leaning_Forward_Excitedly.jpeg]
SpongeBob SquarePants: The dead man entered twice but never left? That's as amazing as a magic trick!
The penthouse was spacious and luxuriously furnished. They walked through the ornate living room and into the study. The body of Kenji Fujiwara had already been removed, but a white chalk outline marked its position on the floor. The unique dagger lay on a nearby table, sealed in an evidence bag.
Conan scanned the room, his sharp eyes taking in every detail. The desk was scattered with company documents. A private diary was left open next to two wine glasses. In the fireplace, he could see the charred remains of photos and papers, some edges still unburnt.
Kogoro walked over to the desk and picked up the victim's phone, also in an evidence bag. The screen showed an unsent text message:
I know what you did. I have proof.
"Looks like the victim was onto something..." Kogoro murmured, his eyes darting around the room.
Officer Takagi entered, holding a file. "Mouri-san, we've identified three primary suspects."
He quickly briefed them: the victim's ex-girlfriend and CFO, Miyuki Nakamura; the company's CTO, Takuya Sato; and the victim's younger sister, Reiko Fujiwara. All three had motives, and none had a completely solid alibi. The key pieces of evidence were damning: the ex-girlfriend's fingerprints were on one of the wine glasses, the CTO was unaccounted for for nearly two hours, and fibers from the sister's scarf, along with a partial print, were found on the murder weapon.
"There's one more strange thing," Takagi added. "This dagger is a Fujiwara family heirloom. But the original, which is supposed to be in a safe at the family villa, is still there. We're calling it the 'twin daggers paradox'."
The atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.
Kogoro Mouri looked around, and a sudden look of comprehension dawned on his face.
"I've got it!" he declared loudly. Everyone turned to him. "The killer is Takuya Sato!"
Kogoro launched into his classic (and flawed) process of elimination, his voice brimming with misplaced confidence. "He used a pre-recorded video feed to create a fake alibi and manipulated the system's clock to mislead us! He has the technical skills to pull it off!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Conan let out a tiny, almost inaudible cough. Honestly, uncle... if you don't know, don't just guess randomly!
"I'm afraid that's impossible," Officer Sato said, frowning as she reviewed a report. "We've just confirmed that the building's security system is connected to a central server. The timestamps can't be altered locally. The server logs show no anomalies."
Kogoro's confident expression froze. He let out a forced, hearty laugh. "Ah, is that so? Haha, well, I... I was just thinking out loud! We'll just have to keep investigating. Let me think on it some more."
Inspector Megure couldn't hide his disappointment. He was almost hoping Kogoro would just fall asleep already. "Alright, then. We'll go question the suspects again. Mouri-kun, you and Conan can take another look around the scene. Maybe you'll find something new."
After the police left, only Kogoro and Conan remained in the room.
"Dammit! It's all your fault, you brat! You broke my train of thought!" Kogoro muttered, viciously scratching his head. Deep down, he knew he was just making excuses. The reputation of "Sleeping Kogoro" was becoming more of a burden than a blessing.
Conan ignored him and continued to examine the clues, a preliminary theory already forming in his mind. Water stains... the curtains... ice... he repeated the keywords internally, his eyes gleaming with intelligence.
Kogoro, meanwhile, slumped onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling. The title of "Great Detective" felt like a mountain crushing him. The expectant look in Eri's eyes, Ran's admiring smile, the media's constant attention... They all expected a brilliant performance, but he always solved the cases in a mysterious state of sleep. How much of it was his own skill? Especially lately, he'd noticed he had a high tolerance for anesthetics, and there was always this strange, nagging feeling on the back of his neck, like it was being watched. Something felt wrong, but he could never put his finger on it, and the cases always got solved, so he never dug deeper. Not that he could have, even if he'd tried.
Just then, a faint white light flashed outside the balcony window.
Conan's head snapped around, his eyes narrowing. That shadow... was that Kyubey? Why is it here?
"Uncle Kogoro, we need more clues," he said in his most childish voice, trying to nudge the detective back into action.
But Kogoro seemed to have lost all interest. He stood up and headed for the door. "You look around. I'm going to go talk to those suspects."
He left Conan alone in the room. Conan knew he was really just going to listen in on the police interrogations. Now that he was alone, he could investigate properly. He already had a bold hypothesis, but he needed more proof.
He walked over to the fireplace and crouched down, carefully sifting through the ashes. "If I'm right, the key to this whole case is in these burnt photographs..."
Meanwhile, in the apartment's restroom, Kogoro Mouri leaned over the sink, his hands gripping the cool porcelain. He stared at his own exhausted, bloodshot eyes in the mirror.
"Dammit..." He splashed cold water on his face, trying to shock himself awake. The feeling of failure was overwhelming. It had been a long time since he'd felt this useless. The world expected "Sleeping Kogoro" to deliver another stunning deduction, but today, he had only made a fool of himself.
When had it started? The bizarre blackouts? The brilliant deductions that followed... were they really his? He tightened his grip on the sink, his knuckles turning white.
"Am I really... just a washed-up hack?"
In a dark corner of the restroom, a white figure materialized without a sound. Kyubey stood there silently, its red eyes glowing with an eerie light.
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Tom Cat: [Tom_Rubbing_Paws_Together_Anticipatingly.jpeg]
SpongeBob SquarePants: Oh! It's the detective man this time! I like him! He's really funny sometimes!
Humans are always so fragile in the face of failure, Kyubey thought to itself. Especially those with such fragile egos.
Its eyes were locked on the dejected figure of Kogoro Mouri.
"Great Detective Kogoro Mouri," its voice echoed in his mind. "It looks like you could use some help."
Kogoro spun around, his eyes wide with shock at the sudden appearance of the strange white creature. "Wh-What the hell are you?" He stumbled back, his back hitting the sink.
Kyubey tilted its head, its red eyes unblinking.
"Do you want to achieve glory while wide awake?"
"Do you want to prove your own worth?"
"Do you want to feel... truly alive?"
"I can grant your wish..."
It flicked its tail gently, a strange, knowing smile seeming to play on its face.
"Make a contract with me, and become a Magical Girl!"