Chapter 83: Destroying Evidence
The sea breeze was cool, the stairs at the community center were cool, and Conan's backside was equally cool as he sat there sulking.
Three bumps had accumulated on his head, stacked together and even tilting slightly to the right due to gravity.
He rested his chin on his hands, sitting on the cold stone stairs, deeply pondering the case.
Why did the murderer take Village Chief Kuroiwa's body but leave his head in the toilet?
There were scattered bloodstains on the window frame, and some on the ground directly below, but nothing beyond that point. Where had the body been taken? The amount of blood from a decapitation would definitely be more than what they'd seen. There were clear signs of cleaning in the bathroom, but it shouldn't have been possible to clean all the way outside without leaving more traces.
Based on the bloodstains and the victim's complexion, Conan initially estimated that Village Chief Kuroiwa had died one to two hours ago—meaning he died shortly after the worker saw him enter the bathroom. The cause of death remained uncertain; he wasn't sure if Chief Kuroiwa had sustained any other fatal injuries before the decapitation.
Also, was Asai Narumi connected to this case?
He'd just visited the village clinic, and the nurse told him that Dr. Asai hadn't been there during the morning or afternoon—but had been treating a sick child right around noon.
The murder happened at noon, and Asai Narumi just happened to be seeing a patient at that exact time.
Conan's suspicions immediately deepened. It was too much of a coincidence. His detective intuition screamed that something was definitely wrong here, and it was highly likely that Asai Narumi was fabricating an alibi.
Natsukawa, with his hands casually tucked in his pockets, walked out of the community center and found Conan lost in thought. He looked down and gently patted the boy's head.
"You okay?"
"Ow!" Conan immediately grimaced in pain. Natsukawa had just touched the exact spot where Uncle Mouri had struck him three times in rapid succession.
"Sorry about that." Natsukawa smiled apologetically and pulled out a lollipop from his pocket. This was one of the contraband items he'd confiscated from Yor earlier.
Anya's lollipops could only have come from Yor, so he'd taken all of them from her pocket in one go.
Eating peanuts already made Anya prone to sore throats, and adding lollipops on top of that would definitely lead to him and her visiting the dentist later. Better to prevent it now.
"Th-thank you." Conan initially considered refusing, but then realized that most children would gladly accept candy. It would seem suspicious not to take it.
"By the way, Uncle Natsukawa, has there been any progress on the case?"
Conan had tried to sneak back inside after being thrown out by Kogoro Mouri, and the price he'd paid was the third bump on his head.
Even the strongest detective couldn't withstand such repeated blows.
Besides, he'd already finished most of his investigation. The victim's head had been severed with a single, clean cut—most likely done by a male. A woman wouldn't have that kind of upper body strength.
Ran was an exception to that rule, but it obviously wasn't Ran.
Dismemberment... what kind of deep-seated hatred would drive someone to this?
Could it be that Keiji Aso had made the first move? That despicable murderer wasn't following the predicted pattern at all—the full moon wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow night!
"No real progress yet, but some villagers found a large amount of blood in the mountains behind the center. We're heading up there to check it out now."
Actually, Natsukawa had come specifically to share this information with Conan, curious to see what theories the boy genius might develop.
Better to leave the heavy investigation work to the professionals. Why should I waste my own brainpower?
"Up in the mountains?"
The mountain path leading up was directly outside the bathroom window, so it was certainly possible that the body had been disposed of there.
But what was the killer's reasoning?
The murderer couldn't have gone to such elaborate lengths just to leave Chief Kuroiwa's body mutilated in the wilderness.
According to the fundamental laws of detective fiction, the murderer must have had a specific motive.
Just then, Kogoro Mouri emerged from the community center, shot Conan a warning glare, and then addressed Natsukawa. "Natsukawa, come with me up the mountain to investigate."
As Kogoro spoke, a police officer on a rusty bicycle finally arrived at the scene—fashionably late.
Apart from his official uniform, he looked nothing like an actual police officer. He appeared to be well past retirement age.
All eyes turned toward him.
The elderly officer was definitely past the normal retirement age. In any major city, he'd be more suited to wearing a neighborhood watch uniform than an official police badge.
The old man parked his creaky bicycle and came shuffling over to the group, panting heavily.
"I heard from Dr. Asai that there's been an incident here. Is it true?"
The old man looked absolutely terrified, his face covered in cold sweat, his legs trembling noticeably. It was hard to tell if it was from the physical exertion of cycling or from being frightened by news of the case.
"Y-yes, that's correct!" Kogoro Mouri raised an eyebrow, asking somewhat uncertainly, "Are you the police officer assigned to Moon Shadow Island?"
This guy seems even more unreliable than that officer from Shikishima, and he's way too old for active duty.
At this advanced age, still working as a policeman? Wasn't the Metropolitan Police Department afraid he might throw out his back and then try to claim lifetime benefits?
"Take me to see the crime scene immediately." The officer noticed the skeptical look in Kogoro Mouri's eyes, but he'd encountered that expression many times before and didn't particularly care.
"Isn't that... inappropriate?" Kogoro Mouri stammered, looking like he really didn't want to comply.
At his age, I'm afraid showing him a severed head might literally scare him into cardiac arrest. What if something happens to him and his family tries to sue me?
"I'm the only police officer stationed on Moon Shadow Island, and it's my sworn duty to ensure the safety of all islanders. You'd better take me to the scene right now, or I'll charge you with obstruction of official police business."
Good grief, this old man is surprisingly stubborn.
Kogoro Mouri clicked his tongue, gave Natsukawa a helpless look, and then reluctantly led the police officer inside.
Within moments, loud, panicked footsteps echoed from inside the building.
Everyone craned their necks to peer at the entrance. Conan even touched his power-enhancing shoes, ready to kick his lollipop as a projectile if anything seemed seriously wrong.
A moment later, Kogoro Mouri rushed out in obvious alarm, carrying someone on his back—the very same elderly police officer, now unconscious.
"Ran, quickly go get Dr. Asai!"
Uh...
"Ran, I'll go with you." Yor picked up Anya, who was attempting to wander off toward the crime scene, and followed Ran.
Children shouldn't be around murder scenes—especially not this particular murder scene.
As for Conan, well, he wasn't Anya. That wasn't Yor's responsibility.
Natsukawa thought for a moment, then followed after Ran and the others.
Along the way, he fabricated another excuse to separate from Yor, Anya, and Ran.
Kuroiwa Tatsuji is dead. Any evidence that might exist in his house needs to be destroyed immediately.
His death was far too suspicious. Originally, Natsukawa had planned to search for evidence that night, but circumstances forced him to move up his timeline.
He also needed to confirm whether whoever made the move against Kuroiwa had been after the same evidence.
This was critically important.
Matters involving the Organization couldn't be taken lightly. He'd finally gained a tenuous foothold with Gin and couldn't let other people or unforeseen circumstances jeopardize his position.
The Kuroiwa family villa was located on the eastern side of the village, nestled against the mountainside, just a few hundred meters from the beach—arguably the prime real estate location on the entire island.
As expected of the village chief—enjoying such a blatantly luxurious lifestyle without any fear of public criticism or investigation.
Because of Kuroiwa Tatsuji's death, the rest of the Kuroiwa family members were already on their way to the community center to identify the body.
The mansion stood empty, and its relatively isolated location made it easy for Natsukawa to slip inside undetected.
Surprisingly, the front door was unlocked and standing slightly ajar.
Before coming to Moon Shadow Island, Natsukawa had obtained keys to the Kuroiwa family residence from Frank.
Since visiting the island was something Natsukawa had planned well in advance, Frank was able to provide substantial assistance even though Kogoro Mouri's invitation had come rather suddenly.
Besides the Kuroiwa property, he also had keys to the Kawashima and Nishimoto family homes.
Furthermore, Natsukawa had thoroughly memorized the villa's complete floor plan beforehand.
The interior was extravagantly luxurious. Expensive imported furniture and ornate crystal lighting gave off an overwhelming aura of wealth from the very moment one stepped through the entrance.
Anyone who saw this display would have to admit that Kuroiwa had been extraordinarily wealthy—far beyond what a simple village chief's salary could provide.
Natsukawa spent nearly an hour methodically searching every corner of the Kuroiwa residence.
If it weren't for the need to carefully replace everything exactly as he'd found it—ensuring no one could tell the place had been searched—the process would have taken far less time.
Finally, Natsukawa found exactly what he'd been looking for in the wall safe located in the second-floor study.
Kuroiwa Tatsuji did indeed possess some compromising information about Tequila, though not as much as he'd feared—just some transaction photographs and shipping manifests.
Fortunately, the documents showed no signs of recent tampering and were neatly organized, indicating that whoever had killed Kuroiwa Tatsuji hadn't been after the Organization's secrets.
Since it has nothing to do with the Organization, the actual murder case is irrelevant to me. Let the plot change however it wants—it's none of my concern. Conan can be the one scratching his head over this mystery.
As for Kogoro Mouri, he can just obediently wait for the tranquilizer dart as usual.
Natsukawa sealed the safe, exited the study, and left the mansion, casually tossing the key into some nearby bushes. It was useless now—he'd already taken all the relevant evidence.
He'd check the other three families' houses tonight under cover of darkness.
He hadn't walked far when Natsukawa's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he quickly concealed himself behind a large tree by the roadside.
A flicker of curiosity flashed through his eyes.
His sharp gaze locked onto a slowly approaching figure dressed entirely in black.
The newcomer was completely shrouded in black clothing, dressed exactly like the Organization members from the anime—wearing what appeared to be a black suit, with only the pale skin around the eyes visible.
The situation felt decidedly eerie. If it weren't for the fact that it was still broad daylight, with the sun high in the sky and the person clearly casting a normal shadow, Natsukawa might have thought he was seeing a ghost.
This is way too much like something straight out of Detective Conan.
(End of Chapter 83)
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