"What are you doing, Takagi?"
Ritsu could only stand up and shove his hands into his pockets before walking outside. There, he found Takagi struggling with a bespectacled middle-aged man.
"Inspector! This guy has been pacing around outside the entrance nonstop. He's extremely suspicious!" Takagi declared sternly as he glared at the man who was still trying to pull free.
"Stop moving and cooperate!"
"I'm not suspicious at all!"
"Hatano-san!"
The beautiful woman with a tear mole beneath her eye was clearly the victim's wife, Maru Inako. She hurried toward Takagi before turning back and explaining to Ritsu,
"Officer, this man is my husband's attending physician. He comes every week to perform routine examinations because my husband suffers from diabetes. He came today for the same reason. He's not suspicious at all!"
At first, Ritsu didn't think much of the explanation. However, when he noticed the two subtly exchanging glances right in front of him, he raised an eyebrow.
'Interesting. There's definitely something going on here.'
Pretending not to notice, he waved his hand and prepared to return inside to listen to the phone messages.
Unexpectedly, another commotion erupted. Several officers were dragging a man toward the house from a distance.
Looks like another suspect had arrived. Now the question was whether it was Suwa Yuji or Akutsu Makoto.
"Hey! What are you police officers doing?! Let go of me! I'm the master sculptor Akutsu Makoto!" Akutsu, sporting a small ponytail and a face covered in stubble, shouted indignantly.
"Huh? Akutsu? The famous sculptor?" Takagi exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.
Ritsu glanced at Takagi speechlessly.
'How did this guy know every celebrity? Was he secretly the same type of person as Vodka?'
"That's right, I'm Akutsu Makoto himself! I already had an appointment with the owner of this house this morning. While I was waiting, I got bored and went to the convenience store to buy cigarettes."
"When I came back, your officers grabbed me out of nowhere. I'm completely confused!"
Akutsu complained while holding his cigarette pack.
Ritsu had assumed the final suspect would also be escorted in by the police. To his surprise, the last man arrived on his own.
That was unusual.
"Why is it so noisy here? Has Maru-san not returned home yet?"
A thin man with long drooping mustaches and permanently narrowed eyes appeared before everyone.
His polite demeanor gave the impression of someone who was very well-mannered.
"Ah! What a shame!" Conan's sudden shout drew everyone's attention.
Ritsu lowered his head to look at him.
'What's Kudo planning this time? Trying to give me a hint using a child's perspective?'
"You little brat, are you acting up again?!"
Kogoro barked angrily. As he was about to punch Conan into silence, Conan darted behind Ritsu and hid there.
"Mr. Policeman! I noticed all the suspicious people were wearing black leather shoes!"
"That's useful information."
Ritsu nodded before instructing Takagi,
"Takagi, question the three of them. Find out why they came here and verify their alibis during the estimated time of death."
"Yes, Inspector!"
Conan found it strange that his teacher wasn't conducting the questioning personally.
He took a few quick steps forward, intending to follow. Before he could, however, a pair of hands slipped under his arms and lifted him into the air.
"Conan, you can't cause trouble. This is a crime scene, not a place to play hide-and-seek."
Conan was actually enjoying being carried for a moment. Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed the sadness on Ran's face.
He froze.
"Ran-neechan... are you unhappy?"
Realizing she'd let her emotions show in front of a child, Ran immediately shook her head.
"No. I was just thinking that if Shinichi were here, he and Onizawa-san would probably work together really well."
"Ran-neechan, do you miss Shinichi-niichan?"
"I absolutely do not miss that idiot detective maniac!"
The words slipped out automatically. Then Ran smiled bitterly and hugged Conan closer.
"I'm just a little worried. I wonder where he is right now."
'Ran...'
Conan lowered his head helplessly. He desperately wanted to tell her the truth. Yet every time the confession reached his lips, he swallowed it back down.
Because he knew exactly what would happen.
The moment Ran learned the truth, she would involve herself and help investigate the mysterious Men in Black.
And that was precisely why he couldn't tell her. He couldn't allow her to be placed in danger. Living in her house already carried enough risk.
He couldn't let her take another step deeper into it.
...
Meanwhile, inside the crime scene room,
Ritsu pressed the button on the landline and began listening to the three recorded messages.
The first message was from Hatano Kazuya. Recorded at 4:38 PM.
—"This is Hatano. Is Maru-san not home? That's troublesome. In that case, let's stick to our original arrangement. I'll arrive around five o'clock. See you shortly."
The second message came from Akutsu Makoto.
Recorded at 4:40 PM.
—"Hello, Maru-san. This is Akutsu Makoto. Something came up today, so I might be a little late. Please don't sell my master's masterpiece. I promise I'll repay the money!"
—"If you sell it, I won't let you get away with it!"
'Hmm? He even left a threat at the end?'
Ironically, that made him seem less like the killer.
Ritsu looked around at the surrounding damage.
If Akutsu had been the murderer, he could have simply left after committing the crime and deleted the message altogether.
As for the masterpiece mentioned in the call, it was probably one of the sculptures. Mentally, Ritsu crossed Akutsu off the suspect list.
He pressed the button again and played the third message.
It was from Suwa Yuji. The timestamp was only one minute after Akutsu's message.
4:41 PM.
—"This is Suwa. We originally agreed to meet at six today, but I'd like to visit earlier. That way I can get home sooner and prepare for next month's kendo promotion examination."
—"See you shortly."
After hearing the message, Ritsu couldn't help looking outside toward the man currently being questioned by Takagi.
'So that's how it is.'
Suwa must have been at the scene when Akutsu's message was played. He'd heard it personally. Then he used that information in an attempt to frame Akutsu.
Ritsu stood and looked toward several sculptures displayed on a nearby cabinet.
Not a single one had been damaged.
Clearly, the killer didn't know which sculpture belonged to Akutsu's master, so he left them all untouched.
"Inspector, I've finished questioning everyone."
Takagi entered the room and was surprised to find Ritsu calmly admiring the sculptures.
That was unusual.
Normally, the inspector remained completely focused during investigations. Today, however, he seemed oddly relaxed.
'Wait... Does this mean Onizawa-san already knows who the killer is? Is that why he's so calm?'
"Hm, understood. Bring all three of them inside."
Ritsu set down the sculpture in his hand. Then he noticed the strangely smug look on Takagi's face.
He instinctively took a step back.
"What's with that expression?"
"Heh-heh. Come on, Inspector, stop hiding it. You already know who the killer is, don't you?"
Looks like Takagi had developed some investigative instincts after all.
Ritsu nodded openly.
"Yes. I can more or less confirm it. But before that, I have a question. Bring Kogoro-san inside as well."
"Got it! As expected of the Inspector, so efficient! That means I'll have time to get home and watch Yoko Oki—uh, I mean, hahaha!"
Yoko.
Ritsu was extremely familiar with that surname. Without hesitation, he lifted his leg and kicked Takagi squarely in the rear.
"What are you thinking about at a crime scene? Do you want me to tell Sato about this?"
"Wha—?! No, no! I'll go right now! .... Please don't tell Officer Sato..."
"Honestly..."
Ritsu shook his head. "Is Yoko Okino really that charming? People from every walk of life seem to be obsessed with her."
Having already investigated everyone around Shinichi, Ritsu naturally knew that Kogoro was one of Yoko Okino's most devoted fans.
Detectives belonged to the gray area of society.
So...
The black side had Vodka.
The gray side had Kogoro.
The white side had Takagi.
"Heh."
"It's practically like collecting stamps."