"Onizawa-kun, did you need something from me?"
Kogoro rubbed his hands together and looked at Ritsu with a grin.
Perhaps it was because yesterday's kidnapping case had given him a sense of accomplishment as a detective, but he proudly patted his chest and declared,
"Actually, I've already figured out who the killer is!"
"...??"
Ritsu was surprised.
Although ninety percent of him doubted whether Kogoro's deduction was actually correct, crushing someone's confidence and enthusiasm was hardly a virtuous thing to do.
Adjusting his glasses, he played along.
"Really? Then I'd love to hear your reasoning, Kogoro-san."
Kogoro failed to notice that Takagi had quietly opened the door behind him. Putting away his usual goofy demeanor, he adopted a rare serious expression.
"Onizawa-kun, there's actually one piece of information you don't have. The victim entrusted me with a certain investigation before he died."
"Oh? That is information I don't have."
Ritsu nodded.
"Please, go on."
"The reason I came here today was actually to report whether Inako-san was having an affair..."
Before he could finish speaking, a strange noise came from the doorway.
Kogoro turned around, and immediately saw Inako standing there with a horrified expression. More terrifying still, behind her stood every single person present at the scene.
Only then did Kogoro realize that openly revealing a client's confidential investigation violated every principle of detective ethics.
He hurriedly clamped both hands over his mouth.
Unfortunately, it was far too late.
"What?!"
"Inako-san is having an affair?!"
Conan, who had followed Kogoro inside, immediately narrowed his eyes.
'Honestly... Does this old man have a hole in his mouth? He just blurted something like that out in front of everyone.'
'Hm?'
'That's strange. Why do I smell peaches?'
Conan walked toward the bespectacled Hatano Kazuya. Wrinkling his nose, he sniffed carefully. There really was a pleasant peach fragrance mixed with a faint scent of roses.
That smelled like women's perfume. Would a male doctor really wear something like that?
Conan rested his chin on his hand and began thinking.
'Wait... I feel like I've smelled this perfume on someone else before.'
Ritsu rested one hand beneath his chin in thought.
Since the killer had remained at the scene, they had probably already eliminated any physical evidence that might connect them to the crime.
The murder weapon had also been left in the victim's body.
His gaze shifted toward the overturned low table near the doorway and the landline telephone sitting on the tatami.
That area was likely where the victim had first been attacked.
Strange.
After being stabbed in the back, why would the victim run toward the support pillar on the opposite side of the room?
Wouldn't it have made more sense to rush outside and call for help?
There were clearly other people in the house.
Unless...
The victim had been unconscious for part of the incident.
Or perhaps he had been trying to leave a dying message.
Ritsu scanned the room.
If there was a dying message, it was probably hidden among the countless sword marks carved into the walls, floor, and ceiling.
He needed to find it and decipher it.
Sniff. Sniff.
'What was that strange sound?'
Ritsu lowered his gaze.
Conan was secretly peeking out from beside his leg. The mysterious noise was simply Conan inhaling through his nose as hard as possible.
'What is Kudo doing now?'
As Ritsu was about to ask, Conan suddenly ran over to the two maids and started sniffing them as well.
He looked exactly like a puppy following scents. A moment later, he even ran over and began sniffing Ran.
"..."
At that moment, Ritsu genuinely wanted to pull out his police identification and arrest this individual who only looked like a child but was, in reality, a legally responsible seventeen-year-old teenager.
He was completely abusing his childlike appearance.
Ran had obviously noticed Conan's behavior as well. With a helpless frown, she said,
"Conan, what are you doing? You're sniffing everyone like a puppy. That's very rude, you know!"
"Huh? I-I'm not doing anything! Hahaha!"
Conan laughed awkwardly and moved away. Then he suddenly caught a familiar scent again. Looking up, he realized the perfume belonged to none other than the victim's wife.
Maru Inako.
His large eyes darted left and right.
Looks like Inako's affair partner is Hatano. No wonder he had claimed to lose his movie ticket and refused to let the police check the theater's surveillance footage.
It was obvious.
He was trying to hide his improper relationship with Inako. Now the challenge was finding a way to pass this crucial information to Ritsu.
"Uncle!"
Conan ran over to Hatano. "I remember you telling that police officer you went to see a movie, right?"
Hatano blinked. Seeing that it was only a child, he relaxed considerably. "That's right."
"But I lost the ticket. Otherwise, I'd have proof of my alibi."
"Uncle, were you watching Summer Santa Claus? That's a movie I've really wanted to see!"
"Ran-neechan, can we go watch it later too?"
As he spoke, Conan even started acting spoiled toward Ran. Inside, however, he felt nothing but bitterness. Passing information this way was exhausting.
"Yes. That's the movie I watched today."
At first, Ritsu found Conan's little performance rather odd. Then he immediately understood.
"Summer Santa Claus?"
Ran looked up thoughtfully. "Isn't that movie's premiere at ten o'clock tonight?"
"Ah! You're right!"
Conan looked at the suddenly panicked Hatano and innocently asked,
"That's so weird, Uncle. How could you have already watched it? Are you super, super rich?"
"Did you pay the theater to screen it just for you?"
Kogoro instantly understood as well. He grabbed Hatano by the shoulder and leaned in aggressively.
"What's going on here?! Hatano-san, did you actually go to a movie or not? You just watched it today, so how could you forget the title?!"
Ritsu adjusted his glasses and casually added fuel to the fire.
"Lying in front of this many police officers, Hatano-san... That makes you look rather suspicious."
"Th-That... I..."
Hatano stammered helplessly. Unable to form a coherent sentence, he eventually lowered his head and remained silent.
The truth was simply too embarrassing to say.
More importantly, it concerned the reputation of the woman he loved.
"Onizawa-san, I think he's the killer!"
"He is not the killer!!!"
Everyone froze at Inako's sudden outburst. No one understood why she was defending Hatano.
Takagi blinked twice.
"Inako-san, what do you mean by that?"
"Hatano-san couldn't possibly have murdered my husband because..."
"Because what?"
Takagi tilted his head in confusion. Why did everyone insist on stopping halfway through a sentence and making other people ask?
Did they all enjoy pretending to be mysterious?
"Because from noon until evening... he was with me the entire time at the Beika Luxury Hotel!!!"
Silence fell over the room.
The revelation was so explosive that everyone temporarily lost the ability to speak.
For the sake of Conan's healthy psychological development, Ran even crouched down and thoughtfully covered his ears.
Ritsu let out a long sigh.
Then he turned to look at Denjiro's body lying on the floor.
'What a miserable way to go. The corpse hasn't even reached the green discoloration stage yet...
So why does it look this green already?'
----
Author's Note:
To clarify, Japan doesn't really have the same "green hat" or "being greened" (cuckolded) expression commonly used in Chinese culture.
However, green is traditionally considered an unlucky color by some Japanese people.
The repeated use of "green" here is simply a joke and wordplay. w