Chapter 219: The Stalker is Murdered
Bam!
Before Eisuke Hondou could finish his sentence, and before Lisa could even react, the door they were standing in front of was violently flung open.
"What are you two chirping about right outside our door?!" A burly man with a furious scowl stormed out. He was one half of the couple from the room, and his expression was a mask of pure irritation.
Lisa smoothly sidestepped, placing herself between the angry man and the flustered Eisuke. "My sincerest apologies," she said, her voice a warm, disarming melody as she offered a placating smile. "We seem to have disturbed you."
She then glanced at the woman who had followed the man out. She had a severe crew cut and a powerful, stocky build that could easily be mistaken for a man's. Lisa's smile didn't waver as she bestowed a sincere compliment. "You two make a striking pair. I hope your relationship always remains as passionate and beautiful as it is now."
Her voice possessed a magnetic quality, a pleasant timbre that seemed to soothe frayed nerves and warm the heart.
Meanwhile, sensing Eisuke was about to blurt out something tactless in his agitation, Lisa leaned in close. Her eyes flashed a silent warning as she whispered, "Eisuke, dear, you've made a mistake. That is most certainly a young lady. What you just did was hardly polite."
"You're a gi— Hmph..." Eisuke's eyes went wide as he stared at the crew-cut woman, his disbelief plain on his face.
Before he could shout the words, Lisa, ever one step ahead, deftly covered his mouth. The half-formed protest was muffled against her palm, preventing the couple's simmering anger from boiling over.
Feeling the boy tremble with shock, Lisa spoke again, her voice a gentle murmur against his ear. "You need to calm down, Eisuke. I know it might be difficult to believe, but it's the truth."
She slowly removed her hand, a playful, knowing glint in her eyes as she raised a single, perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
Eisuke sucked in a sharp breath, forcing himself to settle. He shot Lisa a grateful look before his gaze drifted back to the woman. 'So,'he thought, a sense of wonder dawning on him,'there really are girls in this world who look so much like boys!'
The burly man's hostile expression softened as he looked at the beautiful woman with the sincere smile. The anger drained from his face, replaced by a faint flush of embarrassment. He cleared his throat, a low cough to cover his earlier outburst.
"Thank you for your kind words, miss," the man mumbled, glancing at his companion.
The crew-cut woman, however, was not so easily swayed. Her brow was furrowed, having clearly noticed Eisuke's strange reaction. A flicker of displeasure crossed her eyes.
"Thanks," she said, her tone clipped and cold. "But this is our private space. Please don't disturb us again." With that, she turned on her heel and headed back into the room.
Lisa simply nodded with an understanding smile.
After a final polite farewell, she took Eisuke by the arm and guided him away from the door. As they walked, Eisuke couldn't help but glance back at the couple, sighing under his breath. "What a... unique pair."
After that little interruption, Lisa and Eisuke returned to the private karaoke room where Sonoko and Ran were waiting. Because they had been gone for quite some time, their session was nearly over by the time they got back.
In the end, Sonoko never did get her wish to hear Eisuke sing.
As the group gathered their things, preparing to leave, Lisa found herself idly wondering why she hadn't yet heard the familiar, blood-curdling scream that always seemed to accompany Ran and Conan's outings.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a piercing shriek ripped through the hallway.
"Ah—!"
'There it is,' Lisa thought with a sense of grim inevitability. She had known the moment she saw Conan that the day wouldn't pass without incident.
The boy detective was already a blur of motion. He had sprinted to the door of a nearby room, the source of the scream, and was peering inside with a look of grim focus.
Lisa and the others were a step behind. By the time they reached the scene, Conan had already slipped inside and was kneeling beside the victim, his sharp eyes scanning for clues.
Lisa's gaze fell upon the victim, and her eyebrows arched in surprise. Her expression turned strange.
It was the man who had been stalking them earlier. Her eyes instinctively flickered to Conan, who was now examining the body up close.
A peculiar thought surfaced in her mind. 'I didn't realize the Reaper's curse was getting stronger. This poor man didn't even last a single day in Conan's presence.'She made a mental note.'I'll need to be more careful around him in the future. It would be terribly unlucky to get swept up in one of his little dramas.'
The commotion drew people out from the adjacent rooms, their faces a mixture of curiosity and alarm. Among them was the couple Eisuke had offended earlier. Seeing Lisa and Eisuke standing nearby, they frowned and kept their distance, choosing not to approach the crime scene.
Eisuke saw them too, and his face immediately grew tense and unnatural, though he remained silent.
Conan, ever observant, caught the shift in Eisuke's demeanor and gave him a long, searching look.
Just like Lisa, Conan had recognized the victim as the man who had been tailing them. He had subconsciously assumed the man was an FBI agent, sent by Jodie Starling's team to protect Eisuke.
Now, with the agent dead, and factoring in Eisuke's strange reaction and his prolonged absence from their karaoke room, Conan's mind immediately flagged him as a suspect.
'Wait,'his thoughts sharpened.'Lisa left the room, too. It wasn't for as long as Eisuke, but they came back together. She might know something.'
With this new line of reasoning, Conan looked up at Lisa, ready to question her. But just as he was about to speak, he saw her pull out her phone.
Someone was calling her. Lisa glanced at the screen, then looked around at the growing crowd. A troubled expression crossed her features, and she began walking towards a quiet corner, clearly intending to take the call in private.
Without a second thought, Conan began to follow her, his small footsteps silent against the carpet.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]