"Really? Mr. Mouri has already found the murderer?"
Inspector Otaki looked expectant.
"That's right, I have already found the evidence."
Kogoro Mouri lowered his head. His face couldn't be seen clearly, but his voice was confident.
"May I ask Mr. Mouri, who is the murderer?"
Inspector Otaki looked suspiciously at Shingo Nachi and Yuji Shimazaki.
"Hey, Officer, why are you looking at me? I'm not the murderer. I mean, look at me—I'm too handsome!" Shingo Nachi flicked his hair.
"You are the prime suspect," Inspector Otaki said coldly.
"I'm the most suspicious? What about Heiji Hattori? He had a big fight with Morio Anzai this morning. Isn't he more likely to be the killer?" Shingo Nachi shouted.
"If Mr. Heiji wanted to kill someone, would he leave so many clues? Obviously, this is a coincidence."
Hearing Inspector Otaki's words, the others were speechless.
(Does Inspector Otaki really have to admire Hattori so much? Reasoning and killing are two completely different things.)
Conan hid behind a tree, holding his bowtie voice changer, looking annoyed.
Heiji smiled. "Inspector Otaki, killing and reasoning are two totally different things."
"Is that so? Hahaha, Mr. Heiji speaks reasonably."
Everyone was silent. It was obvious this officer was a huge Heiji Hattori fan.
Conan rubbed his head, trying to organize his thoughts. "Anyway, back to the main topic. Ran, you and Conan found Mr. Anzai at the temple, right?"
"Yeah, after Conan and I finished shopping, someone looked panicked at the temple entrance. Conan ran up and found Mr. Anzai lying there. Right, Conan?"
Ran looked left and right, but did not find Conan's figure.
"Yeah, Sister Ran."
Conan poked his head out from behind the tree.
He suddenly felt a chill run down his neck—a stare making him uneasy. What's Hattori looking at me for? Did he notice something?
Cold sweat flowed down instantly.
"Mr. Mouri, isn't that the truth?"
Conan's face changed, too late to think carefully, he quickly shrank back.
"That's true, but we all made a mistake. We thought the murder happened between ten and ten-thirty, but it was actually earlier—probably between eight-thirty and nine-thirty."
Everyone looked shocked.
"If so, then the suspects are not just the two of them."
Inspector Otaki looked at Shingo Nachi and Yuji Shimazaki.
At this point, no one cared about Inspector Otaki's fan behavior. All eyes were on Kogoro Mouri.
"That's right. That means you don't have an alibi either, Miss Taeko Mamegaki."
Taeko Mamegaki trembled, clenching her hands, looking nervous.
"Miss Taeko Mamegaki, where were you between eight-thirty and nine-thirty?" Inspector Otaki asked seriously.
"I..." Taeko Mamegaki's eyes flickered behind her glasses. "I came back to take a shower."
"Oh, then during this time did you hear any sounds?"
Kogoro Mouri asked.
"No... no."
Taeko Mamegaki's reaction made Inspector Otaki suspicious. "That means you don't have an alibi."
"Inspector Otaki, please look at the bloody writing left by Mr. Anzai."
Inspector Otaki hurried over to check.
"Inspector Otaki, if you remove the extra lines that were added after the victim died, you'll see the original name."
Hearing Kogoro Mouri, Inspector Otaki stared at the writing. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Handsome guy!"
Shingo Nachi responded reflexively.
"This looks like decisive evidence, Mr. Nachi. The 'handsome guy' seems to point to you, making you the prime suspect."
Inspector Otaki looked at Shingo Nachi seriously.
"Me, the murderer? That's a joke! I'm a handsome guy—how could I be the murderer?" Shingo Nachi's eyes looked nervous.
"Then, Mr. Nachi, where were you between eight-thirty and nine-thirty?" Inspector Otaki asked seriously.
"I was inside the hotel at that time."
"Report, according to the testimony of the hotel where Shingo Nachi stayed, Shingo Nachi had already left the hotel at eight o'clock and has not returned since."
Shingo Nachi's face went pale.
"Mr. Shingo Nachi, if you have something to say, say it slowly back at the police station."
Inspector Otaki took out his handcuffs and walked toward Shingo Nachi with a serious expression.
"It wasn't me! I admit, I did come to see Morio Anzai tonight. But when I arrived, it was already nine-ten and he was already dead. I panicked when I saw 'Taeko' written on the ground, so I added a couple of strokes to try to change it. I thought it would look like 'handsome guy' instead. But I swear, I didn't kill him."
Shingo Nachi couldn't keep up his cool act anymore. His face was pale as he kept trying to explain.
"Better say it back at the police station."
Inspector Otaki prepared to handcuff Shingo Nachi.
"Inspector Otaki, I never said Mr. Shingo Nachi was the murderer."
Inspector Otaki was stunned.
"But isn't 'handsome guy' written there?"
"Inspector Otaki, look again. If you remove the extra lines, the original name is still there—'Taeko.' Nachi tried to cover it up by adding more strokes because he panicked."
Kogoro Mouri's words made Inspector Otaki turn back and check again. After a while, his eyes widened. He stared at Taeko Mamegaki in shock. "Miss Taeko, how could he write your name?"
Taeko Mamegaki's body trembled.
"Nonsense, when Taeko came back at that time, didn't she still see Mr. Anzai coming out of the hotel?" Yuji Shimazaki shouted angrily.
"So, she would look like she saw a ghost, wouldn't she?"
Yuji Shimazaki instantly stopped talking.
"Because she already knew Morio Anzai was dead at that time, yet saw him appear again, it would be strange not to be scared."
"But Dad, how did you know? Only Conan and I were there at that time."
Ran looked at Kogoro Mouri doubtfully.
"Ah... Conan told me this."
Kogoro Mouri's voice was a bit flustered.
"It seems, this kid Conan can help you with a lot of things, Uncle Mouri."
Heiji said lightly from the side.
Conan felt a chill in his heart: What does this guy Hattori mean? Did he discover something?
"What evidence do you have?" Yuji Shimazaki said angrily.
"Mr. Anzai's watch wasn't stained with blood. His jacket was thrown aside. And, judging by all the blood, the killer would definitely be stained too. The only one here who had time to change and wash off the blood is you, Miss Taeko Mamegaki."
The entire temple became completely quiet, all eyes focused on Taeko Mamegaki.
"No, I did it. I killed him."
"Yuji, stop talking, I killed Anzai."
Taeko Mamegaki knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
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