'Of course, they look familiar! Aren't these the two people we met before, during President Yamazaki's suicide case in Saitama Prefecture?
I didn't expect to run into them again, and one is owed wages while the other is collecting a debt. What a coincidence.'
Conan's eyes narrowed into half-moons as he ranted internally.
Just then, the investigation of the white vehicles in the parking lot yielded a new discovery.
Officer Takagi ran over to report.
"Inspector Megure! We found a white van matching the description in the parking lot, and the owner is this Nojiri Masakawa-san.
Furthermore, on his car's front bumper, we found a small amount of black paint residue that hadn't been completely cleaned off.
And the collision dent, after initial comparison, highly matches the damage on the deceased's car's rear bumper. Forensic personnel are doing a detailed comparison now!"
"What?!" Inspector Megure immediately rushed to the parking lot.
Indeed, the front of Nojiri Masakawa's old white van had a fresh dent, with a few black paint flecks still clinging to it.
"Nojiri-san! Please explain what's going on here?!"
Inspector Megure looked sternly at Nojiri Masakawa,
"Why does your car have traces of a collision with the victim's vehicle? Was it you who drove Iwahara-san off the cliff?!"
Nojiri Masakawa was startled when he saw the marks on his car's front. His previous arrogance instantly vanished, and he frantically waved his hands.
"N-no! It wasn't me! I came to collect a debt, not to kill someone! And I didn't even see that Iwahara Gomou!"
He quickly pulled a crumpled receipt from his pocket.
"Look! This is an annual pass for the ski resort. Today, when I went to the office to find that Iwahara, he wasn't there. Secretary Kurofuji received me.
Secretary Kurofuji told me that Iwahara asked for a few more days, promising to repay the money with interest in a few days, and also gave me this annual pass for the ski resort.
I thought, a few days wouldn't make a difference, so I parked the car in the parking lot and happily went skiing! I didn't drive up the mountain road at all, let alone hit Iwahara's car!"
Everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Kurofuji Kizo.
Kurofuji Kizo adjusted his glasses and nodded to confirm:
"Yes, Officer. The Manager indeed temporarily had no money, but he wanted to appease Nojiri-san, so he had me give Nojiri-san a free annual pass and promised to find a way to repay a portion within a week.
I can vouch for this. But after Nojiri-san got the ticket, I don't know where he went."
"What about you? Kurofuji-san?"
Officer Takagi recorded, while also pressing, "Where were you this afternoon, during the time of the incident? What were you doing?"
Kurofuji Kizo pushed up his glasses and replied calmly.
"I was in the Manager's office organizing documents. Since the Manager was out, I took the opportunity to deal with some accumulated work.
The office is a private room, there are no surveillance cameras, and no other colleagues can testify, but I truly didn't leave it for a single step."
The case seemed to have reached a stalemate.
Nojiri Masakawa and Kurofuji Kizo both had motives, and neither had an alibi.
It seemed both were suspects, but both lacked crucial evidence.
Just as Inspector Megure was frowning in thought, Conan smirked.
He quietly slipped next to Dr. Agasa, tugged on his sleeve, and whispered, "Doctor, do me a favor..."
On the other side, Inspector Megure was analyzing. "If Kurofuji-san was in the office the whole time, and Nojiri-san was skiing, then who exactly was driving Nojiri-san car..."
"Ahem!"
Suddenly, a clearing of the throat sounded.
Dr. Agasa, at some point, had stood on a slightly higher snowdrift, his hands clasped behind his back.
Conan, meanwhile, hid behind the Doctor's broad body, having adjusted his bow-tie voice changer.
"Inspector Megure," Dr. Agasa opened his mouth as if performing a ventriloquist act, "I believe I already know the truth."
"Dr. Agasa?"
Inspector Megure looked at Dr. Agasa, who seemed possessed by a great detective, in surprise, "Could it be that you..."
Ran also exclaimed in delight, "Doctor, you really know who?"
"Mm..."
Dr. Agasa responded and began his deduction.
"In fact, from the very beginning, the culprit inadvertently exposed his crime."
Kurofuji Kizo and Nojiri Masakawa both looked at the Doctor nervously.
"The culprit is you—Kurofuji Kizo-san!"
Dr. Agasa suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Kurofuji Kizo.
"W-what? What are you talking about, old man? How could I be the culprit? I was in the office the whole time, I never went out." Kurofuji Kizo retorted excitedly.
"Haha, that's precisely your biggest blunder!"
Dr. Agasa's voice was full of confidence,
"You claimed you were in the office the whole time until someone informed you that the Manager had been killed, and then you came to the scene, right?"
"Y-yes!"
"Then, I have a question I'd like to ask you."
Dr. Agasa said slowly,
"When you arrived at the scene, what was the first thing you saw? It was this overturned black car and the wrecked snowmobile, right?"
"Y-yes..."
"At that time, the police had not yet reached any conclusions, and all witnesses at the scene were gathered together. So,"
Dr. Agasa's voice suddenly became sharp,
"Why did you insist that Piper-san was driving too fast and hit the Manager's car?!"
"Ah!" Ran and Inspector Megure and others instantly reacted, all looking at Kurofuji Kizo.
That's right!
When Kurofuji Kizo first arrived at the scene, everyone was gathered together. It would be impossible for someone who hadn't witnessed Piper's Snowmobile hitting the car to know that Piper was the one who hit it.
Kurofuji Kizo's face instantly turned pale, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
"I... I..." He still tried to struggle.
Dr. Agasa pressed on,
"Your entire plan seemed perfect, but in reality, it was full of loopholes! You harbored resentment towards Manager Iwahara due to long-term unpaid wages. You knew Nojiri-san would come to collect his debt today, so you came up with a plan."
"You falsely conveyed the Manager's words, using a free ski pass to lure Nojiri-san away, making him relax and enjoy himself, thus creating time for you.
Then, you seized the opportunity to steal Nojiri-san white van parked in the parking lot. You then drove Nojiri's car up the mountain, found the Manager's vehicle, and then violently collided with it from behind, sending him and his car tumbling down the slope!"
"After accomplishing all this, you originally intended to quietly drive the car back to the parking lot and park it, creating the illusion that Nojiri-san had committed the crime himself and then falsely claimed to have gone skiing.
But you probably didn't expect that just after the Manager's car plunged off the cliff, Piper-san snowmobile coincidentally and accidentally crashed into the fallen vehicle, causing a secondary collision."
"This sudden turn of events disrupted your rhythm, but you quickly composed yourself and decided to turn the tables.
You swiftly drove Nojiri-san car back to the parking lot and parked it, then immediately returned to the office, pretending to have been processing documents all along.
It wasn't until someone informed you of the incident that you rushed to the scene. And, in order to close the case quickly, you eagerly accused Piper-san of being the culprit as soon as you arrived.
But you didn't expect that it was precisely your overly eager accusation that exposed the fact that you were the murderer!"
"Am I right, Mr. Kurofuji Kizo!"
Dr. Agasa's deduction shattered Kurofuji Kizo's psychological defenses.
With a thud, Kurofuji Kizo's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto his knees in the snow, covering his face with his hands.
"You're right... I did it..."
He began to confess his crime, his voice choked with sobs.
"I worked for him for so long... He not only withheld my wages but also cursed at me constantly... I couldn't take it anymore... That day, when I heard he owed high-interest loans again, and Nojiri was coming to collect... I thought of this plan... I wanted to use Nojiri's hand to get rid of him... and make Nojiri take the blame... Waaah..."
Inspector Megure waved his hand, and Takagi stepped forward to put handcuffs on Kurofuji Kizo.
"Goodness, so that's what happened."
Inspector Megure sighed, then looked gratefully at Dr. Agasa,
"Dr. Agasa, we truly owe you a lot this time! I didn't expect your deductive abilities to be so impressive!"
"Ah ha ha ha... Not at all, not at all..."
Dr. Agasa finally spoke for real this time, scratching the back of his head and laughing awkwardly.
Conan quietly slipped away from behind the Doctor, relieved.
The case was finally solved.
He glanced at Kurofuji Kizo, who was still crying, and shook his head.
In Beika, the reason of unpaid wages and acting against a superior was still too justifiable.