Thinking of Toiru's name, which was clearly a pseudonym, and the familiar way it was named, Takato immediately thought of Shinichi Kudo!
So Kudo met Hattori? Sure enough, in this Detective Conan world, when Detectives meet, cases always happen. No wonder, even Sonoko might be in trouble.
However, this brief association did not last long. Takato still walked back to the Art Club classroom and asked Nakagawa Moemi.
"Because the oil paintings for the art competition must be submitted tomorrow, our club is in the classroom today, preparing to put the finished oil paintings into frames. But because many club members were absent today, I asked Sonoko, who is quite familiar with the school now, to come and help."
As the president of the Art Club, Nakagawa Moemi explained why they called Sonoko over.
"So, originally, there were only two of you in the Art Club classroom today?"
Takato said, looking at the paintings they were about to frame. There were four paintings laid out, one of which was already framed, one was being framed, and two had not even had the canvas removed from the easel.
"Then can you tell me what the situation was when the two of you left the classroom?"
Takato casually picked up an oil painting that had not been removed from the easel and looked at it, then asked.
"Okay. I went out first, told Sonoko that I would be back soon and she should continue working. Not long after I went out, Moemi also came out."
Ninagawa Ayako said, looking at Nakagawa Moemi.
"Yes. Not long after Ayako went out, I also followed her out. At that time, Sonoko was still in the classroom."
Nakagawa Moemi confirmed Ayako's words.
"Then what was the order when you returned?"
"When we returned, Moemi and I came back together."
Ayako said.
"And then you returned to the classroom door and found it locked from the inside?"
Takato put down the oil painting titled "Scorching Sun" and came to the door to ask.
"Yes. When we came back, we found the door closed, and no matter how hard we pulled, it wouldn't open. So we thought maybe Sonoko accidentally locked the door from the inside after we left. So we kept knocking on the door from outside, but we didn't get any response, so we asked Ayako to go to the guardhouse to get the key."
Moemi said.
"How long were you out for?"
"Maybe ten minutes."
Ayako thought for a moment and said, then looked at Moemi, who also nodded in affirmation.
After hearing this, Takato carefully examined the lock on the door and tried to turn the handle on the outside. He found that it could turn normally and engage the lock's latch. Since there was no problem with the mechanical part, and they said they couldn't open the door when they returned, it meant the door was locked at that time.
The design of this lock was very old. It could only be locked from the outside with a key, unlike new locks where you could simply press a button inside beforehand, then close the door after going out to lock it.
"Are you sure the key is only available at the guardhouse?"
Takato asked.
"Yes. The keys to the activity rooms in this old school building are all kept at the guardhouse. Usually, security guards open the classroom doors in advance every day, and then security guards lock the doors at night. Under normal circumstances, no one would have access to the keys."
Moemi explained.
"So, besides the guard and security, others generally don't have access to the keys?"
Takato said, leaving the two in the classroom. He then went out, closed the door, and then opened it smoothly. Although the thick carpet on the outside stair platform sometimes caused the bottom of the outward-opening door to brush against the carpet when opened, it could indeed be opened smoothly.
Walking back into the classroom, Takato looked at the classroom with various easels and the several paintings, then suddenly turned around, closed the door, and opened it again—so that's how the locked-room mystery happened!
Looking at the two Female students who were now full of curiosity, Takato frowned deeply—if that was the case, was she also an accomplice? But the problem now was, where was Suzuki Sonoko?
At the same time, at Fujimaru's home, Officer Moriaya began to wonder.
"The soccer ball didn't hit it, so why did the glass on the photo frame break?"
"The problem is, why were both the entrance and the windows locked? It's completely a locked room. Or perhaps someone wanted to make it look like an accident."
Hattori Heiji, after revealing his identity, clearly began to dominate the atmosphere. After finishing his last sentence, he specifically glanced at Fujimaru Kazuo.
Facing such a situation, Fujimaru Kazuo first chuckled, then suddenly walked sternly in front of Hattori and questioned, "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Fujimaru, when we arrived, why didn't you immediately come to open the door? And you didn't respond to your wife. Why was that?"
When asked this by Hattori, Fujimaru Kazuo was a bit at a loss, laughing it off by saying he was too scared because of the sudden incident. But after listening to his explanation, Hattori added, "But you had time to pause the music!"
With that, Hattori began to sort out the sequence of events.
"First, Toiru's ball broke the window glass, and very loud music could be heard from the room. Shortly after, the sound of breaking glass was heard again. After Miss Hideshiko's scream, the music stopped. That is to say, someone stopped the music playback."
"Mr. Fujimaru, did you pause the music?"
After listening to Hattori's summary, Officer Moriaya immediately pressed the question, leaving Fujimaru Kazuo at a loss for how to answer. Hattori, however, remained relentless.
"Mr. Fujimaru, playing music that loud, can you really compose? After all, composing is a very delicate matter!"
Repeating a previous statement by Fujimaru Kazuo, Hattori continued, "Moreover, it's also strange for an assistant to be lying on the sofa while working! Mr. Fujimaru, actually, you and Miss Hideshiko were on this sofa..."
"What are you talking about?!"
Being told this, Fujimaru Kazuo became agitated, wanting to stop Hattori from continuing, but Officer Moriaya stopped him.
"Madam, you said when you saw your husband, 'You wouldn't have... Miss Hideshiko, would you?' Can you explain to us the meaning of that statement?"
Hattori led the conversation to Fujimaru Yoshino, which made Fujimaru Kazuo even more agitated.
"Shut up!"
Fujimaru Kazuo said, pulling Fujimaru Yoshino, "Yoshino, don't say anything! There's no need to say anything!"
But such words seemed to have the opposite effect. Fujimaru Yoshino fled to the main house. After Kudo, Hattori, Kazuha, and Ran chased after her, Fujimaru Yoshino still revealed the truth—her husband Fujimaru Kazuo's affair with his assistant Nakahato Hideshiko.
Watching the abilities Hattori displayed from the very beginning, Ran seemed to see another Shinichi Kudo, and for a moment, she was somewhat dazed.
This scene made Kazuha, who was beside her, a little uncomfortable. So, Kazuha called Ran out and said something that shocked Ran:
"Let me tell you this upfront! If you lay a hand on Heiji, I won't let it go! Heiji and I have been connected by an iron chain for a very long time! Even if you are beautiful, you can't just casually destroy the bond between us!"