Suzuki Byakuya, witnessing the sudden situation, rushed to Kawabe Katsuhiko's side.
The cigarette he held in his hand was still releasing smoke, but the person himself was motionless.
His eyes were vacant, his pupils unfocused, he was likely dead.
But in the blink of an eye, Suzuki Byakuya's heart skipped a beat.
The colorful world around him instantly turned black and white, with a few red lights standing out.
The closest one was the cigarette on the ground.
【Clue: Poisonous Cigarette】
【Explanation: The filter is coated with poison, requiring a sufficient amount to be lethal.】
Suzuki Byakuya's expression turned serious, he squatted down to observe the area around the body, and made an unexpected discovery.
The cigarette that Kawabe Katsuhiko had been holding in his fingers was filterless.
If a sufficient amount was required to be lethal, it wouldn't be possible to get poisoned by smoking like that.
So, the killer was someone else?!
The crowd gathered around, and after confirming Kawabe Katsuhiko's death, they were all lost and bewildered.
Kawabe's mother even fell to her knees beside him, wailing in sorrow.
The little kid named Conan seemed very composed, even asking Mouri Ran to call the police.
After giving instructions, he actually started observing the body up close.
That wasn't out of curiosity, but with an investigative gaze.
Perhaps lacking relevant pharmacological knowledge, Conan only observed from a distance, not making a more in-depth investigation.
Suzuki Byakuya's pupils constricted slightly, feeling strange about his reaction.
A few days ago at the aquarium, Kudo Shinichi had acted similarly, with only the body in his eyes.
A high school detective examining a body was understandable, but how could a kid be the same?
Normally, a kid seeing a body should be scared or cry.
But Conan didn't show any fear at all, it was like he was accustomed to it, not a normal reaction.
Looking at his appearance, Conan is likely Kudo Shinichi's younger brother.
Were they raised like this from childhood? That's too outrageous!
Suzuki Byakuya looked around, noticing red lights in the house. He quietly got up and walked towards the living room.
The others were anxiously pacing back and forth in the courtyard, waiting for the police to arrive.
Pushing open the wooden door, Byakuya glanced at the red light on the table:
【Clue: Poisonous Coffee Cup】
【Explanation: The coffee cup is evenly coated with lethal poison.】
“Poisoning in a coffee cup?”
The only red light in the living room, there were more in the kitchen.
He pushed open the door and quickly found two inconspicuous juice bottles on the bottom shelf of the display rack.
【Clue: Mixed Poison】
【Explanation: Brown, PH6, highly poisonous.】
【Clue: Alkaline Reagent】
【Explanation: Colorless, only neutralizes acids and bases, cannot neutralize toxins.】
A cute-looking little boy stood at the kitchen door, peering in and asking:
“Big brother, what are you doing?”
Byakuya recognized him, he was Kawabe Katsuhiko's younger brother, Jinzi.
“Ah, nothing, I'm just thirsty, coming to find something to drink.”
Kawabe Jinzi hummed in agreement, not suspecting anything.
He opened his big eyes and pointed to the direction of the courtyard:
“Big brother, what's happening outside? Mom won't let me go out.”
Byakuya knew this was the mother's way of protecting her child, he cooperated, saying:
“There are monsters outside, you stay in the house, we'll protect you.”
Jinzi was very obedient, his voice soft and sweet: “Okay!”
“Right.”
Byakuya had been gone from the living room for a while while he went to do the high jump in the courtyard:
“What happened here while I was out? Can you tell me in detail?”
…
Twenty minutes later, sirens sounded outside.
Chief Inspector Megure arrived at the scene, and after getting out of the car, he saw Mouri Ran first, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat.
“Miss Mouri, is Kudo Shinichi here?”
“Huh?” Mouri Ran was stunned for a moment, then shook her head: “Shinichi said he had to investigate an important case, and he hasn't come back yet.”
Chief Inspector Megure secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his eyes just caught sight of Suzuki Byakuya walking out of the living room.
The heart that had settled down suddenly tensed up again.
This guy's been appearing at crime scenes lately, quite frequently, as much as Kudo.
Although he was complaining like that in his heart, he put on a cheerful smile:
“Mr. Suzuki, what are you doing here?”
“Oh, it's because Sonoko invited me to a party today, so I came along.”
Suzuki Sonoko stepped forward to her side, explaining without hesitation:
“Officer, Byakuya is my cousin, I invited him to play today.”
Chief Inspector Megure knew Suzuki Sonoko, so he didn't say anything more.
“Takagi, go with the investigation team to inspect the scene.”
“Yes!”
Based on the information provided by Kawabe Jinzi, Suzuki Byakuya had already identified the criminal, but he wouldn't directly point out the killer.
The circumstances of this case were quite complicated, it would be better to wait until the police were at a loss before making a move, the effect would be better.
At Chief Inspector Megure's request, everyone returned to the living room to wait.
Soon, a forensic expert came to report:
“Chief, preliminary judgment is pesticide poisoning death, there are chocolate residues in the deceased's mouth, the specific composition needs to be tested back at the lab.”
Kawabe Katsuhiko didn't like sweets, but he did eat the chocolate given by Watanabe Yoshimi.
This pointed the finger of suspicion directly at Watanabe Yoshimi.
Chief Inspector Megure, after understanding the whole situation, began to interrogate her on the spot:
“Miss Watanabe, did the deceased die after eating your chocolate?”
Watanabe Yoshimi hung her head, looking like a child who had done something wrong:
“Yes… yes.”
“So, this is a simple murder case.”
Mouri Kogoro appeared behind him like a ghost, startling Chief Inspector Megure:
He forced himself to swallow the swear words, asking:
“How did you get here, Mr. Mouri Kogoro?”
Mouri Kogoro stood at attention, saluting:
“I rushed over after receiving a call from my daughter.”
After saying that, he began to forcefully change the topic:
“Anyway, I already know the killer, the killer is you, Miss Watanabe Yoshimi, you poisoned the chocolate and killed the deceased, the motive is simple, it's hate born from love.”
Watanabe Yoshimi covered her mouth, about to cry:
“It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it really wasn't me…”
Conan paid close attention to Suzuki Byakuya's movements, this guy was very relaxed, sitting on the sofa.
The last defeat had been weighing on his mind.
This time, encountering a murder case, Conan was determined to be the first to find the killer.
This time, I won't lose!
Conan furrowed his brow, analyzing, and decided that Miss Watanabe Yoshimi was not the killer.
But who could the killer be?
After seeing Mr. Jidō smoking, his eyes lit up, he reminded Chief Inspector Megure:
“Uncle, uncle, I found a cigarette butt at the scene, could it be that the poison was in the cigarette?”
Hearing this, Wakamatsu Toshihide immediately grabbed Jidō by the collar, questioning him:
“You killed him, didn't you? He died after smoking the cigarette you gave him!”
Jidō was choked, struggling free, he defended himself:
“I was indeed unhappy with him, but if I poisoned the cigarette, wouldn't that be too obvious?”
This left Wakamatsu Toshihide speechless, he awkwardly scratched the back of his head:
“That's true…”
Chief Inspector Megure didn't believe in words, he only believed in evidence.
He called the forensics team and instructed them:
“Pack up the cigarette butts near the body and take them back to the lab for testing.”
“Yes, Chief!”
Seeing that the police were going to test it, Jidō knew he couldn't escape, he admitted it himself:
“Kawabe Katsuhiko, it was indeed me who poisoned him. I've hated him for a long time. He always looked down on me, and he even hurt A-香. So… so I put poison on the filter of the cigarette.”
From the sound of his voice, it seemed Jidō had feelings for Kanaguri 香.
But Kanaguri 香 liked Kawabe Katsuhiko, and Kawabe Katsuhiko liked Watanabe Yoshimi, forming a chain of liking between four people.
Conan was hesitant when he suddenly heard Kawabe Jinzi's cries.
He already had a cavity, and because he had just eaten cake, his tooth ached terribly.
But Kawabe's mother didn't react at all, she was unusually washing the coffee cup repeatedly.
A flash of light shone in Conan's eyes, he had an "I understand" expression!
The real killer was Kawabe Katsuhiko's mother.
She knew her son didn't like sweets, so she poisoned the coffee, then added a neutralizing agent to the cake.
That would explain why she had previously forbidden Jinzi from eating chocolate, but after he drank the coffee, she forcefully fed him a bite of cake.
Conan raised his wristwatch, it was the latest anesthetic needle developed by Dr. Agasa.
He was a child now, it wasn't convenient for him to solve the case in person.
But he could anesthetize Mouri Kogoro, use a voice changer to direct him, and find the real killer.
Just as Chief Inspector Megure cuffed Mr. Jidō and was about to escort him back to the police station.
Suzuki Byakuya, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up and stopped him:
“Chief Inspector Megure, you've arrested the wrong person.”
“Ah? Mr. Suzuki, what do you mean…”
Byakuya stood sideways with a strange pose, giving an answer that was completely different from Conan's:
“The real killer should be Miss Kanaguri 香!”
…
PS: These few episodes are about revisiting old cases, that is, finding the loopholes in the original plot, re-opening the case, and deducing the 'real' killer. The logic is definitely sound, I hope you enjoy it. If there are any errors, please forgive me.