"A case?"
"Couldn't you find the culprit?" Dr. Agasa asked, scratching the back of his head in thought.
He knew he wasn't much help in these matters. If even Tsuneo couldn't handle it, he doubted Shinichi would have much more luck.
"I found him," Tsuneo replied, shaking his head slowly.
"I remember you went to the Detective Agency this evening to pick up Conan and the others," Akemi recalled, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to piece the timeline together. "You were supposed to be recording a show, right?"
Tsuneo had eaten a quick dinner at the house before rushing off in his car.
"The situation was like this..." Tsuneo began.
He recounted the day's events in meticulous detail. He knew perfectly well that Akira Nagumo was the one who had ended Yoshiteru Kazami's life. As for the motive and the murder weapon? Those details had clicked into place almost instantly.
The woman Akira Nagumo frequently met with was Ruri Ujō. However, their relationship wasn't the scandalous affair people suspected; they were simply a father and daughter who had been separated for years.
Kazami had likely used that secret as leverage, backing Nagumo into a corner with threats and blackmail. He had tragically underestimated the resolve of an aging father consumed by guilt toward his daughter. By pushing Nagumo to the brink, Kazami had unwittingly sealed his own fate.
"And the weapon? What was it?" Ai asked after hearing the story. She glanced at "The Fixer," her sharp eyes suggesting she had already surmised the answer.
"Utility blades. He wrapped one end in thick layers of tape to create a makeshift handle. After that, he snapped the blades into segments and stuffed them into a kerosene lighter."
Tsuneo produced a kerosene lighter from his pocket, turning it over in his hand. He didn't have a smoking habit, so there was no need to explain where the item had come from. Once the cotton wick and padding were removed from the lighter's casing, hiding the thin shards of a box cutter was a simple task.
"What about the tape?" Agasa asked, frowning as he followed the logic.
"Handled," Tsuneo said, fiddling with the lighter.
After Nagumo had wiped the blood from the tape, he had stuck it back onto the filming set. That specific type of tape—colored to blend in with the flooring—is commonly used to mark positions for actors. Since Tsuneo hadn't left any physical evidence behind, the crumpled bits of tape had already been cleared away and disposed of.
"I always said this day would come," Ai remarked with a knowing nod. She understood the source of the Fixer's somber mood.
"Yes, Yusaku said something similar once," Agasa added, nodding in agreement.
The legendary novelist had once observed that while the media often hailed Tsuneo's exploits, he wasn't a "detective" in the traditional sense. The brand of justice Tsuneo practiced and enforced would, sooner or later, collide violently with Shinichi's ideals.
"He certainly has a clear view of things," Tsuneo said, taking a piece of fruit from Akemi.
He recalled the look that bratty detective had given him through the glass...
It was a difficult feeling to put into words. It was as if the boy's eyes were saying: So, in the end, you still chose to do it this way.
That was the gist of it, anyway.
"Don't let it weigh on you. Just do what you believe is right," Ai said plainly, her eyes never leaving the documents in her hands.
Dr. Agasa pursed his lips but remained silent.
"And does our wicked little scientist have any further insights?" Tsuneo asked with a faint, wry smile.
"I don't want to start quoting examples," Ai replied, throwing a sharp glare at the Fixer for the nickname, "but some people are simply better off dead. It brings a certain peace of mind to everyone else."
"Perhaps you're right..." Akemi said, a soft, melancholy smile touching her lips as she thought of the dark shadows that used to haunt her nightmares.
"Yusaku and I both agree," Agasa said with a gentle smile, "that there are too many places in this world where the light simply cannot reach."
"..."
"Conan-kun? What's wrong? Why do you look so troubled?" Ran asked, noticing the deep, persistent scowl on Conan's face as he walked through the door.
"No... it's nothing," Conan replied, shaking his head.
In his heart, he was absolutely certain. Tsuneo had done something before he left. It was highly likely that whatever he did was connected to the missing murder weapon.
Nearby, Akira Nagumo approached Kogoro Mouri.
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" Kogoro asked, looking confused.
"I wanted to ask you," Nagumo began, his expression stern and accusatory, "exactly what do you mean by constantly trying to get close to her?"
"Close to her? You mean Ruri?" Kogoro explained, taken aback. "We're just middle school classmates who get along well."
"Is that really all it is!" Nagumo demanded, his eyes boring into Kogoro's.
"Y-yes..." Kogoro stammered, completely bewildered by the interrogation.
"If you dare try anything untoward, I won't let you get away with it," Nagumo hissed. He left Kogoro with that final threat and turned to walk away.
"..."
The scene felt strangely familiar to Kogoro. After a moment of reflection, it finally clicked. This was exactly how he had been treated the first time he went to visit Eri's father.
When a young punk tries to steal the 'cabbage' from a father's garden, that's exactly the reaction you get, Kogoro thought. Just like that bratty high school detective kid!
Conan, having overheard Nagumo's words, turned his gaze toward Ruri Ujō, lost in thought.
Those two... are they father and daughter?
"Mouri-san, we still haven't found any trace of the murder weapon. Could it be...?" Inspector Yokomizo returned, rubbing his chin in frustration.
"As I suspected," Kogoro nodded, playing along, "it's very likely the work of an outsider."
The villa was nestled deep in the mountains. It wasn't impossible for someone to have lain in wait, committed the murder, and then vanished into the vast wilderness.
"..."
Conan felt a dull ache in his chest, a sense of deep frustration that bordered on hesitation. He couldn't bring himself to say anything about Tsuneo's involvement. But without that lead, how was he supposed to solve the case?
Lost in thought, the Great Detective wandered onto the filming set. The staff, knowing the drama couldn't continue filming, had already begun packing up the equipment.
"That's strange," one staff member remarked, looking at the bare floor. "I remember we put down quite a few markers here, didn't we?"
"Maybe someone peeled them off while they were passing by," another shrugged. They discussed it briefly before moving on, dismissing it as a minor annoyance.
Peeled them off while passing by... Conan realized the implication, but he said nothing. He simply turned and walked away.
Inspector Yokomizo had already ordered a background check on everyone who held a grudge against Yoshiteru Kazami. He dispatched two teams to expand the search radius, hoping to find any scrap of evidence left behind in the snow.
As midnight approached, the investigation reached a temporary standstill. The witnesses were cleared to leave, and the crowd began to disperse.
"Dad, how are we getting home?" Ran asked her father.
"If you don't mind, you can ride with me," Ruri Ujō said, jingling her car keys.
The group had been searched thoroughly; no one was carrying anything suspicious. After some negotiation with the police, they were permitted to depart. The Mouri trio piled into Ruri's car.
"Ruri-chan... back then, I mean, when it was snowing... did you see anything?" Kogoro asked. He was behind the wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his voice uncharacteristically serious.
"Kogoro-chan, what are you talking about?" Ruri's eyes flickered with a brief, subtle change, but she quickly masked it with a smile.
"No... nothing..."
Kogoro glanced up at the rearview mirror, his expression unreadable.
Early the next morning, the news of the actor Yoshiteru Kazami's death broke to the public.
But alongside the official reports, an explosive post began to spread like wildfire across the internet.
-------------------------------
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