Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 307: Death of Okino Yoko, Hotaru and Ran's Leisurely Holiday

"died?"

"died."

Megure Jusan's words surprised Hotaru. Hadn't the intruder in Okino Yoko's house been discovered? How could she have died?
"When did you die?"

"According to the autopsy results, it should have been between 7 and 9 last night. The air conditioner was on in her room, which affected the speed of the body's transformation, so we can't make a more accurate judgment."

Megure Jusan spoke in a heavy tone and told Hotaru roughly what had happened.

At 10 o'clock this morning, Yoko Okino's agent, Sakae Yamagishi, called the police and said that he did not wait for Yoko Okino at the Nichiuri TV station and could not get in touch with her by phone.

Because he had a TV drama shooting today, he went to Yoko Okino's house and opened the door with a spare key.

As soon as I entered the room, I found Yoko Okino lying in the living room with a dagger stuck in her chest.

He didn't dare to go over to check and immediately called the police.

After Megure Jusan finished explaining what happened, he continued, "The murderer used some means to disguise the scene as Yoko Okino's suicide, but we have discovered it. I called to ask about what Brother Shuiyue said at the police hospital the evening before yesterday."

Yingsheng had no vested interest in this, so he told the truth: "The pinhole camera is placed in the green plants in front of the balcony facing the door. Let's go and take a look first."

After hearing the sound of footsteps and the rustling of green leaves, Megure Jusan said with regret, "No."

"What about her computer at home?" Yingsheng asked.

"The agent said that she doesn't have a desktop computer at home and usually uses a pink thin laptop, which we didn't find at her house," said Megure Jusan.

“Have the police identified the suspect now?”

"The person who is most suspected at the moment is Okino Yoko's colleague at the TV station, Ikezawa Yuko.

The two of them had a bad argument over the role of the female lead in a TV series, and yesterday afternoon, for some reason, they had another argument in the lounge, and an earring that Ikezawa Yuko dropped was found in Okino Yoko's home."

Yingsheng raised his eyebrows slightly: "It has come to this point, is there any difficulty in this case?"

Megure Jusan sighed, "The problem is that Ikezawa Yuko has an alibi. During that time, she was out shopping with her colleague from the TV station, Rena Mizunashi. Many people can testify to this. The time chain is complete, so there is no possibility of trickery."

Mizuno Rena?

Hearing a name that he was concerned about, Yingsheng became more interested in the matter and asked again, "What was the reason for the two of them arguing yesterday afternoon?"

"Ikezawa Yuko said that it was Okino Yoko who mocked her and told her, an outdated old woman, to go home and take care of her children. Others also heard it vaguely at the time."

"Did you vaguely hear Okino Yoko's sarcasm, or did you just hear Ikezawa Yuko's response?" Hotaru asked.

"Forehead……"

Megure Jusan looked down at Conan from the balcony and replied two seconds later: "It's just Ikezawa Yuko's response."

"Has anyone contacted Yoko Okino since then? Did she admit that she had mocked Yuko Ikezawa?"

"This……"

Megure Jusan hurriedly asked Yamagishi Eiji who was standing in the living room, and relayed: "Everyone is busy filming at the back, and no one wants to ask about this kind of thing, so I'm not sure."

“Aren’t agents very involved in an artist’s words, deeds, and personality? Even he doesn’t know about it?”

"Because the scene that day was urgent, I planned to ask later, but Yoko left as soon as we finished work."

Megure Juzo's cell phone was on speakerphone, and after hearing Hotaru's words, Yamagishi Ei, with a look of grief on his face, simply spoke himself.

"Okay, Mr. Yamagishi, are you the murderer?" asked Hotaru.

Everyone at the scene was shocked and looked towards Yamagishi Eiji. They saw him taking a step back in panic, and then looking furious.

"How could I possibly kill Yoko! Who are you? What qualifications do you have to speak nonsense like that?"

"Excuse me, where did you get your spare key?"

Yingsheng's tone was calm and composed, as if he had just made a joke.

Yamagishi Rong said coldly: "Of course it was given to me by Yoko. I am her manager. Sometimes I help her get things from her house. She always forgets things."

At the end, his tone softened again and he sighed, "Mr. Officer, we must find the murderer and avenge Yoko."

Megure Jusan nodded solemnly, but before he could speak, Hotaru's voice continued to float out from the speaker.

"I have a question, Mr. Yamagishi, has the spare key always been with you?"

Yamagishi hesitated for two seconds: "Of course, always."

Yingsheng chuckled and told Yoko Okino that her agent had lost his keys.

When Megure Juzo looked at Yamagishi Eiichi, he immediately became suspicious and Yamagishi Eiichi hurriedly explained.

"I did tell Yoko the other day that I lost my keys in the lounge, but this morning the cleaning staff found the keys in the crack of the sofa. I thought it had always been there and had nothing to do with this incident, so I skipped it."

Conan frowned slightly when he heard this. If this was true, then Ikezawa Yuko's suspicion would increase again.

But she had an alibi at that time...

Could it be that, just like the case of Masato Yukioka two weeks ago, Yuko Ikezawa also has an accomplice?
Yingsheng said: "In this case, Okino Yoko has been harassed by phone calls and letters for a week. There may be an unknown third person. Let's start the investigation from this direction. Sorry, Officer Megure, this is all I know."

"Thank you, Brother Shuiyue. Thank you for what happened yesterday as well."

"Everything all right?"

"Everything went well. In the Beihua Library, Tsukawa Hideji was about to kill a clerk who accidentally discovered something wrong. We arrived in time and rescued him. He was very grateful to you, Brother Shuiyue, and said that he wanted to visit you in person later."

"Forget about the man. Tell him you're welcome. I wish Officer Megure can solve the case soon."

Yingsheng hung up the phone and continued to enjoy the sunshine and beach.

Men can't provide him with love, and those who thank him can't provide him with murderous intentions, so there is no benefit in meeting them.

Not long after he hung up the phone, Suzuki Sonoko also came back from the phone and frowned slightly at Hotaroo.

"Who else died I just heard?"

"Yoko Okino, an artist who seems to be very popular recently. I visited her with Xiaolan three days ago, and you should know her." Yingsheng said.

"Oh, you asked that private detective to investigate, right?" Sonoko sighed softly, "He died so young, how pitiful. Have you found the murderer?"

"The police are investigating, and I guess Kudo will go over there too. We'll eventually find the murderer." Yingsheng changed the subject, "Is anyone interested in the fishery?"

"There is a member of the Suzuki branch family who works as a butler in the Usumoto family. I have asked him to go and ask. They are involved in fishing and also have a private island in the Izu Islands."

"Thank you very much. I'll give you a good guy card."

"hehe."

Yuanzi rolled her eyes, turned around to leave, but stopped again when she saw Xiaolan walking barefoot along the tide line towards her at the edge of the wet beach.

Yingsheng tilted his head and saw Xiaolan wearing a light pink suspender swimsuit. She was walking slowly under the blue sky, as if she had walked out of a painting.

"It's not a split type either." Aida Masayo suddenly said. "... Humph, vulgar." Yingsheng said unhappily.

Xiaolan walked closer, took Sonoko's arm, and looked at Yingsheng with a smile: "What were you talking about just now, Suigetsu-kun?"

Yingsheng frowned and said, "We were talking about business cooperation and the condition of your hand injury."

Xiaolan raised her left arm and shook it, and there was a long, dark red blood scab on it.

"It will probably fall off tomorrow, don't worry."

Yuanzi pouted slightly: "Xiaolan, why don't you sleep a little longer? Judging from the way you two look, you must have stayed up all night last night."

"Let's stay awake until night. We can't waste such a beautiful sunshine." Xiaolan glanced at the classmates laughing in the sea, turned back and invited, "Suiyue-kun can swim, do you want to go with us?"

"Afternoon, almost time for lunch."

"That's right, how is the result in Tokyo?"

"Everything went well, but there was one minor incident."

Yingsheng told Xiaolan about Okino Yoko and said with interest: "How about telling this to Mr. Maori? He is a fan of Ms. Yoko. Maybe he can turn his grief into strength, clear up the accumulated problems and cheer up from now on."

Xiaolan hesitated and asked, "Wouldn't this be a bad idea?"

"The dead are gone, and the living need to strive forward. If Miss Yoko is still alive, she would probably be happy to know that she inspired a decadent person to get back on track."

Xiaolan thought about it, took out her phone, and sighed: "Miss Yoko is so pitiful. I hope her father won't hinder the police investigation."

I called Kogoro Mori and told him about this. The shocked voice on the other end almost broke the receiver.

Fortunately, Xiaolan had the foresight to move the phone away, and waited until the sound became weaker before telling him the follow-up and asking him to go find Inspector Megure.

After that, nothing happened until four in the afternoon.

Aida Masayo shouted to Hotaru on the beach, saying that a man named Usumoto Gozo called him, so he reluctantly said goodbye to Xiaolan and swam towards the shore.

Wow——!
There was a surge of waves behind him, and Yingsheng looked back suddenly. Amidst the flying white jade fragments, a sly smile appeared on his delicate face covered with water droplets.

"Suiyue-kun, don't try to escape."

The rainbow-like sunlight was dancing in the mist. Yingsheng was stunned for a second, then turned around and pounced on her with a big laugh.

"Don't get caught by me, it will be miserable."

"Hehe, come on if you have the guts."

As the tide rose and fell, the sounds of the two people's fighting gradually faded away, and Aida Masayo silently withdrew his gaze.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Uzuki, Mr. Suigetsu is not here."

After saying that, he hung up the phone, turned around and went back to reading.

On the other side, Yuanzi looked at the two people who were getting farther and farther away on the sea with a complicated look in her eyes.

Farther away, Kyogoku Makoto felt inexplicably relieved. He turned his head and secretly looked at Sonoko, gradually mustering up his courage.

The other onlookers were laughing. To them, nothing happened in the past two days, and they only had the opportunity to squander the beauty of their youth.

Wow——!
The tide is surging and time is passing in a flash.

At 6:30 in the evening, Yingsheng boarded the cruise ship of the Usumoto family. It was much smaller than the cruise ship of the Suzuki family. There was no swimming pool in front of the deck, only a white-haired old man.

The old man was wearing a navy blue kimono, had white hair and beard, stood straight, and looked quite tough.

Standing behind him was a woman in her early twenties with long dark brown hair, bangs, and a slender figure.

The head of the Yamoto family and the chosen successor?
Yingsheng walked towards them with a smile, wondering if he was taking advantage of the Suzuki family's power to bully others.

But the Suzuki family didn't lose out anyway.

After introducing themselves and exchanging pleasantries, Gozo Usumoto invited Hotaru to join them for dinner. There were only three of them having dinner together, but something unexpected happened in the middle of the meal.

"Master! You can't be so partial!"

A middle-aged woman with heavy makeup pushed the door open and rushed in, her face full of anxiety and panic.

"Master, you..."

"Get out!"

Before she could finish her second sentence, Uemoto Gozo slammed the table and stood up, his face full of anger, his hair and beard standing up, like a lion ready to devour someone.

The woman shuddered all over and opened her mouth to speak, but when she saw the look on Usumoto Gozo's face and glanced at Yingsheng in the guest seat, she finally retreated unwillingly.

As soon as she left, Usumoto Gozo immediately apologized to Yingsheng, saying that his family was unfortunate and his daughter was not virtuous.

Yingsheng shook his head slightly: "Looking at her cowardly behavior just now, it is likely that someone is behind her and she is just a pathfinder being used. Mr. Yumoto, your family seems to be a bit unhappy."

Tsurumoto Gozo nodded, his face rather cold, and he had obviously thought of something, but naturally he would not tell it to outsiders.

He said in a deep voice: "Xia Jiang is the successor I chose. The others are all insignificant and are just waiting for me to die. I have already made a will. Even if I die, they won't get a penny."

Yingsheng was not interested in this. He would not have long-term dealings with the Tsunomoto family. It was just a one-time deal to sell off assets and cash out. He just nodded when he heard this.

"It's almost time to eat, let's get down to business."

Professionals from the Suzuki Group had appraised the value of Kawashima Hideo's assets, and Yingsheng did not deliberately raise the price. Yumoto Gozo was also very sincere, so the deal was quickly concluded.

After agreeing on a time to sign the contract in Tokyo, Yingsheng planned to say goodbye and leave.

As soon as I walked onto the deck...

[Killing Intent +1]

Yingsheng immediately became alert and looked towards a hidden source of vision. A dark gaze quickly retracted into the cabin, and Yingsheng only saw half of the short black hair.

Haha, you are obsessed with fighting for the family inheritance, right? What does this have to do with me? It's incomprehensible.

Yingsheng was not a generous person, and thinking about whether he could show more murderous intent, he simply looked at Yumoto Gozo and asked him who that person was.

"It's my grandson, Ichiro Tsujimoto. Did he offend Mr. Suigetsu just now? I'm very sorry."

Uzumoto Gozo bowed slightly.

Yingsheng raised his hand to support him and sighed softly.

"There is darkness in his eyes, Mr. Yumoto, how is your relationship with him? I am very worried that he will lose his mind and make mistakes and do something stupid."

"Humph, that kind of useless guy wouldn't dare to do that."

"You can't say that. Most murderers are insignificant people."

Yingsheng's eyes showed a playful look: "Mr. Yumoto, do you want to know more about the sting enforcement?"

(End of this chapter)