Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 906: Locking in the Suspect

Soon, the stall managers were gathered together.

“There are five beer stalls on the left, and these five people are the stall managers. They were all at their stalls when the incident occurred.”

"Oh, by the way," Takagi added casually, "I already asked them, and they have no recollection of the three deceased."

That's a rather intriguing statement.

Three hundred people sounds like a lot, but in reality, not many people will actually go to the stalls to buy beer. If you divide the number of people served by all the beer stalls on the left and right sides, the average number of people served by each stall will definitely not exceed twenty.

You can't remember three people out of more than twenty?
Someone is lying!
The poisoner might be among them!

Shinichi Kudo frowned.

Kogoro Mouri smacked his lips. "The sun's a bit too strong. I want a beer. The one on the left won't do. How about I just grab one on the right?"

I don't know if I have enough cash, though. I never expected the beer here to be so good.

Kogoro Mouri reached into his pocket and suddenly paused.

Xia Chuan accurately caught this detail, "What's wrong, Mr. Mori? Have you discovered any clues?"

"It's nothing, I just found an extra keychain in my pocket. How about I give it to you?"

The detective shook his head, handed over the keychain, and whispered, "Do you have any cash? I'll go buy another beer."

Ah? ? ?
At a time like this, why are you still drinking? Aren't you afraid of making the wrong guess and discovering that the problematic wine is actually on the right side? Or is the famous detective preparing to take the risk?

Seeing Natsukawa's astonishment, Kogoro Mouri raised his head as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Take a sip of wine to clear your head, and your mind will be clearer, which will speed up the process of solving the puzzle. I'm only telling you this method, so don't tell anyone else."

"Here, give this keychain to Anya for me. I have absolutely no interest in this stuff anyway."

hehe--

You're afraid to tell others because you're worried they'll talk behind your back.

That's really quite casual. I wonder if Conan raised him. Maybe this famous detective is waiting for himself to fall into a deep sleep.

but
Xia Chuan accepted the keychain, which featured busts of Poseidon Island and the Pirate Goddess. The flintlock pistols and pirate scimitars in their hands had been replaced by two beer glasses, and the characters were all in a chibi style, making them look exceptionally cute.

Looking at the keychain, Xia Chuan's heart skipped a beat: "Mr. Mori, where did you get this keychain?"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Could it be a free gift when you buy beer?"

“Yeah.” Kogoro Mouri looked around and said hurriedly, “When I bought them for you guys before, I gave you a few as gifts. The rest are with Ran. If you’re interested, you can ask Ran for them later. Hurry up and lend me some money first. I see they’re starting to pack up.”

Xia Chuan could only nod helplessly and hand over a Fukuzawa Yukichi card.

"Oh, so much? Never mind, I'll pay you back later."

"No need. With this keychain, we might be able to solve the cyanide poisoning case."

When Xia Chuan looked up, he found that Kogoro Mouri had already walked far away and he hadn't heard what he was saying at all.

Accepted~
The blond guy shook his head, then felt someone tug at his clothes.

Looking down, good heavens, Anya was staring at her with pitiful eyes—no, at the keychain in her hand—clearly wanting it.

"Ania, is the murderer among these people? Tell your father, and the keychain is yours."

"Ah la la la."

Anya scratched her head and shook her head without hesitation: "I already heard that, no."

"There's none?"

Xia Chuan murmured softly, but did not completely rule out the beer stall managers based on Anya's one-sided account.

There have been instances where Anya couldn't hear her own thoughts. If she could hear them, that would save her trouble, but not being able to hear them doesn't necessarily prove that the killer isn't there.

After all, his previous reasoning was flawless, and he was confident that the murderer was among these people.

“Inspector Megure, I have a new discovery that should narrow down the suspect’s search or even lead us directly to the killer. Also, this appears to be a random killing, and the killer’s motive is likely unrelated to the victim or his family.”

Xia Chuan's words drew everyone's attention, and a hint of helplessness flashed in Kudo Shin's eyes.

Is it again?

Before he could find anything out, Xia Chuan's tone changed, as if the murderer had already been caught.

He only uses this tone when he has already confirmed the murderer's identity, so... has Brother Xia Chuan solved it again?

Shinichi Kudo sighed dejectedly.

"Don't sigh, that's Xia Chuan after all."

Makoto Kyogoku suddenly appeared behind the high school detective, patted him on the shoulder and comforted him: "As long as the case can be solved, isn't that all that matters? I'm in a hurry to go back and take a shower."

"With such a hot sun, I see your forehead is covered in sweat. You might be suffering from heatstroke. Let's finish the case as soon as possible and go home."

Listening to Makoto Kyogoku's words of comfort, the famous detective felt a little bitter. He was the one who had the most presence when there was a case, but whenever he was with Natsukawa, that presence would be taken away.

However, this time it was indeed a good thing. After Kyogoku Makoto said that, the throbbing in his head became more severe, and he felt his physical weakness more clearly.

Perhaps it wouldn't be bad to let Brother Xia Chuan handle it, while I can take a rest!
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Shinichi Kudo's expression changed drastically, and he almost raised his hand to slap himself!

How did that happen?

I'm a famous detective, and famous detectives never say they're too tired or don't want to solve cases. True detectives are not afraid of hardship; even on the verge of death, they will solve the mystery at hand first!

I almost got infected by Uncle Mori's bad habit of giving up.

Over there, after being called out by Natsukawa, Inspector Megure immediately focused his attention and looked over, only to be completely dumbfounded when he saw the keychain in Natsukawa's hand.

"This is a free gift with the purchase of beer at the music festival beer booth. It will be given away as long as you buy beer."

"Really? But none of these three people have this."

All three were wearing beach shorts or bikinis, leaving only pockets or hands for carrying items. If they had keychains, the forensic team would have noticed them.

The forensic investigators shook their heads, confirming Inspector Megure's suspicions.

"It's precisely because it's not there that it's suspicious."

Xia Chuan smiled and looked at the beer stall managers who had been gathered around, "Everyone, did you all receive keychains as a gift for this event?"

"Yes."

"right"

"We gave away a lot." Xia Chuan was very satisfied with the answer, and from the answers of these people, Xia Chuan successfully discovered that one of them had a weak voice, his eyes were looking around, and his hands were clutching the hem of his clothes.

It's obvious that there's something wrong with this person.

"In that case, Takagi~"

"Hi~"

Takagi was filled with questions. Was it that Sato couldn't do these things? Sato clearly had nothing to do, yet he himself was exhausted like a Shiba Inu.

"Officer Takagi, could you please check the key fob inventory of these stalls?"

“Go ahead.” Inspector Megure nodded to Takagi.

While Takagi was investigating, the beer stall owners were chatting. Natsukawa was observing the person who had just given himself away and noticed that he seemed a little anxious, his forehead was already soaked with sweat, and his smile was very forced.

It seems my thinking is correct. For some reason, the murderer did not give me the keychain, which became a fatal clue!

Soon, Takagi returned with several police officers from the Shikoku region, carrying a cardboard box.

"I even brought the keychains for the stall."

"Hey, why are there only four?" Inspector Megure noticed the problem. There should have been five stalls, but Takagi and his group only brought back four.

Upon inspection, it was found that the other stalls had almost run out of keychains.

This is normal, since they are all on the same side and in relatively central positions, so beer sales are relatively stable and consistent.

But it would be too odd if some of them didn't have keychains.

"Well, my stall is doing quite well, so I've already given away all the keychains."

One of the managers scratched his head sheepishly: "Maybe it's because the beer at my stall is better."

"Really? I remember all the beer stalls had the same beer," Xia Chuan said quietly.

The man's smile visibly froze, then he explained, "Haha, I misspoke. It's just that my location was probably better, in the middle of the stall on the left. That should be it. Anyway, I sold a lot of beer, so I didn't have a single keychain left."

"As far as I know, each stall has a hundred keychains."

Xia Chuan looked at the other person with a half-smile, his eyes clearly revealing mockery.

The person in charge was unhappy, but at this moment he needed to prove himself, so he could only continue to explain: "It's because there were too many keychains distributed, so I gave two or even more keychains to everyone who bought beer. After all, these things are useless after the music festival and can't be sold for money."

Xia Chuan felt his clothes being tugged again. This was the secret signal he had just agreed upon with Anya: if Anya was lying, she would tug at his clothes; if she wasn't lying, he wouldn't have to do anything.

The result was obvious: this person was lying, just as he had suspected.

"Really? I find it hard to believe."

Xia Chuan sneered, walked up to the other person, and continued to press him as he looked into the other person's evasive eyes: "The audience hasn't all left yet. There are still about a hundred people watching the show. Surely some of them bought beer from your stall. Let's ask them if they got more than two keychains."

The person in charge was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer. His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't say a word.

This statement nearly drove him to the brink of despair.

Seeing this, Inspector Megure understood immediately. With a wave of his arm, Miwako Sato, Wataru Takagi, and Yoru all surrounded them.

Although this was a holiday, not a workday, Joel still wanted to feel a sense of participation, and it can only be said that she enjoyed watching the reasoning just now.

Xia Chuan's reasoning was absolutely brilliant. He narrowed down the suspect from over three hundred people, step by step, until he got down to just one person. Then, he pressed on relentlessly, cornering the murderer in a confined space.

Seeing the other person's increasingly heavy breathing, it was already quite obvious whether they were the murderer or not.

"Sir, it looks like you'll need to come back to the station with us for questioning."

Inspector Megure strode forward, his heavy body leaving deep craters in the sand. His advance put immense pressure on the person in charge, who suddenly realized that several police officers were approaching him.

"It wasn't me, it has nothing to do with me, all of you get out of my way."

He suddenly roared and tried to push Xia Chuan aside and run away.

In fact, he had a bad feeling when he first heard that the three people didn't have keychains.

Indeed, he remembered the faces of all three people; they had all bought beer from his stall.

but
Xia Chuan had a well-proportioned figure and didn't appear particularly strong, but when you pushed against him with your hands, you felt a very strong rebound. Not only did you fail to push away the detective who had confirmed that he was the murderer, you also ended up sitting on the sand.

Sato Miwako and Joel pounced over like a mother leopard, one pressing his head into the sand and the other putting his hands behind his back.

"Kakaka-"

The handcuffs bound his hands behind his back.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was already unable to struggle. He rolled around on the spot, mumbled something, but couldn't break free.

"As expected of Brother Xia Chuan, his speed is too fast."

Inspector Megure smiled with satisfaction. This deduction was even faster than before. As expected of Natsukawa.

The main problem is that Natsukawa doesn't use riddles, while Kogoro Mouri is different. He always has to say a bunch of random things first, and then fall asleep to deduce, which is a bit of a waste of time.

While Shinichi Kudo wouldn't do that, he also likes to keep things mysterious, never revealing all the evidence at once, and always waiting for the accused to resist before starting to list the evidence in detail.

"Ah! This kind of weather is perfect for having a few more beers to feel refreshed!"

At that moment, Kogoro Mouri returned with a beer in his hand and downed half of it in one gulp, much to Ran's dismay.

"Eh?"

After downing a beer, he noticed that the scene seemed a little different than before. One of the managers of the five beer stalls was being held to the ground by Joel and Inspector Sato, while Inspector Megure stood in front of him, saying, "You can remain silent, but everything you say can be used against you in a court of law."

"Huh? What happened? I just went to buy a beer."

Kogoro Mouri was completely bewildered and muttered to himself.

Inspector Megure rolled his eyes, only then realizing that Kogoro Mouri was daydreaming.

However, since the other party was no longer a criminal police officer and had helped him a lot, he didn't say much, but his gaze towards Xia Chuan became even gentler.

In comparison, Natsukawa is the real gem of a detective.

"This time, we owe a great debt to Brother Xia Chuan. Otherwise, finding the murderer among more than three hundred people would have been an impossible task."

"Yes, it would be great if we had a detective like that on our side."

Behind Inspector Megure, the police inspector from Shikoku spoke with a sour tone.
Why are all the detectives concentrated in big cities like Tokyo? Doesn't Kochi Prefecture deserve a single detective? If they had even one, the bureau's performance wouldn't be so poor.

Damn it, Kyushu has a famous detective named Koshimizu Nanatsuki, why don't the other four countries have one?
(End of this chapter)