He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

Suddenly, a chubby police officer rushed into the outer office, his tone full of delight. In his left hand, he held a transparent evidence bag containing a glass bottle with some ash, and in his right hand, he was waving a blue folder.

"Based on the scientific investigation and overnight reconstruction, the fingerprint test results are in: it's Nami Yuzumaki!"

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure's eyes lit up. He quickly took the report, went into the detention room, and saw Shinichi Kudo and Nami Yukimatsu facing off in silence. He excitedly went over and patted Shinichi on the shoulder.

"As expected of you, Brother Kudo! Last night you went so far as to dive to the bottom of the lake to search, and you actually found a crucial clue."

Last night, at Beika Central Park.

Tojo Shuntatsu drowned in the lake. After receiving a report from a homeless person, the police retrieved his body and conducted a preliminary investigation of the body and the surrounding environment.

The approximate time of death was between 7 PM and 9 PM. Tojo Shunta's blood alcohol content was as high as 182 mg/100 mL, indicating severe intoxication. The wooden railing by the lake was quite low, and the muddy tracks on the ground perfectly matched the trajectory of his slippery foot.

OK, case closed.

It was completely an accident.

After circling the lake, the members of the Third Investigation Team immediately prepared to return home, their minds preoccupied with their three colleagues who had been attacked.

Meanwhile, Inspector Megure looked at Shinichi Kudo, who was rushing over from behind, and saw him staring at the lake embankment with a furrowed brow. A bad feeling immediately welled up in his heart, and he hurriedly asked him what was wrong.

The answer was undoubtedly:

"This is murder!"

The reason is:

Even if he was deeply intoxicated, the fact that Tojo Shuntatsu did not lie flat in the cardboard house but went to the scenic lake indicates that he had not completely lost his ability to move, regardless of how he got there. Therefore, after accidentally falling into the water, he would have instinctively struggled.

Especially since it's so close to the shore, even if he doesn't have enough strength to climb up, he'll still leave some marks under his fingernails and on the embankment.

But neither was present at the scene.

Without even needing a forensic autopsy, Shinichi Kudo concluded that Shuntatsu Tojo had fallen into a state of motor inhibition before drowning and had lost the ability to struggle.

Even though no suspicious substances were subsequently detected in the blood or respiratory tract of the body, Shinichi Kudo still insisted on his opinion that Shuntatsu Tojo was in a state of incapacitation for at least a short period of time after falling into the water.

Even if the ability to move is restored afterward, it will be of no use, otherwise the abnormal situation cannot be explained.

"Could it be something like a rope?" Inspector Megure speculated.

“When a person struggles desperately, the force is immense. If it were a physical restraint, there would definitely be marks left on the corpse,” Shinichi Kudo denied without looking up.

What caused Tojo Shuntatsu to become incapacitated must be chemistry. What could possibly have such an effect without being detected at all?

Could it be that it dissolves in water?

Was the evidence destroyed after he fell into the water?

No, it would definitely be detectable inside the nasal cavity; more likely... it evaporates into the air!

It is volatile, does not react with the human body, and is it an inert gas or carbon dioxide?

Although this substance cannot directly cause unconsciousness, if a high concentration is sprayed directly onto a person's face, it could potentially cause short-term suffocation, especially since Tojo Shuntatsu was already deeply intoxicated at the time. The combination of these two factors made it entirely possible.

Thinking further, this thing must have been placed in a sealed container. Where is that container? Did the murderer take it away?

Theoretically speaking, this is indeed the best option.

So there was another person present here at that time?

Shinichi Kudo shared his guess, and the police immediately began searching the surrounding area for clues about the other person.

Not long after, a passerby reported that they had spotted a young woman acting suspiciously, but the clues were vague, and the woman later turned off her phone out of fear.

Come on, this passerby is acting way too fake.

He's obviously the kind of guy with ulterior motives!

Shinichi Kudo almost instantly concluded that the culprit was trying to divert the police investigation or frame someone else.

So he continued searching the vicinity of the crime scene, only allowing the police to review the surveillance footage, along with Kogoro Mouri, who was distracted at the time and couldn't do much.

As he expected, nothing was found on the surveillance footage, except for a chance encounter with a little orchid returning home late at night.

Speaking of Xiaolan, she was with Shuiyue this afternoon...

"Brother Kudo!"

Chapter 52 This is the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department!

After searching around the lake for what seemed like the umpteenth time, Inspector Megure returned with a somber expression.

"We couldn't find any clues. We've also indirectly verified with both Kiyoko and Nami Yukimatsu, and they both have alibis for that period. Brother Kudo, is this another unsolved case orchestrated by some mastermind that you can't find any evidence against?"

Shinichi Kudo snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head:

"Tojo Shuntatsu is related to the case of Yukimatsu Masato. The suspects could indeed be the Yukimatsu mother and daughter, as well as the mastermind who is still in hiding. But if the latter had done it himself, he wouldn't have left such a flaw as the river embankment."

"Is this a new case unrelated to the past? Mr. Tojo wasn't very involved in Masato Yukimatsu's case. He only gave some testimony, and there are other people who can verify it."

"Perhaps in another direction."

Shinichi Kudo replied casually, having already taken off his coat. It was a bit chilly, so he took off his white shirt as well, revealing a string of goosebumps on his arms. But he just stared intently at the lake.

He casually tried to throw his clothes on the ground, but Inspector Megure caught them quickly: "Brother Kudo, what are you doing?"

"The clues might be at the bottom of the lake, sunk to the bottom."

"Why is this?"

thump!

Shinichi Kudo didn't answer. He took a pair of white gloves from Inspector Megure's pocket, put them on, and plunged into the lake.

Hearing the commotion, many people looked over in surprise. Megure Juzo, holding the clothes, waited somewhat blankly on the shore. Suddenly, he felt that the moonlight tonight was truly bright, falling on the shimmering lake surface like the broad back of some kind of large fish rolling.

After an unknown amount of time, the water surface churned, and first came a tiny, crystalline substance reflecting the moonlight, followed by the white glove that held it tightly.

Inspector Megure's eyes widened.

He didn't know what kind of reasoning Shinichi Kudo had made, but seeing him emerge from the water and the bright light in his eyes that almost pierced the darkness, he was deeply moved.

Inspector Megure felt that he had seen hope!

The claim that Shinichi Kudo was the savior of the Metropolitan Police Department was no exaggeration. When he explained this to them while wrapped in a blanket and warming himself by an electric stove, all the police officers were caught in a state of bewilderment at their own intellectual shortcomings, which quickly evolved into a feeling of worship.

“We asked some homeless people who knew Tojo Shuntatsu, and they said that he was dressed much more formally today than usual.”

He hasn't tried to find a formal job or escape his homeless life for a long time. It's reasonable to assume that he's grooming himself to meet a woman he likes.

His being completely drunk can also serve as some evidence. As for meeting a close friend... well, I'm not so sure about that part. It feels a bit like putting the cart before the horse. After all, the prime suspects are the Cedar mother and daughter, and their method of luring Tojo Shunta away is obvious.

In short, both of them have alibis, and I'm certain this wasn't the work of a single mastermind. So it must have been some kind of remote evidence destruction.

"Wait, Kudo-kun."

Inspector Megure interjected, "Why can't it be someone else? Perhaps there are quite a few men willing to do things for Cedar and her daughter."

“That’s certainly a possibility, but I think murder is a very serious matter. Most people wouldn’t make that decision just for the sake of beauty.” Shinichi Kudo wrapped the blanket around himself and chuckled. “Besides, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to go into the water to check first, and then change the direction of the investigation if we don’t find it?”

Megure sighed softly, saying nothing, but glancing back. Who was it that was buying hot soup for Kudo? Why was it taking so long?

"And the most crucial element is professionalism."

Shinichi Kudo continued, "It may sound strange, but killing is indeed a skill, especially when you want to leave no trace. No matter how many people the Cedar mother and daughter can command, it's unlikely that a second person will be as professional as the one before."

Rather than letting novices increase the risk of the plan being exposed, it's better to use a more sophisticated approach.

Shinichi Kudo looked around, and Inspector Megure quickly said, "I've already had someone send that glass bottle to the Scientific Investigation Division. There are photos. Would you like to see them, Shinichi Kudo?"

As he spoke, he placed the printed photos on the electric stove.

The glass jar is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom; it's a very common gift jar, the kind used to hold origami stars, and is very common in middle schools. Inside, there are some black embers, which have rotted from being soaked in water and are no longer recognizable.

But it still left a corner.

Above the second photo is a fragment of a notebook that hasn't been completely burned out, with a heart drawn on it in red ink. Half of it is intact, while the other half is hidden in the edge of the dark ash, along with the word "love" inside.

Shinichi Kudo pointed to the second sheet: "Is it coated with white phosphorus?"

"Um, we need to wait for the test results."

"Then let me explain my reasoning first."

Shinichi Kudo looked at the remnants of the heart and sighed softly, "With this as evidence, my previous guesses are completely shut down. The person drinking with Shuntatsu Tojo, or rather, the person he was hoping for while drinking and who went to the lake alone for that purpose, was definitely a woman."

But when he went to the lake, he didn't see the person; he only saw a message in a bottle floating on the lake.

The message in the bottle might have been lit up, or it might not have been; in any case, the moon was bright tonight, and he saw it.

There was a note inside the bottle, the contents of which we do not know now, but the part that was exposed and seen by Tojo Shuntatsu was definitely very tempting.

I guess the location of that message in a bottle must have been quite extreme, requiring Tojo Shuntatsu to lean out of the lake to reach it. And, being impatient, he probably just popped the bottle while still in that precarious position.

The sealed gas in the bottle immediately hit his face and rushed into his nasal cavity, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the lake, far from the shore.

After the air inside the bottle interacted with the outside world, the white phosphorus smeared on the note immediately began to spontaneously combust, destroying the evidence. Finally, it fell to the bottom of the lake along with the glass bottle, leaving no trace.

"!!!"

Shinichi Kudo's reasoning left everyone speechless, followed by a chilling realization.

If Shinichi Kudo hadn't been so astute in identifying the problem, who would have imagined that a random glass bottle at the bottom of the lake would be the key clue to the case?

Isn't that kind of trash everywhere?!

Moreover, the speed of discovery was crucial. If it had been any later, the ashes and even the scraps of paper in the bottle would have been washed away by the lake water, and there would have been no breakthrough in the case.

Shinichi Kudo didn't consider the feelings of the others, but immediately pointed out the next step.

"Immediately compare the handwriting on the torn page, and then carefully search for fingerprints on the glass bottle."

"understand!"

Chapter 53 Moriarty Through Holmes' Eyes

In the past, when Shinichi Kudo helped the police solve cases, he would always come and go in a hurry, so the members of the three investigation departments did not have a very clear understanding of his situation.

But after spending a whole week together, Shinichi Kudo truly made them realize at every stage of the investigation that...