Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Hattori Heizo then asked Otaki Goro, "Were these two people murdered?"

"No, we detected Mr. Kato's fingerprints on the lighter on the roof. In addition, Mr. Kitagawa and the others witnessed Ms. Katagiri's self-immolation."

Goro Otaki made no mention of Heiji Hattori's judgment in the Kato case.

Hattori Heizo nodded, stood up, and walked to Kitagawa Taki.

This was Kitagawa Taki's first time meeting Hattori Heizo. He squinted his eyes, and his long-standing high position gave him an air of authority.

"Mr. Kitagawa, it's an honor to meet you." Hattori Heizo extended his hand and shook hands with Kitagawa Taki, seemingly asking casually, "Mr. Kitagawa, do you think these two cases were suicides or homicides?"

Kitagawa Taki had already sensed something was off from what Otaki Goro said. He had clearly stated earlier that Kato Yuji did not commit suicide, and Hattori Heiji and Conan should not have been unable to find anything after such a long investigation.

He glanced at Shigehiko Wakisaka and Yuhiro Kasuya, who were mixed in with the onlookers, and roughly understood what was going on. He smiled and said, "Of course, it was suicide."

Hattori Heizo nodded and said, "A few detectives will suffice to handle this."

Then, he looked at Ginjiro Toyama and said, "Toyama, we can go now."

"Mr. Kitagawa, and Mr. Mori, see you later."

After greeting Kitagawa Taki and Mori Kogoro, Hattori Heizo, along with Toyama Ginshiro, left the scene amidst salutes from a group of police officers.

Kitagawa Taki withdrew his gaze and looked towards Hattori Heiji.

Hattori Heizo's punch just now wasn't faked; he also said a lot of harsh words.

However, given Hattori Heiji's passionate and competitive nature, doing so would only backfire.

Sure enough, as soon as Hattori Heizo left, Hattori Heiji got up from the ground on his own.

“Heiji…” Toyama Kazuha was a little worried.

“I’m not like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who does what he forbids me to do. Suicide? I’m going to find the murderer right in front of him!”

After making those harsh remarks, Hattori Heiji burst into laughter.

After laughing, Hattori Heiji remembered what Kitagawa Taki had just said, so he walked up to Kitagawa Taki and asked, "Hey, Kitagawa, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Kitagawa Taki shrugged and retorted, "That Katagiri Maho set herself on fire right in front of us, what else could it be but suicide?"

Hattori Heiji frowned. Something was off with Kitagawa Taki, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

If I can't figure it out, I'll just stop thinking about it. The important thing is to find the murderer behind it all.

Conan also noticed this. In addition, as an outsider with a clearer perspective, he also noticed something else—Hattori Heizo, as Hattori Heiji's father, should have been very clear about his personality, so why did he do this?

"I think we should go back first; this rain is probably not going to stop."

Kitagawa Taki stretched out his hand, feeling the raindrops gradually becoming finer.

Kogoro Mouri agreed, "I think so too. There's no point in us staying here. Let the police handle it."

"You guys go back first." Heiji Hattori pulled Conan to his side, smiling at him, "Conan and I are staying here, right? Con...Nan?"

Conan stumbled from the pull and rolled his eyes at Hattori Heiji.

Seeing that Conan didn't object, Ran instructed Heiji Hattori, "Then you'd better keep a close eye on Conan, Heiji!"

Don't worry!

Heiji Hattori crouched down, put his hand on Conan's shoulder, and his big white teeth were particularly eye-catching in the night.

……

on the way back.

Kitagawa Taki carried Shizuka Ikenami, Akemi Miyano, and Ai Haibara.

Kogoro Mouri drove off in the last car, carrying Ran and Kazuha Toyama.

The atmosphere in the car was rather somber, unlike when we arrived.

Miyano Akemi and Haibara Ai could tell that Ikenami Shizuka seemed to be in a bad mood, so neither of them spoke.

Kitagawa Taki glanced at Ikenami Shizuka sitting in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Is Madam dissatisfied with the Chief's actions just now?"

Akemi Miyano frowned slightly, wondering why Taki Kitagawa would so directly inquire about other people's family affairs.

However, Ikeba Shizuka shook her head and then nodded, saying nothing.

Over the years, she had long been accustomed to Hattori Heizo's strictness towards Hattori Heiji, and that was not what made her dissatisfied.

Seeing this, Kitagawa Taki didn't ask any more questions; Ikenami Shizuka's attitude had already explained everything.

Hattori Heizo concluded it was suicide and then transferred most of the police officers away, simply to lower the guard of those behind the scenes.

There is no doubt that Hattori Heiji was tricked by Hattori Heizo. Hattori Heizo knew his competitive nature very well, and it was perfect for him to be the one to rush to the front and act as a smokescreen.

Chapter 278 He's already run back.

At Heiji Hattori's request, Goro Otaki, who remained at the scene, did not stop Heiji and Conan from examining the body.

Without his earlier impetuousness and recklessness, Hattori Heiji quickly discovered the clue.

There were three strange bloodstains on Katagiri Maho's clothes.

A semicircle with several small dots looks very much like the marks left by a zipper and something else.

Conan deduced, "Miss Katagiri didn't hit her head when she fell; she was injured by a heavy object. Her blood splattered on the culprit, and these bloodstains must have been left by the culprit when moving the body!"

Heiji Hattori nodded. Conan's reasoning was consistent with his, but there was still one question: "But why did Kitagawa and the others all say they only saw one person?"

“Indeed, they were using flashlights, so there shouldn’t be any possibility that they were mistaken…” Conan rested his chin on his right hand, considering the possible scenarios.

Hattori Heiji said, "In short, the most suspicious people right now are the remaining three members of that tour group. We have to find them and question them properly!"

"The three of us are back, but what do you mean by 'suspicious'?"

Hattori Heiji turned around and saw that it was the three people from the tour group.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you all what you did between leaving with Ms. Katagiri and returning here?"

"You suspect we killed Ms. Katagiri?" Kasuya Yuhiro snorted coldly, glanced at Otaki Goro staring at him, and said, "I've been at a nearby restaurant the whole time."

Shigehiko Wakisaka said, "I'm eating too, but not with Kashiya."

Fukushima Toshiaki said, "I'm going back to the Seven Guns Hotel where we're staying to change my clothes."

Hattori Heiji asked, "Where's Katagiri-san? Has no one seen her?"

Fukushima Toshiaki said regretfully, "I went back to the hotel with her, but I haven't seen her since. If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed with her the whole time."

"Officer, didn't the other officer just rule this incident as a suicide?"

Shigehiko Wakisaka asked Goro Otaki.

Goro Otaki replied, "Even if it's suicide, a basic investigation should be conducted to confirm the cause of death, etc."

"Otaki Police Department!"

The forensic officer who took over the investigation of the body shouted, holding a piece of debris and a photograph: "I found these things on the deceased."

Goro Otaki took it. The fragment was almost identical to the one he had found before. The photo was a group picture of several people, including Maho Katagiri, Yuji Kato, and three other people he didn't recognize.

The old man in the middle is holding an unfolded dragon scroll.

“Isn’t this Mr. Hirano?” Toshiaki Fukushima also came over and pointed to the person in the back left of the photo, saying, “Come and take a look!”

"It is indeed Mr. Hirano." Kasuya Yuhiro and Wakisaka Shigehiko both confirmed.

Hattori Heiji asked, "Who is this Hirano?"

Shigehiko Wakisaka explained, "He initiated this trip. We all met online, but he didn't actually come."

"If you really think this is a murder, then you should go and ask Hirano. He's the most suspicious person!"

After finishing his sentence, Kasuya Yuhiro left on his own.

Toshiaki Fukushima and Shigehiko Wakisaka followed closely behind.

Hattori Heiji watched the three figures walk away and said, "None of the three of them have zippers on their clothes."

Conan asked, puzzled, "Would the murderer really need to change clothes before killing Ms. Katagiri?"

"Heiji, you don't need to investigate the body anymore, right?" Goro Otaki pointed at the police officers who were moving the body.

"no need……"

The two looked over at the same time, and when they saw the policeman in the raincoat, a sudden realization dawned on them.

The two exchanged a smile, realizing that the other had figured out the killer's method.

"No wonder Ran and the others only saw one person from beginning to end!" Conan stared at the riverbank and murmured, "If that's the case, all three of them have the ability to commit the crime."

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew in, and Conan, who was deep in thought, was caught off guard and his umbrella was blown away by the wind.

Conan hurriedly gave chase and finally caught up with the umbrella at the bridgehead, but the umbrella had already been blown apart.

"Hey, Kudo, what's wrong with you? You can't even hold an umbrella properly."

Seeing this, Heiji Hattori shared part of his umbrella with Conan.

“Umbrella…” Conan suddenly looked up at the umbrella in Heiji Hattori’s hand.

Hattori Heiji immediately thought of Kato Yuji grabbing his umbrella before he died.

"We made a huge mistake! The clues about the killer were right in front of us from the very beginning!"

Hattori Heiji wore a confident smile; he had figured out the details of the series of murders.

Conan nodded silently. Unlike Heiji Hattori, he wasn't happy. He suddenly spoke up and said, "Hattori, do you think Kitagawa Taki discovered this a long time ago, which is why he asserted that Mr. Kato didn't commit suicide?"

"Kitagawa?" Hattori Heiji was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "No way? He's already gone back."

Conan didn't say anything more, but he always felt that things weren't that simple.

"The most urgent thing is to catch up with that person!" Hattori Heiji said to Otaki Goro, after mentioning Conan, "We're leaving now," and then chased after the three of them in the direction they had gone.

Conan was feeling extremely uncomfortable from the jolting and quickly said, "Hey, Hattori, put me down! I can keep up!"

Heiji Hattori then put Conan down, saying, "Then I'm not going to take care of you anymore."

The two looked around the street and finally spotted Kashiya Yuhiro, who was alone across the street.

Conan said, "He didn't go in the direction of the Seven Guns Hotel at all."