The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

For example, the most typical example is our protagonist, the fake child Conan. When he is staring at the surveillance video in front of him, his eyes will subconsciously look to the right, especially when he sees a person in armor pinning Mr. Manaka to the wall with a sword.

People like this are generally more inclined towards science, have a more rational way of thinking, and are good at science and arithmetic. They usually have shorter sleep durations, more energy, and are often very enthusiastic about the work they like.

However, such guys are generally not good at interacting with women or winning their hearts; they are often described as emotionally clueless.

Upon comparison, Kaoru Kazama discovered that this pattern surprisingly applies to our great detective, perhaps representing the typical science-oriented male student.

Chapter 3 Handwriting Comparison

"Damn it, this video doesn't even tell which one is the criminal. This kind of full-coverage armor is really awful."

When Kogoro Mouri saw the person wearing armor appear on the surveillance video, everyone present gasped. This discovery directly indicated that the armor was one of the tools used in the crime, and there was probably a lot of evidence left on it. If they could find it, the progress of the case would be greatly accelerated.

"Takagi, Sato, you two take men and search this entire museum inside and out. You must find the medieval armor the perpetrator was wearing when he committed the crime."

"Yes"

After giving the orders, everyone continued watching the surveillance footage. Just as the video showed Boss Manaka discovering a note on the wooden box, his expression changed drastically, and he picked up a pen to frantically erase the marks on the paper, Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure exchanged a glance, both showing surprise.

"With such perfect teamwork, who would believe they aren't best buddies? It seems that the reason Inspector Megure is so annoyed by Kogoro Mouri is probably because of some unknown love-hate relationship."

Kaoru Kazama stood out from the tense atmosphere. His lazy demeanor remained unchanged no matter where he went. After helping Inspector Megure retrieve the surveillance footage, he had been secretly observing everyone's expressions. Of course, to outsiders, it looked more like he was daydreaming.

"Could it be that the note is still in Mr. Zhenzhong's hands?"

Upon seeing the video, both Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Megure realized what had happened. Judging from the shocked expression on Boss Manaka's face when he saw the note, it was clear that something significant had been written on it, and it was almost certain that it was related to the case.

The police acted quickly, especially when there was a specific target to be targeted. In less than a minute, the forensic personnel retrieved the note from the surveillance video that was in the hand of the boss, Mr. Manaka, and handed it to Inspector Megure.

"This is... Kubota."

Why, why is it my name?

Kubota, standing to the side, was quite surprised, as if he had never expected it to be him.

Seeing this, Kaoru Kazama's expression turned slightly playful. His surprised expression was very real, as could be seen from his micro-expressions: his pupils dilated and his facial muscles slightly contracted. There was no trace of acting, which meant that he was genuinely surprised.

Then there are only two possibilities: one is that the murderer is not him at all, which is why he was so surprised; the other is that the murderer is Kubota, but he did not expect his name to appear here.

There are very few clues at the moment, so it is impossible to determine which possibility it is.

In a corner unnoticed by Kazama Kaoru, Conan was observing him, while countless guesses flashed through his mind.

"Who is this woman? Is she dressed entirely in black a member of the Black Organization? If so, does that mean the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has been infiltrated by the Black Organization?"

Thinking about this, Conan was not only relieved that the Metropolitan Police Department did not know about his shrinking, but otherwise the Black Organization would very likely have found out that he was not dead.

Kaoru Kazama had no idea that because of her, Conan had begun to suspect the Black Organization's infiltration of the Metropolitan Police Department much earlier.

"He wore armor specifically to avoid being filmed by cameras, but the deceased still saw his face..."

"No, it wasn't me."

Faced with Kogoro Mouri's questioning, Kubota appeared very nervous, frantically waving his hands in denial.

"Then please explain where you were and what you were doing when the murder occurred around 4:30 this afternoon. Is there anyone who can testify to this?"

"I was alone in the office at the time, doing what the curator asked me to do."

"Yes, I did ask him to do things."

Director Ochiai confirmed Kubota's statement, but this cannot serve as an alibi.

"Even if you try to hide it, it's no use, Mr. Kubota. You secretly took the artworks here and sold them, and the owner is now demanding huge damages from you, isn't that right?"

This is a perfect example of how misfortunes never come singly. It seems that this guy, Kuda, isn't very popular. Not only is no one helping him get away with his crimes, but they're also providing the police with information about his motives. It's quite pathetic that he's fallen to this level.

Is he telling the truth?

Inspector Megure's suspicious gaze immediately turned to Kubota, who was almost certainly the motive. As the old saying goes, "People die for money, birds die for food," and disputes caused by money are not uncommon.

"But this matter has nothing to do with the murder case!"

Kubota denied it in a panic, unaware that this would only make him more suspicious, at least in Inspector Megure's eyes.

"Ishikawa, go examine this ballpoint pen and see if you can detect fingerprints on it."

Just as Conan finished watching the surveillance video and was searching in the direction where the pen had fallen, he discovered that his target had already been picked up by someone—Kaoru Kazama.

"Ok, no problem."

"Kazama, is this the ballpoint pen that Mr. Manaka was holding in the surveillance video?"

Inspector Megure noticed Kazama Kaoru's actions and rushed over to inquire.

“That’s right. In the surveillance footage, after Mr. Zhenzhong saw the note, he picked up the ballpoint pen next to him. He was going to write something on it, but for some reason he dropped it. He also looked quite agitated. Therefore, I deduced that there must be something wrong with the pen.”

"Oh, is that so? This pen looks quite high-end; it shouldn't be an ordinary pen."

"Oh, that's a ballpoint pen that was specially made for the 50th anniversary of the Mihana Art Museum this year."

Director Ochiai stepped forward and explained, "Anyone involved in this matter will have this ballpoint pen."

"This is probably the ballpoint pen that the deceased used, because judging from the surveillance video, the ballpoint pen that Mr. Zhenzhong dropped should have been placed here."

Hearing Kazama Kaoru's analysis, Megure nodded.

"However, there is another suspicious thing. According to the surveillance video, Mr. Zhenzhong originally intended to use this pen to write something on that piece of paper."

As Kaoru Kazama spoke, she showed everyone the surveillance video.

"You see, it's very clear in the surveillance footage that when the armored killer had his back to him, he noticed the paper and pen on the box, picked them up and wrote something on them, then threw them down hard and crumpled the paper into a ball in his hand."

"That's certainly true, but what's the problem with that?"

Inspector Megure reviewed the surveillance footage again, but still couldn't find anything wrong.

"Don't you find it strange? If he wrote down the murderer's name, he certainly wouldn't treat this note like this. This is a message he left behind about the murderer. Shouldn't he have tried to preserve it properly?"

"Yes, that's definitely true."

Inspector Megure stroked his chin and nodded in agreement:

"But Xiao Xun, it's also possible that he was afraid of being discovered by the murderer, so he crumpled it up and held it tightly in his hand. It's possible that he did this in a moment of panic."

Officer Sato carefully reviewed the surveillance video, then pointed to the crumpled piece of paper that Boss Manaka was clutching tightly in his hand and retorted:

"That is indeed possible, but take a look at this. This is the handwriting of Mr. Manaka that I had forensic experts find. Although there are only two documents with his signature, you can still compare them yourself. Look at the names on them; they are completely different. A detailed comparison can be done back at the Metropolitan Police Department, but what is certain now is that the names on these documents are definitely not from Mr. Manaka's handwriting."

Kazama Kaoru's resolute words once again left Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri puzzled. Handwriting comparison is rarely wrong because almost no one would deliberately change their handwriting, let alone change it perfectly.

So, what happened in the surveillance video where Boss Zhenzhong was writing something on a piece of paper with a ballpoint pen?

Chapter 4 The Fallen Curator Ochiai

"What? So that means that pen can't write?"

The people present weren't fools. After hearing Kazama Kaoru's analysis, and combining it with what they had seen Manaka do in the video, they easily deduced that the pen couldn't be used for writing, which was why he threw it away in such anger.

“Look, assuming that pen can’t write, then the only trace that matches what Mr. Zhenzhong left is the scratches on this piece of paper. Judging from these scratches, he probably wanted to cross out this name. In other words, it should be the true face of the murderer that he saw, not the name written on this piece of paper.”

These words shocked not only Inspector Megure and his team, but also Kubota, who had been suspected. In that situation, none of his colleagues spoke up for him, and he himself felt hopeless. But then things took a turn for the better.

So his feelings are extremely complicated right now, somewhat like a survivor. And indeed, that's how it is. In modern law, which emphasizes evidence, this piece of evidence proving he's the murderer is almost irrefutable. If things continue like this, there's an 80% chance he'll become a suspect and then the real criminal.

"Another point of doubt is that, according to the testimonies of other museum staff, this Kubota is not a person who cherishes art at all. This can also be seen from the testimony of the gentleman just now. How can someone who can steal art and sell it be a true lover of art?"

Inspector Megure nodded in agreement, but Conan's expression was rather amusing. He seemed puzzled as to how others had discovered his thoughts, staring wide-eyed at Kaoru Kazama, who was putting on a deduction show.

"Based on the crime scene, the way the murderer killed Mr. Manaka was by first slashing him in the shoulder with a sword to incapacitate him, then grabbing Mr. Manaka by the neck and piercing his chest with the sword, pinning him to the painting behind him. I think his intention was to imitate the painting behind him."

"The painting behind you, are you referring to this one, 'Divine Punishment'?"

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's forensic pathologist has removed Mr. Manaka's body from the painting and sent it to the Metropolitan Police Department for examination, so now everyone can see the entire painting.

"Look at this height, this is where the sword was driven in," Kaoru Kazama said, pointing to a noticeable hole in the painting.

"With normal human strength, it would be impossible for Mr. Manaka to lift it all the way up. As can be seen from the video, the killer's arm was only slightly higher than his shoulder."

"Inoue, could you please measure the height of this hole from the ground?"

"Ok, no problem."

Although that's what he said, you could roughly guess by looking at it that the height was about 1.5 meters.

"This height should correspond to the murderer's collarbone. Adding 10 centimeters would give us the murderer's height. Therefore, the murderer's height should be between 1.62 and 1.65 meters."

Upon hearing this, everyone's attention immediately turned to the people in the exhibition hall whose height was within this range: Director Ochiai and another female staff member.

"This, this is impossible. Neither this female staff member nor the curator should have the strength to lift Mr. Manaka. You know, he weighs around 90 kilograms."

Upon seeing the two men, Kogoro Mouri immediately questioned, "Indeed, to lift Mr. Manaka, who weighs nearly 200 pounds, like in the surveillance video, would require at least a strong adult."

Currently, the two suspects are an elderly person and a woman, and theoretically neither of them has the opportunity to commit the crime.

"That's how it appears on the surface, but as Sherlock Holmes once said: 'When you eliminate all possibilities, the one that remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'"

"Moreover, my speculation is not just that simple, because the murderer committed the crime while wearing armor. Although this could hide his true identity, it would leave a huge hidden danger."

As Kaoru Kazama spoke, he glanced at the silent Ochiai Museum Director out of the corner of his eye. Although he hid it well, Kaoru Kazama still saw his pupils contract for a moment, which proved that he was afraid.

"What kind of hidden danger is it? Kazama, stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me."

Although Inspector Megure's reasoning skills aren't great, he's quite competent as a straight man. Without him, it would be quite difficult for the mystery to maintain its captivating and sophisticated style.

"Don't rush, Boss Mumu. You see, iron has a very loose structure, which means it's quite easily corroded by oxygen to form oxides—Fe2O3."

"Fe2O3, what is that?"

Kogoro Mouri asked curiously, probably having long forgotten his high school chemistry knowledge.

"It should be iron oxide, an oxide formed by iron in the air."

Xiao Lan said timidly that although her childhood sweetheart was a show-off, Xiao Lan's character was still excellent, and she would never show off unless necessary.

"Tch, it's just iron oxide, what a load of rubbish."

Conan had already raised his dead fish eyes when Kazama Kaoru mentioned fe2o3. Show-offs not only like to show off, but they are also generally very intolerant of others showing off. The world's biggest show-off, Edogawa Conan, is obviously such a person.

"Is that so? Then please cooperate with our forensic team so we can test whether you have excessive amounts of oxides on your bodies."

Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure understood and immediately instructed the forensic team to conduct an examination.

"No need for that. I killed that person. If no one can punish such a demon, then I am willing to be the knight before dawn and destroy the darkness."