No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

However, the other two high school students didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. They simply felt that Vermouth's methods were remarkable, and Kitahara Masaki had absolutely no chance of resisting her.

A moment later, Conan ran out and said to Kitahara Masaki:

"The deceased was a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his fifties. The cause of death was likely excessive blood loss. There were multiple stab wounds on his hands, and the fatal stab wound was to his chest. There was a blood-stained and punctured cushion at the scene, and the murder weapon was a kitchen knife. Therefore, the perpetrator must have first used a cushion to press down on the victim's chest before stabbing him in the chest. Most importantly, the deceased left a message indicating his death: the letter K!"

Are there any other clues?

The patrol officer ran over and said:

"The back door and windows were locked, and there were no signs of forced entry."

"In other words, the murderer likely entered the room through the front door, then fought with the victim, used a cushion to cover the splattered blood, and finally stabbed him in the chest."

It was only then that Conan noticed that there were five women behind Kitahara Masaki, including Ai Haibara. Each woman had a different style, but they were all remarkably beautiful.

"Ahem, Kitahara-kun, aren't you afraid of being photographed by reporters and having your blatant behavior turned into tabloid news?"

"Hehe, don't worry, I've been very careful about who's around me. Besides, I invited them out to dinner in a perfectly respectable way, why would I do anything bad?"

“Brother Kitahara, people who say things like that are the ones who do bad things.”

"Maybe I should tell Ran that Shinichi Kudo has recently become infatuated with a policewoman with a great figure. What do you think?"

"Damn it! Kitahara Masaki, you're threatening me again! Don't you feel ashamed as an adult?"

"I don't think so at all. Okay, that's all I have to say. Go and solve the case. I'm very busy."

After saying that, Kitahara Masaki put his arm around Vermouth's waist and urged Conan to hurry up and solve the case, as if shooing away a puppy. He had now learned a bit of the demeanor of the high-ranking officers of the Japanese police force, which made Conan so angry that he couldn't find any way to retaliate.

Inspector Megure soon arrived at the scene. Upon seeing the familiar Mouri and Conan duo, he knew that the murder that had occurred again today was definitely related to these two.

What made him even more embarrassed was that Kitahara Masaki brought his entire family to the entrance of the crime scene. After marveling at the sheer audacity of the young people's antics, he said to the patrol officer who had entered the scene with Mori and the others:

"I'm aware of the situation at the scene, thanks to Tachibana Suigetsu's inspection. And now there are two people involved in the case, right?"

“Yes, Inspector Megure! One is a young lady who just came out of the deceased's house, and the other is an elderly woman who lives nearby. She said she saw information about the case.”

"Oh, there's an eyewitness, that's good. By the way, Inspector Tachibana, I remember your transfer order was to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police Department, right? Remember to do your best."

"Yes!"

This patrol officer from Tachibana recently received a promotion and transfer order; he will no longer be a patrol officer but a detective.

Kitahara Masaki sat to one side, having just finished eating. He hesitated, deciding against entering the crime scene; the nauseating smell of blood would probably ruin his appetite for the rest of the evening. He soon received Takagi's case summary:

The victim was Yoshikichi Ooka, who lived alone here and appeared to be a security guard at the supermarket.

The witness saw Mr. Ooka return home at six o'clock, and shortly after, saw a man visit him. The man looked like a fifty-year-old office worker and left Mr. Ooka's house in less than ten minutes. Twenty minutes later, the young lady arrived.

The young lady who was the first to discover the house ran out shortly after entering Mr. Ooka's house, and her scream attracted Uncle Mori and Conan.

"Takagi, have you found that middle-aged man who looks like an office worker?"

When they were supposed to be looking for someone, Conan, that brat, pointed to a middle-aged man carrying a briefcase outside the crowd and said:

"Hey, why is that uncle shaking so badly?"

Everyone looked at the middle-aged man, and the eyewitness also exclaimed:

"He was the one who went into Mr. Ooka's house in the first place!"

Okay, but why are there only two suspects this time?

Chapter 329 Damn it, you're playing dirty tricks, aren't you?

After sealing off the scene, Inspector Megure took the two suspects to a nearby police station for questioning, and Kitahara Masaki took the opportunity to say to them:

"I estimate I'll be investigating the case very late tonight, so you guys should head back first."

"Okay."

Vermouth, being quite sensible, didn't say much to him and left with her new best friend, which relieved Kitahara Masaki's pressure considerably. Being watched so closely by so many people, especially those with whom he had ambiguous relationships, wouldn't be investigating a case; it would be torture.

After arriving at the police station, separate questioning revealed that both suspects had serious problems.

First, there's the middle-aged man named Hisao Katsutoshi, whose name starts with the letter K. He went to Ooka's house today because Ooka suddenly wanted him to help book a Shinkansen ticket. Then there's this other middle-aged man who's been blackmailed by Ooka because the deceased had something on him.

“I was just being blackmailed to the point of desperation! So I originally just wanted to threaten him with the kitchen knife from home, but he still acted all high and mighty, so I impulsively slashed his hand! Because I was terrified by the splattering blood, I just ran away. But I absolutely did not kill him!”

The man's fingerprints were indeed found on the kitchen knife at the scene, meaning that the murder weapon was indeed brought there by this man named Kujo Katsutoshi.

Next, a second woman went to the deceased's home. Her name was Kōbun Kiwako, and the name "Kōbun Kiwako" also starts with the letter K. Poison was found in Ms. Kōbun's bag. After questioning, it was discovered that she was indeed one of the people being blackmailed. She had been filmed stealing before and insisted that the person was already dead when she arrived at the scene. She claimed that she had only destroyed his phone.

"He was already dead when I got there! I just had poison with me, but I didn't use it, so that's not illegal, right? I just destroyed his phone! I absolutely didn't kill him!"

If we're talking about who's the most suspicious, it's definitely the uncle who was the first to go to the victim's house. First, because the kitchen knife he brought from home fell at the scene. Second, the estimated time of death was around the time he visited the victim's house. Finally, he was the one who was being blackmailed by the victim.

In other words, Uncle Jiu Rong's motive, murder weapon, and time of the crime all match up, making him far more suspicious than Ms. Jia Wen. However, according to the laws of detective fiction, the person with the most obvious suspicion is the least likely to be the murderer, at least in multiple-choice questions.

Looking at the photos of the scene, Kitahara Masaki felt he had to go back again. Reaching the front of the deceased's house, he looked towards the location of the eyewitness and realized that the eyewitness could only see the front door, not the back.

However, judging from the situation at the scene, only the front door was open, while the back door and windows were locked.

The deceased was found lying in his room, with a crushed cell phone, a blood-stained cushion, the murder weapon (a kitchen knife) thrown into a corner, and a box of sugar that had been overturned.

Sugar...interesting.

Drop drop-

"Hey, Kitahara-kun, isn't there a box of sugar that got spilled on the spot?"

"Yes. It seems you know something."

"I noticed some white crystalline substances on Inspector Tachibana's hat. After I told him, he took off his hat, brushed them off, and then—"

"Then you took a bite and found it was sugar. Ugh—Conan, you're really disgusting."

“I didn’t taste it! After I saw the scene, I knew there was a box of sugar near the deceased, so I called to confirm! After we entered the room, Inspector Tachibana immediately said he was going to check if the prisoner was still in the room, and then he went to the kitchen by himself. Normally, he should have started checking from the nearest room, but he went to the back door first.”

Kitahara Masaki smiled, and at the same time, he thought that if that patrolman was the third suspect, then it really was a multiple-choice question.

"In other words, during the on-site inspection, he may have relocked the back door and then lied that the back door had been locked all along, making us think that the criminal could not have escaped through the back door. Also, his police hat did not fall off during the on-site investigation, so the only time he could have gotten sugar on his hat was when he was arguing with the deceased."

"That's right, but that's not conclusive evidence."

While Conan was still thinking about the evidence, Kitahara Masaki had already figured out how to get the patrolman to confess.

Back at the police station, Inspector Megure approached and asked:

"Any new discoveries, Kitahara-kun?"

"Yes, but this discovery really surprised me. Inspector Tachibana! Come here."

The uneasy patrol officer, Tachibana, immediately ran over, looking at Kitahara Maki with suspicion and uncertainty.

Kitahara Masaki patted him on the shoulder and said:

“Just now, I found another eyewitness, but he didn’t see the two suspects entering the crime scene through the front door. Instead, he saw a police officer coming out through the back door and then climbing over the wall to get out. Explain this to me properly, what exactly happened?”

Stunned by the news, Inspector Tachibana stood frozen in place, while Kitahara Masaki slammed his fist on the desk beside him.

"What are you still daydreaming about? Tell me the truth!"

"I...I don't know. Could the witness have made a mistake?"

"Don't take any chances. Although his phone was destroyed, we can still access his call records by checking the telecom company's database. If we find out he's been in contact with you..."

By this time, large beads of sweat had formed on Inspector Tachibana's forehead. Inspector Megure, who was standing nearby, realized that the third suspect in this case was this patrolman. Inspector Megure looked at him with a heavy expression, putting invisible pressure on him along with Masaki Kitahara.

"Sigh, I was planning to help you if you had turned yourself in, but you're still so stubborn."

"Inspector Kitahara, if I may be so bold, there is no evidence—"

"Chronologically speaking, the first person to go to the victim's house was the middle-aged office worker. He stabbed the victim and left the kitchen knife at the crime scene. Then you sneaked into the victim's house through the back door, killed the victim with the kitchen knife, and left through the back door. Finally, the woman who wanted to poison the victim came to the victim's house. After that, all you had to do was pretend to check and lock the back door again. You wanted to destroy evidence by abusing your position, but your police hat is evidence! When you were arguing with the victim, your police hat should have fallen to the ground. At that time, the thing stuck to the police hat was the sugar in the victim's house, and that kind of sugar just happens to be the kind that pharmacies sell to the elderly. You can find out by testing it."

Police Inspector Tachibana finally succumbed to the pressure and confessed everything. However, Conan tugged at Kitahara Masaki's sleeve and asked:

"Kitahara-kun, isn't that just ordinary sugar?"

"Yes, but how would the murderer know?"

Chapter 330 Seeing Through But Not Saying It

After Kitahara Masaki solved the case, he quietly returned home and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Vermouth was all alone.

"You can't keep hiding forever."

"I know that once I destroy the organization, I will explain things to them."

"And those two kids, Ai and Masumi, are just beginning to experience romantic feelings. They only have a crush on you, so you'd better not make any mistakes."

"I'm not some high school student who likes to fantasize."

Kitahara Maki felt tired after relaxing, but didn't want to go to bed so early, so he decided to go for a walk.

The two walked along Beika Street, with Vermouth basically explaining to Kitahara Masaki the psychological activities of the other girls, which made Kitahara Masaki feel a chill.

“I want them to do things for me, but I haven’t thought about using psychological manipulation on them. Using such methods to control them is just too cruel.”

"Hmph! So you mean I'm too vicious?"

"What is poison to him is honey to me. I want to eat more."

Vermouth kicked Kitahara Masaki in the shin, then pointed to the sushi restaurant next to her and said:

"You've made me angry, I'm going to eat premium sushi."

"Okay, okay, you can eat whatever you want."

As soon as Kitahara Masaki pushed open the door of the sushi restaurant, he saw a strange-looking middle-aged man. Although he was a waiter, he was wearing a chef's hat, an eye patch over his left eye, a beard on his face, and two exaggerated fake front teeth that could be installed and removed at any time.

Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth immediately saw through this seemingly joking disguise.

After sitting down, Kitahara Masaki realized that this was Rum's disguise for coming to Beika, and his arrival in Beika was quite early. Perhaps it was because most of the organization's recent missions hadn't gone smoothly, especially the ones commanded by Gin.

"Welcome, sir. What would you like to order?"

"Two draft beers, two premium sushi, with extra wasabi."

Rum definitely recognized the two people in front of him as Yawenyi and Vermouth, but he remained calm and his intentions were unclear.

This sushi restaurant isn't far from the Mori office, which means Poirot's coffee shop isn't far either. Could it be that they're here to spy on Bourbon and see if he's an inside man?

Or perhaps Rum originally wanted to find a restaurant near the Metropolitan Police Department, but then discovered that Kitahara Maki's dining locations were never fixed, so he gave up on working at a restaurant near the Metropolitan Police Department.