Conan, I'm an actor

Just then, footsteps came from behind the wooden fence and ornamental trees.

"Are there any other guests?" Conan asked, surprised. "Isn't this Mr. Maru Denjiro an antique collector? How come he has so many guests? And didn't he have an appointment with Uncle Mori? Why are there other guests?"

Meanwhile, inside the Japanese-style room

"Who exactly is this man?" Maru Denjiro asked, pointing at the man in the photo, his voice hoarse.

"I don't know about that yet," Kogoro said with a hint of helplessness.

Things seem to be getting complicated. It appears that this client not only wants to determine whether his wife is having an affair, but also the identity of the affair partner. This is clearly a prelude to retaliation.

He was just a small-time detective and had no desire to get involved in such troublesome matters. Just as Kogoro Mouri was trying to find a reason to leave, the doorbell rang.

"A guest?" Maru Denjiro shouted outside, "A guest! Is anyone going to go and check on him?"

No one answered him, but the doorbell rang again. Maru Denjiro said somewhat awkwardly to Kogoro Mouri, "Because you're coming, I asked the servants to go outside for a walk and come back later. Excuse me, I'll go to the reception room to greet the guest and will be right back."

"Alright, please go ahead." Kogoro Mouri nodded, and only after Maru Denjiro left did he wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He had already made up his mind that if this Mr. Marudenjiro asked him to investigate the identity of this extramarital affair target, he would forgo the subsequent commission and simply walk away.

On the other side, Maru Denjiro's face lit up with joy upon seeing the guest, and he led him directly to the reception room. Though called a reception room, it was actually a private dojo for practicing kendo.

Chapter 48 A Room Full of Knife Marks

Time flew by, and Kogoro Mouri soon abandoned all formalities, lying down on the tatami mats and starting to smoke. Just as he was growing impatient, his pager went off, but no one answered after a long time. Somewhat annoyed, Kogoro opened the door to the Japanese-style room.

Looking at the closed door of the reception room in the distance, Kogoro Mori couldn't help but complain, "What on earth is that old man doing?"

"They probably didn't hear it because they were in the meeting room," Xiaolan said, glancing in the direction of the meeting room.

"Really!" Kogoro Mouri frowned. Just as he walked up to the pager and was about to pick it up, the pager suddenly stopped ringing.

Just then, a very slight sound came from the direction of the reception room, but the sound was so faint that he wasn't sure what it was.

In the afternoon, the pager went off a few more times, but each time it only went off once and then stopped.

"Seriously, what's going on here! And how long has that old man been in there? He still hasn't come out!" Kogoro, sitting in the tatami room, reached into his pocket, wanting to grab a cigarette to calm his agitated state, only to find that he had run out of cigarettes.

When the pager rang again, and once again tricked Kogoro Mouri, he couldn't take it anymore. "I have to go to the meeting room and check. I've been inside for two hours already! That's too long! I can't stand it anymore!"

Not long after Kogoro left, a sharp scream came from afar.

Conan and Ran rushed over immediately. When they arrived at the scene, they saw Kogoro Mouri clutching his head and a Filipino maid lying on the ground. Both of them were clutching their heads, and behind the maid was a woman wearing a blue coat.

"What's wrong?" Conan asked nervously.

"Who...who are you people?" the Filipino maid asked nervously when she saw Conan rushing over.

"That's the question I should be asking. Who exactly are you people?" Kogoro rubbed his head; the bump had clearly left him bruised.

“We are the servants here!” the Filipino maid said angrily.

"What's going on? Why are you making so much noise?" Just as the two sides were about to start arguing, a woman in a red kimono came out. She was the lady of the house, Maru Inako.

"Madam!" The two maids exclaimed as if they had found their pillar of support.

"What exactly happened?" Maru Inako asked, frowning.

"This man just walks around the house like that," the Filipino maid complained, pointing at Kogoro Mouri.

"Thief?"

"No, I'm the owner of this house, the detective hired by Mr. Marudenjiro! Detective!" Kogoro Mori panicked instantly; he had no desire to sit in the police station.

"A detective?" A hint of suspicion appeared in Ms. Maru Inako's eyes. "What is a detective doing in our house?"

"Well... you'd better ask your husband directly about that." Kogoro Mouri didn't want to get involved in marital disputes, mainly because his own married life was a complete mess.

Where is my husband?

"This? He went to the meeting room two hours ago and hasn't come back yet," Kogoro said, scratching the back of his head somewhat awkwardly.

Maru Inako looked at her two maids and said to them, "Go to the reception room and see which guest the master is meeting. Ask them if they need tea."

The two servants nodded in agreement and then walked toward the reception room.

After the two of them left, Ms. Inako's attitude changed instantly. "So, how far have you progressed?"

Kogoro Mouri was taken aback, and the expression on his face instantly betrayed him.

"I can give you double the money, but please make sure you keep my affair a secret," Ms. Inako said, somewhat agitated.

Conan's lips twitched slightly. Judging from her practiced manner, this was probably not the first time she had done this.

However, before Kogoro Mouri could answer, a servant's shrill scream came from the direction of the reception room. The four people in the courtyard were stunned for a moment, and then they walked towards the reception room.

At this moment, the two servants were slumped at the door of the reception room, trembling all over, unable to say a word.

Conan pushed past the two servants, but when he reached the door, he was startled.

Inside the reception room, the walls, cabinets, and everywhere else in sight were covered with horrifying knife marks.

Directly opposite the main gate, the owner of the house, Maru Denjiro, was nailed to the wall. He held a samurai sword in his hand, his eyes wide open, his death appearance extremely gruesome.

Kogoro, Ran, and Ms. Inako, who followed them in, also changed their expressions. This scene was simply too terrifying. Even Kogoro, who had seen many crime scenes, had never seen anything like it.

"Xiao Lan, go and notify the police!"

"it is good!"

Several tens of minutes later, the police arrived at the scene and took photos of the victim as evidence. This time, it was the familiar Inspector Megure who arrived, but he was accompanied by Inspector Takagi.

"The victim was the owner of this house, Maru Denjiro, 51 years old." Inspector Megure looked at Ms. Inako beside him and asked, "Does your husband practice kendo regularly?"

"Yes, he's already at the third dan." Ms. Inako looked sadly at the framed photo on the wall. The person in the photo was the victim, wearing a white kendo training uniform.

"Yes, the technique is quite impressive." Inspector Megure nodded. "Is this katana also your husband's?"

"Yes, those are decorations on the niche."

"Judging from the mess and numerous knife marks in this room, he seems to have had a fierce fight with the assailant. The fact that he was holding a samurai sword also proves this point. It seems he was killed head-on during a confrontation with the murderer, who appears to be a master swordsman." Inspector Megure walked up to the body and noticed a black notebook next to it, which he immediately picked up.

He frowned after flipping through just a few pages; the pages were densely packed with names, indicating that Maru Denjiro's schedule was incredibly full. It seemed this gentleman had a wide network of connections, which, from the perspective of investigating relationships, significantly increased their workload.

"By the way, Conan, you said you saw a guest visiting today, right?" Inspector Megure looked at Conan.

"Yes, but I only saw the feet." Conan nodded.

"Guests? The guests scheduled to meet today are Kogoro Mouri, Yuji Suwa, Ikuya Hatano, Makoto Akutsu, and Jin Kurosawa."

Conan was taken aback when he heard Inspector Megure mention the name. Meeting with five people in one day, including a detective investigating his wife's infidelity, Mr. Maru Denjiro must have a lot of nerve.

Chapter 49 Unexpected Visitor

Just then, a commotion arose outside.

“Officer, we’ve spotted a suspicious person.” One officer led another man in from outside. “This man has been loitering in front of this house since just now.”

"I'm not a suspicious person at all," the bespectacled man said, sounding somewhat aggrieved.

“It’s Dr. Hatano,” Ms. Inako said, somewhat surprised, as she walked out of the scene.

"Hatano?" Inspector Megure opened his notebook, pointed to the name Hatano Ikuya, and asked, "Is this Mr. Hatano Ikuya?"

“Yes, he is my husband’s attending physician. My husband asks him to come and see him every week,” Ms. Daozi nodded and said.

Upon hearing the person involved say that this was an acquaintance, the police officer who had been holding Dr. Hatano awkwardly released his arm and apologized to him. Dr. Hatano bowed to them somewhat sheepishly, then awkwardly straightened his clothes.

"A doctor?" Just as Inspector Megure was about to ask a few more questions, a commotion broke out at the door again, and a man was "coerced" into the courtyard by several police officers.

Inspector Megure glanced at Takagi beside him. These guys were arresting people without warrants, which would cause unnecessary trouble for the Metropolitan Police Department.

Takagi instantly understood his superior's meaning and immediately went to the door to maintain order. However, before he even reached the door, he saw another man being forced into the mansion by two police officers. In that instant, he felt like dying. How could these officers have such a strong sense of "justice"?!

"Let me go! Let me go! Do you know who I am?" the "coerced" man shouted. "Don't go too far! I'm not afraid of you. I'm a sculptor, the great artist Akutsu!"

"Akutsu?" Upon hearing this surname, Inspector Megure's eyes sharpened instantly. "Is it Akutsu Makoto? If so, then three out of the four people in the notebook have arrived."

"I know, the murderers are Suwa Yuuji, who hasn't appeared yet, and that Kurosawa Jin!" Kogoro Mouri said immediately.

"I am Suwa. May I ask what brings you here?" A man dressed in black appeared behind Kogoro Mouri, like a ghost.

"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri was taken aback. "Then the culprit must be Jin Kurosawa!"

However, at that moment, Officer Takagi outside the door said, "Officer Megure, there is a deliveryman named Kurosawa Jin at the door. He specifically asked for Mr. Maru Denjiro, saying that he has something that needs to be signed for."

"Bring him in."

Standing behind Kogoro Mouri, Conan looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with some helplessness. No matter what, the deliveryman couldn't possibly be the murderer of Maru Denjiro, so Mr. Mouri's method of elimination was completely invalid.

But when he saw that familiar blond hair, he froze, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. Why, why was this guy here?

"Are you Kurosawa Jin?" Inspector Megure frowned as he looked at the blond man in front of him. He sensed a dangerous aura emanating from the man. This was an intuition he had developed over many years as a police officer, and it rarely failed him.

If it weren't for the importance of evidence in solving a case, he would have already designated this guy in front of him as a suspect. Regardless of whether he committed the murder, taking him back for questioning was always the right thing to do.

“Yes, someone sent a gift box to Mr. Marudenjiro.” Kurosawa Jin took out a business card from his pocket. “I am an employee of Hakugo Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., and I am here today to deliver sake.”

"Delivering alcohol?" Inspector Megure was taken aback.

“Yes, a gentleman anonymously ordered a bottle of Louis XIII and asked our company to deliver it to Mr. Marudenjiro,” Shinjo, disguised as Gin, said indifferently. “If Mr. Marudenjiro is not here, his family can sign for it.”

“I am, but my husband…” Before Ms. Inako could finish speaking, a bill of lading and a pen were placed in front of her.

Inspector Megure glanced at the delivery slip and confirmed it was indeed a delivery slip. The delivery person was none other than Mr. Kurosawa Jin, and the recipient was none other than Maru Denjiro, who was currently nailed to the wall.

"Louis XIII?" Kogoro frowned. "Why is it Louis XIII again?"

Shinjo's lips twitched slightly beneath the mask; he hadn't expected that it was Kogoro Mouri who had noticed the problem. Following the sound, he looked in Kogoro's direction, where Conan was hiding behind him, only the tips of his shoes visible.

"The client ordered Louis XIII, is there a problem?" Kurosawa Jin asked with some doubt.

“No problem.” Mori said this, but he leaned close to Inspector Megure and whispered, “Inspector Megure, there was a bottle of Louis XIII at the art museum murder scene. Afterwards, that guy wrote a letter provoking the TV station. Do you think this person could be…”

“The orderer on the delivery slip is anonymous. I will investigate this liquor company thoroughly later.” Inspector Megure nodded. “But the most important thing right now is to solve this case. Maru Denjiro and Akutsu Makoto are both celebrities.”

It was at this moment that Kurosawa Jin approached Conan. He looked down at the trembling Conan and asked, "Little boy, have we met somewhere before?"

Conan's expression changed. Did this guy recognize him? Was he going to kill him to silence him? Danger, extreme danger! What should he do now? His mind was completely blank.

Just when he didn't know what to do, Inspector Megure broke the deadlock.

"Let me ask you something first, Mr. Kurosawa, where were you before?" Megure asked, staring at Kurosawa Jin.