Science: The Little Shota of the Maori Family

"We've contacted them," Xiaolan nodded. "But they said the wind and waves are too strong and they can't come to the island for the time being."

Maori Kogoro was somewhat helpless: "What the hell..."

Hattori Heiji, however, had a different idea: "That's perfect! This way, the murderer won't be able to leave this island."

Maori Kogoro glanced at him and snorted, "What murderer? It's not certain that this is a homicide."

"Then take a look at this." Hattori Heiji took out the lifebuoy from behind him. "This lifebuoy was originally stuck on the river connecting the waterfall and the sea water. I just found it."

"If the murderer had first killed Miss Sumi, then strangled her with a rope, and let her slide down using a lifebuoy, she could have been hanging above the waterfall. In other words, it doesn't matter if the murderer was a man or a woman."

Hattori Heiji's words made Maori Kogoro fall into deep thought.

At this moment, Naoko Kuroe suddenly came over and whispered, "If Sumi was killed, then you'd better keep an eye on Saori's alcoholic father..."

When you're done, turn around and leave.

Shimabukuro Kimie stepped forward: "By the way, didn't you say before that you wanted to go to Saori's house? Do you still want to go now?"

Maori Kogoro looked at the drunken Kadowaki Benzo and frowned: "Looking at the state he is in now, I guess it's useless to talk to him..."

"I think why not take us to see the longevity lady?" Hattori Heiji suggested, "Is that okay, Miss Junhui?"

Shimabukuro Kimie nodded: "Of course."

……

The group came to the residence of the longevity lady.

According to Shimabukuro Kimie, the longevity lady was very tired today, so she had to go and ask if she could see her, so that Maori Kogoro and others could rest in the living room first.

Just as they were discussing what happened tonight, they heard a click and the door behind them was pulled open. A short, thin-haired, wrinkled old woman appeared at the door. She looked at the people inside and asked, "I heard you have something to talk to me about?"

This appearance startled everyone. After finally calming down, Hattori Heiji asked, "Old woman, how did you decide on the number to draw the Dugong Arrow?"

The longevity lady was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "It depends on the situation at the time."

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.

The longevity lady suddenly smiled and said, "Sometimes I also use the numbers I won in the horse racing lottery."

Hattori Heiji:"……"

He laughed dryly and asked, "Then why only send three arrows a year? Wouldn't it be better to send more?"

"That won't do." The longevity lady reached out and grabbed her snow-white hair. "I don't have much hair left to tie the dugong's arrows..."

At this moment, Shimabukuro Kimie's voice came from outside the door: "Great-grandmother, I have prepared your bath water."

"I'm so sorry." The longevity lady turned to leave: "If you don't have anything important to do, I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

"Wait a moment." Hattori Heiji said hurriedly: "I have another question..."

But Changshoupo ignored him and turned to look at Yuanshan and Ye: "That little girl over there, I'm talking about the one with a ponytail..."

"Huh?" Yuanshan Heye pointed at himself in confusion: "Me?"

"The Forbidden Arrow was originally intended to slay demons. If you let it go, demons will begin to build nests. Men will return to dust, becoming heartless hungry ghosts, while women will return to water, transforming into speechless mermaids." Longevity Lady said quietly, "Turn and walk towards the corner at the end of the corridor. You must never let the Dugong Arrow leave your side."

After the longevity woman left, Hattori Heiji couldn't help but say, "Her voice is hoarse and her complexion is terrible. I don't think this old woman will live much longer."

Watanabe Toru glanced at Hattori Heiji. For a detective to say something like that, it was clear how advanced Shimabukuro Kimie's makeup skills had become.

297. Shimabukuro Kimie's Final Decision

The next night.

Kogoro Mori and others are preparing to pay tribute to Susumi Ebihara.

Toru Watanabe stayed in the hotel on the grounds of being tired.

Outside, there were bursts of thunder, but the rain was slow to fall, giving people an oppressive feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Watanabe Toru looked at his watch and felt that it was about time. He took out an Aptx-4869 antidote and swallowed it. After returning to his adult form, he left the hotel.

Outside the hotel, Maya Tachibana stood in the night. When she heard footsteps, she turned her head and glanced back, then retracted her gaze: "She's already waiting for us."

"Thank you for your hard work." Watanabe Toru nodded: "Did you bring everything?"

"Bring it."

"Okay, let's go."

……

In the quiet forest, the shade of the trees swayed, and except for the chirping of insects and birds, the surroundings were dead silent.

Shimabukuro Kimie, dressed in black, looked at the man and woman in front of him with a cold gaze and a cold voice: "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

Watanabe Toru raised the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly: "It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that you, a murderer, how are you going to get rid of suspicion after killing your friend?"

Shimabukuro Kimie's expression changed slightly, a trace of panic flashed across her pupils, and she took a deep breath and said, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"It's okay, we can talk slowly." Watanabe Toru was calm and recounted the method by which Shimabukuro Kimie killed Ebihara Sumi and Kuroe Naoko slowly, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

In the dim light, Shimabukuro Kimie felt a chill in her heart. She never expected that the murder plan that she thought was perfect was actually seen through by the man in front of her.

This made her feel desperate, and in an instant, she had the thought of killing both of them.

"You can't kill us." Watanabe Toru saw what she was thinking and said calmly, "Don't waste your energy."

Shimabukuro Kimie took a deep breath, her eyes regained their composure, and she looked at Watanabe Toru: "What is your purpose?"

Instead of revealing their crimes to the police, these two men invited themselves to this forest, obviously with other purposes.

Watanabe Toru didn't answer her question. Instead, he said slowly, "There are two famous detectives here. It's only a matter of time before the truth is discovered. Let me think about it. If I want to completely get rid of suspicion, the best way is to make the possible impossible. For example, faking my death."

Shimabukuro Kimie was completely stunned.

This man had previously described his murder methods clearly and even used his "strong reasoning ability" to explain them, but why did he even know his next plan?

Prophecy? How could such a power be possible in this world?

Watanabe Toru looked at Shimabukuro Kimie's expression with a smile: "It seems that I guessed right. It's a pity that this is a bad move. It will put me in a passive position."

"Why?" Shimabukuro Kimie asked subconsciously, her tone even showing a little bit of dissatisfaction.

Watanabe Toru said calmly, "You're trying to use the body you killed, Monkyo Saori, to confuse everyone, right? A fire would be enough to char the body, making it impossible to identify the identity. Then, the tooth pattern on the charred body would be the best proof that Monkyo Saori is you."

Shimabukuro-kune was silent.

"It's a pity that you made a serious mistake." Watanabe Toru continued, "If anyone gets suspicious and asks the dentist, he'll know that it wasn't you who went to the dentist that day, but Monkyo Saori."

Shimabukuro Kimie looked as if her spirit had been drained away, with a dazed expression on her face.

"Of course, this situation may not happen." Watanabe Toru chuckled, "But when you appear in front of the public again as the Longevity Lady, the villagers may understand."

Shimabukuro-kune showed a puzzled expression.

Watanabe Toru looked at Tachibana Maya and said, "Let her listen to it."

"Yes." Tachibana Maya took out her cell phone and played a recording.

"So, the current Lady of Longevity is actually Miss Jun Hui?"

"Yes, all the older villagers on the island know about this. In fact, everyone feels guilty."

"How...how could this happen..."

These two short sentences, like a thunderclap, completely shattered Shimabukuro Kimie's persistence that she had been holding on to for three years.

Her face was dull, as if her soul had been taken away, and she remained motionless. A cold wind blew across her face, ruffling her long hair.

Watanabe Toru just looked at her quietly until she suppressed her inner sorrow and said bitterly, "Why...why didn't they tell me earlier, why didn't they let me face the reality sooner..."

"Perhaps it's because I respect you." Watanabe Toru sighed, "Now that things have come to this, you only have two choices: one, surrender yourself, or two, follow me."

"Go with you?" Shimabukuro Kimie looked up at Watanabe Toru.

"Yes, that's why I came to see you. My team needs you."

"I'm a murderer."

"Oh, who doesn't have a few lives on their hands?"

Shimabukuro Kimie opened her mouth and once again changed her perception of the two people in front of her.

"But that's all in the past." Watanabe Toru could see Shimabukuro Kimie's fear and comforted her, "Now, we just want to survive."

"Keep living..." Shimabukuro Kimie murmured softly.

Of course she also wants to live and live freely in this world, but does she have the qualifications to do so after taking three lives?

She did not regret killing those three people. Thinking of her mother's pain and despair in the fire, if she were asked to make the choice again, would she still do it?

Shimabukuro Kimie took a deep breath, looked into Watanabe Toru's deep eyes, and asked, "How can I trust you?"

"You have no choice." Watanabe Toru shook his head: "You can only choose to believe me or not believe me."

Shimabukuro (King's Zhao) Junhui fell silent.

Watanabe Toru was not in a hurry and waited for her to make a decision.

The thunder has stopped, and the full moon has peeked out from the dark clouds. The lush forest, bathed in moonlight, casts large patches of thick shadows.

"Okay." Shimabukuro Kimie made a decision: "I'll go with you."

"This is the right decision." Watanabe Toru smiled.

"But how are you going to take me away?" Shimabukuro Kimie asked. "According to what you said, those two detectives on the island will eventually find out that I did all this. Then, I won't be able to escape at all."

Watanabe Toru pondered for a moment. "Continue with your plan to fake your own death, but don't appear in public as the Longevity Lady. I'll have Aju assist you and get you off the island. Detectives are only human, and they won't immediately suspect you. Once you leave the island, they'll never be able to find you."

298. Prepare to Leave the Island

In the original story, it was Conan who discovered that Shimabukuro Kimie had used Kadokyo Saori's corpse to disguise herself. Now that Conan is gone, Hattori Heiji's ability to uncover the truth will take time, giving Tachibana Maya plenty of time to get Shimabukuro Kimie off the island.

Watanabe Toru looked at Tachibana Maya and said, "After you leave the island, return directly to Tokyo. I will meet up with you the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Okay." Tachibana Maya nodded.

She always carried out Watanabe Toru's orders without hesitation.

……

At 11 o'clock in the evening, Kogoro Mori and others returned to the hotel and brought some news.

Naoko Kuroe was murdered on the beach, Kimie Shimabukuro disappeared, and a fire broke out in the warehouse behind the shrine for unknown reasons.

In the room, Xiaolan looked worried.

"I don't know if Miss Jun Hui is okay. Please don't let anything happen to her..."

Yuanshan Heye was also somewhat uneasy. Looking at the dugong arrow hanging around her neck, she whispered, "The Longevity Lady said that if you let the dugong arrow go, demons will begin to build nests, and women will return to the water and turn into mute mermaids."

"He Ye..." Seeing Yuanshan He Ye's ugly face, Xiaolan comforted her: "It's just a rumor, don't take it too seriously."

"But 893, Miss Heijiang might have been killed and hung on the fishing net because she lost the dugong arrow." Yuanshan Heye bit her lip and frowned slightly.

Xiaolan opened her mouth, but since this was related to metaphysics, she didn't know how to explain it.

"Sister Xiaolan, Sister Heye." Watanabe Toru suddenly asked, "You said you ran into Miss Saori just now, right?"

"Yeah." Xiaolan nodded: "When Miss Junhui and I were looking for this year's roster, we saw Miss Saori hiding outside and staring at us."

Thinking of that scene, Xiaolan still felt a little nervous: "But when we ran out, Miss Saori disappeared."

"So, Miss Saori is suspicious?" Watanabe Toru asked, "Could it be that Miss Kuroe was killed by her? If that's the case, then the whole story about the devil building a nest and becoming a speechless mermaid is all a lie."

Yuanshan Heye was stunned, but then she realized that it was Watanabe Toru who was comforting her. Her panic subsided a little, and she reached out and pinched Watanabe Toru's cheek, smiling and saying, "Thank you, Toru."

Watanabe Toru clenched his fists, full of confidence: "With uncle here, we will definitely catch the murderer."

"Uh-huh."

Early the next morning.

The fire that had been burning all night was finally put out. A charred body was found in the ruins. After an autopsy by the police, it was confirmed that it was Shimabukuro Kimie who had disappeared last night.

"How could this happen... Was Miss Junhui really murdered?" Upon hearing the news, Xiaolan and Toyama Kazuha both looked incredulous.

Hattori Heiji's face was solemn: "When the body was found, it was wearing glasses, exactly like Miss Saori's attire. Obviously, the murderer wanted to mislead us and make us think that it was Miss Saori who was burned to death."

"You mean, the murderer is Saori?" Kogoro Mouri looked at him.