"Cough cough!!"
Conan suddenly coughed and said to Aizen, "Brother Aizen, I think I'm catching a cold again. Could you take a look at me?"
Ran Mouri asked with concern, "Conan, are you alright?"
Aizen said, "I'll take Conan upstairs to see a doctor. You guys stay here."
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Aizen waved to Conan and then walked towards the stairs. He knew perfectly well that Conan was perfectly fine. The reason he said he was catching a cold again was because he had something to say to him privately.
The two walked upstairs, and Conan said, "Aizen, I know what method the culprit used."
Aizen turned to look at him and asked, "What method did the culprit use?"
Conan didn't hide anything and explained as they walked, "First, prepare a rope, scissors, and a crossbow. Drill a small hole in the back of two crossbow arrows, then thread the rope through the hole to form a small circle. Next, thread a pre-measured length of rope through the circle, and then tie two more ropes in the middle. Then, tie the ends of the rope that went through the two circles to the balcony railing. That's it! All you need to do is fire one of the arrows."
Hearing this, Aizen nodded and said, "I understand. As long as we shoot two arrows on either side, the rope will open up to form the shape of a sailboat on a yacht. Then we can put the body on it, shoot the arrows away, and the wind will blow the rope away. Am I right?"Conan nodded, "Yes, that's it. The culprit must have used this method, not Kaito Kid dropping the body from the air."
Aizen nodded, "If it really was this method, then it certainly wasn't Kaito Kid. To find out if this method was used, just look at the trees on either side of Mr. Hamano's body. Even if the culprit retrieved the arrows, there would still be holes in the trees."
Conan said, "You're absolutely right, and the culprit might not have retrieved the arrows yet."
Nodding, Aizen said, "I think you don't have a cold. I trust my medical skills. To avoid making excuses, come with me and put on my sweater."
Conan didn't refuse and followed Aizen to his room. After putting on the sweater, the two left.
Aizen and Conan went downstairs.
Seeing the two come down, Ran Mouri immediately went over and asked Aizen, "Aizen, is Conan alright?"
Aizen replied, "Don't worry, he's fine. It's just a bit cold now, so I had him put on a wool sweater."
"That's good, he didn't catch a cold."
Ran Mouri was immediately relieved.
Returning to the table, Aizen explained Conan's deduction.
After listening, Kikue Tanaka asked somewhat doubtfully, "Mr. Aizen, is your guess really likely to succeed?"
Aizen said, "Everyone, come with me outside and look at the trees on either side of Mr. Hamano's body. I think there will definitely be arrow holes in the trees. If that doesn't work, we can conduct an experiment ourselves."
Yoshinori Ara nodded in agreement, "Let's go out and take a look."
The group left and headed outside, then towards a nearby grove of trees.
There were nine of them, including Conan. While finding a hole in a tree was difficult, many hands make light work, and in no time, Uchida Asami found it.
Shining a flashlight on it, Aizen said, "Everyone sees it, this is one of the holes. It's clearly a mark left by an arrow or something similar. Besides the method I just mentioned, I don't think anyone would normally shoot arrows this way, right?"
Toshiya Hamano chimed in, "No, no one would normally shoot arrows here."
Aizen said, "Let's go check the other side. I think there must be another hole over there."
The group left the grove and headed in the other direction, soon finding a hole in another tree.
Aizen said, "I knew it. So, the method the culprit used is exactly what I described. In other words, the culprit isn't Kaito Kid."
Kuroda Naoko asked, "Then who is the culprit?"
Aizen looked at everyone and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Shadow Priest doesn't exist. He's just someone else's alternate account, designed to kill the Escape King and Mr. Hamano. Therefore, the culprit should be among us. Of course, this is just a guess; I have no evidence to prove who the culprit is."
Tanaka Kikue said, "Mr. Aizen, what you're saying is completely pointless."
Aizen smiled helplessly and said, "Alright everyone, I think we should go back and wait for the police. Let's leave this case to them. But I want to remind everyone that when you're resting at night, it's best to keep the doors and windows tightly closed. No matter who knocks, it's best not to open the doors or windows to avoid any trouble."
Kuroda Naoko looked at everyone around her and said, "You mean, the culprit will also target us?"
"No, this is just to be on the safe side,"
Aizen shook his head. "Actually, the suspicion surrounding Kaito Kid hasn't been completely cleared yet, it's just that the possibility has decreased considerably. Besides, the culprit probably won't kill again. I'm just saying this to encourage everyone to be more careful."
The group then returned to the villa, skipping their meal. After a quick tidy-up, they went to their rooms.
Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, and Asami Uchida shared one room, while Aizen and Conan shared another. Their rooms were next to each other. After saying goodnight, they went to their respective rooms.
Conan asked, "Aizen, who do you think is the culprit?"
Aizen replied, "Judging from the timing, the only one with a chance to strike is Mr. Ara. Although he said he forgot his keys, that might just be an excuse."
Conan nodded in agreement and asked, "Aizen, don't you think there's something wrong with Mr. Hamano's magic trick?"
"I thought of that too, but Ms. Tanaka has Mr. Sugama as her witness."
Aizen shook his head, then took out his pajamas and began to change.
Conan sighed inwardly upon hearing this. He knew Aizen was right. Although Kikue Tanaka was a suspect in terms of magic tricks, with Kiyohiro Sukama's testimony, she really couldn't be the culprit.