"Meow meow, meow meow meow."
"Mraaaow—"
In front of the supermarket, Yimi had grabbed one of the village's free-roaming cats and was meowing something no human could understand. The calico she had accosted stared with eyes as round as bells, frozen in place as though it had seen some terrifying creature.
"That cat is famous around the village for having a bad temper. It'll scratch you." Narumi caught Yimi by the back of her collar and gently pulled her away.
"Did you buy fish?" Yimi grabbed the plastic bag in Narumi's hand.
"Of course. We're on an island, after all. And this too." Narumi took out a bag of milk candies and offered it to Yimi.
"Ooh!" Yimi reached out, then pulled her little paw back.
"What's wrong? You don't eat things strangers give you?" Narumi asked, puzzled.
"This child has a habit of only eating something someone gives her after they pat her head," Ran explained for Yimi.
Yimi shook her head and pointed at the boxed meals in Narumi's bag. "This is, for rewarding the detective."
She had followed along as soon as she heard there would be late-night food, only to suddenly remember after arriving that Narumi had said he was preparing it for the detective. The kitty was not a detective right now.
"Hm? Don't worry about something like that. Who would let a child go hungry for that reason? Share these with Conan, but don't eat too many. You'll get cavities." Narumi put the milk candies in Yimi's hand.
"Mmph."
Yimi rummaged around in her pocket. In reality, she took a bottle out of her storage space and handed it to Narumi. "This is for you."
"Thank you. What is it?" Narumi looked curiously at the little girl's pocket, unable to understand how a bottle that size had fit inside without being visible from outside.
It looked like some kind of drink, but the packaging was crude. There was no production date, no name, no ingredient list—only the unbroken seal made it look slightly less suspicious.
"Spring of Weak Girl," Yimi answered.
It was something she had drawn after unlocking that achievement. It was actually called Spring of Drowned Girl. Anyone affected by its water would turn into a girl whenever splashed with cold water, then turn back after being doused with hot water.
Yimi did not even need to understand the effect. One glance at the part about soaking in water had completely killed her interest. Another useless everyday item +1.
* * *
"Because these were deliberately locked inside a safe, the fire back then didn't reach them." The old police officer found the sheet music and handed it to Kogoro.
Kogoro flipped through it. "Locked in a safe like classified material... sounds like it might have been an original piece he treasured."
"Or perhaps it was a sealed curse," the old police officer said, earning speechless looks from everyone.
People on this island seemed rather superstitious. There had apparently even been monks among those attending the memorial service earlier.
"Uncle, let me see." Conan jumped up and snatched the sheet music, studying it carefully.
At first glance he saw nothing unusual. Music had always been one of his weaker subjects.
He walked over to the piano that Kogoro had loosely cordoned off and, through a handkerchief, tried playing the notes on the page. Something about it began to feel wrong.
"Don't mess up the crime scene, brat. The police still need to check for fingerprints tomorrow." As expected, Kogoro picked him up and moved him aside.
"Uncle, I was playing what's written here." Conan looked up at Kogoro—then suddenly saw a black figure peering in through the window.
"Who's there!"
The instant he shouted, the black figure immediately fled.
"Damn it, don't run!" Kogoro vaulted straight through the window in pursuit. But compared with a large city, one troublesome thing about the village was its lack of streetlights.
Moonlight could not reach this angle. Unlike the black figure, whose eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, they lost sight of the target the moment they rushed outside.
Kogoro punched the wall. "Just like I thought. Did he come back to destroy the evidence?"
"What happened?" Narumi asked in confusion as he returned safely with the two girls.
"Looks like Kawashima really did have an accomplice. Continuing to guard this place might be dangerous."
No—even sending Ran back with the other two brats could be dangerous too.
Only Kawashima and the two children had been at the scene. No one could guarantee that Kawashima had not blurted out information about his accomplices in desperation. If those people were truly ruthless criminals, they probably would not gamble on that possibility.
They probably did not have firearms. Otherwise, given the opportunity just now, that person should already have opened fire.
"Conan, what are you looking at?" Ran tilted her head toward the sheet music in Conan's hand.
Conan obediently showed it to the good student. "It's the last sheet music Aso Keiji-san left behind. Apparently it survived because it was locked in a safe. Maybe there's some kind of code."
Ran gave it a quick look. "If you read it as piano notation, these marks indicate the black keys."
A flash of inspiration struck Conan. He lowered his head and looked again, rearranging the sequence.
To my son, Seiji?
Seiji? Son?
It was as if lightning had struck Conan through the skull. He looked toward Narumi and happened to meet an unusual gaze. Aso Keiji's final sheet music seemed to have caught Narumi's attention.
Narumi concealed his expression perfectly and smiled. "Did you find something, little detective?"
Conan opened his mouth, then smiled back. "Nope. Maybe it was an embarrassing failed composition, so he locked it away where no one could see it."
Come to think of it, Yimi had said Narumi's chest was fake. At the time, Ran had used "Shinichi" as a bad example while lecturing her, saying Shinichi ignored other people's feelings and so on...
There was no mistake. The sender was Narumi.
More than that, Aso Keiji seemed to have anticipated that he would be retaliated against. The letter hidden in the score fully explained how four people had forced him to transport drugs for them.
Given that connection, the letter Asai... no, Aso Seiji had sent Uncle probably meant that he intended to take revenge.
"Here." Yimi's little hand appeared in front of Conan's face, interrupting his thoughts.
"What?"
"Milk candy. Narumi said, we should share."
"..."
The package looked unopened. It probably was not poisoned, right?
Conan looked toward Narumi. The doctor, who looked every bit like a beautiful woman, was handing boxed meals out to everyone. When Narumi reached for the drinks, he paused, then took the bottle of water he had casually tossed into the plastic bag and kept it for himself.
It was only about the size of a small bottle of mineral water, so it would have been awkward to share. Since it was a gift from the little girl, he might as well keep it for himself.
Narumi twisted the cap open and took a sip, then frowned.
It did not taste very good, but it was definitely drinkable. Had she given him something expired?
* * *
Late at night.
Narumi, who had volunteered to stay and help keep watch, looked at the others breathing steadily in their sleeping bags. He picked up the sheet music Conan had deliberately left somewhere conspicuous.
Then he put it back down and walked out through the rear door.
"Are you going to take revenge on them?"
Conan's voice suddenly sounded behind him. "Once the police arrive, they'll trace this to them very quickly. The law will punish them."