"Inspector! We found a bloodstained raincoat and the murder weapon inside Hino-san's closet!"
Ritsu looked toward the evidence Takagi was carrying.
As he'd expected, the murder weapon had been wrapped inside a transparent raincoat stained with blood. After the raincoat was unfolded, a trophy covered in dried blood was revealed.
The moment she saw it, Nakanishi cried out in shock.
"W-What?! Isn't that your trophy, Ryohei?!"
The ornament at the top was clearly a basketball.
It was the championship trophy Ryohei had won back in middle school after leading his basketball team to victory in the Tokyo Junior Basketball Tournament. It should have been displayed in Teitan High School's basketball clubroom.
So why was it here?
Everyone's eyes turned toward Ryohei, whose face had gone deathly pale. He obviously realized what everyone was thinking and frantically waved his hands.
"N-No! It wasn't me! I have no idea why my trophy is here!"
Feigning outrage, Hino grabbed Ryohei by the collar and shouted,
"You bastard, Ryohei! Why did you kill Haruka?!"
"I didn't kill her! How could I possibly kill my senpai?! I..."
Ryohei clenched his teeth. After hesitating for several seconds, he shoved Hino away and roared, "I've barely had time to grieve! There's no way I could ever kill my upperclassman!"
Watching from the sidelines, Ritsu raised an eyebrow.
The relationship chart was becoming more entertaining by the minute.
With relationships this messy, it'd be a waste not to turn it into one of those over-the-top prime-time soap operas.
Kind-hearted Takagi quickly stepped between the two.
"Please calm down, both of you. We've only identified the murder weapon. We haven't identified the murderer yet."
"Hmph. For all we know, our dear kouhai really is the killer."
Arms folded, Nakanishi lifted her chin smugly and dropped another bombshell.
"You probably don't know this, but I personally witnessed Ryohei confessing his feelings to our dear Haruka-chan. Doesn't this happen all the time in TV dramas? If you can't have the one you love, you end up killing them out of resentment."
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?!"
Ryohei's eyes widened in anger as he clenched his fists.
"Precisely because I liked senpai, I'd never do something like that! If anything, you are the suspicious one! You and Hino-senpai have that shady relationship going on. I think you stole my trophy, killed my upperclassman, and framed me!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Suzuki quietly edged over to Ran and whispered into her ear,
"Why does this feel like we're watching some TV drama? And one of those ridiculously melodramatic ones at that."
Ran nodded in complete agreement.
As she thought this was already the biggest piece of gossip she'd heard all day, Haruko, who had been holding herself back, decided to add even more fuel to the fire.
"Oh my, so you knew about that too, Ryohei."
Walking over beside Nakanishi, Haruko smiled.
"They're not just 'kind of involved.' They're back together. And Haruka already knew about it. She was planning to dump this boyfriend who's all looks and no substance."
"All looks and no substance..."
Takagi and Conan instantly understood the implication and couldn't help casting Hino sympathetic looks.
Sonoko and Ran, who took a second longer to catch on, immediately blushed bright red and lowered their heads, pretending they hadn't understood a thing.
The only one who remained completely clueless was Ritsu. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he observed Conan.
'Why hasn't he made a move yet? Hasn't he figured out who the killer is? Looks like I'll have to give him another hint.'
Hino's expression had grown even uglier.
He sneered.
"Hah. And you're any better? You're always borrowing money from Haruka. Have you ever paid her back? Haruka told me herself that she was planning to tell your parents about your debts so they'd repay her instead. Were you afraid they'd find out? Is that why you killed her?"
"You...!!"
Ritsu blinked twice.
He had never imagined even the best friend was just another fake friend.
'Tsk.'
The relationships among these five people were so tangled they'd make even the melon thief in the melon patch run circles in excitement.
Seeing another argument about to erupt, Ritsu cleared his throat. "Are you planning to turn the crime scene into a marketplace?"
Then he turned to Nakanishi.
"Nakanishi-san, I have a question. When you went upstairs to speak with the victim, did you actually enter the room?"
Nakanishi shook her head.
"No. I only knocked on the door."
"So you never actually saw the victim herself. That also means you can't be certain the voice answering you was really hers."
Nakanishi paused before replying.
"I think it was Haruka's voice. You can recognize someone's voice, after all. Doesn't that also prove she was still alive at the time?"
"...Hmm. You're right."
'Kudo... I've given you as much of a hint as I possibly can. Now let's see how you're going to solve this case.'
Meanwhile, Conan was currently examining the convenience store receipt that had been inside the shopping bag.
The timestamp on it was perfectly consistent.
If Nakanishi's account was true, then the victim had still been alive at that point.
That meant the only people who could have committed the murder were Nakanishi herself... and Ryohei, who had left the living room afterward to use the restroom.
But his detective instincts told him neither of them was the culprit.
The former had no reason to expose herself. As for the latter, using his own championship trophy as the murder weapon would be practically delivering himself to the police.
'Then who was it? Had someone tampered with the timeline?'
"Takagi, do you have a handkerchief? I forgot mine. I want to wipe my glasses."
"I do. Here you go, Inspector."
'A handkerchief? Glasses?'
The moment those words reached him, inspiration struck.
Conan's eyes widened in realization. He finally understood how the murderer had carried out the crime.
Ritsu casually wiped his lenses while watching Conan out of the corner of his eye.
'Looks like my final hint worked. Now then—huh?'
He noticed Conan duck behind the living room sofa.
The boy pressed something, causing the lid of his wristwatch to flip open. Then Conan assumed an aiming stance.
'...That's oddly familiar. Don't tell me that's the watch tranquilizer? Who's he aiming at?
The most suitable targets here would probably be Sonoko or Takagi... but even if he knocked one of them out, what would that accomplish?'
Since he planned on telling Conan sooner or later that he'd already figured out his identity, he might as well ask now.
It would even save the kid a tranquilizer dart.
Ritsu strode over just before Conan could fire. Bracing both hands against the back of the sofa, he leaned over and asked,
"Conan, what are you doing?"
"Huh?!"
Conan never imagined Sensei would suddenly appear directly in his line of sight. Startled, his finger reflexively pressed the button.
Pfft.
The tranquilizer dart shot straight into his teacher's neck.
'This is bad! I just shot Sensei with the tranquilizer right in front of him!'
Conan's mind went completely blank.
There was nothing he could do now except see it through. Once the case was over, he'd have to honestly confess that he was Shinichi.
He could only hope Sensei wouldn't be too angry with him.
The tranquilizer itself caused no pain. But an overwhelming wave of drowsiness washed over Ritsu.
He struggled to stay awake, but in the end he could only sit down on the edge of the sofa, making sure he wouldn't end up sprawled across it while solving the case.
As consciousness slowly slipped away, only one thought remained in his mind.
'Kudo Shinichi... You're so dead.'
----
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