Knocked unconscious by the tranquilizer dart, Ritsu plopped down onto the edge of the sofa.
To make matters worse, he ended up striking the exact same pose as Rodin's famous sculpture The Thinker. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was genuinely deep in thought over the case.
Meanwhile, the culprit behind it all, Conan, hurriedly ducked behind the sofa.
He adjusted the dial on his voice-changing bow tie. Thankfully, Agasa's invention was advanced enough to pull this off. Otherwise, this would've turned into an absolute disaster.
Takagi was just about to ask Onizawa what they should do next when he noticed the Inspector sitting in the exact same posture as the famous Sleeping Kogoro.
Puzzled, he stepped closer. The instant his hand touched the inspector's shoulder,
"Hmph. I've already figured out who the murderer is!"
"Huh?! Really, Inspector?!"
Conan quietly let out a sigh of relief.
If Officer Takagi had shaken his shoulder a couple of times, everything would've been over.
Holding the voice-changing bow tie to his mouth, Conan imitated Sensei's tone as closely as possible.
"Mouri-san, Suzuki-san, I believe you both remember when the victim left everyone's sight?"
Sonoko hadn't expected to be called on. She instinctively glanced at the clock before answering,
"Umm... it was shortly after dinner, right? Ran, I'm remembering correctly, aren't I?"
Ran nodded.
"Yes. It was exactly 7:00 p.m. The living room clock chimed at the time, so I remember it very clearly."
Speaking through the voice changer, Conan continued, "Then does anyone remember when the incident was discovered?"
Ran checked her phone's call history.
"I called the police at 7:58 p.m. Not long after I hung up, the clock in the living room chimed for the hour."
Nakanishi also took out her phone.
"Hino called me at 7:45 p.m. Two minutes later, while I was walking back to the living room, I called him back. Altogether, I was gone for about three minutes."
"Based on your statements, the murder should have occurred sometime between 7:48 and 7:58 p.m., within that ten-minute window. During that period, the only people who had the opportunity to commit the crime were Nakanishi-san and Ryohei-san."
Conan cautiously peeked over the sofa to observe the killer's expression.
'Honestly... this murderer isn't very mature.'
He couldn't even stop himself from smiling after hearing that his own name hadn't been mentioned.
"Then it has to be Ryohei! The murder weapon was his trophy. Doesn't that settle the case?"
"Are you stupid?!" Ryohei snapped.
"There are countless objects in this villa that could've been used as a weapon! Why would I use my own trophy? What, do you think my brain's full of sewage?"
Seeing Nakanishi and Ryohei about to start arguing again, Conan coughed to interrupt.
"In reality, both of you were targets the killer intended to frame. Especially you, Nakanishi-san. You were used by the real murderer."
"Used?"
Nakanishi froze.
She slowly turned toward the gloomy, silent Hino.
Could it be... Was that phone call deliberately made to lure her upstairs, creating his alibi while confusing the actual time of death?
"That's right. The real killer intentionally called Nakanishi-san so she would unknowingly provide him with the perfect alibi."
"The murderer... is you, Wataru Hino!"
Hino let out a cold laugh.
One hand in his pocket, he looked completely relaxed.
"Me? Inspector Onizawa, you've got to be joking. I'm a man. How could I imitate a woman's voice? Besides, you've already seen my shopping receipt. If that's not enough, check the convenience store's surveillance cameras. They'll clearly show I was there."
"I've never questioned whether you went to the convenience store nor do I believe you can imitate the victim's voice."
"But technology has advanced considerably. Since you and the victim were dating, secretly recording her voice without her noticing wouldn't have been difficult, would it?"
Instead of becoming angry, Hino smiled.
"If we're talking about recordings, anyone could've done that. And the murder weapon was a trophy. I've never even been inside the basketball club."
"The entire school can testify to that."
Conan couldn't help thinking this killer really wasn't very bright.
By saying that, he'd practically admitted there was something wrong with the estimated time of death.
'What an idiot.'
Gripping the voice changer, Conan continued,
"But don't forget, the victim was the basketball club's manager. She had easy access to the trophy."
"I think there were two reasons you chose it. First, to frame Ryohei-san. And second... because you knew it was a gift the victim had received from him."
"...!!"
Ryohei stared in surprise.
The only reason he hadn't mentioned it earlier was because he feared the suspicion would shift back onto him.
Now that this perceptive police officer had already seen through it, there was no point hiding it anymore.
"...That's right. I gave that trophy to Haruka."
"You've talked a lot."
Hino's expression darkened.
"But do you have any evidence?"
He knew he couldn't explain away the circumstances. However, as long as the police lacked evidence, they couldn't arrest him.
He knew enough about the law to understand that.
"Evidence? Of course I do."
Behind the sofa, Conan froze.
'Wait... I didn't say that. Which means...'
The tranquilizer simply wasn't as effective on someone like Ritsu, whose body had previously been exposed to the incomplete APTX4869.
In fact, he had already woken up half a minute earlier. Slowly, he raised his crimson eyes. His face was filled with unmistakable irritation.
As he rubbed the back of his neck, he said coldly,
"Your glasses are the best evidence. How about taking them off for a luminol test?"
Like prey caught in a predator's sights, Hino instinctively recoiled when he met Ritsu's gaze.
Fear flashed across his face.
He suddenly lunged for the table, grabbed a pair of scissors, and pressed them beneath Ran's chin.
"D-Don't come any closer! O-Or I'll kill her!"
The entire room fell silent.
Sonoko clasped her hands together and silently mourned the murderer for being... not particularly bright.
Conan, who had personally witnessed Ran's karate countless times, silently mourned him as well.
Although...
Right now, Conan was more worried about his own safety.
'Sensei isn't actually going to sacrifice his own student for justice... is he?'
Ritsu narrowed his eyes.
Supporting himself against the sofa with both hands, he said expressionlessly,
"You should be more worried about your own safety."
"...What?"
During the half-second Hino spent trying to process those words, he felt an impact beneath his jaw that was like being hit head-on by a speeding truck.
Before losing consciousness, he could've sworn he saw a flock of little yellow ducklings laughing at him.
Ran's elbow strike landed without the slightest hint of mercy. The blow was so brutal that everyone present instinctively shut their eyes.
Ryohei even grabbed his own jaw in sympathy, as though afraid it might fall off from sheer secondhand pain.
"Takagi."
Ritsu spoke calmly.
"What are you standing there for? Put the handcuffs on him."
"Ah... R-Right away, Inspector!"
Takagi had been trying to figure out how to subdue the criminal. Instead, the criminal had collapsed and twitched twice before passing out while Takagi was still thinking.
As he took out the handcuffs, only one thought filled his mind.
'Whoa... She's just as terrifyingly strong as Officer Sato!!!'
"But, Inspector..."
Takagi asked curiously,
"Why were you doing the Sleeping Kogoro pose just now? Did Kogoro-san rub off on you?"
Ritsu casually rubbed the back of his neck and answered with a perfectly straight face.
"Oh, I just wanted to try solving a case that way. But it got a little tiring, so I stopped pretending. Kogoro-san really has it rough solving cases like that all the time."
Clearly, there was more than a little hidden meaning behind those words, aimed at a certain someone.
At that moment, Conan crawled out from behind the sofa, pretending absolutely nothing had happened.
He casually started walking away, hoping to slip out of someone's line of sight. Before he could escape, however, a large hand effortlessly clamped onto the back of his neck.
Conan slowly turned around like a rusty machine.
He was greeted by his sensei's radiant smile.
"So, Conan-kun... where do you think you're going?"
"I... I need to use the bathroom."