Yoko Okino spoke up beside him.
"I can vouch for that. Three days ago, Mr. Yamagishi's keys really did go missing."
The investigation ground to a halt.
At the time of the incident, Yoko Okino had been busy with her concert, so she couldn't have committed the crime.
Yamagishi Yoshio had the opportunity, but without the apartment key, he couldn't have done it either.
Everyone was stuck, unsure how to move forward.
Takeshi Ishikawa, however, stayed calm. He already knew how this case played out.
Xiaolan carried him into the upscale apartment. She seemed completely used to holding him and wasn't in a hurry to let go.
Takeshi wasn't planning to get down either. Between the residual yin energy from the crime scene and Ran's own yin energy while holding him close, he was racking up ninety points per hour. Only an idiot would walk away from that.
Glancing around the idol's residence, Takeshi remembered he still had a third "check-in" available.
He wondered what kind of reward he'd get for checking in at a murder scene. Hopefully something more useful this time.
There was a click.
In the system's check-in interface, an image of everyone gathered in the idol's apartment appeared. The picture turned into a purple-gold light, which merged and formed a treasure chest. When the chest opened, a stream of light shot into Takeshi's mind.
Ding! Check-in complete. Congratulations, host—Hypnosis Level 1 acquired!
Hypnosis: Works best on members of the opposite sex. You can make them pose in any way you want.
At higher levels, hypnosis can temporarily swap souls.
Works generally on ordinary people. Easier to use on those with weak wills, ineffective on the strong-willed.
Takeshi almost fell over.
What kind of shady skill was this?
With his current succubus-like charm, he didn't need something as underhanded as hypnosis. Completely useless!
Still… soul swapping? His eyes drifted toward the fresh-faced Ran holding him. His cheeks grew warm at the thought
"Alele…"
That familiar, smug child's voice snapped him back to reality. Conan was about to share his findings when thunk! Kogoro Mouri smacked him on the head.
"Kid, stay out of the way!" Kogoro grumbled.
No one took a six-year-old seriously, so Conan sulked off, rubbing the bump on his head.
Those Are My Lines!
"Sister Ran," Takeshi said innocently, "don't you think the apartment is too warm? The air conditioner's running at full blast."
"And there's a puddle near the body… plus strange dents in the floor."
Because he was safely in Ran's arms, Takeshi could speak without getting interrupted.
Conan's eyes went wide.
Hey! Those are my observations!
Yoko frowned. "That's odd. I remember turning off the air conditioner before I left. And I cleaned the floor—there was nothing there."
Kogoro crouched down to check. Sure enough, the marks were there, right beside the body. But with his level of deduction, connecting the clues was out of the question.
Takeshi added casually, "You should check under the sofa. That kid with glasses has been staring at it like something's hidden there."
Normally, no one would listen to a child. But when Takeshi spoke, the women couldn't help but be drawn in. Yoko moved to look, and Kogoro followed, mostly because his favorite idol was doing it.
They found an earring.
Yamagishi recognized it immediately.
"This belongs to Yuko Ikezawa! She was in the lounge three days ago when I lost my keys."
Inspector Megure asked, "Who's Yuko Ikezawa?"
"She's another artist from our agency," Yamagishi explained. "A few years older than Yoko, and a business rival. She even lost the lead role in a morning drama to Yoko recently."
Kogoro's eyes lit up.
"Then it's her! She must've held a grudge, killed someone, and tried to frame Yoko!"
Megure rolled his eyes. Same old Mouri—still jumping to conclusions. But Yuko did sound suspicious.
"Takagi, bring her in for questioning," Megure ordered.
Yoko turned to Takeshi with a grateful smile.
"Takeshi, thanks to you, we found all this."
Conan fumed silently. That was my discovery!
Ran asked, "Takeshi, you were in my arms the whole time. How did you even see all that?"
"I've had sharp eyes since I was little," Takeshi said with a straight face. "I can spot even the tiniest details from far away."
"My Takeshi is amazing!" Ran cooed, rubbing her cheek against his like a cat.
Takeshi squirmed, laughing. "Stop, that tickles!"
Conan stood off to the side, feeling like a candle about to be blown out. The happiness belongs to them. Nothing to do with me… damn kid. Just wait until I solve this case.
Not long after, the click of high heels echoed through the apartment. A woman in a leopard-print jacket strode in, her voice sharp and impatient.
"This is really strange. A body turns up in Yoko's apartment so why am I the one being called here?"
"What does this have to do with me? How am I supposed to 'cooperate'?"
The person who had just arrived was none other than Yuko Ikezawa.
Her expression carried a hint of smugness.
Takagi Wataru, standing beside her, looked hunched and uneasy.
"That's because we found your earring in Yoko Okino's apartment," Inspector Megure explained.
When Yuko saw the single earring on the table, she admitted without hesitation,
"Yes, that's mine. I haven't seen it for days—I thought someone stole it!"
Then she turned to Yoko with a mocking smile.
"Yoko, just tell me what you want. But a girl idol with sticky fingers? Not a good look."
Yoko's face flushed with anger.
"I didn't steal anything! You're the one who snuck into my apartment and dropped it here!"
Yuko shot back sharply,
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!
Just because you say I was here doesn't make it true. Why not say I went to heaven while you're at it?
And your place? I wouldn't even want an invitation.
Fine, keep the earring. I won't bother arguing with you."
Yoko's anger only grew. The two female idols stared each other down, neither backing off. It was like sparks crackling in the air.
Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri exchanged uneasy glances.
Yuko Ikezawa wasn't an easy opponent. Years in the entertainment industry had made her tough, and honesty wasn't her strongest trait.
But letting the argument go on was out of the question.
Inspector Megure stepped in, speaking in a calm voice,
"No need to get worked up. I just need you to cooperate with the investigation. If there's nothing to hide, we'll clear your name."
"Tsk. Police… what's the use of you?" Yuko sneered, giving Megure a look of pure disdain.
Without waiting for permission, she headed to the apartment's bathroom.
After using it, she came out, found a chair, and sat down with her legs crossed. She picked up the Statue of Liberty figurine on the table, pressed a button to light the flame, and started puffing smoke.
The whole process screamed defiance. She didn't carry herself like a refined celebrity, but like a streetwise hooligan.
"So? What exactly do you want me to 'cooperate' with?" she asked lazily.
Conan's eyes narrowed. He had noticed something important.
But before he could speak, Takeshi Ishikawa still in Ran's arms beat him to it.
"Wow, that's amazing!" Takeshi said with wide-eyed innocence. "This big sister says she's never been here before, but she went straight to the hidden bathroom in the back room."
"And I always thought the Statue of Liberty on the table was just a decoration, but she knew it was a lighter right away. She even lit it without checking!"
The room fell silent for a beat.
Everyone realized at once those weren't things you'd notice on your first visit.
Yuko Ikezawa's face froze. She hadn't expected her lie to unravel this quickly.
Conan, meanwhile, was stunned.
That's exactly what I was going to say!
This kid's reaction time is way too fast. Is he actually smart? No… when I was his age, I wasn't at this level.
Conan stared at Takeshi, feeling a jolt of disbelief.