"Is Heiji here?"
"He's here too?"
Inspector Otaki hurriedly scanned the surrounding area.
"Yeah, he just ran into the Main Tower with Conan," Kogoro Mouri nodded, casting his gaze upward at the towering structure. He's probably surveying the scene, but why on earth did he take that brat with him…
"Hey, Kudo! The path is slippery from the rain, so watch your step!"
Atop the castle tower, Heiji gripped a rope tightly, lowering the Great Detective down to the exact ledge where the victim had plummeted just moments before.
Conan, a rope secured around his waist, lay flat against the roof tiles. He turned his head, shooting Heiji a look of pure, unadulterated exasperation. The scene looked less like a serious investigation and more like a street performer putting a trained animal through its paces.
"Focus. And remember to keep your gloves on," Heiji directed from above, playing the part of the supervisor. Can't have people questioning our professional standards.
"Honestly…"
Conan muttered as he activated his wristwatch's flashlight. He began to scour the area where the victim had been engulfed in flames. He had his own handkerchief ready for evidence collection, thank you very much.
"There are a lot of tiny roof tile fragments here," the detective called out to Heiji, continuing his search across the damp surface.
Moments later, he found the next item: a kerosene lighter.
Did he use this for self-immolation?
No, something's off.
Conan examined the lighter through the protective layer of his handkerchief before his eyes drifted to a spot nearby.
"Is this… a charred fragment of plastic?"
Conan picked it up and gave it a quick sniff. No doubt about it—that was the smell. The plastic fragments were tiny and few in number, but they were severely scorched.
"Hey, Heiji! You can pull me up now!"
Tiny tile fragments.
A kerosene lighter.
Charred plastic fragments.
Aside from these three things, there was nothing else to be found.
"I can't believe Mr. Kato would actually commit suicide," Shokei Fukushima said, his voice heavy with disbelief.
"To be honest, I feel the same. He was so looking forward to this Osaka sightseeing trip," Shigehiko Wakisaka added, his head bowed, looking utterly dejected.
"It's hard to truly understand what goes on in another person's mind," remarked Maho Katagiri. As the woman playing the role of Nene in their historical reenactment group, she was the only female in the party.
"Perhaps he had made up his mind long ago," suggested Arihiro Kasuya, a bald elderly man who bore a striking resemblance to Professor Agasa. "That he would end his life right here, at the very place where Toyotomi Hideyoshi rose to power."
The four members of the tour group each offered their own perspective.
Nearby, Kogoro Mouri and Inspector Otaki stood together. Internally, they had already concluded that the victim, Yuji Kato, had set himself on fire. At this point, they felt that as long as they could establish a motive, the investigation would proceed smoothly toward a closed case.
"I say, is it really okay to just leave them be?" Ikumi Kyosuke cleared her throat, glancing toward the man standing nearby.
Whatever the case, they should have checked the area where the victim was standing before he fell. Furthermore, the idea of someone successfully self-immolating in this kind of weather felt inherently wrong.
"Someone will deal with them eventually," Tsuneo replied, casting a side-eye at the four travelers.
They had been missing since before lunch, only to reappear at dusk, engulfed in flames and tumbling off a roof. The timing was far too convenient.
Just as Tsuneo finished speaking, Heiji and Conan returned.
"We found this lighter on the roof of the castle tower," Heiji announced, holding up a clear evidence bag.
"That… that looks like the lighter Mr. Kato always carried with him."
"The style certainly matches."
The four members of the tour group confirmed the ownership of the kerosene lighter.
"Well, that confirms it was suicide," Kogoro stated authoritatively.
"No, it's not confirmed yet. I'm more concerned about that explosion we heard, and the fragments in these two bags," Heiji said, shaking his head.
To conclude it was suicide just because they found a lighter was far too reckless. Before they had even seen the flaming figure of Mr. Kato, the source of that explosive sound was highly suspicious. No matter what kind of accelerant a person poured on themselves, it shouldn't have produced a bang that loud.
"Inspector Otaki, we've finished cataloging the items found on Mr. Kato's person," an officer called out from the side.
"Wallet, watch, mobile phone, keys, cigarettes, an unidentified fragment… and is this a scroll?" Inspector Otaki cross-referenced the report, reaching down to pick up the scorched scroll and unfurling it. The paper was badly burnt, leaving only the single kanji for 'Dragon' (龙) visible. A strange item, indeed.
"And this fragment," Otaki continued, picking up the final piece after examining the scroll.
"Looks like a ceramic shard," Heiji noted, squatting down beside him. The shape was irregular, its edges tinged with black soot.
"That fragment… could it be the same as the ones found on the charred bodies in the previous cases?"
Kazuha and Ran had just walked back over, having successfully retrieved Kazuha's lost wallet. Kazuha had overheard a conversation regarding this very topic yesterday. Her father and Heiji's father had mentioned that shards were found on a charred body discovered thirteen years ago in the Inner Moat, and another on a body recently found in the Outer Moat.
"And the previous one supposedly had the number '848' faintly written on it," Kazuha recalled.
"848?"
"Did they say what it meant?" Heiji asked, growing more confused by the second. Could this be a serial killing? Had the culprit already murdered 848 people?
"They said it seemed to be part of a treasure—a massive treasure left behind by the Ruler of the Land," Kazuha said, shaking her head. She hadn't really understood what those two 'riddle-talkers' had been discussing in the car.
"Gold?" Ikumi Kyosuke noticed Conan staring intently at the shard. She stepped up behind him and peered over his shoulder.
This "treasure fragment" appeared to have something adhering to it.
"Yeah. But based on this alone, you can't tell what kind of 'massive treasure' it is. Besides the mystery of why Mr. Kato left the others to climb the roof, those plastic fragments are still bothering me. And then there was that gesture he made right before he died, pointing his finger toward the sky…"
Conan, completely failing to notice who was standing behind him, continued his deduction in a low, focused murmur.
"…"
Heiji saw the expression on Ikumi Kyosuke's face shift. She was scrutinizing the 'brat' with a look of profound suspicion. Heiji broke into a cold sweat. Hey, hey, hey! Look at your surroundings before you start talking, you idiot!
"Ah-re-re?!"
It wasn't until Tsuneo gave him a sharp kick to the rear that Conan snapped back to his senses. He met Ikumi's piercing gaze and immediately shifted into 'innocent child' mode, scratching the back of his head with a goofy, naive smile.
T-This is just what Heiji-niichan told me! You believe me, right?
"Idiot…" Heiji muttered under his breath, shooting Conan a side-eye. He had been so careful not to call him 'Kudo' today, yet the guy was still managed to out himself.
"Those plastic fragments… is it possible they are residue from a bomb explosion?" Ikumi Kyosuke asked. She had seen the charred plastic in the evidence bag.
However, the person she chose to ask was the supposedly innocent child standing right in front of her.
"How would I know something like that? Right, Tsuneo-niichan?"
Conan blinked his eyes wide and looked up at the 'handyman' for backup.
Tsuneo looked down at him coolly. "Didn't they teach you how to recognize it in Hawaii?"
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