Chapter 91: The Third Victim
It was nearly 3 AM.
The community center had filled with everyone connected to the case.
Natsukawa was the last to arrive.
After parting ways with the Thorn Princess, he'd returned to the Kawashima residence to eliminate evidence, then made a stop at Nishimoto Ken's house.
He'd been busy for most of the night.
If Anya hadn't called, he would have already been home and asleep.
He glanced around the room and noticed Uncle Mouri had somehow ended up seated on the sofa, head bowed in his signature "sleeping detective" pose.
"Did you bring Asai Narumi?" Inspector Megure asked anxiously. This was the culprit that Mouri had identified during his deduction show, so there should be no mistake.
"Right here." Natsukawa stepped aside, revealing the unusually quiet Asai Narumi behind him.
"Natsukawa-kun, where exactly did you find Asai-sensei?"
Natsukawa replied calmly, "When I was searching for Dr. Asai, I happened to pass by Nishimoto Ken's residence and spotted him preparing to climb over the wall."
Everyone: ...
Well, that pretty much confirms who the real culprit is.
"It was you! You killed my father!" Kuroiwa Reiko shrieked like a woman possessed. "I remember clearly—you were on Tsukikage Island when Kameyama Isamu died two years ago! Did you murder all three of them?!"
If her boyfriend hadn't restrained her, she would have lunged forward to grab Asai Narumi's hair.
"Enough! Everyone quiet down!" Inspector Megure straightened to his full height. "Let's hear what Mouri-kun has to say."
Finally, Mouri-kun is about to deliver his brilliant deduction!
"Dr. Asai, shouldn't you tell us your real name now?" The sleeping detective's voice emerged from Kogoro's slumped form. "You're not really called Asai Narumi, are you? Or rather, your surname isn't Asai."
Asai Narumi's clasped hands trembled slightly, expression shifting subtly.
"Looks like I guessed correctly."
Natsukawa clicked his tongue in amazement. Isn't anyone going to notice Conan peeking out from behind the sofa where Mouri-san is sitting?
Seeing Asai Narumi remain silent with head bowed, Conan continued through his voice-changing bowtie: "Your real name should be Aso Honest, correct? You're the son of Aso Keiji, who died twelve years ago."
"Twelve years ago, when your father perished, he left behind a peculiar musical score. Hidden within it was a coded message recording the fact that he had a son named Honest—which is why I made the connection to you."
"What?!"
Everyone exclaimed in unison, jaws nearly hitting the floor.
A son?
Asai Narumi doesn't look like a boy at all!
Aside from a somewhat androgynous build, everything about the doctor screamed "woman."
"You probably never saw the contents of the score your father left behind," Conan continued, gesturing toward Uncle Mouri. "Anya! Show him the sheet music. Then play the video on the TV."
Anya, still dressed in her black spy outfit, diligently carried out the instructions, looking every bit the detective's capable assistant.
A minute later, Asai Narumi finished reading the decoded message in the score, tears streaming down his face.
His father's letter urged him to live well—to abandon any thoughts of revenge.
After reading it, Asai Narumi's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
Then the television flickered to life, playing Anya's recorded footage that documented everything Asai Narumi had done that night.
"There's something I'm curious about," the sleeping detective said.
"What is it?"
Asai Narumi looked up at Kogoro Mouri's slumped form.
"Who was your accomplice, and why did you invite me to Tsukikage Island?"
Asai Narumi paused before responding. "No—I didn't have an accomplice, and I didn't actually kill them. I was planning to commit the murders, but someone else beat me to it."
His voice grew quieter. "When Village Chief Kuroiwa died, I was following your group at the village office. I didn't have time to commit the crime. Kawashima Hideo was already dead by the time I reached his house. All I did was leave behind the sheet music and tape recorder."
"As for why I invited a famous detective?" Asai Narumi smiled bitterly, remaining silent for several seconds. "I suppose I was hoping someone could stop me."
Conan pressed on. "If you didn't kill them, then why leave the sheet music and Moonlight Sonata recordings?"
"I had intended to kill them—I'd even planned everything in detail. But I never expected someone else would murder them first."
Asai Narumi's expression turned cold.
"Though I suppose that's only natural. People who deal in that particular trade never meet good ends."
His tone grew darker. "I initially left the sheet music and Moonlight Sonata as murder warnings. They all understood the code—I wanted them to die in terror, knowing what was coming."
Asai Narumi's words sent chills down everyone's spines. This was the same gentle doctor? The angel in white?
"After discovering they were being killed one by one, I changed my approach. I left the sheet music and recordings at their death scenes as memorials to my deceased father."
"What about the high heel prints on the mountain?" Conan asked. "Those weren't left by you or an accomplice?"
Asai Narumi shook his head. "I never went up the mountain, and I don't have any accomplices."
Inspector Megure's eyes widened as he listened intently, his frown deepening when he learned the murders involved drug trafficking.
Asai Narumi then explained in detail the events from twelve years ago involving Aso Keiji and his five associates.
"So that's how Kuroiwa and Kawashima had money to bribe the villagers!" Shimizu Masato's lips curled into a wide smile as he declared coldly, "And Nishimoto Ken too—I was wondering how an unemployed bum could live so comfortably. Now it all makes sense. These two didn't deserve to be village chief candidates like me."
"You bastard!" Kuroiwa Reiko gritted her teeth, moving to slap Shimizu Masato, but Inspector Megure intercepted her.
"I see!" Inspector Megure waved his hand decisively. "Someone find Nishimoto Ken immediately. He definitely knows something. No wonder he wasn't here earlier—he's probably feeling guilty."
Conan's train of thought momentarily derailed.
He was currently processing Asai Narumi's timeline:
When Kuroiwa Tatsuji died, Asai Narumi was following the investigation group.
Kawashima Hideo died around 12:30 AM, at which time Asai Narumi was setting up the tape recorder and blood-written notation at the community center.
When Kawashima's body was dumped off the cliff, Asai Narumi was planting evidence at the Kawashima residence.
Every single time, there's an alibi—the coincidences are too convenient!
This has to be a coordinated conspiracy!
"That's it," Conan nodded to himself.
"Inspector! We've got a problem!"
The officer's shout made Inspector Megure's frown deepen.
He'd heard far too much bad news tonight.
He'd thought that once Mouri-kun entered his sleeping detective mode, they'd have the culprit. But it seemed Asai Narumi wasn't the murderer after all.
"What happened now?"
"Nishimoto Ken is dead!"
Even though Inspector Megure had grown somewhat accustomed to Tsukikage Island's brutal pace, this shocking development still stunned him.
"I think Asai Narumi probably isn't involved in the actual murders," Shimizu Masato interjected. "The real culprit is clearly someone else."
No one paid him any attention.
Every eye in the room focused on Uncle Mouri. At this moment, no one's words could compare to the reasoning of the famous Sleeping Kogoro.
Natsukawa studied Shimizu Masato with renewed interest. This guy hasn't said anything meaningful all day. Why suddenly speak up now?
Could he be the one who hired the Thorn Princess?
It's definitely possible.
"How did Nishimoto Ken die?" the sleeping detective asked.
"Decapitation, just like the others. Only his head remained at his residence—his body just fell off the cliff."
Natsukawa wasn't surprised. When he'd arrived at the Nishimoto residence, the man had already been reduced to just a head.
The severed skull had been sitting on the table, surrounded by blood.
The Thorn Princess's efficiency is truly remarkable.
Inspector Megure released a long, exhausted sigh.
Damn it, I really need to start that diet. I've run back and forth between all these locations four or five times tonight—all on foot!
(End of Chapter 91)
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+10 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (30+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01