Chapter 90: The Proper Way to Handle Anya
The quiet room reeked of blood.
Crimson splatter covered nearly every surface. Judging from the sheer volume, Kawashima Hideo's death must have been excruciating.
Conan scanned the entire study, his eyes passing over the tape recorder without interest. He was searching for something far more important.
Within moments, he found it beneath the desk.
Conan stood frozen for two seconds. Even though this was the second time witnessing such a sight, and despite being somewhat mentally prepared, the killer's methodology still horrified him.
A severed head.
Kawashima Hideo's head lay on the floor beneath the desk, his expression twisted in terror—identical to Kuroiwa Tatsuji's.
Beyond that gruesome discovery, someone had drawn musical notation in blood across the floor.
These markings differed from those at the community center—subtle variations between the symbols.
Conan carefully touched the edge of the notation.
Fresh blood stained his fingertip.
Not completely congealed yet?
Did the killer leave the notation at the community center first, then come here to murder Kawashima?
Based on the blood's coagulation rate, these markings had been written roughly half an hour ago.
But he'd encountered the murderer on the mountain at that time! He'd witnessed the body being dumped with his own eyes—his glasses had even been splattered with blood.
The timeline didn't add up.
Walking from the Kawashima residence to the cliff took at least thirty minutes one way—a full hour round trip. And the murderer had been carrying a corpse.
Something's not right here.
"Kid, don't contaminate the crime scene!"
THUNK!
Conan, sporting yet another fresh lump on his head, trudged back to the community center alone after recording the sheet music in his notebook.
"Conan! I found you!"
The sudden voice startled him.
He instinctively crouched down with his hands protecting his head, but the expected punch never came.
It's not Uncle Mouri.
Relieved, Conan looked up at the speaker.
Black suit. Black hat. Sunglasses.
On anyone else, this outfit would have screamed "Black Organization member" to Conan's paranoid mind.
However, this was Anya.
"What are you doing out here? It's already two in the morning! And what's with the spy getup? Are you playing secret agent?"
Still crouched defensively with his head covered, looking somewhat disheveled, Conan scolded her as if he were the responsible adult and she were the reckless child.
Conan glanced at his watch and frowned. "Go back to sleep. Uncle Natsukawa will worry if he wakes up and you're gone."
Papa's busy with his mission! He doesn't have time to worry about me!
Anya huffed indignantly, then leaned close to Conan's ear and whispered conspiratorially, "I went to follow Dr. Asai! I discovered something incredible!"
She'd originally intended to tail Conan, but he'd been too elusive to track down. Then she'd stumbled upon Asai Narumi's trail instead.
Following the principle that tailing anyone was better than tailing no one, Anya had begun her spy operation.
Her voice carried the tantalizing promise of truth.
Conan couldn't help but lean in closer. He desperately wanted to know!
He'd been struggling to determine Asai Narumi's whereabouts tonight. If Anya could provide that information, it would be incredibly helpful.
So Anya isn't completely useless after all!
For the first time, Conan felt genuinely relieved, recognizing Anya's potential value.
At least she's not holding me back anymore.
However, Anya caught his surface thoughts perfectly. Her previously proud expression froze instantly.
What did he just think?!
He thinks I'm ALWAYS holding him back?!
"What did you discover?" Conan asked eagerly.
"Oh, nothing much. I just saw Dr. Asai go home. That's all."
Anya pouted and turned away.
"Don't be childish! This is important! Dr. Asai is highly suspicious!"
A question mark practically materialized above Anya's head. Weren't those two bad guys killed by Yor-san?
But this works out! Conan doesn't suspect Yor-san at all.
In that case, Dr. Asai, I'm really sorry, but you'll have to take the fall for Yor-san.
Anya quickly pulled out her camera.
"Here, see for yourself! Professional spies always record evidence, and I'm no exception!"
Conan took the camera and began reviewing the footage.
Uh...
"What's this?" Conan's expression darkened as he pointed at an image showing himself diving headfirst into a ceramic pot.
Anya blinked innocently. "Oops, sorry! That's not the right video."
She adjusted the camera controls and found the correct recording.
The footage showed Asai Narumi carrying a tape recorder, climbing through the window of the community center's bathroom. The timestamp read 12:30 AM.
It's definitely her!
The video ended and immediately transitioned to a second clip.
This footage showed Asai Narumi scaling the wall into the Kawashima residence. Her practiced, fluid movements clearly indicated this wasn't her first time.
The timestamp read 1:01 AM.
That timing doesn't make sense!
That was approximately when he'd encountered the murderer disposing of the body at the cliff.
The famous detective's mental gears ground to a halt, his deductive CPU completely stunned by Anya's evidence.
Is Asai Narumi not the actual murderer? Or does she have accomplices?
Another inconsistency bothered him: wasn't Asai Narumi from Tokyo? How could she possibly have a grudge against Kuroiwa Tatsuji and Kawashima Hideo on Tsukikage Island?
Solving the Moonlight Sonata mystery is urgent!
With this thought, Conan returned the camera to Anya. "Keep this safe—it's crucial evidence. Anya, you're amazing! Without your footage, I definitely wouldn't have been able to identify the culprit."
"Mm-hmm!" Anya nodded earnestly. Children loved being praised, and Anya was no exception.
"Now you can head back."
"No way! Even if it's just the two of us left in the Detective Boys, we can still solve cases together!" Anya declared seriously.
"Fine, whatever you want."
Conan shrugged. He didn't have time to argue with her.
Inside the community center's piano room, all windows were closed and the door locked tight.
"Is this okay?" Anya asked.
"Perfect! Anya, you're doing great!"
Conan had discovered the proper approach with Anya—she needed constant praise and positive reinforcement. As long as she received compliments, she remained cooperative.
However, the truth was different.
Anya had her own agenda. Since Conan suspected Dr. Asai, she naturally wanted to help the doctor take the fall for Yor-san.
Even though Yor-san, being a professional assassin, probably wouldn't get caught anyway, better safe than sorry.
I'm really going all out for Yor-san!
"Let me decode the secret hidden in this sheet music," Conan said seriously.
He placed the music score he'd obtained from the police officer on the piano's stand. Sitting down at the keys, he closed his eyes with an expression of intense concentration that made Anya's eyes widen.
Soon, melodious piano music filled the air.
Anya didn't particularly understand or enjoy classical piano pieces, but at least Conan played quite well.
"Conan, how do you know how to do everything?!" Anya was deeply envious.
"My dad taught me in Hawaii."
"..."
"So, did you figure out the secret?" Anya asked.
"I did." Conan's expression turned smug.
"And?"
"Each piano key represents a letter of the alphabet. This piece from twelve years ago actually contains a hidden message that Aso Keiji wrote to his son! I've also decoded the sheet music from the community center bathroom and the Kawashima residence."
The famous detective's eyes gleamed with confidence. Overflowing with certainty, he now desperately wanted to find Uncle Mouri and administer a tranquilizer dart.
"Anya, can you contact Uncle Natsukawa and have him locate Asai Narumi and bring her to the community center? I'll contact Uncle Mouri, Inspector Megure, and the other relevant personnel. We need to solve this case now before anyone else gets hurt."
"After all, the Moonlight Sonata has three movements!"
w(゚Д゚)w
Seeing Anya's blank expression, Conan sighed.
Never mind.
Explaining to Anya would be pointless—she wouldn't understand anyway.
"Just contact Uncle Natsukawa to find Asai Narumi. You'll understand everything else later."
"Oh! Okay!"
(End of Chapter 90)
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