ヾ(*・-・)ﾂθ ●
Kakei grinned like a fox. "It's like I've been saying all along."
Kenshin stepped back, away from Mina. He shook his head. "No, no. It's not-"
She crossed the space between them. "Ken-chan, of course it isn't. I would never..." She took a breath, met Sato's eyes. "I can explain."
Heiji shifted his weight off his injured leg. "Please do," he prompted. "How else do ya explain the fact that no calls have been made from yer phone since last night?"
"The only person I ever need to talk to is my husband. He's been dead since last night," she said coolly.
"You didn't know he was dead until this morning. Unless you found his body last night and failed to call the police?" Shinichi quirked an eyebrow.
Her lips formed a thin line. "He'd been missing for twelve hours. I assumed the worst."
"Is that why, at midnight last night, ya emailed your accountant an' told 'em ta cash in his life insurance?"
Mina stomped her foot. "If you're so sure I've killed my husband, then prove it!" she demanded. "I won't have you throwing around accusations like this!"
Heiji's grin was reminiscent of KID's. "Kudou, if ya'll begin the proceedings?"
"With pleasure, Hattori.
"The first thing you had to do was get Akagi out of the house. His friends had invited himself to your house- you seized the opportunity. You told Akagi they were coming to crack down on him, that you feared for his life. He went out on his fishing boat, with enough supplies to last him all day.
"We found the wrappers of five protein bars and an empty gallon of fresh water. Even for a man his size, that much food is odd. That is unless you consider the fact that he knew he'd be away from his home for an indefinite amount of time."
"Once Akagi-han was away, you had plenty of time ta prepare ta murder 'im. Ya decided ta do it in the bathroom, where we found Kakei-han's razor later. Ya replaced the soap in two of the bottles with chloroform an' bleach. Ya planned ta knock him out with the chloroform an' kill him by makin' him drink the bleach." She opened her mouth to protest, but Heiji continued without missing a beat. "We found traces of each of these substances in the bottles ya left behind."
"Once the guests arrived, you knew you had to get them all separated. Each of their reasons to kill Akagi-san were much stronger than yours, you thought. Surely they'd become the only suspects. After all, no one knew about your affair with Kenshin-san.
"He was the first that you put away. You knocked him out by spiking his drink. He knew what you'd done but kept quiet anyway."
"Kenshin-san, can you validate that?" Shiratori eyed him skeptically.
Kenshin folded his arms, glanced at the window. "I realized what happened when I woke up in the morning. I didn't think it was too relevant."
After Shiratori nodded to continue, Shinichi said, "To get rid of Ishiwatari-san, you sent him on at least an hour long grocery run. You didn't think your phone call later would acquit him as well. Nakano-san and Kakei-san volunteered to search for Akagi-san. You knew that they'd come up empty-handed, that you'd have at least an hour to kill Akagi-san."
"As soon as the house was empty, ya called up Akagi-han. Ya told him, 'they're gone for now. Come 'round the back, an' I'll sneak ya in,' or somethin' ta that effect. He parked his boat at the base of the hill like ya directed. Once he reached the house, ya had him climb in through the bathroom window. We found mud on the outside of that window sill indicative of this fact.
"Ya had a bath ready for 'im, an' while he was distracted, undressin', ya knocked him out with chloroform. Ya dragged him ta the bathtub. With your experience as a physical therapist, ya were strong enough ta do so."
"You suddenly realized you didn't have an alibi. Thinking Akagi-san was unconscious, you cut his Achilles tendons with a nearby razor. You wanted to prevent his escape in case he woke up. You left to form an alibi with Kenshin-san, thinking that his testimony would be enough to confirm your innocence.
"When you got back, Akagi-san was slumped over the edge of the bathtub. He'd knocked over the bottle that had the bleach in it. It was all over the bathroom floor rug. You gave him another dose of chloroform just to be sure he stayed asleep this time while you ran to find a new murder weapon. Taking a knife from the kitchen, you threw the rug into the washer.
"The bleached rug was easily recovered, and Akagi-san's fingerprints were on a bottle you'd purchased at 3:14 pm yesterday from a nearby store. If your husband was missing all day, how do you explain his prints on the shampoo?"
Mina's hands were clenched in fists of rage. "Until you can prove I drove the knife into his chest, I refuse to believe you."
"The very evidence ya desire is on the phone ya took from Akagi-han's body. We found his journal. He wrote that he got an app that records every one of his phone calls. Kakei-han, I recall ya sayin' ya gave Akagi-han a call while ya were searchin' for him."
Kakei's grin faltered. "Yes, but I don't see how that's relevant."
"What did ya talk 'bout with Akagi-han?"
His hand came up to scratch his cheek, his eyes darted to the door. "Well, Akagi, he didn't say anything. The only voice that I heard, it was-" He shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me."
Nakano nudged Kakei. "Just say it. It might prove she's innocent," he urged quietly.
Kakei took a deep breath. "I heard the voice of Mina-chan's older sister, Ryoko. We dated until she died. She might sound like Mina-chan, but I'd know her voice anywhere."
"Why are you so sure?" asked Sato.
He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "She talked in the third person. She said this was revenge for Ryoko, that she was sending Akagi to join Ryoko."
Takagi frowned thoughtfully. "Could Mina-san blame Akagi-san for Ryoko-san's death? If that's the case, there's no reason she wouldn't say it was revenge for killing her sister."
Heiji nodded with a note of finality. "That's exactly the case. The newspaper report from the day that Mina-han's sister died say Ryoko-han was pushed inta the street. The attacker was never found. In his final entry, Akagi-han wrote that he felt guilty about Ryoko-han's death."
"Like h*** felt guilty for her death," Mina spat. "He used her death as an excuse, used it to write an article. He pretended that the only reason she died was to further his writing, to make him famous. Even then he failed," she cried, fury accenting each syllable. "All he was ever good at was making his friends into articles, turning those he loved into stories, making them figments of his own imagination. He never got the story right. He never did anyone justice. He sure as all Purgatory doesn't deserve you, detectives, trying to figure out who his killer is."
"Is that why you stabbed him?" His voice soft, his heart pounding in his chest, Shinichi prayed silently that she would give in. They had countless pieces of evidence they had yet to reveal that would only serve to divide her and her only remaining family further.
"Like I said," she spoke, her words slow and clear. "Until you can prove I drove the knife into his heart, I refuse to admit to anything."
Heiji and Shinichi exchanged glances.
Do you want to do it? Shinichi's asked.
It's your case now, Heiji's said sadly, knowing the pain they were inflicting. Take it away, Detective of the East.
"Mina-san, may I borrow the phone in your pocket?" Shinichi took a step forward. "If you're innocent, you have no reason to refuse."
Begrudgingly, she held out the phone. He swiped through the apps, landing at last on the recording app. (Earlier, he downloaded it himself, so he and Heiji knew how it worked.)
Selecting the latest phone call, Shinichi pressed play. "This is the call made to Ishiwatari-san." The audio that played matched the voice recorder perfectly. After Akagi's pre-recorded voice, a snippet of Ishiwatari's voice was recorded, as well.
"Akagi, where've you been? We've been-"
Click.
"Call made at 7:43 pm," chirped the robotic voice automatically.
Silence, apprehension, tension hung in the air.
"And this is the call received at 7:18." Shinichi pressed play.
"Akagi, where are you," hissed Kakei. "You still owe m-"
"Sorry for the wait, Taichi-kun," crooned a voice. Feminine. Sickly sweet.
Mina's.
"Ken-chan needed to give me an alibi. I can't very well have everyone else thinking I've killed you."
A moan of protest, much closer to the receiver.
"Oh, you're awake again? It's your own fault for spilling the bleach and chloroform all over the floor. I had to go find something else to kill you with." A pause, the sound of metal being drawn from a sheath. "Remember this? It came with the set you got me for our anniversary last year. I never used it. No one will notice it's gone."
The blade made no noise as it plunged into his heart, but every other sound was there. Her grunt of exertion. His choke and gurgle as his life drained away. The sickening squelch as she pulled the knife from his body.
His final breaths, gasping for air.
Kenshin went limp all that once. His arms fell to his sides, his legs crumpled under his weight. Ishiwatari lunged and caught him just before he fell to the ground. He knelt next to the brother of a dead man, speaking in soothing, soft undertones.
The recording wasn't over yet.
"Curse you, Taichi-kun," Mina growled. "This is revenge for Ryoko. Join Ryoko on the other side."
A sharp gasp from Kakei, and the line went dead.
"Call received at 7:18 pm."
Mina stood stock still. Sato's hand snuck to her holster, but Shinichi gave a small shake of his head. Not yet.
Shiratori stepped forward. "Akagi Mina-san, did you kill your husband?"
"Yes."
Mina spun around to face Kakei. He'd spoken before she could say a word. "This is all your fault! If it hadn't been for you, I could have killed him and gotten away with it," she screeched.
"Ya're wrong," Heiji broke in. "His dyin' message convicts ya, as well as every piece of evidence we've given ya thus far."
"Really. Meaningless numbers are what sign my arrest warrant? Prove it," she demanded, a desperation in her eyes that made Shinchi's stomach churn.
Kenshin sat on the floor next to a kneeling Ishiwatari, the older man putting his hands firmly on Kenshin's shoulders. Kenshin's eyes, wide with fear, stared at a woman he'd never known.
Shinichi let Heiji take over. Heiji was the one to solve the codes in the first place. "The key ta the codes is an American cell phone keyboard. Each of the number corresponds ta three or four letters. Akagi-han knew I'd solved a case with this code a week ago, an' he knew there was a chance I'd stumble across his murder scene. I tend ta find death if I'm in the area. Ta him, it was a safe bet ta put the name of his murderer in this code.
"If the asterisks are spaces, the first code translates ta 'it was Kakei, an' the next is 'he trapped me.'"
Mina burst into laughter. "See, I couldn't have done it. It wasn't me," she cackled, delighted. "Even Taichi-kun knows that I wasn't his murderer."
Kenshin rose to his feet, struggling to find his balance. He leaned on Ishiwatari for support. "Mina-chan, please stop," Kenshin begged, a wretched, broken cry escaping his mouth. He approached her. "Tai-nii wasn't referring to that. Someone was targeting you. Tai-nii knew they'd kill you if he refused to publish the articles." Her lips parted slightly. "He thought if I carried you away, you'd be out of danger. He figured out who it was a week ago today, and he wanted to apologize to you. We were going to tell you everything tonight, but then you- you killed him!"
A thousand emotions flew across his face. The sick satisfaction on hers vanished, fell into nausea. "I know my brother like I know myself. He loved you, Mina-chan! He used the code to name your targeter, not his murderer! He hoped you'd have enough sense to cover your own tracks, to not get yourself caught. He wanted Kakei-san to go to jail for your mistakes." Kenshin lurched forward, grabbed her by the shoulders. "Can't you see that? He loved you. Please, give up. Please. Stop fighting," he begged in whispers. "Let my brother have his peace."
ヾ(*・-・)ﾂθ ●
The last code translated to 'forgive her.' Akagi Mina finally admitted to stabbing her husband. She'd blamed him for killing Ryoko all those years ago. Ryoko had stood on the edge of the curb when Akagi tripped and fell into her, pushing her into the road. She died instantly when the drunk driver hit her head-on.
Akagi's final words referred to the 'Boss' who'd targeted Mina for all those years. Akagi kept every one of the letters he received from 'Boss'. The flash drive Ran gave Shinichi earlier had screenshots of every email from 'Boss' and the proof that bossofabass was a child account of Kakei's. The police took Kakei back to headquarters for further questioning.
Ishiwatari and his wife were invited to move in with Kenshin and gladly accepted the offer. With the inheritance Akagi Taichi left to Kenshin, he helped Nakano restart his swimming career and got Ishiwatari into magic shows instead of casinos. Ishiwatari became a second brother to Kenshin and was named the godfather of Kenshin's first child.
Mina still serves a life sentence in prison.
ヾ(*・-・)ﾂθ ●
As Takagi walked Mina out, she couldn't help but make one more jab at the young detectives' deduction.
"You detectives are lucky Conan-kun got sick. Otherwise, I would've been able to clean up every last bit of evidence I left behind. If Ran-chan wasn't so diligent in taking care of her little brother, I would've gotten away with it all." Though she resigned herself to her fate, a touch of wistful arrogance flitted around her words.
"Ya know that ain't true. A ton of the evidence, you could never get rid of." Heiji listed them off on his fingers. "Kakei-han's testimony, the blood remnants on the bathtub, the broken drainage pipe, an' those phone calls."
"A murderer can't erase every piece of evidence. They can't get rid of the fact that a human being died. We've encountered countless cases, and no matter how tiny the flaw is, it exists. Even with all my knowledge, I couldn't flawlessly kill a person. Hattori here'd see right through it." Shinichi jerked his thumb at his rival.
Heiji laughed, swatted down Shinichi's hand. "If ya murdered someone, I'd help ya hide the body, ahou."
They both knew he was joking.
"How does one commit a perfect crime, then?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Shinichi shook his head. "Mina-san, the only perfect way to murder a man is not at all."
With that, Takagi took her to the police car. Sirens filled the air as the police drove away. The wails echoed off the hill, and soon it sounded as if the lake itself mourned the loss of another human soul.