SailorStar9: With Chapter 87 uploaded, this is Chapter 88 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Disclaimers: I do not own Sailor Moon or Detective Conan, I only own this plotline and the pairing.
Pairing: Established!Furuya Rei/Mizuno Ami
Chapter 88: The Shifting Mystery of Beika City, Part Two
After running around collecting testimonies, Conan headed to the police headquarters. "Kogoro-ojii-san wanted me to ask you a question." he voiced. "Do you recognize the name Dorosue Yamiyo?"
"They're the author of the ridiculous story 'The Melting Weapon'." Chino recalled.
"Ojii-san told me this case doesn't end with ABC." Conan informed. "It's an ABCD case that includes Dorosue Yamiyo-san. Chino-san, what do you remember about the story?"
After confirming his suspicions, Conan headed to Kanemitsu's café where they took a stroll outside.
"Didn't Chino-sensei do it?" Kanemitsu inquired.
"I think the real culprit is X and they frame Chino-san." Conan replied.
"That's not enough." Kanemitsu pointed out. "Since X killed Amagi-san and Bando-san, it doesn't make sense they didn't kill Chino-sensei."
"Maybe they deliberately didn't kill him." Conan suggested. "X really hated Chino-san. They thought it would be a waste to quickly kill him like Amagi-san and Bando-san. They wanted him to suffer a fate worse than death."
"So, they decided to frame him?" Kanemitsu guessed.
"When you think of it this way, it explains why they didn't kill him." Conan reasoned.
"Now, it's my turn." Kanemitsu spoke. "Who is X? There are two points to consider."
"Since X tried to frame Chino-san," Conan agreed.
"It had to be someone who knew Chino-sensei would have no one to verify his alibi for yesterday." Kanemitsu concurred. "They also had to be able to steal Chino-sensei's lighter. Now, that's a problem. That would mean the customers who were at my café yesterday are the most suspicious."
"I asked the waitress, Koyuki-san, who was at the café yesterday." Conan admitted. "Of the people there, Fukuda-san was particularly suspect."
"Fukuda-san was being bothered by Amagi-san." Kanemitsu recalled. "Perhaps he resented Bando-san for not doing anything despite being the neighborhood association president. That's sufficient motive."
"Bando-san couldn't have committed the murders at night." Conan pointed out.
"Fukuda-san works nights." Kanemitsu concurred.
"Which means the next suspicious character is..." Conan prompted.
"Ezaki Hiro-san?" Kanemitsu echoed.
"Apparently, she's a student at Haido College." Conan supplied. "She may have problems with Chino-san." the pair entered a nearby playground. "It may not be her, either. Since, in the first place, we can't narrow it down to only Fukuda-san and Ezaki-san."
"It's possible Fukuda-san's wife or Ezaki Hiro-san's friends did it." Kanemitsu realized.
"It also might not be a customer." Conan stated. "The culprit faced a fundamental problem in framing Chino-san: Chino-san had no reason to kill Amagi-san or Bando-san. It's not possible to frame Chino-san without a motive. When X learned Chino-san examined the contents of the warehouse at Bando-san's mansion, they realized they could use that. They waited for an opportunity swap Chino-san's lighter for a similar one and took his. Since Chino-san would have no one to verify his alibi, they decided to act that night. First, they called Amagi-san to the park and then killed him. Then, they killed Bando-san. They placed the pesticide bottle and awl used to kill Amagi-san on the table, left behind the Chino-san's lighter they got that afternoon, took Bando-san's examination card, and left it near Amagi-san's body. then, they waited for Amagi-san's body to be discovered. Naturally, the police suspected Bando-san when they found his card. They appeared before the police as a well-informed source. they directed them to Chino-san. They provoked the police into following the scenario they had concocted and led them into believing there was indeed a treasure in Bando-san's warehouse and Chino-san murdered the both of them in order to steal it."
"In other words, X couldn't forgive the neighborhood nuisance Amagi-san or the negligent neighborhood association president, Bando-san, either." Kanemitsu concluded. "I think your reasoning makes sense, but even if it's true, you still haven't solved the mystery. Why would X hate Chino-san?"
"X left us a hint to solve that mystery." Conan replied. "Rather than hiding it, showing the evidence necessary to solve the mystery is the ironclad rule of mysteries. That's why X took us to the café. Then, they showed us the books that were the key to solving the mystery: the mystery books X brought from home. Inside those books was the clue to solving the mystery: Dorosue Yamiyo. This author's name was in all the books X showed us. All of Dorosue Yamiyo's works were rejected in the first round of judgment, so I called the publisher since I was curious. That led me to discover another common point: the man responsible for judging those submissions was Chino-san. The true culprit of this case is a person who despised Chino-san and plotted to frame him: Dorosue Yamiko. The true identity of X is you, Kanemitsu Toyoko-san. Chino-san called your works..."
"That's right." Kanemitsu admitted. "Right in front of me."
"He was harshly critical." Conan surmised what had happened.
"He even mocked my character and rejected me." Kanemitsu snarled. "Tha's why I murdered the neighborhood nuisance Amagi, killed the useless Bando, and plotted to frame Chino for my crimes. I didn't particularly dislike those two; I killed them because it fit perfectly into my plan to frame Chino. Conan-kun, I'm impressed that you were able to solve the mystery. Once you solve the mystery, it's all over. A pure mystery doesn't need something as filthy as evidence."
That weekend...
"Kudo-sensei wrote a new installment?" Amuro inquired, Ami had set up her sketchpad and with Kudo Yosaku's final draft of his new installment of his famed 'Night Baron' series near her and flipped opened to the appropriate page.
"Yup." Ami nodded, sharpening her pencil.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
