SailorStar9: With Chapter 89 uploaded, this is Chapter 90 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 90: The Security System's Pitfall
Time passes...
"You can be rest assured, Junko-san." Mouri assured his client, he and Conan were walking Miyoshi Junko home late one night. "I, Mouri Kogoro, will catch the thief who broke into your home."
"Thank you, Mouri-san." Miyoshi replied. "The jewelry shop by the station was robbed the other day. I'm so scared."
"In that case, Junko-san, perhaps I should stay at your house tonight." Mouri offered.
"That's all right." Miyoshi refused. "My boyfriend's supposed to come over. So, I was hoping you could catch the thief as soon as possible. What was that?" she blinked, hearing a horrified scream when they arrived at her apartment block. "It sounded like it came from the apartment parking lot."
"Is something wrong?" Mouri inquired, he and Conan turning to the carpark.
"Over there..." the frightened witness gaped, pointing to body lying face-up on the ground.
"Kitagami-san?" Miyoshi recognized the body. "He lived next door. Mouri-san, is Kitagami-san..."
"Judging by his condition, he's probably dead." Mouri shook his head.
After Megure's team was called in...
"The deceased is Kitagami Naotsugu-san, thirty-two years old." Takagi referred to his notes. "He was an office worker who lived in Room 704 of this apartment building."
"Inspector, the cause is death is most likely a cerebral contusion caused by a strong blow to the head." Ami reported. "Due to the numerous scratches on the front of the body, he..."
"He likely fell by accident." Mouri cut in. "The body stinks of alcohol. After getting drunk, he probably slipped and fell from his apartment's balcony."
"Mouri-san, please stop doing my job." Ami joked.
"Mizuno-san." Conan voiced. "There's a weird smell mixed in with the smell of alcohol. Kind of like peppers."
"That's kind of true." Ami frowned. "I'll have to send a sample to Tox afterwards."
"Who's the woman with you?" Megure noticed Miyoshi.
"There's nothing suspicious about our relationship." Mouri protested. "She's a victim of the burglaries that have been occurring in this neighborhood lately. When I came to this apartment to discuss the matter, I happened upon this incident. Coincidentally, she lives in the room next door to the victim Kitagami-san."
"Inspector, we should head to the victim's room." Takagi suggested.
In the corridor...
"He has his own security camera?" Mouri was impressed. "And he hired a security company, too. Seems like he was a watchful person."
"The door's unlocked." the building manager was surprised.
"It looks like he just forgot to lock his front door." Mouri noted, entering with the others. "The security system's off and his house key is hanging right here."
"Inspector, the victim seems to have been drinking." Takagi reported. "Quite a bit, too." he spotted the empty beer cans and half-drank liquor bottles on the coffee table.
"Inspector Megure." Chiba finished checking the balcony. "There's a bottle on the balcony, too."
"Why did the victim come to the balcony?" Takagi wondered.
"He was probably drunk and trying to cool down." Mouri suggested. "Then, he lost his balance when he tripped on the bottle, fell over the railing and plunged straight down to the ground."
"Takagi-kun, Chiba-kun, split up and question the neighbors just in case." Megure instructed.
In Kitagami's unit afterwards...
"Did something happen?" Takagi blinked at the unusual atmosphere in the room.
"We know who did it." Mouri replied.
"I thought this was an accident." Takagi was confused.
"We're not talking about that." Megure corrected.
"Apparently, this necklace belongs to Miyoshi-san." Chiba brought out a necklace case.
"My boyfriend bought it for me overseas." Miyoshi explained. "That's definitely it."
"We found that necklace in this room." Megure clarified.
"The thief behind the string of burglaries in the neighborhood was the resident of this room who got drunk and fell from his balcony, Kitagami Naotsugu ." Mouri confirmed.
After luring Mouri back to Sawada Ryosuke's unit, Conan promptly tranquilized Mouri.
"You're that detective from earlier." Sawada answered his door.
"Excuse us, but Mouri-san asked us to come here." Takagi entered with Megure.
"I find it odd that Kitagami-san, a man who employed extensive anti-theft measures, forgot to lock his door." Conan took on Mouri's voice. "He was a thief. There was proof of it in his room. There was something strange about the body, too. Detective Takagi, how do you dress when you drink at home? Do you wear a suit and a necktie? That's right, Kitagami-san's body was dressed in a suit and necktie, even though he was supposedly drinking at home."
"But, Mouri-kun, it's possible the bottles in his apartment had been left out for a while Kitagami-san had been out drinking." Megure pointed out.
"That's not possible." Conan refuted. "There were still bubbles in the glass of beer in Kitagami-san's room. That means it was poured shortly before we entered the room."
"What's stranger is the fact that you're lounging around in this room." Megure twitched. "What are you trying to do?"
"Solve the case, of course." Conan responded. "The case in which Sawada Ryosuke-san, this room's resident, murdered Kitagami-san. Kitagami-san got drunk, tripped on a bottle and fell from his apartment's balcony. There were scratches on the body. But there were no corresponding scratches on his balcony. Detective Takagi, look at the balcony of this apartment. You should find scratches."
"Mouri-san, I found it." Takagi located the abrasions. "Brand new scratch marks."
"Sawada-san, after killing Kitagami-san, you attempted to throw him from the balcony. However, throwing a person over the balcony is hard work. So, in order to throw him over the edge, you lifted him over the railing. That's when Kitagami-san's belt buckle scratched the railing. Naturally, Kitagami-san's belt buckle was scratched, too. Then, you raised his legs and slowly lowered him from the balcony. That's when the entire front of his body was scratched."
"I can't believe how rude you are." Sawada snarled. "You barged into my apartment and now you're accusing me of murder? Didn't Kitagami fall from his own balcony? He could've scraped against my balcony when he was falling. Why would I kill him anyway? We never even had a proper conversation."
"Kitagami-san is a thief." Conan revealed. "There were signs of lock-picking on the keyhole of this apartment. He entered this room to burgle it and ran into you when you came home."
"So, he ran into the victim as he was burgling his room and killed him?" Megure concluded.
"Why didn't Sawada-san report to the police or run?" Takagi was confused.
"What if there was a reason he couldn't?" Conan posted a possibility. "I think I know why." he chimed in in his normal voice. "When I borrowed the bathroom here, there was a big bag stuffed into the bathroom cabinet."
"Takagi-kun, bring that bag here." Megure instructed.
"This is..." Takagi gawked, opening the retrieved bag to reveal the stolen jewels.
"Sawada-san, I apologize." Conan took on Mouri's voice again. "But you don't look like you could afford to buy so many expensive jewels. Where did you get them?"
"He's right." Sawada admitted. "I stole those jewels."
"So, Kitagami found the jewels when he broke into this apartment and you killed him to silence him." Megure noted.
"I was panicked when he found the jewels, so we made a deal." Sawada protested. "He found the jewels, so I gave him one. In exchange, we agreed to forget about the burglary and jewel robbery. Then, he left without a fuss. I don't know anything about his fall. I've had enough of your delusions."
"Mouri-kun, you have proof to back up your reasoning, don't you?" Megure asked.
"Of course." Conan responded. "In addition to the jewels, there's tear gas inside the bag. He must have used it during the robbery. Kitagami-san's eyelids were red and swollen not from drinking, but because he was sprayed with tear gas."
"Mouri-san, I borrowed what you requested from forensics." Chiba entered with a UV light lamp.
"Conan, give me a hand." Conan, in Mouri's voice, requested.
"Detective Takagi, can I see that?" Conan held out a hand. "This type of spray spreads a mist. So, when you use it inside a room, some of it gets on the user, too." he sprayed some on Mouri's hand. "Tear gas contains UV paint, so the person who used it can be tracked down even if they wash their clothes. Detective Chiba, can you turn off the lights? Detective Chiba, illuminate my hands and Conan's clothes with the black light." he took on Mouri's voice again. "If Sawada-san's sleeves glow like Conan's clothes..."
"Excuse me." Chiba flashed the UV lamp on Sawada.
"He said he changed his mind." Sawada confessed. "He suddenly demanded all the jewels. He was being aggressive, so without thinking, I used the tear gas in the bag. While he was writhing around un unbearable pain, he tripped on the table and hit his head on the edge of the shelf. He barged into my apartment and killed himself. How is that my fault? When I realized he lived directly above me, I thought it wouldn't seem unnatural if I threw him over the balcony. Since he had his key on him, I went to his apartment..."
"You camouflaged his death." Takagi finished.
"You idiot!" Megure roared. "Not only did you commit robbery, you also threw Kitagami-san from a balcony in a childish attempt to hide what you'd done. That's a serious crime."
That weekend...
Amuro stirred from his single-sized bed and cast a fond look at the still sleeping female form beside him; Aim having stayed over the previous night. Brushing a stray lock of hair from her fringe, he stretched himself and readied for the day.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
