SailorStar9: With Chapter 103 uploaded, I present Chapter 104 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 104: The Real Culprit's Scream
Time passes...
Saeki Ayano was pressing the doorbell to Morita Mifuyu's apartment. "Mifuyu, good morning." she called out.
"Tabata-san, what are you doing?" Morita's voice was heard in the apartment after the sound something being thrown. "Please stop, Tabata-san."
"Mifuyu!" Saeki pounded on the ground, after hearing a scream. "What's wrong, Mifuyu?" searching for the spare key Morita hid in the utility cabinet when she found the door locked, she unlocked the door and hurried inside, finding a stabbed Morita on the ground with the weapon next to her.
"Tabata-san..." Morita choked out. "Run. Tabata-san is still..." she did not manage to finish her sentence before passing out.
A thump from outside the broken window alerted Saeki that they were not alone. Remembering Morita's warning, Saeki fled out.
Outside the building...
"It stopped raining." Conan noted after the sky cleared.
"I wanted to get lunch at Poirot." Mouri sighed. "I can't believe they are closed. Kid, is there anything you want to..." his question was cut off when Saeki ran into him.
"Onee-san, why are you in such a hurry?" Conan wondered.
"You are pale." Mouri noticed. "Are you not feeling well? Is that blood on your right shoulder?" he spotted the blood patch on Saeki's coat.
"Actually Mifuyu..." Saeki started. "My friend was stabbed by her boyfriend."
In front of Morita's unit...
"This is her apartment." Saeki led Mouri and Conan to Morita's unit.
"Wait." Mouri stopped Saeki from opening the door. "The culprit might still be inside. Is anyone there?" he opened the door in her stead. "Stay here." he instructed and entered the unit. "Ojou-san, come in." he assured, after looking around and seeing the empty unit. "Is this really where your friend was stabbed in the chest and died?" he asked.
"It's true." Saeki insisted. "It really..."
"Ojii-san, do you think this is the weapon?" Conan pointed to the knife on the floor. "There's blood on it. Over there are footprints leading in from and out of the balcony."
"A body just can't disappear on its own." Mouri pointed out.
After Megure's team was called in...
"Are you certain the deceased is the resident of this apartment, Morita Mifuyu-san?" Takagi questioned.
"Yes." Saeki nodded.
"How do you know Mifuyu-san?" Megure inquired.
"We worked together at the bakery by the station." Saeki replied. "Today, Mifuyu invited me to hang out. When I came at the time we agreed upon..."
"She heard the window break and someone scream." Mouri explained. "'Please stop, Tabata-san.' So, Ayano-san, who had been told where the spare key was hidden, unlocked and entered the apartment where she saw Mifuyu-san with a knife in her chest who said 'Look out. Run' and died."
"I heard a noise from the balcony." Saeki admitted. "I was scared, so I ran."
"So, the culprit was still hiding on the balcony, then." Megure noted. "Who is Tabata-san?"
"The man Mifuyu is dating." Saeki replied.
"Is this him?" Conan pointed to the photo frame on the cupboard.
"That's Mifuyu and Tabata-san." Saeki confirmed. "They met about three months ago." she related how Morita had revealed she intended to open a bakery in Paris and Tabata offered to finance a portion of the expenses. "Shortly after that, he said he was having trouble with a client and needed money urgently."
"Sounds like your typical romance scam." Mouri snorted.
"Did Mifuyu-san give him money?" Megure asked.
"About ten million yen." Saeki answered. "But Tabata-san, not knowing that I was Mifuyu's friend, tried to approach me with the same story. When I told Mifuyu about it, she said she would sue him."
"So Tabata came to silence her." Mouri concluded.
"Also, Ayano-san," Takagi spoke. "The blood on the floor and knife were type B."
"Do you know Mifuyu-san's blood type?" Megure inquired.
"it's type B." Saeki replied.
"One more thing," Takagi pulled out an evidence bag and showed Saeki the digits '293' in a slip of notebook paper. "We found this piece of paper in the trash can here. Do these numbers mean anything to you?"
"I don't know." Saeki admitted.
Frowning, Conan surveyed the balcony's surroundings.
"Her suitcase is missing." Saeki spotted the empty space in the bedroom wardrobe. "She always keeps a large suitcase in there."
"Tabata used that suitcase." Mouri declared. "Tabata entered the room from the balcony by breaking the window and murdered Mifuyu-san by stabbing her with a knife. However, before he could move the body, Ayano-san arrived. So, he hid in the balcony and while Ayano-san was gone, he put the body in the suitcase and took it away."
"Canvas the area to see if anyone saw a suspicious man carrying a suitcase." Megure instructed. "Let's go to Tabata's house."
In Tabata's house...
"What's the meaning of this?" Megure pressed, the group finding the dead Tabata slumped over the table in his bedroom.
"I believe he was poisoned." Mouri took a whiff.
"It may have been in the coffee left on the table." Megure pondered.
"That piece of paper." Conan pointed to the paper laid on the table.
"'I will go see Mifuyu.'" Takagi read the single sentence. "'Tabata Atsushi'."
"It looks like a suicide note." Megure noted. "Find something we can use to identify Tabata's handwriting."
At the airport...
The surprisingly still alive Morita burst out laughing after sipping her tea in an outdoor French café at the airport. "Now my new life begins." she bragged.
"I don't think so." Conan cut in. "I thought you'd be here. The 293 on the note thrown away in your apartment was the flight number of your Paris-bound flight. I knew you were alive, Morita Mifuyu-san."
"Who are you talking about?" Morita snorted. "You've mistaken me for someone."
"Ojii-san," Conan made his call. "I found Mifuyu-san. She's at the France Fair café in the departure lobby."
"It's time for my flight." Morita was ready to leave. "I'm leaving. I don't have time for you."
"Isn't that the pain from the wound you inflicted on yourself?" Conan rebuked, reaching to grab Morita's left wrist and causing her to wince. "So you could put blood on the floor, the knife, and the shoes you used to make the footprints. I thought it was strange: there wasn't enough blood for someone stabbed in the chest. When Ayano-san is gone, you want to Tabata-san's house; you left the bloodstained shoes and suitcase with the hair inside it. Then, you murdered Tabata-san to make it look like suicide."
"What are you talking about?" Morita demanded. "I have nothing to do with this."
"Hold it right there, Morita Mifuyu-san." Megure blocked Morita's exit. "We're the police." he and Takagi flashed their badges.
"Mifuyu, you're alive." Saeki breathed in shock.
"After investigating the late Tabata's house, we discovered his bankbook was missing." Takagi stated. "We checked with his bank who told us ten million yen had been withdrawn."
"Morita-san, you stole that money." Megure declared.
"No." Morita denied. "That ten million is mine. I was just taking my money back."
"Then, who killed Tabata-san?" Megure pressed.
"It's his fault." Morita sneered. "He tried to steal my money. I was mortified, so I thought I'd trick him and steal all his money. He got that money tricking other women, anyway. I almost got my rich Paris life."
"Mifuyu, did you use me?" Saeki was aghast. "I thought we were friends."
"How long are you going to keep pretending to be a good girl?" Morita snarled. "Did I use you? I did. It's all your fault that I killed him. I'm not that stupid. I suspected he trying to deceive me. If he'd just stolen my money and disappeared, I would've remained a victim. If only you hadn't snitched. Because you snitched on him, I had to get my revenge. Because of you, I killed him. Because of you, he died. 'You're being tricked, Mifuyu.', my ass. You just want to brag that he didn't trick you."
"That's enough." Megure barked. "You decided to kill Tabata and then, actually did it. Don't blame anyone else."
Later that night...
"So, the murder victim faked her death?" Amuro was amused after Ami related their most recent case.
"She got caught in the end." Ami bit into her serving of almond jelly. "I'd knew something doesn't add up at the first crime scene: there just wasn't enough blood to someone who got stabbed in the chest."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
