SailorStar9: With Chapter 113 uploaded, I present Chapter 114 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 114: The Murderous Carpool


Time passes...

"Thank you so much for towing our car." Ran told Saeki Ryohei, Mouri's rental car had broken up halfway.

"The mechanic will have an easier time finding your car at the station up ahead in the middle of the mountains." Saeki advised. "We were planning on stopping there to pick up groceries anyway."

"Are you guys going camping?" Conan asked.

"Our college lab always go camping together." Komada Takahiro replied. "Our professor enjoys this kind of thing."

"Komada-kun, you should really get a smartphone." Inoue Haruka rebuked, Komada taking the call.

"I will once this one breaks." Komada assured.

"This time, we're also celebrating the publication of our professor's paper." Saeki added.

"The world must be ending if that perverted drunkard is being recognized." Inoue retorted. "Besides, it isn't like you guys like the professor either. Maybe you all actually think 'If only the professor would disappear from this world.'"


At the pit stop...

"Looks like we're leaving soon." Komada picked up the two grocery bags. "We should go. Senpai, I'm putting some bags into the car." he informed Saeki.

"I was just thinking about bringing the car around." Saeki noted.

"Professor?" Komada breathed in shock, when he saw Goto Shoji slumped in the back seat. "Professor, are you alright? His phone is stuck." he tried to pry the phone from the seat back,

"What happened?" Mouri inquired, after Komada tugged the phone free and Goto slid down to the floor.

"His phone was stuck." Inoue explained. "The strap was caught on his neck.

"He's dead." Mouri felt no pulse. "Ran, call the police. Everyone else, please get out of the car. Don't touch anything from the crime scene."


After Megure's team was called in...

"So, after you returned from shopping at this store you always stop at, Goto-san, who had been sleeping inside the car, slid down in his seat, causing his phone strap to strangle him, resulting in his death." Takagi stated.

"Komada-san, you were the last person to get out of the car." Megure added.

"While getting out of the car, I thought the air inside was a bit cold." Komada admitted. "So, I draped a blanket over the professor. I didn't recognize the cushion the professor was using, though. He said he'd hurt his back recently, so maybe he brought it for today."

"Inoue-san, you returned to the car before entering the store." Megure turned to Inoue.

"I forgot my phone, so I went to get it." Inoue replied. "The professor was still asleep. He was snoring loudly. Not that I went inside and got a good look at him."

"In other words, he fell from his seat after that." Megure nodded. "Finally, Saeki-san, you went to the convenience store next door to buy cigarettes after you finished shopping?"

"I'd just ran out." Saeki responded. "I returned to the car after having a smoke over here."

"Did Goto-san always drink that much?" Megure frowned.

"Every time, he'd be plastered by the time we arrived." Inoue sighed. "He said he couldn't sleep unless he drank."

"The professor took sleeping pills." Komada added. "But he was a swallow sleeper."

"So, that's why there aren't any signs of a struggle even though he was strangled." Mouri mused.

"It seems strange to me that Goto-san's phone was found open between the seat and headrest when the body was discovered." Megure mused.

"Goto-san was probably making a call." Mouri surmised. "It's possible the drunk Goto-san tried to place a call, but his hand slipped and his phone ended up in that gap."

"Maybe it was that." Saeki realized. "I got a call from the professor while I was shopping. I thought he wanted to get something, but he didn't answer, so I hung up."

"Takagi-kun, investigate Goto-san's call history immediately." Megure instructed.

"He got what's coming for him." Inoue huffed. "Aren't you relieved, Saeki-kun? Now that the professor who refused to give you credits is gone, you'll get that job you were promised. And Komada-kun, the professor is awfully verbally abusive towards you. How did you really feel about him?"

"You complained that you won't forgive the professor for sexually harassing you." Saeki reminded.

"Don't you remember what he said the last time he was drunk?" Inoue fired back. "Honestly, I couldn't take it anymore."

"It sounds like all three of them felt quite resentful towards the professor." Mouri remarked.

"We'll need to investigate carefully." Megure agreed.

"Inspector, we found a call placed to Saeki-san in Goto-san's phone history." Takagi reported back. "We're certain it was during the time he was shopping."

"If Goto-san died after placing the call, and no one approached the car after that..." Megure stated.

"Then, it must've been an accident." Mouri concluded.

"Don't you think it's strange?" Conan poked his head out from the van. "The air cushion Goto-san is using: there's a hole in it even though it's brand new."

"I was wondering about that, too." Megure agreed. "I thought it had a hole because it was old."

"When I first looked at it, the surface of the cushion was slightly damp." Conan added. "There weren't any other wet spots on the seat."

"It's probably safe to assume there is no foul play." Megure concluded.

"They seem to have motives, but those three couldn't have killed him." Mouri agreed. "After reviewing the crime scene, all uncertainties have been..." he assured the three suspects. He was cut off when Conan tranquilized him. "It's become clear to that this is a murder made to look like an accident." Conan took over. "Goto-san didn't' accidentally fall from his seat. He was made to fall by the culprit. After examining the inside of the car, I realized the trick the culprit used. All they needed to do was slip the phone with the strap through the gap between the headrest and seat towards the back. The culprit set up what is known as a timing device that caused Goto-san to automatically fall from his seat even if no one was present, using the rubber air cushion and dry ice. Dry ice sublimates from a solid directly into a gas, causing its volume to expand by a factor of 800. The culprit packed said dry ice inside the air cushion and hid it on the seat. As time passed, the cushion began to expand like a balloon to a size large enough to cause Goto-san to fall from his seat. The cushion was damp because of the low temperature of the dry ice cooled the moisture in the air, causing it to condense on its surface. The cushion continued to expand after Goto-san fell and once it could no longer contain the gas, it burst. Naturally, they experimented many times to determine the exact amount they should use so it would have all turned to gas by the time the body was discovered. The culprit used a certain piece of outdoor equipment to transport the dry ice: the cooler box. Using that allowed the culprit to preserve the dry ice until they needed it. Isn't that right, the individual with the cooler who used this trick, Komada-san? You created an excuse to remain the car and passed the open phone with strap through the gap beneath the headrest towards the back. Then, you draped a blanket over Goto-san's legs in order to hide the dry ice-filled cushion and went shopping as though nothing had happened. I'm sure you've calculated how much the cushion would expand and how long it would take to burst and bought one accordingly."

"Surely you don't think I did it just because I approached the professor." Komada argued. "You said I passed the professor's phone through the gap and over the back of his seat. Have you forgotten the professor called Saeki-senpai? If his phone was back there, he couldn't have called anyone."

"I never said it was the professor's phone that was used." Conan corrected. "I'm saying you're the one who called Saeki-san. You swapped out your phone for Goto-san's and used it to fabricate your alibi. The phone attached to the strap that strangled Goto-san was yours. Komada-san, you went out of your way to carry the bags: there is only one reason why you returned. You needed to discover Goto-san's body with someone else, approach the body first and swap out your phone, which you used for the murder for Goto-san's, which you used to fabricate your alibi. You're the only one who could've used this trick since you have a flip-phone like Goto-san."

"I didn't find the damage you described on Goto-san's phone." Takagi ran back, holding the evidence bag.

"Aren't these pieces of plastic?" Megure peered at the evidence bag.

"They were stuck on the blanket." Conan explained. "When Goto-san fell, the phone dangling over the back struck a metal piece of the seat. The shock sent those pieces of plastic flying."

"Komada, why would you do this?" Saeki rebuked, snatching the cracked phone from Komada.

"Why?" Komada sneered. "You probably had no idea; the professor's paper that won the award was originally my thesis. The professor stole my research topic."


SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.