SailorStar9: With Chapter 120 uploaded, I present Chapter 121 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 121: The Fortuneteller and the Three Customers
Time passes...
"Strangled, huh?" Megure mused, his team was called into Baba Sadako's mansion.
"According to Mizuno-san, rope was used." Takagi supplied. "The victim is of the owner of the home, Baba Sakado-san, 62 years old. She was a medium and a fortune-teller."
"She ran a fortune-telling shop near Shibahama Station under the name Barbara Sakado." Ogu Masaya explained.
"This is Sakado-san's secretary, Ogu Masaya-san." Takagi introduced. "He was the first to find the body."
"We're waiting for Mizuno-san to finish er autopsy for details." Chiba added. "But Mizuno-san estimated the victim's time of death to be last night."
"Last night?" Ogu echoed. "Then the detective, Mouri Kogoro, might know something. He called yesterday."
"Mouri-kun invited the victim out?" Megure exclaimed, after hearing Ogu's statement.
"I didn't call her." Mouri refuted, once he was called down to the crime scene. "Besides, I don't know anything about the victim."
"You were at home all night last night." Conan added.
"The culprit probably used Mouri-kun's name to invite Sakado-san out to the scene of the murder." Megure reasoned.
"She wasn't killed here?" Conan blinked.
"After being killed somewhere else, she was transported to this house." Takagi supplied.
"Why did the culprit bother to move the body?" Conan wondered.
"To delay its discovery." Mouri snorted.
"Then, why wouldn't they take it to the mountains?" Conan reasoned. "Why did they used your name? If someone used your name, wouldn't you be determined to find the culprit? So, why would they get a detective involved? What's this?" he snuck a look at the victim's laptop.
"'I was nearly killed again'." Mouri read the displayed document on the screen. "'Which one of those three did it? Is it K? Is it E? Is it S?'"
"Does she mean those three?" Ogu realized. "After appearing on a live TV broadcast about a week ago..." he recounted how he and Sadako met up with Kanawa Shinsuke, Endo Fukami and Sazanami Ryoichi in front of the TV station. "I don't know what fortunes she told them. But if anyone who hated her, then it must be Kanawa Shinsuke, Endo Fukami or Sazanami Ryoichi."
"Three suspicious persons." Takagi listed. "One was a woman." he showed Megure the bagged brooch. "We found this next to the body."
"It belongs to Endo-san." Ogu recalled.
In Shibahama Park...
"This must be where she was killed." Megure concluded, one of the officers found a coiled bundle of rope.
"We received an anonymous tip this morning." the officer admitted. "They saw a figure packing something large into a car in this park last night. When I came to investigate, I found signs of a struggle and those objects. I found this here as well." he showed Megure the bagged lighter.
"S. Kanawa?" Takagi echoed.
"Could it belong to Kanawa Shinsuke?" Ogu frowned.
Behind Sakado's mansion...
"I was curious, so I looked up the license plate number." the attending police sergeant reported. "I learned it had already been reported stolen."
"It was stolen two days ago." Sazanami clarified. "What's my car doing here?"
"That's hair." Megure peered closely at the evidence bag. "Compare it to the victim's."
"That's my lighter." Kanawa confirmed, Takagi showing him the bagged lighter. "I lost it a few days ago."
"Me, too." Endo added. "I lost this brooch."
In Sakado's study room...
"The hair belonged to the victim." Megure addressed the three suspects. "Sazanami-san, your car was used to transport the victim."
"All three of them hated Sadako-sensei." Ogu commented.
"Of course we did." Kanawa snorted. "I was thinking of buying a house, so I had her tell me my lucky direction. The moment I trusted her and bought a house, the construction company I was working for shut down and my wife left me."
"I asked her to tell me my romantic fortune." Endo added. "When I trusted her and married him, he swindled me."
"I had a business I wanted to start." Sazanami revealed. "So, I had her tell me when I should start. When I rushed to quit my job and open shop, it failed and now I'm drowning in debt."
"None of you had alibis for last night." Takagi pointed out.
"I told you." Endo insisted. "Someone called me. It was a man."
"We received the same call, too." Sazanami supplied.
"He was making sure we wouldn't have alibis." Kanawa reasoned.
"Yes?" Megure took the incoming call. "I see. Thank you, Mizuno-san. Our coroner has confirmed the victim died between 8pm to 9pm last night."
"This document was created after 10pm last night." Conan opened up Sadako's laptop and referred to the word document's timestamp. "The victim didn't write this: the culprit wrote it when they brought the body here to cast suspicion on these three. No one besides those three hated the victim, right?" he stopped Chiba after Megure called for a break.
"No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find anyone else." Chiba confirmed.
In the mansion courtyard...
Conan finally pieced together what happened after questioning the suspects and confirming something with the police.
In Shibahama Park...
"Kanawa-san, Endo-san, Sazanami-san." Mouri presented his reasoning. "You weren't framed by the culprit. You wanted us to think you were. By pretending they were framed by the true culprit after killing the victim, they tried to avoid becoming suspects. All three of you are accomplices."
Acting quickly, Conan hid behind a nearby bush and tranquilized Mouri. "All three of you being accomplices is just one possibility." he took over. "There's also another way to interpret the situation. The key to solving this case is in the culprit's character. The culprit moved the body, even though it didn't benefit them in any way. They deliberately left personal items at the murder scene and the body's location because they needed Sazanami-san's car to move the body, so that along with the text document, all three of them will be suspects. The culprit's character required them to do it. If you look at their motive, it was clear that they'd eventually fall under suspicion. Rather than fearing when the police will arrive at their door, they thought it'd be better to be identified right away. They're not stupid, just weak; weak enough to rely on a fortuneteller to make life decisions. Because the culprit was weak, they felt uneasy doing it alone. They wanted others beside them who were in the same situation, same motive, no alibi and personal items left at the crime scene. They also used my name and got me involved because of their weakness. If the investigation dragged on, the police would be forced to ask for my help. Rather than anxiously waiting to see when the great detective would turn up, it would be easier for me to get involved right from the start. If I, a man trusted by the police, deduced that all three of them were framed by the true culprit, there would be no greater assurance. A normal person wouldn't take that risk, the culprit believed it would work. One of these three is simultaneously weak-willed, but also incredibly confident. Isn't that right, Sazanami Ryoichi-san? Yesterday, you called out the victim, inviting them out. Then, you call Kanawa-san and Endo-san so they wouldn't have alibis. Then, you killed the victim in Shibahama Park. You left Kanawa-san's lighter at the scene of the murder which you most likely stole when you went to make a complaint. You used your allegedly stolen car to transport he body back to the Baba mansion and left Endo-san's brooch, which you also stole, by the body. You also left the text document which would be discovered during the course of the investigation then. After making that claim, you waited for the time of death to be determined. You escaped from that blind spot and tried to run away while the police searched for a true culprit that didn't exist."
"Weak-willed but confident?" Sazanami echoed. "Now I'm the killer just because of my character? I have nothing to do with the case."
"Then, how did you know the murder was committed here?" Conan asked. "Didn't you tell us?"
"The anonymous call?" Megure realized what Mouri was referring to.
"I listened to the recording earlier." Conan related. "I'll answer it." he ran out from his hiding spot when Mouri's phone rang. "They said it's a match." he informed Megure. "I had them compare your voices, after sending your voice to forensics." he revealed, returning to his hiding spot. "You made the call; you told us the scene of the murder which only the culprit could've known."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
