SailorStar9: With Chapter 133 uploaded, I present Chapter 134 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 134: The Poodle and the Shotgun, Part One
Time passes...
Mouri, Conan and Ran could only watch in shock when Hinomiya Anna was shot by a double-barrel rifle on board her yacht, the 24-year-old pet food company president was celebrating her birthday. With her stomach bleeding, the birthday girl fell into the water below.
The cloaked and masked shooter swept away the birthday cake and stepped over Enami Machiko's present to made his getaway.
"Stop." Mouri ordered, he and Conan instantly went after the shooter, only to lose track of him at the yacht berths.
After Megure's team was called in...
"So, the culprit suddenly fired at Anna-san with a shotgun?" Megure questioned Inamura Koshiro and Enami Machiko on shore.
"Their only target was the president." Inamura nodded.
"After shooting Anna, they immediately leapt onto another boat." Enami added. "They fled in an instant."
"Their testimony is accurate." Mouri confirmed. "I witnessed it too. Not just me."
"I saw it, too." Ran affirmed. "So did Conan-kun."
Conan boarded the yacht to see Ami already examining Anna's body which Mouri pulled out from the water.
"Fine scratches on the nails." the coroner marked up her findings. "I'll have to return to the autopsy theater for find out what these are." she put Anna's exposed hand back.
"Hey, kid." Mouri picked up Conan. "Don't you know you'll get in Mizuno-san's way here?" he then tossed Conan down to the cabin and causing him to crash into Takagi.
In the yacht's cabin...
"Something smells." Conan was alerted by the stench.
"It's dog food." Takagi dusted himself off. "It's a new product Anna-san's company will be selling."
Just then, the two were heard a thump in the wardrobe.
"I've got this." Mouri was called down and he opened to the wardrobe doors to reveal an unconscious and tied up Morishima Sota.
On shore...
"You said you were Morishima-san." Megure questioned. "What on earth happened?"
"I was suddenly hit over the head." Morishima replied. "When I came to, I was in there."
"Were you invited to Anna-san's birthday party as well?" Takagi inquired.
"I'm Anna's secretary." Morishima answered. "I arrived an hour early at seven to prepare for the party. I was suddenly struck on the head while loading luggage in the cabin. I woke up when I heard the gunshots and found myself locked inside the locker."
"Inspector, if no one's seen their face, it would be impossible to identify the culprit." Takagi pointed out.
"I know who did it." Inamura spoke up.
"He's the only one who could have done this." Enami agreed.
"Hyodo." Inamura supplied. "Hyodo Makoto."
"Hyodo?" Mouri echoed. "He's Anna-san's ex-boyfriend." he informed Megure. "He claimed to be a management consultant, but when I looked into it, I discovered he was a conman. He offered Anna-san a fake investment offer and stole close to 50 million from Happywow."
"That's not all." Enami added. "He also owned Anna-san herself a huge amount of money."
"Only the president herself knows exactly how much he took, but we repeatedly urged her to file a proper reimbursement claim." Inamura stated. "Now, this has happened."
"Damn that Hyodo." Mouri fumed. "He won't get away with this." he swore and ran off.
"Takagi." Megure sent Takagi with Mouri.
"Morishima-san, did you bring the presents for Anna-san, too?" Conan asked. "There was a bottle decorated with a ribbon and a box on the deck."
"VP Inamura and Director Enami brought those themselves." Morishima answered. "The VP got her champagne and the director got her a watch. They're busy people, so I went to buy their gifts for them."
"Then, you're also the one who brought the dog food into the cabin." Conan realized.
"I thought the president would bring her dog." Morishima nodded. "But I wonder why she didn't bring her today."
In the makeshift interrogation tent...
"It's true I own a shotgun." Inamura confirmed after Hyodo revealed that he possessed a shotgun, "Skeet shooting is my hobby. It was stolen recently; three days ago, while I was preparing to go out, along with my entire car."
"That gun must have been used in the crime." Takagi concluded.
"I'm sure it's all a ruse." Hyodo chuckled. "Or maybe Machiko stole it. You've got plenty of motive to kill Anna. You're the one who taught Anna about business when she was an unsuccessful idol. Now, your positions are reversed. You were angry and in disbelief that Anna was the president. I know everything: after all, you and I used to date. You resented Anna because I dumped you for a younger woman. You swore you'll kill her someday."
"You're the one who have the motive to kill Anna." Enami snapped.
"You owe Anna-san a huge amount of debt." Inamura reminded. "Maybe you killed her because she was demanding you repay her."
"You're the one to talk." Hyodo fired back. "You're the one who benefits the most from Anna's death as the vice president. Making Anna the president was your idea. Once the company was on track, you didn't need her anymore. She was just in your way."
"That's enough." Mouri barked. "Anna-san wasn't shot by Inamura-san or Enami-san. It was the masked man; in other words, you."
"Do you have anything to prove that?" Hyodo challenged.
"Hyodo-san, does that mean you have an alibi?" Megure asked. "Between seven and eight, the culprit hid in the cabin of the cruiser and waited for Anna-san to arrive. Surely, you can prove where you were during that time."
"I have no choice." Hyodo sighed. "I guess I'll confess. During that time, I was robbing Anna's apartment. It was on a whim. I had a spare key to Anna's place. I knew she was throwing her birthday party here at eight. So I went when she'd be away. I think it was around 7:20. There was only about 30 thousand in cash, but just as I was leaving with it, I accidentally dropped my gym membership card. If you think I'm lying, check her apartment. It's a fifteen-minute drive one way."
In Anna's apartment...
"That's Hyodo-san's card." Conan voiced from behind Takagi. "I followed you." he beamed at the startled detective. "It's just like he testified."
"Conan-kun, you shouldn't look in there." Takagi warned, seeing Conan inspect a leopard-print dress on the clothes rack.
Just then, Sally-chan pounced in and bit Takagi on the backside.
"No, Sally-chan." Conan reprimanded the poodle.
"What's that?" Takagi spotted the pet camera underneath the coffee table.
"A pet camera." Conan recognized the device. "It livestreams footage to the owner's phone so they can check on their pet while they're out of the house."
"Then, today's video should be on Anna-san's phone." Takagi realized.
Back in the makeshift interrogation tent...
"If Hyodo's testimony is true..." Takagi played the recording.
"There should be a video of him robbing the house on here." Mouri stated.
"Someone's coming in." Conan pointed out.
"The time is 7:20." Takagi looked at the time stamp. "That's the same time Hyodo said. This is the card." he handed the membership card to Megure. "It's just like Hyodo testified."
"See?" Hyodo smirked. "It was impossible for me to kill Anna."
"Even if he didn't have an accomplice, he still could've killed Anna-san." Conan pointed out. "Morishima-san,, weren't you unconscious inside that locker the whole time? If he left the boat while Morishima-san was unconscious and sped to Anna-san's apartment, he could've arrived by 7:20. Well, it's only possible if Morishima-san was actually unconscious."
"I'm sorry." Morishima sighed. "I wasn't actually unconscious the whole time. I actually regained consciousness as soon as I was stuffed inside the locker. I was watching the masked man's back from inside the locker. I didn't know what he'd do if he noticed, so I pretended to be unconscious."
"Then, the culprit was on the boat the whole time?" Megure asked.
"I'm certain of it." Morishima nodded. "I'm sorry; if I'd raised the alarm then, it's possible the president wouldn't have been shot. I let the president die."
"I'm surprised you knew Morishima-san had regained consciousness." Megure was impressed.
"Morishima-san's mouth was covered with tape, but he wasn't blindfolded." Conan explained. "Maybe the culprit knew Morishima-san would wake up immediately and that he'd stay quiet inside the locker."
"They planned to use Morishima-san as their alibi from the start." Takagi concluded.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
