SailorStar9: With Chapter 137 uploaded, I present Chapter 138 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 138: Kogoro Mouri's Grand Lecture, Part One


Time passes...

"Sorry, I'm late." Kisaki Eri ran up to the designated meeting spot at an open-air café.

"Took you long enough." Mouri snorted. "How long were you going to make us wait? I've been holding off drinking beer."

"I didn't ask you to do it." Eri retorted. "Drink if you want to. I found time in my busy schedule for this."

"Jeez, stop." Ran wailed. "You're not here to argue today. You're having a meeting."

"One large beer." Mouri placed his order.

"I'll be leaving immediately, so water's fine." Eri requested. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have the time. But I'll be there tomorrow. I think I'll be able to make the panel during the second half. I'll make sure to get there on time. I should go." she gathered her things. "Oh no." she gaped, dropping her documents and Conan helped her collect them.


The next day...

"I'm nervous." Mouri muttered in the newly renovated HISHIDA Hall waiting room. "Another." he ordered another glass of red wine.

"Thank you so much for coming today, Mouri-sensei." Hishida Junko greeted their guest lecturer. "I'm delighted to have the world-famous detective speak at the grand opening of our theater."

"Thank you for coming today, Mouri-sensei." Tsunohazu Naoya, the event company president in charge of the event stepped in. "This is our staff. If there's anything you need, don't hesitated to ask."

"You can't be serious." Reizei Mokichi barked in the corridor. "I refuse to accept this hall. I've looked after this place since your father was here. What's with this cheap décor?"

"Taking pride in an outdated management philosophy that kept us in the red died off with my father, rather my predecessor." Hishida fired back. "Reizei-san, our contract with you has already ended. Please leave. Everyone, I'm sorry for the commotion. We'll be starting shortly. Please relax in your changing rooms until then. Ujimori, show them the way." she told the hall manager.


Twenty minutes until the lecture...

A sudden scream erupted from another changing room.

"What happened?" Conan hurried over to the frightened Furui Kiho with Haibara in tow.

"Over there..." Furui pointed to the pool of blood leaking out from the Inokoshi Kenichiro's changing door gap. "Inokoshi-san asked me to bring him coffee. I knocked on his door, but he didn't answer."

Conan used a handkerchief to try to open the door, only to find something was leaning against the door.

"Looks like it's stuck on something." Haibara noted. "Judging by this pool of blood..."

"Definitely." Conan concurred and he hurried out of the hall with Haibara. Peeking through the window, he was stunned to see a stabbed Inokoshi on a chair blocking the door. "I knew it. The body's keeping the door shut instead of the lock. In other words, this is..."

"It's a locked room mystery." Tsukuba Mei interjected.


After Megure's team was called in...

"Inspector, there may be some clues still." the now sober Mouri stated. "Please be careful."

"Takagi, Chiba." Megure sent the two younger detectives off.

"The victim is actor Inokoshi Kenichiro-san." Takagi read off his notes. "Forty-eight years old. He was scheduled to appear on the panel after Mouri-san's lecture and was waiting alone in this changing room."

"We're currently waiting for Mizuno-san's initial examination." Chiba added. "But it's most likely blood loss due to being stabbed in the heart. Also, look at this." he showed the bagged pocket watch. "This was left in the left breast pocket of the victim's jacket. The blade of the weapon matched the damaged section. It's safe to assume it was damaged when the victim was stabbed in the heart."

"Which means the time of death was 2:50." Megure concluded. "The problem is..."

"This was a locked room." Takagi agreed. "Under the circumstances, the door only opened about five centimeters, making it impossible for anyone to enter or exit. The window we broke was locked from the inside as well. There were no signs that it had been tempered with."

"So, how did the culprit leave the room after killing Inokoshi-san?" Megure wondered.

"At the very least, one thing is clear, Inspector." Mouri stated from outside the window. "Takagi, how was the security here at HISHIDA Hall?"

"We confirmed it with the security staff that aside from the front entrance and reception desk of the hall." Takagi replied. "All entrances, including emergency exits are locked from the inside. Accordiing to the reception desk, around 2:50 when the crime took place, only three children left the building."

"Those are our friends." Conan supplied.

"They left because they had someplace to be." Haibara added.

"Which means no one else entered or left." Mouri declared. "This wasn't the work of an outsider, Inspector. The culprit is among the staff, guests, and 300 audience members inside HISHIDA Hall right now."

"It was enough to leave a mark on the floor." Haibara noted, jumping into the crime scene with Conan and spotting the drag marks on the floor. "So, they must have dragged the chair with the body sitting in it. So how did they go out afterwards? Something is pressed against it." she followed Conan to the back of the chair and seeing a circular mark on the chair frame.

"So, that's how it is." Conan realized what happened.

"This is how they created the locked room." Tsukuba breathed behind them.

"Delay Mouri-kun's lecture for one hour?" Megure echoed Ujimori's suggestion.

"We were thinking about making that announcement to the audience." Ujimori admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Megure demanded. "This is a murder. The lecture should be canceled immediately."

"Only the owner, Hishida can make the decision to cancel the event." Ujimori explained. "And we haven't seen her. I've been looking for her. Fortunately, the great detective, Mouri Kogoro-sensei is here. I trust he'll solve the murder before long."

"Let me handle this." Mouri declared. "The great detective, Mouri Kogoro, will solve this case within an hour."

"Delaying the lecture an hour may be the right call." Tsukuba exclaimed. "If the event is canceled and the audience leaves, it could be disastrous if the culprit is among them."

"Fine."Megure relented. "If you're so sure about it, Mouri-kun, you must know who did it."

"I've even solved the locked room mystery." Mouri bragged. "Inspector, can you gather all the concerned parties?"


In the corridor...

"Before I explain my reasoning, Chiba, have you checked everyone's alibi?" Mouri inquired.

"I was able to confirm everyone's alibi at 2:50, with one exception." Chiba reported. "They were all gathered in the same place. Reizei-san, the former manager of HISHIDA Hall is the only one without an alibi: he was resting in his changing room alone."

"You did it, Reizei-san." Mouri declared. "Your motive was the rage you felt towards Inokoshi-san after he brought you in line like you were on a TV show. You created this locked room using your cane. Let me show you. This room is constructed exactly the same way Inokoshi-san's room." he brought everyone to an empty room. Takagi, Chiba."

Chiba sat down on the prepared chair and Takagi dragged him towards the door.

"You alone left the room." Mouri continued, Takagi stabilizing Chiba with one hand as he stepped out. "And removed your cane just before the door closed." Takagi then balanced the tilted chair with the end of the provided cane and shut the door close as he pulled the cane out, the chair was then tilted against the door.

"Earlier, I took Reizei-san to his changing room." Tsukuba cut in. "He was exhausted and he's elderly. Wouldn't it have been difficult for him to do all that?"

"Impressive, Detective." Reizei admitted. "I am astonished. I knew you'll spot my cane trick eventually. But I killed someone else."


Outside...

The camera panned in to reveal a fallen Hishida at the bottom of the fire escape, with a tell-tale circular mark on the back of her neck.


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