SailorStar9: With Chapter 157 uploaded, I present Chapter 158 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 158: The Skilled Hawk Hides His Crime


Time passes...

"A falcon?" Ran blinked, seeing the hawk perched on the perch stand. "Is it an eagle?"

"It's a hawk." Mouri replied. "It's a raptor called a Harris' hawk. Your eyes are like mine." he told the bird of prey. "They're sharp." he finger-gunned the bird.

"You'll stress out the hawk if you point or wave at him." Akashiba Tetsu cautioned, tugging Mouri's hand down. "Hawks are delicate creatures."

"Here's your tea." Takehara Satoko brought in the tea for their guests, as Ishima Masahiko was prepping his popped rice machine. "It's quiet today, but this place was thriving until recently."


A while later...

"Actually, I think I just heard a gunshot." Mouri looked around after Ishima released the pressure from the puffed rice machine. "Is that her husband?" he noticed Takehara Genichi in the distance and waved.

"There's a lure with rabbit fur and meat hanging in a clearing on that mountain." Akashiba related. "We have him fly all the way there." with that, he sent the hawk off. Said bird glided over to its destination, only to be caught by an invisible string stretched across the area. A gunshot was heard in the distance and Genichi fell out from the bushes.

"Is that my husband?" Satoko gasped.

Acting quickly, Conan and Mouri dashed over to the crime scene.

"Unfortunately." Mouri sighed, feeling no pulse from the body. "Ran, call the police.

"Was it accidentally fired?" Conan noticed the hunting rifle close by and took a whiff for the smell of gunpowder.


After Megure's team was called in...

"So, Mouri-kun, you're saying this was an accident?" Megure asked.

"The victim Takehara Genichi-san was inside the thicket with a shotgun." Mouri nodded. "The hawk attacked him in there. "Genichi-san fired his shotgun in an attempt to defend himself. However, the shell unfortunately struck Genichi-san instead."

"That's not possible." Akashiba objected. "A hawk would never attack a person. Hawks are afraid of people. Not just hawks, most animals are."

"Then, what if a gun was pointed at it?" Mouri pressed. "You said just pointing at a hawk with a finger is a bad idea."

"I thought I saw something shiny around here when the hawk changed direction." Conan supplied.

"Did you find anything around here that shines?" Takagi turned to the forensic officers.

"Not particularly." the officers answered.

"Perhaps it was the sunlight reflecting off his shotgun." Mouri suggested.

"But, don't shotguns have long barrels, unlike other guns?" Ami questioned, marking off the fatal wound on her preliminary observation notes. "Would it be possible for the victim to accidentally shoot himself with one?"

"I think this is an exceptional case." Mouri insisted.


Later...

After finding a discarded wooden drum in the forest and getting information from Akashiba about the possible reasons of a hawk receiving ankle injuries, Conan pieced everything together. With everyone gathered, he tranquilized Mouri. "Inspector, can you gather everyone?" he requested. "I have something important to discuss. Genichi-san didn't die in an accident. A device was used to disguise his death as an accident. There was fishing line strung up where the husband died. The hawk flew off course because its feet got caught in it. The fishing line is at the bottom of a nearby ravine, wrapped around a wooden drum. The culprit must have wrapped the fishing line around the drum and dropped it down the ravine so it wouldn't remain at the crime scene."

"What was the fishing line for?" Megure asked.

"To fire a shotgun." Conan replied. "The thread was tied to a shotgun set up in the thicket. The thread was drawn in front of the hawk's target. When the hawk's feet got caught in the line, it pulled the trigger of the shotgun, firing a shell. That shell pierced the fastener on the device supporting Genichi-san's body. With the fastener gone, it began to move. It pushed Genichi-san's body out of the thicket while the device itself fell down the ravine. The shotgun was also dragged down by the fishing line and left at the crime scene."

"Mouri-san, why did the culprit set up that device?" Takagi inquired.

"To create an alibi." Conan answered. "Genichi-san was murdered before then: when the puffed rice was made. The events of this festival occur at fixed times. Ishima-san, who is in charge of the puffed rice demonstration, was exactly on schedule. The culprit knew this and killed the husband as the puffed rice machine made a loud noise. At that time, I thought I heard a gunshot in what I believed to be an echo. But there was no echo when I shouted at the person I thought was the husband. The culprit was the one who waved at us. The only person absent at that time was you, madam."

"Me?" Satoko echoed.

"You thought you could disguise the gunshot if you shot him during the puffed rice demonstration." Conan continued.

"Do you have any proof?" Satoko asked.

"The red stain on your neck." Conan revealed. "There was a bloodstain on the same spot on your husband's body. The blood was also on your husband's hunting jacket. It probably stained the same spot when you wore it."

"I did it." Satoko admitted. "He was trying to sell this place. I didn't think he was like that. I thought if I killed that man using the mountain village's power that he mocked, then that poor hawk who was simply used for profit would be repaid in some way."


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