A/N : Finally! The obvious longer chapter! Enjoy! and don't forget review too!
Chapter 6 – The Ruthless Murderer
"Ran, call the police!" Kogoro told her in haste and runs to the scene.
'Not again' Conan thought, mentally face-palmed.
"Everyone stands still! Nobody move!" Kogoro shouted from where he is when he saw someone was about to run away.
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30 minutes later…
"Can you tell me the details of the crime scene?" Inspector Misao Yamamura asked one of his fellow policemen.
"I can't believe we are in the Gunma district" Conan sighed. "But this killer was so cruel, to cut Reiko-san's head off and put it in the cake like that?" He said and walked to the cake cart. "How can the culprit put the head in the cake? Eh…could it be –!" He then tuckered underneath the cart and there! He found a hole under the cart!
'So that was it' He thought and then said in his childlike voice. "A le le, there's something in here!"
"Brat!" Kogoro grabbed Conan's collar from behind "Don't mess with the crime scene!" and cast him away.
"Ouch! But it's really there! A hole to put the head inside a cake…"
Later he heard what Conan said, Inspector then called the forensic officer to come to inspect the cart. "There's actually a hole here like he said, Yamamura-keibu."
"That mean after the culprit killed the victim and silt her throat, it put the head in the cake through this hole that was prepared beforehand, I see." Yamamura said after he saw it himself, "You are so smart, Conan-kun!" and complimented Conan who standing nearby.
"Yamamura-keibu, we've finished assumed the victim's time of death." Another forensic officer comes running to inform him.
"And what's the result?" He demanded.
"From the bloods that still not dry at the time, we assumed it between 7:30 p.m – 9 p.m and we found the head at 9:30 p.m."
"I see, do you find the body yet?"
"The search team still looking for it." The forensic officer answered.
'7:30 p.m to 9 p.m, huh?' Conan is thinking while walking around the scene. 'The culprit must be among these two hundred party guests, if selected, only who didn't have an alibi, and so it will be not much suspects since most guests are in the party room…but outsiders that isn't in the working team shouldn't have any grudge with Reiko-san. Why must it always be like this? Argh!' He scratched his head severely.
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10 p.m. – Waiting room
"Ahem" Yamamura-keibu, who crossing his arms to his chest and glancing at each suspect in the room exclaimed to gain their attention. "We presumed Reiko-san's time of death at between 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. At the time most of the guests are in the party except you all who didn't have an alibi, how is that?"
There are 6 suspects: Chief Editor Hirata-san, photographers Ryoji-san and Kaede-san, editor Toshimi-san, sponsor Masao-san and Ex-actress Tomoko-san, they didn't have an alibi at the time when the murder occurred.
"I'm resting in my room before the opening remark, but before that we are greeting the guests in the party." Chief Hirata said.
"Yes, we're with him too" Kaede said. "Right? Ryoji-kun" She asked Ryoji and he nodded.
"It's only 20 minutes; there still had enough time to kill her, isn't it?" Yamamura retorted.
Meanwhile, Narumi and Kaaka are using their camera to get photographs.
"Excuse me, but please, no taking a photo in the investigation." Kogoro who noticed, spoke out.
"If you police suspected us…" Toshimi brought up. "Where's the evidence? Or the murder weapon, you still can't find it, right?"
"That's right! Then you can't detain us more than one hour!" Tomoko supported Toshimi.
"So, Meitantei-san, figure out the culprit yet?" Eri elbowed Kogoro.
"Who would know that fast?" He replied. "And where's Ran?"
"Sleeping on the sofa there" Eri said, looking at Ran, who sleeping peacefully on the sofa. "You shouldn't let her see all these kind of things."
"It can't be helped and you know it."
Afterward, the officers do the body search on all the suspects, but found nothing that can be used as a murder weapon.
"Mouri-san, do you know the culprit yet?" Yamamura asked, hoping for the positive answer.
"Eh, not yet." Kogoro sheepishly answered.
"Ah, that's too bad, now we also bear no evidence at all…" He sighed.
At that instant, one of the officers rushed in haste into the room. "Yamamura-keibu, we found the body."
"Where?" he demanded.
"It was overlaid with a black plastic bag and was left with tons of rubbish at the rear of the mansion. We assumed that the victim was drugged and was slit in the throat by a very sharp weapon." The officer informed.
"And did you find that said weapon?"
"No, sir, we've searched all places, both in and outside the mansion, the weapon may still with the culprit."
"But that's impossible; we did the body search just a while ago…"
'If they couldn't find the murder weapon…' Conan thought. 'That's mean it is still with the culprit, but what is it? And who has it?' His gaze is inspecting all the suspects in the room.
"There's another thing that we found with the body."
"What is it?" Yamamura asked again.
"Is that we found this paper with a strange message written in it." The same officer said and hands Yamamura the paper which inside the evidence bag.
"It was tarnished with blood…" he said and starts reading the message out loud for everyone to hear. "The resentment on 13 years ago…this is just the beginning…"
'The resentment on 13 years ago, huh?' Conan pondered.
When Yamamura finished, most of the suspects paled, some had a shock expression on their faces.
"It-It was not d-dead" Chief Hirata said, his body trembling as if he was afraid of something.
"But that's not possible! There must be someone trying to scare us!" Kaede said, fear can be heard in her voice while she is sweating all over.
"What's the matter?" Kogoro asked everyone.
"Nothing" Ryoji said, "If nothing else, I'm going back to my room." then left.
"Me too" Masao said and follows Ryoji out of the room.
Everyone then goes back to their own room…except Conan, Kogoro and Yamamura-keibu.
"What should we do? If it was like this, we can't arrest the culprit…do you have any idea, Mouri-san?" Yamamura asked Kogoro.
"I don't know either." He answered.
"Ne, ne" Conan tugged at Yamamura's trousers. "Yamamura-keibu, can you let me see that paper?"
"This isn't what you should look, brat."
"But it said that 'this is just the beginning' right? So, the murderer would have thought to kill someone else too?"
Kogoro and Yamamura turn to look at each other…
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Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Who come here so late?" Chief Hirata wondered and went to open the door.
"If it was the police, I'm not-" When he opened the door, he was astonished and then….
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Conan is calling someone on his cell phone…
"Hello" Ai Haibara is on the other line.
"Hello Haibara, I knew that you will pass the camping with the children."
"What do you want by calling this late?" Haibara ignored his remark and asked.
"I want you to help me with something."
"What is it?"
"I want you to search about 'The Way' magazine and what happened 13 years ago."
"Fine"
"Call me back when you found it, ok?
"Okay"
"I'm counting on you, bye."
"Wait-" It was too late, he already hung up. "Kudo-kun…"
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20 minutes later…
Kogoro and Yamamura are talking while walking in the hallway…
"We have to stay the night here, because the case wasn't making any progress." Yamamura said.
"If I could get that damn culprit now, that would be great." Kogoro said.
Meanwhile, they are going to pass Hirata's room which Kimie is knocking the door and calling his name.
"Chief, chief Are you in there?"
"What's the matter, Kimie-san? Kogoro asked her. "You haven't returned to your room?
"Eh, chief said that he wants to talk to me about the shooting for the magazine. He just sent me a message to meet him at his room." Kimie said.
"Is that so?" He replied.
"But I've called him for a while now and he still hasn't come out…"
"Could it be…" Kogoro said, looking at Yamamura. "Do you have a spare key?" He asked.
"This mansion doesn't have any spare keys; it is the only one of a kind." She answered.
"I think we have to break the door then." Yamamura said to Kogoro.
"I guess so." The men get a few steps back, away from the doorway.
"Three, two, one, go!" Kogoro counted down and they both ran to the door.
Bang!
The door broke down…
The light from the lamp in the room shining dimly…
But it was bright enough to see the body of chief Hirata, who being hung with the light on the ceiling in front of them…
"I can't believe myself to what I'm seeing." Yamura exclaimed.
When Kimie saw the body, she screamed, it was loud for everyone else to hear distinctly.
"What happened?!" Eri who is in the living room, said out loud.
"Could it be!?" Conan then runs out of the room, to the source of the scream immediately.
"We are too late, he's dead." Kogoro said after he finished checking the pulse on Hirata's wrist.
Yamamura is calling the other officers through the phone…
People who heard the scream, all come to see what had happened…
"What happened?" Eri asked the same question from before when she reached the scene with Conan.
"Hirata-san…he was murdered" Kogoro told her and walking into the room.
Everyone who in front of the room, their face turned pale after they heard it.
"No, Hirata-san. I can't believe it…" Toshimi said.
"Another one?" Narumi said.
"What's more important is that this is what we called the impossible cases…" Kogoro turned to everyone. "The locked-room murder case…"
A/N 2: Yep! It is now a serial murder! Stay tune for the next chap!
Ps. About 'Love Is Suffering' my B-day fic, the good ending will be post soon (Don't know when though...I will tell you later..)