What I am going to say is... I Hate The Tenses And This Writing Style.

I'm not going to write like this ever again in the others stories, I swear.

Moving On

I'm deeply sorry for I couldn't update last week and for post this 3 hours and 35 minutes late from what I've informed in my profile. (I'm crazy, I know)

Enjoy :D

Chapter 7 - The Case 13 Years Ago and The Third Victim.

"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 sealed room murder case…"

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"Narumi, what's going on?" Kaaka, who just arrived to the scene asked.

"It's Hirata-san, he was murdered." Narumi replied.

"Oh, Really?" Kaaka said "I can't believe he's really dead."

"The door was locked from inside so why you believe this is not a suicide?" Eri asked Kogoro.

"Because we couldn't find the thing…" Conan appeared behind Eri. "The thing that should be there, that the victim used to step on…"

"Conan-kun, you shouldn't wander around here." She told him.

"Heh heh" Conan rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Mouri-san, it is indeed a locked-room." Yamamura-keibu said while grabbing a book which lying nearby the body and there's the room's key under it.

"Even though the sealed room was created, the culprit didn't make it to look like a suicide…why?" Eri, who crossing her arms to her chest asked.

"Maybe they want to threaten someone?" Conan raised the subject.

"When Hirata-san separated with us was approximately half an hour ago." Kogoro started, walking to the front. "What were you guys doing at that time, huh?" He asked everyone who gathering in front of the room.

"I was in my room." Takuro answered.

"Yeah, I was also in my room all the time." Tomoko said.

Everyone all exclaimed that they were in their rooms, so no one has an alibi.

"Man, knowing the culprit didn't yet caught, why not stay up as a group? I really don't understand." Kogoro complained.

"Keibu, we found this crumpled paper under the bed." The forensic handed Yamamura the paper.

Yamamura unfolds the paper, there is a message like the first one, he read. "You already know…the next one is you."

Immediately after he finished, Conan feels that someone's expression somewhat changed slightly.

"So, this was the perfect sealed room?" Kogoro said.

"I don't think so, Oji-san." Conan intercepted. "There's a space under the door around 5 centimeters."

"Let me see…" He walks to inspect it.

"But, how can you create a sealed room by just that small gap? Eri asked.

Conan thought. 'Wait…that book…the key was under it…they're lying in the direction of the door…but still 3 meters away from it…'

'What's the trick?' He then walks to where the book is, suddenly his vision blurred and he feels dizzy. 'Damn, why at the time like this?' He's holding his right temple, trying to make them go away.

"What's wrong, Conan-kun?" Eri asked, concerned.

"What else? His fever's probably up again." Kogoro guessed.

"Then let's go to rest in the living room, shall we?" She then escorts Conan to the living room.

At the time, Ran woke up, seeing them entering the room. "Oh, Okaa-san, what's wrong with Conan-kun?"

"I'm fine, Ran-neechan." Conan replied, began to cough.

"It's this little detective who overdone it and got his fever up again." Eri said.

Ran looks around. "Where is everyone else? Otou-san?"

"It was…Hirata-san was murdered."

"Oh" Ran exclaimed, shocked.

"And there's also another message from the culprit, says 'You already know…the next one is you.'" The voices belonged to Narumi and Kaaka who have entered the room.

"Even though there're police everywhere, but the killer still dares to kill him off." Narumi said to Kaaka.

"Anyway, did you see my film box anywhere?" Kaaka asked.

"Oh yeah, I put it beside the TV in this room." Narumi said and walks to the TV table in front of Conan. She picks the film box up; he looks at her and sees something.

'I see, if they used this thing, they could easily make the almost perfectly sealed room.' He thought.

"Oh Ran-can, Conan-kun," Kaaka said. "We are thirsty and going to make a juice in the kitchen, do you want to come?"

"Sure, thank you." Ran answered.

"Then I'll go back to the case, take care." Eri said. Then walks out of the room.

Conan, Ran, Narumi and Kaaka then go to the kitchen to make their juice…

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"Hey Eri, did you see Tomoko-san in the living room?" Kogoro asked when she returned.

"No, why?" She asked?

"She's disappeared, only her who didn't come back here after we found Hirata-san's body."

"She's maybe in her room?"

"Nope, I checked. Her room is unlocked, no one's there and her phone is still in her room."

"That's strange…anyone else see her?" She asked again.

"Asked everyone…they don't see her anywhere…"

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"There're orange, apple, watermelon and strawberry…" Narumi said after she opened the fridge and brought all of the fruit out.

"What would you like?" Kaaka asked Ran.

"I'll have apple juice then." She replied.

"What about you, Conan-kun?"

"I'll have…" While he answering, his phone rang. "I'm sorry, but I need to take this." He picks up the phone and walks out of the kitchen to find more private place to speak…

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He stops in front of the restroom and answers the phone.

"Hey, Haibara" He said.

"I found it, about what happened with 'The Way' magazine 13 years ago."

"What was it?"

"Some of the working group went sailing on a vacation at a sea in Shitsuoka, but there was an accident cause a shipwreck and there were only 2 life-saving rafts, so 12 people who stuck in the ship died." Haibara told him.

"Who's the survivor?"

"Six survived: Chief editor Banba Hirata, Editor Reiko Shinjo, Photographers Kaede Mioya and Ryoji Kawashima, Ex-actress Tomoko Funaki, and the last, Model Akiko Rokuda. Akiko-san died of gastrointestinal tract disease 4 years ago, so now are only 5 people left."

'Reiko-san and Hirata-san were crossed out.' Conan thought. 'If I was right, the next one must be someone among Kaede-san, Ryoji-san and Tomoko-san…"

"Oh hey, you are there, aren't you?" She guessed, remembering he has told her something about going to magazine party. "That said magazine's party?"

"Ah, yeah" He replied reluctantly.

"So you got yourself into the case again, I should've known…" She remarked.

"Anyway, there's another thing I should tell you…" She continued. "There was one of the victims who everyone was regretted of his death deeply."

"Who was he?" He asked.

"He was one of admirable editors they had, Yuuji Dogushi. He was a hard worker, one of individuals who'd pushed the magazine to become well-known and popular to these days."

'This was maybe the motive.' He thought.

"Thanks, Haibara" and he hangs up.

"Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed upon seeing Conan. "Oh, you're here…are you done?"

"Hai" He answered "Let's go back"

"I'll use the restroom for a bit, wait here." She said then enters women's.

He continues to connecting the dots, his back leans on the wall beside the restroom's door. 'The killer intended to kill who's survived the incident 13 years ago…for what..?'

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While Ran is washing her hands, she glances to the toilet room at the far end and notices that the door is ajar a little. With curiosity, she walks to inspect it…

What she's seeing is a body of Tomoko-san who was stabbed with a cook knife in the chest, and red from the blood all over the floor…

She screams.

And Conan who heard it, runs into the room, the shock expression on their faces. 'The third?!'

Narumi and Kaaka who also heard the scream from the kitchen, coming to see what happened.

"What's happened, Ran-chan?" Narumi asked.

"Tomoko-san…she was murdered." Conan answered in place of Ran, who still in shock.

"W-What?!" The two journalists walk to the front of the restroom and they grasp.

"Oh god" Kaaka exclaimed when she saw the body of Tomoko-san.

Conan looks in the stall, glances around and sees the bloody writing on the wall on the right side of the victim. The dying message…

"'9'-no-'q'..?" He's trying to interpret the message which is a lowercase English alphabet 'q'.

"What's wrong, Ran!?" Kogoro comes running in panic with Yamamura-keiji and others officers.

"I-It's— " She said, trembling, and points to the last toilet room, which Conan still standing in the front.

'The culprit must be in hurry, stabbed her and ran away, didn't notice that she still alive and left the dying message…' Conan thought. 'I'll definitely get you, wherever you are, you just wait…'

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12:00 P.M. – The Living Room

"I can't take it anymore! You are going let us get killed one by one like this?!" Kaede shouted, standing up.

"Calm down," Takuro said, trying to calm her down. "If we stay as a group then we're safe."

"It is true that the killer is among us?" Kimie asked, glancing around to everyone in the room.

Yamamura-keibu pokes at Kogoro. "Mouri-san, you still haven't figured it out?"

"Not yet," Kogoro grumbled. "Why didn't Tomoko-san just wrote the culprit's name? We would get him long ago…"

Narumi, who is sitting beside Ran yawns, feeling sleepy from staying up late at night and then says. "Say, everyone, I'm going to go make some drinks, you guys want something?"

"Good idea, I'll have coffee then." Ryoji said.

"I'll have coffee too, I feel so sleepy." Masao said.

"I'll have tea instead." Eri said.

"I also will have a tea." Kimie said.

"I don't want anything" Toshimi said bluntly.

"Come on, it's already this late, some coffee sounds good?" Ryoji suggested.

"Fine" She replied reluctantly.

"Wait a moment." Kaaka said and follow Narumi out of the room.

"Let me help" Ran said and follows them.

"Thanks, Ran-chan" Kaaka thanked her.

Meanwhile, Conan is thinking about the case, 'The dying message Tomoko-san left…What does it means? 'q'…'q'…'kill' Aha! 'q' is a punctuation of 'kill' but kill who? Or who kill?' He furrows his brow, concentrating.

After a while, Narumi's back with their drinks on a tray and places it on the table.

Each takes their own drinks…

Eri hands Kimie a tea.

At the moment, the murderer among the group mentally smiles, looking at one particular cup with complacency…

I already started writing the next chapter, so I hope I wouldn't be late again...