Seven minutes. I was gone for seven minutes only and for some reason Dino disappeared. No, he did not disappear. According to the waitress Dino was taken by several police officers a few minutes after I had left, and according to my senses he was down five floors. With his fedora on my head and my purse on my shoulder, I walked down the stairs with my phone on my ear, trying to reach him. The reason why I used the stairs is because the regular elevator was still full and waiting for it would probably take ages. Honestly, I felt uneasy because he was taken away by the police. Mafiosi and law enforcement are usually not on the same page.

"S-Sharon…?" I finally heard from the other side.

"Honestly, Valentino!" I called out. "I'm gone for a little and you end up being taken away by the police. What the hell is going on?"

"A-hahaha… Well, about that… It seems a murder was committed and I'm a suspect…"

"There is what!?"

"Ah… The inspector wants to speak with you…"

Before I could say anything else another voice was heard, "Hello? This is Inspector Megure. Are you Dino-san's girlfriend?"

"Ah, good day Inspector Megure." I replied after hearing the unfamiliar voice. "Yes, I am his girlfriend; Lin Sharon."

It was actually a little weird to say girlfriend because we never really declared ourselves as boy- and girlfriend, but in this situation I could not do anything about it. I needed to get Dino out of this trouble, somehow the klutz had become a suspect. A homicide suspect of all things.

"I have a few questions for you. Please tell me where you are, an officer will escort you."

I wanted to ask why, but dismissed it. It was probably better to work along with the forces instead of against them. The sooner Dino was cleared, the better. The whole mafia and police thing really did not sit me well.

"I understand, Inspector." I said as I looked at the wall. "I am in the staircase on the 40th floor."

"Oh. Please come down one more floor. Detective Takagi will be there to escort you."

"Understood, Inspector."

As I ended the call, I sighed. Our trip to Miracle Land was definitely cancelled. I really wondered how our weekend ended up like this. Was this the work of the omnipotent being? Did He/She/It wanted to bother me once again? There was no way for me to know it.

Walking down another floor, I saw a tanned man in a grey suit stand in front of the door to the 39th floor. I assumed he was the one called detective Takagi.

"Detective Takagi?" I questioned.

"Yes, and you are Lin Sharon-san, am I correct?" The detective replied rapidly.

"Yes, sir."

"Please follow me." He said after he opened the door.

As he took the lead, I walked behind him as he started to explain the situation. "As you are aware, there is a murder committed and Cavallone Dino-san is one of the suspects. The victim is Sunounchi Renji, the president of Foreign Talent Productions. He had an office set up on this floor of this hotel. According to the secretary the president had an appointment today with an up and coming talent star and that new talent is our current lead suspect. However the secretary never saw him since the president scouted the talent on the streets. Unfortunately she doesn't know his name or his face."

A little surprised at his rambling I interrupted when I saw the chance to do so, "Detective Takagi. I'm sorry to interrupt, but is it really alright to explain this to me?" I said with caution. "I mean, I believe the details of an ongoing investigation are confidential, right? Unless… I'm a suspect too?"

"Huh? Oh no, you are not a suspect, Lin-san." The tanned detected laughed sheepishly. "Conan-kun said you are trustable, so I assumed you're a detective."

"Conan…-kun?" I repeated. The name sounded oddly familiar, but I couldn't match the face with it. "And for the record, I'm not a detective."

"Eh!? Really!?" The detective called out in surprise.

While keeping a straight face I started to wonder whether this one was going to be fine. If he starts to rattle on an ongoing investigation to a complete stranger, who knows what else he may do. Turning the corner I saw a familiar old man and four familiar children and instantly I remembered where I heard the name Conan before. It was the robbery in Paris about three years ago.

"Ah! Lin-kun!" The older man with glasses and grey moustache called out before I could. "It's been a while."

It was a little weird to someone call me with the suffix –kun, but I didn't really mind. It was a nice change of pace.

"Professor Agasa Hiroshi, right?" I said as I stood in front of him. Bowing a little I smiled, "It's been a while indeed."

"Ah! Now I remember! Sharon-onee-san!" The small girl with a bob cut called Yoshida Ayumi exclaimed happily.

"Ah, yes! In Paris!" The boys with freckled called Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko yelled.

"I don't remember…" The tallest and roundest boy called Kojima Genta muttered.

Laughing softly at their rowdiness I greeted them, "It's been a while, I hope the Detective Boys have been well?"

"OH!" The three children called out.

Behind the Professor's leg I saw another bob cut brunette girl, giving the girl called Haibara Ai a small nod I walked into the room in question. Just like three years ago, she was for some reason suspicious of me.

"Are you Lin Sharon-san?" A man wearing an orange brown coat and matching hat asked me. He also had a moustache and looked more reliable than the younger detective from before. "I am Inspector Megure. We have just spoken on the phone."

"Yes, I'm Lin Sharon. It's a pleasure to meet you, Inspector Megure." I said, unwittingly going into business mode.

Glancing over to the people in the room I saw Dino, another blonde man with blue eyes, a possible Afro-American, a gorilla looking man covered in bandages and a blonde woman; probably the secretary Takagi told me about. In the back of the room I saw a man behind a laptop. He was shot four times in his torso and from what I could see, one shot went through his heart. I couldn't help to grimace at the sight. Seeing dead people was not exactly something I liked to see.

"I apologise for bringing you here." I heard the inspector say, making me redirect my eyes to him. "But I have a few questions regarding this unfortunate event. First of all do you know the victim?"

I wanted to say no, but I couldn't. I felt that I did know the victim from somewhere. As I looked closer to his motionless face I remembered, it was the man who tried to scout Dino last night.

"I did not know his name, until detective Takagi told me about the case earlier. But I'm fairly certain this man tried to scout Dino last night." I said as I turned around to face the inspector. "We met him when we were at the shopping mall across the Ferris wheel."

"Was he bothering the two of you?" He continued to question as I saw detective Takagi taking notes in his little notebook.

"Well, he was persistent to get Dino join his agency and truth to be told, it was not exactly pleasant to have him around. However, neither of us touched him."

"Did the victim try to scout you?"

"No, inspector. He had eyes on my boyfriend only."

"How did you feel on not being scouted?"

Eyeing at the inspector I tried to read where he was going with the questions. The vibe I was receiving from him was one that I did not like.

"Nothing, actually."

"Are you sure you about that?" Inspector Megure asked with piercing eyes. "A young, well maintained, lady being ignored by a talent scout… Are you sure don't feel anything?"

Definitely not liking his accusing tone, I swallowed the upcoming retort. Offending an officer was never a good thing to do.

"Yes. I am positive, Inspector." I replied, not falling under his gaze. "I have no interest in modelling whatsoever."

Even though detective Takagi said I was not a suspect, seeing the inspector's look and tone I was pretty sure I was one. Was being annoyed by someone enough for a motive? I doubted.

"Where were you today around half past eight?" He continued.

"In this hotel, VIP room 4502, I was probably changing."

"Is there anyone who can confirm that?"

"Other than Dino, none."

"Where were you at the time Dino-san was apprehended?"

"I was going back to our room to get Dino's hat and sunglasses." I said as I pointed to the fedora on my head. "We had planned to go to Miracle Land today, but I assume that our trip will be cancelled because of the investigation."

"I'm afraid so, Lin-san. I have to ask you to stay here, you are one of the last people to see him alive."

"I understand, Inspector Megure."

As the inspector discussed the matter with detective Takagi, I let out a small sigh. Megure did not say anything specific, but it was clear I was a suspect too. Glancing over to the Cavallone Don I saw him smiling apologetically.

"It's been a while, Sharon-nee-chan." I heard a young voice say.

Looking down I saw a boy wearing glasses, "It certainly has." I smiled tiredly. "I hope you have been well, Conan-kun."

"Un. I'm sorry you've caught up in this."

"Why are you apologising?" I asked as I kneeled down to his height. Was it just me or was he just as small as three years ago? "It's not your fault, but are you allowed to be in here? Something horrible happened here."

"Hehehe, don't worry, Sharon-nee-chan. I'm pretty good in this." The little boy smiled innocently. "Say, is Dino-san really the president of the Cavallone Financial Group?"

"Yes, he is." I replied, still having my doubts of the presence of a child near a bloody body.

"But he's so young."

A little surprised at his remark I laughed. "He indeed is, but he is doing a marvellous job. I can learn a thing or two from him."

"What do you mean by that? Aren't you still in high school?"

Raising my eyebrow at the latter I chuckled, "Hm… You have quite the memory, Conan-kun." I smiled. "I already graduated from high school and I'm studying some business science in case I have to take over my grandfather's work."

"What do you mean by 'in case'?"

"Well, there is someone else who also has the right to succeed my grandfather. Honestly I don't really want it, but if he chooses me over him, then I have no choice to become the successor of the business."

"Hm… Is that so?" The boy smiled, but something about him made me feel wary. I remember this boy and the girl Haibara were different than the other three children. Back then they reminded of myself, so it was possible something deep was going on in their lives too.

When I was about to stand up, another blonde woman with blue eyes wearing glasses appeared in the doorway. It appeared she ran since she was huffing lightly. "Ca- Andre!" She called out, making everyone in the room look at her.

"A-Agent Jodie!?" Both the inspector and detective exclaimed.

The moment they said agent, FBI rang through my mind and I was in a mild state of panic. Why in the world was the FBI in Japan and who the hell was Andre? In any case, I needed an update.

Standing up I walked over to Dino who was standing in one of the corners of the office.

"Hey…" He whispered wryly. "I'm really sorry…"

"Don't be." I replied with a small smile. "It's not your fault. How are you holding up?"

"Aside of feeling guilty that our weekend is ruined, I'm fine. You know the kid?"

"Yeah, I met him and the other children in Paris. You know the thing with Ethan and the bank. They were there too."

"Seriously!?"

"Sssh… Yes, seriously. Anyway, can you tell me who those people are? I've heard about the case from the detective."

"Right to business as always…" He whispered with slight amusement as I watched the new woman talk to both the officers and the bulky gorilla looking man. I assumed he was the one called Andre. "Anyway the woman is the victim's secretary, Irena Palmer. She is the one who found the body. That blonde guy is Toby Keynes, he is a model and apparently he was in the same restaurant we were. The one with the darker skin is Hal Buckner, he works as an English teacher at a school nearby. He was in the restrooms on the same floor. He claimed he had trouble confessing to a student or something and the muscular man is Andre Camel. He was training on the staircase, but he didn't revealed his occupation yet."

"I see… The way he and that woman called Jodie makes me belief they are colleagues." I replied in the same manner. "Both officers called her 'agent', so I dare to say she has connections to the Bureau."

"FBI!?" He whispered, clearly shocked. "Why are they in Japan? Do you think the CIA is involved too?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know. It's bad enough the Japanese police are keeping us for this case, if the Americans, or anyone else for that matter, get wind of our backgrounds…"

"They won't, don't worry."

"The FBI?" Inspector Megure exclaimed, making us stop in our conversation.

He was holding some kind of ID and the man called Andre Camel was standing in front of the two officers. I wasn't too surprised, but the others were. Even the children started to murmur. Honestly this room was ridiculous; a victim, a possible murderer, two Mafiosi, several policemen, two FBI-agents and normal civilians including five children, among two carrying some kind of secret.

"Really?" The inspector continued. "This evil looking man is with them?"

Hearing the last comment I repressed a snort. The seriousness I just had, disappeared in thin air. It was true the man looked more menacing because of his broad face and bulky build, but I did not find him evil looking.

"Y-Yes, when they're considering agents for the Bureau… t-they don't judge them by their faces." The blonde FBI woman tried to explain.

"But why is he here in Japan?" The inspector asked cynically.

"You know that I messed up a job for the FBI and came to Japan to console myself, right?" She explained sheepishly. "And since I took so long to come back, he got worried about me…"

Camel looked a bit surprised at his colleague and all of the sudden she hugged his arm.

"You see, Andre Camel is my lover!" She said happily. "Right, darling?"

There was a moment of silence before he laughed awkwardly, "Ah… Yes. Ahahaha…"

Seeing the man getting flustered, I bit the inside of my cheek. He was totally at a loss and I found it quite funny. It also did not help that both Megure and Takagi were looking doubtful at the duo.

"Refrain yourself." I heard Dino whisper, which made it even more difficult to keep a straight face.

"And so?" Megure continued indifferently. "Why are you still in Japan?"

At this the woman's expression stiffened, only a little.

"Don't you think her Japanese is getting a bit better too?" Takagi added. "Before she was saying things like "soudessu"."

Takagi's imitation of a foreigner trying to speak Japanese made me almost crack up. It is certainly true that it is hard to get the right emphasises when a person starts to learn Japanese. Though, seeing a native person imitating a non-native was really weird.

"I-It's because I've been taking a crash course from Andre." She explained as she looked happily at the man in her arms. However, I could tell she was forcing herself. "He's really good at Japanese and thanks to him I've improved so much. As time went by, both of us have just found it difficult to leave Japan. Right, darling?"

"Y-Yes, that's exactly right…" Camel replied awkwardly.

Detective Takagi whispered something to the inspector and from my angle he looked dubious, perhaps he is sharper than I initially thought.

"Anyway, we need Agent Camel to stay until he's cleared of suspicion." The inspector said to the two agents. "Is that all right?"

"Yes, of course." Jodie replied happily and with that she dragged him to Conan, making me wonder why. They were whispering about something to each other when another man ran into the room. This man was a little chubbier and he also wore a suit and latex gloves. Probably another detective or investigator.

"Inspector!" He called out as he carried a purple shopping bag. "We found this paper bag in the tool storage area in the rooftop restaurant plaza restroom."

"What?" Megure called out.

"Inside is a raincoat, gloves and a gun." He reported as he showed the items. "These may have been used by the culprit."

The raincoat was your typical grey long coat, the gloves looked like white latex and the gun was a semi-auto with a silencer attached to the muzzle.

"I see, that means we probably won't find any gunpowder when we examine these four suspects clothing." Megure deduced.

"Four?" I thought puzzling. As far as I counted there are six suspects, myself included. Unless the inspector did not include the secretary and myself, then the number was right. Though I doubted they would exclude us just because it was a men's raincoat. Or… would they?

"Yes." Detective Takagi agreed. "Moreover, if they had disposed of the clothes they used for the crime, the culprit could have forced their way into the crowded elevator."

"I don't think so." Conan suddenly said, making my eyes shift to the smaller boy. "After the crime the culprit took the stairs to the roof and went into the restroom, then put their gloves, clothing and gun in a paper bag and hid it in the tool storage area, right? That means at least five minutes would have passed before they were done. They would have looked suspicious if they did all of that in a hurry. They also probably wouldn't have expected the police to arrive this quickly, right?"

"Hm… That's true…" Megure thought out loud.

I was honestly at a lost and I had difficulties following their conversation. From the looks of it the police arrived quite fast after the murder, even within five minutes if I add the inspector's approval to Conan's remarks.

"Furthermore, we've checked the video of the security cameras in the elevator." The officer who brought in the evidence said. "There were no foreigners on it."

"Did you check for foreigners of Asian origin?" Agent Jodie questioned. "You can't tell by appearance, can you?"

"Ah… No, not to that extent…" The officer grimaced.

"I don't think that the president would scout people who look Asian, or at least East Asian." I said with a small frown of my own. For some reason I felt annoyed by her comment. "He said, and I quote, 'a foreign model who is able to speak Japanese is much more interesting than a Japanese model.' Personally, I found it rather rude."

"Sharon-nee-chan grew up in America, right?" Conan asked innocently, making me shift my gaze to the little boy.

"Ah… You're not Japanese?" The inspector exclaimed.

"No, I'm not." I replied as I looked at the inspector. "Like Conan-kun said, I grew up in America. I've gotten my Asian features from my mother, who was Chinese."

"Ah, I see…"

"I agree with Lin-san." The secretary called Irena Palmer said in rather broken Japanese. "The president has indeed always said that a person who does not look Japanese at all and speaks Japanese is interesting. So the suspicious ones are still those four people, right?"

She eyed at the remaining four men who were clearly uncomfortable at the sudden declaration. I felt Dino pulling the back of my blouse and I glanced up to see what he wanted. I saw him eyeing at the desk of the deceased.

"In that case, the most suspicious person would be the one who was hiding in the restroom, Hal-san." I heard the inspector say as I glanced at the desk. There I saw a laptop and a memo pad. I noticed faint red brownish smears on the white blank memo pad. Did the president write something down before he died?

"I already said I wasn't hiding, didn't I?" I heard the man called Hal defend himself. "Besides wouldn't you normally avoid hiding in the same restroom where you hid that kind of stuff?"

"That's true, but there's still a possibility that you saw the police coming and without thinking, you returned back to hide."

"Ah, by the way," I heard the investigator, who found the evidence, add. "The coat is for men and slim-fit. I guess its height fits either Toby-san or Dino-san perfectly…"

Hearing that I looked back at the officer.

"Hey, hey…" The blonde man called Toby exclaimed. "With a size like that, the FBI guy could force himself into it too, right? And it's not only just us men who can wear it. The secretary and that Chinese girl can also wear it. Like they say, the bigger the better."

Something about him did not feel right, my intuition told me. Was he possibly the murderer? But even with Hyper Intuition I could not just point him as the culprit without any hard evidence. Like having a special blood trait would stand in court. Oh, please.

"That's right. If their testimonies were false to cover the crime, then it's possible…" Megure reasoned out loud as he shifted his gaze between the secretary and me. "It's also possible that they wore a men's coat on purpose in order to make it look like a man did it…"

"T-That can't be…" The secretary stammered in disbelief.

I on the other hand sighed inwardly, as I refrained myself to hit my forehead. I could not believe that they actually ruled us, women, out because of a men's coat…

"Anyway, it seems it is certain that one of you six has made the company president eat four bullets…"

"Maybe not only bullets." The young voice rang out again. Looking at the source I saw Conan standing next to the deceased man. Apparently he was looking at the president's hand. "Maybe the president has eaten something for real. The president's right hand… It seems like he was holding something!"

"Eh!?" Inspector Megure exclaimed as he walked over. As he bended over to take a closer look, I felt Dino pulling my shirt once more.

"What's your intuition telling you?" He whispered. "Can you tell who's lying?"

"My intuition is useless in court, you know?" I whispered back. "But T.K.'s suspicious."

Of course T.K. was the abbreviation for Toby Keynes, the blonde model.

"Yeah, it was like he deliberately pointed everyone else as the culprit. Making it some guessing game."

"That too… But isn't that a normal human response too?"

"Ah!" Takagi suddenly called out, making me flinch in surprise. "Although it's just a little, there are traces of blood on the pen and the memo papers! There's also dim traces of something written on the memo papers."

"Could it be that the president wrote something before dying and the culprit tore it took it away!?" The inspector exclaimed while holding the bloodied memo pad.

"In that case, hurry and perform a blood analysis and find out what was written!" Agent Jodie called out. "Of course, also check out if it's the president's handwriting."

"Eh? Um…" Both detective Takagi and inspector Megure faltered under her sudden commands.

"I-If it was the FBI, they would investigate this way, right? Darling!" She awkwardly smiled at her colleague, which made him force to agree oddly too.

Seeing them like that I couldn't help to smile laconically. The act was just too strained. For whatever reason they were in Japan, they really need to sort out their acts.

"Excuse me. If I may." Dino spoke up for the first time since my arrival, making all heads turn to him. "While we can wait for the investigators to do their job, isn't it faster to shine a light on the memo? Or use a pencil on another sheet of paper to darken out the edges? I mean, we might have a clue to work with…"

That was not a bad idea. If the emboss was deep enough, we could see it right away. Though I had my doubts it was a dying message. The president wouldn't be able to write anything down after being shot through his heart, and even if he managed to pen something down, I doubt he could write properly.

"Hm… That is indeed another option." Agent Jodie thought out loud. "Detective Takagi, could you flash your flashlight on the memo before handing it over to the analysis team."

"Eh… Sure, I guess?" He faltered once more before going through his pocket to take out a small flashlight.

Seeing him flashing over the memo, I saw the detective squint his eyes trying to read the small shadows of the emboss.

"I think it's English…" He muttered. "It's written in Latin alphabet."

"Please allow me." Jodie said as she stood next to him. "B… Bring… my… t… tux…Bring my tux."

"B-Biringu?" Both officers stammered at the short English sentence.

"Watashi no tuxedo tottekite kure." She translated. "I am sure that is written on it, but we still need the team to validate it to stand it in court. At least we may have indeed a clue."

In all honesty I started to wonder why we haven't called our attorneys yet. An investigation like this will take a while and I really do not have the intention to stay near a dead person. But the message on the memo did make me wonder about something. Why would the murderer take away a bloodied errand memo? Was it even possible that the piece of paper was still on the culprit? If so, why would he do that? It was a bloody bloodied memo, it would give him right away in a body search.

"Say Sharon, how are your reading skills in kanji?" Dino suddenly asked out loud.

Absolutely not expecting the question, I turned around and looked at him as he was out of his mind, "Why do you bring up my Japanese now?" I hissed in fluster. "You know how it is. I'm working on it."

"Eh? Sharon-nee-chan can't read kanji?" Conan asked in surprise, making me grimace in embarrassment. "Even though you speak Japanese fluently?"

Giving the blonde a small glare, I looked at the boy who stood now together with his friends.

"My speech may be fluent, but reading and writing is still difficult for a non-native." I smiled wryly at the boy. "Yes, I am half Chinese, and I grew up in the States, but at heart… I am… Ita…lian…"

I faltered at the end as my eyes widened in realisation. Looking back at Dino I saw him smirk a little. I could not believe it. The reason why he brought up my Japanese was actually to let me, and perhaps them, notice of the possibility that the culprit cannot read English even if they look like a foreigner. It was the perfect disguise, no one would even assume a Western looking person not be able to know English, or at least a little of it. So it may be possible that the killer took away the memo because he thought the memo was incriminating him. I was pleasantly surprised by his insight.

But still, even knowing this I had no idea to proof the fact that the culprit cannot read English. Andre Camel and Hal Buckner are eliminated as they are FBI agent and English teacher. Irena Palmer speaks in broken Japanese mixed with English words. Dino and I did not do it, so Toby Keynes was the last man standing. Doing any tests could be denied unless they showed up with a court order, which was impossible to get with circumstantial evidence. If this even counted as evidence.

While I was lost in thoughts I felt a soft tug on my hand. Apparently I missed something because Dino was escorting me out of the crime scene following the others and another officer.

"Did something happen?" I questioned softly as we walked down the hallway.

"The inspector asked us to wait in a different room." Dino replied. "They'll continue their investigation while we wait. How was my little hint? Is it possible?"

"Of course it's possible. I'm impressed you thought of that."

"You shouldn't underestimate me, you know." He replied smugly. "Besides, you told me many people assumed you knew Mandarin before while you didn't. It annoyed you so much because people judged you on your appearance, right?"

"… Of course." I sighed as I massaged the bridge of my nose. "That's why I was feeling annoyed when the FBI woman suggested the foreigners of Asian origin. Unknowingly I felt addressed by it."

"Then I guess I know you better than you thought?"

Not answering the question I just smirked after making eye contact with the man next to me.

"Uwah! Sharon-onee-san and Dino-onii-san are really lovey-dovey!" A young girl's voice called out.

Surprised at the sudden remark my eyes darted at the source and I saw the dark haired girl looking at us gleefully.

"A-Ayumi-chan!" I shushed.

At the same time I heard Dino say, "Do we look lovey-dovey, little girl?"

Automatically my head turned once more to him and after we met each other's eyes he chuckled, which made me sigh in exasperation. This wasn't exactly the right time to act mushy mushy.

"Un!" The girl replied gleefully. "You're holding hands!"

This time I couldn't help to laugh at her remark. I forgot girls her age considered holding hands as something lovey-dovey. Or did holding hands have a special meaning to Japanese people? Blast the cultural differences.

"Say, Sharon-nee-chan, Dino-nii-chan?" Conan asked cutely. "Have you two ever heard Japanese people speak English?"

"Eh? Ehm… Yes, we have." Dino replied, surprised how the little boy addressed him. "Last night even, right?"

"Yeah…They talked really fast, though. So I wasn't able to fully understand them." I confirmed after a small hesitation. I didn't want to hurt their feelings by saying that Japanese cannot speak English. Of course I know this does not apply for every Japanese, but I rather wished they just spoke their own language if the other party can understand them.

"Then do you want to participate a little test?" The little boy asked. "It will eliminate both of you as a suspect in an instant. I'm sure Jodie-sensei has a theory too thanks to Dino-nii-chan."

"Why not, sounds like a good idea. Ehm, Conan-kun, right?" Dino replied.

"Un, Edogawa Conan, detective."

Dino's eyebrows shot up and I was a little surprised myself. I knew they had a detective club, but to declare to be a detective was something else. There was also no hint of lying. Did he perhaps study under agent Jodie? He called her sensei after all.

"E-Excuse me…" I heard Hal speak up hesitantly. Looking up, I saw him standing just outside the newly assigned waiting room, talking to the officer. "If all you want me to wait for the results, may I leave for about two hours? My class is going to start soon and I haven't notified the headmaster about my situation yet."

"Ah! May I also go to the hotel reception?" Irena also asked. "I have to do a lot of cancelling, and we might find out something about the people whom the president was about to meet today…"

"Well, I guess they won't mind if you go with another officer?" Jodie said. "But this is not my call. You have to clear it with the inspector."

"Please wait in the room, I will get the inspector." The escorting officer said before going back to the crime scene.

"Hmf. There's somebody killed over here. How can they think about lessons and parties?" Toby muttered nonchalantly. "What nerve they have…"

"Well, sir. Life goes on." I replied in English as Dino and I walked pass him. Glancing at his expression I caught a slight panicked eye movement, but it disappeared when he scoffed a small hmf.

"He panicked. It was faint, but he definitely panicked." Dino whispered again when we walked to the furthest corner of the room. "And why did he say parties? She just wants to go to the reception on the ground floor, right?"

"If I'm correct the reception we know is called the front desk in Japan." I whispered back, making sure that no one was eavesdropping. "If he indeed doesn't know English, then he probably thought it was a party or ceremony of some sort and slipped up."

"But there's no way we can let him repeat that again, right?"

"Unfortunately not."

The inspector and detective entered the room along with the officer who escorted us.

"Hal-san, I'm afraid you have to cancel your classes today." Inspector Megure said as he addressed the afro American teacher.

"In that case, I want to tell the school's principal about my circumstances." Hal replied. "The school is really nearby, so I would really appreciate that."

"There is no need for that!" Conan called out. "We have a spell to reveal the culprit when we cast it!"

At this all eyes went to the little boy, who stood in the middle of the room, grinning.

"S-Spell?" Inspector Megure stammered. "A spell that reveals the culprit when you cast it?"

"Un! But you need some preparation!"

"Preparation?"

After the boy motioned the large man to kneel to his height, Conan whispered something in the inspector's ear. As I saw the inspector's stumped face I wondered what Conan had told him. Looking around I saw most people wore a thoughtful look.

"And that's it!" Conan called out happily as he stretched his arms out. "Easy, huh?"

"A-Are you sure we'll find the culprit with this?" Inspector Megure questioned dubiously.

"Yes, it's guaranteed because I heard about this spell from Shinichi-nii-chan! Just test it and see for yourself!"

"W-Well… If Kudou-kun says so…"

As I watched the inspector talking to detective Takagi, I crossed my arms. For some reason they listened to the little boy and even accepted this spell after he mentioned this Shinichi.

Shinichi… For some reason I had the feeling that I heard the name before, but I had trouble to remember where exactly.

"So… what do you think?" I heard Dino say, interrupting my thoughts.

"Think what?" I replied as I looked over to Conan who stood with his friends now. From the looks of it he was telling them the spell he told the inspector.

"The boy. Don't you think it's odd that the police listen to a young boy like him?"

"Hm… I guess he's something like Reborn." I muttered as I saw the children laugh out loud. Apparently the spell was something funny.

"Like Reborn? How come?"

"Because Reborn is an infant…?"

As I redirected my gaze to the man next to me I saw him grimacing sheepishly, "Don't tell me you've never noticed…" I deadpanned.

"No, no, no! It's just he's… you know… he's like a real man, you know…"

Not knowing what to say I just cocked my eyebrow.

"Please don't look at me like that…"

"OK." I said as an amusing grin crept on my face. Looking back at the small group of children, who were still chortling, I hoped Dino wouldn't notice my amusement at his remark. At least not as much.

Seeing detective Takagi going out of the room I saw agent Jodie and Conan talking softly to each other. Glancing to the others I saw Hal looking on his watch impatiently, Irena was checking her smart phone and Toby just stood there with his hands in his pockets.

Feeling my phone vibrate in my purse I took out the device and Uncle was written on the screen. Grimacing a little I declined his call and immediately wrote a text message. Out of experience I knew he would be very… loud, even if it wasn't on speaker.

Uncle, can't pick up now. Currently with police and FBI, homicide case; we're suspects. I'll brief you later. Xoxo S [10:24]

Almost immediately I received a reply.

FBI!? Should I call Lord Nono and the attorneys? Gah! I knew it was a bad idea to go to Tokyo! Tell Little D that he's so going to take responsibility for this! [10:24]

"So he says…" I said as I showed Dino the message, which in turn he grimaced.

"I'm not sure which is worse, Ivan's wrath or Reborn's…"

"Believe me, you don't want to feel Uncle's wrath." I chuckled as I typed out my reply that it wasn't necessary to call them.

After a good twenty minutes detective Takagi returned and reported to his supervisor.

"Good!" Inspector Megure called out. "Everyone, please follow me to the next room. Everything is ready."

As we followed him I saw the children giggling again. I really wondered whether it was really that funny.

When we walked in the new room I saw six chairs standing next to each other and I couldn't help to cock a brow. A group interrogation? I had absolutely no idea.

"Then, if the six suspects will stand in front of the chairs…" Inspector Megure said. I could hear a small quiver of doubt in his heavy voice. Apparently, he himself was sceptical of this experiment.

"W-What are you going to do?" Hal stammered unsure, probably not liking of whatever is going to happen.

"If you want to interrogate us, isn't it better to interrogate everyone individually?" FBI agent Camel said.

I saw that the secretary was fidgeting, probably also feeling uncertain what was going to happen. Glancing at Dino I saw him shaking his head along with a dubious look of his own. So much for getting to know our situation.

"Well, let's do as the inspector says." Toby said casually as he walked to one of the chairs in the middle. "It's not like we're going play Musical Chairs."

"Ah, please don't sit yet…" The inspector called out before Toby could sit down.

It really made me curious what the inspector was going to do and without further ado I followed Toby's example and walked to the chair next to him. I felt Dino following me suit and not much later all of us stood in front of the chairs.

As I stood there I saw the children whisper among each other again.

Hearing the inspector clearing his throat my eyes darted back to him, "Ahem, now that you six are gathered, first… shiranpuri!"

As I heard the children laugh out loud again, I could not help to deadpan. Either the inspector was pulling our legs or he tried real, and I mean, real hard to speak English. Considering the situation, I suppose it was the latter so I sat down on the chair. While I am able to understand some Japanese English, thanks to the tutoring at Namimori Middle School, but at least try to separate the words instead of putting them all together. Or simply say suwatte kudasai in Japanese, which would also be much easier for him to say than sit down, please.

Unless… This was actually the spell Conan mentioned.

As I looked to the people next to me I saw everyone, but Toby sitting on the chair. At the same time the laughing stopped and both the inspector and Toby himself exclaimed in confusion.

"Wh-Why are you guys sitting down?" The last man standing asked in confusion.

All eyes were directed to the blonde model and I was very much impressed by this. I also understood why the children were laughing so much about it. Shiranpuri literally means feign ignorance and to say that the possible suspects have to act innocent is quite… directionless.

"Sit down please…" Agent Jodie slowly said in English as she walked closer to the culprit. "For foreign ears that are used to English, shi- ra-n puri sounds like sit down please. Even more so if they were made to stand in front of a chair beforehand. In other words, even though you look like a foreigner, you are actually Japanese. What's more, since your ears are not used to English, you could only understand the original meaning of that phrase which is 'play innocent'. Do you understand what that means, Mister Culprit?"

As Toby visibly paled at the agent's deduction, both inspector Megure and detective Takagi looked at each other in confusion.

"A-Agent Jodie…" Inspector Megure stammered. "We still don't exactly follow the course of event…"

"Well, inspector." She said as she turned sideways. "The case went something like this, right? The person who was shot was the president of a foreign talent company. From the fact that that the president was supposed to meet a foreign new talent, and not to mention that the police arrived early, there were six suspects. The secretary, Irena-san, the one who discovered the president's body. The foreigners who were in the hotel at the time of the murder; the English teacher, Hal Bachner-san; the model, Toby Keynes-san and the president of Cavallone Financial Group, Dino Cavallone-san. Also Andre Camel, the FBI agent who was working out on the stairs for some reason and Sharon Lin-san, Dino-san's girlfriend who may have the motive of jealousy of not being scouted."

Hearing jealousy as motive I had to restrain myself of hitting my forehead. Jealousy was the last thing I would kill for.

"The clue was a memo pad that was on the president's desk, from the blood on his hand, pen and memo pad; we figured that the culprit took off with the memo that president wrote before he died. Based on the traces made by the pen on the paper, we got Bring my tux. According to his secretary, Irena, he had planned to go out on a party tonight. That memo was probably a message to Irena written by the president himself. You get it now, right inspector?"

Looking at the inspector face I saw he still didn't understand it.

"S-So why did the culprit take the memo…?" He asked, definitely still confused about his case.

"Ah! That's it!" Detective Takagi called out. His face radiated like he finally found the last puzzle piece. "It's because he couldn't read English! He didn't know what it meant, so he got scared and took off with it! Probably when he was searching for something after he shot the president, then he noticed that the president was holding the pen and the memo papers, so the culprit thought that he had written something about him and took it in confusion. If we eliminate people who can read English from the suspects, then Hal Bachner-san, the English teacher; Irena-san, who exchange messages with the president in English; FBI agent Andre Camel; Dino-san, president of an international company and Lin Sharon-san, who grew up in America are eliminated as suspect. So the one who was likely to take that message is a person who probably can't read English. Toby Keynes-san, you're the only one left!"

As I crossed my arms and legs I glanced over to the, now, sweating culprit.

"Wh-Where is the proof?" He called out in mild desperation. "Those are all speculations!"

"Say, what would you do?" Conan suddenly asked to his friends. "I mean if you picked up a paper with something bad about you on it…"

"I'd probably just throw it out right away…" Ayumi said along with a thoughtful expression.

"I'd be pissed!" Genta grunted.

"And I wouldn't want to read it ever again!" Mitsuhiko added.

"But what if it was written in some sort of secret code you couldn't read?" Conan resumed.

"In that case, I wouldn't throw it away!" Ayumi exclaimed.

"Because I would want to know what it says!" Genta added.

"So I'd take it and do my best to find out its meaning!" Mitsuhiko concluded.

A second later they all looked up at the blonde model with the realisation, "Don't tell me that the culprit…"

Before Toby could do anything, detective Takagi stood in front of him, "Please excuse me." He said before he conducted a body search on the suspect. A moment later the detective held the missing memo in his hand. "Just as expected…"

"Yeah…" Toby sighed in defeat. "I was going to bring it home and ask my American girlfriend's younger brother for the translation. My girlfriend was overworked by that president, to the extent that her health worsened and she died at the end of last month."

"Overworked?" The inspector inquired.

"Yeah." He sighed. "He made her sign the contract which was written in Japanese. She could speak the language to an extent, but she wasn't good at reading it at all. Besides, in case she became unable to work, the contract made her brother jointly responsible for her. In order to at least save her brother, I was going to threaten him at gunpoint to get that contract back and I made him scout me on purpose. When he said that the contract wasn't here, he told me he would have his secretary bring it. It sounded like a lie to me and before I even knew it, I pulled the trigger."

After hearing his story I had mixed feelings. It was noble for him trying to save his late girlfriend's brother, but to use a gun with a silencer just screams premeditated.

"You know, Keynes-san." I said after a sigh, receiving the attention of thirteen pairs of eyes. "There is a reason why there is a safety on a firearm. Are you certain it wasn't to avenge your late girlfriend?"

He chuckled as he closed his eyes, "Maybe. Maybe I wanted that indeed, but I never want to feel that ever again. The feeling of shooting someone… with each pull of the trigger, it's like your very soul is leaving you… That horrible feeling."

"Bring him away." Inspector Megura said curtly, not wanting to hear any more.

"One more thing," Toby said as detective Takagi cuffed him. "How did you know that I can't speak English?"

"Reception." Conan answered, shifting all the attention back to him. "When the secretary said that she wanted to go to the hotel's reception, you said "There's somebody killed over here. How can she think about parties!" For foreigners, the hotel reception is what's known in Japanese as the hotel front desk. That's how we knew for sure you couldn't speak English!"

"I see… So she meant the front desk…" He smiled bitterly. "I knew it sounded odd. If I knew this would happen, I would have studied more English from my American father…"

As detective Takagi escorted Toby out of the room I let my head fall in my neck and sighed out loud. Not because the case was over, but because it reminded me again how ugly people are. Not that I was any better, I was probably even worse than him.

"Agent Camel, Irena-san, Hal-san, Lin-san, Cavallone-san. You are free to go now, but I would like your official statement by the end of the day."

Glancing over to Dino I saw he nodded, so I sat normal again. "Understood, inspector." I said as I stood up.

It was better get this over with this as soon as possible.


Disclaimer: Case is derived from Detective Conan chapters 605 to 608.