I am always happy when a series has a lot of chapters/episodes on its plate but every episode feels the same in mysteries. Although Detective Conan isn't much different when its popular people will read it.
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Yoku was ready to place the mystery together. Clearly Conan was ahead of him in a few ways but did he know the murderer didn't want the botanical garden to be ruined? Did he know the right ways the murderer got rid of the corpse?
Yoku wasn't just thinking about this stuff to himself. He was sitting on a chair next to Ai. She was bossy to learn the information Yoku had to explain in words and elaborate everything used to kill the reporter.
" If I didn't have to learn this I would close my eyes to save brain power," she told Yoku coldly.
Gathering up all the suspects in one room with Professor Agasa, the Detective Boys, Yoru's father, and Yoru, Conan begins his deduction by speaking through his voice changing bow tie. Using Professor Agasa as a front, Conan explains the series of events that have occurred.
"As you all know, the diseased victim's death was camouflaged to appear as an accident and that the identity of the culprit behind the victim's death is left unknown. However there are several inconsistencies in this mystery. For instance, why did the victim's corpse appear in the lake while the crime scene was actually in the iris japonica field? Why did the culprit take the unnecessary effort to transport the body and how? But the biggest question is why did the caretaker who was supposedly not at the lake lied in her alibi?"
Sayuri Kaben flinches at the last part when Conan (through Professor Agasa) mentions her alibi. Unease appears on her face. She couldn't tell them. No, she couldn't.
"Wait, you're not thinking Sayuri is the culprit!" Sakura spoke out.
"I know I said that she was acting strange, but that doesn't mean she did it!" Renge joined in defend his childhood friend.
In all the years, those two have known her. They knew that their friend would never do something as to commit a heinous crime like murder.
"I believe it's time to stop going at this roundabout. It's about time you stop making your friends worry and admit to your crime..."
A cold chill goes down Sakura and Renge's spine. He was kidding, right? There's no way their precious friend could possibly be a murderer. Having enough, Sakura and Renge weren't going to stand by and do nothing while their friend was basely being accused of murder.
"Enough! Will you quit it!"
"There's no way Sayuri could do it!"
"Ayame Sakurai!" Conan announced.
Ayame!
Both Sakura and Renge were shocked to hear her name. It wasn't Sayuri but Ayame. No way, they couldn't accept this.
Sayuri glumly looks down at the floor unable to retaliate or say anything.
"M-Me?" Ayame said.
"That's right. First, you killed the victim at the field of iris japonicas knowing that he was a reporter and likely to write an article about the inn's most famous flower that has recently bloomed. Then you carried off the victim's body to the lake where you set up the corpse adrift on a boat. You fixed the boat so that it would sink after a certain amount of time so that you could make it look like an accident. This way you could falsify the actual time of death and have enough time to set up an alibi proving your innocence while people thought he drowned in the lake."
"Excuse me, but I think you're mistaken. There's no way I could have possibly killed anyone." Ayame defended. "I was with Sakura the whole time so there was no way I could have had enough time to do all that."
"That would be true if the victim was killed after you made contact Hanafuda-san. But if the victim was killed before, then that's a different story."
"That's ridiculous! I was with Ayame the whole time, and I never once saw a corpse or anything remotely like that!" Sakura spoke out.
"Then what if the corpse was with you the entire time but you just didn't realize it?"
" What are you talking about?" Sakura spoke out.
Conan didn't tell Sakura what he was talking about at first. He whistled for his detective friends to come in and they came in with the evidence.
Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko rolled in a trolley with bunch of pots over a large rectangular box covered with a green tarp.
Ayame slightly pales at the young kids pulling in the trolley.
"What's this?" Sakura asked.
"According to your testimony, you and Sakurai-san were out performing your duties. You assisted Sakurai-san who appeared to be in need of help and offered your assistance. From a third party's perspective, that would be a solid alibi however that's if the both of you were with each the entire time. Were you?"
Sakura Hanafuda breaks out in a cold sweat. "No, we weren't. But it was only a few times did we separate for a while but it wasn't that long. Five minutes at most! And you said that the corpse was with us the whole time too! But I swear I didn't see any resembling a corpse. Just a bunch of pots and gardening equipment!"
"No, there is a way to conceal her sinful act without letting you be aware of it. Look right here." Conan has Professor Agasa gesture over to the trolley the three Detective Boys brought in. "I assume this is a similar replication of the trolley Sakurai-san had with her when you first met."
Sakura Hanafuda reluctantly nods her head in agreement.
*Knock* *Knock*
Sakura Hanafuda as well as Renge Seika and Sayuri Kaben were startled by the knocking sound coming from the trolley. Just what was that?!
On cue, Ayumi removes the green tarp revealing a wooden cedar box used for gardening placed upside down on the trolley. Then Genta and Mitsuhiko lift up the cedar box revealing Yoru's father underneath who was the source of the knocking.
"As you can guess, the cedar box is quite large and has enough space to contain a fully grown man. Thus concealing any visibility of a corpse in sight. And the method Sakurai-san used to hide the diseased from you."
"This is riduculous! Ayame would never do such a thing!" Renge stated.
"No, she did. And she has a witness to her crime."
!
A witness he said. This caught their attention.
"Isn't that right, Kaben-san?"
All eyes are directed at Sayuri Kaben who was nervously shaking when she heard her name from Professor Agasa's (Conan) mouth.
"I think I would know if there was a dead body near me " Sakura yelled in outrage.
"I thought you might say that "Canon replied using Agasa's front. "You wouldn't be able to see it if it were hidden by the gardening tools. You see I have reason to suspect that the body was hidden under tarp inside the cedar chest. You see the cedar box is rather large and could easily fit the average man inside." Conan replied please with himself
"I called Bluff " Renge called interrupting The side interrogation "there is no way that she could've done that oregano's I was man's body could deathly never get in there there is no wayregular size man would fit."
"I thought you might say this so I have a range some visual evidence so Mr. Yuro. Please step out with me for a moment.
"Why might I ask? "Mr. Yuro ask from his seat next to his son with a bit of alarm on his face.
"Since you are roughly the size of the victim you can aid me in a little visual exhibit. "
"OK "
Mr. Yuro Sheakley got up from his seat and followed the professor out of the door it was no more than 30 minutes before the professor walked in explaining that exhibit A would be in in one minute. Soon faint knocking
Could be heard from the other side of the door they were faster promptly open the door
Bringing in yet another trolley with a cedar box except this time Yoru's father was the one pushing it, Yoru's father pushed the trolley and lifted up the cedar box to reveal Renge Seika underneath on his side with his knees pushed close to his body.
"I believe I've ridden you of your doubt, Seika-san." Conan said through the voice changing bow tie with Professor Agasa as his front man.
Having proven wrong, Renge couldn't refute.
"Even if the corpse could have possibly fit, that doesn't prove that it was actually there!"
"No, it was there. And that is the undeniable truth!" Conan rebutted. "And there are only two people who can prove this: the murderer, herself, and the witness."
Conan continues on with his deduction.
"Although it wouldn't take long for the culprit falsify the victim's death as an accident, it never occurred to her that a bystander could have coincidentally pass by or the caretaker at least. Since the two of you were coworkers, it wouldn't be too hard for the other to find out the other's working hours or when they'll show up." Professor Agasa turns his gaze over to Ayame as Conan speaks. "However, unfortunately for you, Kaben-san happened across your preparations while you weren't looking."
"You're wrong!" Sayuri shouted out. "Ayame didn't do it! It was me! It didn't see Ayame do anything. I was my first murder so I was shakened up by it. Even if he was scum, anyone would be horrified to kill someone!"
"Sayuri..." Sakura softly spoke out her friend's name. Renge too shared the same emotions as Sakura.
"I was the killer! I should be the one taken to jail, not Ayame! It was me!"
"Enough..." Ayame interjected stopping Sayuri's confession. "You don't need to take the blame for me."
"Wait, it couldn't be..." Sakura couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Ayame?"
And neither could Renge.
"It was me. I was the murderer." Ayame confessed much to Sakura and Renge's disbelief.
Conan knew she was the killer. Even without her confession it was sealed she would be going to prison. In his opinion her trying to not be arrested was working too hard and working not so hard on the things she should have been working on.
" Your friends have heard you confess; confess and tell them what makes you the murderer."
That was Conan telling her she had an ultimatum. It wasn't everyday Conan let the murderer's confess their own crimes, but most of the time they denied their crimes to the end.
No way, they couldn't believe this. Renge and Sakura couldn't believe that their friend was a murderer. But at the same time, they could understand why she did it.
"W-Why?" Sakura stammered unable to face reality.
"For the botanical garden..."
Sakura and Renge weren't surprised by Ayame's answer. Of course, she wouldn't never do something like murder unless it was for someone else's sake.
"I couldn't allow it. He nearly ruined this place once. And now that we were finally able to get back on our feet, he comes back again to smear our good name in the mud once more. H-He only brought nothing but despair for us and ruined our lives. All for his selfishness!"
It was very rare for them to hear their friend raise up her voice, but it was only natural in this case.
"But why did that lady say she was the murderer when she didn't do it? That doesn't make any sense." Genta questioned Sayuri's motive for taking blame of the crime.
"It's only natural to protect the people you love even if it met your own demise." Conan answered Genta's question through his voice changing bow tie. "Especially for her own sister."
Sister! This surprised Genta, Ayumi, Ai, and Mitsuhiko. So Ayame and Sayuri were sisters. That meant that Sayuri took the weight of the crime, because she wanted to protect her sister from going to jail.
"No! Ayame would never kill anyone! It was me!" Sayuri insisted that she was the criminal despite everyone knowing that it was Ayame.
"It's enough, Sayuri-ne." Ayame stopped her sister. "I honestly didn't care if I was charged with murder, but I didn't want our beautiful botanical garden to be renowned as a murder site after all our hard work so I made it look like an accident. I didn't mean to show you such a horrible scene. I was not a good little sister, was I?"
"N-no, I'm a horrible older sister for making my little sister go through such a thing." Sayuri cried.
This was the only time Conan saw the two sisters hug with tears dripping down their faces. What starts off as confessing and crying would one day turn into separation. With one sister in prison and the other one letting that sister let her sister in prison control her life would ruin them both.
It was nevertheless a case closed, a achievement for Professor Agasha when Conan gave him all the evidence used to find out it was her even though he explained it to the sisters himself, and he could finally walk out of the botanical gardens. It was a well deserved leave when he should have left the garden hours ago.
Conan walked out followed by no one. He didn't know why the kids didn't leave the botanical garden yet but as it turned out there was a kid as young as him greeting him when he left. Conan even recognized him as a kid in his class.
" That was impressive how you solved the case," Yoru said. He sounded impressed, but at the same time he wanted to say how he could've solved the case faster and better than Conan. " In the end did you find the result you were hoping for, putting away a girl who just wanted to protect the place she works in?"
"No, it wasn't just that." Conan responded. "What most likely drove her to commit murder wasn't the fear of losing this place but the death of her husband. I remembered reading an article about a car accident some time ago. The victim of the article being her late husband. Despite being the victim, he received a lot of criticism and blame for the accident. The other party lived and was none other than the diseased who was the writer of the article. And when she saw the diseased, she felt nothing but contempt for the man and believed that he would eventually bring ruin to their beloved botanical garden so she did away with him. At first, I wasn't certain for sure, but when I saw the rings in her room, I was convinced that she was the widow of the victim."
"..." Yoru had nothing to add for what Conan said was true. In hindsight, Yoru felt pity for the poor woman who suffered so much because of that man, but even so that was no reason to commit murder. For murder was a sin that one could not wash away from their conscience for all of eternity.
"Now onto more important matters, who are you?" Conan asked. "You are no ordinary kid. You may act like a normal, curious child using your father as a front, but you periodically show signs of intelligence beyond your age. Even like just now, you obviously knew the answer to the case yet you let me handle it in order to test me. What exactly is your aim?"
"... It's not like you are any different. Using that professor as a front to draw suspicion away from yourself, you are no different from me."
"You..."
"From that little test of mine, you have proven my suspicions correct."
A bit of sweat drips from Conan's cheek. This guy...
"I'm just like you. We are two people on the same boat."
Conan was going to believe what Yoru was telling him. He was a smart young man trapped in an even younger but still extremely smart young man.