SailorStar9: With Chapter 170 uploaded, I present Chapter 171 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 171: The Cursed Museum

Time passes...

"Tutankhamen." Sonoko listed the exhibits she, Ran and Conan were walking through at the Ancient Oriental Culture Museum. "The Sphinx."

"The Rosetta Stone." Conan continued.

"And finally, the Screaming Mummy." Sonoko stopped in front of the display case. "Ancient Egypt sure is mysterious."

"Isn't everything on display here a replica?" Conan wondered.

In the souvenir store...

"A notebook?" Conan noticed a fallen notebook on the table after he bought a bottle of oolong tea from the vending machine. "They have guests write reviews and requests in here." he flipped open the book to see that it was actually a feedback book.

"Some of the reviews are quite harsh, but they're quite helpful." Kowata Ken informed. "I'm Kowata, the director of the Ancient Oriental Culture Museum.

At the museum counter later...

"Ishikawa-kun, can you handle the register?" Kowata requested, both Ran and Sonoko having made their keychain purchases.

Just then, a loud thud was heard from inside the museum.

"Conan-kun." Ran gaped when the child dashed back into the museum.

Inside the museum...

"What's wrong?" Ran noticed Conan's startled gasp after they arrived at the crime scene.

"Could it be?" Sonoko spotted the ostrich feather grasped in Uchida Hiroaki's hand, the victim was crashed under a fallen Anubis statue.

"Ran-nee-chan, call the police." Conan instructed.

"It's the curse." Kowata declared. "It's Anubis' curse."

After Megure's team was called in...

"Detective Takagi." Sonoko started. "Was this an accident or a murder?"

"Still undetermined." Ami answered.

"It's the curse." Kowata insisted. "It's clearly Anubis' curse. Look at the object he's holding in his right hand."

"A feather?" Ran echoed.

"An ostrich feather." Ami clarified.

"What's so special about ostrich feathers?" Ran asked.

"The Book of the Dead." Sonoko replied.

"The Book of the Dead is a guide to the afterlife." Kowata related. "It describes how the dead reach the afterlife."

"What does that have to do with ostrich feathers?" even Chiba was confused.

"The dead are judged after their death." Kowata explained. "Their own heart is placed on one side of Ra's scales. An ostrich feather is placed on the other side. If the deceased's heart is tainted by sin, the scales tip out of balance. If the deceased is judged innocent, the way to the afterlife opens for them. However, if they're guilty, the beast Ammit consumes their soul."

"And the God presiding over that judgment is Anubis, the jackal-headed God of the Underworld and mummification." Ami added.

"I've heard of this." Ishikawa Takuto informed. "A bunch of archaeologists died mysterious deaths."

"That's the curse of the pharaohs." Sonoko retorted.

"Anubis must've judged this person guilty." Kowata concluded.

"Does that mean that the Anubis statue happened to fall as the victim was passing by it?" Chiba wondered.

"Don't you think it's odd, though?" Conan pointed out. "There's a wound on the back of his head."

"I'll need to get back to the autopsy theater to determine if he got that when he was struck by the falling statue." Ami assured.

"Then, what about that broken pedestal?" Conan pointed to the broken stand. "The broken leg has a different color from the other ones."

"In other words, someone replaced the original leg with one made from weaker wood." Ami concluded. "And after some time passed, the wood could no longer bare the weight of the statue and snapped, causing the statue to fall over. Takagi, Chiba, looks like we can classify this as murder, huh?"

"Yeah." Takagi nodded. "The culprit could've rigged this in order to fabricate an alibi. Director, we'd like to check your security camera footage."

In the office...

"We determined from his wallet that the victim was Uchida Hiroaki-san, 47 years old." Chiba reported. "He worked in construction. We've already contracted his wife, so she's on her way here. Additionally, we believe this woman is his wife, Uchida Yuko-san." he added, having Ishikawa rewind the security footage.

"She's been coming here a lot lately." Kowata recognized her.

"Who's that?" Takagi noticed someone else captured by the camera.

"That's Yamada-san, a regular." Kowata replied. "Nobody came to the museum after this." he added, the footage paused at the appearance of Ran, Sonoko and Conan.

After Yuko arrived...

"This is definitely my husband." Yuko confirmed. "How did this happen?"

"You came to this museum today." Takagi pointed out. "Did something happen inside the museum?"

"He suddenly showed up while I was viewing the exhibits inside." Yuko answered. "We got into an argument and I left before him. I don't know what happened after we parted ways."

"Why did you get into an argument?" Takagi inquired.

"He was a very controlling person." Yuko looked away. "He was angry that I came here without his permission. He'd make it sound like he caught me cheating. As far as I'm concerned, he was acting like a nasty stalker. I can't say we were a happy couple. I was considering divorce."

"Just to be sure, can we check your phone's history?" Takagi requested.

"I don't have a cell phone." Yuko blinked.

"That woman is the culprit." Yamada Kiyoshi insisted. "I saw them arguing. They threatened to kill them."

"Who did?" Sonoko inquired.

"The husband." Yamada replied. "They even said 'You won't get away with it.' That was the husband, too. It makes no difference who said it. The culprit is definitely the wife."

"You also don't have an alibi." Takagi pointed out.

"Who's got the time to bludgeon a stranger?" Yamada snapped.

"What were you doing around 3pm, 30 minutes before the body was discovered?" Takagi brought Kowata and Ishikawa for questioning.

"I was repairing a mirror." Ishikawa replied. "I met up with the director and some guests after that."

"I was preparing to close the museum." Kowata recalled.

"Ishikawa-san, how long have you been working here?" Conan asked.

"About two years, I think." Ishikawa answered.

"Let's look into the backgrounds of the victim and suspects." Takagi suggested, both he and Chiba were ready to report back to headquarters. "We may discover a surprising connection."

In Ami's office...

"Tough case?" Amuro poked his head in, opening the door and seeing the blue-haired coroner at her computer.

"Not exactly." Ami replied, giving herself a stretch. "Just let me sign off my initial report."

"Five minutes, love." Amuro reminded, experience having told him that she would most likely take twice as long. "I have a reservation at a sashimi restaurant."

"So, what happened to warrant the three-month radio silence?" Ami inquired, Amuro leading her to his car in the headquarters parking lot.

"An international black market trafficking case involving some heavy-duty astronautics equipment that was stolen from its creator. We're just fortunate we caught both bidder and potential buyer before the transaction went through." Amuro started the ignition. "It's winding down; I left Kazami to tie up any loose ends."

The next morning...

"This Uchida man is unbelievable." Takagi remarked, doing his research overnight. "On top of his countless minor offenses, he has a history of cheating, brawling and debt."

"Another all-nighter, Takagi?" Ami voiced, startling the younger detective.

"Mizuno-san!" Takagi gulped for breath. "Don't scare me like that."

"Café de Crie's original blend coffee and their egg salad baguette." Ami placed the takeaway bag beside the detective. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Takagi." she reminded.

"Hello?" Takagi took the incoming call.

"Detective, I know who did it." Kowata informed over the phone. "I'm confirming it, but it must be them. What are you..." he gaped.

"What's the matter?" Takagi blinked when the other end of the line went silent.

Back at the museum...

"Look." Ran heard and saw the commotion at the museum entrance.

"Is that the director?" Sonoko wondered, running up and recognizing Kowata's voice under the Anubis' mask, said director was struggling against the police officers restraining him.

"I received a call from the director this morning." Takagi explained. "He said he knew who the culprit was. Before he could tell me his name, the call ended. I rushed here and found him like this. Take him to the station." he instructed.

Just as Kowata was bundled into the police car, he dropped the feedback notebook and Conan picked it. After reading the latest comment, he pieced everything together.

At Tokyo Station...

Having deciphered Yuko's code, Takagi, Ran, Sonoko and Conan headed to the taxi stand.

"What is Ishikawa-san doing here?" Sonoko was surprised to see Yuko meeting with the museum employee when Conan tranquilized her.

"Ishikawa-san, I knew you would be here." Conan declared, using Sonoko's voice via his Voice-Changing Bowtie. "This case started with the discord between the Uchidas. After witnessing their argument, Yuko-san's lover decided to commit a crime in order to protect her."

"You're wrong." Yuko protested. "I'm the one who killed him."

"You had nothing to do with the murder." Conan corrected. "It was written in the notebook; it wasn't written explicitly. Her final note was written in her usual handwriting. If she's been involved in the murder, it would've affected her handwriting."

"Come to think of it, Ishikawa-san mixed up Anubis and the pharaohs." Ran recalled.

"That was a lie meant to direct suspicion away from himself." Conan revealed. "He pretended to be ignorant so we wouldn't suspect him. You showed up just before the director could tell Detective Takagi the culprit's name. When you explained the situation to the director, he felt sorry for you two and had second thoughts about telling the truth. So, he pretended to be cursed by Anubis to avoid testifying."

"I'm responsible for everything." Ishikawa confessed. "I've caused trouble for the director. But, Uchida Hiroaki deserved to die."

"You're wrong." Takagi objected. "Violence, controlling behavior, violations of privacy and all manners of harassment; I knew Uchida-san was having affairs with multiple women for several years. However, that doesn't make it right to take a person's life."

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