SailorStar9: With Chapter 200 uploaded, I present Chapter 201 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 201: The Detective Boys' Pursuit of the Purse-snatcher
Time passes...
"They didn't have it here, either." a disappointed Ayumi walked out of the Beika Bakery. Then, she noticed a man in a red coat clutching a bag flee on the opposite pavement.
"Someone help!" ten minutes later, Kume Shosaku also ran down the same path. "Thief!"
"What's wrong?" Ayumi ran across the street.
"Someone stole a bag containing the 300,000 yen I'd withdrawn." Kume replied. "I chased the culprit as quickly as I could, but I lost sight of them. I ended up here after asking people if they'd seen them."
"You called the police, right?" Ayumi reminded. "I'll call the others, too." she contracted the Detective Boys.
"Detective Takagi?" Mitsuhiko gawked, the group were hurrying to Ayumi's location when they saw Takagi ran behind them.
"I was in the area gathering information when I heard the sirens." Takagi explained.
"Someone was robbed." Conan informed.
"The culprit who stole the bag from Kume Shosaku-san apparently fled into an apartment complex." Takagi summarized the gathered information.
"Officer, help!" a Cheetah Delivery employee dashed out of said apartment. "There's someone on the ground over there."
In a unit of the apartment's Block B...
"We're almost certain it was murder." Takagi informed Megure over the phone, having found a stabbed Samura Koichi on the unit floor.
"That's my bag." Kume instantly recognized the porch beside Samura.
"That's the red jacket the culprit was wearing." Ayumi added.
"He couldn't have run on that leg." Haibara pointed out, spotting Samura's left leg that was in a cast.
"I think the culprit had longer hair." Kume added. "The envelope containing 300,000 yen and my wallet aren't here." Kume inspected the returned porch.
"Then, the purse-snatcher was someone else who murdered the man, abandoned their conspicuous red jacket, removed the money and wallet from the bag and fled." Mitsuhiko concluded.
Conan then focused on the calendar on the wall and spotted the appointment noted down on the notes section.
"Samura Koichi, the resident of this apartment appears to have several previous extortion offenses." Takagi informed Megure and Chiba.
"This is Megure." Megure took the incoming call. "At Haido City? A man's body was found nearby an izakaya in Haido City." he told his two subordinates. "Next to the man's body were an envelope containing 300,000 yen and Kume Shosaku's wallet.
In Izakaya Toriko...
"This store is closed today." Megure stated, looking at the dead Togane Katsumi slumped over on the table in the backyard. "An employee who came to get something they'd forgotten found the body." "Togane Katsumi: this man was quite the scoundrel as well and a friend of Samura Koichi. He died after consuming a poison. Based on this note he left with the stolen money, we can guess what happened." he showed the bagged suicide note. "Let's get this body autopsied."
Afterwards...
After confirming with the apartment management company employee that he did not make an appointment with Samura, Conan relayed his suspicions that the case was a premediated murder to Megure.
"According to Mizuno, Togure's time of death was an hour earlier than Samura's." Megure informed.
"Then, what about that note Togure-san wrote?" Conan wondered.
"So that's how it was." Megure realized. "Togane didn't commit suicide; he was killed. Samura's death was a premediated murder. Togane's death was made to look like a suicide. Both deaths need to be re-investigated."
After reviewing the case in a nearby park, Conan had sent Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi home while he and Haibara tracked down Takagi who was re-investigating a suicide caused by Samura's extortion.
Conan had snuck a peek of the victim's address and realized the suicide victim from five years ago lived in the same city as Kume.
He and Haibara then made a trip down to Tamage City to confirm his suspicions.
Later that day...
Leading the rest of the Detective Boys, Conan retraced the killer's route and found an old and worn-down mansion.
The group entered the abandoned house and Conan located a fresh mound in the yard and a hand-held shovel nearby. He unearthed the dug mound to find a discard red jacket and money porch with a wig inside. After instructing the others to get in touch with Takagi, he ran off to confront Kume.
At the Kume household...
"The culprit had to kill Togane before Samura." Conan told Kume. "If they waited until after they were robbed and called the police, they'd be stuck with the police and wouldn't be able to do anything. They'd have to explain how they were robbed. Once the bag was found, they'd be asked to confirm if it was theirs. It's hard pretending to be a victim. There never was a robbery. I went to Tamage City. Having decided to kill the two of them, you took Togane Katsumi-san to that restaurant, so the body would be discovered the next day by saying something to lure him there. Then, you poisoned him. You wedged an envelope containing 300,000 yen, your wallet and a suicide note beneath the body and left the place. Then, you pretended to be with the management company and killed Samura Koichi-san. You left a jacket and bag there. Then, you donned on a second matching jacket, wig and mask and a second bag to disguise yourself as a purse-snatcher. You ran into the apartment complex as though fleeing from a robbery, ran through the complex and onto the side street, and buried the things you'd used at an abandoned house. Then, you showed up as a robbery victim chasing after a thief and re-entered the apartment complex. I still don't understand your motive. I know it's probably related to the incident with Setoguchi Asako-san."
"Five years ago, my wife and I saw Asako-chan arguing with a man." Kume confessed. "My wife was concerned, but I figured it was an argument between a married couple, so I calmed her down and walked away. Several days later, Asako-chan killed herself. When I heard from her parents that she was being blackmailed, I regretted my actions. If I'd noticed then, she wouldn't have died. And the other day, I saw that accursed man, Samura Koichi. He was planning something evil with Togane Katsumi, who seemed to be his friend. They were planning how to take advantage of a young woman who was their next target. I knew more victims would appear if they were allowed to live."
'You still shouldn't have killed them." Conan insisted.
"We've collected the evidence buried at the abandoned house." Takagi came in with the other Detective Boys.
A few days later...
"That car..." Usagi was in an underground carpark when she espied Minako get into a luxurious car. "The one on the passenger seat is Minako. So that means the one driving is her husband? Fine then." she quickly took a picture of the driver. "I've got all I need now."
It was a few weeks later when Minako received a call from Usagi.
"Hello, Minako." Usagi sang from her end of the line. "I have something I want to tell you. Do you want to hear it? I bet you'll be so surprised when you hear what I'm going to tell you. I stole your husband. I'm sorry." she giggled. "Don't be mad."
"I don't understand what you're talking about." a bewildered Minako blinked.
"I saw you riding with your husband in the car at the mall's carpark that day." Usagi boasted. "I fell in love with him; I wanted to have him I had to steal him for myself. Your husband is so handsome and romantic: he's the best. By the way, your husband is so easy to steal away. Maybe he didn't love you enough?"
"Ah... him." a nonplussed Minako realized what happened. "My boyfriend is with me right now. That's not my boyfriend."
"I definitely saw him with you the other day." Usagi insisted.
"I think you're mistaken." Minako explained. "That guy's my boyfriend's brother-in-law, Ikeda. My boyfriend invited me over to his parents' house to introduce me and he had Ikeda pick me up."
"What's wrong with you?" Usagi whined. "I thought was taking something precious from you."
"By the way, Ikeda is a very sloppy man who's a chronic cheater and gambler." Minako revealed. "But, if you fell in love with that kind of guy, then go ahead. Do whatever you want." with those parting words, the blond hung up.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.