Well hello! Here's a new chapter of Azure Redi-fanfiction, inspired by episode 39 of Detective Conan, along with some other incidents in this fanfiction, but with some differences. I don't own the rights to the Detective Conan-series, but I have come up with some cases for Shizuka to solve herself. I start planning the next chapter. See you in the next chapter.
"Happy Birthday!" People in a mansion at night congratulated a woman dressed in a red and black dress.
The woman blew out the candles on the cake on the table in front of her.
Then the Ceiling Lamp was lit, and the woman in the red dress straightened her back as the others clapped their hands.
The woman dressed in a red and black dress was 24-year-old Yotsui Reika, the only daughter of the chairman of the Yotsui Group. She had a red hair band in her hair and had a gold blue necklace around her neck and gold blue earrings in her ears. Her hair was short and brown and tied tightly. The eyes were blue, and the skin was fair. She wore red lipstick. On his hands were long, black gloves. On her feet were red high heels. He had gold rings on his fingers.
"Happy 24th birthday, Reika!" Reika's father said, and put his right hand on Reika's shoulder. Mr. Yotsui was an elderly man with short black hair and a small black mustache. He was wearing a dark blue suit, white shirt, light blue tie, and black shoes.
"Thank you dad!" Reika said.
"Thank you all for coming to this mountain to celebrate my daughter's birthday!" Reika's father thanked the party guests. "Take good care of my daughter, and use the Yotsui Group for all your needs".
Kogorō, who was sitting on a chair by one of the tables, was gobbling down some food as some looked at him while some others clapped their hands at Reika's father.
"Don't screw up so much!" Ran scolded her father. "How embarrassing!"
"Shut up! You two better eat too!" Kogorō said. "It's not every day that we get to eat food this good! Ha ha! Vintage Vine is definitely different from what I usually drink!"
"I think I finally understand why Eri left Kogorō!" Shizuka thought.
"Allow me to introduce to you an invited special guest, Mōri Kogorō-sensei!" Reika's father said looking to the right side of the room where Kogoro was sitting.
"Can you put this food in the bag? I'll take it home", Kogorō said. "We can't waste food!"
"Mōri-san!" Reika's father shouted after looking at Kogorō, at first surprised, and troubled.
"Oh!" Kogorō was surprised to see everyone looking at him.
"You are the famous modern-day Akechi Kogorō!" Someone said to Kogorō.
"Thanks thanks!" Kogorō thanked, holding the wine glass in his right hand as he stood up.
"Actually, my daughter owes Mōri-san", Reika's father smiled, and Reika bowed slightly to Kogorō.
"Don't mention it", Kogorō said.
"What happened?" Ran asked.
"Heh heh! That was a difficult case that I solved after Reika-sama hired me", Kogorō said.
"Tough case?" Shizuka thought.
"I heard what you did, Detective Mōri!" A bespectacled, tanned man said, and walked in front of Kogorō. The man was 26 years old. The man was tall and athletic. He had short, straight, black hair, with hair in front of his forehead. He was wearing a brown suit, white shirt, green tie, and black shoes. "That was a great job finding Reika's beloved dog, Bubble-chan!"
"Well", Kogorō said.
"Excuse me Mōri-san, but where did you find Bubble-chan?" Shizuka asked.
"Shut up. I found it next door where it was flirting with the male-dogs in the neighborhood", Kogorō said.
"Bubble-chan runs away from home sometimes. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Ichieda Takashi. I work as the head of capital acquisition department at Tokyo City Bank", The man said, taking out his business card from his wallet and showing it to Kogorō.
Kogorō took the business card and looked at Ichieda.
"It's an honor to meet such a reputable detective", Ichieda said.
"It's nothing!" Kogorō said.
"Sonoko would be happy to attend this party, because there are so many handsome men here now, but none of them compare to Kaito-kun!" Shizuka blushed at the thought of her boyfriend as she looked at the people in the ballroom. He still found it unbelievable that he and Kaito were dating now, and that Kaito had just chosen Shizuka as his girlfriend, even though they were now in a long-distance relationship, rarely communicating over messages.
A 27-year-old tall, athletic man with fair skin walked out from the right side of the room. He was a medium height young man with short brown hair. He was wearing a gray suit, orange shirt, black tie, and black shoes. He had black eyes. Then, like the others, the man looked at Reika:
"That reputation as a detective is well-deserved! One look from those piercing eyes will make any criminal stop and confess their crime! What do you expect from Reika's chosen detective? I am an employee of Nikaido Yuji Advertising Firm Sales Division, a travel agency".
"Take it easy, brown noses!" Said a tanned, tall, athletic man with his hair tied with a blue hair bow. He was 26 years old. His eyes were black. He was wearing a light blue suit, a dark blue tie, a white shirt, and black shoes.
"M-Mifune!" Like Yuji, Ichieda was surprised to see Mifune.
"It's pretty easy to see that you're all trying to please Reika-sama, but that detective looks like nothing more than a stupid guy who's way past his prime", Mifune said. "I'm Takuya Mifune, CEO of a home appliance company called Mifune Electronics".
"What?!" Kogorō asked indignantly, and Yuji looked displeased with Mifune.
"That's rude!" Yuiji said.
"Mifune is smart!" Shizuka thought.
"Hey, you think so too, right?" Mifune looked at the man standing to his right.
The man in question was 24 years old, tall, and athletic, with dark hair. He was slightly tanned and had blue eyes and was holding a wine glass in his left hand. He was wearing a light blue suit, a dark blue tie, a white shirt, and black shoes:
"Oh, yeah. I was looking forward to meeting him today, but he's quite different from what I imagined. I'm Gajou Osamu, an assistant trader at the Gojo Company called Gajo Trading General Affairs Division".
"Fourth, an influential, handsome young man that Reika has invited to her party. Sonoko would be really excited to see the men here", Shizuka thought looking at the men talking to Ran's father.
"W-Why you! Let me tell you", Kogorō looked exasperated.
"That's why you can't trust brats's opinions", One man said as he walked. He was 40 years old. He was a slightly tall man, his skin was fair, and he had short, black, swirling hair. He was wearing a gray suit, white shirt, brown tie, and black shoes", Don't you know that sentence:
"Looks can be deceiving? I'm the co-CEO of Rokuda Masashi Yotsui Products, the Yotsui product company. Banishing people with my silly appearance is one of the special skills he uses. That's right, isn't it, Mōri-san?"
"Oh! Heh heh!" Kogorō laughed flattered, and held his left hand behind his head.
"A special skill?" Shizuka thought with a smile.
"Reika saw that", Rokuda said looking at Reika standing to the right.
"He's really amazing", Gajou said.
"Not only that, she's beautiful, she's sophisticated", Yuiji said.
"What man can win her heart?" Ichieda asked.
"Hmph! I don't know who it's going to be, but he's in the lap of luxury", Mifune said. "The place of the next leader of the Yotsui Group is namely Reika's future husband.
"Did Reika-san invite young, handsome men to her birthday party just to get admiring comments from them?" Shizuka thought as she listened to the men talk about Reika.
"Dad, I've been wanting to talk to you about something for a while now", Reika suddenly said to her father.
"Where from?" Reika's father asked.
"Maybe you're wondering why I invited so many, handsome, young men to my birthday party? Well, I'm going to choose a suitable husband from among them", Reika said.
"Marriage?! R-Reika?!" Reika's father asked in surprise.
"I'm already 24 years old. It's high time to get married", Reika said, then looked at the young men talking to Kogorō. "With this in mind, I invited several talented young men to this party...Although I wonder...if any of them are good enough for me. That remains to be seen".
"Aha! So Reika-san invited a lot of handsome, and young men to her party so that she could choose a suitable husband for herself from among the men in question!" Shizuka thought, then left the ballroom to go to the bathroom.
"Ugh, toilet! Toilet!" Shizuka thought as she cautiously walked down the dimly lit corridor, which was only dimly lit by a few flower-like light purple lamps on the walls. "This hallway is dark! Why haven't they turned on the ceiling lights?"
Finally, Shizuka stopped in front of the door of the room on the wall on the right side of the corridor:
"I'll find it!" After opening the door, Shizuka saw that it wasn't the bathroom door:
"Cabinet?!" Shizuka closed the door, and continued to search for the restroom. "Bathroom?"
Finally, Shizuka found the toilet:
"I found the toilet!"
When Shizuka pressed the light switch outside the toilet after turning on the lights, she saw that the light switch did not work:
"Huh? The ceiling lights won't come on!"
"Young lady! What are you doing?" A short woman spoke to Shizuka after arriving. She had gray hair tied in a bun on top of her head. She was dressed in a pink kimono and yellow sandals. The Obi of the kimono was yellow. The woman was short, and looked 64 years old. He was skinny. His skin was pale. She was Nanao Yone, the housekeeper of the Yotsui-family.
"I-I'm looking for the bathroom, Mrs. Nanao!" Shizuka said to the woman.
"The ceiling lights in this restroom don't work, so use the restroom further away", Mrs. Nanao said, pointing to the right.
"Thank you", Shizuka said, closing the bathroom door.
"Please. But it sure is strange that the ceiling lights in the hallway, bathroom, and toilet are off", Mrs. Nanao said. "I thought we only changed the lights in those ceiling lamps the other day".
"That sounds strange", Shizuka thought.
(Later)
"C-Chairman!" Reika's father's driver ran to the scene as Shizuka and the others were leaving the villa after Reika got dressed with a white full moon in the sky. "The c-car we brought Reika-sama here with has a flat tire".
"What?" Reika's father asked.
"Oh...What should we do?" Reika asked.
"We have no choice. I'll take him in my ferrari", Yuji said.
"No, because I'll take him in my porche", Ichieda said.
"I think benani would be better", Gajou said.
Reika looked at the men who offered her a ride home.
"Umm...All three of those cars have flat tires as well", The car driver said to the men who had just spoken.
"Eh?" The men were surprised.
Reika was also surprised by what she heard.
(Later)
The men in Reika's company examine the deflated tires of their cars in the villa's illuminated parking lot.
"Shit! Even my car's tire is flat", Mifune said after seeing that thing.
"So does my car", Rokuda said after checking his car's tires.
"Who did this?" Mifune asked.
Like Ran, Shizuka looked at Kogorō's rental car, which was in the same parking lot.
"Looks like my dad's rental car is fine", Ran said.
"Yes", Shizuka said.
"A total of six cars have their tires deflated", Rokuda said as he walked over to Reika's father.
"We have no choice. Six people have to travel in the remaining cars", Reika's father said.
"I won't agree to that!" Reika announced in annoyance, causing the others to look at Reika. "Today is my birthday! I refuse to break into someone's car!"
"Hey, hey, Reika!" Reika's father said to his daughter.
"Tonight I will sleep in this villa with Yone", Reika said. "Come pick me up at home tomorrow, dad".
"Then I'll stay with him", Yuji pointed to himself.
"Me too", Ichieda said.
"Same here", Gajou said.
"I will stay here to protect Reika-sama from these young wolves", Rokuda said to Reika's father.
"You're right. If you're here, everything should be fine", Reika's father told Rokuda. "I leave my daughter in your hands".
"I understand, chairman", Rokuda gave a small bow to Reika's father.
The owners of cars in good condition drove their cars away from the villa's parking lot.
"Alright Reika-sama, let's go inside", Ichieda said walking Reika, Gajou, Mifune, and Rokuda with Yuji standing a little further away.
"What a bunch of fools", Yuji said with a confident smile. "It was already decided two years ago who Reika will marry".
"Did Yuji-san and Reika-san already have a 2 year long relationship?" Shizuka thought about going inside the villa with the others after hearing Yuji's words recently.
(Later)
There were full plates, cutlery, and drinking glasses and drinking bottles on the dining room tables.
"Everyone's gone home already?" A drunken Kogorō asked, sitting on an armchair, placing his drinking glass on the table to his left, and was about to stand up. "Let's go too…
Ran pushed her father back into the chair:
"No! You need to clear your head first!"
"Your daughter is right. Why don't you stay here and tell us more about the cases you solved?" Ichieda asked.
"What a great idea", Rokuda said.
"Excuse me, gentlemen of the rank, but do you think there is a storm coming?" Shizuka asked looking out the window at the dark clouds in the night sky. The clouds in question looked just like rain clouds.
"That remains to be seen", Mifune said, looking out the other window.
"Well, if a storm is coming, I know what we can do during that time", Reika said, taking out a case of playing cards from her dress pocket:
"As long as we're here let's play cards and have fun tonight".
"I don't have time for this", Mifune said suddenly as Reika walked in front of Kogorō. "Mr. Detective, I'm taking you home. Give me your car keys".
"Shall we go home already? What a shame", Reika looked irritated as she looked at Mifune. "You are one of those men, one of whom might one day marry me".
"The reason I came here today was to get on your father's good side so I can make better deals with my company", Mifune said to Reika, then looked at Reika. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you".
"H-Hey, Mifune", Ichieda said.
"Leave him alone", Yuji said.
"That's right. The less competitors the better", Gajou said standing with Yuji, and Ichieda in front of Reika.
Mifune extended his hand to Kogorō:
"So this is settled, Mister Detective. Your keys".
Kogorō gave the keys to Mifune, but Reika walked next to Mifune, and knocked the keys out of Mifune's hand onto the floor of the room. Click!
"W-what does this mean?" Mifune asked Reika.
"If you want to go home, then just go. But from now on, we won't have anything to do with your company", Reika said, then walked to the right side of the room.
"Y-You can't do that!" Mifune said.
"Yone, I'm going upstairs to change", Reika said to the housekeeper.
"I see, Reika-sama", Mrs. Nanao said following Reika.
"Excuse me Mrs. Nanao, but are there any other doors in this villa besides the front door?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes. There is a back door in this villa, but it is not used very often", Mrs. Nanao said.
"Well, shouldn't we check that all the doors and windows of the villa are locked, in case burglars are moving in this area now?" Shizuka asked. "That way burglars wouldn't be able to get inside the villa and steal anything from here".
"What happened here, the vandalizing of car tires reminds me now of that murder at the Sonoko family's mountain villa, so better be careful", Shizuka thought as she sat down on the sofa in the room.
"Good idea", Mrs. Nanao said. "I'll check them soon".
"Well, besides my jewelry, there is nothing else valuable in this villa that potential burglars could steal", Reika said, pausing, and then looked at the other, and mostly young men in the villa:
"You're all like little birds in a birdcage. If I don't take good care of you, and feed you, none of you will even make it out alive. The most you can do is please your mistress, and sing beautifully. Heh heh!"
"That's what happens when some rich business leaders spoil their children too much", Shizuka mused.
Rokuda looked a little unsure as did Gajou, and Ichieda, and Mifune looked angry while Yuji smiled confidently.
(Later)
Shizuka, and the others were playing cards while sitting on the chairs by one of the tables.
"I see. So you were all members of the same sailing club", Ran said after speaking to Reika's potential suitors.
"We've even gone on island trips on cruise ships with Reika", Yuji said as Ichieda came back into the room carrying a tray with juice in the tumblers.
"It sure was fun back in the day", Yuji said.
"That's true...at least until that boat-accident 2 years ago!" Mifune was sitting on the sofa, holding a drinking glass in his right hand.
Reika's suitors, and Rokuda were nervous at what they heard.
"To a boat-accident?" Ran asked.
"Did a cruiser break down 2 years ago after hitting a wreck?" Shizuka asked after seeing the others's expressions.
"It was not a case of shipwreck", Mifune said.
"Right. I-It's just something that happened a long time ago", A troubled looking Yuji said Ichieda as he walked in front of Mifune.
"D-Didn't you promise never to talk about it again?" Ichieda asked.
"2 years ago, something seems to have happened that they are not very willing to talk about. Does it have anything to do with Yuji-san's previous words?" Shizuka thought as she remembered the words Yuji said earlier.
Rokuda looked at the wall clock on the wall on the left side of the room, which had a golden colored pendulum, and it was already 22:30:
"Think about it, Reika-sama must be late".
"I wonder what's taking so long", Gajou said.
"Let him be", Mifune said. "I'm not in the mood to listen to that selfish brat".
"Who could have deflated the tires of the cars here?" Shizuka asked.
"That's strange", Kogorō said.
The card game continued.
"No matter how you look at it, Reika-sama is terribly late", Ichieda said looking at the wall clock after Mrs. Nanaoa entered the room.
"We have no choice", Rokuda said standing up. "Excuse me, Yone-san, but could you go see her room?"
"O-Okay", Mrs. Nanao said.
"I'll go see the other rooms", Rokuda said.
"Then I'll go too", Ichieda stood up.
"Me too", Yuji stood up.
And next, Gajou walked behind Ichieda and Yuji:
"I'm going too".
"I hope Reika-san doesn't just test her suitors with this method", Shizuka thought, looking like the others for Reika while the lights in the villa were turned on one by one.
"Reika-sama!" Ichieda shouted.
"Reika-sama!" Gajou shouted.
"That's strange", Ichieda walked with Mrs. Nanao, Rokuda, Yuji, and Gajou back to the room they had left earlier to find Reika. "Maybe Reika-sama went into the forest alone, and got lost".
"Looks like we all need to split up and look for the lady in the forest", Kogorō said standing next to Rani and Shizuka.
"Then I guess we'll need flashlights, because it's really dark in the forest now", Shizuka said, looking out the window.
"Well, Reika-sama is really troublesome", Mifune said as he stood up.
"Not everyone has flashlights, so you have to walk carefully in the forest, and get close to others in order to escape", Mrs. Nanao brought the flashlights into the room.
(Later)
"Reika-sama!" Yuiji shouted, searching the forest for Reika with the others.
"Hey where are you?" Mifune asked.
"Reika-san!" Ran yelled as Shizuka illuminated the forest with her flashlight.
"Shit! Where the hell did he go?" Kogorō asked.
Then it started raining. Shaaa!
"Great, it started raining!" Kogorō said irritably.
"What should we do?" Ran asked.
"Let's go back to the villa so we don't get soaked and then ask the others if they found Reika-san", Shizuka suggested. "That's what you thought, wasn't it, Mōri-san?"
"Yes. A cold would be missing from this", Kogorō said. "So, let's go back to the villa".
Kogorō, and the girls started to run cautiously back towards the villa.
"Huh?" Ran stopped when she saw Yuji bent over the outer edge of the fountain on the right side of the garden. "Hey, isn't that Nikaido-san?"
The girls, and Kogorō cautiously walked closer to Nikaido.
"Hey, you guys! This is no place to sleep!" Kogorō said to Nikaido, then touched Nikaido on the right shoulder, causing Nikaido to fall to the grass. Dhak! He had a startled look on his face and was soaking wet.
"Haaaaah!" Ran cried out in shock at what she saw.
Kogorō bent down to examine Nikaido, and the others ran over after hearing Ran's recent scream.
"Hey, Nikaido! Hey!" Mifune bent down and shook Nikaido.
"It won't help. He's already dead", Kogorō said.
"W-what?!" Mifune asked the housekeeper, and Gajou was surprised.
Kogorō stood up, then looked at the fountain:
"The cause of death was drowning. Someone probably forced Nikaido-san's face into that fountain where we found Nikaido-san just now".
"Who could have done something like this?" Shizuka asked.
"I can't tell yet, but there's probably someone here besides us who doesn't like Nikaido-san", Kogorō said.
"I-It can't be!" Mifune stood up.
"But Nikaido was just fine until recently", Ichieda said.
"That's right. Someone must have killed Nikaido-san recently. It was done by someone lurking around this villa!" Kogorō said.
"Could Reika-sama have been kidnapped at some point?" Shizuka asked when she didn't see Reika among the others.
"It's starting to look likely, as we haven't found him yet", Kogorō said.
"This is terrible! Who the hell did this?" Ran asked.
"The most suspicious of us all is one person. The one who is missing now, Reika-sama", Mifune said and everyone looks at him as he smiled but then looked angry. "Maybe Reika-sama hasn't been kidnapped".
"T-There's no way he could have done that!" Mrs. Nanao said in disbelief.
Kogorō put his jacket over Yuji as the others looked at Kogorō:
"No, because we still don't know the. It is possible that Reika-sama has been killed as well. In any case, let's contact the police. After that we decide what to do".
(Later)
"Huh? The phone isn't working?!" Madam Nanao asked as she was with the others inside the villa.
"That's right. None of the phones worked when I tried to call the cops recently", Ran said after checking.
"What could this mean?" Mrs. Nanao asked.
"Now this is very similar to the murder that happened at the Sonoko family's mountain villa", Shizuka thought, sitting on the sofa in room:
"Would the phone lines be down for some reason?"
"Yes. Did the killer cut the phone line?" Gajou asked.
"I have no choice. Let's use my cell phone", Ichieda said, intending to take his phone from under his jacket.
"It's no use. We're out of range and you can't use it", Rokudo said.
"Then we'll just have to use the detective's car", Mifune said.
"You're right. Someone should use that car, and go call the police, or drive straight to the police station to get help", Gajou said.
Kogorō then entered and the others looked at him:
"I just checked my car. Now my car's tires were flat too. In other words, someone arranged for us to be trapped here".
Mifune touched his right fist to his left palm:
"Easy! I don't believe this!"
"We have no choice but to wait until morning for the other owners of the cars that were here today to pick us up", Rokudo said. "Yone-san, sorry to bother you, but please bring us some coffee".
"Alright", Yone said, and walked towards the kitchen.
"I'll help", Ran followed Mrs. Nanao as Mifune left the room.
"Hey, Mifune! Where are you going?" Ichieda asked.
"To the bathroom", Mifune said.
"Then I'll go too", Ichieda left the room.
"Me too", Gajou said.
"I'll go get the towels for the others", Rokudo left the room. "Everyone is still wet from the rain, so let's use those towels to dry us".
"Thank you", Kogorō said.
"Sorry, Rokudo-san, but you sure know a lot about this house!" Shizuka said.
"We all used to come here quite often", Rokudo said.
"So those men know this house very well", Shizuka thought:
"By the way, when I was looking for a restroom earlier, and I found it, I saw that the ceiling lights in that restroom didn't work when I tried to turn on those ceiling lights. As a result, Mrs. Nanao advised me to use another restroom. She said it's strange because the restroom, the bathroom, and the hallway the overhead lights were not working, although they were only replaced a couple of days ago".
"I see", Rokudo said.
Ran poured coffee into the coffee cups on the table.
"That's strange", Mrs. Nanao said as she examined the kitchen cabinets.
"What's wrong?" Ran asked.
"I can't find sugar", Mrs. Nanao said, then pointed to the upper shelves. "Excuse me, but could you look on the top shelf?"
"O-Okay", Ran said, getting up on a nearby chair, and opened the double doors of the upper shelves, and looking at the plates there, that's why Ran, and Mrs. Nanao didn't see someone smiling evilly, and then dropping some pills into one of the coffee cups. "Sugar doesn't seem to be here".
Ran closed the shelf doors.
"Oh. I found it!" Mrs. Nanao said after finding the sugar in one of the lower cabinets. "I forgot we booked this sugar package here five years ago".
"Should we eat that sugar?" Ran thought with a smile in disbelief.
"Tell me, what was that boat-accident that happened to your yacht club two years ago?" Shizuka asked looking at the men drying themselves with towels.
"Eh?" Ichieda was surprised.
"Irene, that has nothing to do with what has happened now", Kogorō said.
"But before Nikaido-san was killed, I heard it when Nikaido-san said this about Reika-san:
"The person she will marry was already decided two years ago", Shizuka said.
"What?!" Kogorō asked. "At what point did you hear that?"
"Shortly after we returned to this villa after seeing the deflated tires of the cars. Nikaido-san looked at the other men who were in Reika-san's company at the time and said exactly this at that point:
"What a bunch of fools. It was already decided two years ago who Reika will marry". At that point, I wondered if Yuji-san and Reika-san had a two-year relationship", Shizuka said. "That might actually have something to do with this case."
"Now that you say that, it does sound suspicious. Yeah. Looks like you're going to have to tell me what exactly happened in that boat-accident", Kogorō looked at the other men who now looked troubled. "What exactly was that boat-accident that happened 2 years ago?"
"I don't know if Reika-sama and Yuji-san had a 2-year relationship since then", Rokudo finally said:
"But that boat-accident was an unfortunate boat-accident. It happened one stormy day. That day we anchored near a small island and we all had a great time. We didn't know the storm was coming. Almost everyone returned to the cruiser, and then the thunderstorm began. But two people did not return to the cruiser. They were Nikaido-san who was out fishing, and Reika-sama, who was alone on the island. It was a small island that completely sinks under water during high tide. We had no choice but for one of us to go rescue them in a lifeboat. We found Nikaido-san, and Reika-sama floating in the water with life jackets on...but the person who went to help them was not found. He was finally found dead three days later after that storm".
"So who is the person who died in that storm?" Kogorō asked.
"She was my granddaughter, Yaeko", Mrs. Nanao said coming into the room with Ran, placing a tray with full cups of coffee on a nearby table. "Yaeko had the same face as your daughter, Mōri-san".
"Yone-san", Kogorō said.
"Yaeko died trying to help Reika-sama", Mrs. Nanao said. "Yaeko would have been pleased. Well, the coffee is ready".
"Thank you", Ichieda said, taking a cup of coffee with the others, and drank from it.
"Anyway, the first thing we need to do is find Reika-sama", Kogorō said looking at the men in the room. "Let's start by splitting into two groups, and search the house again. But if one of us is the murderer, make sure you're never alone. Wasn't Nikaido-san accompanying you earlier when you were in the forest?"
"It was, but then he went in a different direction than us", Gajou said.
"Yes. I tried to follow Yuji, but I ended up losing sight of him while looking away", Ichieda said. "You're right. If we look out for each other's safety, no one should be in danger".
"After we've had our coffee, let's get started right away", Rokuda said.
"Well if the perpetrator is someone in this house, then for some reason the perpetrator may hold a grudge against Nikaido-san, and Reika-san for what happened to Yaeko-san 2 years ago in the storm that Rokuda-san told us about just now", Shizuka thought as she watched out of the window. "Why would the perpetrator bear a grudge against Yuji-san, and Reika-san for Yaeko-san's incident? As Yaeko-san's grandmother, Mrs. Nanao would have a motive, but I don't think Mrs. Nanao did anything bad to Nikaido-san, or Reika-san. So the situation is this:
The tires of the cars were deflated so that we could not leave here. It was probably done during a party. The author seems to have already started implementing his plan at the point when Reika-san went to her room to change her clothes, if Reika-san was all alone when she came out of her room. Reika-san was probably kidnapped by the perpetrator at some point, which is why we haven't seen Reika-san in a while. While we were in the forest looking for Reika-san, the murderer attacked Nikaido-san, who was separated from us, in the garden of the villa. At some point, the perpetrator cut the phone lines so we couldn't call the police here. So is the perpetrator going to attack someone else while we're here?!"
"Huh!" Ran yawned tiredly.
"How can he be tired already?" Shizuka thought looking at Ran.
"Hey, this isn't the time to sleep", Kogorō said to Ran.
"Sorry. I'm so tired all of a sudden", Ran said, rubbing the corner of her right eye.
"He must be tired from everything that's happened", Mrs. Nanao said, then pointed to the couch behind her where Ran was sitting and laid down. "Lie on that sofa for a while. I'll stay by your side".
"Okay", Ran said before falling asleep.
Mrs. Nanao walked in front of the couch.
(Later)
"Did you find him?" Mifune asked as the villa's lights were turned on and off as he searched the rooms.
"No, we didn't find him", Gajou said.
"What about you?" Kogorō asked.
"Not a trace!" Ichieda shouted.
Shizuka was standing with Kogorō in the kitchen when Ichieda entered.
"We looked pretty much everywhere", Ichieda said.
"That girl!" Kogorō opened the microwave oven on the right side. "Reika-sama!"
"What the hell are you doing?!" Shizuka thought.
"Let's keep checking", Kogorō said starting with Shizuka, and Ichieda from the kitchen.
"Reika-sama!" Gajou examined the cabinets in the other room with Rokuda and Mifune.
"Where did he go?" Mifune asked.
Mrs. Nanao sat on a chair, and looked at Rani, who was sleeping on the couch, wearing a blanket:
"Yaeko..."
"We already checked the front door, and the back door, and Mrs. Nanao had locked them. So no outsiders can get in now," Kogorō said, checking the bathroom with Shizuka and Ichieda:
"Reika-sama is not visible".
"He's not here", Ichieda lifted the protective cover over the bathtub, then put it back in place.
They left the bathroom and walked down a hallway lit by dim, light purple wall lamps.
"We've now explored the entire first floor", Kogorō said.
"Then does that mean that Reika-sama is in the forest after all?" Ichieda asked.
Suddenly, the wall lamps went out, after which everyone stops.
"Power outage? Did something happen upstairs?" Ichieda asked after looking around at the others.
"But there were no sounds of lightning outside, or anything that suggested thunder. When I went down this corridor earlier during the party to go to the bathroom, the ceiling lamps were not on at that time. I tried to turn on the ceiling lights in the bathroom, but it didn't work, so Mrs. Nanao advised me to use another bathroom. Mrs. Nanao said that it's strange how the ceiling lamps in the hallway, the toilet, and the bathroom don't work, even though they were changed only a couple of days ago. So is there something wrong with the fuse box?" Shizuka asked.
"You mentioned the ceiling light thing earlier, Irene, but let's check the fuse box at some point in case it's been tampered with in any way. First, let's check the nearest light switch for a power outage. Ichieda-san, where's the light switch?" Kogorō asked.
"It's right behind the kitchen", Ichieda said, and ran towards the kitchen with the others.
Clink!
"What was that commotion just now?" Shizuka thought.
Crick!
"It's close!" Shizuka heard another voice from ahead. Shizuka then bumped into something, and fell flat on her backside to the hallway floor as the lights came on. Shizuka looked forward, and saw that she bumped into Gajou standing in front of her:
"Excuse me, but I just heard some noise from here".
"It's okay", Gajou said, helping Shizuka to her feet.
"Thank you", Shizuka said.
"Please", Gajou said.
"Who is it that turned off the wall lights in the hallway just now?" Mifune asked as Kogorō and Ichieda stopped next to Shizuka.
"We just came here ourselves", Ichieda said.
"That's a murderer", Kogorō said, pointing to a broken window in the wall to his left that had been opened and now had shards on the hallway floor. "Since we started searching so carefully, the murderer realized that he couldn't escape anywhere in this villa, so the murderer fled into the shadows of darkness. He escaped by breaking this window, which probably caused the commotion we just heard!"
The others got nervous looking at the newly broken window.
"T-That bastard!" Mifune said, and jumped out the window, starting to look for the murderer. "You can't get away!"
"Mifune!" Ichieda followed Mifune.
"Oh no! Let's stop those two!" Kogorō called out with the others following Mifune, and Ichieda.
"Shit!" Kogorō said stopping with Shizuka. "Where did everyone go?"
"What about Mrs. Nanao, and your daughter?! What if the perpetrator attacked them, before escaping?!" Shizuka asked worriedly.
"Then we must return to the house", Kogorō said.
"People always get lost in this forest", Mrs. Nanao said as she ran to the scene.
"Y-Yone-san, why are you here?" Kogorō asked after turning around like Shizuka.
"You all ran out of the house like crazy, so I followed you", Mrs. Nanao said.
"Hey, wait! That means Ran-san is alone in the villa now!" Shizuka cried out in worry after realizing that matter. "What if the perpetrator is still in the villa, and broke the window just to mislead us, and get us to leave the villa so he can attack Ran-san for some reason!"
"Then we must return to the villa immediately!" Kogorō ran back to the villa with the others.
Someone was carrying the sleeping Ran towards the villa's kitchen, walking forward along the villa's dim corridor, lit by wall lamps.
"Who is this person?" Ran thought, half awake.
Shaaa! The faucet poured water into the full kitchen sink.
"I can hear the sound of water", Ran thought before doing the same to Yuji as the best thing for Ran, causing the water in the sink to spill onto the kitchen floor. Splash!
"Ran!" Kogorō shouted as he ran with Shizuka and Mrs. Nanao towards the kitchen.
When they reached the kitchen, and saw Rani lying on the kitchen floor, they stopped in shock.
"Ran!" Kogorō ran towards Ran, and shook Ran by the shoulder. "Hey, Ran! Wake up, Ran!"
"Cough cough!" Ran coughed, being drenched at the same time, and opened his eyes:
"Father?"
"What the hell happened?" Kogorō asked as he saw Ran waking up.
"Someone almost killed me", Ran said. "But thank god...Y-You came to save me, dad..."
"R-Ran! Ran!" Kogorō yelled as Ran passed out.
"He's just sleeping", Kogorō calmed down as he saw that Rani had fallen asleep again. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Mōri-san, is Ran-san okay?" Shizuka asked worriedly.
"Yes. He fell asleep again", Kogorō laid Rani down on the floor, emptied the sink of water, and turned off the faucet:
"My daughter seems to attract problems like a mangeet".
"What do you mean?" Shizuka asked.
"I'll tell you again sometime", Kogorō said, taking Ran into his arms. "Then maybe you can tell Ran at some point, as I'm too busy to tell Ran myself".
"Okay, but this is weird. I heard that people usually wake up after something like this", Shizuka said, suddenly remembering the coffee he drank a while ago. "Could there have been drugs in Ran's coffee?"
"How could the perpetrator have done this?" Mrs. Nanao asked, looking at Ran worriedly.
"Mōri-san, what if the perpetrator drugged your daughter with sleeping pills at some point?" Shzuka asked.
"Why do you assume that?" Kogorō asked.
"We were drinking coffee before the power outage, window breaking, and Ran-san being attacked happened", Shizuka said. "The perpetrator could very well have put a sleeping pill in Ran-san's coffee at the point when we and Ran-san didn't see it while looking elsewhere. As a result, Ran-san must have started to get tired so unexpectedly. Maybe the perpetrator just put a sleeping pill in Ran-san's coffee, because Ran -san sleeps really soundly. I saw it when we were at our friend Sonoko's family's mountain villa before, when Takahashi Ryoichi tried to kill your daughter with an ax while Ran-san was sleeping. I had to scream really loud to wake up your daughter, which worked. Maybe the creator knew that Ran-san was a really sound sleeper, so the perpetrator just chose Ran-san as his target. Maybe the perpetrator found out about your background after hearing you were at this party, and came up with a way to use sleeping pills after hearing your daughter was sleeping really soundly, so that the perpetrator could mislead us in some way, and as a deception, chose to attack Ran-san after finding out Ran -san was sleeping soundly. Otherwise, when he was awake and in full spirits, Ran-san would have attacked the perpetrator, and used his karate skills to inflict such violence on the perpetrator that the perpetrator would have ended up in a full-body plaster situation, and as a result, we would have found out the identity of the perpetrator".
"True. You're right", Kogorō said. "That must mean that even the one window that was broken in this house today was deliberately broken as a distraction. So the perpetrator must be one of the men who are with us in this house. He was misleading us so that he wouldn't be on the suspect list. He must have planned this act carefully, and long".
"So it was. Now I understand. The perpetrator is one of the 4 men we have met today. The perpetrator also deflated the tires of his own car to remove his own name from the list of suspects so that no one would suspect the perpetrator!" Shizuka thought. "But why attack Ran? As far as I know, Ran hasn't seen anything suspicious, unlike at Sonoko's family villa, when Ran opened Ryoichi's room door carelessly while we were there searching our room, and as a result, Ran saw Ryoichi's real body structure while Ryoichi was changing his clothes, which is why Ryoichi attacked Ran so many times so that Ran could not tell anyone that Ryoichi was really thin, so that Ryoichi would not be known to be the murderer of Ikeda Chikago".
"This is my fault. If I hadn't looked away from the coffee cups when Ran-san was looking for sugar like I did earlier, the perpetrator wouldn't have been able to put sleeping pills in Ran-san's coffee", Mrs. Nanao said sadly.
"Don't now", Kogorō said.
"Yes Ms. Nanao. It's not your fault at all. It's the perpetrator's fault", Shizuka said. Shizuka then saw that the microwave oven door that Kogorō had examined earlier was now closed:
"Huh? Mōri-san, why did you leave that microwave door open when we were in the kitchen earlier", Shizuka said pointing to the microwave door on the right.
"I left it. Who closed it?" Kogorō asked.
"I didn't close it, so why is it warm?" Shizuka asked after touching the microwave door with her right hand.
"Someone must have used that microwave recently, which is why it's now warm", Kogorō said. "That sound we heard before the window breaking was probably the sound of that microwave".
(Later)
The men had returned from the forest, and looked at Rani sleeping on the couch.
"S-sleeping pills?" Gajou asked as Kogorō and Shizuka had recently talked about how Ran had just been attacked.
"Remember we had coffee earlier?" Shizuka asked. "The pills were probably put in Ran-san's coffee cup".
"Didn't Ran and Yone-san make that coffee?" Kogorō asked. "Yone-san, was anyone in the kitchen while you were making coffee for us earlier?"
"B-But I wouldn't do anything like that", Mrs. Nanao said. "And I didn't hear anyone come into the kitchen during the time we were there looking for sugar in the kitchen cupboards. If someone came there during that time, they must have moved very quietly, as we didn't hear them come into the kitchen once".
"You were with us in the forest during the recent attack, so you're right. You weren't the one who attacked Ran. But why was Ran, who happened to be here today, attacked? It's possible that the murderer is just killing people indiscriminately!" Kogorō said "Or the attack on Ran was a diversion, as was the breaking of the hallway window, so the perpetrator is probably still inside this villa. The author seems to know this house very well, considering the events of tonight. The author had previously used another one, one of the microwaves in the kitchen, as Irene saw that it was warm when Ran had passed out on the kitchen floor. In that situation, the perpetrator must have even caused today's power outage. Does Reika-sama's father have enemies, or had Reika-sama rejected a suitor before this party?"
The men looked nervous.
"There is sometimes bitterness in the corporate world, but hardly any of Reika-sama's father's enemies would have gone this far. Reika-sama is arrogant, so maybe he pissed someone off and this is about revenge", Mifune said.
"Hey Mrs. Nanao, when the lights went out, you and Ran-san were in this room, right?" Shizuka asked.
"Yes", Mrs. Nanao said.
"When that happened, did you notice anything strange?" Shizuka asked.
"I thought I felt a warm breeze, but suddenly the lights went out", Ms. Nanao said.
"Wind?" Shizuka thought, then looked at the air conditioner on the wall to her right.
"Could it be the wall heater?"
Shizuka walked over to the low table in the room and took a gray timer that looked like a remote control from the bottom shelf, with the time 12:30 on the screen.
"The timer is set for 12:30, which is exactly the time of the power outage here earlier!" Shizuka thought.
"Mōri-san, I found a timer like this. It's set to 12:30, which is exactly the time of the power outage here earlier today", Shizuka showed the timer to Kogorō, then placed it on the table.
"It must be the doings of the perpetrator he used to cause the blackout. This supports my theory that the perpetrator is someone Reika-sama knows", Kogorō said to the men. "So the perpetrator might be someone who knows Reika-sama as well as you. Based on that, it could be that the perpetrator has a grudge against all of you for something, and therefore intends to attack you all, and purposely set us up to trap us here".
The men looked nervous.
"Mōri-san, shall I search the house for other timers?" Shizuka asked.
"Fine, but save your money for the perpetrator", Kogorō said.
"Yes", Shizuka left the room, and opened the door of another room to see the timers on the table in the room with the same time as the first timer Shizuka had just found, and on the wall to the right of the room was a wall heater similar to the one in the room where Ran was sleeping now:
"The timers on the wall heaters in all the rooms are set to 12:30! I figured out how the murderer created the blackout! So the murderer is one of the people in this mansion after all!"
Shizuka returned to the room where Ran was sleeping:
"Mōri-san, I found more wall heater timers in a nearby room, and they were also set to 12:30".
"It supports my theory of a deliberately induced blackout", Kogorō said. "Ms. Nanao, how do the microwaves in this villa work?"
"They operate with a regulator, so they continue to operate without electricity during any power outages", Ms Nanao said. "Why did you ask?"
"Well, if my guess is correct, the perpetrator used the air conditioners, and the microwave oven to turn off the ceiling lights by itself. First, the perpetrator set all the air conditioners to turn on at the same time using the remote controls Irene had just discovered. Then the perpetrator set the microwave oven to turn on at the same time as the air conditioners. When the time came , then the overuse of the mansion's electricity would suddenly come on, causing the circuit breaker to overload, causing the ceiling lights to go out. The proof is that the remote controls still show the time they were set to 12:30, when the ceiling lights went off. At the same time, before the window broke, we heard something, which was probably the sound of the microwave bell I just said. Microwaves operate on a regulator, so they still operate without electricity. Another piece of evidence is that when Irene touched the microwave earlier, it was still warm. Finally, shortly before the overhead lights went out, Ichieda-san, Irene, and I looked for Reika-sama in the kitchen. As we left the kitchen, the perpetrator likely entered the kitchen, doubled up on the microwave by turning its power button backwards, and set the timer on the microwave when no one was looking. By the way, Madam Nanao, when Reika-sama went to change her clothes, did you go to her room during that time?" Kogorō asked.
"No, because I went to check the doors of the villa, and the windows", Mrs. Nanao said.
"I see. The perpetrator could kidnap Reika-sama after she changed her clothes, drug her too with sleeping pills, and then the perpetrator could take Reika-sama away from the villa, hiding Reika-sama somewhere", Kogorō said.
"Kogorō is right! That's how it went. However, we still have to find out where Reika-san is, and which of those men is the perpetrator", Shizuka mused. "Maybe you should ask more about Yaeko-san".
"I'm going to one, the guest room here", Mifune finally said.
"Don't do it! It's too dangerous to lock yourselves in the guest room right now!" Kogorō yelled at Mifune.
"He's right, Mifune. It's 4:30 now. The other cars shouldn't be here until about three hours later", Ichieda said.
"Shut up! If one of you is a murderer, there's no way I'm spending any more time with you!" Mifune yelled at Ichieda, and left the room with Gajou.
"Well, I'll go to my room too", Rokuda said.
"But it's safer with more people around", Mrs. Nanao said as Rokuda closed the door.
(Later)
Zhah! The crack of lightning could be heard from outside the villa.
Rokuda sat on his bed thinking about the situation.
"Huh?" Rokuda looked up when he heard the sounds of footsteps outside his room. He opened the door slightly to see Mifune walking down the hall looking angry, causing Rokuda to narrow his eyes slightly.
(In the morning)
"It's already 7:00", Shizuka said looking at the clock.
"Huh! Right. It's already seven o'clock", Kogorō said, looking at the clock, sitting with the others at the table.
"Um, I have to go to the bathroom", Ichieda said standing up.
"Then I'll go too", Gajou stood up.
"Me too", Mrs. Nanao said.
Shizuka turned on the TV while sitting in an armchair.
The news anchor bowed, and the orange-green map of the TV area behind him read Today's Weather, and on it appeared images of white clouds and blue umbrellas, which the news anchor pointed to with his right hand:
"The next day's weather forecast for the Kanto region".
Kogorō sat in another armchair, smoking a cigarette.
"These three are definitely late", Shizuka said.
"What are you waiting for? Three people going to the bathroom takes time", Kogorō said.
Then Gajou, Ichieda, and Mrs. Nanao came into the room, and Mrs. Nanao was carrying a tray with coffee cups on it.
"Huh? What's in that coffee?" Kogorō asked.
"I asked them to do it before I went to the bathroom", Ichieda said.
"Coffee helps wake us up", Gajou said.
Kogorō eyed the coffee suspiciously after taking the coffee cup from the tray.
"Don't worry! There's no sleeping pills in that coffee!" Ichieda said after seeing Kogorō's suspicious look, and slapped Kogorō on the back, causing coffee to fly from Kogorō's cup onto Kogorō's and Shizuka's hands, and onto Kogorō's shirt:
"Ouch! It's hot!"
Shizuka, and Kogorō ran out of the room to go to the bathroom to wash their hands with cold water after spilling hot coffee.
"Where's the sink?!" Kogorō asked.
"I-I'm sorry!" Ichieda walked to the door of the room.
"Huh huh!" Kogorō opened the bathroom door, and walked into the bathroom with Shizuka:
"If we don't wash it quickly, the stain...Huh?!"
"Huh?!" Shizuka yelled when she saw Reika, like Kogorō, wearing red clothes, and white socks. Reika was sitting on her knees on the bathroom floor with her face in the tub of water. "Wasn't the protective cover of that bathtub closed when Ichieda-san and I went to this bathroom to look for Reika-san?"
"It was", Kogorō said. "Get the others here".
"Yes", Shizuka left the room, but stopped at the door of the room where Ran was sleeping, took her stun ring from her pocket, and put it on her right index finger, and continued walking until she reached the room where Ran was sleeping:
"We just found Reika-sama in this villa".
"Really?" Gajou asked.
"Yes, but you're not going to like what you're about to see", Shizuka said.
"Is something wrong?" Mrs. Nanao asked.
"It is", Shizuka said walking in front of Mifune who was sitting on the sofa.
"Mifune-san, I would like to ask you something. Mōri-san asked me to ask you that".
"What do you want to ask?" Mifune asked.
"What kind of grandchild was Mrs. Nanao, Yaeko-san?" Shizuka asked.
"Hmph! Compared to Reika-sama, Yaeko-san was the epitome of kindness", Mifune said.
"I see. Thank you", Shizuka said, then went to speak to Mrs. Nanao:
"Excuse me, Mrs. Nanao. Mōri-san asked me to ask you one thing about your grandchild. Were any of the men here particularly fond of Yaeko-san?"
"I believe that Ichieda-san had a crush on Yaeko", Mrs. Nanao said looking at Ichieda.
"I see. Thank you", Shizuka said, sitting down in a nearby armchair to think about the situation:
"If my assumption is correct, then the crimes we are seeing here now have some connection with the boat-accident that happened 2 years ago, in which Reika-san, and Yaeko-san, who belonged to the same yachting club as those men, died in a storm after going to the island alone in a small boat to rescue Reika-san, who was stranded on that island, and Yuji-san. Maybe Yuji-san, and Reika-san did something to Yaeko-san then, and this is about avenging that thing to Yuji-san, and Reika-san. Based on what Mrs. Nanao said, Ichieda-san would have a motive Mrs. Besides Nanao".