SailorStar9: So with Chapter 83 uploaded, this is Chapter 84 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?

Pairings: Established!Furuya Rei (Amuro Tooru)/Mizuno Ami

Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and pairing.

Chapter 84: Mouri Kogoro's Grand Lecture, Part One

Time passes, in the HISHIDA Hall waiting room ...

"Congratulations!" Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi presented a handmade flower basket to Mouri.

"You kids sure are considerate." Mouri beamed. "Make sure you study all this great detective's secrets."

"At least we wish we could," Ayumi started. "But we actually have to leave before it starts."

"We already had plans." Genta explained. "We're going to see a soccer game."

"But as long as it doesn't run into overtime, we'll be able to return during the panel." Mitsuhiko added.

"I think I recognize that guy." Genta noted, seeing Inokoshi Kenichiro speak to Mouri.

"That's actor Inokoshi Kenichiro." Ayumi realized. "He's famous for playing police officers and detectives."

"That's right." Mitsuhiko confirmed. "They call him the 'King of Mystery Shows'."

"And for some reason, he's always solving mysteries under precipitous circumstances." Fumio bubbled his orange juice.

"He can hear you." Conan muttered.

"Figured this would happen." Fumio stepped into the waiting after seeing Genta, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi off the elevator and sweatdropped when he saw the drunk Mouri slumped on the table.

"What was that?" Ran gasped, hearing a scream. "Conan." she blinked when Conan and Fumio ran outside.

"What happened?" Conan asked, the two boys approaching the horrified Furui Kiho outside the door of Inokoshi's waiting room.

"Over there..." Furui pointed to the expanding pool of blood on the floor. "Inokoshi asked me o bring him coffee. I knocked on his door, but he didn't answer."

"Looks like its stuck on something." Fumio noted, Conan wrapping a cloth around his hand to open the door to no avail. "And judging by the pool of blood..."

"Definitely." Conan agreed. "Let's see." he ran through the back door. "The window to Inokoshi's changing room is..." he stopped underneath Inokoshi's window. Heaving himself up using the window sill, he gaped when he saw a stabbed Inokoshi on a chair that leaned against the door. "I knew it. The body's keeping the door shut instead of the lock. In other words, this is..."

"It's a locked door mystery." Tsukuba Mei was suddenly beside Conan.

"Inspector." Mouri informed Inspector Megure, whose unit was called in. "There may be some clues still."

"I know." Inspector Megure concurred. "Takagi, Chiba."

"Yes sir." the two younger officers went off.

"The victim is Inokoshi Kenichiro, forty-eight years old." Takagi reported. "He was scheduled to appear on the panel after Mouri's lecture, and was waiting alone in this changing room."

"We're waiting on the autopsy for the cause of death, but it was likely blood loss due to to stabbed in the heart." Chiba added. "Also, look at this." he showed Inspector Megure the pocket watch in the evidence bag. "This was in the left breast pocket of the victim's jacket. The blade of the weapon matched the damaged section. It's safe to assume it was damaged when the victim was stabbed in the heart."

"Which means the time of death was 2.50," Inspector Megure concluded. "The problem is..."

"This was a locked room." Takagi agreed. "Under the circumstances, the door only opened about five centimeters, making it impossible for anyone to enter or exit. The window we broke was locked from the inside as well. There were no signs that it has been tempered with."

"So, how did the culprit leave the room after killed Inokoshi?" Inspector Megure wondered.

"At the very least, one thing is clear, Inspector." Mouri voiced from outside. Takagi, how's the security here at HISHIDA Hall?"

"We confirmed with the security staff, that aside from the front entrance and reception desk of the hall, all entrances, including emergency exits are locked from the inside." Takagi reported. "According to the reception desk, around 2.50 when the crime took place, only three children left the building."

"Children?" Inspector Megure echoed.

"Genta and the others." Fumio supplied.

"Which means no one else entered or left." Mouri concluded. "This wasn't the work of an outsider, Inspector."

"It was enough to leave a mark on the floor, so they must have dragged the chair with the body sitting in it." Fumio remarked, the two boys jumping over the windowsill and crawled under the table. "The problem is, just how did they go out afterwards. Something is pressed on it." he spotted a round mark on the back of the chair frame Inokoshi was sitting on.

"So, that's how it is." Conan realized.

"This is how they created the locked room." squatted beside the two boys, Tsukuba came to the same conclusion.

"What's that?" Mouri spotted the trio by the chair. "What about the locked room? Inspector, could you gather all the concerned parties?" he requested after the brief discussion of postponing the lecture.

"The locked room didn't use a complicated trick." Conan explained. "But I still don't know who did it."

"And I'm worried that no one has seen the owner." Fumio added.

"Before I explain my reasoning," Mouri coughed, addressing the gathered parties. "Chiba, have you checked everyone's alibi?"

"I was able to confirm everyone's alibi at 2.50, with one exception." Chiba reported. "They were all gathered in the same place, with Reizei, the former manager of HISHIDA Hall, being the only exception; he was resting in his changing room alone. You did it, Reizei. Your motive was your rage you felt towards Inokoshi after he brought you in line like you were on a TV show. And you created this locked room using your cane. I'll now show you."

Returning to Inokoshi's room, Mouri reenacted the scene. "Takagi, Chiba." he instructed the two younger officers.

With Chiba playing Inokoshi's role and Takagi taking on Reizei's role, the two acted out Mouri's scenario.

"You alone left the room and removed the cane just before the door closed." Mouri continued. "I'm sure it'll open more if you pushed harder, but a body is rather heavy. It's enough to create a quick and dirty locked room.

"Excuse me." Tsukuba piped in. "Earlier, I took Reizei to his changing room. He was exhausted and elderly. Wouldn't be difficult for him to do all that?"

"That's a good point." Fumio conceded. "Sitting such a large victim in a chair, dragging it across the room, leaning it against the door, and supporting it all with one cane would've been rather difficult."

"Impressive, Detective." Reizei praised. "I am astonished. I knew you would spot my cane trick eventually." he held out his hands to be cuffed. "But I killed someone else."

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