SailorStar9: With Chapter 48 uploaded, this is Chapter 49 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 49: The Foul-Mouthed Myna Bird
Time passes...
"Call the police!" Kokubo Mamoru stumbled out of Kokubo Naoko's house and interrupting the Detective Boys' soccer practice.
"Apparently, that man was Kokubo-san's nephew." Mitsuhiko reported back.
"She was always getting mad at him for asking for money." Genta added.
"I can't believe the old woman who smiled no matter how much noise we made is dead." Mitsuhiko sighed.
"When did he find her?" Inspector Megure inquired, as he and Takagi surveyed the house.
"13:55." Takagi referred to his notes.
"That's rather accurate." Inspector Megure blinked. "Is that what he said?"
"No, the children saw him." Takagi replied.
"Children? Inspector Megure echoed. "Don't tell me..."
"You shouldn't underestimate children." Genta chided, the police officer guarding the door having let them in.
"As you can see, Inspector." Takagi stated.
"I knew it." Inspector Megure sighed.
"Nine escaped." Conan spotted the empty cage that had toppled over.
"You know about the myna bird, too?" Inspector Megure was surprised.
"Nine was quite famous for a mischievous bird." Fumio supplied.
"Uh oh." Genta spotted the open window. "It's probably my fault that the window is open."
"I see." Inspector Megure noted. "The myna bird escaped through there."
"We were playing in the park across in front of the house." Conan related.
"Apparently, no one left or entered after Yahagi Emi-san." Takagi added.
"It's Kogoro-ojisan." Conan blinked, seeing the just-arrived Kogoro.
"What are you kids doing here?" Kogoro asked.
"Sayama-san?" Yahagi stood up from the chair, she was being interrogated on, seeing Sayama Yotaro. "The missus is furious that you sold her a forgery."
"Who are you?" Inspector Megure looked at the newcomer.
"A used book seller named Sayama-san." Kogoro introduced. "We met at the hospital. I brought him because he seemed to know the victim."
"Despite what he says, he just wants to stick his nose into the case." Ran remarked, taking a seat beside the Detective Boys.
"But it looks like he was right to bring the old man." Conan noted.
"This missus collected rare old books." Yahagi explained. "But the book she bought from Sayama-san was..."
"It fooled me, too." Sayama protested. "I meant to tell her the truth right away."
"But you haven't returned her money, right?" Yahagi pressed. "I overheard her before I went out."
"I can't raise the money with this kind of injury." Sayama argued, showing his arm that was cast in a sling.
"I don't care about your excuses." Yahagi cut in. "Does this mean you can't return the money?"
"You're just as angry with the mistress, Emi-chan." Sayama pointed out.
"Inspector, I have a report from forensics." Takagi reported. "They found strangulation marks on the victim's neck. The weapon was the white stole the victim had wrapped around her neck. The time of death was between 12:55 and 13:55."
"No, the actual murder occurred between 13:35 and 13:55." Inspector Megure corrected.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Conan hopped off the sofa.
"Sayama-san was seen speaking over his cellphone at Midoridai Station at 12:55." Takagi reported, both police officers having entered the victim's office.
"It matches Yahagi-san's story." Inspector Megure noted. "How far is it to the station from here?"
"Since he doesn't seem to have taken a taxi, it's about a forty-five minute walk." Takagi replied.
"What kind of party is this?" Haibara wondered, entering the house with Ayumi and Nine in the latter's arms.
"You're those girls." Yahagi recognized the two girls. "You have Nine with you."
"Since he's famous, we recognized him right away." Ayumi handed the bird over.
"They all have alibis?" Inspector Megure sighed in resignation, upon returning to the living room.
"Why don't you hang yourselves with noodles?" Nine chirped, flying around. "Go hit your head with some tofu." he landed on Kogoro's head.
"Why does Nine insult everyone?" Haibara wondered, watching the myna bird landed on railing on the second story.
"He was quiet earlier." Ran noted.
"He's quite smart and likes people." Fumio explained. "But it's unbelievable that he was only taught insults."
"Maybe it's the missus' influence." Yahagi suggested. "After being betrayed by someone she trusted, she couldn't trust anyone anymore. She said all compliments were lies, and only insults are accurate."
"You mean when Kokubo-san plagiarized her mentor." Sayama noted. "But according to insiders, it was the other way around."
"It wasn't the missus that committed the plagiarism." Yahagi objected. "Her mentor had writer's block. But the media sided with the major writer and wouldn't listen to the missus."
"People are blind." Nine chirped from his perch.
"That flowerpot..." Yahagi got up from the armchair and walked to the hallway. "Mamoru-san, did you bring this inside?" she lifted the pot.
"No, it wasn't me." the younger Kokubo replied from the living room door.
"How much trouble did the old woman have walking?" Conan asked.
"I think she said she could barely use a wheelchair." Mamoru recalled.
"I can't stand the stench." Nine chirped, hovering over Kogoro. "It stinks. I want eel." he swooped down. "I'm hungry." he took to the air again.
"He copied me." Genta muttered, facefaulting.
"By the way, what's the band for?" Ran asked, Nine landing on Yahagi's arm and the maid slipped the band back on the myna bird's foot.
"The missus put it on him this morning, so he'd be easily identifiable if he escaped again." Yahagi explained.
"It certainly is eye-catching." Ran agreed. "Sayama-san called him the myna bird with the red yarn."
"Is there anything smelly in the house?" Conan thought to ask.
"There's all kinds of pickles." Mamoru replied. "My aunt liked them."
"But I don't smell anything." Conan blinked.
"They're kept in the basement." Yahagi answered.
"Inspector, it's Mouri-san." Takagi spoke, noticing Kogoro had entered his 'Sleeping Kogoro' mode.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." using Kogoro's voice, Conan pointed the culprit. "This was truly a difficult case. After all, all three suspects have alibis. However, there's one person who's alibi doesn't hold up: the owner of Sayama's Books, Sayama Yotaro-san. Let me ask you something. Apparently, you saw a myna bird with red yarn trailing behind him. Nine left the yarn and his leg band at the police box. When did you see a myna bird with red yarn?"
"I saw a myna bird with red yarn on the way to the hospital." Sayama insisted.
"I see." Conan noted. "I'm impressed you were able to recognize that it was yarn and not red string. By the way, the victim apparently attached the yarn to Nine this morning."
"But, Mouri-san." Takagi voiced. "Sayama-san was seen at Midoridai Station at 12:55. It would have been impossible for him to meet you at the hospital after speaking on the phone until 13:35 and killing Naoko-san here."
"What if Sayama-san kept walking after answering the victim's call at the station?" Kogoro questioned. "The victim told him to come to her home immediately. He simply followed her instructions."
"I see." Takagi realized. "He could've arrived at the house by the time the call ended."
"But he couldn't have used the main entrance based on the children's testimony." Inspector Megure reasoned. "How on earth did he get in?"
"The side entrance." Conan replied. "The victim Kokubo Naoko-san opened it herself. The flowerpot proves it."
"That's why the flowerpot was there." Yahagi gasped.
"After being summoned to the side entrance, the victim instructed him to bring in the flowerpot by the rear entrance." Conan continued. "Committing the crime and leaving afterwards was simple. Since the lock was semi-automatic, it locks after pushing a button and exiting."
"But look at me." Sayama protested. "I can't use my dominant hand. I couldn't have done it. Mouri-san, you heard what the doctor said."
"That was your last excuse." Conan cut him off. "Let me ask you something, Sayama-san, you're the one that said this room stinks, aren't you? The clever Nine even remembered how you said it. What could have possibly have smelled so bad? Conan, are you there?"
"I'm here." said boy presented himself and crawled over the table, pretending to have Kogoro whisper something into his ear. "I'll try it." he got off the table, unlocked the basement door and opened it. "It's done. This allowed you to strangle her with only one hand." he explained.
"She was crazy." Sayama sank to his knees. "Returning the money wasn't enough to forgive me. Post an apology at my store. Send a apology to the newspaper. Go into the basement and stir the pickles. I couldn't take it anymore."
"You can tell us all about it at the station." Inspector Megure brought Sayama into custody.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.