SailorStar9: So with Chapter 84 uploaded, this is Chapter 85 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 85: Mouri Kogoro's Grand Lecture, Part Two
"What's that?" leading Fumio back to the crime scene, Conan focused on the windowsill beneath the broken window. "This wasn't here before, right?" he spotted a stack of magazine cuttings that were held down by a rock.
"Aren't those pages from a magazine?" Fumio frowned, the two children sat on the windowsill. "It looks like they were torn out."
"Judging from the quality of the paper and print, they're probably from the same magazine." Conan concluded, snapping pictures with his camera phone. "There's been a guard in front of this changing room since after the scene was examined."
"In other words, they reached in through a window so they wouldn't be spotted." Fumio came to the same conclusion.
"The question is, who left it here and for what purpose." Conan mused. "Not only that, but now, after the murder. Could it be?" his mind started connecting.
"Found it." Fumio called out, the pair having returned to the staircase where Hishida Junko was murdered, the blond boy having found a rock securing a stack of magazine clippings.
"I knew it." Conan referred back to the pictures he had taken earlier. "Are they different pages from the same magazine? And the one underneath is... is it from a gravure article?"
"It's probably the first page after the cover." Fumio suggested.
"I feel like there's some meaning behind the way they overlapped." Conan noted.
"Either way, it could be some kind of message." Fumio pointed out.
"If you found something, should you let Mouri know?" Tsukuba suddenly popped up in front of the two boys.
"What about this?' Mouri wondered, Conan entering the meeting room and showing the gathered detectives the photos he had taken.
"I thought it might be some kind of message." Conan explained.
"I'm sure it's just a prank." Mouri scoffed. "Stop bothering me." he waved the boy off. "They must've used something in place of a cane." he peered closely at the sketches laid out on the whiteboard.
"Hey, oji-san." Conan voiced.
"Maybe it was wrong to assume it was a long object like a cane." Tsukuba cut in. "But recently, they sell telescoping canes, too."
"Tsukinogi Hideki," Mouri voiced, addressing the security company president. "You've retired from bodyguarding, but you still carry your gear with you. I'm talking about your telescoping nightstick." he clarified. "Don't play dumb; you extended your nightstick, pressed it against the back of the chair supporting Inokoshi's body tilted it, and withdrew it while gradually closing the door, creating the locked room."
"Actually, this was stolen from me." Tsukinogi stated, pulling out the extendable stick. "I want to the bathroom immediately after arriving, and it went missing after I took it off and left it in this changing room. But when I just checked, it had been returned. Besides, don't I have an alibi?"
"About the time of the crime..." Conan piped in.
"Wasn't that the time shown on on the victim's pocket watch that was broken by the weapon?" Tsukuba posted a question.
"That's it." Mouri exclaimed. "They broke it beforehand and set the hands pointing at 2.50. Then, they put it in the breast pocket of the victim after they killed him. The murder actually took place earlier than that."
"Takagi, Chiba, reaffirm their alibis immediately." Inspector Megure instructed.
"I simply didn't encounter anyone else." Tsukinogi shrugged, after Takagi and Chiba reconfirmed the staff's alibis and leaving the aged man a ten-minute blank window. "That doesn't mean I did it."
"Then, what's that shining on your lapel?" Tsukuba pointed. "Maybe it is a piece of glass from the pocket watch broken by the weapon? If it's a match, there's no way a piece of glass could've gotten on you if the pocket watch was inside the victim's pocket was broken, so it must be broke beforehand. And the pieces could only have gotten on the person who broke it.
"Well, Tsukinogi?" Inspector Megure turned to their suspect.
"I couldn't forgive him." Tsukinogi confessed.
On stage after Tsukinogi was taken into custody, Mouri's lecture started.
Outside, Kisaki Eri had also arrived to the hall.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.