“The murderer is not Mr.
Shouichi.”
Shouichi watched in plain sight as Conan slipped behind the sofa and pulled out a bowtie.
He glanced left and right.
Seeing that no one else noticed anything amiss, he let out a yawn and started playing dumb.
“Mouri, my friend, why are you doing this again?” Inspector Megure said helplessly.
When awake, he pointed the finger at Shouichi.
Then, with a flashy spin, he fell asleep and immediately started clearing Shouichi’s name.
“Earlier was just a little joke.
Now begins the real deduction.
As long as all of you take off your jackets, I will know who the killer is,” ‘Mouri Kogorou’ said.
Inspector Megure instructed the group to take off their jackets.
Everyone complied, even Miyano Akemi, but Shouichi remained entirely unmoved, even pulling his coat tighter around himself.
“It’s late.
What if I catch a cold from taking off my clothes?” Shouichi retorted.
Regarding the eccentric Shouichi, ‘Mouri Kogorou’ said, “It is fine if he doesn’t take off his jacket, because Mr.
Shouichi and his secretary are absolutely not the murderers.”
Conan poked his head out from behind the sofa and took a look at the clothes they were wearing.
Then he declared directly, “The murderer is you!
Mr.
Ichieda Takashi!”
Immediately after, Conan used Mouri Kogorou’s mouth to explain the murder method.
“The reason you killed her has to do with Yaeko’s drowning accident two years ago, doesn’t it?”
Ichieda’s glasses glinted as he shouted agitatedly, “Yaeko didn’t die in an accident!
She was murdered by Nikaido and Reika!
They stole Yaeko’s life jacket and caused her death!”
Even after Ichieda confessed to the murder, Yotsui still couldn’t believe that his daughter was killed for such a reason.
“Shouichi must have hired you to kill my daughter, right?!” Yotsui yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Ichieda.
“You’re just a cowardly weakling!
How could you ever dare to kill Reika?
Shouichi definitely gave you the courage to do it, didn’t he?
Did he promise you something?!”
“Enough!”
Ichieda threw off Yotsui’s hand and roared, “You and your daughter are cut from the same cloth!
Reika deserved to die, and you’ll definitely end up killed by someone else too!”
To Shouichi, their dramatic grudges just felt incredibly noisy.
He turned to Satou and asked, “Officer Satou, could you take me home?
If I head back now, I should still be able to get some sleep.”
He glanced at his watch.
He suddenly remembered that he had already resigned from the bank and didn’t need to go to work.
In that case, he could sleep for a very long time.
Before Satou could react to Shouichi’s words, Yotsui said furiously, “You think you can just leave after killing someone?”
Satou frowned and said, “Mr.
Yotsui, Mr.
Shouichi is not the murderer.”
“That’s because he has the police covering for him on the inside and a detective as his lackey on the outside!
How could you ever let him be the murderer?!” Yotsui roared in anger.
He then pointed furiously at Ichieda.
“And this guy!
He’s perfectly willing to be Shouichi’s pawn, not even caring if he goes to prison for murdering on his behalf!”
With Shouichi’s earlier threats fresh in his mind.
Yotsui fully believed that his daughter’s death was Shouichi making good on his threats.
*Was this the retribution he had spoken of?*
Shouichi gave a light push, and the old man Yotsui fell flat on his butt.
He frowned.
*I can’t shake the feeling that I’m walking further and further down the path of a villain.*
*Yet ironically, I haven’t actually done anything.*
Since that was the case, Shouichi let out a low chuckle and said to Yotsui, “Mr.
Yotsui, unpaid debts bring endless disasters.
I hope you remember this principle.”
With that, he left the villa, followed by Miyano Akemi, who wore a complicated expression.
Sitting on the floor, Yotsui’s lips were pale.
*That was definitely a threat, right?*
*If I don’t pay up, is he going to kill me too?*
“Are you alright?”
Inspector Megure stepped forward to help Yotsui up, but Yotsui quickly shoved him away.
“Don’t touch me!”
Looking haggard, Yotsui pushed Inspector Megure aside.
*These guys are all Shouichi’s lackeys.
They’re all protecting him.*
The influence of a massive zaibatsu had exceeded his expectations.
Moreover, Shouichi’s methods were far too extreme.
*If I keep delaying the construction payments, he’ll definitely kill me!*
“Officer Satou?
An ordinary citizen needs the police to escort him home.
Aren’t you going to offer assistance?” the forensic doctor said, walking up to Satou.
“Ordinary citizen?”
*How is that guy even remotely related to an ordinary citizen?*
Satou glanced at Inspector Megure.
Seeing him nod, she grabbed the keys to a police car and walked out.
“Where do you live?” Satou asked with a frown.
As a police officer, helping citizens get home was considered normal conduct.
“Take me to the company.
It’s at ***,” Shouichi said.
*I can’t let Miyano Akemi follow me home; there’s a certain little one at the house that she absolutely cannot be allowed to see.*
After dropping Shouichi off at their company, Satou didn’t linger.
She drove off immediately, having zero desire to get entangled with this troublesome zaibatsu heir.
Miyano Akemi asked Shouichi in a low voice, “Did you really kill Reika?”
“The police didn’t find me guilty, so of course I didn’t kill her,” Shouichi replied.
*Hard to say.*
Miyano Akemi furrowed her brows.
She had followed Shouichi to collect the debt from Yotsui, and she had heard with her own ears when Shouichi said, ‘Unpaid debts will inevitably bring retribution.’
That could have just been the helpless venting of someone with no other options.
But Shouichi clearly wasn’t the helpless type.
Furthermore, Yotsui’s daughter had actually died while Shouichi was present.
Most importantly, after leaving, Shouichi had even thrown another threat at Yotsui.
*Unpaid debts bring endless disasters.*
She couldn’t shake the feeling that Shouichi was going to keep killing people.
“Don’t worry, I’m not a bad guy.
In all my life, I wouldn’t even hurt a fly,” Shouichi said.
He reached out, wanting to pat Miyano Akemi on the shoulder to reassure her.
But Miyano Akemi turned slightly, dodging Shouichi’s hand.
Frowning, Miyano Akemi asked, “You…
aren’t conducting a compliance test on me, are you?”
“Of course not.
How could you think of me like that?”
Shouichi found it hilarious.
*It’s just a pat on the shoulder.
What kind of compliance test is that simple?*
*Not only do strangers misunderstand me, but even Miyano Akemi has deep misconceptions.
I’m really not that bad of a guy.*
“Go get some rest early.
When there’s time, I’ll let you see your sister,” Shouichi said with a smile.
As he spoke, his hand landed on Miyano Akemi’s shoulder.
Miyano Akemi raised an eyebrow, forcing herself not to dodge.
“Tomorrow, we’ll continue pressing Yotsui for the debt.
I think he’ll pay up,” Shouichi said.
“And if he doesn’t pay?
Will you bring him endless disasters like you threatened?” Miyano Akemi asked, her brows knit tightly.
“Of course not.
If he doesn’t pay, we just keep asking.
It’s not like I have any other options.
As for that last sentence, you can just treat it as my curse upon him.
What if something actually does happen to him?”