"Hey!! Shibata! What's wrong with you!!"
The middle-aged balding man behind Senichi had also evidently seen the situation in the room. Unlike Senichi's calm demeanor, he quickly shouted in alarm.
The nervous cries of the balding man instantly captured the attention of everyone in the living room.
However, just as they were about to head to the bedroom to see what had happened, a questioning voice suddenly came from outside the door:
"Hey! What are you guys doing!!"
At the door stood a bespectacled woman with a golf bag on her back, looking exceptionally angry. "Who let you casually enter someone's house like this!! I'm calling the police!!"
"Apologies, Mrs. Shibata, I think you might need to calm down a bit," Senichi stepped in, taking the opportunity to explain. Just in the nick of time, he walked out from the bedroom and presented his identification. "I'm a Police Officer. Please listen calmly to what I have to say next."
"Officer? Why would an officer be in my house?" Mrs. Shibata was taken aback upon seeing the identification, then immediately asked.
"We're here to talk to Mr. Shibata about something. We can discuss this later." The more pressing matter was to deal with the situation at hand.
With that, Senichi led Mrs. Shibata to the bedroom, where she immediately saw her husband lying on the floor and hurried over.
Meanwhile, the balding man, upon noticing Mrs. Shibata's arrival, approached Senichi and joined the group, discussing the next steps together.
After a series of explanations and calming down, as the group waited in silence for the police to arrive, the uncanny feeling of acting gradually disappeared from Senichi's heart.
There was no other choice. While he couldn't remember the exact murder method of Mrs. Shibata, he did know that she was the culprit. After all, she was a key character in Shizuka Hattori's "Folding Fan Snatching the Blade" background, and it was impossible to forget her.
And this was where it got awkward, akin to copying the answer to a math problem, only to realize the steps were missing, leaving only the answer. It was a situation that could be described as "tasteless to eat, but a pity to discard."
Knowing the "answer," Senichi saw everything the woman did as a performance, tinged with a sense of falseness.
The key was to play along, acting in tandem with her, and proceeding with the flow. That made things rather awkward...
Indeed, it was a subtle, indescribable feeling...
—The police arrived, and the case description—
"In other words, around 7 o'clock, the five of you visited Mr. Shibata's house. After ringing the doorbell, nobody answered the door.
Just as you were about to find a place to wait, you coincidentally encountered Mr. Yoshikawa, who had made an appointment to play mahjong with Mr. Shibata.
Mr. Yoshikawa noticed the unlocked door, and after you five entered, you discovered Mr. Shibata's body in the bedroom.
And at that moment, Mrs. Shibata happened to return home from outside and ran into you all..."
Sango Yokomizo turned his head and looked at Senichi with suspicion, "So, why is the first person who discovered the body you, a police officer from Tokyo!?
According to Mr. Yoshikawa, you were the one who opened the door before he did! This action seems deliberate and very suspicious!!"
"Because I smelled the scent of blood," Senichi shrugged, spreading his hands, "that's why I hurried to open the door."
"Officer Senichi has a highly developed sense of smell," Ran explained, looking at Sango Yokomizo. "He can detect many scents that we can't."
"I see, that explains the earlier actions," Sango Yokomizo nodded, then cautioned, "This is a case in Shizuoka, so you, a officer from Tokyo, should just wait for us to handle it."
"Don't worry, I'm on vacation this time, not representing the Metropolitan Police Department, just myself."
Senichi naturally knew what the other party was concerned about and waved his hand with a smile, "Like Mr. Mouri, I'll just provide some suggestions~ Just suggestions~"
Upon hearing this, Sango Yokomizo snorted, but he didn't say much. He apparently accepted Senichi's statement.
Regarding Senichi, the officer from Tokyo, getting involved in the case, Sango Yokomizo felt somewhat displeased, but fortunately, he was a fan of Kogoro Mouri, and since he knew that Senichi came with Kogoro Mouri, he didn't mock him too much in his words.
And Senichi also made it clear that his main goal was to solve the case and not to steal credit or anything of the sort. This also helped ease Sango Yokomizo's concerns.
Even though personally, he didn't actually oppose Senichi's assistance in the case, he had to consider the thoughts of the local authorities and his own superiors.
If the record of solving the case showed that a Tokyo officer played a major role, it would be a blow to his own reputation, and he would definitely be criticized by the higher-ups.
Senichi expressed that he didn't mind these things, and Sango Yokomizo was willing to turn a blind eye to it as well.
To get back on track, after the forensic examination of the body, it was determined that Mr. Shibata's time of death was roughly between dawn and the morning.
Upon hearing the forensic analysis, Sango Yokomizo turned to Mrs. Shibata and asked, "This time frame is quite early. Were you at home, Mrs. Kyoko?"
"Well, no... I wasn't at home. Today, I had plans with a friend to play golf," Mrs. Kyoko Shibata explained. "She came to pick me up at 5 in the morning." She continued, "I had prepared breakfast for my husband in advance and left."
"Was your husband at home at that time?"
"He was at home. After all, he arrived home around 3 in the morning yesterday, took a shower, and then went to sleep."
"Three in the morning? Home at three in the morning?" Upon hearing Mrs. Kyoko Shibata's explanation, Sango Yokomizo asked in disbelief. "What was he doing?"
"He was playing mahjong..." Mr. Takezo Yoshikawa, patting his thinning hair, explained, "I live on the fourth floor, and we did play mahjong until after 3 o'clock."
"By the way, Mrs. Shibata, I see a morning newspaper on the dining table. Who usually delivers that?"
"Usually, it's delivered around 6 in the morning," Mrs. Kyoko Shibata replied after a moment of thought.
"In that case..." Sango Yokomizo, rubbing his chin and said, "Mr. Shibata probably woke up after 6, took the newspaper, and was having his meal when the assailant, who had come to visit, attacked and killed him."
This deduction was naturally based on the half-eaten, cold rice on the dining table.
However, Senichi didn't take this information at face value. There were plenty of instances where evidence was used to establish an alibi for someone not being present. He would need to make his own judgment before fully trusting it.
But before that, Senichi pulled Conan aside and began speaking in hushed tones.
"Why did you bring uncle Mouri into the scene this time?" Conan asked curiously. "With you here, there doesn't seem to be any need."
"Sango Yokomizo seems to be a fan of Detective Mouri, so I need to keep up Mr. Mouri's image for his sake," Senichi explained with a smile. "Besides, my identity isn't suitable for being too visible in Shizuoka. And, more importantly..."
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