"By the way, why isn't there an LD projector here?" Senichi glanced around the living room curiously. "There are so many LD videotapes, how come there's no machine?"
"An amplifier is also missing." Conan pointed to the only amplifier next to the TV and said the same.
"Probably taken for repairs." Kogoro Mouri sneered.
"That's not it, it was my husband who..."
"Hey... does this small stuff have anything to do with the case?"
For some reason, Takezo Yoshikawa seemed a bit nervous and immediately interrupted Kyoko Shibata's words, "I want to get back home quickly. Can we hurry up?"
"Then tell me your friends' phone numbers, I want to confirm your testimonies." Sango Yokomizo, urged by Yoshikawa, asked for the contact information of their respective friends.
After obtaining the contact information of Mrs. Shibata's friends who played golf together and Yoshikawa's card-playing buddies, Sango Yokomizo immediately sent someone to verify the information.
First was Kyoko Shibata's alibi. According to her friend, because the radio channel on the car was telling the time at that time, she clearly remembered receiving a call from Mrs. Shibata at exactly 5:00 AM.
Then, after finishing the golf game, Mrs. Shibata's return home was around 7:00 PM.
And it was roughly the time when Senichi and his group arrived, which matched quite well.
On the other hand, the publishing house that delivered the newspapers had also been contacted and it was confirmed that the newspapers were delivered around 6:00 AM.
Furthermore, from Mr. Shibata's recording of today's TV drama "Kenyuden"
"Um..."
After listening to the report from his subordinate, Sango Yokomizo rubbed his chin and pondered, "From Mr. Shibata's recording of today's TV drama 'Kenyuden', the time of the crime should have been after that, between 8:00 and 8:45 AM..."
"Which means, Mrs. Shibata's alibi is established, and the suspicion is eliminated, right?" Kogoro Mouri turned to look at Kyoko Shibata behind him.
"That, that's for sure. Of course, it's not me!" Kyoko Shibata quickly replied to their conversation.
"Mr. Yoshikawa, when you encountered Detective Mouri's group, your actions were quite suspicious."
Because many criminals often involve others to act as the first responder, Sango Yokomizo looked at Yoshikawa with suspicion in his eyes, "What were you doing at eight in the morning? Can anyone verify that?"
"At the time, I was sleeping at home..." Takezo Yoshikawa heard Sango Yokomizo's question and awkwardly touched his head.
"Can anyone prove that you were sleeping at home?"
"No, I live alone..."
Feeling that he might be treated as a suspect if he continued like this, Takezo Yoshikawa quickly tried to salvage the situation, "Although no one can confirm it, I left a message on his phone! It was something like 'We're going to play mahjong later, come over and wake him up as well.'
If I were the culprit, there would be no need to spend so much effort on this, right?"
However, unexpectedly, Takezo Yoshikawa's explanation deepened Sango Yokomizo's suspicion. He lowered his head and looked down at the middle-aged man and said with intimidation, "But you could also be pretending and deliberately misleading us like this."
"Wait a minute!!... Why are you singling me out for suspicion!"
Takezo Yoshikawa became a bit anxious after Sango Yokomizo's bluff and quickly pointed to Kogoro Mouri and others, "Then... What about this group of people? Although there's an officer among them... still... you can't exclude everyone just because you know them!"
"Hahaha... impossible, impossible... this gentleman would never commit murder!"
Sango Yokomizo waved and laughed, "Because he is 'Sleeping Kogoro,' the famous detective, and my most respected investigator!
That one is Conan-kun, who is staying at Mr. Mouri's place, and Ran-san, Mr. Mouri's daughter.
As for the beautiful lady, she's naturally Mrs. Mouri."
"Huh?"
These words left everyone in a state of bewilderment,
They hadn't expected Sango Yokomizo to misunderstand like this.
"I'm right, am I not, Mr. Mouri?" Sango Yokomizo specifically asked after introducing everyone.
"Do we really look like a couple?" Kogoro Mouri's face lit up with a self-satisfied expression upon hearing Sango Yokomizo's words.
"You've got it all wrong!"
Beside him, Shizuka Ikenami immediately spoke up to refute the misunderstanding, "My surname is Ikenami. The reason I'm with Mr. Mouri is because I entrusted him to help me find my old classmate, Mr. Shibata, and retrieve the photo I left with him before."
"Photo?" Sango Yokomizo expressed confusion upon hearing her words.
"It should be the one that the deceased was holding. Before you arrived, I checked and found that the young woman in the photo looks quite similar to Ikenami-san."
After Sango Yokomizo removed the photograph, he looked and indeed saw, as Senichi had said, that the youthful girl in the photo and the current Shizuka Ikenami had only differences in age and demeanor.
"Yes, this is the photo I entrusted Detective Mouri to find," Shizuka Ikenami seemed oblivious to the gravity of the situation, openly admitting.
Sure enough, this photograph that the victim had held in their hand aroused Sango Yokomizo's suspicion.
"How could this be! The lovely Ms. Ikenami could never be the culprit..."
Kogoro Mouri, seemingly afraid that he might be misunderstood by her for suspecting her and losing her favor, turned his head with a guilty expression and offered an explanation, "Moreover, logically speaking, this photo should have been tucked inside a book. I can't believe that It just happened to conveniently be on the floor where he was struck to death."
However, at this moment, Senichi couldn't stand watching Kogoro Mouri act like such a sycophant.
Even if you know Shizuka Ikenami isn't the culprit, you shouldn't be so biased. Plus, there's a book under Mr. Shibata's body.
As expected, the forensic personnel on the side quickly discovered the book titled "Raijin No Mon."
Now even Kogoro Mouri couldn't make excuses. He looked at Shizuka Ikenami with a serious expression, "Ms. Shimizu, the book you borrowed... could it be this one?"
"That's right... it's this book, 'Raijin No Mon.'"
Shizuka Ikenami nodded calmly and recounted, "Twenty years ago, I borrowed this book from Mr. Shibata. Afterward, I used the photo as a bookmark and forgot to take it out.
I came here this time specifically to retrieve this photograph."
"Does this mean that the culprit is..." After hearing her words, Sango Yokomizo looked at the crumpled photograph tightly clutched by the victim, and when he gazed at Shizuka Ikenami, his suspicion became even more pronounced.
It's not surprising that Sango Yokomizo would react this way; after all, it was something the victim had desperately held onto before death. It was easy for people to think that it might be a death message pointing to the perpetrator before dying.
--------------------------------
🙏🙏Please subscribe to my YouTube channel🙏🙏: @lr_digitalarts !! And follow my Instagram Page: @lr_digitalarts
--------------------------------
Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member, if possible!
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Available on my P@treon page for just $4!!
Early access to the following translations:-
~Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450
~Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +110 advance chapters & 2 Chapters/Day
p@treon.com/Lightreaper457
--------------------------------