"Inspector Yokomizo, what are you suddenly saying?"
Facing Sango Yokomizo's accusation, Kogoro Mouri smiled awkwardly and tried to defuse the situation, "Right now, there's no evidence to prove that Ms. Ikenami is the culprit, is there?
Moreover, Ms. Ikenami voluntarily came to us and accompanied us to Shizuoka. If she's the criminal, why would she bring us back to the scene?"
"Many criminals do return to the crime scene, Mr. Mouri, as I'm sure you're aware. And Ms. Ikenami does have reasons for coming back."
Sango Yokomizo looked at Kogoro Mouri and his expression turned serious, "You also heard what Mr. Yoshikawa and Mrs. Shibata said. Ms. Ikenami had a phone conversation with Mr. Shibata, which means they had contact!
So, Mr. Mouri, you said that Ms. Ikenami entrusted you to find Mr. Shibata, but that's contradictory!"
At this point, Sango Yokomizo turned to Shizuka Ikenami and said in a cold tone, "Ms. Ikenami, in order to confirm the location of that photo from your younger days, you visited Mr. Shibata's house in the morning, didn't you?
However, your conversation in the entrance corridor didn't go smoothly. You two had a conflict, and in the process, you picked up a wooden sword from the shoe cabinet and struck his head.
Mr. Shibata immediately lost consciousness, but in your panic, you mistakenly believed you had killed him and fled.
On the other hand, after Mr. Shibata regained consciousness, he desperately tried to crawl to the bedroom for help but lost strength midway.
And in his final moments, he remembered the book pile with your photo that he had placed during your conversation on the phone, so he overturned the stack of books and held your photo in his hand."
"But... merely with a photo, nothing can be proven, right?" In a state of being influenced by her charm, Kogoro Mouri, upon hearing this well-reasoned deduction, struggled to counter.
"I'm afraid this photo holds secrets unknown to you and me," speculated Sango Yokomizo, "Otherwise, she wouldn't have entrusted you and come here together just to retrieve a photo."
Under this compelling reasoning, Kogoro Mouri found himself somewhat speechless.
Sango Yokomizo looked at Shizuka Ikenami with a serious expression, "Ms. Ikenami, please accompany us."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot comply..." Shizuka Ikenami remained calm and composed. She smiled faintly and said, "If you want to take me to the police station for questioning, please follow proper procedure and obtain a warrant for arrest from the court!
Otherwise, I choose to refuse."
"Huh?" The response from the other side left Sango Yokomizo momentarily stunned.
If an officer asks someone to go to the police station in Japan, one way is to follow the proper procedure and have the court issue an arrest warrant, while the other is a discretionary search.
Of course, this "discretionary" doesn't mean recklessness, but voluntary cooperation with the investigation.
Of course, the suspect also has the right to refuse, but that would increase the police's suspicions, so most people choose to cooperate. Even many who have never encountered such a situation before wouldn't have the concept of police officer demands to go to the police station. If the police say to go, they would obediently go.
But today, they encountered a tough opponent!
Seeing Sango Yokomizo's stunned expression after being refused, Shizuka Ikenami smiled slightly and said, "Based on the current situation, the evidence you have isn't enough to support a judge in issuing an arrest warrant for you!
So, I don't think you can force me to go to the police station."
These well-reasoned words left Sango Yokomizo speechless, and Kogoro Mouri, Ran, and the others exchanged puzzled looks, stunned by Shizuka Ikenami's words.
"Of course, there is a way to take me to the police station." Shizuka Ikenami smiled at Shibata Kyoko and said calmly, "If Mrs. Shibata were to accuse us of illegal entry into her residence, then I would have no choice but to go with you."
"But, Ms. Ikenami, Mr. Shibata had your photo in his hand right before his death!"
Faced with this logical lady, Sango Yokomizo's momentum weakened slightly, "At least give a basic explanation of your relationship and why the photo would be in Mr. Shibata's possession."
"I've already told Detective Mouri about these things." Shizuka Ikenami replied calmly.
"We would like you to come with us, explain the situation in detail at the police station..." Faced with Shizuka Ikenami's indifferent demeanor, Sango Yokomizo's words faltered.
"Or how about this." Shizuka Ikenami smiled faintly and looked at Kogoro Mouri, "Should I undergo the investigation and go to the police station with you, let Detective Mouri make the decision."
"Huh?" Hearing Shizuka Ikenami suddenly entrusted the decision to him, Kogoro Mouri showed a surprised and unprepared expression.
"If Detective Mouri believes I am truly a suspect and should undergo investigation, then I will accompany you to the police station."
"Mr. Mouri! What do you think?" Sango Yokomizo stepped forward and loudly asked Kogoro Mouri.
"Well... um... in my opinion, it's probably best to undergo the investigation..."
But then Kogoro Mouri caught Shizuka Ikenami's gaze, his forehead covered in sweat, and he quickly changed his tune, "Ah... I think it's probably not necessary..."
"Mr. Mouri!"
"Mr. Mouri!"
Amidst the shouts of the two, Kogoro Mouri found himself caught in another kind of dilemma.
Seeing Kogoro Mouri's predicament, Senichi quickly signaled Conan, urging him to take action.
Understanding Conan's signal, he found a concealed spot and, with Senichi's cover, swiftly stunned Kogoro Mouri.
As Kogoro Mouri swayed and sat on the stool Senichi had brought, after many days, the sleeping Kogoro finally made his reappearance~
"Mr. Mouri?" Shizuka Ikenami, witnessing Kogoro Mouri's odd behavior, asked in concern, "Are you alright?"
"Thanks for your concern, I'm fine," replied Conan, holding a voice changer. "Ms. Ikenami, under the current circumstances, I believe it would be more appropriate for you to go with officer Yokomizo..."
"I knew you'd make this decision, Mouri-san!"
Seeing his idol support him, Sango Yokomizo's spirits lifted, but before he could react, Kogoro Mouri's tone shifted, "However, not as a suspect, but as a witness to provide assistance."
"What?" Sango Yokomizo was taken aback by the change in Mouri's words. He then turned to Shizuka Ikenami, disbelieving.
"That's right, Ms. Ikenami is indeed not the culprit."
Kogoro Mouri explained, "If Ms. Ikenami were the killer, she would have known that the front door was unlocked when she killed Mr. Shibata and escaped.
If her goal was to retrieve the photo, when I rang the doorbell and received no response, she should have pretended to enter the room, rather than preparing to leave with us."
"So, Detective Yokomizo, your earlier deduction about Ms. Ikenami's motive was to retrieve the photo. it was wrong from the very beginning," Senichi interjected.
"Wrong?" Sango Yokomizo looked at Senichi, somewhat dissatisfied, and asked, "Why are you so sure?"
Until the truth of the case is revealed, any possibility could be the truth. Why is Senichi so confident in dismissing his deduction?
"It's simple, because Ms. Ikenami's actions after entering the room completely contradict your assessment of her motive," Senichi explained with a smile. "Think about it, if her goal was to retrieve the photo, she would have had only a very short window to get the photo.
She would have needed to be the first to discover the body, after all, with me and Detective Mouri present. If she wasn't the first to find the body, she likely wouldn't have had the chance to touch it.
But Ms. Ikenami didn't do any of that. Instead, she, along with Ran, focused on the cold dishes on the table. She didn't even show any intention of approaching the body until I discovered it."
In other words, Sango Yokomizo's earlier deduction regarding Ms. Ikenami's motive doesn't hold water.
After listening to Senichi's words, it was clear that Sango Yokomizo realized why his deduction was unfounded. However, he seemed to be overthinking things and turned to the balding middle-aged man for scrutiny, saying, "Could it be that you're the culprit? I remember you were the one who opened the door!"
"Huh?" The balding man was a bit bewildered.
"That's right, if it wasn't Officer Senichi who smelled the blood and discovered the body first, under normal circumstances, you should have been the one to find the body."
Sango Yokomizo's expression turned fierce, "Did you accidentally leave some clues when committing the crime, and fearing that we, the police, would find them, you deliberately returned to the scene to retrieve them?"
Clearly, Takezo Yoshikawa hadn't grasped the situation yet and was knocked out by this accusation.
Facing Sango Yokomizo's scrutinizing gaze, even though he was innocent, Takezo Yoshikawa, a balding and chubby middle-aged man, still felt immense pressure under the towering presence of Sango Yokomizo.
"How could I have killed him?" Faced with Sango Yokomizo's suspicion, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"No, Mr. Yoshikawa is not the culprit."
At this moment, Kogoro Mouri's voice rang in Takezo Yoshikawa's ears like a melodious sound, "Mr. Yoshikawa's home is just a floor above or below, and a simple phone call would confirm if anyone is at home. If he wanted to return to the scene to retrieve evidence left behind after committing the crime, it would have been quite easy.
If he had realized something was left behind only after we arrived, he shouldn't have stopped us at that time. He could have waited for us to leave and then entered the house. Moreover, we had already confirmed no one was inside."
"So, you mean to say that the culprit is..."
"Exactly, it's Mrs. Shibata, who seemingly has an alibi!" Senichi, gazing at Shibata Kyoko's drastically changing expression, said in a deep voice, "The culprit is you!"
However, in the face of Senichi's accusation, Shibata Kyoko didn't vehemently refute. She stood there, sweating profusely, maintaining her silence.
"But that's impossible," Sango Yokomizo said, somewhat incredulous, "Mrs. Shibata had prepared breakfast and left the house at five, only returning at seven in the evening.
If that's the case, how do you explain the morning newspaper placed on the dining table after six?
By the time Mrs. Shibata returned, Officer Senichi, you and your group were already inside the house, right? The morning newspaper must have already been on the dining table by then, right?"
Sango Yokomizo quickly raised a series of questions and pointed out various implausible loopholes, eagerly awaiting answers.
And as expected, "Kogoro Mouri" didn't disappoint him. Facing his numerous inquiries, he began, "Although Shibata-san's alibi seemed flawless at first, it's actually riddled with holes.
In her friend's testimony, 'around seven o'clock' is a vague statement. After all, both 7:05 and 7:10 fall under the category of 'around seven o'clock!'"
"In other words, Mrs. Shibata might have returned home before we arrived." Senichi's words startled Sango Yokomizo.
"Then according to what you said, that breakfast…"
"That's right, maybe it was actually a late-night snack she prepared for Mr. Shibata. After all, he played mahjong until after 3 AM."
Kogoro Mouri's tone was meaningful, "So-called late-night snacks and breakfast only differ by a morning newspaper. Similar to the vagueness of 'around seven o'clock,' it appears flawless at first glance, but is actually full of holes."
"But what about that video tape!" Yoshikawa was puzzled, "It was recorded at 8 o'clock!"
"That's simple, just set the video recording time in advance." Senichi smiled and casually resolved another point that supported Shibata Kyoko's alibi.
And with this, most of the people understood the full picture of the case and Shibata Kyoko's scheme.
At 3 AM, she made breakfast for her husband who had just returned. She then had him take a shower to pass the time while she delayed his meal until around 4:55 AM.
Afterward, when he was halfway through his meal, she called him near the entrance and struck him on the head with a wooden sword.
She adjusted the video recording time, locked the front door, left home, and met up with her friend.
Upon returning around 7 o'clock, she placed the delivered morning newspaper on the dining table and set up the scene before calling the police.
This setup would give the impression that Mr. Shibata had a conflict with a visitor who came around 8 AM while he was watching a TV drama, leading to his death from a blow with the entrance's wooden sword.
However, plans often don't account for unexpected variables. When Shibata Kyoko returned home, she encountered an unforeseen situation.
Mr. Shibata hadn't died immediately; he had attempted to call for help and managed to crawl some distance.
At that moment, in her panic, she heard the ringing of the phone inside the house. It was a call from Takezo Yoshikawa, who mentioned he would come over later. This gave Shibata Kyoko an idea.
Since she had already prepared everything, and there was no one available to be the first to discover the body, she had no choice but to report the incident herself.
And now, even though it was an accident, letting Yoshikawa discover her husband's body and report it actually enhanced her setup, making the situation more favorable for her.
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