According to Conan's knowledge, if a murder occurred in Osaka, Heiji Hattori was bound to be present.
However, right now, he didn't see his silhouette but instead saw Officer Senichi, who should have been in Tokyo, talking to Officer Otaki.
This unusual occurrence made Conan subconsciously have a bad feeling, although he hadn't fully understood the situation yet.
After Mouri Kogoro asked some questions, the three of them also learned about the situation at the scene.
Sure enough, a murder had occurred!
But after understanding the current details of the case, Conan drooped his eyes with a bored expression.
It was just as he suspected; the reason Hattori Heiji wasn't at the scene was indeed because Officer Senichi had already solved the case.
This damn competition!
Conan had lost interest in this case that Senichi had already cracked. He let out a sigh and looked utterly uninterested.
"If you're not busy, how about helping me out?" Senichi's words caught Conan's attention, and he looked interested. "What do you need?"
Even though Senichi had already solved the case, if there was a way Conan could assist, he wouldn't refuse.
"Well, this!" Senichi smiled and took out a digital camera, which was essential for travel photography before smartphones came into the picture. "Here, take this."
"Why are you giving me this?" Conan looked puzzled as he held the digital camera.
"The case isn't over yet, and until the culprit is caught, I can't leave," Senichi explained. He scratched his head and chuckled, "Originally, I was planning to watch Heiji's competition, but that's not happening now. Since you're free, why don't you go watch the competition for me and record it with this? I'll review it later."
Upon hearing Senichi's request, Conan had a face full of exasperation and began rolling his eyes at Senichi in frustration.
What do you mean I'm free! It's like I'm just a minor character here for support! You're even making me work for it, darn it!
After his futile anger, Conan suddenly realized that he had just arrived at the crime scene, and the case was already solved. It was indeed as if he had been there as a minor character...
Angrily snatching the digital camera from Senichi's hand, Conan grumbled, "Fine, fine, I'm free, so I'll help you record!"
Conan, seething with frustration, eventually joined Ran to watch the competition.
And after all, Mouri Kogoro and Otaki had known each other for a long time. As an adult, he couldn't simply leave the case behind and go. So he stayed to see if there was any way he could assist.
Because the murder scene was inside a bathhouse, the detectives naturally focused on working around the body.
In the midst of everyone's busyness, a small figure with a bag containing a longsword and an equipment bag slung over his back walked into a dim storage room.
With an evil grin, the small figure took out a bottle of mineral water and a bloodied cloth from the equipment bag. After wetting the cloth, he placed it directly on the vaulting horse.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The cloth made a rubbing sound against the vaulting horse as the small figure, with a wicked smile, wiped the bloodstains from the cloth onto the vaulting horse.
"Even if you do this, it won't hide the fact that the victim was not killed here. Your efforts are in vain," a calm male voice suddenly interrupted, startling the small figure.
When he turned to look at the source of the voice, he saw a figure emerging from behind a dark corner next to a cabinet.
With the help of the light from the doorway, both sides saw each other's faces.
The one speaking was naturally Senichi, while the small figure attempting to smear blood on the vaulting horse to create the illusion of the victim being killed in the storage room gradually revealed his face in the light.
Kotegawa!!
The student from Shinnai University with the elongated face was the true culprit of this case!
"Your method was clever, creating the illusion that the victim was killed here and then moved to the bathhouse to establish your alibi," Senichi smiled, looking at the frustrated Kotegawa. "But in reality, when you guys were in the storage room, I believe that Tarumi was still alive, wasn't he?
At that time, Tarumi had been heavily intoxicated, and it wasn't impossible for him to pass out from drinking. You took advantage of the situation and splattered red paint on him. I've reviewed the statements of the others, and when Tarumi was found, you were the first to react and call for an ambulance. You even had Omotani, who was afraid of blood, notify Hakamada, effectively keeping them out of the way.
Once you took command, the panicked Omotani and Doguchi subconsciously followed your orders, with no time to think or confirm Tarumi's death. Later on, you needed to wake up Tarumi and convince him to go to the bathhouse, where you could carry out the murder.
The police questioned the other students, and they mentioned seeing a strange person wearing a kendo mask and carrying an equipment bag coming out of the annex."
"Hah, you're saying that person was Tarumi? How did I make Tarumi obediently follow my instructions, especially after we had a big argument about him being too drunk to perform earlier?
How did I make him go to the bathhouse dressed like that?" Kotegawa retorted.
"That's quite simple," Senichi walked up to the vaulting horse and pushed aside a layer, revealing a dummy wearing kendo gear with the name 'Hakamada' on it. "Do you think your plan was flawless? In reality, I noticed this thing back when you all were about to head to the bathhouse."
Senichi shrugged. "So, your scheme was transparent to me from that moment, and I understood your method. It was nothing more than using this dummy to make Tarumi believe he had killed Hakamada. You then had him wear a kendo protective mask and head to the bathhouse to hide. In his panicked state, he would naturally follow your lead.
As for making Tarumi believe he had killed Hakamada, it was also straightforward. Firstly, he was drunk and had a prior argument where he threatened to kill Hakamada for taking his girlfriend. His intoxicated mind was already preoccupied with that thought.
Secondly, the dummy and the red paint on it were taken as bloodstains by him. The dim lighting in the storage room, along with the dummy's face mask, left him with no option but to rely on the name 'Hakamada' written on it'
All these conditions combined would make Tarumi's intoxicated mind believe that he had killed Hakamada after drinking."
What happened afterward is self-explanatory. Kotegawa separated Omotani and Doguchi, woke up Tarumi, convinced him that he had committed murder, had him change out of the bloodied kendo gear, and go to the bathhouse.
This not only ensured Tarumi would willingly head to the bathhouse but also, with the mask and equipment bag, he would later be mistaken as the perpetrator moving the body when the police questioned him. It's a two-birds-with-one-stone situation.
Finally, Kotegawa stole the katana used in today's performance by the kendo instructor and killed Tarumi in the bathhouse!
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