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"Attorney Kisaki, what are you doing here?!"
Following Fujino's suggestion, Mouri Jūzō had just left the restroom when he saw Eri Kisaki, along with Ran and Conan, at the scene.
"I had arranged to meet my daughter here today,"
Eri Kisaki glanced at Ran and then asked Mouri Jūzō, "By the way, Inspector Mouri… or should I say, Inspector now?"
After a brief pause, she continued, "How is the investigation going?"
"We've already identified the suspect."
Mouri Jūzō nodded. "According to Fujino's deduction, we can determine that the murderer must be one of the few people who entered the restroom between the time the victim went in and when the body was discovered."
He then scratched the back of his head. "However, it's a bit tricky to figure out exactly who went in during that time…"
"Inspector Mouri! I have noticed who went into the restroom after the victim!"
"Conan, you really noticed?"
"Yes!"
Conan nodded.
Although it was unclear how Conan managed to see who used the restroom, Mouri Jūzō followed his lead and brought all the suspects who had been in the restroom during the relevant time frame to the scene.
When they arrived, everyone began explaining their reasons for being at the café.
There were four suspects in total: university student Kōzuki Yūichi, who was there to write a paper; Eri Kisaki, who was there to meet her daughter; Denshō Yūzō, who had come to chat with the café owner and had a bandaged hand; and Wakaōji Shirō, who was on a date with a girl.
The classic "four suspects, one culprit" scenario.
Looking at the four people present, Mouri Jūzō leaned towards Fujino and asked quietly, "Fujino-kun, do you know who the murderer is?"
"I already know."
Fujino nodded.
Then, in front of everyone, he slowly raised his hand and pointed at the tall suspect, saying sternly, "Denshō Yūzō, you are the one who killed Miss Himeya!"
As soon as he said this, everyone at the scene turned their attention to Denshō Yūzō.
Conan was also taken aback but did not look at Denshō Yūzō. Instead, he stared at Fujino with an extremely strange expression.
"Hey, don't joke around! How could I possibly be the murderer?"
Denshō Yūzō was stunned at first, then shouted indignantly.
[Detective Time has started: 59 seconds remaining]
"Still struggling?"
Hearing the system's prompt, Fujino took a deep breath.
He then took out the bloody knife from the evidence bag and displayed it to everyone. "If I'm not mistaken, Denshō first used this knife to kill Miss Himeya in the restroom. Afterward, he tied a rope to the base of the blade and, after throwing the body through the gap at the top of the restroom stall, he pulled the rope and knife out, so Miss Himeya's blood wouldn't get on him."
"Then, he untied the knife from the rope and left it in the stall, making the case look like an accidental murder committed by a thief in the restroom."
"It's only possible for someone as burly as the suspect Denshō, who was also the last to leave the restroom after discovering the body, to carry out this plan."
So that's how it is!
Watching Fujino with the knife, Conan understood. The thought process in his mind connected, leading to the conclusion that the culprit was Denshō!
But after a moment, he began to look puzzled.
How could Fujino have figured out the method so quickly, given he's only been on the scene for less than ten minutes?
"Do you have any evidence?!"
Denshō Yūzō, now identified as the suspect, protested loudly, "Just because I was the last to enter the restroom before the body was found doesn't mean I'm the murderer!"
"Of course, I have evidence."
Fujino smiled lightly and pointed to the bandage on Denshō's hand. "If the bandage was used as the rope, it should be long enough…"
"Bandage?"
Conan was stunned and looked at Denshō's hand, noticing something odd.
He remembered clearly that the hand he saw earlier was not the one with the bandage!
Conan immediately said in his high-pitched voice, "Eh? Isn't a wedding ring usually worn on the ring finger?"
As he spoke, Conan showed a puzzled expression and pointed at Denshō's fingers.
"Uncle, when you came into the store, wasn't the bandage wrapped around the ring finger? How did it become the middle finger? When did this change happen? Was it in the restroom?"
"If that's the case, then Mr. Denshō, please remove the bandage and hand it over to the police for investigation."
Fujino continued following Conan's lead. "Logically, if it was used for the plan, there should be some blood from Miss Himeya on it."
He looked at Denshō Yūzō with a knowing smile. "But do you dare let the police investigate?"
[Hat Hook Effect Triggered]
"Damn it! I was so close to success!"
Denshō's expression suddenly became strange.
"You two brats!"
Roaring, Denshō lunged towards Fujino and Conan, shouting, "Go to hell!"
Nearby police reacted and tried to stop him, but Denshō, nearly 1.9 meters tall, knocked them aside.
Mouri Jūzō stepped forward to intervene but was forcefully pushed aside by Denshō's swinging arm and slammed against the restroom wall with a cry of pain.
"Watch out!"
As Fujino prepared to use his system enhancement for a real confrontation, Ran's urgent shout reached his ears.
Fujino looked and saw Ran moving with incredible speed to stand in front of him, confronting Denshō.
She first delivered a whip kick to Denshō's waist.
Denshō groaned and staggered to the side.
Seizing the opportunity, Ran steadied herself and unleashed a series of punches to Denshō's abdomen.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
With the enhanced perception glasses' aid, Fujino clearly saw Ran delivering ten punches…
Ten punches, all landing squarely on Denshō's stomach.
It was like a human Tyrannosaurus!
After the continuous blows, Ran took a step back and leaped into the air, delivering a flying kick to Denshō's face.
Bang—!
With a muffled thud, Denshō was kicked two meters away, crashing into the restroom stall's wooden door and collapsing onto the toilet, unconscious.
"Phew!"
After subduing Denshō, Ran took a deep breath and smiled faintly at Fujino and Conan. "Fujino-senpai, Conan, are you okay?"
**(End of Chapter)**