Chapter 45: Coincidence

"Someone found a young man's body in the laundry room of the Empire Theatre."

"What?!"

Upon hearing the theatre staff's words, Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko covered their mouths and exclaimed.

Beside them, Conan and Sera Masumi squinted their eyes simultaneously.

Following the staff's lead, Mouri Kogoro arrived backstage, where the atmosphere was already chaotic.

"What happened? I heard someone died?"

"Is it true or not? Where? Have they caught the killer?"

"How could something like this happen? By the way, who was the victim?"

A crowd of actors and staff had gathered, discussing what had happened.

Among the group, Mouri Kogoro quickly spotted Okino Yoko, still dressed as Detective Quinn, craning her neck and looking around in a panic.

"Miss Yoko!"

Mouri Kogoro called out, and upon noticing him, Okino Yoko quickly walked over.

"Mr. Mouri, did you hear what happened? Do you know who was killed?"

A clear look of fear filled Okino Yoko's delicate face as she gazed at Mouri Kogoro with her blue eyes.

Having "solved" many of Okino Yoko's cases, Mouri Kogoro naturally knew how scared she was of murder scenes and bodies.

Whenever a case occurred, this talented actress, who could usually hide her emotions well, would always be terrified.

"I'm sorry, I only heard it was a young man. I don't know any more than that."

Seeing Yoko's anxious expression, Mouri Kogoro felt a strong desire to reassure her.

"Don't worry, Miss Yoko. I'll definitely uncover the truth behind this case!"

He patted his chest confidently and assured her, then followed the staff toward the laundry room backstage.

When they reached the laundry room, deep in the hallway, Mouri Kogoro spotted a man's body lying on the floor through the open door.

After entering the room, he noticed another man, covered in blood, at the back of the room.

"Huh? Didn't you say you only found one young man's body? Aren't there two here?"

Mouri Kogoro looked at the staff member who had just relayed the information to him.

The man glanced at a woman with a pale face, dressed as a cleaner, standing nearby.

"I saw the body at the door and didn't dare go further in," the cleaner replied, trembling.

"So, you saw it from the doorway? In other words, the door wasn't closed?"

A clear, neutral voice sounded suddenly.

The cleaner turned around, startled, to see the "handsome boy" with short, wavy black hair beside her and nodded slightly.

"Yes."

Mouri Kogoro turned his head at the sound of the voice.

Upon seeing Sera Masumi and Conan, he wore a look of annoyance.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the theatre? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Mouri. We're practically detectives now, so we can definitely help," Sera Masumi said as she entered the laundry room.

But once inside, when she saw the figure lying in the back, her words caught in her throat.

She knew this person!

"Huh? What help could I need from you? Me, a great detective, needing help from a kid like you?"

Mouri Kogoro said disdainfully, watching Sera Masumi ignore him and walk straight toward the "corpse" in the room.

Just as he was feeling disgruntled at being ignored, Sera suddenly turned her head and shouted in his direction:

"He still has a pulse; he's alive!"

"Huh? Oh."

Mouri Kogoro stared, stunned for a full five seconds before processing what Sera had said.

He quickly approached the young man's body in the middle of the room and checked his pulse and breathing.

"He's dead."

Mouri Kogoro shook his head, disappointed.

The glimmer of hope they'd found had ultimately faded.

It seemed the person at the back of the room was indeed lucky to be alive.

Conan approached Sera Masumi and lowered his voice:

"Sera-san, this is—"

"Yes, it's that Akikawa."

Sera Masumi turned to Conan with a serious expression.

This case was strikingly similar to the matricide case from six months ago!

There were two victims, and in both cases, Akikawa Kyousuke had miraculously survived.

Even Conan, who had always dismissed Sera Masumi's suspicions about Akikawa Kyousuke, couldn't help but sense something was off now that they were faced with this seemingly incredible coincidence.

Sera Masumi lifted Akikawa Kyousuke's head.

Only then did they notice that the left side of Akikawa's face was covered in obvious bloodstains.

Following the trail of blood, Sera and Conan also observed a long, swollen gash across Akikawa's forehead.

"Hey, did you two find something?"

Mouri Kogoro's voice interrupted.

"The wound on Akikawa's forehead has both swelling and a long gash," Sera Masumi said.

"At the same time, there are bruises that suggest he was hit with a hard object, likely causing him to lose consciousness."

As Sera spoke, she glanced around the room but didn't find any potential murder weapon that fit the requirements.

"It's the same with this one here. He must have received a severe blow to the head that killed him," Mouri Kogoro said, after examining the deceased's wounds himself.

"Huh~~? Did this guy get killed by being hit?"

Conan's innocent, slightly exaggerated voice sounded.

Before Mouri Kogoro could get angry, Conan quickly pointed to the deceased's neck and said:

"Uncle, look at the marks on his neck!"

Mouri Kogoro looked in the direction Conan indicated. As Conan had said, there were distinct strangulation marks on the deceased's neck.

"So, does that mean he was strangled first to knock him out and then hit to death?"

"No, he was hit first and then strangled to death by the killer," Sera Masumi said firmly to Mouri Kogoro.

"At the same time, I also noticed that the real killer isn't here and likely fled in a hurry."

---

Please check daily for readings and votes. Thank you very much, dear readers!

(End of Chapter)