Chapter 171: Reasoning of Expectations

The officer from the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters initially thought there was something wrong with his ears after receiving the notice to send police officers.

Only a day apart.

At the same hot spring hotel where a murder had just occurred, another body had appeared.

And the killer chose the hot spring pool to dispose of the corpse.

---

Upon arriving at Kosenan, the police quickly noted that they once again saw the elementary school student Conan and the artist Akikawa Kyousuke, whom they had met just the day before.

'This hotel is doomed. Who will dare to bathe here in the future?'

The officer thought to himself before walking over to Akikawa Kyousuke and Conan to ask them about the situation again.

---

Perhaps because he had been waiting for the police to arrive, Akikawa Kyousuke had calmed down significantly.

Conan noticed that when Akikawa Kyousuke recited what had happened to the police this time, his speech was much more articulate than before.

Only...

After listening to Akikawa Kyousuke's description, the officer and several detectives who had spoken to him the previous day couldn't help but look at him with a hint of suspicion.

---

After all, the first witness to the body in yesterday's case had been one of the killers.

Akikawa Kyousuke and Conan began leading the Kanagawa Prefectural detectives to the men's hot spring area.

Thanks to the "blessing" of yesterday's case, Akikawa Kyousuke had to endure the suspicious glances of detectives surrounding him, as if they were examining a prisoner.

---

Conan also noticed Akikawa Kyousuke glancing at him with an expression of deep grievance.

For a moment, Conan, deeply embarrassed, reached up and covered his face.

---

Since he was just a child, there was no way he had the strength to dismember a corpse, so naturally, he wasn't suspected.

However, although Akikawa Kyousuke was thin, he was still an adult, which made suspicion inevitable.

Thinking about this, Conan inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt for Akikawa Kyousuke.

---

The poor artist, who had been unlucky all his life, seemed to be worse off after meeting Conan than when he had been under house arrest by his mother.

'Mr. Akikawa, these things really have nothing to do with me!'

'You're just unlucky, don't blame me!'

Conan couldn't help but shout in his heart.

At the same time, he swore that after this case, he would never meet Akikawa Kyousuke again.

This was too embarrassing!

---

Akikawa Kyousuke glanced at Conan, who was covering his face with his hands, and sneered softly to himself.

'After this, even Shinigami elementary school students will probably avoid me.'

---

Soon enough, Akikawa Kyousuke and the group entered the men's hot spring area.

Everyone immediately noticed the black bag that Akikawa Kyousuke had dragged ashore.

---

The detectives noted Akikawa Kyousuke's sudden look of extreme reluctance upon seeing the bag.

"If Akikawa were the killer, he wouldn't act so frightened."

The detectives observed Akikawa Kyousuke's reaction, and their suspicions toward him diminished significantly.

---

One officer called over a subordinate, and the two stepped forward together.

Even for criminal investigators who faced horrific crimes daily, after opening the bag and seeing the scene inside, an overwhelming nausea was unavoidable.

---

"Is this the only bag?"

The officer, looking visibly unwell, turned to Akikawa Kyousuke.

Akikawa Kyousuke nodded and pointed toward the nearby pool.

---

"The bag was found over there."

The detectives quickly ordered the Kosenan staff to shut off the device that filled the pool with carbon dioxide.

Once the fine bubbles dispersed, several more black bags were revealed, densely piled at the bottom of the pool.

---

Akikawa Kyousuke's earlier assumption was confirmed.

As expected, the bottom of the pool still contained the remaining body parts after decomposition.

The police dispatched additional personnel to retrieve the bags from the pool.

---

At the same time, Akikawa Kyousuke noticed Conan wearing a thoughtful expression as he observed the scene.

'It seems the Shinigami elementary school student also started suspecting something because of the first floating bag.'

'He'll soon deduce the dismemberer's mental state and infer that both the scene of dismemberment and the killer are in this hotel.'

---

'But without Dr. Agasa here, how will the Shinigami student reason this out?'

Just as Kyousuke's curiosity flared, he heard a familiar, deliberate voice:

"Ah, hey, this is really strange."

---

Akikawa Kyousuke turned to look at Conan, who whispered to him, ensuring only the two of them could hear:

"Brother Akikawa, when we found the first bag earlier, it was floating in the water, right?"

"But why did the remaining bags sink to the bottom of the pool?"

---

"Yes, why indeed?"

Akikawa Kyousuke put on a pensive expression and echoed Conan's doubt.

"And I think I saw livor mortis on the lower part of the body. When you pulled the bag, the position of the livor mortis didn't seem to change."

---

"Eh~~"

Akikawa Kyousuke displayed a surprised expression.

This was the first time he'd heard of such a detail.

---

Conan smirked slightly, observing Kyousuke's reaction, then continued:

"This means the livor mortis has set."

"Considering the temperature of the hot spring water and the body's decomposition, the victim has been dead for over 10 hours."

"This timeframe isn't enough for the body to produce gas and make the bag float."

---

"Exactly!"

Akikawa Kyousuke's eyes widened dramatically.

Conan continued whispering:

"I once heard Brother Shinichi say that a bag will float in this kind of case either because the body is decomposing and releasing gas or because there's too much air trapped in the bag."

---

"If the gas released by the body isn't enough to make the bag float, it means there was originally air sealed in the bag."

"This means the killer wasn't careful when they placed the dismembered body into the bag, accidentally trapping air inside. That's why the bag floated."

"This explains the killer's mental state at the time—"

---

When Conan reached this point, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

'I've handed you the answer on a silver platter. All you need to do is say it out loud, and the police will close off the hotel and search the rooms for the killer and the crime scene.'

---

Conan thought this to himself.

He had already given enough hints to Akikawa Kyousuke.

Anyone with normal intelligence would deduce that the killer had panicked while dismembering and disposing of the body.

---

Conan couldn't tell the police directly, so he hoped Akikawa Kyousuke would piece together the clues and explain it to them.

Then, he saw the artist in front of him, looking at him with a curious and admiring expression. Kyousuke's delicate face lit up with anticipation as he asked,

"What's their mental state?!"

---

That look.

That expression was identical to the one Conan had when he first saw Sherlock Holmes on TV, deducing a case with advanced reasoning beyond his understanding.

---

'Don't tell me you want me to spell out the answer for you!'

'If Sonoko were here, even she would have figured it out by now. Are you still waiting for me to tell you the solution?!'

'This Akikawa is so hopeless that even if he recovers, he'll still drool like an idiot!'

---

Conan roared internally, covering his face again and barely resisting the urge to shoot Akikawa Kyousuke with a tranquilizer dart.

---

The new Conan movie is out—can't wait to complain about it!!

(End of Chapter)