"Has a boyfriend?" Takagi Wataru was surprised. "But we investigated at her company, and no one heard that she had a boyfriend."
"Two wine glasses were drying in the kitchen, and because they were upside down, there were dried water stains underneath. Besides that..." Chi Feichi said.
"This only proves someone visited her recently, right?" Takagi Wataru asked.
"No. Judging from the residual water stains, the bowls and glasses were washed on the same day, or less than an hour apart. From the cleanliness, the glasses were wiped without leaving a single mark," Chi Feichi stared at the fingertips of his gloves. "However, there was still a bit of oil stain on the rim of the bowl. The glasses and the bowl were washed by two different people. Those who can wash dishes together can't be just regular friends; other than family, it's lovers."
"Additionally, there is more than one subtle scorch mark on the coffee table and beside the sofa, with the scent of the same tobacco. The other party is male, and a male who smokes."
Chi Feichi walked to the sofa. "There are marks from the side of a shoe on the edge of the sofa. Judging by the size, it should be a woman's. That position is very special. Combined with the burn marks from the cigarette on the sofa, which are very new, it means recently, a man sat on the sofa, and Miss Muranishi sat on his lap facing him. Whether they were hugging and kissing or something else is unclear, but the relationship was intimate. If Miss Muranishi were alone, kneeling on the edge of the sofa wouldn't leave such a mark."
Silence.
Chi Feichi's voice was still calm, but the group of children were stunned listening to it.
Takagi Wataru blushed. "Indeed... quite intimate..."
"As for not living together, it can be seen from the bathroom. For example, toiletries and razors used by men. Even if they were taken away afterwards, traces would be left as long as they were placed there. However, I didn't find similar traces. The two shouldn't be living together yet," Chi Feichi turned to look at Takagi Wataru. "The police should have checked the drain. Only Miss Muranishi's hair was found, right?"
"Uh, yes!" Takagi Wataru nodded in a daze.
If he found a girlfriend in the future, he would absolutely never let Chi Feichi come to his house!
Otherwise, it would be terrifying if he could tell how far their relationship had progressed.
Chi Feichi didn't take it to heart. In his previous life, he had seen scenes more ambiguous than this and still had to sneak in to collect clues.
Some dangerous bounties required infiltration investigation, and the time available for infiltration was very short. How to obtain enough intelligence in a short time was tested again and again against the clock.
"I think Brother Chi's reasoning is correct," Conan looked at Chi Feichi with mixed feelings. Is this Chi Feichi's true ability? Very astonishing. He steadied his mind and handed the matchbox he found to Takagi Wataru. "This fell near the wardrobe. Inside is a marriage registration form. Miss Muranishi has already filled in her information and name, and the seal has been stamped. However, the male side is not filled out. I think Miss Muranishi probably hid the marriage registration form inside, wanting to surprise the other party when he came over and smoked."
Takagi Wataru took the matchbox blankly. Even the smoking part was correct...
"Moreover, Miss Muranishi wouldn't throw such an important thing around. Even if she wanted to put it away, she would store it properly. But it fell by the wardrobe, indicating someone hurriedly put some things into the wardrobe," Conan looked at the opened wardrobe. "For example, the beige duvet cover, pillow, curtains, and the calendar printed with the Tokyo Spirits..."
"Many thorns on the cacti were broken," Haibara Ai was hiding in front of the cacti. "It seems the person was also in a hurry when moving the cacti. This golden cactus seems to be the one the izakaya landlady gave to Miss Muranishi on the day of the crime. Many thorns were broken, and there are bloodstains."
"Maybe we have the evidence," Chi Feichi walked towards the door. "This case is really not difficult. Checking Mr. Higashida's room will make it clear."
"Yeah," Conan nodded and followed him out, finally keeping up with Chi Feichi's pace. "As for other evidence, just investigating the nearby department store at dawn will confirm who the murderer is."
Takagi Wataru: "..."
This case is not difficult?
Solved? Why does he feel even more confused?
"This..." Mitsuhiko looked at the others. "Did you understand?"
Ayumi, Genta, and Takagi Wataru shook their heads in unison.
"I understood," Haibara Ai also walked towards the door. "Officer Takagi, please tell the manager we want to check Mr. Higashida's room."
"Okay..." Takagi Wataru looked at the three children, starting to doubt his own IQ...
After checking Mr. Higashida's room, everything became clear.
Mr. Higashida's room had a gray tone. The pillows, curtains, and duvet cover were also gray.
The furniture placement in the two rooms was not much different.
"So that's it. The real murderer changed the pillow, duvet cover, and curtains to gray and moved the furniture so that the drunk Mr. Higashida would mistake Miss Muranishi's room for his own," Takagi Wataru realized. "Putting away the Tokyo Spirits calendar was because Mr. Higashida is anti-Spirits. If he saw the calendar, he would realize something was wrong even if drunk."
"The same goes for the cacti," Haibara Ai added. "Move the cacti out of the room and draw the curtains. This way, Mr. Higashida wouldn't be suspicious. Even if there were slight differences, without obvious anomalies, Mr. Higashida wouldn't notice in his drunken state."
"On the day of the crime, the real murderer strangled Miss Muranishi, then went to the izakaya to bring the heavily drunk Mr. Higashida to Miss Muranishi's room. Because of the advance arrangement, Mr. Higashida mistakenly thought it was his own room," Conan reasoned seriously. "Before leaving, he asked Mr. Higashida to put on the door chain from outside, then left. After Mr. Higashida closed the door, due to the alcohol, he immediately fell asleep on the bed. This way, Mr. Higashida's fingerprints would be left on the door lock and chain."
"Then, the VCR cable used to strangle Miss Muranishi also has Mr. Higashida's fingerprints..." Takagi Wataru stroked his chin.
"Mn..." Mitsuhiko took out the Detective Boys' notebook and looked at the records. "Related to VCRs... found it. Mr. Higashida knows a lot about VCRs."
"I understand!" Takagi Wataru said excitedly. "The murderer asked Mr. Higashida to help repair his VCR, leaving Mr. Higashida's fingerprints on the VCR cable. Then he used that cable to commit the crime. So the murderer's VCR at home might be missing a cable."
"Wait until dawn, go to the department store and ask if anyone bought gray duvet covers, pillows, and curtains. We'll know who the murderer is." Conan looked at the sky outside the window, his smile stiffening slightly.
Chi Feichi looked at the time on his phone. Feichi had been sleeping in his sleeve for a while. "It's only past 4 AM. Let's wait."
"Can only wait," Conan walked to the door and gave Chi Feichi half-moon eyes. "You slacked off again just now; you didn't reason at all..."
Clearly, Chi Feichi had already figured out the murderer's method, but while they were reasoning, he leaned leisurely against the door frame watching the show.
"Mn, anyway, it wasn't my reasoning," Chi Feichi looked at Takagi Wataru. "I don't need to go for the statement, right?"
Conan: "..."
Just to avoid giving a statement?
Well, actually he didn't really want to give a statement either...
"But, the matter of Mr. Chi driving us here..." Takagi Wataru paused, compromising under Chi Feichi's staring, chilly gaze. "It's unrelated to the case, so we can just go give the statement."