Akiyoshi Fujie had a rope around his neck, with a stool overturned at his feet. At first glance, it looked like a suicide.
Inspector Megure and his team came in through the back door, their expressions grim.
"Inspector Megure!"
Kogoro Mouri greeted him.
"Mr. Mouri. You again," Inspector Megure said flatly. "Wherever there's a murder case, you show up too—like a curse."
"Come on, Inspector Megure," Kogoro laughed. "It's not that I chase cases. Cases chase me—the great detective."
"Mr. Heiji," Megure added, "I didn't expect you to be here as well."
Miwako Sato's eyes brightened. She stepped forward decisively and headed toward the dressing room.
"Ms. Miwako," Heiji said, giving her a polite nod.
"Oh—Hattori's here too," Megure said, sounding genuinely pleased.
Seeing Megure's reaction, Kogoro went stiff, deflated on the spot. Why do they treat me like this?
"So, Hattori," Megure asked, "what do you think? Suicide?"
"Hard to say right now," Heiji replied. "But the time of death shouldn't be more than forty-five minutes ago…"
Megure and the others straightened immediately, watching Heiji expectantly.
Then Heiji frowned, a thought hitting him. "Inspector Megure… aren't you going to perform an autopsy?"
"Oh, uh…" Megure said awkwardly. "The coroner is already on the way."
Heiji nodded. "From what I heard, Ms. Yoko found him first. After that, her manager—Mr. Eiichi Yamagishi."
Megure motioned to Sato. She nodded in return.
A short time later, Sato brought in Yoko Okino and Eiichi Yamagishi. Kazuha and the others followed behind them.
"Ms. Yoko," Heiji said, looking at her, "can you tell us exactly what happened?"
Yoko's face was still pale, but she had steadied herself.
"I came back backstage," she said. "I rested in the chair for a bit, then went to the dressing room to change for the second half of the concert… and I saw Mr. Akiyoshi Fujie hanging inside."
As she spoke, her face drained again. Not everyone can stay calm after seeing something like that.
"So you looked, but you didn't touch the body?" Megure asked sharply.
"No. I didn't touch it." Yoko shook her head hard.
"Then what about you, Mr. Yamagishi?" Megure turned to him.
"I heard Ms. Yoko scream and ran over," Yamagishi said, waving his hands. "I didn't do anything else."
"And then we immediately notified Ms. Sonoko," the staff member in charge added.
"Inspector Megure~"
At that moment, the coroner and his assistants finally arrived.
"Start the examination," Megure ordered.
Heiji spoke up again, calm and precise. "Before the concert began, Akiyoshi Fujie caused a scene. He even threatened to make Ms. Yoko regret it. That was exactly forty-five minutes ago."
"Hattori's right," Kogoro said, nodding vigorously. "We were all there."
"So the deceased had a grudge against Ms. Yoko," Megure said, looking at her with suspicion.
A grudge meant motive.
"How can you say that?" Yamagishi snapped. "Ms. Yoko didn't even know him. What grudge could there be?"
Yoko lowered her head, her expression turning strange.
No. Ms. Yoko and Akiyoshi Fujie definitely knew each other.
Conan's eyes sharpened.
Then the coroner finished the initial check.
"Inspector Megure," he reported, "based on the stiffness of the body, the deceased has been dead for less than twenty minutes. For now, the cause of death is unclear."
"Unclear?" Megure repeated, confused.
"There are two potentially fatal injuries," the coroner explained. "One is the strangulation marks on the neck. The other is a stab wound to the chest from a sharp object, with heavy bleeding. The interval between the two appears short, so we can't yet determine which was the true cause of death."
Megure fell silent, thinking hard. Two possible causes of death…?
"Uh, have you found the murder weapon?" Conan asked.
"No," the coroner said. "There's no weapon at the scene."
No weapon…?
Conan rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
"Who told you to butt in and interfere with Inspector Megure's investigation?" Kogoro barked.
He scooped Conan up and tossed him aside.
Conan rubbed his head, irritated.
Heiji ignored the commotion. He walked over to Akiyoshi Fujie's body, crouched, and examined it closely.
The coroner recognized Heiji's ability and didn't stop him. Instead, he stood off to the side, quietly observing. Sometimes a detective's reasoning could be useful even during an examination.
"Heiji—gloves," Kazuha said, handing them over.
Putting them on, Heiji inspected the neck. A clear, dark mark circled the skin where the rope had been.
The mark was smooth and even—perfectly round, with no irregularities.
Just like I thought. The chest wound is the fatal one.
Even from a distance, Conan could tell something about that mark was off.
Heiji's thoughts clicked into place. He shifted to the chest wound. The clothing there was still damp; blood and water had mixed, then partially congealed into the fabric.
That detail sparked an idea. Heiji quickly felt lower down from the chest—and even the hem of the clothing was still damp. At the same time, he noticed small white grains clinging to it.
Could it be…?
"Hattori," Megure asked, hopeful, "did you find something?"
Heiji rose quickly, didn't answer, and went straight to the dressing room. He lowered his head and searched the floor.
In the corner, he found tiny grains—identical to what he'd seen on the victim's clothing. The corner of his mouth lifted.
"Inspector Megure," Heiji said, "the true cause of Akiyoshi Fujie's death is the chest wound."
"What?" Megure blurted. "How can you be sure?"
"Look carefully," Heiji said evenly. "What's different about the strangulation mark on his neck compared to the ones you've seen before?"
"The strangulation mark…?"
Everyone stared at it. A strangulation mark was a strangulation mark—what difference could there be?
Sato's eyes flashed with realization. She looked sharply at Heiji. "Heiji… you mean Fujie was killed first, then hanged in the dressing room afterward?"
Megure startled—then understanding spread across his face.
"Right. That mark is too uniform," he said. "Not a single irregular line. I get it. I get it."
Kazuha and the other girls listened, completely lost.
"Heiji," Kazuha asked, baffled, "what are they talking about?"
"What's going on? Yoko, it's your turn to go on."
Just as Heiji was about to explain, Tomoko Ikezawa came back from the stage and looked at them in confusion.
"I'm sorry," Megure said firmly, "but Ms. Yoko can't go back onstage right now."
Sonoko turned to the staff member in charge. "Go out and explain. Say Yoko's having a small costume issue and ask everyone to stay calm. Today's tickets will be refunded at half price."
As expected of the Suzuki Group—handled with authority.
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Note: I haven't been able to upload chapters because I didn't have internet
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