"You little brat—stop yelling in here," Kogoro Mouri snapped, annoyed.
"Heiji," Officer Sato asked, still confused, "if the ice pick wasn't the murder weapon, how did you know?"
Heiji didn't answer right away. He looked around the room.
"Don't you think it's really hot in here?"
Hot…?
For a second, nobody reacted. Then everyone noticed at once.
Kogoro stared at the thermometer. "It's… twenty-eight degrees?"
No wonder they were sweating. The case had distracted them so much, they didn't even notice the heat.
Hot… temperature… water…
Conan's eyes widened.
I get it. Now I understand. Fujie really did kill himself.
"Takagi," Heiji said, "I need a quick demo."
His idea needed someone to help.
But Officer Sato stepped forward first, clearly wanting to see it herself.
Heiji blinked, then shrugged. "Fine. You'll do it."
He still looked at Takagi. "Bring the chair from the dressing room."
"O-Okay."
"And get a few blocks of ice," Heiji added. "About ten centimeters thick. Put them under the chair legs."
"Ice?" Kogoro suddenly looked proud. He slapped his palm. "I got it! When the ice melts, the chair gets lower. The body ends up hanging, so it looks like suicide!"
Inspector Megure nodded fast. "That's it! Brilliant!"
Kogoro's face went stiff when he realized everyone was praising Heiji, not him.
Then Sato spoke, calm and sharp. "There's a problem. Even if it's hot, ice that thick won't melt that fast."
Her eyes went to Heiji. She was waiting.
A forensic officer walked up and handed Heiji a bag of fine white grains. "This is what you asked for."
"Thanks," Heiji said.
He turned to Sato. "Stand on the chair. And hold the rope tight."
Sato gave him a quick look, then took off her low heels. In her stockings, she stepped onto the chair and grabbed the rope with both hands.
Heiji crouched and sprinkled the white grains onto the ice.
The ice started melting much faster.
In a short time, the ice under one chair leg turned into a puddle.
Heiji started to stand—
—and Sato suddenly slipped.
She fell forward.
Heiji caught her without thinking, holding her in his arms.
The male officers looked like their hearts just cracked in half.
Their goddess… caught by a high school student.
Heiji looked down, tired. "Didn't I tell you to hold the rope tightly?"
Sato's face turned red. She quickly stepped out of his arms, fixed her clothes, then put her shoes back on.
Just a small accident.
Heiji didn't focus on it. He held up the bag.
"This is salt," he said. "Everyone knows salt makes ice melt faster. Fujie used that. He made the chair drop fast, so it would look like a suicide."
People started to understand.
"So that's why Tomoko slipped," Kazuha said.
Heiji nodded. "Yes. The ice melts into water, the salt mixes in, and the floor gets slippery. If you step on it in a panic, you'll fall."
Inspector Megure still looked stuck. "But… if he did all this, wouldn't people notice the trick? It's too strange."
Sato added, "Normally, someone hanging themselves would kick the chair away. This method didn't need that. If Tomoko hadn't slipped, we might not have noticed the floor."
Heiji's eyes stayed calm.
"Because Fujie didn't want to hide it," he said. "He wanted us to see the suicide was fake."
The room went quiet.
Megure stared. "Why would he want that?"
Heiji asked him, "If you figure out the suicide trick, what do you do next?"
"Find the real cause of death," Megure answered right away.
"And after that?"
"Find the murder weapon."
"And after you find the weapon?"
Megure stopped. His eyes widened as the answer came out.
"Follow the clues… to the killer…"
He looked at Heiji, shocked.
"You're saying… Fujie wanted to frame Yoko Okino?"
"Frame her?" People whispered. Some gasped.
Heiji said it clearly, without any extra emotion.
"That was his goal. He used his own death to blame her. He wanted to ruin her name. He wanted her to live as a 'murderer' forever."
Yoko Okino's face went pale.
"But… why?" Megure asked.
"I think Fujie hated her," Heiji said.
Everyone looked at Fujie's body.
No one felt sorry for him.
If he threw away his own life just to destroy someone else, then fine. He's gone.
"Inspector," Takagi said, stepping forward, "we found his diary at his house."
Megure read it. His face got more serious with every page. After a long moment, he closed it.
"Heiji… you're right," Megure said. "Fujie was angry because Okino suddenly stopped responding to him. He felt confused, too. In the end, he chose to die to 'teach her a lesson.'"
"That can't be," Yoko Okino said, stunned. "I didn't like him, but I sent him a letter to explain."
Yamagishi stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"I stopped that letter," he admitted. "I was scared he would keep bothering you if he read it. I'm sorry."
—
Outside, the audience was getting louder.
"Why isn't Okino coming out yet?"
"Okino! Okino!"
The noise grew and grew. It felt like it could break the place.
A little later, Kazuha and the others appeared among the audience seats.
But Heiji wasn't with them.
People kept waiting.
Then Yoko Okino finally walked out.
The whole place exploded with cheers.
But she wasn't alone.
There was someone next to her.
She lifted the mic, smiling bright.
"Next, I'll sing a duet with my idol—Mr. Heiji. Everyone, please give my idol a big round of applause."
Yoko Okino's idol…?
The entire venue went silent.
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The Crime System now has 200 chapters.
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