Chapter 139: People's Joys and Sorrows Are Not the Same
"As expected of Natsukawa! I didn't expect your deductive ability to be so sharp!" Inspector Megure exclaimed with genuine admiration. Every time Natsukawa provided a clue, it was always spot-on. He couldn't help but wonder what Natsukawa did for a living to have developed such incredible skills.
Inspector Megure was seriously considering asking Natsukawa to become an advisor to the Metropolitan Police Department, but this thought was immediately interrupted by Mrs. Minagawa.
"That's impossible! It must have been this Yor who killed Katsuhiko! Everyone saw it just now, right? Katsuhiko was kicked and died instantly! There's no faking that! Even if Katsuhiko was poisoned, the poison might not have taken effect yet!
Didn't you say the poisoning symptoms only appeared recently? Even if he was poisoned, it should have taken effect by now! So that kick was definitely the cause of Katsuhiko's death!"
Mrs. Minagawa's insistence on blaming Yor's kick put Inspector Megure in a difficult position.
"Whether he was kicked to death or poisoned to death, an autopsy will tell us everything. Mrs. Minagawa, you're so eager to find a scapegoat—could it be that you're the one who poisoned him?"
"How could that be?! Katsuhiko is my own nephew! How could I possibly poison him?!"
Mrs. Minagawa's face changed drastically, her eyes flashing with an inexplicable emotion.
Conan frowned in thought. His initial suspects had been Sekiguchi Kaori and Naomichi, but after Natsukawa's pointed question, it seemed Mrs. Minagawa wasn't without suspicion either.
He hadn't yet figured out how Sekiguchi Kaori or Naomichi could have done it, but if Mrs. Minagawa was the poisoner, her actions would likely be related to the coffee and desserts she'd delivered earlier.
But why? Everyone ate the cake and drank the coffee, so why was only Katsuhiko poisoned?
Wait!
Something's not right!
Katsuhiko didn't eat the cake—he only drank the coffee!
If that's the case...
Recalling how Mrs. Minagawa had previously forbidden her son from eating desserts, but later, after he secretly drank Ran's coffee, she'd changed her mind and fed him sweets, Conan immediately reached a conclusion.
However, I only learned this because I was here the whole time. How did Natsukawa figure it out?
Dude, you've only been at the scene for less than ten minutes! Is this how you solve cases?! You didn't even gather evidence! How did you identify Mrs. Minagawa as the murderer so quickly?!
"Now, as long as we take the body back to the Metropolitan Police Department for an autopsy, we can determine what toxin was used." Natsukawa then looked at Inspector Megure. "Inspector Megure, you should examine everything Minagawa Katsuhiko consumed—like the coffee cup and the cake on the table. These were probably prepared by Mrs. Minagawa, right?"
Because Mrs. Minagawa had been relentlessly attacking Yor from the beginning, the coffee cup and cake had remained untouched and preserved.
Therefore, toxin residue would definitely still be present.
Even if she'd tried washing them, it wouldn't help. Normal dishwashing couldn't completely remove toxin residue from a coffee cup. It required specialized disinfection and sterilization methods. Otherwise, even washing it ten times would still reveal residual substances.
You could underestimate the intelligence of the Metropolitan Police Department officers, but you couldn't underestimate the science and technology of the Detective Conan world!
"Understood!"
Inspector Megure nodded solemnly, waving to signal the forensic personnel to quickly collect the cup and cake for analysis.
"But everyone ate cake and drank coffee! If it was poisoned, why are we all fine?"
The burly man who spoke was Minagawa Katsuhiko's university classmate, Wakamatsu Toshihiko. He didn't believe Natsukawa's reasoning at all. If what Natsukawa said was true, then no one at the scene should have survived. How could only Minagawa Katsuhiko be dead?
Kogoro Mouri shared the same doubts.
Moreover, Natsukawa must be cheating somehow! The two of them had arrived together, and this guy had already identified a suspect within minutes. Meanwhile, he hadn't even wrapped his head around the case yet.
"It's probably because we both drank coffee and ate cake. Earlier, Katsuhiko stole Ran-neechan's coffee, and Mrs. Minagawa, who usually didn't allow Katsuhiko to eat sweets, suddenly fed him some. That's very suspicious!"
Anya found an opportunity to reveal the truth. Sure enough, she felt much more confident when Papa was around.
Just moments ago, Mrs. Minagawa had been too scary. She'd been too frightened to speak up, so she was only revealing these details now.
Conan: ...
Why did you steal my lines?!
This unreliable little girl actually noticed the same detail he had! Half of his sense of accomplishment evaporated instantly.
"Yes! I noticed that too! I think Mrs. Minagawa must have poisoned the coffee and put the antidote in the cake. You're Minagawa's aunt, so you must have known he doesn't like sweets, which is why you came up with this trick.
This also explains why you fed Katsuhiko cake—something he normally wouldn't eat—right after he stole Ran-neechan's coffee!"
Conan smiled with satisfaction after completing his deduction. He'd finally made a meaningful contribution. Otherwise, he would have been a complete disgrace to his identity as a famous detective.
He was an eyewitness to the entire event, yet he hadn't solved the case as quickly as Natsukawa!
What terrifying insight! What did Natsukawa do before becoming a tax investigator?!
"Now you should have nothing left to say, Mrs. Minagawa. Confessing might even be considered a voluntary admission of guilt. Once the forensic team confirms the residual toxins on the coffee cup, your sentence will definitely be severe.
Besides, I have very important plans today, so I hope you won't waste any more of our time."
Natsukawa glanced at his watch. Any further delay would definitely affect the time he'd allocated for cooking dinner.
"Miss Yor, is this your boyfriend? He's so cool and handsome! I'm so jealous!"
Suzuki Sonoko whispered to Yor, her eyes sparkling. It was such a shame that Yor had already snatched up such a high-quality man.
Speaking of which, should she try to steal him away?
Although she didn't have Yor's figure, she was rich! Maybe she could just buy him off with money?
But this thought only flashed through her mind for a moment.
Not to mention that Suzuki Sonoko wasn't that kind of person—just look at how Yor had kicked Minagawa Katsuhiko...
Forget it.
She was afraid Yor would beat her up!
What a shame about Minagawa Katsuhiko, though. He'd had such a handsome face, but she never expected him to be so perverted—even trying to touch Miss Yor's thigh! She really shouldn't have come to this party.
"Thank you~"
Yor's eyes brightened. The initial frustration and anxiety were completely dispelled by Natsukawa's actions.
So satisfying!
She definitely hadn't chosen wrong. Natsukawa was truly someone she could rely on.
People's joys and sorrows are not the same.
While the two women were quietly discussing Natsukawa's boyfriend power, Mrs. Minagawa was struggling internally.
After a long while, Mrs. Minagawa finally gave up. She covered her face and collapsed to the ground.
"I had no choice! My husband's business is in serious trouble, and he urgently needs funds to get through this crisis. So he set his sights on Katsuhiko's parents' inheritance.
If he'd agreed to let me manage the inheritance beforehand, I wouldn't have done this! It's all Katsuhiko's fault!
I'm his aunt, after all, and I raised him for years! He wouldn't even part with this little bit of money!
What an ungrateful brat!"
Conan rolled his eyes internally. It takes all kinds to make a world.
The property belonged to Minagawa Katsuhiko. What's wrong with him not handing over his inheritance? This aunt is just too much!
Perhaps she'd adopted Minagawa Katsuhiko with the same greedy intention from the very beginning, when his parents had died.
(End of Chapter)
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