Police sirens blared, growing louder as Inspector Megure, accompanied by Takagi, Sato, and a host of other officers, swiftly arrived at the scene.
Surveying the chaotic scene, Inspector Megure bellowed in a loud voice, "The police are here! Everyone stay where you are and don't move!"
The noisy venue finally quieted down.
Officers quickly set up caution tape, cordoning off the judge's panel, the contestant area, and a section of the audience seating.
Inspector Megure's gaze swept across the scene, quickly landing on Mouri Kogoro, who was being supported by Ran, his face pale.
"Sigh…"
Inspector Megure let out a deep sigh and walked over quickly, his tone helpless:
"Brother Mouri, why is it you again? It seems like every time you're around, a case happens. I'm starting to wonder if the masterminds behind these cases are you detectives."
Mouri Kogoro coughed awkwardly twice: "Inspector Megure, it really has nothing to do with me! I'm just a judge…"
"Alright, alright," Inspector Megure waved his hand, then turned to the forensics team, "What's the situation?"
The forensics team quickly reported:
"The deceased, Ōgawa Satoru, is preliminarily determined to have died from cyanide poisoning. The source of the poison was in the small piece of nine-turn intestines, made by contestant Sakamoto Keisuke, that he ate last. No toxins were detected in the dishes of the other two contestants."
Inspector Megure glanced at the startled, mushroom-headed chubby man, "Sakamoto Keisuke-san, it seems you need to explain yourself thoroughly."
Seeing himself become the prime suspect, Sakamoto Keisuke exclaimed emotionally.
"So this is how the police treat innocent people? And I didn't believe it, but today I've seen it! Solving cases is your police's business, what do I need to explain? Innocent until proven guilty, why should I have to prove myself?"
Takagi quickly jumped in as a peacemaker, laughing awkwardly, "Sakamoto Keisuke-san, don't be so agitated. These are just routine inquiries, we're not implying you're a suspect."
Sakamoto Keisuke remained unyielding, pointing at his dish.
"I didn't put any poison in the dish at all. Chef Watanabe and Detective Mouri also ate it, and they're fine. If you still don't believe me, I can eat my own dish right now!"
As Sakamoto Keisuke spoke, he removed his chef's gloves and was about to pick up a spoon to eat his own dish.
Inspector Megure quickly stopped him, speaking soothing words until the other party gave up the idea.
Watanabe Kenichi and Mouri Kogoro also stated that Sakamoto Keisuke was right, they had both eaten from the same plate of nine-turn intestines as the deceased and had not felt any discomfort.
"Hey, those intestines tasted good. Only the piece Ōgawa-san ate had poison. Could it be a terrorist randomly killing people?"
Mouri Kogoro began his daily unreliable pronouncements.
"The killer might have poisoned the ingredients prepared by the show's production team in advance and isn't even at the scene."
Conan scoffed with a half-moon eye. How is that possible? The properties of cyanide make that an impossibility.
Rina stepped forward to explain the reason for Conan. "Detective Mouri, From what i know-Cyanide is a highly toxic chemical, and its properties are not stable. It decomposes significantly during high-temperature cooking.
If the poison were added during the high-temperature stages of braising and reducing the sauce, the toxin would have already been inactivated. Similarly, adding poison to raw large intestines or seasonings in advance would also be ineffective.
The only possibility is that it was manually added to the surface of the food after the dish was plated and before it was served to the judges' panel."
Rina's professional analysis stunned everyone present.
Conan, in particular, cast a surprised look her way.
According to Ran, Ellen's sister's profession was a domestic maid.
A domestic maid, so knowledgeable about the properties of poisons? Her employer probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
Inspector Megure pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on Mouri Kogoro, Watanabe Kenichi, and Sakamoto Keisuke.
After Sakamoto Keisuke's plate of nine-turn intestines was prepared, besides the deceased, only these three individuals had the opportunity to poison it.
It was another classic three-way choice.
Brother Mouri could be ruled out, Watanabe Kenichi had little interaction with the deceased.
Then the killer could only be—
Sakamoto Keisuke, who had a heated conflict with the deceased!
Inspector Megure once again suspected Sakamoto Keisuke, his suspicious gaze completely undisguised.
"Why are you looking at me? Someone must be framing me! Because that bastard Ōgawa was always targeting me, everyone knows I had a conflict with him!"
Seeing that he had become the prime suspect again, Sakamoto Keisuke pointed at Rina with uncontrollable fury:
"Yes! It must be this woman who makes dark cuisine! Her food is so terrible, the judges wouldn't even eat it, so she held a grudge and took the opportunity to poison him!"
"Huh?" Ran was displeased at once, putting her hands on her hips and retorting, "Hey, Mushroom Head! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't talk nonsense!
Although Rina-san cooking is… uh… quite distinctive, saying it killed someone is too exaggerated, isn't it? At most, it just gives you an upset stomach…"
As she spoke the latter half of the sentence, her voice gradually trailed off, clearly feeling a bit guilty.
Sakamoto Keisuke still wanted to insist that Rina was the killer, but Inspector Megure cut him off.
"Don't drag innocent people into this. After this dish was prepared, only you, Chef Watanabe, and Brother Mouri touched it. The killer is one of you three."
Inspector Megure gave a meaningful look, and he and several other police officers subtly surrounded the three individuals to prevent any unforeseen incidents.
Mouri Kogoro stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "So that's it! I know who the killer is!"
"Brother Mouri, who is the killer?" Hearing that Mouri Kogoro had reached a conclusion, Inspector Megure looked over excitedly.
Mouri Kogoro coughed, puffed out his chest, and stated his deduction. "Actually, besides the three of us, there was one more person who touched this nine-turn intestines…"
He drew out the last syllable.
"Who?" Everyone's gaze turned towards him.
"Hahahahaha," Mouri Kogoro laughed heartily, sticking out his tongue, "That would be Ōgawa-san himself! Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Ōgawa-san actually committed suicide!"
"Ah?!" Everyone was dumbfounded.
Inspector Megure was completely petrified: "Su… suicide?"
"That's right!" Mouri Kogoro continued his deduction, "Look, as a sharp-tongued critic, he must have offended many people and was under a lot of pressure!
He hid the poison on his person beforehand, and while tasting Sakamoto Keisuke's dish, he took the opportunity to put the poison into his mouth, then committed suicide by poisoning! His purpose was to frame Sakamoto Keisuke, to get revenge for his earlier defiance! Yes, it must be like this! A perfect suicide to frame someone!"
He spoke with such fervor, as if what he said were the truth.
Inspector Megure was a bit dizzy from this sudden suicide theory.
But Mouri Kogoro was a famous detective after all.
His deduction also seemed plausible.
In Beika Town, people die over far smaller grudges.
It's very reasonable!
Inspector Megure thought of his wife waiting for him at home and straightened his hat.
"Off duty, no! We can withdraw."