11 PM.
Yoko Okino's room.
The tatami mats were strewn with playing cards. Kurosawa Hoshino and the others, all wearing the yukatas provided by the inn, sat in a circle.
"Ha! I won again!"
Ran excitedly slapped down her last card, beaming at everyone.
"..."
Hoshino and the others fell silent. Without a word, they peeled the slips of paper from their foreheads, exchanged helpless glances, and offered each other wry smiles.
"How are we supposed to play like this?" Sonoko complained, tossing her cards into the center and flopping back like a deflated fish.
"Ran is really something else," Yoko Okino said with a wry smile, exhaling just enough to make the papers on her face flutter before settling again.
"Hmph."
Kurosawa Hoshino let out a muffled snort through his nose. "I told you not to play cards. You wouldn't listen. Still want to keep going?"
Hearing this, Yoko immediately sat up straight, ripped the papers off her face, and put on her best "I'll behave" expression.
Sonoko knew full well how lucky her best friend was, but she wasn't about to admit defeat. Though discouraged, the fighting spirit in her eyes hadn't completely died.
"Did I win too much?" Ran asked weakly.
Kurosawa Hoshino waved a hand. "No. We're just that bad. We failed to give Ran-sama a satisfying experience. Our deepest apologies."
Ran burst out laughing. "Hoshino, don't be so ridiculous!"
Sonoko grinned too. "Yeah, that sounds so weird. Not serious at all."
Whoosh.
The door slid open.
Conan slipped in and whispered, "Hoshino-nii, Uncle has a lead. He told me to tell you."
"Who?" Hoshino asked.
"Uncle got some info out of Director Gondo. There's a guy named Anzai Morio on the crew who loves taking secret photos."
"That's him." Yoko Okino frowned.
"Miss Yoko, you know him?" Ran and Sonoko asked in unison.
"Yes." Yoko nodded. "He's the camera assistant. Not very popular. Most of the crew can't stand him."
Sonoko clenched her fist and pumped it. "Great! Let's go find him right now and make him delete those photos!"
At that moment—
Wee-woo—wee-woo—
The wail of police sirens filled the air outside the inn.
Conan froze, then bolted out of the room.
"What's going on?" Ran asked curiously.
"We'll find out when we get there."
Kurosawa Hoshino and the others filed out. Other crew members emerged from their rooms, all heading toward the inn entrance.
Under the cover of night, five police cars were parked by the roadside. Inspector Megure was leading his team toward them.
"Hello, we received a report that someone at Beika Shrine—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His eyes landed on Kurosawa Hoshino in the crowd. They lit up. He strode over and grabbed Hoshino's hand.
"Hoshino-kun! You're here! That's wonderful! Now we can get off work early—ahem, I mean, catch the culprit faster so they don't escape."
"Inspector Megure, what you really meant to say was 'get off work early,' wasn't it?" Kurosawa Hoshino raised an eyebrow.
"Ahaha~" Megure laughed awkwardly, guilt written all over his face.
"Inspector Megure, you said 'culprit'? Has there been a murder?" The slightly drunk Kogoro Mouri had sobered up considerably and stepped forward.
"Yes." Megure nodded, his expression turning serious. "We received a report that someone from the film crew shooting at Beika Shrine today was found dead at the entrance to the shrine's forecourt."
"What?!" Gondo Taketoshi and the others exclaimed. They quickly scanned each other, checking who was missing.
Soon, someone shouted, "Anzai isn't here!"
"Could he be the victim?"
"Really? I remember seeing him at dinner."
"In that case, I'll have to ask everyone to come with me to Beika Shrine to investigate." After speaking, Megure gestured for everyone to move.
He also instructed several officers to search Anzai Morio's room at the inn, hoping to find clues.
Ten minutes later.
At the shrine's forecourt entrance, police searchlights blazed. When everyone arrived, they saw Anzai Morio lying in a pool of blood.
The murder weapon—his coat and hat—lay scattered on the ground.
Blood was splattered everywhere, even on the stone lions flanking the entrance.
Gondo stared at the body, his face pale. "It really is Anzai."
Inspector Megure nodded and pointed to an elderly white-haired man standing nearby. "He's the one who reported it. Also the shrine's head priest, Mamegaki Kyusaku. He went out tonight and returned to find this scene."
"Grandpa, are you alright?" A young woman with short hair and glasses rushed toward Mamegaki from the crowd, followed by a young man.
"Who are they?" Kurosawa Hoshino asked Yoko Okino.
"Mamegaki Taeko. She's the scriptwriter for the crew. The man with her is her fiancé, Shimazaki Yuji, the assistant director," Yoko replied softly.
"I didn't see them this afternoon."
"That's normal. Lots of people on set."
"Hmm."
Kurosawa Hoshino nodded, eyeing the group. His memory finally clicked.
In the original story, there should have been some minor conflict earlier in the day. He hadn't witnessed it, which explained why he only remembered now.
Conan had quietly approached the body. He examined it carefully, noting the bloodstains on the deceased's right hand.
"Hoshino, any thoughts?"
At Inspector Megure's question, Conan looked up at Kurosawa Hoshino.
The other officers also turned to him, hope shining in their eyes.
It was late. They all wanted to go home and rest.
"Inspector Megure, look at what we're wearing," Kurosawa Hoshino said abruptly.
"Clothes? They're just yukatas from the inn. What about them—wait a minute."
Megure's gaze shifted to the man and woman beside Mamegaki Kyusaku. Everyone else wore inn yukatas. Those two wore casual clothes.
"You two changed out of your yukatas," Megure said slowly. "That means you didn't stay in tonight, did you?"
"I—" Mamegaki Taeko started to answer.
Shimazaki Yuji cut her off. "That's right. Taeko and I are getting married next month. After dinner, we went out for a walk."
Mamegaki Taeko froze, staring at him in astonishment. Why is he lying? We didn't go out together.
"I see." Inspector Megure's eyes narrowed.
Having witnessed Kurosawa Hoshino solve countless cases, he knew that whoever spoke up first under these circumstances was usually the culprit. Even without naming names, Hoshino's hint had pointed directly at these two. Megure wasn't letting his guard down.
"Hoshino-kun..." Fully aware of his own limitations, Megure gave him a look that said, Go ahead.
Kurosawa Hoshino straightened his yukata.
"The blood at the scene is splattered everywhere. Inspector Megure, don't you think the culprit might have gotten some on their clothes? To avoid being discovered, they'd definitely change outfits. This young lady just called Mr. Mamegaki 'Grandpa,' which means she must have stayed here. Changing bloodstained clothes in a hotel is risky. A shrine, though? That's perfect."
As he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at Mamegaki Taeko and Shimazaki Yuji. Suspicion flickered in their eyes.