Chapter 254

"Oh, it's Kazuha. I'm in Tokyo right now..."

As Heiji Hattori was talking, he looked at the officers busy in Takai's bedroom, and suddenly his eyes lit up. He "whooshed" and rushed to the bedroom windowsill, staring at the layout inside.

Conan saw Heiji Hattori's appearance, was stunned for a moment, and then rushed to the windowsill as well, staring straight into the bedroom.

Thinking of Heiji Hattori's complaint about the poor signal earlier, a flash of inspiration hit him, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

"Bed moved, identical windowsill structure, poor phone signal..."

"Heiji, what you're thinking right now must be the same as me, right?"

"Exactly!" Heiji Hattori nodded, turned the brim of his hat to the back, and said with a smile.

"This is truly a clever murder method! If it weren't for Kazuha's call, I really wouldn't have thought of it! But this way, the murderer can only be that person!"

"Now, let's tell the police our deduction!"

"No problem!"

After Heiji Hattori finished speaking, Kazuha's voice came from the phone again.

Heiji Hattori frowned, picked up the phone, and said, "Alright, Kazuha! I have something very important to do right now, can you stop bothering me? I'll call you back when I'm done!"

Heiji Hattori finished speaking and hung up the phone directly.

On the other side of the phone, Kazuha looked at the hung-up phone, her mouth twitching twice, and flames seemed to be burning around her.

"Bother?! This idiot actually thinks I'm a bother? Damn it! When did this guy run off to Tokyo?"

Thinking of Tokyo, Kazuha Toyama's mind instantly conjured up a handsome face.

Akaso-san seems to be in Tokyo too!

Should I go find him?

Lord Onmyoji is much gentler.

Inside Takai's apartment.

Conan and Heiji Hattori walked out of the balcony together.

Heiji Hattori looked at Conan and said, "Speaking of which, Conan, this contest today should count as me winning, right? After all, it was me who was inspired by the phone call first and discovered the method used by the murderer."

"Don't even start!" Conan retorted immediately upon hearing this.

"The two of us can only be considered to have discovered it at the same time, and we are still missing the most important physical evidence!"

As Conan and Heiji Hattori were talking, a female voice with a strange accent came from the side: "Oh! Conan, Heiji, did you find anything?"

Conan and Heiji Hattori both let out a "ha" and exchanged glances.

Then Conan immediately clutched his stomach and said, "Brother Heiji, I want to go to the restroom. Will you come with me?"

"Uh, alright."

Heiji Hattori nodded, gave Jodie an apologetic smile, and then walked into the restroom with Conan.

Conan whispered, "Heiji, I have an idea, and I want you to cooperate."

"Hmm, you want to test the depth of that woman?" Heiji Hattori guessed Conan's meaning.

"Yeah!" Conan nodded. "How about we set up Mr. Takai's bedroom, let Teacher Jodie play the victim, and see her reaction?"

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea!"

The two discussed it briefly, then walked out of the restroom and walked quickly to Inspector Megure.

Heiji Hattori said, "Inspector Megure, we already know who the murderer is!"

"Huh? Really?" Inspector Megure's eyes lit up. "Student Heiji, who is the murderer?"

"Haha, Inspector Megure, don't be in such a hurry. To know who the murderer is, we first need to set up Mr. Takai's bedroom to recreate the method used by the murderer."

"Also, we need someone to cooperate with us. Police cannot drink alcohol while on duty, so how about Teacher Jodie?"

Heiji Hattori turned to look at Jodie.

"Me?" Jodie pointed to her nose, thought for a moment, and nodded, "Of course, no problem! I'd be happy to help!"

"When Mr. Takai fell, he seemed to be drunk, right? Teacher Jodie also needs to be drunk to realistically recreate it."

Heiji Hattori looked at Takai's wine cabinet with ill intent. "There's wine right here; let's borrow some."

Jodie shook her head with a smile: "No, no, no. I don't drink ordinary wine; I want expensive imported red wine."

Heiji Hattori's mouth twitched.

Looking at Inspector Megure, who was pretending not to hear, it seemed there was no hope of getting it reimbursed by the department.

He looked at Conan again.

Conan blinked his big eyes, wearing an innocent expression that said, "I'm a kid, I don't drink."

Heiji Hattori could only take out his wallet in pain.

"Officer Takagi, please go buy a bottle of red wine according to Teacher Jodie's request."

Officer Takagi took the wallet and asked, "How expensive should the wine be?"

Before Heiji Hattori could speak, Jodie spoke first: "At least over 100, 00 yen. The more expensive the wine, the more realistically I can recreate it."

"O-okay..."

Watching Officer Takagi's back, Heiji Hattori's heart was bleeding.

My pocket money that I saved for several years!

Akaso Kaze looked at his watch; it was almost nine o'clock, and the case over there hadn't been solved yet.

He thought about it; since he had nothing to do, he might as well go to the cafe across from Jodie's house to have a coffee and see what Conan and the others were doing.

Akaso Kaze opened a space gate and appeared in a secluded corner.

He strolled unhurriedly into the cafe.

There was only one waiter in the shop, who walked over quickly upon seeing a customer.

Akaso Kaze sat by the window and ordered a coffee.

The waiter returned to the back kitchen and reported to a person wearing a black knit hat: "Akai-san, that Onmyoji is here."

"Onmyoji?" A sharp light flashed in Akai Shuichi Akai's eyes.

【Ding, passive detection magic activated. Akai Shuichi Akai is preparing to act against you; please be on guard.】

Huh? Akai Shuichi Akai?

Akaso Kaze scanned the area with his Space Eye and quickly discovered the man hiding in the back kitchen.

He frowned slightly.

Didn't Jodie say he went back to the country with James?

Why is he hiding in the cafe across from Jodie's house?

Under the gaze of the Space Eye, Akai Shuichi Akai had a gloomy face, took out a vial of potion from his bosom, and dripped a few drops into the coffee cup.

"Go, serve it to him. Act natural; don't let him discover anything."

The waiter nodded and served the coffee to Akaso Kaze's table.

Akaso Kaze looked at the coffee in front of him, his thoughts racing.

What is this guy trying to do?

According to the prediction magic, what was put in the coffee didn't seem to be poison.

But it was clearly not anything good.

Akaso Kaze thought about it and felt he should find someone to test it.

He picked up the phone and made a call.

Jodie answered quickly.

"Hello, Akaso-san? Oh, you've already arrived at the cafe across the street. But the case here isn't finished yet?"

"Student Heiji and Conan seem to know who the murderer is, and they said they want to set up the room and have me play the victim to recreate the murderer's method."

"What? You've already solved it?"

"Alright, I'll give the phone to Inspector Megure immediately."

Inspector Megure took the phone and let out a "huh," surprised: "Lord Akaso, you haven't come to the scene, yet you know who the murderer is?"

If it were normal times, Akaso Kaze wouldn't mind giving Conan and Heiji Hattori more time, but now, with Akai Shuichi Akai's business, he decided to settle it quickly.

"That's right, I've already solved this case. The murderer who killed Mr. Takai is Noboru Kawakami."

"What? The murderer is Mr. Kawakami?"

Inspector Megure immediately looked at his subordinates and gave them a wink.