Chapter 19: Obedience Test

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“The culprit is not Mr. Shoichi.” Shoichi watched in disbelief as Conan slipped behind the sofa and pulled out a bow tie. He glanced around cautiously and noticed that no one else seemed to find anything unusual. They all yawned and began to feign ignorance.

“Brother Mouri, why are you doing this again?” Inspector Megure said wearily. When clear-headed, he would point the finger at Shoichi, but after a dramatic turn, once asleep, he would exonerate him.

“That was just a little joke earlier. Now comes the real deduction. If all of you take off your coats, I will be able to reveal the murderer,” “Kogoro Mouri” declared.

Inspector Megure instructed everyone to remove their coats. One by one, they complied—even Akemi Miyano took hers off—except Shoichi, who remained still, tightening his clothing.

“It’s very late. What if we catch a cold by taking off our coats?” Shoichi said.

Regarding Shoichi’s stubbornness, “Kogoro” replied, “He doesn’t have to take off his coat because Mr. Shoichi and his secretary absolutely cannot be the culprit.”

Conan’s head peeked out from behind the sofa, glancing at their clothes. Then he spoke directly: “The murderer is you, Takashi Ichiji!”

Conan then explained the method of murder through Kogoro’s mouth.

“You killed her because of the drowning incident involving Yaeko two years ago, didn’t you?”

Takashi Ichiji’s glasses began to reflect light, and he spoke excitedly, “Yaeko did not die by accident. She was killed by Nikaido and Rika! They took Yaeko’s life jacket, and that’s what caused her death!”

Even after Takashi Ichiji confessed to the murder, Shirai still refused to believe that his daughter had been killed for such a reason.

“It must have been Shoichi who ordered you to kill my daughter, right?” Shirai pointed at Takashi Ichiji and said, “You’re just a coward. How could you dare kill Rika? It must have been Shoichi who gave you the courage. Did he promise you something?”

“That’s enough!” Takashi Ichiji shook off Shirai and shouted, “You and your daughter are two of a kind! Rika deserved to die, and you will surely be killed by others as well.”

Their bitter feud felt unbearably noisy to Shoichi.

He turned to Sato and asked, “Officer Sato, could you take me home? If I go home now, maybe I can still get some sleep.”

He glanced at his watch and suddenly remembered that he had already resigned from the bank and no longer had to go to work.

So he could sleep for a long time.

Upon hearing Shoichi’s words, Sato hadn’t yet responded when Shirai angrily said, “You just want to leave after killing someone?”

Sato frowned and said, “Mr. Shirai, Mr. Shoichi is not the murderer.”

“That’s because he has police protection inside and detective minions outside. How could you possibly let him be the culprit!” Shirai said angrily.

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He furiously pointed at Takashi Ichiji again.

“And this guy willingly acts as Shoichi’s pawn. Even if it means going to prison for murder, he doesn’t care.”

Shoichi’s threat was clear.

Shirai was now fully convinced that his daughter’s death was Shoichi’s way of threatening him.

Is this what he called retribution?

Shoichi gave a gentle push, and Shirai fell flat on the ground.

He furrowed his brow, feeling as if he was drifting further down the path of wickedness, even though he had done nothing.

In that case, Shoichi chuckled softly and said to Shirai, “Mr. Shirai, debts unpaid bring endless calamities. I hope you remember this well.”

With that, he left the villa, followed by Akemi Miyano, whose expression was complicated.

Sitting on the ground, Shirai’s lips were pale.

This was definitely a threat.

If I don’t repay the money, will he kill me too?

“Are you alright?” Inspector Megure stepped forward to help Shirai, but Shirai quickly pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me!”

Shirai looked haggard and pushed Inspector Megure aside.

These people are all Shoichi’s pawns, protecting him.

The influence of a great financial conglomerate far exceeded his expectations.

Moreover, Shoichi’s methods were too extreme.

If I keep defaulting on the construction payments, he will definitely kill me!

“Officer Sato? There’s a civilian who needs a police escort home. Aren’t you going to help?”

The coroner approached Sato.

“A civilian?”

How is that guy an ordinary civilian?

Sato glanced at Inspector Megure, who nodded, and then took the police car keys and left.

“Where do you live?” Sato asked with a frown.

As a police officer, it was normal to help civilians get home.

“Take me to the company. It’s at ***,” Shoichi said.

He couldn’t let Akemi Miyano follow him home—there was a little one at home he couldn’t let her see.

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After dropping Shoichi off at their company, Sato didn’t linger; she drove off immediately, unwilling to get involved with this troublesome heir of a financial empire.

Akemi Miyano quietly asked Shoichi, “Did you really kill Rika?”

“If the police haven’t declared me guilty, then I didn’t kill her,” Shoichi replied.

It was hard to say.

Akemi frowned.

She had followed Shoichi to collect the debt from Shirai and had heard Shoichi say, “Debts unpaid bring retribution.”

This could be a desperate measure from someone with no other choice.

But Shoichi was clearly not desperate, and Shirai’s daughter had indeed died while Shoichi was present.

Most importantly,

After leaving, Shoichi had threatened Shirai with those words:

“Debts unpaid bring endless calamities.”

It felt like Shoichi was going to continue killing.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person. I’ve never even killed a chicken in my life,” Shoichi said.

He reached out to pat Akemi on the shoulder, hoping to gain her trust.

But Akemi slightly turned aside, avoiding his hand.

Frowning, Akemi asked, “You’re not testing my obedience, are you?”

“Of course not. How could you think that of me?” Shoichi laughed.

Just a simple pat on the shoulder—there’s no need for such a complicated obedience test.

Not only are people who don’t know me deeply mistaken, even Akemi harbors such misunderstandings. I’m not that bad a person.

“Get some rest early. When there’s time, I’ll let you see your little sister,” Shoichi said with a smile.

As he spoke, his hand rested on Akemi’s shoulder.

Akemi raised an eyebrow but didn’t pull away.

“We’ll continue collecting the debt from Shirai tomorrow. I think he’ll pay,” Shoichi said.

“And if he doesn’t? Like you threatened, with endless calamities?” Akemi asked, frowning.

“Of course not. If he won’t pay, we’ll just keep asking. I can’t do much about it.

As for that last sentence, you can think of it as a curse. What if something really happens to him?”