Chapter 48: My Heart and Actions Are as Clear as a Mirror (Bonus Chapter)

"Oh? What high見—ahem, what brilliant insights does Detective Mouri have?" Sato asked, frowning.

Initially, when Kogoro Mouri pointed the finger at Masakazu, Sato had been quite gratified. This detective seemed unafraid of power and status.

But now...

It was merely a rhetorical tactic of building someone up only to tear them down.

First, he would hurl a barrage of unfounded and illogical suspicions, only to clear the suspect's name afterward.

"Masakazu had a conflict with Takeshita, and it was Masakazu who invited Takeshita to watch a movie. Isn't it only natural that you are the murderer?" Kogoro Mouri said with complete irresponsibility.

Masakazu handed his coffee cup to Takagi standing nearby.

He walked up to Kogoro Mouri, pulled a business card from his wallet, handed it to him, and said, "Mr. Mouri, you might want to consult some legal experts to understand what kind of legal punishment one faces for framing an innocent citizen."

Kogoro glanced at the business card, his fury flaring instantly.

It was his wife's business card.

Masakazu continued leisurely, "If Detective Mouri continues to frame me, you better prepare to receive a letter from my attorney."

Kogoro wanted to retort and shout back at Masakazu.

However, Conan, who had just returned from outside holding a cat, drove a needle straight into his neck.

Conan agilely pushed a chair right next to Kogoro so that as Kogoro lost consciousness, he slumped directly into the seat, and then Conan quickly hid behind him.

All of this happened without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Masakazu was quietly patting Haibara's head and completely missed Conan's movements.

Haibara was baring her teeth and swatting at Masakazu's hand, missing Conan's actions entirely as well.

"Ahem, that was just a harmless little joke. I already know who the killer is," said "Kogoro Mouri."

In the past, whenever the police heard a detective say that, they would heave a collective sigh of relief and wear relaxed, cheerful expressions.

But now, they simply furrowed their brows, their gazes lingering back and forth between Kogoro and Masakazu's faces.

"Everyone, let's listen to Mr. Mouri's deduction." Chief Medical Examiner Chosokabe took off his gloves, stood up, and looked at Kogoro.

Kogoro blurted out, "The murderer! It's you, Mrs. Takeshita!"

"Me? How could that be!" Mrs. Takeshita asked.

"That's right, it's you!" said "Kogoro." "Mr. Takeshita was afraid of cats, wasn't he?"

Mrs. Takeshita turned as pale as a sheet, trembling as she took a half-step back, looking as though she were about to collapse.

"Even if you refuse to admit it, the police can simply ask Mr. Takeshita's other acquaintances and find out the truth," said "Kogoro."

Right after that, Conan secretly let go of the kitten he had been holding.

Once released, the kitten darted straight into Okino Yuko's arms.

Yuko stroked the cat's fur and said, "Because my manager told me that Mr. Takeshita is terrified of cats, I kept it outside."

Yuko sniffed the cat and frowned, asking, "Why is there such a strong smell of disinfectant on it?"

"Because Mrs. Takeshita put it there."

By this time, Conan had already hidden himself away again, continuing to speak in Kogoro Mouri's voice: "Mrs. Takeshita must have poured disinfectant on the cat to agitate it, causing it to rush inside and crash into Mr. Takeshita."

At this point, Chosokabe spoke up: "I've already consulted Takeshita's attending physician. His condition was quite stable; he wouldn't have suffered a sudden attack. Furthermore, I detected caffeine in the deceased's mouth."

Conan continued using Kogoro's voice: "And the medicine you fed Mr. Takeshita must have been swapped, right? The real medicine is likely still in your pocket."

Chosokabe put his gloves back on, picked up the bottle of medicine from the floor, and said, "I can go check the ingredients of this medicine."

"There's no need to check. It's just ordinary sugar," Mrs. Takeshita said.

She collapsed weakly onto the floor and began to sob bitterly.

"That's right, I was the one who added caffeine to the water I gave him."

"But that's only because he deserved to die!" Mrs. Takeshita said with a venomous expression. "Originally, I was an independent director, and I invested all my savings into making a movie. He told me that as long as I spent a night with him, he would give me enough theater screenings. That bastard lied to me in the end—he only gave my movie a miserable 1% of the screens! Naturally, the box office was a disaster. Then he coerced and lured me into becoming his wife."

Mrs. Takeshita choked back a sob. "I even thought at first that quietly living as his wife might not be so bad, but that bastard never stopped fooling around with other women outside. Recently, he even planned to divorce me for some young woman. I simply had no other choice."

Although the woman painted herself as deeply helpless, Chosokabe, having removed his surgical mask, broke into a smile.

He walked over to Inspector Megure and said, "Inspector Megure, we can make the arrest now."

Inspector Megure looked down at Mrs. Takeshita on the floor. After a brief moment of hesitation, he ordered Takagi to make the arrest.

As Mrs. Takeshita was being handcuffed, Chosokabe smiled triumphantly.

Detective Mouri was in charge of the deductions, while he was responsible for examining the deceased and the food and drink they had consumed to provide the physical evidence, culminating in Inspector Megure issuing the arrest order.

With the three of them working together, who could possibly ever manage to "wrong" young master Masakazu?

The case proceeded smoothly, and Masakazu's viewing of the "show" came to an end.

Masakazu said quietly to Haibara, "Although anyone in the know realizes Takeshita's death has nothing to do with me, those who don't understand the truth will only think I killed Takeshita and shifted the blame onto his innocent, pitiful wife, destroying his family. This is probably why people always misunderstand me."

Masakazu let out a deep sigh.

My heart and actions are as clear and bright as a mirror, yet the world slanders me far too deeply.

Haibara silently rolled her eyes. It was no misunderstanding at all.

With the case solved, it was naturally time for the police to clear the scene. As the cleanup wrapped up and the police were preparing to leave, Sato approached once again.

"This case had nothing to do with you. I hope you..."

"Wait, how do you know it had nothing to do with me?"

As Sato's eyes widened in shock, Masakazu lightly raised his palm and gave Haibara's head a gentle push, nearly sending her tumbling over.

Then Masakazu smiled and said, "Sometimes, you don't even have to dirty your own hands to kill someone. You just need a gentle push, and someone else will gladly do the job for you. Guess who the woman was—the one who seduced Takeshita and wanted him to divorce his wife?"

Just as Sato opened her mouth in a fury of astonishment, the plump Yamashita came running over, sweating profusely, and shouted to Masakazu:

"Mr. Masakazu, the theater allocations and revenue shares you requested have all been approved by the company for you."

He was well-versed in history and culture, knowing full well that when Duke Pei left the Feast at鴻門 (Hong Gate), he still had Zhang Liang deliver a parting gift.

Lacking a Zhang Liang of his own, he had no choice but to deliver it personally.

Takeshita was dead, and Yamashita wanted to live.