On the Trail of a Silent Witness

Chronology
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Episode 307-308 (Int. Episode {{{int-episode}}})
Information
Title:	The Dark Footprint
Original airdate:	January 27, 2003 (Part 1) February 3, 2003 (Part 2)
Season:	11
Manga source:	Volume 37: Files 5~7
Case
Cast:	Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri Inspector Megure
Case solved by:	Kogoro Mouri (via Conan)

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri Ran Mouri Inspector Megure Wataru Takagi 100px Detective Chiba Shuichi Akai Tequila (flashback)

Gadgets

Gadgets
Voice-Changing Bowtie Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Case

Situation

Part 1

Three game designers arrive at Kogoro's agency to ask for his assistance to look for their game programmer Suguru Itakara. He was last heard in a video mail which shows him in a hotel with an Igo, Shogi, and Chess set. One of the game producers believe that a mysterious man may be the cause of Itakara's disappearance; Conan realizes from his description the man is Tequila from the Black Organization. Kogoro decides to call hotels and ask them if anyone rented a Shogi, Chess, and Igo set at once. After learning of Itakara's hotel and room number, they enter the apartment only to find out Itakara had died of a stroke.

Murder
	Victim: Suguru Itakura

The police's investigation reveals that Itagara's body was tied up before his death; This means someone tied him up to prevent him from being able to take his medicine which would have prevented the stroke. Further investigation reveals that someone other then Kogoro also phoned the hotel asking for a person with a Shogi, Chess, and Igo set; Since the three producers are the only ones who knew Itakara had those three sets and was staying in a hotel, this makes them the prime suspects for murder.

Part 2

The three designers are: Katsumichi Sugai, Igo board game designer; Ryusuke Soma, Shogi board game designer; and Johei Naito, a chess game designer. While the police investigate, Conan attempts to steal a floppy disk containing Itakara's diary so he could investigate the Black Organization but to no avail. A forensic officer reveals that the body is missing a sock impression on the right ankle, this causes Conan to realize who the murderer is.

People

Katsumichi Sugai
	39 years old Game company executive

Johei Naito
	47 years old Game company executive

Ryusuke Soma
	44 years old Game company executive

Suguru Itakura
	Victim 45 years old

Resolution

  Show spoilers »

After tranquilizing Kogoro, Conan impersonates Kogoro and tricks Megure into copying Itakara's diary onto another floppy disk. He then afterward reveals that Itakara, while tied up, used his feet and moved the pieces on the Igo board to reveal who the murderer is. When the white pieces are ignored, the black pieces represent kanji characters in Braille and ultimately reveals that Soma is the culprit. As proof, Conan reveals that Itakara made the message on an Igo board since Soma is unfamiliar with Braille and would not recognize the strange patterns on the Igo board since he is not familiar with the game. As evidence Conan reveals that there should be Itakara's fingerprints on Soma's watch. Soma confesses and reveals that he was angered that he invested twenty years worth of money and time into Itakara to build him a Shogi program, yet had made no development throughout the years. Later that day, Conan and Ran are grocery shopping when they run into Shuichi Akai.

See also

• Season 11