Difference between revisions of "Volume 33"
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Sonoko suggests the killer is a mathematician and geometry-lover, since Chujo left signs hinting at shapes : the triangle and circle, but he actually left a cross not to attract too much his killer's attention on geometry, though it could stand for the multiplication cross, and still math then. He may also have done this not to write figures and numbers, something which would be instantly understood by the murderer. Yet, Kisugi says none of his employees work with numbers, they're all the editorial type. Sonoko then suggests Chujo is hinting at oden - a Japanese stew whose food products have triangular, square and round shapes. Ran goes for the X meaning Jodie and Sonoko want her to find, and both burst into laughter, saying there's absolutely no chances at all it could ever be something like that. Takagi asks them if they're speaking about the X sign girls often write at the end of their mail. Ran is amazed at Takagi's knowing the sign's meaning as well, and Sonoko says this means he receives a lot of "that kind of mail" from girls, and Takagi replies in embarrassment that these are just bad jokes people are playing to him. Megure seems not to know the meaning of X neither. Conan arouses the others' curiosity when remarking that there might have been other symbols on the left side of the envelope, before the "O". Given it's a blood mark too, this means there might have been something else written as part of the message, on the left, and which went missing for some reason. The police tell Conan they actually failed to find which elements were missing, and Conan asks them if they checked the escalator's steps. Conan explains that now the escalator is at a standstill, but when the victim was found, it was actually still working, and if some blood is on a step, then this step is probably inside the machine as of now, and it can be checked if the police get the escalator going again and spray luminol on each step. Chujo most probably wrote his message on a step, because he was in the dark, and accordingly he surely went over the envelope's edges and wrote a symbol of his dying message on a step, while he thought he was still on the paper. Besides, let's not forget he was dying and getting weaker. This explains why there's only a part of it which was found on the envelope, and it may wellbe another symbol. Luminol will help them have the blood mark reappear if it was wiped by the machine due to the latter still being in opration until the police arrived. | Sonoko suggests the killer is a mathematician and geometry-lover, since Chujo left signs hinting at shapes : the triangle and circle, but he actually left a cross not to attract too much his killer's attention on geometry, though it could stand for the multiplication cross, and still math then. He may also have done this not to write figures and numbers, something which would be instantly understood by the murderer. Yet, Kisugi says none of his employees work with numbers, they're all the editorial type. Sonoko then suggests Chujo is hinting at oden - a Japanese stew whose food products have triangular, square and round shapes. Ran goes for the X meaning Jodie and Sonoko want her to find, and both burst into laughter, saying there's absolutely no chances at all it could ever be something like that. Takagi asks them if they're speaking about the X sign girls often write at the end of their mail. Ran is amazed at Takagi's knowing the sign's meaning as well, and Sonoko says this means he receives a lot of "that kind of mail" from girls, and Takagi replies in embarrassment that these are just bad jokes people are playing to him. Megure seems not to know the meaning of X neither. Conan arouses the others' curiosity when remarking that there might have been other symbols on the left side of the envelope, before the "O". Given it's a blood mark too, this means there might have been something else written as part of the message, on the left, and which went missing for some reason. The police tell Conan they actually failed to find which elements were missing, and Conan asks them if they checked the escalator's steps. Conan explains that now the escalator is at a standstill, but when the victim was found, it was actually still working, and if some blood is on a step, then this step is probably inside the machine as of now, and it can be checked if the police get the escalator going again and spray luminol on each step. Chujo most probably wrote his message on a step, because he was in the dark, and accordingly he surely went over the envelope's edges and wrote a symbol of his dying message on a step, while he thought he was still on the paper. Besides, let's not forget he was dying and getting weaker. This explains why there's only a part of it which was found on the envelope, and it may wellbe another symbol. Luminol will help them have the blood mark reappear if it was wiped by the machine due to the latter still being in opration until the police arrived. | ||
| − | Conan secretly asks Takagi what X means, the X Sonoko was talking about, and Takagi laughs saying Conan is far too young for that kind of things. Takagi then tells the forensics to check the escalator. Chiba comes along saying they found the killer's cap and coat inside the 6th floor's bathroom, where quite none usually goes. He adds they checked the alibis of the 58 suspects, and actually only 27 have a verifiable and reliable alibi, which reduces the list of suspects down to 31. As for the stolen documents, the police is still searching the company's four stories to find them, but they've got no positive results as of now. Megure sends Chiba back to investigating there, while still lamenting that checking 31 alibis with only three symbols is still very complicated. | + | Conan secretly asks Takagi what X means, the X Sonoko was talking about, and Takagi laughs saying Conan is far too young for that kind of things. Takagi then tells the forensics to check the escalator. Chiba comes along saying they found the killer's cap and coat inside the 6th floor's bathroom, where quite none usually goes. He adds they checked the alibis of the 58 suspects, and actually only 27 have a verifiable and reliable alibi, which reduces the list of suspects down to 31. As for the stolen documents, the police is still searching the company's four stories to find them, but they've got no positive results as of now. Megure sends Chiba back to investigating there, while still lamenting that checking 31 alibis with only three symbols is still very complicated. Takagi tells Megure they've indeed found a blood letter symbol on a step thanks to the luminol : it's a square. Takagi says the square can refer to the Japanese ideogram for "mouth" or the katakana character "ro". Though, it's more logical to think it's actually a geometrical figure given the previous symbols, ans also due to the square matching perfectly the blood mark on the left of the "O" symbol. Conan realises the square's size is slightly bigger than the three others'. Sonoko grabs the suspect list from Megure and suggests the symbols could actually be characters, and maybe Chujo wanted the police to merge them in order to find a name : for instance, when merging the square and cross (but the cross has to be taken as an addition one), it gives the ideogram character for "ta", which means "rice field". If this is taken into account, then several people in the list can be hinted at. Some even have the "ta" character many times in their names. Jodie notices some names include or are written with a cross. Ran says there are even names with "suzu" like "suzuki", that hint at "bells", that are round-shaped items, then it refers to the circle. Sonoko says there are no crooks at all in her family though. Megure is fed up and moves the three women away from the crime scene, along with Conan. |
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| + | Megure then tells Takagi they've finished investigating the escalator, and he should go upstairs to help Chiba. Ran pretends to have a call to give to Kogoro to warn him she'll be late, but in fact discreetly follows Takagi to the elevator. An unknown individual suddenly grasps Takagi's arm and takes him into a corner. It's actually Ran, she asks him to tell her what X means at once, since she really needs to know it. Takagi agrees, though he says he's unsure of the true meaning, because Yumi always sends him mails with "XXX" at the end to mock him. Jodie comments on Ran being rather late for a single phone call, and Conan is missing too. Jodie notices the "cool kid" is being once again kicked away from the crime scene by police officers. She comes up to him saying he's a true "ostrich". Conan asks her what it means, and she asks him if he's found out the meaning of the dying message. He replies he's not yet, and '''Jodie suggests Ran could be true when she said the symbols' shapes convey something particular. She says for instance in the United States the Ministry of Defense is called the Pentagon due to its five-sided shape. She also mentions the White House, which is actually the President's residence, the Oval Office, which is the latter's main office, and also the Bureau, which refers to...the Federal Bureau of Investigation/FBI.''' '''She hopes this helps him a little, and Conan asks her why she called him an ostrich. She answers it's a way to illustrate his behaviour, such as when he hid behind the forensic agent's briefcase to keep on investigating in secret, but was eventually found out.''' She says in the United States "ostriches" are absent-minded and reckless people, just like those big birds that hide ther head inside a hole but actually leave most of their body outside. They believe nobody can see them, but actually it's the complete opposite. She adds this reminds her of a Japanese saying : "Head hidden but butt up". Upon hearing this, Conan realises something and rushes back to the forensics, grabbing the envelope from them, lining it up next to the square mark, and eventually deducing who the murderer is. '''Jodie gazes at him with a secretly satisfied face.''' | ||
=== People === | === People === | ||
Revision as of 18:54, 24 March 2018
| ‹ Volume 32 | List of Chapters • List of Cases | Volume 34 › |
| Volume 33 | |||
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| Release date: | July 18, 2001 | ||
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| ISBN: | ISBN 4-09-126163-9 | ||
| Publisher: | Shogakukan | ||
| English release date: | January 9, 2010 | ||
| English ISBN: | ISBN 1-4215-2884-3 | ||
| English Publisher: | Viz Media | ||
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Volume 33 was released on July 18, 2001 in Japan.
Contents
Cast
Gadgets
Sato's Omiai Case
File 329 - Sato's Odds
Sato confirms her deal with Shiratori, and they agree to set down twilight as a deadline, since it may last a very long time. Next doors, Conan wonders if Sato's really serious, while Sonoko comments on things taking now a very exciting turn. Ran is worried by the possibility of Takagi's absence after all, and Sonoko suggests maybe Sato is interested in Shiratori's money, since he's very wealthy - he knows the Suzukis very well. Though, Ran is convinced Takagi and Sato make up the perfect pair. Araide comforts her saying if Sato chose to take up the challenge, that means she's very confident in her winning chances. Indeed, Sato knows Yumi has planned things from the very beginning, and someone, apparently Takagi, will come and rescue her in the end. Though, she can't explain why Takagi would care for her that much.
Meanwhile, Takagi tells Chiba none of the testimonies matches, unless one of the witnesses lied, or all of them. They decide instead to question the three suspects, in order to get a couple of clues from their declarations. Kamieda is a private school teacher, he had come to buy a book at the close-by bookstore, and he halted at the restroom for a moment. Zama is a freeter, he had come to rehearse with his band, and afterwards he went to that restroom. Koshimizu is an office lady, she was having a walk around when suddenly she got a stomach ache and rushed to the restroom. She tells Takagi now it's really time they leave since the police found nothing wrong with their statements and with the tesimonies, and it's very late now. Takagi remarks she has two watches, and she replies this has to do with her boyfriend being abroad, and she constantly needs to know what time it is there, so as not to disturb him when calling. Zama says he would also wear two watches when he was in secondary school, since he would always arrive late. He gets angry at Kamieda when seeing him laughing about it, but Kamieda says actually it's the opposite with his students : he always orders them to remove their watches during class in order to get more concentrated on the lesson. He even removed the class's clocks. Zama says his music band is visual kei - which means they disguise as women during concerts - and this goes like a dream, something everyone in the car can barely imagine. Chiba reminds Takagi to check his mails since Yumi sent him something earlier on, though Takagi believes it's still a karaoke invitation, and he rather tries to focus on the case.
Shiratori phones Megure to know where Takagi is, and he is told the latter is currently investigating an unexpected convenience store robbery. Shiratori tells Sato Takagi is having a hard time solving the case, since the testimonies don't match at all. Sato then tries to call him to get more information, but Shiratori stops her, saying this is violating their agreement : the only thing she can do is waiting and hoping he will be here on time. He then asks Sato if she really trusts Takagi, and she hardly says yes. He adds he would be really amazed if Takagi dared to leave an offence scene just to rescue Miwako, since he already got a reprimand and wages cut due to the Shinkansen Case (Vol. 30), therefore if he did it one more time, he could be fired this time, something Sato is quite afraid of. In the next room, Sonoko seems to be making fun of the situation, to Ran's great displeasure, and Conan says he'll go to the bathroom for a while. Once there, he uses his bowtie and impersonates Shinichi's voice to call Takagi, as the latter is up the creek without a paddle, and the suspects start losing their temper. Shinichi says Conan called him to explain what's happening, and Shinichi asks Takagi to check his mail. Takagi's face turns deadly and flabbergasted as he reads about Sato's Omiai. Conan tries to calm him down saying he's still got time, and Minatoro isn't very far away. Though, he tells him Sato will accept her suitor's marriage proposal if he's not here on time.
Conan asks Takagi to tell him about the events, and Conan finds the case very interesting. He tells Takagi to go to Mamehara's, the bartender he actually knows, and take him outside his bar. Doing so, Takagi notices Mamehara wears special glasses whose lenses get automatically tinted when he's outside, in order to protect his eyes from UV light. Since Mamehara was settling the menu in front of his bar when seeing the robber, he therefore saw everything darker, and believed the latter's jumper was black. Shinichi has known Mamehara for a long time now and he thinks he still wears the same special glasses. Mamehara confirms it and apologises for not remembering it, since he's used to wearing them. Though, Mamehara swears the robber was 1.70 meters tall. Takagi tells Shinichi it's in complete contradiction though with the girl's testimony. Then Conan asks him to go in front of the clothes' shop where she was when seeing the offender. The shop is close to a busy subway entrance, near a bus stop, and then it's perfectly normal the crowd will gather here at around noon, when the burglary took place. Conan says if this was the case, and given the culprit needed to run away without being hindered by the crowd, he would probably step on the curb's small low wall and run along it, which would give he impression he was taller than everyone else, while actually he's not. Conan explains this kind of situation works just like a puzzle : things are the right ones, but they need to be turned or understood in another way so as to fit in.
In the meantime, Dr Araide comments on Conan's long-lasting absence, and Ran goes to see what's going on, believing he might not have well digested his breakfast or lunch. In the corridor, she meets Shuichi Akai who has just emerged from the bathroom. The restaurant's waitress is sorry he didn't find the person he was looking for. Ran thinks to herself she's sure she's already met him somewhere. Back to the case, Conan says it's now time to explain the old man's testimony, and Takagi is amazed at Shinichi's brightness. But they are interrupted as Ran comes in the bathroom and asks if Conan's OK. The latter hangs up all of a sudden after telling Takagi to question the old man once again, and he'll find the solution to the case. Takagi thinks about the man's testimony, and realises Zama could be the robber since he wears a blue sweater and an earring, explaining why the old man saw a woman. But he quickly rules it out due to the robber wearing a helmet during his crime. As night is about to fall, Takagi still doesn't get it, and thinks to Miwako, but suddenly, when glancing at his watch, he understands something.
As the sun is about to set, Shiratori tells Miwako that, before the proposal, he'll also demand a token of her promise : a kiss.
File 330 - Sato's Feelings
Ran and co are shocked to hear about the kiss, and Sato says yes to it, since a promise is a promise. Though, she's secretly overanxious and wonders what the heck Takagi is doing, given night will fall very soon. The latter, after phoning Conan, and probably questioning the old man again, comes back to the police car in a state of deep dejection, saying he's still not solved the case. He says though they still have some time to think about it, since it's only 3:30 PM. The three suspects immediately cast a glance at their watches and tell Takagi he's utterly wrong, his watch is at least one hour slow : it's actually 4:30 PM.
People
Valentine Chocolate Case
File 331 - Bloody Valentine 1
Conan comments on the fact he hates Valentine's Day, saying this is nothing but a marketing operation to have the chocolate industry thrive, but none seems to notice it at all. The DBs rather think it's ace to be offered delicious chocolates, and they think Conan says the opposite since he's usually not offered anything - the latter secretly answers they're not far from truth, since he's not given anything as Shinichi, but as Conan, and it's only Yaiba chocolate for kids... Ai sticks her oar in, saying Japanese people wrongly believe Valentine's has to do with love and chocolates, while actually Saint Valentine was a Christian martyr who was tortured and killed during the Ancient Roman Period. The DBs suddenly lose their happiness, though Ayumi says her mom told her chocolate is both sweet and bitter, in order to give maidens courage to confess her love and make that moment unforgettable. She adds though her dad forbade her to buy chocolates - and Conan says indeed she's far too young for love things. Ai asks Conan what the "girl at the detective agency" will do as for her, and Conan says he was told he, Ran and Kogoro were going tomorrow at a chalet in Suito Mt., but he wasn't told anything about chocolates at all. Ai hopes they'll be all right then, since Valentine's Day also has to do with Bloody Valentine, or Valentine's Day Massacre, on February 14th 1929, in America, Chicago, during which the Capone family machine-gunned seven members of the Moran family as part of mafia business, in front of their garage. Conan is also reminded when James Black told him he was from Chicago, "Al Capone's city".
The day after, Conan and co are driving with Sonoko to the said chalet where actually they'll bake chocolates. Sonoko says Suito Chalet's chocolates are reputedly enabling pairs to be formed. She adds she wants to bake one for Makoto, but she starts feeling depressed, explaining that after her missed attempts with the jumper and cup, she phoned Makoto to tell him she'll go and bake chocolates for her lover, but since then she hasn't been able to phone Makoto anymore, given she always comes upon the answering machine. She thinks it's a very bad sign, and she hasn't gotten any news from him since then. She wishes she had told him clearly about her attempts earlier on, but Ran comforts her saying he will be very happy when receiving the chocolates. Sonoko says Ran is a strong girl : while she is worried sick just because of Makoto's not having answered her for a week, Ran hasn't gotten any news from Shinichi for several months, and isn't making so much fuss about it. Ran replies she's used to it, and doesn't know what difference his absence or presence makes anymore. Conan thinks seriously about it.
Once there, they meet Chiyoko Yuasa, the lodge's owner, who tells her the chalet became famous after a pair was formed 10 years ago after baking and eating chocolates there. Her husband was the previous owner, he died 4 years ago. After this, a ghost story spread up and the number of visitors dropped dramatically : whenever the snowstorm rises, people who are outside may receive a strange gift from the mountain ghost. Yoshitaka Nigaki, one of the lodge's guests, says these are chocolates, that were found near the corpses of victims of avalanche or freezing. People say this is the work of a woman who got lost in the snowstorm and died while on her way to the chalet, and who would leave chocolates near corpses afterwards, since she couldn't bake any. Or it might be Yuki-Onna, the infamous "snow woman", etc. Though, the police say this is only due to wild animals searching the corpses' belongings, attracted by the smell of chocolate. Nigaki then says he'll go in the forest for now, and one of his friends, Mika Konagawa, a camerawoman, tells him to be careful there, just in case, and Nigaki replies he won't be seduced by Yuki-Onna since his heart is already owned by his girlfriend Ako Amari, who is also his assistant. The two girls tell Conan Nigaki is a reporter and he went there to shoot and take pictures of the place in order to find some clues as far as his 5-year-long investigation is concerned : he wants to know whether the Japanese wolf, whose breed was wiped out around a century ago, still exists, since people including Nigaki saw one some time ago.
Then comes a hunter, Yuzo Sakami, who came to the lodge with a rifle in order to scare the wolf and attract it into a trap, and then capture it. Sakami leaves as well towards the forest, asking Yuasa to greet his friends who will come soon. Though, Yuasa delegates this task to Kogoro, saying she'll go in the forest too to commune with herself at her late husband's tomb. She's not afraid since she knows the mountain inside out, and will go with her pet Japanese dog Saburo. The girls tell Kogoro it's impossible Saburo could be the wolf Nigaki or some others saw some time ago, since Nigaki saw it at night, and Saburo is usually locked in his doghouse at that time. Amari treats the girls to the kitchen in order to prepare chocolates. They say they are responsible now for the chocolate workshop, as a sign of gratefulness given Yuasa kindly invites them every year to the lodge, though she still has to check their work right after. Konagawa tells Ran Yuasa's husband died in an avalanche about 3-4 years ago, on Valentine's Day, he had been stuck under the snow for a week now when Saburo found his corpse. Yet, the other victim's body was never found, it was Amari's brother. She's been coming to the lodge since then, hoping in her heart he were still alive, and also to pay tribute to the late owner. Konagawa forbides Conan and Kogoro to come in the kitchen, fearing they might get injured just like Nigaki did. When looking at Sonoko's beautiful chocolate dedicated to Makoto, Ran feels sad and stops herself from writing Shinichi's name on hers, and Conan observes her from far.
They take a snap of all chocolates afterwards, and notice the snowstorm is about to rise. Amari and Konagawa are worried about Nigaki and rush to the forest to tell him to come back, and meet Yuasa on their way. They come back frightened, saying they found absolutely none, and Kogoro says everyone will go back there, except Conan - who disobeys of course, and goes there on his own with Saburo. After he leaves, an unknown breathless figure enters the kitchen and comes closer to the table with the chocolates. The searching group suddenly hears a gunshot, and another hunter named Hajime Itakura comes along, hoping someone didn't get it before him. He starts looking for Nigaki with the others. Meanwhile, Conan has found Nigaki thanks to Saburo, but the photographer is dead, he was bludgeoned, and Conan finds Amari's chocolate on him.
File 332 - Bloody Valentine 2
The searching group worries about the snowstorm growing stronger, and Itakura is scared, and suggest they should rather all go back home and wait for the blizzard to end. They suddenly hear a dog's barking and notice a flash light. Everyone rush there, believing this is probably Saburo with Conan. They indeed find him and he gets severely scolded by Ran, apologising and explaining given Saburo had found Yuasa's husband's corpse some time ago, he could as well find Nigaki's, especially since the latter was now a regular of the lodge, and then Saburo knows his smell. He eventually shows them Nigaki's corpse and Kogoro finds a big bloodied tree branch next to him, which means he was murdered. Kogoro reveals he is the famous Detetcive Mouri, and says it's impossible to figure out the time of the death due to the freezing cold, and the snow covered any footprints. Though, there might be blood marks on the murderer's clothes, and Nigaki was probably killed at around noon or later on. The blood on his face seems to have been cut by something on its way down, as if someone had tried to wipe his face. He can at least say the murder happened at noon, because very later on it would actually be complicated since Nigaki has his sunglasses put on, which means if it had occurred when the night was falling, then he would probably have taken them off, in order to find his way through the dark snowstorm. Yet, Conan says it's maybe not the case, given his left eye's contact lens seems to have moved a little, and the other is nowhere to be found. Which means either he was bashed without his glasses, then he must have been murdered at twilight or night, or he fell on the ground after a first blow, and his glasses fell as well, along with the lenses. Apparently, the killer could have put Nigaki's glasses on again after his death in order to have the others believe he had been killed during daytime.
Conan then shows Amari's chocolate he has found on Nigaki, though she can't be the killer : why would she have left her own chocolate ? What's more, they all left at the same time, and the chocolates were still on the table, and none left the searching group and came back. Probably the true murderer did it to put the blame on Amari. They decide to head back towards the chalet, and suddenly Sakami turns up, saying police won't come at all, or at least not before a day, since at around 8 PM he saw the tunnel of the only road which leads to the lodge completely blocked by a snowslide, and the police are trying to clear it, though it will take hours. Sakami says he came here after hearing a dog's barking, and he recognises his hunting friend Itakura. Konagawa can't believe they'll have to spend the night at the lodge while Nigaki's murderer is probably here aamong them. Itakura secretly tells something to Sakami. The hunters then tell the others they'll head back home, leaving the women here the choice to become or not cute frozen Yuki-Onnas... Once there, Kogoro calls the police and they confirm Sakami's story. Ran also confirms Amari's chocolate is missing. Kogoro can't find any clue in Nigaki's camera since the only tape is blank, and they can't know the content of the photographic film for now. Konagawa says though she's skilled at developing pictures, and she actually brought her development set with her as Nigaki had asked her to. She says she'll use the bathroom as a darkroom, and Ran will assist her. Itakura and Sakami ask Kogoro if he's found any other tapes or films in Nigaki's bag, and Kogoro says the whole equipment was still under packaging then he didn't really check.
Sakami says then Nigaki was killed before shooting even the slightest thing, and Kogoro says maybe he preferred taking pictures, which Amari says isn't right, since he actually prefers shooting, and he even filmed a lot yresterday. Conan asks Amari to show them that filming. She goes and find the tape, while Itakura tells Conan it's probably not a good idea to watch a deceased person's film. Kogoro suspects Nigaki might have filmed something embarrassing for both hunters, but they completely deny it. They all watch it on Yuasa's TV, and suddenly the image gets blurred and Kogoro angrily shakes the TV, which causes the Daruma doll over it to collapse, yet it doesn't break thanks to Saburo which catches it with his fangs. Yuasa says her "antique" TV is actually a treasured present her late husband bought with his first wife Reiko some time ago. Reiko died of illness 12 years ago. Yuasa then retrieves the doll from Saburo and takes him to the doghouse for the night. Sakami and Itakura tell Kogoro Yuasa's husband felt depressed after the death of Reiko, but some day he met Yuasa at his chalet and they got along very well, to the point of getting married. Yuasa then started to bake chocolates, and the latter became very famous. Then maybe, Yuasa and her husband are that couple who enabled that rumor of Suito Chalet to spread up. But then the husband died too, and they comment on the fact it's not easy for Yuasa to live alone now. Conan aks the hunters if they are regulars too since they know these stories very well, and they answer it was just once, a long time ago. At last, they finish watching the 4 tapes of Nigaki's yesterday's filming. Kogoro is suprised that none of the hunters are on the filming, and they reply they actually arrived the day after, which is today, on the morning for Sakami, and on the evening for Itakura.
As Kogoro says watching this was useless, Konagawa and Ran turn up, saying they know the time of the death : they've got a bloodied picture which was then taken in the course of Nigaki's death, in broad daylight. The picture is the last one of the film, and none of the others were bloodied. The blood was on Nigaki's camera's lens, which means the camera fell down when Nigaki was bashed, and automatically took a photograph. The girls also checked the other films and tested the lens, then it's really bloodied. This means Nigaki was really murdered around noon, though, Conan says there's definitely something wrong with that picture. Kogoro says Yuasa, Sakami and Itakura are the only ones without an alibi at that time. The hunters reply it's impossible because who would have brought the chocolate then ? Whereas Sakami was actually near the tunnel when the chocolate was allegedly placed on Nigaki, same thing for Itakura, who wasn't at the chalet yet. None would be dumb enough to kill someone, go back to the chalet, take the chocolate, and bring it there, especially given it takes far too much time. Yuasa believes there must indeed be a ghost or something prowling around, responsible for the murder.
Itakura says actually, before meeting the searching group, he spotted from far a strange and very tall man wearing a black knit cap. He thought it was a bear at first, but quickly found out it wasn't before firing. Conan wonders if this is not Shuichi Akai. Meanwhile, in the storm, facing the lodge, a breathless person, wearing a black knit cap, has just arrived...
File 333 - Bloody Valentine 3
While Conan thinks about Shuichi Akai, Ran asks Itakura how that man looked like, since she may know him, something which astounds Conan. Itakura replies he was a tall and bulky person, then most probably a man, wearing only a long winter coat, a scarf, a black knit, and ski goggles. Konagawa thinks it must be Natsuya, Amari's brother, he's alive after all, and she rushes towards the door to go and look for him, despite the storm, since he's waiting for them. Amari holds her back and shouts that her boyfriend Natsuya is dead and gone by now, it's been four years, she'll never find him alive. Konagawa bursts into tears, and Amari explains she had prepared a chocolate with stripes for her brother, since he loves it, and intended to put it over his grave. Yuasa says there are many graves in the forest, among which three tombstones : her husband's, Reiko's and Natsuya's. As for the others, they're just makeshift wooden graves that were done hastily, since none went to claim the corpses of those victims of avalanches. It's a pity because wild animals constantly wreck them, and they always have to put it back. She tells Conan no animal though wrecked the tombstones because Yuasa goes there every day with Saburo, something her husband would also do. The hunters say the killer is probably that man with the black knit cap. Furthermore, only the culprit could have placed the chocolate there, and none of them, not even Conan, put it there, and could have anyay, since there's a 20-minute walk between the corpse's location and the chalet. They all left while the chocolates were still on the table, and Itakura had just met them when they started the search, then that can't be him, same thing for Sakami who was near the tunnel at 8 PM when they left. Since none went back to the lodge before finding the corpse, then the killer is, in all likelihood, that person prowling in the forest.
Sakami couldn't have heard the news on the radio since the police told Kogoro they were broadcasting the info just as he called them. The hunters rather accuse Amari : she could have wanted to make it as if someone was trying to put the blame on her, while actually she could well have baked beforehand another similar chocolate she would have placed on Nigaki after killing him, without using the one in the kitchen she could have discarded later on. Indeed, Amari went first to look for Nigaki with Konagawa, and they split for a moment, then it's perfectly possible she could have killed Nigaki at that instant and left the chocolate there, and then joined Konagawa to go back home. She could have done that to turn suspicions away from her, since it seems impossible otherwise, that she did only one chocolate. Konagawa declares it's false since it wasn't snowing on Nigaki's last picture, while it was when they went to search for him. She shows him the picture of all chocolates, and compares it with the chocolate found on Nigaki : it's perfectly impossible someone could succeed in doing two absolutely similar chocolates. Though, Kogoro notices the chocolate found on Nigaki has traces of having been crushed or melted or so. The hunters acknowledge they're wrong and go to their respective rooms to sleep for a while. Conan asks if all the pictures developed were really taken between yesterday and today, because the film roll could well have been switched with another one, since the roll they developed was full, and the real one could have not. Konagawa suggests they compare all pictures and videos shot between yesterday and today.
Kogoro does it and notes indeed the clothes of Yuasa and co are exactly the same on the videos as they are on the pictures, and both were taken during the night. Then, given the last picture is the bloodied one, he was indeed killed today at around noon. None took his camera between yesterday and his death, he was the only one to take the picture, though it was completely accidental. Ran confirms Konagawa didn't add any blood marks while in the darkroom. She used gloves not to leave her fingerprints, and it's easy to check if she changed anything on the roll by looking at the negatives. The only odd things are these two pictures that were taken just before the bloodied one : these pictures are completely dark, one can't see anything on it. Konagawa says it's probably a mistake from Nigaki. Nevertheless, Conan is certain the photo is a faked one, but he can't figure out why a chocolate was left on Nigaki while there was already a trick with the photograph ? He can't explain neither one nor the other, and can't believe the killer is the man with the cap. He suddenly watches the video and sees that, yesterday, Nigaki threw Saburo's favourite ball near the dog, but the latter didn't move an inch, and Nigaki commented it was rather unusual, given last year he would instantly leap on it, and play with it. Conan asks Yuasa why is her dog named Saburo, and she replies because he's the third one of the same breed she and her husband have owned : the first one was Taro - her husband's first name too, and the second one Jiro, but they both died long ago - Jiro died of illness just like Reiko, not long after the latter. On Conan's request, Yuasa decides to go to Nigaki's room, actually her late husband's room, to get a photo album so as to show how the dogs look like, but Amari and Konagawa say they'll do it in her stead.
Conan asks Yuasa if she saw any change in Saburo's behaviour recently, like going out alone or so, and she answers the only moments during which he goes out are when Yuasa takes him to the forest's graveyard. She adds Saburo is far from being stupid since he runs by himself to her husband's grave when they are within sight of the graveyard, and waits there in a very calm and peaceful manner. According to her, Saburo usually eats a lot, but during snowstorm days, when he can't go out, he doesn't even look at his food, and then when the weather is set fairer, he eats with much appetite and leaves nothing at all. Suddenly, Amari and Konagawa yell, and everyone rush to Nigaki's room, only to find the hunters were caught red-handed searching Nigaki's belongings. They say they wanted to check if any clue hadn't been left aside, and they are ready to be searched by Kogoro to prove they didn't steal anything. Conan notices Nigaki's sweater, that he wore yesterday when shooting, has a blood mark wiped in the middle, around the stomach. Konagawa explains Nigaki had injured his finger yesterday while cutting chocolate, as the knife had skidded. He panicked a bit and spilt blood on his sweater, and he didn't want Yuasa to help him with the first-aid kit. Amari didn't understand why he refused to be treated, and left, crying, towards Nigaki's room, since he was getting angrier. Konagawa tried to calm him down, and it was nothing after all, and afterwards everything went back to normal. Later on, Amari, despite her own sadness, went down to solace Nigaki who was ashamed of his behaviour towards everyone. Yuasa then shows Conan a picture of Jiro and Saburo, but she can't say for sure which one is which. They each wear around their necks a medal awarded by the department for having helped to rescue several victims of avalanches.
Conan then goes to see Saburo in his doghouse and drops his favourite ball in front of him, causing him to try and catch it. All of a sudden, Conan finds the solution to the case. The only things left now are evidence that the culprit took the chocolate with him, and evidence against the murderer, since he/she doesn't have any blood marks on him/her. He then goes in the kitchen and sadly remarks Ran's chocolate is very simple, and probably for Shinichi, but his name isn't featured and he perfectly knows why. Suddenly, the kitchen's back door opens and the storm's coldness gets inside the room and something/somebody comes in, making Conan smile. Kogoro pops in and asks what Conan is doing, and wonders what "it"'s doing here, before being once again put to sleep by Conan, collapsing violently on the floor. Mouri/Conan then asks everyone to gather into the kitchen, since he's found out the truth. First, Kogoro says there's no need to know the mysterious man's identity, since Nigaki's killer is one of them. He explains the key to the mystery - and especially the chocolate mystery - is "that one", and they all stand amazed when turning their eyes on "it".
File 334 - Bloody Valentine 4
People
Missing Watch Case
File 335 - Memento of a Wife
At Suito Mt., Ran had also baked chocolates looking like each DB's face, along with Agasa, and she gives them to the kids and professor, who say it's delicious. She goes to fetch drinks for them, and Ai, seeing her whistling in happiness, comments on Ran probably trying to conceal her sadness behind a joyful poker face, given how both half-sad and half-happy the chocolates are, which Conan acknowledges. Ai says the hand does what the heart commands to do. She thinks how similar to herself her own chocolate is, on the verge of melting into tears. Conan comments ironically that, sometimes, Ai speaks like a girl at last. Kogoro asks the kids to be quieter since he's trying to get concentrated on his work. Agasa apologises but the DBs ask Kogoro if he is really working, since they were told he usually sleeps a lot. Kogoro replies he's actually listening to a very important client's tape. Ayumi unplugs the earphones and everyone hear the horseracing results. Kogoro tries to take it over, as a client named Hideo Morita rings at the door and comes in, asking Kogoro to find his watch. Kogoro proves he's a very busy and popular detective by accepting the client's request, even if it's not so important - but at least showing he actually never sleeps. Morita says he desperately needs to find his late wife's watch, an old item he had offered to her a long time ago, because his wife haunts his nights constantly asking him what time it is. Morita says he or his wife lost it at home, since neither him nor his wife are very tidy people, and if Kogoro found it, they could be at peace at last. The latter suddenly yells at him saying he doesn't have time to lose with such bullshit, he's not going to search in his stead something he lost in his own flat, even if Morita isn't so good at finding things. He tells him he is the famous Sleeping Kogoro, and Morita understands he made a mistake, he actually entered the agency without knowing who he was. The DBs whisper that Kogoro chooses his clients according to whether he likes their face and if their wallet is big enough, adding there are no "bullshit cases", and he just doesn't want to work at all. Kogoro eventually agrees to find the watch, but Morita leaves, apologising once again. Conan's curiosity is aroused, and he and the DBs go after Morita. The latter watches at the agency in worry, where Kogoro's name is featured in big size, and sighs when glancing at his watch. Suddenly, he meets the DBs who agree to help him find the watch, and free of charge besides.
He welcomes them at home and Ayumi marvels at the beautiful flowers in a big vase. Morita says these are withered, since his late wife did have a green thumb, but not him, and these were bought recently - his wife died three weeks ago. Morita is scared when the DBs enter his amazing home cinema room, with several state-of-the-art hifi devices, huge plasma TV and speakers, many disc players with their respective controls, and so on. Also, Morita loves cinema and has tons of books and magazines on the floor, probably accounting for his or his wife constantly losing their belongings. Suddenly, someone rings at his door and it frightens him. He goes to open the door and comes upon his wealthy friend and building resident Eiko Idetsuki. She asks him if the money's ready, and Morita gives her 5 million yens, saying the 15 remaining millions will come as soon as his flat is sold. She says she is sorry for more or less kicking him out of his home, and Morita says it's perfectly fine, apologising for her waiting so long for him to pay her back the loan. He offers her, as a compensation, to watch "Sakura Sanjuro", a rare movie she loves and has been searching for for so long, in his home cinema right now. Morita asks the children to stop searching and free the room for Idetsuki, and they'll come back later. Morita prepares the cassette, VCR and armchair for her friend, asking her to hand the movie back to the video club they know as soon as she's done with it, which she agrees to do. He wishes her to enjoy the movie, and Idetsuki laughs about it being just like the interest he owes to her. Once she closes the door, Morita looks daggers at her and Conan notices it. He then treats Agasa and co to the other rooms to keep searching for the watch. The movie's volume is too high and this annoys the children, though the movie sounds ace. Ai tells them to keep searching quickly since night will fall very soon. Ayumi says however they've searched every single room of the apartment and found nothing, and Genta says he's too hungry to continue searching. Morita suggests they eat some of his amazing club sandwiches he's excellent at preparing, since he owns a bar not far away from Tokyo, and has all the ingredients at home to make some. He turns down Agasa's offer to help him, and some time after they one and all relish.
Morita gives some tea and sandwiches to Conan and Ayumi for them to bring to Idetsuki. Conan secretly glances at Morita, and also at Idetsuki when coming in the home cinema. The latter orders them to hush since she's watching an important passage, and she tells them to put the food on the table. Once out, they meet Morita who asks them if she's enjoyed it, and when Ayumi tells him Idetsuki's decided to eat them later, Morita replies there's no wonder since she loves movies just as well. Conan spots a peculiar plastic bag with something inside, and Morita says it's dirty laundry to be brought to the laundromat very soon. Though, Conan says he saw a washing machine in the bathroom, and Morita says it's a brand new model he doesn't know how to use, only his late wife did. Morita tells Conan her wife loved that watch and constantly wore it, except the day of her accident, because she had lost it. But Conan said she would most probably take it off to have a bath or shower, and, saying so, he takes them to the bathroom and searches the washing machine, throwing the wife's clothes away here and there. A garment falls down on the floor, and Ayumi finds the watch, saying it's still working. Conan can't believe it's true, as Morita confirms it to be his wife's. She probably took it off and put it on the machine before having a shower/bath, and it fell into it at the end. Though, Conan thinks he's probably lying, it's way too easy, and the watch isn't the wife's. Suddenly, they hear a violent sound of something heavy crushing on the floor, and of someone running in the corridor. Conan thinks about something, and runs towards the home cinema, as he hears someone leaving the flat and slamming the door. He notes with fear that the vase is missing, and when entering the home cinema, they all find Idetuski was killed by someone who's smashed the loud vase over her head.
File 336 - Clean Scent
The police arrive and investigate the case. Takagi says the weapon of the crime is Morita's vase, which was filled with water, and still had the flowers in it, accounting for its heavy weight. The killer probably came in Morita's apartment, grasped the vase, entered the home cinema room and smashed it over Idetsuki's head, as the film was over - since the cassette was rewound - and she was retrieving the video cassette from the player, using the remote control. Morita explains why her friend had come to visit him and what she did before dying. In turn, Agasa and co go on explaining what brings them here, and Megure and Takagi wish Mouri were here since they know something very important related to him. Agasa and the DBs say Morita was in the bathroom with Conan and Ayumi when Idetsuki was murdered, probably by someone from the outside, since they heard someone running away and slamming the entrance door, therefore Morita can't be the culprit. Though, the only time when he was alone was while he was preparing sandwiches in the kitchen, away from Agasa and co's sight. He shows them where the kitchen is, far away from the cinema room. Yet, there is a blind spot which prevents anyone in the lounge to see if anyone leaves the kitchen to go to the cinema room. Therefore, Megure thinks Morita had prepared sound recordings - sounds of broken vase, running in the corridor, door slamming, etc. - beforehand and used a timer or so to set them going after he could have left the kitchen quick as a flash and gone to the cinema room, and killed Idetsuki there, and then come back. He could well have prepared sandwiches beforehand too. None could have heard anything since the movie's volume had been turned very high. Yet, Conan says it's impossible, since himself had come to bring sandwiches and tea to Idetsuki with Ayumi after he had made them, and she was still alive. And then, Morita didn't leave Conan and co until they found the corpse.
Chiba turns up and says he finished questioning the building's residents, who one and all told him Idetsuki would agree to loan enormous amounts of money to them, and if they didn't pay her off on time, she wouldn't hesitate to come in their flats and foreclose a valuable by way of interests, which means she wasn't a very loved person. Moreover, they all know she was at Morita's due to the movie's high volume which could be heard everywhere in the building, and they know she loved movies and would often come at Morita's to watch one. Then it's perfectly possible one of them could have planned a murder knowing she was alone in the cinema room. Megure orders Chiba and some other agents to do a list of all the people to whom Idetsuki had loaned money, especially those who had taken on a big debt to her. Agasa tells Conan he won't have to step in that case this time since the killer probably came from the outside, however Conan says it's entirely false, Morita is the killer. The watch they've found in the machine isn't his wife's : if she'd really lost it there, then since she died three weeks ago, and given it's an old-swing watch, it shouldn't be working anymore, or at least it shouldn't give the exact time anymore. This because a watch especially works with human movement, and this type of watch has a 50-hour or so maximum self-working capacity, and it starts running slow afterwards, since it needs its holder's motion. The watch is probably Morita's or another one he bought and tossed inside the machine today. Morita used that watch story because he expected Mouri or someone else to come with him at home in order to build his alibi for the murder, and have the witness swear Morita wasn't the killer. Yet, Conan says it's impossible Morita could do it since he wasn't in the cinema room when the murder took place, and when he was in the kitchen preparing sandwiches, Conan would keep an eye on him every two or three minutes, and he didn't leave the place. And after the body was found, his behaviour didn't turn abnormal. How did he do it then ?
Takagi asks Morita if he met any suspicious person around Mouri's agency, and he says he didn't. Conan asks Takagi why he asked him that, and Takagi, making sure none is eavesdropping their conversation, tells Conan someone is secretly interested in Kogoro Mouri. They don't know yet if they should tell Mouri about it and protect him. Actually, all the reports and files of the cases Mouri has solved in Tokyo and its department, and that were stored at the Prefectural Police, were stolen recently. Hopefully, the police always duplicate the reports and files, and keep them into their well-protected archives, then there won't be any incidence on the trials. The most surprising thing is that all the files and reports were sent back to them yesterday evening by post, but the sender's name or place wasn't mentioned. As Takagi tells Conan the theft occurred the same day the hijacking bus case (vol. 29) took place, Conan thinks about Shuichi Akai once more. The police have a few leads as far as who among Mouri's "victims" or enemies are concerned and could do it, yet these are only suppositions and they're reaching stalemate as for now. Though, Takagi says this might be some bad joke after all, and anyway if Conan spots someone fishy around, he should come or call the police at once. Conan inwardly comments that Kogoro may not be the one actually targeted, but probably Conan himself, or someone he knows. Conan tells Agasa that what Takagi told him isn't so important, and Ai hints at the fact he's still trying to conceal something from them. Conan says Ai did the same and still does, and actually he has good reasons to do it. Ai inwardly thinks that, constantly trying to fight for justice and truth at all cost without thinking twice about the consequences it could bring about, Conan/Shinichi actually and eventually takes upon himself a whole lot of pressure without people noticing it at all. She finds very attractive the way he always endangers himself for others, though she thinks Shinichi still doesn't get it that this "clean scent" will, at the end of the day, trap Ran and all the people around them, including himself, into a treacherous solitude.
The DBs cut their thoughts saying it smells like something is burning, coming from the microwave or oven, but they find nothing inside it. Conan deduces something and searches the garbage can, only to find dried up and withered flowers, probably discarded by Morita. Then, Conan thinks that there should be "that thing" around here, something very visible, and he goes looking for it. Genta says he's still hungry and eats the remaining sandwiches, Ayumi calling him a foodie. Conan looks at them and thinks about something, and searches the cupboard, eventually finding the object. He then rushes to the cinema room, asking Takagi's help to find his paper plane he lost between the curtains over the plasma TV. Takagi inwardly comments how childish Conan is after all. Takagi pulls the top curtains open and finds nothing, except several hifi devices Morita stores there, since they are old now and he doesn't use them anymore. Conan spots a timer on one of the devices, and switches it on, starting up another device to its left, on whose screen he notices a "cassette symbol", and eventually deduces how Morita killed Idetsuki without being here.
File 337 - Life of a Flower...
Conan calls the agency but none picks up the phone, which worries Conan, since neither Ran nor Kogoro told him they would be out tonight. Agasa comes up to Conan saying Megure and co agreed to do as he told them, and they added this was a brilliant idea. As for the DBs, they are sent by Conan to do as he told them too. Conan still worries, gazing at his phone, and Ai gets it this has to do with Ran. She tells Conan to continue keeping it silent as far as his true identity and the Black Organisation are concerned. She understands though that, just like most boys when they are offered chocolates by their loved ones, Conan feels over the moon about Ran. But Conan denies it, saying he actually didn't answer anything to Ran's present, which astounds Ai. He explains though he accepted the chocolates, deep down, this increased so much his desire to see her again. He says that boy who forces her to wait and suffer, and who's unable to recover his initial appearance, actually wants to see again and even more his dear love, though this sounds rather stupid. He doesn't want to see her cry anymore, and to do so, he'll go up to the point of accepting Shinichi's fading away from her heart forever, if this is needed. Then he already had the intention to do what Ai suggests him to, and knew it way beforehand. He comments on the fact his situation is so childish and ridiculous. Agasa tries to comfort him saying for the moment they're helpless, but it's only temporary. Ai inwardly thinks it's hard not only for him but for everyone actually. The DBs tell Megure many items belonging to Morita have been stolen, very strange items, and this is probably the murderer's work. They tell everyone to follow them to the kitchen, and, running past Conan, they wink at him with a knowing smile, which means this is part of their plan.
People
Escalator Message Case
File 338 - The Meaning of X
Ran is thinking about Shuichi Akai and wonders where she could have met him. She can't help feeling some kind of chest pain when remembering him. A kind of bad feeling just like when Shinichi left her at Tropical Land. She is interrupted by Jodie who asks her if she's following the course, and if that's the case, to tell her the meaning of the "X" symbol Jodie wrote on the blackboard. Her ignorance causes everyone in the classroom to burst into laughter, and Sonoko tries to tell her, but the bell rings, and Jodie asks Ran to think about it for next class, telling her it's something cute ladies just can't ignore, since it's very advantageous to women. On the way home, Ran discusses its meaning with Sonoko and Conan. Sonoko laughs about it being impossible for Conan to ever find the answer, even if he's very clever for his age. Conan inwardly says that "X" is the unknown in algebra, a secret, something nobody knows, a questioning. But it can also have to do with X-rays or X films forbidden to minors. "Day X" can also refer to something like D-Day. If X is to be understood in its cross-like shape, then it could well refer to mistakes. As Ran tells Conan Jodie said it was something very important for women, he is reminded of Yukiko sending him letters very often with "To my little Shinichi - XXX - Yukiko" at the end, when she would be abroad, though she never told his son what it meant. Ran comments on Jodie's lessons being quite "particular", and Sonoko replies it's always better to enjoy an exciting class moment learning new hype words, whereas they used to be bored to death by their former English teacher.
Jodie suddenly turns up behind them saying flattering her is useless, that won't result in them having better test grades. She asks Ran if she's found the meaning of X at last, and Sonoko suggests Ran should call Shinichi to ask him, saying "If you find the answer, I'll give you my precious X". She laughs, as well as Jodie who says it's a great idea, and neither Ran nor Conan get the meaning of it. Jodie actually followed them to ask them something very important : if they are being stalked at the moment. They go and talk about it in a café inside a mall, the "Dancing Men", and Jodie explains several female students of Teitan complained recently that they were often stalked or harassed by perverts in public transport. The girls answer it's not the case, as for them, and if it was, Ran would knock every one of them down with her karate. Despite this "bodyguard", Jodie suggests the girls should anyways be very cautious, since it's very likely they don't see him because he's prowling around their home and watching out for the moment they'll relax their vigilance. It may be a man whose intentions are probably very low-down. Sonoko says if someone like this ever does it around her residence, he'll be quickly caught by the wardens. Ran says she's never seen anyone like this around. Jodie tells them to call her whenever they spot someone fishy, since Japanese are very easygoing with stalkers, whereas Americans aren't at all. Conan looks at her and thinks deeply about something.
At the next table to theirs, an executive named Norihisa Kisugi startles them as he's shouting while phoning, fearfully asking the person he's speaking to if he's really being followed by a weird guy. Katsunori Chujo, a detective, answers him he's at the mall's ground floor, and he's coming upstairs as soon as possible. Chujo says that guy is probably the one he's been investigating. He says when that guy will come up to him, he'll probably tell him he's offering twice the starting premium against the information Chujo has on him. Kisugi understands what Chujo means and says he's offering three times, even four times the starting premium if he refuses the man's offer and quickly comes up to the café to give him the information about that person they're looking for. Chujo says he's coming right now, hangs up, and tells the "mysterious man" in front of him that four times the premium is something he's unable to offer, and he leaves, telling him how sorry he is for him. The man still follows Chujo who tells him it's too late, and he's got all the incriminating evidence about him in his envelope. Suddenly, the man stabs Chujo to death and tries to steal the documents inside the envelope. Chujo's grip is tight, but suddenly the lights go out. Sonoko is afraid as this reminds her of the Girl Clubbing Case (Vol. 29), but the lights come back up quickly, and they hear people screaming outside the café, on the escalator, where the crowd is gathering. Conan rushes there and finds Chujo dead, clamping the envelope between his arms. The envelope features three mysterious "OX△" symbols, probably made by Chujo with his own blood to hint at his killer, and there is a bloody knife near the corpse. Jodie tell Ran and Sonoko to call the ambulance and police.
Megure and Takagi arrive, but can't find the meaning of the "dining message". Jodie corrects Megure's mistake, saying it's a "dying message" actually, and Conan inwardly comments she'd better trying to correct her own average Japanese rather than always doing the same with English. Jodie says she's indeed always involved in criminal cases, but not as much as Ran and Sonoko. The latter tell the police about the blackout, and Takagi explains this was a mistake caused by the mall's staff while checking the building's electrical system. It resulted in a 15-second failure only. This means the murderer stabbed Chujo and took advantage of it to run away, and Chujo could also leave a dying message. Takagi suggests Chujo could have tried to cipher a message using symbols, but then it would be very unlikely and difficult to solve, and he'd rather have written his murderer's name instead. Jodie says the message reminds her of the symbols on gamepads - this reminds Conan of her being a videogame enthusiast (Vol. 27). A forensic agent tells Megure Chujo made a last phone call thirty minutes ago, which is the time of his death. They call the number, and Kisugi's phone rings, which attracts the police's attention. Kisugi fearfully hangs up, but Megure asks him an explanation, as Sonoko remembers Kisugi was phoning Chujo at that time, speaking about huge amounts of money.
They go inside the café and Kisugi explains one of his trade company's employees has been secretly embezzling huge amounts of money for about a month, and given he's an executive in that company, Kisugi didn't want his boss to know it, fearing he might be fired. He then resorted to Chujo, who had actually found the identity of the employee in question. Kisugi's company is located upstairs in the mall. He and Chujo had decided to meet in the café for Kisugi to secretly get the name of the embezzler, in exchange for four times the premium, since the employee apparently proposed to offer Chujo twice the premium in exchange for the information. Kisugi called Chujo first because he was late, probably due to him speaking with the embezzler. The police think the envelope probably contained the information, and the embezzler could have killed Chujo to silence him and steal the information, taking advantage of the blackout to escape, probably to hide in his office in Kisugi's company. Megure asks Kisugi some clues about people whom Chujo could have suspected, and the executive gives him the list of the 58 employees Chujo suspected to be responsible for the embezzling, a list he had given Kisugi a week ago, but said it was only temporary. Megure sadly comments it will take a very good while to question them one after the other, while Conan inwardly says it's rather exciting and very interesting.
File 339 - OX△□!?
Takagi gives Megure confirmation that the dying message is indeed Chujo's, given only his fingerprints were found on it, and they're now sure his own blood was used. Since the message was written recently, this means it's indeed a dying message hinting at the murderer's identity. Jodie comments that Takagi's spelling of the word "dying message" is excellent. However, while they thought Chujo had been stabbed during the blackout, it wasn't the case actually, since witnesses told him Chujo was stabbed by an unknown person wearing a winter cap and a large coat in broad daylight, a few seconds before the power failure. This took place just in front of the escalator, at the ground floor. The blackout occurred while both Chujo and his assailant were gripping the envelope. Once the lights were back on, Chujo was dying at the foot of the escalator, and the man with the coat came closer and stole the documents from the envelope and ran away up the escalator. This means Chujo wrote his message at the bottom of the escalator, during the blackout, using his own blood. Chujo didn't let go of the envelope and held it tightly between his arms, even when he was dead, though the incriminating documents were stolen in the end. Afterwards, his corpse got carried upstairs by the escalator's movement. Witnesses didn't scream at first nor called the police nor the security staff, because they believed this was a cop movie's scene being shot. Anyway, the fact that the murderer and the money embezzler are the same person doesn't change, and they still need to solve the message and find who among these 58 people is the culprit.
Sonoko suggests the killer is a mathematician and geometry-lover, since Chujo left signs hinting at shapes : the triangle and circle, but he actually left a cross not to attract too much his killer's attention on geometry, though it could stand for the multiplication cross, and still math then. He may also have done this not to write figures and numbers, something which would be instantly understood by the murderer. Yet, Kisugi says none of his employees work with numbers, they're all the editorial type. Sonoko then suggests Chujo is hinting at oden - a Japanese stew whose food products have triangular, square and round shapes. Ran goes for the X meaning Jodie and Sonoko want her to find, and both burst into laughter, saying there's absolutely no chances at all it could ever be something like that. Takagi asks them if they're speaking about the X sign girls often write at the end of their mail. Ran is amazed at Takagi's knowing the sign's meaning as well, and Sonoko says this means he receives a lot of "that kind of mail" from girls, and Takagi replies in embarrassment that these are just bad jokes people are playing to him. Megure seems not to know the meaning of X neither. Conan arouses the others' curiosity when remarking that there might have been other symbols on the left side of the envelope, before the "O". Given it's a blood mark too, this means there might have been something else written as part of the message, on the left, and which went missing for some reason. The police tell Conan they actually failed to find which elements were missing, and Conan asks them if they checked the escalator's steps. Conan explains that now the escalator is at a standstill, but when the victim was found, it was actually still working, and if some blood is on a step, then this step is probably inside the machine as of now, and it can be checked if the police get the escalator going again and spray luminol on each step. Chujo most probably wrote his message on a step, because he was in the dark, and accordingly he surely went over the envelope's edges and wrote a symbol of his dying message on a step, while he thought he was still on the paper. Besides, let's not forget he was dying and getting weaker. This explains why there's only a part of it which was found on the envelope, and it may wellbe another symbol. Luminol will help them have the blood mark reappear if it was wiped by the machine due to the latter still being in opration until the police arrived.
Conan secretly asks Takagi what X means, the X Sonoko was talking about, and Takagi laughs saying Conan is far too young for that kind of things. Takagi then tells the forensics to check the escalator. Chiba comes along saying they found the killer's cap and coat inside the 6th floor's bathroom, where quite none usually goes. He adds they checked the alibis of the 58 suspects, and actually only 27 have a verifiable and reliable alibi, which reduces the list of suspects down to 31. As for the stolen documents, the police is still searching the company's four stories to find them, but they've got no positive results as of now. Megure sends Chiba back to investigating there, while still lamenting that checking 31 alibis with only three symbols is still very complicated. Takagi tells Megure they've indeed found a blood letter symbol on a step thanks to the luminol : it's a square. Takagi says the square can refer to the Japanese ideogram for "mouth" or the katakana character "ro". Though, it's more logical to think it's actually a geometrical figure given the previous symbols, ans also due to the square matching perfectly the blood mark on the left of the "O" symbol. Conan realises the square's size is slightly bigger than the three others'. Sonoko grabs the suspect list from Megure and suggests the symbols could actually be characters, and maybe Chujo wanted the police to merge them in order to find a name : for instance, when merging the square and cross (but the cross has to be taken as an addition one), it gives the ideogram character for "ta", which means "rice field". If this is taken into account, then several people in the list can be hinted at. Some even have the "ta" character many times in their names. Jodie notices some names include or are written with a cross. Ran says there are even names with "suzu" like "suzuki", that hint at "bells", that are round-shaped items, then it refers to the circle. Sonoko says there are no crooks at all in her family though. Megure is fed up and moves the three women away from the crime scene, along with Conan.
Megure then tells Takagi they've finished investigating the escalator, and he should go upstairs to help Chiba. Ran pretends to have a call to give to Kogoro to warn him she'll be late, but in fact discreetly follows Takagi to the elevator. An unknown individual suddenly grasps Takagi's arm and takes him into a corner. It's actually Ran, she asks him to tell her what X means at once, since she really needs to know it. Takagi agrees, though he says he's unsure of the true meaning, because Yumi always sends him mails with "XXX" at the end to mock him. Jodie comments on Ran being rather late for a single phone call, and Conan is missing too. Jodie notices the "cool kid" is being once again kicked away from the crime scene by police officers. She comes up to him saying he's a true "ostrich". Conan asks her what it means, and she asks him if he's found out the meaning of the dying message. He replies he's not yet, and Jodie suggests Ran could be true when she said the symbols' shapes convey something particular. She says for instance in the United States the Ministry of Defense is called the Pentagon due to its five-sided shape. She also mentions the White House, which is actually the President's residence, the Oval Office, which is the latter's main office, and also the Bureau, which refers to...the Federal Bureau of Investigation/FBI. She hopes this helps him a little, and Conan asks her why she called him an ostrich. She answers it's a way to illustrate his behaviour, such as when he hid behind the forensic agent's briefcase to keep on investigating in secret, but was eventually found out. She says in the United States "ostriches" are absent-minded and reckless people, just like those big birds that hide ther head inside a hole but actually leave most of their body outside. They believe nobody can see them, but actually it's the complete opposite. She adds this reminds her of a Japanese saying : "Head hidden but butt up". Upon hearing this, Conan realises something and rushes back to the forensics, grabbing the envelope from them, lining it up next to the square mark, and eventually deducing who the murderer is. Jodie gazes at him with a secretly satisfied face.
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