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| | === File 286 - An Unexpected Motive === | | === File 286 - An Unexpected Motive === |
| | <spoiler> | | <spoiler> |
| − | Conan reveals the killer chases ganguro girls with platform boots, as these were responsible for the death of Akira Sakurai. Sato remembers Akira's divorced and violent father insisting on that point without being heard at the end of the day by the judges. Conan suggests that man's surname is "Sadagane", which means that '''Yoshio Sadagane''', the watchman, is the serial killer. His position in the parking lot enabled him to check the shoes of any person getting off their car. Moreover, the platform boots add around 10 centimeters to their wearer's size, explaining why the victims claimed having been mugged by a small person, which is actually not the case. The police didn't notice it when the girls went for their statements at the station afterwards, as they were wearing more formal shoes. Sadagane applied to be a watchman on this parking lot in particular as he wasn't given the name and occupation of the minor responsible for the accident, and therefore had to stand every day in the parking lot in wait for the girl to come back for some shopping one day or another. He might have tracked the three previous victims after spotting them at the parking lot too. He started assaulting every ganguro girl when he lost patience, not seeing Aizawa. | + | Conan reveals the killer chases female drivers with platform boots, as these were possibly responsible for the death of Akira Sakurai. Sato remembers Akira's divorced and alcoholic father insisting on that point without being heard at the end of the day by the judges. Conan suggests that man's surname is "Sadagane", which means that '''Yoshio Sadagane''', the watchman, is the serial attacker. His position in the parking lot enabled him to check the shoes of any person getting off their car. Moreover, the platform boots add around 10 centimeters to their wearer's size, explaining why the victims claimed having been mugged by a person of their size, which is actually not the case. The police didn't notice it when the girls went for their statements at the station afterwards, as they were wearing more formal shoes. Sadagane applied to be a watchman on this parking lot in particular as he wasn't given the name and occupation of the minor responsible for the accident, and therefore had to stand every day in the parking lot in wait for the girl to come back for some shopping one day or another. He might have tracked the three previous victims after spotting them at the parking lot too. He started assaulting every female driver in platform shoes when he lost patience, not seeing Aizawa. |
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| − | Sadagane is confirmed to be Akira's dad but has vanished and Conan gets scared when being told by Ran that Sonoko still hasn't come back from the bathroom, remembering she wears platform boots as well. In the stairs, Sonoko is indeed assaulted by Sadagane but avoids the bat, screams and flings her phone at Sadagane's face, disclosing his identity to Sonoko, who runs away. Conan realises Sonoko has been mistaken for a ganguro and is being chased by Sadagane. They try to locate her thanks to her mobile phone, who fell near a print club machine. The police rushes then to the store's restaurant floor. Sonoko stumbles and the killer comes closer, telling her she's a demon like the others, with a false innocent face, killing children, and deserving nothing else than death. Takagi fails to switch on the lights as a sudden storm makes the power supply trip out. Sonoko shrieks but manages to avoid the blow, that broke a display case and knocked over strange round items with a rolling noise. Conan, Sato and Ran believe it to be a broken aquarium with pebbles dropping on the floor, and they rush to the pet department. | + | Sadagane is confirmed to be Akira's dad but has vanished and Conan gets scared when being told by Ran that Sonoko still hasn't come back from the bathroom, remembering she wears platform boots as well. In the stairs, Sonoko is indeed assaulted by Sadagane but avoids the bat, screams and flings her phone at Sadagane's face, disclosing his identity to Sonoko, who runs away. Conan realises Sonoko has been mistaken for a driver in platform shoes and is being chased by Sadagane, because he saw her doing something with the car using the car keys. They try to locate her thanks to her mobile phone, who fell near a print club machine. The police rushes then to the store's restaurant floor. Sonoko stumbles and the killer comes closer, telling her she's a demon like the others, with a false innocent face, killing children, and deserving nothing else than death. Takagi fails to switch on the lights as a sudden storm makes the power supply trip out. Sonoko shrieks but manages to avoid the blow, that broke a display case and knocked over strange round items with a rolling noise. Conan, Sato and Ran believe it to be a broken aquarium with pebbles dropping on the floor, and they rush to the pet department. |
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| | Megure hesitates to follow them and reads carefully the information sign. Just as Sadagane is about to kill Sonoko, telling her he just wanted to humble her a little but since she saw his face, she must die, Megure steps in and receives the blow on his head. He had guessed the noises were actually dropping stone go pieces, and hurried to the games' department. He tells Sadagane he's going too far in trying to kill an innocent girl, just as he did with the others, but this won't rise his son from the dead, it's just pure madness. Sadagane calms down and cries, explaining he just wanted them to apologise and remove their boots who killed his son. When Conan and co turn up, lights are switched on again and Megure's temple is seriously bleeding, but the latter says it's an old injury that should have remained hidden. | | Megure hesitates to follow them and reads carefully the information sign. Just as Sadagane is about to kill Sonoko, telling her he just wanted to humble her a little but since she saw his face, she must die, Megure steps in and receives the blow on his head. He had guessed the noises were actually dropping stone go pieces, and hurried to the games' department. He tells Sadagane he's going too far in trying to kill an innocent girl, just as he did with the others, but this won't rise his son from the dead, it's just pure madness. Sadagane calms down and cries, explaining he just wanted them to apologise and remove their boots who killed his son. When Conan and co turn up, lights are switched on again and Megure's temple is seriously bleeding, but the latter says it's an old injury that should have remained hidden. |
| Volume 29
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| Information
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| Release date:
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September 18, 2000
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| Chapters:
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| ISBN:
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ISBN 4-09-125499-3
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| Publisher:
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Shogakukan
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| English release date:
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May 19, 2009
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| English ISBN:
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ISBN 1-4215-2197-0
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| English Publisher:
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Viz Media
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| Featured Detective & Keyhole
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| Aoyama's death & Conan side images
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Volume 29 was released on September 18, 2000 in Japan.
Cast
Gadgets
Girl Clubbing Case
Anime Episode 217-218:
Megure's Sealed SecretFile 285 - The Suspicion
Tae Aizawa worked at the Haido Store and was waiting in the parking lot for her boyfriend Noriyuki Shirakawa, a restaurant chef, to introduce her to his father, Haruyoshi, the store's owner. Noriyuki is being solaced by Yuri Konno, a waitress of his restaurant and a good friend of him. The police asks the parking lot's watchman, Yoshio Sadagane, if he saw anyone suspect around there before the murder, which is not the case. Ran thinks something's not quite right concerning the victim's appearance. The police commissioner Matsumoto comes along and asks Megure if he still remembers "that painful case". Conan tells everyone that, given that most victims of the killer were rather lightly dressed for the winter season, it's possible that they were in a car just before being in the street, and that the murderer has probably something to do with cars. Sato says last year Aizawa accidentally killed a boy, Akira Sakurai, in the parking lot, as her platform boots prevented her from braking at the right moment. Being minor at the time of the deeds, she received a conditional sentence and was released afterwards. Megure scolds Sato for constantly wishing to play the bait, recalling it's way too dangerous. Sonoko wants to go to the bathroom and asks for Kogoro's car keys. As she bends to take her handbag, the killer's dark figure is glaring at her and especially at her boots. The closest bathroom being out of service, Sonoko hurries to the upper floors' bathrooms as the store is about to close. Conan meanwhile notices the victim is wearing shoes too big for her feet. He then deduces the murderer's identity as Sonoko, on her way back to the parking lot, finds herself in complete darkness as the lights are switched off, and she's being followed by the serial killer.
File 286 - An Unexpected Motive
Conan reveals the killer chases female drivers with platform boots, as these were possibly responsible for the death of Akira Sakurai. Sato remembers Akira's divorced and alcoholic father insisting on that point without being heard at the end of the day by the judges. Conan suggests that man's surname is "Sadagane", which means that Yoshio Sadagane, the watchman, is the serial attacker. His position in the parking lot enabled him to check the shoes of any person getting off their car. Moreover, the platform boots add around 10 centimeters to their wearer's size, explaining why the victims claimed having been mugged by a person of their size, which is actually not the case. The police didn't notice it when the girls went for their statements at the station afterwards, as they were wearing more formal shoes. Sadagane applied to be a watchman on this parking lot in particular as he wasn't given the name and occupation of the minor responsible for the accident, and therefore had to stand every day in the parking lot in wait for the girl to come back for some shopping one day or another. He might have tracked the three previous victims after spotting them at the parking lot too. He started assaulting every female driver in platform shoes when he lost patience, not seeing Aizawa.
Sadagane is confirmed to be Akira's dad but has vanished and Conan gets scared when being told by Ran that Sonoko still hasn't come back from the bathroom, remembering she wears platform boots as well. In the stairs, Sonoko is indeed assaulted by Sadagane but avoids the bat, screams and flings her phone at Sadagane's face, disclosing his identity to Sonoko, who runs away. Conan realises Sonoko has been mistaken for a driver in platform shoes and is being chased by Sadagane, because he saw her doing something with the car using the car keys. They try to locate her thanks to her mobile phone, who fell near a print club machine. The police rushes then to the store's restaurant floor. Sonoko stumbles and the killer comes closer, telling her she's a demon like the others, with a false innocent face, killing children, and deserving nothing else than death. Takagi fails to switch on the lights as a sudden storm makes the power supply trip out. Sonoko shrieks but manages to avoid the blow, that broke a display case and knocked over strange round items with a rolling noise. Conan, Sato and Ran believe it to be a broken aquarium with pebbles dropping on the floor, and they rush to the pet department.
Megure hesitates to follow them and reads carefully the information sign. Just as Sadagane is about to kill Sonoko, telling her he just wanted to humble her a little but since she saw his face, she must die, Megure steps in and receives the blow on his head. He had guessed the noises were actually dropping stone go pieces, and hurried to the games' department. He tells Sadagane he's going too far in trying to kill an innocent girl, just as he did with the others, but this won't rise his son from the dead, it's just pure madness. Sadagane calms down and cries, explaining he just wanted them to apologise and remove their boots who killed his son. When Conan and co turn up, lights are switched on again and Megure's temple is seriously bleeding, but the latter says it's an old injury that should have remained hidden.
Later on, Conan and co, along with Matsumoto, visit Megure at the Police Hospital. Matsumoto tells them Megure wears a hat to conceal an old injury he got during a hard case twenty years ago. Megure was a young policeman investigating a serial killer tracking "furyo-style" high school girls for some reason, with his car, at night. At first, he was just jostling them, but soon one died and he started to kill every furyo he would meet on the road, to the point police had to seriously deter furyo girls from wearing their outfits. This happened and accidents stopped, but a young girl who had seen her best friend killed by the mad driver wanted to play the bait to attract the driver one last time and have him arrested by Megure, despite police trying to convince her to give up that idea. She insisted, and Megure had to be sent to her to protect her. The mad driver showed up and knocked Megure and the girl over. He was later arrested but Megure was injured at the head and the girl everywhere, on the brink of dying. Since then, Megure is reluctant to use baits in police actions and hides his injury under his hat, for none to ask him ever about it. Hopefully, the girl survived, and she married Megure, becoming Midori Megure.
People
Bus Hijacking Case
Characters introduced
File 287 - The Unseen Horror
Gin and Vodka are sitting together at a bar. A waiter comes to them with two drinks at the table. The waiter is the disguised Vermouth. They talk about the mission of her.
The Detective Boys and Hiroshi Agasa want to make a ski trip. On the way there, they take the bus and Tomoaki Araide and Jodie Starling get on, too. Shuichi Akai is also one of the passengers. Ai Haibara suddenly feel the aura of an black organization member, this is strongly hinted to be Jodie Starling. Suddenly the bus is hijacked by two armed men. The hijacker calls the office of the bus service and demand the release of Kunio Yashima, who was arrested for robbery.
Conan is immediately clear that this must be his accomplices, who want the preys of the robbery because they are not know where Yashima has hidden them. With its inconspicuous Earring Cellphone
Conan tries to inform the police, but in vain, as the kidnappers stands with a drawn weapon before him. Someone has betrayed him.
File 288 - Danger Signal
The police were informed by the bus hijacking and the demands of the kidnappers.
In the bus the kidnappers dressed in ski suits lay the skis carefully into the path of the bus. Conan Edogawa tires unseen to check up the skis, but again one of the kidnappers noticed and threatened him with a gun. Tomoaki Araide rose protectively in front of him.
Conan guesses that inside the skis are bombs. Ai Haibara is so shocked by the presence of a member organization that she doesn’t notice much about the kidnapping Conan asks himself, why the kidnapper has noticed him. He reasons that they have an accomplice behind him. Unfortunately Conan doesn’t know who exactly the accomplice of the hijackers is. It will be Shuichi Akai, Miharu Tomino or Yasuhiko Machida.
The kidnappers instruct the bus driver to drive the bus in the Kobotoke tunnel and reduce the speed. Conan develops a plan. He asks in a note to Jodie Starling for a lipstick and informed the Detective Boys, what he's up to do. In addition, he has found out who the accomplice of the hijackers.
File 289 - Concealed Beneath The Truth
Conan pretends coughing and takes his detective badge, preparing to call the DB. Vermouth seems to have noticed his plan with the lipstick and wonders how the "Cool Guy" will solve the matter. Megure prepares a plan with the Yamanashi Police to catch the hijackers but Sato warns him the bus entered the tunnel and suddenly slowed down. The robbers' plan is to switch clothes with Dr. Araide and Shuichi Akai. They'll pass themselves off as mere bus hostages, pretending they got off the bus by order of the hijackers, while making police believe the true robbers are the one with the ski clothes sitting in the middle of the bus. Of course the passengers will quickly deny it but the hijackers will buy time. They'll pretend to be the three hostages that were supposed to be freed after Yashima's release, which is why they take with them a third "hostage", their accomplice, Kiharu Tomino, the woman chewing gum, and tell the bus driver he'll have her death on his conscience if he doesn't keep accelerating the bus after they leave, for the police to keep tracking the bus without knowing what really occurred. Conan remarks a strange watch on Tomino's wrist.
Just as Conan had thought, the hijackers had actually decided not to spare the hostages but rather to blow up the entire bus with everyone inside except them, to keep the truth silent, and afterwards they'll tell the police they were freed hostages and will lie about the real facts and then vanish into thin air. They'll say the robbers accidentally blew up the bus as when they left it was panic aboard. And when the forensics will find two men in ski suit among rubble, it will just confirm their statements. Which is why they slowed down in the dark tunnel, in order to change clothes without being seen by the police. Conan takes advantage of the dark as well to call the DB and explain his plan to stop the hijackers.
Once out of the tunnel, the bus driver is commanded to speed up. Conan tells the truth to all passengers about the robbers actually planning to kill everybody with a bomb because they all saw their faces. The robbers turn around and see Agasa and Conan holding the ski bag in the air with something written inside out on it with Jodie's lipstick. One of the robbers try to shoot Conan but is interrupted by his partner who fears it may touch the bomb. Conan shouts to the driver who glances at his rear-view mirror and reads "STOP". He brakes abruptly and makes the bus skid at 180 degrees, throwing everyone off balance, including the robbers. Ayumi holds the old man Yasuhiko Machida, and Mitsuhiko and Genta hold each other.
Conan then rushes to a robber who targets him, but before Shuichi Akai could knock him down, Conan shoots a tranquilising dart to him, astounding Akai. Conan asks Araide to pinion Tomino's arms as she is the accomplice and her watch contains the bomb trigger mechanism. As the other robber tries to shoot Conan, Jodie gives him a knee strike in the stomach and lies him flat on his back, neutralising him, pretending she lost her balance due to the sudden braking. The robber tries to shoot her but his gun is blocked, and Jodie reveals she locked her Tokalev gun's hammer by moving it on central position when she took his hands to apologise after the "accidental" trip she caused. Jodie mocks him as an amateur and answers his question about her identity by saying Vermouth's catchphrase "A secret makes a woman woman". She takes his weapon just as Tomino notices in fear that the mechanism was accidentally triggered during the accident, and the bomb will explode in a few seconds.
As Sato and co are about to storm the bus, the doors open and all the passengers run away, and Conan tells Sato about the bomb. Sato and Chiba stop the cars near the tunnel and the others help the passengers to flee. Ayumi notices Haibara's absence and Conan runs back into the bus. Haibara wishes to die in the explosion to end all her troubles, whether it is involving more people in the Organisation or having to face the Organisation member who was in the bus, probably stalking her. She comments on her stupidity to think there was hope to be found when betraying the Organisation, and remembers her sister. Conan shoots in the back window with the robbers' gun and breaks it, jumping through it, holding Haibara just as the bus blows up.
Conan asks Takagi to take Haibara to the hospital as quick as possible with Agasa and the kids. Conan tells Haibara she must not flee her own destiny. As they leave, Jodie comes up to Conan calling him a James Bond for saving the girl this way. Conan replies he saw her locking the gun, therefore she is the 007. He then explains how he found out Tomino was the accomplice : the robbers constantly watched her through the rear-view mirror and she would make a chewing-gum bubble whenever someone was acting fishy, and then burst it, in order to have a reason to remove the sticking gum from her cheeks and pulling it in a certain direction and with a certain hand to indicate in which direction the robbers should have a look. The balloon he saw on th bus window reminded him of the chewing-gum. Conan says Tomino's watch indicated 1:00 which means it was either broken or used for another purpose. Conan reassures Jodie as for Yashima, who will be found and brought back to prison very soon by policemen.
As they head towards police's cars to go and make their depositions, Conan pretends not to be injured but Dr. Araide reveals his arm injury and orders him to be treated. Jodie looks at them, and behind, Akai looks at Jodie. Haibara tells the DB Conan put some of his own blood on her leg to pretend she was badly injured and needed urgent transportation to the hospital, for her to escape the Organisation member quickly. Haibara comments on the fact that now she and Kudo are square, after saving the life of each other.
Shuichi Akai speaks discreetly in a kind of walkie-talkie or recording machine, declaring the tail impossible for the moment due to an unexpected situation, and saying the investigation will resume tomorrow as the target didn't show up.
People
Dog Lovers Case
File 290 - The Dog Lovers
In order for Haibara to take her mind off things after the bus hijacking case, Agasa suggests they all go and visit the son of an old friend who keeps pets and is organising a yard sale as he's about to depart to England. Teruya Kano introduces his dogs Arthur and Doyle to the kids, commenting on the fact that his father's dog, Conan, died recently. Some acquaintances come to visit Kano for the the sale : Yoshio Tsunashima, a dog lover, Aki Tosabayashi, who loves dog sports events, and Shino Hazuki, whose dog Christie loves Arthur. But Haibara fails to smile or even feel comfortable when being with some animals. She starts having morbid thoughts and Agasa wonders what to do to help her. Conan replies he told her everyone in the bus made his statement at the police and nothing particular happened. Though Haibara is terrified to the point of losing appetite and sleep, Conan maintains that if Haibara had really been spotted by the Org, none around her would have stayed alive within the 10 days following the events. Conan believes it's just a mere coincidence. The DB mutter something about Haibara and Conan that intrigues the latter. Teruya wants to show the kids something : whenever the clock rings noon, Doyle the Papillon dog automatically goes and sits on a blue cushion near the clock, waiting for his favourite cheese dish. But this time Doyle is to be found nowhere. Fearing the small dog might have gotten stuck somewhere, everybody searches for him. Conan notes the kiln in the garden is firing while it wasn't at all a few minutes ago. He rushes there and discovers Doyle's burned collar inside it.
File 291 - A Tiny Trace
Conan reassures Teruya : there's no corpse in the kiln, apparently someone played a bad trick on him, and Doyle must be somewhere else. Conan suspects Doyle may have been abducted as it is worth a lot of money, probably by the people who came visiting Teruya today. He doubts about the fact dog lovers would dare to burn alive a dog. The gate left open is accoridng to Conan a trick to have us believe a thief took Doyle and ran away, which is materially impossible. Shino Hazuki's shoes are found in the garden near the kiln, but she can't explain why. Everyone starts searching again for Doyle. Haibara once again plays the killjoy and scares the DB by saying she knows terribly well the feeling of being hunted down and hiding, in fear to be found one day or another. Conan takes her apart and Haibara tells him again she is 100% sure a Black Org member was in the bus on that day. Conan tells her he is 100% sure that it's absolutely not the case, none suspects anythings, because Conan, as a detective, has developed a nose for criminal and murder intents wherever he stands. Just as Haibara feels the Org members, Conan feels the criminals. Habiara seems to believe him when he says so, when he ensures that none had such feelings in the bus except the hijackers. But Haibara seems not to want to show it, and the DB keep on muttering. Eventually, Conan finds some sound-absorbing material in the kiln and declares he knows where Doyle is.
File 292 - The Disappeared Evidence
Conan shows Doyle and reveals the thief had planned Teruya's stereo system to play a record of Teruya's clock sound, ringing as if it were the real clock, but actually attracting Doyle in the stereo room, and not in the clock room. The thief then put Doyle's cushion - he found it in the clock room given it was the most bite-marked cushion - in the stereo room for the dog to sit on it and wait as usual. But the fact is that the thief put the cushion inside a hiding place : inside one of the stereo's speakers, from which he removed much sound-absorbing material to get more space where to put the cushion to welcome Doyle, leaving the back door of the speaker open for the dog to enter. Not forgetting to put some cheese on the cushion, and to mute the sound of the speaker where Doyle would go, not to frighten him. Doyle didn't leave the stereo speaker after eating because there was a sleeping pill in the cheese. The record was precisely planned for noon, and none get fooled by the clock as it didn't ring at all even though it indicated noon, as actually it indicated midnight (the clock only rings noon).
The culprit can't be Shino as, even if she needed the stereo for her home, she would never leave 10 days a dog stuck in a box in wait for Teruya to give her the stereo. The true culprit rather made sure to close the stereo speaker door after Doyle fell asleep for nobody to get the facts when searching obviously behind the speakers, while he was searching Doyle in that room, and that person is Yoshio Tsunashima. Tsunashima knew Doyle's habits and was a frequent visitor of Teruya's parents. After the search, Tsunashima removed Doyle's collar and threw it into the kiln, set the clock right back, put back the cushion in the right room, opened the garden's gate, and also tried to burn the sound-absorbing material, but it's made out of glass and it took some time to burn completely. Actually Tsunashima wasn't interested in Doyle but rather in the precious jewel hidden in its collar Teruya's grandfather brought back from France. Tsunashima hid it behind the clock's pendulum, which is why the clock started lagging behind. Tsunashima was about to bring the clock home as agreed with Teruya and therefore enjoy the money from the jewel's sale.
Tsunashima runs away, jostling Teruya, which angers Arthur and scares Christie, who is used to chase running sheeps as her breed is a shepherd dog. Christie and Arthur circle Tsunashima who tries to hit Arthur, but stops, as a dog lover wouldn't dare to hurt a dog. This is also proved by Tsunashima's not killing or doing Doyle harm, and leaving the stereo door ajar to allow it to go out once it would wake up. Tsunashima confesses stealing Doyle's collar's jewel to get enough money to care for his numerous dogs, who cost him more and more, and he can't resolve to leave them die from hunger or put them down. And none would buy them as most of them are abandoned mongrels taken in by him.
Hearing this, Teruya agrees to give Tsunashima the jewel, his granddad wouldn't disagree if it was to help dogs. But Tsunashima should make sure his dogs aren't getting too many next time. As for Shino Hazuki's shoes left near the kiln, the culprit is Arthur, who played that trick because he loves Christie and Shino and wants them to stay longer at home. But actually Shino and Teruya are loving each other and Shino plans to move to London as well. Haibara tells kinds words to Arthur to solace him, smiling, and the DB are overjoyed to see Haibara is getting better, as they were worried about her. Conan adds Haibara needs such a merry child face, to go better and also to really look like a child.
People
K3 Murder Case
File 293 - K3
Heiji invites Conan, Kogoro and Ran to Osaka to a restaurant's official opening evening party, on the initiative of three world-famous American sport champions : the boxer Ricardo Barreira, the baseball pitcher Mike Norwood, and a celebrity Shinichi/Conan surely loves : Ray Curtis, the "European Steel Gate" football player. Kazuha believes there's another girl in Heiji's life as he keeps hanging up the phone whenever she catches him in the midst of an important conversation. Conan knows that he is "the girl" actually. The three sport celebrities want to call the restaurant "K3" as K stands for Ricardo's Knock out, for Mike's strike out - aka K in professional baseball terms, and for Ray's goal Keeper. But Ed MacKay, an infamous American sports reporter, comes along saying the K of Kitanai ("dirty") is missing, as the three champions were all mixed up in shady bits of business. Ed MacKay is hated by most athletes as he keeps writing fake but very well drafted articles about supposed scandals on such or such champions.
After the incident, Ran asks for Ray to autograph a card for Shinichi, but Ray proposes her something better : a signed football shirt with his number, 8. Conan explains Kazuha Ray was still attributed the 8 number despite the 1 being normally given to goal keepers, as Ray was at first playing in the midfield, then the 8 number, but he was discovered with another skill for goal keeping, therefore he kept his former number. Mike wears a 99 shirt to hint at the 99 miles per hour, his pitching speed. As for Ricardo, the 4 on his gloves means his fights he would always win in 4 rounds. Ray also gives Ran a ticket to go and see him playing in Japan soon, a ticket Ran gives Conan.
After that, Ray gives Ran a walkie-talkie : she has to help him, Ricardo and Mike to switch on the lights of certain rooms of the hotel, in order to make a huge K that could be seen from the outside. As it is a surprise, the three champions are alone in the hotel. As the K is finished, a gunshot is heard, shattering a window to pieces. The three men rush to the balconies to check what happened. Conan and Heiji hurry to the corresponding room and find Ed MacKay shot dead by a gun. Conan notices MacKay left a dying message by gripping his belt and showing on his other hand a strange sign as if he had had previously a round item in the hand.
File 294 - The Last Possibility
Otaki from Osaka Police is called for investigation. Everyone wonders who could have murdered the reporter, and it's certainly not one of the three champions, as showed by Ran that it's impossible for any of them to move from their rooms, kill McKay, and then come back right after, as it would take at least more than 1 minute, and all three went on the balcony immediately after they heard the gunshot. Conan astounds Heiji by saying it's probably not one of the three players, maybe someone from the outside who pretended to belong to the media present tonight, or one of the guests. Otaki proceeds to the gunpowder checking of every guest and person, as a basic and non-automatic gun, without silencer, was used to murder McKay, and it spreads a lot of powder. Otaki even checked the athletes but their respective managers refused a complete body checking.
The three athletes had indeed been the target of MacKay scandal allegations : Ricardo was accused of playing fixed matches, Ray was accused of drug doping, Mike was accused of adultery and divorced. But all three married a Japanese woman after that and all three won their cases against McKay, Conan insists on that point, saying that they're probably not the culprits. Heiji rather keeps investigating the three men, the only one really resenting McKay and being alone in the hotel at that time. Conan tells Heiji not to bother searching tricky mechanisms, as himself went to check rooms and found none, no traces at all. Conan tells Heiji it is materially impossible for the three men to do the return trip over such a very short span of time. What's more, Ray suffers a knee injury, Ricardo isn't a rapid racer and Mike suffers from Achilles' heel pain, which makes accordingly their moving even slower.
Heiji finds strange that Shinichi is trying to find alibis to everyone as he usually does the complete opposite. Conan avoids answering and adds that knocking at the door and waiting for McKay to open takes even more time. Yet, Heiji and Conan find brooms and dustpans in a closet, and make a connection with the light switch. They suddenly realise something having to do with a certain person expert at using a certain object, who could be the murderer. Conan again doesn't answer and tries to put forward the fact that this object must have been found and it's not the case. When Heiji hints at the fact it's easy to conceal, Conan gets infuriated and tells him he's wrong and should just shut his mouth up. He runs away and tells Heiji he'll prove him he's wrong. Heiji remembers Conan telling him during the last Bikuni Case (Vol. 28) that even if something looks horrible to admit or just beyond human comprehension, if it's the truth it should be tackled directly and coldly, and not avoided, what Conan is actually doing with that person.
Conan comes across the three men coming out of the washroom. Conan sees Ray is still suffering from his knee injury, and suddenly decides to search the washroom's bin, where he finds the item he expected. He also hears Kogoro talking about certain restaurant chefs saying strange words having nothing to do at all with food. Conan lowers the gaze and thinks angrily to that person he calls a bastard.
File 295 - Red Card
The hotel employees find a deflated foot ball under the lottery table, and believe it is one of the goods that burst. Heiji suggests Otaki should release the three champions except Ray, as he'd like to ask him a favour before leaving : one of his greatest fans would like to meet him and tell him something, he is in the room where Ray was when the gunshot was heard. When Ray arrives up the stairs, he feels shocked to see the room wide open with items placed in a weird manner. Conan goes down the stairs saying it's exactly the same room and easy trick the murderer left : wedging the door by opening it wide to the maximum, taking the closet's door off, putting it on a broom, in a vertical position and lying in diagonal against the wall, the broom preventing the door from touching the switch which is off. Afterwards, shooting in a foot ball from the upper floor, the ball bounces against the wall in the stairs, and flies over it, lands on the lower floor, where the wide open room is, and rolls until and inside that room, bumping into the broom which falls on the floor, and allows the closet door to fall on the switch and accordingly to switch on the light in the room. As curtains have been opened beforehand, it gives the impression to those outside that someone switched on the light of the room. This could have only been done by a football expert and someone the closest to MacKay's room, and who was supposed to light the lower room : Ray Curtis.
This could give Ray the perfect alibi : people would swear he was in his room and then couldn't kill MacKay a few seconds after. But this trick makes it entirely possible. Conan explains Ray's plan : he said he would switch on the lights of the two first floors, starting by lighting the first room and then going to the second room, the room of the trick, where he prepared his ploy. Then he went upstairs with a foot ball and a gun and lit the three other rooms. Afterwards he called Ran who told him he had forgotten to light the second room, actually the trick room. He didn't go directly there but instead stayed on the second floor, knocked at MacKay's door, shot his ball in the stairs, went to MacKay as he opened, shot him dead, left the gun there, and ran downstairs as quick as possible to the trick room now lit, up to the balcony to pretend asking what happened. Doing so, the room would be lit, one or two seconds after MacKay would be shot, and another five seconds after Ray would be on the balcony just like others. It's possible because MacKay was probably waiting for Ray in his room, and Ray checked with Ran the lighting of the room while waiting for MacKay to open.
Neither Mike nor Ricardo could have done it, otherwise they would have met Ray on the lower floors and wondered what he was doing, and there was no trace of stratagems in both rooms. And they couldn't get back so quickly to their rooms who are not so close to MacKay's room. Only Ray could have done it. The police found no powder traces on him because he had beforehand turned his shirt and trousers inside out and left his jacket downstairs before shooting. He quickly put this latter on again when he rushed to the balcony. After the crime, waiting in his room as the police had told him, he turned again his clothes inside out, therefore, unless a complete body check which was impossible as the managers had refused to allow it, no traces of powder would be found on Ray's clothes. And no fingerprints as well on the gun if he was wearing a glove. Ray then burst the foot ball with a needle and discarded the needle in the washroom's bin, and left the deflated ball under the lottery's table.
MacKay pointed Ray out as his murderer before dying : his right hand with the strange finger position as if he was holding something refers to the way of eating sushis, with three fingers only, and the fact he gripped his belt refers to the old name for belt which is "strip" or "band", recalling "bande", a secret code sushi restaurants use to stretch the dishes' prices from the customers, among many others such as "geta", "kiwa", "menoji", etc. And "bande" refers to a code number 8, 8 which is Ray's famously attributed number. Conan says in Ray's room he found a wet towel Ray used to wash his hands and face in case powder had stained them as well. Conan ironically remarks the more evidence of Ray's innocence he tried to gather, the more evidence of his guilt he found. Ray says Conan is wrong because as he usually sweats a lot, he changed clothes and gave the old ones to his manager to have them washed in Ray's hotel. Conan reminds him of the shoes : a classic revolver spreads a lot of powder, until the shoes, as Ray needed shoes to shoot in the ball. Conan says then that the police will find undeniable evidence by analysing his shoes, which is why he begs Ray to go and surrender.
Ray refuses as he doesn't want to destroy his family and friend circles, along with his fame. Ray says he'll change shoes rather and find an excuse for police. Conan replies he also has to find an excuse for something else and shoots violently the ball at him. Ray tries to catch it but fails and gets it in the face, which makes him stumble. Conan asks angrily why Ray, the "European Steel Gate", isn't even able to catch a shoot whose strength is from the level of a high school teenager, and Ray confesses being weakened by heroin consumption. Conan says he noticed Ray was drug-addicted given his repeated yawns and muscle pain, signs of a dependence from drug. Ray lied about his injury as he claimed his left knee was aching while he always held his right one. Drug addicts need constant narcotic consumption for the euphoria it provokes and because it calms the muscle and joint pain caused by withdrawal.
Ray owns up to taking some drug but only after the reporter's article about it, which was a web of lies that caused the suicide of his wife. To revenge her, Ray really took some heroin and hoped MacKay would meet him to get some information, and that Ray could kill him. But Ray got trapped into heroin as he took even more drug to forget the pain caused by the death of his wife. Conan tells him to stop it because even if he's facing a bitter aspect of life, drugs and murder are foul without any excuse, deserving a red card for a loser. Ray says Conan got it, he was playing in the field that he had lost, but now must leave for his wife and for fans like him. Ray eventually surrenders, and later on, at Heiji's home, Conan undergoes a fit of depression, like a kid disappointed by bad news, just like Shinichi.
Conan hesitates to use the ticket Ray gave Ran. Heiji taunts Conan with a foot ball and mocks it, this stirs Conan who calls him an idiot and shows him how to juggle with it. Kazuha comments they look like brothers.
People
Cover in other countries
Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
See also
