Volume 28

Chronology
‹ Volume 27	List of Chapters • List of Cases	Volume 29 ›

Volume 28
Information
Release date:	July 18, 2000
Chapters:	274-284
ISBN:	ISBN 4-09-125498-5
Publisher:	Shogakukan
English release date:	March 17, 2009
English ISBN:	ISBN 1-4215-2196-2
English Publisher:	Viz Media
Featured Detective & Keyhole
Kyosuke Kamizu Shizuka Ikenami
Aoyama's death & Conan side images

Volume 28 was released on July 18, 2000 in Japan.

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Kogoro Mouri Hiroshi Agasa Ai Haibara Ayumi Yoshida Genta Kojima Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya Heiji Hattori Kazuha Toyama Sonoko Suzuki Juzo Megure Wataru Takagi Miwako Sato Kiyonaga Matsumoto Shinichi Kudo (background) Makoto Kyogoku (background) Gin (background) Vodka (background) Eri Kisaki (background) Michiko Kurogane (photo)

Gadgets

Gadgets
Voice-Changing Bowtie Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Bear Hunters Case

File 274 - The Shrunken Target

Mitsuhiko gets congratulated by Haibara for treating her sprain very well, and she tells him that he's not less clever than Conan because the most important isn't to learn how to do something, but to manage to do it again just like now. The two are being followed by a bear cub, and spied on by a mysterious threatening shadow. Conan and Agasa find the corpse of the hunter with the group and Conan starts to suspect something seems fishy, and that Haibara and Mitsuhiko may be fleeing the murderer, probably one of the three hunters searching with them. Mitsuhiko and Haibara leave a message to Conan in a clearing, a branch where three different mushrooms are put on a spit, hoping Conan finds it and discovers the truth. Conan indeed does so but thinks about something and decides not to tranquilise the hunter.

File 275 - True Motive

  Show spoilers »

Conan doesn't neutralise the hunter and reveals the explanation of the message: the matsutake is the mushroom to be most importantly considered as he is the treasure the Boys were searching in the woods. And this matsutake is stabbed askew by the branch, meaning the murderer is the hunter wearing his rifle over the shoulder, across his body: the old man Saburo Saikamata. Conan says the children are fleeing him but it's a misunderstanding : the old hunter scared them in order to prevent them for being attacked by a bear as a corpse would probably attract one. Suddenly, Jubee, the huge one-eyed grizzly bear emerges angrily from the bushes, and disarms a hunter. Saburo, who knows this bear who is his best friend, tries to calm it down, but it's unsuccessful. Conan understands why he saw little bear footprints near the corpse: there is a bear cub and Ai and Mitsuhiko are probably keeping it with them, and Jubee believes they want to do him harm. Ai releases the cub by Conan's order and Jubee gets his calmness back, leaving the group. Saburo explains he shot towards the children to scare Jubee away, because if it ever discovered that its cub was close to a corpse and to humans whose one had a rifle, it would get mad and attack the children. Saburo explains Jubee saved him after a mountain accident and since then he has remained a close friend of the beast, even after one of his comrades put Jubee's eye out to save Saburo he believed in danger. But some time after Saburo met an immoral hunter who killed Jubee's male and one of its cubs, and had hung one of the cubs to a tree by a rope to attract Jubee and kill it. Saburo shot down the hunter in anger after that. After the case, Haibara seems to enjoy a happy moment with the Boys and asks Conan why he is looking to her that way.

People

Kiyoshi Yasaka
	41 years old Hunter

Matasaburo Saika
	67 years old Hunter Former matagi

Tomoya Negoro
	28 years old Hunter

Jubei
	Female Asiatic bear

Man
	Victim (gunshot) Hunter

Old Photograph Murder Case

Characters introduced

Shizuka Ikenami
	42 years old

Azusa Enomoto
	23 years old Worker at the Café Poirot

File 276 - The Client Full of Lies

A mysterious and beautiful client asks Kogoro to find her first love Shiro Shibata, and Conan discovers that this client, Shizuka Ikenami, tells many lies. They finally figure out Shiro's living place and meet one of his neighbours and friends, Takezo Yoshikawa, thus that Shiro's wife, Keiko. But Shiro is found dead, bludgeoned, holding a picture of Shizuka in his hand.

File 277 - The Evidence Held

Conan realises Shizuka has a very extended knowledge of legal and judiciary system, and her strong-mindedness reminds Conan of someone. Meanwhile, Conan finds out who killed Shiro.

File 278 - The Horrifying Woman

  Show spoilers »

Conan tranquilises Kogoro and reveals the murderer to be Kyoko Shibata. She made Shiro believe a fake timescale by changing time, serving him his breakfast at dinner time, etc. The evidence of the murder is their wedding ring Kyoko took from Shiro's hand and replaced by a random picture where Shizuka was featured, the ring is probably in her pocket, stained with her husband's blood. Kyoko confesses and explains Shiro and Yoshizawa were gambling too much, to the point Shiro was highly indebted and dragging his wife down with him in his financial problems, selling their goods one after the other to pay it off, without Kyoko being able to stop it. When he said he wanted to sell Kyoko's father's sabre too, she decided to kill him. She accepts to surrender and asks to fetch a few things in the next room. She comes back with a sabre and threatens to kill herself, claiming she had no other choice than killing Shiro, and she doesn't care about dying now. Shizuka walks in her direction and blocks Keiko's sabre blow with her fan and disarms her, telling her she has no right to decide the life or death of anyone. Conan asks Shizuka why she lied four times, and it is Heiji who answers that she wanted to hide her true motives, the fact that she had come to see and test Kogoro, to make sure Heiji had found a proper mentor and a true detective, because Heiji is her son. Shizuka says that Kogoro's high deduction skills comforted her and she can go back to Osaka in peace. Heiji says he also came with Kazuha to invite Kogoro, Ran and Conan to a special investigation.

People

Shiro Shibata
	Victim (beaten) Physical education teacher

Takezo Yoshikawa
	47 years old Shiro Shibata's friend

Kyoko Shibata
	38 years old Shiro Shibata's wife

Mermaid's Curse Case

Shiho Miyano's name is in a guestbook logging past contestants for the immortality arrows.

File 279 - The Mermaid's Curse?

Heiji invites Conan, Ran and Kogoro to join him and Kazuha on a case he got a letter about. The letter is from a woman named Saori, who lives on a tiny island off Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture, known as the Island of Mermaids. It is famous due to it's elder who is over 100-year-old and rumored to be immortal. Apparently Saori is afraid of getting killed by mermaids. Conan isn't pleased with being dragged in this case, but Heiji reveals to him that while the letter was sent to his address, it was meant for Shinichi. After arriving on the island, the group learns that Saori has disappeared three days ago. No one worries because it's not unusual for Saori to leave home when she has had a fight with her father. They meet four of Saori's childhood friend, Naoko, a shop clerk, Toshimi and her fiancé Rokuro, and Kimie, a shrine maiden who is also the great-granddaughter of the elder. Each year there is a festival on the island where the elder awards three winners with a dungong arrow, that wields protection for it's bearer. Saori won one last year, but lost it last week, and up to her disappearance, she had become fearful of being cursed of mermaids. Kimie reveals that last time she saw Saori was three days ago. Kimie needed to go the dentist on the coast, and Saori went with her. She promise the group to take them to Saori's house after the festival, and offers Ran and Kazuha each a ticket to the lottery for the Dungong Arrow. She had two left after a couple cancelled. During the festival the Elder reveals the winning numbers, and Kazuha's number is one of the three. Later at the mermaid waterfall, Kazuha and the two other winners, Naoko and Saori's father, receives their arrows, but as the firework is shoot up, the audience sees a body hanging in the waterfall.

File 280 - The Elder's Prophecy

The body is Toshimi. The cause of death was hanging. It is uncertain to determent if it was an accident or a murder, but Heiji asks what she would be doing in the forest instead of attending the festival at the waterfall. Naoko suggests that she was looking for a grave of a mermaid. Three years ago after the festival, a warehouse near the shrine was burned to the ground and a body was found in the remains. The body is buried in the forest. Kimie recalls that Toshimi often spoke of that grave. Skeptical Heiji asks if it really was a mermaid's body. Kimie says that the locals thinks so, but the police determined that the body was of a middle aged woman. Naoko and Rokuro futher tells that the body didn't have any legs, and that is the reason behind the idea that it was a mermaid. It gained a lot of attention and the Elder became famous. Kimie tells that the police concluded that it might have been a tourist who was searching for an extra arrow and accidently set the warehouse on fire. It was never discovered who it was and the bones were buried on the island, but later moved to a secret spot in the forest on orders from the Elder after tourists had been trying to steal bones from the grave, since it is said that a bone from a mermaid gives long life.

Rokuro doesn't appear to grieve much over the death of his fiancée, since the engagement was arranged by their parents. After moving Toshimi's body from the forest, the group decides to ask the Elder how she picks the winning number for the contest. But the Elder claims that it's just random picking. The Elder then warns Kazuha that if she loses her arrow, bad fortune will follow her. The next day there is hold a wave for Toshimi at her family's home, but then Naoko is found dead outside the house, strangled by fishing net.

File 281 - The Devil's Arrow

Naoko's crime scene is set up to make it appear she was murdered by a mermaid. And her Dugong Arrow is missing. The police arrives from the coast and takes over the investigation. Conan and Heiji discuss the case. The two victims and the missing Saori has one thing in common. They all three believe that the Elder was immortal and in the power of the arrow. They then decides to check the book that holds the list of the contestants in the lottery and their numbers. Kimie takes them home to herself, but the recent one has gone missing. She denies that the Elder should have taken it and decides to search the other rooms. While they wait Heiji and Conan takes a look at the older books. Heiji is amazed by the names of the high ranked people, but Conan finds a familiar name - Shiho Miyano. He recalls that it was Haibara's real name, but doubts it's her, because she doesn't appear to the type who want immortality. But then Ran and Kazuha screams up, they have seen a figure outside that is similar to the missing Saori. After that the new warehouse has caught fire and is burned down, and like three years ago a body is found inside.

After noticing that Kimie is nowhere to be found, they contacts the dentist she visited, and he confirmed that the body's teeth matches Kimie's. Rokuro breaks down mourning over Kimie's death.

File 282 - The Last Arrow

The Elder takes to the bed after learns of her great-granddaughter's death. The locals begins to talk about ending the festival, since Kimie now was dead. Then Ran answer a strange phone call to the shrine. Someone wants to say thanks to a man, apparently working for the shrine, who sold an arrow a million yen. Kazuha and Ran guess that it might be the couple, which lottery numbers they took over. From the description Ran has been given, Heiji and Conan realize that it's Benzo, Saori's father.

File 283 - Uncompensated Heart

  Show spoilers »

Heiji and Kazuha fell but Heiji managed to grasp Kazuha's hand all the while grabbing a cracking branch on the cliff. Fearing Heiji might die as the branch is about to break, and asking him to live in order to fulfil the arrow she won, she stabs Heiji's hand with the arrow's point to force him to let go of her. But Heiji holds his grip and tells Kazuha that if she moves just one finger again, he'll kill her. They eventually manage to climb back up and head back to the village.

Meanwhile, Conan starts his Kogoro deduction show by pointing at the fact that only one person had no alibi at all for the three murders, which is obvious as that person chose and knew who would win the arrows, and is generally above suspicion : Mikoto Shimabukuro. Nobody believes that theory at all : why would Mikoto murder Kimie, her great-granddaughter ? But Conan asks what if Kimie wasn't the one burned alive. Kimie and Saori went to the dentist together. It was Saori, who was being treated, but her insurance card went missing, so she had no choice but to borrow Kimie's and be treated in her name. So the corpse's dental print wouldn't be Kimie's one but Saori's one. The dentist has already confirmed that the Kimie he treated matched Saori's description. Kimie, brilliant at make-up art, has actually disguised as Mikoto for a long time, granting her the perfect cover to kill the three girls. Kimie reveals her true identity and confesses she is indeed the murderer, and disguised as Mikoto just as her mother did before dying in the warehouse blaze some time ago. The mother's corpse then got its legs crushed by a falling beam, explaining her mermaid-like corpse. Kimie reveals she had indeed prepared an audio record to imitate her own voice calling Mikoto for the bath in order to dismiss any doubts.

She wanted to avenge her mother's death, killed in a fire set by drunk Toshimi, Naoko and Saori who revenged for not winning the arrows and to test Mikoto's rumored immortality. Mikoto's 'survival' explains the girls' belief in her immortality and the existence of mermaid. Kimie resumed Mikoto's role after her mother called her, encircled by fire. She had asked her to continue the 'Elder's' life for the island's sake. After Saori lost her arrow, she became desperate and asked Kimie for a new one or the location of the mermaid's tomb in order to be immortal, just like Mikoto, who 'survived' the fire, thus revealing unknowingly her murder and showing her lack of compassion and regret. Since Naoko and Toshimi both were convinced of the Elder's immortality, Kimie likely guessed that they too had been involved. Heiji turns up at that moment and tells Kimie the village's elders knew about Mikoto's true identities, but concealed it in order to keep attracting tourits to Bikuni Island and to leave Kimie resuming the role. They all apologise to Kimie who bursts into tears, Heiji adding that eternal life is a pipe dream, it is precisely because life is short and precious that we should fight for her and not to try to stop the flow of time.

After the case, the group meets Takayoshi Tsujimura and Yukiko Katsuragi from the "Diplomat Murder Case" (Vol. 10), and Yukiko tells Heiji she is the one who sent him a letter with an address to Shinichi in the header, as she wanted her friend Saori to get some help from the two great detectives who had solved the murder of her father-in-law. Heiji pretends to Ran the injury Kazuha made to him is almost invisible, and Kazuha almost regrets it. Conan looks down on Heiji as he sees his other hand, the badly injured one, in his pocket. Heiji thinks about how he'll never let Kazuha die.

People

Naoko Kuroe
	Victim (strangled) 28 years old Souvenir shop clerk

Kimie Shimabukuro
	Victim (burned) 27 years old Bikuni Shrine maiden

Saori Kadowaki
	27 years old Benzou's daughter Missing

Toshimi Ebihara
	Victim (hanged) 27 years old Daughter of the head of the fishing union

Rokuro Fukuyama
	28 years old Fisherman

Mikoto Shimabukuro
	130 years old Elder Birthday: June 24th, 1869

Benzo Kadowaki
	52 years old Saori's father Fisherman

Girl Clubbing Case

Characters introduced

Midori Megure
	Inspector Megure's wife

File 284 - The Buried Secret

A serial killer targets tan blond-haired "ganguro-style" girls and bludgeons them. Kogoro is mistaken for the killer and the police has to explain him the case. Meanwhile, Ran discovers the corpse of a ganguro girl beaten to death in the Haido General Store parking lot. The victim, Tae Aizawa, is the first killer's victim to be killed. As the grieving victim's boyfriend tells police they're useless, Megure is reminded of an old and painful case.

People

Ryoko Mizutani
	Victim (beaten-injured)

Hitomi Endo
	Victim (beaten-injured)

Michiko Ishiguro
	Victim (beaten-injured)

Tae Aizawa
	Victim (beaten) 20 years old Former Haido Department Store clerk

Noriyuki Shirakawa
	24 years old Chef

Yuri Konno
	24 years old Waitress

Yoshio Sadakane
	43 years old Security guard

Haruyoshi Shirakawa
	53 years old Haido Department Store owner

Akira Sakurai
	Deceased

Cover in other countries

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  China
• 

  Finland
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  France
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  Germany
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  Hong Kong
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  Indonesia
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  Italy
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  Korea
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  Malaysia (Chinese)
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  Malaysia (Malay)
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  Norway
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  Rep. of China (Taiwan)
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  Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
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  Spain (Spanish, Volumen 2)
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  Sweden
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  Thailand
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  United States
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  Vietnam

Trivia

• Shiho Miyano's name is listed among contestants in the Dungong's arrow festival. Conan noticed this, but doubts that it is her.

See also

• Manga
• Volume 21-30
• Detective Conan