A Small Client

Chronology
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Episode 354-355 (Int. Episode {{{int-episode}}})
Information
Title:	A Small Client
Japanese title:	小さな依頼者 (Chiisana Iraisha)
Original airdate:	March 8, 2004 (Part 1) March 15, 2004 (Part 2)
Season:	13
Manga source:	Volume 39: Files 9-11 (401-403)
Case
Cast:	Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Kogoro Mouri Eri Kisaki Sango Yokomizo
Case solved by:	Kogoro Mouri (via Conan)
Next Conan's Hint:	Video tapes (Part 1) Wind (Part 2)
Staff
Director:	Masato Sato
Organizer:	Hideaki Oniwa
Storyboard:	Hideaki Oniwa
Episode director:	Hideaki Oniwa
Animation director:	Katsunori Enokimoto
Music
Opening song:	Kimi to Yakusoku Shita Yasashii Ano Basho Made
Closing song:	Nemuru Kimi no Yokogao ni Hohoemi o

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Kogoro Mouri Yoko Okino (On Television) Eri Kisaki (background) Sango Yokomizo

Gadgets

Gadgets
Voice-Changing Bowtie Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Case

Situation

Part 1

A seven year old movie star by the name of Kazuki Kinukawa comes to the Mouri Detective Agency to try and find his mother who abandoned him at a church. His reasons are to tell his mother he will not give her any money now that he is famous. Conan is able to deduce Kazuki's mother is a hotel employee in Atami due to the old dirty postcards she sent him. Kazuki reveals that he remembered that his mother had a beauty mark near her breast. A freelance writer named Yasuhiro Kamoshita checks into the hotel as he plans to find Kazuki's mother and interview her to confirm whether Kazuki's father was truly a murderer. Later that day, Kamoshita is strangled to death but managed to take a picture on his cellphone during the attack.

Murder
290px	Location: Japanese-style inn in Atami Victim: Yasuhiro Kamoshita Time: Around 11:48 PM Cause of death: Strangulation Suspects: Mitsu Kusano, Toshiko Bessho, and Tomoka Saegusa Yasuhiro was first bludgeoned with a shower head before he was strangled with a kite-string-like thread.

The picture reveals that a woman with a beauty mark near her breast is the murderer. The police gather three female employees with no alibi during the time of the murder; Each of them has a beauty mark but none of them are near the breast.

Part 2

The forensic team reveals that Kamoshita was knocked on the head with a shower nozzle knocking him unconscious and was later strangled. While the police are watching a videotape found in Kamoshita's room, Conan notices that the movie ended one minute earlier than the time indicated on the box and realizes how the murder is done.

People

Kazuki Kinukawa
	7 years old Talent

Mitsu Kusano
	34 years old Hostess

Toshiko Bessho
	29 years old Hostess

Yasuhiro Kamoshita
	Victim (strangled) 37 years old Freelance writer

Tomoka Saegusa
	28 years old Hostess

Izumiya
	Chief editor for "Weekly Hot" Kamoshita's acquaintance

Resolution

  Show spoilers »

Conan tranquilizes Kogoro and uses his voice changing bowtie to impersonate him. Conan reveals that the beauty mark on the murderer was actually a blood stain and that the culprit is revealed to be Toshiko Bessho as evidenced by the small blood stain near her collar which she covers with her clothes. Toshiko confesses to the murder and explains that she decided to play a joke on Kazuki's production company by threatening to reveal Kazuki's father is a murderer unless they pay her ¥20 million. However, they actually paid her which sparked Kamoshita's investigation. Kamoshita upon finding the truth, blackmails Toshiko for money which motivated her for murder.

Toshiko had also lied about being Kazuki's mother, but this is because she cannot have children and has a deep envy of one of her fellow hosts who had a child but gave him away. Said woman turns out to be Tomoka Saegusa, whom she also harrassed until she stopped writing her postcards to Kazuki. Conan later confirms to Ran that Tomoka is the mother because she used to carry Kazuki on her back with a sling while doing household chores, until she gave him up; this is why Kazuki, who had very good memory for a little kid yet couldn't recall all details, mistakenly recalled his mom's mole to be on her breast instead of on the back of her neck, where it actually is.

The following day, Kazuki gives Tomoka a package of post cards and tells her she has to continue to send her monthly post cards or he will visit her again. As Kazuki leaves, Tomoka breaks down in guilt for abandoning her son those many years ago.

Manga to anime changes

• The anime added an extra scene that Kazuki bumped into Saegusa which she helped him and Kazuki noticed a mole on the back of her neck.
• The female criminal's entire figure is obscured unlike in manga which the female criminal's figure is naked and only her face is obscured.
• In the anime, Conan simply hides under Kogoro's outer shirt while in the manga he hides in Kogoro's yukata.

See also

• Season 13