Conan steps in saying Inspector Chiba is probably the murderer, since the "Chi" character ideogram in his name looks like an addition cross topped with a diagonal line going towards the left. And when Conan hides the line, it shows a cross, and when he hides the southmost and rightmost lines of the cross, it shows a triangle. Conan finds it strange, and Megure thinks about something having to do with "hiding a part". Conan says Takagi could also be the killer since the "Taka" ideogram character looks like a circle or square topped with a goal symbol, another circle or square, and finally a horizontal line with a perpendicular small line amidst. When Conan hides some parts of the ideogram, only a square or circle is shown. Sonoko says though she doesn't see any circles in the ideogram, and Conan answers many people in Japan write a circle instead of a square to save time when quickly writing a name with a square in it. He gives Agasa's name as an example : the "A" ideogram in "Agasa" usually contains a square, but Agasa always writes it as a circle. The professor would always tell Conan that, when people are in a hurry, they have no other choice but to make abbreviations. Megure instantly realises something while Sonoko tells Conan she swears Takagi and Chiba are innocent since she called them and they came after the murder...
Megure grabs the list and scans the names one after the other, and deduces the murderer is called Bunta Kuniyoshi. Conan smirks in satisfaction, and Sonoko and Jodie ask for an explanation, and Megure tells them that if they hide the upper halves of the "Bun" "Ta" and "Yoshi" characters, then it shows, from right to left, a triangle, cross and circle, the same order as on the envelope. Though, Sonoko finds quite far-fetched that a triangle was used for the "ta" character, but the inspector replies that, actuallyn when using prints it sure is far-fetched, but when writing it by hand, people tend to consider the small horizontal line at the bottom of the character as a full and long line they often confusingly fix to the two circumflex-like vertical lines just above, which gives a triangle most of the time. People usually do this, as Conan said, to make things quicker and easier. Sonoko still doesn't get it why Chujo would have only written the halves of his murderer's name's characters, and Megure replies actually he did write the name fully, but he did it while the killer was stealing the documents that were inside the envelope, then the only possible thing, in the dark, is that Chujo wrote the upper halves of the name on the document being stolen, instead of the envelope, and only the remaining parts were accordingly found on the top edge of the envelope. Since the killer ran away with the documents, then it's clear why the message seems so enigmatic. As for the square, Chujo actually wrote it inadvertently on the escalator's step, and left only a small mark on the left edge of the envelope, which is why it wasn't found at first. And the square is bigger than the other symbols because it is actually the full character for "Kuni", which wasn't split into halves then. In fact, Chujo was dying and he needed to be quick not to show his killer that he was writing a message, which accounts for why he only wrote the square, and not the character inside the square, hoping people would understand.
Sonoko acknowledges several people only write a square to refer to "Kuni", and Jodie praises "Jules Maigret's incredible investigating qualities". The police rush upstairs to the company in order to arrest Bunta Kuniyoshi. Jodie wonders where Ran has been, since it's quite late now. Sonoko thinks she's probably phoning Shinichi to ask him what "X" means, and then she and Jodie believe a love scene is probably occurring while at the phone. Ran turns up quite angry and blushing, asking what "I'll give you my precious X" means. She adds she is now aware of the meaning of X thanks to Takagi, and she tells Sonoko that whether Shinichi knows it as well or not isn't a problem, because he won't answer to such a question anyway. Sonoko says it's very unlikely he knows what it means, given he's a boy and he's got only a few elements. They all wonder where Conan has been now, as to him. Meanwhile, at the company's project development section, the police ask for Bunta Kuniyoshi to follow them for a few questions in a room nextdoors. He agrees, and Conan spots a paper shredder in the office and suddenly thinks about something. Megure tells Kuniyoshi about his findings, and the latter thinks it's rather too simplistic to make a murderer out of him. It's well possible the true killer used Chujo's own blood and finger to write that message to have Kuniyoshi accused of the crime, and then it wouldn't be a true dying message. He says if they want to hold him responsible, then they have to show him the documents that were stolen from Chujo, and prove he stole them indeed. He adds a killer and robber would have run away from the mall and burned the papers, instead of peacefully coming back to his office in the mall, to work. Conan shows up with Takagi and says they've found the papers in the shredder : Kuniyoshi tried to dispose of them doing so, but actually a shredder doesn't necessarily mixes up the shreds of paper, and actually the blood is still on it, and it's even easier to reassemble than a puzzle. They show the blood marks on the paper shreds, and say it perfectly matches the envelope's ones. If the police search carefully and take some time, they'll find all the remaining documents' shreds inside the shredder - provided he only used one - along with his fingerprints on it, and also on the gloves he discarded in the bathroom - once again provided he is indeed the one who shredded the papers.
Kuniyoshi admits he killed Chujo, saying he now gets it why his university comrades would always write his name using these four symbols. He said he started to divert money so as his family could live a little more comfortably, but afterwards it worked so well that he came to like it, and did more and more of it, and is now trapped into it, just like a mouse which ate too much and which can't go out anymore now. The police take Kuniyoshi away, and Conan joins Ran and co, asking them to tell him now what X means. Sonoko tells him to ask Ran about it : she's sending a message to Shinichi, and has eventually found the meaning. Conan asks her while she's over the moon, thinking about what and how she'll write to her friend. Ran blushes and feels overembarrassed as Conan startles her, and she answers she definitely can't tell him, it's impossible : this is the meaning, impossibility... Ran, Sonoko, and Conan eventually go back home and Jodie tells them to watch their step and mistrust stalkers. She then looks at them leaving, inwardly wondering if it's almost time to pick the apple... During the night, Conan can't get to sleep due to Kogoro's noisy snoring, and he has a look at Shinichi's phone which received Ran's text message, saying "Today we've been once again caught up in a murder case ! Really, I like wonder if we're not being jinxed or something, after all. The kind of case you love. I'll tell you more about it soon. Hurry up and return ! XXX". Reading this, Conan asks himself if Ran actually means he's an "impossible impossible impossible" boy ?
In a dark room only lit up by a computer's screen, next to a glass of alcohol, a smirking woman in babydoll is typing a mail to Gin, saying "Can you tell me please Gin, do you believe in heaven ? You must say coldly..."It's not like you to be so silly." Until we lift our glasses filled with rotten sherry, please find the answer. I can't wait... XXX". The woman then inwardly says X (Chu) means a kiss, it's feminine...expression of affection... Though, she thinks it could also be an evil stamp of hatred, and, saying so, she grabs a dart in an ashtray, kisses it, and slings it violently at a dartboard where three pictures are pinned at, and some others below, looking at it with a dark interest. The woman is revealed to be Vermouth/Chris Vineyard, who adds that X is where the fatal silver arrow shoots, it marks the target spot. The dart indeed hit the bulls-eye right at the center of the dartboard, right at the center of a huge X crossing out the picture of Shiho Miyano in her adult form and lab coat, right in the middle, and right into her head. Next to that picture, there are also two others featuring a happy and smiling Ran, nicknamed "Angel", and a clever-looking and hard-thinking Conan, nicknamed "Cool Guy".
