The Strange Family's Request

Chronology
‹ Hot, Bitter, Sweet Soup	List of Episodes	Ran's Suspicions ›

Episode 398-399 (Int. Episode {{{int-episode}}})
Information
Title:	The Strange Family's Request
Japanese title:	奇妙な一家の依頼 (Kimyou na Ikka no Irai)
Original airdate:	May 16, 2005 (Part 1) May 23, 2005 (Part 2)
Season:	14
Manga source:	Volume 46: File 11 (479) ~ Volume 47: File 3 (480-482)
Case
Cast:	Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri Ran Mouri Ai Haibara Inspector Megure Wataru Takagi Professor Agasa Gin Vodka Vermouth
Case solved by:	Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri
Staff
Director:	Masato Sato
Organizer:	398 Yuzo Aoki 399 Rokou Ogiwara
Storyboard:	398 Yuzo Aoki 399 Rokou Ogiwara
Episode director:	398 Minoru Tozawa 399 Rokou Ogiwara
Animation director:	398 Rei Masunaga 399 Hirobi Muranaka
Music
Opening song:	Hoshi no Kagayaki yo
Closing song:	June Bride ~Anata Shika Mienai~

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Kogoro Mouri Ran Mouri Ai Haibara Inspector Megure Wataru Takagi Professor Agasa Gin (background) Vodka (background) Vermouth (background)

Case

Situation

Part 1

Ran sends a message to Shinichi's phone only to find Conan's phone has also received the message causing her to suspect Conan of being Shinichi. A woman named Tomoko kariya hires Kogoro to search for her cellphone which contains messages of her affair. She attempted to call her phone and someone always hangs it up. She suspects that her either her father-in-law, brother-in-law, or husband has her phone. After questioning the three, Tomoko calls her phone and finds it and sends Kogoro away. While heading home, Conan learns from the news that Tomoko was found dead in her car after being stabbed and bludgeoned.

Murder
	Location: Temuzu River Victim: Tomoko kariya Cause of death: Blunt-force trauma Suspects: Daisaku kariya, Shigehide kariya, and Tsugutaka kariya Was stabbed and then killed by a blow to the head, same as a case 12 years earlier.

Kogoro, Ran, and Conan return to the kariya home with the police to investigate. The three have established alibis: The father was heard behind the shōji, the brother's shadow was seen by the shōji, and the husband's pipe smoking was smelt. After ruling out the man having an affair with Tomoko, the police's investigation leads them to believe the case is somehow related to a murder twelve years ago which was done by Eisuke kariya, the third family son who disappeared after being suspected for the murder of his fiancé.

Part 2

Murder (Past)
	Location: Phone-booth Victim: Motoka Aida Cause of death: Blunt-force trauma Suspects: Eisuke kariya Was stabbed and then killed by a blow to the head 12 years ago.

Conan reveals that the person who has the cellphone is obviously inexperienced with one. Since cellphones weren't popularized until a decade ago, the one who had the phone is Eisuke. Conan reveals that one of the three is hiding Eisuke.

People

Tomoko kariya
	Victim (beaten) 39 years old Kogoro Mouri's client Married to Tsugutaka

Daisaku kariya
	68 years old Head of kariya household

Shigehide kariya
	37 years old kariya's second son Author

Tsugutaka kariya
	42 years old kariya's eldest son Married to Tomoko Artist

Eisuke kariya
	kariya's third son Missing

Motoka Aida
	Deceased Eisuke's fiancé

Resolution

  Show spoilers »

The police rule out the father and husband leaving Shigehide Kariya, the brother-in-law, as their suspect. Conan points to the fact that Shigehide's books were old fashion and lacked cellphones raising the possibility that Eisuke is the one writing the novels for him. Eisuke reveals himself and confesses to stabbing his fiancée twelve years ago after learning of her affair. The police reveal that the fiancée was also bludgeoned to death, meaning Shigehide finished her off. After finding Tomoko's phone, they have the evidence to the murder. Shigehide confesses and reveals that twelve years ago, he was having an affair with Eisuke's fiancée and bludgeoned her when she told him she only intended to marry one of them for the money. As for Tomoko, she discovered Eisuke when she found her phone and used that information to blackmail Shigehide for murder and thus motivated his murder. Later that night, Ran grabs a hold of Conan's phone when he drops it in the car and checks to see the message she sent to Shinichi is there.

See also

• Season 14