Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"So what method did the murderer use?"

The four children and Princess Ann used a simple brain teaser to determine that Mitsuhiko and Rize had better logical abilities, so the task of finding clues was entrusted to them. Ayumi, Genta and Princess Ann pretended to look for cards to confuse the three suspects.

Mitsuhiko pinched his chin and imagined a scene of a shelf collapsing.

"Normally, the bottom remains still and the top falls, so you either push the bottom or pull the top." As the think tank of the three-person team before Conan and Haibara Ai came, Mitsuhiko immediately deduced the approximate location of the clue.

"This shelf is too heavy, and it's against the wall. I can't push it from the bottom, so I can only pull it from the top." Li Shi glanced at the first three layers of the shelf.

Because the body had been taken away, the shelf that was previously pressing on Isuke was now put aside. The two children approached the shelf little by little and took out the magnifying glass of their mobile phones.

"Mitsuihiko, look!"

Rize enlarged the picture she had taken, and then turned the screen to Mitsuhiko: "There are obvious scratches on the second layer of the shelf. You can tell at a glance that it is newly scratched."

After finding the clue, the two simply looked at the lazy guy over there and went to seek help separately.

"Hey, we found the scratch. That's great." Conan clapped his hands twice, and his affirmative look made Mitsuhiko understand that this guy must have deduced the truth about the collapse of the shelf a long time ago.

"Damn it, I was thinking of coming up with a clue that would surprise you, Conan."

"I'm really surprised." Conan, who felt that he had just been perfunctory, chuckled, "Although I guessed how that guy did it, I didn't check it myself. It's amazing that you found evidence."

In the corner beside her, Huihara Ai looked at Rize who was thinking hard, and said calmly: "It's not enough just like that. In addition to figuring out how the murderer pulled down the shelf, you also have to determine the murderer's identity. You should be able to do it."

"Hey, you're making things too difficult for a child..." Conan came over from the side, but was immediately driven away by Haibara Ai with a glare.

"Damn it, this woman will definitely be the kind of cue ball that drives her kids crazy in the future." Facing Haibara's deathly gaze, Conan moved back to Kuroba Kaito little by little.

"Great Detective, that police officer isn't really going to let a few kids help him solve the case, is he?" Kuroba Kaito checked the time: "Otherwise, tell me the answer and I'll solve the case."

"You haven't figured it out yet?!" Conan looked at Kaito in disbelief: "How is that possible?"

"This kind of puzzle is so boring. I didn't even think about it." Kuroba Kaito curled his lips: "But I understand it now."

"A moment?"

"Not that fast, maybe two minutes..." Kuroba Kaito put his hands on his hips and said, "It seems like I have to take on the title of Heisei Sherlock Holmes."

"asshole…"

Without mentioning the two quarreling people, Rize continued to reason in the corner.

"Hmm..." The girl secretly stared at the suspect out of the corner of her eye.

"It's impossible, Mr. Yotsuba. He was in the bathroom when the shelf collapsed. Although he could have set up many mechanisms to achieve the purpose of pulling down the shelf, we were all nearby at the time and it's impossible for us not to have seen it."

The girl first ruled out the rich second generation and focused her attention on Nitta and his followers.

"I think it should be Mr. Nitta." After thinking for a moment, Rize gave her answer.

"Why?" Huibara Ai smiled secretly.

"Because when Genta and Ayumi Mitsuhiko were with Mr. Nitta before, he seemed to have deliberately asked the three of them to go aside."

Rize first gave a half-guessed reason, and then said, "Also, when the fire started, Mr. Nitta could have walked directly to the open space on the side, but he walked to the side of the gentleman opposite."

She had paid attention to many people when she was on Hachijo Island. When faced with dangerous situations, most people would panic and not know where to go. Only those who were used to it, like her family, would remain calm. "Most people would definitely go to where there is no one, or squeeze into the right gate, but he went to the opposite side. Maybe he had the shelves tied to his back."

Although the shelf is heavy, the top is easy to pull and it is relatively easy to pull down.

"Am I right?" Rize asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Huiyuan Ai snorted, then put her hand on the girl's head and rubbed it: "Very well done!"

"Yes!" Rize clenched her fist excitedly: "I'll go tell Officer Takagi now..."

"No need." Huihara Ai pointed to Officer Chiba who came back to the store panting and said, "It looks just right."

"Takagi, we have determined that Isuke's cause of death was multiple blows to the brain."

Officer Chiba took out a can of luminol spray from his pocket while a group of children stared at him in amazement.

"And what you want."

Officer Takagi and Officer Chiba high-fived each other, and then they both looked at the three suspects at the same time.

"The murderer attacked the criminal's brain several times during the chaos. Judging from Isuke's body, blood spurted out of his head when he died. Although there wasn't much, and we couldn't even see it from the murderer's body, the luminol spray can tell us the answer."

After saying that, Takagi walked up to Yotsuba and sprayed the legs of the three people one by one. Soon, a fluorescent reaction appeared on Nitta's legs.

"Mr. Nitta, you were the first person to come into close contact with Isuke after the smoke alarm went off. I don't think you have anything to say."

"So what? It's true that I've been in contact with him, so it's not normal to have blood on my legs."

Nitta's expression became visibly ferocious. "As for whether anyone had contact with him before me, I don't care. Whoever said that I was the last person he saw before he died, it must be me who killed him! Tell me clearly, how did I make the shelf fall down!"

“So, in the end, we have to rely on these children.”

Officer Takagi saw Rize being pushed out by Haibara Ai, and mustered up the courage to repeat the part he had just reasoned, then pointed at Nitta: "The string used to pull the shelf must still be on you. You have been here the whole time, and you have no chance to throw it away!"

"Nitta, please let us search you!"

The two policemen were still talking when Nitta rushed towards them and rushed towards the girl from the middle. But whether it was Kaito who took out the poker gun or Conan who pressed the button of his belt, their final action was not as fast as Haibara Ai.

With the same football belt and electric shoes, Dr. Agasa's specially made firework football hit Nitta in the face, knocking him against the wall and collapsing an entire wall and half of the roof, causing the guests on the second floor to be shocked and look down through the hole.

"It's just a kick, there's no need to use a firework football, right?" Conan complained about Huibara and glared at Kaito: "She's not really your illegitimate daughter, and you don't even care about her identity being exposed?"

"Nonsense!" x2
While the three were talking, Tokuizumi, carrying a rifle, walked in from outside amid the horror of the police. He glanced at Nitta, and then walked up to Rize despite Conan's doubts.

"It's okay. That little lady kicked the ball too fast."

"Ah, nothing." Li Ze shook his head: "Why are you here?"

"The master was worried when he went back, so he asked me to protect you secretly." Dequan patted the girl on the head: "He is the grandfather from this morning, Miss Kaori's biological grandfather."

"Thank you, grandpa. Thank you, uncle." Rize thanked them obediently and hid behind Haibara Ai.

Beside Tokuizumi, Conan knocked on the rifle he was holding with his hand, and after confirming that it was the real thing, he suddenly turned his head and squinted at Haibara Ai and Kuroba Kaito.

"Are you hiding something from me?" (End of this chapter)