Falling for Someone Else
Meeting the curious stares of the others, Lisa saw no reason to string them along. She looked straight at Homma Kyouta and answered, "It's quite simple, really. Ever since you entered the crime scene, you've been avoiding looking at the body."
She paused, then continued, "These two, on the other hand—though they were clearly frightened, they couldn't help sneaking a few curious glances at the victim now and then." She gestured toward the other two suspects, whose expressions shifted subtly, as if she had read the very thoughts in their hearts.
Lisa's gaze returned to Homma Kyouta. "And above all, when you happened to glance at the victim, your eyes betrayed a flicker of hostility and resentment you couldn't suppress. All of that tells me you knew the victim—and that there was serious bad blood between you."
"Meanwhile, it's obvious that none of the others knew the victim at all. So the conclusion that you are the murderer of this case follows quite naturally, doesn't it?"
Silence fell over the room. The other two suspects let out visible sighs of relief, each privately thanking their lucky stars that they weren't the killer.
"So that's how it was..." Homma Kyouta murmured, the truth dawning on him. It was because he hadn't kept his own expression in check.
He lowered his head and laughed softly. But in truth, even if he could do it all over again, he doubted he would have managed any better. Facing the man who had ruined his life, the hatred burning in his chest had simply been too fierce. He had known perfectly well what was at stake—yet the moment his eyes had accidentally landed on his enemy's corpse, that uncontrollable surge of resentment had come boiling up anyway. No amount of discipline could have hidden it completely.
At that thought, Homma couldn't help but marvel: That young lady was right. Turning myself in really was the best choice for me.
Now, even if he might face the judgment of the law, at least his heart had finally found a peace it hadn't known in years.
So that's how it was... Conan thought with a helpless sigh.
Which means Lisa never actually found any decisive evidence. Her way of cracking a case really is just like Xia Xi's used to be. They must be genuinely close—no wonder their methods are so alike.
Still, solving a case without a shred of evidence, purely by talking the culprit into turning himself in? He had honestly never seen a detective work like that before.
With the culprit caught, the case came to a close. On the way back, the group somehow drifted onto the subject of Kudou Shinichi.
"My~ I've heard Xia Xi mention that high school detective too," Lisa said, casting a sidelong glance at the Conan by her feet, a flicker of interest in her voice. "I heard he's gone missing?"
"Oh, no, no." Sonoko waved her hand. "That idiot detective just gets so obsessed with cases that he's always away on business, that's all."
Conan had gone tense the moment Lisa mentioned his name.
What if she knows the Black Organization fed Kudou Shinichi the APTX4869? No—even if she only knows the Black Organization ever laid a hand on Kudou Shinichi at all. As far as the organization is concerned, Kudou Shinichi is already dead.
And if she now hears Sonoko say he hasn't actually vanished, she's bound to notice something's off—and start suspecting Kudou Shinichi.
"Yeah, he hasn't shown up at all..." Ran nodded, her eyes dimming for a moment. But she quickly pulled herself together. "Still, I believe Shinichi will come back! He said he would, and if he said it, he'll do it!"
"My, my—" Lisa shook her head and let out a long sigh, her face full of disapproval. "A boy really shouldn't be allowed to get away with this."
"Ran, sweetie, a girl mustn't be too understanding."
Oblivious to the wounded glare Conan was sending up at her from below, Lisa pressed on with her advice. "Ran, sweetie, if you're too much of a pushover, he'll slowly start taking everything you do for granted. Unless there's some extraordinary circumstance, a Kudou boy who stays gone this long clearly doesn't care about you enough. Honestly—does it never worry him that you might fall for someone else?"
"Fall for someone else?! I would never..." Ran began, then stopped herself.
She lowered her head, cheeks flushing faintly. Admitting her feelings out loud in front of everyone still embarrassed her.
"Now, now, that's the wrong way to think about it, Ran, sweetie."
Lisa waggled her index finger at her, correcting her notions. "Everyone has their own heart and their own right to choose. If someone truly finds themselves drawn to another person, there's nothing wrong with that at all! Which is why, in an unhappy romance, moving on to someone new can actually be a chance to grow and discover who you really are~"
"And besides, a certain somebody really ought to do some soul-searching. If a girl as adorable as Ran ever did fall for someone else, could he honestly say he'd bear no blame whatsoever?"