The Case Is Solved
Alhaitham had been right about one thing: this case had little to do with him, and the officers at the door had no grounds to stop him from leaving. Hattori Heiji could only watch, irritation simmering, as the man vanished through the doorway of the practice room.
"Seriously? Since when is this guy such an arrogant piece of work?"
Heiji had learned from Conan that Alhaitham was a member of the Black Organization, but going by Conan's description, he'd pictured a mild-mannered, bookish researcher. He hadn't expected the man's personality to be this... this insufferably full of itself.
With an attitude like that, Heiji grumbled to himself, the guy can't be too popular inside the Organization.
"Heiji, you know Alhaitham?" Toyama Kazuha asked, catching the complaint that had slipped out of his mouth.
Conan's eyes snapped toward Heiji, sharp as a blade. Just as I thought—this guy's mouth can't be trusted. Thankfully Alhaitham's already gone, or he might have gotten suspicious.
"Ah... no, nothing like that," Heiji said with a few awkward laughs. "I just— I just think his personality leaves something to be desired. Didn't mean anything by it, haha."
"Alhaitham is a brilliant scholar from our country. I happened to hear he was in Japan, so I thought of asking for his help with the stage arrangements this time," Nilou cut in. Sensing that everyone seemed uncomfortable with the topic, and guessing they might have the wrong impression of him, she hurried to explain. "He really is a wonderful person."
The others exchanged noncommittal glances.
The moment Alhaitham left the room, Haibara finally let out a breath of relief. She stopped hiding behind Conan and Genta, though she still kept as much distance from Amuro Tooru—no, from Okiya Subaru—as she could manage.
Hearing Nilou mention that she and Alhaitham came from the same country, the children's curiosity flared up at once. Ayumi darted over to her side. "Nilou-neechan, which country are you from? And—and how did you two meet?"
"We're both from Snezhnaya—ah, we call it our homeland," Nilou said, looking down at Ayumi with a smile. As for how they had met... "Our country has a national research institute, and its highest leader is called the Grand Sage. Once, he and I worked together to throw the Grand Sage into prison—that's how we met. Alhaitham even served as the Acting Grand Sage for a while, you know."
It was only when she noticed the odd looks the others were giving her that Nilou realized they'd overheard, and she quickly added, "Um... that was only because the Grand Sage did something terrible first. That's the only reason we did what we did."
Conan: "......"
That wasn't why his expression had gone strange just now. He simply hadn't expected that Nilou—a dancer who looked so gentle and delicate—had actually taken part in an operation that sounded dangerous the moment you heard it. Truly, appearances could be deceiving.
And the Acting Grand Sage, of all things...
He hadn't realized Alhaitham had been such a formidable figure in the past.
Which meant that Heiji, that idiot, had failed to dig up even a piece of intel this important.
Feeling Kudo's gaze boring into him with quiet accusation, Heiji shifted uncomfortably.
Oh, come on. That's hardly my fault. There's no way I could have uncovered the internal affairs of some foreign country on this short notice.
The children, naturally, weren't thinking that deeply. From Nilou's story, all Ayumi and the others took away was that Alhaitham and Nilou-neechan were amazing people who had chased off the bad guys.
Even Haibara, having heard Alhaitham's history, found her fear temporarily crowded out by curiosity, and she posed her question in a carefully childlike tone. "For a while'? Nilou-neechan, does that mean Alhaitham isn't the Acting Grand Sage anymore? Why not?"
"According to him, it's because he didn't want to be dragged into troublesome work—and because the title of Acting Grand Sage would only bring him more trouble... Yes, I believe that's how he put it," Nilou answered, tilting her head as she lifted a finger to her cheek in thought.
Heiji turned his face away and muttered through gritted teeth, Damn it. That guy showed off again without even trying!
"It does sound like exactly the sort of thing Alhaitham-san's personality would produce," Okiya Subaru remarked mildly.
......
With the small talk out of the way, everyone's attention returned to the matter at hand.
Alhaitham, as Nilou's friend, had treated Murata Youko with a noticeably pointed attitude, and Murata Youko had clearly been colder toward Nilou than Mizuno Ai or Barbara had been. For those reasons, most of the officers had concentrated their investigation on her.
Up to this point, Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan had been just as suspicious of Murata Youko.
Amid Murata Youko's flustered demeanor, and with Kamisato Ayaka's full cooperation, the police began using the security footage to reconstruct the timeline and movements of every suspect leading up to the incident.
The needle hidden in Nilou's dancing shoes was the same kind as the sewing needles in the costume room—and the only person who had entered that room today was Murata Youko, a member of the staff.
Then Nilou recalled something further: she had told Murata Youko beforehand that a friend of hers would be coming by, and that she might not be in the practice room around midday.
Murata Youko's suspicion deepened sharply.
There was still no direct evidence, but by now everyone was fairly certain the culprit was Murata Youko herself.
And her psychological defenses were evidently not strong. After only a few pointed questions from the police, she broke down and confessed everything.