70: Chapter 70: Human Horned Tyrannomon

"Attorney Kisaki! What are you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doing here?!"

Coming out of the restroom, Inspector Megure was surprised to see Eri Kisaki standing there with Ran and Conan.

Eri explained, glancing at Ran, then back at Megure.

"Speaking of which, Inspector Megure... it is Inspector now, isn't it..."

She paused, then continued,

"How is the investigation progressing?"

"We've already narrowed down the suspects,"

Megure nodded.

"Based on Detective Fujino's reasoning, we're certain the killer is one of the few people who entered the restroom after the victim went in, but before the body was discovered."

He scratched the back of his head.

"The tricky part ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is figuring out exactly who entered the restroom during that specific timeframe..."

"Inspector Megure! I noticed who went into the restroom after the victim!"

"Conan-kun, are you sure you noticed?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Conan nodded confidently.

Although Megure wondered why a little boy would be paying such close attention to who was using the restroom, he followed Conan's lead.

Guided by Conan, Megure gathered all the individuals who had entered the restroom between the time Himeno Yayoi went in and when her body was discovered.

Once assembled, the potential suspects began explaining their reasons for being at the coffee shop.

There were four suspects in total:

Sumeragi Yuichi, a university student supposedly working on his thesis.

Kisaki Eri, who was meeting her daughter.

Tonoyama Juuzo, who claimed he was just chatting with the owner and happened to have a bandaged hand.

And Wakaoji Shiro, who was there on a date.

Classic four-person lineup.

Surveying the four suspects, Megure leaned close to Fujino and whispered,

"Fujino-kun, do you know who the killer is?"

"I already know,"

Fujino nodded.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Fujino slowly raised his hand and pointed directly at the tallest suspect.

"Tonoyama Juuzo! You're the one who murdered Ms. Himeno!"

His accusation immediately drew all eyes to Tonoyama.

Conan blinked, surprised, but didn't look at Tonoyama.

Instead, he shot Fujino an extremely peculiar look.

"Hey, hey! Don't joke around! How could I possibly kill someone?!"

Tonoyama froze, then shouted defensively.

[Detective Time Activated: 59 Seconds Remaining]

"Still struggling?"

Hearing the system prompt, Fujino took a deep breath.

He held up the evidence bag containing the dagger.

"If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Tonoyama first killed Ms. Himeno inside the stall with this dagger. Then, he tied a cord to the end of the hilt. After tossing the body over the top of the stall partition, he pulled the cord and the dagger out together. This way, none of Ms. Himeno's blood got on him."

"Afterward, he untied the dagger from the cord and tossed it back into the stall. By doing this, he disguised a deliberate murder to look like an accidental killing during a robbery inside the stall."

"The only person capable of doing this, being the most physically imposing of the suspects and the last one seen leaving the restroom before the body was found, is you, Mr. Tonoyama."

So that's how it was!

Staring at the dagger in Fujino's hand, Conan had a sudden epiphany.

The pieces clicked together in his mind, leading to the same conclusion.

But then, a strange thought occurred to him.

How long has Fujino even been at the crime scene?

Probably less than ten minutes, right?

And he already figured out the method?

"Do you have any proof?!"

Tonoyama, now officially accused, protested loudly.

"Just because I was the last one in the restroom before the body was found doesn't make me a murderer!"

"Of course, there's proof,"

Fujino smirked, pointing to Tonoyama's bandaged hand.

"That bandage on your hand. If you used the bandage itself as the cord, it would likely be long enough..."

"Bandage?"

Conan paused, looking closely at the man's hand. He suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Wait, I remember seeing his hand earlier... wasn't that the finger that was bandaged?

He immediately piped up in his high-pitched voice,

"Arere~! Aren't wedding rings usually worn on the ring finger?"

Conan pointed innocently at Tonoyama's hand, looking confused.

"Mister, when you were in the shop earlier, wasn't the bandage wrapped around your ring finger? Why is it on your middle finger now? When did you switch it? Was it... inside the restroom?"

"If that's the case, Mr. Tonoyama, please remove the bandage and hand it over to the police for examination,"

Fujino smoothly followed up on Conan's observation.

"Logically, if that bandage was the cord used in the plan, it should have some traces of Ms. Himeno's blood on it."

He looked pointedly at Tonoyama Juuzo.

"But... are you willing to let the police examine it?"

[Angler King's Hat Effect Triggered]

"Damn it! I was so close!"

Tonoyama's expression suddenly twisted with rage.

"You two brats!"

He roared, lunging forward, hands clawing, aiming straight for Fujino and Conan.

"Go to hell!"

Nearby officers reacted, trying to intercept him.

But Tonoyama, nearly six foot three and built like a tank, easily shoved them aside.

Inspector Megure stepped forward, also attempting to intervene.

Tonoyama swatted him away with a powerful sweep of his arm, sending Megure stumbling back against the restroom wall with a grunt of pain.

"Look out!"

Just as Fujino was about to activate his system enhancements for a 'real man's showdown,' Ran's sharp cry rang out beside him.

Fujino glanced over just in time to see Ran blur into action with incredible speed, intercepting Tonoyama head-on.

She lashed out with a high kick aimed at Tonoyama's waist.

A dull thud echoed as Tonoyama grunted, staggering sideways.

Seizing the opportunity, Ran stabilized herself and unleashed a flurry of punches directly into Tonoyama's stomach.

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Through his enhanced perception glasses, Fujino clearly counted the blows...

Ten punches. Ten solid hits square in the gut!

Like a human Horned Tyrannomon!

After the rapid barrage, Ran paused briefly.

Then, she took a quick step back, launched herself forward, and delivered a flying kick straight to Tonoyama's face.

THWUMP!

With a heavy impact, Tonoyama was sent flying backward nearly two meters.

His large body crashed through the wooden door of a nearby stall, collapsing limply onto the toilet inside, completely knocked out.

"Hah!"

Having subdued Tonoyama, Ran took a deep breath.

She turned to Fujino and Conan with a gentle smile.

"Fujino-senpai, Conan-kun, are you okay?"