"?"
Gin was probably misunderstanding something.
After glancing again at the diplomat's corpse, Hayashi Yoshiki quickly realized the truth: Gin believed the assassination had been carried out by him—and was silently taking credit for Conan's success.
He thought for a moment and decided it was best to clarify. Otherwise, Gin might start assigning him even more tasks under false assumptions about his "efficiency"—something Hayashi Yoshiki did not want.
"I didn't do this. It was the diplomat's wife."
He edited the text, and then hit Send.
This time, Gin didn't reply.
Hayashi Yoshiki pocketed his phone and returned his attention to the scene in the study.
In front of Tsujimura Isao's lifeless body, Hattori Heiji had just lifted up Conan, scolding Ran Mouri:
"What's wrong with you? Why would you let a kid see something like this?"
"It's fine—Conan's quite mature for his age," Ran said.
"That's true," Hayashi Yoshiki added with a smile, gently taking Conan and setting him back on the floor."In fact, I think Conan's seen more corpses than I have."
"Huh?"
"Every time I run into Conan, there's a murder."
Conan's eyes widened—momentarily touched by Hayashi's defense—until he heard that. His face flushed with frustration, and he broke into a coughing fit.
Ran laughed nervously.
Meanwhile, Kogoro Mouri thoughtfully scratched his chin.
"Come to think of it... it's true. The murder rate has spiked lately. Most cases even start out as ordinary commissions."
"That's weird?" Heiji asked, puzzled.
As a detective who actively sought out mysteries, he found this all a bit strange. But his mood quickly rebounded, and he turned to Hayashi with enthusiasm:
"Perfect! Let's use this as a chance to see who's the better detective!"
Hayashi didn't respond directly. Instead, he looked at Ran:
"Ran, have you called the police?"
"Yes, I just did."
As they waited for Inspector Megure, Hattori Heiji enthusiastically examined the scene. He crouched down, carefully inspecting for clues—only to find Conan also bent over nearby, just as focused.
Heiji glanced sideways at the boy, not yet taking Hayashi's earlier comment seriously.
"The victim's lips are purple and his extremities are cold. It must have been poisoning."
"There's a small red dot at the hairline," Conan added."The murder weapon is the poison needle over there!"
"....."
Heiji blinked in surprise. That tone didn't sound like a child's.
Meanwhile, Hayashi Yoshiki, rather than rushing in, stood back calmly and chatted with Kogoro Mouri and Ran.
What the heck? He's being so careless!Heiji gritted his teeth.
Roughly twenty minutes later, Inspector Megure Juzo arrived with his team.
"Wow, what a crowd today! Even Brother Hayashi is here?"
Seeing Hayashi Yoshiki, Megure relaxed instantly.
"Any leads yet? Got a read on the case?"
"He hasn't done anything!" Heiji cut in before Hayashi could speak."I've been the one investigating. Ask me instead!"
"And who might you be?"
"That's Hattori Heiji," Hayashi interjected with a smile."He's a high school detective from Kansai—reputedly on par with Kudo Shinichi."
Hearing that name, Megure was taken aback. The son of Osaka's Superintendent Hattori Heizo? He adjusted his tone immediately, speaking to Heiji with newfound respect.
Still, Heiji was more focused on the case itself.
"The victim's symptoms—purple lips, cyanotic extremities, subconjunctival hemorrhaging—all point to suffocation. But there's no evidence of strangulation or drowning. That suggests neurotoxin-induced respiratory failure."
"Judging by the retained body heat and absence of rigor mortis, death likely occurred less than thirty minutes before we entered the study."
Heiji finished his deduction and glanced over at Hayashi, only to find him staring thoughtfully at Conan.
"Are you okay, Conan?"
"A little dizzy..." Conan admitted weakly.
"You should rest," Hayashi said gently, then turned to Tsujimura Kimie."Mrs. Tsujimura, would it be possible for Conan to lie down somewhere?"
"Of course… I'll have the butler take him to a guest room."
Conan was promptly led away by the housekeeper.
Once Heiji confirmed the room's location and realized that the scene was a locked-room murder, he excitedly pieced together his own theory.
There were only two keys to the study: one on Tsujimura Kimie, and the other in the pocket of the deceased.
Since Kimie had been at the Mouri Detective Agency at the estimated time of death, she had an alibi. Heiji hypothesized that the killer placed the key into the victim's pocket after the murder—but he couldn't yet figure out how.
"Mrs. Tsujimura, may I borrow the key you used to open the study?"
At that moment, Hayashi Yoshiki stepped forward, smiling calmly.
Kimie's expression changed.
"What are you up to?" Heiji asked warily.
"At first glance, this is clearly a locked-room mystery. But there's also a possibility—a psychological locked-room murder."
"Psychological?"
"In mystery novels, there's often a game between the author and the reader. After the crime scene is presented, the reader must deduce the truth before the final reveal."
Hayashi smiled at Heiji.
"But tell me, Hattori-kun—have you heard of a literary device called the narrative paradox?"
"Narrative subterfuge?" Heiji blinked."Sure. It's when the author misleads readers by hiding or twisting facts through the structure or voice of the narrative, right?"
"Exactly. It's based on the idea of the unreliable narrator—the reader only sees what the narrator chooses to show. And when that narrator is biased or dishonest, the entire truth becomes obscured."
Hayashi's gaze turned back to Tsujimura Kimie, his tone still gentle.
"If this case were a novel, Mrs. Tsujimura's method would be the perfect example of narrative subterfuge."
The method was simple.
She hadn't poisoned him earlier. She poisoned him in front of everyone.
When she approached to "wake him up," she discreetly jabbed him with the poison needle.
Her brilliance lay in exploiting the subconscious assumption: "No one would commit murder in front of detectives."
Everyone naturally ruled her out.
She had even prepared props like fishing lines, ready to add further red herrings. But none of them mattered now.
Because Hayashi Yoshiki had dismantled it all with just a few words.
When Kimie Tsujimura finally confessed, Hattori Heiji stared at Hayashi with wide eyes:
"...You saw through it from the beginning?!"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"You seemed really motivated. I thought I'd let you show off your skills a little."Hayashi smiled serenely."Besides... can an adult seriously compete with a high school student?"