Reincarnated into Case Closed!!

The Debut of the Great Detective (Part 4)

I seriously considered complaining to Ran about Conan.

Maybe if I did, Ran would get mad at him and he'd beg for forgiveness and we'll be best friends forever!!!

...Yeah, right. That's never going to happen. Conan is WAY too stubborn when he wants to be. Plus, he doesn't trust me AT ALL. 

I have to do this the hard way.

"If Shinichi were here, maybe he would've solved this case with no problem..." I heard Ran mumble. "I wonder where that detective-geek is..."

"He'll...I bet he'll..." Conan started to say. "He'll be back soon! Don't worry!"

Ran blinked once. "Hm?"

"I...uh, that's what I think..." Conan finished.

"Haaah...." I sigh. Could he make himself even more obvious?

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU!? I'VE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE!!!" A loud shout suddenly came from the living area where Yuko Ikezawa sat. "Do you have any proof that I did it!?"

Kogoro opened his mouth. "Your earring was–"

"I lost that!" Yuko interrupted. "Maybe Yoko was the one that STOLE it..."

"Huh!? Yuko–"

"Hmph! Who knows..." Yuko grabbed the statue that was sitting next to her and lit it up, using it as a lighter for her cigarette. Chance!

"In any case–" 

"Wow! I didn't know this was a lighter!" I say, interrupting Yuko and butting in before Conan could do so. "I thought it was a statue!"

Ran jumped up and hurried over to where I was. "Irene–"

"Who's the brat?" Yuko asked. Um, rude.

"You're amazing! You knew this was a lighter..." I say. "Even though you've never been here before!"

"!?"

Megure and Kogoro sat up with realization on their faces. Hah, gotcha.

"The girl's right. How did you know?" Megure interrogated.

Yuko started sweating. "Uh... I saw the exact same thing at a... friend's house."

"Which friend is that? I'll have my men go check it out."

"Uh... um–"

"Excuse me, where's the bathroom?" Conan suddenly asked Yoko. 

"Right down the hall..." Oh, forgot to point to that Yuko knew where the bathroom was too. Well, I can't have the entire spotlight to myself...

"Wait a second!!!" Kogoro started asking a lot of questions before he got her to say the exact words that I wanted to hear. 

"I didn't kill him! I fought him off because he ATTACKED ME! I didn't kill him!" the woman cried out. She breathed out, like the heavy hands of guilt had finally let go of her shoulders. 

"Attacked you?"

"Here in this room?" Megure asked. 

Yuko flinched. "Yes..."

"So you have been here," the inspector squinted his eyes at the woman who looked like she wanted to run away.

"Yes, I have!" Yuko screamed in desperation. "With the spare key I stole at the studio!"

"Yuko-san..." Yoko looked at her rival in disbelief.

Yuko blinked and started to explain. About how she was the one who was harassing Yoko because of the role that she 'stole' from Yuko. How she was the one that was making all the silent phone calls and the secret camera pictures. She finally got to the part where she broke into Yoko's apartment to see if there was anything that she could use to create a scandal.

"But when I came in this afternoon, that man came, too..." she said. "I fought against him with all my strength, and I somehow escaped."

"I see..." Inspector Megure mumbled. "And that's where your earring fell off..."

"Hmph," Kogoro crossed his arms. "So you didn't get carried away and kill him?"

"I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T KILL HIM, DIDN'T I!?!?" Yuko looked close to tears. She might've actually cried if some other officers hadn't burst in with some news.

"Inspector!!" one of them called out. "We've verified the identity of the victim!"

Inspector Megure's head turned at the sound of his colleagues' voice. "Oh, good!"

The officer brought out a piece of paper, along with a picture. I shuffled over to get a closer look, and it was indeed the face of the deceased man.

"Fujie Akiyoshi, age 22," the officer started to say. "After graduating from Kounan High, he went to work at the Kakubeni Corporation. He recently left the corporation and––"

"Kounan High??" Kogoro butt in. He turned to the horror-stricken Yoko. "Isn't that the school where Yoko-san went to?"

The manager, (who I've forgotten was there in the first place), laughed nervously. "I-it must be a coincidence, right Yoko??"

Yoko looked down and stood still for a solid second. 

The manager cleared his throat and tried again. "Right...?"

"I..I..." Yoko's voice trembled slightly. "I know him!" 

"What!?" Inspector Megure exclaimed. 

"Yoko?" the manager let out a pitiful squeak.

The pop star sighed. "I know him...because..."

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath. 

"In high school..." Yoko continued. "We were...dating."

"WHAT!?!?" Everybody shouted. Oh yeah, that did happen in the manga.

"Yoko!!" the manager looked ready to run away the minute he got his chance.

"I'm sorry, Yamagishi-san!" Yoko folded her arms and shut her eyes tight. "But I can't hide it any longer!"

"So you killed him to settle your relationship.." Megure said to Yoko.

Yoko's eyes widened. "N-no, I didn't! He was the one who dumped ME, back in high school..."

The frightened girl took a deep breath, then continued on. "But, when I became a famous idol, he kept stopping by, asking if we could get back together. I moved here to get away from him. So when I saw the face of the body, I knew it was him right away. But the thing is, Yamagishi-san kept me from saying so."

Yoko wiped a few tears away. "But the fact that he's here, I have no idea!"

"Yoko..." Yamagishi looked at the idol with a worried look.

"Please tell me!!" Yoko burst out. "Who killed him!?"

Megure blinked in surprise. "I-I don't know..."

Across the room, I saw Conan looking around the crime scene––probably looking for clues.

He walked around the blood and carefully scanned the floor. I make my way over to his side right before he got on all fours to look at the indent on the ground.

I could practically hear the gears in his mind turning as I watched him get up and turn his head to look at the only standing chair. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Did you figure it out yet?" I couldn't help but ask. 

Conan squinted his eyes at me. "Did you know from the start?"

Oops, he's sharp. "Not really. Just asking." Maybe that's believable enough.

He sighs. "Well, all I have to do is somehow tell that idiot, and hopefully it'll work out."

"This time..." Kogoro said. Right on cue, I thought. "This time, I've got it!"

"Wait, no–" Conan turned towards him. 

"The murderer is..." Kogoro said. "Manager Yamagishi!"

Everyone except for Conan and I. We were just looking at the detective with exasperated faces.

"Looks like we have to clean up this mess," I say to the boy beside me with a smirk.

The only answer I got was a growl.