Chapter 24 Sato: I Am Not a Chauffeur

"Recently, every time I come home, I find that my furniture has been moved. I’ve also been receiving some inexplicable photos. Every day, I get silent phone calls; it’s truly terrifying."

After Yoko Okino sought out Kogoro Mouri and he learned that his idol was being stalked by an unknown person, Mouri was uncharacteristically furious. He immediately accepted the case, accompanying Yoko home to conduct a secret investigation. Ran, seeing her father’s unreliable, fanboyish behavior, was deeply concerned. Making an excuse to see her idol’s apartment, she followed along, and naturally, she wouldn’t leave Conan home alone.

When Yoko opened the door to her apartment, she let out a piercing scream.

"Was this man already dead when you returned?" After arriving, Inspector Megure first took photos of the deceased on the floor before questioning Yoko and the others.

"Yes, he was already dead here when we arrived," Yoko replied.

"Do you recognize the victim?" Inspector Megure asked.

"Let me take a look." Eiichi Yamagishi glanced at the body, his pupils contracting slightly. Losing his footing, he stepped into a puddle on the floor and stumbled directly onto the corpse. After scrambling up, Yamagishi said, "I don't recognize him. Yoko, you don't know him either, right?"

Yoko nodded.

Inspector Megure asked, "Do you have a spare key?"

"Mr. Yamagishi does have a spare key," Yoko said.

"Then the killer must be you, Eiichi Yamagishi!" Kogoro Mouri declared.

"It wasn't me!" Yamagishi raised his hands in a panic, stammering, "I do have a spare key, but I lost it a few days ago." Yamagishi’s eyes darted away. He had lost his spare key after meeting Masakazu. Yoko seemed to recall something as well, her eyes narrowing.

Conan frowned as he looked at Yoko and Yamagishi, sensing they were hiding something. While investigating the room, Conan and the police found several items and brought in Yuko Ikezawa, another idol, to question her. It turned out she was skilled at picking locks to steal dirt on her peers; when she went to Yoko's apartment to do just that, this man had grabbed her from behind, and she had barely managed to escape. Furthermore, the identity of the deceased was eventually confirmed.

Yoko admitted that he was her boyfriend from high school.

Conan paced the room, feeling that things were not so simple. He asked in his high-pitched, childish voice, "Uncle Yamagishi, why didn't you change the locks after losing the spare key for so long? I remember once when my mom lost her keys, she changed the locks the same day, fearing that a bad person might find them."

Hearing Conan's words, a flash of inspiration hit Kogoro Mouri. He now believed he knew the truth.

"So the killer is you after all! You must have killed him, placed him in Ms. Yoko's home, and tried to frame her. As for the story about the lost key, that was just a lie, right?" Mouri grabbed Yamagishi by the collar.

Yamagishi protested indignantly, "I didn't!"

"If you didn't, why didn't you warn Ms. Yoko to change the locks?"

"Because I thought no one would find it, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to find the address," Yamagishi explained.

Mouri roared, "Do you think I'd believe such a ghost story?"

Pressed to the wall and struggling, Yamagishi finally gritted his teeth and said, "Yoko and I discovered the key was missing after we met with Master Masakazu. I thought he had picked it up, so I..."

"So what if he picked it up? Couldn't you have asked him for it back?" Mouri asked.

Yamagishi glanced at Ran and Conan. *Are you sure you want me to be that explicit in front of your daughter and son?*

Mouri seemed to realize something, and he instantly flew into a rage. "The killer must be Masakazu Sumitomo!" he declared angrily. "Inspector Megure, find that guy immediately! He is definitely the killer!"

Inspector Megure wiped sweat from his forehead and said, "Mouri, don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. There's no reason for Mr. Masakazu to commit murder at Ms. Yoko's place. By the way, is the air conditioning in your home always set this high?"

"He is definitely the killer!" Mouri continued to yell.

Yamagishi was stunned. *Isn't it rumored that Kogoro Mouri is a lackey of Master Masakazu? Why is he turning on his master?* Yamagishi felt deeply uneasy.

Sitting on the sofa, Yuko remarked coldly, "Ms. Yoko Okino is a famous idol, after all. When Master Masakazu wanted to enter the entertainment industry, you were the first person he sought out. It's a pity you refused him. But now that such a scandal has occurred, I suppose Master Masakazu won't be interested in you anymore."

Mouri’s spirits lifted again. He shouted, "Doesn't that give him a motive? That guy must have been so humiliated after being rejected by Ms. Yoko that he killed her high school boyfriend to intimidate her. After all, that guy has a history of this."

Inspector Megure looked at Mouri, speechless. *Don't talk nonsense. In the case of Ms. Reika Yotsui's death, the killer was clearly Takashi Ichieda. You solved that case yourself—what now? Are you going to overturn your own case and try to convict Masakazu instead?*

"Go summon Masakazu," Inspector Megure ordered Sato. It was already nearly evening; he wondered if the man would even be willing to come.

At Masakazu's home, Masakazu was helping Ai with her homework. Ai wrote rapidly, wanting to finish quickly so she wouldn't have to spend any more time with him.

*Ding-dong.*

"Coming."

"Hello, I am Miwako Sato. You are connected to a case; please cooperate and come with us for questioning," Sato said expressionlessly. This guy never came when summoned by phone; he required a private escort. Inspector Megure was patient enough with him, though—as long as he was willing to come, sending a police officer to pick him up was perfectly fine.

"Wait a moment." Masakazu turned back to the living room and said to Ai, "Stop the homework. The driver is here; let me take you out for something to eat."

Ai tilted her head in confusion. The living room wasn't far from the door. She had been eavesdropping; wasn't the person who arrived a police officer? When did they become a driver?

At the door, Sato’s face darkened. *When did I become your driver?*

After Masakazu pulled Ai into the back seat of the police car, he said to Sato, "Please take us to the Beika Hotel."