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Half an hour later.
Two panda police cars, flashing their red and blue lights, pulled up in front of Cupido Sakura Tower.
Inspector Megure arrived in a hurry, flanked by his subordinates, Sato Miwako and Takagi Wataru, along with the forensic team.
"I see... So when you returned here, this man was already dead?" Megure asked after a brief round of questioning, piecing together the sequence of events.
"Y-yes..."
Yoko Okino's voice trembled noticeably.
Even now, seeing the lifeless body on the floor sent shivers down her spine.
"Who was with you at the time?" Megure continued his routine questioning.
Of course, this was also a crucial step in ruling out Yoko Okino as a suspect.
"My manager, Mr. Yamagishi, was with me," she replied. "And also a private detective I hired, along with a high school girl."
"A detective?" Megure immediately honed in on the key detail. "Why did you hire a detective? What were you investigating?"
"Lately, I've noticed someone following me," Yoko explained. "So... I hired a detective to look into it.
But the moment we opened the door, we found this..."
She glanced at the corpse again out of the corner of her eye.
Come to think of it... Maybe the case was already solved. If nothing else, the man lying there was likely the stalker who had been watching her.
"So, where is this detective?" Megure asked. "And the high school girl you mentioned?"
He scanned the crime scene, but apart from Yoko and her manager, Yamagishi Ei, there was no sign of the other two people involved.
"They... should be in my bedroom," Yoko said, suddenly feeling anxious.
She started frantically recalling all the private things she didn't want anyone to see.
"Takagi!" Megure barked. "What the hell are you doing?! How could you let key witnesses wander around a crime scene?!"
The veins on Megure's forehead bulged in frustration.
He was already drafting a 2,000-word reprimand for Takagi in his mind.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom...
"Akira, are we really supposed to be doing this?" Ran Mouri asked, shifting uncomfortably.
On the way here, she had been excited at the thought of seeing her idol's room. But now that she was actually inside without permission, it felt a bit wrong.
Despite her guilt, her eyes eagerly scanned every corner of the room.
She had to admit…
Yoko Okino's room was amazing!
With its pristine white color scheme and minimalist decor, it was exactly what she envisioned as the ultimate dream bedroom.
"What's the problem?" Akira said casually. "Don't forget, Yoko Okino hired us to investigate her stalker. We're just doing our job."
Ran rolled her eyes.
Tch. This guy really thinks he's a detective?
More like an opportunist using the investigation as an excuse to snoop on a celebrity's personal life.
"Hmm... A graduation photo from Kōnan High School… A new drama directed by Keiko Yamato…"
Sure enough!
A woman's deepest secrets are often hidden in her most private sanctuary.
Akira had only taken a quick glance around, but he had already spotted two things that could be troubling Yoko.
"Damn?!"
"What are you doing here?!"
Sato Miwako stormed into the room, intending to drag out the two unauthorized intruders wandering around a crime scene.
And then…
She saw Akira.
"Wait, wait, wait—" she exclaimed. "Don't tell me… You're the detective Yoko Okino hired?!"
Her gaze shifted from Akira to Ran, and the answer became obvious.
"Freelancing," Akira replied nonchalantly, stepping out of the room.
Nobody noticed that as he brushed past the dressing table, he discreetly swiped Yoko Okino's high school graduation photo.
"Freelancing, huh?" Sato muttered. "Or maybe just a con artist?"
Akira's identity was getting harder and harder to pin down.
A skilled fighter who subdued an armed robber, the manager of a convenience store in 5-chome, a rich kid driving a Ferrari, and now… a detective involved in a murder case?
Akira smirked. "Since when do the violent crimes division chase after scammers?"
"That depends on your behavior," Sato shot back, deciding not to expose him—at least not right now.
Unlike Takagi, she wasn't a rookie.
Right now, the priority was solving this murder case in Yoko Okino's apartment.
"I spent the whole day at CLOVER Convenience Store," Akira said. "At 8 PM, I got a call from Ran and went to the Mouri Detective Agency. From there, we came straight here with Yoko Okino."
"Ran was at CLOVER from 6 PM to 8 PM," he added. "Which means we both have solid alibis for the time of the murder."
Having been in this world long enough, Akira had already picked up some of that famous "Conan logic."
No need for the police to ask—he had already laid out a rock-solid alibi for both himself and Ran.
"So that means..." Megure mused, eyeing Akira for a moment. "You two have nothing to do with the murder."
Well, if every suspect could prove their innocence this easily, solving cases would be a breeze.
"So... We can leave now?" Akira turned to Yoko Okino with a grin. "Miss Yoko, I guess we've found your stalker, huh?"
As he spoke, he gestured toward the white outline on the floor in the living room.
The body had already been removed by the police, but there was no doubt the man who had been tormenting Yoko was the one who had died here tonight.
"Yeah..." Yoko nodded. "I'm really sorry you had to get caught up in all this."
She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to send the rest of your payment to the Mouri Detective Agency in a few days."
Akira snapped his fingers.
Perfect!
That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
"....."