Chapter 25: The Karaoke Murder Case

Upon arriving at the scene, Ji Yi found Ran, Sonoko, and the "Death God" elementary school student.

The victim had truly chosen a bleak path, inviting the Grim Reaper himself to a band celebration party. However, the murder of a lead singer from such a popular band was precisely the kind of case the police dreaded most. The level of public scrutiny was simply too high. At the thought of having to deal with media inquiries later, Ji Yi felt immensely annoyed.

He briefly questioned those present. Besides Conan and his companions, the others at the scene were the band’s drummer, Katsumi Yamada; the guitarist, Mieko Shizaki; the manager, Mari Terahara; and the karaoke bar owner, Gou Sumii.

The cause of death was the classic reliable: cyanide.

The cause was mundane, and the victim’s character was equally mundane—his specialty was indiscriminately spewing insults at everyone. Before he died, he had even requested highly insulting songs for each of his bandmates. The only one who hadn't been forced to sing, the bar owner Gou Sumii, had once been in a band with the victim before the victim was scouted by a record label, forcing him to open the karaoke bar instead.

Everyone had a motive. A luxurious "pick one out of four" scenario!

"Did the victim eat sushi last time?" Ji Yi looked at the food on the table.

"But I don't think the poison was in the sushi, because everyone could have eaten it." Conan, who had just been crawling on the floor looking for something, suddenly popped up from nowhere and tugged at Ji Yi’s sleeve with a syrupy, affected voice.

"..." Disgusted.

"The child is right," said the manager, Mari Terahara. "Unless the killer intended to kill indiscriminately, how could it be that only Tatsuya happened to eat the poisoned piece?"

If Conan weren't here, one couldn't simply rule out indiscriminate killing...

"Inspector, we found cyanide-laced face cream in the victim's car. Residual poison was also detected on the karaoke microphone and the elbows of the victim’s shirt," a forensics officer reported.

Are you trying to tell me it was suicide?

"Now that you mention it, he had been very irritable lately..." the drummer, Katsumi Yamada, began his scripted routine.

"And he kept complaining about how tired he was..." the manager, Mari Terahara, chimed in immediately.

Only the guitarist, Mieko Shizaki, wept even more bitterly.

During the initial background check, it was rumored that she had been very fond of the victim, but sadly, her confession had been rejected. Ji Yi recalled seeing entertainment news claiming this "Tatsuya" was a playboy frequently involved in scandals.

But what kind of person committing suicide would walk boldly in front of others and, in a showy manner, apply poisoned face cream to their hands before ending their life? People crushed by pressure and driven to suicide don't typically perform such irrelevant theatrics.

"Brother Ji Yi, I haven't been able to find Tatsuya-nii's lighter since earlier." Conan was tugging at him with that affected voice again.

"Speak like a normal person!" Ji Yi glared at him. This brat didn't inherit an ounce of his mother's acting talent.

"I remember Tatsuya-nii smoked." Conan pointed to a pack of cigarettes on the table. "But, whether in his pants pockets, his jacket pockets, or anywhere in the room, I couldn't find that lighter."

"You mean a lighter has gone missing from the crime scene?" Ji Yi confirmed.

"Yes." Conan nodded.

Even though he couldn't yet fathom how a lighter could be linked to poisoning, this was Beika. There was never a shortage of people who believed they could perform for others with fantastical, whimsical murder methods. They were all killers with a desperate desire to perform.

Since Conan had provided this lead, the rest was simple. Just search them.

Technically, in a mystery novel, pulling evidence directly out of someone's pocket is considered as lazy as catching a killer via surveillance footage—a behavior that cheats the reader. But it was incredibly effective, especially against these Beika residents who loved committing crimes in public and ended up unable to dispose of the evidence.

And so, the lighter was pulled right out of manager Mari Terahara’s coat pocket.

In any case, the priority was to interrogate Terahara. Even without the "Conan-logic" bonus, secretly taking the victim’s belongings was enough to arouse suspicion.

"You suspect me?" Mari Terahara exploded. "Don't be ridiculous! When Tatsuya was poisoned and collapsed, I was outside the booth making a phone call. I don't have the ability to teleport; how could I have administered the poison?"

"That’s right! Mr. Tatsuya went on stage to sing after Ms. Terahara left the booth, and then he ate the sushi and was poisoned. Since others had used the microphone before him, it means Ms. Terahara had absolutely no time to poison it," Ran stepped in to testify.

"Then just use another method," Ji Yi was truly speechless. It was his first time hearing that poisoning could have an alibi—and one with such tight timing, at that.

Furthermore, the moment the lighter was found, he had pretty much figured it out.

"This coat isn't even yours, is it?" Ji Yi looked at Mari Terahara. "I suspect you simply put on the victim's coat, not realizing there was a lighter in the pocket.

"Your plan was likely to poison the clothing somewhere, then exploit the victim's habitual gesture of tossing his jacket aside while singing to make him touch the poison. Simultaneously, you found an excuse to leave and create this 'alibi.' Once you returned, you swapped the coats. Since they were both band jackets, you assumed the police wouldn't inspect them carefully and you'd get away with it.

"We only need to take this jacket for testing to reveal the truth."

"Test it for what? I just happened to grab the wrong coat, and even if it’s poisoned, how does that prove it was me?"

Oh? She had spirit. Shouldn't a "Beika resident" just collapse in defeat when faced with such evidence? Between the victim's coat and the victim's lighter, that should have been a closed case.

"It doesn't matter. You don't have to admit it," Ji Yi didn't bother explaining further. "As long as we test the face cream, we’ll surely find your DNA. After all, you must have been the one who secretly put it in his car.

"As for the method, I suspect you either smeared it on the outside of the coat for him to touch, or applied it to the inner elbows so the poison would transfer to his shirt. You then exploited his habit of crossing his arms while singing to ensure he came into contact with the toxin. A quick check will confirm all of this.

"This evidence is more than enough for the prosecutor to file charges. If you're still dissatisfied, save your excuses for the judge and jury in court."

Mari Terahara confessed. Her motive was that she had always loved the victim, even undergoing plastic surgery to be worthy of him. For some reason, after the surgery, he treated her horribly. Over time, her love turned to hatred, and she finally took action.

It sounded like the victim was quite the piece of work. Even if you don't love someone, there's no need to treat them like that, right? Even outside of Beika, you shouldn't treat people that way.

After returning to the Metropolitan Police Department, he was forced to attend a press conference to explain the situation.

It seemed that was the end of it.

It wasn't until a few days later that he saw in the newspaper that a resourceful gossip reporter had conducted interviews, paid a fortune for the victim's belongings, and finally—combined with the statements of the victim's friends and a letter found behind a photograph—uncovered the truth.

The playboy who spewed insults was actually a "pure-love warrior." His drastic change in attitude toward Mari Terahara was because he wanted her to stop worrying about how the outside world perceived her and to have the courage to face her original appearance.