Chapter 17: The Murderer Killed by a Murderer
Midnight.
A shadow slipped quietly out of the cabin, peering cautiously down the silent, empty corridor before carefully entering the corner restroom. In the darkness, the figure fumbled to find the hidden murder weapon—a kitchen knife wrapped up as a temporary concealment.
A smile revealed a row of gleaming white teeth, as if the thought of something joyful had crossed the shadow’s mind.
Everything was going too smoothly.
All that remained was to dispose of the weapon...
“Clack!”
Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the still hallway, causing the already tense shadow to startle sharply.
After a moment, with no further noise, the shadow pressed close to the crack in the door and peered out with one eye.
The glow from the corridor light illuminated a note on the floor.
“I’ve seen everything. The weapon is now in my hands. If you don’t want to be exposed, come to the lower deck at the stern when no one is around.”
Panicked, the shadow snatched up the note, glanced nervously left and right, breathed heavily, and searched the restroom again. Indeed, the murder weapon was gone.
The first thought was, “It’s over.”
Then, clenching the note fiercely, the figure lowered their head and stepped out of the restroom, wondering who the other party could be.
“That temporary butler?” the shadow’s eyes gleamed with cruelty.
The handsome, temporary butler knew too much and was definitely trying to threaten him.
...
Suite area.
Gao Mo, accompanied by Kubo Natsue, Xiaolan, and a few others, returned to the crime scene.
After unveiling the trump card to seek justice for Xiao Wu, they temporarily dispelled the two women’s drowsiness, while Conan was wide awake.
“Shouldn’t we call Mr. Mouri over?” Xiaojang asked curiously.
How could an investigation like this exclude the famous detective?
“No need. From the scene, it seems the killer wasn’t well-prepared. Having the daughter of a famous detective here is enough.”
Gao Mo’s words made Xiaolan blush deeply, as if energized.
However, when it came to the specifics of the investigation, she looked puzzled and a bit lost.
She had no idea how her father usually solved cases; the last one ended in sudden “sleep” mid-investigation.
When Shinichi was around, he told her many cases, but she was too angry at the time to listen...
Besides, that guy always solved cases so casually.
“How... how do we investigate this?”
“Joto, did the wedding banquet today have bread?” Conan had been crouching at the scene early, finally finding some bread crumbs in the bloodstains inside the threshold.
“I don’t know. I didn’t attend the wedding banquet,” Gao Mo replied with hands behind his back. “But even if there was bread, it has nothing to do with Old Master Takakura. He hates Western food, especially bread—just seeing it makes him want to vomit.”
Conan raised an eyebrow, puzzled: “How do you know that so well?”
“Maybe it’s a gift?” Gao Mo tossed the old butler’s notes to Conan. “Everything about the Takakura family is in here. Take a look yourself.”
Conan: “...”
So that counts as a gift too.
“And the most important— the murder weapon,” Conan flipped through the notes, deep in thought. “When Young Master Shoji was cooking, did he use his own knives?”
“Probably.”
...
Gao Mo bent down.
“Well? Can you figure out who the killer is? Actually, I suspect that painter, Ichiro, but I’m not sure.”
“Huh?” Conan snapped awake and turned around. “Ha, hahaha! Joto is amazing—just like Uncle!”
“Alright, Conan, kids shouldn’t cause trouble,” Xiaolan scooped up Conan, then turned to Gao Mo with hopeful eyes. “What do you think, Mr. Gao?”
“Ahem,” Gao Mo said timely, “No matter who the killer is, I think Miss Xiaojang, the sole heir, is very much in danger right now. Before we reach Tokyo, we shouldn’t separate, especially you, Xiaolan—stay close to Miss Xiaojang.”
“I understand!”
Xiaolan regained her sense of mission and no longer fretted over the investigation methods.
“I absolutely won’t let anything happen to Miss Xiaojang!”
“Sorry,” Xiaojang bit her lip hesitantly, “May I... see Xiao Wu? Maybe I should hear from him what really happened.”
“That’s fine, but he can’t be let out,” Gao Mo nodded.
This mission’s information didn’t specify the culprit. Although Xiao Wu’s linked task info was “I’m not the murderer,” it didn’t rule out the possibility of him actually doing something.
Besides, the actual events might not align with the original story.
Perhaps everything was orchestrated by Xiao Wu behind the scenes—who knows?
Not being the murderer doesn’t mean not being the mastermind.
...
“Damn it! What’s the point of marrying you if I can’t get the money?!”
“You only want Grandpa’s fortune…”
“Otherwise, who’d marry a spendthrift like you?! I saw you seduce that pretty boy!”
“That’s because you’re useless! Pretending to be a musician with no talent—at least get a job for me!”
“Shut up, you shrew!”
Guest room.
From afar, the quarrel between the Akiyama couple could be heard.
Their already strained relationship erupted over the matter of the will.
Gao Mo and the others tried to avoid them but just then encountered Akiyama Akiyoshi storming out angrily, slamming the door.
“Bang!”
“What are you looking at?”
Akiyama Akiyoshi glared fiercely, showing no kindness toward his sister Xiaojang.
“If I were you, I’d leave the Takakura family on my own. You killed Grandpa—how do you have the face to inherit the fortune?!”
“Sis…”
“Don’t call me sis!”
Gao Mo’s fingers brushed against a note in his pocket, slipped there by Akiyama earlier. His expression turned slightly awkward.
Outsiders hated being dragged into such family drama.
“Sorry for making you watch this,” Xiaojang held back tears this time. “We all used to be close, but I don’t know when it turned like this... Even if I say I don’t intend to inherit Grandpa’s fortune, I doubt they’d believe me.”
Indeed, the more complicated one’s mind, the harder it is to trust others.
With such a vast fortune in the Takakura family, who could easily give it up?
...
“Let’s go to the warehouse first,” Gao Mo took the lead.
He didn’t need to solve the case or meddle in the Takakura family’s affairs—just faithfully protect Xiaojang.
Fulfilling the old master’s last wishes would not be in vain for a butler.
He just hoped he could still collect the remaining 200,000 yen payment.
...
Early morning.
Only Kogoro Mouri was asleep in the restaurant, half-dreaming and vaguely seeing shadows moving outside on the deck.
“Hmm?”
A shadow hid in a corner, prowling slowly with a mix of surprise and cruelty in its eyes.
At the stern deck, Akiyama Akiyoshi, still upset from arguing with her husband Tatsuo, leaned forward against the railing, lighting a cigarette in the evening breeze.
“That bastard Tatsuo—I should never have married him.”
Exhaling smoke, Akiyoshi couldn’t help but lick her lips as she thought of Gao Mo.
At that moment, faint footsteps behind her caught her attention.
“Oh, it’s you. Took your time…”
“Pfft!”
The shadow suddenly pulled out a kitchen knife from behind and stabbed fiercely, catching Akiyoshi’s terrified gaze.
Her cigarette fell, and before she could scream, agonizing pain forced her to fall backward onto the deck.
“Where’s the thing?”
“Bang!!”
Another shadow appeared behind; the dull thud of a heavy object echoed.
Under the moonlight, Takakura Ichiro, dazed and shocked, looked back just in time to see the attacker’s face before being ruthlessly pushed over the deck railing.
His body struck the ship’s hull, losing grip on anything. Before losing consciousness, he desperately plunged into the sea, the small splash swallowed by the dark waters.
Only a bloodstain remained along the edge of the stern, seeming to ripple like a dark shadow under the moonlight.
The painter Takakura Ichiro was dead.
“Help... help me!”
Akiyama Akiyoshi was in such pain she could barely speak, the knife still half embedded in her chest, blood staining her deep V-neck. Her body curled up like a lobster.
“Help...”
The shadow sneered coldly, looking down and ignoring her pleas. Casually tossing the murder weapon—a baseball bat—into the sea, the figure quickly turned and fled.
“Who’s there?”
Kogoro Mouri, drunk and staggering, stumbled out of the restaurant. His blurred vision caught the scene on the stern deck.
The moist sea breeze mixed with the sharp scent of rust filled his nostrils, making the old man shiver.
Sobered, he saw Akiyama Akiyoshi’s eyes wide and ghostlike.
As if begging him for help.
“Something terrible has happened!!”