Chapter 48: Kindaichi and Kogoro

"Thump!"

The Maru residence.

In the middle of the retro courtyard lay a koi pond, where a bamboo tube periodically filled with water and struck a flat stone, emitting a rhythmic, clear chime.

Surrounded by pine needles and stone lanterns, the interplay of motion and stillness formed a natural, Zen-like garden landscape.

However, Gao Mo lacked the refined artistic sensibility to appreciate such beauty; he simply felt that this family was undeniably wealthy.

Although the location was not in the city center, it was still Tokyo, where every inch of land was worth a fortune. Ordinary people could never afford to build a house like this.

He had walked around earlier, and it felt practically like a small park.

Aside from the backyard, the front yard was planted with numerous cherry blossom trees, and even the exterior of the mansion had been renovated.

Bluestone-paved paths led straight to the front hall, and upon arriving, it had already felt exceptionally grandiose.

"Splash!"

Watching the koi swimming in the pond, Gao Mo leaned closer to the water's surface to check his makeup.

He had now disguised himself as a man in his forties, imitating Yusaku Kudo by wearing black-framed glasses and a medium-length brown wig.

To prevent unnatural expressions, sweating, and other flaws, only slight adjustments had been made to his face, with the disguise focusing primarily on his eyebrows and mustache.

Faint traces of "Kido Gao Mo" could still be seen, but it was of no consequence.

As for his voice, Professor Agasa's voice changer was being put to use for the first time, concealed by a small scarf wrapped around his neck.

Overall, he looked more like a writer than a detective.

"Slap!" A koi suddenly breached the surface, whipping its tail and splashing water all over Gao Mo before rapidly vanishing back into the depths of the pond.

"..."

"There's no doubt about it," the mustache's confident voice drifted from the parlor, "your wife is definitely having an affair..."

"What? She goes on dates with him three times a week?! And today as well... That bitch Inako! She's been missing since early this morning, undoubtedly running off with some stray man again... Just who on earth is the other person?"

"Well... I'll need to look into that further."

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang outside the mansion.

The bearded, bald head of the household pushed open the door and stepped out of the parlor. He didn't react at all upon seeing Gao Mo, having assumed from the very beginning that he was merely Kogoro Mouri's assistant.

"Pardon me, Mr. Mouri, I'll go answer the door first. I've sent all the domestic staff away... I'll bring the guest to the detached room and be right back."

"Take your time."

The mustache watched the man leave via the covered corridor, letting out a long breath and wiping the sweat from his forehead, his face full of relief.

He had managed to bluff his way through.

"Kido... Kindaichi," the mustache turned to Gao Mo with a smile, "if all goes well, we should be getting the remaining 500,000 yen balance soon. Why don't you come work with me permanently? I happen to be lacking an assistant, and with our dream team in action, we're bound to conquer the entire country!"

"Heh..."

Gao Mo responded with a smile.

"What are you laughing at?" The mustache was baffled. "I'm being serious. Don't people outside say the two of us are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson?"

"I'll think about it."

Gao Mo didn't know how to explain it to the mustache.

How could two half-baked amateurs possibly conquer the country?

Only with Conan would there be a slight chance—he had learned from Yusaku Kudo that there were actually quite a few hidden master detectives in this world, though they kept a low profile and didn't make newspaper headlines like the mustache.

Conan's reckless antics as the "Sleeping Kogoro" had, to a certain extent, accelerated the mustache's fame.

In reality, many insiders still didn't take the mustache seriously at all.

...

It was exactly 3:00 PM.

The head of the household left the parlor, leading a visitor from the front house toward a detached room on the other side of the mansion.

Gao Mo heard a faint murmuring of voices, and before he could investigate further, a sudden chill gripped his heart.

A few dark clouds drifted into the previously clear sky, and the frequency of the flowing water and the bamboo tube striking the stone in the courtyard slowed, as if disrupted by some unseen force.

The mischievous koi in the pond floated to the surface at some point, their bellies turned upward.

The courtyard, once brimming with Zen tranquility, inexplicably turned eerie.

It's here...

Gao Mo turned his head, as if able to pierce through the mansion's walls and see the surging crimson mist rising on the other side.

This was his first time being dragged into a case by tracking the scent of death.

To perceive death, to witness death.

"Whoosh!"

The moment the slightest notion of getting closer arose in his heart, the terrifying perception of death weighed down upon him once again, accompanied by a faint, invisible force trying to pull him toward it.

The intangible crimson aura groped about like tentacles.

Gao Mo stared straight ahead and clenched his fingers.

A crime scene could allow him to escape the death roster, but it was also the most dangerous place of all.

Moreover, the more he came into contact with it, the more he seemed to see—previously, he had only vaguely sensed the existence of that entity, and it had never been this materialized.

"What's wrong? Not feeling well?"

The mustache walked out of the parlor in confusion, following Gao Mo's gaze, but saw only the empty courtyard corridor.

"Why are you looking like you've seen a ghost?"

"It's nothing."

Gao Mo calmly withdrew his gaze.

It was always only he who could see it.

"Don't be so jumpy. Lately, I've realized that wealthy people aren't all that special. For you to have a luxury apartment is already quite impressive—at least you're wealthier than I am. You need to keep a calm mindset like I do..."

The mustache's expression suddenly turned to one of horror.

Originally intending to feign refinement and appreciate the garden's Zen atmosphere, he inadvertently glanced at the pond and his eyes widened in shock.

"That koi... how on earth did you manage to kill it?!"

The fish that had been blowing bubbles just moments ago was now completely belly-up and motionlessly dead.

"I didn't do it," Gao Mo felt as though he was taking an unjustified blame, "and it's not even an expensive breed..."

"That's the only one there; how could they possibly raise cheap ones?" The mustache wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around anxiously. "Just remember not to blurt anything out later—I don't want my entire detective fee eaten up by damages!"

"It truly wasn't me." Gao Mo opened his mouth helplessly.

He was the real victim—randomly splashed with water by a fish for no apparent reason.

"The water on me was splashed when the koi whipped its tail just now..."

"See, you're admitting it! Quickly find a way to dry your clothes!"

In a complete panic, the mustache hurried back into the parlor, found a folding fan from somewhere, and began fan-cooling Gao Mo frantically.

Gao Mo: "..."

Everything would have been fine, but this guy was making him look increasingly suspicious.

"Stop fanning. They probably won't care about a single fish." Gao Mo stopped the mustache, left speechless.

Or rather, they wouldn't have the energy to care.

Although he didn't know the exact details of this case, nor who the victim and the murderer were... obviously, once a murder took place, no one would be bored enough to investigate the death of a fish.

"Drrr-ring!"

At that moment, the landline phone at the corner of the corridor suddenly rang incessantly, sounding like a death knell, and only fell silent after fifteen rings.

The aura of death emanating from the detached room finally surged to its peak.

Gao Mo subconsciously stepped back a few more paces.

He hadn't forgotten that on the first day, merely glancing at the culprit had brought disaster upon him.

"What on earth is that guy doing?" the mustache complained with some dissatisfaction. "Didn't he say he'd be right back?"

"Let's wait a bit longer."

Gao Mo held back the mustache, who was about to rush to the front yard to find out what was going on.

Someone was going to die no matter what, and he didn't want to trigger the rules of death.

Under the contagion of death, even the mustache might run into trouble—his own existence as a fish that slipped through the net acted like a fuse, and people who shouldn't have died had perished because of it before.

The mustache might not be that lucky every time.

"Huh?"

The mustache met Gao Mo's gaze in bewilderment.

Without knowing why, he could sense Gao Mo's intense seriousness.

He had never seen the kid Kido look like this before...

Strange, was he worried about him?

"O-Okay, then."

Scratching his head, the mustache sat back down in the parlor, watching his wristwatch as he continued to wait.

"But speaking of which, this disguise of yours looks really awkward, and that voice too... Is this really going to be alright?"

"Just remember to call me Kindaichi. A disguise is best when it's half-real and half-fake." Gao Mo also sat down indoors.

"Where on earth did you learn all this stuff? Do idol performers have to do their own makeup? Don't tell me you learned this from Tae Toyogaki last time? Haha, how long has it even been..."