Chapter 4: Conan Really Is Hopeless

“Mr. Suwa is the murderer?” Everyone was shocked.

“Hey, are you sure about that? Although the room is covered in knife marks, the way the victim was holding the knife is all wrong. How could it possibly be Mr. Suwa?” Kogoro Mouri was completely unconvinced.

“Of course he did it on purpose,” Kii said, looking utterly uninterested. “Judging the killer’s swordsmanship solely by how the victim held the knife is reckless. Many people who don’t know kendo still know how to hold a blade correctly—like Ran Mouri, for example. And even those skilled in kendo could deliberately hold a sword incorrectly.”

“The key issue is to establish the sequence of events.”

“Sequence of events?” Kogoro looked puzzled.

“Let me ask you, if you were the murderer, would you deliberately leave clues that point directly to yourself?” Kii asked him.

“Of course not!” Kogoro replied, confident he wasn’t that foolish.

“Exactly. The framing came first. Therefore, the killer wouldn’t make a mistake in how they held the knife. No matter how careless they were, with such obvious photos of the victim holding the knife in the room, would they really not glance at them once?”

“And if the knife marks were left first to mislead everyone into thinking the killer knew nothing of swordsmanship and thus had the wrong grip... that fits the facts perfectly!” Inspector Megure suddenly understood.

“This is what people call ‘the cover-up makes things worse.’”

“Maybe the culprit exploited this very idea,” Suwa Yuji objected. “Besides, how can you be so sure the knife marks came first?”

“Trust me, I understand a killer’s mindset after a murder far better than you think,” Kii smiled. Criminals always love to argue.

“Not only did the knife marks inside the room come first, but even these marks here were deliberately made by you to hide something, weren’t they?”

Cold sweat broke out on Suwa Yuji’s forehead.

“Mouri-san and the others aren’t deaf. If such a fierce fight had really occurred, how could there have been no noise? Moreover, I don’t know if you have any common sense, but after being slashed so deeply from behind, a normal person would lose the ability to fight back immediately. Well, it’s a crime of passion—after killing, it’s normal to not think things through clearly.”

“Alright, let’s continue. Here’s what I think happened: When you visited this afternoon, you had a heated argument with the victim. Then, you used the decorative sword in the room to severely wound him from behind. Unexpectedly, you left some indelible clues at the scene. To cover them up, you fabricated exaggerated signs of a fierce struggle. And to avoid the police suspecting you knew kendo, you purposely faked an incorrect grip.”

“A lie requires countless other lies to cover it up.”

Conan glanced at Kii, then at Ran, feeling a little uneasy.

“Also, I believe Mr. Akutsu’s missing message was because, when you were tidying up the scene, he happened to call. That’s how you learned about his attachment to the dragon carving. You then deliberately spared the carving and rewound the recording, causing his message to disappear.”

“Nonsense. By your own logic, he could have done that on purpose!” Suwa Yuji argued.

“You didn’t even understand what I said. Every action by the killer is to exonerate themselves, and nothing clears suspicion better than removing all traces linking the scene to them. No one would deliberately leave evidence pointing to themselves unless they had to cover up indelible marks.”

“Even if Mr. Akutsu were the murderer, he could have just destroyed the dragon carving or taken it away ruthlessly.”

“Besides, your theory about the cover-up voicemail has holes. When you called, you already knew the other party wasn’t home. So why come over now?”

“That’s because when I arranged with Mr. Maru, he said he was booked at 4 and 5 o’clock, so I thought coming early wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, that’s your deduction! Where’s the proof?”

“Proof? Easy.” Kii beckoned the officers holding something to come forward.

He opened a bag, revealing a set of clothes and pants.

“Recognize these?”

Suwa Yuji’s eyes widened, and even Conan was stunned.

“Although you intentionally messed up the scene, that amount of blood isn’t fake. Your clothes must be stained with the victim’s blood,” Kii stared at him. “No matter how calm you are, you wouldn’t throw away the bloodied jacket and go home without pants, right? But you were lucky no one noticed on your way back.”

“I told you, I know you killers well. When you return to the dojo and the passion of the murder fades, fear sets in. So even a tiny risk of being discovered prevents you from burning evidence in broad daylight. It was easy to find.”

Suwa Yuji finally lowered his head and said in a low voice, “It was because of that sword.”

He went on to explain how he used the family heirloom sword, Kikuchiyo, as collateral for a loan. When he tried to repay and redeem it, Maru Denjiro not only sold the pledged sword without permission but shamelessly claimed the proceeds as interest.

Suwa Yuji hung his head. “Yes, exactly as you said. After killing him, I had something I absolutely had to cover up, because…”

“Because he carved something identifying you on the cabinet, right? Let me guess—he wrote your name directly with the knife,” Kii interrupted, not wanting to hear any more confessions. “Even if you deliberately scrambled the drawers, the carving on top was incoherent but visible as soon as you entered the room.”

“That’s incredible…” Ran marveled. “He seems even smarter than Shinichi…”

Conan heard it and wanted to retort but couldn’t. He was still preparing photos and puzzle pieces as evidence, and the bloodstained clothes had been recovered. The fact that Kii saw through the killer’s setup right away was undeniable; otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent people to collect evidence so early.

It was as if he had completely seen through the murderer.

This guy was truly amazing—it felt like facing his own father...

Suwa Yuji was handcuffed and taken away quietly. The dramatic scene from the original story where the sword struck Kogoro, nearly causing Ran to lose her father, did not occur.

Kii himself didn’t realize he had been elevated by the director to a level comparable to the legendary Yusaku Kudo, the godlike figure of the series. But even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

After all, through this case, he finally understood one thing:

There was no way he could slack off and have the director do the work for him.

Could Conan really be that slow at solving cases that take just a minute to crack?

No wonder he wasn’t allowed to meet before.