Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Mrs. Arai's voice was very low, so low that it was almost inaudible.

“When I got home, I was alone, and the more I thought about it, the more scared I became.”

She paused, then took a deep breath.

“I’m worried about those photos, worried that he might use them to threaten me, and worried about how I’ll live in the future.”

“I couldn’t take it anymore, so I called him and begged him to give me back those photos.”

She lowered her head, and tears welled up again.

“I didn’t expect… I didn’t expect that he was about to hit my husband at that moment. I really didn’t expect it to turn out like this.”

The living room was extremely quiet, with only Mrs. Arai's suppressed sobs echoing in the air.

"But we have already searched Otsuka's house and car."

Officer Matsumoto frowned, tapping his knee lightly with his fingers, making a rhythmic sound.
"I didn't find those photos you mentioned. Did he already return them to you? Or..."

He paused, then his gaze returned to Mrs. Arai's face, carefully observing her reaction.

"No." Mrs. Arai shook her head gently, her movements carrying a sense of weary helplessness.

Her eyes were still red, with tear stains still wet, and she looked as if all her strength had been drained away.
“He never returned it to me. Maybe he destroyed it or hid it somewhere else. That person… that person is capable of anything.”

Her voice grew softer and softer until it almost became a murmur.

Officer Matsumoto paused for a moment, then asked a few more detailed questions.

What kind of camera did Otsuka use? How many photos did he take? From where on the yacht were they taken?

Mrs. Arai answered each question in turn, her voice hoarse and her expression blank, like a patient whose wounds had been repeatedly torn open, now numb with pain.

After chatting for a few more minutes, seeing that he couldn't get any new information out of him, Officer Matsumoto gave Hayashi Hideichi a wink.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: that's enough, asking any more questions won't make any progress, let's leave now.

Lin Xiuyi nodded slightly and stood up.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Arai."

Officer Matsumoto also stood up and said politely,
"If any further problems arise, we may contact you again. Please try not to travel far these next few days."

Mrs. Arai did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.

Officer Matsumoto glanced at her, sighed, and turned to walk towards the door.

The crowd followed him out in single file.

Stepping out of the Arai residence, the air was fresh and cool, a stark contrast to the oppressive and stifling atmosphere inside.

A night breeze blew by, carrying a faint fragrance of flowers and the sounds of cars coming from the distant streets.

Several people stood at the doorway and let out a long sigh of relief, as if they had just been pulled out of the water.

Yukiko was the first to speak, her eyes still red, her voice filled with obvious sympathy and anger: "Mrs. Arai is so pitiful. That Otsuka is such a bastard."

"I used to think he was a victim, a poor soul, deceived by Mrs. Arai. But now it seems he's the real devil. Kidnapping, rape, threatening with nude photos... This kind of person should be shot!"

"Ok!"

Liuli nodded vigorously in agreement, her eyes also red, clearly she had shed quite a few tears inside.
"I knew it! Mrs. Arai is definitely not a bad person. I've met her so many times before, and she's always been such a gentle and kind person. How could she do such a thing?"

"It's all Otsuka's fault, it's her bastard husband's fault, Mrs. Arai is innocent!"

The two girls, singing in unison, became increasingly agitated, wishing they could drag Otsuka out right now and beat him up again.

Kogoro Mouri stood to the side, scratching his head with a strange expression on his face. "I feel like something's not quite right."

He muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.
"I felt that Mrs. Arai's behavior just now was somewhat fake, somewhat affected..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liuli glared at him fiercely.

Kogoro Mouri swallowed the rest of his words and awkwardly shut his mouth.

"affectation?"

Orikasa Midori looked at him with some confusion, her clear eyes filled with bewilderment.

"How come I didn't notice? She was crying so hard, her voice was hoarse, and her eyes were red... If she was faking it, that would be amazing."

“Me neither,” Eri Kisaki chimed in, her tone clearly showing dissatisfaction.

She glared at Kogoro Mouri, her gaze even sharper than Ruri's.
"Only someone without compassion would think that way! A woman was kidnapped, raped, and had those kinds of photos taken of her; anyone would be devastated in her shoes. And you actually say she was acting?"

"I……"

Kogoro Mouri looked utterly dejected. He opened his mouth to explain, but found that nothing he said would be right.

He quickly looked at Lin Xiuyi, his eyes full of pleading.

Brother, say something! Help me prove that I'm not a heartless person!
Lin Xiu glanced at him, then at the gazes of the other girls looking at her, and inwardly groaned.

At a time like this, who would dare to say anything bad about Mrs. Arai?

Isn't that just asking for trouble?
He coughed lightly, deciding not to get involved, and changed the subject to business.

"It's actually quite simple to tell who is telling the truth and who is lying."

Everyone looked at him.

“We just need to confirm whether those photos exist,” Lin Xiuyi said. “That’s the key to the whole case. If the photos exist, then Mrs. Arai is telling the truth, and she is indeed a victim of coercion.”

“If the photograph doesn’t exist, then Otsuka’s version might be closer to the truth.”

"Yup!"

Kogoro Mori quickly nodded, finally finding a way out.

"As long as we find those photos, we can prove who's telling the truth! Didn't Otsuka say he took the photos? Finding the photos is the evidence!"

"But how do I find the photos?"

Eri Kisaki frowned, pondering the difficulty of the problem.
“If Otsuka has destroyed the photos, or hidden them somewhere without saying, we simply won’t be able to find them.”

"Yes, and if those photos exist, they must be very private; Otsuka wouldn't just put them in a conspicuous place."

Yukiko also joined the discussion.
"If he buried it or gave it to someone else for safekeeping, where would we find it?"

Lin Xiu smiled, a smile that conveyed a sense of relief, as if to say, "You're all overthinking it."

"Photographs can be destroyed, they can be hidden, but the person who develops them can't, right?"

The girls were all taken aback.

"Shuichi, what does this mean?" Ruri didn't understand.

Lin Xiuyi patiently explained, "We use film to take pictures now. After the film is used up, it needs to be developed to become a photograph."

"Developing photos isn't something just anyone can do; it requires professional tools, chemicals, and someone with technical expertise. Not everyone can do it at home." (End of Chapter)