Detective Conan: Knifeman? I'm a good citizen of Beihua

Outside the interrogation room, Ayanokouji Fumimaro sat in front of a one-way glass, feeding dried fruits to the little squirrel in his hand while observing the micro-expressions of the people inside.

After more than half an hour of questioning, the police officer walked out.

"Officer Ayanokouji, this guy is a big problem right now," the officer said solemnly.

"In the first case, he said he was shopping, but we checked the nearby surveillance cameras and didn't find any trace of him. I think there's a high probability that he was following Jin Tiancun and hiding his whereabouts."

"In the second case, he also appeared in the geisha house. It's very likely that he went there to scout the place in advance, then left on the surface, but actually returned to the geisha house."

"In the third case, he was even more brazen. He actually lived right next door to the deceased! That guy in the black cloak must have been a deliberate disguise, leading us to believe the murderer was from outside the hotel, when in fact he was right next door..."

The police officer explained the various suspicious points about Shirakawa Akane, and Ayanokouji Fumimaro did not interrupt him, but just listened thoughtfully.

After the officer finished speaking, he finally asked, "But what about the motive? He had nothing to do with these people, so why did he kill them?"

Police officer: "But didn't Fuji Shuren's men admit it? They were the ones who started the trouble. Shirakawa Qiu killed Fuji Shuren just to get revenge."

"What about Jin Tiancun? I've already researched Shirakawa Qiu. He basically doesn't pay attention to things in the entertainment industry. Jin Tiancun's agent has no connection with him."

"As for Iwae Masato, that's even more bizarre. He's just a manager at a geisha house and had no previous contact with Shirakawa Akane. Why would he want to kill him?"

Ayanokouji Fumimaro shook his head as he spoke. "And that Hirano Katsura is very suspicious. He couldn't even explain the purpose of their trip to Kyoto. He was also vague about their targeting of Shirakawa-no-no, and it seems they're hiding something."

"Could it be that they are here just for the Gion Festival?"

Ayanokouji Fumimaro shook his head. "Fuji Shuren comes to Kyoto for a short stay almost every once in a while, and it's not just for the Gion Festival. This also means that this time he didn't come here simply to target Shirakawa Qiu, but probably wanted to cause trouble for her on a temporary basis."

"That's strange. What did Baichuanqiu do to offend them?"

Ayanokouji Fumimaro was genuinely puzzled by this.

At this moment, Hattori Heiji and Conan, who were unable to enter the interrogation room to listen, were also analyzing this matter.

"It's strange. How come Mr. Shirakawa is involved in this case?" Hattori Heiji was very troubled.

Conan thought about it carefully and asked Hattori Heiji: "Hattori, do you know who Mr. Shirakawa is looking for in Kyoto this time?"

Hattori Heiji shook his head: "How could I know! He didn't seem to have mentioned it to us--"

Conan: "If I remember correctly, it seems that Miss Anzi knows!"

They had met Shirakawa Akane and Mikata Anko on the street before, and it seemed that Mr. Shirakawa asked Miss Anko to help find someone.

If that's the case, Miss Xingzi might know something.

Hattori Heiji narrowed his eyes: "Do you think this matter is related to the person Mr. Shirakawa is looking for?"

"This is the only conjecture we can make at the moment," Conan said. "Anyway, I don't think Mr. Shirakawa would kill anyone, so in order to prove his innocence, we must thoroughly investigate the truth of this matter."

"And Hattori, don't you think Fuji Shuren's death scene is weird?"

"You mean his condition at that time?"

"Yes, at that time he was only wearing a bathrobe, but he was holding a belt in his hand. There were also a lot of... uh, toys and condoms in the drawer next to him."

When Conan said the last few words, there was a hint of embarrassment on his face, and Hattori Heiji also coughed lightly a few times to cover up the awkward atmosphere.

Anyway, the scene at that time... well, to put it simply, it was either red or yellow.

"So I think the deceased, Fuji Shuren, was probably waiting for a woman at the time." Conan analyzed calmly, "Combined with the situation at the scene and his regular schedule, I suspect he was a regular customer of some prostitution organization."

Hattori Heiji opened his eyes wide in astonishment: "Hey? Wait, Kudo, isn't this a step too far?"

It's not that I don't believe it, but there are too many possibilities in this matter. For example, Fuji Shuren may be keeping a mistress and every time he comes to Kyoto is to meet his lover.

Or perhaps, Fuji Shuren was dating a married woman, and the two were in a clandestine relationship, so they were extremely low-key every time they met and specifically came to the hotel for a tryst.

Why is Kudo so sure that guy is here to be a ladybug?

"This is because when I was at Hase's house..."

Conan described in detail the day he encountered Hakuba Tatsuya leaving and how the mysterious detective had given him a letter. He then said, "Hattori, don't you think this incident aligns perfectly with the contents of that letter? 'Gion Festival' and 'illegal' are obvious, but this 'entertainment'... Hattori, what do you think it is?"

Hattori Heiji understood instantly: "Geisha performance?"

"Yes, I think so too."

"Geisha, crime, hotels..." Hattori Heiji muttered softly, his face becoming more serious. "As much as I hate to hear this, considering all the circumstances... it's very likely... that the geisha house is doing that 'business'."

Conan nodded: "If that's the case, I think Mr. Shirakawa's actions are understandable-"

"The person Mr. Shirakawa is looking for is very likely involved in this illegal act, and there's a high probability that he was forced into it. Mr. Shirakawa must have discovered some clues while looking for him, so he wanted to investigate further. However, he was discovered by the criminals on the other side. So they found Fuji Shuren and asked him to teach Mr. Shirakawa a lesson and warn him not to continue the investigation..."

Unexpectedly, Fuji Shuren died by mistake and Shirakawa Qiu became a suspect...

Hattori Heiji was a little confused: "Then why didn't Mr. Shirakawa tell the police directly? With the police's involvement in the investigation, perhaps they can quickly find out whether the geisha house is really illegal..."

Conan thought of Shirakawa Qiu's past experiences, and his expression was extremely complicated: "Maybe... it's because Mr. Shirakawa doesn't trust the police."

Hattori Heiji: "Huh?"

Conan: "Mr. Shirakawa has also been misunderstood by the police, so... ahem, those are all some of Mr. Shirakawa's past."

Hattori Heiji understood, and having no intention of looking at other people's scars, he took the initiative to change the subject: "So what we have to do now is to confirm our suspicions."

Conan: "Fortunately, Sister Xiaolan left Miss Xingzi's contact information. Let's go find her and ask about the situation!"

Hattori Heiji: "That makes sense! Let's go!"

I can only say that they are worthy of being detectives. Although some of the speculated situations were somewhat different from the actual situation, after a joint brainstorming session between Conan and Hattori Heiji, they also guessed the result in another deviant way.

If Shirakawa Qiu were here, he would definitely be deeply moved. A clever person's imagination could actually complete the story. However, now he can only sit on the bench and rest his eyes.