"There seems to be someone by the window below!"

Following Takahashi's words, everyone subconsciously looked out the living room window.

A figure draped in a black robe, carrying a familiar human figure, swiftly passed by the window.

Wearing a dark brown tulip hat and bound with straps, the strange man with wide-open eyes defiantly grabbed Ikeda Chikako by the neck and strode away in front of everyone.

"Chikako!" Kakutani opened the window, intending to chase after her, but only saw a void of darkness.

Conan was prepared for this. He grabbed a flashlight from the cabinet, nimbly leaped out of the window frame, and headed straight into the darkness.

"Very good, the other men followed suit!"

Ota waved his hand to direct the entire scene. He had just turned around to urge Takahashi when he saw Kuromon Haruya running out after him, and he paused.

"Mr. Black Gate, you stay and protect the ladies."

With Ran and Sonoko holding his arms on either side, Yoru Kuromon had no choice but to look regretfully at the crows outside the window and promise, "We'll help lock the doors and windows."

After arranging the operation, Ota, Kakutani, and the panting Takahashi followed Conan into the woods.

Although the rain had subsided, the dark woods were still damp and muddy, making it difficult to move. Before long, the adults caught up with Conan, who was standing frozen in front of the grass.

"Little brother, did you lose him?"

Ota stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. When the flashlight shone on the lawn in front of him, he immediately understood why Conan had stopped there.

A lone left foot lay there, its limbs washed dry by the rain, the cut surface clearly visible.

Before they could react, Takahashi screamed and fell to the ground with a thud: "There's another hand here!"

Kakutani was completely panicked. While others might hesitate, he recognized at a glance that these were all the bodies of Chikako Ikeda!

A dark figure lying on the ground not far away caught his attention: a violet top and a light-colored skirt. This outfit was definitely Chikako!

"Chikako!"

Without a second thought, Kakutani immediately lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. In the dim light, he spun her around a few times, but couldn't quite tell which was up and which was down…

A ray of light shone down, and Ota looked at Kakutani, who was covered in blood and had a body in his arms, his hands trembling.

Conan looked at the scene and sensed something was wrong: "The head is gone."

Over the next ten minutes, the four of them managed to find the body of the poor victim, but still couldn't find the head, so they had to turn back the way they came.

The woods were different from usual in the rain; even the sounds of animals and insects had disappeared.

"Did you hear the music?" Ota Katsu patted his ears and looked at the others with a puzzled expression.

Upon hearing this, Conan listened carefully and could indeed faintly hear intermittent piano music amidst the sound of the wind, but there shouldn't be any other residences nearby.

As they returned, the melody gradually became clearer.

From the brightly lit villas in the distance, the gentle strains of "Moonlight Sonata" drifted out.

"Moonlight!" Conan remembered something and rushed to the living room window.

The living room lights were on, but the few people who were supposed to stay behind were nowhere to be seen. He shook the window, but the window frame didn't budge.

Left with no other choice, Conan had to detour to the main gate and run towards the room filled with mournful piano music.

Bang!

Sonoko was engrossed in the melodious music when Conan burst through the door, startling her greatly.

"Conan, what's wrong with you!"

Ran took a towel from the side and squatted down to wipe Conan's panting face, her expression worried.

Yoruichi Kuromon stopped what he was doing, closed the piano keyboard lid, and frowned with concern: "How is the situation? Have you found Ms. Chikako?"

"Chikako was brutally murdered." Kakutani, his eyes red, briefly described the search results to them.

Ota instructed Ran Mouri, who was hugging Conan tightly, "This little brother was terrified. He tried to hold back his emotions and didn't react at the time, but he ran to you as soon as he got close to the villa."

Conan in Ran's arms: ...To be honest, I'm used to seeing corpses, but I was startled by the moonlight.

"Is there a large waterproof tarpaulin in the villa?"

Kuromon Haruya crossed his arms and stared out the window, explaining to Kakutani, "Covering the body with a coat for now probably isn't enough; we need to completely conceal it. This place is near the forest, and the smell of blood might attract wild animals like bears."

"Ah?" Kakutani turned pale as he thought of the missing head.

In order to preserve the last shred of dignity for their former companion, the three men had no choice but to put on raincoats, take waterproof tarpaulins, and set off again.

It was late at night, and everyone was too exhausted to keep their spirits up after such a tragedy. After confirming that the villa was locked down again, they went back to their rooms to wait for the police report to be filed the next day.

"Uh, cough, I'm fine, Brother Heimen."

Handing ginger tea to Conan, who was coughing incessantly, Kuromon Haruya, carrying a kettle of hot water she had gotten from Sono, looked helpless.

"Shinichi, you're still a child at heart. Don't push yourself after getting caught in the rain."

Conan stared at the person in front of him with dissatisfaction, who had been standing in the rain in the forest for half an hour without any problems, feeling indignant.

He used to be a strong high school boy who could go anywhere, but it's all because of that despicable organization!

Conan tried to suppress his sneeze and focused on the case: "Miss Chikako went out through the back door on her own initiative. Don't you find that strange, Kuromon-kun?"

You just got lost in the forest, and it's almost dinnertime after everyone has settled in, but she deliberately went out at this time. It's almost like she's sneaking off to keep a date…”

Conan rambled on and on, his face completely flushed, unlike his own.

Haruya Kuromon placed the back of her hand on Conan's forehead, feeling that it was already a bit warm and that he would definitely have a fever that night: "Shinichi, you have a slight fever. You should get some rest! If your temperature gets higher, there are no hospitals around here."

As he spoke, he ignored Conan's objections and asked for an extra blanket and cold medicine for Conan to use.

That night, the villa, with its lights off, finally found a moment of peace. The pattering rain outside the window lulled everyone to sleep, except for one person.

Conan had just gotten into bed when he felt his mind become increasingly clear and active as the temperature dropped, without the slightest hint of sleepiness.

"What should I do? I can't sleep at all... Maybe I should just think about what happened."

If the murderer kidnapped and killed Ms. Chikako, why did they have to take her head?

Moreover, they chased after the murderer almost immediately after the incident. He didn't chase him for long before he saw the scene in disarray. Could the murderer really have committed the crime in such a short time?

His brain, boiled into mush by the high temperature, made it impossible for him to come up with the final step in the reasoning.

Conan turned his head away in frustration, wanting to find someone to discuss it with, only to see Haruya Kuromon fast asleep with her head buried in her sleep.

How can Brother Heimen fall asleep so easily at his age?

A timely cool breeze swept by, clearing some of the heat from Conan's head: Right, Kuromon mentioned smelling blood outside the villa...

If that's true, it means the culprit may have already attacked Chikako, and the dark figure was just a decoy!

Having figured this out, Conan got up to wake up Haruya Kuromon, but instead saw a different scene.

Before the wide-open French windows, a black figure wielding a machete, under his gaze, mercilessly swung the blade down at the sleeping Kuromon Haruya.

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