The two exchanged a glance and immediately ran off.
Hattori Heiji went to the kitchen to investigate the cake piping tips, while Conan used his small stature to sneak up to the serving cart to look for evidence.
Chi Feichi didn't follow them. He looked at the caller ID on his phone, picked it up, and answered.
Neither Conan, Hattori Heiji, nor the police were sure if the culprit had premeditated this for a long time or acted on a sudden impulse. But he was different. He knew very well that this incident wouldn't have happened originally; the only variable was himself.
Presumably, Eguchi Sachiko found out about the messy room after their private talk. Thinking of the snake venom she had obtained from some source, she came up with the idea to commit the crime and shift the suspicion onto him. In that case, Eguchi Sachiko had at most half an hour to prepare.
The snake venom might have been left behind by her daughter and kept somewhere in her room as a keepsake. To prepare a murder weapon simulating snake fangs in just half an hour, the only method he could think of was using a piping tip and a piping bag.
Compared to Conan and Hattori Heiji, he definitely had the advantage of information.
After the call connected, Chi Shinnosuke's steady and calm voice came through. "I've heard about the situation from Mikio. Are you involved in this matter?"
Chi Feichi replied calmly, "No."
Chi Shinnosuke gave a light 'hmm'. "I've arrived near the Morizono residence, but it's surrounded by reporters right now, so it's inconvenient for me to show my face. A lawyer will go in directly in a moment. Leave everything that follows to the lawyer. In any case, do not let the police take you back for questioning as a suspect."
"Master, that kid Conan is aiming at you with his watch!" Feichi suddenly warned.
Chi Feichi reacted extremely fast, bending down at the waist. "No need to trouble the lawyer. It will be resolved very soon."
A tiny tranquilizer dart flew swiftly over Chi Feichi, traveled all the way to the wall, and bounced off onto the floor.
Crap!
Conan broke out in a cold sweat. He stole a glance and found Chi Feichi still on the phone, but he didn't feel any more relieved inside.
A person sitting in a chair suddenly bending down usually does so to tie shoelaces or pick something up from the floor. But Chi Feichi just bent down and then sat up straight again. It was very abrupt, as if he did it specifically to dodge the tranquilizer dart.
And the worst part was, Chi Feichi actually dodged it. Just like with the bug last time, his keenness was terrifying.
Last time, he could deceive himself into thinking that with so many people around, Chi Feichi probably wasn't sure who planted the bug. But this second time, he could be certain: Chi Feichi definitely knew about his little tricks. His attitude was completely one of 'I won't play along with you, but I won't get to the bottom of it either.'
It made him unsure of what exactly Chi Feichi was thinking.
Just because he lacked curiosity? It was possible. Not just towards him, Chi Feichi seemed to have little curiosity about anyone else, be it Haibara Ai or Hattori Heiji...
On the other end, Chi Feichi was still talking to his cheap father.
"It will be resolved soon?"
"The famous detective Mouri Kogoro is here, along with the high school detective from Osaka, Hattori Heiji. They seem to have a lead."
"That's good. Contact me once the matter is resolved."
The call ended.
Chi Feichi noticed Hattori Heiji nodding at him after returning. He put away his phone and walked towards the serving cart.
Hattori Heiji reached the cart first and whispered to Conan, "How is it? Ku... Co, Conan, did you find it?"
Conan pulled back his wandering thoughts, gave Hattori Heiji a grumpy look, and pointed to the rim on the lower level of the cart. "It's wedged inside the rim. It seems the culprit is indeed Ms. Eguchi Sachiko. Although Miss Kaede also had the opportunity and has a strange relationship with Mr. Kikuhito, only Ms. Eguchi Sachiko could control the movement of the serving cart freely."
"She wasn't wearing gloves when serving the dishes, and none were found in her belongings later. Her fingerprints will definitely be on the cake piping tip," Hattori Heiji grinned suddenly. "Case closed!"
"Please start your performance." Chi Feichi turned and went back to his seat.
"Hey..." Hattori Heiji couldn't stop him in time, so he turned to look at Conan.
"You do it," Conan said helplessly. "I already used my tranquilizer dart."
"Used it?" Hattori Heiji subconsciously turned his head to look at Mouri Kogoro, who was still lively and kicking at the scene.
"I originally intended to put Chi Feichi to sleep," Conan lowered his voice. "But after I shot the dart, he noticed it and dodged."
Hattori Heiji burst out laughing and poked Conan's head with his finger. "I told you, don't provoke other people. Isn't it fine to just honestly tranquilize that muddled old man? You were discovered by me last time you tranquilized me; haven't you learned your lesson yet?"
Conan speechlessly dodged Hattori Heiji's poking finger. After considering it, he told Hattori Heiji the truth. "He has a video of me and photos of Haibara on his phone. It's very likely to attract people from that organization. And he refuses to delete them. I wanted to use his identity for the deduction so I could get hold of his phone and delete those things."
"It would attract the guys who shrank you? That's troublesome," Hattori Heiji stole a glance at Chi Feichi. "Why not just explain it to him clearly..."
"Please!" Conan quickly stopped Hattori Heiji's train of thought. "If those guys find out Kudo Shinichi isn't dead, they will definitely come to kill me again. Then even the people around me will be in danger. The fewer people who know about me shrinking, the better."
If Hattori Heiji hadn't guessed his identity and confronted him, he wouldn't have told Hattori either...
"But does he really not know?" Hattori Heiji said. "Although he stayed here for two days and has more information than us, his deductive and observational skills are no worse than mine. What I can think of, he should be able to think of too, right?"
"He doesn't have your intense curiosity," Conan looked sideways at Hattori Heiji, implying something. "At least he hasn't sought confirmation from me, nor has he pressed me to get to the bottom of it."
"Not curious... or maybe he already knows everything, so there's nothing to be curious about. He just hasn't told you," Hattori Heiji gloated inexplicably. "Just like the Kaitou Kid's notice riddle last time. He obviously figured it out early on, but he just wouldn't verify it with anyone or say it out loud. It's the same this time. If you don't go ask him, he might just keep quiet until we find the truth ourselves."
"I have that suspicion too, but since he doesn't ask anything, I have no way to determine what he's thinking. Anyway, let's wait and see." Conan was out of ideas.
Chi Feichi didn't play by the rules at all. And considering Chi Feichi was a patient at Aoyama Fourth Hospital, Conan felt he shouldn't use a normal person's mindset to understand Chi Feichi's thoughts, nor could he predict what Chi Feichi was thinking...
Hattori Heiji didn't continue the discussion. After preparing himself, he alerted the police and began his deduction of the entire process.
Everyone returned to their original seats to reconstruct the crime scene. Megure Juzo and Takagi Wataru stood in for Morizono Kikuhito and Shigematsu Akio, while the remaining officers, following Hattori Heiji's instructions, retrieved the piping tip wedged in the rim of the serving cart.
Eguchi Sachiko tried to deny it at first, but after Hattori Heiji reconstructed the crime process, she fell silent.
"Inspector Megure!" An officer walked over holding an evidence bag. Inside was clearly the flattened piece of metal taken from the cart's lower rim. "We found traces of plastic containing snake venom inside, and there's also a clear fingerprint left on it!"
"Hmph, I see." Megure Juzo stood up from his seat and looked at Eguchi Sachiko.
"I just... wanted to ruin tomorrow's wedding," Eguchi Sachiko lowered her head, blaming herself. "I didn't know the snake venom I cleaned out from Mie's things was from a Sharp-nosed Viper. Looking at the photos Mie had, I thought it was the same kind of snake young master Feichi brought. I thought since it's a snake kept as a pet, injecting a little venom wouldn't kill anyone..."
"Then this Mie you mentioned..." Megure Juzo wanted to confirm the source of the venom.
"She's my daughter. Since I divorced my ex-husband, she has been living alone outside and refuses to tell me anything," Eguchi Sachiko looked at Katagiri Kaede with a complex gaze. "I occasionally went to help her clean her room. That was when I found the snake venom she had left at home. I also found a photo of her and Young Master Kikuhito. After that, I called to ask if she had a boyfriend. That conversation was the most harmonious one we've had in years. As long as we talked about her romance, she seemed to turn back into that little girl who relied on her mother, talking hopefully about her life during that time, and asking me nervously if the gift she chose was okay. I had intended to tell her the next time we spoke that Young Master Kikuhito was the eldest young master of the family I work for..."
"T-Then after that..." Katagiri Kaede thought of her engagement to Morizono Kikuhito and didn't finish her sentence.
"After that, Miss Kaede arrived, and with Butler Shigematsu's matchmaking, she got engaged to Young Master Kikuhito," Eguchi Sachiko closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. "I couldn't imagine how sad Mie would be. No matter what, parents always worry about their children. When Young Master Feichi came over this time and brought a snake that looked very much like the one in the photo, I thought it must be a sign from heaven for me to stop this wedding. I just wanted Young Master Kikuhito to have an accident, and for Butler Shigematsu to get hurt too. I never intended to kill them..."
"If you don't know anything about snakes, don't use snake venom recklessly," Hattori Heiji said helplessly. "Snake venom is dangerous stuff. If you had killed someone because of this and caused an innocent person to be charged with murder, what then?"
"I am truly sorry!" Eguchi Sachiko bowed to everyone.
Shortly after, the police received a call from the hospital. Morizono Kikuhito and Shigematsu Akio had been resuscitated and were out of danger, though they would need to recuperate for some time.
Morizono Mikio went out to tell the reporters about the postponement of the wedding, and Chi Feichi received a call from Morizono Kikuhito.
"I'm really sorry for causing you trouble. Actually, Mie knew her mother worked at my house, but..." Morizono Kikuhito's voice was weak. "Forget it, let's not talk about that now. Please apologize to Feichi for me too."
"Feichi wants to eat fish," Chi Feichi said calmly.
There was a second of silence on the other end. "Okay, buy, buy, buy! I'll contact someone to order fish right away. As much as he wants."