"S-Surrender..." Takagi Wataru felt like saying this made him sound like a criminal. He was also conflicted; he was currently riding a tiger and couldn't get off. Being stared at by Chi Feichi's calm gaze, he felt inexplicably guilty, as if he really should go surrender. "I-I'll think about it..."
"No need to think!" Genta said with certainty. "Aren't we investigating a case? If you surrender, we won't be able to investigate!"
"Yeah," Ayumi nodded. "We promised that uncle and Officer Sato that we would uncover the truth quickly!"
Mitsuhiko stroked his chin. "If Officer Takagi goes to surrender, it's not impossible. We, the Detective Boys, can investigate on our own..."
How could Takagi Wataru rest easy letting a group of children investigate a case? Even with Chi Feichi tagging along, he was afraid something might happen if they encountered the murderer. He was a police officer after all; he couldn't hide away and leave the investigation to others. "Um... sorry to trouble you, Mr. Chi. I still want to investigate the case clearly."
Chi Feichi opened the car door and threw a bag over. "Then change your clothes."
"Eh?" Takagi Wataru caught the bag and opened it. Inside was a long, wavy blonde wig for women, a long skirt, a women's coat, high heels, and a handbag filled with cosmetics and jewelry in the fur lining. "This... you want me to change into this?"
"Police officers sometimes disguise themselves for surveillance too, right?" Chi Feichi said.
What's there to be shy about!
"Yes, but... why women's clothing?" Takagi Wataru was a bit mentally broken. During surveillance, he did disguise himself, but always as a male.
"Now that Officer Sato has been caught, the police must know you are investigating. Investigating usually involves questioning people related to the case and visiting the crime scene," Chi Feichi analyzed calmly. "There must be people lying in ambush there now. The main observation targets are males. If you change into women's clothing and use makeup to disguise yourself, they might overlook you at a glance."
Conan nodded. He had to admire this guy Chi Feichi's meticulousness. He only asked Chi Feichi to pick them up, momentarily forgetting the police might ambush relevant places. He didn't expect Chi Feichi to consider this before coming and even prepare the items.
Not far away, faint siren sounds could be heard again.
The three children also got anxious.
"Officer Takagi, just put it on."
"It's for investigating the case, isn't it?"
"O-Okay, wait for me a moment." Takagi Wataru compromised, hugging the bag and walking towards the darkness in the alley.
"Cherish it well," Haibara Ai also got in the mood to watch the fun and reminded leisurely, "GUCU's women's clothing. Although not extremely expensive, every item is very popular. And this is the latest style."
"Yes..." Takagi Wataru walked away weakly.
Seeing a trace of envy in Haibara Ai's eyes, Chi Feichi was silent for a moment. "Ai, GUCU doesn't have children's clothing."
Haibara Ai: "..."
She didn't want it... Okay, maybe her eyes did show a tiny bit of envy just now, but hearing the term 'children's clothing' really stings!
Conan held back his laughter and turned to Chi Feichi. "By the way, Brother Chi, do you want to disguise yourself? There should be quite a few people in the police force who know you, right?"
"It doesn't matter," Chi Feichi said. "If discovered, I'll just say I saw the report, felt there was something wrong with the case, and while on the way back from dinner with my girlfriend and the kids, happened to pass by and wanted to take a look."
Conan thought for a moment. "Although taking kids and a girlfriend to a crime scene is a bit nonsensical, saying you're just passing by and taking a look makes sense..."
Ten minutes later, the car left the alley entrance.
Cross-dressing Takagi Wataru drove. "Disguise as Mr. Chi's girlfriend?"
"Uh, isn't that a bit unfair to Brother Chi..." Mitsuhiko sweated.
Takagi Wataru: "..."
Hey hey, the cross-dressing me is clearly the one suffering the most injustice, okay...
Chi Feichi sat in the passenger seat, looking down at the investigation results recorded by the group of children earlier. "So I regret it. Say you're my distant cousin... older female cousin."
Takagi Wataru was greatly shocked. "Mr. Chi..."
"Your makeup skills are too poor." Chi Feichi said without looking up.
The cosmetics he brought weren't counterfeit or shoddy products; he bought them before learning disguise techniques. The clothes chosen weren't ugly either. Considering Takagi Wataru was male and had a larger frame, he specifically asked the shop assistant and chose clothes suitable for women with larger frames.
Takagi Wataru wasn't ugly himself, but after changing clothes and putting on makeup, he looked simply frightening...
"I've put on women's makeup before." Takagi Wataru scratched his head.
"Officer Takagi, if we meet police officers later, please restrain your masculine behaviors," Chi Feichi reminded him, then added, "Tell me about the previous investigation of this case."
"Uh, yes," Takagi Wataru sighed inwardly. Still have to act like a woman later? Being him is really too hard. "The suspect, Mr. Higashida, and the victim, Miss Muranishi, lived in the same apartment building. Also, Miss Muranishi was Mr. Higashida's superior. The crime scene was the bathroom in Miss Muranishi's room. She was strangled with a VCR cable. When the body was discovered, Mr. Higashida was drunk and sleeping soundly on Miss Muranishi's bed. The entrance door and the chain lock were both locked at the time; the room was a locked room. Besides that, the door key, chain lock, and the VCR cable on the deceased all had Mr. Higashida's fingerprints."
Conan took over. "The police also investigated his motive. He and Miss Muranishi didn't have a good relationship at the company and often quarreled. On the day of the crime, Mr. Higashida excitedly told his friends at a tavern that he would definitely teach that woman a lesson."
"After drinking, he went to Miss Muranishi's room under the influence of alcohol, quarreled, and killed Miss Muranishi. That is also a possibility," Takagi Wataru said. "As for locking the chain lock, it should have been to prevent Miss Muranishi from escaping. After killing Miss Muranishi, he passed out on her bed because he couldn't handle the alcohol."
Chi Feichi indeed didn't remember the specifics of this case before. "Mr. Higashida must have said he doesn't remember anything, right?"
Conan: "..."
Drank too much, don't remember anything... He seemed to have experienced that once before.
"Yes, precisely because he couldn't explain the situation clearly, and there were evidence and motive, plus it was a locked room, the police arrested him as the murderer," Takagi Wataru said. "But he insists he wouldn't kill because of that."
"Drinking causes trouble." Chi Feichi commented.
Haibara Ai nodded. "Getting drunk causes even more trouble."
Conan: "..."
Feeling alluded to once again...
"You've already investigated the izakaya where they drank," Chi Feichi finished reading the children's notes and handed them back. "Going to the crime scene next?"
"Yes, we plan to check the situation at the crime scene again!" Ayumi responded enthusiastically.
"Then stop near the crime scene," Chi Feichi said. "There are bento boxes in the trunk. Eat before going."
Takagi Wataru was a bit embarrassed. "Mr. Chi, Conan even made you buy bento. Sorry for the expense..."
"I didn't say anything." Conan looked at Chi Feichi in confusion.
"Then how did Brother Chi know we haven't had dinner?" Mitsuhiko asked directly.
"I guessed," Chi Feichi said. "Because being with Conan, if a case happens, eating is basically impossible."
"Oi oi, what does this have to do with me..." Conan gave him half-moon eyes.
Chi Feichi calmly listed, "During the Magic Lover incident, the case happened at dinner time, nobody ate. At the Mamiya house, you disappeared before dinner, so you and I didn't eat dinner. At the Morizono house, the incident happened during dinner, again nobody got to eat. In Izu, you heard someone was killed by the train tracks and ran over; you, Sonoko, and Ran didn't eat lunch..."