"Inspector, I've confirmed it. The second victim also stepped out of a car she was driving herself before heading to the park restroom," Officer Takagi reported, running back after a period of investigation.
"I see," Inspector Megure nodded.
The culprit specifically targeted girls who wore 'Ganguro' style makeup and drove their own cars—was there a particular reason for this?
"The shoes. Right, Ran?" Ikumi Kyoda seemed to have realized something. She wore a slight smile as she questioned Ran, who had been glancing at the deceased from time to time.
"The shoes..."
Ran's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly. "Exactly! That's it! Girls who wear 'Ganguro' makeup nowadays wouldn't dress like this!"
A signature feature of the 101-style 'Gal' look was platform shoes!
Yet, the victim lying before them was wearing a pair of red flats.
"Did you find something?" Inspector Megure's attention was drawn to their conversation.
"You could say that. We found the key to the problem." Ikumi Kyoda noticed the 'repairman' was nowhere to be seen and couldn't help but smile.
The detective then pulled a pair of white gloves from her pocket and put them on. She stepped forward and removed the red flats from the victim's feet.
Sure enough, the shoe size was wrong—they were a size too small, making them a struggle to even put on.
"Are you saying the culprit swapped the original platform shoes the victim was wearing for these?" Takagi was baffled.
What was the point of doing that?
"I think he didn't want anyone to notice the pattern," Conan added, his hands in his pockets, having reached the same conclusion. "He targets women who drive while wearing platform shoes, and all of them have visited this mall."
When it came to women's fashion, Ikumi Kyoda naturally understood more than the famous detective.
"What did you say?!" Everyone present was stunned by this common link.
"That does seem to fit. Thinking back, the other three victims were dressed the same way when they were attacked," Takagi nodded, finding the point highly suspicious.
Sato frowned, deep in thought. "I remember Yumi telling me that the traffic accident caused by the deceased, Ms. Aizawa, in this very parking lot a year ago... the primary cause was the platform shoes she was wearing. They reduced her sensitivity to the brake pedal, leading to that tragedy."
"Is that true?" Megure stepped forward to ask.
"Yes. The parents of the boy who died in that accident—who were already divorced—strongly argued that the shoes were the cause of the accident, but the judge didn't agree with them," Sato explained.
Yumi had apparently discussed the accident with her in detail; many of those facts were still tucked away in her mind.
"His parents were already divorced?" Megure asked curiously.
"Right. I remember the boy's father's surname was..." Sato struggled to recall.
"Sadakane!"
Ikumi Kyoda and Conan spoke almost in unison.
Yoshio Sadakane!
With Sato's confirmation, everyone immediately remembered the security guard they had questioned earlier.
"With that, the height matches, and the motive becomes quite clear," Ikumi Kyoda said, casting a knowing smile at the elementary schooler.
This kid was definitely unusual.
First, there was the height issue.
Because the two victims who saw the culprit were wearing extremely thick platform shoes at the time of the attack, it caused a discrepancy in their perception; they thought he was roughly the same height as them.
However, when they went to the station for questioning, they weren't wearing the makeup or the shoes. Takagi had measured them both at around 150 centimeters. Therefore, the culprit was likely about ten centimeters taller than the police's initial estimate.
This matched the security guard's height perfectly—somewhere in the 160s.
Then there was the motive.
The boy who died in the parking lot accident a year ago was named Akira Sakurai; he likely took his mother's surname after the divorce.
If his father was indeed the guard, Yoshio Sadakane, then the motive required no further explanation.
His biological son was killed by a girl driving in platform shoes. Since then, he had harbored a deep hatred for that specific trait. He took a job as a security guard at the parking lot specifically to target girls dressed like that.
The 'Ganguro' makeup likely had nothing to do with it; his targets were simply women who drove in platform shoes.
The job of a parking lot security guard was the perfect position to scout for such targets. And, with enough luck, he might even wait long enough for the person responsible for the accident a year ago to show up at his door!
"Takagi! Go find out the details of that accident from a year ago immediately! The rest of you, find Guard Sadakane's whereabouts!" Megure barked out orders.
The officers on the scene immediately began their search.
"But if the culprit wanted revenge on Ms. Aizawa, why didn't he just go to her house?" Mouri asked, still puzzled.
"The victim was under twenty. When the accident happened a year ago, she would have still been a minor," Superintendent Matsumoto said, shaking his head.
The police do not disclose the addresses of underage suspects. The culprit likely lay in wait at the scene of the tragedy day and night, waiting for his chance at revenge.
"Inspector! I've confirmed the details of that case. That guard is indeed the father of the boy who died in the accident a year ago!" Since it was just checking a name, Takagi was very fast.
"Where is he now?" Megure asked.
"His car is still in the underground garage, but the man himself has vanished."
Conan noticed Ran looking around anxiously and stepped up to ask, "What's wrong, Ran-neechan?"
"Sonoko hasn't come back yet. She said she was going to put her things in the car and then head to the restroom," Ran said, checking the time.
Strange... it had been over ten minutes already.
Put things in the car...
Conan's expression shifted instantly.
Wait, the shoes Sonoko was wearing today were...!
Sonoko was currently walking up the stairs between the eighth and ninth floors when her phone suddenly rang.
"I'm still inside the department store! Honestly, I just stayed in the restroom a little too long and they closed the doors and turned off the power," Sonoko grumbled into the phone.
Regardless of whether anyone was still inside, the elevators on these floors weren't running. She had to climb up to the restaurant street on the tenth floor just to find a working elevator to get back to the parking garage.
Clack... clack...
Rhythmic footsteps suddenly echoed behind her. In the dark, empty stairwell, the sound was chilling.
Sonoko swallowed hard and glanced behind her.
This atmosphere was truly...
"Sonoko, what's wrong!" Ran's voice came through the phone.
"It's nothing... I'm probably just scaring myself," Sonoko said, breathing a sigh of relief when the sound stopped.
But just then, the footsteps started again, and they were clearly getting closer!
"Aaah!"
Sonoko let out a scream and immediately began sprinting up the stairs.
Tsuneo, carrying the unconscious security guard in one hand, stepped out from the corner. He watched her retreating back with an expression of total speechlessness.
Ms. Sonoko really is a classic stroke of ill luck...
(End of Chapter)
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