Chapter 278 The Fourteenth Target part 16

"Hahahaha!!!!"

 Nana Osanai couldn't help laughing when she heard it. She also held the wine and said with a smile, "You've been fooled. How can I have so much money to buy a bottle of wine worth millions of yuan as a gift."

 As she said that, Nana Osanai walked to Kohei Sawaki, put the wine glass in front of Kohei Sawaki and said, "You are the bartender, right? Then please tell the fake writer what kind of wine this is."

 "Okay!"

 Kohei Sawaki did not refuse. He picked up the wine glass, put it in front of his eyes and shook it gently. He looked at the color of the wine in the glass, put it to his nose and smelled it, and then took a sip.

 "This is Beaujolais Moulin-a-vent, right?"

 "Absolutely!"

 Nana Osanai nodded, then crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at Minoru Nishina with a smug look on her face.

 "How could this be Beaujolais Moulin-a-vent?"

 Minoru Nishina looked at the wine glass in his hand in disbelief, not believing that the red wine in the glass could be Beaujolais Moulin-a-vent.

Sawaki Gongping explained: "As for Beaujolais wine, if it is made from long-matured grape wine, it can also produce a premium wine aroma like Chambertin."

 "Now you understand, right?"

 Nana Osanai sneered, "I think you should get rid of your reputation as a food critic."

 "Damn it!"

 Minoru Nishina hated in his heart. If it weren't for Nana Osanai, he wouldn't have to make such a fool of himself. Besides, there are so many people here. If someone tells others what just happened, he will suffer a great loss.

 Peter Ford said, "Hearing what you said, I want to drink red wine now."

 "Then let's drink together. I'll get it."

 Nana Osanai said and walked away.

 "I want to drink beer."

 Eimei Shishido stood up and walked away.

 Conan said he wanted to drink soda and left.

 Minoru Nishina was embarrassed to sit with everyone because he was exposed, so he went to sit at the table alone.

 After a while, Conan came back with several bottles of soda. He walked to Ran Mouri and handed her a bottle.

 Bang!

Conan was holding multiple bottles, and in his attempt to distribute them, all but the one Ran Mouri took slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor. Two bottles rolled under the table. He crouched down to retrieve them.

 As Conan emerged from under the table, Mouri Kogoro walked over and took one of the sodas from his hand.

 Confused, Conan asked, "Uncle, aren't you drinking beer?" Mouri Kogoro usually drank beer every day, and with such a good opportunity, possibly with high-end beer available, it was surprising that he opted for soda instead.

 "Jo Murakami may appear at any time. How can I drink beer?"

Mouri Kogoro picked up another bottle from the ground and left, heading toward Juzo Megure and Ninzaburo Shiratori. He had taken three bottles of soda, intending to share them with the two men, as he couldn't risk drinking alcohol when an attack could happen at any moment.

Conan had brought five bottles in total. With three taken by Mouri Kogoro, that left just enough for him and Mouri Ran—one each—but none for Aizen or Kisaki Eri.

 "Would you like something to drink?" Aizen asked Kisaki Eri.

"Let's go together," Kisaki Eri replied. However, upon seeing Kohei Sawaki get up and leave, she became curious. Was Aizen planning to follow him? Deciding to observe, she chose to follow as well.

 Aizen nodded and left with Kisaki Eri.

Upon entering the kitchen, they saw Kohei Sawaki tasting some kind of seasoning. When he noticed them, he quickly put the seasoning back, opened the nearby refrigerator, and took out a bottle of mineral water from the bottom shelf.

As he passed by Aizen and Kisaki Eri, Kohei Sawaki nodded at them.

 Aizen and Kisaki Eri went to the refrigerator and selected their drinks.

After Kohei Sawaki left the kitchen, Kisaki Eri walked over to the condiments, picked up the bottle Sawaki had just put down, and examined it.

 "This is a bottle of spicy condiment, why does he want to taste it?"

Aizen observed, "He's a bartender, and protecting his sense of taste is crucial. There's no logical reason for him to sample something so spicy."

Kisaki Eri put the bottle down. "You're right. There's definitely something off about Sawaki Kohei."

Aizen sighed. "This is just speculation, though. Without evidence, it's meaningless."

Kisaki Eri continued, "Kogoro doesn't even know Asahi Katsuyoshi, Nana Osanai, Minoru Nishina, Peter Ford, or Eimei Shishido. We originally assumed the culprit had to know Kogoro because the first victims were Inspector Megure, me, and Dr. Agasa. But what if that was intentional misdirection? Maybe we weren't the real targets, and those five people weren't either."

 Aizen considered this. "You're suggesting the culprit isn't Jo Murakami, but Sawaki Kohei?"

Kisaki Eri looked at Aizen. "I don't have proof yet, but I think it's a strong possibility. It just seems too far-fetched to connect Kogoro to those five people."

"But if Sawaki Kohei is the culprit, then what's his motive?"

Aizen asked, though deep down, he already suspected the truth. If Conan didn't intervene soon, Kisaki Eri might solve the case before him. Since meeting her, her deduction skills had noticeably improved. Previously, she didn't analyze cases this well.

Her improvement made sense, though. Recently, she had been reading a lot of detective novels. Wanting to better understand the man she admired, she had also experienced several cases firsthand with Aizen. This exposure had encouraged her to refine her reasoning abilities, shifting her mindset from that of a lawyer to that of a detective.

Aizen and Kisaki Eri left the kitchen, each holding a drink.

As they walked, Kisaki Eri mused, "When I saw the bottle of spicy seasoning, I wondered if Sawaki Kohei had a taste disorder. After all, a bartender has no reason to sample something so spicy. But then I remembered that he had correctly identified the Moulin-à-Vent wine, so his taste must be fine. It doesn't make sense."

"If he had a taste disorder, he wouldn't have been able to identify the wine at all," Aizen agreed.

He debated whether to stop Kisaki Eri from investigating further but decided to let her proceed. Watching her solve the case on her own could be interesting.

When Aizen and Kisaki Eri returned to the restaurant, they saw that everyone had gotten up to go somewhere. After asking, they learned that Peter Ford had found a note on the ground instructing Sawaki Kohei to retrieve a bottle of red wine from the wine cellar. The note was signed by Asahi Katsuyoshi.

Aizen and Kisaki Eri naturally joined the others.

The wine cellar contained numerous racks filled with bottles, with especially expensive wines displayed separately. The total value of the wines stored here was undoubtedly significant.

"It's so cold!" Ran shivered.

"No, actually, this temperature is a bit high," Sawaki Kohei corrected. "The ideal temperature for storing red wine is between 10 to 14 degrees Celsius. The current temperature is 17 degrees—slightly too warm."

Sawaki beside her explained: "." The ideal temperature for storing red wine should be 10 to 14 degrees. The current temperature is 17 degrees, which is actually a little high. "

Ninzaburo Shiratori, excited at the sight of the famous wines, eagerly introduced them to Juzo Megure and Mouri Kogoro.

Meanwhile, Sawaki Kohei went to the M18 rack, as mentioned in the note, to retrieve the wine. Conan followed him.

Aizen and Kisaki Eri, however, examined the surrounding wines instead.

"Be careful! Kohei Sawaki!"

Conan's voices rang out one after another, and everyone ran over immediately, only to see a crossbow arrow stuck on a wooden barrel, and on the other side, a crossbow was fixed and placed, obviously someone was going to attack Sawaki. 

With danger evident, the group immediately left the wine cellar.

As they returned to the restaurant, they discovered that the electronic door lock had been engaged. Just then, a terrified scream from Nana Osanai filled the air.

 Everyone turned in her direction and saw a body floating in the aquarium, a nine of spades playing card tucked into its jacket pocket.

It was Asahi Katsuyoshi.