**Chapter 11: The Truth is Dark**

"How could I possibly know the deceased!" The manager gave an awkward laugh, revealing a hint of guilt.

"Though it was only for a moment, I did notice your shock when you saw the body," Fujino said, staring into the manager's eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, you deliberately slipped just now to remove the hair clutched in the victim's hand!"

"What?!" Inspector Megure quickly called over the forensic officer. "Check if there's really a hair in the victim's hand as Fujino says!"

"Inspector Megure!" the officer said, examining the body. "There is indeed a strand of long hair clutched in the victim's hand!"

Megure took the evidence bag, examining the woman's hair inside, and said sternly, "Can either of you explain this?"

"Actually, I know that person," Yoko Okino admitted.

"Yoko!" The manager shouted in surprise.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Yamagishi, but I can't keep this a secret any longer..." Yoko bowed apologetically. "Not only do I know him, but he was also my boyfriend in high school, Akira Fujie."

"What?!" Megure exclaimed, then questioned her, "So you must be the one who killed Mr. Fujie to end your relationship and protect your popularity!"

"That's not true!" Yoko explained hurriedly. "He was the one who wanted to break up, not me..."

"Something's off..." Conan, standing by the door, murmured to himself. Although the hair in Fujie's hand belonged to Yoko, something didn't add up. If only he could get into the crime scene...

As Conan pondered, Fujino's voice snapped him back to reality. "Inspector Megure, the murderer is not Yoko Okino!" Fujino suddenly interrupted, speaking firmly. "I know who the real killer is!"

"What? Fujino, if it's not her, then who?" Megure looked at Fujino, puzzled. From Fujino's earlier statements, it seemed the killer was Yoko. If not her, then who could it be? Could it be suicide?

"The truth is usually only one," Fujino took a deep breath, pointing to the body on the floor. "The person who killed Mr. Fujie is actually himself!"

"Really?" Megure was stunned. "That can't be. Fujie was stabbed in the back. How could it be suicide?"

"It's quite simple," Fujino explained, pointing to the water stains around the body. "Did you notice the water stains on the floor?"

"Water stains? What do they have to do with the case?" Megure was still confused.

Fujino scratched the back of his head, thinking the intelligence of the police in this world was surprisingly low. He then explained, "If Mr. Fujie used ice to fix the knife and then set the air conditioning to a high temperature before committing suicide, the melting ice would leave these water stains, which are closely related to the case!"

"I see..." Megure rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If that's the case, Fujie faking his murder to look like a homicide is entirely plausible." He gave Fujino an approving look, momentarily seeing a familiar figure in him. It was Shinichi!

"But Fujino, if the victim committed suicide, why was he clutching Yoko's hair?" Conan, having slipped free from Ran's grasp, asked Fujino.

Fujino was not surprised by Conan's appearance. He crouched down, patted Conan's head teasingly, and said, "Remember to use honorifics when addressing your senior, Conan!"

Ouch! Didn't he see the big bump on my head? This guy must be doing this on purpose! How annoying! But for the sake of solving the case, I'll endure it! Conan's lips twitched as he stared at Fujino with a resentful look. "I got it... Mr. Fujino!"

"Good boy, Conan!" Fujino chuckled, continuing his deduction. "If I'm correct, Mr. Fujie went to great lengths to frame Ms. Yoko Okino for his death."

"Frame Yoko Okino?" Conan was puzzled. "But if they broke up, why would he come back to take revenge on her?"

"This whole thing is actually a tragedy," Fujino shook his head, then asked Yoko, "Ms. Yoko, is it okay if I reveal the content of your commission?"

"No problem," Yoko nodded.

"Ms. Yoko recently commissioned me to investigate someone stalking her. If I'm not mistaken, the person following her was her ex-boyfriend, Mr. Fujie," Fujino explained. "Mr. Fujie still loved Ms. Yoko but broke up with her due to pressure."

He then looked at the manager, Eiichi Yamagishi. "Isn't that right, Mr. Manager?"

"What...?" Yoko was stunned, staring at Yamagishi in disbelief.

"That's... correct," Yamagishi lowered his head. "I asked him to break up with her because she was at the peak of her career. I didn't want her popularity to suffer because of a boyfriend."

"Why... would you do that..." Yoko squatted on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes.

Fujino sighed slightly. "I believe Mr. Fujie pulled that strand of hair from Ms. Yoko's head last night."

"Actually, the person stalking you last night was Mr. Fujie. He wanted to explain everything to you, but you were too scared to hear him out..."

"His sincere love turned into hatred. The more he loved, the more he hated," Fujino said, adopting the demeanor of a middle-aged man.

"This guy..." Conan frowned, watching Fujino. Shinichi Kudo admitted that Fujino's deductive abilities were impressive and that he seemed to have seen through the truth from the beginning. But why did it feel like Fujino was hiding something darker?

(End of Chapter)