Chapter 235: It's Definitely Not Kaitou Kid!

Despite Sera Masumi shaking Tsukino Takashi and calling his name, there was still no reaction.

"Is it hard to provoke even a slight stimulus?"

Sera Masumi whispered softly. She then gently opened Tsukino Takashi's mouth, leaned in, and tried to smell any scent within.

Unfortunately, she couldn't detect any obvious smell from his mouth.

"There's no noticeable scent in Mr. Tsukino's mouth."

Nakamori Ginzo looked a bit disappointed when he saw Sera Masumi straighten up.

"Miss Sera, have you figured out why Mr. Tsukino is unconscious?"

"Mr. Tsukino's breathing is a bit slow, but his heartbeat is within the normal range.

There were no obvious injuries or signs of hypoxia on Mr. Tsukino's body.

So I speculate that Mr. Tsukino might have been drugged," Sera Masumi explained.

"But Miss Sera, you didn't detect any clear odor in Mr. Tsukino's mouth, right?"

A police officer asked from behind.

"Not all drugs have a scent.

Mr. Tsukino's current condition is consistent with someone falling unconscious due to sleeping pills.

For example, common benzodiazepines, like diazepam, don't leave an obvious taste in the mouth after being ingested," Sera Masumi clarified.

Benzodiazepines generally don't have a strong taste, especially if mixed with food or drinks. The residue or odor in the mouth may be very faint or even imperceptible.

Even the slightly bitter, chemical taste of the pills themselves fades over time.

Therefore, if Tsukino Takashi had fallen unconscious due to such drugs, determining the cause without medical tests would be impossible.

Moments later, the police who went to get medical personnel returned.

After conducting a simple examination of Tsukino Takashi, the medical team arrived at the same conclusion as Sera Masumi.

They then moved Tsukino Takashi out of the collection room.

While Sera Masumi was examining Tsukino Takashi, Conan had carefully observed the not-so-large collection room.

He noticed that the display case containing the Scarlet Shadow Heart showed no signs of damage.

Nor were there any obvious clues in the room.

"Officer Nakamori."

Conan suddenly called out to Nakamori Ginzo.

Nakamori Ginzo turned, looking at Conan with a puzzled expression.

"Are there no cameras installed in the collection room?"

"Yes, the cameras are very discreet, so ordinary people wouldn't notice them.

There's a camera above this display case, aimed at the central case. Unless you look closely, you probably wouldn't notice it," Nakamori Ginzo explained, pointing to a corner display case.

Conan looked in the direction Nakamori Ginzo indicated.

He then noticed a barely perceptible camera embedded in the dark metal frame above the case.

The camera's color matched the metal frame so well that even Conan hadn't noticed it initially.

Nakamori Ginzo sent officers to review the surveillance footage.

After inspecting the scene, he returned to the room where Akikawa Kyousuke and the others were.

"Mr. Tsukino was found unconscious in the collection room for the Scarlet Shadow Heart, and the Scarlet Shadow Heart is missing."

"What?!"

All the guests in the room exclaimed after hearing Nakamori Ginzo's statement.

Their faces were filled with extreme surprise.

No one expected the gem to be stolen before the exhibition even began.

"Kaitou Kid! It must be Kaitou Kid!"

Professor Matsumoto Kenichi, who had always disliked Kaitou Kid, shouted loudly.

"He must have sneaked in yesterday, forced Mr. Tsukino to hand over the gem, knocked him unconscious, tied him up, and escaped!

The warning letter he sent is just a smokescreen!

It's just a lie Kaitou Kid told to lower everyone's guard!"

Seto Rin, a junior who admired Kaitou Kid, was immediately outraged by Matsumoto Kenichi's accusation.

Just as she was about to angrily refute Matsumoto Kenichi's slander, two voices rang out in unison.

"Impossible!"

Conan and Nakamori Ginzo almost simultaneously rejected Matsumoto Kenichi's statement.

Nakamori Ginzo looked at Conan with a surprised expression, while Conan quickly averted his gaze, embarrassed.

"Although I still don't know exactly what happened,

there's one thing I'm certain of:

This wasn't done by Kaitou Kid!" Nakamori Ginzo said firmly.

The police officers behind Nakamori Ginzo, as well as Matsumoto Kenichi, looked confused.

"Based on my extensive experience dealing with Kaitou Kid, he always sticks to the contents of his warning letters.

Since he said he'd take the treasure today, there's no way he would have done it yesterday.

Moreover, Kaitou Kid's methods are always sophisticated and magical.

As Mr. Matsumoto described, it's absolutely impossible for Kaitou Kid to coerce someone into handing over the gem and then knock them unconscious and tie them up.

That's completely inconsistent with Kaitou Kid's style."

"But doesn't the scene suggest that's what happened?"

Matsumoto Kenichi asked.

"That means the culprit isn't Kaitou Kid but someone else," Nakamori Ginzo replied.

"Oh~ Uncle, you're so sharp~!"

Although Nakamori Ginzo was known to oppose Kaitou Kid, his objective evaluation impressed Seto Rin.

Embarrassed by the compliment from the university student, Nakamori Ginzo coughed awkwardly and then addressed the room.

"Who was the last person to leave after the rehearsal yesterday?"

"I was," Seto Rin raised her hand.

"Although I was the last to leave, I only stayed a few minutes to pack my things. I didn't linger here for long."

Nakamori Ginzo then turned to the other guests.

After confirming their statements one by one, he found that their accounts were all consistent.

"Speaking of which, there was something concerning about Mr. Tsukino yesterday," Amuro suddenly said, drawing Nakamori Ginzo's attention.

Although both were part of the Metropolitan Police Department, Nakamori Ginzo didn't know Amuro Tooru.

He cast an inquisitive glance at him.

Amuro Tooru continued,

"Mr. Tsukino had a persistent cough yesterday and wore a mask all day."

That was all Amuro said.

To avoid revealing any clues to Akikawa Kyousuke, he refrained from further analysis.

(End of the Chapter)