31. I'm Looking Forward To Your Performance

"Minagawa Katsuhiko breathed his last just now."

"The cause of death is most likely poisoning."

"Ms. Watanabe, the deceased must have collapsed not long after eating your chocolate, right?"

Minagawa Katsuhiko is dead.

The previous scream was made by Watanabe Yoshimi beside him at the moment he fell down holding his throat in fear.

The police arrived very quickly.

After some investigation and evidence collection, and after carrying away Minagawa Katsuhiko's body, Inspector Megure immediately began questioning.

Everyone in the house was gathered in the living room.

"Yes, I did give Katsuhiko some chocolate."

Watanabe Yoshimi sat on the sofa and cried heartbrokenly.

When Minagawa Katsuhiko finished his coffee and went to the yard to smoke, she followed him out. When trying to persuade him, she gave him the chocolate she made herself, but he took it and just took a few bites and suddenly -

Inspector Megure pinched his chin and stared at her with suspicion.

Based on the situation at the scene and Watanabe Yoshimi's description, it was hard for him not to doubt her, but seeing her crying so heartbrokenly, he couldn't help but hesitate.

Edogawa Conan stood aside in deep thought.

Although he also suspected Watanabe Yoshimi, but not much, and at this moment he felt that everyone else was suspicious.

(Okay, Hayashi, this time we are standing on the same starting line)

"Officer, can you check the coffee and cakes here?"

Edogawa Conan was looking at Hayashi Yoshiki, and was preparing for a competition with high morale, but suddenly he heard him speak.

Inspector Megure immediately left Watanabe Yoshimi behind.

"Did you find anything, Brother Hayashi?"

"I don't know if it can be considered a discovery, but I just think the taste of this coffee is a little strange."

"Strange?"

"We didn't feel that."

"Tsk, he's just being mysterious to make himself look special."

The other people who also drank coffee looked at each other, and Wakamatsu Toshihide even sneered when he saw this.

Hayashi Yoshiki ignored it.

He looked away from the notebook in his hand, raised his eyes, glanced at Minagwa Katsuhiko's mother who suddenly became very nervous, looked at the little boy Susumu who was following her, and smiled:

"Susumu, does your tooth still hurt?"

"Um."

The little boy covered his right cheek and nodded dejectedly.

Hayashi Yoshiki then looked at the woman beside him: "Madam must be very strict. It seems that she completely forbade the child to eat sweets during the period when he had tooth decay."

"...Yes, otherwise the child's tooth decay problem will become more serious."

"But when I saw Susumu secretly drinking coffee just now, you immediately fed him several bites of cake."

"…" The woman's expression tightened.

"And you were particularly concerned about everyone's comments on the cake in the living room just now. Especially when I had already said that I didn't like sweets and might try it later, you still urged me to have a bite."

"…"

"How should I put it? Because few people would reject me, but your insistence makes me care."

"Because I made these cakes with great care…"

"Yes, the cake tastes great, and the sweetness ratio is excellent." Hayashi Yoshiki nodded, and then said, "But I wonder if your urging is to ensure that everyone except Mr. Minagawa eats the cake."

"…"

Hearing this, the woman was already in a state of confusion. She subconsciously clutched her sleeves tightly, feeling a little at a loss.

Inspector Megure finally came to his senses.

"So, the poison might be related to the coffee, and there might be an antidote in the cake, right?"

"It's just a possibility. Maybe I'm just too dark-minded and think too badly about things."

"What are you talking about? Anyway, if possible, send them for examination first."

Inspector Megure waved his hand decisively.

The woman had no time to stop them, nor did she know what reason to use to stop them. She could only watch with a pale face as the police collected the things for inspection.

She didn't even have time to use the frame-up methods she had planned.

Just one look at her guilty look and Conan immediately realized that the truth was probably what Hayashi Yoshiki said.

But...

What the hell!?

Which detective can solve a case like this!?

Why I feels like I don't have any experience in solving a case at all!?

Looking at Hayashi Yoshiki sitting there flipping through his notebook, writing and drawing, without any other movements, it was obvious that he didn't think there would be any other possibilities, and Edogawa Conan felt inexplicably jealous.

He racked his brain to think if there were any other possibilities.

But in the end, it was not until the police brought the inspection report and told her that the coffee did contain poison that the woman finally could not hold on and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing Inspector Megure approaching with handcuffs, she began to cry and confessed her motive for murder - to seize the inheritance.

In fact, Minagawa Katsuhiko is not her biological child.

His parents passed away in a car accident seven years ago, and she was his aunt who decided to adopted him...

Until today, seven years later, because her husband's business failed and was about to go bankrupt, the woman started to think about the inheritance left by Minagawa Katsuhiko's parents.

The subsequent process is completed.

When Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko expressed their desire to leave with mixed feelings, Hayashi Yoshiki smiled and said that he needed to go to the bathroom.

Wakamatsu Toshihide happened to be in the corridor over there.

"I'll take your comments, Mr. Wakamatsu."

"Um?"

Wakamatsu Toshihide, who was walking in front, turned around and raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was Hayashi Yoshiki, "What do you mean!?"

"Nothing serious, but since Mr. Wakamatsu can call someone a 'coward' so arrogantly, I think you must be a very courageous man who will never back down at the critical moment. I am very much looking forward to what kind of performance you will show."

Hayashi Yoshiki looked at him with a smile.

Just that face...

The smile on that unrealistically handsome face seemed like an illusion that was put on.

Ha?

Hearing his meaningless words, Wakamatsu Toshihide felt confused and spat immediately.

Hayashi Yoshiki was still watching with a smile on his face.

But there was no emotion in his black eyes. As he turned and left, he took out his cell phone and deleted the text message he had just received.