Four people were behind the fire that killed Narumi Asai's family.
Three years ago, former chief Isamu Kameyama learned Narumi Asai's identity. Mistaking him for a vengeful threat, Kameyama died of cardiac arrest in fear.
At Kameyama's third-anniversary memorial, current chief Tatsuji Kuroiwa hallucinated Keiji Aso's return, also dying of cardiac arrest.
That left Hideo Kawashima, the island's tycoon, and Ken Nishimoto, a deadbeat drifter.
"Kawashima! Kawashima!!"
Late at night, Nishimoto pounded on Hideo Kawashima's door.
The racket jolted Kawashima awake. Fuming, he flung the door open. "What's your deal, banging around at this hour?!"
"Kawashima… I saw it, I really saw it…"
Nishimoto's face was pale, words tumbling out in panic.
"Saw what?"
"Keiji Aso… it was Keiji Aso!!"
"What?!"
Kawashima's expression shifted at Nishimoto's frantic shout.
The four had orchestrated the Aso family's tragedy. To say Kawashima was unbothered by Kuroiwa's death and that letter signed Keiji Aso would be a lie.
But he didn't buy ghosts.
Grabbing Nishimoto's collar, he growled, "What's going on? Don't mess with me!"
To Kawashima, Nishimoto was a fool, a coward.
Their drug trafficking had set them up. Kameyama and Kuroiwa bought land, becoming village chiefs. Kawashima turned his cash into more wealth, rising as the island's top capitalist. Nishimoto? He just drank and chased women, cowering at home like a quail since Kameyama's death.
"I saw him, Keiji Aso, wreathed in flames, coming closer…"
Nishimoto's pupils were dilated, lips trembling, voice shrill—barely sane. "Step by step, he said—"
"What nonsense?!"
Kawashima's face darkened, shoving Nishimoto's collar.
Is this idiot high?
Deep down, he felt uneasy, but reason rejected such absurdity.
Releasing Nishimoto, Kawashima noticed his hand felt… wet.
A sharp smell hit him.
Gasoline?
"I'm serious, it was Keiji Aso, I saw him… like this…"
Mid-sentence, under Kawashima's stunned gaze, Nishimoto flicked a lighter.
A soft click—the spark erupted, flames swallowing him whole.
Blazing light seared Kawashima's eyes.
He gaped, frozen, voiceless, watching Nishimoto writhe in the fire.
"Like this…"
"Keiji Aso said… you're next, Kawashima."
Nishimoto's voice, warped by the blaze, echoed.
---
Next morning, Inspector Megure's team was swamped.
"Victim: Ken Nishimoto, unemployed."
"Found at 7:21 AM outside Hideo Kawashima's home. Suspected self-immolation."
"Gasoline containers were found at his place. Evidence suggests he doused himself, then walked to Kawashima's door."
"Also, Hideo Kawashima is currently missing."
While police worked, Conan started out eager.
But after sneaking into the scene, finding nothing, and earning a knuckle sandwich from Kogoro, he settled down.
Then he noticed Hayato Masaki hadn't bothered inspecting the site. Did he already know there was nothing to find?
Hayato Masaki was checking his phone.
Gin: "Tomorrow, 3 PM, psych eval."
(This guy's serious?)
Hayato Masaki considered ignoring it, but another text pinged.
Gin: "Reply when you get this. Vodka'll pick you up."
"…"
Boss's orders. He sent a quick "OK."
Pocketing the phone, he tuned back into the group debating Kawashima's whereabouts.
"Maybe he bolted out of guilt," Hayato Masaki said.
"Guilt?"
Heads turned. Conan pounced. "You mean he's tied to Nishimoto's death?!"
"No, the drug trafficking."
Hayato Masaki produced the score from the old officer.
"Decode the notes on a piano, mapped to the 26-letter alphabet, and you get Keiji Aso's hidden message."
"Proof of their trafficking's in the civic hall's piano."
He handed the score to Megure.
"Incredible, Masaki-kun! When'd you figure this out?"
"Yesterday afternoon. I held off because I wanted solid evidence first. This score's from twelve years ago… Luckily, they weren't too clever. It wasn't hard to find."
Megure buzzed with excitement.
Sure, he handled murders daily with sky-high solve rates, but a drug bust? That was a career-maker.
He left some officers at the scene and rushed others to the civic hall for evidence.
Watching Megure go, Hayato Masaki turned to Kogoro's trio. "Case closed. Shall we grab some roasted seaweed and head back to Beika?"
"Uh… sure." Kogoro nodded, then paused. "Wait, Masaki, you saying you know who sent the letter?"
"Yup. It was Asai-sensei. I confirmed it with him yesterday."
"Asai-sensei?!"
"Mm-hm. The score mentions him. I can fill you in later if you're curious."
That big a gap…?
Conan felt a sting of defeat.
He'd been flailing all day, still clueless, while Hayato Masaki had ID'd the client and wrapped the case?
Something felt off.
Kuroiwa's death, Nishimoto's self-immolation, Kawashima's disappearance…
On the surface, no murderer, but it all reeked of weirdness.
And that letter's near-prophetic warning gnawed at him.
"Hayato-nii, don't you think the past two days have been really strange?"
He couldn't hold back.
Hayato Masaki nodded, but his look at Conan was layered, complex.
"They are odd, but…"
"But what?"
"Every time I run into you, Conan, someone dies." He caught himself, flashing a sheepish smile. "Sorry, that was a weird thing to say."
"…"
***
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