Another day has ended here in Beika and Ran, escorted by her friend Sonoko Suzuki, heiress of the Suzuki Conglomerate, Conan and the Doctor, who just won the karate championship.

The group took a bus for their next destination. On it, they had a chat.

“Man, you were amazing, Ran!” Sonoko said.

“Indeed, you were marvellous.” the Doctor softly smiled.

“Well, it was all thanks to the axe-flipping kick Kasumi taught me!” Ran said.

“I feel bad for her opponents…” Conan thought.

“Well, as promised, the cake buffet at Haido Hotel is my treat!” Sonoko grinned. ‘Eat up and you’ll get even stronger!”

“Anyway, I should thank you three for inviting me.” the Doctor said.

“No problem, John! I was curious to get to know Conan’s new friend.” Ran smiled at the child-looking Time Lord.

“Plus, you aren’t as annoying as the brat’s friends,” Sonoko commented.

“I’m…Not sure if I should take it as a compliment.” the Doctor said.

Conan chuckled, annoyed.

Then, Sonoko’s eyes widened in shock. She turned to a guy with short dark hair, wearing a brown jacket, blue jeans and a hat that covered his eyes. “Y-You pervert!”

“H-Huh?” The boy was confused.

“Don’t act all innocent now!” Sonoko was furious. “You just touched my butt! Ran! Payback!”

“N-No, w-wai-”

Before he could explain the situation, Ran attacked him…

…But the boy blocked it with.

The two fought and the boy was quite the thorn in her side.

“Jeet Kune Do…” the Doctor recognised the boy’s moves. “Quite the tough opponent, eh?”

“Excellent moves!” The boy said. “As expected from Kanto’s no.1!”

“Tch…” Ran said. “Sonoko, go away, this pervert is powerful…”

“A-Ah! About that!” the boy blushed from the embarrassment. “Let me explain, I am-”

“That guy is innocent, Ran!” Conan said. “Actually, he stopped the criminal!”

“Yup.” the boy pointed at the actual pervert, who then ran away.

“I-I’m so sorry! I went to kick without even making sure…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” The boy chuckled.

“Thanks for stopping that man…Madame.” the Doctor said.

Conan, Ran and Sonoko looked at the Time Lord in sheer confusion.

“M-Madame?” Ran repeated.

The boy, or rather, the girl, smirked.

“Our friend here is a girl.” the Doctor said. “Wasn’t it obvious?”

“No, it wasn’t!” Conan and Sonoko said in unison.

The girl ruffled the Doctor’s hair. “Not bad, kid. Usually, it takes a while for people to realise I’m a girl.”

“Well, I’m not “people”, I happen to be me.” the Doctor said.

The girl laughed. “Anyway, I haven’t introduced myself! The name’s Masumi Sera, nice to meet ya!”

"'Sera'?" the Doctor thought. "That surname sounds familiar...But where and when did I hear it before?"

“I’m Ran Mouri.” Ran bowed slightly. “This is my friend Sonoko. The boy with glasses is Conan, he’s staying at my place for a while, and the boy in the green suit is John Smith, Conan’s classmate.”

“Nice to meet you.” the Doctor said. “You may call me ‘Doctor’ if you want.”

Masumi seemed surprised by the request. “Ok, as you wish, Doc!” She grinned. “Anyway…Where are you guys heading to?”

“To Haido Hotel,” Ran said.

“What a coincidence! I was heading there, too!” Masumi chuckled.

“Huh? Really?” Sonoko was surprised.

“How convenient…” Conan thought, not believing Masumi.

The group went to the Hotel. Masumi had some problems with the reception, as the hotel annexe was under renovation and therefore hadn’t any vacancies.

The quartet ignored that and went away.

“So, Sonoko, where are they having the cake buffet?” Ran asked.

“It should be at the cafe on the 2nd floor,” Sonoko said.

“Let’s go and take a look, then! The lift is over there!” Conan said.

He went to the lift but was quickly stopped by a middle-aged woman with short dark hair.

“Oh? Where are you going, little boy?” She asked.

“To the cake buffet on the 2nd floor!” Conan said.

“Then I’m afraid you can’t use this lift. It takes to the annexe.” the woman said.

“Wasn’t the annexe getting renovated? How is it possible?” Conan thought.

“I’m sorry about him!” Ran said.

“Oh, don’t worry, young lady.” the lady chuckled. “I’m always happy to lend a hand.”

“Miss Hirukawa!” A middle-aged man along with an old lady went to talk with Hirukawa. “How did it go with him?”

“Well, he was drunk and was cursing as usual, but after I scolded he broke down crying.”

Hirukawa explained “But, he said after he’d sobered up, he would apologise to everyone, so he wanted us to come to his room.”

Conan kept eavesdropping on the conversation.

“But don’t you think he could say some nonsense to appease us and make us stop hounding him?” the older lady said.

“Hmm…How about we record his confession, then? So he couldn’t say that he doesn’t remember and the other victims might hear it as well!” Hirukawa proposed. “It may take a while until he’ll sober up, so let’s take my car and go buy a recorder!”

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, our heroes were having problems with the cake buffet. Since there were more customers than expected, they didn’t have enough cakes for everyone.

Sonoko was furious, the Doctor was mildly annoyed while Conan and Ran didn’t mind.

That was until everyone heard a scream of terror.

The Doctor and Conan rushed towards the source of it as soon as they heard it. They arrived at the parking lot along with Ran and Sonoko when they found Hirukawa, the other two people…And the dead body.

“What happened?!” Conan asked.

“We were just backing up the car until…This…Person…” Hirukawa said.

“It’s Uesumi, isn’t it?!” The man said.

“Huh?” Hirukawa noticed something. “T-There’s someone on the roof!”

“Conan, Ran, Sonoko, you guys call the police and guard the body! I’ll go on the roof to investigate!” the Doctor said as he went to the building, followed by the three.

They went to the roof via the lift and when they arrived, they saw a pair of shoes atop a jacket.

“I presume that’s what the lady saw.” the Doctor thought.

“A suicide?!” The man commented.

“No, I don’t think so. It’s a-”

“It’s a murder.” Masumi interrupted the Doctor. “Is that what you wanted to say, Doc?”

The Doctor stayed silent.

“Hold on, m-murder?!” The old lady said. “You’re saying someone pushed Uesumi from here?!”

“Probably. I heard from you that he was quite drunk.” Masumi said. “Then, those shoes were put here to disguise the murder as a mere suicide.”

“How, exactly?” The man asked.

“Well, by using a common preconception. On TV dramas, they often use this trick to make the audience think a suicide happened, however, in real life, anyone who jumps from the roof has their shoes on.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Quite the smart girl, I see.” the Doctor thought.

“Who…Who are you?”

“The name’s Sera, I’m a Detective,” Masumi said.

----------------------------------------

Later, they returned to the parking lot. Masumi, the Doctor and Conan investigated along with Inspector Juzo Megure and the Police Sergeant Wataru Takagi.

“So, you’re saying besides the victim, no one was in the hotel annexe?” Masumi asked.

“According to the guard who looked over the stairs and the lift, you all were the only ones who had gone in or out,” Takagi said.

“And who are you, exactly?” Inspector Megure asked.

“A Detective, I think…” Hirukawa said.

Megure sighed. “Great, yet another high school Detective…” He then read the report. “The victim, Teigo Uesumi, was the son of the owner of this Haido Hotel. They made an exception for him and gave him a room to hide from the media.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Ran asked.

“In the past, he got arrested for being the ringleader of a money transfer scam, but due to insufficient evidence, he got freed. Now he keeps creating trouble for the weeklies.” Megure said.

“But the media quickly found out about it and caused a big uproar until last week,” Takagi said. “Because of that, the number of guests staying at the hotel annexe drastically decreased and they couldn’t make him stay here anymore. There were rumours they were using the annexe renovations to force him to go to another country.”

“Yes, we also heard those rumours,” Hirukawa said.

“Before he could flee overseas we wanted him to give at least an apology.” the lady said.

“Were you able to meet with Mr. Uesumi?” Megure asked.

Hirukawa nodded. “I was the first one to go to his room. He burst into tears and said that he’d admit his crimes after he sobered up. We wanted to record the confession just in case, so the three of us went to buy a voice recorder at a nearby electronics store. But…The moment we entered the car…He dropped down right before our eyes!”

“Did anyone touch the body or the car after he fell?” Megure asked.

“No, I think so, Inspector.” the Doctor said. “This lady saw a suspicious figure on the roof, so I took her and the other and went checking it, while Conan, Ran and Sonoko guarded the corpse.”

“But it appears I mistook the shadow for something else…” Hirukawa said.

“Hmm…Weird.” Masumi said. “When I was waiting for the lift, it stopped on the 6th and 2nd floors…Was there really no one in the annexe when the man fell?”

“It stopped?!” Takagi was shocked.

“When did it happen?!” Megure asked.

“Right after the kid in the green suit brought the lady and the others to the roof. It went nonstop to it, but took its time coming back down.” Masumi explained.

“There should be two lifts in total, but only one of them is in function,” Takagi commented.

“Have you checked the surveillance cameras? Maybe someone is lurking in the annexe!” Conan said.

“Well, when Mr. Uesumi went into a fit of rage, he paint-sprayed all over the annexe, including the cameras,” Takagi said.

“So nobody could see what was happening there…” the Doctor thought.

“The inside of the annexe is a ‘black box’, eh?” Masumi thought.

“Hmm, it’s getting fun,” Conan smirked.

So, Megure, Takagi, Conan, Masumi and the Doctor went to check the second floor. It was in a pitiful state, with a large graffiti on one of the walls.

Megure noticed Detective Chiba, who was looking out for suspects.

“Oh, Chiba!” Megure said. “Have you found anyone?”

“No, not yet,” Chiba said. “But I found this wheelchair, it was still moving.”

“It was still moving?” the Doctor, Conan and Masumi thought in unison.

“There was a fishing line attached to the front wheels and in between them. According to the hotel staff, the victim had been borrowing.” Chiba explained.

“Was he paraplegic?” the Doctor asked.

“No…He was just using it to cruise around the annexe.” Chiba said.

“Why am I not surprised?” Conan thought sarcastically.

“Perhaps the culprit used it to transport the body?” the Doctor said.

“We’re on the opposite side of the parking lot. Even if the culprit uses it, they wouldn’t do anything.” Megure said.

“I think he would!” Conan said.

“Huh? Why?” Takagi asked.

“You see, when I asked the hotel staff, they told me that this side of the annexe’s 1st and 2nd floors was made into a grand hall for stuff like weddings and that by making the lift entrance and exit on opposite sides, it was more convenient and freed up more space.”

“This window is directly above the place where the victim fell.” Masumi glanced outside the window.

Conan noticed something interesting. On the border near the window, there was a lot of dried paint, with signs of something that was on it.

“Inspector…Would you please set up things per my instructions and bring Mrs. Hirukawa over here?” Masumi asked. “Because this incident can be considered a Case Closed now…I’ve already solved it!”

The Doctor smirked, curious about the tomboy’s deduction.

So, Inspector Megure obliged and summoned the suspect to the second floor.

“You’ve solved the case, you say…?” Hirukawa said. “Have you realised he committed suicide after all?”

“No, Teigo Uesumi’s jumper suicide was a trick. That’s why we deliberately had you use the lift that wasn’t in service during the time of the murder.” Megure glanced at Masumi. “Because, according to him, the culprit used it to disguise the murder as a suicide.”

“Very well, you can start telling us your deduction.” the Doctor said.

“Alright! Listen carefully!” Masumi said. “Ahem! As I said before, Mr Uesumi’s shoes and jacket were placed on the roof to make this incident look like a jumper suicide, making us unaware that the murder took place…” Masumi pointed at Hirukawa. “Mrs. Hirukawa…You did that to hide the fact that you used the lift and the wheelchair to fling Mr. Uesumi to his death!”

Everyone was shocked.

“H-Hold on!” one of Hirukawa’s friends objected. “W-When he fell from above, Hirukawa was inside her car in the parking lot with us! How could she have used the wheelchair and the lift?!”

“Simple, just by having pressed the buttons on the lift, you needn’t have to be there to transport the victim from the 2nd to the 6th floor, dump him, and then return the wheelchair to the 2nd floor!”

“I suppose she would have used the fishing line with several rubber bands attached on one hand, correct?” the Doctor asked.

“Precisely!” Masumi grinned. “First, you met with Uesumi and made him completely drunk, so that he couldn’t oppose. You set him up on the wheelchair he was borrowing so that he was hugging his knees, and brought him in front of the lift. You opened its doors and wrapped the rubber bands attached to the long fishing line around the mirror inside the lift. Then, you pushed the button for the 1st floor from the outside, sent the unoccupied lift down, and calculated the length of the thread from the 1st to the 6th floor. Then, you brought the lift back to the 6th floor and, at a length of 30 cm shorter than the measured length, you tied the fishing line in between the wheels. So that the fishing line wouldn’t catch anything, you reeled it in, and then got into the lift with the victim on the wheelchair.” She explained. “On the 2nd floor, you set the wheelchair outside the lifts and had it proceed towards the lift doors as they closed, while you went to the 1st floor.” Masumi glanced at Conan. “Then, you encountered that little boy on that floor and prevented him from using the lift, because the moment he would step in…He’d notice all the suspicious threads hanging! All that along with the buttons for the 2nd and 6th floors!” She clapped her hands. “But enough talking! Let’s enact it, shall we?”

“Chiba, are you ready?” Megure said.

“Yes sir!” Chiba said.

Everything seemed to go exactly how Masumi deducted…Except that the dummy didn’t fall out the window at the end.

“Huh?!” Masumi was puzzled.

“Hey! Wasn’t it supposed to fall out the window?” Megure asked.

“M-Maybe when it heads back to the 2nd floor, the force of the turn throws it out the window…” Masumi started panicking.

“But you said before that the culprit only returned to the 2nd floor when the victim fell to his death.

“Really? D-Did I say that?” Masumi said.

Conan sighed in disappointment.

“Looks like it’s your turn, now.” the Doctor whispered to the small Detective.

“Ah! I’ve got it!” Masumi said, “She must have used her car! The victim, who was brought here via wheelchair, was tied to her car using the fishing line, and she backed her car up…”

“Sorry to interrupt but, we didn’t find anything like that on Mrs. Hirukawa’s car,” Takagi said.

“And in the first place, if the victim were tied to the car using a string, it wouldn’t have been necessary to transport him using the wheelchair - He could have just been left near the window!” Megure said.

Masumi sighed. “You’re right…Ah, what was I thinking, being so careless…” She glanced at Conan without getting noticed. Hirukawa smirked “It sure was an interesting trick, but at the end, it was just a theory. I’m disappointed in you policemen, taking this kid’s fantasy as trut-”

“Your deduction was almost correct, but you forgot one little detail.” A young male voice spoke. “The culprit used the paint cans near the window to toss the victim out the window.”

Megure and Takagi recognised that voice, it was the voice of the famous High School detective, Shinichi Kudo, Conan’s real identity.

He was talking via his Voice-Changing Bowtie to mimic his old voice on Conan’s phone, to keep the illusion that he and Shinichi were two different people.

“That voice…” Takagi said.

“Is that Kudo?!” Megure asked.

“Yup! Once I told him about this case, he quickly figured it out!” Conan said, giving the phone to Megure.

He quickly went to a safe place where he hid and kept speaking via “Shinichi”’s phone.

“Kudo, can you hear me?” Megure said. “How exactly did the culprit use the cans?”

“Underneath the window, you can see that a large amount of pain has been spilt there, correct?” Conan said. “There also should be marks of something that have been placed there…Please, set the cans on their side and align them on those marks."

Megure obliged. "T-They match!”

“Now then, using your legs, hold those cans in place from either side.” Conan kept instructing the Inspector.

Masumi set the wheelchair in place and pushed it towards the cans.

“The wheelchair should proceed towards the window and the two cans will catch its footrests. Their tips will slip underneath the cans. The rear wheels will lift and the armrests will strike the wall. Due to the recoil, the victim fell to his death!”

Everyone there was shocked, it went exactly as Conan/Shinichi did.

“It worked.” the Doctor commented.

“After the culprit checked that the victim passed away, they made up an excuse to go to the roof by saying they noticed a suspicious human figure, thus bringing the lift from the 6th floor to the 1st.

Chiba pressed the lift’s calling button.

“Doing so pulled on the fishing line that had been attached to the front wheels of the wheelchair, as it made a quick head-face, it headed towards the lift and crashed into its doors, breaking the rubbing bands and leaving nothing suspicious inside.” Conan continued. “Afterwards, after the lift reached the top floor, the culprit made up some reason to be the last one to leave the lift, pushing the buttons for the 6th and 2nd floors. Having done so, the wheelchair entered the lift and returned to the 2nd floor, leaving no suspects. Also, if you manage to find fibres from the clothes the victim was wearing on the clothes the culprit has on, then it’d be settled. After all, for a female to sit an adult male in a wheelchair, she had to hold his body tightly against hers…”

Hirukawa smirked in defeat. “Hmph…If I had to commit that sort of nausea-inducing perjury, then I’d rather confess everything! I was the one who set that man in the wheelchair and wheeled him to hell! I wanted to take my revenge on that hideous man, for all the victims of his scams!”

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In the end, Hirukawa was arrested for murder. However, Uesumi’s secret bank account was found and, going by the transaction records, various scam groups shut down.

A couple of days later, the Doctor was in the TARDIS, in deep thought.

Conan entered inside. “Morning, Doctor.”

“Oh, hey, Conan.” the Doctor said, distracted.

“Is there something wrong?” Conan asked. “You seem…Worried about something.”

“You tell me.” Shiho entered the console room. “He’s been like this for hours.”

“Conan…” the Doctor started. “Remember that girl that helped us with that case?”

“You mean that tomboy, Masumi Sera?” Conan said. “Now that I think of it, she acted rather odd that time, especially with her wrong deduction.”

“Masumi Sera…Masumi Sera…Sera…Sera…” the Doctor kept repeating that name under his breath. “I don’t know why, but that surname, ‘Sera’, is awfully familiar to me.”

Meanwhile, in a hotel room, Masumi was getting dressed for her first day at Teitan High. Before leaving the room, she looked at a photo on the desk and smiled.

“ ‘Doctor’, eh?” She thought. “I wonder if that kid is related to him in some way…”

The photo depicted a tall man in his fifties, with curly grey hair, blue eyes and a large nose. He was wearing a green velvet suit with a frilly white shirt and a large black bowtie.

That man was a random bloke from Masumi’s past, it was the third incarnation of the Doctor.

<---------To Be Continued--------