MM Racing Chapter 50: It's nothing to have a belly that can hold a boat; it's something to have a be
Chapter 50: It's nothing to have a belly that can hold a boat; it's something to have a be
Under the beam of the flashlight, the last part of Chikako Ikeda was found by the group.
Hiroki Kakutani stumbled forward, helped up Chikako Ikeda, who had lost both her arms and legs, and shook her repeatedly, crying, "Wake up... Chikako, wake up!!"
The head, which was simply resting on the neck, couldn't withstand this kind of torment and immediately split up, rolling off to the ground with a tumble.
Even being torn apart by chariots or dismembered by five horses only resulted in being divided into five pieces. The legendary Dark Mage was also only divided into five parts. But Chikako Ikeda was even more incredible, as she was directly divided into six pieces.
Faced with such a brutal scene, everyone was at a loss.
"Go to the villa and get the bed sheets, clothes, and other items. First, collect Ms. Ikeda's body."
As if they had finally found their leader, everyone sprang into action. Akutagawa Hiko and Conan stayed where they were, while the long-haired man, the square-faced man, and the round-faced man went to get their things. Ran and Sonoko took Ayako to rest.
After the others left, Conan eagerly asked, "You already know which of them is the Bandaged Monster, right?"
Although Conan spoke in a question, his tone was one of certainty. He had already deduced from Akutagawa Hiko's words that the bandaged man was among those three men.
But none of them seem to fit the bandaged monster.
During the fight between protecting Ran and the bandaged man, Conan once hugged the bandaged man's waist, which allowed him to roughly deduce the killer's size.
However, at first glance, although they were all of similar height, weight, and build, none of them resembled a real person.
That despicable bandaged monster dared to attack Xiaolan; he must be brought to justice!
Akutagawa Hiko nodded in agreement with Conan's guess: "Let's go back to the villa first. He won't be arrogant for long."
On the way back to the villa, Conan's suspicious gaze lingered on the three men, each carrying a fragment of Chikako Ikeda's body.
As Conan analyzed and deduced the various details after arriving at the villa, his gaze finally settled on Takahashi Ryoichi, who had a round head and belly, was panting but not sweating much.
Although the evidence is not yet sufficient, he has reason to suspect that this Takahashi Ryoichi is the bandaged monster who attacked Ran twice and brutally murdered and dismembered Ikeda Chikako!
Conan's left hand was itching to move; the tranquilizer dart inside hadn't been used yet.
Suppressing his inner impulse, Conan looked at Akutagawa Hiko, who was calm and composed, unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.
Young people's pride, though it made him stubbornly insist on competing fairly with Akutagawa Hiko, he secretly felt that Akutagawa Hiko was better than him. He wouldn't even give a second glance to those incompetent detectives who were just pretending to be detectives.
In the end, Conan gave up the idea of giving this person a shot.
In any case, it will ultimately be subject to legal sanctions.
Akutagawa Hiko had no idea about Conan's inner thoughts. This large-scale stage play was about to end, and after tying up the murderer, he should still have time to catch up on some sleep.
The group sealed the body parts with bed sheets and reassembled themselves.
However, Ayako Suzuki was not in good condition, and seemed to have developed a high fever due to excessive fright and self-blame.
In contrast, Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri, having grown up with Shinichi Kudo and witnessed many bloody crime scenes, are in much better condition.
Of course, cases where the perpetrator is so brutally dismembered are relatively rare.
Hiroki Kakutani and Chikako Ikeda's relationship seemed unusual; at this moment, he looked so furious he wanted to catch the murderer and tear him to pieces: "This guy is a complete serial killer!!"
Ota Katsu, however, had a different opinion: "It's actually Ikeda's fault. If she had just stayed in the villa, everything would have been fine."
Hiroki Kakutani grabbed Masaru Ota by the collar and raised his fist: "Don't you have any compassion? And Ran-chan, who was staying in the villa, was attacked too! That serial killer doesn't discriminate between people or places!!"
A smug glint flashed in Takahashi Ryoichi's eyes behind his glasses. He was so excited that he was trembling as he watched everyone being fooled by him and getting revenge for Atsuko.
However, he still stepped in to smooth things over and tried to stop the fight between the two.
"There's no need to pretend anymore."
Akutagawa Hiko suddenly spoke up, and everyone except Conan and Takahashi Ryoichi was taken aback, not understanding what he meant.
"You, Ryoichi Takahashi, the bandaged monster who killed Ms. Ikeda and attacked Ran, are the one who committed the deranged murder!!"
Ryoichi Takahashi panicked for a moment, but as expected of a ruthless character who could dismember someone without batting an eye, he quickly regained his composure and gave a simple, honest smile: "Don't joke around, how could I possibly be a bandage monster?"
Ota Masaru straightened his collar, chuckled, and seemed to think that the so-called famous detective was nothing special: "We were all there when that guy kidnapped Ikeda, weren't we? The murderer must be an outsider."
Akutagawa Hiko wasn't angry. Instead, he asked, "How can you prove that it was definitely the bandaged monster? All you need is a doll and piano wire to create an alibi."
Akutagawa looked up at the second floor: "There are still traces of piano wire on the balcony railing."
"After dismembering the body, leaving only the head to create this kind of alibi, only you, Takahashi Ryoichi, who was in charge of props in college, have the ability and time."
Takahashi Ryo's face turned ashen, but he still tried to struggle: "How could that be? The bodies are all outside. I didn't have anything in my hands when I went out with you. How could I have carried the bodies out?"
"Besides, I had absolutely no reason to kill Chikako, nor any reason to attack Ran, and... and... I would never kill anyone!"
Akutagawa Hiko remained calm, seizing upon Takahashi Ryoichi's weakness to launch a fierce attack: "What else? Why don't you present the most obvious evidence? Your physique and the bandaged monster don't match at all, do they?"
"Right? That serial killer doesn't look like a fat man at all, how could it be Takahashi?!"
Ryoichi Takahashi was so nervous that he broke out in a cold sweat and didn't say a word.
Meeting Akutagawa Hiko's seemingly all-knowing eyes, Takahashi Ryoichi screamed inwardly: He knows, he sees through me, that's why he's so confident!
Akutagawa Hiko delivered the final blow: "From the very beginning, I found it strange. Your gait and habits don't seem like those of a 100-kilogram person at all. Are you really that fat?"
"Your beer belly is probably just filled with stuffing, and it's precisely because of this belly that you were able to quietly move Ms. Ikeda's head out."
Ryoichi Takahashi's cold sweat dripped onto the floor, starkly evident in the silence. The truth was self-evident...
"Takahashi! Why did you kill Chikako?!"
Before Hiroki Kakutani's hand could even land on Ryoichi Takahashi, a sudden change occurred...