Episode 127: The Traveling Drama Troupe Murder Case (Part 2)
Scenario: Tamanosuke is seen wandering around Tetsuo’s murder scene and is found attacked by Conan and Megumi. The troupe’s treasurer, Itoe Ogiwara, is found at the bottom of the stage basement, dead with a letter apparently calling her out in her hand. At the hospital, the killer, now believed to be the real Edo Boy, attempts to finish off a recovering Tamanosuke, but fails. Conan finally discover the truth, and tranquilizes Richard, revealing that Tamanosuke knew Edo Boy killed Tetsuo because he was being blackmailed but didn’t know who Edo Boy actually was. Ogiwara, believing her money laundering had been discovered, was killed due to a misunderstanding of the letter which was meant to call Edo Boy out and meet with Tamanosuke. Kenzo Tajima is revealed to be Edo Boy and, in turn, the killer. As evidence, his fingerprints are on Tatsuo’s keyboard when he deleted the files from the computer. Kenzo apologizes to the cast and staff and is arrested for the murders.
That night, Tamanosuke sneaks out of the inn alone, only to be followed by his worried little sister. As she continues to follow him, Megumi sees her brother enter the theatre building, where just hours earlier the murder had taken place. As she wonders out loud why Tamanosuke would be going to the theatre at such a late hour, Conan asks her the very same question. Startling Megumi, she begins to speak louder, prompting Conan to tell her to be quiet. After a brief conversation, the chairman’s sister asks Conan why he’s at the theatre himself. Claiming that he’s worried about her brother as well, Conan asks her if she can just leave the cases to himself. Megumi, visibly upset by the mere suggestion of going home, accuses Conan of trying to ditch her, which Conan tries to laugh off. In a final ditch effort, he tells her that children shouldn’t be outside so late at night, causing Megumi to point out that he’s not much older than she is.
Just as Conan and Megumi enter the theatre building through the same door Tamanosuke had previously gone through, somebody knocks someone out with a crowbar out of sight of the two kids. At the sound of the body and crowbar falling to the ground, Conan and Megumi rush onto the stage. When the shine from Conan’s flashlight illuminates the body lying on the ground, the two children stop out of shock. The body lying on the ground, with blood dripping from the top of his head, is none other than Tamanosuke.
After calling the police and an ambulance, Tamanosuke is put onto a stretcher and carried into the ambulance. Conan narrates that the ringleader and been attacked in the back of the head and fallen unconscious. As Megumi enters the ambulance to be by her brother’s side and the vehicle drives off to the hospital, Conan continues on to state that Itoe had fallen to her death. Walking past, Detective Takagi and Inspecter Megure, both looking on as a member of the CSI photographs the crime scene, Conan notices a note on the ground. Curious, the young detective takes a look, reading, “Itoe, I know your true face! Meet me on the stage at midnight.” As Conan ponders the meaning of the letter, Takagi alerts Megure to another note, this time being clutched by the deceased Itoe. Realizing that the two notes are identical, Conan shows Megure the letter he found. As the police inspecter wonders aloud what the two notes mean, Kogoro enters the crime scene and is shocked to see Conan. While Megure explains to Kogoro that Conan had been the first to witness the body, the young detective suddenly notices small splints of wood surrounding the victim’s body. Attempting to investigate further, Conan is grabbed by Kogoro who scolds him for being up so late at night.
The next morning, at the Mouri Detective Agency, Sonoko demands an explanation from Kogoro after he claims that Tamanosuke is the prime suspect. With her bouquet of flowers in hand, Sonoko chides the great detective for suspecting somebody that is in the hospital with serious injuries. Kogoro admits that he doesn’t understand either, but goes on to state that Tamanosuke’s fingerprints were found on the weapon, which leads Conan to ask if any other fingerprints were found. The great detective answers that while other troupe member’s prints were found, none of the other fingerprints matched the deceased Itoe Itoe Ogiwara’s. After laying out the previous evidence, Kogoro theorizes that Itoe had gone to attack Tamanosuke, who in self-defense knocked the careless troupe treasurer into the basement. Sonoko quickly jumps to the defense of the ringleader, stating that he would never want to kill someone. As she and Ran begin to leave for the hospital to deliver the flowers, Kogoro claims that Tamanosuke is currently rejecting all visitors, as he is an important suspect. Despite his warning, Ran and Sonoko decide to at least deliver the flowers to Megumi, who should be at her brother’s side. Kogoro tells them to be quick because Tamanosuke is currently still in a coma.
Deep in thought, Conan suddenly asks Kogoro why Tamanosuke was considered an important suspect if he himself was knocked out in the back of the head. To explain Conan’s question, Kogoro states that doctors did not find many external injuries and currently believe that the coma could have been induced by mental fatigue. Conan finally understands the logic, thinking to himself that Tamanosuke could have been overwhelmed by how he would escape after doing something wrong. Kogoro then brings up the topic of the two notes found at the crime scene, announcing to the Detective Boys that both notes were confirmed to be written by Tamanosuke. Going even further, he explains that every single member of the troupe and been given a piece of paper by the ringleader with the same exact message. Conan questions why Tamanosuke was looking into Itoe’s past, to which Kogoro has no answer. He does, however, note that Itoe had embezzled large sums of money from the troupe’s treasury. As Conan questions whether Tamanosuke would have really needed to kill her for that, Kogoro tells the child to bring him a beer. With the mood now ruined, Conan reminds him that it isn’t dark yet, which Kogoro simply laughs off. After bringing him the beer and a snack, Conan asks whether or not Chikaishi’s disk had been found. Annoyed by the question when trying to enjoy his beer, Kogoro tells Conan that the disk had been found in the trashcan of Tamanosuke’s room with all of the data having been erased. Finally fed up with all the questions, Kogoro tells the children to head outside and play, but later regrets it when he wants another beer and no one is around to get it.
At the theatre stage, the Detective Boys begin to investigate the source of the wood splints surrounding Itoe when her body was discovered. With no luck around the stage hole, Conan rushes to where the wood is stored. Mitsuhiko hypothesizes Itoe was killed elsewhere and then dumped into the basement afterwards. As Mitsuhiko explains his theory aloud, Conan discovers a wood matching the exact color of the splints in the basement. While Conan notices that the wood was a three-prong split, Genta begins to pull it out from where it had been hidden. After the wood is pulled out completely, Conan notices not only that it was broken in two rather forcibly, but that several blood stains are located near the breaking point. After putting the two halves together, Conan notices that the wood is larger than the stage hole. Genta claims that the wood was used for a trap, to which Conan agrees. The young detective explains that the three-prong board is 0.3 cm thick and was split a few times in between in order to quickly put the two halves together again, allowing a person to unknowingly walk on top of the board without the aid of lights to see and fall to their death. Mitsuhiko then adds that the killer quickly hid the two pieces of wood out of sight. When Ayumi concludes that Tamanosuke then knocked himself out, Conan disagrees with her, stating that he and Megumi had been following the young ringleader as soon as he left the inn, meaning that he wouldn’t have had time to set up the trap. Conan thinks to himself momentarily, only to quickly realize something urgent and start running off stage, telling the Detective Boys that they have to hurry. When Genta asks why, Conan explains that Tamanosuke is in danger because the killer is someone else.
Meanwhile, in a police cruiser, Megure is in the middle of a phone conversation with Kogoro, the former claiming to understand what had been previously mentioned (unknown to the viewer). As Takagi continues to drive the vehicle, Megure finishes the phone call by stating that he will arrange what Kogoro had requested. Unbeknownst to Megure, the person on the other end of the phone was Conan using his voice-changing tie. When the call ends, Conan begins to run down a street when his Detective Boys badge starts to ring. Answering the call, Conan hears Ayumi’s voice. She, along with Genta and Mitsuhiko, is stationed in the hallway just outside of the troupe member’s bedrooms. Ayumi reports that all members had been accounted for. Going into detail, she first states that Mr. Tajima, with the room closest to the stairs, is watching television and resting. Continuing on, Ayumi reports that Yuri is in the next room, doing her laundry. Lastly, Muraki, currently staying in the deceased Chikaishi’s room, is cleaning the room. With her report finished, Conan tells Ayumi that the three of them can go home and ends the call. The Detective Boys, however, have no intention of going home.
As Conan reaches Beika Central Hospital, where Tamanosuke is being treated, someone begins to walk down the hallway in the direction of the ringleader’s room. The police officer on guard duty looks up from his paper and, believing him to be a doctor, allows the person in the room. After shutting the door, the fake doctor slowly walks to Tamanosuke’s beside, with both arms out and ready to strangle the currently comatose ringleader.
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| The fake doctor tried to kill Tamanosuke, but had to flee, since police arrived. |
After the attempt to capture the culprit at the hospital failed, Megure, Takagi, and Kogoro went back to the inn the next morning to meet with the troupe members. Knocking on the door closest to the stairs first, Megure asked Tajima if he had gone anywhere during the night. A shocked Tajima shakes his head, telling the inspector that he hadn’t left. The Detective Boys, still in stakeout mode, confirm that Tajima had not left his room. The three children explain that they had been there all night long. An upset Kogoro deduces that Conan must have done the same, to which the young detective denies as he enters the building and walks up the stairs. Conan thinks to himself that the three of them inadvertently provided everyone in the troupe with an alibi. After realizing who Edo Boy is, Conan wonders what to do without any solid evidence. All the while, Megure attempts to interrogate the troupe members in an adjacent room but can’t concentrate with all the noise from Kogoro. As Conan thinks to himself that Kogoro doesn’t have the time to drink at the moment, he reacts to his own mention of the word time. Thinking back to when Chikaishi was killed, Conan realizes that only two people would have had the time to murder the scriptwriter. Putting into consideration that the culprit had enough strength to knock out Tamanosuke, Conan finally solves the case.
