Kurosawa Hoshino felt things were dragging on. Since he knew the plot, he pretended to remember something and asked directly, "Mrs. Tsukumo, your husband wouldn't happen to be that world-famous magician, Mr. Tsukumo Motoyasu, would he?"
"Yes, that's right." Tsukumo Nanako nodded slightly, her tone still carrying a lingering sadness.
"So it's really Mr. Motoyasu." Sonoko's eyes lit up instantly. She leaned closer and added, "When we had a banquet on our cruise ship before, there was a magician who impersonated Kaito Kid. I heard from my family that his teacher was Mr. Motoyasu."
"You—you are—" Tsukumo naturally remembered that one of her husband's students had performed magic on a luxury cruise ship. She knew who had invited him. Looking at Sonoko across from her, she felt somewhat incredulous that a child from such a large conglomerate would be here.
Sonoko smiled, her eyes crinkling. She introduced herself confidently, "My name is Suzuki Sonoko. Mrs. Tsukumo, nice to meet you."
"Oh, it's Miss Sonoko." Tsukumo quickly stood up from the sofa. Her tone was slightly apologetic. "I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you earlier."
"It's alright. No need to be so polite." Sonoko waved her hand, her face completely unconcerned.
Seeing that the conversation was about to end, Kurosawa interjected, "Mrs. Tsukumo, why don't we go to your house now? We can talk about it further on the way."
"Okay." Tsukumo nodded. She had specifically sought out Kurosawa because she had heard he solved cases very quickly. She was naturally eager to go to his house to investigate clues as soon as possible.
About half an hour later, two taxis pulled up smoothly in front of an impressive villa.
During the journey, Tsukumo had clearly explained all the key information.
Tsukumo Motoyasu had three students: Sanada Ichizo—who had impersonated Kaito Kid on the cruise ship; a woman named Miyoshi Asako; and a man named Momochi Yuji, who, despite not having studied magic with Tsukumo for long, was very talented. All three lived at Tsukumo's house to facilitate their magic practice. As for the events of the day of the incident, the three students were supposed to perform magic at a dinner show at the Beika Restaurant, and Tsukumo had been invited. However, Tsukumo thought the appearance fee was too low and stayed at his house. No one expected it would be their last meeting.
"Please come in, everyone." Tsukumo pushed open the villa door and stepped aside to let everyone in.
Upon entering the living room, they found it completely empty—without a single piece of furniture. But upon reflection, this was a magician's home, and he taught magic techniques. Such a spacious hall was clearly intentionally left empty for teaching purposes.
At that moment, two men and a woman were talking in the living room. It was obvious they were Tsukumo's three students.
As Sanada watched the group enter, he immediately noticed Kurosawa and Sonoko in the crowd. He walked over and greeted them, "Kurosawa-kun, Sonoko-san, long time no see! Do you remember me?"
Kurosawa nodded in response.
Sonoko winked mischievously. "How could I forget? You were shot dead by my mother last time."
"Haha, that must have startled you." Sanada laughed heartily, not minding at all.
At this moment, Miyoshi Asako, who hadn't spoken until now, took two steps forward. Her gaze fell on Kurosawa. She asked with a hint of inquiry, "You're that Kurosawa Hoshino?"
"Eh! The one who's always on the news—that super amazing Kurosawa-kun?" Momochi exclaimed dramatically but secretly glanced at Tsukumo. He hadn't expected his teacher's wife to be able to invite such a famous high school detective.
"Hello." Kurosawa said calmly.
Afterward, Kogorō and the others introduced themselves. Everyone took their turn so that Sanada and the others could easily address them.
After the introductions, Tsukumo anxiously asked, "Kurosawa-kun, are we going to the basement now?"
"Mrs. Tsukumo, please lead the way." Kurosawa replied.
"Okay." Tsukumo quickly walked forward. Everyone followed quickly.
Unbeknownst to her, Miyoshi had come to the back. Her mind was filled with all the news she had read about Kurosawa. She seemed somewhat silent. But she didn't run away. She still entered the basement studio step by step.
"Kurosawa-kun," Tsukumo said, "the scene hasn't been disturbed. It's exactly as it was when my husband was first discovered."
Everyone fell silent, staring intently at Kurosawa. Kogorō, having been paid, naturally wanted to carefully observe the scene, so he wandered around the basement. Even though Conan knew he was going to lose, he didn't give up. He carefully examined every detail of the room. Soon, he noticed a pile of playing cards on the desk. But he didn't speak, because the focus now was on Kurosawa. He was afraid that speaking carelessly would attract everyone's attention and draw Kurosawa's gaze to him.
At this moment, Kurosawa had already activated Scene Rewind to see if the crime scene and the original plot had changed.
"A little, but not much." Kurosawa finished reviewing the process, muttered to himself, and finally slowly looked up at the circle of photos on the surrounding wall. Then he turned to Tsukumo and asked, "Mrs. Tsukumo, who are these people?"
"They were all my husband's students. Some are still working as magicians, while others have changed careers."
"And this one?" Kurosawa walked to a photo and pointed at it. "I noticed this photo is the cleanest—without a speck of dust. It must have been cleaned regularly. Who is he? Is he very special in Mr. Motoyasu's eyes?"
After saying this, he glanced at the outline of the body left by the police not far away, deliberately gestured with his hands, and then looked at Sanada and the other two. Among them, Miyoshi was stunned and became even more silent.
Looking at the handsome boy in the photo, Tsukumo sighed. "His name was Kinoshita Yoshirō. He was arguably my husband's most prized student—a genius among geniuses. But fourteen years ago, while practicing an escape magic trick, he tragically passed away due to a mishap."
"Why is the phone on the table buried among so many playing cards?" Kogorō noticed something amiss on the table and asked.
"Uncle Mouri, actually, the strangest thing is this photo." Kurosawa said. "If it was Mr. Motoyasu who cleaned it, he probably wouldn't mind cleaning all the photos of his former students. But this photo is the cleanest—that's a bit suspicious. And—" He looked at Sonoko and Ran. "Don't you think it looks a bit like the case that happened the night before last?"