Winning is everything: Conan

"It's obvious that the defendant had a clear motive for the murder!"

Ryusu Masami impatiently declared before all the instructions had been fully presented.

He pulled out a stack of documents from the folder he had prepared, placed them on the table, and presented them to everyone.

"This is information about the defendant's son, Masato Sakaguchi, from eight years ago—including photos, school records, and school relationships. Masato Sakaguchi had been bullied at school for a long time, and the person who bullied him was the victim in this case! Therefore, this court has sufficient reason to suspect that the defendant used his dog training skills to commit intentional homicide..."

Ryusu Masami spoke quickly, his expression growing more and more excited.

Seeing this, Reiko Kujo, who was seated in the audience, shook her head.

You're too impatient. That's the difference between the two students...

It's already difficult to win this trial. At the very least, you should wait until the indirect evidence is fully presented before bringing up the motive for the murder. Otherwise, if there's no solid proof, won't you just fall into the opponent's trap?

"Objection!"

Sure enough, Keisuke Kumiko raised his hand.

"Are prosecutors only capable of making baseless accusations? Since when has our country's judicial system become like this? Has it been taken over by incompetent tax thieves?"

Then, Kumiko launched his usual sharp-tongued attack.

"Where is the justice and fairness in accusing a good person so lightly based on mere suspicion? Courts demand evidence. If the prosecution insists that my client is guilty, then please present convincing proof! At the very least, make it worthy of the taxes our citizens pay, right? Don't let people think you're just a bunch of freeloaders who only eat and do nothing!"

The judge and the jurors nodded repeatedly after hearing these words.

The judge banged the gavel. "Objection sustained! The prosecution is requested to present evidence as soon as possible!"

"..."

This ruthless criticism left Ryusu Masami speechless, his face darkened as he struggled to breathe.

As a fellow classmate, he knew Kumiko well. This guy rarely used harsh words when insulting people—he always did it in indirect ways.

The worst part was that he was always right. It made people hate and resent him.

Fine! If you want evidence, I'll give it to you immediately!

Ryusu Masami gritted his teeth and snapped, then fiercely grabbed Sakaguchi Masayoshi's phone and pressed the answer button for him.

At the same time, he turned on the playback button on the recorder, letting the "dong dong dong" sound ring out.

As soon as these two commands were executed, the German Shepherd inside the cage arched its body even more, baring its teeth as if ready to pounce at any moment.

Now let's see how you die!

Ryusu Masami cursed fiercely in his heart and shouted at Sakaguchi Masayoshi, "Now, tell me your password immediately!"

Sakaguchi Masayoshi hesitated for a moment.

Finally, we've reached the last step.

He took a deep breath and said to the German Shepherd in the cage, "John, how are you? (元気か) How are you? (元気か) John!"

Then, he waited for the dog's reaction, watching the shifting expressions of the people around him.

However, something unexpected happened.

"Hashahasha, woof woof!"

The German Shepherd in the cage, which had been poised to attack moments ago, suddenly changed its demeanor. It placed its front paws on the iron bars, wagged its tail enthusiastically, and made almost fawning sounds.

It looked as if it just wanted to play with its owner.

There was no sign of aggression or an intent to bite.

"How is this possible?!"

Ryusu Masami shouted in disbelief at the scene before him.

When the Metropolitan Police Department handed over the test dog to the prosecution, they had clearly conducted repeated tests, and the results had perfectly matched Kogoro Mouri's deduction.

How could things turn out this way now?

Impossible! My reasoning is absolutely correct!

Conan involuntarily stood up in the audience.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He turned to look at Keisuke Kumiko, and the confusion in his eyes disappeared in an instant—he understood everything now.

"This proves that the prosecution's statement is completely false!"

Kumiko's smiling voice rang out from the defendant's bench.

"Now, all the prosecution's evidence is invalid. I don't need to explain any further, do I? Please withdraw the charges and clear my client's name!"

"No, this is impossible!"

Ryusu Masami muttered in distress, as if still immersed in the shock of his sudden defeat.

This was his last piece of evidence, and he had believed it to be foolproof. Yet, he never expected things to take such an unexpected turn.

Suddenly, he stood up and stared intently at Keisuke Kumiko.

"Since you claim this was a wrongful accusation, why don't you tell me how Maehara Tsuyoshi actually died?"

"Oh? Do you really want to hear it?"

Kumiko smirked and looked at everyone in the courtroom.

"The defense attorney may express his opinion," the judge declared, banging the gavel.

The jurors nearby also looked curious.

"Well, finding the real culprit should be the police's job. Since this is outside the scope of this trial, what I am about to say is purely my personal opinion."

Keisuke Kumiko smiled, stepped forward into the courtroom, and began speaking.

"That night, Mr. Sakaguchi made a phone call and asked Maehara Tsuyoshi to go up to the second floor and inform his beloved dog, John, that he was safe. John was very happy to hear his master's voice. Perhaps, in his excitement, he wanted to play with Maehara Tsuyoshi. But since he couldn't control his strength properly, he accidentally pushed him down the stairs..."

After a brief pause, Kumiko concluded,

"So, this was purely an accident!"

After hearing Kumiko's explanation, the judge and the audience in the gallery showed expressions of sudden realization.

If it was an accident, then everything made sense.

"I don't believe it!" Ryusu Masami shouted stubbornly. "What evidence do you have to prove this was an accident? You don't have any either!"

"Which is why I said it was just my personal theory!"

Kumiko still smiled.

"However, even if I don't have direct proof, there is one fact that supports this theory!"

"What is it?"

"It's the photo of the victim's body that the prosecution just presented. Didn't I mention this before?"

Kumiko's smile slowly changed—the corners of his eyes curved into a mischievous smirk.

"The victim was not killed by a 'dog attack'—he was simply 'pushed' down the stairs. Prosecutors, you should remember this, right? You yourselves admitted this fact."

"Think about it—if Mr. Sakaguchi had really trained the dog to kill people, there should have been bite marks on the body."

"Because a dog attack alone is unlikely to be enough to kill Maehara Tsuyoshi. An average person falling down the stairs from the second floor has a good chance of survival, don't they?"

"...!"

Ryusu Masami collapsed into his chair with a thud.

So Keisuke Kumiko had set a trap from the very beginning, constantly leading him into it.

He had completely lost this trial.

(End of Chapter)