"Wednesday night, I was playing mahjong with the staff all night..."
"Thursday noon, we had a bus tour indoors..."
"At night, we drank together and played until midnight..."
As Tang Ze and Kogoro Mouri went through the photos, Abe Feng's itinerary seemed flawless. His alibi was particularly strong for the critical period between Wednesday night and Thursday evening, when the murder was most likely to have occurred.
In fact, the only time he spent alone was Thursday morning, when he slept in for an extra two hours.
At this moment, Conan appeared with a smile, making Kogoro Mouri instantly want to snap at him.
However, before Mouri could lose his temper, Tang Ze took the initiative to greet Conan and asked, "What's so funny, Conan?"
"Because these photos are strange," Conan said with a grin, pointing to the pictures. "Look closely—every time this uncle takes a photo, there's a clock in it!"
"Huh?"
Mouri Kogoro stared at the photos with a dark expression. "You're right, it's unnatural, almost like he's trying to create an alibi."
But just when Kogoro Mouri was starting to feel suspicious and Conan was about to get flustered, trying to divert attention, Tang Ze spoke up.
"Detective Mouri, could I take a look at the photos you took when you followed the deceased?" Tang Ze asked.
"Sure."
"Then Conan, could you help me organize these photos?" Tang Ze asked with a smile.
"Sure!" Conan hurriedly moved away from Kogoro Mouri and began helping Tang Ze organize the photos that Kogoro had taken while following the deceased.
"Criminal Tang Ze, this kid is sneaky. You need to watch him!" Kogoro Mouri said with frustration as he watched Conan work.
"It's fine. Didn't Conan's observation just now help?" Tang Ze waved it off. "Kids tend to see things from a different angle. Sometimes they notice things that we might overlook."
To keep Conan from becoming suspicious, Tang Ze invited Xiaolan to help too. It was a cover, of course, since Conan was a sharp observer.
Tang Ze also didn't stop thinking. After all, solving cases in this world was part of his learning experience, and he needed to gain more hands-on experience with every case.
He silently thanked himself for entering the world of *Detective Conan*. Having watched over a thousand episodes, he had picked up many useful tricks—active or passive.
One of the more common methods to break a suspect's alibi involved determining their dominant hand. Many less cautious criminals made mistakes here.
So, Tang Ze began to check the dominant hand of the deceased in the photos.
And then, he found it.
In the photos from Monday and Tuesday, the deceased had used his right hand as the dominant hand. But in the photos from Wednesday, he was using his left hand!
Tang Ze immediately informed Kogoro Mouri of the discovery and called Officer Megure.
This piece of information effectively overturned Abe Feng's alibi and confirmed him as a prime suspect.
However, what followed was bad news from Officer Megure, which made Tang Ze furrow his brow.
After hanging up the phone, Tang Ze spoke solemnly to Mouri Kogoro. "Officer Megure found that Abe Feng's company owes 300 million yen in debt. I think that could be his motive for murder."
"What!? He's in debt?" Kogoro Mouri punched the table angrily. "That guy plans to use the insurance money to pay off the debt, then escape abroad with the remaining 200 million!"
"We only have three hours left!" Conan said, his expression changing as he glanced at the clock. "If he escapes abroad, it will be a huge problem. We need to find a way to get him to confess..."
With that, Conan sprang into action.
Soon, Kogoro Mouri received a call from Officer Megure, confirming that Abe's alibi had been shattered. Kogoro immediately rushed to the airport.
Though Tang Ze knew it was Conan's doing, he didn't interfere. Instead, he joined Kogoro Mouri and the others on their way to the airport.
"Hey, we're not supposed to interfere with the police work," Kogoro Mouri warned Xiaolan and Conan as they arrived.
"Got it!" they both replied.
"The airport is so crowded, it'll be hard to find Officer Megure," Kogoro Mouri grumbled.
Just then, as they looked around, Conan didn't notice Tang Ze following him discreetly.
Not long after, an announcement came over the airport's loudspeakers:
"Attention, all passengers: Mr. Abe Feng, passenger on Flight 99, please meet Mr. Negishi Masaki at the opposite terminal..."
The boarding time was nearing, and as the announcement repeated, Abe Feng stepped into the parking lot, looking around nervously.
"Uncle, you're really smart..." A child's voice suddenly made Abe Feng whip around, startled.
"Who... who is it!?" Abe demanded, but there was no response—just silence.
"Masaki Negishi died on Tuesday night, the day before your trip. You found someone who looked similar to him and had the Maori detective follow him. The goal was for Detective Mouri to think that Masaki Negishi was still alive on Wednesday," Conan's voice continued, as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Abe Feng's face went pale as he heard the deduction.
"The plan was perfect... until you picked the wrong 'substitute,'" Conan finished, stepping out from behind a car, grinning. "It's all over now, Abe Feng."
Abe Feng froze, sweat beading on his forehead. "What do you mean?"
Conan grinned. "It means..."