Volume 33

Volume 33
Information
Release date:	July 18, 2001
Chapters:
ISBN:	ISBN 4-09-126163-9
Publisher:	Shogakukan
English release date:	January 9, 2010
English ISBN:	ISBN 1-4215-2884-3
English Publisher:	Viz Media
Featured Detective & Keyhole
Philo Vance Kazunobu Chiba
Aoyama's death & Conan side images
Chronology
Prev volume:	« Volume 32
Next volume:	Volume 34 »
List of chapters • List of cases

Volume 33 was released on July 18, 2001 in Japan.

Cast

Characters
Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Kogoro Mouri Wataru Takagi Miwako Sato Ninzaburo Shiratori Sonoko Suzuki Tomoaki Araide Kazunobu Chiba Juzo Megure Shinichi Kudo (background) Yukiko Kudo (background) Makoto Kyogoku Hiroshi Agasa Ai Haibara Ayumi Yoshida Genta Kojima Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya Jodie Starling James Black (background) Hajime Itakura (flashback)

Gadgets

Gadgets
Voice-Changing Bowtie Stun-Gun Wristwatch

Sato's Omiai Case

File 329 - Sato's Odds

Sato confirms her deal with Shiratori, and they agree to set down twilight as a deadline, since it may last a very long time. Next doors, Conan wonders if Sato's really serious, while Sonoko comments on things taking now a very exciting turn. Ran is worried by the possibility of Takagi's absence after all, and Sonoko suggests maybe Sato is interested in Shiratori's money, since he's very wealthy - he knows the Suzukis very well. Though, Ran is convinced Takagi and Sato make up the perfect pair. Araide comforts her saying if Sato chose to take up the challenge, that means she's very confident in her winning chances. Indeed, Sato knows Yumi has planned things from the very beginning, and someone, apparently Takagi, will come and rescue her in the end. Though, she can't explain why Takagi would care for her that much.

Meanwhile, Takagi tells Chiba none of the testimonies matches, unless one of the witnesses lied, or all of them. They decide instead to question the three suspects, in order to get a couple of clues from their declarations. Kamieda is a private school teacher, he had come to buy a book at the close-by bookstore, and he halted at the restroom for a moment. Zama is a freeter, he had come to rehearse with his band, and afterwards he went to that restroom. Koshimizu is an office lady, she was having a walk around when suddenly she got a stomach ache and rushed to the restroom. She tells Takagi now it's really time they leave since the police found nothing wrong with their statements and with the tesimonies, and it's very late now. Takagi remarks she has two watches, and she replies this has to do with her boyfriend being abroad, and she constantly needs to know what time it is there, so as not to disturb him when calling. Zama says he would also wear two watches when he was in secondary school, since he would always arrive late. He gets angry at Kamieda when seeing him laughing about it, but Kamieda says actually it's the opposite with his students : he always orders them to remove their watches during class in order to get more concentrated on the lesson. He even removed the class's clocks. Zama says his music band is visual kei - which means they disguise as women during concerts - and this goes like a dream, something everyone in the car can barely imagine. Chiba reminds Takagi to check his mails since Yumi sent him something earlier on, though Takagi believes it's still a karaoke invitation, and he rather tries to focus on the case.

Shiratori phones Megure to know where Takagi is, and he is told the latter is currently investigating an unexpected convenience store robbery. Shiratori tells Sato Takagi is having a hard time solving the case, since the testimonies don't match at all. Sato then tries to call him to get more information, but Shiratori stops her, saying this is violating their agreement : the only thing she can do is waiting and hoping he will be here on time. He then asks Sato if she really trusts Takagi, and she hardly says yes. He adds he would be really amazed if Takagi dared to leave an offence scene just to rescue Miwako, since he already got a reprimand and wages cut due to the Shinkansen Case (Vol. 30), therefore if he did it one more time, he could be fired this time, something Sato is quite afraid of. In the next room, Sonoko seems to be making fun of the situation, to Ran's great displeasure, and Conan says he'll go to the bathroom for a while. Once there, he uses his bowtie and impersonates Shinichi's voice to call Takagi, as the latter is up the creek without a paddle, and the suspects start losing their temper. Shinichi says Conan called him to explain what's happening, and Shinichi asks Takagi to check his mail. Takagi's face turns deadly and flabbergasted as he reads about Sato's Omiai. Conan tries to calm him down saying he's still got time, and Minatoro isn't very far away. Though, he tells him Sato will accept her suitor's marriage proposal if he's not here on time.

Conan asks Takagi to tell him about the events, and Conan finds the case very interesting. He tells Takagi to go to Mamehara's, the bartender he actually knows, and take him outside his bar. Doing so, Takagi notices Mamehara wears special glasses whose lenses get automatically tinted when he's outside, in order to protect his eyes from UV light. Since Mamehara was settling the menu in front of his bar when seeing the robber, he therefore saw everything darker, and believed the latter's jumper was black. Shinichi has known Mamehara for a long time now and he thinks he still wears the same special glasses. Mamehara confirms it and apologises for not remembering it, since he's used to wearing them. Though, Mamehara swears the robber was 1.70 meters tall. Takagi tells Shinichi it's in complete contradiction though with the girl's testimony. Then Conan asks him to go in front of the clothes' shop where she was when seeing the offender. The shop is close to a busy subway entrance, near a bus stop, and then it's perfectly normal the crowd will gather here at around noon, when the burglary took place. Conan says if this was the case, and given the culprit needed to run away without being hindered by the crowd, he would probably step on the curb's small low wall and run along it, which would give he impression he was taller than everyone else, while actually he's not. Conan explains this kind of situation works just like a puzzle : things are the right ones, but they need to be turned or understood in another way so as to fit in.

In the meantime, Dr Araide comments on Conan's long-lasting absence, and Ran goes to see what's going on, believing he might not have well digested his breakfast or lunch. In the corridor, she meets Shuichi Akai who has just emerged from the bathroom. The restaurant's waitress is sorry he didn't find the person he was looking for. Ran thinks to herself she's sure she's already met him somewhere. Back to the case, Conan says it's now time to explain the old man's testimony, and Takagi is amazed at Shinichi's brightness. But they are interrupted as Ran comes in the bathroom and asks if Conan's OK. The latter hangs up all of a sudden after telling Takagi to question the old man once again, and he'll find the solution to the case. Takagi thinks about the man's testimony, and realises Zama could be the robber since he wears a blue sweater and an earring, explaining why the old man saw a woman. But he quickly rules it out due to the robber wearing a helmet during his crime. As night is about to fall, Takagi still doesn't get it, and thinks to Miwako, but suddenly, when glancing at his watch, he understands something.

As the sun is about to set, Shiratori tells Miwako that, before the proposal, he'll also demand a token of her promise : a kiss.

File 330 - Sato's Feelings

Ran and co are shocked to hear about the kiss, and Sato says yes to it, since a promise is a promise. Though, she's secretly overanxious and wonders what the heck Takagi is doing, given night will fall very soon. The latter, after phoning Conan, and probably questioning the old man again, comes back to the police car in a state of deep dejection, saying he's still not solved the case. He says though they still have some time to think about it, since it's only 3:30 PM. The three suspects immediately cast a glance at their watches and tell Takagi he's utterly wrong, his watch is at least one hour slow : it's actually 4:30 PM.

  Show spoilers »

Takagi suddenly grabs Yasuo Kamieda's arm, saying he's the robber. He perfectly fits the three descriptions actually : the bartender saw a 1.70 meters tall person, the high school student saw a man's body wearing a green sweater, and the old man actually mistook him for a woman with a blue sweater. Indeed, elderly people often confuse blue with green (especially if it's turquoise or so, just like Kamieda's sweater). Moreover, Kamieda is used to wearing and glancing at his watch like women do, with the dial under the wrist, and looking at it by turning his wrist upside down. He does this because, as a teacher, he needs to know what time it is during lessons without his students' notice, given there are no clocks neither watches during class at all, and he needs to wear it that way, in order to quickly glance at it while holding and reading a book. Takagi then explains the curb and dark glasses things, and declares Kamieda under arrest.

Shiratori notices Sato's tenseness, and he comforts her saying they actually won't tie the knot right now, rather, Shiratori is ready to wait for Miwako's feelings to get clearer as far as he or Takagi is concerned. He then says he'll always be on her side, and she starts to feel seduced by him. Right at that moment, Takagi calls, saying he's closed the case at last, and is coming as soon as possible. He asks Sato why she agreed to such a bet relying only on him, why he is so important to her. Sato replies she knew Takagi would be the only one to come, if it was to save her. Takagi tries to ask her if she loves him too, but is interrupted by Zama leaving the car, and Kamieda violently shoving Koshimizu out of it, and escaping once again. Chiba runs after him, and shouts at Takagi to stir himself and run too. Takagi is still phoning Miwako and thinks to hismelf it will be too late now if he starts chasing the robber. But Miwako asks him which one is the most important : she or the robber ?, and, saying so, she orders Takagi to go and catch him, which he does. She hangs up and Shiratori says now it's indeed too late if Takagi does it, but she answers it's her fate, her punishment for having involved Takagi in such a story. She says she'll hold to her oath and prepares for the kiss.

Takagi eventually catches Kamieda, and the latter starts weeping, saying he needed money for that girl he had been stalking in the street, a kind of compensation (it's unsure if it's a legal compensation or just a gift to her). Takagi comments on Kamieda having forced him to run too much and too far away now to hope for the best. Chiba turns up and congratulates Tkagi for getting him, and the latter says he didn't get her at all, the one who means a lot to him. As they are about to kiss, Shiratori secretly comments on Miwako's face showing tears and sadness, which actually means she's not ready at all... Yet, he embraces her, saying now he'll take care of her and nobody will ever part them. Sonoko can't wait for the kiss, and stops Ran from going there and stepping in. Conan thinks of something and asks Araide to come out of the room with him for a second. Chiba tells Takagi he is a man, and a policeman besides, and accordingly he must never give up, to the last second, and rush to rescue Miwako, while he'll deal with the rest of the case himself. After the embrace, Miwako feels better and agrees to kiss Shiratori, though she can't explain how and why Takagi took so much importance in her life and heart, and she thinks to herself she's a moron and it's really time she leaves police for good, and she wishes Takagi good bye.

Conan asks Araide to come closer, and suddenly he steals his glasses and messes his hair up to have him look like Takagi, and then hides the glasses up the door of Sato's and Shiratori's room. Araide goes and fetch them, and Conan uses his voice-changing bowtie to impersonate Takagi. Therefore, Miwako and Shiratori are about to kiss when they hear Takagi in front of the door, asking Inspector Sato to come as soon as possible since there's a urgent case to deal with, and they need her quickly. Sato and Shirtaori see "Takagi's" shadow behind the shogi, doing the military salute, and Miwako rushes out of the room, only to find Araide, recovering his glasses, and Conan. The latter is at a loss for words when questioned by Miwako, but Araide gives him a hand, telling Miwako Takagi has just left in a hurry and is probably in front of the restaurant by now. She runs there too, and Araide smiles and kindly winks at Conan. Ran is overjoyed, while Sonoko finds it too bad. Mrs. Sato and Kamoi meet Miwako in the corridor, and wonder what's going on.

Meanwhile, Takagi is out of breath, and notes with despair that it's too late now, it's full dark. However, Sato calls him from behind, and asks him to get into her car since they have a urgent case to go and deal with... Conan says to himself he really wanted to help those two shy and hesitant lovebirds, since they remind him exactly of he and Ran. He says he's sorry for Shiratori, and the latter is being solaced by Kamoi and Sonoko.

People

Mrs. Sato
	Miwako Sato's mother

Isokichi Kamoi
	Ninzaburo Shiratori's butler

Hiroshi Zama
	21 years old Freelancer

Eiko Koshimizu
	28 years old Office lady

Yasuo Kamieda
	32 years old School coach

Old man
	Witness

Girl
	Witness Shopping girl

Mamehara
	Witness Café owner

Valentine Chocolate Case

File 331 - Bloody Valentine 1

Conan comments on the fact he hates Valentine's Day, saying this is nothing but a marketing operation to have the chocolate industry thrive, but none seems to notice it at all. The DBs rather think it's ace to be offered delicious chocolates, and they think Conan says the opposite since he's usually not offered anything - the latter secretly answers they're not far from truth, since he's not given anything as Shinichi, but as Conan, and it's only Yaiba chocolate for kids... Ai sticks her oar in, saying Japanese people wrongly believe Valentine's has to do with love and chocolates, while actually Saint Valentine was a Christian martyr who was tortured and killed during the Ancient Roman Period. The DBs suddenly lose their happiness, though Ayumi says her mom told her chocolate is both sweet and bitter, in order to give maidens courage to confess her love and make that moment unforgettable. She adds though her dad forbade her to buy chocolates - and Conan says indeed she's far too young for love things. Ai asks Conan what the "girl at the detective agency" will do as for her, and Conan says he was told he, Ran and Kogoro were going tomorrow at a chalet in Suito Mt., but he wasn't told anything about chocolates at all. Ai hopes they'll be all right then, since Valentine's Day also has to do with Bloody Valentine, or Valentine's Day Massacre, on February 14th 1929, in America, Chicago, during which the Capone family machine-gunned seven members of the Moran family as part of mafia business, in front of their garage. Conan is also reminded when James Black told him he was from Chicago, "Al Capone's city".

The day after, Conan and co are driving with Sonoko to the said chalet where actually they'll bake chocolates. Sonoko says Suito Chalet's chocolates are reputedly enabling pairs to be formed. She adds she wants to bake one for Makoto, but she starts feeling depressed, explaining that after her missed attempts with the jumper and cup, she phoned Makoto to tell him she'll go and bake chocolates for her lover, but since then she hasn't been able to phone Makoto anymore, given she always comes upon the answering machine. She thinks it's a very bad sign, and she hasn't gotten any news from him since then. She wishes she had told him clearly about her attempts earlier on, but Ran comforts her saying he will be very happy when receiving the chocolates. Sonoko says Ran is a strong girl : while she is worried sick just because of Makoto's not having answered her for a week, Ran hasn't gotten any news from Shinichi for several months, and isn't making so much fuss about it. Ran replies she's used to it, and doesn't know what difference his absence or presence makes anymore. Conan thinks seriously about it.

Once there, they meet Chiyoko Yuasa, the lodge's owner, who tells her the chalet became famous after a pair was formed 10 years ago after baking and eating chocolates there. Her husband was the previous owner, he died 4 years ago. After this, a ghost story spread up and the number of visitors dropped dramatically : whenever the snowstorm rises, people who are outside may receive a strange gift from the mountain ghost. Yoshitaka Nigaki, one of the lodge's guests, says these are chocolates, that were found near the corpses of victims of avalanche or freezing. People say this is the work of a woman who got lost in the snowstorm and died while on her way to the chalet, and who would leave chocolates near corpses afterwards, since she couldn't bake any. Or it might be Yuki-Onna, the infamous "snow woman", etc. Though, the police say this is only due to wild animals searching the corpses' belongings, attracted by the smell of chocolate. Nigaki then says he'll go in the forest for now, and one of his friends, Mika Konagawa, a camerawoman, tells him to be careful there, just in case, and Nigaki replies he won't be seduced by Yuki-Onna since his heart is already owned by his girlfriend Ako Amari, who is also his assistant. The two girls tell Conan Nigaki is a reporter and he went there to shoot and take pictures of the place in order to find some clues as far as his 5-year-long investigation is concerned : he wants to know whether the Japanese wolf, whose breed was wiped out around a century ago, still exists, since people including Nigaki saw one some time ago.

Then comes a hunter, Yuzo Sakami, who came to the lodge with a rifle in order to scare the wolf and attract it into a trap, and then capture it. Sakami leaves as well towards the forest, asking Yuasa to greet his friends who will come soon. Though, Yuasa delegates this task to Kogoro, saying she'll go in the forest too to commune with herself at her late husband's tomb. She's not afraid since she knows the mountain inside out, and will go with her pet Japanese dog Saburo. The girls tell Kogoro it's impossible Saburo could be the wolf Nigaki or some others saw some time ago, since Nigaki saw it at night, and Saburo is usually locked in his doghouse at that time. Amari treats the girls to the kitchen in order to prepare chocolates. They say they are responsible now for the chocolate workshop, as a sign of gratefulness given Yuasa kindly invites them every year to the lodge, though she still has to check their work right after. Konagawa tells Ran Yuasa's husband died in an avalanche about 3-4 years ago, on Valentine's Day, he had been stuck under the snow for a week now when Saburo found his corpse. Yet, the other victim's body was never found, it was Amari's brother. She's been coming to the lodge since then, hoping in her heart he were still alive, and also to pay tribute to the late owner. Konagawa forbides Conan and Kogoro to come in the kitchen, fearing they might get injured just like Nigaki did. When looking at Sonoko's beautiful chocolate dedicated to Makoto, Ran feels sad and stops herself from writing Shinichi's name on hers, and Conan observes her from far.

They take a snap of all chocolates afterwards, and notice the snowstorm is about to rise. Amari and Konagawa are worried about Nigaki and rush to the forest to tell him to come back, and meet Yuasa on their way. They come back frightened, saying they found absolutely none, and Kogoro says everyone will go back there, except Conan - who disobeys of course, and goes there on his own with Saburo. After he leaves, an unknown breathless figure enters the kitchen and comes closer to the table with the chocolates. The searching group suddenly hears a gunshot, and another hunter named Hajime Itakura comes along, hoping someone didn't get it before him. He starts looking for Nigaki with the others. Meanwhile, Conan has found Nigaki thanks to Saburo, but the photographer is dead, he was bludgeoned, and Conan finds Amari's chocolate on him.

File 332 - Bloody Valentine 2

The searching group worries about the snowstorm growing stronger, and Itakura is scared, and suggest they should rather all go back home and wait for the blizzard to end. They suddenly hear a dog's barking and notice a flash light. Everyone rush there, believing this is probably Saburo with Conan. They indeed find him and he gets severely scolded by Ran, apologising and explaining given Saburo had found Yuasa's husband's corpse some time ago, he could as well find Nigaki's, especially since the latter was now a regular of the lodge, and then Saburo knows his smell. He eventually shows them Nigaki's corpse and Kogoro finds a big bloodied tree branch next to him, which means he was murdered. Kogoro reveals he is the famous Detetcive Mouri, and says it's impossible to figure out the time of the death due to the freezing cold, and the snow covered any footprints. Though, there might be blood marks on the murderer's clothes, and Nigaki was probably killed at around noon or later on. The blood on his face seems to have been cut by something on its way down, as if someone had tried to wipe his face. He can at least say the murder happened at noon, because very later on it would actually be complicated since Nigaki has his sunglasses put on, which means if it had occurred when the night was falling, then he would probably have taken them off, in order to find his way through the dark snowstorm. Yet, Conan says it's maybe not the case, given his left eye's contact lens seems to have moved a little, and the other is nowhere to be found. Which means either he was bashed without his glasses, then he must have been murdered at twilight or night, or he fell on the ground after a first blow, and his glasses fell as well, along with the lenses. Apparently, the killer could have put Nigaki's glasses on again after his death in order to have the others believe he had been killed during daytime.

Conan then shows Amari's chocolate he has found on Nigaki, though she can't be the killer : why would she have left her own chocolate ? What's more, they all left at the same time, and the chocolates were still on the table, and none left the searching group and came back. Probably the true murderer did it to put the blame on Amari. They decide to head back towards the chalet, and suddenly Sakami turns up, saying police won't come at all, or at least not before a day, since at around 8 PM he saw the tunnel of the only road which leads to the lodge completely blocked by a snowslide, and the police are trying to clear it, though it will take hours. Sakami says he came here after hearing a dog's barking, and he recognises his hunting friend Itakura. Konagawa can't believe they'll have to spend the night at the lodge while Nigaki's murderer is probably here aamong them. Itakura secretly tells something to Sakami. The hunters then tell the others they'll head back home, leaving the women here the choice to become or not cute frozen Yuki-Onnas... Once there, Kogoro calls the police and they confirm Sakami's story. Ran also confirms Amari's chocolate is missing. Kogoro can't find any clue in Nigaki's camera since the only tape is blank, and they can't know the content of the photographic film for now. Konagawa says though she's skilled at developing pictures, and she actually brought her development set with her as Nigaki had asked her to. She says she'll use the bathroom as a darkroom, and Ran will assist her. Itakura and Sakami ask Kogoro if he's found any other tapes or films in Nigaki's bag, and Kogoro says the whole equipment was still under packaging then he didn't really check.

Sakami says then Nigaki was killed before shooting even the slightest thing, and Kogoro says maybe he preferred taking pictures, which Amari says isn't right, since he actually prefers shooting, and he even filmed a lot yresterday. Conan asks Amari to show them that filming. She goes and find the tape, while Itakura tells Conan it's probably not a good idea to watch a deceased person's film. Kogoro suspects Nigaki might have filmed something embarrassing for both hunters, but they completely deny it. They all watch it on Yuasa's TV, and suddenly the image gets blurred and Kogoro angrily shakes the TV, which causes the Daruma doll over it to collapse, yet it doesn't break thanks to Saburo which catches it with his fangs. Yuasa says her "antique" TV is actually a treasured present her late husband bought with his first wife Reiko some time ago. Reiko died of illness 12 years ago. Yuasa then retrieves the doll from Saburo and takes him to the doghouse for the night. Sakami and Itakura tell Kogoro Yuasa's husband felt depressed after the death of Reiko, but some day he met Yuasa at his chalet and they got along very well, to the point of getting married. Yuasa then started to bake chocolates, and the latter became very famous. Then maybe, Yuasa and her husband are that couple who enabled that rumor of Suito Chalet to spread up. But then the husband died too, and they comment on the fact it's not easy for Yuasa to live alone now. Conan aks the hunters if they are regulars too since they know these stories very well, and they answer it was just once, a long time ago. At last, they finish watching the 4 tapes of Nigaki's yesterday's filming. Kogoro is suprised that none of the hunters are on the filming, and they reply they actually arrived the day after, which is today, on the morning for Sakami, and on the evening for Itakura.

As Kogoro says watching this was useless, Konagawa and Ran turn up, saying they know the time of the death : they've got a bloodied picture which was then taken in the course of Nigaki's death, in broad daylight. The picture is the last one of the film, and none of the others were bloodied. The blood was on Nigaki's camera's lens, which means the camera fell down when Nigaki was bashed, and automatically took a photograph. The girls also checked the other films and tested the lens, then it's really bloodied. This means Nigaki was really murdered around noon, though, Conan says there's definitely something wrong with that picture. Kogoro says Yuasa, Sakami and Itakura are the only ones without an alibi at that time. The hunters reply it's impossible because who would have brought the chocolate then ? Whereas Sakami was actually near the tunnel when the chocolate was allegedly placed on Nigaki, same thing for Itakura, who wasn't at the chalet yet. None would be dumb enough to kill someone, go back to the chalet, take the chocolate, and bring it there, especially given it takes far too much time. Yuasa believes there must indeed be a ghost or something prowling around, responsible for the murder.

Itakura says actually, before meeting the searching group, he spotted from far a strange and very tall man wearing a black knit cap. He thought it was a bear at first, but quickly found out it wasn't before firing. Conan wonders if this is not Shuichi Akai. Meanwhile, in the storm, facing the lodge, a breathless person, wearing a black knit cap, has just arrived...

File 333 - Bloody Valentine 3

While Conan thinks about Shuichi Akai, Ran asks Itakura how that man looked like, since she may know him, something which astounds Conan. Itakura replies he was a tall and bulky person, then most probably a man, wearing only a long winter coat, a scarf, a black knit, and ski goggles. Konagawa thinks it must be Natsuya, Amari's brother, he's alive after all, and she rushes towards the door to go and look for him, despite the storm, since he's waiting for them. Amari holds her back and shouts that her boyfriend Natsuya is dead and gone by now, it's been four years, she'll never find him alive. Konagawa bursts into tears, and Amari explains she had prepared a chocolate with stripes for her brother, since he loves it, and intended to put it over his grave. Yuasa says there are many graves in the forest, among which three tombstones : her husband's, Reiko's and Natsuya's. As for the others, they're just makeshift wooden graves that were done hastily, since none went to claim the corpses of those victims of avalanches. It's a pity because wild animals constantly wreck them, and they always have to put it back. She tells Conan no animal though wrecked the tombstones because Yuasa goes there every day with Saburo, something her husband would also do. The hunters say the killer is probably that man with the black knit cap. Furthermore, only the culprit could have placed the chocolate there, and none of them, not even Conan, put it there, and could have anyay, since there's a 20-minute walk between the corpse's location and the chalet. They all left while the chocolates were still on the table, and Itakura had just met them when they started the search, then that can't be him, same thing for Sakami who was near the tunnel at 8 PM when they left. Since none went back to the lodge before finding the corpse, then the killer is, in all likelihood, that person prowling in the forest.

Sakami couldn't have heard the news on the radio since the police told Kogoro they were broadcasting the info just as he called them. The hunters rather accuse Amari : she could have wanted to make it as if someone was trying to put the blame on her, while actually she could well have baked beforehand another similar chocolate she would have placed on Nigaki after killing him, without using the one in the kitchen she could have discarded later on. Indeed, Amari went first to look for Nigaki with Konagawa, and they split for a moment, then it's perfectly possible she could have killed Nigaki at that instant and left the chocolate there, and then joined Konagawa to go back home. She could have done that to turn suspicions away from her, since it seems impossible otherwise, that she did only one chocolate. Konagawa declares it's false since it wasn't snowing on Nigaki's last picture, while it was when they went to search for him. She shows him the picture of all chocolates, and compares it with the chocolate found on Nigaki : it's perfectly impossible someone could succeed in doing two absolutely similar chocolates. Though, Kogoro notices the chocolate found on Nigaki has traces of having been crushed or melted or so. The hunters acknowledge they're wrong and go to their respective rooms to sleep for a while. Conan asks if all the pictures developed were really taken between yesterday and today, because the film roll could well have been switched with another one, since the roll they developed was full, and the real one could have not. Konagawa suggests they compare all pictures and videos shot between yesterday and today.

Kogoro does it and notes indeed the clothes of Yuasa and co are exactly the same on the videos as they are on the pictures, and both were taken during the night. Then, given the last picture is the bloodied one, he was indeed killed today at around noon. None took his camera between yesterday and his death, he was the only one to take the picture, though it was completely accidental. Ran confirms Konagawa didn't add any blood marks while in the darkroom. She used gloves not to leave her fingerprints, and it's easy to check if she changed anything on the roll by looking at the negatives. The only odd things are these two pictures that were taken just before the bloodied one : these pictures are completely dark, one can't see anything on it. Konagawa says it's probably a mistake from Nigaki. Nevertheless, Conan is certain the photo is a faked one, but he can't figure out why a chocolate was left on Nigaki while there was already a trick with the photograph ? He can't explain neither one nor the other, and can't believe the killer is the man with the cap. He suddenly watches the video and sees that, yesterday, Nigaki threw Saburo's favourite ball near the dog, but the latter didn't move an inch, and Nigaki commented it was rather unusual, given last year he would instantly leap on it, and play with it. Conan asks Yuasa why is her dog named Saburo, and she replies because he's the third one of the same breed she and her husband have owned : the first one was Taro - her husband's first name too, and the second one Jiro, but they both died long ago - Jiro died of illness just like Reiko, not long after the latter. On Conan's request, Yuasa decides to go to Nigaki's room, actually her late husband's room, to get a photo album so as to show how the dogs look like, but Amari and Konagawa say they'll do it in her stead.

Conan asks Yuasa if she saw any change in Saburo's behaviour recently, like going out alone or so, and she answers the only moments during which he goes out are when Yuasa takes him to the forest's graveyard. She adds Saburo is far from being stupid since he runs by himself to her husband's grave when they are within sight of the graveyard, and waits there in a very calm and peaceful manner. According to her, Saburo usually eats a lot, but during snowstorm days, when he can't go out, he doesn't even look at his food, and then when the weather is set fairer, he eats with much appetite and leaves nothing at all. Suddenly, Amari and Konagawa yell, and everyone rush to Nigaki's room, only to find the hunters were caught red-handed searching Nigaki's belongings. They say they wanted to check if any clue hadn't been left aside, and they are ready to be searched by Kogoro to prove they didn't steal anything. Conan notices Nigaki's sweater, that he wore yesterday when shooting, has a blood mark wiped in the middle, around the stomach. Konagawa explains Nigaki had injured his finger yesterday while cutting chocolate, as the knife had skidded. He panicked a bit and spilt blood on his sweater, and he didn't want Yuasa to help him with the first-aid kit. Amari didn't understand why he refused to be treated, and left, crying, towards Nigaki's room, since he was getting angrier. Konagawa tried to calm him down, and it was nothing after all, and afterwards everything went back to normal. Later on, Amari, despite her own sadness, went down to solace Nigaki who was ashamed of his behaviour towards everyone. Yuasa then shows Conan a picture of Jiro and Saburo, but she can't say for sure which one is which. They each wear around their necks a medal awarded by the department for having helped to rescue several victims of avalanches.

Conan then goes to see Saburo in his doghouse and drops his favourite ball in front of him, causing him to try and catch it. All of a sudden, Conan finds the solution to the case. The only things left now are evidence that the culprit took the chocolate with him, and evidence against the murderer, since he/she doesn't have any blood marks on him/her. He then goes in the kitchen and sadly remarks Ran's chocolate is very simple, and probably for Shinichi, but his name isn't featured and he perfectly knows why. Suddenly, the kitchen's back door opens and the storm's coldness gets inside the room and something/somebody comes in, making Conan smile. Kogoro pops in and asks what Conan is doing, and wonders what "it"'s doing here, before being once again put to sleep by Conan, collapsing violently on the floor. Mouri/Conan then asks everyone to gather into the kitchen, since he's found out the truth. First, Kogoro says there's no need to know the mysterious man's identity, since Nigaki's killer is one of them. He explains the key to the mystery - and especially the chocolate mystery - is "that one", and they all stand amazed when turning their eyes on "it".

File 334 - Bloody Valentine 4

  Show spoilers »

They watch as Ran carries Saburo in her arms, Saburo is actually the one who brought Amari's chocolate to Nigaki. The hunters say it's impossible since the only time Saburo left the lodge after being with Yuasa was with Conan, and the latter would have seen it if Saburo had taken the chocolate, and anyway it was already on Nigaki when he and Saburo found him. Kogoro explains indeed Conan was with "that" Saburo, ad he goes on explaining there are actually 2 Saburo : one is Jiro, that Yuasa pretended was dead, and the other one is the Saburo they know. Taro, Yuasa's husband, had trained Saburo and Jiro to go and guard the tombstones day and night in turns. One would be at home with Taro and Yuasa, and the other would be at the graveyard to prevent wild animals from wrecking the stone graves, and then when Taro or Yuasa would go every day to the graveyard with one dog, the latter would rush there and actually go and hide in the forest, and the one Yuasa would find at the grave would be the other one she would then take with her back home after visiting, and the other one would then come back to the grave after they'd leave, and so on. At first Yuasa didn't know her husband had done it to protect the graves, but she realised it after noticing her dog's strange beahviour. She kept it secret as well in order to have the tombs protected daily and constantly, and this has been going on for 12 years at least. Taro, and then Yuasa, had trained the dogs to eat only once a day, which accounts for their greedy appetite at meal time, since they would have to get used to staying at the graveyard for a whole day and night without moving nor eating anything. The dogs wouldn't eat anything during snowstorms as they had been trained as well to do it only when the weather would be set fairer, when they would at last be able to go to the graveyard and play their roles. Also, one of the dogs, either Jiro or Saburo, loves to catch and play with objects, which explains why Nigaki found Saburo's behaviour unusual every now and then. Jiro was Saburo's lookalike, none ever found it out.

Sonoko then shows up with the Saburo/Jiro which was in the doghouse, to prove Kogoro's declarations are true. At first, Taro didn't say anything not to hurt Yuasa who could think he was doing it only to protect Reiko's grave. Though, Yuasa had never discovered how exactly both dogs could do it, then she assures Kogoro she didn't know for the chocolate, which Kogoro says it's true. Five years ago, Nigaki didn't see a Japanese wolf but rather Saburo or Jiro, hiding in the forest, waiting for Yuasa and the other dog to leave the graveyard before going back to the graves. Saburo and Jiro are rescue dogs that were trained to find victims of avalanches, and if they did, they would bring chocolates to them, in order to enable them to survive thanks to the high sugar content in chocolate, since the victims were in a state of hypothermia. This happens only when the chalet bakes chocolates at Valentine's Day's time, and it accounts for the chocolates that were found near avalanche victims in the past. Saburo/Jiro found Nigaki dead while on its way to the graveyard, and decided to rush to the lodge's kitchen, grab a chocolate - a random chocolate - and take it to Nigaki's. This also accounts for the crushed-melted marks on the chocolate : this means the chocolate had been in the mouth of the dog, given the fang marks and melted parts due to the warm temperature of the mouth. Though, Nigaki didn't react at all and Saburo licked his bloodied face to wake him up, explaining the weird mark, and eventually left to go to the grave. Since the dog did actually bring the chocolate, that means anyone could have murdered Nigaki, but not at noon, because actually the picture isn't a fake one, but was used in another way in order to have them believing he was indeed killed at noon. Kogoro adds if this picture was the last one, and that it got taken automatically when the camera fell down, then the murderer should have heard the automatic rewinding sound of the device, as usual, and therefore check or remove the roll from the camera, fearing he/she might have been photographed.

This means, this picture had been taken beforehand, even before Nigaki met the murderer, and it was taken by Nigaki himself. He didn't notice the blood marks since they are dark, and he might have confused them with tree leaves, and moreover he was wearing his ski goggles. Nigaki had taken it at noon, and was ignorant of blood marks having been on the lens since the day before. Besides, the lens is dark, and the blood marks went probably missing afterwards due to the snowstorm. Nigaki had injured his finger the day before, and he had spilt blood on his camera's lens because it was hanging around his neck, on his sweater, accounting for the wiped mark on it. Though, the murderer knew actually Nigaki would take his last picture : he/she had discreetly taken two dark photographs in order to leave Nigaki no other chocie but to take the last picture, and he was unaware of it, since he's a camera enthusiast and has many rolls and tapes with him constantly. The culprit knew the picture would "prove" Nigaki had been killed at noon, while actually he had been killed very later on, when night was falling, as he was supposed to meet the murderer as part of an appointment. There, the culprit killed him and put on Nigaki's goggles back on his face to give credit to the "noon" theory. That person is revealed to be Ako Amari. Amari insisted on going and searching for Nigaki as soon as the wind rose, since there was a possibility Nigaki could have come back home earlier due to the weather and night falling quickly. Amari also took two dark pictures because it would be rather suspicious to find or to take two or three bloodied pictures then. After the murder, she retrieved the tapes on which she was and checked the other ones as well as the pictures. But actually, she was the one who had, earlier on, put some new and still packaged filming and photo material in Nigaki's bag in order to prevent him from checking the roll with the bloodied picture when it was over - since he hadn't some with him in his bag, but Amari put some then - and also so as not to atract the others' attention if they had found incriminating tapes or rolls having to do with Amari.

Kogoro says after Nigaki got injured, Amari looked for some plasters or so, and she glanced at something rather unusual in his bag, which prompted her to steal those tapes and rolls, and replace them by new ones. Actually, she stole the things and then pretended to cry and run towards Nigaki's room in order to fetch new material, and then when she came back to solace Nigaki, she put the new ones into his bag unnoticed, just like when she stole them. Kogoro says Saburo/Jiro gave him irrefutable evidence of her murder : actually, her blood marks vanished due to the coldness and wetness of the snowstorm, but when she stole the other rolls and tapes Nigaki had used before being killed, and that she added them to the ones she had stolen beforehand, she put everything into her bag, and left it in the forest, waiting for the case to end, and retrieve it later on. But Saburo/Jiro saw her and thought she had dropped it, and rushed there to give it back to her. Inside the bag, there are all the incriminating tapes, especially one on which Conan saw Amari being filmed by Nigaki as she was arriving to the meeting place, before killing him. He also found a four-year-old tape which probably has to do with the avalanche causing the death of natsuya and Taro. Amari confesses to being the killer, saying that the four-year-old tape features Taro trying to rescue an injured Natsuya before being seized by the rest of the avalanche, a scene Nigaki shot from the faraway forest with absolutely no shame nor regret for not having rushed and given them a hand. Nigaki did this to get rid of Amari's brother who disliked her dating Nigaki. Amari spotted the tape while searching for plasters or so in Nigaki's bag to help him, and the tape was featuring the date of her brother's and Taro's deaths. She watched it discreetly on his camera he had removed, believing that Nigaki intended to make a surprise for her with it, having to do maybe with the wolf or so, but actually it was the evidence of his complicity. This is why she cried and left the kitchen too. Amari didn't expect Saburo/Jiro would bring her chocolate to Nigaki, maybe it had saw her or had guessed she was the culprit, and that she loved him anyways.

Yuasa says she acted stupidly given she's not even sure he was the one filming, but Amari denies it saying she heard him say something like "bye bye Natsuya, and thanks for your sister", after two gunshots were heard and the avalanche triggered. Conan suddenly figures out something when listening to her, but it's too late : Sakami fires in the air, and Itakura takes aim at them, saying indeed they were the ones who had accidentally triggered the avalanche after shooting at what they thought was a wolf but actually was Natsuya, dressed in black - something Sakami also did prior to finding Nigaki's corpse, when he saw the dog or the man with the black knit cap. Nigaki didn't rush to rescue Natusya and Jiro because he wanted to film the surroundings, to find who were the hunters who had triggered the avalanche. He actually did find them after a long investigation, and started to blackmail them in exchange for big sums of money, since they had fled the scene after the avalanche, and didn't go to the police afterwards. Nigaki knew where Natusya's body was thanks to the tape, and he knew Natsuya had been accidentally injured by the hunters, and that the police could then easily find Natsuya's body later on, with a few lead shots on it. The hunters had come today as Nigaki had told them to, in order to give the money. They say though Amari paid great service to them, and actually she killed her boyfriend for nothing. Even though Amari wouldn't have, they would have trapped Nigaki by triggering another avalanche and killing him, and then stealing the tape. They order everyone to gather around Kogoro, wondering how they will kill them all. Conan can't do anything given his shoes are at the entrance, and he used his last sleeping projectile. As Sonoko wishes someone would save them for her to be able to give Makoto her chocolate, she is ordered by Itakura to grab a knife and stab Ran, or else she'll be shot down instantly. Suddenly, someone knocks at the service door, and Itakura goes to check what it is. He instantly gets violently kicked inside the room, and passes out. The man with the black knit cap comes in, and Sonoko tells him not to come closer or he'll get killed, though the man says he's skilled at focusing on the rifle's cannon, trigger and direction so as to avoid the bullet just in time. Sakami fires and he indeed avoids the bullet which only breaks his goggles away into pieces, revealing the fishy man to be Makoto. Ran takes advantage of Sakami's distraction to quickly slip behind him, while, as he notices her presence, he turns to her, and Makoto runs towards him. Sakami is eventually violently kicked twice in the face, and passes out too.

Makoto explains he came here to see what Sonoko's lover looks like, and what makes him better than himself. Since Sonoko would offer "that man" a hand-made sweater, cup and now chocolate, while Makoto didn't receive any of these, he wants now to see that guy right now and challenge him. Sonoko answers Makoto is that person, and she shows him the chocolate she baked for him. Ran explains Sonoko sent him the cup but he thought it was a vase, and actaully she gave up knitting a sweater as she's unskilled to do it, and also gave up buying one since she wanted a true handmade present for her boyfriend, just like the chocolate. Makoto understands his mistake and feels embarrassed, and as he's about to leave, Sonoko offers him the chocolate, and Conan comments on Sonoko's plans being unexpectedly successful at the end of the day. Makoto says he bought her a nice sweater with animal patterns on it, and they both blush, and Ran secretely comments on how happy she is for her friend. The police arrived eventually and everyone could go back home afterwards.

Later, on Valentine's Day, Ran tells Sonoko she didn't write anything on her chocolate in order to have more time to think about what she would write later on, once at home. Sonoko eventually leaves Ran to go with Makoto at the airport - they may be travelling together. Once alone, Ran comments to herself that she's actually unable to write anything on it, since in order to move the loved one's heart, a chocolate has to be given on Valentine's Day to the person face-to-face, but that person isn't here, as usual, then it's impossible to give and even less to write. She goes back home very sad, and decides to give her chocolate to "sleeping Kogoro". But when looking at it, she remembers Sonoko telling her how strong she is, and she starts weeping, thinking that actually it's false, she's no strong person, if only she were, but she's just nothing but an idiot. Conan observes her from behind the door, and thinks about something. Later on, Ran wakes up, realising she's been sleeping on the agency's sofa for a very long time, and she wonders who could have blanketed her with her own coat. She notices "Detective Kid" sent her a mail with a picture attached : "I've taken a snap of your asleep face", and she sees indeed her sleeping face on the sofa, while she is covered by the coat, near her phone.

Suddenly, her phone rings and she picks up, only to hear that "Detective Kid"/Shinichi is speaking to her. She rushes to open the window and check where he is, and Shinichi explains he had actually come to the agency but didn't dare to wake her up, since she was sleeping so well, with dribble on her lips. Though, Shinichi was so hungry and didn't want to wait for her to wake up, and he eventually ate the "peach-like" chocolate on the table, such a delicious chocolate that he asks Ran where she could have bought it - and the latter comments that this is a secret she'll never disclose, a store only her knows. She feels happy again and, in the snow, tells Shinichi that "Detective Kid" is rather cheesy, something Conan expected actually.

People

Chiyoko Yuasa
	61 years old Lodge owner

Yoshitaka Nigaki
	Victim (beaten) 28 years old Lodge guest

Mika Konakawa
	26 years old Lodge guest

Ako Amari
	25 years old Lodge guest

Yuzo Sakami
	42 years old Lodge guest

Saburo
	Chiyoko's pet dog

Hajime Itakura
	37 years old Lodge guest

Missing Watch Case

People

Hideo Morita
	49 years old Mouri Detective Agency client

Eiko Idetsuki
	Victim (beaten) 46 years old Apartment's owner

Mrs. Morita
	Deceased Hideo Morita's wife

Escalator Message Case

People

Norihisa Kisugi
	50 years old Administrative manager of a Trading Company

Katsunori Chujo
	Victim (stabbed) 43 years old Detective

Cover in other countries

China

Finland

France

Germany

Hong Kong

Indonesia

Italy

Korea

Malaysia (Chinese)

Malaysia (Malay)

Rep. of China (Taiwan)

Singapore (English)

Sweden

United States

Vietnam

See also

• Manga
• Volume 31-40
• Detective Conan