The Secret of the Search for his Wife (妻探しの秘密,Tsuma Sagashi no Himitsu?) is the 975th episode of the Detective Conananime. It was originally scheduled for April 25, 2020 as episode 976, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It finally aired on July 4, 2020 as episode 975, replacing episode 1002, which aired instead on April 17, 2021.
A man named Masaki Higuchi is showing a poster of his missing wife Tomomi Higuchi to several people while he is getting wet from the rain. Ran and Conan approach him with an umbrella to offer him shelter and ask to see the poster. Ran immediately recognizes Tomomi from her workplace, a florist shop. Masaki asks for their help and Ran suggests he talk to her father Kogoro Mouri, known as "Sleeping Kogoro".
At the detective agency, Masaki tells them what he knows. He had planned a date with his wife Tomomi at an expensive restaurant but she never showed up. Kogoro asks if maybe she ran off, but Masaki tells him that that is impossible as they had a happy life together. As evidence, he reveals that her phone and wallet were left behind, something a person running away would never do.
Masaki asks Kogoro to investigate the case for him which he accepts. Kogoro along with Conan question Masaki’s neighbors, getting different statements from them but nothing to lead them to Tomomi.
Missing Person
Location:Beika-cho
Victim:Tomomi Higuchi
Age:29 years old
Time:3 days ago
Masaki Higuchi asks Kogoro to solve the mystery behind his wife's disappearance, which he thought was strange.
As Kogoro and Conan are walking around the neighborhood they hear Masaki arguing with someone and go to investigate. They find detective Takagi with two officers. Kogoro asks what's wrong and Masaki reveals that Takagi came to dig up his garden because apparently they believe Masaki killed his wife and buried her in their own backyard.
Masaki lets them dig stating that they won't find anything as he still believes Tomomi is still alive. However the officers find Tomomi's body in the, garden much to Masaki’s shock and grief.
Murder (Past)
Location:Higuchi house
Victim:Tomomi Higuchi
Age:29 years old
Time:3 days ago
Cause of death:Stab wound from pruning shears
Suspects:Masaki Higuchi
Takagi and some officers come and dig in the ground and find what was Tomomi's body. Masaki then becomes the prime suspect.
The culprit is the woman with scratches, whose name is in fact Sakie Tsutsumi.
Her motive was that Tomomi had decided to cut some branches off her tree, as it was blocking the sunlight necessary for her garden. Ms. Tsutsumi had gone to confront her and had stepped through Tomomi’s rose garden which was extremely thorny explaining the scratches on her legs. Tomomi was trying to explain why she cut the branches off her tree, but Ms. Tsutsumi wouldn’t have it and shoved the garden sheers into Tomomi killing her.
Seeing what happened she buried Tomomi's body in her own garden and left hoping she would never be found. However, Tomomi's husband Masaki Higuchi started to look for her as a result Kogoro was put on the case and he started asking the neighbors questions about Tomomi. Ms. Tsutsumi saw this as a opportunity to frame Masaki and falsely told Kogoro that Tomomi and Masaki got into arguments often. And when Kogoro questioned the other neighbors they claimed the same thing, until it was revealed that Tomomi was also an aspiring actress. Which meant that all the "arguing" they heard was just acting from Tomomi's scripts that she was rehearsing with Masaki.
Walking near Masaki and Tomomi's home they hear Masaki yelling and see that Takagi and some MPD officers have arrived to his house. Masaki asks Kogoro for help, stating that the police said that they believe that Tomomi's body is buried in their garden. Takagi reveals that they got an anonymous tip from a phone call and decided to act. They later found Tomomi's body in the garden much to Masaki’s shock and grief. It is later revealed that Ms. Tsutsumi sent that anonymous tip in the hopes of framing Masaki for good.
Ironically this backfired as this was what made Conan suspicious, which ended up helping solve this case. The evidence to prove her guilt was her blood on the rose bushes and on the garden sheers that was used to kill Tomomi. Ms. Tsutsumi reveals that she felt inferior after watching her and Masaki working so happily on their garden it make her sick and envious. She was pushed over the edge when Tomomi started cutting branches off her tree and caused her to kill her in retaliation.
Attempted Murder
Location:Higuchi house
Victim:Sakie Tsutsumi
Age:35 years old
Injury:Bashing with shovel
Culprit:Masaki Higuchi
When Masaki hears the shocking motive from the culprit, he attempts to kill Sakie to avenge his wife, but is stopped by Megure.
Conan as Kogoro states that if she had not said anything and had not tried to frame Masaki then she never would have been caught. As Ms. Tsutsumi is being led away by Takagi, Masaki grabs a shovel and is about to attempt to kill her after learning that she killed his wife over something so petty. However Megure talks him down stating that this is not what his wife would have wanted, and she would want better for him. After remembering Tomomi and her smile, he relents and breaks down knowing that Megure is right.
Trivia
The restaurant where Masaki had a date with his wife is Arsène, the skyview restaurant which appeared in The Desperate Revival, and he was bringing his wife a Fusae brand gift.