Volume 22

Kaede Katagiri
	22 years old; Kikuhito Morizono's fiancé;

Akio Shigematsu
	Victim (stabbed); 51 years old; Morizono family butler;

	Volume 22
	Information
Release date:	February 18, 1999
Chapters:	212-221
ISBN:	ISBN 4-09-125492-6
Publisher:	Shogakukan
English release date:	March 18, 2008
English ISBN:	ISBN 1-4215-1674-8
English Publisher:	Viz Media
	Featured Detective & Keyhole
; Shozo Totsugawa	; Yusaku Kudo
	Aoyama's death & Conan side images

Chronology
‹ Volume 21	List of Chapters List of Cases	Volume 23 ›

Volume 22 was released on February 18, 1998 in Japan.

Cast

Characters

Natsue Hatamoto (background)

Gadgets

Chapters

Wedding Murder Case

Anime Episode 141-142: The Night Before the Wedding Locked Room Case

File 212 - A Matching Set

Kazuha's scream attracts the rest of the mansion's tenants to the crime scene who express a variety of reactions such as shock, confusion, and in the case of Kaede, loss of consciousness. Heiji and Conan immediately begin investigating the windows, finding all of them locked. Ran, who had been watching the room's main window from the building's exterior, reports no unusual activity. Heiji then finds Shigematsu's bundle of keys left in his coat pocket. After learning that it contains the unique key to the room, he declares the case an impossible locked-room murder. Though Yurie floats the idea of a suicide, Kogoro debunks the theory, pointing to the missing murder weapon. Kikuhito displays a callous attitude towards his butler's death, intending to resume his wedding plans without alteration. Enraged, Sakuraba strikes him with his fists sending his client crashing against a glass window. Mikio takes Sakuraba's side, lambasting his son for his insensitivity. He reminds him that Shigematsu was Sakuraba's surrogate father following his orphaning and that the butler also served as an invaluable member of the family business for which he acted as Kikuhito's advisor. Kazuha lets out another scream, believing Shigematsu's body had exhibited movement. However, the family cat Rebecca appears from behind the body and shows its fondness for Yurie.
With news of the police's arrival, Conan and Kogoro accompany a cane-wielding Mikio downstairs, who tells them he permanently damaged his leg in the accident that claimed his wife's life. The trio is then greeted by a swarm of reporters who battle the police for entry into the mansion. After a brief scuffle, Inspector Megure, Takagi, and several supporting officers manage to squeak through, introducing themselves to Mikio.
Kogoro informs Megure about their preliminary findings, noting the sole concentration of blood in the room to the trail leading to the final position of the body. Takagi returns with several alibis, stating that all servants except for Sakuraba were having dinner at the time of the murder, narrowing the list of suspects to Mikio, Kikuhito, Yurie, Kaede, and Sakuraba. Megure commences the investigation by both ordering interrogations and body checks of the five suspects and also instructing his men to conduct a thorough search of the property for the missing weapon.
Some time later, Conan and Heiji stand at the mansion entrance and share their findings—both having noticed four peculiarities about the crime scene. First, the culprit removed the weapon from the body, thus evaporating the likelihood of suicide and increasing the odds of being caught. Second, Shigematsu's body was relocated from one room to another for no apparent reason. Third, only the room with the body had been illuminated. And finally, the cat's presence. As they ponder, they see Sakuraba asking Takagi if he can assist in the search for the murder weapon. The Sergeant refuses, and Sakuraba is soon after accosted by Kikuhito who throws him to the ground in retaliation for their previous physical altercation. Kazuha and Ran rush to Sakuraba's aid, the former noticing that he wears a crystal pendant identical to the one worn by Kaede. The girl's observation draws Conan and Heiji's attention, the two remarking that it may prove to be a pivotal key to solving the mystery.

File 213 - The Evidence...

The police fail to find the murder weapon after a thorough search, so Megure orders them to do it all over again. Kogoro suggests that perhaps a burglar intruded into the mansion, was caught by the butler, killed him and escaped; Takagi and Heiji dismiss this possibility, saying that the security system of the mansion is excellent, and that it would not make sense for a burglar to devise a complex plan and make a locked room. Heiji also reasons that since a lot of blood must have splattered out of the body, the clothes that the murderer was wearing must be heavily stained, for which if the police can find the weapon, they might find bloodstained clothes as well. He then asks Megure about the alibi of the five suspects; it turns out that none of them has a valid one.

Presently, a crime scene investigator informs Megure that there is a bloodstain on the latch of the window of the room. Megure (and Heiji) thus approach the window; after a careful examination, they deduce that the bloodstain was left when the murderer touched the latch with his blood-stained glove. This implies that, perhaps, the murderer left the room through the balcony (that the window leads to). Heiji thus goes to the balcony to investigate. Conan is already there, and he has found a broken piece of glass (broken because Kikuhiko slammed into that window a while ago) with a tiny hole through it. They both believe that this is an important piece of clue, and thus start searching for “the thing” that must appear on the balcony. They are interrupted by Mikio, though; he asks Megure whether the police can return to him the body of Shigematsu; he was a close friend of the couple, and Mikio thinks that it is pitiful for his body to just sit in the middle of the room (Megure, of course, has to decline this request, as autopsy has to be performed first). This prompts Heiji to mention that, according to his mother, Shigamatsu was actually the one that Mikio’s wife loved and the reason why she would come to Morizono family’s mansion so frequently (when she was a young adult). However, Mikio thought that his future wife came for him. Under this belief, he proposed to her; she was, little by little, overwhelmed by his courtship, and since all the parents approved of their getting together, they married in the end.

Conan understands the significance of this story, and thus begins thinking. Heiji interrupts him and comments that the situation involving Katagiri, Sakuraba and Kakuhiko bears some resemblance to the story. Conan seemingly agrees with this analysis, but he chooses to not continue talking about this topic; he insteads asks whether Heiji has found “the thing”. As the answer is negative, Conan suggests that Heiji, with the help of a rope, try to jump off the balcony to reach that of the room below. Heij manages to do so easily; additionally, on the balcony of the room on the second floor, he is able to see something hanging on the branches of a tree in the garden. They immediately head there to determine what that object is (after an incident in which Conan fell from the balcony and survived only because Sakuraba arrived in time to save him); it turns out to be a bloodstained shirt tied up by a long, thin string. By loosening the string, the detectives discover that the shirt is coating a kitchen knife and a pair of gloves (both, of course, have a large amount of blood on their surfaces). Conan also notices the presence of a piece of one-sided tape on one end of the string; with this, the detectives are confident that they know who the murderer is and how the room was locked. But something doesn't feel right: a lot of details are still unexplained.

Rain starts pouring down, and Ran and Kazuha suggest that unless they want to be completely soaked, Conan and Heiji should get back to the mansion. The word “rain” makes them think about “rain shutter”, and this in turn makes them realize that the truth behind the murder is actually different from their previous conjectures. Under this improved theory, the identity of the murderer changes, and definite evidence is lacking. Therefore, Conan and Heiji decide to devise a trap so that the murderer will hand over the evidence himself (or herself). This begins with the two detectives summoning everyone into the room where the murder took place and declaring Sakuraba to be the murderer.

File 214 - The Last Laugh

Show spoilers »

People

Yuji Sakuraba
	23 years old Morizono family servant

Yurie Morizono
	28 years old Eldest Morizono daughter

Mikio Morizono
	57 years old Head of the Morizono family

Kikuhito Morizono
	26 years old Eldest Morizono son Kaede's fiancé

Major events

Ran and Kazuha's friendship grows after Ran quickly changes shirts to prove to Kazuha that she didn't wear the striped pattern because Heiji did.
Kazuha is still very jealous of Ran, and still thinks she has feelings for Heiji, after finding out that Ran and Heiji are wearing the same style striped shirt. Kazuha's feelings for Heiji are once again briefly explored.

North Star Murder Case

Anime Episode 144-145: The North Star No.3 Express Leaving Ueno

Characters introduced

Kyohei Nishimura
	Inspector from Hokkaido Prefecture Police

File 215 - The Northbound Train

File 216 - Search The Train!?

File 217 - To Be Continued...

File 218 - The Last Station

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People

Yasuji Asama
	Victim (bludgeoned) 39 years old Passenger

Toshinori Kaetsu
	38 years old Jewelry store manager

Keitaro Izumo
	Victim (gunshot) 56 years old Jewelry store owner

Akishige Ishizuchi
	67 years old Furuito City mayor

Toru Aoba
	32 years old Passenger

Fumiyo Akechi
	37 years old Passenger

Azusa Izumo
	49 years old Keitaro's wife

Inspector Nishimura
	Inspector from Hokkaido Prefecture Police

Woman
	Deceased (drug) Toshinori's girlfriend

Sonoko Attempted Murder Case

Anime Episode 153-154: Sonoko's Dangerous Summer Story

Characters introduced

Makoto Kyogoku
	18 years old Waiter Karate champion

File 219 - Go On, Sonoko

File 220 - The Sleeping Beauty

File 221 - The Prince of Kicks

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People

Tadahiko Michiwaki
	College student

Shoji Terabayashi
	Detective from Chiba Prefecture Police

Major events

Makoto is revealed to be a karate champion, saving Sonoko from a serial killer.
Sonoko's budding romance with Makoto begins here, as he confesses his love to her, and they become a couple.