"Hello, the library is closed now. If you'd like to read, please come back tomorrow."
As the clock neared six, the head librarian Kosugi Tsukawa appeared on the third floor with a kind smile.
"Eh? It's closing already?" exclaimed Genta Kojima.
"Alright, we'll leave now," replied Hayashi Yoshiki politely, then turned to the children. "Okay, let's stop playing detective for today. The director is getting ready to go home—let's not make trouble for him."
"Mmm, we're heading out!" nodded Ayumi Yoshida immediately.
As the only girl among them, her decision made the rest of the Detective Boys fall in line.
Director Tsukawa smiled warmly.
Hayashi lifted the book in his hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Director, could you check this out for me before you leave?"
"You want to borrow it? Of course!" said Tsukawa, nodding.
He ushered them toward the elevator. As the doors opened, Hayashi noticed Genta counting heads seriously.
"One, two, three... six in total," he muttered.
"What's wrong?" asked Hayashi.
"This elevator only fits seven. When we rode it earlier with someone else, there were eight of us and it was overloaded," explained Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya.
"Is that so?" Hayashi smiled subtly.
Once downstairs, Tsukawa processed the book loan while Hayashi casually glanced at the staff roster posted nearby.
"The director's name is Kosugi Tsukawa, right?"
"That's me," he replied with a chuckle. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just curious," answered Hayashi, flashing a benign smile.
Conan Edogawa, who stood nearby, gave a knowing glance.
So he's collecting names again... probably for future characters in one of his novels.
Conan's expression was so obvious that even Ayumi noticed.
"Conan, did you figure something out?"
"Not really. It's just that Yoshiki-oniisan has this habit of collecting names."
"Huh? That's kind of weird," said Genta.
"It's not unusual," Conan replied diplomatically. "He's a mystery writer. Choosing names is tough, I guess."
Having finished the registration, Hayashi left the library alongside the kids.
On the way out, they all began introducing themselves enthusiastically.
Not only did they give their full names, but they made sure he wrote them down. When he did, Hayashi looked genuinely pleased—like a novelist who'd just discovered his next batch of side characters.
If only Gin and his crew were this cooperative...
"…"
Once he was certain the kids had gone home, Hayashi returned to his car.
From inside, he watched Director Tsukawa lock the front door of the library.
After murdering one of his employees for discovering his secret, the director had been extra cautious these past two days. He made sure no one was around before continuing his secret task—organizing a shipment of narcotics.
Director Tsukawa was a drug dealer.
He stored the contraband in imported foreign books—sealed in shrink wrap and boxed—so no one would casually inspect them.
After killing the employee who discovered the truth, he stashed the body in the elevator shaft, hidden in the ceiling. This was the same cause of the mysterious elevator overload Conan had noted earlier.
"Originally, I planned to wait until I was more practiced before trying this out..."
"But since you've isolated yourself so perfectly, you'll do just fine for a first attempt."
With a pleasant smile, Hayashi Yoshiki opened his Death Note and began writing:
Kosugi TsukawaAt 18:10 on May 3, he unlocks the front door of the Beika City Library.After being arrested for murder and drug trafficking, he refuses to discuss anything that happened between 18:10 and 18:40 that day.Three days later, at 14:49:33, he dies of a heart attack in custody.
Period. Done.
Since Hayashi didn't know how to pick locks, he simply had Tsukawa open the door himself.
When the time came, Hayashi stepped out and approached the library.
Sure enough, the door was unlocked.
Inside, the director, having returned upstairs to organize his shipment, didn't notice anything odd about his earlier actions—until he heard someone approaching.
"Who's there?!"
Suddenly, a strange red light filled the stairwell, momentarily blinding him.
Hayashi wore a half-face mask. Embedded in the mask were three small lights arranged in the shape of the kanji "品." As the pulsating red light flickered, it synchronized with a colorless gas filling the room, impairing Tsukawa's mental clarity.
"Feel your fear, Director Tsukawa."
Hayashi's calm voice echoed through the air.
Tsukawa's face froze. His pupils contracted. Within seconds, he dropped to the floor, muttering in fear:
"No... no! I didn't mean to kill you—Yutani!"
Yutani was the name of the missing employee.
Hayashi's expression beneath the mask remained neutral.
He observed silently.
As more of the gas took effect, Tsukawa's panic escalated. He began to shout:
"So many... so many officers!?"
"No! It wasn't me! I just wanted to make a little money!!"
Hayashi inched closer.
The director recoiled in terror, crawling backward until his back hit a bookshelf.
Trapped, he flailed, as if trying to ward off invisible figures.
"Get away!!! Get away from me!!! Don't arrest me! Don't—!"
"I won't confess anything!"
He screamed in hysterics.
Hayashi calmly pointed his index and thumb like a gun.
Tsukawa reacted violently, shielding his face with both hands.
Seeing that, Hayashi clicked his tongue lightly.
"Tsk."