The episode opens with a recap that was similar to the one that preceded the second part of the story, except it added the second murder at the end of it. Again, it provided just enough information to remind the viewer of what had happened in the previous two episodes and didn’t feel like it was rushed.

This part opens with the remaining group talking amongst themselves, and how it’s realized that one of the guys was the one who picked the lot that sent the first victim to the bathroom, and how he was the one who chose the mints to send himself and the other victim out of the room. He accuses the others of trying to frame him for the murders, and he storms off into the study. They spend time trying to coax him out, but with no success.

At one point, I believe it was Wakita or Amuro, wonders out loud why Kogoro was invited. And I think it was Conan who wondered why Kogoro was asked to bring three other people. This then leads Kogoro, Wakita, Conan, and Amuro to wonder if there was an importance to the number nine. What they each think of is kind of amusing, but then it seems to hit them all at once what that significance is. And with this revelation, they realize how to decipher the code.

As this is going on, the remaining male from the group of friends receives a text from the friend that’s holed up in the study, asking him to come into the study through the ceiling and to not tell anyone what he’s doing. He claims to know who the murderer is, and will tell him when he gets there. But it turns out the guy in the study starts screaming for the other guy to not poison him. But because of what Kogoro and the others figured out about the code, they come in through the ceiling and catch the guy in the act.

Then, most of the remainder of the episode (which was about half of it) was spent detailing everything Kogoro and the others figured out about the case and how it all comes back to the guy in the study being the guilty party. They spend time explaining the tricks he used in order to get the people he wanted to murder to where they needed to be, as well as the trick that was set up in order to create the situation for the second murder to occur. We also get to hear what each code was that was deciphered, and how it all had to do with baseball. When the guilty party finally admits to the crime and explains his motivation, the remaining two friends tell their side of what happened. It’s another case where the murderer had the wrong idea, and is now regretting what they have done because they didn’t know the whole story. With this episode being a three-parter, it made the audience feel for the anguished guilty party a little stronger than usual.

The episode ends with the Nagano police finally arriving to rescue the group, with Komei being part of the group. He sees Amuro, and the two exchange glances. However, Komei spends his time talking with Kogoro. When it seems like Komei is going to potentially say something to Amuro, he is called away to help with the investigation inside the church.

This was an interesting episode, and it definitely needed to be a three-parter in order to pull it off. From the preview, it looks like the next episode is going to be a single episode focusing on a murder mystery. I hope it’s good, but I unfortunately have a feeling that it’s going to pale in comparison with this three-part murder mystery that we just completed.

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