Conan's investigation leads him to discover the meaning of the symbols. He drops hints for Joseph Meguire to deduce what the symbols are. Meguire explains that the symbols are outlines for kanji and ? is bigger than the other three symbols since it was not cut off. He elaborates further, explaining the three symbols are missing the top portion since they were written past the envelope and onto the document. The culprit is revealed to be Bunta Kuniyoshi (???? Kuniyoshi Bunta?), correcting that the bottom of ? is usually more round. The police interrogate Kuniyoshi and convict him for the murder after Takagi gathers the shredded pieces of the documents with blood and piece them together forming the missing top portion of ?×? and fully spelling Kuniyoshi's name. Kuniyoshi confesses explaining he wanted a better life for his poor family. Ran, learning the meaning of X, sends a mail to Shinichi with Xs. Elsewhere, an unknown Black Organization member sends a message to Gin with X's in her message explaining they are a sign of feminine affection but can also be a sign of hate before throwing a dart at a picture of Shiho with an X through it.