The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1278 Rejecting Self-Inflicted Consumption

"You reminded me."

Reiko Kujo shook her head, clenching her fist slightly: "However, the consequences are far too severe..."

Sato Miwako glanced at her, wondering what the consequences of their conversation would be.

Even a fool could figure it out...

It's probably related to that previous case involving high-rise buildings.

Could it be that a high-rise building's machinery was possessed by a spirit and drove someone to their death?
Very likely...

After thinking for a moment, she asked Reiko Kujo:
"You saw the situation clearly back then, didn't you?"

"See clearly."

Reiko Kujo responded and recalled, "This afternoon, Takeuchi called and said he wanted to talk to me about something. The agreed time was just a short while ago, at eight o'clock."

"The call came through the office, so my colleagues can vouch for me."

"When the appointed time arrived, I came to the apartment building and was about to take the elevator when I met Mr. Takeuchi's wife."

"She seemed very anxious and ran into the elevator I was in, saying she had received some strange text message."

"Thank you for taking care of me all these years. Forget about me and go pursue your own happiness."

"The text message contained the following information."

At this point, a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes: "When Mrs. Takeuchi and I arrived at the apartment, she searched the place and found Mr. Takeuchi on the balcony. She then called me over to stop him..."

“I followed him and heard Mrs. Takeuchi shout that Mr. Takeuchi was on the balcony. When I went to look, I saw him jump off the balcony.”

"That's pretty much it."

Although it still seems a bit hard to describe, Reiko Kujo, as a prosecutor, has professional qualities and expressed herself very clearly.

After listening to the analysis, Sato Miwako asked in bewilderment, "If that's the case, then he definitely committed suicide..."

"Could it be that someone is using his family to threaten him?"

To this, Reiko Kujo simply shook her head slightly in denial, saying, "Besides his wife, he doesn't have any other close relatives, and his parents have long since passed away..."

"So what exactly was the threat?"

When faced with the question posed by Miwako Sato, Reiko Kujo simply shook her head slightly, indicating that she herself couldn't think of any reason to threaten her.

This person is simply invincible.

This puzzled Miwako Sato.

In her view, involuntary suicide is nothing more than someone threatening you with more important people, such as your children, wife, or parents...

Even more outrageous, they might threaten social death or something similar.

This operation might seem like she was born into a bad family, but she actually encountered quite a few cases like this.

It can only be said that reality is often more surreal.

"Is it possible that he wasn't threatened at all?"

Just as the two were pondering helplessly, Fujino suddenly spoke up, attracting their puzzled gazes.

In response, Fujino added, "Sometimes, what you see with your own eyes is not necessarily the truth. Since he could not be threatened and had no intention of committing suicide, his suicide lacked a motive."

"The motive can be anything, and it could even be that someone else orchestrated your fall."

Upon hearing this, Miwako Sato frowned, then suddenly realized: "That's right, if we smother him beforehand and put him on the balcony, we could use some kind of mechanism to push him off the building..."

Fujino glanced around: "The body has already been taken away, right?"

"Um……"

Miwako Sato responded, her tone slightly helpless: "Because the first police officer who came to the scene thought it was suicide, he took her back directly to have an autopsy report done to confirm it was suicide."

Fujino looked up at the apartment building beside him, then followed the edge of the umbrella to the sixth floor above: "That's right, you can't just leave someone out in the rain like that. So, the only place to start is the crime scene..."

…………

Once we reached the sixth floor, the forensic officers were already there conducting their investigation and collecting evidence.

A young woman with black wavy hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and looking quite well-maintained, was tearfully pleading with a police officer.

Turning her head, upon spotting Reiko Kujo, she immediately spoke, roaring with fury:

"What are you doing in my house, you shameless woman!"

"You drove my husband to his death, wasn't that enough? Now you want to drive me to my death too?!"

"Get out of here! You're not welcome in our house!"

Reiko Kujo was caught off guard by the zero-frame start and was scolded so harshly that she became dejected and looked like she was internally drained.

It seems she truly believes that she is responsible for Takeuchi's death.

Fujino was speechless.

Such self-destructive and weak behavior—how did you even become a prosecutor? You have no spirit at all…

Normal prosecutors can't keep bringing up Curry all the time, plus, damn it, what the hell?
You're not even retaliating, which makes it hard for anyone to react...

The problem is that I got criticized too, okay?
Fujino, who came with her, was also scolded when they were recording the video together.

He felt very unhappy.

What I'm saying is, when you're going to insult someone, can you at least specify who you're targeting?

You start cursing right away, who are you cursing at?
Fujino would never waste his energy on something like this; once he realized what was happening, he immediately followed up with a zero-frame attack:
Why are you yelling so loudly?

"Don't you have any manners?"

"Believe it or not, I'll sue you for obstructing official business!"

"Obstructing official business...?"

The young woman was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, not understanding at all what it had to do with the prosecutor.

Fujino then turned to look at Sato Miwako beside him and introduced her, "This is Officer Sato, who is in charge of this case."

As she spoke, Fujino's tone became indignant: "What did Sato do wrong that she was scolded by you as soon as she came in?"

"I came to help you investigate the case, and you actually swore at me. I really don't know what you were thinking..."

Sato Miwako: "..."

No, when did she scold me?

How come I didn't know I was being scolded by her?
Looking at the muttering young man in front of her, the young woman's eyebrow twitched: "I'm talking about that bitch prosecutor who drove my husband to his death!"

Perhaps because she had just been rebuked, she corrected herself again in her next sentence, casually pointing at Reiko Kujo: "Anyone can come to my house, except her!"

"That's it."

Fujino responded, then immediately refused, "That won't do. I need her to be a witness to identify the scene. If she leaves, who will help me identify it?"

"What witness? You mean you want the person who killed my husband to be a witness?!"

"Isn't it possible?"

Fujino calmly said, "You and Mr. Takeuchi are relatives. Compared to Ms. Kujo Reiko, the prosecutor, your testimony is not as credible as hers."

"Are you kidding me? She drove my husband to his death..."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Fujino nodded, feigning understanding, then asked doubtfully, "But how can you be so sure your husband was driven to his death by her, and not because of other issues?" "He could have committed suicide for other reasons, you know?"

"Then how do you know that your husband was driven to suicide and not murdered by him?"

"???"

The young woman was stunned, her eyes full of questions, before she immediately shouted, "My husband committed suicide as soon as she came to my house. If it wasn't her, who else could it be?"

Fujino replied in an unusually calm tone, "Oh, I see. I already asked. Kujou Reiko was called over by your husband. Who knows what your husband is thinking?"

"After killing someone, you couldn't even handle being locked up for a few days. How fragile are you? When you were drunk driving and hit someone, why didn't you think about committing suicide to atone for the passerby who ended up in the ICU?"

"Others can be detained for a few days and nothing happens, but he committed suicide after being detained for a few days. This only shows that he couldn't handle the psychological pressure. You, as his wife, didn't give him enough care. Why are you blaming the prosecutor?"

"The prosecutor didn't even know what was going on; he was just called in, okay? And now he has to watch this suicide attempt and get disgusted. Don't you think he's being wronged?"

These words left the young woman completely bewildered.

Fujino then continued eloquently, "Besides, the police investigation results haven't even been released yet, and you're already so certain it was suicide? What are you thinking?"

"Are you hiding something?"

"What did you say?!"

The young woman immediately flew into a rage again: "Are you saying I killed my husband?!"

"Emmm, I wouldn't say that, but looking at you like this, it's hard to say."

"What did you say?"

"Ahem, alright, madam."

Miwako Sato cleared her throat. "We need to investigate and reconstruct the scene. If you can't calm down, please leave for a moment."

Young woman: "..."

It's a conspiracy, a conspiracy, this is absolutely a conspiracy!
Despite her reluctance, the young woman was asked to leave the crime scene.

This move left Reiko Kujo completely bewildered.

No, is this how you grassroots police officers operate?

This is official collusion! Believe me or not, I'll sue you!

I think I'm an official too.

That's fine.

Watching the departing young woman, Fujino asked Kujo Reiko, "She was Mrs. Takeuchi, wasn't she?"

"That's right..."

Reiko Kujo recovered from her shock and responded, while Fujino pondered, "This lady seems rather strange."

"strangeness?"

Sato Miwako, who was standing next to her, asked curiously.

Fujino explained, "Haven't you noticed? She seems to be convinced that Prosecutor Kujo killed her husband."

Miwako Sato pondered, "Normally, it's normal to be emotional after a family member dies. This situation, though a bit strange, is still considered normal."

"but……"

"Stop keeping me in suspense and tell me what really happened."

"You must have figured something out, right?"

"Yes, I do notice something strange."

Fujino responded, then pondered for a moment before saying, "First of all, it's the fact that she's convinced that Prosecutor Kujo drove her husband to his death."

"She looks so certain right now, even a little deliberate, as if she's trying to smear him, blaming Kujo for Takeuchi's death."

"Besides that, it's just about going upstairs."

"From the moment I went upstairs and bumped into her, to the moment I ran upstairs, I calculated that it was less than three minutes in total. It was such a coincidence."

"Furthermore, according to what Jiu Tiao said, as soon as she entered the room, she started looking for her husband. After entering the living room, she immediately ran out and said that her husband was going to commit suicide..."

"Is that so, Prosecutor Kujo?"

"That's pretty much it."

Do you remember the time between her running into the living room and calling you?

Reiko Kujo pondered, "I hadn't even changed my shoes yet, and I had just closed the door. It must have been only a few seconds."

"The time is too short."

Fujino slowly walked into the entrance hall of the room and said, "Prosecutor Kujo, please describe the situation again."

"I understand……"

A thoughtful look appeared in Reiko Kujo's eyes as she cooperatively began to recount the scene at the crime scene.

As a prosecutor, she was naturally very familiar with this kind of thing, and she reconstructed the events of that time bit by bit according to her memory.

That makes it seem very professional.

The two walked through the entrance hall, went straight, and turned a corner to find themselves in a rather large living room. There was a large TV, two L-shaped solid leather sofas, and the decor all indicated that the people living here were either rich or powerful.

Although the apartment looks a little run-down.

However, in Japan, people in the upper-middle class tend to live in these kinds of apartments.

It is ordinary people who live in one- or two-story detached houses.

It's quite strange.

In the living room, Reiko Kujo pointed to the balcony on the right, which was mostly covered by a sheer curtain: "He jumped from here. When I came in, I saw him standing there."

"Ah."

Fujino looked it over and said, "It's even stranger now."

Reiko Kujo couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

Fujino pondered, “When a person enters a new environment, they need to look around to receive information about the new environment. This living room is very large. To scan it all, you would have to turn your head left and right at least once. Moreover, the location of this balcony is quite far to the right, which means that it would take at least one or two seconds to make sure you are in the right place.”

“And it would have been even stranger if he had been standing there.”

"How would you feel if you received a strange message from your husband and then saw him standing on the balcony?"

After thinking for a moment, Miwako Sato replied, "She'd probably be really anxious, and she'd definitely open the window and grab him right away..."

“Yes, grab him.” Fujino then asked Kujo Reiko, “Was the balcony lock not locked at the time?”

"Hmm, there's no lock."

"That's it..."

Fujino put his hands in his pockets, took two slow steps forward, and looked at the balcony: "Then why didn't she stop her husband herself, but instead called you over?"

"In those few seconds, or even a dozen seconds, she could probably have pulled her husband off the balcony."

"And having a prosecutor who prosecuted her own husband try to persuade him to come to her rescue or something."

"That's so strange..."

"Is it because she believes the prosecutor loves her husband more than she does?"

(End of this chapter)