The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1461: Being young is good, just fall asleep
As hardcore fitness enthusiasts and muscular individuals, their room was naturally spotless.

Aside from the fact that Sato Miwako's lips twitched slightly during the search of her pockets, and that she found something that proved the two were indeed a couple, there was nothing else suspicious.

Inside the private room.

Miwako Sato finally fell into deep thought: "We've already checked everyone at the scene, and there's nothing that could be used as a murder weapon..."

"How exactly did the killer manage to smash that guy to death?"

Sato Miwako felt very helpless.

Finally, he turned to Fujino for help: "Did you see anything?"

In the past, this would have been the moment when Fujino would suddenly have a flash of inspiration and unleash his divine power to help her solve the case.

Fujino pondered for a moment after hearing this: "I have some ideas and I've identified the culprit, but I'm still considering whether or not to tell him."

"What's there to consider?"

Miwako Sato was a little confused.

Fujino calmly explained, "Because of that guy, I feel a bit damned."

"Damn it?" Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako recalled for a moment, "So, you're sulking because that guy was stalking the eldest daughter of the Suzuki family and that Miss Ooka, right?"

“I wouldn’t say I’m angry…” Fujino didn’t finish her sentence: “Let’s wait until Takagi brings over the developed photos before we talk about it.”

"Why is Takagi moving a little slowly?"

Just as Sato Miwako finished speaking, Takagi Wataru ran back carrying a black plastic bag: "The photos are developed. There isn't a single photo studio around here. I searched for ages before I finally found one..."

Miwako Sato turned to look at him: "What kind of photos are in the camera?"

"Well, you should see for yourselves."

Takagi handed over the plastic bag, which Sato Miwako took out, and Fujino followed suit to take a look.

The photo shows two young and beautiful girls. One of them is wearing a fashionable outfit and looks full of energy, while the other is wearing beige trousers and a white sweater and looks dignified and composed.

The two were none other than Ooka Momiji and Suzuki Sonoko.

Most of them are street scenes, and judging from the angle of the photos, it's not hard to tell that they were taken from a candid perspective.

Sato Miwako frowned: "Why is this guy taking these photos? Is he a voyeur?"

"To be precise, he's not a voyeur."

A voice that sounded unfamiliar to Sato Miwako came at that moment.

She looked over and saw a tall, imposing man wearing a butler-style suit vest, with slightly curly hair, slowly walking into the crime scene.

Sato Miwako narrowed her eyes and looked at Iori Muga. Memories flooded her mind, and she immediately recognized that the other party seemed to be the butler of the Ooka family that Fujino had mentioned.

She was a little speechless: "How did you get in?"

"I briefly informed your supervisor."

"..."

Miwako Sato looked a little pale.

Iori Muga wore a polite smile, but he had the air of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

He turned to Fujino and said, "Young Master Fujino, we have basically figured out that guy's identity."

"Moting Tatsumi, male, 46 years old, unemployed, there is nothing much to say about his past. What is noteworthy is that he was suspected of a kidnapping case that occurred in Okuho Town a year ago, but was ultimately not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence."

Iori Muga said this without any notebook, clearly having memorized it by rote.

After all, he's a butler, so his memory is naturally exceptional.

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako frowned: "The kidnapping case from a year ago, which was not prosecuted, could it be that case?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino looked at her and asked curiously, "Were you involved in this case back then?"

“Of course I participated!” Sato Miwako gritted her teeth and said, “This guy kidnapped a four-year-old child and then killed him. How could I forget?”

"Damn prosecutor's office! They were absolutely certain that the guy was the murderer, but they still made that despicable decision not to prosecute because of insufficient evidence and the murder weapon not being found!"

"Bribed?"

“I don’t know.” Sato Miwako shook her head. “That guy probably didn’t have the money to bribe the prosecutor’s office, after all, he’s an unemployed bum.”

She sighed as she spoke, "To be precise, it's because the murder weapon wasn't found. Without the murder weapon, we can't prove he committed the murder, so we have to continue the search, even if someone died as a result..."

"What a damn prosecutor," Fujino muttered, his tone a mix of sarcasm, curses, and exasperation.

In most countries, the judiciary is a system of separation of powers, consisting of the police, the prosecution, and the courts.

The police are responsible for making arrests, the prosecution is responsible for prosecuting, and the courts are responsible for the final judgment. These three agencies were established separately to ensure the impartiality of the judiciary.

Procedural justice is achieved through the process of adjudication by three agencies, comparing the facts with the legal provisions, and finally determining the crime of the criminal for trial.

Procedural justice is a relatively fair process under normal circumstances. In Japan, this is highly valued, to the point that even if the police arrest someone, if the evidence is insufficient, the prosecutor can decide not to prosecute based on this.

Prosecutors certainly have the right to participate in searches.

However, most prosecutors do not have this patience. Not to mention that investigations waste time and energy, just the fact that they force a prosecution means that the prosecutor will also bear corresponding responsibility if the case is overturned later.

The statement that the investigation was returned due to insufficient evidence for non-prosecution is procedurally sound, and the prosecutor has not made any mistakes. Similarly, the police's recommendation to continue the investigation was rejected due to insufficient evidence, and they also recommended that the investigation continue.

If neither the prosecution nor the police have made any mistakes, then the criminals must also have done nothing wrong.

As for the victims?
Who cares.

At this moment, Iori Muga continued, "There's one more thing. The child who was murdered back then was named Honma Taro. This guy killed the child back then, and now he's being killed. I think there must be some connection between them."

“Honma…” Sato Miwako narrowed her eyes slightly: “Speaking of which, the company employee in room number two seems to be named Honma Kyota.”

"Yes, you guessed right." Fujino nodded in response. "It's probably about avenging his child. After all, his child was killed a year ago, and the murderer is still at large, even trying to kidnap other people or something."

"If it were me, I probably wouldn't be able to stand it either."

Upon hearing this, Miwako Sato sighed, "This is troublesome."

Fujino asked her, "What's wrong? Feeling guilty?"

Sato Miwako remained noncommittal: "The case is already clear, and as a police officer, of course I have to arrest him. I just personally feel that he is too pitiful, too hateful, and there is nothing I can do about it."

Takagi, who was listening nearby, also understood the whole story and felt helpless: "Given the current situation, we can't treat it as an impromptu murder. We have to find a murderer at the scene. It's difficult to let him go."

"Ugh……"

Miwako Sato sighed, clearly feeling uneasy.

Fujino glanced at Sato Miwako and knew very well that she was not some ruthless legal machine.

However, under these circumstances, it will be difficult to exonerate this old man.

It's good that nothing was discovered...

Oh right, I didn't find it.

Fujino pondered for a moment, and then an idea came to him.

He then sighed, "But even if we know the other party killed his son, does that mean anything?"

"Ok?"

Sato Miwako turned around and looked at Fujino with a puzzled expression. Fujino pondered, "I don't think I've told you about his modus operandi yet, have I?"

“No, not at all.” Sato Miwako thought for a moment. “You just said you wanted to wait until the photos came back before we talked about it.”

After thinking for a moment, Fujino whispered meaningfully to him, "He only has a motive, but that doesn't prove that he is definitely the murderer, right?"

Sato Miwako suddenly realized, and nodded in agreement: "Yes, although there is a motive, without evidence of murder, we cannot confirm that he is the murderer..."

"Hmm, I've suddenly forgotten how he killed him." Fujino suddenly slapped his forehead. "Why is my brain so forgetful?"

Sato Miwako narrowed her eyes upon hearing this: "You kid, how come your memory is so bad?"

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Fujino sighed. “After all, we’re dealing with cases every day, and it’s easy to forget something.”

After a moment's thought, Fujino said, "But there is still a motive. We should still take him in for questioning. I'll tell you when I remember."

"Keep it up, it all depends on you guys keeping him calm."

“You little rascal…” Sato Miwako’s lips twitched, and she said with a rather helpless expression, “Remember to say it when you think of it.”

"Hmm."

Fujino gave an awkward smile and nodded repeatedly.

Iori Muga and Takagi Wataru, who were standing next to him, were completely dumbfounded.

Conan, who had secretly followed them, frowned, as if he wanted to say something: "Hey!"

Hearing the commotion, Fujino went over, squatted down, and looked at Conan with a smile: "Little Conan, what do you want to say?"

"Fujino, what are you trying to do?" Conan asked in a low voice.

"Hmm, what do I want to do..."

Fujino pretended to be thinking, rested his chin on his finger, and uttered a long, thoughtful sound.

Then, Conan's eyes widened.

He watched as a large hand landed on his shoulder.

Suddenly everything went dark, and my consciousness faded.

Conan fell to the ground with a "thud," landing face-first in the mud.

Hearing the noise, Miwako Sato turned around and was stunned by what she saw: "What's wrong with Conan?"

"It's nothing, I just fell asleep because I was sleepy." Fujino turned around and smiled.

Sato Miwako: "..."

Do you fall asleep and just fall straight to the ground?
Sato Miwako mentally scoffed, but then she thought again, this kid named Conan seems to have pretty good deductive reasoning skills too...

After all, he was Kogoro Mouri's assistant while he was asleep.

I guess Fujino doesn't want this kid to cause trouble, right?
Sato Miwako felt a pang of helplessness, then sighed, "It's good to be young, you can fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow."

"Hmm...how did you know that phrase?"

"I learned that from you."

"..."

Fujino paused for a moment.

That was what he originally wanted to say.

Unexpectedly, Sato beat me to it.

Come to think of it, he's forgotten how many classic, flattering phrases he's said to the people around him.

It seems... well, she must have mentioned it, otherwise she wouldn't know.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he picked up Conan and said, "Speaking of which, the kid is sleepy. I'll take him to the private room first."

"You'll have no problem handling things from now on, right?"

"Of course no problem."

Outside the room, the karaoke patrons and staff were waiting in the hallway.

Fujino walked out of VIP room number four. To his right was VIP room number five, where the incident occurred, and a vending machine.

He turned around, walked towards the vending machine, took out a few coins from his pocket, bought a pack of cigarettes, then pulled one out and asked the clerk, "By the way, I'm quite curious, how do you cooperate with these vending machines?"

"Forehead……"

The waiter was taken aback, somewhat puzzled as to why the other party would ask such a question, but still explained, "We provide the venue, they provide the equipment, and we will share some of the profits."

Fujino then asked, "They're the ones who restock, so logically you wouldn't know how much money they charge each day, right?"

The waiter replied, "When it comes to restocking, we usually just do it in the morning. As for how much it costs, I really don't know. They take the cash box when they restock, but they wouldn't cheat on that."

"I see!" Fujino nodded upon hearing this, and exclaimed, "No wonder the vending machines are usually full. It turns out they're restocked every day, and the cash box inside is also taken!"

These words seemed a bit exaggerated, and everyone present was taken aback.

I don't quite understand what Fujino is talking about.

However, Kyota Honma, the murderer, understood what it meant.

Isn't this a veiled reference to his modus operandi?

What does this detective mean?
At this moment, Sato Miwako came out of the private room and slowly walked up to him: "Mr. Honma Kyota, about a year ago, the victim kidnapped and murdered your son, right?"

"We now suspect that you have a motive to kill Mr. Maoting. Please cooperate with us to go back and investigate."

Kyota Honma was taken aback by what he heard, then nodded without saying anything more, simply extending his hand as if he had resigned himself to his fate.

But before he could even open his mouth, kneel down, and admit his mistake...

Fujino, who was standing nearby, spoke up first: "Since there is only a motive for murder, then it should only be a temporary interrogation. There is no need to handcuff them, right?"

“That’s true,” Sato Miwako agreed. “It’s just that there’s a motive for murder, so we’re taking him back for questioning. Mr. Honma, you don’t need to be too nervous.”

"Or are you saying that you killed the person?"

Kyota Honma was slightly taken aback.

At this moment, Fujino suddenly spoke up to remind her, "Big sister, watch your words. Without evidence, they are just suspects, not murderers. The interrogation time is only 24 hours."

"Don't be like the police in some places who use torture to extract confessions, and then use a big memory restoration technique to make them confess."

"Don't worry, I'm the kind of law-abiding police officer who won't resort to torture or forced confessions. Not to mention torture, I won't even touch anything on his body."

Sato Miwako patted her chest, looking every bit the righteous and law-abiding policewoman.

Kyota Honma was even more confused.

Wait, why does it feel like this detective is speaking up for me, the criminal?
This isn't right...

Could it be a reminder to the policewoman to torture me during interrogation?

Kyota Honma felt a sudden surge of panic.

(End of this chapter)