Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 644: Subordinates cannot kiss their superiors! (Monthly ticket requested!)

"Inspector Megure, don't you include this person? This old man also entered the bride's room and touched the bottle of lemon tea."

Listening to Inspector Megure's words, Conan narrowed his intelligent eyes slightly and quickly sorted out all the clues in his mind.

Suddenly, as if he noticed something, he stretched out his finger and pointed it straight at Inspector Matsumoto, who was standing aside with a serious expression and no one knew what he was thinking, and reminded him.

His crisp and childish voice seemed particularly clear in this tense room, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, breaking the brief silence.

"Conan, kid, are you kidding me..."

Inspector Megure rolled his eyes in annoyance and subconsciously retorted: "Ms. Sayuri is the chief's only daughter. Could he be so cruel to his own daughter?..."

Not to mention that Matsumoto Kiyonaga and Matsumoto Yuriko are father and daughter. As an old father, it is impossible for him to kill his own daughter so cruelly.

For example, the other party is the management officer of the First Investigation Division of the Criminal Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (with the rank of Superintendent), and is his immediate superior.

Although the phenomenon of "the inferior overthrowing the superior" existed in Japan under certain historical backgrounds, not many people had the courage to put it into action.

At the very least, Megure Jusan didn't have the courage to question his boss.

It was also because of this that after listening to Bai Ye's analysis of the range of suspects, he subconsciously did not include Matsumoto Kiyonaga in the list of suspects.

Officer Matsumoto looked calm and determined as he spoke, "Yes, what the kid said makes sense. Logically, I should be one of the suspects. Until the truth comes out, no one can be ruled out as a suspect, including myself."

His tone was neither hurried nor slow, yet it revealed an unquestionable fairness and decisiveness.

Officer Megure suddenly looked a little embarrassed, his face slightly flushed, he scratched his head with his hand, and said with a little embarrassment: "Yes, that's true."

Afterwards, he cleared his throat, trying to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere, and then said solemnly to everyone: "In that case, please ask Inspector Matsumoto to stay here for a while and cooperate with the investigation."

At this point, he paused for a moment, sorted out his thoughts, and continued, "Counting Inspector Matsumoto, there are currently four suspects who have come into contact with lemon tea. In order, they are Miss Kazumi, Inspector Matsumoto, Mr. Umemiya who tied the ribbon to the lemon tea, and finally Mr. Takasugi. The four of you are very suspicious."

When Takasugi Toshihiko heard this, an expression of disbelief instantly appeared on his face, as if he had suffered a great injustice. He couldn't help but excitedly said: "Why do you include me in this? I am Sayuri's fiancé. Saying that I am the murderer who hurt her is too..."

His voice was trembling slightly, with an obvious vibrato, and he seemed to be both angry and aggrieved at being listed as a suspect, and his emotions were almost out of control at this moment.

"Why not? Nowadays, let alone an unmarried couple, even an old couple who have been married for more than ten years, or even blood relatives, may kill their partner or relatives for various reasons!"

Bai Ye raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes as sharp as an eagle, staring straight at Takasugi Toshihiko, and his words were filled with unquestionable coldness, as if to penetrate the other's disguise and reach deep into his heart.

"Besides, as a senior official of the Metropolitan Police Department, Inspector Matsumoto has set an example by staying here to cooperate with the investigation. Why can't you, Mr. Takasugi?"

Bai Ye deliberately dragged out his tone, his eyes revealing a meaningful look, "Or, Mr. Takasugi, do you have any special reason to leave here?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga also looked at Takasugi Toshihiko with a sharp gaze, his eyes full of scrutiny and suspicion, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, as a father, I have stayed, so why can't you stay? Could it be that, as Detective Bai Ye said, there is a reason why you have to get out of here?"

Takasugi Toshihiko's face turned pale instantly, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He laughed dryly, trying to hide his inner panic, and said, "Mr. Bai Ye, father-in-law, what you said is a bit serious. Of course I am willing to cooperate with the police investigation, but I just find it difficult to accept that I am being suspected without reason."

He paused for a moment, trying to squeeze out a trace of worry on his face, and continued, "Besides, Sayuri is in the hospital right now and her life is in danger. As her fiancé, I am really worried about her safety."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga snorted coldly, his face full of undisguised dissatisfaction, "I, as a father, am not in a hurry, so why are you in such a hurry? Before the truth is revealed, you'd better cooperate with the investigation honestly."

Officer Megure also spoke seriously: "That's right, even Inspector Matsumoto is a suspect, so of course you must be included as well."

Because of a reminder from a little kid, he had to add Matsumoto Kiyonaga to the list of suspects.

If he removed Takasugi Toshihiko from the list of suspects just because he was Matsumoto Yuriko's fiancé, wouldn't he completely offend his superior Matsumoto Seinaga?

This is not the situation he wants to see!
Takasugi Toshihiko opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but finally swallowed his words back, with a helpless and aggrieved expression on his face.

He knew in his heart that no matter how many excuses he made at this moment, they would all seem pale and powerless. He could only cooperate with the investigation for the time being. However, a sinister look flashed in his eyes from time to time, as if he was planning something.

Conan carefully observed Takasugi Toshihiko's every move from the side, his eyes flickering slightly.

Because, when Takasugi Toshihiko heard that he was listed as a suspect, his reaction was too intense, almost to the point of losing his composure. This was not at all like a normal reaction after being wrongly accused. Instead, it seemed more like he was hiding a secret in his heart and was guilty.

Thinking about the strange attitudes he had shown towards lemon tea before, the suspicion towards him suddenly grew like a snowball.

At the same time, Mao Lilan and Suzuki Sonoko stood by with a worried look in their eyes. "I wonder if the teacher's surgery is over?"

Mao Lilan's eyes were slightly red, as if covered with a layer of mist. She clenched her hands tightly, and her knuckles turned slightly white due to the force, as if this could convey her worry and prayers for the teacher in her heart. She kept praying silently in her heart that the teacher would be safe.

Suzuki Sonoko was furious and kept muttering, "Who on earth is so cruel? Teacher Matsumoto is usually so nice, how could someone want to harm her? If I knew who it was, I would never let him go!"

Mao Lilan was also full of indignation, and echoed: "Yes, it's too much! Actually poisoning the teacher's favorite lemon tea, this method is simply outrageous!"

As if the word lemon tea triggered some memory, Takasugi Toshihiko frowned and fell into some kind of recollection. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Is it lemon tea?"

Conan was slightly stunned, and responded with a puzzled "Hmm?"

Takasugi Toshihiko seemed to come back to his senses from a trance and quickly explained, "Nothing. Every time I see Sayuri drinking lemon tea, for some reason, it always reminds me of a girl I liked very much in the past. Every time she drank the lemon tea I gave her, she looked like she was enjoying it very much and it tasted especially good, but I didn't even know her name."

Conan was startled, and a thought flashed through his mind: "Could this person be..."

Kazumi Takenaka narrowed her eyes slightly, and glanced at Takasugi Toshihiko beside her seemingly casually, and a strange look flashed in her eyes for a moment.

In her mind, the most suspicious person present was none other than her ex-boyfriend.

After all, other people may know nothing about the complicated feud between Takasugi Toshihiko and the Matsumoto family, but as someone who was entrusted by Matsumoto Yuriko to conduct an in-depth investigation into whether Takasugi Toshihiko was her first love, how could she not know the hidden story behind it!

But it was a pity for her infatuated best friend who naively thought that Takasugi Toshihiko would be moved by her deep affection and, considering their years of relationship, would let go of the past grudges and spend the rest of their lives together.

However, the cruel reality was like a sharp blade, ruthlessly cutting through this beautiful fantasy and leaving her with such a tragic ending.

If possible, she really wanted to expose Takasugi Toshihiko's true face on the spot at all costs, and make him pay a heavy price for his heinous actions to comfort her best friend for the suffering she had suffered.

However, she currently has no solid evidence to prove that Takasugi Toshihiko is the unforgivable murderer, and can only bury this anger and helplessness deep in her heart.

Just as she was racking her brains to figure out how to expose Takasugi Toshihiko's true identity, catch the real murderer, and avenge her best friend, a police officer from the Identification Division hurriedly walked in, stood at attention, and said loudly: "Report, the results of the identification are out. First of all, it's about the capsule. If the capsule is placed in the jar, it will take about fifteen or sixteen minutes for the shell to melt and release the toxin."

"Fifteen or sixteen minutes, which means that the poison was put into the jar fifteen minutes before the bride fell."

Inspector Megure pulled out the small notebook he always carried with him from his pocket, and while carefully flipping through the time clues recorded on it, he analyzed in an orderly manner, "Sonoko called 119 for an ambulance at 1:46, and Miss Matsumoto collapsed a minute before that, so the murderer must have put the poison in before 1:."

Suzuki Sonoko seemed to have suddenly thought of something crucial, and subconsciously looked at the clock on the wall. The second hand was ticking, as if it was setting the rhythm for the reasoning of this case. She said solemnly, "If it is 1:, it is exactly the time when Chief Inspector Matsumoto appeared here."

Inspector Megure and Matsumoto Kiyonaga heard this and blurted out in surprise at the same time: "What?"

Umemiya's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw, and took the opportunity to say, "In this case, the suspicion of the groom and I can be cleared, right? After all, we met the teacher later, so it was impossible for us to poison him."

As he spoke, his and the groom Takasugi Toshihiko's faces instantly became relaxed, and their originally tense nerves relaxed, as if a heavy burden on their hearts had been lifted at once.

The forensic officer did not take the reactions of Umemiya and the others to heart. He remained expressionless and continued in a businesslike tone: "In addition, there are a few more suspicious points about the poisoned drink. First of all, there is no fingerprint of the sheriff on the can."

Matsumoto Kiyonaga's face suddenly darkened, like the gloomy sky before a storm. His eyes widened with anger and he shouted, "Idiot, what are you talking about? How is this possible? I clearly touched the jar!"

As he spoke, he walked to the TV, suddenly turned on the switch, and then quickly and skillfully switched to the scene of him reaching for the lemon tea. In the picture, he reached out and grasped the can, and the action was clearly visible. He pointed at the screen angrily, his tone full of anger and questioning, "I looked like this, holding the can, how could there be no fingerprints on it? Did you check too perfunctorily and make a mistake!"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga was both angry and annoyed. Although he was aware that the abilities of his subordinates varied, he never expected that they would be so unreliable.

It's really outrageous that even a fingerprint can be detected incorrectly!

Officer Megure also looked at the forensic personnel with a serious face, with a hint of blame and worry in his tone. After all, such a big mistake had been made, and it happened in front of his superior, Matsumoto Kiyonaga. This made him feel a little embarrassed and couldn't get off the stage. "Are you sure you have checked it carefully?"

The forensic officer remained calm in the face of doubts and responded firmly: "Sheriff, we have confirmed repeatedly that there are indeed no fingerprints of yours. In addition, in addition to the problem of missing fingerprints, the distribution of fingerprints on the jar is also very strange. Some areas clearly show signs of being wiped, as if someone deliberately erased some key information."

Conan listened quietly at the side, his mind a tangled mess with all kinds of clues intertwined.

He stared at the scene on TV where Matsumoto Kiyonaga was holding the jar, and fell into deep thought: Why were there no fingerprints of the murderer or Inspector Matsumoto on the jar?

Could it be that the murderer had been ingenious and used some special tool to administer the poison, which would have allowed him to avoid leaving his fingerprints and easily wipe the jar afterwards, thereby eliminating evidence of the crime?
The missing fingerprints of Superintendent Matsumoto were most likely intentional by the murderer, who attempted to mislead the police's investigation and make the police point the finger of suspicion at Superintendent Matsumoto, thereby diverting suspicion from himself?

This possibility is not impossible, but could there be other unknown reasons?

(End of this chapter)