Ke Xue: This police officer is too martial

Chapter 223 Reasons for the Overseas Assignment

At the signal of the forensic personnel, everyone also saw the strange mark on the forehead of the victim, Inspector Takeda - it was very similar to the letter "X".

However, the letters in this mark seem to be slightly different, and the area around the letters is not smooth, just like the footprints of some animal.

Just as Yamato Gansuke, Conan and others were constantly guessing in their hearts, Section Chief Kuroda slowly said: "These are the footprints of a woodpecker."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked at Section Chief Kuroda in surprise, and the expressions of Inspector Saegusa and others also changed significantly.

Section Chief Kuroda ignored everyone's reaction and continued to explain: "Because of the woodpecker's foraging habits, it must stay firmly on the tree, so its claws are in the shape of an 'X'."

After he finished speaking, Section Chief Kuroda squatted on the ground and took a closer look at the victim's body. "Judging from the burnt body, the murderer must have had a deep hatred for Takeda. Of course, the premise is that this body is indeed Takeda's."

Hearing this, the forensic officer beside him nodded and said, "We barely managed to find a right big toe in the burnt toe of the shoe. We should be able to find a way to confirm it through DNA testing."

"Really? Then we'll do a comparison right away." Section Chief Kuroda stood up and looked at Inspector Sanzhi and his men behind him. "Come to think of it, didn't your Takeda team go to a certain robber's hideout with a search warrant today?"

Inspector Shikano added, "That's right, but we haven't been able to contact Captain Takeda since this morning. We had originally agreed to meet at Hachiman Shrine, but the captain never showed up."

Inspector Sanzhi nodded and added, "Later, there was really no other choice, so the three of us had to break into the robber's house without Team Leader Takeda, but it seems that he had discovered us in advance, so we came up empty-handed."

Section Chief Kuroda glanced at the two of them calmly and asked, "What happens next?"

Patrol Chief Akiyama also spoke up: "Then we split up to look for Team Leader Takeda, and then we received a call saying that Team Leader Takeda had..."

After listening, a thoughtful look flashed in Kuroda Bei's eyes, and he nodded calmly.

Seeing that Section Chief Kuroda did not continue to ask questions, Inspector Saegi speculated: "Could it be that the team leader had contact with the robber before us, and then was..."

Before he could finish, Inspector Yamato on the side denied it outright, "Only Father Takeda would never do such a thing. He is the kind of person who would not mind killing someone just to catch a suspect."

"Compared to this, the woodpecker footprint on his forehead concerns me more. We must first figure out what this mark means." Zhu Fu Gaoming put one hand on his chin and carefully observed the mark on Minister Takeda's forehead.

This mark was most likely left by the murderer.

Although it is not yet known whether this "woodpecker footprint" has any hidden meaning, Zhu Fu Gaoming's intuition tells him that this mark is likely to be a "secret code" or something like that deliberately left by the criminal.

Hearing this, Conan also looked down at the woodpecker footprint on Minister Takeda's forehead and fell into thought.

At this moment, Inspector Uehara slowly opened his mouth and uttered a few words: "Woodpecker Society."

After hearing this word, a gleam of light immediately flashed in Section Chief Kuroda's eyes, and Inspector Yamato and Inspector Morobushi also immediately showed an expression of "what did you think of" on their faces.

Inspector Saegusa, Deputy Inspector Kano, and Patrol Chief Akiyama immediately turned their heads to look at Inspector Uehara, with an inexplicable flash of tension and panic in their eyes.

Under the puzzled gazes of Conan and the others, Inspector Uehara continued to explain: "When I first married into the Torada family, my late husband once said that he heard that there was a group called the 'Woodpecker Society' within the Nagano Prefectural Police."

Hearing this, Section Chief Kuroda glanced at Makino with his peripheral vision before speaking: "The Woodpecker Society? I don't think I've heard of it. What kind of group is that?"

Inspector Uehara lowered his head and said, "Well... after he knew that I was a police officer at the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters, he never mentioned this matter again. No matter how I asked him, he wouldn't say anything. But what is certain is that from his tone, the 'Woodpecker Society' is not a decent group."

Section Chief Kuroda nodded slowly and said, "Really? Then let's not worry about that for now. Since the murderer burned the body under this bridge, maybe someone witnessed the fire or smoke.

"Sanzhi, Shikano, and Akiyama, investigate around here. Yamato, Morobushi, and Uehara, filter out the people who have a grudge against Takeda from the cases he has handled."

--"yes!"

Seeing that the ferocious-looking Section Chief Kuroda took control of the scene so quickly and gave correct instructions to several subordinates, Conan subconsciously glanced at Makino beside him.

Apart from Makino, he rarely saw such outstanding senior police officers.

After instructing his subordinates, Section Chief Kuroda slowly walked up to Makino and said, "I'm very sorry, Inspector Makino, I didn't expect you to run into something like this. I know that Yamato and the others' original mission today was..."

Before he could finish, Makino chuckled and shook his head, saying, "It doesn't matter. After all, our job is to solve cases. And the purpose of my visit this time is to communicate and inspect. In this regard, there is no better way than to witness you solve the case with my own eyes~"

"Really? Thank you for your understanding." Section Chief Kuroda nodded.

After that, Section Chief Kuroda walked up to Kogoro Maori and said, "Detective Maori, I have heard about you from Yamato and the others. Since you are the first person to discover the person, I am afraid I will have to trouble you to go with Officer Yamato and the others for the time being."

Maori Kogoro looked nervously at Section Chief Kuroda in front of him, and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Okay, okay, of course no problem!"

After seeing the appearance of Kogoro Mouri, Conan and Xiaolan blinked helplessly.

Although Section Chief Kuroda does look a bit scary, Kogoro Mori's reaction is indeed... a bit embarrassing.

After taking a look at Kogoro Mouri, Conan turned to look at Makino beside him.

Judging from the conversation just now, it seems that Officer Makino’s purpose of coming to Nagano Prefecture this time is for exchanges and inspections.

But he always had an inexplicable feeling that this might not be the real reason why Officer Makino came this time...

Could it be that the real reason why Officer Makino came to Nagano Prefecture is related to the case that just happened? !

Thinking of this, Conan shook his head helplessly.

I really failed because of myself.

Ever since my body became smaller, I have become more and more prone to wild thoughts.

Wasn’t it yourself who was the first to discover it?
No matter why Officer Makino came to Nagano Prefecture, it certainly has nothing to do with this case~
……

Soon after, Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters.

As soon as Makino and his companions got off the car, they found Inspector Aiba standing in front of the police station gate with a "nervous" look on his face.

After seeing Makino, Aiba Inspector Masaru quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I'm so sorry! Inspector Makino, I didn't expect that you would encounter such a thing again... Please rest assured! We will definitely solve this case as soon as possible!"

Without waiting for Makino to speak, Inspector Aiba looked at Section Chief Kuroda, Inspector Yamato and others with a serious face and said, "Did you hear that? For the reputation and honor of our Nagano Prefectural Police, you must solve this case as quickly as possible!"

"Yes!" Section Chief Kuroda and his men saluted immediately. The next second, Superintendent Aiba glanced at Makino cautiously and smiled nervously.

hateful! !
Why is it like this again?!

The last time Inspector Makino came to Nagano Prefecture to attend a discussion meeting, he was interrupted by a sudden case.

Unexpectedly, he encountered this troublesome case of "police officer being brutally murdered" during his visit for exchange and inspection...

Although Officer Makino didn't say anything when he came this time, based on his experience over the years, the real purpose of Officer Makino's visit was probably not "communication" but "inspection"!
I'm afraid that the higher-ups of the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency specially sent Inspector Makino to investigate and "reprimand" them!
Simply put, the results of Officer Makino's report are likely to be closely related to their "future fate"!
It is obvious that in two years, I will be able to retire safely!

Don't let anything go wrong at a time like this!

Seeing that the cold sweat on Officer Aiba's face was getting more and more serious and his expression was becoming more and more "nervous", Makino frowned in confusion.

This Inspector Aiba actually takes this case so seriously. Is he a person who "hates evil" and "cares about his subordinates"?
However, judging from the other party's expression that looked like "fear", it didn't seem to be the case...

On the side, Conan and his friends saw that the middle-aged police officer in front of them, who was obviously the "superior" of Section Chief Kuroda and his friends, was so respectful to Makino... and they also felt a little strange.

Soon after, Makino and his group walked into the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters.

While Inspector Aiba was taking Section Chief Kuroda and Inspector Yamato to a meeting, Conan finally had the opportunity to talk to Makino alone about the case.

As soon as Makino took out a can of coffee from the vending machine, Conan ran up to him and asked, "Officer Makino, what do you think about this?"

Makino: "?"

When he heard Conan say this, he suddenly felt as if he had become Yuan Fang.

After a moment of silence, Makino chuckled and said, "Weren't you the first to discover the victim? You actually asked me what I think. Do you think I know more than you?"

Conan blinked awkwardly: "Ha, haha... We were indeed the first to discover it, but I don't know much, and there were no useful clues or evidence left at the scene, so..."

At this point, Conan seemed to realize something and closed his mouth instantly.

Compared to himself, Makino arrived at the scene undoubtedly later.

Strictly speaking, Officer Makino might know even less than I do...

Makino glanced at Conan, reached out and bought three more cans of oolong tea from the vending machine, and then stuffed them directly into Conan's hands: "Here, these are for the three of you, take them back to Mr. Maori and Xiaolan."

After finishing speaking, Makino took a sip of the coffee in his hand and said slowly: "The police officers here are better than you think. It's okay even if you don't take action. Just relax your brain occasionally and don't be so tense~"

Hearing this, the faces of Section Chief Kuroda and Inspector Yamato appeared in Conan's mind, and he nodded silently.

It was indeed as Officer Makino said, those police officers were indeed excellent.

If that’s the case, does that mean I really don’t have to think about the case this time?
Do not!
It has nothing to do with whether they are good or not! Detective work is about finding the truth...

Before Conan could finish pumping himself up in his mind, Makino suddenly continued, "First of all, I don't think the body is that of the victim, Inspector Takeda. Secondly, no matter what the woodpecker mark represents, judging from the fact that Inspector Takeda's head and body were separated, the criminal obviously had a grudge against him, and it was not an ordinary grudge.

"Hasn't Section Chief Kuroda already asked Inspector Yamato and his team to investigate the cases that Inspector Takeda has handled over the years? The murderer is likely hiding among them. Maybe... the murderer is from within."

Conan: "..."

Hearing what Makino said, Conan was stunned.

Then, Conan clenched his back teeth and stared at Makino's back with a depressed look.

hateful! !
Didn’t you say you don’t know much?

Isn’t that a lot?!
……

As soon as Makino and Conan returned to the rest area hall, they saw Inspector Uehara walking towards them.

Maori Kogoro looked at Inspector Uehara curiously and asked, "Inspector Uehara, what's going on now?"

Inspector Uehara nodded and added, "Inspector Agan and Officer Morobushi are currently reviewing the case files related to Inspector Takeda. They should be able to get a result soon."

After listening, Maori Kogoro nodded, and then suddenly whispered: "By the way, Inspector Uehara, who is that... Section Chief Kuroda?"

Hearing this, Uehara Yui seemed to understand something and chuckled, "Ah~ That's right, this should be the first time you all meet Section Chief Kuroda. Although his face looks a little scary, his ability is genuine~
He was sent here from outside the Metropolitan Police Department after the Furinkazan case. He seemed to have experienced some serious accident before and was said to have stayed in the police hospital for a long time. "

Hearing this, Maori Kogoro also nodded: "I see, no wonder he was sent here at this age."

Conan beside him also nodded.

Generally speaking, unless Superintendent Kuroda made a serious "mistake" at work, he would not have been sent out from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to the local area at his age.

Thinking of this, Conan looked up at Makino and said, "Officer Makino, have you never seen this Inspector Kuroda in the Metropolitan Police Department?"

Makino shook his head and said, "I haven't seen it. The Metropolitan Police Department has many departments. In our Criminal Division alone, there are dozens of police officers with the rank of Superintendent."

Hearing this, Conan and the others nodded to show their understanding.

It's worthy of being the Metropolitan Police Department. There are so many police officers with the rank of Superintendent.

Makino glanced at Conan and the others and took a sip of the coffee in the can.

Although he said that just now, it was just a superficial reason.

After all, with Kuroda Heibei's "special" appearance, it is impossible that he has never seen him before.

The reason why he had never seen him was because Kuroda Beibei had not been working in the Metropolitan Police Department in recent years, but in the National Police Agency.

(End of this chapter)