Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 297 Shi Lang's Unexpected Disaster

At Hasegawa's house, Kuroki pestered Mrs. Hasegawa and asked some basic questions.

Even Kanzaki, who is not good at dealing with people, has discovered...

Mrs. Hasegawa seems timid and easily panicked when communicating with others, but it is hard to say whether this is because she is hiding something or just her personality.

Although Mrs. Hasegawa insisted that she knew nothing about Judge Hasegawa's work, and didn't even know who Akira Mineki and Yuya Kanno were, she did provide a useful clue!

"I don't know if it has anything to do with what you're talking about, but... a few days ago, someone came to see my husband. He was a man who looked to be around 60 years old, about the same height as you, and very thin..."

As Mrs. Hasegawa described, the image of Boss Okada appeared in Kuroki and Kanzaki's minds.

"What did he talk about with Judge Hasegawa?" Kanzaki asked quickly.

"I don't know the details, but it seems that there is a case and he wants my husband to have it retried. He also said something about video evidence... But my husband told him that there can be no retrial for the same crime or something like that."

Mrs. Hasegawa paused for a moment before continuing, "But... when he left, I heard him say with a scary expression, 'If the law can't judge him, then I'll do it.'"

Upon hearing this, Kuroki and Kanzaki looked at each other...

Mrs. Hasegawa saw that the tea was getting cold, so she took the initiative to say, "I'll go get you some more tea."

"No need to trouble..." Hei Mu wanted to stop him, but failed.

Kanzaki saw Kuroki taking off his shoes and rubbing his feet on the carpet, and couldn't help but whispered to him, "Go get some medicine for your athlete's foot! Don't rub your feet on other people's carpets!"

Hearing this, Hei Mu curled his lips and put his shoes back on.

"Hmm? What is this..." At this time, Kuroki saw that on the cabinet next to him, in addition to the photo frame, there was also a conspicuous round disc decoration, which seemed to be some souvenir.

"Healthy Family Protection Association?" Kanzaki read out the words above.

click-

Mrs. Hasegawa came back and saw this scene. Her hand trembled and the tray fell directly to the ground. She said hurriedly: "Ah... I'm sorry."

"No, be careful..."

Seeing this, Kuroki and Kanzaki hurried forward to help clean up.

At this moment, with the sound of the door opening, Mrs. Hasegawa hurried to the entrance again.

"Welcome back."

Kuroki and Kanzaki looked on in amazement as Mrs. Hasegawa knelt down in a very formal manner and even took out her slippers - they always felt that Mrs. Hasegawa was too polite.

At this time, Hasegawa also saw Kuroki and Kanzaki. Kuroki said quickly: "Hello, Judge Hasegawa, we are from the Beika Police Department..."

"Didn't your colleague come to the court? Why did you come to my house?" Hasegawa said, frowning at his wife, as if asking her if she was talking nonsense.

Mrs. Hasegawa lowered her head quickly when she saw this.

"That..." Kuroki was about to say something.

But Hasegawa had already spoken: "I have already told your colleagues about the case, you can go back now!"

Seeing that Hasegawa had ordered them to leave, Kuroki and Kanzaki had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

After leaving Hasegawa's house, Kuroki stopped Kanzaki who was about to get in the car and signaled to him with his eyes - to go to the store across the street.

"Huh? Didn't you just buy cigarettes this morning?" Kanzaki frowned, as if complaining that he smoked too much.

"I'm not buying cigarettes, I'm taking a look at that..." Kuroki said, looking at the camera installed under the eaves of the store.

"This is..." Kanzaki then showed a look of sudden realization - it turned out that Kuroki was looking for this when he was looking around in front of Hasegawa's house.

"From this angle, we should be able to see the avenue. Although we can't see the entrance of Hasegawa's house, if any relevant people come over, we can record it." Kuroki had just observed the angle of the camera.

Afterwards, Kuroki showed his police ID and asked the store to copy the surveillance videos of the past few days...

……

In the evening, Kunikida was stuck at the end of his shift and held an investigation meeting. Shiraishi had been well prepared today and did not hold out hope of getting off work on time.

In the conference room, before explaining the case, Kunikida called Kuroki and Kanzaki and criticized them harshly - Hasegawa had already complained to the police station about the two of them coming to his house without permission to inquire about the matter.

After Shiraishi arrived, Kunikida stopped asking, but he still asked, "Detective Kuroki, did you submit new evidence to the identification team this afternoon? What is it and how did you get it?"

Kunikida often checks the records of the forensic team to see if there is any evidence obtained by improper means. Today, Kuroki did not go to the scene at all, but submitted evidence for identification, which caught Kunikida's attention.

Hearing this, Hei Mu swore, "It was my socks... I remembered that my socks might have rubbed against the body when I was checking the body in Beihua Forest before, so I asked the forensic team to help rule it out so as not to interfere with the investigation."

Kanzaki:? ? ?
Kanzaki looked at him in surprise - when have you ever been close to a corpse? And...how did your socks touch the corpse?
Kunikida also stared at him for a while, but then he said: "Destroying the evidence at the scene... After the case is over, you have to submit a self-criticism!"

Then, the search meeting officially began.

At Kunikida's signal, Kuroki did not sit down, and he reported the results of today's search first...

So Kuroki told him the clues provided by Saito Itsuki and what he saw when he went to Hasegawa's house to inquire.

……

"Mrs. Hasegawa said she didn't understand what was going on at her husband's work, but she was a little panicked?" Shiraishi frowned after hearing this.

However, Kunikida interjected, "Actually, I know something about this. Have you heard of the director of the Healthy Family Protection Association?"

As Kanzaki just said, Mrs. Hasegawa seems to be particularly sensitive about that souvenir.

Bai Shi shook his head and said, "What is that?"

"This organization's nominal purpose is 'It is every healthy family that supports the prosperity of the country'. It will assist the head of the family and educate and guide his wife and children...but it has been involved in scandals such as illegal detention and lynching many times." Kunikida actually knew about this organization.

"Illegal detention..." Upon hearing this, Bai Shi immediately understood that this should be a combination of a "women's ethics class + internet addiction school", but it was not only "internet addiction" that was corrected, and it seemed that both the woman and the child were being detained. Bai Shi immediately asked, "Then what?"

"Because many senior civil servants...well, it is said that some senior police officers of the National Police Agency are also members of this organization, so similar scandals are eventually left unresolved." Kunikida said vaguely at this time.

But the meaning has been expressed...

The members who join this kind of organization are not ordinary families, and the power behind them is certainly very strong, so naturally the "scandal" is just a "scandal".

"Could it be that Hasegawa..." Yuan was already frowning at this time.

"Section Chief Kunikida, are you also..." Shiraishi deliberately teased at this time.

"No, no, no, I only heard about it in the publicity class... If I dare to take its flyers home, the tigress at home will tear me apart." Kunikida shook his head repeatedly.

After Shiraishi eased the atmosphere with a joke, the matter of the "Healthy Family Protection Association" came to an end at the meeting.

Even if there really is a legal problem, the victim did not report it to the police at the Beika Police Station, and according to Kunikida, Shiraishi can't do anything about this kind of association now.

This just explains why Mrs. Hasegawa is so nervous...

In addition to the possibility of "guilty conscience", the possibility of "mental trauma" cannot be ruled out - but unless she seeks help from the Life Safety Section of the Beika Police Station, Shiraishi can't do anything.

……

After Kuroki finished his report, Suzuki also stood up and talked about Judge Hasegawa's side.

At the Toudou Court, Suzuki and Makaka met Hasegawa as they wished - and of course... Hakuba Tan also went with them, otherwise it wouldn't have been so smooth.

"Judge Hasegawa also mentioned that what Detective Kuroki just said about Okada Hiroshi's visit was exactly the same as what Mrs. Hasegawa said. He did bring a short video of himself taken by Kanono Yuya, hoping to use it as evidence for a retrial. After Judge Hasegawa told him that it was impossible, he also made dangerous remarks. That's right...

"However, Judge Hasegawa did not admit that he had met with reporter Akira Mineki. He only said that he had received a letter in the name of Akira Mineki, who mentioned that he wanted to visit him to discuss the 'innocence ten years ago'. Judge Hasegawa did not respond, and there was no follow-up.

"As for Yuya Kono, Judge Hasegawa also said that he had never seen him...

"Oh, and we checked the court records at the Toudou Court. On the day that reporter Ming Muming died, Judge Hasegawa had three court hearings from morning to night, so he had no time to leave the Toudou Court.

"Although we don't know the first scene of reporter Akira Mineki's death, as long as he was not killed in the Touto Court, Judge Hasegawa's alibi is valid."

Suzuki then told the results of the visit.

Because Mineki Akira's body was found late, the estimated time of death was very long, but it basically coincided with the court's working hours. That whole day, Hasegawa judged three trials and did not leave the court at all.

Seeing that Suzuki paused here, Kuroki couldn't help but ask, "Does he have an alibi for when Yuya Kanno died?"

Hearing this, Suzuki's face turned bitter and he said: "This... After I asked, Judge Hasegawa was very angry and said that at the time, the only witness at home was his wife." Because of the principle of recusation, the wife obviously cannot serve as a formal witness.

The time of Yuya Kono's death was between evening and early morning, so it is normal that there were no witnesses at home.

Asking the judge directly for his alibi, the other party's anger was predictable...

As for the alibi of Mineki Akira at the time of death, it was not obtained through asking, but was learned from the court records!
……

Finally, Yuan also stood up and reported his achievements today - he was also the only police officer who brought someone back to the police station for cooperation today!
Yuan was unwilling to do this, but...

“The murder weapon in the case of Yuya Kono has been officially matched. It is the kitchen knife left at the scene. And… after checking the records, it was found that this kitchen knife was the murder weapon in the case ten years ago, and it was the kitchen knife used by Okada Shogo before his death. There are no fingerprints on it.

"In addition, through the traffic camera, it was discovered that at 8:13 pm on Monday, Okada Hiroshi drove his minivan and appeared on the avenue in front of the Beika Tower Apartment. This trip was not his usual one...

"We have now invited the store owner Okada to the police station to cooperate with the investigation, but he is currently showing strong resistance and is unwilling to say anything. We are still trying to question him." Yuan said a little embarrassedly at this time.

After saying this, Yuan Ye looked at Director Shiraishi cautiously, and when he saw that he didn't say anything, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Generally speaking, at this time, you can change to a tougher way of asking questions...

After all, although Yuan's "interrogation/inquiry" ability is very strong, it takes too long to show results.

Why did Kunikida have no objection to "inviting people to the police station to cooperate with the investigation" this time?

Because of the evidence at this stage, it is enough to directly apply for an [arrest warrant]!
Although there were no fingerprints on the kitchen knife, this was the knife that Okada had applied to get back ten years ago. He was also photographed near the scene during the time of the crime...

With sufficient motives and the person's silent attitude...it can be said that the murderer is very clear.

But Yuan insisted that there was another reason behind Okada's silence and hoped that he could be given some more time!
"However, on the Sunday when Minegi Akira died, the owner of Okada was open for business as usual. We have visited the store and the customers all have an impression of it. Unless Minegi Akira died in Okada Shokudo, it can be considered that he has an alibi." Yuan explained to Okada again.

Because Mineki Akira has only found the "body dumping scene" but not the "crime scene" so far, the "alibi" is particularly difficult to fully establish and can basically only serve as an "internal reference."

after all……

Even if Okada was in the store all day and Hasegawa was in the court all day, the possibility that Mineki Akira came to commit suicide cannot be ruled out.

……

After listening to the report, Kunikida concluded: "So... now we have a clue about the murder case in Beika Tower Apartment. Minamoto, please intensify your questioning of the suspect.

"However, the case of reporter Akira Mineki's death is still unclear. The most urgent task is to determine the trajectory of Akira Mineki's activities before his death and find the first crime scene as soon as possible. Also...

"It now appears that there is a possibility that these two cases are independent cases, and the interpersonal situation of reporter Ming Muming before his death must also be investigated."

Indeed, these two cases may not necessarily be related. Maybe they just happened to die at about the same time. After all, Mineki Akira offended many people.

At present, it seems that the two suspects in the Kono case not only did not have enough time to commit the crime in the death of Mineki Akira, but also their motives were not sufficient.

There is no reason for Okada to have the full intention to kill just because the other party wants to publish this matter.

As for Hasegawa, although Mineki Akira intended to threaten him, he did not have any evidence at all. Even Kanano did not tell her the details of the case!

Mineki Akira is often suspected of hype because she always publishes interview records of sensitive people. In the absence of any evidence, Hasegawa would not kill her just because of her threats. As a judge, he should not be so impulsive.

In this regard, Hasegawa's statement that he received her letter but ignored it is logical.

After Kunikida finished speaking, he also looked at Shiraishi and asked, "Director, do you have anything else to guide me?"

"Then let me add two more words." Shiraishi said bluntly: "Everyone, please take a look at Xiangye's autopsy report. It says that based on the angle of the blade and the height of the victim, it is estimated that the murderer is about 1.75 meters tall. There is another point to note...

"The only wound was a knife wound on the back, which shows that Xiangye did not put up much resistance before being stabbed, and there was no sign that the door lock was broken, which means that he should have trusted the person in the room, at least believed that he would not suddenly attack him from behind.

"Also, look at this photo of the crime scene... The murder weapon fell here. Look... Here is the blood splattered after the blade hit the ground. This is the original position of the murder weapon, but here... The shape of the blood splatter here is not right. In my opinion, there should be blood residue here as well.

"Kanzaki, you and Kenmochi should do another splash analysis here..."

Shiraishi already had leadership qualities, and those two sentences added a lot.

However, the two points he mentioned really hit the nail on the head!
"About 1.75 meters tall" is what both Okada and Judge Hasegawa meet...

but……

As for the requirement of "being able to make Xiangye feel at ease to show his back", the owner Okada obviously does not meet the requirement!

Xiangye is just purely bad, he is not stupid.

When he went to Okada's store to shoot the evil video before, he went with his friends, and as soon as he entered, he blocked one side of the cooking counter - that is, he blocked the route for the owner of Okada to grab the knife!

It can be seen that he is wary of the owner of Okada.

It is hard to imagine that if Okada went to find him, he would just turn his back to him and be killed with one blow.

Normally, the door shouldn't be opened for him!
After hearing this, Yuan's eyes lit up - this could be said to be the biggest "counter-evidence" for Okada at the moment.

Of course, this cannot be considered direct evidence.

Even if Okada's defense lawyer presented such evidence in court, it would be difficult for the judge to accept it.

Compared with the surveillance footage of the "murder weapon" and "appearance at the crime scene", this kind of psychological analysis evidence is obviously not strong enough.

On the contrary, Bai Shi mentioned another point, which is the abnormal "blood splatter distribution" near the murder weapon, which is more worthy of further exploration!

If something was taken away from the scene, it might be the key to solving the case.

after all……

The murderer didn't even touch the murder weapon that was so close to him, but directly picked up another thing. It seemed a bit deliberate, and there must be a reason.

……

After the investigation meeting, the Criminal Division of course had to continue working overtime, but Shiraishi left work directly...

Because he was somewhat concerned, Shiraishi asked Ayako about the "Healthy Family Protection Association" in the car. After all, this kind of "association" is most likely related to some consortium.

"That association...don't mention it in front of my mother." Ayako seemed to remember something.

Based on Ayako's understanding of Shiraishi, she certainly had no doubt that Shiraishi was really interested in this kind of association.

"Aunt Tomoko should... be very disgusted with this kind of thing, right?" Shiraishi did not doubt that this association was directly related to the Suzuki Group, of which Tomoko was the majority owner.

"Well, before this, the president of this association came to a cocktail party at my house and wanted to introduce his stuff to my dad... but he was kicked away by my mom halfway through, and my dad was innocent... ahem, anyway, don't mention it in front of my mom, and don't mention it in front of my dad!" Ayako vowed.

Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi guessed that poor Uncle Shiro had suffered an innocent fate because of the other party's conversation.

"But you shouldn't meddle in its affairs... Many provincial and ministerial officials are members of this association." Ayako also mentioned similar information to what Kunikida said.

The "ministries and agencies" of East Island countries refer to the central administrative agencies, not local governments, such as the Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

"These old, cunning, and old-fashioned people... On the surface, they promote some popular female members of parliament to show the public that they are open-minded, but behind the scenes, they are still using the same methods as a hundred years ago." Shiraishi said, shaking his head: "What kind of politics can these people do!"

Ayako quickly warned, "It's ok for you to tell me, but you still have to be careful outside... Apart from anything else, I remember that Superintendent Yamazaki came to talk about peace when my mother dismissed the president."

"Yamazaki? Oh... is that the head of the Personnel Department? Has he become 'Metropolitan Superintendent'?" Shiraishi also remembered who Ayako was talking about.

Of course, the only person who can be promoted to the rank of "Superintendent of Police" is the Personnel Section Chief under the Chief of the National Police Agency's Office!

Although he is only a "section chief", this is a personnel position in the National Police Agency's Commissioner's Office, and its value cannot be compared to those sections of the Metropolitan Police Department.

But generally speaking, most police officers with the rank of "Superintendent of Police" hold this position. If he has been promoted to "Superintendent of Police", it means that his position will soon be transferred upward!

Moreover, if a "Superintendent" of this position is promoted, he will most likely become the main director of the National Police Agency, that is, a candidate for the future Superintendent General or the Commissioner of the National Police Agency...

Considering Yamazaki's age, his progress is already outstanding among his peers. It is very likely that he can get one of these two positions and then retire!
Of course, you can tell from what Ayako said...

Even Superintendent Yamazaki, when Tomoko scolded that president, just came out to "mediate", and... it seemed that his mediation was of no use, and in the end the other party was still dismissed.

"Don't worry, I just heard a little bit about it. From the perspective of the moment, this association has nothing to do with the case." Shiraishi reassured Ayako.

Although Shiraishi is known for being tall and tough, as long as it is not related to the case, Shiraishi will not confront a group of bigwigs simply because he can't stand it.

Otherwise, there would be too many things he couldn't stand, and he would have killed himself long ago...

(End of this chapter)