Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 371 The Blank Twenty Years Ago

Yasuda was on the phone...

Judging from the way he was bowing and scraping over the phone, you could tell that the person on the other end of the line was Koichiro Takada—a retired police officer who had surprisingly made a successful political career!
When Shiraishi saw him walk over with a troubled expression after hanging up the phone, she knew that the communication had not gone well.

"Chief Shiraishi, Ms. Takada is worried about Ms. Manami's safety and is unwilling to call the police," Yasuda said awkwardly.

"I can't believe that such layman's words came from a former deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department and former Minister of Justice..." Shiraishi said with a hint of sarcasm.

Does he really not know how to make things safer?

and……

Given the commotion caused by the kidnappers, would they really hope the police wouldn't intervene?
For Takada, the only benefit Shiraishi could think of from not reporting the incident to the police or filing a case was that he wouldn't have to cooperate with the police!

“Mr. Takada is quite old and only has one granddaughter, so it’s understandable that he might be overly concerned. However, Mr. Takada would like to have a face-to-face meeting with you… well, he has difficulty walking back home now,” Yasuda explained.

Shiraishi frowned upon hearing this, somewhat puzzled as to what kind of approach Takada was taking.
However, Shiraishi did not refuse when the kidnapping family members wanted to see him.

"Section Chief Munakata, criminals who threaten the safety of children must not be allowed to exist in Beika Town... Kidnapping... Um, regarding the bombing and disappearance case, you will be in charge of on-site command." Shiraishi said, handing over on-site command to Munakata.

“Yes…” Zongfang replied.

Although we had agreed before that parenting should be our priority, but...

My daughter's school was bombed and a kidnapping occurred. Even if it's for the sake of "childcare first," we have to solve this case!

……

“Fuji, Kawai…” Shiraishi looked at the two female patrol officers and noticed that they both looked exhausted—after all, they had been working for almost 24 hours straight. Shiraishi then said, “You two were on the night shift yesterday, right? Take a rest…”

Upon hearing this, Fuji and Kawai both showed expressions of shock—how could someone be so humane? Could the chief have been replaced?
"Yes, and could you also take care of my sister and Section Chief Munakata's daughter while you're at it?" Shiraishi added.

Fuji, Kawai:......

Yes, it's still our director.

……

Since the Takada family did not formally report the kidnapping, the "kidnapping case" is not actually established.

For this reason, there is no need to consider the establishment of an "Investigation Headquarters" by the General Headquarters. The kidnapping case was not theoretically filed, so the General Headquarters would not intervene.

Although the bombing incident has occurred before, and headquarters might receive the news, but...

Since Takada doesn't take the initiative to report it to the police, the headquarters should be happy to turn a blind eye.

Shiraishi just couldn't understand why Takada wanted to see him.
The Takada family lived in Beika Town, and Yasuda personally drove them there; they arrived in no time.

During this time, Yasuda noticed that Shiraishi was constantly looking at his phone, and he couldn't tell what he was looking at, but he could only guess that he was directing the search.

But little did they know...

Shiraishi watched as a small red dot on his phone map gradually moved towards the Tama area, and he vaguely understood that this was the location of the kidnappers!
However, Shiraishi did not make a fuss or share the location—firstly, because Shiraishi could not explain why he had this location, and secondly... since it was a kidnapping, no one else could be as confident as Shiraishi himself in rescuing the person unharmed.

Before that, Shiraishi planned to meet with Takada.

The prisoner must have something in mind for going to all this trouble!
Takada might have already received a call from the prisoner...

Soon Shiraishi arrived at Takada's house, and with Yasuda's guidance, Shiraishi met the very old Takada.

Although his granddaughter is only in the third grade, Takada is already over seventy years old...

This did not surprise Shiraishi, since ordinary people with no connections but high aspirations often get married late, with getting married at forty being the norm.

After all, even for "professional" officers, they need to be in their thirties and already be police inspectors or even police superintendents before they can marry into wealthy and powerful families.

For ordinary professional groups, "early marriage" is a negative factor in their future prospects—Iwata is an example of this. However, if Iwata were someone who only cared about his future, he and Shiraishi wouldn't have such a good relationship.

However, Takada is clearly the other side...

This guy is absolutely ruthless and will do anything to climb the ladder!
No matter how much he wanted to climb, he couldn't stop the passage of time. Now, not only was Takada's physical condition not up to the average level for his age, but his "inconvenience in his legs" was not just something Yasuda said casually; he really couldn't live without crutches anymore.

Upon seeing Shiraishi, Takada said with a stern face, "Inspector Shiraishi, has the police force become so lax these days? Arson, bombings, kidnappings..."

“Mr. Takada’s lesson is correct. The Beika Police Station will definitely pay more attention to public safety in the future. However… regarding the kidnapping case, did Mr. Takada receive a call from the kidnappers?” Shiraishi asked directly.

Takada didn't call the police directly, but instead invited Shiraishi to his house, which puzzled Shiraishi.

"No." Takada's lips twitched slightly upon hearing Shiraishi's words, then he said, "No matter what, you must ensure Manami's safety!"

"Of course, we will do our best. Miss Manami's safety is of course our top priority." Shiraishi nodded in agreement.

As luck would have it, just then, the Takada family's landline rang.

"Mr. Takada." Seeing this, Shiraishi naturally wanted to eavesdrop—this opportunity might be the kidnappers' phone call!

but……

“It’s the call I arranged before… Yasuda,” Takada said with a serious expression.

Yasuda was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, but he still replied "Yes" and asked Shiraishi to leave the study.

Shiraishi saw that just as he stepped out and Yasuda closed the door, Takada finally limped over to answer the phone…

"Chief Shiraishi, you just asked about former Minister Ejiri. Have you made any discoveries in the case?" Yasuda asked about the details of the case, something Shiraishi hadn't explained before.

but……

Shiraishi still did not reply immediately.

If you want your granddaughter back, immediately confess to the media what you did twenty years ago. You only have 24 hours!

The voice changer coming from the phone reached Takada's ears, and was also faintly heard by Shiraishi through the wall...

"Mr. Yasuda had already followed former Minister Takada twenty years ago, hadn't he?" Shiraishi asked instead of answering.

“Eh? That’s right…” Yasuda didn’t know why Shiraishi was suddenly being so rude, but he still answered.

"Did anything special happen twenty years ago? For Takada, the former deputy director... no, I should say, for Takada at the time, was there anything that would cause such resentment for twenty years?" Shiraishi asked directly.

Yasuda:? ? ?
"What...what makes you say that?" Yasuda's expression changed, but he quickly calmed down and said, "Well...as you know, it's unavoidable for people in the police force to be resented."

Yasuda's statement clearly indicates he wasn't unwilling to confess to any crimes—however, the kidnapper's use of the word "confess" suggests it's something he can't openly discuss. While it might sometimes simply be a matter of "the other party believing me guilty," the fact that the kidnapper said "confess to the media" without any other conditions suggests it's something he can't tell anyone.

From Yasuda's subtle reaction, Shiraishi could tell that he knew something—the same thing had happened when he heard the name "Ando Saki" before.

"It's nothing. If anything happens, please let us know," Shiraishi said, patting him on the shoulder before leaving.

Yasuda watched Shiraishi's retreating figure, a hint of unease creeping across his face. After seeing Shiraishi to the door, he hurried back to his study...

They didn't even notice that the car that came to pick up Shiraishi was a Volkswagen Beetle... What a bizarre scene!
"Hmm? Doctor, is your tire leaking air? I feel like I'm sinking backwards." Shiraishi, sitting in the back seat, keenly sensed that the balance was a little off.

Although Shiraishi could drive with one hand without any problem, this was, after all, the capital city, and he could easily get caught by the traffic police, which would require explanations...

Furthermore, Professor Agasa had just seen the news about the bombing of Teitan Elementary School's gate and noticed Conan's unusual behavior, so he contacted Shiraishi, who then asked him to come to the Takada house to pick him up.

Dr. Agasa then realized that this was a mistake!

"What kind of car do you think this is? Don't make things difficult for the old man," Dr. Agasa said helplessly.

Actually, the new Beetle has no problem with load-bearing capacity, but the problem is that Professor Agasa's car is an old car he bought when he was in school!
"Professor Agasa, your inventions must have made a lot of money, right? Can't you buy a better car?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

“My car… is usually fine!” Dr. Agasa emphasized.

……

"Chief Shiraishi, what exactly happened with that kidnapper? His motive shouldn't be money, right?" Dr. Agasa had already learned about the kidnapping from Mori and knew what Shinichi was up to.

"It must be someone who hates Takada, and it seems to be related to some of his crimes at the time. I need to find out more details." This wasn't a rash statement from Shiraishi, but rather because the kidnappers said "to disclose to the media."

It is clear that the kidnappers considered this a public confession, and Takada himself dared not mention it at all, and therefore did not even formally report it to the police.

"So Shinichi isn't in any real danger right now?" Professor Agasa said to himself, trying to reassure himself.

“No, people easily lose their minds when they’re seeking revenge. Even if they don’t want to hurt innocent people at first and try to be mindful of the limits, it’s not surprising that Takada would do anything if he refused to cooperate,” Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

Having grown up in Kamurocho, Shiraishi knows all too well about these things.

Then Shiraishi called Iwata...

"Hey, has there been a kidnapping in Beika Town? Takada's granddaughter?" Iwata asked without any preamble after answering the phone.

"The head office knows about it too." Shiraishi didn't find it strange.

"Is there any inside story?" Iwata asked, sounding quite gossipy.

“Yes, and you’ll find out soon,” Shiraishi said solemnly.

Iwata:……

Iwata:? ? ?
Iwata seemed to be waiting for Shiraishi to speak, and after a while, seeing that he didn't say anything, he immediately realized...

"Should I investigate this inside story?" Iwata realized at that moment.

"Hmm, help me find out what happened twenty years ago... It's related to Takada, who was the deputy director at the time, and... it should be related to someone named Ando Saki, and it's also very likely related to the former finance minister, Ejiri Shuichi." Shiraishi used Iwata's "fuzzy search" function again.

Shiraishi had initially thought Iwata would take a while to find, but who knew...

“Ando Saki? This name… no… I seem to recognize this surname…” Iwata immediately said.

"Huh?" Shiraishi was taken aback by what he heard.

Immediately, the sound of keyboard clicks came from Iwata's end. Not long after, Iwata said, "Found her! Satoko Ando... Twenty years ago, a nine-year-old girl named Satoko Ando disappeared while playing in Beika Park. Her single mother, Saki Ando, ​​reported her missing, but there were no further leads after that."

"It wasn't until a week later that her body was found at the bottom of a cliff in Okutama Town. The cause of death was a fall, and the time of death matched the disappearance... The case was ultimately closed as an 'accident'."

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi immediately frowned and said, "Nine years old? From Beika Park to Okutama Town?"

If no one took her away, how could a nine-year-old child "accidentally" go so far away?

"What are the specifics?" Shiraishi pressed.

"No," Iwata said directly.

"What?" Shiraishi was taken aback upon hearing this.

“No, the case file for this case is blank… so I remembered it when it was entered into the electronic system before,” Iwata said matter-of-factly.

Iwata wasn't photographic, and he wasn't the section chief who personally handled the electronic data entry for the case files. However, there was a case involving a death where the file was blank, containing only the police report and the final result. Naturally, his subordinates would report this to Iwata.

Iwata understands this very well...

Report it, and then enter the data as required. If there's nothing to report, don't enter it!

Some things are simply beyond our control.

However, Iwata naturally had an impression of this case, and when Shiraishi mentioned "twenty years ago" and "Saki Ando," it immediately triggered his memory.

"Who is the detective handling the case?" Bai Shi asked immediately, knowing exactly what was going on.

At this point, it's pointless to investigate why there's no case file; it's better to just ask the detective in charge of the case.

“This person… I remember him… Ah, here, just two weeks ago, his obituary was published. He was 71 years old and passed away.” Iwata said on the phone.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi fell silent for a moment, which was quite awkward...

The case file is empty, and the detective who handled the case has passed away!

"Are you sure it was from illness?" Shiraishi felt it was too much of a coincidence.

"That's what it said in the obituary anyway..."

It's called an obituary, but it's really just a "care award" for some retired police officers. Apart from the paperwork class, probably no one will see it.

"By the way, the statute of limitations for this case expired three days ago," Iwata added.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: Recently, besides writing, I've also been dabbling in anime merchandise. If you're interested, you can follow "Qidian Gentleman Dong" on secondhand marketplaces or "Gentleman Dong" on Qiandao Island.

In addition, we just received a batch of Bandai Conan candy cards, and we're offering three sets as gifts to the top three winners of this book (they're still waiting).

(End of this chapter)