Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 378 The Sneaky Judge

"The deceased was leaning against the inside of the bathroom door, which could only be opened from the inside. The deceased's wallet had clearly been emptied and left there, and there was also a window in this stall..."

“Generally speaking, at this point we should consider the possibility of an external crime, but…” Kunikida said, walking to the window, observing the window frame, and looking at the alleyway outside.

“There are no signs of intrusion. A murderer who left the murder weapon at the scene wouldn’t have bothered to clean up the traces of his departure, would he?” Kunikida explained to the other detectives while inspecting the scene.

Although he was all talk and no action when he first arrived at the Beika Police Station six months ago, he was later dragged into working overtime quite a bit by Shiraishi...

More importantly, at the Beika Police Station, as the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, Kunikida could relax a bit—after all, the Beika Police Station had elite troops!
After arriving at the Tsukishima Police Station, Kunikida insisted on continuing the "Beihana spirit" because of the station's previous special circumstances, aiming for independent investigation of murder cases within the station...

But now Kunikida truly understood the level of an "ordinary police station".

Especially the Tsukishima Police Station, because a large number of its key personnel had previously retired, and the detectives were all recruited from other police stations, they were very unfamiliar with its operations, so...

Even without the option of lying down and doing nothing, Kunikida began personally overseeing murder cases while simultaneously training detectives!
……

Seeing this, Shiraishi nodded to himself – as expected, Tsukishima was a different place for Kunikida. He must still be thinking about what happened back then, and he couldn't stand being wronged here!

Shiraishi even suspected that this transfer was intentional on the part of Director Hakuba…

Although "police inspector" and "police superintendent" are only junior officers in front of the "superintendent general," there is a fundamental difference in rarity between "junior officers" who can take on important responsibilities on the front line and "police inspectors" who work at their desks!
Director Hakuba probably doesn't want Kunikida to be idle all the time.

Meanwhile, as Shiraishi saw more and more "police officers transferred from the Beika Police Station," he also discovered another pattern...

Previously, since only a very few people were transferred, and Shiraishi had only contacted Shirai Takeshi, he always assumed that it was only natural that he could still see the other person's "attributes" after they were transferred.

However, now that the base number has increased, Shiraishi suddenly realized that this was not the case!

After leaving the Mikado Bureau and no longer being nominally his subordinate, Shiraishi could only see about half of the attributes.

And it's easy to find the pattern...

Shiraishi can still see the attributes of those who are familiar with him or admire him, especially the police officers who are able to "move up to a higher position" thanks to his recommendation!

As for the other half, most of them were people that Shiraishi didn't help much with—after all, Shiraishi isn't Dongdao currency, and he can't help everyone.

From this, it's easy for Shiraishi to draw a guess...

Nine times out of ten, the difference lies in whether or not Baishi is still regarded as a leader!
Even after being transferred, the attribute that can still be seen is that he still recognizes Shiraishi as his old leader.

This is generally the case for criminal police.

……

As Kunikida spoke, he glanced at the cafe owner.

"Shopkeeper, I see there's a security camera at the front desk. Could you please show me the recording?" Kunikida said directly.

Although Conan claimed to remember all the guests who entered the restroom after the long-haired woman, Kunikida still asked to see the security camera footage just to be on the safe side.

"Hmm... of course, no problem," the store manager replied immediately.

Kunikida immediately saw the surveillance footage on the computer in the small workspace behind the coffee shop counter.

"At 10:02 a.m., the victim, Ms. Himeno Yayoi, entered the restroom... Shop owner, what did she say at that time?" Kunikida asked the shop owner at this moment.

"What did she say? Oh right, she asked me where the restroom was." The store manager was clearly a little nervous, after all, someone had died in his store.

"Is this Ms. Himeno's first time visiting?" Kunikida asked upon hearing this.

From the driver's license found in the wallet, the police have learned that the victim's name is Yayoi Himeno. Detectives have already notified her family and conducted door-to-door inquiries.

Upon hearing this, the store manager shook his head and said, "I'm not sure if it's the first time, but it's definitely not a regular customer. I don't remember them."

"Five minutes later, this..." Kunikida watched as this "generally burly" man got up from his seat at the counter and walked towards the restroom.

“It’s Mr. Dianshan…he’s a regular customer here,” the shop manager said immediately.

Kunikida nodded and continued watching the surveillance footage: "Then Mr. Tonoyama came out, and this guest, who looks like a university student, went in..."

"Hmm, I don't remember this customer before. He's probably a student, writing a thesis or something." The shop manager nodded.

"Then this customer came out too, and the one who went in was this long-haired male customer..." Kunikida said, but then noticed that the shop manager was hesitant to speak, so he took the initiative to ask, "Do you remember this customer, shop manager? It's okay."

As Kunikida spoke, he turned his head to look at the shop owner, indicating that the customers wouldn't hear him!
That was indeed the case, after all, Shiraishi was behind the two of them...

With the white stone blocking the way, not only can you not see the outside, but you can't even see the door frame when you turn your head in this cramped shopkeeper's office.

"Actually... he's been here a few times before, each time with a different woman. He's even had arguments with women in the store because of this. I guess... um," the store manager said softly.

She must be a slut!

Although it wasn't said aloud, the store manager's meaning was quite clear.

Upon hearing this, Kunikida nodded in understanding...

"Is that so?" Shiraishi muttered.

Upon hearing this, Kunikida turned to look at Shiraishi with a puzzled expression, seemingly not understanding why Chief Shiraishi had suddenly sighed.

Then Shiraishi said, "It's nothing, and then I should be here." At this point, Shiraishi had already seen Conan get down from his seat.

At the same time, I looked down at him with a strange expression—why do I have a feeling you're about to kick someone?

Are you not going to act anymore?
So these shoes aren't just for playing soccer, right?

Conan sensed Shiraishi's gaze and silently turned his head away.

"Huh? This is..." Kunikida suddenly reacted strongly.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi and Conan also looked at the surveillance footage, but...

We found nothing!

Shiraishi looked at Kunikida with a puzzled expression, and Conan was equally confused—this inspector seemed to have some skill, but…

There's no reason for them to see any clues that I didn't notice at all, right?

Kunikida looked extremely tense, and Shiraishi even sensed that he was panicking... "Manager! Please check the surveillance footage from another angle..." Kunikida hurriedly said to the manager, "It needs to show where those three were sitting!"

Kunikida was pointing at the three guests who had gotten up and left after Shiraishi came in earlier—Conan had also thought the three of them were a bit strange, but... it shouldn't have anything to do with the current case.

After the victim, Hime, went to the restroom, the three of them never approached the restroom again. They left after Shiraishi came in, so they had no opportunity to commit the crime.

Due to the angle of the surveillance camera, the footage at this moment only shows the bathroom door and the coffee shop entrance, with limited visibility of the customers' seating areas.

The store manager was also confused, but since the police officer said so, he did as he was told...

Shiraishi's eyes lit up when he saw this... What a responsible and dedicated store manager! There's actually more than one surveillance camera in the coffee shop!
I really hope that all the store managers in Beika Town can be like this...

In the video, the three people who had just left were now sitting in three booths, but... they were three booths sharing a corner!
In other words, if we disregard the obstructions between the tables, these three people are actually sitting together.

The three people were engaged in various activities: one was reading a newspaper, the other was looking at their phone...

They seemed to have no connection, but Shiraishi could tell at a glance that they were communicating in secret. Shiraishi was very familiar with this kind of thing - it was usually done when illegal transactions or informant meetings were taking place!
He even deliberately sat at the third table, clearly not wanting anyone to know.

Kunikida stared at this scene, his expression turning somewhat grim.

then……

In the corner of the image, the coffee shop door opens, and a "huge figure" enters.

If you keep a close eye on the three of them, it becomes even more obvious at this point...

The three of them became somewhat nervous after seeing Shiraishi, and then they all got up and left.

This person must have recognized Shiraishi...

This is even more suspicious!

After all, seeing Shiraishi made him instinctively want to leave, which doesn't seem like a good person at all.

but……

When the person who had been facing away from the door stood up, Shiraishi finally saw his face on the monitor—before, when the three people left behind him, Shiraishi had only seen their backs and hadn't noticed anything.

And now...

Although he was also wearing sunglasses, Shiraishi's keen observation and memory allowed him to recognize him immediately...

But it was only because he recognized her that Shiraishi became even more puzzled!

If these three people were members of a violent organization plotting some illicit deal, then it would make perfect sense that they not only hid themselves but also left immediately after seeing Shiraishi.

However, the problem is...

One of the people Shiraishi recognized was not some petty thug or member of a violent organization, but quite the opposite... a judge of the Tokyo High Court!

Why would a judge secretly meet with someone?
Even after seeing Shiraishi, he left immediately?

It's true that the Mikasa Police Station has arrested current judges and former Supreme Court justices, but Shiraishi doesn't think that the people at the Tokyo High Court would be afraid of him just because of that...

"Ahem, sorry... it seems it has nothing to do with the case." Kunikida said, slightly calming down.

Seeing that Kunikida didn't seem inclined to explain, Shiraishi didn't immediately ask.

Shiraishi could also see that Kunikida's reaction must have been because he had thought of something, but... it was indeed unrelated to the current case!
This is a murder case right now, so it's best not to be indecisive.

When Kunikida brought up the current case again, Tohsaka said, "Looking at it this way, the three people who went into the bathroom after the victim went in are the most suspicious. Moreover, no three people have ever been in the bathroom at the same time, so anyone could have committed the crime."

"This murderer... he's so brave! Isn't he afraid of being caught?" a young detective from the Tsukishima Police Station remarked.

Before Kunikida could speak, Tohsaka had already scolded, "Didn't you learn that at the police academy? The most crucial thing in a case is examining the crime scene... The bathroom door here is also locked. As long as you lock that, you don't have to worry about being caught!"

That's right. Although there are two stalls and two toilets in the coffee shop's restroom, it was obviously a later modification. It was originally a restroom, so the door to the restroom can be locked from the outside of the stall.

Moreover, no one went inside during the crime, so the exact time of the attack could not be determined...

"Alright, let's go question the three suspects first... Thanks to Chief Shiraishi, they were all detained." Kunikida said, composing himself.

……

"Hmm? Who is this...?" Kunikida then noticed that besides the people from the coffee shop, there were three other suspicious customers, and a woman in a business suit was also there.

That's right, besides the three suspects, Eri Kisaki didn't leave either.

However, Conan still didn't realize that this "lawyer" was Ran's mother!

After all, Shiraishi only addressed her as "Her Attorney Eri"—when Eri Kisaki was practicing law, she used her surname from before she got married, but legally she was still surnamed "Mori".

When Conan first met Eri, she was still surnamed Mori, so Conan didn't know what Ran's mother's original surname was.

It's been so long since I've seen him that I have no recollection of him.

"Hello, Inspector Kunikida, my name is Eri Kisaki, and I'm a lawyer," Eri Kisaki said, handing over her business card.

Kunikida politely accepted it, but also gave Attorney Kisaki a strange look...

Are lawyers these days "waiting for work"? Are they waiting for us to find the criminal so they can take on cases right away?
The other detectives felt awkward having a lawyer watching the case unfold...

Of course, Kunikida didn't think there was anything wrong with it, after all, he should be the most law-abiding police officer in the entire East Island!

Seemingly sensing their concerns, Eri Kisaki proactively explained, "By the way, I have something to take care of. I want to talk to Chief Shiraishi later, so I'm staying... I hope there won't be any trouble?"

"Of course not," Kunikida quickly replied.

Nonsense. If you think there's trouble with the case just because you hear a lawyer is there, isn't that tantamount to admitting that the case handling process is wrong?

What's the difference between this and turning away after hearing "We offer legitimate massage services"?
"Officer... if the murderer isn't him, then it should be that long-haired guy, right? There was so much blood on the ground. If I was the one who killed him, shouldn't this young man have seen the blood when he went in?"

The first to enter, a burly man named Dian Shan, naturally refuted the police officer's claim that he was suspicious.

(End of this chapter)