Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 379 The Clever Murderer

"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?"

At first glance, Tonoyama's words made sense, but Kunikida then said, "No, we have already examined the body. Although the deceased was stabbed in the heart and bleeding heavily, he died from strangulation. There are strangulation marks on his neck, indicating that he was stabbed after death. Therefore, the bleeding rate would not be as fast as when he was alive."

Because the heart stops beating after death, blood doesn't spurt out in large quantities; it just flows out slowly, making it impossible to confirm that it just happened.

Just like the long-haired slut, he only saw the blood flowing out after he went to the toilet next door and came out, which scared him so much that he screamed...

"I told you so! When I went in just now, I really didn't find any blood!" the long-haired man said hurriedly.

Just now, because of this, the detective who questioned him had become a prime suspect.

"Mr. Wakao, we are here to prove your innocence, please cooperate as normal," the detective from Tsukishima Police Station said awkwardly.

It is evident that the detectives at the Tsukishima Police Station are quite inexperienced in handling murder cases.

The unshaven Yuichi Huang said weakly, "I just came here to write my thesis... how did I end up in this situation..." He rubbed his head in distress.

Writing a thesis is stressful enough, but I never expected to encounter a murder case and become a "suspect".

"I'm so sorry, I'll give you a store prepaid card later..." the store manager said apologetically.

Just then, the detective who had just been reprimanded by Tohsaka returned, looking as if he had made a great discovery, and said, "Um... Chief, I just found... the body is lying there, so the door shouldn't be able to be opened!"

Shiraishi, Conan, and the police officers: ...

"So what?" Tohsaka asked helplessly.

"So... the murderer couldn't have left through the cubicle door, could it be... that they escaped through the window?" the young detective asked tentatively.

After all, Section Chief Kunikida's conclusion that "the murderer did not leave through the window" was just a matter of common sense—a guy who even left the murder weapon at the scene wouldn't have the time to clean up any traces of his departure—but there was no direct evidence!

Upon hearing this, the three suspects quickly agreed, but at that moment, Tohsaka dragged the young detective back to the bathroom.

“Climb up,” Tohsaka told him directly.

"what?"

"I said climb up, climb from the top into the compartment," Tohsaka instructed.

The young detective then realized what was happening and quickly took action...

The slender but strong detective easily completed the maneuver, vaulting in and out of the cubicle.

Seeing this, Conan nodded secretly—indeed, this was the more likely way to commit the crime!

This Tohsaka, who used to be Akasaka's partner, wasn't very noticeable at the Beika Police Station, but it turns out he's quite an experienced detective...

Conan exclaimed, "As expected of the Beika Police Department!"

but……

"Hmm?" Shiraishi let out a soft sound.

"Chief, what's wrong?" Tohsaka was used to it and addressed him directly as "Chief," while Kunikida glared at him from the side.

We have to address him as "Director Shiraishi" at all, otherwise what will the pro-director of Tsukishima think?
“As expected, everyone has different ways of thinking. I hadn’t thought of it that way just now,” Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

"Huh?" Tohsaka looked at the chief in disbelief.

You're being too modest, aren't you?

As a detective from the "Mihana school," he was well aware of Shiraishi's abilities.

"It's not that I didn't think of it at all, it's just that this wasn't my first reaction."

As Shiraishi spoke, he picked up Conan and placed him into the next cubicle through the gap between the ceiling and the cubicle door.

Although Shiraishi seems to only have one hand that he can use now, he could easily lift the child even if it were an adult!
and……

In this way, all three are clearly suspects!

Yuichi Sumeragi and Shirou Wakaoji, although one looks like a fragile college student and the other looks like a greasy-looking man, both have a slender build, so climbing up is not difficult for them.

As for Tonoyama Jūjū, he's quite burly; it's not even a question of whether he could climb up, let alone squeeze through, but...

Even if he couldn't do it as easily as Chief Shiraishi, judging from his physique, it didn't seem like he couldn't do it!
"Wait...wait a minute, I don't think I can do that, right? I twisted my finger!" Dian Shan quickly raised his hand, indicating that he was innocent.

"Hmm? Does one finger make a big difference?" Shiraishi said matter-of-factly—I can fit someone in even with one arm in a sling!

Dianshan:......

Conan then wore a conflicted expression—something felt off...

Before he could think further, Kunikida said, "Finally, they've arrived... Could you three please accompany us for a simple body search?"

Before the three could hesitate, Kunikida said, "Of course, you can refuse now, but... given the location of Ms. Himeno's stab wound, even if it had hit a corpse, it would be almost impossible for the murderer not to have blood on him. As long as there is no luminol reaction on your bodies or in your belongings, you can go back today."

"Ah, then hurry up and check me first!" Huang Yu said hurriedly.

After all, he still has to write his thesis when he gets back, so he doesn't have time to dawdle...

"Honestly... hurry up, I have an appointment!" Prince Ruo said impatiently.

Conan overheard someone making an appointment and felt a bit like kicking him.

However, both of them have now agreed to be searched, except for Tonoyama...

"Alright, take these two for a body search first! Mr. Tonoyama, there are some things I'd like to ask you more clearly." Kunikida didn't intend to intimidate Tonoyama.

There are many reasons why you might not want to be searched...

"Ah! Uncle, how did you hurt your finger?" Conan suddenly asked.

"Well... when I was playing golf, my club got stuck..." Dian Shan stopped talking abruptly.

"Oh right, Uncle, you just told the shop manager that it was because your wedding ring was stuck, right?" Conan looked at Touyama innocently. He finally remembered what was wrong—when Touyama came in and chatted with the shop manager, the bandage was clearly on his left ring finger, but now it was on his index finger!
When Tonenyama heard Conan say that, his face turned purple.

"Mr. Tonoyama..." Upon seeing this, Tohsaka stepped forward and gave another man a wink, signaling him to block the door.

"May I check your bandages?" Tohsaka asked directly.

“This…” Dian Shan’s face turned ugly. After glancing around, he turned around and tried to shove the police officers aside to escape!

But just then...

With a single, sweeping step, Shiroshi's massive arm span enveloped Dian Shan within his grasp. The next instant, Dian Shan felt a tightness in his head, followed by a weight on his neck, and then a feeling of lightness washed over him…

He was actually lifted up by Shiraishi with one hand, his head grabbed!
Conan: ...

Sure enough, not to mention Professor Agasa, even this burly man who looks to weigh 200 pounds was lifted up by Shiraishi with one hand!
At this moment, Dian Shan's feet were half a meter off the ground, and even kicking his legs, he couldn't touch the ground...

From childhood to adulthood, Tonyama had always been the epitome of "strength" and never imagined that one day he would be subdued like this!

Conan was also somewhat unsatisfied, feeling that he hadn't quite lived up to his reputation as the "savior of the East Island Police" today.

Actually, when they were asked to do the luminol reaction, Dian Shan was already a little panicked. Although he wasn't forced to do it, he was already suspected!

……

Watching Tonoyama being led into the police car, Tohsaka remarked, "This guy... he really has a wild idea. With such a motive for murder, he actually wants to pretend he didn't know the victim and that it was an outsider's crime? Even if he was at the scene, what difference does it make if he gets away temporarily..."

That's right, we already knew during the brief interrogation just now.

The deceased, Hime, was actually Tonoyama's mistress!

Because Himeko recently pressured Tonoyama to divorce her or give her a sum of money, Tonoyama decided to kill her to eliminate any future trouble—in fact, it was Tonoyama who invited her to the coffee shop and arranged to make the deal in the restroom...

Therefore, even though it was Hime's first time visiting this store, she knew that the restrooms were for both men and women.

However, what Dianshan brought later was not money, but rope and knife!

To create a false impression, they even opened the bathroom window, threw the body into the stall, and blocked the door.

but……

In the eyes of veteran detectives like Kunikida, this kind of deliberate attempt to create a false impression is actually not very meaningful—so what if they don't catch him today and he gets away?
You and the deceased were in a romantic relationship!
No matter how well it is concealed, if during subsequent visits it is discovered that "the deceased was suspected of having an affair with a married man", it will definitely be included in the key investigation. If then it is discovered that this "married man" is none other than Dian Shan, who was present today and pretended not to know the deceased, how can he explain it?

After all, the proportion of "crimes of passion" is far higher than that of "crimes of money," and any "unhealthy relationships" involving the deceased will be a key focus of the investigation...

The way the murderer deliberately created a false impression can be described as a classic case of "focusing on the head but neglecting the tail".

"Huh? Conan, what's wrong?" Tohsaka noticed that the little boy from the Mouri family had been staring at her.

"It's nothing...hehehe..." Conan felt a little resentful for a moment, always feeling that this way of solving cases was a blow to detectives.

but……

That's just how it is!

Indeed, both Shinichi Kudo and his jinchūriki, Kogoro Mouri, have helped the police solve many cases.

Without them, the prisoner would indeed have escaped, but...

This escape only applies to "the day and the moment"!
Police officers rarely solve cases on the spot unless they catch the perpetrator in the act.

For the police, the real show was yet to come...

"Chief... Chief Shiraishi, we'll be leaving now. Take care." Tohsaka then greeted Shiraishi again.

Of course, Tohsaka had no worries about Shiraishi's "injury".

Shiraishi then noticed that Kunikida had also left and hadn't brought up the "surveillance" incident again, so he didn't ask any further questions.

"Ran-neechan! Is this the brother you're looking for? He just said, 'Girls are the easiest to coax; a few sweet words and they're all moved to tears'... What does that mean?" Conan pulled Ran over and pointed at Wakao-ō.

Xiaolan had already returned, but she couldn't get into the venue, so she waited outside.

"Eh? Little brother...you..." Prince Ruo felt a little embarrassed when he saw the strange looks he was getting from everyone around him.

Ran was taken aback by his words, then looked at Prince with a strange expression and apologized, "I'm sorry, this child has caused you trouble... But Conan, when did I say that I was waiting for this gentleman?"

"Huh? It wasn't Ran-neechan you who said that..." Conan was also taken aback. Every time this happened, his IQ would temporarily drop offline!

"Ran," Eri called out to Ran.

"Mom! You've been dragged into this too..." Xiaolan exclaimed.

"Mom? Mom?" Conan looked at Eri Kisaki in shock.

Then I remembered that when I visited Xiaolan's house when I was little, I vaguely heard that her mother was a law student. Later, I also heard Xiaolan say that after her mother and father separated, she passed the bar exam and became a lawyer...

"What's going on?" Prince Ruo was a little annoyed. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he turned around and ended up in front of Shiroishi's stomach.

"Um...Director Mi-Mi ...

“I see… So you’re the person Sonoko asked to meet? No wonder Ayako was worried and asked me to come and check on her first.” Shiraishi muttered to himself.

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Prince Ruo felt a chill run down his spine.

"I'm sorry, my girlfriend's younger sister hasn't met many men, so a few sweet words will do. I'm really sorry." Shiraishi patted him on the shoulder kindly.

Conan: ...

Conan then understood why Shiraishi had come here today.

"I'm so sorry! I was just joking, I... I'll disappear right away!" Prince Ruo quickly bowed.

"Hmm? Can it just disappear on its own? Do you need a little help?" Shiraishi asked, feigning surprise.

“Absolutely not! I’ll disappear right now!” Prince Ruo said, and immediately fled.

……

At the same time, Eri Kisaki said to Ran, "By the way, Ran, wait for me... I have something I want to talk to Officer Shiraishi about."

Although the encounter with Shiraishi was purely accidental, while the meeting with his daughter was pre-arranged, but...

Eri Kisaki prioritizes work above all else!
Upon hearing this, Shiraishi revealed a questioning expression—Eri Kisaki had just mentioned this matter, but hadn't had time to elaborate.

"Officer Shiraishi, do you remember Dr. Shirai from the East Imperial Hospital?" Eri Kisaki asked.

"Dr. Shirai... um, the one who killed Dr. Eto and then attacked Dr. Goto, right?" Shiraishi nodded upon hearing this.

"Ah! It's that doctor who framed Dad!" Xiaolan exclaimed immediately.

Conan, who was overhearing this, also took it to heart—he had felt before that there seemed to be something wrong with that case…

(End of this chapter)