Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 381 The Third Person!
Monday, October 4.

Shiraishi arrived at the chief's office early in the morning, but instead of starting work immediately, or being served newspapers and tea like some veteran chiefs, he began checking the records of cases recently presided over by Sakurai Jun...

If the people at the Tokyo High Court knew that Shiraishi Kuro was investigating this so early in the morning, they'd probably be furious—good heavens, you're just a Beika Chief Inspector, and you're even coming to the Tokyo High Court to supervise things? You're even actively looking for problems?
Although Shiraishi didn't intend to have any dirt on anyone, seeing a judge from the Tokyo High Court secretly meeting with a lawyer in private naturally piqued his curiosity...

In particular, Shiraishi noticed that Kunikida cared a lot about this matter!
Shiraishi first went to the official website and checked Jun Sakurai's resume...

A 24-year-old judicial assistant, a 29-year-old special judicial assistant, a 34-year-old judge, a 44-year-old chief judge... Sixteen years have passed since then!
A typical core judge of the court, and the kind who has had a smooth and successful career.

Judging from the precedents, he is a relatively conservative judge who is quite ruthless—he is a different type from former Grand Justice Gao Tang.

However, after a quick check, Shiraishi didn't find anything strange, in fact...

In recent years, Jun Sakurai and Eri Kisaki told their lawyer, Norio Kobayashi, that they had never been in court together!
"Hmm?" Shiraishi was puzzled when he saw this - he originally thought that the two people were having unauthorized contact in private, which was why they were sneaking around.

If they're not even handling the same case, and judges and lawyers aren't prohibited from having personal interactions, why are they acting like spies meeting?
Shiraishi was still clueless, but just then, Munakata knocked on the door and came in to report a murder case that was "somewhat unusual".

"Chief, we received a report this morning that a prosecutor died in his bathtub at home. The initial examination at the scene indicated cardiac arrest, but an investigation of his medical records revealed no prior medical history. Detective Kanzaki, who responded to the scene, believes that external intrusion cannot be ruled out. Do you think we should contact the prosecutor's office?" Munakata reported.

"A prosecutor died suddenly... Which department's prosecutor was it?" Shiraishi asked first.

“It’s Hiroshi Matsui, who’s in charge of criminal matters… his right-hand man, the second-in-command,” Munakata replied.

The second one was with Shiraishi's old acquaintance, Karma Gou!
"Hiroshi Matsui... Hmm, I understand. I'll communicate with the prosecutor's office, but it won't affect the normal search order within the station. If we can't rule out homicide, we'll send some people to investigate." Shiraishi nodded.

Because the "500 Million Dollar Robbery" case is still in its final stages, and the Miho Police Department has provided assistance to the First Investigation Division, the Miho Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division is currently quite busy.

"And regarding Daisuke Kobe, who hasn't reported for duty yet, Interpol says it will be postponed for another week," Munakata reported casually.

Although a detective's reporting for duty is not a big deal, Daisuke Kobe's situation is special, so it's better to inform the chief in person.

Shiraishi already knew this, and at this point he simply said, "Since it's official business, it's fine to delay. Let Detective Shima work with Haiya, Miwako Kobe and the others to investigate the 500 million yen heist."

"Yes."

After Munakata left, Shiraishi looked at Matsui Hiroshi's basic information.

Hiroshi Matsui was already fifty-nine years old and a veteran inspector, but Shiraishi was not familiar with him.

At the prosecutor's office, Shiraishi was only familiar with three generations of people: Karma Gou, Kujo Reiko, and Mitsurugi Reiji, with perhaps one more, Ayane.

After reviewing Matsui Hiroshi's information and the preliminary inspection results, Shiraishi thought for a moment and then called Deputy Chief of the Karma Enforcement Division.

The police and prosecutors have a close relationship, so it's only right for them to make a phone call to inform each other. It doesn't affect the proper handling of procedures, so it can't be said that Shiraishi is "flattering" them, right?

In any case, even Gou the Demon Hunter himself dared not regard this as "Shiraishi currying favor".

"Hello, this is Hunter Demon." Hunter Demon's voice was deep, clearly indicating that he knew who was on the other end of the phone.

"Deputy Commander of the Demon Hunter, I regret to inform you of some terrible news..." Shiraishi said with as much sorrow as possible.

"Enough with the unnecessary words. I already know about Prosecutor Matsui's matter... Inspector Shiraishi, just tell me, was it an accident or murder?" Karamaru's tone was furious.

At this point, Karasu didn't mention anything like "handing it over to the First Investigation Division." Clearly, even though he didn't say it, he had already accepted the Beika Police Department and Shiraishi in his heart. Without any other purpose, he would never let the Beika Police Department stay away from the case he wanted to investigate.

"We cannot rule out homicide at this time," Shiraishi said honestly.

After a moment of silence, the demon hunter said, "Matsui is a prosecutor in charge of criminal cases, especially many serious ones. If this is a homicide, it could be a very serious act of violence against a prosecutor, and the case must be solved immediately. If it is not a homicide, the case must be closed as soon as possible to avoid further escalation in the media!"

“You’re right. The Mikasa Police Department will do its utmost to clarify the case as soon as possible,” Shiraishi said solemnly.

Although he and Karma Gou usually don't get along, what Gou said makes a lot of sense now, and Shiraishi won't judge the person based on the facts.

Seeing that Shiraishi wasn't just looking for trouble, Karma Gou finally calmed down a bit. However, Shiraishi then said, "But... if it's suspected of homicide, prosecutors, like us police officers, are easily resented. So if any detectives from my department visit the prosecutor's office, I hope Deputy Chief Karma can do us a favor. This is also to solve the case as soon as possible."

Even though he didn't know the situation, Shiraishi still managed to gain an advantage.

After a moment of silence, the Demon Hunter agreed: "I'll have your men go directly to Yane."

“Thank you for your understanding, Deputy Chief of the Demon Hunter... But we are all detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department, there’s no question of who is mine or not…” Shiraishi emphasized this point.

However, the demon hunter over there has already died...

After speaking with Gou Karma on the phone, Shiraishi urged the Criminal Investigation Division again and confirmed the time for the investigation meeting, which he would attend.

On the other hand, the sting operation for the "500 million heist" is still ongoing.

It's fair to say that both suspects have taken the bait, and Miwako Kobe is now becoming increasingly adept at setting and reeling in the line, hoping to wear them down as quickly as possible and achieve her goal...

……

The case of the prosecutor's death had been delayed for a long time because the nature of the crime could not be determined. The investigation meeting was finally held at 5:30 pm!
By this time, Munakata had already left work...

Not only because Director Hakuba had promised him from the beginning and Shiraishi had agreed, but also because Munakata was also going to help Shiraishi pick up his "sister".

Although Ai doesn't actually need anyone to pick her up, Shiraishi wants to take this opportunity to hide her away...

As for the investigation meeting, it didn't matter that Munakata wasn't there, since Chief Inspector Shiraishi was also present.

The meeting was chaired by Kuroki...

If Gou Karma knew, he'd probably throw a tantrum at Shiraishi again—is this what you call being important?
Indeed, Kuroki's age and experience fall somewhere between the new generation and veteran detectives. He is a few years older than Gen, Kanzaki, and others, but he is hardly considered a veteran among detectives.

"The deceased, Hiroshi Matsui, 59 years old, was found dead in his bathtub at 8:00 AM this morning. His wife and daughter, who had just returned from a trip, were the first to discover him. The estimated time of death is last night, and the cause of death is sudden cardiac arrest. Because he had been submerged in water since death, the estimated time of death is wide, possibly between 7:00 PM last night and 4:00 AM this morning..." Kuroki then briefly introduced the case, but...

Before we've even gotten to the main point, Shiraishi should sit up straight!

This made Kuroki even more nervous—could there be some clues we haven't discovered?
Little did they know that Shiraishi's reaction was not due to anything else, but because of this photo of Matsui Hiroshi!

It wasn't a photo of the crime scene, but his official photo...

Previously, Shiraishi thought he didn't know this person, so he didn't pay much attention to him. He just looked at some written materials and didn't find anything special.

Seeing his profile picture then, I suddenly realized...

Isn't this the third person who appeared in the coffee shop yesterday with Judge Jun Sakurai and lawyer Norio Kobayashi?

So the third person was a prosecutor?

Now I have a complete set...

Judges, lawyers, prosecutors...

Although Shiraishi had previously investigated and found that Sakurai Jun and Kobayashi Norio had not been seen together recently, the fact that these three people from different professions were meeting secretly and suspiciously, and that they would immediately avoid Shiraishi upon seeing him, and then one of them died the next day, made it seem like there was more to the story!

Meanwhile, seeing that his chief was paying attention, Kuroki became even more serious...

"Although no signs of homicide were found at the scene, Kanzaki discovered that the window lock had been tampered with, suggesting a possible 'false locked room,' and the possibility of someone breaking in cannot be ruled out..."

"The body has been sent to UDI for autopsy. It has been confirmed that the deceased died of cardiac arrest. No pathogenic factors were found in the body. However... skin ulceration was also found on the chest area of ​​the body. It is not yet possible to determine its relationship with the cause of death."

Kuroki's words at this point were very vague.

Based on the situation at the scene, it can only be said that "there is a possibility of infiltration," not that someone has actually been found to have infiltrated.

If Kanzaki hadn't been there, he might have missed it and the case might have been closed as an "accidental death."

Later, due to the deceased's special status and Kanzaki's discovery, the body was still sent to UDI for an autopsy even though it was uncertain whether it was a homicide. This was not only because of the special circumstances, but also because UDI could get reimbursed from its support fund for all the bodies sent to the Beika Police Station.

However, the autopsy results failed to fully clarify the nature of the case!

To say it wasn't an accident...

The body showed no signs of external injury, toxic side effects, or electric shock, suggesting that the cardiac arrest was indeed primary.

However, at the same time, there are also some suspicious points!
For example, the strange skin ulceration, and the deceased's medical examination results from a month ago...

Judging from his physical condition, Matsui was nearly sixty years old but very healthy and had no underlying diseases. He was not in the high-risk group for heart failure. The unexplained skin ulceration also shrouded the cause of death in mystery.

"What do you mean by skin ulceration?" Shiraishi interrupted directly at this moment.

"The results of the examination are here... It's a very recent wound, but... judging from the section of the wound, it's not very deep, and it didn't affect the heart area," Kuroki said, showing the results after further autopsy at UDI.

Indeed, only the outermost layer of skin is damaged.

Seeing that Shiraishi didn't say anything more, Kuroki continued, "Gen and Yamada also went to the prosecutor's office to inquire about the deceased's recent work situation. However... recently, the deceased hasn't been directly responsible for prosecutions. But... if we're talking about grudges, he certainly has quite a few enemies."

If we were to investigate this thoroughly, there would be far too many cases!

Kuroki sounded somewhat embarrassed as he said this—after all, they still couldn't confirm whether it was a murder or not…

However, just when he thought that Chief Shiraishi was about to criticize him, he found that the chief was thinking about something. After a while, he said, "Focus on investigating the cases where the presiding judge is Jun Sakurai and the defense lawyer is Norio Kobayashi... Hmm, but don't disturb them for now."

Shiraishi suddenly brought up two names, leaving Kuroki, Gen, and the others completely baffled.

However, Shiraishi did not offer any explanation, and even specifically told them not to alert the enemy, but to keep it as "internal reference".

Firstly, Shiraishi wasn't sure if there was any connection between them and didn't want to give them the wrong guidance rashly; secondly, if it really was related to the two of them, once the Mikado Bureau found out about them, they probably wouldn't cooperate honestly and might even be extra wary.

After all, when the three of them secretly met yesterday, they got up and left as soon as they saw Shiraishi, clearly not wanting anything to be exposed.

Furthermore, since Kobayashi Norio is a lawyer, any investigation of a lawyer must be conducted in accordance with regulations; otherwise, one could easily be falsely accused.

Needless to say, Jun Sakurai...

Even if it is in accordance with the regulations, it is not easy to investigate a judge. When Kuroki and Kanzaki investigated Judge Hasegawa before, they used all sorts of tricks, and even deliberately chose a time when he was not at home to go to his house to get information out of his wife.

Not to mention Jun Sakurai!
Judging from Sakurai Jun's qualifications and resume, he can be considered Hasegawa's "life ideal"—Hasegawa became a "model worker" at the Tokyo High Court, and his goal was nothing more than to have a smooth and successful career like Sakurai Jun...

Although no one knows why, the fact that the director has given a direction for the investigation is better than being like a headless fly.

The detectives present, because of Hasegawa's case, all understood the difficulty of being an "investigating judge." Fortunately, Chief Shiraishi also said not to take action against the two for the time being, but they were all inevitably a little nervous.

After the investigation meeting, Shiraishi planned to contact Kunikida first...

He clearly knew something, even if it wasn't related to the case, he at least knew something about the three of them. Moreover, Shiraishi had the coffee shop's surveillance footage, which might be useful in the Beika Police Station's case if necessary.

However, to Shiraishi's surprise, Mado was already waiting outside as soon as the meeting ended...

"Chief, Section Chief Kunikida has come to visit and is currently in your office..."

(End of this chapter)