Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 384 Connecting the Upper and Lower Parts
Tuesday, October 4th.

While Baishi was stamping his seal as usual, his phone suddenly rang.

Shiraishi was also taken aback when he saw the caller ID—Dr. Misumi?
Although Shiraishi had Misumi's contact information, the two never had any contact in private.

Especially since it's still during working hours, Shiraishi suspects that Misumi might have some official business to discuss, but...

At the same time, Shiraishi was also puzzled. Logically speaking, if it was official business, Misumi didn't need to tell Shiraishi. After all, Shiraishi was the "Chief," not a detective in charge of front-line investigations. Normally, UDI could liaise with the detectives.

"Hello, this is Shiraishi." Shiraishi hesitated for a moment, but answered the phone immediately.

"Director Shiraishi, um... there's something I'd like to ask you. Am I bothering you?" Misumi's tone was very polite, but there wasn't much embarrassment in it.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi became even more puzzled—although his forensic skills were solid and his operational proficiency was top-notch, his knowledge base hadn't been updated for some time, so there shouldn't be anything that Misumi, the forensic pathologist, wanted to ask him for advice…

Unless she wants to ask how to strengthen her arm muscles!

"What's going on right now? If it's something that requires us to meet, I can go to UDI at noon. I also want to see Matsui's body, and then we can have lunch together."

Shiraishi had only seen photos before and had not yet seen in person what the so-called "skin ulceration" was all about.

The body is still preserved, and if this situation remains unexplained, UDI will likely keep a specimen even after the body is cremated!
Shiraishi's words hit Misumi's sore spot: "Yes, that's what I wanted to talk about... Actually, I found similar marks on another corpse today, and the cause of death was also cardiac arrest."

Upon hearing Misumi's words, Shiraishi immediately sat up straight.

"Whose... cough, where was the body sent from?" Shiraishi asked hurriedly.

Now Shiraishi understands why Misumi called him...

Asking for advice is just an excuse.

Even UDI's experienced forensic pathologists didn't know what happened to that mark, so how could Shiraishi, a novice, know it?
"Asking for advice" was just a pretext; the real purpose was to remind Shiraishi that another body with similar marks had been discovered!

After all, this kind of thing can't be revealed casually.

Although Shiraishi is also a police officer, and a high-ranking one at that, the incident did not occur in Beika Town. Revealing information about the case and the condition of the body to him that was unrelated to Shiraishi was actually a violation of regulations!
Firstly, Misumi was more concerned about the truth and did not want the cause of death to remain a mystery or for unnatural deaths to be missed; secondly, she also had a personal relationship with Shiraishi, which is why she revealed it to him.

Shiraishi immediately understood this and stopped asking about the corpse to avoid putting Misumi in a difficult position. Instead, he asked directly where the case was from!

"It was a forced crime committed by the First Investigation Division of the Seventh Division... uh."

As soon as Misumi mentioned this department, Shiraishi recognized the name, and at that moment, Misumi suddenly paused in his speech.

"Mitsugi, forensic doctor? Who are you talking to on the phone?"

The director of the Seventh Department, who had been searching for the perpetrator, looked at Misumi suspiciously—was he perhaps leaking information to the suspect?

but……

They haven't even confirmed whether it was a homicide yet!
If I managed to catch this myself, I'd be incredibly lucky...

But just then, a familiar voice came from Misumi's phone: "Is that Aoki? Misumi, please give him the phone for me."

Shiraishi recognized Aoki's voice...

That's right, Aoki was transferred to the 17th Division of the Sotoku, and temporarily took on the role of "director".

The "director" in the department is not actually an actual position, but rather an "assistant to the department head." If the department head is not present at the scene, the director is the on-site commander and may even be in charge of the investigation.

In theory, experienced patrol officers can also serve in this role, and in this case, they can even command police inspectors who have higher ranks but no official positions—the specific powers depend on the position.

The head of the 7th Division is "about to retire," and previously everyone thought that Aoki had a chance to be promoted to police inspector in the First Investigation Division!
Upon confirming it was Chief Shiraishi's voice, Aoki quickly took the phone with both hands...

“I’m Aoki… You mean… That’s right, that’s what forensic doctor Misumi just said too… Um, the victim is Norio Kobayashi, a lawyer…”

Misumi, standing to the side, could tell from Aoki's manner of answering the phone that he held Director Shiraishi in high regard.

even……

He wasn't even this respectful when he received the call from the Souyi administrator earlier!

Just now, Misumi was worried that if Director Aoki knew that he had revealed these things to Chief Shiraishi, he might have some opinions or even misunderstandings.

However, right now Aoki is holding his phone between his shoulder and taking out his detective's notes, reporting to Shiraishi point by point!

“That’s right. Because the deceased was a lawyer, Matsumoto, the superintendent, just called to inquire about it. However, since there is no evidence of homicide yet, no investigation headquarters has been established, and the case is still being handled by the Seventh Division… The crime scene is in Toya, yes, where that guy Akasaka is…” Aoki explained at this point.

If a lawyer dies from homicide, the bar association will certainly urge the police to solve the case, so they will pay extra attention.

However, at this stage, no signs of homicide have been found in this case.

If Misumi hadn't raised the suspicion about "skin ulceration," or if Aoki had been less responsible, the case might have already been heading towards the conclusion that it was an "accident"!

"Investigation Headquarters... Okay, get ready. An investigation headquarters will be established in Beika Town later," Shiraishi said directly.

"Eh? Yes!" Aoki was taken aback for a moment, then immediately replied.

"Okay, let's give the phone to Forensic Pathologist Misumi," Shiraishi reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Aoki handed the phone back to Misumi, while also feeling a bit strange—why would a UDI forensic pathologist specifically call Chief Shiraishi? And a female forensic pathologist at that…

Aoki didn't think much of it and immediately became serious.

...On the other hand, after talking on the phone, Shiraishi and Misumi immediately organized their thoughts in their minds.

After Matsui died yesterday, Shiraishi didn't want to alert them immediately—because he knew that Sakurai Jun and Kobayashi Norio would definitely resist the investigation, judging from how they tried to avoid Shiraishi when they were plotting!
But today, Norio Kobayashi also died...

Now the situation is different.

The deaths of the two individuals involved, both suffering from cardiac arrest, along with unusual circumstances surrounding their bodies, strongly suggest homicide. Furthermore, the murderer is likely connected to both of them simultaneously, and possibly to a past conspiracy between the three of them.

Firstly, from the perspective of the case investigation, this can already be investigated according to the standards of a homicide case and upgraded to a higher level; secondly, we also need to consider the protection of the victims. If only Matsui died, we cannot overthink that the murderer wanted to kill two more. But if the murderer killed two in a row, then a third one must also be in the plan!
Therefore, Shiraishi could no longer act based on the principle of "avoiding alerting the enemy."

After putting down his phone, Shiraishi rested his arm on the table, rubbed his head, and thought for a while...

Immediately afterward, Shiraishi took the initiative to call Matsumoto—just as Shiraishi had just told Aoki, he was preparing to establish an investigation headquarters!
In the past, Shiraishi would not have been very willing to establish an investigation headquarters.

Although the establishment of an "Investigation Headquarters" would significantly enhance the case investigation capabilities, the involvement of a group of "outsiders" would certainly not be as efficient as the internal investigations conducted by the Mikasa Police Station. They might be helpful, or they might cause trouble!
As for the lack of manpower, just have the patrol officers work overtime and take charge of some of the door-to-door visits, wouldn't that solve the problem?
These are all opportunities for everyone to practice!

However, the situation is different now...

Firstly, one of the two murder cases was not within the jurisdiction of the Beika Police Station, and without establishing an "Investigation Headquarters," the Beika Police Station would be unable to act effectively. Secondly, and more importantly, the other case was currently being investigated by the 17th Investigation Division, with Aoki, one of their own, directing the operation on the front lines. Even in Toriyama Town, where the murder occurred, the head of the Criminal Investigation Division was Akasaka, an old subordinate!
Not to mention, Matsumoto became even closer to Shiraishi after his daughter's case, and could be considered almost one of his own...

In theory, the establishment of an "Investigation Headquarters" requires the approval of the head of the First Investigation Division or a higher-ranking officer from the Criminal Investigation Department.

However, the head of the First Investigation Division is about to retire, and Matsumoto, the superintendent, and Ninomiya, the director, are strong contenders for the position. If they want to establish an "Investigation Headquarters," the head of the division will cooperate.

The establishment of the "Investigation Headquarters" at this time was to gather strength and provide convenience for the Beika Police Department!
"A series of murders? Just because of the marks on the bodies..." Matsumoto hesitated slightly after hearing Shiraishi's words.

After all, not only can forensic doctors not explain the cause of death in this kind of case, but explaining it as a "skin disease" would actually make more sense.

If they were two ordinary people, Matsumoto wouldn't hesitate, but more importantly...

“These two people, one a lawyer and the other a prosecutor… if they were really killed by the same person, I’m afraid…” Matsumoto’s tone became serious.

Establishing an "Investigation Headquarters" at this time is practically pointing fingers at them and accusing them of collusion—after all, these two professions can't be "in cahoots"!

“Actually, I happened to run into the two of them on Sunday in Tsukishima. They not only disguised themselves and secretly met, but also left in a hurry as soon as they saw me.” Shiraishi then shattered Matsumoto’s wishful thinking.

"You mean...the two of them really have something going on privately..."

Shiraishi interrupted, "No, there were three. Sakurai Jun from the Tokyo High Court was also there at the time."

Matsumoto:……

Matsumoto felt a headache coming on, but since things had come to this point, and it was Shiraishi who had spoken, Matsumoto agreed, "I understand... I will apply to establish an investigation headquarters in Beika Police Station based on the evidence of the corpse."

This is the effect of the friendship between Matsumoto and Shiraishi...

Even without this relationship, if enough compelling evidence were presented to prove it was a "serial murder case," Matsumoto would definitely establish an "investigation headquarters," but...

If Shiraishi hadn't specifically called, Matsumoto would have normally discussed the pros and cons and analyzed the case with the section chief, and then established an "Investigation Headquarters"—after all, this was no small matter, and it wouldn't be excessive to even call Councilor Uno to take the lead.

However, since Shiraishi clearly wanted the Beika Police Department to take the lead in the "Investigation Headquarters", Matsumoto only applied "on the grounds of the corpse traces", which was quite like a novice punching a master. By the time everyone realized it, the Beika Police Department's Investigation Headquarters had already been established. Who could say that they would take it down for him?

Given the friendship between Shiraishi and Matsumoto, it's unlikely he'll make any fundamental mistakes, but he can certainly take responsibility for this kind of thing!
……

Meanwhile, Director Hakuba is calling Department Head Odagiri over for a talk...

"Oh, my husband... he actually took leave from school again today and went to the East Capital High Court to investigate a case? Now the people at the court think I'm targeting them!" Bai Ma was also full of complaints.

After all, during the "Hasegawa couple murder case," Hakuba Saguru had gone to the courthouse to investigate...

Going there again this time will inevitably annoy people—last time, people didn't say anything at first because of Director Hakuba's reputation, but later Hasegawa was really found to have committed murder. Although it was the Beika Police Station that found out, he still has to be held accountable!
However, Hakuba's complaints sounded rather harsh to Odagiri, who then put on a stern face...

"Oh, my son, he's dropped out of school at this age to join a band." Odagiri said bluntly—you're the boss, you can't just bring up things that are hard to swallow, can you? Can't you complain to me about your son? Do you expect me to comfort you?
White Horse: ...

"Ahem, what I wanted to talk about was taking leave..." Hakuba realized that his approach had hurt Odagiri, and changed the subject, saying, "But... do you have any leads on the case he's investigating?"

Upon hearing Director Hakuba bring up serious matters, Odagiri paused to think for a moment before saying, "I haven't heard of any cases involving the courts... well, I mean serious, heinous cases."

As the Minister of Criminal Justice, he should certainly know about any serious cases involving the courts.

Director Bai Ma didn't get any results from him, so he didn't say anything more—some things are better left unsaid!

If they really knew what was going on, would Hakuba Saguru have stopped them or not?
Before Odagiri left, Director Hakuba comforted him, saying, "There's nothing wrong with forming a band. I've heard that some granddaughters of big tycoons also form bands."

Odagiri:? ? ?

Where did you learn this way of comforting people? It sounds so familiar...

As soon as Odagiri returned to his office, he received a call from the head of the First Investigation Division—it was to report the establishment of the "Investigation Headquarters".

The head of the First Investigation Division was just about to retire, not suffering from dementia. Even though Matsumoto didn't mention it, he realized that the case seemed rather complicated, so he made a point of emphasizing it when he reported it.

but……

Upon hearing that the "Investigation Headquarters" was established in Beika Town and that the deceased was a prosecutor and a lawyer, Odagiri felt a chill run down his spine.

However, Odagiri reacted quickly, immediately pretending not to notice and interrupting the head of the First Investigation Division: "Understood, just report as usual!"

(End of this chapter)