Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 394 Stalker?
"I'm sorry, sir, we made a mistake. We're very sorry for taking up your time." Fuji stopped Furuhashi from opening his suitcase.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gu Qiao was clearly taken aback, her emotions inconsistent with what they had just said.

"Your check-out is complete. Welcome to visit us again," Teng Yi said formally, following the usual check-out etiquette.

Gu Qiao was clearly at a loss for words and even asked, "What's going on? Aren't you suspecting me?"

"No, no, no, how could I possibly doubt you... I'm very sorry for the inconvenience caused," Fuji said repeatedly, ignoring Yamagishi beside him.

"Tsk..."

Gu Qiao became even more displeased. He glared at the smiling Teng, then turned and left, with his female companion following after him with her suitcase.

Although the bathrobe cost 20,000 yen, since Fuji had already said so in his capacity as a hotel receptionist, Yamagishi couldn't say anything more in front of the guests.

However, after Furuhashi left, Yamagishi finally had a chance and immediately whispered to Fuji, "Officer Fuji, what are you doing?"

Because of her personality, Yamagishi had been quite helpless with Fuji before—Yamagishi could also see that Fuji's "approachability" was completely a pretense, and that one shouldn't expect her to have any service spirit.

What troubled Yamagishi even more was that it was one thing for his smile to be a little stiff, but Fuji would often scrutinize every guest with a sharp gaze...

Fuji then looked around at the others and gestured to Yamagishi to follow—the other people at the front desk didn't know about the undercover police officer, and Fuji didn't want to say too much in front of them.

“That guy did it on purpose,” Fuji said matter-of-factly after leaving the front desk and entering the staff area.

"Huh? Of course it was intentional. With such a big bathrobe, how could it really be an accident?" Yamagishi was taken aback when he heard this, not understanding what she meant.

“No, what I mean is… he was deliberately suspected,” Fuji explained further.

"Intentionally?" Yamagishi was taken aback, not understanding what Fuji meant.

Meanwhile, Fuji had already arrived at the elevator in the work area...

“The bathrobe is definitely not in his suitcase. What he wanted from the beginning was not just a bathrobe worth a mere 20,000 yuan, but a much larger compensation,” Teng said with certainty.

"What? But the medic..." Yamagishi thought carefully. Furuhashi's behavior just now was indeed very strange. Fuji's explanation made sense, but the bathrobe in the room was indeed gone.

"Yes, one is indeed missing, but I just listened to the sanitation worker on the phone and confirmed with her... there's still an unworn bathrobe left in the room," Fuji said matter-of-factly.

Yamagishi:……

Yamagishi clearly didn't understand—couldn't he have just stolen one item? Perhaps the customer's original intention wasn't to "steal," but rather to "take" something to gain a small advantage?
“It might not be surprising that you didn’t take both, but… even if you only wanted to take one, shouldn’t you have taken the clean one?” Fuji asked matter-of-factly.

Hearing Fuji say this, Yamagishi also seemed to realize something. So the question is, what about the missing bathrobe...?

Ding--

The elevator then arrived at the seventh floor, the floor where Furuhashi had previously stayed. Fuji led Yamagishi directly to the room where Furuhashi had just checked out.

After entering, Teng looked around and then pointed to the mattress, saying, "Give me a hand."

"Huh? Oh..." Yamagishi was taken aback when he heard this, but he still did as he was told.

After the two lifted the mattress, they found a bathrobe tucked underneath...

"This is..." Yamagishi then realized that Fuji's reasoning was indeed correct.

“See? Actually, he deliberately took the bathrobe last time to alert you. As long as you question him about taking the bathrobe this time, he will take the opportunity to cause trouble. His behavior just now also fits this intention,” Fuji said matter-of-factly.

What initially alerted Fuji was Furuhashi's attitude...

Upon hearing this, Yamagishi felt a chill run down his spine. If Yamagishi had used this opportunity to cause trouble, the situation would have been far more troublesome than simply losing a bathrobe, and it wouldn't have been resolved with just 20,000 East Island yen.

"I see... It's good that Officer Fujii was here." Yamagishi breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon hearing this, Fujii took a step closer with a hint of provocation, and then said arrogantly, "As for being a receptionist, Ms. Yamagishi is more skilled, but when it comes to dealing with criminals, I am more skilled... So, I didn't mean to stare at everyone."

This was also Fuji's way of responding to Yamagishi's previous comments that his gaze was too aggressive.

As for that ancient bridge...

Teng had arrested and interrogated countless thieves and extortionists, and seeing his reaction, he already had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

……

After the extortion tactics were thwarted, the Suzuki Hotel appeared to be operating normally.

The new employees who "came to learn from other hotels" didn't cause any trouble. At most, the security department was a little puzzled—why were four of the people who came to learn security guards? And what was this so-called "learning" really about? They were just taking turns watching in the monitoring room?

Is there anything to learn from this?
However, since the head of the security department made this arrangement, no one else had any objections.

"Ah, Officer Shiraishi is out," Muto said gossipy to his colleague next to him.

He saw the chief, Ms. Ayako, and her sister come out together through the corridor's surveillance cameras.

"There's only enough time for a shower, right?" the patrol officer whispered.

"Otherwise what?" Muto retorted.

Just then, the two saw Chief Shiraishi suddenly look up at the surveillance camera.

Although he didn't say a word, it was as if he really saw them, staring straight at them as if to say, "Don't slack off."

This is illogical, but it's very much like Shiraishi...

The two immediately sat up straight, turning their gaze away from the chief's screen. Muto even stood up and said, "I'll go take a look around and see if there are any suspicious people..."

Muto surveyed the area and finally arrived at the hotel's rooftop, where he breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing, sneaking around like that?" Fuji was just coming up with a bento box, ready to enjoy it on the open-air rooftop, when he saw Muto and couldn't help but ask.

Because of the previous Metropolitan Police Department competition, the two were relatively familiar colleagues.

Muto was startled by this, but after realizing it was Fuji, he whispered, "Fuji, I suspect the chief... is spying on me through the security cameras!"

rattan:? ? ?

"Weren't you watching the surveillance footage?" Fujito asked, puzzled. "Maybe... it's a martial artist's instinct!" Fujito replied reasonably.

rattan:……

Teng suspected that his muscles had become so muscular that they were beyond saving.

At that moment, Yamagishi also came up with a bento box—the rooftop seemed to be a more suitable place for female employees to enjoy their bento boxes than the break room.

"Officer Muto, did the surveillance footage reveal anything?" Yamagishi asked, relieved to see that no one else was around.

Muto thought for a moment, then realized there was no need to say that he had discovered the chief's extraordinary martial arts instincts, so he shook his head and said, "I didn't find anything... but the Suzuki Hotel has a lot of surveillance cameras."

“Of course, after the shooting at the Suzuki Hotel, the number of surveillance cameras tripled at Chief Shiraishi’s suggestion,” Yamagishi explained.

Before the shooting, there weren't so many...

While it's not quite a hotel with "no blind spots in public areas," it already has a very high density of surveillance cameras. If there were more, the balance between surveillance and "causing guest dissatisfaction" would be disrupted.

“I see… But why did the murderer choose to do it here? Since it’s a case that spans the entire Tokyo area, why would they dare to come to Beika Town… and at the well-secured Suzuki Hotel?” Muto said, troubled.

Muto, who originally came from the Mobile Unit, is clearly not good at things that require brains.

“There are two possibilities: one is that the victim will definitely come here during this time, and the other is… the murderer is here himself,” Fuji said as he opened the bento box.

Fuji's words sounded a bit strange at first, but Yamagishi frowned deeply after realizing what he meant...

"The culprit is right here..." Muto thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something and looked at Yamagishi warily, saying, "Could it be..."

Fuji, Yamagishi:......

"It doesn't have to be this close to 'here'!" Teng rolled his eyes.

Would I say that if I doubted her?
"Uh..." Muto couldn't help but feel embarrassed upon hearing this.

"So you're suspecting the hotel staff?" Yamagishi asked, displeased.

“It is our duty to be skeptical,” Teng said calmly.

"But you're a patrol officer!" Yamagishi retorted with a resounding question.

rattan:……

“The same goes for patrol officers!” Teng said, forcing himself to speak.

"Huh?" Muto made a perfectly timed sound of incomprehension—isn't 80% of a patrol officer's job to help the public?
rattan:! ! !

"Muto, if you have nothing better to do, go and check the surveillance footage!" A tic-tac-toe sign popped up above Muto's head.

As luck would have it, Muto's walkie-talkie did indeed ring at that moment. It was another patrolman on the other end: "Muto, that narcissist over there in the lobby is acting strangely. Go and keep an eye on him!"

At the same time, Yamagishi's walkie-talkie rang, and another receptionist, Kuga, spoke from the other end: "Ms. Yamagishi, please come and handle this... There's a female customer with some special requests..."

Yamagishi is doing well, but when Fujiichi heard that "Narcissism" was in trouble, he even put down the bento he was holding!

"What's this guy up to..." Teng muttered.

The three of them then hurried downstairs...

Although criminal police usually direct patrol officers, narcissism is different—when this guy "gets into trouble," even the patrol officers can't stand it.

Upon arriving at the front desk on the first floor, a beautiful woman with long legs and straight black hair was seen anxiously saying to the receptionist, "Do you know how dangerous this is? You must refuse him check-in, understand?"

The receptionist looked embarrassed, while the doorman struck a pose and said to her, "Don't worry, Ms. Anno, I'll take care of your safety... Hey, Fuji... what are you doing?" She was pulled away by Fuji halfway through her sentence.

“This… Sister Yamagishi.” The receptionist saw Yamagishi and grasped at a straw.

"Madam, please tell me what you need." Yamagishi quickly took over the guest who seemed to have a special situation.

Ms. Anno then held up a photo. Seeing that Yamagishi seemed to be able to make a decision, she quickly showed it to her and said, "This is the man! This man is following me... I feel very dangerous. Please, if he comes to the hotel later, please don't let him check in!"

Seeing that she was very flustered, Yamagishi reassured her, "Don't worry, Ms. Anno, our hotel will do everything we can to protect your privacy. As for the stalker... we will tell him that there are no rooms available, and please do not reveal your location."

Upon hearing this, Anno seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief, while Fuji interjected, "Miss Anno, in this situation, you can actually seek help from the police, whether it's asking the police station for help or reporting the case directly to the police station!"

"Of course I reported it to the police, but it was no use!" Anno asked irritably.

"Don't worry, as far as I know, the Mika Police Department's Life Safety Division takes these reports very seriously. They basically issue a restraining order as soon as a report is filed. Last month... cough cough, I heard there was a stalker who violated the restraining order and was arrested directly by the Mika Police Department." Fuji didn't dare to be too clear at this point.

She arrested the person herself!
A young woman sought help from the Beika Police Station, and the Life Safety Division issued a "prohibition order." However, the man continued to stalk her. After receiving the report, Fujii immediately took action and arrested him while he was stalking her. It's not that you can't arrest someone for this kind of thing, it's just a matter of whether the police station is willing to take responsibility.

After all, there is a lot of room for wrangling. Although there is an Anti-Stalking and Harassment Act as a basis, in actual enforcement, because it is difficult to judge "stalking and harassment", many people will complain after being arrested for such things. As a result, most police stations prefer to "avoid trouble".

However, the Mihana Police Department was of course willing to take responsibility, and it was Shiraishi who personally gave the order. He also specifically emphasized that after the arrest, a "search warrant" should be applied for and the arrest should be carried out in a grand manner.

After all, in Beika Town, if we leave the "stalking" unattended today, something big might happen tomorrow.

As it turned out, Shiraishi's concerns were justified...

Take the man arrested by Fujiwara, for example. Later, they found what appeared to be tools used in a kidnapping in his home. The criminal investigation department is still arguing about it. Arresting him under the Anti-Stalking and Harassment Act is definitely not a problem. The argument is whether to send him to the prosecutor's office on charges of "interrupted kidnapping"!

That's not all. Later, when Teng went to comfort the victimized women, he accidentally discovered a large amount of cassava in one of their kitchens.

Fuji was also furious at the time—Shiraishi had tried to crack down on cyanide trading in Beika Town, but later found it was useless. For some reason, a lot of cassava grew in Beika Forest... You can extract cyanide by chopping and boiling this stuff!
Although the purity is not high, it is enough to poison one or two people to death, and it is impossible to prevent.

The climate and environment aren't really suitable for cassava growth, but it's like it's been tied to rice cake people...

Afterwards, Teng quickly explained the law to the woman who reported the incident, and threw away all the cassava...

However, this case at least shows that the Mikado Police Department's vigorous efforts to prevent stalking and harassment are absolutely correct. Otherwise, it's hard to say what the people of Mikado might do, whether they are the stalkers or the stalked.

When Anno heard Fuji's suggestion, he said impatiently, "Alright, I know! Just make sure I'm safe at the hotel!"

(End of this chapter)