Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 425 The Gunpowder Depot is Stolen

After the matter came to a close, setting aside the sighs of the Yuzo and Tatsuji brothers, Conan, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, leaned over and whispered to Shiraishi, "Hey, wasn't your method of solving this case a bit too hasty and risky? What if you hadn't gotten any information out of him, or what if he wasn't the culprit?"

Conan still believes that Shiraishi was just giving him a "trial run".

However, Shiraishi glanced at him and said, "Quotations? No, I'm just stating what I saw. Even if he doesn't admit it, I will testify in court later."

Conan: ...

"You really noticed... never mind." Conan thought about the previous "competition" and felt a little helpless.

Conan felt a tightness in his chest, not quite a sense of defeat—after all, the deduction hadn't even begun, and the culprit had already been "recognized" by Shiraishi, and...

Come to think of it, Shiraishi witnessed it with him. He noticed it, but he didn't. It seems... he really can only look for his own problems?
"By the way, what happened to your hand? Is it really injured?" Conan looked at Shiraishi suspiciously.

He had seen Shiraishi use this hand to block wild boars before...

Shiraishi ignored him—mind your own business?

……

Although it's understandable that something like this would happen during a vacation, thankfully everyone has gotten used to it...

And ultimately, no one died this time, so it's not a very serious incident.

Therefore, Shiraishi and Ayako were not greatly affected and stayed at the seaside villa for another two days before returning to Tokyo as scheduled on Tuesday morning.

On their way back, Sonoko and Ran also hitched a ride...

On the way, sitting in the back garden, I thought about making plans with Xiaolan to go shopping together on Thursday—I'll probably have to rest tomorrow.

"Thursday... I'm sorry, I have something to do on Thursday," Xiaolan said apologetically.

"Hmm? No, your reaction..." Sonoko didn't think there was anything wrong with being "rejected," but Ran's blushing face was a problem.

"Could it be that you're on a date with a handsome guy?" Sonoko asked deliberately.

"There are no handsome guys here..." Xiaolan said awkwardly.

Conan, noticing this immediately, feigned innocence and asked, "Ran-neechan, are you going to see Auntie Hideki? I want to go too!"

"Ah! I remember now, May 4th... isn't that the mystery fanatic's birthday? Could it be that you, Ran..." Sonoko started to say, but Ran became embarrassed, and Sonoko continued, "...you should treat yourself as a birthday present..."

"What?! Sonoko, you're talking nonsense again!" Ran immediately became angry and embarrassed.

Conan: ...

Conan's expression was quite amusing, changing from red to white in an instant.

The "red" is, of course, because of what Sonoko said about "treating herself as a birthday present," and as for the "white"...

Conan then remembered that Ran had indeed mentioned her birthday when she called him earlier. At the time, he was afraid of being exposed, so he just nodded and agreed. However, he had actually forgotten about the date—after all, given his current state, he had no intention of going on the date at all!

"Shinichi... I want to give myself to you... Ah~" Sonoko deliberately made a coquettish sound from behind.

"Sonoko..." Ayako reminded her younger sister from the driver's seat to be mindful of the consequences.

"Ahem, so Ran, what gift did you prepare?" Sonoko asked, becoming more reserved.

"It's the red T-shirt I bought before. They said on TV that red is our lucky color this month. I think Shinichi will like it, right?" Ran blushed as Sonoko teased her, and said somewhat nervously.

"Of course! Does he dare say he doesn't like it? Your downward strike might not be a disadvantage either!" Sonoko strongly encouraged Ran.

Conan: ...

……

Shiraishi didn't know how Conan was going to handle this, and if you think about it, he might not be able to celebrate his birthday many more times in the future in his current state.

Or should we introduce him to Kid? At least he could fill in if needed...

[Yesterday, a gunpowder depot in Japan was burglarized, with a large quantity of explosives stolen by unidentified individuals. The Metropolitan Police Department's Superintendent General and Security Chief issued an apology for the theft...]

Just then, a news report about the police force was broadcast.

"Ah, listening to the radio like this, there's absolutely no sense of being there," Shiraishi remarked.

The press conference for "Red Bean Paste Private Marseille" was meaningless without any visuals. We couldn't even see a bow!
"The gunpowder depot has been robbed... It feels so dangerous," Ayako said worriedly.

Indeed, if they could steal from the gunpowder depot, why not just steal from the gold vault?
Surely they wouldn't steal gunpowder to sell for money?
Clearly, the criminal was planning something big!
Ayako herself wasn't afraid, after all, Tokyo was so big and had so many people, and she wasn't planning on participating in any large events recently, so the chances of her getting blown up were extremely slim. However, she was worried about Shiraishi...

After all, even though Tokyo is so big and has so many people, Shiraishi is a police officer and he's always there whenever something happens!
“Indeed, we need to be on guard.” Shiroshi said, then paused and added, “I’ll go back and ask about the specifics.”

"The Japanese gunpowder depot isn't in Beika Town, is it?" Conan asked directly—why would they tell you something like this if it's not in your jurisdiction?

"Conan, adults are complicated, and even police officers need to be considerate of human relationships," Shiraishi admonished.

Well, although the Japanese gunpowder depot isn't in Beika Town, Shiraishi has "connections" to it!

The people in the Metropolitan Police Department might not say much to Shiraishi, and even the gossip king Iwata probably wouldn't be able to find out about this, but Shiraishi still has many "connections".

For example, the president of a partner company of the Security Bureau owed Bai Shi a great favor; another example is a high-ranking official in the Public Security Bureau who received gifts from Bai Shi...

When Conan heard Shiraishi talking about human relationships and social customs, he couldn't help but purse his lips.

Seeing this, Shiraishi said, "By the way, Kudo, that little... classmate, is he also cooperating with the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation because of the Japanese gunpowder depot incident?"

Conan opened his mouth, wanting to say something quickly—these kinds of theft cases, which require more "investigation" than "deduction," are not his forte, but... he really needed this excuse!

Just by looking at Shiraishi's expression, you can tell he's waiting for Conan to come and beg him.

Conan, now a "little kid," is naturally unable to gain the trust of the police. However, if Shiraishi says that "Shinichi Kudo is assisting the police in solving the case," then Ran can naturally cover up the truth.

……

Amid Conan's trepidation, the group returned to Tokyo.

Ran and Conan got off the train at 5-chome, while Shiraishi, passing by the police station, although not on duty, still took a stroll inside as a responsible leader, putting some pressure on the officers on duty...

Well, although the leader just returned from a trip and was just stopping by, he can still give pointers on everyone's duty performance.

You can see it from the white stone at the entrance...

[It has been "5" days since the last murder in Beika Town... Please don't let the numbers be reset because of you!] During the few days that Shiraishi was away on vacation, everything in Beika Town was peaceful, with no murders occurring except for one arson case. Because it was an empty house, there were no casualties, and Beika Town's "record of surviving a murder" was not broken.

This is truly a cause for celebration!

Of course, arson was no small matter, and Shiraishi listened to Munakata's report on the fire.

"Was the Kurokawa family's house on fire yesterday? Right, the Kurokawa family whose owner was killed not long ago, right? I remember they ran a hospital." Shiraishi realized the location of the fire sounded familiar after hearing this.

At the beginning of last month, the head of the Kurokawa family died. That guy ran a private hospital, not only making a lot of money through shady means, but also performing surgery on people while drunk, causing medical accidents, and then refusing to admit it... In the end, the deceased's family brought justice to him.

The day that guy died, Shiraishi was off work and went to the East Imperial Hospital to schedule an amputation appointment with Dr. Daimon. He only found out about it when he overheard some gossip. Since the Mori family was also there, they caught the culprit on the spot.

"Yes, it was after that murder case that Kurokawa Hospital was sued by the families of many victims of medical malpractice. It has now gone bankrupt, and the Kurokawa family is insolvent."

"Because the manor-style mansion built with that ill-gotten money has now been pledged, and the Kurokawa family has been evicted, the arson did not cause any casualties," Zongfang nodded and said.

"Arson?" Shiraishi noticed the key word.

“That’s right. Kanzaki found obvious signs of ignition at the scene, which basically confirms that it was arson. The current investigation is focusing on the families of the victims in the medical malpractice at Kurokawa Hospital, as well as the Kurokawa family members who were forced to leave,” Munakata said.

In terms of motives, it's possible that the victim's family was seeking revenge, or that the Kurokawa family was dissatisfied because their house had been mortgaged...

The latter motive is stronger, but the former is not impossible. Although the Kurokawa family has moved out and the house has been mortgaged, people often lose their rationality when they are consumed by hatred.

However, what Shiraishi cares about is...

"Kanzaki? Kanzaki has already conducted fire scene investigations?" Shiraishi was slightly surprised upon hearing this.

After all, there are far fewer fires in Beika Town than murder cases.

Not only are large fires rare, but even small fires occur very infrequently. After all, it's no joke that Beika Town has "very few security incidents."

Therefore, the charge of arson is naturally relatively weak...

"Yes, Detective Kanzaki learns very quickly. Inspector Yumikaze actually came too, and he praised Kanzaki highly, wanting to ask you for his services," Munakata said with a sigh.

The officers at the Mihana Police Station are all growing, especially the detectives, and among the detectives, especially the young detectives... they are growing very fast!
Kanzaki has a great talent for trace evidence analysis, and his development has focused on this aspect.

Because of the major fire, the Kurokawa family's manor-style mansion was basically destroyed, so the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division's arson unit was naturally dispatched. The division chief, Inspector Yumiko, also knew Shiraishi...

However, Shiraishi will not agree to let Kanzaki leave for the time being!

He would have to be promoted at least once before he was allowed to leave—Shiraishi had no intention of hindering his subordinates' progress, precisely because he felt that there were more opportunities for training at the Beika Department.

……

The investigation into the fire will proceed slowly, and Shiraishi hasn't paid much attention to it.

Although a lot of property was damaged, no one was killed after all...

After listening to the report briefly, Shiraishi asked about Kotomi: "How is it? Is Kotomi having fun with the Detective Boys?"

"Hmm, that child seems much more cheerful now. Even though she's in third grade, it feels like those little detectives are taking care of her more," Zongfang remarked.

“Yes, he’s already in third grade, it’s time you loosen up a bit,” Shiraishi reminded him.

Shiraishi had long felt that Munakata was overprotective of his adopted daughter.

Shiraishi could also tell that her parents must have been involved in some kind of trouble to have been murdered!
Shiraishi had previously consulted Iwata about the files...

Five years ago, a detective with the same surname as Kotomi Sakuraba committed suicide along with her husband...

That same year, Munakata resigned from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Shiraishi believes this is no coincidence!

Since Zongfang didn't bring it up with him, Baishi didn't ask either.

Regardless of what dangerous things Sakuraba's parents were involved in back then, at least Shiraishi hasn't found out that Kotomi is under any safety threat...

Shiraishi's suggestion that she interact more with the Detective Boys was also meant to give her an extra layer of protection—if someone were to target her afterward, Conan's sensitivity would surely alert him!

……

After chatting with Munakata for a few minutes, Shiraishi showed no intention of working overtime on the spot and left the police station to go home.

The next day, Wednesday, Shiraishi personally took the shift.

Since the director is here, Munakata can take a break—today is Constitution Day in the eastern island nation, and Golden Week is still ongoing.

Munakata also took Kotomi to the park during the holiday, along with the three little detectives. Although Munakata is a detective, or even...
He was originally an inspector known as "Jing Jianchou," but he was usually very kind to children, and the three little ones were not shy at all.

……

The first thing Shiraishi did on duty today was to use his "connections" to inquire about the theft from the Japanese gunpowder depot...

As expected, the police are also having a headache over this!
Although the security of the Japanese gunpowder depot was not their responsibility, but...

If there is a bomber, then it is their responsibility to deal with him.

Kazami initially didn't want to tell Shiraishi about the situation, but Shiraishi appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him: "It's not that I want to find out any secrets, but... Inspector Kazami, think about it, how many bombers have come from Beika Town? How many times have I been bombed myself? I think I have the right to know!"

Kazami: ...

Shiraishi's reasons were quite valid, and Kazami seemed to have overheard someone saying something nearby, so she revealed some details to Shiraishi.

The news report didn't go into that much detail, only saying that the "Oriental gunpowder depot" was stolen, a name that is quite misleading.

However, what was actually lost was not the black powder; you need to haul in truckloads of that stuff to create a big explosion...

The good news is that the stolen "gunpowder" wasn't very heavy, but the bad news is... it was a "plastic bomb," also known as "C4," which is light in weight but has a high yield!
And precisely because of its small size, it is easier to launch an attack without being noticed...

"It's a plastic bomb, and this quantity..." Shiraishi felt a headache coming on when he heard this—he had no idea where the criminals were planning to attack.

Just then, Shiraishi heard a beeping sound and immediately said to Kazami, "Excuse me, I have a phone call coming in..."

"Hello, this is Bai..."

"Chief! There has just been an explosion at Beika Park!" Munakata's voice rang out.

(End of this chapter)