Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 432 The Enemy's Plea for Help
The second 2016, Tuesday, May 9th.

Yesterday, Shiraishi successfully educated Conan and arranged to go out with him over the weekend.

However, Shiraishi hasn't had much free time these past few days.

Although the bombing incident has come to an end, it has only ended in terms of public opinion; the internal struggle to assign blame continues...

Of course, no matter how you divide it, it won't go to Shiraishi. But there is one thing that is slightly related to Shiraishi—the head of the First Investigation Division has been dismissed!
Originally, due to the "time reset", he was still "more than a year" away from retirement.

but……

Since he's nearing retirement anyway, someone needs to take over the reins, and he's naturally the best candidate!
At this point, taking the blame would mainly be to assume leadership responsibility for the "theft of the Japanese gunpowder depot" and the "ineffective investigation of explosives." After that, he would temporarily lay low, and in a few months, "the higher-ups" would arrange a place for him to go.

This raises a problem...

A new head of the First Investigation Division has been chosen!
Section chief, by all accounts, is just the threshold for mid-level police officers, but...

As the "Flower-Shaped Division" and the "Legendary Criminal Investigation Department," the meaning represented by the "First Investigation Division" is, of course, completely different.

In Tokyo, and even across almost the entire eastern island nation, the most elite and awesome department in the eyes of countless criminal police officers is the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division—with a few exceptions, perhaps the argumentative members of the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters' First Investigation Division, who are always stubborn and always claim that the Osaka Prefectural Police's First Investigation Division is the most awesome...

This is also the only position among the "Metropolitan Superintendent" ranks that requires "must be held by a front-line criminal investigator," making it the "number one among officers."

Of course, Shiraishi also knew that he could not be transferred to be the head of the First Investigation Division.

Although this lateral transfer is just right in terms of police rank, and seems to be more than enough in terms of merit, it is obviously impossible to let Shiraishi become "Chief Hanagata"!
He managed to cause so much trouble in the Little Millet Flower Bureau, so how far could he go to be put in charge of all the serious criminal cases in Dongdu?
Putting aside the pressure from higher up, even Director Bai Ma himself was afraid that Bai Shi might really cause a major incident...

Even though this position is destined to be unrelated to Shiraishi himself, he still pays close attention to it because of the candidates.

Currently, the two most popular candidates are Ninomiya, the Director, and Matsumoto, the Manager.

Because of the special nature of the position of the head of the First Investigation Division, unlike other "superintendent" positions where succession is not possible and most are filled by parachuted-in personnel, the head of the First Investigation Division is generally selected from within the First Investigation Division.

The new head of the First Investigation Division will basically be selected from among the directors and administrators!
The "Director" is actually a deputy selected from the "Administrators". The positions are theoretically the same, but the "Director" has more power, equivalent to the "Deputy Section Chief".

The second house has a good chance, as he is a council member, relatively young, and has connections—he is considered a close associate of the vice director, Moroboshi.

However, recently, Ninomiya's performance has been really poor. He has made mistakes in supervising important cases on several occasions, and it was only because "Chief Beika" had to come to his rescue and save the day that problems were averted...

In contrast, Matsumoto was very steady when handling cases, and in several major cases, he only needed a little assistance from "Chief Beika" to successfully close the case.

Ninomiya: ...

Ninomiya was also helpless about this.

Even in the same situation, after the Beika Police Department helped him solve the case, that bastard Shiraishi would definitely go around the headquarters "slandering" him, saying how incompetent he was. On the contrary, when Matsumoto Kiyonaga established the "Investigation Headquarters" in the Beika Police Department, Shiraishi Kuro would not only fully cooperate, but would also give up the credit afterward!
What frustrated Ninomiya even more was...

He was standing downstairs at the Mihua Police Station, looking up at the location of the director's office with a complicated expression.

……

At that moment, Shiraishi was in his office when he received an internal call from Mado...

"What? Director Ninomiya? Is he planning to establish an investigation headquarters at the Beika Police Station?" Shiraishi was also puzzled after hearing Mado's report.

Ninomiya...

Are you here to be killed?
At that time, he dared to establish an investigation headquarters in the Beika Police Station, and Shiraishi dared to "solve the case on his own." Afterwards, he was left with no credit and instead made a fool of himself!
but……

Shiraishi didn't think Ninomiya would be that stupid, and more importantly, he hadn't heard of any major cases in Beika Town recently.
“No, Inspector Ninomiya said he had private business to discuss with me…” Mado was also puzzled at this point.

As a competent head of the general affairs section, Mado was certainly aware of his superiors' network of connections—Inspector Ninomiya of the First Investigation Division was his chief's rival!
"A private visit...and at this time? Alright, let him come up." Although Shiraishi was puzzled, he did not turn the man away.

After all, Shiraishi hadn't found any crime that could imprison him. They could have a little rivalry now and then, but they still had to maintain appearances.

Soon, Ninomiya appeared outside Shiraishi's office, and... he even knew to knock?

"Please come in," Shiraishi said, while carefully looking at the files on the table.

Shiraishi had no idea what Ninomiya was up to—calling him "for personal matters" during work hours?

Isn't this just handing them ammunition?

Although he was completely baffled, Shiraishi still had to put on an act...

"Sorry, there's just too much going on at the police station..." Shiraishi said in a tone that suggested, "People at your main branch have so much free time, they even have time to visit people around."

Ninomiya, with a stern face, did not respond to Shiraishi's sarcasm, but said to Shiraishi, who was buried in his papers, "Shiraishi... Superintendent, I've come here to ask you for a favor!"

Shiraishi was taken aback again upon hearing this, and even looked up at him, barely able to hide her surprise...

"You...it's not about a job transfer, is it? I can't do anything about that..." Shiraishi looked at him with great confusion.

Clearly, Shiraishi thought this guy was "begging for mercy"—if Shiraishi had kept quiet, Ninomiya's chances of being promoted would have been much greater!

but……

How could Shiraishi really stop complaining just because you begged him?

Even if Toshio Moroboshi came in person, it wouldn't make a difference...

Upon hearing Shiraishi's words, Ninomiya realized he had misunderstood something, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth—"It is indeed because of you that my promotion has become so difficult, but..."

“I didn’t come here to talk about this…” Ninomiya said, his lips twitching slightly.

"So, what's going on with Inspector Ninomiya?" Shiraishi, forgetting his pretense of diligence, looked at Ninomiya with suspicion. "The Metropolitan Police Department case that broke this morning... have you heard about it?" Ninomiya suddenly asked.

"Scandal? Which one?" Shiraishi felt that there were far too many scandals lately.

"It seems you didn't know," Ninomiya said, glancing at the television in the office and turning it on. "Excuse me..."

Ninomiya was then transferred directly to Toto Television, where, sure enough, the Metropolitan Police Department was being featured in a current affairs program.

Although he only started reading it halfway through, and it was disjointed, Shiraishi understood it after a few glances.

Last night at the Beika Hotel, a man and a woman were found dead in their room, and the cause of death points to suicide…

It wouldn't be surprising if lovers committed suicide together, but the identities of this man and woman were anything but ordinary!
The man turned out to be an inspector from the Metropolitan Police Department, and the woman was his extramarital lover.

A married police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department not only had an affair, but also committed suicide with his lover...

Although it was just a "police inspector supplement", it was still an important position like an inspector - if even the person in charge of "inspection" was like this, then what must the person being inspected be like?

This is indeed a major scandal!
Even though the show was incomplete, Shiraishi still noticed that the experts and guests were questioning the "double suicide" issue. Based on the information released so far, it seems that the man committed suicide, but the woman's case is questionable.

In other words, this may not be a suicide pact in the conventional sense, but rather a forced suicide pact, or "forced suicide".

In other words, the man killed the woman first, and then committed suicide...

Although the case was only recently discovered and the Metropolitan Police Department has not yet closed it, it is easy to imagine that the Metropolitan Police Department would not want to close the case as "forced suicide".

Although it's not a good thing for a male police officer to have an extramarital affair and even commit suicide with his lover, it's still much better than "forced suicide"!

They're all rumors, but they all come in different degrees of severity...

While such programs are merely speculation, given that the police haven't released much information, Shiraishi also admits that it's not impossible—after all, the police do have a motive to cover up the truth.

Moreover, in cases like this, where the parties involved are already dead, whether it was a suicide pact or a forced suicide, it's not that difficult to cover it up!
"It is indeed a freshly made scandal... So what?" After sorting out the case, Shiraishi looked at Ninomiya with even more confusion—What does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with you?

It's not a case in Beika Town, and... the inspectors are all from the Personnel Section of the Police Department, under the Chief Inspector. What does it have to do with Ninomiya?
"Could it be... that they've asked you to investigate this case?" Shiraishi asked, puzzled.

If it's just something that's giving me a headache, there's no reason for Ninomiya to come looking for me!
Given their relationship, it's impossible for Ninomiya to ask Shiraishi for advice from anyone else.

“No, I wanted to volunteer, but I was rejected… The higher-ups said that there was no need to establish an investigation headquarters, and that we should investigate the cause of the ‘double suicide’ as soon as possible,” Ninomiya said helplessly.

The cause of their double suicide should be investigated as soon as possible...

In other words, the decision has been made!

The conclusion is "suicide pact," and the detective in charge of the case only needs to provide proof of the process.

"As expected... So what?" Shiraishi wasn't surprised by the order, but he still didn't understand why Ninomiya had come.

“I hope… Inspector Shiraishi is able to investigate this case,” Ninomiya said solemnly.

Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi looked at him with a "Do you think I'm an idiot?" look—I know you're definitely not thinking things through, but this is too much of a "straight hook and salty bait" situation, isn't it?
Why would someone use any case that "the higher-ups" want to cover up to send me into battle?
If it happened in Beika Town, that would be one thing, but this happened in Beika Town, so what does it have to do with Shiraishi?
Ninomiya understood Shiraishi's look. Although his expression was grim, he still bowed deeply and said, "Inspector Minato couldn't have committed suicide out of love... much less a forced suicide! There must be a hidden reason behind this case! It's just... right now, because of the fear of scandal, the higher-ups are only thinking about closing the case as quickly as possible..."

“Inspector Minato…so you’re Inspector Tetsuro Minato?” Shiraishi frowned upon hearing the surname.

The program previously only referred to him as a "young and promising inspector," and his image was blurred, so Shiraishi obviously didn't recognize him.

However, when Ninomiya mentioned his surname—"Minato" is not a common surname, and there aren't many young inspectors in the Metropolitan Police Department—Shiraishi naturally realized what was going on.

Following the case at the Tsukishima Police Station, when local police stations under the Metropolitan Police Department were cracking down on financial issues, the inspector who came to audit the Beika Police Station was Tetsuro Minato—a police inspector at the level of assistant inspector.

At the time, Minato Tetsuro also discovered some issues with Deputy Director Akikawa's false expense claims. However, due to the special circumstances of the Beika Agency at the time, Minato Tetsuro did not report it but instead came to discuss it with Shiraishi. Later, it was indeed proven that the embezzlement was just a misunderstanding. Akikawa wanted his informant, whom he had been supporting, to return to a normal life, so he concealed his existence in various reports. Naturally, the expenses spent on him could not be reimbursed.

Therefore, Shiraishi also had some impression of Tetsuro Minato, who was a fair-skinned young man, completely different from ordinary inspectors and detectives.

“That’s right, Inspector Shiraishi, you also know Inspector Minato?” Ninomiya confirmed.

"We don't really know each other, he just came to audit... So you think there might be other issues with Inspector Kojiro's death?" Shiraishi frowned at this point.

Ninomiya's "accusations" can be described as quite serious!
After all, Tetsuro Minato is an inspector...

The fact that an inspector was murdered and staged as a suicide suggests that someone killed him to cover it up!

Given the unique nature of an inspector's job, if he was murdered to cover it up, the killer is very likely also a member of the police force, and if that's the case...

Now, the "higher-ups" are demanding a swift resolution to the case, which not only plays right into the killer's hands, but, if we think about it in a darker light, could the killer be one of the decision-makers "above"? Is the killer using the excuse of minimizing the impact to demand that the police close the case immediately?

However, this means that Shiraishi's initial question remains unanswered...

"Why is Inspector Ninomiya so concerned about this case? Did he sense something? And... are you close to Inspector Minato? Why are you so sure he didn't commit suicide?" Shiraishi continued to ask.

Indeed, Ninomiya's plea for help was inexplicable, and it seemed like he was deliberately trying to drag Shiraishi into it. The only suspicious point was... wasn't this plan too obvious?

After hesitating for a long time, clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly, Ninomiya finally said, "Because... Minato is my lover! Is that alright?" He sounded a little annoyed as he said this.

Shiraishi:……

Okay, very good...

Now Ninomiya was convinced that his suicide pact was not the reason, and combined with the fact that Ninomiya had come to Shiraishi for help regarding his situation, everything became clear!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Dongdong: I'm bowing again, begging for monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)