Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 462: Alarming the Snake
For some reason, Inspector Shiraishi stopped in his tracks, turned his head and stared at him for a long time... then stretched out his left hand and nodded.

Gollum—

Under Itoko's tense gaze, Shiraishi finally left.

"Inspector Itokori, Chief Mikasa... what does this mean?" his subordinate detective asked, puzzled.

“Ahem, that means… that we’re free to do it!” Itokozuke said quite reasonably.

The detectives from the Eighth Division all looked enlightened.

……

Shiraishi then returned to the car.

At that moment, Phoenix Wright was anxiously waiting for something outside the car, while inside, Ayako was comforting Mayoi...

Ayako was shocked to learn from Naruhodo that "lawyer Ayasato was killed not long ago," and she also felt great sympathy for Mayoi, who had just lost her last relative.

After all, Ayako also has a younger sister this age...

At this moment, Ai Haibara undoubtedly had more empathy than Ayako!

Although she's portrayed as a "bad woman from an evil organization," Ai Haibara is definitely not a sentimental or affectionate person, but...

The fact that her sister was killed was enough to evoke Ai's empathy.

Even though Ai isn't good at expressing her emotions, she still "obediently" comforted Aya Mayoi.

"Chief Shiraishi, about Ms. Aya's case..." Naruhodo asked hurriedly when he saw Shiraishi approaching.

“The police are still investigating, and the prosecutor’s office has said they will intervene earlier. Mayoi will be going to the Metropolitan Police Department for questioning tomorrow.” Shiraishi said, then suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, if possible, could you please go with them tonight to search the place? If you find anything, please let me know immediately.”

Although Shiraishi felt that Inspector Itokori didn't have the guts to go against him, ... not to mention that even the Metropolitan Police Department tacitly acknowledged that he was the prosecutor's henchman, his personal abilities were also questionable, and the Eighth Division could be said to be a "low-lying area" of the First Investigation Division!
“Of course I would be happy to, but what about Inspector Itozaki…” Phoenix Wright said, sounding somewhat hesitant.

"Don't worry, I've already spoken to him," Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

Shiraishi immediately opened the car door, looked at Mayoi, and said, "Miss Aya, I know you're very upset right now, but... your sister's case needs you!"

“Kuro…” Ayako couldn’t help but call out to him—it seemed like a complaint that Shiraishi still needed the child to do his work at this time.

However, Shiraishi remained unmoved as he looked at Mayoi...

"Mayoi-neechan...do your best!" Ai encouraged Mayoi at that moment.

"Ai?" Ayako looked at Ai with surprise, noticing that she seemed unusually serious at that moment.

Encouraged by everyone, Mayoi nodded and said, "Yeah! I... I'll try my best. Is there anything you need...?"

Mayoi seemed to only then realize how large the Shiraishi in front of her was—she had been in a daze and hadn't noticed before…

"A... a troll?" Mayoi was shocked to discover that there were actually living trolls in the world.

Shiraishi:……

"Do you know how to recognize a master formation? The kind that tests mental strength?" Bai Shi asked with a kind smile.

"Chief Shiraishi...you can't bully my sister!" Aya's "voice" came from Shiraishi's left hand.

However, only Shiraishi and Mayoi heard this "sound" at the scene...

"Sister, sister?" Mayoi looked at Shiraishi's left hand in surprise, and her already swollen eyes began to well up with tears again.

"Kuro, let her rest for a bit." Ayako was now certain that the child needed rest—seeing Shiraishi as a troll was one thing, but seeing her as her older sister... that was a bit too much, wasn't it?
“No, I don’t need to rest!” Mayoi said confidently.

"Ayako, Ai can stay at your place tonight," Shiraishi said to Ayako.

"Eh? Then Mayoi..." Ayako looked at Mayoi with some concern.

“Tonight is important; it’s not time to rest yet,” Shiraishi said to Mayoi.

Upon hearing this, Mayoi nodded solemnly.

Seeing this, Ayako had no choice but to agree: "Then... Ai, come with me tonight."

……

After Ayako left with Ai, Shiraishi glanced at the office building where the murder had occurred—Ayako's assistant lawyer was watching the detectives, so now…

"Sister! Why are you in Chief Mika's hands?" Mayoi asked Shiraishi's left hand.

"Can you transmit your voice..." Shiraishi reminded him helplessly.

If someone overhears this, they might misunderstand.

[Inspector Shiraishi's arm has the effect of eliminating supernatural abilities, thus shielding it from the side effects of the corrupting yang energy of the dead.] Aya was also pleasantly surprised when she first discovered this.

As for whether the "soul" will be eliminated as well?
of course not!

What is being eliminated is supernatural power...

The soul itself exists; it is only by making the soul manifest and appearing that we perceive it, which is a supernatural force.

Mayoi exclaimed in surprise, "The troll's magic resistance is this high? It's even more exaggerated than what's described in the books..."

Shiraishi:……

【Mayoi, Officer Shiraishi is just a particularly powerful evolved being, not a giant monster!】Ayari reminded her.

"I'm sorry... it's because I'm not skilled enough," Mayoi said to Shiraishi, embarrassed.

“Alright, now’s not the time to talk about this… Attorney Ayasato.” Shiraishi said, glancing at his left hand as well.

To Shiraishi and Mayoi, Ayari's current image appears as a shrunken, semi-transparent figure floating on Shiraishi's outstretched palm.

Upon hearing this, Chihiro Ayasato got down to business: "Mayoi, about the phone call I made to you earlier... you have a habit of recording calls, right?"

"Hmm! Didn't you remind me, sis...? Of course I did." Mayoi said, taking out her phone.

Shiraishi discovered that Mayoi's phone was a rather retro flip phone.

Seemingly noticing Shiraishi's gaze, Mayoi corrected him matter-of-factly, "This is the latest model!"

Shiraishi:……

Eastern island nations always have some quirky retro enthusiasts, so there are indeed a few domestic brands still producing flip phones...

"Sister, is what you're asking me to keep safe today still important evidence?"

"That's right, it's a clock..."

"clock?"

"However, I have now removed the internal mechanism and installed an important hard drive inside. Take it back to Kurin no Sato."

Mayoi then played a recording of her phone call with her sister.

“This is a recording of my sister’s conversation with me when she called me at 7:30 not long ago,” Mayoi said.

"Have you told anyone else about this?" Shiraishi frowned. He had just seen this piece of evidence, which was also the "murder weapon," but…

Inspector Itozaki also said that there was nothing inside!

In other words, the murderer took it away but deliberately left the murder weapon at the scene.

It is clear that the murderer knew there was a hard drive inside the clock ornament, and... it is also very likely that the murderer knew that Maya would be coming to the scene to find her sister, which is why the murder weapon was left behind to facilitate framing—if the "murderer" is arrested at the scene but the murder weapon cannot be found, it will be detrimental to the conviction.

"of course not!"

【No. 】

Both sisters shook their heads.

Shiraishi nodded slowly. He had guessed that this would be the case. After all, when Ayasato Chihiro met him before, she did not easily reveal anything. How could she tell others?

If that's the case...

"Then let me keep your phone for now. I'll find a place to check it for you and see if it's being tapped. Also..." Shiraishi said, glancing at the office building.

That's right, Shiraishi guessed that the two sisters were probably being wiretapped.

This is also the simplest way for the murderer to find out where the evidence is hidden...

However, Shiraishi is still unsure whether it's Mayoi's side or Chihiro's side that's being monitored.

"I must be the one being monitored. Mayoi rarely leaves Kuroi, so the culprit couldn't have gone to Kuroi specifically to tamper with Mayoi's phone," Aya said at that moment.

Bai Shi also learned at this time that "Cangyuan Village" was the place where her lineage of "spiritual mediums" had lived for generations.

Not only is it remote, but very few outsiders enter; those without an invitation simply cannot get in…

Upon hearing Chihiro Ayasato's assessment, Shiraishi nodded in agreement. However, just to be on the safe side, he decided to keep Mayoi's phone safe for now and have Yuto check it later.

As for Chihiro Ayari...

"This phone call... was made from the office at the crime scene, right?" Shiraishi confirmed.

"That's right." Ayari nodded.

"Then let's go find it quickly!" Mayoi immediately suggested.

“No, if the murderer really was eavesdropping, he wouldn’t have left the eavesdropping equipment behind. After all, a murder scene will definitely be thoroughly searched,” Shiraishi said, shaking his head.

The "murderer" did not leave a single fingerprint, shoe print, or other biological evidence at the scene, which shows that he was very cautious. How could he have been so careless as to leave a listening device at the scene?

“However…” Shiraishi said, making a phone call.

"It's me, Shiraishi Kuro... Room 703 at your hotel is occupied by someone named Matsutake Umeyo, right?" Shiraishi called the manager of Beika Hotel directly.

Since it was Shiraishi who asked, the other party naturally checked immediately, and Shiraishi received a positive answer a moment later.

"Only she registered? I know you don't have many surveillance cameras, but we'll still try to verify as much as possible... Never mind, just send all the surveillance footage from tonight to the Beika Police Station," Shiraishi said directly.

Shiraishi seems to have a good solution...

However, Chihiro Ayasato frowned uneasily at this moment.

"Oh, right, get me another room, um... on the seventh floor too, preferably next to 703."

After Shiraishi hung up the phone, Ayari Chihiro seemed to want to remind her of something, but before she could speak, Shiraishi had already dialed another number...

"Yuto, it's me... I'll bring you a phone in a bit. Could you check if there are any signs of being monitored? Also... keep an eye on the Beika Hotel's system. If there are any unusual high-privilege deletions or modifications to records, notify me immediately. Also, they'll be sending video footage to the Beika Police Station later. Could you check that for any problems?"

That's right, Shiraishi didn't completely trust the people at Beika Hotel!

The reason Beika Hotel would give Shiraishi face is simply because Kobe Industries has a significant stake in the company, and the young lady of Kobe Industries is now working at the Beika Bureau.

but……

Shiraishi hadn't forgotten the social identity of the seemingly official member of the Black Organization, Kojima—he was a middleman who colluded with various parties…

Even if Kobe Industries is just one of the shareholders, or even if the hotel belongs to the Kobe family, Kobe Miwako's connections are useless when it comes to core interests. She doesn't even need to be connected to the top management of Kobe Industries. As long as she can get the general manager of Beika Hotel on her side, it will be enough to make Beika Hotel provide false information to Shiraishi.

Even the naive and innocent Kobe Miwako was certain that this wouldn't alarm Shiraishi...

"It's good that you were prepared." Ayari breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

“This isn’t just about being on guard… If this small, medium, and large size is really as you say, then… this should be considered as stirring up trouble!” Shiraishi said confidently.

If Xiaozhongda truly had such a network of connections, they certainly wouldn't choose an uncontrolled hotel as a place for surveillance.

but……

With Yuto around, if Beika Hotel makes any rash moves, Shiraishi will be able to seize the opportunity to catch them in the act!

Just then, Shiraishi's phone vibrated; it was a hotel booking confirmation.

“909…Presidential Suite, huh.” Shiraishi’s lips curled into a smirk.

Not only is it not next to 703, it's not even on the seventh floor!
Although the other party arranged a luxurious room and explained that the rooms on the seventh floor were full, Shiraishi became even more suspicious of the Beika Hotel.

"As expected... the people at the hotel are very likely in contact with him, or being threatened by him." Aya said solemnly.

"Not surprising," Shiraishi said calmly.

"Are we still going to book a hotel room?" Mayoi asked directly.

Shiraishi:……

"This isn't called booking a room, um, it's just to find a place to stay. I'll be busy tonight," Shiraishi corrected.

And look at Mayoi's outfit...

After a moment's thought, Bai Shi said, "Wait a moment, I'll call someone else..."

After saying that, Shiraishi made a phone call.

"Hey, this is Shiraishi. There's a really tough case here... Hmm, it's not from the Beika Police Station, otherwise I wouldn't have called you... Come to Beika Hotel and wait for me, we'll talk about it then."

……

Half an hour later, the staff at the front desk of Beika Hotel watched as Director Beika, accompanied by a male and a female cosplayer, checked into a suite. Although their expressions were a little strange, they didn't say anything.

That's right, the person Shiraishi summoned was none other than Hakuba Saguru, dressed in a modern British detective style!

It's not that I really admire his reasoning skills...

The reason for calling him here is twofold. First, he is, after all, the son of Director Hakuba, and can exert a deterrent effect on everyone in the police system. Second, if he and Mayoi check in together, people will only think that Shiraishi is going to attend a comic convention tomorrow. But if he only checks in with Mayoi, it will be seen as Chief Beika having an affair with an underage female cosplayer!

"[Director Hakuba's son? Are you sure Director Hakuba isn't connected to Koichi? Even if they're not directly connected, Koichi knows a lot of important people's secrets!]" Aya reminded him.

[This is one of the reasons I sought him out... If Director Bai Ma is threatened, Xiao Zhongda might have incriminating evidence against him, but I have incriminating evidence against his son!]

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(End of this chapter)