Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 486 Kobe's "Quick Blade"

"Attorney Ikukura, the case is not over yet. We may send it to the prosecutor's office at any time. During this period, please ask your client not to leave the Eastern Island Country. Is that alright?" Haiya said to Ikukura.

Although the person was released before the time limit for emergency arrest was reached, strong words still had to be said.

"Of course, Director Mikan will cooperate... Even if I don't think it's necessary, the Mikasa Police Department should realize that they've only believed that woman's side of the story, right? If they cause trouble for my client because of that woman's irresponsible words, or even ignore our alibi, I'll be very distressed."

Ikuma said with a veiled threat, "If Shiraishi were here, he wouldn't dare to act so recklessly, but given the current situation, he'd be no match for a few junior detectives!"
"That kind of woman? Is this how a renowned lawyer accuses others?" Mu Gao asked angrily.

"Hmm? It seems your investigation into that Ms. Asakura isn't thorough enough..." Ikukura said sarcastically.

"Isn't that enough? At least we already know that she was also an employee of Imperial Capital Trading Co., Ltd., and that she was fired because of what happened today," Suzuki said confidently.

"I don't know that, but I don't think a large company like Imperial Capital Commerce would make such a mistake. It's probably just a coincidence. You know the economic situation isn't that good right now... If you have any objections, you can consult Imperial Capital Commerce's legal department." Shengcang said nonchalantly.

Immediately after a pause, Ikura said, "However, I also learned something about the person who reported the case... She had previously interfered in other people's marriages, had an affair, and got pregnant. She only had an abortion after the other person's wife came to her door."

Mu Gao paused upon hearing this—she really didn't know that!
After all, Asakura wouldn't willingly tell her something like that...

“Ms. Asakura’s private life is irrelevant to the current case!” Maki Takashi emphasized.

“That’s right. If you’re a victim, it doesn’t matter, but as a witness… even in court, a witness’s character will be indirectly tested. The testimony of someone who is a habitual liar and has no integrity is obviously different from that of a righteous female police officer like Detective Maki. It should also be different from that of an ordinary citizen who is law-abiding and has a good reputation,” Ikura said frankly.

Makiko could not refute Ikuma's explanation.

Although there is no such law, judges and juries ultimately need to be "people" and have their own judgment on the credibility of witnesses.

and……

“If the Mihana Police Station insists on submitting the case for prosecution, I will be prepared to go to court. However… I don’t think the Prosecutor’s Office would be so arbitrary; it would only futilely affect your station’s success rate in submitting cases.” Ikukura said calmly before leaving with his client.

……

"That guy... he's really infuriating! It's clearly unrelated... his credibility and all that..." Mu Gao said angrily.

Haiya glanced at her, and Suzuki quickly said, "I'm sorry, Inspector Haiya, our previous investigation was not thorough enough..."

However, Ashiya shook his head and said, "Since it's unrelated to the case, it's normal that the victim wouldn't voluntarily reveal such things. But now... this isn't just a question of whether the prosecution or the court will accept it."

Amid the three young officers' confusion, Haiya said matter-of-factly, "I think that Ms. Asakura's determination to prosecute will probably waver greatly... After all, she said that she was getting married soon, and that her fiancé's support gave her the courage, right?"

Ash Valley's meaning was clear—could she accept that her defense attorney would bring up things like "you had an affair with a married man, and you were pregnant and had an abortion" in court in order to challenge her testimony?
If you can't accept that, then there's no need to say anything else!

“However… Miss Asakura’s fiancé supports her.” Suzuki tried to be defiant, but his tone was already very weak.

He clearly understands this principle—"supporting his fiancée in fighting the pervert to the end" and "understanding that his fiancée had been involved in another man's affair and had a miscarriage" are two completely different things!
"So what?" Kobe tilted his head, looking puzzled.

"Huh? You mean... we definitely can't let her fiancé know about this," Suzuki explained awkwardly.

Some even wondered why this wasn't understood... This goes beyond the realm of being "out of touch with reality," doesn't it?

Kobe then said matter-of-factly, "But since the two of you have already decided to get married, shouldn't you be open and honest about this?"

"That's true... but... well... it's a matter of personal privacy..." Suzuki felt a little embarrassed by Kobe's gaze.

"Suzuki-senpai, privacy protection refers to the legal meaning of protecting citizens' privacy from improper disclosure, not that you have to hide it from your loved ones, right?" Kobe asked, blinking her big, bright eyes.

Suzuki: ...

Suzuki fell silent.

“However, in that case, Miss Asakura probably won’t want to file a lawsuit,” Maki Taka said helplessly.

"So what?" Kobe gave Maki a "head tilt kill" again.

"Huh?" Mu Gao didn't react for a moment. What was she wondering—then... what else is needed?
"According to the Prevention of Confusion Ordinance, this kind of public indecent behavior is not a private prosecution offense. As police officers, we should continue to investigate after discovering it, regardless of whether the victim consents or not, right?"

Maki Taka: ...

What kind of living Yama are you?

“Detective Kobe, do you understand… What we mean is that if things continue like this, even if it goes to court, the victim will likely suffer even greater harm…” Maki tried to explain to Kobe.

"So what?" Kobe tilted his head again.

"So what? As police officers... are we supposed to see... and... Kobe Detective, with your qualifications, you still insist on becoming a police officer, is it also for... right?" Maki Takashi became somewhat incoherent when asked the question.

"I became a police officer, of course, for the sake of justice," Kobe said energetically.

“So…” Mu Gao was about to say something.

"As police officers, aren't we partners with the victims, but partners with justice?" Kobe asked matter-of-factly.

Maki Taka: ...

Kobe may not understand "social etiquette," but what she's saying now is something that's hard to refute!
“Inspector Haitani…” Suzuki then looked at his senior, Haitani.

Ash Valley shook his head helplessly and said, "Then... let's continue the investigation for another day tomorrow! That is, if there are no other important cases."

"What if..." Maki Taka was still a little worried about Asakura.

Ashiya then added, "Alright, if you really don't want her to be 'executed' in court, then find some irrefutable evidence. I believe that Ikukura, once he realizes he has no chance of winning, will change his strategy to a settlement or a lighter sentence. As a renowned lawyer, I won't do anything 'reckless'."

If you know you can't win, why do you still try to manipulate the victim's mentality and provoke the police and prosecutors?
Even a normal lawyer wouldn't act so impulsively, let alone a seasoned debater like Ikura.

Hearing Ashvalley say this, everyone naturally accepted it.

and……

There's no need to work overtime tonight! After all, the nature of this case dictates that there's not much physical evidence to look for, and as for witness testimony…

Whether it's someone on the same train or someone involved in trade in the capital, it's impossible for them to go looking for someone at night.

If you bother people with this kind of case, even those who were originally willing to cooperate might get angry and ignore you.

……

The next morning, Mu Gao arrived at the police station early.

After some internal struggle, Mu Gao took the initiative to go to the director's office.

Perhaps because he felt too strongly empathetic towards the victim, Mu Gao didn't sleep well all night.

The reason they came to see the chief was naturally because of this case.

Although Shiraishi didn't immediately understand why Maki had called him to report, he still listened to the whole thing...

“Such a small case shouldn’t bother you, Chief, but… Kobe Detective’s situation is special after all. Chief, what do you think… should we assign her some other cases? Her sense of justice… well, she should handle more important cases,” Maki said somewhat embarrassedly.

Maki was unwilling to do such a "blacklisting" thing, so when she described the case, she deliberately embellished Kobe in many ways. However, Shiraishi still understood what she meant.

The reason is simply that Kobe, who is "unfamiliar with social etiquette," will have a negative impact on this case.

but……

"Detective Maki, do you still remember Section Chief Kunikida?" Shiraishi asked a seemingly unrelated question.

“Huh? Of course I remember…” Mu Gao was also taken aback, completely confused.

"Chief Kunikida once became too empathetic towards the victims, which led to his subjective approach during the investigation and resulted in a wrongful conviction..." Shiraishi's intention was clear at this point, but he still added, "Of course, Chief Kunikida was dealing with a murder case, and he was actually empathizing more with the victims' families."

"Does the director mean... I'm overthinking it?" Mu Gao didn't expect the director to say that.

“Kobe is usually out of touch with reality, but what she said this time is not a problem… Of course, it’s not a problem if you want to protect the victims, but as she said, her ‘not a problem’ is the duty of a police officer, while your ‘not a problem’ is just an additional consideration afterward,” Shiraishi said matter-of-factly.

When Maki Takashi heard Kobe say that yesterday, he thought it was just her spoiled brat attitude and that she didn't think about others. But today, when he heard the chief say the same thing, Maki Takashi immediately took it to heart and began to reflect on himself...

"And actually, you don't need to worry too much about Ikukura... at least not in court," Shiraishi added.

"Huh? You mean..." Mu Gao hadn't reacted yet.

"Can the importance of 'the executive director of Imperial Capital Trading committed groping on the tram' and 'an ordinary woman had an affair and an abortion' be compared? That guy is a lawyer from the Mian Guan family," Shiraishi retorted.

If these two events were made public at the same time, the former would excite the newspapers and media in Dongdu for days, cause a shock to the stock price of Didu Trading by billions or even tens of billions, and bring about a huge change in the power distribution within Didu Trading...

The latter is probably only of concern to Asakura herself and her fiancé!
“Using something like this as a threat is nothing more than a ‘coward’s game,’” Shiraishi said calmly.

The two cases are not even in the same league, and Ikukura was there to "protect Watanuki's" lawyer, not to "assassinate Asakura"...

How could they possibly risk their reputation as a bargaining chip?

Shiraishi could imagine that if Asakura were confessing to himself and had approached Komikado, Komikado would not believe a single word Asakura said and would confidently smash him to pieces!

Of course, this isn't a private prosecution; it's a police investigation, which means...

“But it’s too early for you to think about these things. According to the case records… well, it’s still a long way from being sent to the prosecution. These kinds of cases are not easy to prosecute. With the current progress of the case, even if it is sent to the prosecution, it will only result in the prosecutors calling to mock me.” Shiraishi shook his head and said.

If it weren't for the Miho Department, it wouldn't just be a matter of "mocking"; most prosecutors would probably call and give the head of the criminal investigation division a good scolding.

Of course, if it were the Beika Bureau, it would probably be Karma Gou himself calling Shiraishi to make sarcastic remarks!

"Director, rest assured, we will definitely investigate as soon as possible and will not tarnish the reputation of the Mikasa Bureau or yours!" Maki said immediately, full of fighting spirit.

"Okay, go ahead." Shiraishi gave a final reminder: "By the way, you can make more use of the psychology knowledge you learned before. After all, in this kind of case... psychological warfare is also very important."

"Yes!"

After Mu Gao left, Bai Shi thought for a while, then picked up the case report on the table and looked at it again, feeling that something was off.

……

The Mihana Police Station had a full four detectives investigating a tram groping case for two consecutive days—a seemingly ordinary murder case. This setup was more than enough.

It's only because there haven't been any murders in Beika Town these past few days that they have the manpower to "waste" so much.

Of course, having finally a few days of leisure, the other daily work of the Mikado Department also needs to be pushed forward, such as the "regular inspection of remote and abandoned locations" that Shiraishi had arranged long ago - so as not to "refresh" corpses without knowing it!

As it was nearing the end of the workday, Section Chief Mado gave Shiraishi his routine report on the results of the patrol officers' recent investigations.

The body was not found.

However, "strange things" are also within the scope of investigation!
Shiraishi was just casually browsing as usual; after all, if it was just "strange," it wasn't worth the director personally checking on each one.

but……

"Huh? This Poirot apartment at 7-chome 41 is haunted... Is that for real?" Shiraishi suddenly noticed something "strange".

Haunted...

It's a bit of a joke, but this address looks familiar to Shiraishi!

After all, Shiraishi quickly wrote down all the unsolved cases in his jurisdiction after taking office...

(End of this chapter)