Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 494 Intersection
When Munakata heard Amagi's explanation, he accepted it. Indeed, Takigawa Mirai disappeared on Thursday, and the location where her schoolbag was discarded coincided with her route home from school, which was completely different from the route she took to and from the music store. Under these circumstances, it was indeed unlikely that the police would specifically investigate the music store!

"So... Tagikawa Mirai and Saijo Masahiro met while learning the piano?" Kuroki seemed to have thought of something upon hearing this.

Unexpectedly, Amagi shook his head and said, "No, they may not know each other... Saijo's piano lessons are on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and they are all one-on-one lessons. Their piano teacher doesn't know whether they know each other in private. According to Matsuo-sensei, they have never met in their own classes."

"Then it doesn't matter, does it?" Yamada muttered to himself.

“That’s right. Even now, I haven’t found any connection between the music store or Saijo’s side and the disappearance case. It’s just that there happened to be a composite photo of Saijo’s future at the scene of her death that I noticed the piano lesson.” Amagi also admitted that there was not much of an “intersection” between them.

“No! It’s very possible… there really is a connection!” Kuroki suddenly said.

Seeing everyone looking over, Kuroki explained, "In the afternoon, we went to see the deceased's mother again and asked her about Saijo. We then learned that... actually, thirteen years ago, Saijo was a very normal child, even an excellent student, who also studied piano and other subjects."

"Thirteen years ago, he suddenly became very strange. He became emotionally unstable, unwilling to communicate with anyone, and even attempted suicide multiple times..."

“At the time, Saijo lived with his grandparents. His grandparents did not notice any signs. Saijo’s parents also thought that there was a problem with the school. However, no matter how they investigated, they did not find any bullying or similar issues.”

"As a result, Saijo was unable to continue her studies, and her psychological problems continued to worsen, leading to her current predicament..."

"Looking back now, the time when Saijo's emotions started to become unstable coincided with the time of Takigawa Mirai's disappearance!"

When three coincidences happen in a row, they can no longer be called coincidences, but must have some unknown connection.

"Could it be... that Saijo is actually the one who kidnapped Mirai? In fact... Mirai has been imprisoned by him for the past thirteen years, and only recently escaped and killed Saijo?" Yamada speculated wildly.

“Indeed, that makes sense… why, after she reappeared in the future, did her parents not only not report it to the police, but even created a cousin or something.” Kuroki chimed in with an air of seriousness.

It's no wonder they had such a wild idea, after all, they'd encountered similar cases before!
but……

Before anyone could say anything, their partner refuted their overly speculative and imaginative thinking.

Yuan shook his head and said, "No, no, no, the timing doesn't match up... It's been half a month since the director's neighbor saw 'Yaoxiang'."

“Then it’s possible that she wasn’t killed while she was escaping, but rather that her parents went to avenge her… Emotionally, that’s completely understandable, isn’t it?” Yamada countered.

Indeed, from a human nature perspective, this is entirely true. Although it is "illegal," most parents would probably do the same.

but……

Kanzaki immediately shook his head and said, "How could there be any confinement or anything like that... Haven't we already confirmed that Saijo has always been a 'hikikomori'? Not to mention that his grandmother only recently passed away, and he only started living alone after that..."

"Even if his grandparents were willing to cooperate with such an absurd thing, this is Beika Town, not some remote mountain forest. In that kind of living environment, how could a girl be kept in a house without being discovered?"

"Furthermore, during the on-site inspection, no traces were found that anyone had ever been imprisoned..."

That's right, objectively speaking, this case is completely different from the case in Nagano!
Kanzaki clearly didn't think that a house surrounded by neighbors could imprison someone for thirteen years without being discovered, nor did he think that after thirteen years of imprisonment, he could leave no trace—the scene was messy, maintaining the lifestyle of a "hikikomori" (social recluse), and didn't look like it had been cleaned.

Yuan chimed in, "That's right, and that 'Haruka'... well, she seems rather difficult to deal with. She definitely doesn't seem like someone who's been imprisoned for over a decade since elementary school."

“Hmm? We’ve seen even more difficult situations before…” Yamada said, recalling the cripple from Nagano Prefecture.

“Completely different. Haruka and Kanako’s situations are completely different!” Gen emphasized.

When Gen's "Absolute Empathy" took effect on Kanako, almost causing him to develop multiple personalities, he was naturally able to distinguish between the two. In Gen's perception, "Haruka" was just an ordinary "spoiled girl," and there was no such thing as multiple personalities or psychological disorders.

“Speaking of the crime scene, long hair that didn’t belong to Saijo’s mother or grandmother was found there, right? That means there were probably other women in the house!” Kuroki continued to argue with Kanzaki.

However, Kanzaki shook his head and said, "How could that be? At most, it's someone who comes to visit. If they live or are even imprisoned in a room, they wouldn't only have a few strands of hair left."

"Hair? What's going on? Can you detect biometric information?" Zong Fang asked upon hearing this.

“No, it’s just hair. There are no hair follicles left, so we can’t detect any biological information. We can only tell that it’s a long, permed hair, which is completely different from the hair of Saijo’s mother or grandmother when they were alive,” Kanzaki said helplessly.

To test the DNA of hair, you must test the hair follicles, because hair itself is just keratin and has no genetic information.

"It would be a bit strange to be a guest... wouldn't it?" Amagi then asked, "Can you confirm when it fell off?"

Indeed, considering the deceased was a "hikikomori" (social recluse), it was strange that a woman would be a guest.

“It cannot be determined biologically, but if we consider that the deceased’s mother went to the scene to clean up a week ago, we can indirectly infer that she appeared in the house within the last week,” Kanzaki replied.

Without hair follicles, it's difficult to even estimate the time frame, since differences in hair follicle wear and medullary cavities can only be seen over a long period of time.

"But I remember the on-site report said there were no strangers' fingerprints in the house, right?" Tian Shu asked back.

“That’s right, but since the time span is a week, it doesn’t prove that ‘a long-haired woman deliberately concealed her fingerprints to enter the room.’” Kanzaki understood what Amagi meant.

If the owner of the hair enters the room within a day or two, but there are no traces of her fingerprints anywhere inside, that is indeed very suspicious.

but……

If it's a week, fingerprints on a non-ideal surface won't last longer than a week, so it's not necessarily a deliberate attempt to cover up or wipe fingerprints.

“Since strangers may have entered, we still need to investigate,” Zongfang emphasized at this point.

“Yes, we have been making inquiries, but we haven’t found anything yet. The neighbors don’t know who his friends are either,” Kuroki explained.

……

Watching the detectives discuss, Shiraishi remained silent. Everyone was used to it; it didn't mean the chief had anything to say, it was just giving them time to discuss.

A moment later, Shiraishi tapped the table lightly with his finger, and everyone immediately quieted down and looked at the director.

At this moment, Shiraishi looked at Narcissistic and asked, "Narcissistic... Detective Kogure, what did you and Detective Amagi investigate this afternoon?" Indeed, Shiraishi could tell at a glance that this guy had been daydreaming and in heat the whole time!
Based on the imagery of Cupid's poisoned arrow, it's almost certain that the murderer is a woman, and... this guy definitely encountered the murderer that afternoon.

"Huh? Ah... I... Yes, Amagi and I reinvestigated the disappearance case from back then, um..." The narcissist then came to his senses.

"Whom did you visit?" Shiraishi pressed.

"My future mother, my homeroom teacher, the police inspectors who participated in the case investigation back then... um, and Mr. Matsuo." The narcissist counted them off one by one.

Shiraishi has already solved the case.

Although more than one woman was mentioned, however…

Only when Matsuo-sensei was mentioned at the end did this guy blush and have a lustful expression on his face!

"What hairstyle does this 'Matsuo-sensei' have?" Shiraishi asked.

"Very soft and smooth long hair... Eh? Wait, Chief, why are you suddenly asking this?" The narcissist was initially infatuated, then suddenly realized—the Chief suspected Matsuo-sensei?

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi nodded seriously and said, "It was burned, right? Hmm, no reason why, just asking."

Although Shiraishi said that, the detectives present obviously didn't think so!
Even though they couldn't figure out how the above conditions had aroused Chief Shiraishi's suspicion about the piano teacher, since Chief Shiraishi had offered a "hint," they would definitely focus their investigation on this person later...

"Chief, Ms. Matsuo shouldn't be involved in the case, right? After all, she was just Saijo's piano teacher more than ten years ago..." The narcissist still couldn't believe it.

"Ahem, that's right, so... Detective Kogure, how about we change our target? Maybe a different angle will give us some new ideas." Kuroki then earnestly tried to "take credit."

“That won’t be necessary. Detective Kogure… has a very pleasant relationship with Mr. Matsuo.” Amagi immediately declined.

Matsuo was already an experienced piano teacher more than ten years ago, so it's not surprising that he's now forty or even older.

but……

People have long been used to narcissism's indiscriminate nature.

As for the connection between Matsuo and the case... Shiraishi didn't actually know!
Even Shiraishi wasn't sure which case she was the perpetrator in.

Shiraishi didn't change any of his plans for Narcissism—Narcissism would definitely fall in love with the female prisoner, and after that, he would "target her," becoming unusually perceptive and more capable than a regular SSR.

He's the type who's both infatuated and incredibly clear-headed, so it's suitable for him to continue the investigation.

……

This is indeed the case!
After the meeting, Narcissistic and Ama-no-Ki went to the music store again.

Matsuo's lessons were still going on. As she had said before, she only taught one-on-one lessons. At that moment, a boy who looked to be in middle school was practicing the piano under her patient guidance.

Upon seeing two detectives outside the door, Matsuo first let the little boy practice on his own, then came out to ask the two men questions.

Just as Amagi was about to speak, he was stopped by Narcissism, who then took over the conversation: "Matsuo-sensei is so patient. Actually... I've been wanting to learn piano lately too."

Tian Shu gave the narcissist a speechless look.

"Eh? Well... I mainly have students here, which is a bit different from adult hobby classes. I can help you introduce a more suitable teacher," Matsuo politely declined.

"No, I feel that Matsuo-sensei is the most suitable... Ah!" the narcissist suddenly exclaimed.

Even the good-natured Tian Shu couldn't help but nudge him from behind.

"This...you flatter me too much." Matsuo smiled awkwardly, his eyes clearly showing some disdain.

However, narcissism is not so easy to give up. Matsuo looked at the boys who were practicing the piano and had no choice but to tell them to wait a moment.

Today's lessons were coming to an end. After seeing the little boy off, Matsuo received the two detectives again.

"It must be so wonderful to be Matsuo-sensei's student, to have someone as beautiful and gentle as you as my piano teacher..." the narcissist said, offering mindless flattery.

However, seeing his infatuated expression, Matsuo frowned and reminded him, "Please have some self-respect. This is a place for learning, and it has nothing to do with anything else."

Amagi then asked, "Does Matsuo-sensei always see his students off?"

"Hmm? Usually, right... What's wrong?" Matsuo asked, puzzled.

"Thirteen years ago, during Saijo's last class... did Matsuo-sensei notice anything unusual when he left?" Amagi asked directly.

"Probably not... It's been too long, but if there were any unusual occurrences, I should remember them," Matsuo said hesitantly.

Matsuo then asked somewhat nervously, "You asked about the future earlier... Do you suspect... that Saijo is involved in the future's disappearance?"

"No, it's just a routine inquiry." Narcissistic said, pushing Amagi aside and extending his hand, "Matsuo-sensei, look at my hands... what kind of music would suit them?"

"Well... it's not something you can just look at by looking at your hands." Matsuo smiled awkwardly but politely.

Amagi then went to the side to answer a phone call. Matsuo was paying attention to his behavior. After finishing the call, Amagi came over and whispered a few words to Narcissistic.

"Huh? We found a child's glove? Hmm... that might be related to the future missing persons case, but... well, let's focus on the murder case..."

Narcissistic was also surprised by Kuroki's discovery, but after muttering a few words, he advised Amagi to "go home first today" and then invited Matsuo out.

Although Matsuo had previously shown subtle dislike, he didn't refuse outright this time. As he watched the two leave, Amagi secretly understood—it seemed that... even the narcissist had discovered something!
(End of this chapter)