Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 504 Finding a needle in a haystack
"Kuroki-senpai, this can't be considered an alibi, can it?" Kobe questioned.

Calling her "senpai" while so bluntly questioning her... that's definitely Miwako Kobe.

“Well, this alibi isn’t very solid, but there’s no evidence against Uno right now, and the motive is also a bit weak,” Kuroki said, shaking his head.

Currently, the only possible motive is that "Uno wants to marry Kobayakawa, and Hoshimiya is her fiancé."

Leaving aside whether this alone can truly be considered a motive for murder...

More importantly, it's strange that Uno believes he can marry Kobayakawa just because Hoshimiya is dead!

"Could it be... that there's some secret in the phone?" Zhimo wondered.

Kobayakawa also mentioned that Uno found her phone before, which led to their meeting and the incident at the restaurant.

Kobayakawa obviously doesn't have an ex-boyfriend like Uno, so... if Uno really does possess something that can threaten her, it's very likely through his phone!

"Secrets hidden in a woman's phone? Kobe Detective, what do you think it could be?" Kuroki said, a strange smile appearing on his face as if he had just thought of something.

"Kuroki-senpai, that's sexual harassment!" Kobe warned—yes, it was Kobe Miwako who reminded her!

"Cough cough cough! I'm thinking... could it be some kind of secret of the Kobayakawa family!" Kuroki forced a correction.

“Generally speaking, even if this were the case, it would be unlikely to be used to threaten marriage, right?” Kobe said calmly and composedly. It was Kobe Daisuke.

“Indeed, usually it would be something like asking for money... Wanting to get married is such a strange idea. Kobayakawa Naho is the only daughter of Kobayakawa, a member of parliament. No normal person would be so greedy, right?” Haiya said at this moment.

"Eh? Senior Haiya, isn't Representative Kobayakawa's financial situation a bit tight lately?" Miwako Kobe immediately corrected her.

In order to investigate the case, they also did a lot of research on the Kobayakawa family.

Upon hearing this, Gray Valley shook his head and said, "Their 'economic situation is not good' but they still live in mansions worth hundreds of millions. Taking out a few million or ten million is still a piece of cake."

The so-called "poor economy" means that the economic conditions are not good enough "if you want to hold activities and garner votes", but it's not like we can't afford to eat!

"If it's only ten million..." Kobe Miwako's mind wandered, as if she was about to say something shocking.

However, just as everyone's expression changed, Ash Valley interrupted, "Alright, stop talking... Ten million is more than enough for ordinary people!"

"Oh... alright." Kobe paused for a moment, but then immediately added, "Even so, wouldn't marrying a great beauty be a better choice?"

Ashiya was already helpless, but Kuroki explained, "This isn't a matter of having enough to eat at every meal... Even ordinary people would think about whether such a marriage can be saved, let alone someone from a family like Kobayakawa's."

It's not about asking for money, it's about getting married. That's not the way a normal person thinks. Even if someone is greedy, they should be asking for money "multiple times"...

"And there's another question: how did the murderer manage to lure Hoshimiya Koichi to a place like that late at night?" Shima then raised this question.

“Hmm, it seems that this Star Palace is still connected with the Silver Dragon Society. Would someone invite such a guy to that place at night without any precautions? That’s the Tsutsumi River in Beika Town!” Kanzaki said, puzzled.

If it were a stranger, especially if they were lured to a place like this by "threatening him with dirt on him", how could someone like Hoshimiya, who has long been in contact with violent organizations, be so unguarded?

Even if you really have to keep the appointment, you could easily bring a bodyguard, or even call a few people from the Silver Dragon Society, right?

Even if the Silver Dragon Society members don't dare to actually make a move in Beika Town, they can at least intimidate the other side!
and……

If the murderer truly obtained "evidence that the Silver Dragon Society was operating an underground casino," even Shiraishi wouldn't be able to intimidate them. Even if they didn't take action in Beika Town, they would find a way to deal with the other party.

But Hoshimiya actually kept his appointment...

"There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, so it's highly likely that it was someone known to the victim. In that case, it's unlikely to be Uno," Haiya nodded.

Even if Uno happens to find some crucial evidence, he shouldn't be able to lure Hoshimiya out.

Kanzaki seemed to want to say something, but hesitated and didn't say it.

Munakata noticed this and asked, "Detective Kanzaki, is there something on your mind?"

“Actually… not far from the scene, we found traces of the homeless man’s life. It seemed like he had moved away in a hurry, so I was wondering if the homeless man had seen something?” Kanzaki said awkwardly.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt helpless – how many homeless people are there in Dongdu?
Although not as many as in the United States, Dongdu still has no shortage of homeless people due to reasons such as "running away from home," "the bursting of the bubble," and "high barriers to renting."

Even if such a person did exist and knew some clues, since they left, they undoubtedly didn't want to get involved—the reason is probably easy to guess. After all, it's a murder case, and they are a homeless person, so they must have both fear and a reluctance to deal with the police.

In this situation, finding someone who doesn't want to expose themselves among the homeless in Tokyo is like finding a needle in a haystack!

“Leave this to me,” Daisuke Kobe suddenly said.

He had previously instructed "Huscu" to search for surveillance footage of the relevant location, but unfortunately, they found nothing...

Upon hearing that they were looking for someone, Daisuke Kobe immediately perked up.

As for how he will "find a needle in a haystack"...

Everyone looked at him strangely, but no one questioned him. They had probably guessed where his confidence came from—finding a needle in a haystack is not easy, but... if you give a needle a few million dollars and let him take the bait himself, that's easy!
"Kobe, it would be terrible if we spread a bunch of false information," Haiya warned.

If there really is a large reward, and it's specifically for homeless people, then there must be a lot of liars out there!

Even threatening them with "obstructing a search" would work—if it fails, they'd be detained for a few days; if it succeeds, they could make a fortune. Most of the homeless people in Dongdu would definitely want to try it.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful to distinguish them." Daisuke Kobe had clearly made up his mind.

But just then, Kanzaki suddenly said, "By the way, if we want to distinguish them... this might be useful."

As Kanzaki spoke, he took out an evidence bag containing a small, black plastic object with a screw clip at one end, the purpose of which was unknown.

Kanzaki immediately explained, "This... should be the handle from the pot lid, which I found in a place where homeless people live."

"This will be a huge help; it will greatly improve efficiency," Kobe said confidently.

Seeing that no one had anything to add, Zongfang arranged, "Then Shima and Detective Kobe will be in charge of finding witnesses at the scene, Kuroki and Kanzaki will investigate the Silver Dragon Society, and Haiya and Detective Kobe will investigate the Kobayakawa family and the Hoshimiya Furniture."

Munakata rearranged the search mission.

During the day, it's just a matter of expediency, investigating whatever is discovered. Now, sending Kuroki to investigate violent organizations, Miwako Kobe to investigate the politician's house, and Daisuke Kobe to collect gold coins... that's the "appropriate arrangement."

As for whether it will exacerbate the entanglement between Kuroki and violent organizations, whether it's inappropriate to use the influence of the Miwako Kobe family to contact the Kobayakawa family, and whether it's in accordance with regulations to have Daisuke Kobe pay out of his own pocket...

These are all constraints that would make Kunikida lose his hair, but Munakata doesn't care at all.

……

As for Kensuke Uno, the Beika Police Department has temporarily shifted its focus away from him and he is no longer considered a key target of the investigation.

but……

It only lasted one night.

The next day, Kensuke Uno was back among the prime suspects because...

He was attacked!
Early in the morning, Kuroki and Kanzaki arrived at Beika General Hospital and saw Uno, whose face was bruised and swollen and whose arm was in a cast.

Last night, after returning home, Uno was attacked by thugs hiding in his house. He was severely beaten and searched...

The reason he's lying in a hospital instead of a funeral home is probably because the other party couldn't find what they were looking for.

“Mr. Uno, we meet again… I think you must have something to say to us, right?” Kuroki asked matter-of-factly.

In Kuroki's opinion, even if Uno was greedy before, he should have backed down by now.

But what he didn't expect was...

"Yeah, I never expected a thief to break into my house, and he was even bold enough to attack me after I got home... Officer, you have to catch him!" Uno said confidently.

Kuroki: ...

Kuroki stared at him for a moment before saying, "A thief? Would a thief go to an apartment like that?"

Uno lives in a typical low-rent apartment for the poor. What kind of thief would be so foolish as to break into such a place?

Moreover, when a thief is caught breaking into a house, he either runs away quickly or, in a moment of panic, beats the thief severely before running away. How can someone be beaten so badly and have their phone taken before leisurely leaving?
"Maybe... it's because the thief thinks you don't really care about the safety of us poor people? Of course, how could the officers at the Beika Police Station be such irresponsible? They'll definitely find them." Uno spoke with an air of certainty that the man was a thief.

“Mr. Uno, you should understand now that you’re not in a safe situation, right? They left like this because you were smart enough not to leave anything at home or on your person. But if you were smarter, I think you would already understand that this is not something you can control,” Kuroki reminded him.

"Huh? Officer, you mean those people are after something of mine? How could I possibly have such a treasure? You must be mistaken." Uno insisted on not revealing a single detail.

Kanzaki was eager to ask more questions, but Uno had already started yelling, "Ouch, ouch...it hurts so much...nurse, nurse..."

Seeing that he was faking injury and illness, Kuroki and Kanzaki didn't have any better ideas.

After all, he is now a victim, not a criminal. The attack only increased the probability that he "possesses something that threatens the Kobayakawa family," and it was not related to the murder case.

In this situation, they couldn't very well forcefully question a wounded person in the hospital.

……

Meanwhile, Miwako Kobe is visiting the Kobayakawa family.

It wasn't his usual police uniform, but rather a rather plain everyday outfit.

Ashenvale could only wait outside...

Although detectives are supposed to work in pairs, Miwako Kobe is visiting under the guise of paying her respects, so Haiya can't go with her.

After meeting Kobayakawa Nahomi, Kobe expressed his regret about what happened to Hoshimiya...

“Mr. Hoshimiya has actually encountered such a thing… Nahomi, you must be strong!” Kobe comforted her.

"Yes, I'll also leave Koichi's case to you, Miwako."

The Kobayakawa family naturally knew that Miwako Kobe had dreamt of becoming a police officer, and was now a detective at the Beika Police Station!

However, since she was visiting as the eldest daughter of the Kobe family, Kobayakawa Taizo couldn't very well turn her away.

"Does Mr. Hoshimiya have any enemies?"

"No, no, even when Koichi is doing business, he always leaves himself an out, and his competitors all admire him."

However, Nahomi was naturally extra careful while exchanging pleasantries with Kobe and would not let her guard down.

……

Meanwhile, several sunshades were set up along the riverbank not far from the scene of the crime—an event for "homeless people" was being held there!

Now most of the homeless in Tokyo know that the eldest son of the Kobe family has obtained a pot lid handle, and... he claims it was left by a homeless man who helped him.

Every homeless person who comes here with a pot lid can receive 10,000 yen. If the pot lid and handle match, they can receive 1 million yen. If Kobe recognizes them as someone who helped them, they can receive 100 million yen!

For a time, the place was bustling with people; almost all the homeless people in the entire East City were on their way here.

Zhimo stood on the riverbank, speechless as he watched the scene unfold before him. A long line of dozens of checkpoints had been set up along the riverbank, inspecting the pot lids brought by the homeless men one by one.

“Isn’t there only one handle? Even if you call these people here, they don’t have any physical objects to compare it with…” Zhimo frowned.

“No, we already had the factory make the mold last night and produced a batch of identical pot lid handles,” Kobe said matter-of-factly.

If I had known there would be a lot of people being screened today...

Although the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's statistics show that there are only a few hundred homeless people in Tokyo, this statistic is not only too conservative, but more importantly, a large number of "internet cafe refugees" have not been included, otherwise the number would be more than ten times that.

Moreover, after the news spread, not only genuine homeless people, but also many low-income people came to try their luck—after all, they can't earn 10,000 yuan a day, so what's wrong with queuing up?
As for how to identify the homeless person who was actually not far from the crime scene that night...

At that moment, Kobe heard a voice coming from the glasses...

(End of this chapter)