Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 516 Mori's Class Reunion
In Beikacho 5-chome, Shiraishi sat in the Polo Cafe, having specially chosen a window seat, drinking coffee and waiting for Mori to return.

This is the first floor of the Mori Detective Agency, and also "an important part of the Mori family's income." Although it's not in a prime location and the area isn't large, the monthly rent of just over 100,000 yen was an important source of living expenses for Mori after he left the police force and before he became a famous detective.

Previously, detectives often didn't earn this much in fees...

Mori and Conan haven't returned yet, and Ran has already finished school.

Just as Xiaolan was about to go upstairs, she saw something huge behind the floor-to-ceiling windows of the first-floor coffee shop...

"Huh?" Seeing this, Xiaolan came over to Shiraishi's side and asked, "Officer Shiraishi, are you here to see my father?"

"Yes, I'm waiting for Detective Mouri and Conan to come back," Shiraishi nodded.

"Then come in and have a seat," Xiaolan invited Baishi upstairs.

Shiraishi was waiting at the coffee shop because there was no one else at his agency.

After entering the office, Shiraishi sat down on the sofa.

Amidst the creaking sound, Xiaolan glanced worriedly at her sofa—she felt that if her father came home late, their already meager family situation would worsen.

"Dad and Conan should be going to have dinner now. I was supposed to come back even later tonight..." Ran said as she made tea and took out a small cake from the refrigerator.

Judging from the bag she was carrying, which contained her martial arts uniform, it was clear that karate training was originally planned.

The small cake, when placed in front of Shiraishi, became a thumb-sized cake.

Just as Shiraishi finished eating the thumb-sized cake, Mori and Conan returned.

"Ran? Didn't we have training today?" Mori asked, puzzled to see Ran at home.

"It must be a leak in the training hall, right?" Conan blurted out.

"Huh? Conan, how did you know?" Ran looked over suspiciously... and dangerously.

Shiraishi also sensed the murderous aura.

Conan paused for a moment upon hearing this: "This..."

Xiaolan has indeed been suspicious of him lately, but she hasn't found any "evidence" yet.

Shiraishi looked over speechlessly—"You still dare to show off like this?"

"Because after you came back, Ran, you left the guests here and rushed to wash your clothes... Your training clothes must have gotten wet?" Shiraishi said, trying to help Conan out of the predicament.

“That’s right! That’s exactly it…” Conan nodded quickly, indicating that this kind of reasoning was just basic stuff.

"Really?" Ran certainly didn't doubt that there was anything strange about Shiraishi's deduction, but... could even an elementary school student have deduced that?

Seeing Ran's suspicious look, Conan forced a smile and said, "It's all because I study with Uncle all the time, hahaha..."

Mori was initially puzzled as to how Conan could be so perceptive while he hadn't even figured it out yet, but upon hearing this, he immediately changed his tune, saying, "Ahem! That's right, just now, I solved a murder case at the restaurant... Hahahaha..."

Shiraishi:……

Xiaolan, could you please stop training all the time and cook dinner a little more often?
Haven't you noticed that whenever you don't cook dinner, someone in the neighborhood gets killed?
"By the way! Brother Shiraishi, you came to see Uncle Mori because of that gun, right?" Conan changed the subject.

They had caught the robbers, but the gun was missing. Of course, Inspector Megure had to ask Mori about it, so Mori and Conan also knew that the gun was gone.

"Yes, that gun is very likely... the murder weapon from a shooting, and I hope we can find it as soon as possible." Shiraishi didn't elaborate on the case.

Unfortunately, the bank robber didn't fire a single shot!
Otherwise, as long as we know the results of the rifling analysis, the whereabouts of this pistol are irrelevant to Shiraishi.

"I'm sorry, my attention was on the robber at the time, and I didn't notice the gun... I can't believe I made such a big mistake..." Mori said with deep regret.

That's why he's just a "detective" now. Catching a suspect is considered a meritorious act, but if he were still a criminal police officer, and someone took his gun right under his nose, he probably wouldn't even have enough to write a proper self-criticism!
Shiraishi then asked Mori to recount what happened back then.

Mori then generously shared his story with Shiraishi: how he startled the robber with a loud shout, and then subdued him with an over-the-shoulder throw.

Shiraishi:……

"Um... what about the pistol?" Shiraishi listened for a long time but didn't hear anything about a pistol.

"Oh, right... halfway through, this kid threw a brick and it just so happened to hit the thug's gun," Mori added, a minor detail.

Shiraishi:……

That's the important point!

I'm looking for a gun... I don't care if he was thrown over the shoulder or not.
As for Conan, what he called "throwing a brick" was actually kicking a broken brick, which knocked the gun out of the thug's hand.

After that, Mori's attention was focused on the thugs, and Conan didn't pay special attention to the gun.

Moreover, this fight took place in a small alley.

After Mori apprehended the assailant, he emerged from the alley. It is unknown what happened in the alley afterward or who went there. In any case, after the police searched the scene, they discovered that the pistol was missing!

"So... did you see anyone after that?" Shiraishi asked somewhat pointedly.

"Huh? Well... I ran into a college classmate later... but it shouldn't have anything to do with this, right?" Kogoro Mouri said in a strange tone.

"Not necessarily. Could you elaborate? Which student was it? What did they say?" Shiraishi pressed.

Hearing this, Mori was even more confused, but he still instinctively replied, "He was the manager of my judo club when I was in college. Our judo club is having a small gathering tomorrow, and I mentioned it to him when we met the other day."

"Tomorrow? Where to?" Shiraishi's eyes lit up.

That's right, Shiraishi already knew what was going on...

Shiraishi remembers the bandaged man and the curator because of the terrifying atmosphere, and he remembers the "Kogoro's Class Reunion" case because it is one of the few cases in which Kogoro Mouri personally solved the mystery!

From then on, whenever Kogoro talked about solving cases, this was always a story he would tell.

Therefore, I was more impressed by Baishi.

Of course, just like in the case of the bandaged man, Shiraishi only remembered that the bandaged man was someone in disguise, Shiraishi's memory of the class reunion incident was not very complete either.

Shiraishi only remembered a few things... First, the deceased was a woman. Second, the murderer used a trick to confuse the time of death, causing one of the people who saw her before she died to think he had seen a ghost. That scene also scared Shiraishi so much that he dared not sleep at night. Third, the murder weapon was a pistol, the one that Kogoro lost when he caught the robber!

Knowing all this is enough, since Shiraishi's goal was originally that gun.

"A hot spring inn in Tochigi Prefecture... Inspector Shiraishi, do you want to go on vacation too?" Mori asked strangely—why are you asking such detailed questions? I'm not taking you there!
Yes, yes, yes...

Now that you mention it, Shiraishi remembered—it was a hot spring inn, and it seems like everyone was wearing yukatas and playing ping-pong.

However, Shiraishi also knew that if he suggested going together at this time, it would not only seem very strange, but also... would the murderer still dare to make a move if he saw Shiraishi there? What if he hid the gun then?
Shiraishi's true identity cannot be concealed by mere disguise...

"No, I'll pass... Have fun." After saying that, Shiraishi suddenly saw Conan and had a sudden idea. "By the way, is Teitan Elementary School only half a day tomorrow? Conan, do you want to come to my place? You can keep my sister company."

Conan: ...

If you don't want to, get out!

"No, Officer Shiraishi, Conan said he wants to go to the hot springs with us, right?" Ran asked dangerously.

Shiraishi felt that if Conan chose to go to the hot springs together, he might not live past 2017!
"Well... um... I didn't really intend to go for a ride together..." Conan chuckled dryly.

"Ah, could you please take care of Ai for me? I really can't make it tomorrow. She said... she really loves Conan," Shiraishi said confidently.

Conan: ...

Get out of here!
Conan was already watching Shiraishi warily, suspecting that the "siblings" wanted to give him a few hundred cc of cigarettes.

Although Shiraishi's request was still quite abrupt, Mori only hesitated for a moment before agreeing immediately—he could just pay an extra amount himself, after all, Shiraishi had taken care of Ran at the crime scene several times before.

After successfully inserting a reliable informant, Shiraishi felt that the game was in the bag.

Although theoretically, as long as Mori solves the case normally, the bullet hole analysis results should always be able to be brought back, but...

Not to mention the possibility of unforeseen events, it's impossible for Shiraishi to remain indifferent after knowing someone is planning to kill someone, and simply wait for the person to die before looking for evidence.

After leaving the Mouri agency, Shiraishi went home (to Kudo) and told Ai about it.

"Hot spring? Why?" Ai asked, puzzled.

“I have a feeling… the lost gun is related to Mori’s classmate. Hmm, you’ll be following me with the locator when you bring it,” Shiraishi emphasized.

Ai didn't understand how Shiraishi could tell that the two things were related!
However, since Shiraishi had said so, she decided to agree—it was just a hot spring trip anyway, so she could relax and observe the experimental subjects.

……

On Tuesday, June 27th, in the Mihua Police Station's Criminal Investigation Division, a time of heightened tension and suspicion, everyone discovered that... the chief was not at the station today.
"Chief Inspector Shiraishi is not here, so today's investigation into the case of Hikawa Hibiki's shooting will be entirely handled by Director Ninomiya," Munakata said to everyone.

but……

"Ahem, Section Chief Munakata, it's not just today, or only when Chief Shiraishi is away! I was in charge of the investigation for this case from the beginning!" Ninomiya said angrily.

"Ah, I misspoke." Munakata acted as if he were suffering from dementia, which made Ninomiya glare at him several times.

"Today's search will focus on two things: first, why Hikawa Hibiki was silenced, and second, who was driving the stolen car that left the scene," Ninomiya said, repeating his usual refrain.

At this point, Ninomiya didn't mention whether it was Kuroki who fired the shot...

Just treat it as an investigation into a regular shooting!
After Ninomiya finished speaking, he looked at Inspector Megure and the other detectives in front of him... then turned to Munakata and asked, "Where are the detectives from the Beika Police Station? Where are those usually very proactive guys with ramen-noodle hair and slicked-back hair?"

“Well… our local police station also has a lot of minor criminal cases to investigate,” Zongfang said seriously.

"Is it so important that they can't spare many people for the shooting?" Ninomiya could guess that it wasn't that the Beika Police Department wasn't sending people, but that they were conducting an independent investigation.

“You can’t say that… Look at the incident last night, where a woman approached a boy with a knife and was stopped by the crowd… It seems like just a minor incident, but we still have to investigate whether someone was behind it or if there was an organization involved. We can’t just let her go or lock her up for a few days, right?” Zongfang asked matter-of-factly.

"Section Chief Munakata, this isn't something you're supposed to say that's obvious... those detectives all have such important cases... never mind." Ninomiya originally wanted to emphasize it, but thinking about how the detectives from the Beika Police Station didn't follow orders even here, he simply ignored them.

……

Meanwhile, Shiraishi had arrived in Tochigi Prefecture and was at a hot spring inn called "Benkei"—according to Ai's location, Mori's class reunion was to take place there.

There's a statue of Benkei right outside the hotel, depicting him standing even after being riddled with bullets...

Shiraishi didn't know why these hot spring hotels always did this kind of abstract thing.

Bai Shi didn't go in immediately...

There are only a few people in this small inn, and it's very likely that only Mori and his group are guests. If Shiraishi goes in at this time, Mori will definitely be suspicious, and it will also frighten the "potential murderer".

Shiraishi parked the car nearby and then dialed Ai's number...

After the call connected, Shiraishi heard Ai's voice: "Eh? You don't mean you want to go to the hot spring with me and Ran-neechan, do you?"

"N-Of course not! I don't want to..." Conan shook his head repeatedly—not to mention regaining his identity, if he dared to nod now that Ai was here, he probably wouldn't have the chance to regain his identity at all.

"That's good. You always seem so excited when you talk about taking a bath with Ran-neechan..." Ai said with a relieved tone.

"I didn't... Don't talk nonsense..." Conan could already sense the murderous intent.

……

Conan stayed behind to listen to Kogoro and his old classmates chatting, while Ai and Ran went to the open-air hot spring—as expected, there were no other customers in the shop at the moment.

At the same time, Ai picked up her phone, which had already been connected: "Hello, brother, I'm doing great! And I even refused to let Conan come to take a bath with me!"

Xiao Lan was obviously nearby; the two were probably changing clothes.

So Shiraishi asked in a low voice, "How many girls are among Detective Mouri's classmates?"

"Hmm, two!" Ai deliberately used an innocent tone to prevent Ran from suspecting anything.

"Two? After that, please keep an eye out for the ones among them who don't cooperate during group activities, and tell me their room numbers too!" Shiraishi said helplessly.

Shiraishi couldn't possibly remember the victim's or perpetrator's name; he only remembered that the deceased was a woman...

(End of this chapter)