Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 518 The Rice Flower Man's Thinking Is Hard to Decipher
boom--

The moment Nakamichi fired, Shiraishi grabbed his arm, raised the gun upwards, and a bullet shot into the ceiling...

"Who..." Zhongdao was shocked and was about to question when he was pushed to the ground by Baishi!
"See? See? This guy really wants to kill me..." Horikoshi immediately became powerful and started complaining, even wanting to kick him a couple of times.

However, Shiraishi had already disarmed himself and, seeing this, lifted the man up, dodging Horikoshi's kick.

Although Nakado and Shinobu were tall and strong, and were once even the main force of the judo club, they did not give up training their physique after becoming detectives. They weighed 200 pounds and were well-proportioned and robust. But in Shiraishi's hands, they were like kittens. He could grab them by the scruff of their necks and manipulate them at will...

"Ms. Horikoshi, please calm down," Shiraishi reminded her.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? He betrayed me for that old woman first, and then he wanted to kill me. Is there any logic to this?" Horikoshi said righteously.

Nakamichi was so angry that he wanted to retort, but Shiraishi grabbed him by the back of his yukata by the collar and pulled him back while he was suspended in mid-air, preventing the two from fighting.

Bai Shi didn't try to persuade him further, only saying, "Attempted murder won't get you a long sentence."

Horikoshi:……

Horikoshi calmed down a bit after that.

“You bastard…you just wait…I’ll beat you up…” Zhongdao started cursing at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi immediately shook him vigorously twice, almost causing him to fall apart...

"And you... as a criminal investigator, you actually wanted to solve the problem by killing people. You are a disgrace to the police force!" Shiraishi scolded.

“I…” Zhongdao was speechless for a moment.

……

After the fireworks display ended.

"Seriously, neither Nakamichi nor Yumi showed up in the end."

"Where did those two go?"

"Haha, is it a date?"

"Maybe... Hmm? There are so many police cars in front of the hotel, what's going on?"

In the end, Mori and the others did not see Nakamichi, Shi, and Horikoshi Yumi. When they returned to the hotel, they saw many police cars parked at the entrance.

Realizing something was wrong, the group quickly walked over—although they didn't know what had happened, they were the only people in the inn besides the elderly couple who ran it!

"What happened... um? Nakamichi? What happened to you..." Mori was getting anxious, but he realized that this scene was different from the "scenes surrounded by police cars that he had seen before".

The officers didn't seem that nervous, and...

They've already put Nakamichi and Shinobu into the police car!
Upon seeing this, Mori naturally rushed to inquire.

"I..." Upon hearing this, Nakamichi lowered his head in shame.

At the same time, Shiraishi and Inspector Oki of the Tochigi Prefectural Police walked out of the hotel.

"This bullet hole assessment is urgent, please help me," Shiraishi pleaded.

"Inspector Shiraishi, please rest assured, our Tochigi Prefectural Police also have electron microscopes, there will be no problem." Daiki looked to be nearing retirement with gray hair.

However, as the superintendent of the First Investigative Division of Tochigi Prefecture, Oki was physically exhausted, but mentally invigorated.

“By the way, this handgun… Inspector Oki, as you know, is related to the previous case in Tokyo, so after this evidence collection, I hope it can be handed over to me,” Shiraishi explained further.

"This... don't worry, as long as we have the Metropolitan Police Department's approval, we can hand it over tomorrow!" Oki also did his best to make things easier for them.

Although there's not much room for advancement for someone of Daiki's age and position, he takes the "superintendent from Tokyo" very seriously, especially since he's a prominent figure like "Chief Beika."

"Cheer up, everyone! Let the Metropolitan Police Department see the spirit of our prefectural police!" Daiki encouraged the other detectives.

When Mori saw Shiraishi, he was also surprised: "Officer Shiraishi? You, what are you doing here?"

"Detective Mouri, don't worry... the pistol has been found," Shiraishi said, downplaying the seriousness of the matter.

"What? Could it be..." Mori looked at Nakado, who had already entered the police car, in disbelief.

“Yes, Nakamichi and Ms. Horikoshi were actually both there that day. Nakamichi entered from the other end of the alley and picked up the pistol,” Shiraishi explained.

Zhongdao didn't need much mental preparation to pick up the gun at that time.

After all, he was originally a criminal police officer!
Although I'm not a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department, but...

Even if he were discovered, he could simply say that as a detective in Chiba Prefecture, he had no distinction between his duties and those outside of them, and that he was just keeping it safe for the Metropolitan Police Department detectives!

Since no one noticed, he left the gun behind.

After all, there was someone he wanted to kill...

At this moment, Mori, in disbelief and nervousness, asked, "Then...could it be...?"

“That’s right! He not only seduced me and then abandoned me, but he also tried to kill me!” Horikoshi also stepped forward at this moment.

Seeing this, Mori breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, nothing serious had happened yet.

Horikoshi probably thought that Nakamichi was already in the police car and couldn't hear him, so he smeared him badly in front of Mori and the others...

Shiraishi didn't bother with her at this point, but simply reminded her, "By the way, Ms. Horikoshi, Mr. Nakamichi may file a complaint against you for intimidation, so I hope you won't leave the country anytime soon."

……

Shiraishi then went to the Tochigi Prefectural Police Headquarters and entrusted Ai to the Mori family again.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the Tochigi Prefectural Police, but Shiraishi couldn't rest easy until he got the bullet hole analysis results...

Shiraishi's personal visit prompted the officers of the Tochigi Prefecture Forensic Division to work overtime overnight and produce a report that same night!
The pistol used by Nakamichi...

The rifling marks match those of the pistol Kuroki received, as recorded in the Beika Police Station's records!
Unfortunately, no fingerprints were found on the gun parts—which was not unexpected by Shiraishi. The gunman had specifically changed the chambers of two guns, so he was either an insider in the police force or had insiders working with him. It was impossible for him to be so careless as to not even wipe away fingerprints.

This almost confirms that Kuroki's pistol had been switched, and that the real gunman who killed Hibiki Hibiki was the person in that car at the time!
At that moment, Shiraishi also dialed the criminal investigation department's number...

"Hello, this is the Criminal Investigation Division of the Beika Police Station," Munakata's voice rang out.

Shiraishi glanced at the time—2 a.m.!
At this time, Munakata was still at the police station. Shiraishi's heart sank, realizing that something had happened—Munakata was obviously also very flustered, and hadn't even checked the caller ID.

"I am Shiraishi, what's going on?" Shiraishi asked directly.

"Chief, something's happened to Kuroki and Kanzaki..." Munakata whispered.

"What? I've found Kuroki's pistol... no, I've found the chamber of his gun!" Shiraishi emphasized.

Shiraishi still hoped that the rifling marks would solve the problem.

"That's good... but it's probably not that simple now." Zongfang was initially excited, but then his tone became somewhat helpless.

"What happened?" Shiraishi immediately asked.

“A few hours ago, it was discovered that Taichi Uemura, an instructor at the police academy, and Kiyotaka Ando, ​​a former detective who worked in security in the capital, were shot dead…” Munakata said in a deep voice.

"You're not going to tell me the suspect is Kanzaki, are you?" Shiraishi frowned.

Kuroki hasn't been released yet, and Munakata said that "Kuroki and Kanzaki are in trouble." "No, if it were Kanzaki, I would have informed you immediately... but now the suspect is... former detective Kanzaki Kenzo, so the inspector is now keeping an eye on us," Munakata said helplessly.

Since the news was received in the evening, and Munakata knew that Shiraishi was not in Dongdu, he originally planned to inform Shiraishi the next morning.

Shiraishi also knew about Kenzo Kanzaki...

Kuroki's biological father, and also Kanzaki's adoptive father.

He used to be a detective in the Kamurocho Firearms Countermeasures Division—back then, there was no Organized Crime Countermeasures Department, and the Firearms Countermeasures Division was the predecessor of the Organized Crime Countermeasures Department.

Especially in Kamurocho...

The nature of the job is self-evident.

"Why Kanzaki Kenzo?" Shiraishi asked, puzzled.

“The two of them, Uemura was Kanzaki Kenzo’s former boss, and Ando was Kanzaki Kenzo’s former subordinate. Moreover… Uemura was lured to an abandoned building and shot. Kanzaki Kenzo was seen on nearby surveillance footage!” Munakata said helplessly.

Now Shiraishi could understand why the inspector dared to provoke the Miwa Agency under these circumstances.

From the inspector's perspective, the Mikasa Police Department was utterly lawless...

Okay, okay, you arrested one Kuroki, and now you're sending Old Deng to kill people everywhere, is that it?
"I'll send you the rifling analysis report, and I'll take the evidence back right away!" Shiraishi didn't even bother to rest.

After obtaining the evidence pistol from Inspector Ōki, I drove straight back to Tokyo.

Even though Daiki was already at the age of slumber, he was already feeling a bit overwhelmed and was worried when he saw Shiraishi wanting to drive himself.

However, Shiraishi declined his offer to stay overnight, filled up the gas tank, and left.

He was also stunned when he saw Daiki...

"As expected of a Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police Department, how can he be so cunning?"

For a moment, Da Mu even felt that the county police were not getting enough work!
……

October 6, Wednesday.

As dawn broke, Shiraishi had already parked his car in the parking lot of the Mihana Police Station.

Although the procedure requires two people to retrieve this kind of evidence, the Metropolitan Police Department made a special exception because Shiraishi insisted on it.

After all, no one thought there could be any danger in having Shiraishi personally transport the evidence...

When Shiraishi arrived at the Criminal Investigation Division, he saw that there were more people than he had expected, including Ninomiya. It seemed that everyone had stayed up all night.

"Chief!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Director Shiraishi return.

Normally, when the director comes to inspect the department, everyone gets a little nervous, but now all that's left is reliance, as if Shiraishi's arrival gives us a pillar of support.

"Inspector Ninomiya, this is evidence handed over by the Tochigi Prefectural Police." Shiraishi handed the pistol evidence bag to Ninomiya.

“Yes, I’ve seen the rifling comparison, but the police station’s records aren’t very accurate. It’s possible the chamber was replaced…” Ninomiya said, contradicting himself as he took the gun.

But he was just being argumentative for the sake of arguing...

The problem he mentioned does indeed exist.

However, there was one thing he didn't mention: if we trace the origin of this gun, it was found by the robber, and the locations where the robber picked up these parts along the way were in the same direction as the suspected gunman's vehicle leaving.

Furthermore, the fact that there was no gunpowder residue on Kuroki's gas mask, when cross-referenced, is enough to support Shiraishi's previous guess that "the gun barrel had been replaced."

“Director, Administrator, the forensic work will be handled by…” Kanzaki immediately stepped forward.

"No."

This time, Shiraishi and Ninomiya refused in unison.

"Kanzaki, go and rest first," Shiraishi reassured him.

"I'm not..."

"Detective Kanzaki, don't you know what the principle of avoidance is?" Ninomiya said bluntly.

Kanzaki:……

"Kuroki is actually your brother, isn't he? And there's also the case of Kanzaki Kenzo..." Ninomiya rebuked directly.

Because Kanzaki Ken became a suspect, the previously hidden "brotherly" relationship between Kuroki and Kanzaki was suddenly no longer a secret.

After all, his biological son had just been taken away for investigation, and his father had just killed two of his old colleagues with a "bang"...

Although the two cases don't seem to have any connection at the moment, no one would think it's a coincidence!

Even Shiraishi was somewhat worried at this moment.

Shiraishi dared to say that he knew Kuroki and that he couldn't have killed the man, even though Kuroki had been working under him for a year. But as for Kanzaki Kenzo, Shiraishi had only heard Kuroki mention him.

After hearing Munakata mention it on the phone, Shiraishi was also unsure...

Others only suspected that Kanzaki Kenzo's sudden return to Tokyo, while being a prime suspect in a major murder case, might be related to Kuroki's arrest.

Shiraishi, however, was worried...

Could it be that Kenzo Kanzaki was driving at the time?
If that's the case, it's entirely plausible to say that Kanzaki used his past connections to get the opportunity to switch the evidence gun barrels.

As for why he would frame his own son?

What if this guy is the police force's Xiao Yuanshan?
"By the way, was Kanzaki Kenzo from Todo before? Where in Todo was he from?" Shiraishi suddenly asked Kanzaki.

"Huh? You mean the Beika people? After my dad found out I came to the Beika Police Station, he said he missed Beika a lot..." Kanzaki was taken aback, wondering what this had to do with the case.

Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi was even more worried!

"I'm going to take a shower first... You go home and rest right away!" Shiraishi told Kanzaki to go home and rest first, while giving Munakata a wink.

In the corridor leading to the bathroom, Munakata quickened his pace to catch up, and said to Shiraishi, "I've already arranged for someone to follow Kanzaki. If his father really goes to see him, should we arrest him immediately?"

“Yes, it’s better to catch him first than for him to fall into someone else’s hands… Kanzaki is a smart young man, he must know that someone is following him, and I believe he can understand that, so there’s no need to be too secretive.” Shiraishi nodded.

"Chief, are you worried... that the Kuroki case was also fabricated by Kanzaki Ken? But he is Kuroki's biological father, so even if he wanted to frame someone, there's no reason to frame Kuroki, right?" Munakata saw through Shiraishi's worries.

"Who knows... Maybe it'll be like, 'Today I'll kill this bastard with your rifling, and that will be revenge for us, father and son,'" Shiraishi said quietly.

Munakata:? ? ?
"Director..."

"Ok?"

"I feel like you've completely become a rice cake person..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)