Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 522 Legal Education Activities
"Where are Kuroki and Kanzaki?" Shiraishi asked as he arrived at the Criminal Investigation Division office.

This was not the time for them to be on duty at Dongdi Hospital; they should have been at the police station.

“They…” Suzuki said, a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Outrageous! What time is it!" Shiraishi could tell from his expression that the two brothers must have had a fight.

And the reason that could make them argue at this point...

It's most likely that Kanzaki's true identity has been exposed!
Indeed, Kanzaki had seen a photo of Matsubara Hikaru's suicide note at Kuroki's place.

Because the suicide note mentioned her and Ihara's young child, and Kanzaki had recently had some suspicions, her blurred childhood memories were restored upon reflection.

……

However, when Shiraishi found the two of them in the conference room, he discovered that they were crying their eyes out, as if they had made up!

Upon seeing the director enter with a dark expression, the two quickly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Chief, I was too naive," Kanzaki immediately apologized—the sudden realization that he was the child of a "murderer" rather than the son of a police officer had caused him some emotional turmoil.

But these emotions came and went quickly—after all, Kanzaki Kenzo was still in the hospital, and he didn't have many other thoughts.

Therefore, under Kuroki's persuasion, he quickly accepted the idea of ​​being "a real family".

"Alright, regardless of blood relation, I think you two will have to be transferred after this case!" Shiraishi said.

Now that their "brotherly" identities have been exposed, Shiraishi can no longer pretend not to know and must make them avoid suspicion.

It's not very suitable to pair close relatives together, not only because it's easy to act impulsively, but also because there's no mutual supervision involved.

Although Kanzaki had supervised Kuroki quite a bit, Shiraishi still decided to "go through the motions".

"Huh? Is that really necessary? I'm not actually..." Kanzaki wanted to explain at this point.

However, Kuroki had already said, "That's right, and you shouldn't always make me take care of you."

"What do you mean you'll take care of me..."

Just as Kanzaki was about to retort, Kuroki solemnly said, "Besides, we are family. My father said at that time that he must tell you... your father is a police officer."

Upon hearing this, Kanzaki's expression softened, and he said, "Isn't that natural..."

but……

Shiraishi suddenly realized something: "What? When did Kanzaki Kenzo say that?"

"It was after you saved him, Chief... when you reprimanded those people from the Kamurocho Bureau," Kuroki explained.

Upon hearing Kuroki mention this, Kanzaki looked at Chief Shiraishi with gratitude—if it weren't for Chief Shiraishi blocking the bullets from behind, Kanzaki Kenzo wouldn't be lying in the hospital right now.

However, after hearing his words, Shiraishi's expression changed and he said, "I see... I see! I should have thought of it earlier... It was the police officer!" He even lightly patted the table as he spoke.

Now, the last thing that Baishi didn't understand can be explained clearly.

"Huh? What did you say?" Kuroki was taken aback.

Shiraishi then looked at the two of them and said, "I think what Kanzaki Kenzo wanted to say at the time wasn't just to be sentimental, but to say... that Ihara was actually a police officer too!"

"What? But..." Kuroki immediately looked puzzled—then why didn't anyone else know?

"The law only allowed the police to conduct undercover investigations six or seven years ago. Moreover, besides the public security personnel, the Superintendent General of Police had to sign off on the placement of undercover agents. As for twenty years ago... undercover investigations were not legal." Shiraishi shook his head as he spoke.

The decision to allow "undercover investigations" was made before Shiraishi's internship as a "police inspector" ended, in order to cooperate with the "violent discharge regulations" that were being introduced in various places!
“In other words, if Ihara was a police officer, his undercover work at the time would certainly not have been legal, and... after what happened, how could the police possibly admit that he was a police officer under such circumstances?” Shiraishi shook his head and said matter-of-factly.

Ihara's undercover operation was an illegal search, and it's estimated that only a handful of people knew about it.

At that time, Ihara had several lives on his hands, and even if he had been proven to be a police officer, it wouldn't have helped.

Ihara understood this, and thus, in utter despair, chose to die...

Similarly, after Ihara's death, considering what he did during his life, it was even less likely that his identity as a police officer would be revealed.

However, this explains Kanzaki Kenzo's reaction at the time.

If it's just a bribed "informant," being discovered can only be attributed to his own poor concealment. Although some police officers and informants have their own bonds, this is not a common phenomenon.

But if Ihara is a police officer, then his infiltration changes the nature of his actions; it's a spirit of sacrifice!
Especially after Ihara's identity was exposed, and his wife was retaliated against by [Hikari Kosan], it made him even more sympathetic.

Under these circumstances, it's understandable that Kenzo Kanzaki would be so devastated by Ihara's case that he would immediately request an external investigation—Ihara was not just an "informant," but also his closest comrade and friend...

Similarly, it's not surprising that Ando would bear immense pressure due to his "accidental killing" until he resigned.

This is Ando—a newcomer with poor marksmanship.

If Kanzaki Kenzo knew that it was Zedon, a very skilled marksman, who shot Ihara in the head, he would definitely assume it was intentional.

Not to mention that they would not let him off the hook personally, they might even suspect that Zeden was the one who betrayed the information.

However, since the final test results showed that Ando's bullet killed Ihara, Kanzaki did not suspect anything and simply considered it an accidental killing.

"So, the one who killed Inspector Uemura and former Detective Ando..." Kuroki realized at this moment.

“Yes, it definitely wasn’t Kanzaki Kenzo. He didn’t even have a gun, otherwise there’s no reason for him to use the ‘empty city ploy’ when he met Zeden.” Shiraishi paused and then added, “However, he probably did believe that Matsubara Hikaru was the murderer, so he was willing to take the blame before… at least before he met Zeden.”

Shiraishi estimates that Kanzaki Kenzo probably already realized that the problem was with Zeden, but it was too late!

In the end, he could only hope to get Zeden to talk and then lure Kuroki to the warehouse where Zeden was being held hostage. However, Zeden was not easily fooled. Not only did he not divulge anything, but he also took advantage of the situation and almost killed him.

“However… Instructor Uemura’s last phone call was indeed to my father, and I haven’t seen him contact Zeden.” Kanzaki was still a little uneasy at this point—he believed that it wasn’t Kanzaki Kenzo who killed him, but he was worried about that fat guy who couldn’t be sure of the facts.

Shiraishi shook his head and said, "Inspector Uemura and Ando have been in contact with Kenzo Kanzaki one after another. It must be because of what happened back then. However... it's also possible that they discovered something and want to inform Kenzo Kanzaki."

Immediately, Bai Shi said, "Let's not talk about that for now. I have an important task for you."

Upon hearing Shiraishi's words, Kuroki and Kanzaki immediately focused their attention...

"Tomorrow, Beika Town and Kamuro Town are jointly hosting a legal education event, and our department will also be sending people there," Shiraishi said seriously.

Kuroki, Kanzaki:? ? ?

Shiraishi didn't understand what the Beika Town Hall was thinking—the legal education activities should be held more often, but... why did they find Kamurocho to co-organize them?
Do these two places have a good connection? Don't tell me they want to learn from each other...

Kuroki and Kanzaki's doubts are more specific.

"Is there really nothing else we can do right now?" But Shiraishi didn't give them a chance to refuse...

……

The next day, at the event venue.

Zeden was present at the event in person, so he was seated in the first row of the main guest section.

The two policewomen's honor guards were once again marching in formation with music and singing. Fujii managed to escape unscathed this time, but if you observe closely and know the Beika Police Station well enough, you'll notice that Kawai, who usually plays the role of "Beika the sheep," was actually walking in the wrong formation this time...

Meanwhile, the two mascots, "Mihua Meimei" and "Shinshiro-sei," were playing around and acting cute on stage, attracting the attention of the children.

Everything seemed harmonious.

But out of the corner of his eye, Zeden noticed a woman in white wearing a mask and sunglasses walking towards the lockers.

Zeden pretended not to care, but he was already on guard, and he couldn't even suppress the corners of his mouth.

The next segment was Ze Deng's speech on stage...

Then, Zeden, dressed in an XXXL uniform, walked onto the stage and began speaking in an official tone.

Just then, the woman in white wearing a mask and sunglasses that Zeden had just seen suddenly walked through the audience and came directly to the front of the stage.

Some plainclothes officers nearby also noticed something was wrong. Detectives from the Beika Police Station, including Kuroki and Kanzaki, approached, worried she might do something dangerous. However…

The next moment, the woman in white raised her pistol and pointed it at Zeden!

Upon seeing this, the surrounding criminal police officers also raised their guns.

"Don't move!"

"Put the gun down!"

"Don't fire..."

……

Meanwhile, uniformed police officers quickly assisted in the evacuation of the audience.

As the woman in white pointed her gun at Zeden, and the others pointed their guns at her, Zeden instantly drew his own pistol—his holster had been open since he came on stage!
It must be said that Zeden's movements were very skilled, almost fluid, but there were people who were faster than him...

Snapped--

Just then, "Mihua Meimei," who was standing right next to him, suddenly attacked as he raised his gun, knocking him to the ground with a single punch!
The detectives at the Kamuro Police Station were also stunned, and some of them instinctively pointed their guns at "Mihana Meme"...

This thing really does look like a villain!
but……

At the same time, Kuroki and Kanzaki, who were closest to Zeden, also turned their guns on Zeden!
"What are you doing?" The detectives from the Kamuro Police Station were also bewildered.

"Zeden, were you about to draw your gun just now?!" Kuroki questioned him directly.

“I…she moved, of course I drew my gun,” Zeden said matter-of-factly.

However, this was clearly a lie; if the other party had actually made a move, he wouldn't have dared to draw his gun!

At the same time, Mihua Meimei struggled to pull off her own head...

And it's exposed...

Is it the chest and shoulders?

Everyone was stunned when they saw this.

Logically speaking, since this doll is so tall and large, if an ordinary person were wearing it, their eyes should be looking at the person from the doll's "mouth".

However, the doll in front of us now has a neck that only reaches the chest of the person in it, and the doll's two arms are completely forearms!

It wasn't until the other party threw away the hood that everyone could see clearly who else it was but "Chief Mika".
The previously chaotic scene suddenly calmed down...

"It's Chief Mikasa! We're saved!"

……

When Zeden saw Shiraishi emerge from the "Mihana Meme" mascot costume, he was taken aback at first, then immediately snapped angrily, "Shiraishi-hater! What do you mean? The murderer is pointing a gun at me, are you saying I can't fight back?"

"The murderer? You mean her? How do you know she's the murderer? Even if she really wanted to kill you, she hasn't done it yet, so she can't be considered the murderer, right? Do you know her?" Shiraishi asked specifically.

“Her gun is… I think it’s the same model as the murder weapon that killed Uemura and Ando before. We can have it tested later!” Zeden said, forcing himself to speak.

Although I know it's risky to say this without having killed the other person, it's still better than saying nothing at all.

"Are you sure?" Shiraishi said with a slight smile.

The woman in white had already removed her hat, wig, mask, and sunglasses...

What was revealed was not Matsubara Hikaru, but Fuji Seiko from the Beika Department!
"What? What does your Mihua Department mean by this?" Zeden immediately became nervous.

“You’re right about at least one thing: this gun does need to be examined… If it really matches the bullet marks on the murder weapon, then Chief Zeden will have to explain why this gun was in your possession and why it was put into the locker before the event even started this morning!” Shiraishi said calmly.

Zeden immediately broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that Bai Shi must have sent someone to follow him!

“You… how did you know…” Zeden never expected that he had completely fallen into Shiraishi’s trap.

"You're just desperate. After all, Kanzaki Kenzo isn't dead. Either you go to the hospital and assassinate him, or... before he wakes up, you have to confirm that Matsubara Hikaru is the murderer, right?" Shiraishi said frankly.

To silence him at the hospital...

It sounds simpler, but it doesn't actually work at all.

After all, Zeden wasn't someone unknown to everyone. With police officers from both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Beika Police Station protecting him, he didn't dare go to Dongdi Hospital at all.

There's only one way then...

Before Kanzaki Kenzo wakes up, he kills Matsubara Hikaru and pins the blame on her!
In any case, Kanzaki Kenzo had this suspicion before. In this way, there is no way to prove it. Even if Kanzaki Kenzo wakes up, he is just "someone who intends to protect Matsubara Hikaru" and is not enough to pose any threat to him.

Therefore, when Shiraishi heard that he was going to participate in public events, he was already on guard. He then contacted the capital's security and asked about every word Zeden had said to them, including Zeden's request for the surveillance map and his instruction to the front desk staff that if anyone was looking for him, he should give her a locker key.

With the full cooperation of the capital's security forces, Zeden was easily "ambushed"...

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.

Dongdong: It's the last day! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)