Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 529 Three Left-Handed People

Because of Sato and Ran's condition, Shiraishi spent the whole night at the hospital, and it was almost dawn.

Just then, Ayako arrived with breakfast...

Ayako was also at the Beika Sun Plaza Hotel. After cooperating with the search, she came to the East Imperial Hospital. However, since it was already morning, Ayako simply bought breakfast before coming to find Shiraishi.

"Hey, sis, is there any for me?" Sonoko asked teasingly, seeing that Ayako was carrying so many.

“Go downstairs and eat by yourself!” Ayako knew she was joking.

Yes, of course Sonoko knows—this looks like it's only enough for seven or eight people, just enough for her brother-in-law alone!

At the same time, Shiraishi found Inspector Megure, who was about to leave, and asked him about something very important.

"Inspector Megure, you mentioned before that Sato, like Detective Nara and Detective Shiba, is a detective in charge of reopening investigations... There should be another one, right?" Shiraishi specifically asked about this.

Based on the current situation, it appears that the killer was targeting these individuals.

"No, there are only three people." Megure's answer surprised Shiraishi.

"Huh? Three?" Shiraishi couldn't help but wonder—it should be an even number, since they should be in pairs.

“Originally, there were four detectives in charge of the Nino case, but… Inspector Tomonari, who was in charge and Sato’s partner at the time, died in the line of duty,” Megure explained.

"I see... This is the case of Inspector Yu Cheng's death from overwork." Upon hearing this, Shiraishi shook his head regretfully.

Although Shiraishi wasn't very familiar with Nobumori Tomonari, he did know him.

A year ago, when Shiraishi was investigating Inukai alone, he heard about Inspector Tomonari's death.

However, all Shiraishi knew was that he died from overwork, and the Metropolitan Police Department gave him the honors for dying in the line of duty. Theoretically, his rank was actually that of Superintendent...

Prior to this, Shiraishi had not paid any special attention to what case he was investigating.

"What is death from overwork? Does Inspector Yusei have any underlying medical conditions?" Shiraishi asked.

Inspector Yu-cheng isn't very old; he should be under fifty.

"Well, actually... it was during the time we were tracking Toshiya. At that time, four detectives—Tomonari, Sato, Nara, and Shiba—were investigating Toshiya because of a clue that he had a verbal altercation with Yasuyuki Niino before his death. The result was..."

"Last year was extremely hot, and we happened to be conducting surveillance during the hottest days of August. As a result, during the mission, Senior Tomonari suffered a heart attack. Although Sato immediately took him to the hospital, but..."

Megure shook his head regretfully as he spoke.

Yu Cheng is, by all accounts, Megure's senior.

Just then, Shiratori suddenly seemed to remember something, but didn't say anything. Shiraishi, of course, noticed and immediately asked, "Inspector Shiratori, what's on your mind?"

“This…” Shiratori hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually, at Inspector Tomonari’s funeral, his son, Makoto, spoke about his father’s death…” Shiratori said, glancing hesitantly at Inspector Megure.

“Indeed, Makoto is unable to let go of Tomonari’s death and believes that the police’s pursuit of the case hindered the rescue efforts,” Megure added.

In this sense, Yu Chengzhen also has a motive—if he attributes his father's death to the actions of the police, especially the actions of the three detectives who were on the same mission, then the motive is obvious, and it fits perfectly from the perspective of the deceased.

even……

If it was indeed Yu Chengzhen who did it, then it would also fit the death information of Nara Kazushima—police officer's ID!

After all, Yoo Sung-jin is a family member of a police officer, so he can be considered a person related to the police force.

Although revealing the truth might raise suspicions about his senior's son, Megure was unwilling to deliberately conceal clues out of consideration for their friendship.

"Hmm? Was there a delay in getting him to the hospital?" Shiraishi pressed.

“It can’t be considered a delay. After Inspector Tomonari fell ill, he stopped other detectives from making phone calls, which was indeed partly due to the desire to avoid being affected by the prison. However, Sato immediately drove him to the hospital. Even if an ambulance had been called, it wouldn’t have been any faster, would it?” Shiratori shook his head, disagreeing with Tomonari’s idea.

If we're being pedantic and say that the ambulance has emergency medical equipment, then that's a different story.

However, such arguments are meaningless. If someone dies in an ambulance, they can complain that their driver didn't take them directly to the hospital!
It can only be described as an accident; it's hard to say who bears any responsibility.

Of course, from the perspective of the deceased's family, the sudden death of their father would inevitably cause resentment in their hearts. It is normal for them to complain about everything and everyone at this time. It cannot be said that this is unreasonable behavior. If it is just "complaining", it is also understandable.

unless……

He actually did something because of it!
However, Inspector Megure immediately shook his head and said, "But... a year has already passed, it doesn't make sense to reopen the investigation now..."

Although Shiraishi didn't speak, Megure realized that Shiraishi was probably doubting Tomonari at this moment, so he added an explanation.

Indeed, if someone were to hold a grudge over something like this, they should have committed the crime a year ago.

Shiraishi doesn't deny that some hatreds fester the longer they linger, until they cross a certain line or a certain trigger occurs, at which point they suddenly erupt. Shiraishi has encountered quite a few cases where revenge was taken long in the past.

but……

The motive for Tomosuke's actions, which stemmed from "misplaced anger," is not actually this situation...

Normally, once the most painful phase is over, the person experiencing this "displaced anger" will be able to move on on their own.

“That’s right, A-zhen is a strong and mature child,” Shiratori chimed in.

If that's the case, then his motivation isn't strong.

And just as Megure said, it was precisely after the investigation was reopened that the detectives in charge were attacked one after another...

This can't be a coincidence!
It seems that the killer's goal is to prevent the investigation.

If friendship becomes a reality...

Ah-Zhen, you don't want your father's last case to remain unsolved, do you?
Shiraishi nodded, but still asked, "By the way, do you have a photo of Tomosuke?"

"Huh? This... I don't think so..."

Just as Inspector Megure shook his head, Shiratori said, "Yes, I follow his profile. He uploads photos regularly..."

"Huh?" Shiraishi was taken aback when he saw it.

Shiraishi's eyes then went blank for a moment...

Megure and Shiratori knew that Shiraishi was thinking, so they didn't disturb him immediately.

Shiraishi quickly recovered and said confidently, "This person... also appeared at the Beika Sun Plaza Hotel before! And..." Shiraishi took Shiratori's phone, looked through a couple more photos, and continued, "He's left-handed, right?"

Conan witnessed the first murder case before – the murderer was holding an umbrella with his right hand and firing a gun with his left!
"What? But I didn't see him during the search earlier." Shiratori was taken aback—even if he hadn't noticed him at the banquet with so many people around, he was confident he would have recognized Tomonari if he had seen him during the smoke test. "He was wearing sunglasses at the time, and... let me ask him in a moment." Shiraishi said, hanging up the phone at the station.

"Hey, it's me, Shiraishi. Check the registration for the gunpowder detection at the restaurant before. Is there anyone named Tomonari Makoto?" Shiraishi asked directly.

The Rice Flower Office will reply soon – yes.

And while working overtime, Yuan discovered another clue...

"Hmm, it seems that Yu Chengzhen was still in the hotel at the time, but he was no longer on the fifteenth floor," Shiraishi said.

The entire hotel was sealed off at the time, and Shiratori could only say that he saw the people in the banquet hall.

However, this made Megure and Shiratori breathe a sigh of relief—thank goodness they were still there!
Although Shiraishi saw her in the banquet hall, she left after the murder, which seemed rather strange, but...

It's better than not finding this person at all!
At least it has now been proven that Yu Chengzhen showed no signs of gunpowder residue.

“Besides Tomonari, there’s another person on the list who should be related to the case… There’s also a name called Tamaki Nino on the list, that shouldn’t be a coincidence, right?” Shiraishi added at this point.

“Nino Tamaki? That’s right, she’s Nino Yasushi’s younger sister,” Shiratori said immediately.

"Hmm? You investigated her back then?" Shiraishi thought that Shiratori remembered her so quickly, and felt that it must be more than just because she was "pretty".

When Shiraishi first heard the name, he suspected it was the person who was stalking Toshiya.

Now that Shiratori says she is Nino Yasushi's sister, Shiraishi is even more certain.

"Well, because at the time, Tamaki Nino had broken up with her boyfriend, and we were worried that her brother's murder was due to her, so we did some investigation, but it turned out to be unrelated to the case," Shiratori said, shaking his head.

"She and her brother have a very close relationship?" Shiraishi suspected that she was the woman who had come to the hospital to inquire about Nino Yasushi.

“No, both her own account and interviews with relatives and friends prove that their relationship was just so-so. However… it can’t be said that there was no affection at all. When she was cooperating with the police investigation, she repeatedly emphasized things like ‘My brother could not have committed suicide out of guilt,’” Shiratori said.

Bai Shi recalled again, and all the scenes he had witnessed of that woman in the banquet hall were now replaying in his mind...

Yes, I use my right hand when using cutlery, but when holding a wine glass, I instinctively use my left hand—I'm a left-handed person who has intentionally corrected myself!
Shiraishi nodded knowingly, then asked Shiratori to send over Tomonari's photo, and then went to see Dr. Hara.

“This… um, that’s right… um, it should be this person.” Yuan nodded.

The man who was one of the other two "non-police officers" who consulted Nino Yasushi after the incident was Tomonari Makoto!
Although I couldn't remember what those two people looked like, they still seemed familiar when I saw them.

And it's perfectly normal for Yoo Sung to come and inquire about this matter...

After all, it was a case his father was investigating before his death.

Therefore, it is even less likely that Yoo Sung-jin would take his anger out on the other three detectives!

If he is truly just acting like a spoiled child, simply taking his anger out on the other three detectives, then his target of hatred is clear, and there is no need to investigate further.

However, as it turns out, Yoo Sung-jin quickly adjusted his mindset...

Although it is reckless and not advisable for ordinary citizens to investigate a murder case on their own, it does prove that Yoo Sung-jin quickly turned his hatred towards the real murderer.

As for the other woman, it's most likely Tamaki Nino.

Both of them were after the real culprit, which explains why Jinno Tamaki had been following Minya before—after all, Minya, who had argued with Jinno Yasushi before his death, was indeed a prime suspect!

Just then, Ayako also found the doctor's office...

"Shiraishi, I brought you some breakfast," Ayako said.

Hara and Daimon looked at the two large bags that Ayako was carrying and couldn't help but wonder to themselves: Is it really just a "little"?

At this moment, the nurse came over and asked, "Dr. Yuan, have you signed the papers for Xiaolan's transfer?"

"Yeah, I put it over there," Yuan replied casually.

Although Xiaolan still has all her common sense, it's just that her personal memories have returned to when she was six or seven years old. However, Kazeto still recommends that Xiaolan be hospitalized for observation for a period of time.

Of course, since Kazeto is going to be in charge of Ran's treatment, it would be more convenient to transfer her to Beika Pharmacist Hospital.

"Shouldn't we write something else here regarding the patient's condition?" Oma reminded him after looking at it.

"No need, I know that Dr. Kazato, I spoke to him in person," he said matter-of-factly.

"Hmm? You know Dr. Kazato? How good is he...? Isn't he a bit over-medicalizing?" Shiraishi asked another question.

"No way... Dr. Kazato has excellent medical ethics! But... after all, he only switched to psychology midway through his career, so I don't know his skill level." Hara said, sounding somewhat regretful.

"He switched midway? What kind of doctor was he before? Why did he switch?" Bai Shi seemed to sense something.

“He used to be a surgeon, in the surgery department of our Dongdi Hospital… Ah, that was seven or eight years ago, right? Back then, he was known as the ‘Golden Left Hand,’ a promising young surgeon. Even I, his senior, had to be his assistant,” Yuan said frankly.

Then, Hara also showed a somewhat angry expression and said, "The reason I became a psychologist is all because of that guy Jinno... Once, when he was Dr. Kazato's first assistant, he was opening up a patient's abdomen and actually cut Dr. Kazato's left wrist directly. The injury was very deep and damaged the nerves!"

"Although it doesn't affect daily use, it's not enough to perform surgery without being just a little bit off. Shortly after that, Kazato applied to switch to mental health care."

Golden Left Hand...

He was ruined by Nino Yasushi...

Shiraishi:……

"Then... what happened between Dr. Kazato and Ninoboru after that..." Shiraishi still had a question at this point.

This happened seven years ago!

The same logic applies: if this is the motive, we must explain why it took seven years to seek revenge.

"So Dr. Kazeto is a good person... I suspected at the time that Jinno did it on purpose, but... Dr. Kazeto not only forgave him, but I also heard that he and Jinno maintained a certain personal relationship afterward... By the way, the reason Jinno got drunk the night before the surgical accident was because he was with Dr. Kazeto!" Hara explained.

Shiraishi:……

That's right...

If it's true that Jinno was "speaking the truth while drunk," then it makes sense that he was targeted by Kazeto afterwards!

And since he has a "golden left hand," he's clearly left-handed...

(End of this chapter)