Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 534 The Mysterious Suicide
July 6th, Thursday, early morning.

A body was found floating in the waters of Mihua Port.

Police officers from the Mihana Police Station arrived immediately and cordoned off the scene. Detectives also arrived promptly to conduct a preliminary search.

When the narcissist arrived at the scene, looking at Kanzaki in his forensic uniform, he couldn't help but remark, "Kanzaki, you're still so scrambling even in the forensic division?"

That's right, Kanzaki arrived even earlier than the detectives...

“You guys are too lax,” Kanzaki said matter-of-factly.

"How is it?" The narcissist stopped the small talk and went straight to asking about the basic details of the corpse.

"Based on the basic examination results, it is consistent with drowning or suicide... A driver's license, wallet, and cell phone were also found on the person, but the cell phone is water damaged, and we will only know the extent to which it can be repaired after taking it back." Kanzaki paused for a moment and then continued, "Also, judging from the time of death and the direction of the tide, it should be that he jumped into the sea last night. If we want to find surveillance evidence, it should be on the beach in this area."

As Kanzaki spoke, he took out a map and drew a circle around Tsukishima.

Upon hearing this, the narcissist first took the soaked driver's license and business card and looked at them: "Hayami Tatsuro... what kind of company president... this suit must be quite expensive, right? Looks like he really is a rich man."

Although the business card was barely legible, knowing the name made things easier.

Narcissistic thought that we should first determine from those around him whether this person has suicidal tendencies, and most importantly... whether we can find a suicide note!

Only in this way can we determine whether the case can be closed as a suicide.

As for searching for surveillance footage at "locations where people might have jumped into the sea," that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Just then, Tian Shu, who had been silent, noticed that an older woman in the crowd was looking at the corpse with an odd expression, so he went over to ask her something...

However, when the latter saw Tian Shu coming, he hurriedly turned around and left in a panic!

Tian Shu quickly stepped forward: "Hello, Madam, please wait a moment..."

The woman tried to quicken her pace, but was stopped by Yuan and Yamada who had arrived at that moment.

"Tenki, what's going on?" Yamada looked at the old woman warily—although he didn't know what was going on, she was clearly being chased by Tenki.

"No, it's nothing. We need to understand the situation first," Tian Shu said gently.

This middle-aged woman's clothes did make her look like she was just passing by, but... she seemed to know something!
"Don't do anything reckless! I know your director!" the woman exclaimed excitedly.

"I understand, I understand. We just know a little bit about the situation," Tian Shu reassured him.

Yamada, standing nearby, retorted, "Of course! Who doesn't know our chief..."

"You... let me tell you... your director and I are..." The woman was about to say something, but after everyone's attention was focused, she continued, "neighbors!"

Everyone:...

Neighbor, what makes you so arrogant?
"I see, then you don't need to worry about anything... May I ask your name?" Tian Shu, acting like a nice guy, even went along with her first.

"My surname is Kawaguchi."

Yes, this woman is indeed Shiraishi's neighbor—the same neighbor who warned him earlier that "the house is not clean."

"Mrs. Kawaguchi, do you know the victim?" Amagi got down to business.

"I... um." Grandma Kawaguchi said, nodding somewhat fearfully.

“That’s Mr. Hayami Tatsuro, right?” Amagi confirmed further.

"I think so..." Aunt Kawaguchi said, still somewhat frightened.

"Should? This... May I ask who you and the victim are...?" Tian Shu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Neighbor…” Grandma Kawaguchi said softly.

Tian Shu: ...

Another neighbor? You have so many neighbors...

“Wait a minute…the chief and the victim are both your neighbors? So…he should know the chief too?” Yuan said quickly.

However, at this moment, Aunt Kawaguchi quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, no, I don't think I know him. Chief Mika just bought that house. That person bought the house before the Takigawa family."

"That house? It's... Tiancheng's real house?" Tianshu finally realized—it wasn't the director's current neighbor, but the neighbor of the haunted house that the director had "picked up"!
"Isn't this house a bit eerie..." Yamada muttered to himself.

Yamada still vividly remembered the case involving the Tagikawa family—after all, the hostess who impersonated the future Tagikawa had thoroughly humiliated him and Gen.

"Hey!" Yuan reminded him—don't talk nonsense, there's something sinister going on!
“That’s right, that’s right, that’s right!” Mrs. Kawaguchi immediately chimed in, “It must be a problem with that house… that man… and that woman… ah…”

Kawaguchi looked visibly frightened, and seeing this, Amagi quickly said, "Mrs. Kawaguchi, don't worry, let's go sit down over there and talk."

As he spoke, Amagi led Kawaguchi to a nearby coffee shop. Once she had calmed down, Amagi continued, "Mrs. Kawaguchi, when I mentioned Hayami Tatsuro to you earlier, you seemed somewhat unfamiliar with him?"

Because Kawaguchi seemed very scared, Amagi didn't directly ask him about the case.

“That’s right, actually I don’t even know his last name…” Kawaguchi nodded.

Tian Shu and Zi Lian were puzzled by this—usually people would put up a sign on their front door, right? Even if he was often not home, he should know the surname, right?
"Actually, that's not really his home, but rather... the place where he keeps his mistress. Miss Shirai is very young, it's a pity... sigh, to get involved with someone like that." Kawaguchi shook his head and said.

Hayami Tatsuro was already over fifty years old, which made Kawaguchi think he was old and frivolous.

"Lover? Is her surname Shirai? Do you know her given name?" The narcissist asked eagerly.

After all, crimes of passion are a common type of motive...

Kawaguchi then shook his head and said, "Shirai Koko...sigh, she committed suicide more than three months ago."

"Huh? Suicide? Was it at home?" the narcissist exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course not... otherwise how could we not know?" Tian Shu retorted.

After all, Shiraishi's new home is also in Beika Town. If someone committed suicide three months ago, he should have some recollection of it.

"Three months ago, that was before the Tagikawa family moved in, right?" Amagi confirmed.

"Yes, it was because she passed away that the house was cancelled, which is why the Takigawa family moved in later," Mrs. Kawaguchi nodded.

Narcissistic and Ama-no-Ku exchanged a glance—and you know what, the probability of something going wrong in this house is really high!

"Do you think... Ms. Shirai's suicide is also related to that house?" Amagi asked.

Kawaguchi hesitated for a moment upon hearing this before mysteriously saying, "After all, we were neighbors for two months, and I also helped out at the farewell ceremony..." "Eh? You're so kind... Did you discover anything?" Amagi flattered him first.

"That man acted very strangely at the farewell ceremony that day..." Kawaguchi said mysteriously.

"You mean Hayami Tatsuro? 'Strange' means..."

"He seemed to appear as a company leader. He was about to leave after offering incense, but... at that moment, he suddenly collapsed to the ground in terror, pointing at Ms. Shirai's portrait and shouting. Then he ran away in a panic!" Kawaguchi said with lingering fear.

"He suddenly ran away in terror? Was there anyone else with him at the time?" Tian Shu asked, puzzled.

“That’s right, it was like he saw something we couldn’t see! As for his companion… right, it should have been his secretary, right? She tried to help him up, but he immediately shook her off,” Kawaguchi recalled.

"What were the other people's reactions at the time?" Tian Shu continued to ask.

“Some people found it strange, and some were terrified… That’s when I left.” Kawaguchi said, emphasizing, “It must be… it must be the demon from that house that followed them!”

Upon hearing this, Amagi and Narcissism exchanged a glance—they had found a clue, but…

Why does that sound so strange?
However, Kawaguchi seems to have nothing to do with the case; he was merely "the neighbor of the deceased's mistress three months ago" and witnessed the deceased's unusual behavior three months prior.

Not only does it sound strange, but it's also unclear whether it's really related to Hayami Tatsuro's death!

So after getting Kawaguchi's phone number, Amagi let her leave first.

……

After Amagi and Narcissus met up with the other detectives who had arrived at the scene, they shared what they had seen and heard.

"You saw something that ordinary people can't see? What is all this...?" Ash Valley shook his head, indicating disbelief.

"But no matter what, it's strange that the deceased would behave so strangely at his mistress's funeral, isn't it? Normally, someone wouldn't want others to discover their special relationship with the deceased at such a time," Yuan said, puzzled.

If this was Hayami Tatsuro himself deliberately trying to stand out for some purpose, then what was that purpose?

This is clearly not good for him...

"It's still uncertain whether the deceased's death is related to what happened three months ago... Let's check now to see what the deceased's current work and family situation is like," Ashiya said.

As he spoke, Ashiya handed a document to Narcissist.

After a preliminary search, the deceased's identity was confirmed as Hayami Tatsuro. His company and home address were then easily located.

“PenMax? Oh, that’s a company in Beika Town, that makes things easier… But what kind of company is it?” the narcissist asked, puzzled.

"It seems to be something like... data repair... well, it's some kind of computer service company." Yuan wasn't quite sure what this high-tech technology meant either.

"Besides, the Hayami family is also in Beika Town... Which one are you going to?" Narcissistic asked Gen.

“Let’s go home,” Yuan said.

"Shall we go to the company...Director Haiya?" the narcissist said, looking at Haiya.

"Okay, you guys go ahead. Kobe and I will go to Tsukishima." Haiya decided to go and check out the location Kanzaki had speculated about where the car had crashed into the sea.

……

Shiraishi heard about the murder case in his office that morning.

However, Shiraishi wasn't paying much attention at the time...

Because the case looked too much like a suicide, and was steadily progressing toward suicide.

Just before Shiraishi got off work, Munakata actually took the initiative to come and find him.

"Chief, there's a meeting later regarding the investigation into that drowning case. Would you like to attend?" Zong Fang asked, taking the initiative to come to the office.

"Huh? Is there some trouble?" Shiraishi instinctively thought that the normal search had encountered some obstacles—otherwise, why would he be so eager to have me listen in?
Do I feel restless and uncomfortable when I'm not being supervised by a leader?
"Well... it's not exactly troublesome. I'm pretty sure it was suicide, but... I still hope you can come and listen in."

To Shiraishi, Zongfang's words were undoubtedly contradictory.

If it's suicide, why did you ask me to sit in on it?
However, since he had already said so, Shiraishi naturally did not refuse.

After Munakata left, Shiraishi made a special call to Ayako, asking her to find a place to wait for him.

……

Then, during the investigation meeting, Shiraishi quickly realized why these people in the Criminal Investigation Division were acting so mysteriously!

From the perspective of a suicide case, the investigation actually went very smoothly.

Although no suicide note was found, everyone quickly determined that the deceased's recent condition was indeed abnormal.

In the three months before his death, the deceased had seen several psychologists, mainly for... auditory hallucinations!
According to cross-confirmation from several psychologists, the deceased's self-reported symptoms included frequently hearing "someone talking"...

It's not just about disrupting rest; sometimes, persistent auditory hallucinations can drive the deceased into a hysterical state!
Within the company, President Hayami has already fallen ill several times, and in the past month and a half, he has rarely gone to the company office.

After verifying with Hayami's relatives, they also learned about his "auditory hallucinations"...

Although we comforted him and the doctor prescribed medication, Zaojian's condition remained inconsistent, sometimes better and sometimes worse. He rested at home for a while recently and improved slightly, but after he got back to work, his condition deteriorated rapidly again, and he even experienced auditory hallucinations despite taking medication!
Finally, a video was found at the Tsukishima Police Station...

Because the location where the person fell into the sea was captured by a security camera at the back door of a bar, they were able to see it clearly...

At that time, Hayami Tatsuro was acting strangely, as if some unseen person was chasing him, and then he panicked and jumped into the sea.

If we disregard the "incomprehensible" behavior the deceased exhibited during the illness, the case is actually not complicated.

Especially judging from this video, it could be described as suicide or an "accident" caused by a mental illness episode; both are plausible explanations, it's just a matter of characterization.

Because he had been ill for the previous three months and there was this surveillance footage, the family accepted the explanation that "a criminal case could not be ruled out."

The family even hopes the case will be closed as soon as possible because they don't want it to have a "bad impact".

but……

Bai Shi then understood why he had to come and listen in.

After all, Amagi had said at the beginning that this was the "previously occupied" unit of Shiraishi's new house, and now it seemed to be entangled with something, so everyone felt it was necessary to let the chief know...

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)