Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 544 Doubts
"You bastard..." Yu Jian's face immediately turned ugly after his identity was exposed.

It wasn't because of anything else, but precisely because of... everyone's expectant gaze.

"You...you are the prosecutor of the Eastern Capital? Are you here to investigate Saori's case?" The proprietress, Machiko, looked at Mitsurugi expectantly.

After a moment of silence, Yu Jian said, "It's just a private trip."

Upon hearing this, the eagerness in everyone's eyes cooled slightly, but Shiraishi then said, "That's right, it's also a private trip for me, but... if needed, I hope you can all cooperate."

Hearing what Shiraishi said, everyone realized that since this prosecutor was the one in charge of Hasunuma's case, then... his arrival in Kikuno at this time was obviously not a coincidence!
“Inspector Mitsurugi, if you don’t mind, let’s share a table,” Ayako said.

There are no seats available in the store now.

"No need, I..." Yu Jian was about to refuse.

Shiraishi said, "Huh? So Inspector Mitsurugi didn't come in just for a meal? Then he came here specifically..."

"I'd like a Shizuoka oden!" Mitsurugi sat down right next to Ai.

The boss and the guests were all concerned about this matter, but they could also see the atmosphere between Shiraishi and Mitsurugi, so they hesitated to speak and soon dispersed.

Although only Shiraishi and Mitsurugi were left at their table in the room, Mitsurugi didn't mention going to any other tables...

"Are you familiar with the prosecutor in Shizuoka?" Shiraishi asked while eating.

Yu Jian wasn't used to talking while eating, so he swallowed and put down his chopsticks before saying, "Not cooked."

Shiraishi:……

Why are you putting on airs if we're not even familiar with each other!
"So how do you plan to investigate?" Shiraishi asked directly.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jian stopped picking up his bowl and chopsticks and fell silent for a while.

Shiraishi:……

So you just did it on a whim?

Shiraishi also noticed that, outside of court, Mitsurugi could be quite childish at times—after all, he was only the "young" one among three generations...

Seemingly sensing Shiraishi's gaze, Miken showed signs of becoming angry and embarrassed.

Seeing this, Shiraishi spoke first: "I have a friend in Shizuoka Prefecture who is the superintendent of the First Investigative Division. Let's ask him to come and help us out."

After all, Shiraishi and Mitsurugi are two police officers and prosecutors from the Eastern Capital...

Searching Kikuno without prior notice would not only be unjustified and improper, but if the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters discovered it, they might even think it was a provocation.

Therefore, Shiraishi planned to ask Yokomizo for help...

With him, this "local bigwig," around, it was relatively easy to gather evidence from civilians and to get confessions from the Shizuoka Prefectural Police.

Although Yokomizo Sango's relationship with Shiraishi is not as close as that of his younger brother Shigeo, Shiraishi has helped him in cases more than once, and even if it is just a matter of reciprocation, he would not refuse.

When Yu Jian heard Bai Shi say this, even though he was somewhat unconvinced and proudly unwilling to accept help, he finally nodded and said, "Okay," after considering the practical difficulties.

After all, he was a prosecutor from Tokyo, and he came directly to Shizuoka Prefecture to conduct a search without any documents or orders...

Although his high status might earn him some leeway from the Shizuoka Prefectural Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office, it's impossible for him to "point fingers" at them.

Then Shiraishi turned to look at Ayako beside him...

Seeing this, Ayako said understandingly, "Then I'll take Ai around tomorrow... and we'll watch the costume parade together the day after tomorrow!"

“Hmm…” Shiraishi immediately agreed, and then explained to Miken, “Ah, when I said ‘together,’ I didn’t include you.”

"You don't need to tell me!" Yu Jian said irritably.

However, Miken did not feel that this was too "lax", after all, on the day of the costume parade, Kikuno was practically deserted, and no one came to visit them.

Then Shiraishi made a phone call to Yokomizo...

"Hello, this is Shiraishi... Inspector Yokomizo. Are you off these two days? I have some personal business to ask you about..."

Henggou hadn't been resting.

However, since Shiraishi said so, Yokomizo decided to take leave on the spot!
After all, he had received help from Shiraishi before, and although it was said to be a private matter, it was actually for a case in Shizuoka. Yokomizo should help him out of both courtesy and reason.

Upon learning of this, the head of the First Investigation Division of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police immediately ordered Yokomizo to provide full cooperation...

Although Shiraishi didn't mention that there were prosecutors from the prosecutor's office accompanying him, the mere fact that he was "Superintendent Shiraishi" was already noteworthy.

What if there's a chance to be transferred back to the Eastern Capital in the future?

Although there are so many county police stations across the country, ultimately, for these senior officers, returning to Dongdu is the only way they might get a promotion!
Even setting aside these overly pragmatic reasons...

If Shiraishi really solved the Shizuoka disappearance case in Shizuoka, and the Shizuoka Prefectural Police knew nothing about it, wouldn't that be a great honor?

It would be better to send the Yokogawa manager, whom he knows well, to accompany him...

In this way, any progress in the case will also be attributed to the Shizuoka Prefectural Police.

……

After Yokomizo agreed, Shiraishi hung up the phone and then confirmed the details with Mitsurugi: "What exactly happened in this case? You were busy with this before, weren't you? And in the end, you didn't even file a lawsuit?"

When Shiraishi asked Mitsurugi for help before, his tone was very urgent, and Shiraishi had some suspicions at the time.

Upon seeing him arrive in Kikuno, Shiraishi immediately realized that he was indeed the prosecutor in charge of the case.

Upon hearing this, Yujian awkwardly replied, "Actually, it would have been better if you had just introduced me to that friend of yours, the Shizuoka Prefectural Police officer..."

After some awkward silence, Yu Jian finally stopped talking nonsense and said, "Since you are so determined to assist with the search, I will make an exception and allow it!"

Shiraishi rolled his eyes...

“Last Wednesday, a fire broke out in an old-style detached house in Beika. When the fire department searched the scene, they found the skeleton of a woman. After identification... it was Namiki Saori, who had been missing for three years.” Mitsurugi lowered his voice and looked around carefully as he spoke about this.

Fortunately, the Namiki family, upon seeing Shiraishi and Mitsurugi pretend to be discussing some private matters, wisely went to the kitchen.

Otherwise, Yu Jian really wouldn't be able to say it so frankly...

"Skeletons? Dead for more than a year?" Shiraishi asked in a low voice.

The media hadn't reported on it in too much detail before, since the case wasn't solved at all, and the suspect was someone who desperately wanted to embarrass the police and prosecutors, so neither the prosecutors nor the police wanted to disclose too much information...

Shiraishi didn't know much beforehand, not even whether the girl had been dead for three years or had been imprisoned for three years and had just passed away.

"It is estimated that he has been dead for two to five years... He was likely murdered shortly after his disappearance. The cause of death can only be inferred from the remains. There are obvious fractures above the skull," Yu Jian said.

"Wait, since it's a skeleton, and even an unburied skeleton... how can we confirm it's Namiki Saori?" Shiraishi asked cautiously. An unsealed skeleton shouldn't be easy to identify...

“It was that female forensic pathologist from UDI… She found the victim’s DNA residue in the petrous part of the temporal bone, at the base of the skull where it is encased in the auricular sac,” Miken said.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi also thought of the forensic doctor Misumi... It seems she has grown up again.

This location, which has only been identified in recent years, is suitable for collecting DNA from very old sites.

Since it was a DNA test result, Shiraishi could only nod heavily—it seemed there was no problem with his identity.

"Afterwards, based on the location of the fire and the search records from when Namiki Saori disappeared, we identified Hasunuma Kanichi as the person..." Mitsurugi continued.

Shiraishi wasn't surprised—the fire occurred at his grandmother's ancestral home, and he was a suspect in the Shizuoka disappearance case. Eighteen years ago, he was even involved in the disappearance of a little girl, a guy who survived the trial by remaining silent and teaching the prosecution a lesson…

Of course they'll be highly suspected!
"However, after we arrested him, he refused to say a single word, whether under police interrogation or questioning by our prosecutors," Yu Jian said regretfully.

"Wait, are you here in Shizuoka Prefecture to arrest someone?" Shiraishi suddenly interrupted.

“No, he was in Dongdu at the time,” Yu Jian corrected.

Bai Shi frowned upon hearing this and asked, "Does he usually live in Dongdu?"

Shiraishi had previously thought that the guy lived in Shizuoka Prefecture, since the case had also occurred in Kikuno.

“No, he usually works odd jobs in Shizuoka City, but he happened to be in Tokyo at the time,” Miken corrected again.

"A casual job..." Shiraishi curled his lip upon hearing this—he really was just trying to scam people!

Meanwhile, Shiraishi was puzzled by something else: "Was it really just a coincidence? How is the investigation into the cause of the fire going? Why would an empty house catch fire?"

"The curtains caught fire first, but since the windows were open and there were signs of ransacking inside, we tentatively conclude that someone broke in and then set the fire," Yu Jian said matter-of-factly.

"Breaking into an empty house and then setting it on fire?" Bai Shi felt a little strange—what kind of outlaw was this?
Burglary is bad enough, but to set the house on fire in order to destroy evidence?
and……

A long-abandoned ancestral home has attracted the attention of thieves?

"What was that guy doing when the fire started?" Shiraishi asked, sensing something was off.

"He doesn't speak..." Yu Jian emphasized again, sounding annoyed.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi feigned realization and skipped over the topic.

"It's a bit strange. Just when he returned to Tokyo, his grandmother's ancestral home caught fire, exposing Namiki Saori's body... It's too much of a coincidence," Shiraishi muttered to himself, while racking his brains.

but……

What if this wasn't a coincidence, but something he did on purpose?
That's illogical...

Why would someone burn down such a well-hidden location where a body was hidden, and which had never been suspected?

This doesn't align with the character's motivation...

"Wait, what day was the disappearance case three years ago?" Shiraishi immediately asked.

“This…” Yu Jian frowned – he really didn’t know… He must have read the information back then, but now he couldn’t recall it all.

After all, the evidence from that disappearance case back then has long been lost, and Mitsurugi never intended to come to Shizuoka to investigate!
They only came to Kikuno, the site of the original incident, as a last resort...

"July 5th," Xia Mei's voice came through at that moment.

"Natsumi!" Mother Machiko immediately pulled Natsumi over.

"Oh, I'm sorry... Boss, why don't you ask your wife and daughter to go and rest first?" Shiraishi then took the initiative to invite the boss to stay.

Although all loved ones are grieving over such a tragedy, but...

If someone has to stay behind to say these things, as a man and the head of the family, it has to be him!

The boss nodded and said, "Matomoko, you take..."

"No!" Xia Mei suddenly cried out in a slightly shrill voice, then calmed down and said, "No, I can help you... I might have even found the crime scene... Please!"

Xia Mei is still young, and what happened to her sister is undoubtedly a huge trauma and shadow for her.

However, faced with this trauma... since her sister's case requires it, Xia Mei doesn't want to wait for time to pass and let the wounds scab over, but rather... to confront it head-on!

Yu Jian frowned, about to refuse—Xia Mei looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, the same age she would have been in middle school three years ago.

Considering both her age and her kinship with the victim, the reliability of her testimony was somewhat lacking, and as a prosecutor, I instinctively wanted to reject it.

However, Shiraishi then said, "I see... then I'll leave it to you."

Miken looked at Shiraishi with some dissatisfaction, but... he didn't voice any questions.

“July 5th, right…” Shiraishi nodded, then frowned and said, “The fire happened last Wednesday… so it was also July 5th?”

“That’s right.” Yu Jian nodded.

Is this... also a coincidence?
or……

"This kind of thing couldn't have been done by the dead." Chihiro appeared and said to Ayako when she was getting nervous.

Ayako:……

Well, there's no "or," so it's not for any paranormal reason.

"Since you arrested Hasunuma directly, there must be other evidence, right?" Shiraishi then turned to Miken and asked.

"In a room on the second floor of the fire scene, his blood-stained work clothes were also found... It was the work clothes he wore three years ago at the Kikuno garbage disposal plant. However, although there was a large patch of blood on his chest, it was impossible to extract DNA from them," Yujian said regretfully.

“Three years ago… that guy was fired after Saori’s disappearance!” Namiki Yutaro said excitedly.

“Yes, we already know that.” Yu Jian nodded.

Unfortunately, even so, we cannot arbitrarily conclude that the bloodstains belonged to the victim.

and……

He, of course, didn't offer any explanation regarding the clothes!
Because the shop owner's family had already focused their attention on him, Shiraishi just glanced at Mikado without saying anything.

If there were no outsiders around, Shiraishi would definitely ask him—after all, why did he give up the lawsuit, just for the sake of the 99.9% chance of winning?
Otherwise, in a situation like this, one should be willing to take a gamble...

However, because the suspect had a winning record eighteen years ago, the prosecution hesitated and ultimately decided to postpone the prosecution...

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: Today is September 23rd, the 1804th anniversary of Sun Quan, the King of Wu of Wei, receiving investiture from Cao Pi. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)