Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 561 Jigsaw Puzzle
"White Whale... Okay, I understand." Shiraishi seemed to understand something after hearing Kaito's words.

"Huh? What do you know?" Kaito quickly asked.

However, Shiraishi shook his head and said, "It's nothing, he's probably not a member of the 'Holy Grail'."

Hearing Shiraishi say that, Kaito was still concerned, but he didn't ask any more questions.

At this point, Shiraishi had doubts...

This "white whale" is probably not the animal beluga whale, but rather... White Whale Vodka—a type of liquor!
In other words, it wasn't just Scrooge from the "Holy Grail Organization" who had their eyes on the "Egg of Memories," but also the "Raven Legion." This is why Shiraishi thought Aro was also suspicious—he wasn't wrong about it.

but……

Despite having guessed it, Shiraishi couldn't immediately figure out how to use this information to further break through the investigation of the Black Organization.

After all, Yaro was only discovered by chance. Judging from his position, his usual role in the organization was probably to infiltrate the Mao Kingdom.

The incident involving the "Egg of Memories" must have just happened to coincide with this; otherwise, their "business" wouldn't have intersected with Shiraishi's, and Shiraishi wouldn't have investigated an embassy clerk for no reason.

But Shiraishi was somewhat unwilling to just let this clue go...

So after parting ways with Kaito, Shiraishi dialed Kazami's number.

"Hello, this is Shiraishi."

"Hello, Superintendent Shiraishi, I am Inspector Kazami from the Planning Division of the Security Bureau of the National Police Agency."

Kazami spoke in a tone that said, "I'm not a police officer, don't look for me."

After all, Shiraishi had only contacted him about two things before: one was that he needed the police's help, and the other was... when the police failed to protect the witnesses of the Raven Legion, Shiraishi would call and scold him.

Kazami is a public security police officer who is not under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department, but in front of Shiraishi, he always feels like he is about to become Shiraishi's subordinate!

“I found a crow, a crow that’s drinking,” Shiraishi said calmly.

Kazami: ...

"I am Kazami, a detective in the Public Security Bureau. Is Inspector Shiraishi at the police station?" Kazami immediately changed his words.

"Crow" refers to a member of the Crow Legion; "drinking crow" refers to a formal member with a drinking code name!
Upon hearing this news, Kazami could no longer pretend not to care.

"What am I doing at the police station so late? You don't need to come see me specifically. I just happened to overhear him talking to someone from the organization on the phone. You'll have to investigate the details yourself," Shiraishi said calmly.

However, Kazami, who knew him well, had a bad feeling at this moment.

You know nothing? All you know is that they're from the Raven Legion?

This……

Why would he specifically notify us?

Kazami had basically realized that this person's identity must be very special, and that Shiraishi couldn't handle the task himself, so he threw it to them!
"Who...who is it?" Kazami asked cautiously.

“Remember, you owe me another favor… Investigate Yaropolk, the secretary of the Mao embassy, ​​thoroughly; you’ll find something!” Bai Shi said righteously.

Kazami: ...

really……

Upon hearing the other party's reputation, Kazami immediately realized that he had guessed correctly!

The situation was even more challenging than I had imagined.

No wonder Shiraishi informed me of this news immediately...

What favor? It's clearly because he had no other choice!
"What evidence do you have?" Kazami asked expectantly.

“No, I just heard it,” Shiraishi said calmly.

It wasn't really a "report," it was just a tip-off. If there was real evidence of a crime, Shiraishi would have investigated it himself!

Of course, Shiraishi wouldn't mention anything about Kid, only saying that he discovered it himself.

"Okay, I understand..." Kazami said helplessly.

"Remember the favor you owe me!" Shiraishi reminded him again.

……

October 7th, Thursday.

Early in the morning, Section Chief Yuanwei of the Beihua Police Station was struggling with a dilemma.

Just now, a new soul was added to the steps leading to the shrine in Beika Town... no, I mean the steps along the embankment of the Tsutsumi River.

However, this preliminary investigation has not identified it as a murder case.

The marks left by the deceased's fall are consistent with the characteristics of an accidental fall, and there were people around when the fall occurred.

Although no one saw the moment of the fall, no one noticed that the deceased had been arguing with someone beforehand, as if he had accidentally fallen backward while going up the stairs.

Moreover, the deceased's identity was quickly confirmed; he was an HR professional at a software company, and no one was found to have any personal connections that would make someone want to kill him.

Of course, it has not been officially classified as an accident.

Therefore, Section Chief Yuanwei was conflicted about whether or not to "refresh" the timer board at the entrance.

Fortunately, she didn't struggle with it for too long!

Soon, a genuine and predictable murder occurred, and the homicide timer at the Mihana Police Station was immediately reset to zero.

For the criminal investigation department, the case was solved very quickly.

Because Kogoro's family was present, the suspect was apprehended on the spot...

Thanks to this, Shiraishi was able to have a proper weekend—last week, Shiraishi's move was interrupted because of the [Egg of Memories], but this week she was finally able to move in officially.

Shiraishi's plan continued into the evening of the following day, July 28th, Friday.

Just before Shiraishi got off work...

Zongfang hurriedly went to Baishi's office.

Hearing Zongfang knocking on the door, Baishi rubbed his head.

"Please come in." Shiraishi had no choice but to invite him in.

Seeing Munakata's serious expression, Shiraishi became even more convinced that something was amiss.

"What murder case has occurred? Is there something wrong with the deceased, or is there some troublesome suspect?" Shiraishi asked directly.

For Munakata to come looking for him at this time, it must at least be a murder case, right?
It has to have some special features!

Zongfang didn't say much, but took out a silver, torn piece of paper, put it in the evidence bag, and handed it to Baishi.

Shiraishi frowned upon seeing this, and while taking it, asked, "This is... special paper that is three-proof, right?"

Shiraishi immediately recognized it as a special type of paper made with photoluminescent, anti-copying material, typically used only by special departments.

After receiving it, Shiraishi also saw the contents.

The paper itself was incomplete, or rather... it was already in pieces, and someone had pieced it together and glued it back together!
So a few pieces are missing from the top...

But it doesn't matter, from the parts that have been preserved, we can already tell what this is - a personal file!
The document contained information about a company employee named "Kenji Ogura," including basic information, work experience, and a photo. "This format doesn't seem like something a company would use to count employees... Oh right, Kenji Ogura... isn't that the name of the deceased found in the Tsutsumi River?" Shiraishi then realized that the HR of this software company was the same person who had been found dead yesterday.

“Yes, that’s the person.” Zongfang nodded in confirmation.

"So where did this come from?" Shiraishi asked further to confirm.

"Do you remember when Kobe offered a reward for information?" Munakata asked in return.

“Yes, the time when the bounty was offered on the homeless man near the murder site, right?” Shiraishi nodded.

"It's the homeless man who got the reward back then... He found these in a trash can near the scene of the murder yesterday... He has a habit of doing jigsaw puzzles, and when he picks up trash, he will intentionally pick up scraps of paper and put them together himself."

"Because of the unusual color of the paper, he became interested and picked it up. After piecing it together, he discovered that the person on it was the previous victim, so he just came to the police station to ask if Kobe still had a reward..." Munakata explained.

The bounty offered in Kobe was definitely worth it!
If someone hadn't happened to find this, it would have been impossible to confirm that the previous case was not actually an accident.

That's right. I originally thought he was just a company employee with simple interpersonal relationships, so I didn't suspect homicide in terms of motive.

but……

Since this was found near the scene, it probably means that someone was watching him at the time, and they were nearby.

This further suggests that the identity of "Kenji Ogura" is not as ordinary as it appears.

"Any other clues?" Shiraishi asked further.

At this moment, Bai Shi also thought that if the murderer had possessed this item at the time, it meant that the murderer was likely also taking money to solve problems for others and did not actually know the deceased—otherwise, there would be no need to carry this item with them.

This also illustrates...

"Heh, definitely a newbie." Shi Kaobing said disdainfully.

It's one thing to not remember the target's face when committing murder, yet still carry this thing with you, but to make matters worse, you just carelessly tear it up and throw it in a nearby trash can?

Shi Kaobing thought this colleague was definitely a newcomer!
Judging from her attitude, Shiraishi tapped her left temple twice, effectively shutting her down—he had hoped she would say something constructive…

Since it's a rookie killer, Shi Kaobing naturally doesn't recognize it either.

Of course, if that's all there is to it, it simply means that the Mikasa Police Department can file a case.

But if that's all there is to it...

What does Zongfang want from me?
Although the materials in this document are somewhat unsettling, I wonder if it's because Zongfang doesn't dare to file a case?
“Yes… we collected fingerprints from this piece of paper before, and besides the homeless man and Kobe, we also found someone else’s fingerprints!” Munakata’s face darkened.

The homeless man suddenly took out this, and Kobe didn't know what it was. He accidentally touched it at first.

"We've also found this fingerprint data," Zong Fang said in a low voice. "It's this person."

As Zong Fang spoke, he carefully took out another document.

This is a standard police information form...

Fingerprints are recorded, usually by ex-convicts, missing persons, or people already in police custody.

The first thing you notice about the photo in the upper right corner is that it's a policewoman who isn't very old, about the same age as Shiraishi, and... her rank has already reached "superintendent," so she's obviously a professional.

Let's look at the department she works for...

"Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office?" Upon seeing this, Shiraishi frowned deeply, understanding why Munakata was so serious.

Yako Shimi is a key member of the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.

As its name suggests, this is an investigation department directly under the Cabinet.

In theory, this is an independent investigation department, not under the Metropolitan Police Department or the National Police Agency. However, its members are selected and transferred from various departments, including the Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency. After being transferred, their police ranks will not be removed.

In other words, this is someone who "has a police rank, but is not actually a member of the police force."

Fortunately, she had police credentials, so her information was still in the fingerprint database.

Of course, whether it's under the jurisdiction of the police department isn't a big problem, but if it's using the "Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office" label, then we must be cautious.

Bai Shi couldn't just let the criminal police casually go to Xiaguan to question the people "internally investigated".

Shiraishi then slowly nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. I will personally question the 'Social Police Department'."

This is something that Shiraishi himself clearly has to handle...

Shiraishi glanced at the time; it was almost time to leave work. Hopefully… the “internal transfer” wouldn’t end so early!

After Zongfang left the office, Baishi looked up the phone number for "internal investigation" and then made a call directly.

"Hello, this is the Cabinet Research Office."

The person who answered the phone didn't use a very polite tone. After all, calls for "internal investigations" aren't open to the public, so anyone calling here must be on official business.

"Hello, this is Shiraishi Kuro, the chief of the Beika Police Station of the Metropolitan Police Department. May I transfer you to Inspector Shimi Miko?" Shiraishi asked directly.

The woman who answered the phone paused for a moment, then said, "I am Yako Sha. I wonder what the famous Superintendent Shiraishi wants to do by calling me?"

Miko Sha also sounded puzzled.

At this moment, Shiraishi did not consider whether the tone was genuine or not, and simply said, "Inspector General, I have some important matters to attend to, and I will be heading to the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office now. I hope you will be so kind as to grant me a meeting."

"Then I'll wait here." The company didn't know why Shiraishi Kuro had contacted them.

but……

Shiraishi Kuro was no ordinary police chief or superintendent, and although the company was puzzled, it did not refuse his request to meet.

If it were a different local bureau chief, she might not have bothered with her.

Shiraishi, with a clear conscience, marked "visit" on the schedule this time, and even added "Kasumigaseki" this time.

Hmm, is this a real visit, or is it to Kasumigaseki—many government departments of Tokyo are located here.

The news of Baishi's arrival at Xiaguan could not be kept secret from those who were interested... those who had eyes!

Anyone with eyes can see how big he is.

However, aside from sparking some gossip, no one seemed to care too much.

After all, not only Shiraishi himself, but also the detectives from the Beika Police Station had "visited" various provinces and bureaus many times because of cases...

Shiraishi's goal this time was very clear: he went directly to the "internal transfer" office area.

When Miko saw that Shiraishi had arrived, she specially found an empty office and met with him privately.

Shiraishi then met Miko Sha. Although she was theoretically a police officer, she wasn't working in the police department at the moment. Miko Sha wasn't wearing a police uniform; instead, she was dressed like a female office worker.

"What could have caused Inspector Shiraishi to rush over, and even hesitate to say anything over the phone?" Sha asked Shiraishi.

Shiraishi glanced at her a few times and felt that she was indeed very calm now, but he didn't know if it was an act or if it was her natural talent.

"The community police officer should take a look at this first," Shiraishi said, handing over the evidence pieced together from the fragments.

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(End of this chapter)