Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 578 Two Murder Cases
"This was... found at Oki's place?" Shiraishi frowned as he looked at the photo Megure handed him.

Judging from the screen, it seems someone is trying to access my data... most likely my genetic information, but it appears the access was unsuccessful.

“No, it was Hara Yoshiaki, a director of the Tokiwa Group… Conan and the others just discovered that Hara Yoshiaki was also killed.” Inspector Megure said, showing Shiraishi another photo.

The photo shows the state of Hara Yoshiaki's death. He appears to be lying in front of his computer desk, with blood all over his mouth and a large amount of blood in the back of his head!
Judging from this situation, Shiraishi estimates...

"Was he shot in the mouth?" Shiraishi speculated.

“That’s right, that’s how the blood splattered on the monitor came about… When Conan and the others found the deceased, he had been dead for less than an hour.” Inspector Megure said, pointing to the previous photo and asking, “Brother Shiraishi, do you remember this? When was the information collected?”

“It must be that device that predicts future appearances… Although I asked him about the privacy breach, Hara Yoshiaki told me at the time that it was a black box that collected and analyzed data and didn’t save it, but now it seems he might have been lying,” Shiraishi speculated.

Based on the evidence from the crime scene, the external scan results for Shiraishi are still present, however…

It seems the genetic information was not successfully retrieved?

Shiratori, standing nearby, speculated, "In that case, the most likely scenario is that the culprit was interested in Inspector Shiraishi's information, so he coerced Mr. Hara to access the records. After that... either the culprit deleted the records after accessing them, and Mr. Hara was silenced, or for some reason, Inspector Shiraishi's information was lost, and the culprit acted in a fit of rage."

Megure nodded and said, "Judging from the way the gun was fired, it's more likely the latter."

Indeed, this method of shooting was intended to vent anger.

At this moment, Kenmochi, a forensic officer from the Beika Police Station, walked over and reported to Chief Shiraishi: "Chief Shiraishi, Inspector Megure, the test results are in... Based on the fingerprints collected from the keyboard and mouse, only Mr. Hara himself touched the computer."

Shiratori, standing nearby, wanted to remind him—if Inspector Shiraishi were present, shouldn't you have reported it directly? Don't you know about confidentiality?
Of course, Shiratori didn't say it aloud, but only questioned, "Is it possible that the murderer was wearing gloves?"

“It’s highly unlikely, because blood splattered on the mouse button…which at least proves that no one touched the mouse after Mr. Yuan’s death,” Kenmochi said matter-of-factly.

This greatly reduces the possibility that "the killer deleted the data," and it is more likely that Hara Yoshiaki was unable to retrieve the data that should have been there, and was shot dead by the killer.

At this point, Shiraishi could roughly guess who was interested in his information and who could immediately contact Hara Yoshiaki, but...

Why are my files missing?
Is the data collection failing due to the side effects of APTX4869?
Or did someone delete the records for me beforehand?

"What else is on the computer?" Shiraishi immediately pressed—Ai and Conan were scanned back then too!

"I don't know... The main unit was also shot, the hard drive was damaged, and the monitor only shows the last image before the system crashed." Kenchi shook his head helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi breathed a sigh of relief and instructed, "Let's seal up the 'Predict the Future' device in the Twin Towers for now."

"Yes, I've already sent someone." Inspector Megure nodded.

Then Shiraishi looked at the photo of the corpse again, pointed to a broken Japanese sake cup next to it, and asked, "By the way... is this Hara Yoshiaki's?"

That guy doesn't seem like such a traditional person...

They actually drink alcohol with this stuff?

However, it would be even stranger if it wasn't left by the victim, but by the murderer!

After all, in Shiraishi's view, anyone who was interested in his information and who likely had prior contact with Hara Yoshiaki was most likely one of the "Black Organization" members.

But if it were them, what would it mean if they not only killed someone but also left a "hint"?
Are you telling everyone that the murder was committed by a "drinking factory"?
This approach is far too different from the "Black Organization's" usual style...

“No, there’s nothing like that in his house, and…” Megure said, handing Shiraishi a photo of the dead Oki Iwatsu.

Shiraishi took it and looked at it.

Oki Iwatsu's body was leaning against a cabinet in the hotel room, his chest covered in blood, with blood splattered on the cabinet as well, though this was clearly the work of a sharp blade...

The only similarity between the two murder cases, judging from the crime scenes alone, is that there was a broken wine glass next to Daiki's body.

These small wine glasses, which look like tiny white bowls, are not usually provided in hotels.

and……

The two wine glasses even shattered in similar ways, both splitting vertically in two, with some shards remaining.

This is clearly no coincidence!
"It's here too? Then it can't be a death message, nor can it just happen to be at the scene... Was it left by the murderer..." Shiraishi muttered to himself.

"Inspector Shiraishi, who do you think would be interested in your genetic information?" Shiratori asked, staring at this point.

“I have too many enemies, such as a former Minister of Justice, or the remnants of a member of parliament, or those bastards in Kamurocho... It’s not impossible,” Shiraishi said deliberately.

Sure enough, after hearing what Shiraishi said, no one responded for a moment—if they wanted to approach it from this angle, Shiraishi really had too many enemies!
"However, he also killed Representative Oki at the same time... Superintendent Shiraishi, do you usually have any real estate investments or disputes in Nishitama Town?" Shiratori wanted to start with the common points between the two cases.

"Hmm? This Congressman Oki is quite important?" Shiraishi sensed the unspoken meaning in Shiratori's words.

“That’s right. Although Oki Iwamatsu is only a town councilor, as a veteran political figure in the area, he has more power than the mayor. In fact, the Tokiwa Twin Towers project was not approved at first. Later… there were rumors that it was because of Oki’s lobbying that the town even modified some restrictions on supertall buildings, which allowed the project to be implemented,” Shiratori explained.

"I see..." Bai Shi suddenly realized—that old guy may have seemed cowardly to him, but he was actually quite a character, much stronger than the one who was targeted by the Black Organization.

Shiraishi probed this area to find out why the "Black Organization" would target Oki.

However, Shiraishi immediately shook his head and said, "I can't think of any connection between them. Real estate... all my houses are mortgaged, and they're in Beika Town."

"Um... what about the Suzuki Group..." Shiratori asked hesitantly.

Of course he knew that Shiraishi had no real estate business, and the question wasn't really his own...

Shiraishi rolled his eyes and said, "I don't know, but do you think that even if the Suzuki Group has any business, it would require me to have any contact with Representative Oki? I met him for the first time yesterday, and we didn't exchange more than three sentences after that."

In this way, the path of "finding common ground" has reached a stalemate...

Shiraishi was also puzzled. If the "Black Organization" really did kill someone, why would they kill Oki? More importantly... why leave a wine glass behind?
This kind of "demonstration" doesn't seem like the work of a "black-clad organization"!

So Shiraishi could only suggest, "Don't keep an eye on my data... Maybe it was just that Hara Yoshiaki was secretly checking my data when he was killed for some other reason."

"That's all we can do for now." Inspector Megure nodded upon hearing this.

"By the way, Inspector Shiraishi will be attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Twin Towers tonight, right?" Shiratori said, looking at Shiraishi, who was clearly dressed in a fine suit.

"Yes, President Tokiwa doesn't seem to be canceling the ribbon-cutting ceremony either," Shiraishi nodded.

"That's great. Brother Shiraishi, you'll be attending. Please keep an eye on things at the venue. President Tokiwa won't allow the police to be stationed there," Inspector Megure said helplessly.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Shiraishi readily agreed to the request.

……

Then Shiraishi also saw the "Junior Detective League" who had just finished giving their statements to Takagi. Ai wasn't there this time, but Kotomi was—because Munakata was on duty today.

"Ah! The toilet... I need to use the toilet!" Conan saw Shiraishi and immediately went to pee. "Eh? Then I'll take you there..." Takagi was about to lead Conan to the restroom.

However, Conan had already pulled Shiraishi away...

Shiraishi knew that if he didn't explain it to him, the man would definitely investigate on his own, so he followed his lead and went to the bathroom.

"When Mr. Hara was killed, it seemed like they were accessing your data... Were they the ones who did it? Could it be that my and Ai's genetic data have already been..." Conan asked anxiously.

Bai Shi rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, don't be nervous. The computer hard drive has been destroyed, and they couldn't retrieve my data either."

"But..." Conan was about to say: Maybe he saw what he and Ai had seen first.

However, he was just being overly concerned. Shiraishi had already said, "Even if they really are from the Black Organization, do you think they would care more about you than I do?"

Conan: ...

Upon hearing this, Conan calmed down as well.

"Furthermore, if it was the Black Organization's doing, this was done far too carelessly. They even left clues on their own initiative. It doesn't seem like Gin's doing at all," Shiraishi said, shaking his head.

"Leaving clues? You mean... that small wine glass? Are you sure it wasn't Mr. Hara's?" Conan quickly pressed for details—Takagi wasn't going to open up about the other case yet.

"Yes, not only is it not his own, but a similar small wine glass was also left at the scene of another murder, the one where that senator Oki was killed. It can be basically confirmed that it is a serial murder case." Shiraishi told Conan about this.

This is also a way to divert his attention and prevent him from provoking the "Black Organization"!

at the same time……

Shiraishi also hopes that Conan can solve the case as soon as possible.

"Anyway... good luck, and try to find the culprit before the ribbon-cutting ceremony," Shiraishi said calmly.

"I... don't you have any intention of solving the case?" Conan was initially full of fighting spirit, wanting to solve the case before Shiraishi, but...

"Huh? I'm trying to solve the case, aren't I?" Shiraishi asked inexplicably.

Conan: ...

Seeing that Shiraishi had no intention of "comparing" with him, Conan became even more helpless.

……

Unfortunately, no further clues emerged by evening.

Shiraishi also arrived at the Twin Towers to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony. He met up with Ayako downstairs first.

Unlike her casual clothes yesterday, Ayako was now dressed in a white and gold gown, which was both rich and elegant without being overpowering.

Upon seeing Shiraishi, Ayako approached.

At the same time, Shiraishi also saw Satsuki...

In contrast to Ayako, Satsuki was dressed in a purple-black dress with lace trim and gloves, which made her look elegant and mysterious.

Ayako initially wanted to raise her hand so that Shiraishi could lead her, but...

"Ayako! Let's go in together." Satsuki then came over enthusiastically and helped Ayako up.

Ayako:……

"OK……"

The two seem to have a very good relationship.

After the three of them entered the venue together, Shiraishi also saw the Mori family, as well as Sonoko, Mayoi, and Ayano. Since Shiraishi had gone to the Nishitama Police Station in the morning, Mayoi was not with them. However, Ai came with Mayoi, so the "Junior Detective Club" was now complete.

Ai originally didn't want to join in the fun, but since Shiraishi had already gone to the police station, she decided not to come.

The reason he ended up here, Shiraishi guessed...

It's because she'd also heard about Hara Yoshiaki's situation!

When Ayako saw Sonoko, she was slightly surprised: "Sonoko, what happened to your hair?"

Ayako noticed that Sonoko had gotten her hair permed...

"Hehe, it's not like it's school time!" Sonoko said, pleading, "Please don't tell Mom!"

"Really..." Ayako said helplessly.

Shiraishi glanced at her a couple more times...

"How is it, brother-in-law?" Sonoko asked specifically when she saw this.

"Your hairstyle... doesn't it look a bit like my sister's?" Shiraishi was speechless—you even copied a child's hairstyle?

"Uh, it doesn't really look that similar..." Sonoko said guiltily.

……

Meanwhile, in Tower B of the Twin Towers...

Holding binoculars, Vodka nervously confirmed with Gin, "Big brother, that person... doesn't seem to be Sherry, it's... the sister of that Mikako Inspector's girlfriend!"

Gin was furious at this point...

So, this is a provocation, right?

They contacted the traitor who stole our information first, and then deliberately had their sister-in-law get a perm like Shirley's?
Okay, okay, you had your sister do your hair first, and now you're having your sister-in-law do it too. Are you never going to stop?
"Withdraw!" Gin shouted angrily.

"Huh?" Vodka was taken aback—they weren't even going to load the bomb?
"Notify our people... to withdraw! Leave no trace!" Gin confirmed.

“But…yes!” Vodka immediately agreed when he saw Gin glaring at him.

Although Gin was angry, he knew that Shiraishi had his eye on him and was deliberately provoking him, hoping to expose a weakness so that he would change his plans...

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 October 30th. On this day in 1644, Emperor Shunzhi offered sacrifices to Heaven, ascended the throne for the second time, and established Beijing as the capital, marking the Qing Dynasty's formal establishment as the legitimate dynasty of China. Please vote for me! Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)