Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 585 The Wisdom of Being Competitive

After a long pause following Shiraishi's words, no one spoke. Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward, Shiraishi said, "What I meant was that Inspector Akechi is very professional and it was just a routine questioning. Everyone, please don't be nervous."

"But does that mean innocent people have to be involved? We didn't even know the victims we were talking about, and we had no connection with them. What was the point of killing them?" Judy said, dissatisfied.

“That’s true, but we still have to go through the procedures, right, Inspector Akechi?” Shiraishi said deliberately.

"Ah...yes...I mean, we also want to know if you've discovered anything suspicious. Please don't assume that this investigation is based on the premise that you are the real culprits," Mingzhi said indirectly—he always felt that the aura of these people was inexplicably oppressive.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi seemed quite surprised and said, "Huh? Is the FBI in the US really this reasonable?"

Just then, James, who hadn't said much, suddenly spoke up and asked, "The reason you're asking us is because the other victims all have alibis? And... I heard the incident happened at the villa on the opposite cliff, right?"

"That's right, do you have any clues?" Shiraishi asked curiously, noticing his tone.

"I wouldn't call it a clue, but I just happened to come across a rather strange place while I was wandering around. I don't know if it's related to your case," James said calmly.

"A strange place?" Akechi and Shiraishi exchanged a glance.

Then, the group followed James to a grove of trees by the mountain stream.

"It's up ahead. I found it this morning while I was wandering around the area," James said, pointing to a spot ahead. Shiraishi and the other man went up to take a look and were both stunned.

"This..." In front of the two was a protruding cliff, much closer to the ravine than where Bai Shi had jumped over!
Judging by the distance, it's only about two meters. Even if it's not a man, a healthy, well-exercised adult woman should be able to jump over it with a running start.

but……

The side they are on now is much higher than the other side, so jumping back from the other side won't be so easy.

"I was a little concerned when I passed by. If someone wanted to sneak across to commit a crime without being discovered, this seems like a good spot. I can't do it, but strong young people like you should be able to jump across, right? It's a pity that coming back would be a bit difficult..."

After saying that, James patted Shiraishi's strong forearm: "Take this officer for example, I feel there's no problem, and there's no problem jumping back!" It seemed to be a response to Shiraishi's previous attempt to "interrogate" him.

Mingzhi was speechless for a moment—this guy not only had no problem, he was a god who flew directly from a distance of more than ten meters yesterday.

However, if that's the case, the murderer could indeed use this place to fabricate an alibi...

Even though jumping back is not easy, it's not impossible. After killing Miss Ghana, he could sneak back to his residence without anyone noticing, and then go to the scene with others to create an alibi!

Shiraishi thought about it for a moment. Among the people present, there were quite a few men who could successfully jump back from the other side without any external force. He himself was a given, as he could jump from anywhere. Shuichi Akai could definitely do it too, Akechi should be able to, and even that old man James might be able to jump back.

After all, he's not just any ordinary old man...

As for Mori, if he doesn't have a fear of heights, his physical strength shouldn't be a problem. The only other option is the deceased Mr. Daimon.

Oh, right……

Even Conan could jump over it!
Shiraishi even suspected that he could use an inflatable ball to block the place!

As for Akashi and his friends, although they look quite tall, they might not actually be able to jump over it. Even if they could, they might not dare to jump, or at least they might not succeed every time!
If we consider women, then only Jodie and Rena Mizunashi could do that.

Of course, from other people's perspectives, they wouldn't suspect Judy, Rena Mizunashi, James, and the others.

Shiraishi said he wanted to question them, but it was just to test them; he didn't really suspect them of being the murderers.

After all, if the FBI doesn't give them a warning, they'll all become outlaws, especially people like Jodie—Rome alone in Shiraishi's jurisdiction is enough to give him trouble. Now that they're meeting up, it's possible that Akai and James will temporarily settle in Beika Town as well…

Thinking about this, Shiraishi already started to feel a headache coming on.

Forget it, let's focus on the case at hand for now...

The officers searched the surrounding area and found some suspicious places.

Most notably, on a tree not far from the cliff, there were marks that looked like they had been rubbed by a rope. The marks were very fresh, as if they had only appeared recently, but no rope or similar items were found in the vicinity.

In addition, no decisive traces of running up or pushing off were found at the cliff edge.

"A rope? Could it be... that someone temporarily tied a rope and then walked across it?" The mountain village immediately had a flash of inspiration.

“However, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the other side where we can tie a rope,” Akechi emphasized.

Shiraishi glanced down the cliff and said, "This place shouldn't be far from where Mr. Daimon's body was found, right?"

Upon hearing this, Mingzhi took out his phone and checked the previous location, then nodded and said, "Hmm, it seems to be not far down here... Could this be the scene of Mr. Daimon's murder?"

"I'll have people search the surrounding area for blood samples immediately!" Yamamura said right away.

The Gunma Prefecture police officers continued to inspect the surrounding area, while Shiraishi looked at the villa hidden in the shadows of the trees across the way, then at the tree itself, feeling a strange unease.

If the two cases were committed by the same person, why would the murderer choose to throw Mr. Daimon's body down from here?

"Ah! I know! It must be that the murderer was practicing jumping off the cliff here when Mr. Daimon saw him and that's why he killed him!" Kogoro exclaimed with great intelligence.

wise:……

"If that's the case, there are many reasons to explain it, right? Is it really necessary to silence him immediately?" After being speechless, Mingzhi continued to complain, "Besides, it's already been stated that the cause of death was cyanide poisoning. We can't just suddenly pour him a cup of tea now, can we?"

"Uh... this..." Kogoro was speechless for a moment.

"Moreover, this place is surrounded by mountains. If they wanted to hide a body, they could just find a cave and dump it there. The police might not find it even after searching for ten days or half a month. Judging from the death at the gate, there was clearly enough time to dispose of the body... But now, dumping it directly in a place related to the upcoming murder case makes it seem as if the murderer deliberately wanted people to discover the body." Mingzhi continued to analyze.

and……

To this day, no one knows why the murderer went to the trouble of sawing the body in half at the front door and arranging it in a bizarre position where the deceased was grabbing his own feet!
Why did the murderer go to such lengths to do so many things that seem completely unnecessary to outsiders?

Shortly after, the Gunma police found some blood samples in the surrounding area, but not many... "At present, we can only confirm that it is the same type B blood as Daimon's, and it was left recently. To determine whether it is Mr. Daimon's own blood, we need to send samples back for testing. Also, we found very fine parallel tire tracks in the grass over there. It doesn't look like a means of transportation, but... it is very likely a transport vehicle such as a handcart," Yamamura reported.

After Mingzhi nodded, he said, "It's probably true... It's not certain whether this is the crime scene or not, but it should be where the body was dismembered."

The props team did indeed have a flatbed truck for transporting heavy objects, and the Gunma Prefectural Police immediately went to confirm this.

It was later confirmed that the cart tracks matched the evidence found at the scene, but there was no blood on them, in other words...

"In other words, the murderer poisoned Mr. Daimon elsewhere, then transported the body here, dismembered it, and disposed of it!" Akechi stated definitively.

Kogoro then questioned, "Wait a minute, if the body was dismembered here... there's not much blood, is there?"

Although blood stops flowing after death and won't splatter like it would when alive, "cutting in half" shouldn't leave so little blood.

"There must have been placemats or tablecloths or something similar, which is why there was only a small amount of blood left," Mingzhi guessed.

Shiraishi then interrupted, "No, it's because of the time of death."

Upon hearing this, Akechi and Kogoro looked over...

Shiraishi explained, "Judging from the cuts on the body, the body was dismembered at the time when rigor mortis was at its worst... At this time, the body tissues further contracted, compressing the blood vessels, so even if it was cut in half at the waist, there would be no obvious bleeding."

"Are you sure?" Akechi looked at Shiraishi with some frustration.

What he questioned was not the knowledge that Shiraishi mentioned, but rather Shiraishi's certainty that the time of dismemberment was the most rigid time period!

Shiraishi didn't say anything, only nodded—although he only glanced at it and didn't examine it in detail, Shiraishi still managed to determine the time of dismemberment from subtle differences…

The specific autopsy results will be sent over later; there is no possibility that Shiraishi is making things up.

Shiraishi didn't care that Akechi had "launched a challenge" and then "failed" on his own—he just thought...why was this guy so immature, like a detective?

Conan, using Kogoro's name, secretly went to the mountain village to confirm that the marks on the tree were indeed caused by rope binding, and hemp fiber residue was found on them, but they did not find the rope used for binding.

Afterwards, Mingzhi summoned all the "suspects" whose alibis were questionable.

"Huh? This is... Could the murderer actually be..."

"Wait! Officer Akechi, you don't suspect us, do you?"

"I had no idea there was a shortcut here..."

"And can we really skip this? Although Chief Shiraishi certainly can, but what about us..."

……

Upon seeing this brief interval, everyone's expressions darkened, and they quickly began to explain.

It's wise not to actually let them try it here; if they fall, it's no joke!
but……

“Akashi, Takada, you two can actually jump over there, right?” Akechi said deliberately at this moment.

"I... I probably can't do it, right? At least I probably can't jump back, especially since I've gained weight recently..." Akashi quickly explained.

Akechi pressed on, "Really? You lost a job opportunity because of Miss Gana, didn't you? So... what grudge do you have against Mr. Daimon?"

"No, no, no, I have no grudge against Mr. Daimon... Wait, speaking of Mr. Daimon... Director, you had an argument with Mr. Daimon before you came here, didn't you?" Akashi hurriedly brought up this matter in her panic.

At this moment, Akechi's expression also changed. Shiraishi, who was watching from the side, knew very well that what he had just done was a feint. He did not really suspect Akashi of murder, but rather wanted to obtain more clues.

And indeed, they did achieve that.

Before the incident, Mr. Daimon had a heated argument with Director Hiruda. The reason for the argument is unknown, but it occurred before they came to Gunma Prefecture...

"Tell me, Director Hiruda, what kind of conflict exists between you and Mr. Daimon?" Akechi immediately asked Hiruda.

Hiruda clenched his fingers, looking a little nervous, but still said, "What conflict could there be between me and Daimon? Everyone knows we've always had a good relationship."

“I think it’s because of this.” As he spoke, Mingzhi took out a script, on which a part was circled in red pen.

"Is this... a follow-up script to be recorded? What does this have to do with the case?" Xiaolan asked, puzzled.

Akechi didn't answer Ran's question, but instead looked at Director Hiruda: "The case in the script should be a reflection of what happened ten years ago, right?"

Hiruda's expression became visibly tense; she clenched her fingers tightly and remained silent.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of explaining, Mingzhi continued, "It's no use for you to hide it now. Anyone in the film industry can find out about it by asking around. Ten years ago, Mr. Daimon's stunt double, Himuro Kazusei, died in an accident while working due to unprofessional operation and inadequate safety precautions!"

Upon hearing Akechi mention the name "Himuro Ichisei," Mori remembered: "Himuro... I remember he was Mr. Daimon's former stunt double, right? He followed Mr. Daimon after his debut, working as a stunt double. I think he fell from a height during the filming of a scene in 'Sweet Detective Diary' because he drank too much the day before and his movements were distorted..."

“Nonsense, Asheng doesn’t drink at all! Back then it was because…” Director Hiruda’s voice choked up, “It was all because of those two guys, Kano and Daimon, that Asheng died!”

"Ah Sheng?" Xiao Lan asked in confusion.

“That’s right, this director, Hiruda Yuko, should be the lover of the deceased Himuro Kazuki.” Akechi said with an air of confidence.

After all, this information was obtained with great difficulty by contacting the outside world and asking countless people for help.

Shiraishi also curled his lip at this moment—this guy, he'd been sneaking around before, I wonder what kind of off-site information he was gathering, and he acted like he didn't want me to know, so petty…

(End of this chapter)