Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 204 Kindaichi Returns
Mihua Sun Plaza Hotel.

15th floor, Phoenix Between.

Gao Mo once again disguised himself as Kindaichi after a long absence and took the elevator with the Mori family to the wedding venue, where he "accidentally" encountered Eri Kisaki halfway there.

"Hey Eri, what's with you everywhere?" the mustachioed man asked, puzzled, "Even at weddings, you're getting involved?"

“I’m a senior to the bride,” Eri Kisaki said matter-of-factly. “But what are you doing here?”

"Of course, it was Officer Shiratori's invitation."

"Really? I think you're just here to freeload, just like you always have."

After signing their names at the entrance reception desk, Eri Kisaki ignored the man with the mustache and approached Gao Mo to speak: "Mr. Kindaichi, Mr. Kido must have told you about the cooperation, right?"

"Yes, you don't need to ask me about these things."

Gao Mo had other purposes for coming here. He vaguely said that he didn't want to get too involved with the Maoli family, and quickly began to observe the guests present.

It was supposed to be Shiratori's wedding party, but looking around, there were a bunch of police officers, their serious faces standing out among the guests.

"It's really tough on them, coming to the wedding after discovering that kind of thing," the man with the mustache muttered to himself.

"Mr. Mori! Attorney Kisaki!"

Nakamura Misao was also among the guests. When he saw Gao Mo and his party entering the venue, he quickly put down his wine glass and came over to greet them.

"Even Detective Kindaichi is here. I'm currently preparing to write a new mystery novel and was just about to ask you two for advice..."

“So it’s Miss Cao,” the man with the mustache said with a broad smile. “It’s easy to ask you for advice. I’ll talk to you about the case later… By the way, what happened to that watch in the end?”

"It's already been taken away; after all, it was stolen goods."

"You can't say that. Forget about the jewels, the watch is your grandfather's masterpiece..."

Gao Mo walked past Nakamura and continued to observe the venue.

A purple-haired young man carrying an electric guitar sat casually at the dining table, his attire contrasting sharply with everyone else present.

As soon as Minister Odagiri entered the venue, he noticed the purple-haired youth and flew into a rage, trying to drive him away despite the advice of his subordinates.

Odagiri Toshiya.

Gao Mo's mind flashed through the complete information about the young man.

Although he did not believe the young man was the murderer, the incident was clearly related to him.

It was the existence of this second-generation heir that made an ordinary murder case particularly complicated.

Regardless of what Minister Odagiri himself thought, his subordinates would overthink things when investigating the case, which is why the investigation couldn't continue in the first place.

"Ok?"

Odagiri Toshiro, suppressing his anger, passed by and keenly noticed Gao Mo's gaze. He frowned and briefly met Gao Mo's eyes.

"Detective Kindaichi... are you going to get involved in this case?"

"Does the minister think the police can handle this internally?" Gao Mo asked, his expression unchanged. "What if the minister is trying to protect your son's crimes? For example, by silencing the police who reopened the investigation into an incident from a year ago..."

"I could never do such a thing!"

Department Head Odagiri frowned seriously.

"Besides, reopening the investigation was my order, this matter..."

"Can a normal investigation really be conducted?" Gao Mo didn't avoid eye contact. "Besides encouraging the murderer to commit more crimes, it doesn't seem to serve any other purpose, does it?"

Department Head Odagiri's gaze hardened, and before his officers could approach, he turned and headed for the restroom: "Let's talk privately."

"what happened?"

The man with the mustache had only exchanged a few words with Nakamura Misao when he saw Komo and Minister Odagiri leave one after the other.

"Why did this guy approach Department Head Odagiri?"

"Mr. Kindaichi..."

Nakamura Misao's expression shifted slightly.

Whether at her grandfather's villa or here, the mustache gave her a completely different feeling. He didn't seem like a famous detective at all. He only talked about the same few cases over and over again, and his tone was very much like Watson's.

This made her wonder if the mustachioed boy was backed by Kindaichi.

"Conan?" Ran lost sight of Conan without noticing. "Honestly, where did he go again?"

“That child seems to have followed them just now,” Eri Kisaki said, pointing outside the venue.

……

"Wow!"

The restroom on the 15th floor.

The wedding celebration between the phoenixes has begun, and bursts of enthusiastic applause echo from the corridor.

"What I can tell you is Odagiri Toshiya's role in the case. About a month ago, I learned that he was blackmailing Nino Yasuhiro because Nino Yasuhiro was secretly selling drugs..."

Minister Odagiri silently washed his hands.

"I don't know what Nino Yasushi's sister told you, but my good-for-nothing son is definitely not a murderer. The reason we didn't investigate him at the time was because the team leader in charge of the investigation, Tomonari, suddenly died of a heart attack."

One of them was indeed related to my position as the bureau chief, which is why I wanted to reopen the investigation. I just didn't expect that both investigating officers would be shot and killed.

Gao Mo secretly curled his lip.

The information network is really efficient.

This minister has probably been keeping a close eye on Tamaki Nino's movements.

“That’s how it is,” Chief Odagiri said, turning slightly to look back. “We will bring the truth of the case to light; that’s the job of the police!”

"It's also my job."

Gao Mo was completely unaffected by Odagiri's imposing aura.

He's not a policeman; he doesn't need to be mindful of the other party's feelings.

"Two police officers have already died. Is it still necessary to distinguish their identities at this point? Besides, I have a pretty good idea of ​​who the murderer is."

"what?"

Both Department Head Odagiri and Conan, who was hiding outside, were startled.

Even a famous detective needs to be reasonable.

"Whatever you want," Chief Odagiri shook his head, not believing that Gao Mo's investigation could surpass that of the police. "As long as it doesn't affect our case, you can give it a try. But don't blame me for not warning you, this isn't a detective game, people can really die."

"I know."

Gao Mo was the first to walk out of the restroom, and he wasn't surprised to see Conan caught red-handed.

It would be strange if this kid obediently stayed by Xiaolan's side.

"Mr. Kindaichi!"

Behind the backs of the other police officers, Gao Mu sneakily found Gao Mo and took out a document from his pocket.

"The information you asked me to investigate is all here. It includes detailed records of Nino Yasushi's resume and medical malpractice cases. Don't let Inspector Megure and the others know about it..."

Just then, Department Head Odagiri walked out, and Takagi froze, revealing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Minister, Minister..."

Odagiri gave Takagi a deep look, then went straight to the banquet hall without saying anything.

"It's over." Takagi seemed to be able to foresee his bleak future.

"Try to look on the bright side," Gao Mo said, patting Takagi on the shoulder after reviewing the documents. "This concerns Officer Sato's safety. At worst, you can resign and come to my office."

"Sigh," Takagi said with a bitter expression, but quickly cheered up when she thought of Sato. "Officer Sato must not be hurt. Please take care of him."

Conan, with his hands in his pockets, nodded gently beside Gao Mo: "Don't worry, Officer Takagi, I don't think Chief Odagiri will cause you any trouble."

Conan then stood on tiptoe again, wanting to see the contents of the document: "Let me see..."

A lounge connected to the banquet hall.

Megure and his group gathered together, smoked a lot of cigarettes, and the atmosphere was somber.

"Based on the current clues, Team Leader Youcheng's son, Youchengzhen, is a prime suspect. Team Leader Youcheng died while on duty a year ago, and Youchengzhen has always been resentful of it, believing that timely medical attention could have saved him..."

“The murdered officers Narasawa, Shiba, and Sato were all subordinates of Chief Tomonari a year ago, and they were present at the scene.”

“That’s right, Yu Chengzhen had a motive to kill, and he was present at the scene of the crime both times.”

"That guy from the wedding party came too. I saw him at the entrance just now, but he ran away as soon as he saw us..."

"With so many of us here, it's understandable that he would escape. Do you know his current location?" "We're still looking for him."

"Takagi-kun," Megure called out to Takagi, who was passing by the door, "what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on Tomonari?"

"Ah I……"

"Never mind, where's Sato? Isn't she with you?"

"Officer Sato doesn't seem to be here. He called and said something came up..."

not coming?

Outside the lounge, a dark figure stood with a furrowed brow.

No wonder we haven't been able to find Miwako Sato.

Damn it, the stage I finally managed to set up...

"Dr. Kazato?" Shiratori Ninzaburo left the banquet hall in deep thought, and upon seeing the psychologist Kazato Kyosuke, he quickly called out, "I was just looking for you. From a psychological perspective, perhaps we can figure out the killer's next move."

"So what stage is the investigation at? This is really worrying."

The man with the mustache saw Shiratori and Kyosuke Kazato around the corner, and his expression turned slightly displeased.

Instead of telling the famous detective, he told the psychologist.

And Kido...

None of them seem to know what they're doing.

It seems like he was the only one kept in the dark.

“Teacher,” Shiratori Sara arrived with her husband, their faces beaming with happiness as they nestled together, “thank you for gracing us with your presence today.”

"The groom seems to be a painter, right?"

"He looks rather honest."

"It's good to be honest..."

"They look like a perfect match."

Sonoko felt both envious and upset after just meeting up with her best friend, Ran.

Everyone around her is in pairs, but she's still stuck in the same place, not even daring to confess her feelings, afraid that Gao Mo will just say he treats her like a little sister.

"By the way, Ran," Sonoko asked, looking around in confusion, "Didn't Kido-nii come today?"

"No, it's Mr. Kindaichi who's here."

"Kindaichi."

Sonoko couldn't resist her curiosity.

She had only seen Kindaichi on TV, but had never met him in real life.

Sometimes I even wonder if Kindaichi is actually Kido. Apart from the age difference, they are so similar in every other way. Kindaichi is like a middle-aged version of Kido.

I heard he's a distant relative of Kido-san.

“Speaking of which,” Shiratori Sara suddenly asked, blushing, “how did you agree to marry Mr. Mori in the first place?”

"Hmph, I was so naive back then, easily fooled by sweet talk," Eri sneered, glancing at the mustachioed man. "He said he only loved me, more than anyone else on Earth..."

"When did I ever say such a thing?" The man with the mustache suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, forgetting about Gao Mo, and retorted sharply, "I remember it was you who proposed to me..."

"Are you kidding me? You were the one who treated me to dinner that day!"

"You've got it wrong! You were the one who treated me to dinner!"

"Uh……"

Sonoko's lips twitched.

She couldn't understand this couple at all.

……

Outside the banquet hall.

Gao Mo returned to the elevator, combining the information Gao Mu had collected with his mind, and listed all the clues.

The first policeman to be killed was the one who left a message of death in the park. Because it was a public place, the killer fled immediately after firing several shots.

The police officer clutched his left chest tightly before dying, and combined with the police handbook in the hand of the next officer, this led the police to misjudge the situation...

The key clue is actually the "heart".

The only person connected to the "heart" is Kyosuke Kazato, a psychologist.

Regarding Dr. Nino, who was murdered a year ago, the cause of death was a clean cut to the right carotid artery by a scalpel.

If it was murder, the killer was most likely also a doctor.

Based on motive, the patient's family members who died due to a surgical accident are the most suspicious, but what if the murderer is a colleague of Yasushi Nino?

Seven years ago, Yasushi Nino also had a surgical accident at the University of Tokyo Hospital, where he cut the back of another surgeon's hand during the operation, causing the surgery to fail.

The information didn't mention who the surgeon was, but when you put it in Kyosuke Kazato's shoes, it was a perfect match.

After several interactions and observations, he discovered that this psychologist, like Tamaki Nino, was a left-handed person who had forced himself to adapt to his right hand. He would still unconsciously reveal his left-handed habits, especially when using both hands, where he was clearly more accustomed to using his left hand to exert force.

We still need to get Takagi to investigate... or maybe we should let Ai investigate instead.

Although previous data is rarely entered into the internet, it is still publicly available information, so it should not be difficult to verify.

other aspects……

As a psychologist for many criminal investigators, Kyosuke Kazato's intelligence sources also supported his crimes.

An ordinary person wouldn't have known so quickly that the police had reopened the investigation.

The false death of the second police officer also shows that the killer was well-informed.

"Officer Sato!"

Suddenly, a white bird's delighted voice came from the elevator entrance.

But Sato arrived at the scene.

Kyosuke Kazato was talking to Sato along with Shiratori, and a few words made Sato laugh.

Gao Mo took out his phone and walked to the side, noticing out of the corner of his eye a lone, transparent umbrella in the umbrella stand.

It's normal to have an umbrella; it's been raining frequently in Mihua these past few days, and it's drizzling outside now.

The problem is that there were no umbrellas when he arrived, meaning the host was a later guest.

It was drizzling outside, but the umbrella showed no signs of having been opened.

Furthermore, judging from the way the hand is restrained, the owner is left-handed...

Gao Mo narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Sato and the others again.

Umbrellas frequently appeared in the scenes he foresaw.

It seems there's no time for a thorough investigation.

The murderer planned to attack Sato here.

"call!"

All sounds in the banquet hall faded away from Gao Mo's ears, as if the entire world had been replaced by the Temple of Thought.

He no longer needed to determine whether the murderer was the psychologist Kyosuke Kazato.

The most important thing right now is how the killer will proceed—

Why would a murderer kill Sato at a wedding party filled with police officers?

Since the murder was committed because of the reopened investigation, the killer had no reason to commit the crime so openly.

Gao Mo was surrounded by countless pieces of reasoning knowledge, as if he had entered an ocean of knowledge.

The snapshots of past cases also emerged to corroborate this—

If the perpetrator does something illogical in a case, it indicates that there is a more important purpose for doing so.

Is he trying to create an alibi or establish other strong evidence to clear himself of suspicion?

Gao Mo activated his magic hand, quickly untied the umbrella to check, and found a hole in the umbrella surface. His thoughts then raced.

What would he do if he were a criminal?
(End of this chapter)