Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 248 Shadow Planner

Toilet.

Gao Mo adjusted his disguise in front of the mirror to prevent his disguise from being exposed after a long period of time.

At that moment, Sato sent a message: "Matsuda, I've already made arrangements for you. Just go see that senior tomorrow morning. He lives in Beika Town..."

"Thanks."

Gao Mo replied to a message and then discovered that there were still unread messages from Xiao Ai on his main phone.

It was around the time he finished handling the video game company case.

"There's someone who desperately wants to see you. He says he hopes we can find the robbers from a bank robbery that happened 20 years ago. He left his contact information and said he'll be coming back tomorrow..."

"Minoru Ebina, 42 years old, a thin, middle-aged man with a large nose and round-framed glasses, in poor mental condition..."

Below is the file recorded by Ai, and there is also a photo attached.

A bank robbery from 20 years ago?
Gao Mo was somewhat surprised.

The case he is currently investigating, involving Ye Caisan, occurred 20 years ago; it's unclear whether it's the same case.

After a pause, Gao Mo typed a reply.

"Have him come to the office tomorrow night... I'm not going back today."

"Not coming back?" Ai replied instantly, "I made red date and white fungus porridge."

"We'll go back later."

Gao Mo put away his phone, washed his hands briefly, and turned to leave.

Just then, the police officers finished their work, and after supplementing the chain of evidence, the cordon was removed. The elevator, which served as the crime scene, was also cleaned by company employees.

Perhaps it was because he had reached level 3, but Gao Mo felt that ordinary people were much less hostile towards him than before. The people around him only looked at him with curiosity, and no one would show malice for no reason.

I was almost moved to tears.

Who would have thought that when I first came into this world, I felt like someone was going to kill me just by walking down the street?

Hopefully, after reaching level 4, the threat of death will be completely negligible.

"police officer!"

Several police officers saluted in the hallway, and Gao Mo nodded slightly in response. Suddenly, he noticed a familiar figure passing by in the direction of the restaurant.

It was Rei Furuya, whom I hadn't seen in a long time. He still had that same smiling face, as if he had arranged to meet someone. After speaking with the waiter, he went straight to a seat by the window.

A stunning blonde woman lazily rests her chin on her hand, gazing wistfully at the Tokyo night view.

It's Vermouth again.

Gao Mo glanced at it casually and didn't meddle.

The world doesn't revolve around an individual after all, and while he's working hard to level up, the main storyline of Detective Conan is also slowly progressing.

I wonder if the distillery can hold out until he comes out of retirement.

Especially Gin, he was actually a little worried that Gin would die – it wasn't impossible. Gin was powerful, but in this semi-supernatural world, he was nothing special.

If this guy were to die and become a Death Agent, the trouble he would cause might be even greater than that caused by Takato Yoichi.

……

the next day.

Following the address provided by Sato, Gao Mo found an old house in Beika-cho, with a strong Showa-era feel and full of traces of time.

"I've heard everything from Sato. You must be Matsuda."

A tall, sturdy old man with a crew cut poured tea for Gao Mo and said this.

His square, dignified face and thick, dark eyebrows made him look nowhere near his 60s. Even just sitting there, he exuded an imposing aura, as if he were about to shoo someone away at any moment.

"I retired and left my job two years ago, so I'm afraid I can't be of much help to you."

Samezakijima, 62, was a former superintendent in the First Investigative Division. During his tenure, he never gave up investigating the Ye Caisan case.

“I just want more information,” Gomer thought, recalling Samezakijima’s files. “And you happen to be the person who knows the most about that case.”

"Knows best? Hmph, I don't think it's of any use for you to know."

Samezaki Shimajima drank his tea, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further with Gao Mo.

"Kid, don't think that solving Sato's case makes the previous cases simple. Those people are different; they are truly vicious criminals."

Both were bank robberies, but Sato's friend took advantage of a loophole in the bank's structure, targeting a small bank, and was just an ordinary person; the murder was accidental...

But Ye Caisan's accomplices are different. They were ruthless bandits from the start, and I heard some of them were even mercenaries. They really know how to kill, and those guys aren't stupid enough to jump out. By the time you find them, even the statute of limitations for civil prosecution will probably have passed.

"Doesn't Senior Samezaki want to find them?" Gao Mo interrupted the old man directly.

Just a moment ago, Samezakijima stopped talking incessantly, his face contorted slightly, and he lowered his voice and closed his eyes: "How could I not want to? I think about finding them even when I'm sleeping. Even after the statute of limitations has expired, I still want to get the stolen money back and teach those guys a lesson!"
But what's the use of thinking about it? If we could find it, we would have found it long ago. Sato's case is ultimately an exception.

"I can help you find them."

Gao Mo remained calm.

"I've already reviewed the documents. The bank employee who tragically died 20 years ago was named Samezaki Mimi..."

“That’s right, it was my daughter who was killed,” Samezaki Shimajiro said, his face contorted with grief. “One of my men was injured at the time, and instead of going to see my daughter, I went to the hospital. If it had been then…”

As he spoke, Samezaki Shimaji forced back his tears, as if he had aged considerably in an instant: "Tell me, what do you want to know? I don't actually know much either. There haven't been any leads all these years. I suspect they've all gone under the rug by getting plastic surgery and changing their names. The only way to find them is for them to come forward themselves."

"I want to know if Ye Caisan is really dead."

Gao Mo asked.

"The report only says that a bloodstained shirt with bullet holes was found. How can we confirm that it is Ye Caisan's shirt?"

Even the police case files don't record all the information; many details are only briefly mentioned. Plus, it was an incident from 20 years ago, so not even a single photo was taken.

“I do know about that. I investigated it myself back then,” Samezakijima said in a deep voice. “There was a photo of Ye Caisan holding his daughter inside his shirt lining.”

"daughter?"

"Yes, the police already knew what Ye Caisan looked like, so they immediately identified the clothes as belonging to Ye Caisan and believed that Ye Caisan was killed in an internal gang conflict. However, there has been no news about his daughter, and no one knows what the situation is like in Ye Caisan's family."

Samezaki Shimaji frowned deeply.

"I think Ye Caisan didn't die at all. That jacket was probably used to mislead the police. Ye Caisan... how should I put it? The title of Shadow Planner really suits him. It's hard for me to believe that a guy like him would die in an internal conflict."

Your generation didn't have contact with him, so you can't understand how shrewd he was... If it were today, you would be just as easily fooled and deceived, completely unaware until you realized what was happening and all you could see was his shadow.

"Really?" Gao Mo didn't think that Ye Caisan was faking his death.

Because it's completely unnecessary.

Even if the police know what I look like, it won't matter. Fake death is meaningless; the police will still investigate anyway.

Even the most powerful are still human, and humans die. Dying from internal strife is at least considered normal.

That's more reliable than being struck by lightning.

"That's all I know," Samezaki Osamu said, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not lying to you, I really can't help much. You'd better not pursue this case. In the end, you'll only be wasting your time and effort. You shouldn't be short of cases now, right? I heard you solved a video game company case yesterday."

"Are those all minor cases?" Gao Mo noticed a newspaper on the coffee table.

There are certainly no shortage of cases, in fact, there are quite a few.

But he needs high-profile cases.

These old cases happen to be the type with a huge impact.

With the 20-year deadline approaching, the Ye Caisan incident has gained significant attention in the past two days, and television media have discussed it several times.

"A small case?" Samezakijima Osamu opened his mouth.

When did murder cases become minor cases?

Young people these days are really...

Gao Mo picked up the newspaper and flipped through it.

The case was reported yesterday, along with photos of him and police officers handling the aftermath.

To be honest, the photo is a bit ugly.

His normal bronze skin was transformed into a charcoal-black face like Hattori Heiji's in the newspaper.

"Ok?"

The advertisements that took up a large portion of the newspaper caught Gao Mo's attention. This period was still the golden age of print media, with every inch of space being extremely valuable. He had only ever seen advertisements like those from Suzuki Jirokichi.

"An important item that almost every Japanese person owned during the Showa era... Do you still have it now?"

The first 10 people to bring this precious item, which is now almost completely lost, will have the chance to participate in a free Ogasawara dolphin tour... Location: Tsutsumi-Port - Furukawa University.

Gao Mo's gaze lingered on the end of the advertisement.

Originally, his understanding of Japan was quite limited, but as he gradually devoured the Kudo family's library, he is now, while not exactly a scholar of all time, quite knowledgeable, and knows a little about almost everything.

An important item owned by almost every Japanese person during the Showa era...

If we're talking about things that everyone owns, the most likely one is money, right?
So it's an old coin from the Showa era?
Now that we're in the Heisei era, it's indeed very difficult to find old coins.

"What's wrong?" Samezakijima asked, puzzled, when he saw that Gao Mo hadn't reacted for a while.

"Didn't Samezaki-senpai say that the only way to find those people is for them to come out on their own?"

Gao Mo handed the newspaper to Samezaki Shimaji.

"Now they've come forward on their own."

"what?"

"This advertisement is actually a code. Furukawa Dai is a variant of Ye Caisan's name. Those robbers are probably planning to meet through the newspaper on the last day of the statute of limitations."

"How did you know?" Samezakijima Osamu stared blankly.

It's understandable that Furukawa Dai and Ye Caisan are connected; he also feels that he has a connection with Ye Caisan, especially since it's close to the 20-year deadline.

But to say that the robbers contacted each other through newspapers...

"Is Ye Caisan gathering his accomplices again?"

"If it's Ye Caisan, as you seniors mentioned, he wouldn't have chosen this time, nor would he have placed such an advertisement in the newspaper... That Shadow Planner shouldn't have a habit of deliberately provoking the police, right?"

Gao Mo shook his head.

"The people who posted the ads don't seem to know what the name 'Furukawa Dai' means. I'm now even more convinced that Ye Caisan's death was the work of his accomplices."

“I still don’t understand,” Samezaki Osamu frowned, “How can you be so sure?”

"The combination of Tsutsumi Port and the Ogasawara Dolphin Tour, I think, refers to the luxury cruise ship that recently docked at Tsutsumi Port. The advertisement limits the number of people to 10, which is far too few for a cruise ship."

Gao Mo smiled.

"They probably didn't want to arouse suspicion, but they also didn't want too many people to cause trouble... Of course, the most important thing is the timing. The cruise ship's departure time was exactly the last day of the statute of limitations. I feel it must be those guys."

"Feel……"

Samezakijima Osamu was speechless.

Young people are really something else; is it now fashionable to solve cases based on gut feeling?

After reading the advertisement, Samezaki Shimaji quickly became serious: "If there are only 10 spots, we must act quickly, but this is a rare item from the Showa era..."

“I know what it is, but I don’t have it on me.” Gao Mo looked at the Samezaki family’s old house.

Living in a place like this, you'd probably still have your old money, right?
"How do you know that?" Samezakijima Osamu's eyebrows twitched.

I'm really getting old; I can't keep up with today's young people at all.

……

A week later.

The embankment has no port.

Gao Mo, carrying a small suitcase, boarded the luxury cruise ship with Samezaki Shimaji. At the entrance, they simply showed two old Showa-era banknotes and received their spots.

Looking back at the port from the entrance, there are still bustling crowds queuing up.

A tall, thin, bespectacled middle-aged man carrying a suitcase passed through the inspection.

A large nose, a bitter and resentful image of a cow or horse.

Ebina Minoru?
A name subconsciously surfaced in Gao Mo's mind.

I made an appointment to meet him a few days ago, but he hasn't gone to the office since, as if he's disappeared.

From their brief exchange, it seemed the other party was also searching for Ye Caisan's accomplices.

We just don't know who this person is, or why they've hired a detective agency to find someone...

Not showing up for the appointment suggests that he believes he has found a clue.

"What did you say?!"

Suddenly, a familiar shout came from the entrance.

What do you mean by "the number of participants has exceeded the limit"?

"We are very sorry, the event is limited to 10 people. Even without considering this child, you and your daughter still have one extra person."

"Do you expect me to abandon my daughter?"

"no way……"

Gao Mo looked in the direction of the sound and sure enough saw the man with the mustache arguing with the crew. Ran and Conan, of course, were also present.

Does the presence of this family here mean a murder is imminent?

It seems this wasn't just an ordinary gang meeting.

“Excuse me,” Gao Mo interjected, “the event only said that the top 10 would qualify, it didn’t say that family members couldn’t bring their children, right? If there aren’t enough rooms, we can let them stay in one room.”

"This one……"

The crew members were speechless for a moment.

It makes sense from the wording; there's no rule about whether or not you can bring family members.

“If all else fails, you can contact the event organizer, Dai Furukawa,” Gao Mo reminded him. “Anyway, having one more or one less person won’t affect the boat rental fee.”

"We are also unable to contact Mr. Furukawa for the time being. The boat rental fee was already deposited into the bank..."

The crew hesitated for a moment, seemingly having contacted their superiors, before reluctantly speaking to the mustachioed family.

"Please board the ship and register first. We'll arrange your rooms later."

"Ok."

The man with the mustache boarded the boat with a smile and greeted Gao Mo gratefully.

"Thank you so much. I wouldn't have felt comfortable letting my daughter travel alone if you hadn't spoken up for me."

"Officer Matsuda?"

Conan greeted Gao Mo in return, a hint of surprise in his eyes, not expecting to meet Gao Mo here.

"Are you investigating a case or...?"

"gross profit!"

When Samezaki Shimaji, who had returned to find Gao Mo, saw the mustache, he exclaimed in surprise.

"Why are you here too?"

"Team Leader Samezaki?" The man with the mustache exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide.

Twenty years ago, he and Megure's former boss.

"What's the team leader doing here? And this person..."

The man with the mustache turned to Officer Matsuda, who was calling out to Conan.

Is there something wrong with this ship?

“No, we’re just here to relax and have some fun,” Samezaki Osamu said with a smile. “Besides, I’m not a policeman anymore; I retired two years ago.”

"Mori?" The crew members and several other passengers all looked at the man with the mustache and Gao Mo.

"Could it be the famous detective Kogoro Mouri?"

"It's really him!"

"Haha," the man with the mustache said, enjoying the attention, "we detectives take vacations sometimes, so don't overthink it."

"That's true. With both police and a famous detective around, I immediately feel much safer."

(End of this chapter)