Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 259 Rei Furuya's Car Driving Guide

"It wasn't that phone call that killed Mr. Takai; it was that you always wanted Mr. Takai dead."

Gao Mo stared at the glowing projected text on the middle-parted man's body.

He recently discovered that he could influence suspects through words and other means, thereby making the projected text more oriented towards the information he wanted to know.

Kawakami Noboru – [That guy deserved to die; who told him to kill Hiraya?]

……

Judy – [Making Shinichi Matsuda an ally]

Sato – [What is the relationship between Shinichi Matsuda and Jinpei Matsuda?] and [Who is the murderer?]

Gao Mo continued to draw the question "Who is the murderer?" for Sato, then looked directly at the man with the middle parting and said, "Mr. Takai managed to hold on for a while by using the curtains as cover during his final attempt to survive. He should have still been on the phone at that time."
If you really just called to complain and vent, why would he want to throw his phone into the room at the last minute?

"What?" The man with the middle parting was completely sober.

"The collision marks on the bedroom window are because Mr. Takai tried to throw his phone last time, afraid that it would fall and break. It was also an attempt to prove your death message."

Gao Mo asked the police officer for the functional device to seal the evidence bag.

"Mr. Kawakami, if you have anything else to say, please come to the police station."

In the apartment corridor, Furuya Rei, carrying dinner ingredients, narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened to Gao Mo's calm deductions from inside the room.

When did these guys in the First Investigative Division become so capable?

Detective Shinichi Matsuda... He had never heard of him before.

"Wow!"

The notes in Gao Mo's eyes appeared as a projection.

[Rei Furuya's Car Driving Guide: 4 stars]

Huh?
Gao Mo glanced at the crowd in the corridor, his gaze lingering briefly on Furuya Rei.

Old Deng finally got some gold coins.

Since I gave him the daily miscellaneous books at the beginning, there has been no further news. They are either hard to come by or impossible to draw.

Although driving a car isn't this guy's strongest skill, it's still quite remarkable for him.

His driving skills have never been particularly impressive, while Furuya Rei's driving skills are superb, making his car seem like it could fly.

Unfortunately, it's not 5 stars, so I can't get the corresponding talent.

"Take him to the police station," Gao Mo instructed the crew-cut officer.

"Yes, sir!" The crew-cut officer paused for a moment, then saluted solemnly.

It serves him right that he was just a low-ranking police officer; he was almost treated as a suicide victim.

"Officer Matsuda, about taking my statement..."

"You handle it yourself."

……

"Matsuda."

On the way back, Sato was driving. Looking at Gao Mo, who was deep in thought beside him, he hesitated and tightened his fingers.

"There's something I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask... Do you know a policeman named Matsuda Jinpei?"

“I don’t recognize him,” Gao Mo raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is he also an officer from the First Investigation Division? I haven’t been paying much attention to him lately…”

"Nothing, I'm just asking."

Sato forced a smile, a faint sadness flashing in his eyes, and the car fell silent again.

Seeing this, Gao Mo asked in return, "Officer Sato actually likes Takagi, doesn't he? But it seems like he's afraid and suppressing something."

"Really?" Sato blushed and hurriedly explained, "Is Yumi talking nonsense again? Takagi and I are just colleagues."

"..."

Gao Mo did not expose Sato's disguise.

He had already gotten information from Takagi that after the last blind date incident, Takagi got a date opportunity.

It seems they're planning to go to the tropical ocean park that opens next week.

If Sato cancels the date because he's shy, he'll be in big trouble.

“But speaking of which,” Sato changed the subject, “what’s the relationship between Matsuda and that English teacher? You seem quite familiar with that luxury apartment building.”

"What could possibly be the connection? I'm interested in solving cases, and that teacher happens to be a mystery enthusiast." Gao Mo shrugged.

“I see,” Sato laughed. “Inspector Megure was worried that you’d be kidnapped by some strange person. Turns out you’re just a mystery enthusiast.”

Gao Mo glanced back at the luxury apartment building.

That was where he started in this world, but now he only occasionally has a housekeeper clean it.

He hadn't expected Judy to live here; it seems she just bought the house outright.

Before this woman appeared, an agent had contacted him, saying that a foreign woman wanted to buy his three-bedroom apartment, which was probably Judy.

He bought unit 2104 of the same type of apartment because he didn't agree to it.

I just don't know what Furuya Rei is thinking, or whether he knows Jodie's true identity.

“By the way,” Gao Mo suddenly turned to Sato and asked, “can I drive by myself for a bit later?”

“Yes, it’s possible,” Sato said, startled. “But what are you going to do?”

As if realizing something, Sato's lips twitched: "Could it be that he doesn't want to write the report again?"

"Pretty much, haha."

Gao Mo responded with a dry laugh.

He actually wanted to try out the "Car Driving Guide" he had just won.

He only went through it briefly, but as various driving memories of Furuya Rei flooded his mind, he felt itchy to drive, but he couldn't do it in front of Sato.

Perhaps he should buy himself a car.

He used to envy Rei Furuya, but because his driving skills were really not up to par and there was no real need for him, he had always put aside his car-buying plans and made do with Ai's little motorcycle.

“Alright,” Sato said leniently. “Since you’ve solved so many cases, I’ll write the report for you… But don’t do anything strange with this car, okay? Inspector Megure usually takes great care of this car; even the slightest scratch will upset him for a long time.”

"I just wandered around aimlessly."

……

The next morning.

With tears in his eyes, Megure saw the tow truck off, watching as the police car, its front end badly damaged, was taken to the repair shop.

"It's alright, it's good that everyone's safe. But Matsuda, I remember you used to be a pretty good driver, didn't you?"

"It was an accident, completely an accident."

Gao Mo smiled sullenly.

There's nothing wrong with driving normally, of course; he just overestimated his learning ability.

You may know it in your mind, but you may not be able to do it in your hands.

Comparing oneself to Rei Furuya is not something that can be accomplished in a short time.

The newly entered driver is only level 1.

"An accident?" Megure's voice rose several decibels, his eyes wide with disbelief. "It's one thing for the front of the car to hit a tree, but what about all those scratches on the undercarriage? I heard you wanted to drive on a wall?"

"How could that be?" Gao Mo denied it repeatedly. "I absolutely did not do anything reckless."

Inspector Megure felt a headache coming on. He felt that this precious subordinate was never idle and always managed to cause trouble: "Forget it, you should focus on investigating the case. There's a murder case from four years ago that we still haven't solved..."

"Let Chiba go with you; from now on, other people can handle minor driving tasks."

Sato, standing behind, looked utterly embarrassed; she had actually believed Gao Mo yesterday.

There's no way around it; Gao Mo's powerful aura when investigating cases is too deceptive, but I never expected his driving skills to be so...questionable.

"Park arson and murder incident?"

Gao Mo quickly obtained the case files. He also had corresponding files in his mind, which he had previously sifted through.

This type of unspecified killing has only happened once before, and the investigation is more troublesome than the Ye Caisan case. It requires a lot of time to conduct interviews and investigations, and there is no guarantee that there will be any results.

There are many similar cases, and the police have issued arrest warrants, but they have never been able to catch the murderer.

“Yes,” Chiba said, in a good mood. “The appearance of one of the murderers has been confirmed and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The other murderer was not clearly seen by the witnesses because the lighting was too dim, but it was confirmed that he was also male.”

If following others is just getting by, then following Gao Mo is about earning credit.

Who in the First Investigative Division wouldn't want to partner with Inspector Matsuda these days?
Although Megure's gaze was a bit strange when he assigned him the task, and he even said that he would be in charge of driving, he would be perfectly happy to be a driver if it would make solving cases easy.

"They haven't caught him in four years?"

Gao Mo carefully examined the wanted poster.

He was a curly-haired thug with a long scar on his cheek, looking rather pathetic, and with unusually small eyes.

It's impressive at first glance, so it shouldn't be hard to find.

This world isn't just about police making arrests; there are also bounty hunters who specialize in surveillance, and the bounty is enough to make ordinary citizens aware of these people.

But the other party managed to hide for four years.

Gao Mo looked thoughtful.

No matter what kind of case it is, once he gets involved, he will definitely give it his all.

Back then, the police quickly obtained clues and never gave up the investigation. Where could the murderer, whose appearance had been exposed, have escaped to?

“Let’s go and see the scene.”

Gao Mo decided to first look for clues around the crime scene to see if the police had missed any clues back then.

You can't tell anything just by looking at the report.

Speaking of which, this kind of old case is perfect for Ai to investigate. Putting aside everything else, at least it can draw out the spirits to help him activate the projected text.

……

"Really, Dad, I told you to drink less alcohol before."

"Am I okay?"

Newly discharged from the hospital.

Several days later, the man with the mustache brought his family for a follow-up check-up.

Unlike last time, only the fake Shinichi was left in the huge house; even the servants were nowhere to be seen.

"Strange," the mustachioed man asked, looking around without noticing Conan's slightly nervous expression, "Where are your grandmother and maid?"

“I sent them to Aomori first,” the fake Shinichi said with a smile. “I was originally planning to work at a hospital in Aomori, but there are still patients here who need care, so I can’t go for the time being. Besides, I’m more inclined to work at Teitan High School now…”

Conan stood behind, deep in thought.

After observing him several times, he was quite certain that this person was not the original Dr. Shinichi.

But he didn't understand why this person seemed to treat Xiaolan and him somewhat differently.

Are there other patients here?

"Yes, we had already recommended other hospitals, but they just wouldn't go there."

"Hmph, I don't trust any other doctors."

A thin, frail old man with thinning hair suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Didn't I already say? Those people don't believe my apartment is haunted, a bunch of arrogant guys."

"Mr. Otonashi was my dad's patient before. Lately he's been saying that it's haunted. I was thinking of going to that apartment building to check it out today. Do you want to come along?" said the fake Shinichi helplessly.

"Haunted?" the man with the mustache laughed. "With medicine and technology so advanced in this era, how could there be ghosts?"

Conan raised his eyelids slightly: You didn't believe in curses before either.

“It really exists,” the old man said with dissatisfaction. “You’ll see for yourselves when you go and see for yourselves. It’s the spirit of a young girl who left behind a bellyful of resentment in the world and is wandering in the mortal realm because she couldn’t ascend to heaven.”

Oh, departed souls...

Conan's thoughts drifted.

Ai Haibara, also known as Shiho Miyano, that woman always seems to be talking about ghosts and evil spirits for some reason.

While aptX4869 is a bit fantastical, it's still quite strange for a scientist to believe in ghosts and gods, especially when he's working with a top detective like Kido.

……

Gao Mo and Chiba used a map to locate the crime scene in the park.

It's called a park, but it's actually not very big. It's surrounded by dilapidated old apartments, and there's an unfinished building nearby.

He had once considered selling his luxury apartment and moving to a place like this.

“This is the park,” Chiba said as he pulled over to the side of the narrow road. “The body of the victim, Rui Tabuchi, was found inside. His body was completely burned, and they could only barely find his driver’s license to identify him.”

"Witnesses saw flames in the middle of the night and came here to find two men standing next to the body, watching the fire burn..."

Chiba said he had a headache and looked around.

He trusted Gao Mo completely, but these kinds of cases were always difficult to handle, and they were nothing like the murder cases Gao Mo had solved before.

Even the murderer cannot be found.

In addition, since four years have passed since the case was filed, many things are now impossible to investigate.

The only hope is to find the wanted murderer.

But given how much time has passed, if they could have found it already, they would have found it long ago.

Is Inspector Megure deliberately using this case to stall Inspector Matsuda?
Chiba suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"Officer Matsuda?"

A soft shout suddenly came from across the street.

However, it was the Mori family and the fake Shinichi who strolled over.

The man with the mustache raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Has a case occurred here?"

"It must be because of that charred corpse case, right?" The thin old man said with his hands behind his back, seemingly unfazed. "It seems the police know about it too. There's been a lot of ghost stories around here lately... That makes sense, considering they haven't caught the killer in four years."

Gao Mo sized up the group of men with mustaches and asked, "Mr. Mori, what brings you here...?"

"It's all because of this old man, who keeps saying it's haunted," the man with the mustache cleared his throat, "so we thought we'd come and see if it's true or not, since a famous detective like me absolutely doesn't believe in ghosts."

"I want to help Mr. Otonashi solve the ghosting problem and then close down the hospital in his house." The fake Shinichi smiled gently, but his eyes held a hint of probing as he looked at Gao Mo.

Because of her professional habits, she pays special attention to outstanding people around her, especially those who suddenly appear.

Kogoro Mouri was one of them, and now there's this detective.

"Do you want to come in and take a look too?" The old man glanced at Gao Mo and Qianye from the doorway. "Although I don't think the police are of any use, I don't want to be misunderstood all the time. I'm not the only one who has seen a ghost."

Is it haunted?

Upon hearing this, Gao Mo glanced at the old apartment building.

He didn't sense any ghosts or monsters at all.

He's not the same person he used to be. If there really were ghosts or monsters around, he wouldn't be able to miss a single trace.

This is interesting.

Why are there suddenly ghost stories about something that happened 4 years ago?

“Officer Matsuda,” Chiba said softly, “Let’s go find the police officer who handled the case back then and ask him about the situation. The ghost story is probably just a prank.”

"Of course I know it's a prank, but don't you think it's a coincidence?"

Gao Mo's gaze lingered on Conan and the others.

Do you understand the value of this family's wealth?

Would we really end up in such a remote place together for no reason?
"The opportunity to solve the case may have arrived."

(End of this chapter)