Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 613 Why is there another scroll?

“These things are not very useful to display, but this tile proves that this case is related to the case a few days ago. The specific details still need to be investigated.”

Ginjiro Toyama made his conclusion.

After saying that, he glanced at Xia Chuan subtly.

Although he suspected the killer might be among the tour group members, this idea had only just come to him, and they had been away from the scene for a long time, so the evidence was probably destroyed. There was no way to confirm who the killer was at the moment.

But when Xia Chuan first asked them to call for help, he had already discussed with him that the tour group would just take a quick look and leave.

What kind of technique is this?
Did they really identify the murderer just by glancing at the crime scene?

Fortunately, their target wasn't actually the murderer.

The cases from a few days ago and today's case may have been committed by the same person, but the murder and robbery case thirteen years ago was a gang crime. He and Hattori Heizo had vaguely sensed something was wrong with one of them, but since it was a gang, they certainly couldn't alert them.

This so-called tour group is definitely not just playing some role-playing game; they are probably there for the treasure map.

At least everyone except for the guy with the shoehorn face is like that.

After the police left, the tour group members also left one by one, and Xia Chuan and his group finally had time to have dinner.

During dinner, Hattori Heiji, Conan, and Okita Souji completely surrounded Natsukawa.

"Xia Chuan-ge, you must have discovered something, right? Have you found definitive evidence pointing to the murderer?"

Hattori Heiji asked this question.

According to Conan, Natsukawa's style shouldn't be like this. If he called people over, it should mean he already had the answer, so why did he let them go?

Okita Souji was also very curious about Natsukawa. He discovered that even Hattori Heiji's father, the Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, was cooperating with him. What audacity!

News reports have publicized Kogoro Mouri's identity as a famous detective, but there has been no information about Natsukawa.

Why is someone with such abilities unknown?
And then there's that Twilight Villa I heard about yesterday; I always feel like Natsukawa is full of secrets.

At first, he only wanted to hone his swordsmanship from the other party, but after spending the last two days with him, he was instead attracted by the other party's mystery and personal charm.

"There's no direct evidence, but that treasure map looks very familiar."

Xia Chuan reached out and took a scroll from Ai Haibara's hand, then placed it in front of everyone.

"This is!"

The scroll was opened, and its contents were intact. The first character was "dragon," and the rest of the scroll was also very clean. After being exposed to water, the densely packed small Chinese characters were revealed.

The conspicuous gourd pattern was also prominently displayed, which corresponded perfectly to the charred "dragon" scroll in front of it.

"How is this possible? Why is there another scroll?"

Conan and Hattori were completely bewildered. "Where did this thing come from?"

The two of them couldn't understand how Xia Chuan could have another copy of the same scroll; it was simply unbelievable.

"I knew it looked familiar!" Kazuha Toyama stood up abruptly, pointing at the scroll and exclaiming, "Isn't this the cultural and creative product I bought at the souvenir shop? I remember having another scroll with Anya, didn't I?"

"So that charred treasure map was fake? Or was it just a creative product from a souvenir shop?"

The text above was exactly the same as the previous one, which led Hattori to make this guess.

But if that's the case, then the deceased died a truly unjust death. "I had Anya throw the other scroll at their feet; some people should have already started studying it."

"What's the use?"

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but wonder, "Whoever gets the treasure map will definitely go and search for it secretly on their own. How does that prove the existence of the murderer among them?"

A quick glance revealed that almost everyone shared this thought, except for Anya, who knew what Xia Chuan was thinking and smiled smugly.

"Impossible, because this treasure doesn't exist at all. The person who killed Kato Yuji must have used the treasure map to lure him, so he must have known about it. He wouldn't have gone to look for the treasure; instead, he would have been worried about being seen picking up the treasure map, and thus speeding up his actions."

Will there be any more casualties?!

Realizing the deeper meaning in Xia Chuan's words, the three detectives present immediately became serious: "Xia Chuan, then why are we still here? What if another person is killed in a moment?"

Besides finding the murderer, another duty of a detective is to prevent the murderer from committing the crime again. Isn't Xia Chuan pushing other innocent people into the fire by doing this?

"Don't worry, I've already spoken to the Osaka police about this. They will be monitoring these people. This is the fastest way to find the culprit, since these people weren't at the scene immediately. By the time they arrive, any evidence they might have on them will have been disposed of beforehand."

Xia Chuan shrugged. He had done a good job. Although using other people's lives as bait was not a good thing, it had nothing to do with him. He had even notified the police in advance. Whether or not he could protect the safety of others was something Hattori Heizo should consider!
He could tell that Hattori Heizo had other plans, and that doing so was in line with the police's objectives.

The three detectives were relieved to hear that Xia Chuan had notified the police.

Although Heiji Hattori didn't trust the police, he trusted his father.

It must be said that his talent was indeed inherited. Hattori Heizo's rise to the position of department head was not simply due to his good family background or the fact that he had the Ooka family as a backer.

However, knowing the situation, the three of them had no appetite for the meal, their minds preoccupied with the tour group.

About an hour later.

Xia Chuan's phone suddenly rang.

At the same time, Hattori Heiji's phone rang.

The two ringing bells undoubtedly conveyed something.

After finishing the call, Natsukawa remained expressionless, while Hattori, after hanging up with Inspector Otaki, looked rather grim. He simply told Kogoro Mouri, "Something's happened," and then pushed open the door and left.

A moment later, the three detectives ran out of the restaurant as if they were being chased, and then took a taxi straight to Osaka Castle Park.

Passersby who witnessed this scene turned their heads in surprise, thinking there had been a fire inside.

The boss almost called the police.

If the waiter hadn't told him that there were other people in the private room, he would have thought that the three of them had dined and dashed.

The remaining people weren't really interested in the case. After leisurely paying their bills, they enjoyed the scenery along the way and headed to Osaka Castle Park.

According to the phone call that Ginjiro Toyama made to Natsukawa, there was indeed something wrong with the tour group. One of them, Shigehiko Wakiita, whom Natsukawa had noticed, had arranged to meet the only woman in the group, Maho Katagiri, at the old bridge in Osaka Castle Park.

The park was already closed at this time, yet they sneaked over the wall to enter, which speaks volumes.

Realizing that this might be a prelude to the murder, Toyama Ginjiro naturally had to inform Natsukawa.

(Ask for monthly ticket)

(End of this chapter)