The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Besides, the police had already questioned the people in that izakaya during the previous investigation and evidence collection, so there probably wouldn't be much point in me going there again.

Instead, sending the detective Yuu Aragaki and the clever kid Conan might lead to some unexpected clues.

"Besides, if Officer Sato shows up, it would be terrible if Inspector Megure and the others found out. So it's more convenient for me, Conan, and Ai to investigate."

Upon hearing this, Officer Sato immediately nodded to Aragaki Yu in agreement with his suggestion, "Then I'll leave it to you. Mr. Higashida and I will stay here and wait for you."

"it is good!"

Without wasting any time, after the group reached an agreement, Aragaki Yu, Conan, and Haibara Ai immediately got out of the car and ran towards the izakaya.

Watching the boy named Aragaki Yu leave with two children.

Mr. Higashida, sitting in the back row, looked somewhat conflicted, clearly uneasy about Officer Sato entrusting them with the task of conducting the investigation.

"Is this really okay?"

"Hmm?" Officer Sato, his expression grave, glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror and suddenly spoke up. Mr. Higashida seemed puzzled, not understanding the meaning behind his words. "What do you mean?"

“Those children!” Mr. Dongtian said worriedly, “Can we really leave this kind of thing to those children?”

"Haha, you mean them!" Upon hearing this, Officer Sato seemed to have thought of something, and the serious expression on his face relaxed.

"Don't worry, sometimes those guys are more reliable than the police!"

"Oh?" Mr. Higashino looked surprised.

“That’s right, especially that high school student and the kid with glasses, they’re both excellent detectives!” Officer Sato suddenly explained with a smile.

……

More than half an hour later, Yu Aragaki brought Conan and Ai Haibara back to Officer Sato's car.

"Officer Sato, let's go!" Conan said to Officer Sato, who was restarting the car, while fastening his seatbelt.

Officer Sato expertly released the handbrake and shifted into gear, asking, "Where are you going?"

"The apartment where the incident occurred." Reminded by Ai Haibara, Yuu Aragaki, somewhat reluctantly fastening his seatbelt, told Officer Sato their destination.

"Okay!" Officer Sato nodded, and without saying anything more, started the car and headed towards Ms. Muranishi's apartment.

Throughout the journey, Conan, sitting in the passenger seat, kept his head down as soon as he got in the car, seemingly deep in thought.

Sitting in the back row, Yuu Aragaki and Ai Haibara remained silent, saying nothing.

The atmosphere inside the car suddenly became strange.

Mr. Higashida, the suspect, felt anxious as he watched the group of people who, after getting into the car, only mentioned their next destination and then remained silent.

He glanced at the boy and girl beside him, then at the bespectacled boy sitting in front of him.

He opened his mouth, but didn't dare to ask anything.

He was terrified that what he would hear from these people would be detrimental to him.

Officer Sato, who had been driving, also noticed Mr. Higashida's hesitant expression.

Turning his head to look at the three people who had become somewhat silent after returning to the car, Officer Sato naturally assumed that they seemed a little frustrated because they had not found any useful clues.

To comfort the three men whose confidence might have been shaken, Officer Sato smiled and reassured them, "We investigated this izakaya after the incident. We questioned everyone, from the owner to the customers who were there that day, so it's normal that we didn't get any new leads. So please, please don't be discouraged, cheer up!"

"discouraged?"

Officer Sato, who expected to receive grateful looks from the three of them, suddenly found that Aragaki Yu and Conan were both looking at him with surprise.

Even Ai Haibara, who always had a blank expression, gave herself a strange look.

"What nonsense are you spouting, Officer Sato?"

"Huh?" The reaction of the three of them was clearly unexpected by Officer Sato.

Conan, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the slightly bewildered Officer Sato and immediately realized why she had suddenly said that. She probably misunderstood his expression and actions after he got into the car.

After stretching, Conan immediately explained, "We did find something, we were just silent because we were thinking about the clues we had!"

squeak--

Perhaps because he had heard about a new clue, Officer Sato excitedly stepped on the brakes.

Seeing the people inside the car swaying slightly from his sudden braking, Officer Sato awkwardly restarted the car: "Um... I'm sorry, but did you find anything?"

Fortunately, because he was wearing a seatbelt, Conan did not fall off his seat, but he still fell onto the seat due to the suddenness of the fall.

Conan got up from his seat and sat up straight again. He glared at Officer Sato in annoyance before explaining, "Mr. Kitagawa, Mr. Higashida's colleague, is very suspicious."

"Conan, you're saying Mr. Kitagawa is suspicious?" Inspector Sato clearly didn't expect Conan to say that. "But our police have interrogated him and haven't found anything wrong with him!"

Ai Haibara, sitting in the back seat, suddenly yawned. "It's just a cliché frame-up..."

"Framed!?" At this, even Mr. Higashida, who was standing to the side, opened his mouth wide in surprise, revealing an expression of disbelief.

He never imagined that all of this would be related to his friend, Mr. Kitagawa.

According to the child, it's even quite possible that Kitagawa framed him.

Seeing that Officer Sato and Mr. Higashida still seemed a little confused, Ai Haibara rubbed her eyes and continued to explain with a bit of helplessness: "Think about it, and you'll know that the murderer is very likely that man named Kitagawa. He killed Ms. Muranishi first, and then sent Mr. Higashida into the room."

“But…” Officer Sato hesitated before arguing, “At the time, Miss Muranishi’s door was not only locked, but the chain lock inside was also locked. It was practically a locked room. If Mr. Kitagawa killed the person, how did he get out of the room?”

“It’s very simple!” Sitting in the back row, Yuu Aragaki looked at Ai Haibara, who was getting sleepy, and moved closer to Mr. Higashida, trying to give Ai Haibara some space to lie down comfortably.

Then, he casually raised his head to help Ai Haibara answer Officer Sato's question, saying, "Just let Mr. Higashida lock it himself."

"Lock it yourself?" Officer Sato asked, puzzled.

"Me?" Even Mr. Higashida, who was standing next to him, pointed to himself blankly, looking somewhat bewildered.

“That’s right. Mr. Higashida and Ms. Muranishi’s rooms are in the same apartment building, so the layout of the rooms must be the same. So Mr. Kitagawa just needs to disguise Ms. Muranishi’s room as Mr. Higashida’s room.”

"Then, after he murdered Ms. Muranishi in the bathroom, he helped the drunken Mr. Higashida into the room. Mistaking the room for his own, Mr. Higashida, in his dazed state, naturally followed Mr. Kitagawa's instructions and locked the door that he mistook for his own room."

Conan, sitting in the passenger seat, chimed in, "That's right. In the end, as long as Kitagawa waits until the day after his death and goes to the crime scene on his own initiative, and together with other eyewitnesses discovers Ms. Muranishi dead in the bathroom and Mr. Higashida still drunk on the bed, when the police arrive, they will naturally assume that the person lying on the bed is the murderer."

He had just spent half a day racking his brains and had to admit that the truth of the case was very likely just as Aragaki Yu and Haibara Ai had said.

Officer Sato: "..."

Officer Sato is currently experiencing a slight mental breakdown.

While it would be a good thing if the truth of the case could be as they say, proving Mr. Higashida's innocence.

However, what if this group of people, who had never even seen the crime scene, actually deduced the truth?

Wouldn't that make the police seem stupid for making the wrong judgment...?

To be honest, Officer Sato was unwilling to admit this from the bottom of his heart.

Noticing the hint of doubt and confusion on Officer Sato's face, Yuu Aragaki chuckled and patted Ai Haibara's head, who had settled into a comfortable position. "Anyway, let's go check on Ms. Muranishi's room first. I believe evidence doesn't lie."

"Hmph!" Aragaki Yu's actions, which resembled petting a cat, naturally earned him a roll of the eyes from Haibara Ai.

……

Soon, the group arrived at the apartment where the incident occurred.

The apartment manager looked at Officer Sato and Yuu Aragaki standing in front of him with some impatience: "Police? Why are there police again? Didn't the police who came during the day just leave not long ago?"

Officer Sato explained somewhat apologetically to the security guard who was helping him open the door, "Haha, thank you so much. There are some things that still need to be investigated, so I need to bring Mr. Higashida over to identify the scene!"

"And what about these two kids?" The apartment manager gestured towards Conan and Ai Haibara, who were standing at the back.

"Well... this..." Officer Sato was just about to find an excuse to explain something.

Conan, who had been following behind, suddenly ran to the front, putting on a good boy's expression and raising his hands high to plead with the apartment manager, "Uncle, it's because we're here to do a nature lesson! After watching the policewoman's work, we're going to give a presentation at school!"

"..."

Seeing Conan suddenly put on an innocent, childlike expression, Aragaki Yu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Even Ai Haibara couldn't help but cover her eyes.

Chapter 330 Gin, the Innocent Caught in the Crossfire

Just as Conan was praising his own cleverness...

Officer Sato's expression suddenly changed.

She subtly turned her head and glanced at Conan, who was still gloating, a barely perceptible hint of murderous intent flashing in her eyes.

"Hehe, police officer... well, you mean auntie..."

……

at the same time.

"Damn it! Where did that suspect, Takagi, and Sato go?!"

Inside the police car speeding along the road, Inspector Megure's face was filled with anxiety. "They followed the suspect to the vicinity of the abandoned building in Beika Town before losing contact. What exactly happened?!"

Officer Shiratori, who was driving the vehicle nearby, also looked worried. "Inspector Megure, don't you find it strange? How could Officer Sato not contact us for several hours?"

“Yes…” Inspector Megure’s expression turned serious.

"Wait, could it be..." At that moment, Officer Shiratori seemed to have been struck by something, and his eyes suddenly became lifeless. "They've both been killed by the suspect!"

Suddenly, a scene flashed into Officer Shiratori's mind—