The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

Chapter 676 The Wonderful Use of Kagura's Mind's Eye

Although the old man didn't know much about the case, he seemed quite interested, so he was probably very interested in ghost stories.

You know, Xiaolan just said that this old man is a long-time patient of the new doctor, and it seems to be a heart problem. This kind of thing is most aggravated by excessive emotions, and fright should be avoided as much as possible.

But this guy happens to live in such a haunted place, and seems to be quite content with this old apartment known as the haunted house.

They didn't reveal much about the case, but they listed all the strange tales in detail.

For example, when flushing the toilet, the water might suddenly turn blood red, accompanied by a very strong smell.

In the middle of the night, ghostly figures would suddenly appear on the windows of the corridor, their faces bearing an enigmatic smile.

According to Yoshikazu Otonashi, this smile seems to have a captivating effect, and if you look at it for too long, you may become so engrossed that you can never wake up from it.

For example, you might occasionally see will-o'-the-wisps in that abandoned building next door. Sometimes they are just a flickering red light, and sometimes they are a very bright white light, making you feel like there are ghosts having a big meeting inside.

Seeing that Kazama Kaoru seemed a little skeptical, the old man threw out a trump card, a classic scene found in every ghost story.

That construction site next door used to be a cemetery. The reason the construction boss hanged himself was because his project disturbed the wandering and wronged ghosts who lived there.

As the old man recounted these strange tales with great relish, Kaoru Kazama's expression remained largely unchanged.

She'd seen ghosts before, and it wasn't surprising that she couldn't sense the ghost possessing an ordinary person at first. But given her current situation, if things were really as the old man said, she would definitely sense the ghostly aura of this place.

In fact, such a thing does not exist here. Just because a place is a little dilapidated or gloomy does not make it a paradise for ghosts.

To borrow a phrase from Manager Tong, in broad daylight, under the clear sky, even thieves wouldn't dare to swagger around like that, so how could those ghosts have such great abilities?

"By the way, there are only four of you living here, right? Are you aware of their usual activity range?"

"As for their activities, Yotsuya and Bancho don't like to go out much. They both prefer to stay in their rooms. One is tinkering with videotapes, and the other is tinkering with monster dolls. As for Mr. Botan in room number one, he seems to work for some research institute. He basically stays in his room writing articles. So it seems that the most active person in this place is still this old man."

As Yin Wufang spoke, she yawned, indicating that she was somewhat tired.

That's how it is with older people; they can't sleep at night, they can't wake up during the day, they're rarely energetic, and sometimes they just fall asleep while talking.

Kaoru Kazama didn't find anything strange. Just as she was about to get up and wander around the area to see if she could encounter any supernatural phenomena, she suddenly heard a strange noise.

Who's there?

Kagura's Mind's Eye activated instantly, covering an area of ​​tens of kilometers around. Although people in the Conan world don't have chakra and their perception is somewhat awkward, they can still sense whether someone is there or not.

Before the people outside the window could react, Kaoru Kazama darted to the window.

With a loud crash, the tightly closed window was flung open, and even the latch that had been locking the window was knocked off.

The loud noise slowly woke the old man from his sleep. He rubbed his eyes groggily and finally saw what had just happened in his room.

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"Tell me, what are you doing here all alone, sneaking around like this?"

The guy who was peering out the window was handcuffed by Kaoru Kazama—the same handcuffs Miwako had given him earlier that day. Although they were rusty, they were still reliable in terms of security.

At least for now, Kikuji Banmachi, kneeling in the corridor with a deathly pale face, has no chance of breaking free.

She was holding what Kikuji Bancho had been carrying in his arms: tetrachloromethane, a chemical that could make people fall into a deep sleep without them even realizing it.

This guy just climbed over the wall of the construction site next door to Mr. Otonashi Yoshikazu's window in room number five, and then took this thing and planned to put it in the window crack.

The purpose is quite obvious, especially with Kaoru Kazama still inside. This constitutes the crime of attempting to harm a public official and obstructing official business.

Tetrachloromethane is toxic and not a healthy anesthetic.

Such behavior towards several strangers is definitely not without reason.

Kikuji Banmachi knelt silently in the corridor.

It's obvious that this guy doesn't intend to explain his motives. It would be best if everything could be treated as a prank, since he doesn't actually know that Kazama Kaoru is a police officer.

In other words, the mere presence of a few strangers had already caught this guy's attention, prompting him to attempt to use tetrachloromethane to drug Kogoro Mouri and his group for some unknown purpose.

"It's okay if you don't say anything. I think someone else will answer for you."

Kazama Kaoru wasn't in a hurry. When she first opened Kagura's Mind's Eye, besides this guy, she discovered a big surprise.

"Mr. Otonashi, I remember you said before that you often see will-o'-the-wisps in the building across the street, right?"

Although he hadn't expected Kazama Kaoru to ask such a question at this time, the old man still answered honestly.

"That's right. It usually happens in the middle of the night. I've never been a good sleeper, so sometimes when I wake up I see that flickering red light on the building across the street, and sometimes it turns into a blinding white light."

"Actually, that wasn't some will-o'-the-wisp, but a person. The red flame was probably a cigarette butt, and as for the blinding white light, I think it was the light leaking from the screen when that person was watching a video out of boredom."

"After all, anyone would get bored staying in such a remote and deserted place for four years, wouldn't you say, Mr. Bancho?"

Kaoru Kazama looked at the man with his upturned nose and somewhat strange appearance.

"Just confess honestly, otherwise I don't think the person you've been hiding for four years will be as stubborn as you. I can interrogate that guy and get the same result, but your fate might not be any better than it is now. Are you sure you want to continue to stay silent?"

The relationship between accomplices is not necessarily very good. Helping each other hide is not necessarily due to deep affection. It is more likely that they are afraid that the other person's existence will expose their crimes, so they have no choice but to do so.

Although he didn't know why there were so many strange rumors about this place before he came, after Kagura used her Mind's Eye to discover that there was someone in the building across the street, and then used Gaara's Sand Eye to see the scar on the other person's face, Kaoru Kazama clearly connected everything.

Chapter 677 Kikuji Banmachi Refuses to Plead Guilty

Although he had become so thin that he looked unrecognizable, and his hair had grown to waist length, the scar on his face still allowed Kazama Kaoru to identify him.

It was obvious that the guy hiding in the abandoned building, living on a bunch of convenience foods, was the scarred fugitive whose name was posted on the telephone pole outside.

He was also one of the murderers in the murder case four years ago.

However, this guy has changed quite a bit. The portrait shows a fat man whose eyes are squinted into slits, with short hair permed like a certain sports star.

When Kaoru Kazama saw him, he not only had waist-length hair, but his cheekbones were also clearly visible. It seems that his diet was quite monotonous and unhealthy. I wonder if he had any desire to lose weight. Now he has achieved it.

As for why Kazama Kaoru knew that Bancho Kikuji, who lived in this apartment building, was this guy's accomplice.

It's very simple. When Kagura first activated her Mind's Eye, the only other people in the vicinity besides Kikuji Bancho were this wanted criminal hiding in the abandoned building.

According to what the Eye of Sand saw later, the wanted criminal had just acquired some new convenience foods.

Without a doubt, this was provided by Kikuji Bancho, who had just left.

However, these cannot be used as direct evidence to prove Kikuji Bancho's crimes, so Kaoru Kazama is now using verbal pressure to force him to confess.

However, this guy's mental fortitude is clearly quite good. Even though there isn't much trust between him and his accomplice, he obviously doesn't intend to listen to Kazama Kaoru's direct confession. Instead, he's going to take a gamble and see if the guy he's taken care of for four years can have any conscience and take the blame himself.

As long as there is even a sliver of hope, you must never confess, otherwise everything will be over, and your current life will cease to exist.

"Alright, since you're so insistent, I won't try to persuade you anymore."

Kazama Kaoru was just trying out the methods of a great detective, but it was clear that she didn't have the protagonist's halo that this guy had, and almost always ended up making the criminal kneel down and cry, bowing his head and confessing his crimes.

I don't know if this is the aura effect of the Grim Reaper buff, causing the enemy's IQ to automatically decrease by 50%.

As a result, these criminals, each one smarter than the last, whose escape rooms were increasingly ingenious, were easily broken down by a few words and confessed their crimes in tears.

They are all people with the intelligence of top-tier criminals, but lack the corresponding psychological fortitude.

Frankly, this is unreasonable. Even if someone kills in a moment of desperation, the person who can cleverly set up a locked room in a short time must have exceptional mental fortitude.

After committing murder, instead of clearing their mind, they try to cover up their crime. This kind of person is unlikely to confess after being provoked by a few words.

That's right, this is the cross-dressing guy who was specifically criticized for killing Professor Hirota. Putting aside the fact that his motive for killing was ridiculous, he could have just taken the opportunity to leave and be done with it, but instead he kept going back to the detective and jumping around.

Of course, this is also related to his method of committing the crime. After all, his fingerprints were left on that tape, so it's normal for him to want to retrieve them.

"Sigh, why are criminals so smart when it's my turn? Could it be that the Grim Reaper's halo really does make criminals less intelligent?"

Kazama Kaoru suddenly felt a little doubtful of himself, glancing at Conan, who was deep in thought.

Unlike the original story, this Kikuji Banmachi hadn't even had a chance to play tricks yet; he was just planning to use tetrachloromethane to knock these people out when he was scared half to death by Kaoru Kazama's loud shout and almost fell off the wall.

Then, they were stunned by the way the policewoman violently broke the window.

You should know that he clearly saw the tightly locked bolt just fly off like that.

The latches on these old-style apartments are usually quite rusty, making them harder to open than normally locked windows, which is why they were so easily removed.

It was this action that made Kikuji Banmachi give up his idea of ​​jumping off the wall to escape.

Because he was afraid that the person who caught up with him would kick him to death.

At least now if they get caught, they can still explain themselves properly. But if they get kicked half to death, then there's really no way to turn things around.

Just as she handcuffed Kikuji Bancho, she called Miwako to inform her that the wanted criminal hiding in the building across the street had been arrested, and specifically asked her to make a big fuss about it to see if she could get the guy to confess.

The attempt failed, and despite the sirens blaring outside, the guy remained completely unfazed.

Of course, judging from his pale face, he was probably still quite frightened by Kazama Kaoru, and his stress response had become sluggish.

"I knew I shouldn't have used so much force. Xiaolan can just bear the title of 'violent maniac'."

Kaoru Kazama realized she had acted rashly. It wasn't that she was worried about compensating the man for the window; she had actually saved him, after all, tetrachloromethane is toxic, and the old man was a patient. If he had been knocked unconscious by the fumes, who knows what might have happened?

"It's a pity there's no bonus for this kind of thing. I'll have to suggest it to Manager Matsumoto later, because this isn't good for fostering a positive attitude of bravery among the people of Tokyo."

"Sister Xiaoxun, do you think there are any other possibilities besides that accomplice that might explain why this guy insists on living in this place?"

Conan's words sparked a train of thought in Kaoru Kazama.

This guy has been wandering around the scene like a busy little bee; with his keen observation skills, he must have discovered some clues.

On the surface, it seems logical that Kikuji Bancho stayed in this place after the murder because he needed to take care of his accomplices who were hiding there, and that he used ghost tricks to drive away strangers who came here.

However, upon closer examination, this reason is not reasonable, or at least not comprehensive enough.

Although the wanted criminal with the scar on his face has been identified, it's not absolutely necessary for him to hide in this place.

Running away under the cover of darkness is much better than hiding here, right? Not to mention that the surveillance cameras weren't nearly as powerful four years ago.

Putting aside other issues, the truck collision that happened at the coffee shop could have been solved immediately if any other shop on the street had installed security cameras, but unfortunately, none of them did.

Moreover, this place is close to the crime scene. Although it is now an abandoned building that no one visits, hiding in this place for four years would obviously leave a lot of traces of life that cannot be erased.

Take the will-o'-the-wisp that the old man saw, for example; isn't that one of the pieces of evidence that this guy was caught smoking and watching TV?

It's just that the old man was a bit confused and took it as a ghost story. If Conan lived in this place, he probably would have solved the case before he even got warm in bed.

Furthermore, Kikuji Bancho consistently delivered meals to his accomplices on time, and this fixed routine increased the likelihood that someone with ulterior motives would discover the truth.

It's quite strange that no one has noticed this for four years. Given Tokyo's high population density and rapid construction, it seems illogical that an abandoned building where a murder occurred four years ago has not been redeveloped and has been used as a hideout by these two suspicious individuals.

Unless, there is some reason why these two people must be active in this place.