No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

After the forensic doctor examined the body, it was confirmed that Mr. Tomishima was indeed killed by a chandelier, and fragments of the chandelier were still found on his head.

After ballistic analysis, the direction and distance of the shot were determined, confirming that it was fired from the sofa. Since it was a shotgun, it was normal for some pellets to hit the chandelier.

Furthermore, no traces of sleeping pills were detected in his body other than alcohol, so the possibility of him being given sleeping pills and then shot down by the chandelier to kill him is probably zero.

Kitahara Masaki also considered the possibility that Mr. Tomishima had drunk himself into sleep, and then the murderer shot him, knocking down the chandelier and killing him, but at this stage there is no evidence to prove this possibility.

Based on the smoke reaction and ballistic analysis, it can be seen that the shotgun was likely fired in Mr. Tomishima's hand. In other words, if someone wanted to create this illusion, they would have to lean against Mr. Tomishima's back and grab his hand to fire the shot. In that case, the murderer would likely be hit by the chandelier after firing the shot. After all, if he had dodged quickly, Mr. Tomishima, who was not being supported, might not have been hit on the head.

In short, Kitahara Masaki considered many methods of committing the crime, but after trying them all at the crime scene, he found that none of them yielded the same result, and none were as 'clean' as when he first discovered Mr. Tomishima. If tools or drugs were used, traces would inevitably appear, but these suspicious traces were nowhere to be found at the scene. Furthermore, the only suspect at this stage, Ms. Takada, has been proven unable to commit the crime, as she went to the coffee shop early in the morning, providing both witness testimony and CCTV evidence on her alibi.

"Oh dear, could this case really be an accident?"

"Inspector Kitahara, I don't really understand why you're so insistent that it wasn't an accident."

"Ah—after all, Conan and Kogoro Mouri were present at the scene. Murders usually happen wherever these two are. This is based on my experience after solving so many cases."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki stared at him dumbfounded, thinking that while Kitahara Masaki was usually reliable, he sometimes said such outrageous things. She had also reviewed the case; the suspect, Ms. Takada, had an impeccable alibi, and the possibility of the perpetrator being an outsider was extremely small, as there were no signs of trespassing or struggle at the scene, nor any signs of ransacking. As for the person who called the police, it was a neighbor who was walking their dog and happened to see someone lying on the ground through the glass window before calling the police.

However, Kitahara Masaki still seemed unwilling to believe it, so he sent Chiba and Conan to investigate Mr. Tomishima's recent situation.

"Ahem, Inspector Kitahara, what you consider a curse of the dead is just a coincidence, and Officer Chiba probably hasn't found anything out either."

"Hehe, you know what, they actually found something out of their investigation. In the last six months, there have been nine accidents involving Mr. Tomishima, including a car accident and a near-death experience after getting drunk in the snow. And most importantly, yesterday Chiba finally found Mr. Tomishima's phone and wallet."

Even if it was truly an accident, a phone and wallet couldn't just disappear on their own. Yet, after such an accident, his phone and wallet mysteriously vanished, which is the biggest mystery in this case.

"Putting aside those bizarre accidents, where were the phone and wallet found? If they were at his house, then—"

"A thief broke into the house at that time and happened to run into Mr. Tomishima. He then witnessed Mr. Tomishima firing his gun and being crushed to death by the chandelier. However, when the thief took Mr. Tomishima's phone and wallet, he dropped the phone charm on the ground, which is why I asked Chiba to go find Tomishima's phone."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki agreed that the doubts had been resolved, and at the same time, she began to think about it.

"But can the testimony of a burglar really be trusted? What if he's the real murderer—"

"Yes, so the search has already been directed in that direction."

Kitahara Masaki put on a poker face and then brazenly began to lie.

Actually, after having Chiba and Conan find out about Mr. Tomishima's phone and his recent situation, Kitahara Masaki had Haibara check the text messages he had received on his phone beforehand. After thinking for a while, he had Haibara delete the text message—the one from Ms. Takada asking Mr. Tomishima to come to her house.

Of course, Kitahara Masaki kept a record of that text message and told Vermouth about the whole case.

"So, in other words, Ms. Takada orchestrated several accidents over six months, intending to use deliberate negligence to complete the perfect crime?"

"That's right. She led Mr. Tomishima, who had a drinking problem, to various dangerous situations so that he would 'voluntarily' encounter danger and thus achieve an accidental death."

Of course, the only clue was the text message from Takada asking Tomishima to come to her house, but Kitahara Masaki has already deleted it. After finding the thief, he also asked Chiba and Conan to withdraw from the investigation. After all, if they continued to investigate, they would definitely try to use psychological tactics to get Ms. Takada to confess.

However, for Kitahara Masaki, even if Ms. Takada eventually admitted to orchestrating these coincidences to ensure Tomishima's escape, it would be meaningless. After all, even if she did design them, Mr. Tomishima, who ultimately succumbed to temptation and willingly stepped into the trap, was also at fault.

"So, you're handing me this text message record, which is practically half evidence, because you want her to join your 'spy organization'?"

“Yes, she is talented. The most important thing is that I think it would be meaningless to bring her back to the police station and make her admit the truth and accept punishment. No one would be happy that she is put in jail, nor would anyone be sad about it. This case has no social impact and could have been closed as an accident. In the end, Mr. Tomishima’s death was due to his own lack of self-control.”

"I see. That's why you think that even if making her tell the truth is a righteous act, it won't bring happiness to anyone. But the system is inherently cold; it won't become warm just because you don't arrest her."

Kitahara Masaki was silent for a moment before replying:

"Just think of me as a troublemaker who doesn't want to follow class rules."

"Oh, that's why you can catch my eye."

Vermouth hugged Kitahara Masaki from behind, and they reluctantly parted ways after a long time.

Chapter 305 The Poor White Bird

"Brother Kitahara! Can you really treat us to a movie?"

"No problem, we'll both watch it anyway."

"Yes, we were just about to take a break."

Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth accompanied the five kids to the movie theater. The children were definitely going to see the newly released Gomera, and Kitahara Masaki had just finished a mission.

A few weeks ago, Gin suddenly assigned several tasks to Kitahara Masaki, and the BOSS personally handed over the specific tasks to Vermouth. They were all related to the National Police Agency and were likely to involve stealing data from the Public Security Bureau.

There were definitely more than just the two of them on this large-scale mission, but they were only responsible for some preliminary reconnaissance, while the infiltration mission was assigned to Curaçao.

"Why was the infiltration mission only assigned to Curaçao?"

"Yes, I've heard that Curaçao was chosen by Rum because of her exceptional shorthand skills, and she became one of his confidantes afterward."

"I see, no wonder. After all, even if they infiltrated, it wouldn't be so easy to steal the data. It seems that the BOSS and Rum want to use her memory skills to find all the moles recorded in the public security database."

Just as they were talking, a familiar man arrived at the movie theater, and Kitahara Masaki greeted him as he picked up his ticket.

"Shiratori, is today your day off?"

"Inspector Kitahara! Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Kitahara. It's really my day off today, so I came to see a movie by myself."

"Oh, so you like watching Gomera too?"

"Hmm! I think I made a mistake with the movie title when I booked the tickets online."

After the children returned with their drinks and popcorn, they immediately surrounded Officer Shiratori, chattering away. They asked questions like, "Officer Shiratori, do you like watching Gomera too?", "Officer Shiratori, are you still with Officer Sato?", and "Officer Sato and Officer Takagi are together now, you should give up." Aside from the initial greeting, the rest of the conversation was a barrage of questions directed at Shiratori.

Shiratori, being a serious person, solemnly recounted a past event to the children:

"That was when I was in elementary school. I was browsing reference books in a bookstore when I overheard a girl next to me saying to a high school student who was much taller than her, 'I saw it all, you put comic books in your pockets.' Seeing how brave she was, I went over to help her. When I was about to leave, she suddenly chased after me and gave me a Coke with a paper ribbon tied with flowers on it. She told me that the cherry blossoms on it were a symbol of courage. That's why I became a police officer."

"Hey—but Officer Shiratori, do you really think that little girl from back then was Officer Sato?"

"I don't think a strong woman like Officer Sato would do something like this when she was a child."

Faced with Conan and Ai's consecutive posts, Officer Shiratori fell silent. At first, he also thought that Officer Sato must be the girl from back then, but he had never asked Officer Sato about it.

Kitahara Masaki patted Shiratori on the shoulder and said:

"It's okay. Even if you mistook Officer Sato for that girl from back then, it doesn't matter. Officer Sato is already with Takagi, so it has nothing to do with you anymore."

"Oh, Mr. Kitahara, this is hardly a consolation."

"Huh? When did I say I wanted to comfort you?"

When everyone entered the screening room, the children's movie tickets were for the middle row, and this row was separated from the row in front by a relatively wide aisle.

While looking for a seat, Officer Shiratori was accidentally bumped into by a woman, causing his Coke to fall to the ground. The woman quickly apologized and then hurriedly ran to the counter to buy him another Coke, this time with a paper wreath tied around it. Inspired by this, Officer Shiratori immediately asked:

Is this a flower?

"Yes, it's a habit I've had since I was little. Whenever I get my hands on a straw wrapper, I can't help but make one."

Their seats happened to be adjacent, so the two of them chatted happily before the movie started, even talking about the kids. The girl, who was suspected to be Officer Shiratori's first love, praised them, saying that the kids had just helped her find her wallet.

As Kitahara Masaki watched Ayumi wave to the woman, his heart tightened. The Ayumi-locking technique was, of course, one of the laws of Detective Conan. However, the movie started quickly, and the formulaic plot gradually lulled Kitahara Masaki, who had been busy for several days, into a drowsy state, as did Vermouth beside him. Conan, who had the same feeling, only understood what Kitahara Masaki meant by "rest" after seeing the two adults asleep.

The movie was only an hour and a half long. Kitahara Masaki, who had slept for an hour, stretched and thought he would have to go home and take another nap later. However, the woman who had been chatting so pleasantly with Officer Shiratori—Ms. Aokagasa—raised a question that had been bothering her when she learned that Shiratori was a police officer.

"A stalker?"

"Yes, could you come over to my place and take a look? Even though I'm living with my boyfriend now, I still feel like a stalker has been rummaging through my trash."

Vermouth, who was listening nearby, suddenly whispered to Kitahara Masaki:

"That woman is lying. There is no stalker at all. She just wants that police officer to go home with her."

"Oh? If that's the case, then you mean she wants Inspector Shiratori to act as a witness, right? I bet there's a corpse lying in her house right now!"

"Ahem! Could it be that one of those laws you told me about before? No matter how unlucky that kid is, calling him the Grim Reaper is really going too far. Maybe that girl just wants to change boyfriends."

Kitahara Masaki gave a mysterious smile, shook his head, got into the car, and followed Shiratori to the woman's house. As soon as she opened the door, she could see a man lying on the ground in the entrance hall.

After her initial surprise, Vermouth quickly calmed down, but then she remembered the bet Kitahara Masaki had just made with her, and her insistence that the so-called child could not possibly be the Grim Reaper began to waver.

However, Kitahara Masaki didn't think much of it. Familiar with the laws of detective fiction, he already knew that this was just someone who had been killed long ago. Even if he prevented the murder this time, it would probably happen again soon.

"Shiratori, notify Inspector Megure, then you come in with me and take a look."

"Yes!"

Seeing Shiratori's respectful attitude towards Kitahara Masaki, the woman asked:

"May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Kitahara Masaki. I am a police officer and a professional at dealing with death."

Chapter 306 The Heartbroken White Bird

"The deceased's name is Kumagai Toshitomo, 30 years old. The estimated time of death is around 2 PM today. He was beaten to death by some kind of hard, stick-like object. And he was Ms. Aokagasa's boyfriend, right?"

"Yes, and the spare key he always wore on his waist was also gone."

After hearing what Ms. Aokaga said, Inspector Megure initially thought that the culprit was likely the stalker, but after thinking about it, he decided to ask Kitahara Masaki instead.

"Brother Kitahara, what do you think? Could the stalker be the murderer?"

"Who knows? It's also possible that this Miss Cangli killed her boyfriend."

Upon being suddenly brought up, Ao Kasa's expression changed drastically. After learning that the policeman was none other than Officer Kitahara Masaki, she had been pretending to cry, hoping to gain some sympathy. However, she did not expect that the officer would immediately begin to suspect her.

“Wait a minute, Officer Kitahara. She was sitting next to me when we were watching the movie, and the movie only started at 2 p.m.

"Oh, it's only a five-minute drive from here to the movie theater. She could pretend to go to the bathroom, then take a taxi back to commit the crime. Or did you keep an eye on her sitting in her seat the whole time?"

After Kitahara Masaki's comment, Officer Shiratori scratched the back of his head, uncertain. For some reason, he had seemed dazed while watching the movie and couldn't remember many things.

"Kitahara-senpai! There's a call record on the deceased's phone from around 2 AM!"

"Call back."

After Takagi called back, it was Ms. Aokaga's phone that rang. Kitahara Masaki immediately sighed. In order to prove his alibi, he not only used Shiratori, but also wanted to use the call records?

Just to be on the safe side, Kitahara Masaki asked the kids sitting in the row behind Aokasa and Shiratori:

Did you see this woman making a phone call around 2 o'clock?

"I saw it! Although it was just a sudden flash of light in front of my eyes, and then I saw the older sister's hat."

The movie started at 1:05 PM and ended at 2:50 PM, lasting one hour and forty-five minutes. The children saw Ms. Aokasa's hat around 2 PM, but that didn't prove anything, so Kitahara Masaki still asked Takagi to check the movie theater's surveillance footage.

“Miss Cangli, if this case is the work of a stalker, then we need to thoroughly investigate the entire house. Moreover, such a pervert might have installed listening devices or miniature cameras.”

Wearing a hat with pom-poms, Ms. Aokata could only nod. She couldn't find any room to refute Kitahara Masaki's words, and his girlfriend standing next to him had also overshadowed her with the silent atmosphere. This rendered her prepared script useless. She had clearly made this police officer named Shiratori fall for her, but Kitahara Masaki suddenly appeared. What puzzled her was that before Kitahara Masaki revealed his identity, she had treated that man as an ordinary passerby, but now it was obvious that everyone's attention was on him.