Conan: The Romantic Daily Life of a Ghost Detective

Detective Takagi's expression suddenly changed; he vaguely guessed what was going on: "Wait, wait a minute, Sato-senpai, it's not past midnight yet. Going from here to Bunkyo Ward will take us through a bustling shopping street..."

"Hey! There's an emergency we need to investigate right now." Sato Miwako reached out and attached the patrol light to the roof of the car. The red and blue flashing lights were particularly eye-catching in the dark night.

"Fasten your seatbelts. Oh, and could you please contact Miike for me?"

"Wait, wait a minute..." Takagi Wataru tried to stop her, but Sato Miwako's low-cut high heels had already slammed onto the accelerator.

The red Mazda's engine roared like a beast.

The tires left a trail of white smoke as they rubbed against the ground, and then the car transformed into a red lightning bolt, shooting off at an astonishing speed.

"Ah ah ah ah ah"

As she rounded the bend, Sato Miwako, known as the "Witch of the Mist," let out a scream that was particularly clear in the night.

Chapter 25: A Love Triangle Will Occur If Ai Is Pinned Down in the Car

When Miwako Sato and Wataru Takagi arrived at the scene, the Bunkyo Ward Local Police Station had already taken control of the area, and an ambulance was parked at the entrance.

The entire park has been cordoned off.

Investigators set up four high-powered searchlights at the park entrance, illuminating the crime scene as bright as day.

After all, Miwako and the others were far away at the time, so even if the car was going fast, it would still take some time.

As soon as she got out of the car, Miwako saw the girl's body hanging on the horizontal bar. Forensic staff were collecting fingerprints and hair samples around the body and putting them into transparent evidence bags.

Sato Miwako's heart sank.

Because the murderer's methods have become more sophisticated.

After the last victim was killed, the body was simply left on a street piled with garbage. But this time, the body has been displayed in a special place for public display. It's getting harder and harder to deal with.

After Sato Miwako and Officer Takagi got out of the car.

Officer Takagi went to briefly hand over the situation to the head of the Bunkyo Ward Police Station, and then took over the scene.

The Metropolitan Police Department has now established a special investigation unit for the "Slit-Mouthed Woman Serial Murder Case," which involves joint investigations by multiple departments to improve the efficiency of the investigation.

Instead of going directly into the scene, Miwako Sato walked towards the group of people from Onami standing in front of the ambulance.

The back door of the ambulance was open, and a pale-faced girl lay on a stretcher inside. Sato Miwako immediately recognized the girl as Miike Naeko's cousin, Kazama Aoi.

At this moment, two medical staff were treating Kazama Aoi. Judging from her condition, she should not be in any danger. Wen Shui and Xiao Lan stood at the door of the ambulance watching.

"Did you drive here in an F1 car? Why are you so loud?" Wen Shui asked Sato Miwako a question as soon as she came up.

"No, it's probably because it's quieter at night."

Sato Miwako answered subconsciously, then realized that all the questions she had were suddenly thrown into disarray by this kid.

So she decided to go and check on Aoi Kazama's condition with the doctor first.

Upon learning that Xiao Kui had only fainted due to a fever and was not in immediate danger, and after confirming that Michi Mieko was on her way, Wen Shui was pulled into the scene of the incident and carefully questioned about what had happened.

Wen Shui had no choice but to recount to Sato Miwako how she discovered the body.

Because he had already told the investigating officers the story, he was able to repeat it much faster and with more perfect details this time.

After hearing this, Sato Miwako frowned: "So, you didn't see anyone suspicious nearby?"

“No, Sonoko and the others were also investigating nearby at the time. They would have noticed if there were any suspicious people,” Wen Shui said. “Of course, we can’t rule out the possibility that the murderer is someone with exceptional mental fortitude who is very good at disguising himself.”

Miwako Sato nodded.

Wen Shui continued, "Moreover, judging from the ligature marks on the corpse's wrists, the time of death was probably between 5 and 7 hours ago, which should have been before it got dark."

"How do you know? The autopsy report hasn't come out yet," Sato Miwako asked, puzzled.

Wen Shui glanced at Ai Haibara and smiled: "Uh... actually, I've seen similar reference books before, and there are many example pictures that match the condition of the deceased very well."

Miwako Sato said helplessly, "You have to trust the professionals when it comes to these things. Sometimes, your eyes are the ones that can deceive you the most."

Clearly, she didn't take Wen Shui's estimate of the time of death seriously.

When the investigators went to visit the surrounding area afterward, they still focused on the time before and after the body was discovered.

Although Ran and Sonoko didn't expose Wenshui's lie, judging from their expressions, they seemed to think it wasn't right for him to steal Ai Haibara's credit like that.

Instead, Ai Haibara's gaze softened as she looked at Wen Shui. She knew very well that Wen Shui was worried that her identity would be targeted by the police.

After all, if someone who knows the time of death of a body very well is frequently seen in the vicinity at the time of the crime, the Metropolitan Police Department is very likely to conduct a routine investigation into Ai Haibara.

Although Ai Haibara was confident in her disguised identity, the feeling of being protected still stirred up a complex emotion in her heart.

Because apart from her older sister, Akemi Miyano, she had never felt this way from anyone else.

Ai Haibara was momentarily at a loss for words.

.

Not long after, the preliminary investigation report of the crime scene was released.

Officer Takagi ran over with the report and handed it to Miwako Sato.

Although Sato Miwako and her colleagues are detectives, they still rely on the judgment of professionals in fields such as fingerprint analysis and bloodstain detection. This is why she felt that Wen Shui's reasoning was unreliable earlier.

However, after opening the report, the first thing Sato Miwako saw was the estimated time of death of the body.

It was exactly as Wen Shui had described.

Miwako looked at the warm water not far away in surprise and found that the boy was giving her a smug smile and mouthing, "Don't think you can get rid of me with a few meat buns this time, Sato-senpai."

Miwako Sato couldn't help but hold her forehead.

This kid's mind is always filled with money and benefits.

Aren't detectives of this age usually full of energy, either wanting to protect world peace or being megalomaniacs like Shinichi Kudo?

This was the first time Sato Miwako had ever seen a high school detective who valued money so much.

However, to be fair, this kid seems to be more capable than she imagined.

It seems we really need to reward him properly this time to maintain the friendly working relationship between the two.

This is a survival strategy she learned from Inspector Megure, who achieved considerable success thanks to his younger brother, Shinichi Kudo. The reason Miwako Sato dislikes Shinichi Kudo is because he's too arrogant and sometimes doesn't respect the Metropolitan Police Department.

In comparison, the nature of warm water and trees is much better.

As long as it helps solve the case and doesn't require her to compromise her dignity, Sato Miwako is quite willing to do it.

Later, I'll call Yumi and ask what young people like these days, Sato Miwako thought.

"What's wrong, Officer Sato?" Officer Takagi noticed that something was wrong with Sato Miwako.

Miwako Sato: "It's nothing. That kid actually guessed the time of death correctly."

"Is that the young man named Wenshui Kazuki? I heard he's Shinichi Kudo's classmate." Officer Takagi looked at Wenshui in surprise, who was surrounded by girls and seemed to be discussing the case.

“Yes, he also helped me out a little with the Takakura Bunta incident before,” said Sato Miwako.

Officer Takagi scratched the back of his head and asked tentatively with a smile, "Someone this capable and handsome must be very popular with girls, right?"

"Is that even a question?" Sato Miwako replied seriously.

Officer Takagi felt a chill: "Could it be that, Sato-senpai, you also..."

“You can tell by the pretty girls surrounding him,” Sato Miwako said, oblivious to Takagi’s expression. “And last time in the police station’s conference room, he was with Ran…”

Sato Miwako suddenly realized that she had let something slip.

She quickly covered her mouth with her notebook, a reaction so youthful and endearing, creating a striking contrast with her identity as a detective in the Metropolitan Police Department.

Several newly recruited young police officers nearby, upon witnessing this scene, all wore expressions of admiration.

"Oh, so that's what you meant, haha." Officer Takagi laughed awkwardly, while secretly relieved.

Yeah, that kid already has so many women around him.

There shouldn't be any more involvement with Sato-senpai, and Sato-senpai is quite a bit older than Nukumizu, so the two shouldn't have anything in common, Takagi Wataru thought.

He felt his chances of winning were still quite high.

Miwako continued reviewing the crime scene investigation records, when suddenly a piece of information caught her eye: "There was a fight on the ground near the body?"

"Yes."

Wataru Takagi said, "We also found a woman's hair that had been violently torn off on the ground, and it has been sent back for testing."

Sato Miwako's eyes lit up: "Because the second victim had short hair, it means that the murderer may have fought with the third victim at the scene. Of course, it is also possible that he was a passerby who witnessed the incident."

She began to deduce along this line of reasoning.

Hearing the conversation, Wen Shui quickly came over and explained, "Please wait a moment... those marks on the ground from the struggle were probably made by Xiao Lan and me."

"You and Ran?" Sato Miwako looked at him, puzzled. "Why are you fighting here?"

Officer Takagi, who was standing nearby, seemed to have thought of something and quickly poked Sato Miwako in the back with his notebook to tell her to be quiet.

But Sato Miwako, with her keen observation skills, had already noticed the handprint on Ran's face. Her tone turned cold: "You actually hit a woman?"

Upon hearing this, the people nearby all cast unfriendly glances at Wen Shui.

Although this fictional world is heavily male-dominated and women have little status, domestic violence is still condemned by most people.

Just as Wen Shui was about to explain, Xiao Lan suddenly stood up and said, "No! It was...it was me who made Wen Shui do it!!"

Xiao Lan's voice was loud, which drew more attention to this side.

Under the spotlight at the entrance, the marks on Xiaolan's face were particularly clear.

Now, everyone's gazes turned ambiguous again.

He went to an empty park late at night, there were broken hairs on the ground, and the woman who was slapped claimed it was consensual...

These clues, when put together, easily lead one to think of something strange.

Then, to Wenshui's shock, he discovered that Ai Haibara had actually pulled Sonoko Suzuki aside and quickly distanced herself from him.

“Traitor.” Wen Shui glared angrily at Ai Haibara.

"Pervert," Ai Haibara retorted.

While the two were exchanging glances, Xiaolan explained to everyone that she had lost her mind upon seeing the corpse, and that Wenshui was something she had to do to help her calm down.

Miwako Sato nodded.