Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 1116: Simple Prisoner

"Freight driver? Do freight drivers need to find a special place for training? I thought that for such a hard job, I'd already practiced enough on the job..."

Takagi Shigeru didn't express his emotion loudly, but he couldn't help muttering while taking notes.

"Uh, marathons and stuff. Anyway, my hobbies have something to do with sports..."

Although it sounds far-fetched, it is a matter of personal preference and others should not interfere.

Anyway, several suspects have given reasons for appearing in this place. Whether the police believe it or not is their own consideration next.

"Even if he's a coward, it's still a little suspicious that he's hiding in the bathroom at this time."

"Being at the food court is an easy excuse to come up with. The murderer isn't stupid, eh? Well, at least not entirely. This excuse also doesn't hold up."

"No, no, compared to these two, training running on the stairs is still too exaggerated..."

Several policemen were whispering to each other. At this time, Chiba Kazunobu, who was in charge of the building investigation, brought back new information.

"Raincoat, gloves, and a pistol—those are probably the murder weapons." Holding a paper bag he'd found in the top-floor restroom locker, Chiba and Shin returned to the eerie scene. "It's on the restroom side of the food court. We've also checked the elevator surveillance during that time period and confirmed that no foreigners, potential suspects, were using the elevator."

Several mixed-race people at the scene cast subtle glances at him, but Chiba straightened his back firmly and held on.

"Have you ever considered the situation of Asian foreigners?" Amuro Toru asked indifferently, his arms folded. "It's not easy to tell if they are foreigners just by looking at them, right?"

Megure Jusan opened his mouth to refute, but after looking at the people in the field, he had to admit that what he said made sense.

There were more than one person standing here whose nationality was impossible to tell with the naked eye.

In fact, everyone knows that this possibility is very small. What Amuro Toru said is more sarcastic.

However, since it is a question about the suspect, a clear answer is still needed.

"We haven't confirmed it yet. To be more precise, we've also included surveillance footage of people entering and exiting the elevator within the five minutes leading up to the incident. There were probably over thirty people entering and exiting..."

"The president won't hire Asians," Elena said, denying the speculation. "The president said this is his business. Only when someone who doesn't look Japanese speaks Japanese and communicates in front of the camera will it be interesting."

It is easy to imagine that these small brokerage companies that are semi-formal and have some unfair terms only make a little differentiated money.

If you find a guy who can't be identified as a foreigner except for his nationality, then the basic profit point of the operation will not hold true, so how can you talk about making money?
Without making any further comments on the deceased's operating style, at present, the most likely suspects are still these three.

"So, what are your president's general criteria for finding people? Handsome men and beautiful women, or types that are interesting to look at?" Megure Jusan cast his gaze towards the secretaries, trying to screen them again.

"Actually, it's all of them. Good looks certainly qualify as an artist, but if you're portraying a foreigner in a TV movie or music video, or if you're working on a project that requires specialized work, you'll need a more specialized image. For example, being a participant in a fitness program... Our company has all kinds of contracts."

This means that all three people are indeed qualified to be interviewed.

"How about considering the size of the raincoat?"

"It's a thin build, more in line with Mr. Toby Cairns's build."

Toby, who had been watching the situation as if it had nothing to do with him, suddenly frowned. "What do you mean, do you suspect me? But the two men over there can wear this outfit, right? And why did you so easily exclude everyone else? Didn't the other people who were called in, including this chattering woman, all wear it? How could you prove that she wasn't a suspect before you tried to trust her so-called testimony?"

Option exclusion is stuck here again.

The police looked at each other and fell into thought, but Conan was looking at Toru Amuro thoughtfully.

"...What are you looking at me for, little detective?" Noticing Conan's less-than-polite gaze, Amuro Toru turned his head. "Why don't you continue with your train of thought, little miracle, and solve the case in one fell swoop?"

"Eh?" Conan instinctively retracted his foot, not knowing why Amuro Toru suddenly said that. "Uh, I, I just..."

"You're just learning from Detective Maori, so you have some wisdom, right?" Amuro Toru predicted, stopping Conan from repeating the classic excuse. "I see, kid. Anyway, you already have an idea, don't you? I have things to do and don't have time to waste here."

Amuro Toru didn't delve into what Tang Ze was doing out there. There was no point in delving into it since Tang Ze wouldn't tell him. So if Tang Ze wanted to take a ride, he could do so.

But anyway, Toru Amuro came to the New Rice Flower Hotel to look for Rum.

Because of Curacao's disappearance, Rum seemed to have suffered some kind of severe trauma and was not in good health.

The physical discomfort further aggravated his already frequent suspicious nature, and he entered a state of stress where he thought everyone wanted to harm him.

Before a final conclusion is reached on Curacao's future, I'm afraid Rum will have to remain in this state for a long time.

He accepted Tangze's suggestion and came to lift Rum's bed, oh no, to ask Rum some work questions.

Neither Rum nor Rena Mizunashi chose any hospital to recuperate.

At Rum's request, the two are now living in this hotel.

The organization rented a long-term suite here under the name of a certain company. Rum made some simple renovations and is now living and recuperating here. It's on the second floor of this building.

He simply followed the crowded elevator up to the food court and was about to take the stairs to the floor where Rum was. Before he reached his seat, he was stopped by the police and asked to cooperate with the investigation.

It's not that urgent - in fact, if Rum finds out that there has been a murder in the building and the police are called, he might be like a frightened bird and try to find another place to recuperate. It wouldn't be a bad idea to bother him more - the main thing is that if he loses contact for a while, Rum will not know what trouble he will cause.

"Something to do...?"

Conan looked at him suspiciously, his black and gray outfit which seemed more low-key than usual. He glanced at Tang Ze who was following him, and reluctantly looked away.

If it was really something bad, he wouldn't have brought Tang Ze with him. Maybe it was really something else...

"I mean, seeing Mr. Amuro suddenly reminded me that, just like the recruitment criteria for the deceased, everyone is easily fooled by common sense. The police saw Mr. Amuro and Karasawa-san and mistakenly thought they were foreigners. So, could there be people who look like foreigners but aren't?"

"Hmm?" Megure Jusan raised his head, not expecting to hear such a question. "Is there any specific connection between this and the other?"

"Since Mr. Toby and Mr. Bakuna can provide detailed work information, I don't think they will worry about the police verifying it. It's very likely that everything is true. As for Mr. Kamal..." Conan glanced at Kamal, who was sweating so much that his shirt was even stained with water, and added reluctantly, "Well, many freight drivers don't have formal jobs, unless they are from a specialized logistics company. Perhaps this driver is in a similar situation. These are things that the police can conclude with a simple investigation. People are unlikely to lie about their jobs."

"That makes sense, but we have people investigating as well." Megure Jusan nodded in agreement.

I knew it would be like this.

Conan spoke faster in order to prevent him from continuing the investigation and to prevent Kamal's problematic identity from being exposed.

"In order to escape responsibility, the murderer must have lied. So I think this is where the murderer misled us."

Conan stood on tiptoe, under the complicated gazes of the police, ignoring the deceased who had died behind the desk and whose death was far from peaceful, and pointed to the notepad on the table with several pages torn out and stained with a little blood.

"Look at the deceased's right hand. The bloodstains are very unnatural. It's as if he was holding something when the blood came into contact with it, which blocked the bloodstains and left such obvious bloodstains on his fingers... For example, a pen?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Why would this murderer come to Beika Town when there are so many places he could commit his crimes?"

The three suspects, plus Toby's questioning and the secretary Elena who was implicated, were temporarily taken to the office next door for further questioning by the police. Finally, only the police and, well, the case officers who were theoretically acceptable to the police were left in the room.

Not to mention the fact that a lot of elementary school students sneaked in here, even Karasawa and Amuro Toru were naturally included.

After Conan clearly pointed out that the deceased was most likely writing when he was shot and perhaps left some messages, the classic part of the pencil sweeping the pad of paper came again.

"Where does this sentiment come from?" Amuro Toru, who was observing the police officers critically with the eyes of a leader inspecting them, turned his head, confused.

"Last time, with that female lawyer named Ito, the detective had some sense and tore off two or three layers of the paper. This murderer really only took the first page." Tang Ze looked at the handwriting clearly visible under the pencil traces and shrugged. "He's quite simple and honest."

If there is anything commendable about the deceased in this episode, it is that he set up his office in Beika Town.

The highly qualified detectives and police will solve this case faster than anywhere else and give him justice.

Of course, if you don’t die here, you may not die. That is another dimension of thinking.

And this is also where the murderer is least intelligent.

You came to Beika Town to kill someone, and you found that the deceased was writing something that looked like a death message. You should have taken away the entire notepad and the pen used by the other person and destroyed them. Why did you only tear off one page? Is that a very ethical way to behave?
“Bring my tux…bring my evening gown?” Conan looked at the words that appeared on the paper as expected, examined them for a moment, and then reminded the people in the First Investigation Division, “You can ask Miss Elena for some of the documents the deceased usually handled and compare the handwriting to see if it is a deliberately misleading message.”

Hearing these words, Tang Ze felt inexplicably relieved and smiled with satisfaction.

Right? This is what you should consider when considering the crime situation in Beika Town. You should at least think about it twice, right?
The starting price for a master is the first level of prediction. It is a waste of IQ to fall into such a pure and simple criminal situation.

Tang Ze sighed and shook his head, then simply took over Conan's words: "From this perspective, Miss Elena is indeed unlikely to be the murderer. She said that she only speaks a little Japanese and can't write or read well. It makes more sense that the note left by the deceased to her subordinates was written in English. Her content, including the current course of action, is reasonable in every way. I think we should still believe the information she provided."

"There's nothing to hide about this...it doesn't feel like a death message." Takagi Shizuo checked the note again, confused. "This 'tux' means tuxedo, am I understanding it correctly?"

"Hey, you can understand this kind of party language, Takagi, I didn't realize that..." Chiba Kazunobu, who was still thinking beside him, looked at him in surprise.

"Because he's seen wedding dresses before, and this abbreviation is very common in bridal shops." Conan said it all, coughing to prevent himself from laughing at the crime scene. "I really don't think there's anything to hide. It would be best to confirm with Miss Elena whether the victim, Mr. Sunai, has made similar arrangements recently. If its appearance does make sense, then this sentence has nothing to do with the actual motive for the murder, so it's probably really irrelevant."

"But Conan-kun, you just said that this is the key to solving the case..."

"That's right. It's obviously insignificant, and it might even have been just a preparatory note written there and prepared to be handed over to the secretary, but the murderer still tore it up on purpose." Conan spread his hands. "There's blood on the side door, but not on the front, and it's not connected to the bloodstains around it. That means there was indeed a written page, but the murderer tore it up and took it away, right? Why did the murderer do this?"

His face showed an expression that showed that everything had been explained very clearly and no further explanation was needed. Takagi Shigeru looked at the note for a while and finally came to his senses.

"Either the murderer, or he was very guilty about the fact that the deceased insisted on wearing a tuxedo..." he said slowly.
"Or, the murderer doesn't speak English at all." Tang Ze directly stated that possibility. "If he knew English, he should have known that leaving this sentence at the scene would not trigger any associations. Tearing it out specifically would make him look guilty."

(End of this chapter)