Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 296 While her husband is away...

"Hello, this is Shiraishi... As expected, you are still working overtime... No, wait! Deputy Minister Karma, I have something important to do this time, which is related to whether the criminal can be arrested... It's like this, three days ago, a man named Yuya Kanno should have called you... Um, Deputy Minister Karma, we civil servants must pay attention to our quality!"

Everyone:...

Generally speaking, being cursed on the phone in front of your subordinates is a shameful thing, but...

Now, everyone else in the conference room thought that the director was extremely brave!

even……

No matter how you look at it, Deputy Demon Hunter should be feeling more uncomfortable!
Of course, Demon Hunter was not responsible for the case ten years ago. At that time, Demon Hunter had a "perfect record". The only flaw was that he was punished for "improper evidence collection".

Demon hunting is indeed often too subjective, and even tampering with evidence in order to obtain a guilty verdict, but...

The reason why he was able to maneuver in the court was not because of "falsification" but because of "rigorous (falsification)"!
If he was in charge of the "Okada Shogo Murder Case" that year, he would never have been caught off guard by the legal team.

Shiraishi estimated that there might have been objective reasons at the time - it is very likely that at the beginning, Xiangye's father did not want to take care of him at all, which led to his lack of legal resources and he even pleaded guilty during the police investigation. It is conceivable that there should have been no lawyer involved at this time, which also made the prosecutor's office respond rather "roughly".

In this regard, the police and prosecutors also treat different people differently based on their situation. Just like the "gas station manager murder case" when Shiraishi had just taken office, at the beginning, because the suspect was a poor boy, no one from the police to the prosecutors took him seriously, which led to many loopholes. Once Kumimon appeared, he killed everyone by surprise!
If he had known that Xiangye would have the assistance of a professional legal team, Karma might have taken action himself ten years ago.

but……

Even if the prosecutor at that time was not Karma Go, he must have been very angry after receiving Xiangye's call.

After all, as the deputy chief in charge of criminal cases, Karma Gou would definitely feel embarrassed if this matter was mentioned. But at this moment, Shiraishi took the initiative to call and question the matter. One can imagine how Deputy Chief Karma felt...

However, after being pestered by Shiraishi, Karma finally revealed the content of the call after learning that Kanno, the caller, was dead: "The person who slipped through the net did want to threaten the prosecutor... But the prosecutor in charge of the case ten years ago was forced to resign after the trial by then Chief Prosecutor Ichiyanagi. He was in the wrong place!"

Ten years ago, the chief prosecutor of the Dongdu Prosecutors' Office was Isyamu Mansai, who was also Karma Go's old boss. After retirement, he joined the Prosecutors' Review Committee and is now the chairman of the Prosecutors' Review Committee.

"Sure enough..." Bai Shi didn't think that Karma Hao was lying.

Indeed, if the prosecutor back then had been dismissed, such a thing would not be enough to threaten the current prosecutor's office. If Xiangye had said a few more words to Karma, he might have been prosecuted for the crime of coercion...

Of course, Karma Hao was indeed very angry with that bastard at that time.

especially……

Three days have passed, and now this matter has been known by another bastard!

Hearing Shiraishi’s “Sure enough”, Karma Hao sneered and said, “So… this is the face of cunning criminals. They team up with despicable lawyers and will use any means to escape punishment!
"Officer Shiraishi, I hope that through this incident, you can understand the importance of 99.9% and understand that in order to fight these cunning criminals, the police and prosecutors should work together..."

What Hunter calls 99.9% naturally refers to the "success rate of prosecution by the prosecution."

But after hearing his old talk, Shiraishi interrupted him and said, "That's right. I hope that Vice Minister Karma can also review his past and understand the harm of improper means to the fairness of the court. In the future, the Beika Agency will also cooperate with the prosecutors to continue to uphold justice."

Bai Shi hung up the phone right after he finished speaking...

When Hunter Mao heard the "beep, beep, beep", he first showed an expression of disbelief, and then became furious in the office - a police officer actually hung up on him first?
"Really..." Bai Shi put down his phone and pouted, but...

Karma Hao is already quite old, and Shiraishi doesn't expect to be able to convince him.

Although Shiraishi and Karma Go sometimes have the same goals, their philosophies are fundamentally different.

In a case ten years ago, the real murderer escaped punishment in court. In Shiraishi's opinion, this was because the prosecutor at the time attempted to conceal unfavorable evidence and defeated the master with random punches, but was directly defeated by the other party's legal team. In Karma Go's opinion... it was because the prosecutor at the time did not conceal the unfavorable evidence with cleverness!

In the conference room, the other police officers were all amazed at this moment - he was indeed the Director General, he actually hung up the phone with the Demon Hunter Deputy Chief first...

"This confirms that... Yuya Kanno did want to threaten for money, and somehow got the phone number of Vice Minister Karma Go's office. However, because the prosecutor had retired ten years ago, the blackmail was unsuccessful.

"I think he called the court and wanted to find Judge Hasegawa who was still in office. It was probably for the same reason, and he will probably use various methods to find Judge Hasegawa in the future," Shiraishi summarized to everyone at this time.

The "innocent" ten years ago was a failure for the Prosecutor's Office, but a "fair trial" for the court. Judge Hasegawa would certainly not be punished, but...

If the real murderer comes out and shouts at this time, saying that he easily deceived the court back then, that would be a different situation!
"This Kanno has offended many people. It seems that Boss Okada, the missing reporter Mineki, and...Judge Hasegawa of the Toudou Court who might have been contacted afterwards, all had motives for committing the crime." Yuan said with emotion at this time.

Indeed, even among the "rice flower-type stars", Yuya Kanno ranks among the best.

"Wait, what about the lawyer from that year? Will he be threatened too?" Kanzaki said, suddenly remembering something.

Kuroki on the side interrupted him and said, "Impossible. What's the point of threatening a lawyer with such a thing? Unless he can prove that the lawyer instructed him to make a false confession, otherwise this kind of 'being cheated' is simply an advertisement for the law firm..."

Shiraishi estimated that the legal team at that time at least pretended to be ignorant even though they knew the truth, and may have even hinted to Kono to overturn his original confession.

As for threats, there is no question of helping guilty people get away with crimes... As long as there is no evidence to accuse them of perjury, the law firm would like the whole world to know about it!

After hearing this, Kanzaki finally reacted and stopped talking dejectedly.

"Okay, then these are the three lines of investigation... Gen and Yamada will be responsible for investigating Okada Hiroji, Kuroki and Kanzaki will go find this Minegi Akira, Makita, you and Suzuki will visit Judge Hasegawa, and if there are any obstacles, report to me." Shiraishi arranged the work at this time.

The source is still tasked with investigating the victims from ten years ago. For this kind of investigation, the source has its own way and rhythm, which is very suitable both for the case and from a humanistic perspective.

As for the judge...

Of course Shiraishi handed it to Suzuki!
After all, tomorrow is Wednesday, and Jianggutian High School will be out of school early...

After arranging the work, Shiraishi had dinner with Ayako after work.

"How was the Dark Star exhibition? Did you receive any strange letters?" Shiraishi took the initiative to ask about the Suzuki family.

This is not just the Suzuki family's business, after all, the exhibition is held at the Beika Exhibition Hall.

"Nothing for now. Maybe the thief is not interested in pearls." Ayako shook her head.

"I'll try to go with you on the cruise ship on Saturday," Shiraishi offered.

[Dark Star] was already on display at the Beika Exhibition Hall last weekend, but because Shiraishi had to go to the Metropolitan Police Department for "public relations", not only Shiraishi himself, but even Ayako did not attend the first exhibition, but went to Gunma with Shiraishi.

Although Ayako didn't say anything, Shiraishi guessed that Aunt Tomoko must be "gritting her teeth" again...

The exhibition at the Beika Exhibition Hall will end this weekend, and will finally be held with a private invitation-only exhibition party on the Queen Cesarethbeth rented by the Suzuki family.

After all, [Dark Star] is not only a "precious collection" but also a "family heirloom" of the Suzuki family, so of course it has to be somewhat stylish.

Shiraishi also vaguely remembered that Kidd should have attacked the Suzuki family's pearl on the ship!
However, Shiraishi forgot the reason why he chose to attack on a ship where it was more difficult to escape, and gave up the opportunity to exhibit the event in the exhibition hall. Logically speaking, the "exhibition hall" should be Kidd's home ground.

or……

Maybe because it was at the "Rice Flower" exhibition hall, and I was afraid of myself, so I didn't come?
Bai Shi himself didn't quite believe this reason. After all, there were so many gems on display in Mihua. If he didn't dare to come to Mihua, he would probably miss a lot of them.

It is unlikely that Kidd would be frightened and afraid to come in order to find clues to his father's disappearance.

"Actually... let me tell you in secret, what's on display in the exhibition hall are just substitutes." Ayako whispered close to Shiraishi's ear.

"Eh?" Bai Shi was stunned when he heard this - a substitute? In other words, a fake one!

Of course, the Suzuki family made a substitute not for the purpose of fraud or insurance deception, but just to prevent accidents - in large-scale exhibitions open to the public, replacing exhibits with "substitutes" is also a common practice.

"After all, the Dark Star is a symbol of our Suzuki family's fortune. Dad and Mom don't dare to take out the real one for exhibition... and in terms of its own value, the substitute might be more precious." Ayako said as a matter of course.

That’s right, the one on display is a real giant black pearl!
Although it contains artificially cultivated ingredients, it is also very valuable and can be said to be a permanent substitute for [Dark Star].

You should know that the real Dark Star was obtained by the Suzuki family hundreds of years ago.

Pearls are made mainly of calcium carbonate. No matter how carefully they are preserved, they are not diamonds or mineral gems after all, and their luster cannot be maintained for that long.

Bai Shi has not actually seen it, but he can imagine that the real [Dark Star] should be very dim. In terms of aesthetic value alone, it is probably not as good as the large black pearl that has just been produced.

It's just special to the Suzuki family...

"Pearls are indeed not suitable for frequent exhibitions...but in that case, why do we have to hold an exhibition?" Bai Shi asked puzzledly.

"I don't know. My father said it was a tradition. They hold the exhibition like this every ten years. They say it brings good luck to the family." Ayako was also puzzled by this and thought it was just a kind of "metaphysics."

However, after hearing this, Shiraishi thought of several possibilities - perhaps like the [Angel Hair] that the biology teacher at Fude Girls High School had, the [Dark Star] was also a magical item with some kind of effect?

"Maybe." Bai Shi said vaguely.

Of course, Shiraishi does not think that the Suzuki family became big and strong just by relying on this kind of "luck".

Generally speaking, magical items that can truly improve "luck" are very rare. Most of them are things like [Angel Hair], which actually have the effect of affecting a person's temperament.

Moreover, we cannot really expect to make a fortune or even make our family prosperous for a hundred years just by relying on some magical items. Ultimately, what is more important is "people".

Otherwise, those who have developed would have been the masters of supernatural powers long ago...For a company of the size of the Suzuki Group, these kinds of "metaphysical" magical items, even if they are real, will not play a decisive role, and will have more of a psychological impact.

"Wait, so the real thing will be on display on the ship?" Bai Shi reacted at this time.

"I think so. My mother didn't tell me the specific process of the exhibition." Ayako nodded.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi thought to himself - Kid might have discovered that the items in the exhibition hall are fake, so he didn't do anything in the Beika Exhibition Hall!
……

Early Wednesday morning, Shiraishi had just arrived at the police station when he heard new information about the Xiangye case.

Among the three detective teams, Kuroki and Kanzaki were the first to make a breakthrough...

To be precise, it was Fujiwa Kawai, the patrolmen, who "broke through" for them.

Shiraishi had told the Regional Studies Department before that places like the "Rice Flower Forest" should be inspected regularly. We can't just wait for the people digging wild vegetables to find something. After all, there are no wild vegetables in winter...

It turned out that this reminder was not in vain!
While inspecting the Beika Forest within his jurisdiction, Fujiwa Kawai discovered the body of reporter Mineki Akira.

"The estimated time of death is 7 a.m. on Sunday, p.m. on the same day. The cause of death is a blunt force trauma to the back of the head. The location of discovery is not the first scene, and the body may have been dumped." Kunikida reported the case to Shiraishi.

No wonder no one could contact her these days!
"Sunday?... That's the day before Yuya Kanno died?" Shiraishi confirmed.

Yuya Kono died between Monday night and Tuesday morning, and his body was discovered by his mother during the day.

Since Mineki Akira has been dead for at least three days, the range of the estimated time of death has also become wider...

Kunikida also nodded and said, "That's right. Detectives Kuroki and Kanzaki are currently investigating her social circle. They hope to quickly find out what she did and who she met before she disappeared."

Bai Shi nodded...

……

In the afternoon, Kuroki found someone who knew the situation - Saito Itsuki.

To be precise, it wasn't Kuroki and Kanzaki who found it, but...

Yuto opened the box and found it!
This Saito Itsuki is the person who filmed the video with Yuya Kanno and is also the owner of the account that uploaded the video.

This kind of person also needs a bit of a ruffian like Hei Mu to communicate with. If Yuan goes, he might just be like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water!
However, after Kuroki and Saito had a "knee-kick" fight, Saito realized his mistake - although the video posted online was not illegal after adding mosaics and muffled sounds, it would still hurt the victim's family. So he took the initiative to delete his video and told everything he knew.

Saito Itsuki is indeed very familiar with Yuya Kano, especially recently, the two of them have been "making money together". Saito Itsuki is very clear about what Yuya Kano has done during this period...

Previously, the police station had speculated that the "three major money-making ideas" were all correct - unethical traffic monetization, luring female reporters, and blackmailing judges.

In addition, Saito Itsuki also provided an important clue!
On Monday afternoon, Yuya Kono told him that he had found out Hasegawa's address and was going to go to his house to blackmail Judge Hasegawa, and he also mentioned a key point...

"Kano told me that 'the woman might have taken the initiative', saying that reporter Mineki had gone to Hasegawa once and never contacted him again, so...Kano guessed that she had already received hush money from Hasegawa, so she gave up the interview.

"Later, Xiangye asked me to go with him and secretly film the scene of receiving the hush money, and then decide how to make the scene of 'the judge bribed the real murderer' come true.

"But he was a judge, and I was a little scared, so I didn't agree to him. After that, he didn't contact me again. I thought he was angry, but who knew..." Saito made two very valuable points.

First, Minegi Akira went to find Hasegawa, at least that's what Kanno thought; second, Kanno might have gone to find Hasegawa before he was killed!

……

After Kanzaki and Kuroki got into the car, Kanzaki quickly said, "Should we go to the Toudou Court and talk to Judge Hasegawa?"

Hearing this, Kuroki rolled his eyes and said, "Let's tell Suzuki what this kid said and let Suzuki ask him."

As a half-old hand, Hei Mu doesn't want to interrogate the judge!
Seeing that Kanzaki was still a little unconvinced, Kuroki changed the subject and said, "Besides, we have somewhere else to go."

"Where?" Kanzaki asked puzzledly.

"Hasegawa... a otaku!" Kuroki kept it a secret for a while.

"Eh? Judge Hasegawa is at work today, right? What are you doing going to his house at this time?" Kanzaki wondered.

"It's because he's at work that we can go see his wife." Kuroki said as a matter of course.

Kanzaki:? ? ?
"Kano found out the address of Hasegawa's house. If Minegi Akira's purpose was to get hush money, she would definitely not go directly to the court to find him... After all, Minegi Akira is a famous reporter. Unlike Kano, that scoundrel, she would not want others to know that she was asking for hush money." Kuroki explained.

Xiangye can call the court directly. He is not afraid of others knowing that he is a bastard anyway, but Mineki Akira still has to save his dignity.

Kanzaki suddenly realized, "That is to say, they may have been to Hasegawa's house? In this case, in addition to Judge Hasegawa, Mrs. Hasegawa should have also seen them!"

Kuroki smiled.

and……

Going to a judge's wife to find out the situation is much less stressful than facing her husband directly.

As for going directly to the court to see Judge Hasegawa, let Suzuki...

"We have to hurry, so as not to meet Judge Hasegawa who is off work halfway." Kuroki said as he stepped on the accelerator a little more.

Kanzaki:……

"The Hasegawa family isn't far away, just like [Okada Shokudo], they're also in Beika Town... From the perspective of dumping the body in Beika Forest, both of them are possible." Kanzaki muttered as he looked at the map.

Of the original three suspects, one of the people was already dead, so of course it would be suspected that someone had committed a "double kill" in the other two targets.

In this regard, Hasegawa has indeed become more suspicious!
After all, Okada Hiroshi had no motive to kill Mineki Akira, and even if she really wanted to publish a book based on Kanno's interviews, the motive was not strong enough.

Soon after, Kuroki and Kanzaki came to Hasegawa's house...

Hasegawa's house was a single-family building. After wandering around the door and looking around, Kuroki went up and rang the doorbell.

Kanzaki, who was standing by, saw this scene and couldn't help but roll his eyes - You look too suspicious!

"How about you keep watch for me outside?" Hei Mu deliberately teased his younger brother.

"Of course not!" Kanzaki said angrily.

Ding-dong-

Only then did Hei Mu go forward and press the doorbell.

"Who is it?"

After the video call was connected, Kuroki faced the camera and flashed his police ID: "Hello, I am Kenji Kuroki from the Beika Police Station, and this is my partner Ryuichi Kanzaki. We have some questions about the murders of Akira Mineki and Yuya Kanno, and we would like to ask Judge Hasegawa for more information."

There was a moment of silence during the call...

However, the "visibility" at the door is of course one-way, and Kuroki and Kanzaki don't know her current expression.

All I know is that after a moment of silence, Mrs. Hasegawa opened the door.

The person who opened the door was a middle-aged woman. From her home clothes to her temperament, she looked like a typical housewife.

"I'm sorry, my husband won't be back for another two hours. If you don't mind, you can come in and have a cup of tea." Mrs. Hasegawa looked timid.

"That's really a great help. The weather is quite cold and the air conditioners in the cars in the office haven't been repaired yet." Hei Mu looked grateful.

Faced with Kuroki's exaggerated performance, Kanzaki could only laugh along.

"Please..." Mrs. Hasegawa invited the two of them in.

Seeing that she was still pouring tea, Kuroki quickly said, "Mrs. Hasegawa, no need to bother..."

"How can that be? If there is no tea for the guests, my husband will criticize me when he comes back." Mrs. Hasegawa seemed to be very concerned about etiquette.

However, there were only two cups of tea on the tray, and it seemed that she had no intention of sitting down and talking to them.

Kuroki hadn't wanted to wait for Hasegawa to come back, so he quickly asked, "Mrs. Hasegawa, can I ask you a few words?"

"This...I don't know much about his work." Mrs. Hasegawa was embarrassed and a little panicked.

"Just a casual chat..." Kuroki used his skills to coax middle-aged and elderly women.

(End of this chapter)