Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 72 The Corpse in the River (First Order)
Something happened again?

Lin Xiuyi sighed and walked over.

As he approached the river, he saw several police officers working together to carry a body to the shore in the middle of the river.

"This is……"

"This morning, someone saw it sinking to the bottom of the river in the middle of the channel," explained Inspector Megure, "but no one thought it was just garbage and ignored it."

"In the afternoon, a few elderly people came here to fish. Someone cast a hook on it and turned it over, revealing its face. Only then did they realize it was a corpse."

While the two were talking, the body had been carried up. One of the police officers carrying the body was Officer Matsumoto.

After the apartment robbery at Yukiko Fujimine's house, the police officer's attitude towards Hayashi Shuichi improved a lot. When he saw him, he even took the initiative to say hello.

But Lin Xiuyi ignored him and stared at the female corpse motionlessly.

"What? Mr. Lin knows her?" Inspector Megure asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Lin Xiuyi nodded sullenly, "She's been a regular at the izakaya these days, but I only know her last name is Nishikawa and she's a stripper."

"Last night, she went to the izakaya, but for some reason, she left in a hurry without even eating."

"Stripper?" Officer Matsumoto frowned. "Does anyone else know her?"

"Manager Sada of the nearby Yolo nightclub knows a lot about Miss Nishikawa," Lin Xiuyi briefly recounted what happened in the izakaya last night.

"I'll go get Manager Sada now," Officer Megure left with two police officers.

Hayashi Hideichi and Officer Matsumoto examined Miss Nishikawa's body together.

Several plastic bags filled with stones were wrapped around the body with tape. No wonder the body had sunk to the bottom of the river.

"There are strangle marks on the neck. Was he strangled to death?" Officer Matsumoto guessed.

"No, look at her nails," Lin Xiuyi said, as he was about to put on his gloves and raised Miss Nishikawa's left hand. "There's mud in her nails, which means Miss Nishikawa didn't die when she was thrown into the river. She even struggled hard."

"So someone strangled her first," Officer Matsumoto said, "then tied her to a rock and threw her into the river."

"It is also possible that the other party thought Miss Nishikawa was dead and wanted to use this method to deal with the body," Lin Xiuyi said, looking at the right hand of the corpse.

Unlike the open left hand, the corpse's right hand was clenched tightly, as if holding something.

Lin Xiuyi opened his right hand and saw a bright yellow button inside.

"After Miss Nishikawa realized she was drowning, she struggled desperately, but she still didn't let go of her right hand," Lin Xiuyi judged. "This button must be very important. It's very likely that she pulled it off the murderer before she was strangled."

"But it's not easy to investigate based on just this one button," Officer Matsumoto rubbed his forehead.

Lin Xiuyi did not speak and continued to search the body, but he did not find anything useful.

"The body's wallet is missing. When she left the izakaya yesterday, she took it out to pay the bill."

"Could it be a robbery?" Officer Matsumoto asked. "Don't strippers usually earn a lot of money? Someone might be targeting her for that reason."

"The possibility is very low," Lin Xiuyi shook his head. "Although Miss Nishikawa is a stripper, most of the money she earns is taken away by the gangs."

"Look at her clothes, they're very simple, and she doesn't have any expensive jewelry on her. Robbers who don't know her usually won't target her."

"If it was someone they knew, they would be aware of her belongings and it would be even more unlikely that they would rob her."

"The murderer must have had other motives in taking the wallet, for example, there was evidence in the wallet that was unfavorable to him."

"Besides that, the corpse's clothes were neatly arranged and showed no signs of being torn, so it's unlikely that he was raped."

"Anyway, let's start by investigating Miss Nishikawa's relationships, especially the man who deceived her and caused her to be burdened with a billion in debt."

Lin Xiuyi thought about it and said,
"Last night, Ms. Nishikawa left in a hurry, not even waiting for us to give her the change. This is obviously abnormal considering her financial situation."

"Got it, I'll be there in a minute..."

As soon as he said this, Officer Matsumoto suddenly felt something was wrong.

Why does my attitude seem like I'm dealing with Inspector Samezaki?

When did this guy become my superior!

Although in the apartment robbery incident, because of seeing Hayashi Shuichi bravely facing the criminals without fear of death, Officer Matsumoto recognized him and felt that he was different from those detectives who could only talk.

But an adult's self-esteem obviously wouldn't allow him to bow to a child like this.

"We'll discuss the specifics of the investigation later," Officer Matsumoto said with a dry cough. "For now, let's follow your advice."

Lin Xiuyi looked up and immediately understood what Officer Matsumoto was thinking.

Before his rebirth, he was also an adult, so he could naturally understand adults' obsession with preserving face.

Lin Xiuyi didn't say anything else, and Officer Matsumoto was too embarrassed to ask.

Just when both of them were silent, a quarrel suddenly came from not far away.

Lin Xiu turned around and saw dozens of arrogant and rebellious men wearing black suits and with tattoos arguing with the police officers who were cordoning off the scene.

"Damn it, trouble is coming!" Officer Matsumoto spat on the ground in disgust.

"Gangsters?" Lin Xiuyi also understood. Miss Nishikawa's creditors were gangsters. Since she was a cash cow, the gang would not let it go.

Compared with the future decline, now is the time when Japanese gangs are expanding bloodily and forming three major gangs.

Although not as powerful as their heyday in the 60s, Japanese gangs are still as arrogant as ever.

While operating the gray industry, they also collude with big companies and politicians. Some gangs have even topped the list of the world's gangs in terms of annual profits. Their power is so great that even the police sometimes have to retreat.

"Lin Jun, stay here and don't go over there. Nothing good will happen if you get involved with these guys."

After Officer Matsumoto kindly gave a reminder, he walked over and began to negotiate with the gang.

Lin Xiuyi vaguely heard that the gang members were clamoring to examine Miss Nishikawa's body, and they also insulted the Japanese police as trash, saying that it would be better for them to investigate Miss Nishikawa's case themselves instead of relying on the police.

Officer Matsumoto was not a good-tempered person either, and the conversation between the two sides quickly turned into an argument.

Several gang members had their hands in their arms, as if ready to pull out weapons and hurt people at any time.

The police officers investigating on the riverbank also became alert, and many of those carrying guns even put their hands on their waists.

Tsk tsk, will there be a big battle between the police and the gangs soon?

While watching the excitement, Lin Xiuyi quietly walked a few steps away to avoid being affected by the battle.

Even the police were reluctant to mess with the gangsters at this time, so it was certainly not something a student like him could afford to mess with.

After arguing for a few minutes, fortunately the gang leader was clear-headed and reached out to stop his companions who were eager to fight.

"Three days! We only give you three days!" the gang leader said coldly, "If the police still can't find the murderer by then, we will do it ourselves!"

"This woman owes us one billion yen! This debt will not be written off. We will personally seek compensation from the murderer!"

After leaving some threatening words, the gang members turned and left.

Officer Matsumoto kicked the traffic light next to him with a grim expression, then walked towards a public telephone booth not far away.

The current situation is no longer something he can handle, and he must report it to his superiors.

After calling Inspector Samezaki, Officer Matsumoto came back.

At this time, Inspector Megure also drove back with Mr. Sada.

As soon as he got out of the car, Mr. Sada walked quickly towards the body parked on the shore.

After seeing Miss Nishikawa's appearance clearly, his expression changed, sometimes full of anger, sometimes full of annoyance and regret.

Anyone who is not blind can see that there is something wrong with his reaction.

"Mr. Sada, do you know something?" Officer Matsumoto asked hurriedly.

"I……"

Mr. Sada opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, his face was full of hesitation.

"This case involves gangs. If not handled properly, it could easily lead to violent conflict," Officer Matsumoto said solemnly. "If you know anything, please tell us. We will definitely seek justice for Miss Nishikawa!"

Officer Matsumoto originally wanted to make the seriousness of the matter clear so that Mr. Sada would not hide it, but his last sentence had the opposite effect and obviously irritated Mr. Sada.

"Fair?" The nightclub manager sneered. "If the police were really as just as you say, my sister wouldn't be like this!"

"This..." Officer Matsumoto looked puzzled, completely unaware of why he had angered the other party.

"Sorry, it's almost time for me to go to work. I have to go to work now!"

After saying this in a stern tone, Mr. Sada was about to leave.

The police had no evidence to prove that he was related to the case, so they could only let him go.

"What's going on?" Officer Matsumoto wondered. "Did something happen to his sister?"

"I don't know the specifics," Officer Megure shook his head. "But there's something strange about Mr. Sada. As a nightclub manager, he should be earning a considerable income, yet he lives in a cheap, run-down apartment."

"Besides him, there was a crazy woman in the apartment. She seemed to be his sister."

"When Mr. Sada talked about Miss Nishikawa at the izakaya yesterday, he was very sympathetic," Lin Xiuyi interjected, "Perhaps his sister, like Miss Nishikawa, has had a similar experience."

"What should we do now?" Megure, who was still a newcomer, was a little confused and at a loss.

"We'll be divided into three groups. One group will go around the area to see if anyone noticed what happened by the river last night. Convenience stores are a key area. The tape and plastic bag on Miss Nishikawa's body were likely purchased by the murderer nearby."

Lin Xiuyi pondered and ordered,
"Another team will investigate Miss Nishikawa's relationships, especially the man who deceived her. We must find him."

"The last team should investigate Mr. Sada and his sister. Judging from his behavior just now, he must know something."

"Yes!"

Inspector Megure responded and hurried to arrange the work.

Officer Matsumoto was so angry that he glared at the boy. This guy was giving orders like a superior. Do you really think of him as your boss?

Although I was unhappy, considering the urgency of the situation, the gang was still waiting for the result.
Officer Matsumoto had no choice but to start investigating with Megure, following Hayashi Hideichi's instructions...

(End of this chapter)