The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

"What? You suspect Miss Zi's brother of murder? You mean that case involving the securities firm employee?"

Kogoro Mouri was utterly astonished by what he found unbelievable, and his voice nearly went out of control.

Of course he had met Enomoto Azusa's older brother, Enomoto Sugito. Let alone committing a crime, that guy looked so unreliable that he couldn't even do a job properly; he was just a pure comedian.

If you suspect someone like that would kill, then there really aren't many good people left in Beika Town.

“Well, the murdered securities firm employee, Takafumi Toriira, was Mr. Sugito Enomoto’s superior,” Wataru Takagi said with a wry smile. “And we found his fingerprints on the rifle we left at the scene. When we went to his apartment to bring him in for questioning, we found it empty. We checked his attendance records and found he had been absent from work for several days…”

As they spoke, Takagi Wataru turned his gaze to Enomoto Azusa, who was gripping Tang Ze's arm tightly and keeping her head down, avoiding eye contact with them, and sighed inwardly.

If he could, he really wouldn't want to come here to investigate any murder suspects.

The fact that this place is currently Tang Zejun's temporary residence is enough to make the First Investigation Division hesitate.

From top to bottom, the entire investigation division could only think that Tang Ze was a criminal if he had some degree of antisocial personality disorder. Such a high-density surveillance of this child's living area might put psychological pressure on him, and none of them wanted to do that.

However, Enomoto Sugito was a prime suspect, and they couldn't just abandon the murder case because of personal relationships or to protect the mental health of minors. After weighing the options, they could only select some team members who were relatively familiar with Tang Ze and had a good relationship with him...

“He’s a prime suspect, but we can’t find him in person, so we could only consider whether he might contact his sister, which is why we came to monitor the situation,” Takagi Wataru explained, glancing in the direction of Amuro Tooru, who remained deep inside the kitchen, and added, “We’ve tried our best not to disrupt normal business operations; we also take orders ourselves…”

Whether it was to consider Tang Ze's feelings or to take into account Mr. Amuro, who seemed difficult to deal with, they could only try their best to minimize the impact of the surveillance work on the coffee shop. It's easy to imagine that with such a large-scale deployment, it would be difficult not to have an impact.

"I see." Kogoro Mouri nodded, his expression still nonchalant. "Did he contact Azusa-san?"

No matter what, Enomoto Sugito's image is still too deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Kogoro Mouri preferred to believe that the fingerprint comparison by the Metropolitan Police Department's forensic team was flawed rather than believe that Sugito Enomoto could have committed murder. He believed that the current suspicion was due to a misunderstanding caused by the police missing some crucial clue.

“…I’ve already explained to the officers that he only contacted me once.” Enomoto Azusa looked up when she saw that the person questioning her was Kogoro Mouri. “Besides, my brother said he’s innocent, he didn’t kill anyone! I also promised that if he contacted me, I would notify the police as soon as possible…!”

As a result, because there were no more clues to follow in the case and Enomoto Sugito was too much of a suspect, the police surrounded their cafe completely...

Enomoto Azusa wasn't worried about the business itself; Polo Cafe hadn't worried about revenue in a long time. She just couldn't help feeling apologetic to Tang Ze.

Thinking of this, she raised her head and glanced at Tang Ze, who was holding her arm the whole time, seemingly expressing his support. Her apology deepened.

"I'm sorry, Tang Ze... I didn't want things to turn out this way either. I really should have taken a few days off..."

Having listened to Tang Ze's every move, Enomoto Azusa knew that this was a crucial time for the case involving Tang Ze to be retried.

Just as she herself could hardly help but feel uneasy about being surrounded by police, she believed that although Tang Ze acted perfectly normally, this boy who was so good at enduring things must also have his own anxieties.

During this period, because of her family's affairs, he couldn't even retain the last bit of his own space and had to be under the watchful eyes of the police. Enomoto Azusa felt sincerely guilty.

"No, it's not your fault." Sensing Enomoto Azusa's inner turmoil, Tang Ze smiled at her. "I believe Mr. Sugito isn't that kind of person. As long as he's not the real culprit, once the truth is uncovered, he won't be wrongly accused, right? Don't worry."

Thinking of Tang Ze's situation, the entire room of police officers froze for a moment: "..."

“You’re right, student.”

Almost as soon as Tang Ze finished speaking, another voice quickly followed.

A refined-looking man carrying a briefcase and wearing glasses walked in from outside, looking directly at Enomoto Azusa with a very firm tone.

"Enomoto-kun is definitely not the kind of person who would kill someone, and I believe he couldn't possibly be the culprit!"

Hearing him say that, Enomoto Azusa finally relaxed a little and showed a slight smile: "Thank you, Mr. Kawase."

"Who is this...?" Kogoro Mouri, having finished rereading the news, sized up the newcomer, his brows furrowing even lower.

Having experienced so many cases—even though he himself doesn't actually remember much of them—he has pretty much developed his own set of thought processes.

Generally speaking, if the person making such a statement is not a close friend or relative of the suspect like Enomoto Azusa, then such a statement is suspected of deliberately creating an identity or stance for themselves.

In short, those who offer unsolicited favors are either up to no good or are thieves.

At least on the surface, Enomoto Sugito is indeed highly suspicious, to the point that even his closest relative, Enomoto Azusa, has to repeatedly try to convince herself otherwise. For an outsider to immediately claim to believe in Enomoto Sugito's character seems a bit contrived.

"This is my brother's colleague at the company, Mr. Kawase Touji," Enomoto Azusa said with a slight smile as she introduced him.

“Well, after all, it’s a case that happened at our company.” Kawase Touji pushed up his glasses and said politely, “I happened to be in this area for work, and I remembered that Ms. Azusa was here. I was a little worried, so I came to check on her.”

Hmm, that's even more fake.

Not in a good mood, and already lacking in patience, Conan squinted at him for a while before turning to continue asking Takagi Wataru.

"Miss Zi's brother's fingerprints were found on the rifle used as the murder weapon. Is there any problem with the identification? Where were the fingerprints found?"

Putting everything else aside, considering that Enomoto Azusa works right downstairs from the Mouri Detective Agency, even a blockhead like Enomoto Sugito should have basic counter-surveillance knowledge, right?

All things considered, let's assume he really was planning to kill someone. This isn't a century ago; would a criminal be unaware that he needs to deal with the fingerprints left on the murder weapon?

“I’ve checked it repeatedly.” Takagi Wataru shook his head helplessly. “You know me, Conan-kun, if I could, I wouldn’t want to doubt him like this…”

The officers in the entire First Investigation Division who had the best relationship with Karasawa were Inspector Megure's men, who had the most contact with Kogoro Mouri.

Others might not know Tang Ze's situation, but how could they not? If they had a choice, they definitely wouldn't want to intrude on Tang Ze's living space like this.

This child who became homeless because of the case is already miserable enough, but the little bit of space left behind, which is being used as a public commercial area, is also being watched by the police. It's just too unlucky.

"The murder weapon was Mr. Torihira Takafumi's own hunting rifle. As for the fingerprints, they were found on the stock and the muzzle."

“Oh, this.” Kawase Touji looked thoughtful. “He probably left this unintentionally. A while ago, four or five of us went to Manager Torahira’s house, and everyone was quite curious about that gun.”

"Is that so? But in the end, only he touched the gun?" Takagi Wataru quickly pulled out the manual and pressed for an answer.

“We don’t usually get a chance to see a real gun, so everyone’s very curious.” Kawase Touji shrugged. “But Enomoto is probably braver because he’s played with air guns before. He just touched the gun and even looked inside from the muzzle.”

As he spoke, he made a rough gesture to explain Enomoto Sugito's posture at the time.

"Because you've never seen a rifle before, you're curious?" Takagi Wataru frowned, but still noted down the information.

This does explain why Enomoto Sugito's fingerprints were found there, and according to Kawase Touji, there was more than one witness, which could potentially be the key to clearing his name.

“It sounds like the victim and he had a pretty good relationship.” Observing Enomoto Azusa’s state, Mouri Ran spoke up in support, “Being able to go to his house and even directly touch his dangerous collection, Mr. Enomoto Sugito has no reason to kill him, right?”

Enomoto Azusa nodded eagerly: "Yes, their relationship is good. My brother also said that his boss is a bit strict, but he's really a very good person..."

"Strict?" Kogoro Mouri interrupted her before she could say anything more, repeating the word.

Using harsh criticism of one's superiors in the workplace is hardly a way to bolster the suspicions surrounding Sugito Enomoto.

The workplace environment has its own unique characteristics. Many interpersonal conflicts can be amplified into issues involving life and death. In such situations, disagreements can easily escalate into impulsive acts that result in someone taking the other person's life.

"I wouldn't say that..." Kawase Touji shook his head, describing it in an uncertain and ambiguous tone, "Enomoto is very capable, so Manager Torihira always pays special attention to him and has high expectations of him. So, he often scolds him severely in front of everyone. But I don't think this is a contradiction; it's just that he loves you so much that he's so demanding."

Kawase Touji's words seemed to be an attempt to exonerate Enomoto Sugito, but also seemed to be an affirmation that he had indeed had a conflict with Torihira Takafumi.

So Kogoro Mouri gave him another subtle look.

Is this person really not here to sabotage Enomoto Sugito? He seems so hypocritical.

On the other hand, Tang Ze found a more suitable adjective for the real culprit in his mind: green tea.

Listen to his tea-scented explanation; the awkwardness of not wanting to say Enomoto Sugito is the murderer, but not being able to lie and having to make the situation sound better, is palpable. He really pulled it off.

Kogoro Mouri shook his head, ignoring Touji Kawase, and continued, "Besides fingerprints, what else? You're keeping such a close eye on him, there must be other evidence?"

“Yes, fingerprints are just one direction.” Takagi stopped pointing, and gave a helpless bitter smile. “If he hadn’t gone missing and had cooperated with our investigation, I believe he could have cleared his name quickly. But he just ran away.”

“Not only did he run away, but he ran away in a very hurry,” the police officer sitting next to Takagi Wataru added. “He didn’t even close the door, he didn’t take his credit cards or wallet, and he probably had nothing on him except a little change and his driver’s license.”

This pattern is so similar to someone committing an impulsive murder and then fleeing in a panic to escape punishment.

Kogoro Mouri nodded, understanding why they had come to find Azusa Enomoto.

“We conducted a routine search of his residence and the area around his apartment, and then we found a bloodstained shirt in the garbage dump.” In front of Kogoro Mouri, Wataru Takagi wasn't afraid to reveal any details of the case—Mouri had assisted the police so many times before, so he directly presented the more crucial evidence. “After analysis, the bloodstains belonged to Mr. Takafumi Torihira, and we also found Sugito Enomoto's fingerprints on the buttons…”

At this point, if handed over to a more reckless detective, it would almost be irrefutable evidence.

It should be said that the fact that they are currently only tracking Enomoto Azusa and have not directly issued a warrant for the arrest of the missing Enomoto Sugito is already a relatively mild measure, taking into account many factors, including the situation of Kogoro Mouri and Karasawa.

"That sounds complicated..." Kogoro Mouri nodded slowly. "Well, I can't blame you for overthinking it."

"These are photos of the evidence. Detective Mouri, what do you think?" Takagi Wataru casually pulled something out and handed it over. "If you can offer any further insights, it will be helpful to us..."

Even if it meant going out and scouring the mountains and fields to catch Enomoto Sugito, who's disappeared somewhere, it would be better than staying here facing Tang Ze's face and suffering the pangs of conscience...

"Hmm, splattered blood..."

"Yes, look, it's such a big piece..."

"Regarding the bloodstains, you might have to ask that young man, Mingzhi. But I don't think he'll be willing to help; he's asking for a lot of money these days."

"We'll consider talking to Mr. Amuro later."

"Oh, I see. He doesn't want his shop to be full of police officers all the time, right?"

"Uh……"

As the two began exchanging evidence, Kawase Touji pushed up his glasses again, his expression calm.

Everything went exactly as he expected. Following his lead, the police's attention had shifted to the pre-arranged direction. Now, only one question remained...

"Xiao Zi, I haven't finished my work yet, I have to go back to the company." He turned his head and whispered to Enomoto Azusa, who was nervously twisting her fingers, "You know, the company isn't close. If we don't leave now, it will take more than an hour to get back if there's traffic."

“Ah, okay.” Enomoto Azusa nodded. “Yes, it’s quite a distance to Kanagawa from here…”

Kawase Touji cleared his throat, moved closer, and added in a low voice, "If that guy contacts you, let me know. He's too straightforward; if he knows he's such a prime suspect, he might keep running. I'll try to persuade him to go to the police..."

Enomoto Azusa stared blankly at him, about to nod, when Tang Ze, who had been standing next to her, tugged at her hand.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Kawase." Tang Ze used a little trickery to pull Enomoto Azusa away and shield her behind him. "I disagree with your statement."

Kawase Touji was taken aback when he realized that even though he had acted so reasonably, he was still being argued with.