Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

There will be some references to "Jigsaw Puzzle" and "The Vanishing Man", both works by American writer Jeffrey Deaver.

Chapter 219 New York City has good security

As soon as these words came out, the office fell silent again.

Akai Shuichi stood upright. He faced the eyes of everyone on him and remembered what happened before.

Before coming to the FBI's New York branch, he and his companions had stayed at the city police station and analyzed the physical evidence at the scene.

This time the criminal was not only cruel, but also constantly provoking the FBI. Each time a body was dumped, the scene would be specially arranged, leaving clues to the next location. As long as she is found as soon as possible, maybe the girl's mother is still alive.

The prisoner left behind three things this time: a car with air conditioning on, a living girl, and a bear doll.

There is nothing special about the bear doll. It was sold by an ordinary toy company a few years ago. At that time, it was sold in many shopping malls and toy stores, and the buyer could not be traced.

The license plate was fake and the car keys were left on the door. In addition, there were no traces of the criminal at the scene of the previous cases. Akai Shuichi believed that it could not be the criminal's own car and it should be stolen.

The police used the police report to check the recently lost vehicle and found that the car most likely belonged to a manager of Edison Consolidated Electric Co., who called the police a week ago to report that his car was missing.

The girl was not harmed and could speak, but Akai Shuichi was unable to ask for more information (she cried as soon as he opened his mouth) and could only listen to Aoyagi Binguang's questions in the recording.

He asked very comprehensive questions, and under his patient guidance, Akai Shuichi reluctantly reviewed the process of the family's distress.

The girl remembered getting off the plane and getting into a street taxi with her parents. The driver suddenly turned around while driving into the city. There was a smell in the car that she had smelled when she had a dental appointment (suspected of anesthetic drugs), and then she passed out.

When she woke up, she found that her parents were missing. The driver left her a message, "Dad has gone to bed and mom is leaving. You have to wait for her." He gave her the bear doll and locked her in the car.

No one is sure how many hours the girl spent in the sweltering car. The heat may have been unbearable. She remembered what her mother had taught her about what to do if she was locked in a car alone. She opened the car door and ran to the road outside.

There is an Arabic numeral "9" scrawled in lipstick on the back of her hand. Aoyagi Binguang also asked in the recording. The girl said that the driver wrote it down and it was an "appointed time". The lipstick was not the color her mother usually used.

Based on the identity of the car owner and the sweltering and closed environment, Shuichi Akai quickly guessed that the missing woman might be trapped near an underground high-pressure steam pipe.

New York has always used steam heating, and there are pipes arranged underground like a spider web that extend to different corners of the city. Because the construction took too long and the facilities are too old, Edison Company conducts regular inspections, and the manager is one of the persons in charge.

Akai Shuichi handed over his judgment to the city police and asked them to contact Edison Company quickly, but it was too late.

At six o'clock in the evening, a police officer in the real-time crime center of the city police station urgently notified his superiors that a live broadcast of a killing was going on on a dark network that he had long monitored. The female victim in the video was the person the police station was looking for.

——The number "9" is from an outsider's perspective. If it is from the perspective of the girl who made the agreement, the number is "6".

The emergency notification from the police did not prevent the tragedy from happening. Shuichi Akai stood in front of the computer and watched helplessly as the woman in the video was cooked alive by the hot steam ejected from the pipe mouth.

She was the eleventh victim in this case.

But definitely not the last one.

……

After several detectives from the headquarters introduced the basic situation, Shuichi Akai took several people to the new crime scene, which had been cordoned off by the city police and was waiting for the FBI to search.

Among the remaining people, Judy took the initiative to take over the task of contacting the families of the victims. The experiences of the surviving girls always reminded her of herself, and she wanted to help her more.

Among the remaining people, some went to check which company the lipstick belonged to, some went to check the surveillance near the place where the crime occurred, and some went to find out who was inside the Edison Company - they were able to avoid nearby workers and take people directly into the steam room, which shows that they have no control over the situation. It was a familiar place and the inmates probably worked there.

Everyone left one after another, and when Judy was about to leave, she found Kamel staying in front of the display board, looking at the photos of the victims on it.

"Camel?" she called.

The agent, who was of German descent and had made a big mistake a year ago, was agitated and looked back at her: "...Judy."

"What were you thinking? Show asked you to watch street surveillance." Judy said.

"I was wondering why he didn't kill the girl." Kamel just finished speaking and quickly added, "No, I don't mean that she should die, but I don't understand why..."

He didn't understand why a criminal who could cruelly kill so many people would suddenly show mercy to a little girl.

Judy was also puzzled. She herself escaped by chance because she went out to buy juice, but this girl was let go by the criminal on her own initiative.

Is it simply because you can't bear to kill a child?

Or do you think that if your child is alone in the car, he will die of heat stroke sooner or later? Every summer there are stupid parents who lock their children in their cars.

Or...

Judy looked at the photos on the display board again with suspicion. The old bear doll was placed on the photo of the scene in the car. It had a cute appearance and would be liked by most children.

She didn't come up with an answer, so she and Kamal turned off the lights and left the office. Two cases were reported in a row today and they had to work overtime.

As soon as Judy sat down at the temporary workstation assigned to her, a female agent from the branch next door came to greet her, with the same haggard look of overtime on her face: "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you."

She stood up, took the coffee, and took a sip. It tasted just as bad as headquarters, but better than nothing. She asked curiously: "Do you also have a case?"

The female detective nodded: "Recently there was a serial murder case targeting young women in New York. We have now identified the suspect..."

Judy turned to look at her work station and saw a case record report on her desk, with the suspect's photo at the top.

He is an Asian male with long silver hair.

……

The underground corridor was dark and the air was hot and humid.

Shuichi Akai showed his ID to the SWAT team at the door of the steam room and entered the room.

The room was a little brighter than outside, and there seemed to be steam in the room that had not dissipated. A musty smell enveloped the entire room, and there was also a disgusting smell of meat.

Akai Shuichi saw the corpse in the video again.

Her hands were handcuffed to the water pipe, the ring finger of her right hand was missing, her feet were tightly tied, and the skin all over her body was burned red by the steam, glowing with light, and peeled off in large areas from her body, and her face could not be seen clearly. .

The faces of the city police at the scene were not very good. It was rare for them to see such a horrific scene.

Akai Shuichi looked at this scene with a gloomy expression.

Brutal killing methods often appear in three situations.

First, the prisoner himself is a sadist;

Second, there was a deep grudge between the prisoner and the deceased;

Third, the criminals are creating fear to intimidate the public and law enforcement officers investigating the case.

Be it the police or the FBI, no matter how powerful they sound, they are only human in the end. Even if they have handled many cases, they will still be afraid when they encounter extremely vicious criminals, especially if this case directly affects the family and friends around the agent.

But Akai Shuichi was not afraid. He scanned the scene, his green eyes as cold as a wolf in the dark environment.

The police officer closest to him trembled, whether he was afraid of the corpse or the aura on his body, and then he saw him walking to a wall.

A huge clock is drawn on the wall with red liquid (possibly blood), and there is a straight line on the right side of which the meaning is unknown.

This is where the next case will take place.

Chapter 220: Failed Music Student

the next day.

"A lot of people..."

Kudo Shinichi stood at the school gate and sighed when he saw the crowd around him.

The University Open Day is not just for ordinary tourists. It is an admissions activity in itself, allowing students and parents to experience the school environment and atmosphere up close. As one of the most famous music conservatories in the world, many people came here today.

However, they are not here to visit the university today.

"-Janice! We're here!"

As Kudo Yukiko shouted, a tall blonde woman finally saw them. She walked quickly through the crowd and gave Kudo Yukiko a warm hug as soon as they met.

The professor let go of his friend and said with a smile on his face: "I didn't expect you to come all the way from Los Angeles. I really should have picked you up... Who are these two?"

She saw two others.

"This is Yusaku and I's son, his name is Shinichi." Yukiko Kudo introduced, "This is a friend of our family and Shinichi's former music teacher, Aoyagi Himitsu."

FBI agent Aoyagi Binguang, who was on vacation, stood nearby, showing a friendly smile and extending his hand.

……

The professor took them to avoid the crowd, go around to the back, and enter the main teaching building of the campus.

The teaching building is in the shape of "冂". They walked on the empty corridor on the right, with the two ladies in the middle. Kudo Yukiko said regretfully: "It's a pity that Sharon didn't come. The three of us haven't gotten together in several years."

"There are so many people today, her coming will definitely cause a commotion. She never likes trouble." The professor said gently.

"I don't know why she is so busy this month. She obviously doesn't have any activities..."

Kudo Shinichi is walking on the far right.

He came today just because he couldn't resist his mother who wanted to come to visit his friend (she suppressed his idea of ​​going to the second-hand bookstore to buy books), and he had no interest in anything. He said nothing and looked at his surroundings.

This place is located on Riverside Avenue. From his direction, he can see the teaching building of another university in the distance, as well as a striking Gothic building. That's a church.

It seems to be one of the largest Protestant churches in the United States. It is said to contain the largest carillon in the world.

Kudo Shinichi recalled these little bits of knowledge he had jotted down and looked away from a distance. The sound of the two of them talking was still in his ears, which made him couldn't help but look at Qingliu Binguang.

Aoyagi Binguang was wearing a white long-sleeved T-shirt and brown casual pants today. His long hair was half-tied as usual. His accessories were a necklace and two stainless steel plates similar to dog tags hanging on his chest.

There seemed to be an imprint on it, but Kudo Shinichi didn't see it clearly.

Unlike Kudo Shinichi, whose impatience is almost evident on his face, Aoyagi Binguang has a much better attitude, his expression is relaxed and natural, and he strikes up a conversation with them from time to time.

"Have you taken the exam here before?" Kudo Yukiko asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Qingliu Binguang said with a helpless smile, "It's a pity that I failed the exam, and my family doesn't allow me to continue studying music."

Kudo Shinichi looked at him in surprise. He thought Aoyagi Binguang had a mild temper and that his family members should be relatively kind people, but he didn't expect that even talented hobbies were restricted.

At this time, a door to the concert hall appeared in front of them. Kudo Yukiko was about to go through, but the professor stopped her and motioned her to go up the stairs next to it.

"Come here, Yukiko - my room and the students are above." She glanced at the door. "The stage there was damaged and there was an accident. The principal has not repaired it. It has been abandoned for a long time."

Kudo Yukiko didn't say anything, and went upstairs with her friends. Aoyagi Binguang followed. Kudo Shinichi was about to lift his feet when he suddenly stopped.

He looked towards the door of the concert hall again.

This is the back door, not many people come here, and it is probably neglected to clean. He saw a layer of dust in front of the door, and there were obvious footprints on it. They looked like they had just been stepped on, and they were very messy.

In other words, it doesn't look like it was left behind by a normal walk.