Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

Mrs. Kawajiri listened in a daze.

The fear in her heart had already dissipated without her noticing. Her face was reflected in the transparent window behind the phone.

——She stood at the window, her eyes full of ecstasy, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise.

This case is based on the fourth case of "The Alphabet Mystery".

Chapter 68: The Prison Guard

11:40 am, Beihu Prison.

This is one of the largest prisons in Japan, housing nearly 500 prisoners and more than 70 prison administrators.

The prisoners are detained in different areas according to their crimes, sentences, ages and physical conditions, with an average of nine people in one room. The prisoners have one and a half hours of education time and two hours of free time every day.

——The above only applies to ordinary prisoners.

Prisoners with special status do not need to perform labor service and will be sent to single cells with better treatment.

At this time, in a single cell, Congressman Kawajiri, who was sentenced to five years in prison for bribery, came out of the bathroom wiping his hands.

Apart from the bathroom, the cell itself is about ten square meters. There is no bed, but a tatami mat is spread on the floor. A set of folded bedding is placed against the wall, and it is fairly clean.

There was a round table for eating on the tatami, with cushions next to it, and a TV. There were shelves on the wall, and the window that was only big enough for a child to escape was open, bringing in the breeze from outside.

In the eyes of ordinary people who are not very picky, it is no problem to use this room as a bedroom.

——But for Representative Kawajiri, who only suffered during his youth and whose quality of life improved after marriage, every day is unbearable.

He sat down on the mat, picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. Seeing the beautiful host on the screen, he couldn't help swallowing, and his mind flew out the window again.

I don’t know what’s going on outside.

A few weeks ago, he found a fairly reliable prison guard to secretly pass on the message to others. After that, the police really sent someone to meet him once. He didn't know whether they were sincere or not, so he didn't dare to reveal too much.

Moreover, he has to be wary of people from the organization.

Speaking of this, Councillor Kawajiri was filled with regret.

He was born in a poor family and was able to rise to prosper only after marrying into a woman's family. However, his father-in-law died early, before he could completely pave the way for him, which made his path to advancement difficult.

Just then, a mysterious organization, a man who called himself "Goldwasser", approached him and said that they could have mutual benefits.

——They helped him eliminate certain political enemies, or provided some private information that could be used to threaten political enemies, and he would give them the green light after he came to power.

At that time, Congressman Kawajiri was worried about the instigation within his party. When he heard this instigation, he agreed almost without hesitation.

After that, he thrived in the political arena. Many people who opposed him either died in accidents or were involved in scandals. He reached a position that was previously unimaginable and was even expected to participate in the next election.

Everything was going so well until a year ago, when one of his rivals suddenly reported him for taking bribes.

Congressman Kawajiri asked the organization for help immediately. He had helped them a lot over the years, both openly and secretly. They quickly found out that the account books were forged.

However, although the evidence was found, Goldwasser said that he had completely lost the support of the people and asked him to give up his appeal and stay in jail for the time being, waiting to use the fake account books as leverage in the next election.

——"Appropriate tolerance can bring greater victory, while improper anger will only make you lose everything before the game even starts."

Congressman Kawajiri had only met Goldwasser once, fifteen years ago, and this is what he told him then, and they had communicated over the phone since then.

At that time, the mixed-race man was less than 30 years old, very young, but full of the temperament of a superior. The coldness and gloom hidden in his eyes made Congressman Kawajiri dare not say no to him.

At the beginning, Congressman Kawajiri came in honestly. Goldwasser had given him a lot of advice over the past decade, and none of them was wrong, so he chose to believe him this time.

But the sudden illness changed his mind.

Congressman Kawajiri has encountered assassination attempts over the years, but with the help of the organization, those guys died before they could touch him. It was that serious illness that truly made him feel the threat of death.

He wants to go out.

He didn't want to continue staying in the simple prison with backward medical care. He wanted to return to the outside world where there was more freedom, comfort and better medical conditions.

But he knew very well that the organization would not tolerate betrayers, and even in this prison, there were members of the organization secretly monitoring his every move.

"Click."

The door of the cell was suddenly pushed open. Councillor Kawajiri, who was immersed in thought, was startled and looked up at the other party.

It was a strange face. His complexion looked gray, with some stubble on his chin and obvious dark circles under his eyes.

Councillor Kawajiri met his eyes. He found that this strange prison guard had a pair of brown-red eyes.

"Special Prisoner No. 444, it's time for lunch."

His tone was cold, and he looked at him like he was an insufferable piece of garbage.

The prisoners in the special cells do not eat together in the restaurant. Their three meals will be delivered by the prison guards themselves. Some of them are impolite and will come in without any greeting, just like they are doing now.

"……let it go."

Councillor Kawajiri did not stand up, but raised his chin and gestured to the table.

The prison guard walked in. He seemed to be not very familiar with Japanese etiquette and actually stepped directly on the tatami with his shoes on.

Councillor Kawajiri was about to reprimand him when he saw this, but the prison guard had already bent over and placed the food tray on the table. As he approached him, a light voice came over.

"My personal suggestion is to switch to channel 13 now."

Councillor Kawajiri's eyes widened instantly.

The prison guard's expression did not change at all. He stood up again as if nothing had happened. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at the shelf by the window, and his eyes fell on one of the medicine bottles.

"What kind of medicine is that?"

The frightened Congressman Kawajiri followed his gaze and answered hesitantly, "That's just painkillers... I got a serious illness this year, and sometimes my body suddenly hurts a lot, and I need medicine to fall asleep..."

"Made in Japan?"

“…American.”

Representative Kawajiri didn't understand why he was asked this question.

He had just finished taking his painkillers yesterday, and this morning the doctor in the prison gave him a painkiller imported from the United States. It is said to be more effective and there is a constant stream of buyers in the United States.

"What's the problem?" he asked uneasily.

The prison guard withdrew his gaze, did not answer his question, and left the cell directly.

Click. The cell door closed again.

……

Outside the cell window.

A small snake, whose color was particularly close to the wall, was peeking out of the window.

He didn't sneak into the cell until he was sure that he hadn't been discovered.

Chapter 69 The Black Organization's Normal Way

After sorting out the outline, I found a BUG. The previous Osaka area was changed to Haido.

----

Friday, Kawajiri's house.

Mrs. Kawajiri leaned lazily on the sofa. There were exquisite snacks and black tea on the coffee table. She picked up a scone and looked up at the clock.

It's 11 o'clock in the morning.

——Twenty-five hours have passed since that phone call.

……

Mrs. Kawajiri is not an irrational person.

After hanging up the phone yesterday, she calmed down quickly. Instead of opening the champagne on the spot, she called the kindergarten immediately to confirm whether her son was safe.

When she learned that he had arrived at school safely, she found an excuse to ask for leave for him and sent two stronger servants to bring him back quickly.

As a result, before her children returned, Mrs. Kawajiri received a call from the high school.

It was the encumbered class teacher who called, asking why he hadn't arrived at school yet, as he was usually very punctual.

Mrs. Kawajiri, who had originally been a little hesitant about the kidnapping case, was only certain at this time - her stepson had really been kidnapped.

……

She is so lucky.

After finishing her reminiscence, Mrs. Kawajiri couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth again.

Because the servants were still around, she had to maintain her dignified and elegant image as a lady, so she didn't smile too obviously.

She didn't have to do anything to get rid of that annoying burden.

The person kidnapped was her stepson, so she definitely would not prepare a ransom; at the same time, she did not call the police. She even stopped the nosy maid who was planning to call the police because the burden did not come back last night.

Mrs. Kawajiri had come into contact with some police officers because of a bribery case.

Those tax thieves are not very good at solving crimes and are often mocked by the media for having to rely on detectives, but when they receive a report of a crime, they will always be the first to respond.

——If they knew there was a kidnapping case, the police would definitely try to save the person.

So yesterday she neither went to withdraw money nor called the police. She pretended that she knew nothing until today.

Wait a few more hours.

She only needed to wait a few hours for the kidnapper to make a second call, and then she would tell the servants that the burden had been kidnapped.

She would try to delay time, or when the police arrived and the kidnappers again confirmed the location to pay the money, she would deliberately use a hesitant tone to lead the other party to suspect that she had already called the police.

It would be great if the kidnappers could get so angry that they could just blow up the burden to death.

In this way, she could blame his death on the police - she just said the wrong thing by accident, and they were supposed to protect the people, but they did nothing.

Mrs. Kawajiri pursed her red lips, but she could not contain the ecstasy and anticipation in her heart. She exerted force with her fingers and accidentally crushed the scone in her hand.

Tiny snack crumbs fell on the carpet, and the servant beside them quickly bent down to pick them up.

Mrs. Kawajiri, who usually liked to scold them for being clumsy, glanced at the servants. She was in a very good mood and did not say a word of blame. She just picked up another scone.

"Master, Master...don't run around!"