Stay away from Conan.

"Officer Sato..."

Officer Takagi, who had just come out of the office with his phone in hand, seemed to have just seen some very surprising news, so he hurried out to say something to Officer Sato.

However, upon emerging into the Metropolitan Police Department corridor, Takagi Wataru, who had initially assumed that only Sato Miwako, who had just come out, found Sato Miwako and Officer Shiratori both present, each holding a mobile phone and looking at each other as they walked in different directions.

Upon witnessing this scene, Officer Takagi hesitated for a moment, seemingly surprised and confused, yet also sensing that things might be as he suspected.

At this point, not only Officer Takagi, but also Officers Sato Miwako and Shiratori, who had been staring at each other after reading the emails on their phones, turned their gazes to Officer Takagi upon his sudden appearance. They saw him holding his phone—

For a moment, this seemingly perfectly coordinated scene left the three people present speechless...

Let's find somewhere to talk.

Soon, after a brief silence, Officer Shiratori calmed down first and said this to the other two people present.

Sato Miwako and Officer Takagi exchanged glances and then tacitly agreed to Officer Shiratori's suggestion. The three of them then went to an empty conference room in the Metropolitan Police Department, where they began to discuss the situation that had just occurred.

"Well... I think things have come to this point, and the three of us no longer need to hide anything from each other... about what just happened..."

"Is it because we both received an anonymous email at the same time?"

Upon entering the conference room, Officer Shiratori first checked that there was no one else in the corridor. It was late at night, and apart from the officers working overtime on interrogations and those on duty, there were no busy figures coming and going as during the day.

Therefore, for the time being, no one saw the three of them chatting alone here.

After locking the door to the conference room, Officer Shiratori then said what he had just said.

Upon hearing Officer Shiratori's words, Officers Sato and Takagi, who were also holding their phones, naturally responded:
"Simply put, that's true... However, one thing needs to be clarified is that we received the same email, right?"

"That's how it is," Sato Miwako said cautiously, sounding rather serious.

Officer Takagi immediately echoed:
"Yes, let's confirm that first... I'll go first, the content of the email I received is..."

As he spoke, Officer Takagi began looking at the emails displayed on his phone, but Officer Shiratori quickly stopped him, saying:
"There's no need for all that trouble. We can just show each other the contents."

As he spoke, Officer Shiratori gestured to the two people present and said:

"We will display the content at the same time."

Thus, Sato Miwako and Officer Takagi had no objections. So, at Officer Shiratori's signal, the three of them simultaneously turned on their phone screens, displayed the contents of the email, and placed it on the conference table in front of them for others to see.

After the three of them looked at the emails displayed on each other's phones and saw that the text was exactly the same, Sato Miwako's expression became serious first, and she said:

"Without a doubt, it's the same email, and the source is the same..." "In that case, we can confirm that it was sent by the same person. Now, what we need to discuss is the content of this email... that is, the clues provided..."

Officer Shiratori said seriously:
"According to the email, more than a year ago, surgeon Yasushi Hitono of Toto University Hospital died, and those involved in the investigation at the time..."

"It is me..."

Speaking of this, Miwako Sato frankly stated:
“Officer Nara, Officer Shibayo... and Inspector Tomonari, who was in charge at the time…”

Thus, when she mentioned Inspector Tomonari, Sato Miwako's expression couldn't help but lower slightly, causing Officer Takagi, who was standing beside her, to look at her with concern. However, Sato Miwako quickly regained her composure and continued:

"Inspector Yu-cheng died unexpectedly in the line of duty during the investigation of the case, and the investigation ultimately came to nothing, hastily closing the case as a suicide based on some superficial clues..."

"Then, the Nara and Shibayo police officers who had participated in the investigation were murdered within a single day..."

"In other words, although it's a bit of a stretch, we have to admit that there might be a connection between these two things."

Officer Shiratori continued, then pointed to the contents of the email:

"So, based on this line of thinking, since what happened a year ago isn't exactly a solid case, if what's happening now is a continuation of the previous incident, then finding the connection between them is the key to cracking the truth of the case. And that's exactly what this anonymous email to us was about."

"Based on the initial assumption that the actions of Inspector Nara and Inspector Shibayo before their deaths might allude to the police handbook, we initially suspected that the culprit might be within the police force... Therefore, if we think about it this way, considering the connection to the incident a year ago, and also its relevance to our own police force, then our first suspicion would be..."

As she said this, Sato Miwako turned her attention back to the email, and Officer Shiratori also looked helpless and serious.

"Minister Odagiri..."

"When we were investigating the incident a year ago, we did see the minister's son, Min, during our stakeout... Because of Inspector Youcheng's death in the line of duty, this wasn't investigated thoroughly afterward. So if Min is related to the incident a year ago, then..."

Sato Miwako said this, then frowned, looking somewhat puzzled:
"No, I should say, how did the sender find out about this?"

"Leaving that aside for now, the email this person sent also named a second person connected to the incident..."

At this point, Officer Shiratori's expression turned serious—

"Kyosuke Futo..."

Because he had mentioned someone he knew, Officer Shiratori's feelings were quite complicated at that moment.

"More than seven years ago, he was also a surgeon at the Tokyo University Hospital, but now he works as a psychiatrist at Beika Yakushino Hospital. This is because he injured his right hand during surgery due to a surgical accident, which prevented him from continuing to work as a surgeon. At that time, he was also a colleague of Dr. Nino Yasushi..."

"And recently, when he was working as a psychologist, Officer Nara had contact with him..." (End of Chapter)