Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 110: Case of Photographing on the Face

"Ah, Director, I really alarmed you..." At this time, Yuan saw Shiraishi coming in.

When Yuan saw the address for the first time, he felt it looked familiar, after all, he had helped his leader move house before.

"How is it?" Bai Shi didn't waste any words and asked directly about the case.

"It can be basically confirmed that it was a homicide... Although the body was leaning against the door and the rope around the neck was hanging on the door handle, there were also marks of strangulation on the back of the neck." Yuan said and showed Shiraishi the marks on the body.

Theoretically, one can hang oneself while sitting, but... if one commits suicide by hanging, the marks from the strangulation will only be on the front, and there should be no marks on the back of the neck.

At this time, the body had already been preserved as evidence. It was covered with a white cloth and carried away. The human being who was still alive and kicking a few days ago was now left with only a corpse circled with tape in a certain posture.

"The time of death is estimated to be between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. today. The cause of death is strangulation. The scene should be in this room. However, when the first discoverer, Ms. Haseoka, found the deceased, the door of the room was locked." Yuan then reported in detail.

Generally speaking, reports to the director do not need to be so specific, as leaders want results!

However, Yuan was familiar with Shiraishi's style and reported the details at this time.

"It's locked...so Ms. Haseoka has the key?" Shiraishi asked back.

"That's right. Ms. Haseoka said that she was very close to the victim, Ms. Sakurayama. The victim's wallet and cell phone were all there, and there was no sign that her home had been rummaged through. It was obviously not a robbery.

"We will investigate later to see if the victim has any enemies." Yuan had just arrived at the scene and did not understand the situation yet, so he did not know how much work would be involved.

"Let the second and fourth departments get involved as well." Bai Shi said directly.

"Huh?" Yuan was stunned when he heard that. Normally, if it is a complicated case, the three departments will indeed search together, but...how did the director know that this case is very complicated?
"The victim is an executive of a women's rights charity organization, and she is usually quite radical. With her assistance, the Life Safety Division of the Mihua Department alone has handled many cases of domestic violence and sexual harassment. If we investigate based on motives, there would be quite a few targets." Shiraishi patted Yuan's shoulder sympathetically.

source:……

Since Gen and Yamada did not know the identity of the deceased before, they instinctively thought it was a murder of passion based on the deceased's age and appearance. In this case, it was normal for the criminal to have a spare key, and it should be easier to lock on to the target. But who knew... the difficulty suddenly increased!
On the other hand, Akasaka also finished questioning Ms. Haseoka.

"Thank you for your cooperation. The police station may bother you again in order to find the real culprit as soon as possible." Akasaka did not find anything suspicious about her and was ready to let her go back first.

"Yeah, okay." Haseoka looked a little dazed.

"Huh? Wait, Ms. Haseoka, what's wrong with you here?" Akasaka only realized when Haseoka moved that there was a large Band-Aid on her forearm exposed under her white-collar suit.

Akasaka's sensitivity to the case prompted him to ask immediately.

When Haseoka heard this, his first reaction was to try to cover it up, but he quickly came to his senses and said frankly, "It's nothing, I just fell accidentally."

"I see. Please go in." Akasaka looked at her twice more, and felt that he was more suspicious.

Shiraishi also heard that she should be Haseoka - Aso from the Life Safety Department had mentioned before that the representative of the [For W] organization was "Ms. Haseoka", so this must be her.

"How is it?" Shiraishi came over and asked Akasaka after Ms. Haseoka left.

"Director, the first discoverer and the victim are in the same charity organization. The victim is an executive and the discoverer is a representative of the organization. He provided an alibi at the time of the crime, which we will verify later." Akasaka replied.

Although it is not clear what motive Haseoka had for murder, and it is not strange that she has a spare key to the victim's house, but as the first discoverer, she will be asked to prove her alibi...

Afterwards, Shiraishi also told Akasaka about seeking support from the second and fourth departments, and that there should be many enemies in this [For W].

As expected, Akasaka's face froze...

This is not good news for the search!

"If we can't find the murderer's DNA or fingerprints at the scene, the case may be more complicated... You guys investigate carefully afterwards, and I'll hold a case discussion meeting before I get off work on Monday." Shiraishi arranged the work directly.

If traces left by the murderer can be found at the scene, the difficulty of solving the case will be greatly reduced.

but……

Considering that this is a "secret room", Shiraishi estimates that the possibility is unlikely!
If the room was set up in a special way, the murderer would be very careful not to leave any biological evidence. But if it was someone familiar who had the key, like Haseoka...

It is normal to have traces of her in the room, but it cannot be considered as evidence!
……

However, Shiraishi did not have too much of a headache. After all, this kind of case should be left to the front-line police officers. As the director, he still had a lot of work to pay attention to.

After a brief inspection of the scene, Shiraishi returned to his room in Building A, and happened to see Ayako helping him collect the clothes that had been hung on the balcony...

Seeing this, Shiraishi quietly stepped forward and hugged Ayako from behind.

"Ah!" Ayako was startled by surprise. When she found out it was Shiraishi, her face turned red and she said, "Really... what are you doing?"

At this moment, Yamada, who was inspecting the scene on the balcony of Building C, heard the sound and quickly looked over...

As a result... Yamada saw the director awkwardly.

You like watching it, right? — Bai Shi glanced at him.

"Hurry up and go in!" Ayako also noticed someone and quickly pushed Shiraishi into the house.

"By the way, the weather is getting cold. Don't forget to make an appointment to clean the windows before it snows," Ayako reminded.

"No hurry, I'll ..."

"Your injury hasn't healed yet! You should make an appointment with a professional for aerial work... Look, I saw an advertisement posted at the door, it's quite cheap." Ayako even looked at the price considerately.

……

After the three departments had basically inspected the scene, Akasaka suddenly received a call, and then said to Yamada with a strange look on his face: "Yamada, the director asked you to check the apartment's entry and exit surveillance one hour before and after the incident."

Yamada:……

Afterwards, Shiraishi originally thought that this case was not a big deal. Although the case was a bit complicated in terms of motivation, it was just a matter of workload and could be handed over to the Criminal Division.

Just wait until Monday night and listen to the case discussion meeting. Maybe the case will be solved by then.

However, what Shiraishi didn't expect was that just a short time after he started work on Monday, he was forced to deal with matters related to this case again!
At 10 a.m., Section Chief Maruwei came to report: "Director, Section Chief Okamoto from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is here to visit."

"Okamoto? Why are they looking for me?" Shiraishi was also puzzled at this time.

Shiraishi certainly remembered that more than a week ago, when he was hospitalized after a skin graft operation, Section Chief Okamoto came to visit him on behalf of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He also remembered that he was the head of the Personnel Division of the Minister's Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Although he is only a section chief, the "Minister's Secretariat Personnel Section" sounds very legitimate...

Later, when Shiraishi and Iwata talked about this, Iwata also gave him some advice - indeed, this is a position that can be further promoted, and the official sitting in this position has the possibility of becoming a "Vice Minister of Affairs" in the future. If there is a connection, it is worth maintaining a good relationship!

After all, Shiraishi was injured in the explosion because of a case involving the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the criminal was arrested in the end. Naturally, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had to make some statement.

but……

The matter has already passed, there is no need to be "polite" today.

"Okay, I'll go to the reception room now." Although Bai Shi didn't understand, he went to the reception room immediately.

……

After seeing Shiraishi, Okamoto immediately stood up and shook hands enthusiastically: "Director Shiraishi, I am relieved to see that you have recovered! The Minister was also concerned about your injury before."

Shiraishi didn't know what was going on yet, so he naturally wouldn't offend the smiling man for no reason, so he said politely, "Section Chief Okamoto, you still thought of me despite your busy schedule. I'm really flattered."

"As I should! After all, Director Shiraishi was injured because of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry... and to be honest, I didn't come to see you for no reason."

Sure enough, Okamoto didn't argue with Shiraishi for long and got down to business right away.

This is Bai Shi...

If you change the director, Okamoto will at most just make a phone call to "issue a notice".

"Section Chief Okamoto, what's this..." Shiraishi asked inquiringly.

"Section Chief Shiraishi also knows that after the freeze in negotiations in the construction industry, many companies are facing difficult prospects. In order to boost economic vitality, our Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has taken the lead in launching some revitalization plans for towns and cities in the surrounding Touto metropolitan area..."

Okamoto is making a long speech here, as if he is talking about something very impressive, but Shiraishi just smiles at this - what does it have to do with me?
As soon as he opened his mouth, Bai Shi basically understood that this was an attempt to interfere with the investigation of the case in the name of protecting economic development!

Although the police are funded by taxes, and the economy is of course also protected by taxes, but...

If the police consider "economic development" as the basis for handling cases, then what is the difference between them and violent organizations that collect protection fees?
However, Bai Shi did not show much disgust on the surface - the other party had not yet said what the matter was, so he still had to practice "Tai Chi".

After talking for a long time, Okamoto finally got to the point: "The key company for this cooperation is [Morning Glory Tourism]. Unfortunately, an employee of the company passed away... Oh! But he died at home and had nothing to do with the company. It seems to be suicide. At this time, the police are often in and out, which will inevitably bring some adverse effects to the company. Director Shiraishi, is it possible..."

Okamoto was speaking suggestively at this time, but… Shiraishi did not continue his words, but changed the subject: "Is it the case of the murder of Ms. Sakurayama? Coincidentally, she lived next door to me… It was not suicide."

Hearing what Shiraishi said, Okamoto's face froze.

Shiraishi hadn't heard the case report yet, so he didn't know the specific situation. However, from what Okamoto said, Shiraishi could guess it - the Criminal Division should have investigated Morning Glory Tourism and might have even found out something!
"Director Shiraishi, regarding this matter..."

Just as Okamoto was about to say something else, Maruwei knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Director, Senator Shirai from the Senate wants to see you..."

(End of this chapter)