Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 255 The Brutal Murderer

In order to express the city council's seriousness about this case, a meeting of the special investigation headquarters was scheduled at 10 pm...

Before everyone arrived, Shiraishi showed Uno the photos of the scene.

The location was the lounge of the Mihua Public Hall, a luxurious room. However, the situation in the photos was a bit tragic. There were bloodstains in more than one place, and there were dragging bloodstains on the ground.

The body finally fell at the door. Judging from the dragging marks on the floor, it seemed that he was shot in the head while crawling backwards on his buttocks to escape...

"The bloodstains extend from the window to the door? How many times was the deceased shot?" Yuno frowned and couldn't help asking.

"No, it was from the sofa, to the window, and then to the door... The preliminary judgment was that there were four shots, two of which were in the legs, one shot through the palm, and the last shot was a fatal wound in the forehead." Shiraishi only stated the findings of the detectives' preliminary inspection.

Based on the photos taken at the scene, Bai Shi also simulated it reasonably in his mind...

Panasonic was resting on the sofa in the lounge and was about to have a meal when a "Xiao Hei" came in from the door. Without waiting for Panasonic to question him, "Xiao Hei" raised his hand and shot Panasonic in the left leg.

The sound of the silenced pistol did not attract anyone else's attention...

Matsushita raised her hand at this time, wanting to stop the other party, or to "beg for mercy", but the answer she got was the second shot - it directly pierced his palm, and blood mist splattered everywhere.

Frightened, Matsushita quickly covered her legs and stepped back, but when she retreated to the window, Xiao Hei followed her in and shot her other leg again!
In desperation, Matsushita was still trying to struggle to crawl out the door, but Xiao Hei caught up with her and put a gun to her forehead, ignoring her pleas for mercy and ending her life...

So when Xiaolan came in, although the body was covered, the room was full of blood.

Even if she didn't see the tragic state of the corpse, it didn't stop her from screaming at the first moment!

At this time, Shiraishi also vividly described to Uno his speculation about the crime process...

"What a brutal murderer..." Yuno couldn't help but say. After a pause, Yuno wondered, "Four shots, four shots and no one noticed?"

"Well, a silencer must have been used, and... because at that time, the previous idol event in the Beika Guild Hall had just ended, and the crowd leaving the venue was in chaos, so she didn't show up until the time of the event prepared by Panasonic came. Someone went looking for her and discovered the scene." Shiraishi said in a calm tone.

But to Uno, it seemed that Shiraishi was mocking Yuriko Matsushita - why was the commendation ceremony for Yuriko Matsushita held so late, and after the idol meeting?

It’s because she really wants to get ahead of the others and has to make an appointment immediately!

If you make an appointment on the day, it will be strange if you can get a good time...

If she wasn't a member of the city council, the Beika Public Hall would never have allowed her to add an event at this time, and Panasonic even specially asked Beika TV to report on it, making it look serious. The result was... it created convenience for the murderer.

"In that case, the murderer should have left with the crowd... I'm afraid it will be difficult to distinguish him even if we check the surveillance." Although Uno is not a front-line police officer, he is a counselor of the Criminal Department after all and has seen too many difficulties in investigations.

It can be said that Yuriko Matsushita died at a very untimely time!
After shaking his head, Yuno reminded, "By the way, don't forget to tell the detectives at the police station to prepare their guns when they carry out the operation... The police officers in Search 1 have also prepared their guns."

Because the criminals have guns, the criminal police must also carry guns when performing their duties!

The rate of police officers carrying guns in the East Island Country is actually very high - because the current police system was reformed by the United States after its defeat, so it inherited many practices of the US police. Some regulations are actually very unsuitable in the East Island Country, but they have been retained...

The most obvious issue is the “gun” issue!

The East Island country is clearly not a "gun-fighting country". Most police officers will never have the opportunity to draw their guns, let alone shoot, while enforcing the law throughout their careers. However, like the United States, it also requires 100% of police officers to be equipped with guns.

Even though the East Island country has revised its regulations several times over the past few decades, it still stipulates that all police officers in uniform must carry guns when performing their duties.

Criminal police officers don't usually wear uniforms, which leads to a very contradictory situation in the police force of East Island - the patrol officers who deal with the most people are all equipped with guns, while the criminal police officers who deal with the most violent criminals are only equipped with batons...

"Well, the security department has been notified. I hope there won't be a situation where they need to draw their guns." Shiraishi said and shook his head.

Criminal police will only carry guns when they are specifically reminded to carry guns while performing tasks, which leads to them being very unfamiliar with guns!
After being equipped with guns, the criminal police will face great psychological pressure, and it is hard to say whether their combat effectiveness will increase or decrease.

Not to mention, if they really wanted to use it, Bai Shi was afraid that they would hurt themselves.

"This is an essential skill for police officers! There will be a martial arts competition in the Metropolitan Police Department in March..." Uno reminded seriously.

The chief police officer of the head office urged him to change another one... let alone a serious superintendent like Uno, even if he was a superintendent or even a captain of the confidential department, the local chief police officer would have to listen obediently.

However, Bai Shi curled his lips and said, "As for spear skills... Souyi and Zudui are not that strong either. At most, they have specially trained one or two of them!"

Shiraishi himself had been on the front line for many years and was very familiar with the shooting skills of frontline detectives - nine out of ten were terrible, and the remaining one was often just "average".

After all, there are too few places where guns can be used.

Even when criminal police are required to practice shooting, they generally do it perfunctorily. After all, who would be willing to waste their already limited rest time for a skill that they don't need at all?
"Even if there is time, it would be more useful to train in arrest techniques... shooting competitions or something like that. Otherwise, Officer, how about you use the back door to transfer an expert to me?" Bai Shi deliberately teased.

Even in Soichi, there were only a few who had fired guns in actual combat, let alone those who were good at shooting... Kogoro Mouri was a rare "sharpshooter" among the criminal police back then.

Shiraishi was just joking, but Uno looked at Shiraishi seriously, which made him shudder, and then he said, "Okay, you said it..."

"Huh?" Bai Shi was stunned when he heard that - he has good marksmanship and was sent down from the Criminal Department, so there must be "flaws"!

Just like ten years ago, Mao Li, a former criminal policeman, dared to shoot at the robbers who took hostages. This is a legend that has been "circulated to this day" in the police community.

However, Yuno did not give Shiraishi a chance to explain and said directly: "Time is almost up, let's go to the meeting room!"

It's five to ten now, but...

If there is a detective who comes to the meeting room before the last five minutes, Uno will teach him a lesson.

……

At the first meeting, less than half of the people were seated because the detectives at the scene would not rush back for the meeting - there is golden time for visiting after the crime.

Those who came were the criminal police who had not arrived at the scene before, and... the public security personnel!
It’s still Shiraishi’s “old acquaintance” - Yuya Kazami.

The public security is a typical case of low position but great power. In name, the public security of Touto is just a department under the Metropolitan Police Department, but in reality it is independent of the Metropolitan Police Department system and is directly under the command of the National Security Council. Therefore, the police ranks are not high on the surface. Kazami, a "substitute police inspector", also often presides over operations.

At the investigation meeting, Kunikida showed everyone photos of the scene, explained the basic facts of the case, and then roughly arranged the search tasks.

"Inspector Megure, I have a question." Amemiya raised his hand.

"Please say."

"Does this mean... that Akiyoshi Kanako is now the main suspect?" Amemiya asked directly.

Megure hesitated for a moment and then said, "No, her fingerprints were only found at the scene. It is not certain whether she is the murderer...or has an accomplice."

Another police officer immediately raised his hand and asked, "Inspector Megure, Kanako Akiyoshi was only ten years old when she disappeared, right? Will there be any errors in the fingerprint comparison?"

"Don't worry, the fingerprints have only been enlarged and thickened to meet growth standards. Judging from the shoe prints at the scene, Kanako Akiyoshi should be around 1.55 meters tall now. In addition... the Tokiwa Group is currently assisting the police with undisclosed technology. They are using a photo of Kanako Akiyoshi when she was ten years old to calculate what she will look like at the age of twenty-five. We will have the results tomorrow morning." Inspector Megure said.

The current focus of the search, in addition to clues at the scene and the investigation of Matsushita Yuriko's social situation, is naturally the whereabouts of Akiyoshi Kanako!

At this time, Feng Jian raised his hand to signal, then stood up and said, "My dear colleagues, regarding the social situation of Councillor Matsushita, we, the Public Security Police, will be in charge."

Hearing this, Megure glanced at Uno, and after seeing him nod, Megure also said, "Well... okay."

Although Shiraishi said that he was just a "member of parliament who occupied a position", since it was related to politics, the public security would naturally "contract" it to avoid contact with other police officers.

However, Shiraishi, who is also in a leadership position, interjected, "Since the fingerprints of Congressman Matsushita's students fifteen years ago were found at the scene, I think it is more important to visit her social situation fifteen years ago in addition to her social situation as a congressman.

"Because it's a long time ago, it may require a lot of manpower... and the relevant location is at Beika Elementary School in Beika Town. This part of the information will be visited by our police officers."

Feng Jian was stunned when he heard this, but...

The public security department really didn't care about what happened to Councillor Matsushita when he was a teacher fifteen years ago, so they said, "Then there are our colleagues from the Labor Rice Flower Department."

After that, Shiraishi and Uno just sat in the leadership position, only giving a few words of encouragement at the end, and...

"Finally, let me emphasize one more point. The murder weapon has been confirmed to be a .45 caliber military automatic pistol. Therefore, the murderer is extremely lethal. During the search, all detectives must be equipped with guns, and try to avoid violent arrests in crowded places as much as possible!" Yuno emphasized at last.

After all, East Island is not a "gunfighting country". If the police and criminals draw their guns and shoot at each other in the street, no matter the result, the police have already "lost".

The search mission was also determined. The detectives from the Beihua Police Station went to investigate the social life of Yuriko Matsushita fifteen years ago, while the detectives from the Souichi Division would focus on Akiyoshi Kanako...

Firstly, we need to visit her on site, and secondly, we need to visit her relatives.

Of course, apart from the on-site personnel, the other detectives can rest now - after all, it is the middle of the night and it is impossible to go around looking for the victim or Akiyoshi's family to ask questions...

The reason for holding the meeting at this time is to show it to the city council. When the case is in the investigation stage, there is no time to go to get off work and rest, and you have to find time to rest. If you can't find time to rest, it means you are not suitable to be a criminal police.

……

However, as the director, Shiraishi still set an example by staying with Uno in the conference room - although Uno is old, as a counselor of the Criminal Department, he often has to preside over the "Special Investigation Headquarters", so he is an expert at staying with the old man.

after all……

Although the "Detectives of the Special Investigation Headquarters" cannot work 24 hours a day, there are "Detectives of the Special Investigation Headquarters" working 24 hours a day!

What the counselor and the director have to do at this time is to "respond to everything" - no matter how big a role it can play, as long as someone reports, the leader is there.

Just like when he was at Atsumi's house, the old man Uno also sat on the chair for two whole days. Although he was too sleepy to "scan the barcode" in front of the camera, he never lay down!

……

As a "famous detective", Maori Kogoro took the initiative to apply to assist in the investigation...

Because of some recent cases, Kogoro Mouri's title of "famous detective" is no longer a self-proclaimed one.

Although Uno was not too opposed to this, Shiraishi was not optimistic because...

Conan was urged by Xiaolan to rest because he had to go to school tomorrow morning!
What’s the point of having only a bearded uncle here?

As the night passed, the police officers who checked the on-site surveillance did not find anything of value - the venue's surveillance was not fully covered, and it was unrealistic to find an unknown target in a group of people based solely on the clue of "about 1.55 meters tall".

However, the DNA test results on the lunch box chopsticks did not delay...

"Director, the results of the saliva test on the chopsticks at the scene of the counselor are out...it is indeed consistent with the DNA of Kanako Akiyoshi submitted fifteen years ago." Kanzaki came to report at this time.

"Sure enough... the third person did not leave any trace, but... could it be that Akiyoshi Kanako was invited into the house by Congressman Matsushita? But why didn't Congressman Matsushita call anyone else?" Uno muttered to himself in confusion.

The girl who had been missing for fifteen years suddenly showed up, and she treated him to a lunch box? Wasn't there something more important?
Upon hearing this, Kanzaki looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated...

Bai Shi took the initiative and said, "No, eating should not be before killing someone."

"Huh?" Yuno was stunned when he heard that.

After receiving Shiraishi's signal, Kanzaki reported: "Counselor, blood was also found on the outside of the lid of the disposable lunch box. It is speculated that it was splashed by the bullet that pierced the palm. In other words... the lunch box was splashed with blood before it was opened, and then it was opened and eaten..."

Upon hearing this, Yuno's expression became even more strange: "Could it be... that they were eating at a murder scene? And using a blood-spattered lunch box? What on earth happened to Akiyoshi Kanako..."

At five o'clock in the morning, the detailed results of the autopsy came out...

"Huh? This autopsy was also done by UDI?" Shiraishi was stunned when he saw the file name header.

Originally, when the headquarters carried the body away, Shiraishi thought that it must be the headquarters' own forensic doctor who performed the autopsy.

"Because he is a member of the city council, the people above him were very cautious and chose a third-party agency," Uno explained.

Shiraishi shook his head when he heard this, but did not comment. He just looked at the autopsy report and said, "It seems that the order and location of the bullets are basically consistent with the initial inspection. The bullet marks left at the scene can also serve as evidence... Hmm?"

Originally, Bai Shi didn't care much about the previous content. After all, the cause of death was very clear - a bullet hole on the forehead that showed signs of living organisms. How else could he die?

But in the back, Shiraishi saw a trace specially marked by Sancheng...

"After extraction, fingerprints were found on the deceased's eyelids...and they were also Kanako Akiyoshi's!" Shiraishi frowned.

"Eyelids? Can fingerprints be detected on the skin now?" Yuno was also a little surprised.

"Well, it seems to be a new technology. Through sebum testing, there is a chance of extracting fingerprints. However, the identification time must not be too long, and it must be from the deceased, and it is only a 'chance'." Shiraishi had also read several forensic papers before.

Comparing the fingerprint test results, Shiraishi continued, "There's the right index finger on the right eyelid, and the right middle finger on the left eyelid... In other words... Akiyoshi Kanako must have closed his eyes while he was still holding his eyes open, right?"

A bullet in the head is indeed one of the easiest ways to die.

but……

"Generally speaking, this kind of thing should be... an act of appeasing the dead souls, right?" Bai Shi's tone was a little puzzled at this time.

When it was said that the body was covered with a white cloth, Shiraishi was wondering...

How could a criminal with such brutal killing methods cover the corpse with a cloth?

Shiraishi even wondered if the cloth might have other confusing purposes, but after looking at the on-site inspection report and the photos taken at the scene, Shiraishi pieced together the crime scene in his mind, but found nothing.

"So it seems that the possibility of a third party committing the crime is greater?" Yuno's tone was also uncertain.

Actually, this doesn’t make sense…

If there was a brutal and murderous criminal around her, why could Kanako Akiyoshi coexist with him?

Judging from the situation at the scene, there was no sign that Kanako Akiyoshi was being kidnapped!

If she was an accomplice, why did Kanako Akiyoshi watch her teacher being killed? And why did her careful and cautious accomplice watch Kanako Akiyoshi leave traces everywhere at the crime scene?

……

After finding no clues from the surveillance, Shiraishi and Uno were ready to prolong the battle, but...

Unexpectedly, just after eight o'clock, another important clue came to the door!
And the one who discovered this clue was not the Beihua Police Station, nor the Souichi Police Station, nor the Public Security Bureau, but... the Nagano Prefectural Police!
Early in the morning, Minister Odagiri called...

"Counselor Uno, Police Officer Shiraishi, the Nagano Prefectural Police just reported a case... a male body was found in an abandoned warehouse this morning. The estimated time of death was yesterday afternoon. The cause of death was gunshot. The 45-caliber military automatic pistol, and... according to the ballistics analysis, it was the same gun that killed Councillor Matsushita.

"We are now combining the two cases for investigation. Detectives from Nagano Prefecture will come to the Special Investigation Headquarters later. You guys make the arrangements." Minister Odagiri brought an important clue - another person died, and it was caused by the same pistol.

Ballistic identification, also known as bullet trace identification, can judge the condition of a gun from the traces of the bullet being fired and the traces of friction on the rifling. Even for pistols of the same model and batch, subtle differences can be identified and locked onto a certain gun, just like the "fingerprint of a gun."

After a shooting, the police would synchronize the results of the ballistic identification, and when Nagano uploaded it, it matched the ballistic identification results of Councillor Matsushita...

Judging from the time of death, the murderer should have committed the crime in Nagano first, and then came to Touto and killed Congressman Matsushita. It was only because the crime scene in Nagano was too remote that it was not discovered until this morning.

"Two consecutive gun murders..." Yuno looked solemn, then rubbed his face and said, "People from Nagano Prefecture will be here soon... In an hour, we will hold another search meeting to summarize the intelligence of the two cases!"

The specific situation in Nagano Prefecture can only be known after arriving there.

However, since the ballistics identification results are consistent, it is undoubtedly the same murderer, and the danger of the case has increased sharply...

There is an essential difference between "two cases" and "one case" - this means that the possibility of the murderer committing the crime again is greatly increased!
"Let's wash up first before the people from Nagano arrive! As a large police station, the bathroom in our Beika Police Station is quite large!" Shiraishi invited directly.

Yuno did not refuse. If it was normal, it would not matter if the appearance was a little worse when investigating a case overnight, but...

Since a criminal police officer from the Nagano Prefectural Police is coming, as senior police officers of the Metropolitan Police Department, the two of them still need to support the situation.

In the bathroom, Uno also saw signs of adaptive modification - one of the shower heads was hung from the ceiling!

"Hahaha, I told you this is not small!" Bai Shi made a clever pun.

Uno:……

Uno rolled his eyes at Shiraishi's sudden dirty joke.

"Superintendent Shiraishi, if you were a new police officer of the relaxed generation, you'd better be careful of being complained about power harassment... A superintendent in Hyogo Prefecture was recently complained about for asking his young subordinate to order something on the Xixi shopping app." Uno took the opportunity to teach Shiraishi a lesson with an example.

……

After washing up and putting on makeup, Shiraishi soon met the visitors from Nagano Prefecture...

Although there were only four people, they were led by the chief of Nagano Prefecture's First Investigation Division.

Of course, the head of the Nagano Prefectural Police's First Investigation Division is only a "Superintendent". After all, their headquarters chief is only a "Senior Superintendent" at the same level as Shiraishi and Uno.

When Shiraishi saw the four people from Nagano Prefecture, his first reaction was...

Did the Nagano Prefectural Police not have any injuries?
How can the sky and the earth be so flawed... Among the four people, not to mention that the head of the first investigation section has one eye, there is also a detective with a lame leg!
(End of this chapter)