Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 280 Matsumoto's "Ironclad Evidence"

"Manager Matsumoto, what on earth is happening..." Megure also noticed that Inspector Matsumoto's expression was unusual.

Gao Shan seemed to understand at this time that he must have been exposed, and...

Matsumoto Sayuri knew this before? Then why...

In a state of confusion, Gao Shan simply revealed himself: "That's right! I am the child of the mother you killed!"

"What? You...don't talk nonsense!" Megure was shocked and scolded at the same time.

Shiraishi also frowned at this time - Police Inspector Matsumoto had killed someone? Shiraishi didn't believe this...

Even if he accidentally killed a criminal during an arrest, if such a thing really happened, it would have spread all over the city and it would have been difficult for Matsumoto to be promoted.

but……

But at this moment, Matsumoto's face turned pale and he said nothing!

"It seems you still remember it? The murderous police officer!" Takasugi continued to speak.

Matsumoto seemed to finally be unable to hold back and couldn't help but say, "If you...if you want revenge for this, then just come and kill me! Why would I kill Sayuri?"

"Why? Of course, to let you taste the feeling of losing your loved ones!" Takasugi said sternly.

Megure and the others looked at Matsumoto in disbelief at this time - it sounds... as if that is really the case?

"Inspector Matsumoto, what on earth is happening..." Kakuta was also confused at this time.

"Well... 20 years ago, when I was just transferred to the Metropolitan Police Department, I was chasing a fugitive in my car. The fugitive was in a panic and hit a pedestrian. However... I was in a hurry to catch up with the criminal, and I didn't see the boy's mother being hit. I immediately got out of the car to chase the criminal...

"I only found out about this afterwards. Although I also wanted to visit the other party's home, but... when I went there, the family had already moved away." Matsumoto's tone was unusually weak.

Gao Shan then said: "That's right! My mother was still alive at that time, and I asked you for help, but you pushed me away and ran away. I will never forget your cold face!"

"But the person who hit your mother was the criminal!" Megure couldn't help but retort to his boss.

Shiraishi then said, "That's not the case. If we ignore the police pursuit and simply look at the car accident, if the car in front hits someone during a drag race, the car behind that was also involved in the drag race should also bear secondary responsibility."

Of course, a police chase is not considered drag racing, but in this case, Matsumoto does have an obligation to rescue, not just an unrelated passerby.

"Moved away? My mother was the only one left at home. After my mother passed away, I was sent to an orphanage and later adopted by the Takasugi family..." Takasugi Toshihiko said reminiscingly.

Matsumoto said that when he wanted to come to pay his respects, the other party had already moved away. Shiraishi must have believed this - given Matsumoto's character, he would definitely not evade responsibility for this matter. If Toshihiko was not from a single-parent family and Matsumoto was able to come and apologize, this hatred should have been resolved that year.

Unfortunately there is no "if"...

For Junyan, his mother's death meant the destruction of his family, and he was soon sent to an orphanage. Fortunately, he was soon adopted by a wealthy family.

"Fortunately, that woman was attracted by my money, which gave me the opportunity for revenge!" Although Gao Shan was shaken at this time, he still convinced himself in his heart.

"You beeped! You beeped..." Takenaka was furious at her ex-boyfriend and revealed another truth: "Sayuri asked me to investigate you because she recognized you... the boy who gave her lemon tea that year!"

Gao Shan was stunned when he heard this: "Back then? She was..."

"What? Are you the one the teacher talked about..." Sonoko was also surprised at this time.

In fact, Sayuri and Toshihiko had known each other for a long time, but they were both very young at that time. Sayuri came to Dongdu because of her father's job transfer, so she didn't have many friends and was always alone.

At that time, Junyan often brought her lemon tea from home. To Sayuri, that boy was her childhood sweetheart. But later, that shop closed down, and Sayuri didn't know why...

In fact, the reason why Matsumoto was so careless back then was also because he had just been transferred to the Metropolitan Police Department and was under a lot of work pressure. That’s why he lost his mind and lost his temper when chasing the fugitive. He didn’t even notice that someone was lying and injured in front of the fugitive’s car!
Later, after meeting Takasugi Toshihiko, Sayuri vaguely recognized him and realized that he seemed to have some purpose, so she asked Takenaka Kazumi to help her find out about this matter - although Takenaka was Toshihiko's ex-girlfriend, the two broke up normally and it had nothing to do with Sayuri.

Since Takenaka had dated Toshihiko, he naturally had some connections to understand these things, and thus he dug out the truth of that year.

Takenaka also reminded Sayuri that the other party might have other purposes, but Sayuri asked her to keep it a secret.

"How... is it possible... does she know..." Takasugi was confused at this time.

"How did she drink the lemon tea just now?" Shiraishi then turned to Ayako and asked.

"Sayuri...after taking the lemon tea handed over by Takasugi, she specifically said that she was a little tired and asked us to come out. Then..." Ayako stared at Takasugi with a dim look in her eyes.

That's why, when Shiraishi arrived at the scene, they were all at the door.

I am afraid……

"Brother Takasugi, did you replace the whole can of lemon tea? Sayuri likes to drink hot lemon tea, so the one you just bought must be cold lemon tea from outside." Conan also added resentfully at this time.

After all, although he had just been reasoning and piecing together evidence, but...

Seeing that Shiraishi has "no evidence to solve the case", Conan has no chance to perform at all!
But at this time he finally got the chance, so he stepped forward and gave the murderer a finishing blow.

"It's her...how could it be her..." Takasugi was stunned at this time.

Sayuri recognized Toshihiko, but Takasugi Toshihiko had been blinded by hatred and naturally did not recognize Sayuri as the girl from that year - he also did not know that the little girl from that year was the daughter of the "devil policeman".

Just then, Megure's cell phone rang.

When Megure saw the caller ID, he quickly picked up the phone—it was from Sato, who was accompanying him to the hospital…

"Hey! Sato, how's Sayuri?" Megure asked immediately.

Matsumoto also quickly pulled over his phone...

Takasugi came back to his senses a little and looked over as well.

As everyone waited, Sato's voice came from the phone: "The doctor checked and found that there is nothing serious. There are basically no toxic or side effects. There is no need for gastric lavage for the time being. It's just that the gastric mucosal damage is quite serious and there are two fractures in the ribs. Just stay in the hospital for a while for observation..."

There was a moment of silence.

Bai Shi couldn't help but explain: "The gastric mucosal damage is not my fault. The caustic soda burns are more harmful. Physical stimulation is not the main cause..."

Regarding the bone fracture issue, Bai Shi did not "quibble". No matter how you think about it, it was definitely him who fractured it!

The next moment, everyone burst into cheers, and Matsumoto rushed over... and hugged Shiraishi.

"Thank you! Thank you... Shiraishi..." Matsumoto also knew that it would be dangerous without Shiraishi.

"Okay, okay, don't do this..." Bai Shi said with some resistance.

With Matsumoto's sturdy physique, if it were anyone else, he would give him a "bear hug", but when he hugged Shiraishi, it was already like "a young swallow throwing itself into the arms".

At this moment, the sound from the phone continued...

"Hello, hello? Inspector Megure? Are you still there? Miss Sayuri asked me to tell you something... otherwise she wouldn't rest well..." Sato's voice continued.

Megure finally came back to his senses and continued to ask: "Ah? What did you say?..."

"Well... Miss Sayuri insisted that I inform everyone that she drank the poison herself, but... when I asked her what the poison was, she couldn't tell me." Sato also heard that there must be something fishy going on.

Upon hearing this, Megure's face darkened and he said, "This..."

"Poisoning is not a minor crime. Even if she is the victim, she cannot make such a decision." Bai Shi simply shook his head, ending everyone's embarrassment.

Shiraishi was the police officer with the highest rank among all the police officers present. If he said no, it meant no, which saved everyone a lot of confusion - of course, the main confusion was how to explain to Matsumoto Sayuri.

"Sato, let Sayuri take good care of her injuries." Megure said hurriedly and hung up.

Then Shiraishi walked up to Takasugi...

"Don't worry, I will plead guilty." Takasugi also had tears in his eyes at this time.

"Okay, the criminal has been arrested. Let's prepare to send him back to the Metropolitan Police Department." Shiraishi said as he picked up Takasugi.

Although everyone was sighing in their hearts, the case was finally over and everyone turned around and came out.

Matsumoto also had a sullen face, said nothing, and turned away.

If Takasugi Toshihiko had come to him directly and asked him to apologize, resign, or even kneel down to apologize, he would not have hesitated, but...

Matsumoto could not forgive the behavior of hurting his daughter.

However, Matsumoto, who always said that "the most important thing in handling a case is to end the hatred", was unable to blame Takasugi Toshihiko for anything when facing his past mistakes - after all, it was he who allowed the hatred to continue to this day.

Because of what happened just now, no one came to handcuff Gao Shan, and besides...

Bai Shi was right next to him, how could he escape?

But just then...

Puff——Ugh——

After a muffled sound, everyone immediately turned around and saw Gao Shan...

He covered his stomach, lay on the ground and vomited violently, even vomiting bile... "Oh, why are you so careless..." Seeing this, Bai Shi hurriedly helped him up, as if he had accidentally bumped into something.

"Shiraishi..." Kakuta slapped his head anxiously - this guy is not a member of any violent organization, he is the eldest son of the Takasugi family!
If you do something shady like this, what if a lawyer spots you...

"Mr. Takasugi, are you okay? Really, Miss Sayuri vomited just now in the same way." Shiraishi said as he helped him up.

"I... am fine." Takasugi covered his stomach and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Megure quickly took him from Shiraishi.

But just then...

"Wait a minute." Matsumoto suddenly called out to Megure.

Megure was stunned when he heard that. Then he saw Matsumoto coming over. He immediately nervously blocked Takasugi behind him and said, "Um... Manager Matsumoto, let's send him back to the Metropolitan Police Department first..."

It would have been fine if no one saw it just now, but now he couldn't let Matsumoto beat this kid up again in front of everyone!
"It was indeed my fault that I didn't save your mother back then. I won't make excuses... I'm sorry!" Matsumoto said, bowing and lowering his head, "I will not evade the responsibility for this matter..."

However, Matsumoto immediately stood up and said, "But... I will never forgive you for what happened to Yuriko!"

Seeing Takasugi in tears, Ayako breathed a sigh of relief and complained to Shiraishi in a low voice: "Hei... don't be so impulsive! Although you mean well..."

Well, Takasugi cried so hard after Matsumoto apologized, not because he was beaten by Shiraishi!

Ayako also realized at this time that Shiraishi's blow just now, which made him feel so bitter, was not entirely because he was "disappointed", but also to give Takasugi Toshihiko and Matsumoto Kiyonaga a chance to "end the hatred."

Otherwise, Matsumoto would have the grudge of his daughter being hurt, and even if he knew it was his fault, he would not be able to humble himself and apologize. Although Takasugi obviously regretted after knowing that Sayuri was his childhood sweetheart, he was also unable to let go of his mother's death.

Shiraishi gave him a blow, of course, out of dissatisfaction with him poisoning the woman who loved him, but more importantly, he wanted him to feel how Matsumoto Yuriko felt, so that Superintendent Matsumoto could get over this hurdle first...

After all, the matter did start with Matsumoto Kiyonaga. If he had not "not discovered Toshihiko's mother" and had not rudely pushed him away when he asked for help and not listened to what he said at all, none of this would have happened.

As Shiraishi said before, whether from the perspective of police ethics or from a purely legal basis, Matsumoto, as the pursuing party, had an obligation to rescue and was not a "mere passerby" who could be ignored or not.

Even Shiraishi was a little puzzled. How could Matsumoto, who had just been transferred to the Metropolitan Police Department at that time, be promoted after making such a big mistake?
Seeing that Takasugi had been taken away, Matsumoto did not follow him back to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Others didn't dare to approach him to talk, only Bai Shi followed him to the side of the road...

"Thank you, sorry... for making a fool of yourself." Matsumoto thanked Shiraishi again.

It was not only because of Shiraishi's previous first aid, but also because he had roughly figured out why Shiraishi was so reckless just now.

Seeing that there was no one else around, Shiraishi asked directly, "Inspector Matsumoto... is there someone above you?"

Matsumoto:……

Matsumoto reacted for a moment before he understood what he was talking about, and said with a dark face: "Actually... I couldn't find the family afterwards, and I heard that... it was a single-parent family. After the mother died, the child was sent to an orphanage. After that, I submitted my resignation to the General Office.

"However, after investigating the incident, Director Bai Ma, who was the inspector of the police department at the time, only gave me a warning and made a suggestion to the then criminal minister to reject my resignation. He kept me on the front line as atonement..."

"Ah, so you are Director Bai Ma's man." Bai Shi understood.

Matsumoto:……

Matsumoto really wanted to tell him that he and Director Hakuba were innocent, but... when he thought about it, it might not be convincing. After all, it was incredible enough that he could be promoted to superintendent.

Matsumoto certainly didn't think that he had done anything to form a gang, and he believed that he had worked diligently as a criminal police officer and had made outstanding contributions over the past 20 years, so he deserved the promotion, but...

If Director Bai Ma had not protected him, he would have had to go to the lost and found office even if he did not submit his resignation himself, and the Minister of Criminal Affairs would definitely not have kept him.

In terms of degree, his mistake is much more serious than Kogoro Mori's!
If the deceased was not a single mother with few family members, I'm afraid this matter would not be resolved.

Even if Bai Shi believed that he really didn't see anyone being hit at that time, but...how much proof can it be that he said he didn't see anything?

"Remember, Inspector Matsumoto, you owe me a favor this time." Shiraishi said specifically.

Matsumoto looked at him in surprise - was there any need to say this?

"So... don't give that bastard Ninomiya an easy life in the future! If you let him be promoted to the head of the Investigation Section 1, I will not forgive you." Shiraishi vowed.

Matsumoto:……

That’s right, Shiraishi still remembers that bastard Ninomiya and the “big mouth” incident before!

Ninomiya and Matsumoto actually have the "same position", both are "management officers" of the First Investigation Division, but because the current head of the First Investigation Division appointed him as his deputy, Ninomiya is the "executive officer" among the "management officers".

The Chief of Investigation Section 1 can be said to be the "pinnacle of frontline police officers." Since it is stipulated that he can only be appointed from frontline police officers, it is a rare "Superintendent" position that is not related to the "professional group."

And because of this, most of them are promoted from within the Investigation Division, unlike other "Superintendent" positions, where most of them are parachuted in...

The current Chief of Investigation Section 1 is about to retire. Matsumoto and Ninomiya are both strong candidates. The former is strong in ability, while the latter is strong in connections.

Matsumoto didn't say anything at this time. He also understood... Shiraishi said this because he saw that he wanted to resign again.

"Ah!" Bai Shi suddenly exclaimed.

"Huh?" Matsumoto looked over in confusion.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Shiraishi looked at Matsumoto's face and uttered "ah" three times in a row.

"What are you doing?" Matsumoto was puzzled.

"It's nothing, Inspector Matsumoto. There are many things in this world that require your concern. You must be strong." Shiraishi suddenly said without any context.

Matsumoto:……

"Don't worry, I won't resign!" Matsumoto said firmly at this time.

only……

What Bai Shi was thinking about at this time was no longer the question of whether he should resign or not!

Rather, it was Matsumoto’s unhappy face just now that gave Shiraishi a flash of inspiration, and a picture “loaded” in his mind.

Shiraishi's [memory] can basically ensure that he will not forget anything in this life - except when he was a child and his brain was not fully developed, so it is impossible to expect him to remember who abandoned him.

The other thing is...

The memories of the "previous life" are very vague and cannot be recalled using [memory]. Shiraishi estimates that it is probably because "the brain has been changed"!
The memories stored in the brain can be retrieved by [memory], but the things of the previous life exist in a way that Bai Shi cannot understand.

But just now, Shiraishi suddenly recalled a picture under a strong sense of déjà vu - a picture from "Detective Conan".

To be precise, it's the footage about this case!
Because the impression was not that deep, he had never remembered the crime process, the murderer, or even this episode. But at this moment, Shiraishi suddenly remembered the "ending easter egg" of this episode.

It seemed that it said at the end that a few years later, Matsumoto Yuriko still married Takasugi Toshihiko, and at the end, a wedding photo was put - in addition to the happily smiling newlyweds, there was also... Matsumoto Kiyonaga himself, with an unhappy look on his face!
This scene later became ironclad evidence that Matsumoto was not an undercover agent of the Black Organization.

It is very simple to infer that the official timeline of "Detective Conan" is very short, less than half a year in total, and it is estimated that it will not take more than a year to the finale. Anyone who still attends the daughter's wedding "several years later" will definitely not be a villain...

Therefore, this scene is more "popular" than the entire episode. Whenever Matsumoto is suspected of being a member of the Black Organization, this "wedding photo after N years" will be released, which is the evidence of his "Iron Red Side".

Shiraishi also remembered this and comforted Matsumoto.

only……

Now looking at Shiraishi's sympathetic eyes, Matsumoto just felt confused!
……

However, Bai Shi did not remind him now. Firstly, there was no basis for it, and secondly... there was no need for it.

It was just in the car that Shiraishi and Ayako talked about this.

"Huh? It shouldn't be... um... but we really can't say for sure." After hearing Shiraishi's "guess", Ayako also hesitated.

"It would be nice if they could really still be together. I just don't know what expression Inspector Matsumoto will have then, hahaha..." Shiraishi started laughing as he thought about it - this was the laughter of a man who just wanted to have fun.

"The Takasugi Group must be in chaos right now... Fortunately, Takasugi Toshihiko won't pursue your case." Ayako complained at this time.

It would be fine if Shiraishi really couldn't help but want to hit someone, but Ayako could find a way to deal with the Takasugi family.

However, Ayako knew that Shiraishi was complaining mostly out of a desire to "help others".

But it was too risky. Fortunately, Takasugi Toshihiko seemed to have sensed Shiraishi's feelings.

"By the way, are there any other heirs to the Takasugi family?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

"At the group level, there are definitely some, but President Takasugi himself has no other successors." Ayako said as a matter of course.

Bai Shi also thinks so, otherwise... there would be no point in adopting!
Chairman Takasugi certainly has only this one son, but the Takasugi Group also has other shareholders. If something like this happens, power may fall into the hands of others.

"President Takasugi is not old yet, so it's hard to say." Ayako had been paying attention to this aspect since the beginning of the incident.

If Chairman Takasugi is as old as Chairman Yamashiro, I am afraid that there will be a change in the top power of the Takasugi Group. However, Chairman Takasugi is still in his prime, and others may not have a chance...

(End of this chapter)