Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 288 Criminal psychology is really profound...

"The story begins six years ago when Mr. Shotaro Munakata died in a fire..." Aoki said slowly.

"Huh? Are you talking about something that happened so long ago? Are you sure it was arson?" Machiko said impatiently.

"Mrs. Munakata, please listen to me," Aoki interrupted.

Although Machiko was still impatient, she waved her hand and told him to speak quickly.

"Thanks to Director Shiraishi, when Ms. Kitajima was drinking with him last night, he helped Ms. Kitajima remember an important thing..." Aoki said calmly.

Shiraishi glanced at him at this time - why did he emphasize that it was when he was drinking?
Although it sounded like a casual remark, Shiraishi still felt that something was odd.

"Ms. Takashima once saw Mr. Yamauchi pouring gasoline on Mr. Munakata during the fire..." Aoki avoided the director's gaze guiltily and continued.

But after hearing his words, Machiko and Takashima couldn't sit still anymore...

"How is that possible? Zhu Mei, you can't mess around..."

"Officer Aoki, what I said at the time was..."

Aoki immediately corrected him, "Of course! These are actually what Ms. Kijima saw in her dream."

When Guidao heard him say it, he stopped.

But at this time, not only Machiko looked at Aoki angrily, but his son Munakata Masaaki also said dissatisfiedly: "Drunk? In a dream? Is this how you police officers handle cases?"

"Really? Just drink with others, why are you talking nonsense?" Machiko rolled her eyes at her niece - ever since the fire, she suspected that Takashima Akemi was the "star of disaster".

"Of course, this is just a dream, but... it's not just a dream. It's because Ms. Takashima already knew that it was her uncle Yamauchi Yohei who set the fire, but she didn't say it out loud, so she has always been afraid of flames and atmospheres similar to fires." Aoki exposed this point at this time.

"No, I..." Kijima quickly tried to retort.

But at this time, Aoki said, "Ms. Takashima, this is very important. It is directly related to the death of Ms. Ohno and Yamauchi Yohei himself. In order for them to have no way to redress their grievances, please tell the truth. Please."

When Guidao heard this, he thought about his uncle's death, and even... his uncle's death was related to this, so he nodded and said, "Yes, when the fire brigade just put out the fire, I saw my uncle... quietly took something away from the fire scene and threw it away. Later I checked on the Internet... It should be used to make a simple fire-starting device."

"What? Hinata he..." Machiko looked at Akemi in disbelief.

Seeing that Zhu Mei kept her head down, she knew that this was not a lie, but she still said, "You must be mistaken! Are these police officers hinting at you saying this?"

"Why would my uncle do this? He is obviously very grateful to my father..." Masaaki Munakata also said.

The six people on the side breathed a sigh of relief - just find out who set the fire!

At the same time, Aoki continued, "Well, if you two still can't accept this fact, just listen to me... After all, Mr. Yamauchi has passed away, and we can't sue him."

"You just said this is related to Hinata's death? Could it be... someone wants to avenge my husband?" Machiko asked immediately.

"No, on the contrary, we have to continue with the murder of Ono Yuuko two years ago... We have re-examined the case and found that Ono Yuuko was hit on the head twice by two different people in different ways. Thanks to the director who saw this at a glance..."

Aoki then told them again about the case and reasoning of Mika Cape.

Shiraishi looked at Aoki with increasing suspicion, realizing that he was always emphasizing himself - even when Aoki had deduced something himself, he still had to emphasize Shiraishi.

Then Aoki made the key conclusion: "So... the four of you, including Mr. Hinata, that's five of you, your alibis are actually invalid."

"Wait, in this case, at least the next heavy blow..." The six men suddenly reacted.

"That's right. For the second heavy blow, only Mr. Yamauchi Yohei has a chance. At the same time, for the first heavy blow, only Mr. Yamauchi Yohei has no chance." Aoki nodded.

"How is that possible? My brother and Ohno are not familiar with each other at all!" Machiko immediately retorted.

Qing Mu also nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, your brother has no grudge against the victim, and he did this because he was asked to do so..."

"That's even more impossible! Is this something that can be done by just asking for a favor?" Machiko said firmly.

"Of course it's not a simple request, but... if he knew about the arson and even had evidence, it would be enough to blackmail him." Aoki said as a matter of course.

"What? You, are you saying..." Upon hearing this, Machiko looked at Kijima in disbelief.

Takashima wasn't too flustered, but he looked like he wanted to explain.

Aoki shook his head and said, "No, I didn't say it was Ms. Kishima. I think Ms. Kishima has been avoiding this matter in her heart for so long. She doesn't want to think about it at all, let alone collect evidence or use it to threaten Mr. Yamauchi."

"Then who else?" Machiko asked tremblingly.

"I think you have guessed it, Mrs. Munakata? Because your son loved taking pictures back then, so... he took pictures of a lot of things, such as Mr. Rokuninbu setting the trash can on fire, and another example... your brother set up an incendiary device outside the house!" Aoki then directly pointed out the murderer.

Upon hearing this, the six people immediately stared at their friends in disbelief.

When Masaaki Munakata heard that he was being accused, he remained calm, but still said, "How is that possible? There is no such thing."

"Really? But I reviewed your alibi for the night of the fire... It's true that you were having dinner outside with your friends, but you did leave in the middle of the meal, although that was before the fire. But... after you came back that time, you brought the camera to the pub, right?" Aoki asked.

"That's right, but that was to take a group photo for everyone." Masaaki Munakata explained calmly.

"Wait! If something was filmed before the fire...are you trying to say that just to find something to hold against Hinata, Masaaki watched his father burn to death?" Machiko asked dissatisfiedly.

"Of course it's not specifically for this, but... Mrs. Munakata should also know that the relationship between Shōtaro and Masaaki was very tense during that period." Aoki turned to look at Machiko.

"It was just a small dispute... What's wrong with a little quarrel between father and son?" Of course Machiko didn't believe it, let alone admit it.

However, the expressions of the six people standing aside changed slightly, as if they knew the reason.

"You may not know the reason, but actually... at that time, Mr. Shotaro noticed that his son had feelings for his cousin, Ms. Kijima, that went beyond cousins, and he was opposed to it. Mr. Munakata had a strict personality, and he had scolded Mr. Yamauchi many times before, and Ms. Kijima saw it." Aoki summarized the testimonies of all parties in the fire case.

The murdered Shotaro Munakata had previously scolded his brother-in-law, Yohei Yamauchi, saying that he had accomplished nothing, lived in his own home, and was like a parasite...

It is precisely because Takashima has seen similar situations many times that she feels a sense of "sympathy". Although Shotaro never said this to her when she was still in junior high school, the sensitive Takashima could still feel something, and her uncle also said it deliberately in front of her.

Therefore, Guidao had a particularly good relationship with his uncle, and after discovering his uncle's strange behavior after the incident, he did not report it.

"Hey, big chief, is this how your Dongdu police officers solve cases?" Zhengming pointed his finger impatiently at Bai Shi who was occupying the entire sofa.

Aoki stopped him and said, "And the Osaka police have also confirmed that Mr. Yamauchi had met with you frequently before he was killed, right?"

"Huh? Now you're saying that I was the one who killed my uncle?" Zhengming shrugged helplessly.

"So what did you talk about when you met?" Aoki continued to ask.

"What's wrong with us chatting about family matters? Uncle has been in a bad mood recently." Zhengming said as a matter of course.

"That's right, Mr. Yamauchi has been in a bad mood recently... Mrs. Munakata also mentioned this, and this bad mood started after he saw a certain program on Beika TV, right?" Aoki said and looked at Machiko again.

"So what?" Machiko asked back stubbornly.

"I checked the program list. During those evenings, the talk show on Beihua TV invited legal experts to talk about the recent major event... that is, our Director Shiraishi personally arrested the former Supreme Justice!" Aoki mentioned Shiraishi again.

"So what?" Machiko asked bravely - although she didn't know why, she could see that this should be related to Aoki's previous accusation.

"Everyone should have heard about the former Chief Justice Gao Tang. He had real murderous intentions, but he used a fake gun and shot people...

"So does this constitute a crime? First of all, it can be determined that this is an 'impossible crime', not an ordinary 'attempt' or 'abortion', that is, because the action cannot achieve the criminal purpose, the criminal result that the subjective intention is to achieve cannot occur...

"In the interview program, legal experts also expressed their opinions. The main point of contention was whether he was 'absolutely unacceptable' or 'relatively unacceptable'. The former was innocent, while the latter was 'attempted unacceptable' and would also be prosecuted.

"The court has not yet announced which case Mr. Gaotang falls into, but in the program, we carefully explain the difference between the two and also discuss the issue of 'not committing a crime'.

"One of the situations where it is 'not allowed to commit a crime' is when the target is not 'a natural person who can be killed'. If it is murder, then if the target is not 'a natural person who can be killed', then it is 'not allowed to commit a crime' and it is 'absolutely not allowed to commit a crime'...

"For example, if someone mistook a scarecrow for a real person, or... mistook a dead person for a living person, they would all fall into this category! In other words, if one had watched the show carefully, Yamauchi would have discovered that he was actually guilty of a 'non-acceptable crime' in the case of Mikasa. After all, after seeing Ohno's reaction after being hit, and especially after hearing that the deceased was hit twice, he should have guessed that the deceased was already dead when he struck.

"In this case, both he and Mr. Zhengming, who threatened him, are 'killed'... I think Mr. Yamauchi probably doesn't want to be threatened by you anymore, so he talked to you about this, right?"

After reading Machiko's testimony, Aoki went back and carefully checked the program list of Beika TV, and found a program that would "disturb Yamauchi Yohei's mood"! Beika TV always has such programs, and the ratings in the town are very high...

Of course, Aoki later said to Munakata Masaaki: "Of course, even Director Shiraishi has not found any solid evidence of your crime. If you want to quibble, you can leave after re-recording your statement with us today. But I'm afraid you will need to continue to cooperate with the investigation."

However, at this point, not only did the Rokuminobu look at Munakata Masaaki angrily, but Takashima also looked at him in disbelief.

"What do you mean by quibbling? Officer, are you trying to induce a confession? I think the police officers in your Dongdu are not professional at all..." Machiko said hurriedly at this time.

But after a moment of looking grim, Masaaki Munakata suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes, he is indeed the legendary Rice Flower King Kong."

Shiraishi:? ? ?
What does this have to do with the nickname "Rice Krispie King Kong"?
"Can I ask, when did you start to doubt me?" Masaaki Munakata asked Shiraishi seriously.

"Zhengming, you..." Machiko looked at her son anxiously.

However, at this time, Masaaki Munakata just stared at Shiraishi.

"Suspicious?... Well, if I have to give a time, it would be when I first saw you at your house." Bai Shi said calmly.

Seeing that Masaaki Munakata was incredulous, Shiraishi said as a matter of course: "When you opened the door, you were not surprised to see me. Instead, after seeing Inspector Otaki's officer ID, you immediately let us in...

"To be honest, I have never encountered such a calm first meeting, so I was wondering if you had seen me before and knew that I was a police officer... For example, when I was downstairs of the Orange Apartment and observing the development of the incident."

Shiraishi was not deliberately deceiving him, but he was indeed stunned for a moment at that time and realized that there was something wrong with this Munakata Masaaki!

only……

At that time, Shiraishi still didn't understand why he wanted to kill Yamauchi Yohei, and... why he wanted to kill Oono Yuuko?
Ono Yuuko should have confessed her feelings to him that day...

Even later, from "The Program of Beika TV" to "The Nightmare of Takashima Akemi", Shiraishi only understood the former. As for why he committed the crime in Beika Cape, Shiraishi was still confused.

At this time, Munakata Masaaki showed a frustrated expression: "I see... So it was exposed from the beginning?"

"Asshole, I treat you as a friend, and you actually want to frame me?" When the six people saw him admit it, they immediately stood up and pounced on him, but fortunately they were stopped by Otaki who was standing nearby.

"Calm down, calm down!" Otaki quickly advised.

Shiraishi then asked, "Mr. Munakata, can you answer me a question now? Why did you... kill Ono Yuuko?"

"That day...she confessed to me." Munakata Masaaki seemed to answer, but Shiraishi didn't understand at all.

"Did she threaten you to date her?" Bai Shi guessed.

"No, she confessed to me very clearly, and I originally liked Zhu Mei, but... at that moment, I was actually attracted to her!" said Masaaki Munakata, his tone becoming somewhat resentful.

Shiraishi:? ? ?
"You... killed Ms. Ohno who confessed her love to you because you were dissatisfied with your own feelings?" Shiraishi felt at this time that he had only learned the basics of criminal psychology.

Bai Shi would never have thought of such a reason in his lifetime...

"That's right! Because of her, I'm going to change my mind! In order to keep my heart from being broken..." Munakata Masaaki said excitedly.

"Okay, stop talking." Bai Shi really didn't want to listen anymore.

Qingmu looked at the time, took out the handcuffs and said, "February 17, 2:45, intentional homicide, arrested..."

Munakata Masaaki did not resist, but laughed: "Hahaha, I never thought that in the end... it was the person chosen by Akemi who saw through my perfect plan! Hahaha..."

Shiraishi:……

Shiraishi was not surprised by this, he just glared at Aoki speechlessly, then said, "No, I think you misunderstood. Kijima and I went drinking just to give her 'exposure therapy'."

Shiraishi discovered halfway that the old man Aoki had been giving Munakata Masaaki wrong hints!

I'm afraid that before coming to Dongdu, they had already instilled in him the idea that "Takashima Zhumei has someone she likes in Dongdu"...

This is also the reason why Masaaki Munakata finally took the initiative to admit his crime when there was insufficient evidence!
After finally hearing about his reason for murder, Shiraishi couldn't understand it, but he was able to simulate his thoughts...

Such people……

What I was thinking just now was probably something like "It's a complete conclusion if I'm arrested by someone that Akemi likes", which is a kind of middle school fatalistic thought - such "tragic protagonist plot" is something that Shiraishi can understand.

After hearing what Shiraishi said, Munakata Masaaki suddenly struggled.

Shiraishi was also confused - how come, knowing that Takashima-san didn't like me, it was too early for him to admit it?
However, a patrolman from the Beika Police Station came in and pinned down Masaaki Munakata, and also stopped Machiko Munakata who was trying to obstruct the law enforcement...

From this, Shiraishi also understood that Aoki had a purpose just now and was deliberately misleading Munakata Masaaki.

So while Shiraishi watched Aoki taking the man away, he asked Otaki beside him, "Did you already know the reason for his murder?"

If she hadn't known about it, why would she have used herself to provoke him? Most people wouldn't admit to a crime just because of a "tragic protagonist complex"...

"Hmm? Oh, I was just guessing." Otaki said embarrassedly.

Shiraishi immediately looked at Otaki in amazement. He never knew that you had the potential to be a perverted murderer...

As if he understood Shiraishi's look, Otaki quickly explained: "You don't understand since you are not from Osaka. In fact, many people in Sotenbori are very chuuniburi... Well, it seems a bit insulting to chuuniburi to say this, but it is true that we later learned that in the past two years, Munakata Masaaki has not expressed his love to Takashima Akemi, and then there were probably speculations in this regard."

Shiraishi:……

Wow, Shiraishi originally thought that Beika Town was the most special, but I didn’t expect that you all in Sotenhori also have special skills.

And Bai Shi thought carefully...

It seems like Kamurocho where I grew up is also like this!

"Criminal psychology is really profound..." Shiraishi complained in a low voice, then looked at Kijima-san worriedly.

It’s creepy to think about being liked by such a person.

However, it was discovered that while Takashima Akemi looked sad, she also had a thoughtful expression, as if... she was also thinking about something psychological - after all, she was a graduate student in psychology!
Shiraishi didn't think that the psychological state of a person like Munakata Masaaki was worthy of in-depth study. After all, it was completely unrepresentative.

This type of case is also the most difficult for the police to solve.

Unlike detectives who solve cases by tricks, the most important thing for the police is to start with the "motive"...

However, there are two types of cases where it is difficult to determine the "motive" - ​​one is that the deceased has too many enemies and there are too many people with motives to kill; the other is that, as is the case now, the murderer's motive is difficult to understand, and "pleasure criminals" are also among them.

"Takishima-san, are you okay?" Shiraishi asked with concern.

"No problem..." Takashima shook his head absentmindedly at first, then he seemed to remember something and quickly stood up and said to Shiraishi, "Thank you, Director Shiraishi!"

The case of Ono Yuuko and Yamauchi Yohei was solved, and... she finally told the story of what happened that year, and she can finally move on from this incident.

Seeing this, Bai Shi also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Director Shiraishi...will we meet again in the future?" Takashima Akemi suddenly asked.

"Eh? Of course, I will go to visit Akiyoshi Kanako...what's wrong?" Shiraishi asked seriously.

after all……

Judging from the clues Kuroki had obtained before, there seemed to be some problems with the forensic psychiatric evaluation in Professor Yamabuki's laboratory. Shiraishi suspected that Takashima might want to report the situation to him!
"Nothing...well, I mean, I will also look after Miss Akiyoshi." Takashima quickly agreed.

"That's great...I'll take you back to school."

……

Soon, the Dongdu Procuratorate also received the news.

The official inspection report may have to wait until tomorrow, but Karma Go learned at this time that the suspect has already confessed to the crime and... was arrested by the Beika Police Department!
The murderer was involved in two murders, not only two years apart, but also across Toudou and Osaka. However, since he was arrested by the Toudou police station, of course, the Toudou prosecutor's office should prosecute first...

Although Karma had a very negative opinion of Shiraishi, but... this time, just like before, he was very satisfied with the result - after all, the always proud Karma was not willing to pick up the "leftovers" of the Osaka Public Prosecutors Office.

(End of this chapter)