Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 292: An acquaintance’s alibi
Before leaving, Shiraishi asked Yamamura, "Detective Yamamura, does Inspector General have any new information?"

"Oh, right! Officer Chashi asked me to tell you that it has been confirmed that the deceased is indeed Negishi Masaki... The dental clinic records and the remaining biological evidence have been compared, and there is no possibility of a 'scapegoat'.

“As for the craftsmen who built the wooden tower, I have also thoroughly interrogated them. They are indeed innocent and they are not performing human sacrifices… However, until the ceremony began, there were people watching the wooden tower, so now I suspect there is something wrong with the wooden platform below.

"It is very likely that the corpses were transported in from the very beginning, and they were discovered only after they were burned. The wooden tower collapsed because it was hollow." Shancun then took out a small notebook and informed Bai Shi one by one.

It was a little different from what Shiraishi had imagined. It seemed that the murderer himself might not even have been to the Red Ghost Village!
This is undoubtedly more detrimental to solving the case.

"Where did the wooden platform come from?" Bai Shi asked immediately.

Shancun was still a little angry when he said this: "Can you believe it? They bought it ready-made! We are already checking the sales track, but... because they are all informal transactions, we can only see that it is from Dongdu..."

After Shancun finished speaking, he muttered, "I didn't do it myself. My grandmother said that this would anger the gods..."

Bai Shi suspects that if it was Shancun who investigated Fuzi Gao's case, he would really close the case as "a fox demon"!
At the same time, Bai Shi also thought...

Doesn’t Abe Yutaka run a building materials factory?
He should have the conditions to hide the body in here, but there is a possibility that no evidence would be left in the transaction channel. It is even possible that he did not sell it at all, but just secretly placed it in a warehouse.

……

When he arrived in front of the car, Shiraishi suddenly discovered that Ayako took two quick steps and got into the driver's seat.

"Let me drive, don't lean on the seat all the time." Ayako took the initiative to say - she was afraid that Shiraishi would get burned and sticky from leaning on the seat.

This time, for Shiraishi, the stake rolled down very quickly, so it was not considered a burn, just a slight scald...

Although Shiraishi felt that his injuries were not serious, he did not reject Ayako's kindness, so he sat in the passenger seat. The seats of the two of them had to be adjusted, with Ayako moving forward a lot and Shiraishi moving back a lot...

Shancun was not hurt by the "dog food" at this time. Instead, he sat in the back seat carelessly, muttering on the way: "Really, grandma brought me so many hot spring buns... I don't know anyone in Dongdu, Shiraishi police officer Shizheng, do you still want some?"

"No...By the way, I heard that Director Ninomiya of the Investigation Division 1 likes hot spring manju very much." Shiraishi said confidently.

"Director Ninomiya of the Investigation Division 1? Okay, I've got that." Yamamura nodded.

Ayako:……

Ayako looked helplessly at Shiraishi who was teasing a fool...

On the way, Shiraishi suddenly received a call. He took a look and found that it was the number of the Criminal Division Office in the police station.

"Hello, I'm Shiraishi... What? A witness appeared in the fire sacrifice case in Red Oni Village?" Shiraishi asked in surprise.

Originally, Shiraishi thought that it was some other case. After all, the case in the Red Oni Village had not been officially investigated at the Beika Police Station, and if there was any report to be made, it should have been made by Haidani to him privately. Who knew that Kunikida actually reported on this case at this time.

The reason was that early this morning, after the news reported the case in Gunma Prefecture, someone came to the Beika Police Station to provide clues, and it was an acquaintance - Kogoro Mori!

"According to Detective Mori, he received a commission two days ago, which was to track and protect the murdered Mr. Negishi. He was following the victim from the time Mr. Negishi left home on the 16th until twelve o'clock in the evening on the 17th." Kunikida knew that the director was paying attention to this case, and since Kogoro Mori came directly to the Beika Police Station to report the situation, he directly notified the director.

"On the 17th... Yeah, I understand." Bai Shi nodded and then asked, "Did he say who it was and why he was asked to follow them?"

"Not yet, but Detective Mori said that if it is confirmed that it is related to the case, he will tell you." Kunikida said.

For detectives, this kind of thing cannot be disclosed casually, otherwise there will be no similar business in the future.

However, Maori was a criminal policeman after all, and he has a strong sense of justice, otherwise he would not have come to provide clues immediately after seeing the news. If it is really confirmed that the case is related to the client, Maori will definitely cooperate with the police instead of concealing clues to maintain his "credibility" as a detective.

At this moment, Kunikida seemed to have heard something and whispered into the receiver: "Director, please wait a moment..."

Then Shiraishi heard some noise coming from the receiver - if Shiraishi was at the scene, he would certainly be able to hear it clearly, but now the sound received by the landline receiver was very noisy, and Shiraishi couldn't hear it clearly.

A moment later, Kunikida came back and reported, "Chief, you asked Detective Haidani to find Abe Yutaka to cooperate with the investigation, right? Haidani just asked him to return to the police station... When Detective Mori saw him, he told him that the person who asked him to follow Negishi Masaki was Abe Yutaka himself!"

Originally, Mori was unsure whether the commission he had received was related to the death of the person being stalked, so he did not immediately reveal the identity of the client. However, when he saw that Abe Yutaka was invited by the Beika Agency to cooperate with the investigation, Mori immediately revealed that he was the client.

"Oh?" Shiraishi's eyes lit up when he heard that - wouldn't this prove that Abe Yutaka secretly knew about Negishi Masaki's whereabouts? This could at least serve as indirect evidence...

"However... Abe Yutaka's alibi has also been established. Detective Mori followed Mr. Negishi until midnight on Friday according to the commission. However, Abe Yutaka left for Kyushu on Friday afternoon and just returned to Toudou. His companions testified that he had no chance to return to Toudou or go to Gunma." Kunikida said with a little hesitation.

"Friday afternoon? Friday midnight?" Bai Shi frowned, realizing that things were not simple.

It is impossible to determine the time of death of the charred corpse. We can only say that it could have been within a week...

However, if Maori had been following him until midnight on Friday, then the time of his death could only be the second half of the night plus the time when the wooden base was transported during the day.

As for hiding the body at the Red Ghost Village Fire Festival, judging from the fact that "Mutai may have brought the body with him", there is no need for Abe Yutaka to go there in person, but even so...

During the possible time of death, Abe Yutaka had been in Kyushu, so his alibi is still valid!
Could it be...

Paying a murderer?
That would be difficult!

If the murder is committed by hiring a killer, it is difficult to find strong evidence of hiring a killer unless the killer is caught.

Of course, there aren't many people who dare to hire someone to kill them. After all, for something as serious as this, the more people who know about it, the more danger they'll face. East Island doesn't have that many professional killers...

Either they have no power, or they are powerful like the Black Organization. If you dare to hire someone to kill you, it is not just a one-time payment, you will be threatened by them for the rest of your life!

No one would easily choose to hire a killer...

Shiraishi was unsure of the situation at this time, so he could only go back to the police station first.

Ayako escorted Shiraishi all the way to the police station. When they arrived at the door, Shiraishi discovered that the police department had changed a new poster, which was also cut from the news - Shiraishi opened his arms to block the collapsed fire tower behind him...

It was the busiest time of the Fire Festival, and many people were holding up their phones and cameras to take pictures. Of course, many people also took the opportunity to capture Shiraishi's "heroic appearance" at the time. Among them, this one with the most ingenious and clear composition was carefully selected and published in all major news outlets.

Because of Shiraishi's posture at the time and the blazing flames behind him, this photo also has a subtitle - Rice Flower's Flame Fist.

Shiraishi:……

"Isn't it unlucky? I'm not blocking the lava for the sun god..." Bai Shi muttered, then shook his head and didn't pay much attention to it.

Anyway, Shiraishi is used to being given nicknames!
But I have to say that the photos in the news this time have a stronger visual impact than ever before...

When Shiraishi got out of the car and walked towards the police station, the looks of the surrounding police officers were filled with awe in addition to their original respect, especially those of the female police officers, whose eyes were almost sparkling with stars.

Shancun, who was standing by, said with emotion: "As expected of Police Shiraishi, he is so popular with women!"

Ayako:……

Ayako smiled and said, "By the way, Detective Yamamura, I heard that Deputy Director Moroboshi also likes Gunma's hot spring buns very much!"

"Really? That's great. When I met Deputy Director Moroboshi before, he was very serious and I didn't dare to get close to him..." Yamamura became confident. When he saw Shiraishi was about to walk away, he quickly said, "Thank you, Ms. Suzuki. I'm going in!"

……

Shiraishi also felt that his popularity had further increased. The people who came to the lobby on the first floor to report the incident to the police or handle other matters looked at Shiraishi with trust in their eyes...

Although Shiraishi had previously taken stunning photos and even videos, but...

During the "Rice Flower Red Hair" incident, tourists did not see Shiraishi elbowing a whale shark, and it was difficult to show the scene of scaring off a bull shark - the ripples of momentum could not be seen in reality!
In the end, the photo that was used most in the news was the photo of Shiraishi giving Ujiminamoto Ayano a breath of air. It didn't look fierce but rather beautiful.

The subsequent photos and videos of "Mixed Rice Krispies" climbing the building did show Shiraishi's perseverance, but it was a distant view after all, and it was just a climb...

As for the "Borrowing Arrows from Thatched Boats" incident, there are no photos of the scene, only photos of Shiraishi covered in blood, lying on a stretcher in the hospital.

This time, the "Rice Flower Flame Fist" directly demonstrated Shiraishi's strength. He used his back to block the burning wooden stakes that were about to hit the people. It was a scene comparable to a close-up in a blockbuster movie!
At this time, Shiraishi also symbolically greeted the people before coming to the Criminal Division office.

Maori was still here at this time, but Shiraishi did not see Abe Yutaka.

"Where is Abe Yutaka?" Shiraishi saw that there was no one else in the Criminal Investigation Division except Mori, Xiaolan, and Conan who was almost stepped on. He didn't see him when he passed by the investigation room just now, so he asked directly.

"He's already left. It seems... he has some insurance claims to deal with." Although Kunikida's tone revealed a hint of helplessness, it was more of a "natural thing".

Since there was no actual evidence pointing to Abe Yutaka other than the "motive", and he even had an alibi, it was certainly impossible for Kunikida to stop him when he was about to leave.

"Did he explain why he asked Detective Mori to follow the victim?" Shiraishi frowned.

"He said that Mr. Negishi once told him that he was being followed recently... But President Negishi has always been a tough person and was unwilling to be protected. He even rejected Abe Yutaka's kindness in calling the police. That's why he chose to hire a detective and follow him secretly, hoping to find someone who was against him." Kunikida said and looked at Mori.

Mao Li also nodded and said, "Indeed, he said so when he hired me. He also said that the main purpose of tracking, in addition to not being discovered by the target, is to pay attention to whether there are people around who are hostile to the target. But... Damn it! That guy must be using me..."

Maori was very angry. Although he only tracked for three days and received a reward of 50, Maori was very happy for a while. However, after discovering that he might have become part of the murderer's plan, Maori immediately became angry.

However, no matter how angry Maori was, he would not lie - he was indeed following Negishi before midnight on Friday night, which became the main basis for determining the time of Negishi Masaki's death.

Thanks to the reduction in the estimated time of death, Abe Yutaka's alibi was established. But Mori was invited by Abe Yutaka, so this matter really looks suspicious.

"Could it be that this uncle has been bribed?" Shancun whispered at this time.

gross profit:……

"Boy! Who are you? Isn't that so rude? I, Kogoro Mori, will never make money by doing something dishonest!" Mori became annoyed when he heard this.

"Oh, by the way, this is Inspector Yamamura from Gunma." Shiraishi introduced to everyone.

"Inspector?" Maori stared at him and looked him up and down - Yamamura looked very young.

The process of Kogoro Mori becoming famous was also gradual. Now Mori is already a celebrity in Toudou. If you pay attention to "famous reasoning", you will know that he is also famous in Kanto, but... Yamamura doesn't know it yet.

When Shancun saw Maoli blowing his beard and glaring, he immediately became scared...

"Don't be angry. These are the hot spring buns made by my grandma. It's just a token of my respect." Shancun decisively took out a box and gave it to Maori.

gross profit:……

Maori also didn't understand why this detective from Gunma was so strange!
Shiraishi paused for a moment before asking, "Detective Maori took some secret photos while he was following us, right?"

Mao Li's expression became awkward when he heard this, and then he muttered, "It can't be considered a candid photo... I just sent it to Section Chief Kunikida."

"Well, here it is..." Kunikida said, opening it on his computer and showing it to Shiraishi.

Maori and Yamamura also gathered around when they saw this.

There were indeed photos, hundreds of them - after all, it was a "big project" worth half a million, and Mao Li also acted very seriously.

Just as Kunikida was flipping through the pages for Shiraishi to look through, Conan, who was standing by, quietly jumped up, propped himself up on the edge of the table with his arms, and watched along with him...

Shiraishi:……

Kunikida, Mori, and Yamamura actually looked like they didn't notice anything at this moment!
Shiraishi admitted that his body did objectively help Conan hide, but...

You guys wouldn't have missed it, right?

Is this considered a special ability?

Bai Shi ignored him for the moment and continued looking at the photos.

"Ok?"

"Ah..."

Conan just realized something was wrong and wanted to give an indirect hint, but he found that Shiraishi also made a light exclamation at the same time.

Conan turned his head and looked at Shiraishi, who had a strange expression on his face, and realized that he had discovered it too!
As expected, clues of this level cannot show that he is stronger than Shiraishi - Conan is a little unwilling, and at the same time...

Xiaolan grabbed him by the collar and carried him away!
It would be fine if you just hid it secretly, but you actually dared to make a sound?
"Really, Conan, why are you messing with your dad and Officer Shiraishi again..." Xiaolan scolded him.

Conan: ...

At the same time, Shiraishi interrupted Kunikida's movements and said, "Wait a minute, go back, go back again... start from here... start from here... look, starting from this picture, has Negishi Masaki's dominant hand changed?"

"what?"

"let me see……"

Kunikida and Mori quickly paid attention at this time.

Sure enough, from the photo of him smoking, Negishi Masaki is a normal right-handed person...

And before that, when Negishi in the photo used his hands, he was clearly still left-handed!

"This photo was taken before, before... here, this is the entrance of Suzuki Hotel, right? Mr. Mori, Negishi entered the hotel at this time, right?" Shiraishi asked.

Mao Li also recalled at this time: "Yes, because it was a high-end hotel, I didn't follow him in, I just waited outside... He didn't come out until more than three hours later."

In a hotel like this, if he followed in, he would be discovered by the waiter immediately!

Bai Shi was obviously suspicious at this time...

"Ah! Could it be... in this hotel, Negishi Masaki..." Yamamura also reacted at this time: "The left hand was injured?"

Shiraishi, Kunikida, Mori:...

"Well, that's right, but there is another possibility, which is to change people from here on." Bai Shi said speechlessly.

"Huh? Change of person? I didn't notice that at all!" Shancun said in surprise.

Several detectives in the office who were still busy writing reports looked over here at this time. The deputy inspector of the First Investigation Division of the Gunma Prefectural Police, is this the level? I feel like I can become an inspector after the transfer...

At this time, the Beika Police Department did not invest much effort in this case. After all, it did not happen in Beika Town. If Mori had not come here to report the situation, the Beika Police Department might not have launched an investigation at all. Therefore, even among the detectives in the office, few paid attention to this case.

"Change people..." Mao Li's face turned pale at this time.

Because Negishi was dressed in a stand-up collar coat and sunglasses from head to toe. After all, seeing the way he went to the hotel, Maori guessed that he was probably going to meet his lover in private and definitely didn't want to be discovered, so Maori didn't notice it.

Kunikida cut a few more photos at this time, and then said in embarrassment: "But these photos..."

Judging from the photos alone, it seems that the claim of "changing people" cannot be fully supported. After all, the use of left and right hands is different, which can only be regarded as indirect evidence, and the pixels of Mao Li's crappy mobile phone are also limited.

Conan was also thinking about whether he should specially invite Abe Feng to come out to trick him...

Shancun suddenly had an idea and said, "The hotel should have records of booking and checking out, right?"

"No, in this situation, I'm afraid..." Maori knew that Negishi was probably going to meet his lover in private. In this case, it was most likely that he did not go to book a room by himself, but his lover arrived first, and Negishi went directly to the corresponding room - Maori had seen this situation many times.

The Suzuki Hotel is so big, it’s not easy to find out who his lover is among the people staying there at that time!

However, Shiraishi took over the mouse and saved the photos one by one. Because he flipped through the photos too quickly, Kunikida and Mori didn't understand at first. After a while, Kunikida realized that all the photos saved by Director Shiraishi were...

"In these photos, Negishi's hands touched the external environment... Detective Mori, please record the approximate locations of these photos. Section Chief Kunikida will then ask the Regional Division to cooperate with you. Immediately... all fingerprints must be removed from these places within today!" Shiraishi gave the official order at this time.

That’s right, these saved photos are all of tracking the target’s hands, and situations where they touch tables and chairs, telephone poles, shop counters... and the like. There are about twenty photos in total, both left-handed and right-handed!
Recording all these fingerprints may not yield any results, and if there are only a few people, it will take a lot of time.

So Shiraishi specifically asked the Regional Division to cooperate - the Regional Division is responsible for commanding the patrol police!

Only with a large number of patrol officers joining in can we record all these places in one day...

"Yes!" Kunikida responded immediately.

A few years ago, Kunikida might have thought of this method, but...

Firstly, because the publicity class lasted too long, Kunikida's investigative thinking became a little dull, and secondly, because of his psychological state, his abilities in all aspects were not fully utilized.

In particular, they will instinctively resist illegal searches, even those that are just borderline illegal.

Conan, who was standing by, couldn't help but froze when he heard this.

Because of the detective's thinking inertia, he had never thought of this method before!
After all, he couldn't record so many fingerprints even if he worked himself to death, and he might not be able to record them all now. If he delayed for another two days, all the fingerprints would probably be destroyed - fingerprints themselves can last for a long time, but these places are often touched by people.

In this case, if only one or two fingerprints of the target are recorded, it is meaningless and can be completely explained by coincidence. Only when multiple fingerprints are recorded and can be verified with each other, it will have the effect of evidence!

As a detective, although I would also think of using fingerprints, more often I would use fingerprints that have been found or may be found somewhere as evidence to force the criminal to confess...

But Shiraishi has typical police thinking!

No evidence?

Then just search all possible places!
(End of this chapter)