Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 298 Hasegawa's Despair
October 2th, Thursday.

Early in the morning, Kenmochi took the initiative to come to the criminal police office.

Kuroki, who had been watching the surveillance video all night, saw Jianmochi coming and hurriedly said, "Jianmochi, you come so early..."

Kunikida glared at him at this time and said, "I told Kenmochi that if he found anything, he should come to the office and tell them directly."

Kuroki immediately gave a wry smile - these two tricks of his were left over from Kunikida's past tricks, so of course he couldn't hide them from Kunikida.

Kenmochi also replied in a serious tone, "Some fiber fragments were found on the outer clothing of Mineki Akira's body. After identification, it was found that the same fiber fragments were also found on the socks submitted by Detective Kuroki yesterday. However, they were not fibers from the socks themselves, but were stained with the same kind of fibers, which should have come from a brown carpet.

"And considering that the fiber fragments on the corpse's coat were on the back and buttocks, and the fiber fragments on Detective Kuroki's socks were concentrated on the soles of his feet, it is obvious that the fiber fragments on the corpse were not rubbed on by Detective Kuroki, but both were stained from the same place."

Upon hearing this, Kuroki first waved his arms in celebration, then saw Section Chief Kunikida looking at him, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "This is really... what a coincidence! Kanzaki, think about it, where did my socks touch yesterday?"

Kanzaki also reacted at this time, and suddenly said: "So you rubbed your feet on the carpet in Judge Hasegawa's house yesterday, wasn't it because you had athlete's foot?"

Kuroki: ...

My stupid brother...

Kuroki felt the section chief's gaze and shuddered.

"Detective Kuroki." Kunikida's voice came faintly.

"Yes!" Hei Mu immediately stood at attention.

Kunikida stared at him for a while before asking, "Did you find anything from the surveillance last night?"

"The surveillance camera can only see one side and didn't find anything..." Kuroki said embarrassedly.

Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that Mineki Akira died on the carpet in Hasegawa's house!

It was just the surveillance camera of the store across the street. After all, it wasn't facing Hasegawa's house, so it could only scan the sidewalk on one side...

"Is there a specific comparison and consistency?" Kunikida asked Kenmochi again for confirmation.

"No." Jian Mochi shook his head.

In other words, we can only confirm that the fibers on the corpse's clothes and those on Hei Mu's socks are from the "same type" of carpet, but we cannot confirm that they are fibers from the "same piece" of carpet!

Of course, a comparison to this extent would normally be enough to apply for a [search warrant]...

"It seems that if we want to confirm that it is the carpet from the Hasegawa family, we still need to conduct a formal search." Kunikida nodded slowly at this time.

If Mineki Akira died on the carpet in Hasegawa's house, as long as the carpet is tested, whether it is blood identification or outer clothing fiber identification, it will surely be completely confirmed!
but……

Now I have to apply to the court for a search warrant for the judge's home...

Kunikida believed that once these evidences were submitted, the Toudou High Court would most likely not dare to reject them openly, but there was a possibility of early leakage, and for the sake of "the dignity of the court", the investigation would most likely be restricted.

The most likely outcome of the so-called "restricted investigation" is to "close the case based on the existing evidence" - at present, if Mineki Akira really died in Hasegawa's house, then Hasegawa's alibi is valid!
At most, it can only prove that the murderer is most likely Mrs. Hasegawa...

Although Hasegawa will definitely be fired or at least marginalized later, the case of Akira Mineki may only be traced to this point - it is better for a judge's family member to kill someone than for the judge himself to kill someone!

Even the case of Yuya Kono may have been interfered with. According to current evidence, the murderer is undoubtedly Hiroshi Okada.

But there are still many unsolved issues in the case...

Therefore, although the [arrest warrant] and [search warrant] can be applied for by the "inspector", Kunikida still did not act stubbornly and went directly to the chief to report the situation!
……

In the office, after listening to Kunikida's case report, Shiraishi also understood the difficulty of the current situation.

"Apart from Kenmochi and the detectives involved in the investigation of the case, is there anyone else who knows the forensic results?" Shiraishi confirmed.

"No, we have asked Kenmochi to collect the judicial evidence and keep it confidential for the time being." Kunikida obviously thought the same thing as Shiraishi.

"Well, let's urge Detective Yuan again. I will go to the court in person this afternoon... Well, I will go to the prison first, and then go to the court." Bai Shi said after thinking for a while.

Considering that once a search warrant or arrest warrant is applied for, it may trigger a chain reaction, Shiraishi wants to give the "Yuya Kono case" time.

At least before that, we need to find a breakthrough.

The key to breakthrough is actually in the hands of the Beika Agency - Okada must know something, but for some reason, he has remained silent!
"Also, send someone to keep an eye on the Hasegawa family. If there is any attempt to destroy evidence, carry out emergency arrest immediately." Shiraishi said directly.

"Director..." Kunikida was still a little hesitant after hearing this.

Shiraishi ordered an emergency arrest, which did not violate the search regulations, but Shiraishi would be responsible for the arrest. If anything went wrong...

"It's okay, I can issue a formal document." Bai Shi was also determined to take care of this matter.

……

At lunch, Shiraishi ate slowly and carefully. After finishing five high-end bento boxes, he changed his clothes leisurely.

Shiraishi has already said that he will handle these things himself, but since there is still no news from the mediation office, it is better to give Yuan some time.

In the afternoon, Shiraishi first came to the "Rice Flower Prison".

Although prisons have so-called "prison guards", they are not part of the police system and their direct superior is the Ministry of Justice.

However, the warden of Beika Prison is also an old acquaintance of Shiraishi. After all, not only does the Beika Police Department send a large number of prisoners to the prison, but the criminal police also come to the prison from time to time to inquire.

Because the number and proportion of serious criminals have increased significantly, Mihua Prison is already under reconstruction.

Since Shiraishi came in person, no one bothered about the formalities, and Shiraishi soon met Kodobu, the former Chief Justice who was in detention - the man convicted of "attempted murder"!

Although his case was clear, the conviction was complicated, so the case was still under trial and he was still in detention, and had not officially begun serving his sentence.

On the contrary, in the case of Jun'ichi Nishizawa, because both the prosecution and the court wanted to end it as soon as possible, and Takashi's wife and daughter also submitted letters of understanding, so during the out-of-court meeting, Kumimoto obtained the result of "no prosecution".

After all, this was a case that neither the prosecution nor the court wanted to talk about. When I saw that the lawyer was still doing this, I almost gave up!

"Long time no see, Mr. Gaotang." Bai Shi greeted Gaotang through the glass.

"Long time no see." Gao Tang was also very calm, and his mental state was even much better than when he was just arrested.

Apparently...

The former Chief Justice did not suffer much even in prison.

"Inspector Shiraishi, are you here to ask something this time?" Gao Tang asked proactively.

"I'm not asking questions. I just came to visit Mr. Gaotang, and by the way... I have something to ask you." Bai Shi seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who arrested Gaotangbu himself, and instead acted like an old friend of Gaotangbu.

"This is really frightening... please be clear." His parents looked a bit troubled.

He didn't hate Bai Shi, but...

In this situation, Bai Shi actually came to "ask for something", and his parents had some guesses in their minds - most likely something happened in the court!

"Do you know Hasegawa Osamu of the Touto High Court?" Shiraishi asked first.

"Hasegawa... is quite conscientious." His parents didn't say anything about his ability, they just said he was diligent.

"He is suspected of two murders, one of which definitely occurred in his home, and the other one is likely related to him as well," Shiraishi said confidently.

Parents: ...

Gao Tang was silent for a while after hearing this, but he couldn't say anything - after all, didn't he, the former Supreme Court, also take the lead in shooting at others? It seemed that he lacked the position to be angry!
"I understand...you can go find Dean Fukano, he will give you the [search warrant] directly." Gao Tang said after a silence.

Shiraishi did not ask whether President Fukano would pay attention to him or listen to Kodobu. Shiraishi believed that... as a former Chief Justice, Kodobu would still have influence on the judiciary even if he was in prison!

……

When Shiraishi arrived at the Toudou High Court, many people showed expressions of either amazement or confusion when they saw this "little giant" again.

In the six months since Mika took office, Shiraishi has become much more famous in the legal community than he was in the five years before!

During the previous five years in the group, Shiraishi was mainly known in violent organizations.

In the six months since Mika took office, Shiraishi has become very famous in both the political and judicial circles.

For a while, even the violent organizations that had dealt with Shiraishi in the past felt an inexplicable sense of "proud of him" - it turned out that it was not just us, the congressmen also had similar results when they encountered people like Shiraishi Kuro...

After Hasegawa finished a trial, he couldn't help but feel nervous when he heard his colleagues talking about Shiraishi's arrival.

But soon he heard that Shiraishi was going to see Dean Fukano, and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved, thinking that it might be about something else.

After all, Hasegawa couldn't think of any reason why Dean Fukano would give convenience to the Beika Agency in his own affairs - let alone Shiraishi, even Director Hakuba's face was not enough!

……

In fact, Shiraishi did not meet Tomoaki Fukano. In the dean's office, Shiraishi was told that the dean would come later.

Just when Bai Shi was wondering if he had been fooled, the door opened...

The person who came in was not Tomoaki Fukano - although Shiraishi had never seen Tomoaki Fukano, he recognized the woman who came in. It was Maiko Ozaki, who had accompanied Miki to the Beika Police Station before and wanted to introduce a lawyer to Takado.

"Judge Ozaki?" Shiraishi was stunned when he saw this.

"Dean Fukano asked me to give this to you." Ozaki said, handing a signed [Search Warrant] to Shiraishi.

Obviously Fukano was not happy to see Shiraishi, but...his father's face was enough. "Thank you." Shiraishi thanked him after receiving it - not for issuing the [search warrant], which was what the court should do, but for helping Ozaki deliver it.

"Are you sure... that you want to search Judge Hasegawa's house? Could it be that Judge Hasegawa himself has violated the law?" Ozaki couldn't help but ask.

The [Search Warrant] was sent by Ozaki, so of course she couldn't have missed it. Although she didn't know what the case was about, but... something didn't seem right!
It is safest to have her deliver it.

Ozaki might see it, but he won't inform Hasegawa. The same may not be true for others.

"At least for now, Mrs. Hasegawa does not have a driver's license. Even if she didn't kill anyone directly, she can't get away with dumping the body." Shiraishi was not sure who the murderer was, but Mrs. Hasegawa definitely did not have the conditions to dump the body.

Ozaki:? ? ?
Is it really a murder case?

Just then, Shiraishi's cell phone rang.

"Sorry." Bai Shi said and answered a phone call first.

"Hmm? Okada is willing to speak... What? I see... In addition to the victim's blood, you also collected sweat from another person? Okay... Then you can go directly to the Toudou Court... Ask Detective Kuroki to come along, and have him bring the [search warrant] as well."

After Shiraishi hung up the phone, he found that Ozaki was looking at him nervously. Although Ozaki had a blank expression on his face for a long time, he was obviously nervous at this time.

"It seems... it is probably not as simple as assisting in disposing of the body. Will Judge Hasegawa have a trial later?" Shiraishi asked solemnly.

After a moment of silence, Ozaki replied, "There will be another trial this afternoon, which is the preliminary trial of Munakata Masaaki."

Ozaki knew that the defendant in this case was also arrested by the Beika Police Station, so there was no need to explain who Masaaki Munakata was.

"How about this, you go to the trial for him, and I will 'meet' him in court... After all, it's a preliminary trial, and I don't think he will have a chance to have a second trial. It would be very inconvenient if the judge is changed in the middle, right?" Shiraishi emphasized the meeting.

Obviously, Shiraishi has obtained important evidence again. If he refuses the "meeting", Shiraishi will probably have to directly apply for an [arrest warrant].

Ozaki:……

Ozaki said nothing and turned away, but Shiraishi knew that she must have heard it, because...

Although Ozaki looked calm, as soon as he left the office, Shiraishi heard the sound of high heels running!
……

Touto High Court, First Court, the trial scene of the Munakata Masaaki murder case...

"Prosecutor for the prosecution, attorney for the defense, are you both ready?" Hasegawa asked solemnly.

"Ready." Prosecutor Kujo nodded.

"Get ready..." Lawyer A said in an Osaka accent...

"Wait a minute!" Ozaki pushed the door open, panting.

Hasegawa: ...

Hasegawa instinctively wanted to get angry at first, but when he saw Ozaki's eyes, he seemed to guess something.

"The trial will be postponed for fifteen minutes." Hasegawa did not directly ask the reason, but announced the postponement.

Masaaki Munakata frowned as he watched - is the court in Touto so unprofessional?

But just as Hasegawa walked down from the judge's seat, passed by the defendant's seat and talked to Ozaki, he vaguely heard...

"Judge Hasegawa... let me talk to you about... the murder of Director Shiraishi... and I will take over from now..."

Munakata Masaaki:? ? ?
Look at this meaning...

I haven't made a judgment yet, and the judge is already involved in the murder case?
And it’s that Shiraishi Kuro again!

What on earth is going on with this Dongdu...

……

Shiraishi did not stay in the dean's office all the time, but made an appointment with Hasegawa in an empty conference room.

When Hasegawa rushed over, he just saw Shiraishi handing a piece of paper to the detective from the Beika Police Station.

Although I was far away and couldn't see the contents clearly, I knew from the format and the seal... it was a search warrant!
After Kuroki and Kanzaki got the [Search Warrant], they looked at Hasegawa and turned away, while Gen and Kanzaki stayed and entered the meeting room.

Hasegawa already had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still had to struggle at this time, pretending to be dissatisfied and asked: "Director Shiraishi, I still have court work to do. What do you want from me at this time?"

"Regarding the case of Yuya Kono, I would like to consult you, Judge Hasegawa, about some matters." Shiraishi said calmly.

However, seeing Shiraishi's calm smile, Hasegawa felt depressed.

The calmer Bai Shi was, the more it showed that he had obtained the key evidence, but...

Hasegawa also has a trump card!

After all, the God of Luck had been on his side before...

"Oh? This is not Mineki Akira's case this time?" Hasegawa said with pretended disdain.

"Well, the case of reporter Akira Mineki should have a result soon. After all, my agency has already gone to search for the carpet at the crime scene..." Shiraishi continued calmly.

Hasegawa: ...

Hasegawa opened his mouth but couldn't say anything. His forehead was sweating instantly. Of course he knew which carpet was at the crime scene, but...

What he said now was like he was admitting that his home was the scene of the crime!
Hasegawa also understood that the carpet was difficult to clean. He originally wanted to wait until the storm died down before getting rid of it. Unexpectedly... the Beika Police Department actually applied for a [Search Warrant], and... it was so smooth?

"Let's not talk about the case of reporter Ming Muming for now. After all, you were in court that day." Shiraishi skipped the topic and at the same time...

Shiraishi gestured to Yuan.

Seeing this, Yuan took out an evidence bag, which contained a patterned handkerchief...

"Mr. Hasegawa, do you recognize this?" Yuan asked directly.

"Huh? Of course I don't know him! Are you trying to say it's mine... Hehe... You can ask around, I only have white handkerchiefs..." Hasegawa said after he looked away.

"Of course this is not your handkerchief. The owner of the handkerchief died ten years ago." Yuan said as a matter of course.

"Then you ask..."

Hasegawa just showed his impatience when he was interrupted by Yuan: "However, this handkerchief was originally enshrined in front of the shrine of [Okada Shokudo] together with his owner's kitchen knife, but three days ago, these two items were stolen."

Hasegawa remained silent, with a look of impatience on his face, as if to say, "It's none of my business."

"Have you ever been to Okada Shokudo?" Yuan asked directly.

"No, I don't know him!" Hasegawa said decisively.

"Eh? I see... That's a bit strange. Mr. Okada usually puts the key to the back door under the flower pot. Since there is nothing valuable in the store, the delivery person actually knows it, so it's not a big secret. However, we found a fingerprint on the flower pot that is different from that of anyone associated with the restaurant.

"After comparison, it is the same as the fingerprint on your desk. If it is convenient, can you let me take a formal test later?" Yuan seemed to really want to believe that the fingerprint on his desk might not be his.

As for when were the fingerprints on Hasegawa's desk collected?

Then we have to ask Bai Ma Tan...

Anyway, Suzuki brought this fingerprint back directly before.

"Flower pot? Let me think...it might be..." Hasegawa's muscles trembled noticeably, but he still wanted to find an excuse.

At this moment, he quickly recalled the arguments of those cunning defendants and lawyers in the court where he presided over the case...

"Maybe someone lured you into touching the flower pot and then put it back?" Yuan reminded directly.

However, Hasegawa did not answer immediately, because the more complicated the story was, the harder it would be to justify it.

Before Hasegawa could accuse him of inducing a confession, Yuan continued, "If that's the case, we hope you can cooperate with us and do a DNA test to eliminate suspicion."

"DNA identification?" Hasegawa was stunned when he heard that.

"That's right, as mentioned before, this handkerchief, like the kitchen knife, was just offered and not used directly. But... on the handkerchief, we not only found Yuya Kanno's blood, but also... sweat that did not belong to Kanno or the owner Okada." Yuan said slowly at this time.

Sweat can also be tested for DNA!
Hasegawa: ...

Hasegawa's heart finally died!

"How... did you find this handkerchief?" Hasegawa asked in a hoarse voice.

"It was the owner of the Okada store who told us... The owner of the Okada store did go to look for the victim that day, but to his surprise, not only did Yuya Kano not lock the door, but when he pushed the door open, he saw Yuya Kano lying on the ground, stabbed to death, with his son's handkerchief lying next to him!
"At that moment, the owner of Okada shop saw his son again in a trance, and was convinced that it was his son's ghost who came back to kill him, so...

"The owner of Okada hurriedly picked up the handkerchief and left the scene. He was so distracted that he didn't even notice the kitchen knife under the handkerchief.

"And... I think at this time, Mr. Hasegawa, you should still be at the scene, but you are hiding, right?
“When the owner of Okada came in, you were also shocked, but what he did next made you feel very lucky!

"You had gone to the Okada family's small restaurant and stole a kitchen knife and handkerchief in order to frame the owner. However, you did not know that the kitchen knife and handkerchief you took from the most conspicuous place were not what the owner usually used. However, the owner actually took the handkerchief back on his own initiative, which made you feel as if you were assisted by God.

"So you didn't return the kitchen knife as planned, but stayed at the scene, waiting for us to find out who the owner of Okada was."

Yuan's hard work today was not in vain, as he finally "prried open" Boss Okada's mouth, and... he also understood Okada's strange behavior and why he remained silent!
It turns out that before this, Okada had always believed that it was his son's ghost who killed his enemy...

(End of this chapter)