Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 329: Transparent World, but Limited Surveillance

After confirming that the murder weapon was a new device outside the brain, it was basically certain that the murderer was an "insider" in the hospital.

Of course, there was a reason why the three doctors were called in for questioning individually.

Among them, Shirai was called over after Mori reminded Megure - this person was the "murderer" chosen by Eto before!
Not to mention, Shirai also had the conditions to commit the four "murders" that Mori had seen in the middle of the night before - he could control the time when Mori woke up every night by taking medicine.

Of course, these are not evidence, but after Maori reminded Megure, Megure would certainly call him in for questioning...

At this point in time, regardless of the evidence, Shirai is the most suspicious.

Of the two young doctors, Goto Megumi is here because Eto harassed her before, so she must hate the victim, Dr. Eto.

The reason why Wakui Masakazu was called in, not only because he was Goto Megumi's fiancé and must have a grudge against Eto, but also because of the testimony given by Hara Mamoru before - he did not see anyone coming out of the crime scene, but when he was rushing to the 17th floor with the patient, he bumped into Wakui in the elevator.

In other words, Wakui was indeed on the 17th floor at the time of the incident!
In contrast, the reason why Karasuma was also questioned was only because he was the "chairman of the board". He was in charge of the administrative work of the hospital, so his cooperation was needed. It seemed that he had nothing to do with the case.

When Megure heard Karasuma say that the other three people could get the murder weapon, he immediately realized that those three... needed to be interrogated again!
"Inspector Megure, it seemed that Doctor Goto wanted to say something, but he didn't say it..." Takagi reminded Megure in a low voice.

Megure rolled his eyes at him and said, "Of course I know that... So after our conversation, I gave everyone business cards and told them that they could contact me at any time if they had any questions."

Megure also noticed Goto's look at that time, but as an old detective, Megure knew that Goto's reaction at that time was definitely not the state that he would answer if he asked a few more questions, so he chose to hand over his business card and give a hint...

As luck would have it, at this moment Megure's cell phone rang.

"Hello, I'm Megure... Doctor Goto? Hmm... OK... Then 6pm..."

After Megure put down the phone, he said majestically in front of Takagi: "Sure enough, Dr. Goto does know some clues, but it was difficult to say anything under the circumstances at that time, so he asked me to talk after get off work."

Megure said in a tone of "Just learn it, kid"...

Although Gao Mu was not very smart, he knew to say, "As expected of Inspector Megure."

However, Shiraishi still looked like he was thinking. Seeing this, Megure knew what he was thinking and said, "First find the suspect, then find a way to ask him how he did it."

Megure guessed that Shiraishi was still thinking about the "invisible man".

"I hope he's not really an invisible man." Bai Shi made a cold joke.

Hearing this, Gao Mu said seriously: "That's right, Officer Shiraishi, the 'invisible man' must be a trick of the criminal! If there really is a 'invisible man', how could it be used only to kill people?"

Gao Mu is not very courageous. Seeing a "ghost" or something like that, he was really a little scared. At this time, he was also encouraging himself, but...

"Huh? What else can it be used for?" Sato happened to pass by and heard it, and asked curiously.

"Um...what I mean is, then it won't just be killing one person, right? Haha...ha..." Takagi said embarrassedly.

Thinking about the materials of some strange films, Takagi felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

Megure rolled his eyes at Takagi and was about to organize another search, but at this moment, Karasuma shouted, "What?"

"Huh? What happened?" Megure looked at Karasuma who was answering the phone on the side, and had a bad feeling in his heart.

Upon hearing this, Karasuma quickly said to Megure, "Inspector Megure, it's bad... Doctor Goto has also been attacked! He's not far from the crime scene!"

"What? Damn it... notify the police on the scene to seal off the area and tell people around not to leave!" Megure immediately gave the order.

Shiraishi immediately started running at this moment - when he heard that Goto was about to get off work, and then talked to Megure about the "clue", Shiraishi already felt something was wrong!
Don’t these people read crime novels or watch crime TV dramas?

Don’t you know this is a big flag?
Just now, in order to check out the new equipment, Shiraishi and others were in the equipment room of the old inpatient department. At this time, Shiraishi hurried back to the outpatient building - Chairman Karasuma also said that the place where Goto was attacked was near the crime scene.

When Shiraishi arrived, Goto had already been carried away.

If it is a corpse, of course we have to keep it and wait for evidence, but because the person is not dead yet, rescue should be the first priority!

Fortunately, I was in the hospital and received treatment immediately...

Even Megure and others who were taking the elevator were one step behind Shiraishi.

"Brother Shiraishi... huh huh... what's going on?" Even though Megure took the elevator to go upstairs, he was still panting with exhaustion.

The place where Goto was attacked was in the stairwell. In a high-rise hospital building like this, there are usually not many people in the stairwell.

At this time, a pool of blood can be seen on the ramp between the 17th and 16th floors...

"When someone heard the noise and came over, they saw Dr. Goto lying here with blood on his head... The person has been carried away for rescue. I asked the first eyewitness, who was lying on the ground with his stomach down. There were severe scratches on the stairs above. It is very likely that he was attacked from behind and then fell down the stairs and was injured. The specific extent of his injuries depends on the rescue situation." Shiraishi said while looking at the scene.

"The scene was cordoned off in a timely manner. Although there is no surveillance here, the surveillance in the corridor can see the staircase door. Moreover, the door on this side of the staircase is usually locked, and there are registered people on each floor." Shiraishi made an extra mention.

(To prevent arguments: I didn’t design far-fetched conditions for the sake of the case. The hospital where Xiaodong was born was like this. The doors of each staircase leading to the corridor were guarded and locked, because the elevators were divided into single and double floors. One time, I took the double-deck staircase to the single floor, planning to go up one more floor and then walk down, but I found that I was not allowed to enter from the staircase. The gatekeeper told me that it was useless to open the door for me to go in, and no one opened the door on the next floor, so they locked me in the stairs... In the end, I had to sit back on the first floor and take the single-deck staircase again. Although I don’t know why it is like this, some hospitals are like this.)
Because there were many patrol officers at the murder scene nearby, they immediately blocked the stairs...

Megure heard what Shiraishi meant and immediately said, "The damn murderer actually attacked the witness... Brother Takagi, go get someone to check the surveillance immediately to see who was in the stairwell on this floor when the crime happened! If you can't find them... check the surveillance cameras on the surrounding floors!"

Since the blockade was carried out in time and there are surveillance cameras, it should be easy to identify the murderer, at least to a certain area...

"Yes!" Takagi agreed immediately.

What followed was a long process of "checking surveillance footage" - although this is one of the things the police are best at, there were surveillance cameras only in the corridors, and the 17th floor was out of service due to a murder, so there was no one on duty at the staircase, so the workload was huge.

Mainly, it’s bigger than expected!

Because no one was found after the first check, we had to expand the search range to include elevators on other floors.

Bai Shi was ready to help, but...

Gollum-

Ayako came over at this time and let Shiraishi listen to the sound of her stomach growling - it was obvious that she had not had time to eat anything before. After meeting Shiraishi, she was immediately taken back to the hospital.

"Ah! Sorry... I'm fine." Ayako looked at Shiraishi with burning eyes.

Although the sound was not loud, she knew that Bai Shi must have heard it.

So Shiraishi said to Megure, "Inspector Megure, there is nothing for me to do here, so I will go eat something nearby."

"I'm really sorry to have to trouble you to come here again. Just leave this to us." Upon hearing this, Megure quickly said that Shiraishi had nothing to do with him and even sent him to the elevator.

After Shiraishi and Ayako were alone in the elevator, Ayako reminded him, "Kuro, you are too enthusiastic. This is not Beika Town, and the case has nothing to do with us... The degree of help also depends on the degree. I believe that Inspector Megure can solve the case independently."

That’s right, Ayako’s stomach growled just now, and it was Shiraishi who heard it on purpose.

After Shiraishi returned to the hospital, Ayako did not disturb him. She just went to ask Daimon, who was free, if there was anything he should pay attention to regarding Shiraishi's previous injuries.

However, seeing that the case could not be solved for the time being and Shiraishi was still involved, Ayako couldn't help but remind him.

If this was Beika Town, it would be normal for Shiraishi to use the power of the Beika Police Department to solve the case on his own. Even if he was not in Beika Town, it would be normal for him to provide assistance if he happened to meet an acquaintance, but...

The degree of “assistance” also depends on the degree!

People will of course be grateful for ordinary help and providing clues, but there is also a saying that "too much is as bad as too little". After all, Shiraishi is also a police officer, and is different from detectives outside the police system. Even if Inspector Megure has no other ideas, there is no guarantee that others will not have different opinions.

"Well, Inspector Megure, of course there's no problem. Let's find a place to eat." Shiraishi also understood Ayako's concerns.

Apart from the problem of "too much is as bad as too little", there is also a more direct influencing factor - if it was in the Beihua Office, everyone would have been used to it, and the people in Souyi were very familiar with Bai Shihe, but...

The on-site police officers at Fuji Police Station are not familiar with Shiraishi's style!

Because a high-ranking police officer with a good reputation was here, they were too nervous and could not perform to their full potential.

Of course, the bottom line is that Shiraishi is not too concerned now because the murder has already happened. When he first learned about Kogoro Mori's "hallucination", Shiraishi did not shy away from checking the scene, and even made things easy for himself by asking the security department to help him, completely ignoring the thoughts of the Fuji Police Department.

Because at that time, Shiraishi was thinking that there was a high possibility that a murder was about to happen, and maybe he could stop it...

But now... everyone is dead.

All that remained was the matter of solving the case. The case had nothing to do with Shiraishi and was not in his jurisdiction, so naturally he was less concerned about it.

"It's not that I don't want you to mind your own business, but you, Xiao Hei, don't have to do the ordinary police investigation work. Since it's not the job of the Beihua Agency, if you want to help, just do things that others can't do!" Ayako was afraid that Shiraishi would think too much, so she covered her face.

"Well... let's go to this restaurant. Although it's not big, I heard from Doctor Daimon that the food tastes good." Shiraishi said, and took Ayako to a small Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was not big, and the layout was a bit cramped, especially after Shiraishi came in. There was only one aisle, and after Shiraishi came in, it became difficult to enter and exit.

Fortunately, it was already past three in the afternoon, lunch had passed and dinner had not yet arrived, and there were no other customers in the restaurant.

Looking at the classic set meal on the menu - fried dumplings, ramen and rice, Shiraishi decisively ordered five servings, then handed the menu to Ayako and said, "Take a look at the stir-fried dishes, order more."

The waiter looked at it and didn't say much.

Under normal circumstances, this amount would be too wasteful, but... looking at Shiraishi's physique, there wouldn't seem to be anything wrong!
After ordering the food, Bai Shi faintly heard Chinese voices coming from the kitchen, and the chef thought it was a group meal!

……

Normally, I feel that this way of eating carbs with carbs is stupid, but now Shiraishi is hungry and wants to quickly replenish calories, so...

Shiraishi ate five bowls of ramen and five plates of fried dumplings in one breath, followed by five bowls of rice, and finished all the stir-fried dishes that Ayako ordered.

After eating until he was about 80% full, Bai Shi went to the counter inside to pay the bill, and just in time he saw that there was also a surveillance camera here...

The proportion of hotels with surveillance cameras installed in their lobbies is not very high, especially in small restaurants like this, but it does not mean that the installation of surveillance cameras is prohibited.

This Chinese restaurant is obviously run by a Chinese, and they are also the ones who are willing to install surveillance cameras. Just when he was paying, Bai Shi caught a glimpse of the surveillance screen.

"Huh?" Shiraishi glanced over and found that Ayako was not there.

The entire hotel lobby is a very long rectangle, with the counter at the innermost part and the surveillance camera on top of the counter, facing the door. Shiraishi and Ayako are near the counter. Logically, the surveillance camera should be able to scan all positions, but because the angle is slightly off, Ayako, who is near the front, is not in the picture...

Shiraishi:……

"Boss, you can't see this table through the surveillance." Bai Shi reminded in a strange tone.

"Hmm? Oh, it's a little off. When you sit down, you can see it...hahaha." The boss teased Shiraishi.

After collecting the money, the boss took a broomstick and fiddled with the monitor to make it more aligned...

Shiraishi:……

"What's wrong?" Ayako couldn't help but ask when she saw Shiraishi was in a daze.

"I really was...thinking too complicated and didn't realize it." Bai Shi said helplessly.

"Hmm?" Ayako looked at Shiraishi in surprise, and then asked, "Then... shall we go back?"

Although Shiraishi's words were not clear, Ayako could still hear that he had figured something out!
Since Shiraishi has already thought of something, Ayako certainly won't let him keep it a secret.

Bai Shi nodded when he heard this.

Then the two of them returned to the scene at the hospital and saw Megure talking to Daimon. Daimon's expression was very serious and he shook his head seriously, as if he rejected Megure's request.

Shiraishi came over and asked, "Dr. Daimon, what's wrong? How's Dr. Goto?"

Before Shiraishi left for dinner, he knew that Daimon was pulled over to "put out the fire" and presided over Goto's rescue operation - emergency treatment for trauma, which was also Daimon's specialty.

Upon hearing this, Megure said helplessly: "Doctor Goto is no longer in danger of death, but...that...Zuo Wei something..." Megure said and looked towards the door.

Daimon then explained to Shiraishi: "Although Dr. Goto is out of danger, he has suffered a large area of ​​head trauma, especially severe damage around the Wernicke's area in the left brain, so... you understand, right?" Daimon showed the X-ray to Shiraishi.

Indeed, even a layman can see that the left front part of the brain appears "brighter" than other parts, which is a sign of damage.

"The Wernicke's area in the left brain... In other words, Dr. Goto has lost his ability to speak? Can it be recovered?" Shiraishi also studied "Health Medicine" and is familiar with the divisions of the brain.

The reason why I chose "Health Medicine" was, on the one hand, naturally to exercise my body better, and on the other hand, because brain science is the "hardware" of psychology. It is a common case that psychological problems occur after physical trauma to the head. The two complement each other.

"Half and half." Damen said helplessly - this is not a question of whether the operation is successful or not. The emergency operation has been very successful.

"Is it not possible to communicate in writing?" Megure asked in a low voice.

Seeing Daimon staring, Bai Shi took the initiative to answer: "No, this kind of loss of language ability is not a problem with the tongue or vocal cords, but it means that the brain has lost the ability to process language. Not only is it difficult to understand what others say, but even if you want to say something, you can't organize the language to express it."

Upon hearing this, Megure understood that this would indeed make it impossible for her to testify. Not to mention that she "couldn't say it", it was also questionable whether the court would accept her testimony in this state.

Damen then added: "And now she can't remember what happened at that time."

"Eh? In other words... he lost his memory?" Megure couldn't help but ask - does that mean there's no hope at all?
"It may not be lost. Perhaps the memory is still stored somewhere. After all, humans have done very little exploration of the brain... But, in short, the memory cannot enter consciousness and cannot be expressed now." Damen said seriously.

"Has she woken up? Can I see her?" Bai Shi asked at this time.

Seeing that Daimon was about to refuse, Shiraishi emphasized: "I am also an expert in psychology. I am not meeting her as a police officer, but to help her recover."

"Then...it's just you." Daimon said, taking Shiraishi to Goto's ward.

Before leaving, he gave Memu a cautious look.

This made Megure helpless and said, "Do I look like... I am more likely to irritate the patient than Brother Shiraishi?"

Then Megure found that Ayako was still there and did not follow him, so he quickly said: "Ms. Suzuki, you are not with Brother Shiraishi..."

"No, Shiraishi asked me to help him verify something before... about the possibility that the murderer is invisible!" Ayako said proudly to Megure.

After all, it was Bai Shi who came up with it, so of course she was proud of it.

Megure also showed a look of surprise at the right time: "What? Brother Shiraishi already knows the murderer's method?"

……

At the same time, Conan also made some discoveries by comparing the surveillance footage. He was pulling Uncle Maori to the 17th floor, wanting to give him a hint and use him to tell Inspector Megure the murderer's methods.

Since Shiraishi is not here, Conan can only rely on Maori.

Because the case has not been completely solved yet, Conan didn't want to stab him right now.

"Uncle Maori, look at that surveillance...eh?" Conan was about to say something, but he saw...

At this time, Ayako was seen walking along a wall in the corridor, slowly moving inside.

When he arrived at the door of the crime scene, under the puzzled gazes of the two patrolmen, he walked straight to the middle, then turned a right angle and walked towards the door. Then he raised his hand and fiddled with the door bit by bit, without extending his arm at all...

"Hmm? That person... is Sonoko's sister, right? What is she doing?" Maori, leaning on a crutch, said in confusion.

Conan calmed down and said, "It seems... Officer Shiraishi already knows how the criminal did it!"

Conan lost his cute look and got punched on the head by Kogoro because he was too serious...

"You little brat! What do you want me to do? Didn't you say it was urgent? Why don't you just sit here and give me a sharp review of Police Shiraishi?" Maori lectured him in a bad mood.

My leg is still in plaster, is it easy for me?
"Oh... I... I want to... go to the bathroom." Conan couldn't hint to Maori anymore at this time, so he had to change the subject awkwardly.

Mao Li heard this and said with a strange look on his face: "You...how about I take you to the urology department?"

Conan: ...

……

At this time, Megure and others were watching the scene in front of the surveillance camera in surprise.

It was completely different from what the patrol officers on duty at the scene saw...

From what Megure saw on the surveillance camera, there was no one in the corridor except the patrolman, let alone Ayako. Just when he was not sure whether Ayako had entered the corridor, Megure saw... the door to the crime scene opened by itself!
Seeing this, Megure immediately called the patrol officer on the scene...

"Hello? Who of you is opening the door? What... is it Ms. Suzuki... this... um? Is this okay?"

Megure listened to the report from the patrol officer at the scene and confirmed that it was indeed Ayako who had "disappeared", but...

This invisibility is "surveillance limited"!
At the crime scene, there are two surveillance cameras in the front and back of the corridor. The one on the staircase side does not completely follow the angle of the corridor, so the wall opposite the room where the crime scene occurred cannot be seen.

Moreover, at the intersection of the surveillance cameras, which is the door to the crime scene, the two surveillance cameras are also slightly misaligned. It seems that both sliding doors on the left and right can be seen, but there is also a small invisible part in the middle...

In other words, as long as the murderer comes in along the wall and walks to the center facing the door, he will not be discovered by the surveillance camera!
Bai Shi really can't do this experiment himself, because... he is wider than the blind spot!
(End of this chapter)