Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 468 Visit
This record was saved in 2012, and it wasn't from a high-end car. It's called a dashcam, but it's actually just GPS recording.

According to the records, Shiroshi did go to Hulu Lake on the day Dongshan went, and the police found the body based on this clue. He did not give any reasonable explanation, and when asked, he just said "going for a drive". It is indeed unlikely that he was wrongly accused.

but……

What Shiraishi cared about more was the day before!
When I was reviewing the case file, I noticed that it stated that two days had been deleted, but there was no description of the route for the previous day, which made me suspicious.

It was no surprise that it would be deleted, since most prisoners would choose to "scout" the location at this time.

However, the fact that this point was not mentioned during the subsequent search made Shiraishi suspicious. At this point, Shiraishi was completely certain that Higashiyama had not gone to Lake Hulu the day before, but had instead been circling around the Beika Forest...

Thinking of the "unused rope and shovel," Shiraishi made a deduction in his mind!

"Due to some reason, you didn't go to the planned Mihua Forest, but instead went to Hulu Lake on a whim? Is there any evidence?" After listening to Baishi's analysis, Yujian asked directly.

Shiraishi shook his head and said, "This is just an analysis..."

Without allowing himself to question the sword, Shiraishi continued, "However, I can basically guess why he didn't go to Mika Forest that day."

"Why?" Yu Jian hurriedly asked.

"In April 2012... the owner of Manman Beef Bowl Restaurant disappeared. At the time, I was also at the search headquarters. Based on the traces at the scene, I suspected that she was abducted by members of a violent organization, and that she was subsequently silenced and her body dumped in Beika Forest..."

"On the 4th, we began a thorough search of Mihana Forest. I remember that for more than half a month, I and many police officers spent almost every night in Mihana Forest, eating and sleeping in the open."

"If the murderer was scouting the area on the 3rd, Mika Forest would indeed be a good choice, as there aren't many people there at night. However... starting from the day the incident occurred on the 4th, Mika Forest has been staffed with a large number of police officers day and night!"

Shiraishi had vaguely recognized this date when he first saw it...

Mihua Forest is one of the most popular places for dumping corpses in Mihua.

Shiraishi also recalled that when the investigation headquarters was disbanded, Inspector Matsumoto's reason was that "too many police resources were wasted in Beika Forest" and the search couldn't continue indefinitely—and hadn't that been too much of a waste? They needed a large number of people to go to Hulu Lake for the search soon…

It seems that a large number of patrol officers were transferred to Hulu Lake afterward. However, Shiraishi, who was the head of the police unit, did not follow up on the case in Higashiyama at the time, so he naturally had no impression of it.

"Mihana Forest..." This was the first time Yujian had heard about Mihana Forest.

Hearing Shiraishi say this, Mitsurugi also began to believe the speculation about "scouting" and temporarily changing the location of the body disposal.

Yu Jian then checked the GPS records again...

On the evening of April 4th, it was discovered that Dongshan was initially heading towards Mihua Forest, but when he was almost there, he turned towards Hulu Lake.

In other words, it's very likely that Higashiyama only discovered halfway through that the Mihana Forest was full of police officers!

but……

"Can we find any clues from this?" Yu Jian asked, frowning after a moment's thought.

Shiraishi looked up at him and said matter-of-factly, "It's hard to find any clues."

"Then you..." Yu Jian was about to criticize when he heard this.

Shiraishi interrupted directly, saying, "After all, it happened five years ago! If you had discovered this five years ago, we could have tried to find out if any police officers who conducted spot checks near Mihana Forest remembered anything strange."

According to GPS records, Dongshan likely encountered inspection personnel outside Mika Forest before turning around!

But now, five years later, it's practically impossible to find any clues.

Not to mention that the island nation doesn't have body cameras, even if there were any records, it wouldn't be possible to keep them for five years under these circumstances—after all, nothing useful was found!

Upon hearing Bai Shi's words, Yu Jian said with regret and apology, "Indeed, since going to Mihana Forest and then to Hulu Lake was basically on the same route, and we only stayed at Hulu Lake for a long time... I was careless and didn't realize this possibility!"

“No.” Shiraishi shook his head at this moment.

Yujian looked at Baishi with a puzzled expression, not knowing what he was denying.

“It’s not that you were ‘careless,’ nor that you lacked ability… it’s because you rejected the clue that ‘the rope and shovel were brand new,’” Shiraishi accused directly.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jian's expression froze.

“Because the items haven’t been used, this could even be considered reverse evidence, so you subconsciously ignored that point. Similarly, when looking at the GPS records, you only cared about the ‘Hulu Lake stay record’ that could be used as evidence!” Baishi directly lectured him.

Being reprimanded by the police was undoubtedly a novel experience for Yujian, and he did indeed turn pale as a result.

Shiraishi didn't say anything harsh, but... he hit the nail on the head!
When he sees evidence that is unfavorable to prosecution or conviction, Yujian ignores it directly, and sometimes he even deliberately covers it up in order to avoid being used by the defendant's lawyer.

He never thought there was anything wrong with his thoughts or actions...

If we allow those despicable criminals and cunning lawyers to nitpick over trivial matters, how many crimes will escape the punishment of the law?
Since you've acted recklessly and lied so much, don't blame me for resorting to extreme measures—this has always been the mindset that Yujian has held when fighting in court.

If you tell him things like "presumption of innocence" or "someone might be wrongly accused," he won't waver at all; instead, he'll find the person speaking ridiculous.

However, when he was told that because of his idea, the direct evidence that could have been found had been covered up, or even disappeared forever due to the passage of time, Yujian's heart was greatly shaken!

After Yujian had been blaming himself for a while and had almost recovered, Baishi finally spoke up: "Alright, there's no point in talking about this now... Let's think about what to do next."

"What else can we do?" Yu Jian asked hastily.

"Veteran detectives have a saying... solving cases relies on your feet," Bai Shi said, standing up.

No matter how much you think about it in the office, you still need to go and visit in person!
We can't just look at the case file and say there's nothing we can do, can we?
“Actually… this is my case,” Yujian said awkwardly.

Shiraishi could also see it—he was being arrogant.

Originally intending to use the case files to embarrass or mock Shiraishi, he ended up having Shiraishi discover clues he hadn't noticed before, and even being exposed by Shiraishi as having a personality flaw that prevented him from discovering them five years ago...

In this situation, if Shiraishi were to "relentlessly pursue" the case, Mitsurugi would feel embarrassed but actually better. However, at this moment, Shiraishi, as the Superintendent General and Chief of the Beika Police Station, made it seem as if he wanted to investigate the case with Mitsurugi, which immediately made Mitsurugi feel "tsundere".

After all, Yu Jian could withstand a slap in the face, but the "sweet date" that came at this time made him particularly uncomfortable.

"Hmm, then if I assist Prosecutor Mitsurugi in handling the case, wouldn't I gain a very valuable favor?" Shiraishi said deliberately. After a moment of silence, Mitsurugi retorted stubbornly, "There will be a favor, but it's useless... I never consider personal relationships when I'm working!"

Yujian knew that Shiraishi was just saying that on purpose, and probably didn't actually mean to "repay a favor" with his help.

and……

Desperate to find evidence, Mitsurugi had no choice but to accept Shiraishi's offer.

After all, only a relatively independent chief like Shiraishi could spare police resources to investigate—the prosecutor's office didn't have enough manpower to conduct actual investigations, and aside from the issue of capability, the Metropolitan Police Department might not allow them to get involved in cases without a "reinvestigation" plan.

Even if an individual is willing to cooperate and has time off, the Eighth Division only has a few detectives. The patrol officers who cooperate with them in cases are usually temporarily mobilized from the scene of the crime. They themselves have no authority to dispatch patrol officers, unlike the local police chief who has the power to control the police force!

Needless to say, even considering only personal ability, Shiraishi is far more skilled in frontline investigations than Mitsurugi...

Afterwards, Mitsurugi saw that Shiraishi had marked "out for public relations" on the schedule, and then told him to wait for him in the garage.

A moment later, Shiraishi, having changed back into his civilian clothes from his police uniform, drove off with Mitsurugi in tow...

Our first stop was Hulu Lake Park – located on the westernmost side of Beika Town, not far from Beika Forest. Five years ago, Higashiyama took a slight detour from Beika Forest to Hulu Lake, and no one found it strange!
Compared to the less developed Mihua Forest, Hulu Lake Park is much more "prosperous" from a development perspective. Around Hulu Lake, a park with various entertainment facilities, a night market, and a grand temple fair held on special occasions has been formed, attracting many visitors every day.

Shiraishi and Mitsurugi arrived on a weekday morning, and even so, there were still some people in the park.

Moreover, unlike the forest-style hiking park like Mihua Forest, Hulu Lake Park has a plaza built in front of it, and a walking path has also been built along Hulu Lake...

From the perspective of disposing of corpses, this place is really not as convenient as Mihara Forest.

Even though it can be easily uncovered here, while in Mihana Forest it has to be buried, Mihana Forest is still more hidden!
"It rained on the night of April 4, 2012. That must be why the murderer came here to dump the body and wasn't discovered," Bai Shi said vividly.

That day was also the first day that Shiraishi began searching for the Mihana Forest.

The search operation was immediately disrupted by heavy rain, casting a shadow over the work. After all, rain makes footprints harder to identify and greatly limits the capabilities of police dogs!
At that moment, Shiraishi deliberately heightened his sense of smell, making him comparable to a top-tier police dog, and ignored the effects of the heavy rain...

But we still couldn't smell the body!
Of course, Shiraishi now knows—it's impossible to find him; the person wasn't dead at all.

Bai Shi then followed the route recorded by the GPS and arrived at the shore of Hulu Lake...

“Five years ago, you could drive right in on this road, but now it’s a pedestrian walkway,” Shiraishi remarked after looking back.

“Yes, five years ago, Higashiyama could drive directly to the lake.” Yujian also believed that this was the reason why Higashiyama suddenly thought of coming here to dispose of the body.

It was nighttime, and it was raining heavily, so we drove straight to the lake...

Indeed, it's a suitable place to dispose of a body!

Looking at the shimmering waters and boats bobbing on the surface of Hulu Lake, Bai Shi couldn't tell that a young girl had once drowned here.

[Attorney Ayasato, is there a way to summon the soul of that Nagumo Haruka?] Shiraishi naturally thought of the "simplest way".

Although ghost stories cannot be used as testimony, directly questioning Nagumo Haruka would at least allow us to know the scene of the crime and potentially uncover previously undiscovered clues. Following these clues might lead us to decisive evidence.

but……

"No, I won't use my medium's abilities to investigate cases, and I suggest... you shouldn't think or do that either." Aya appeared next to Shiraishi at that moment.

Of course, apart from Shiraishi, even Mitsurugi, who was right next to her, couldn't see her.

[Is it because of the backlash?] Shiraishi also discovered that Ayari was very resistant to using psychic abilities to solve cases.

"Part of the reason is the backlash, but more importantly, psychic abilities can be misleading. The murderer might lie, the witness might lie, and the victim... might also lie," Ayato emphasized seriously.

Seeing that Ayari was so determined, Shiraishi had no choice but to give up the idea.

Although Shiraishi felt that even if the victim might lie, having one more testimony was better than not asking at all, he thought that the backlash from doing so would probably be significant, so he didn't bring it up again.

"Are those boat rental cabins over there usually empty at night?" Shiraishi asked, looking at the wooden cabins on the distant cruise ship dock.

"There was someone, but he was just a crazy old man who couldn't provide any valid testimony." Yu Jian had also gone to ask him.

Shiraishi, skeptical, went to ask again, but...

He was indeed an old man who couldn't even remember his own name and even had hallucinations that he owned a buckwheat noodle shop.

Although Bai Shi felt that something was off about the old man, he couldn't remember anything from five years ago, so it must be true.

"Let's go to the next place."

Immediately afterwards, Shiraishi and Mitsurugi followed the route taken from Higashiyama that day and "passed by" the Beika Forest...

"I was right... He must have seen the checkpoint and realized that he couldn't go to Mika Forest." Shiraishi vaguely remembered that this was the road where the police had conducted a checkpoint inspection.

Unfortunately, Shiraishi was in the Beika Forest at the time...

If Baishi had set up a roadblock here to stop the car back then, with his special memory, he could have "looked through" his memories from five years ago to see if there were any clues about Dongshan's car!
Then Shiraishi specifically asked Deputy Chief Heikawa to find the patrol officers who had set up checkpoints here years ago for questioning—because the patrol officers outside the Beika Forest were also from the Beika Police Station.

Some of them had resigned, while some veteran patrol officers who hadn't resigned were brought in and questioned by Shiraishi about what happened back then, but unfortunately, they still got nothing out of it...

Bai Shi wasn't disappointed, after all, it wasn't his first time doing frontline work—it's normal to not get anything out of this number of visits.

"Let's go, next place," Shiraishi called out again.

"The next one?" Yu Jian was stunned. He hadn't reacted yet, so where else could there be?

“Beihua Prison,” Shiraishi said calmly.

"Don't alert him!" Yu Jian immediately reminded him—going to question Dongshan now would only make him more wary.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking for Dongshan..."

(End of this chapter)