Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 481 The Origin of the Impact

When Yuu Amagi specifically mentioned "fingerprint comparison," everyone's attention was drawn to it—if it was a missing person or a criminal, they could be matched in the police's fingerprint database!

Regardless of missing persons, if the person has a criminal record, then this seemingly dull-witted administrator would also be a suspect.

"Have the comparison results been released yet?" Shiraishi was also somewhat concerned, because when he was looking for clues about the body dumping case from five years ago, Shiraishi had also dealt with that administrator, and he also vaguely felt that there was something wrong with him.

"No," said Amagi Yu, giving him a "surprised?" look.

Everyone rolled their eyes upon hearing this, with Kuroki even retorting, "If there's no result, there's no need to say anything more."

“The problem is that it’s not that there are ‘no results,’ but that there are ‘no fingerprints,’” Tian Shu corrected at this point.

Upon hearing Tian Shu's explanation, everyone frowned: "Nothing was collected?"

"You could say that... but it's a bit strange that I couldn't collect anything even though I specifically asked him to get his wallet. And to be precise, it's not that there's nothing at all, but rather... it's all very blurry, the kind of thing that's impossible to identify," Tian Shu emphasized.

If Kunikida were here, he would definitely object to collecting fingerprints on "things unrelated to the case".

However, since Kunikida was not present, the detectives generally accepted this practice, only paying attention to it when it came to biometric information, that is, DNA testing.

"They're all blurry? That's quite possible..." Kuroki had already made a deduction by then.

Fingerprints can be erased.

The physical approach involves constantly grinding the fingerprint, while the chemical approach involves continuously using corrosive solutions or burning it—in short, destroying the fingerprint day after day until the fingerprint disappears.

but……

It is very strange for a person to have no fingerprints. It does not serve any purpose of "concealment" but can only evade fingerprint comparison.

Just like now, the identity of that administrator cannot be confirmed...

"But even that's not enough to get them to come over, since besides fugitives, some repeat offenders also do this," Yuan said helplessly.

Indeed, erasing one's own fingerprints is not a criminal act; it can only be described as "suspicious."

It's possible that the person is simply a repeat offender who doesn't want to be disturbed, but it's clearly illogical to interrogate them just for that reason.

If in the end they don't do anything, the Mikasa Agency will be in an awkward position.

It was precisely because neither of Yu's two discoveries seemed to have any immediate use that Narcissistic reminded him not to speak of them yet.

Shiraishi understood that the administrator was simply acting suspiciously—and this suspicion wasn't even directed at the current case, but rather at his everyday behavior.

What Shiraishi cares about more now is...

"What happened to the dead fish?" Shiraishi specifically asked.

"The specific cause is still unclear. We checked the records and found that people from the Ministry of the Environment came to collect samples and investigate at the time. They basically ruled out poisoning and harmful substances, and indeed, no more fish deaths have been found since then," Amaki reported.

Although it sounds unrelated to the case...

Even though the incident occurred before the victim's presumed time of death, Shiraishi was particularly concerned about it and even looked through the photos of the scene, seemingly trying to confirm something.

Seeing that the director was just flipping through photos without saying a word, everyone had gotten used to it—unless something unexpected happened, the director would close his eyes and ponder later.

At this point, no one was affected by Shiraishi. Seeing that the chief did not intend to speak for the time being, they continued the search of the meeting room...

"If President Kijima really did pay him a large sum of money that day, should we try investigating the case as a robbery and murder?" Kuroki made this judgment based on the testimony obtained from Gen.

“After Merri left President Kijima’s house, there was no definite record of her whereabouts… Hmm, you should investigate whether Merri was robbed and murdered on the road.” Munakata nodded.

The police officers' search was, by its very nature, a process of trial and error.

……

Just as Munakata was assigning tasks as usual, Shiraishi had already closed his eyes as if no one else was around.

In Bai Shi's mind, he had already arrived at the scene where the body was dumped—a secluded spot in Hulu Lake Park...

Hulu Lake is very large, and the park built around it is also very large. Moreover, it is not fully developed. Some areas retain the forest environment and are usually not crowded, except for occasional hiking enthusiasts.

As for...

Why is Beika Town so big?
Beika Town is definitely very big, don't underestimate it!
……

Bai Shi was walking along the lake when, in contrast to the shimmering surface of the lake, there were piles of garbage on the shore, clearly illegally dumped, though the source of the dumping was unknown.

It was all large pieces of trash, including discarded appliances and some construction waste...

"Hmm?" Bai Shi suddenly noticed that there was a power line in the "garbage mountain" next to him that went all the way into the lake.

Unfortunately, when Shiraishi instinctively tried to pull it out to take a look, he found that... he couldn't pull it out!

It wasn't because there was anything heavy below, but because...

It's not in the photo!
Even if Shiraishi could construct a memory space in his mind, he would not be able to fill in the gaps in his memory for things he had never actually seen.

Good thing...

Shiraishi can switch to "virtual mode"!
Click——

Bai Shi snapped his fingers, and the lake instantly became crystal clear.

Click——

With another snap of his fingers, Merri's body sank into the lake water on the shore.

Click—click—click—

The aluminum plate was positioned on the lakebed, and the part of the electric wire that dangled underwater was very close to the aluminum plate, and then...

After White Stone snapped his fingers for the last time, dark clouds filled the sky, followed by thunder, and finally a bolt of lightning struck the garbage mountain next to White Stone!
The electric flashes from the garbage mountain made the white stone's shadow appear exceptionally tall.

Meanwhile, lightning flashed along the power lines on the garbage mountain, spreading all the way into the lake, and it was clearly visible that a section of the power line in the lake had melted under the powerful current...

Bang! With the wires melting, a powerful shockwave exploded in the lake!
The shockwave ripped up the aluminum plate next to it, and because it was in water, the shockwave weakened very little as it spread.

The aluminum plate was directly smeared onto the victim's face by the violent shockwave!

Even Shiraishi had to admit that the impact of this was much greater than when he slapped his own face...

Suddenly, a lifelike aluminum mask appeared on the corpse's face.

After an unknown amount of time, it was washed ashore by the current and eventually reached the lakeside, where it was picked up by a few elementary school students who used it as a "mold" for their craft project...

……

Zongfang glanced at the unresponsive director, then checked the time—hmm, it was time to go pick up his daughter from that doctor's place.

"Alright, that's settled then, everyone disperse..."

Just as Zongfang was about to adjourn the meeting, Baishi "woke up" and said, "Wait a minute."

The detectives, who had already been assigned to the search, all turned to look.

"Kuroki, go to the scene immediately and check if this... this power line extending into the lake is broken, and if the break is fused!" Shiraishi said, holding up a photo of the scene and pointing to the location of the power line.

"Eh? Yes!" Kuroki replied immediately, though he didn't understand why.

“Narcissist, go to the Meteorological Agency and get a record of all lightning strikes near Hulu Lake in the past week,” Shiraishi said in turn.

"Yes," the narcissist replied.

Finally, Shiraishi looked at Gen and said, "Gen, although we can't prove anything until we hear from either side, the Kimura family's testimony is likely false. I think what his neighbors saw was probably just 'a person dressed like Merri and wearing a safety helmet.'"

"You should first verify the testimony, remind him that he must actually see it before he can give his testimony, and check all the surveillance footage you can find. You must make sure that there is a clear view of his face before it can be considered evidence that Merri is still alive."

“Director, do you mean…” Yuan realized at this moment that Director Shiraishi was already very suspicious of this family.

Even the testimonies that narrowed the time of death were met with skepticism!
"Hmm, I suspect that the 'real culprit' behind this is actually this... and lightning."

As Shiraishi spoke, he first picked up the aluminum mask, and then pointed to the "electric wires" in the scene photos that he had previously asked Kuroki to investigate.

Clearly, the "real culprit" that Shiraishi refers to is not the murderer in this case, but rather the reason for "pretending to be a ghost and creating a mask".

Seeing that the group of detectives didn't understand at all, Shiraishi further explained: "You should have all seen the pictures I sent to Yuan yesterday... For this mask to be formed, it must have a strong enough and instantaneous impact force. In fact, this is also the processing technology of products like metal dental crowns."

"The only puzzling thing is why such an impact would occur in a sparsely populated lake... I only guessed a possibility after I just confirmed the photos of the scene."

"If the power lines here were melted by lightning, the point of breakage would generate tremendous impact. If the aluminum plate and the body were positioned perfectly, an aluminum mask could be formed!"

Shiraishi explained his deduction of the source of the impact based on the scene, and the most important factor was not the power lines, but... lightning!
“Lightning? Meltdown…wait, Director, you mean…Mr. Merri’s time of death…” Yuan realized at this moment and understood why the Director had asked him to investigate those things.

"Well, in terms of physical sensation, I remember that there were only thunderstorms on Saturday nights in the past week. If the aluminum mask was formed on Saturday night, then the one who left on Sunday morning was definitely not the real Naohiko Meri. Of course... I don't think the neighbor would lie about something like this."

"And I remember you also said that what the neighbors saw was Meiri getting on a motorcycle and preparing to leave. It's quite possible that someone deliberately wore a helmet and made some noise to obtain false evidence."

Shiraishi explained directly.

Of course, this was just speculation by Shiraishi, but it was indeed a reasonable assumption and could explain why many dead fish were found on the surface of the lake on Sunday morning...

However, this contradicts a known eyewitness account—that Naohiko Umeri left the Kijima residence on Sunday morning.

This contradiction significantly increases the suspicion surrounding Kijima's involvement in the crime!

While Shiraishi's words cannot be used as direct evidence, if eyewitnesses are questioned more thoroughly to prove that "no one saw Merri's face on Sunday," at least a search warrant can be obtained.

After all, if the person really did die on Saturday night, then the place of death would most likely be at Kimura's house.

Later, someone impersonated Naohiko Umeri, giving Kimura the opportunity to travel abroad and create an alibi...

"After Yamada and I go to the eyewitnesses to confirm, we'll also go to LT Medical Company to confirm whether President Kimura's business trip was planned in advance or just a spur-of-the-moment decision!" Gen said, drawing inferences from one instance to another.

Shiraishi nodded, indicating that he could do it.

Narcissistic and Amagi also seemed to realize something. They exchanged a glance, nodded, and then Narcissistic said, "Chief, I'll go check the surveillance footage again and see what that 'faceless' guy is wearing..."

The body of Merri was wearing the same work clothes he wore when he left home—the intention was clear: to show everyone that he was an employee abandoned by the company, and that he was going to confront the president.

If he was already drowned in Hulu Lake on Saturday night, then the person who left on a motorcycle on Sunday morning was just another person "wearing the same uniform"!
Although they are all company uniforms, you might be able to spot some differences.

Moreover, Kimura did indeed go to the airport shortly afterward, which means that the person impersonating the deceased was Kimura's accomplice!

Regardless of who is the mastermind, it will be easier to obtain confessions if they have accomplices.

……

With Shiraishi's "key command," the subsequent search mission was drastically changed, and the search focus shifted from a general search to a focus on Kijima!

Although Shiraishi was only making a hypothesis, and they didn't even understand his theory, out of their usual trust, everyone tacitly agreed that "the director is right."

If the chief is right, then the Kijima family's testimony is incorrect!

After the meeting ended, Zongfang hurriedly left work...

“Section Chief Munakata, I can give you a ride since it’s on my way,” Shiraishi offered.

After all, Shiraishi is now living next door to Professor Agasa...

Shiraishi took Munakata to Professor Agasa's research institute, and then returned to the Kudo family's house next door.

When I got home, I saw Mayoi watching TV.

【Mayoi, did you skip meditation again today? You can't be so lazy just because you're not in Kurin no Sato!】Ayasato Chihiro appeared and scolded.

"Others meditate too..." Mayoi said shyly.

Chihiro sighed and suddenly felt that... since Mayoi didn't want to return to Kurin no Sato for the time being because of her, then... Shiraishi's suggestion that she go to school first seemed like a good idea!
(End of this chapter)