Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 371, page 365: Hey! I have an idea!

"So far, there have been three murders. Masaaki Okakura is the victim in the third murder."

Lin Longma flipped through the files in his hands and listened to Ireland's explanation, and for a moment he felt as if he were in the office of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division.

A group of criminal organization members are actually analyzing cases like police officers—it's quite a sight!
Ireland continued: "The first victim was Shuhei Jinno, 43, an associate professor at Toto University."

He was murdered at the Usui-rei Railway Culture Village observation deck in Matsui-cho, Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture.

"The second victim was named Kaga Shizuko, 54 years old, and was the owner of a restaurant."

She was murdered in the grass next to the Oiso parking area on the Odawara-Atsugi Road in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture.

"The third victim was Masaaki Okakura, 32 years old. You all know where he was murdered: in the Rest Forest, Nerima Ward, Tokyo."

Three photos were magnetically attached to a whiteboard pushed in from the well, and Ireland added information about the three people with a marker.

"It is clear that the three victims are basically unrelated. Their ages, genders, and even the places of death are different."

"So what did the police base their judgment on to determine that this was a serial murder case?" Vermouth couldn't help but question.

"Good question. Please turn to page 37 of the file," Ireland said after everyone had finished turning the pages.
"The reason these three murder cases were combined is based on the police's assessment that the murder weapon used by the killer was a large dagger."

He held the knife upright and swung it downwards.

"The fact that the three people died from the same murder weapon is one aspect, and another aspect is what the forensic police found at the scene."

In all three murder scenes, the perpetrator left behind a mahjong tile that had been partially painted red.

Lin Longma compared the photos in the case file and found that the photos showed a mahjong set consisting of one one of circles and two sevens of circles.

One of the sevens of coins was painted red by the murderer, and the other two sevens of coins were each painted with a red circle.

"The murderer not only left mahjong tiles at the scene, but also took an item from the victim after the police conducted a follow-up investigation."

"The first victim had her pendant taken, and the second victim had her wallet taken."

Masaaki Okakura was the third victim; his lucky charm was taken by the killer. His cherished memory card was hidden inside the lucky charm.

In other words, what we're looking for may very well have been taken by a murderer whose whereabouts and even who we don't know.

This is really a problem, because the killer chose the victims too "randomly," resulting in neither the police nor the organization having any leads for the time being.

The victims were completely unrelated; if it weren't for the fact that they used the same murder weapon and that mahjong tiles were found near their bodies, probably no one would have connected them.

"Okay, so now we're in a more passive position, aren't we? We can't even find a trace of the memory card now."

So, to get the memory card back, we first need to catch the killer in this major serial murder case?

Lin Longma threw the pen in his hand onto the table—this murder case was not one of the three choices he was "familiar" with.

The police didn't even list any suspects.

There were no surveillance cameras around when these people died, so the killer might be hiding somewhere now, or maybe he's just given up.

The police and the organization will never find him in their lifetime.

Upon hearing Ryoma's statement, Vermouth suddenly said, "I remember there seem to be two famous detective consultants at Ryoma-kun's base."
Why not let these two consultants lend a hand?

After Vermouth finished speaking, all eyes turned to Lin Longma's face.

Lin Longma wasn't surprised that Vermouth knew about the base's movements; after all, she was the organization's Thousand-Faced Witch, an expert in intelligence. If she didn't even know this much, Lin Longma would have suspected that the Vermouth in front of him was an imposter.

"It's possible, but what reason would you give?" Lin Longma usually had little interest in cases or deductions.

Completely lacking enthusiasm for reasoning.

Detectives are inherently suspicious creatures. If Lin Longma suddenly expresses interest in the case, wouldn't that arouse the detective's suspicion?
Although Oogami Shuzen and Senma Kazuyo seem to be very understanding, being understanding and being curious are not contradictory.

Unlike Shinichi Kudo's outward curiosity, Oogami Kizen and Senma Kazuyo's curiosity is very introverted.

This means they know when to express their curiosity and when to suppress it.

Note that it means to restrain oneself, not to simply throw away one's curiosity.

Detectives, especially famous detectives, cannot become famous detectives without curiosity.

It can be said that curiosity is the driving force behind a detective's progress.

What if this arouses the curiosity of the two famous detectives, and they start secretly investigating?
Even if the investigation uncovers something, won't Lin Longma still have to "execute Ma Su with tears in his eyes"?
If we just let these two "treasures of the shop" go to waste after finally managing to swindle them into the stronghold, then why did Lin Longma go through all that trouble to recruit them in the first place?

"It can't be that exaggerated, can it? I remember that Mr. Da Shang Zhu Shan was very obsessed with money, wasn't he?"
"Would someone like that do something outrageous?" Vermouth questioned.

"Hehe, Da Shang Zhu Shan was obsessed with money because he was short of it at the time. Do you think he's still obsessed with money now?"

Lin Longma sneered.

At that time, Da Shang Zhu Shan had invested all his wealth in the Twilight Villa, so how could he not be obsessed with money?

Otherwise, it would all be for nothing.

But ever since Lin Longma gave them a large share of the profits, the two financially independent individuals have truly started living the life they want.

Da Shang Zhu Shan spends all his time exploring restaurants to satisfy his appetite, and occasionally appears on food programs on TV.

Only occasionally do I take on commissions that interest me.

As for Senma Shiro, she has entered a semi-retired state, and she still occasionally takes on some commissions to satisfy her cravings.

So, these two people want to recruit them? That's just wishful thinking.

Without desire, there is no want. The two treasures of the store may not have reached that level, but they are rich now!

Money can solve 99% of the world's troubles, and for these two people, it's a kind of disguised detachment from desires.

After all, they can buy whatever they want on their own and don't need to rely on anything.

Besides, this trouble was clearly caused by Rum, so why should Lin Longma go to such lengths? It's already a good thing he didn't kick him while he's down.

Rum definitely owes him a thank you.

"Anyway, don't even think about my two prized possessions. If you really want to investigate the murderer, I do have an idea."

Lin Longma smiled slightly at the others; Vermouth's words had indeed reminded him.

Since detectives investigating cases are not legitimate, isn't it only natural for the police to investigate?

(End of this chapter)