Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 426, Section 420: Comedy Turns into Tragedy

"Mr. Taylor??" Apart from Taylor, no other foreigners had ever visited the Takeda family, so the maid had a fairly good impression of Taylor.

I recognized Taylor's face immediately.

"Miss Shioya, I didn't expect you to still remember me." Taylor grinned, looking very happy.

Three years had passed since he began recuperating at the Takeda residence, and Taylor was delighted that the maid, Shioya, recognized him immediately upon meeting him.

"This is my friend in Tokyo, Chairman Ryoma Hayashi." Taylor only mentioned Chairman Ryoma Hayashi's identity, and Shioya, the maid of the Takeda family, tactfully withdrew her gaze from the other two Toyota Land Cruisers.

Well, isn't it normal for the company president to have a bit of an air about him when he goes out?

That's not how it's always portrayed on TV.

After a brief introduction of Ryoma, Taylor immediately asked the maid, Shioya, with great anticipation, "How is Miss Shioya, Miss Misa?"

When Taylor mentioned Misa Takeda, the maid Shioya, who had been smiling, suddenly stopped smiling.

What followed was an awkward silence.

"Miss Salt Valley?"

Taylor's heart skipped a beat at Shioya's silence, and he quickly pressed the maid, Shioya, for answers.

“Mr. Taylor, Mesa hanged herself in her warehouse on the third day after you left.”

"what?!"

Upon hearing this devastating news, Taylor was momentarily stunned. He instinctively thought he had misheard.

He looked at Lin Longma beside him, his eyes seeking confirmation that he hadn't just been hallucinating.
Lin Longma nodded slightly, indicating to Taylor that he hadn't misheard.

The person he was looking for committed suicide three years ago after he left the Takeda family.

This devastating news was unexpected not only by Taylor, but also by Hattori Heiji and Conan.

How did the supposedly heartwarming family romantic comedy suddenly turn into a tragedy of lovers separated by death?

According to Taylor, he and Misa Takeda had clearly established a very close relationship, so why did Ms. Misa choose to hang herself just two or three days after Taylor left?
What exactly is going on behind the scenes?
Was Misa Takeda's death the main reason the Takeda family hired a detective?
The idea of ​​hiring a detective is rather strange.

Normally, when a family hires a detective, they will usually hire one to investigate. This is unless the detective's findings are unsatisfactory or they are incompetent.

At the very least, they should be allowed to investigate before making a decision, right?
But the second son of the Takeda family hired a detective, and the third son hired another. You could say these two Takeda brothers had some kind of tacit understanding...
The two men each invited a detective to their homes to investigate.

But you could say these two guys don't have any chemistry.
They all hired the same high school detectives, although there's not much difference between Heiji Kobe, a high school detective, and a famous detective.

But there's still a difference between high school students and veteran detectives—perhaps their reasoning abilities and skills are roughly the same.

However, the high school detective's experience, interpersonal skills, and even mentality are quite different from those of the veteran detectives.

In other words, some people would think that high school detectives would be easier to "fool".

Here's a counterintuitive joke: actually, compared to high school detectives, seasoned detectives are easier to fool.

Because these veteran detectives, if not all of them are worldly-wise, are at least very perceptive.

They know when to indulge their curiosity and when to restrain themselves. When you need a renowned detective's help but don't want them to reveal too much about your secrets, a veteran detective is definitely more reliable than a younger one.

Because veteran detectives were all young once, and they all suffered the consequences of their curiosity.

Those who survived naturally become more experienced in the field of detective work; as for those who didn't...
You can take Conan as an example. If Gin hadn't given him the drug A, he would have died at the amusement park, and there would be no Shinichi Kudo.
In short, if the Takeda brothers really intend for them to investigate something, the Takeda family will probably be thoroughly investigated tonight.
-
Through the maid Shioya's report, Ryoma Hayashi and his group met the head of the Takeda family, who is also the current head of the Takeda family: Shinichi Takeda.

The head of the Takeda family was not fond of the two high school detectives, Heiji Hattori and Ran Mouri, but was more enthusiastic about Taylor and Ryoma Hayashi.

In comparison, Shinichi Takeda's enthusiasm for Ryoma Hayashi even surpassed that for Taylor.

Because of the president's status?
Lin Longma felt it wasn't that simple.

When you're out in the world, you give yourself an identity. Taylor only introduced himself as the chairman, but not the nature of his company.

Even if he had a grander entourage, it wouldn't have warranted such attentiveness from Shinichi Takeda.

Others might not know the true nature of the Takeda family, but how could he not? The Takeda family was Rum's base for making money.

Each quarter, a large sum of money was sent to Rum's slush fund.

Even disregarding Rum's side, the fact that the entire Takeda family lives in this "desolate wilderness" and has servants shows that they are quite wealthy.

After all, in island nations, the poor and middle class always strive to live in the city center, while only wealthy people prefer to relax in remote mountains and forests.

"Mr. Shinichi, have we met before?" Ryoma Hayashi asked Shinichi Takeda curiously during the meal.

"No, not at all. This is the first time we've met, Chairman Lin." Shinichi Takeda, half-drunk, held his wine glass, his face flushed and his eyes still somewhat glazed.

"Then what is this?" Lin Longma didn't explain too clearly, after all, one shouldn't hit a smiling person.

"It's just about making friends~ The Takeda family's puppets are famous throughout Tottori Prefecture, maybe Chairman Hayashi will become my client in the future?"

Lin Longma was certain that this guy wasn't talking about a puppet; he'd seen plenty of those darting, darting eyes in the organization.

He's always up to no good.

That's interesting. Does it sound like Shinichi Takeda is planning to drag Ryūra into this mess?

Ryoma Hayashi has made some progress regarding the businesses run by the Takeda family. Combined with information from Ireland, it's clear that the Takeda family is definitely not involved in legitimate businesses.

There are only two or three ways to accumulate a large amount of cash flow in a short period of time. If the Takeda family were in the arms business, they would not need to drag Ryoma Hayashi into it.

Lin Longma was not among the clientele of underground arms dealers like him.

Beika Town has so many robbers eager for their services that it's far from meeting the average standard of one gun per person.

Underground arms dealers don't need to worry about their customer base at all.

It seems that only one business that meets Takeda's standards remains: drugs among prostitution, gambling, and prostitution.

Only drug dealers like to drag people into their schemes, especially those in politics and business, who are their favorite targets.

(End of this chapter)