Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 428, Section 422: Taylor's Showdown

When your boss asks you to go out and buy something during a drinking party, it's a way of getting you out of the way. He needs to have a private conversation with someone that can't be discussed openly.

Taylor did the opposite; instead of sending the other people at the table away, he sent himself and Lin Longma away.

His reasoning was impeccable.

People come to the Takeda family to see Takeda Misa, and now that Takeda Misa is gone, Taylor should go and pay his respects, both out of courtesy and reason.

Lin Longma accompanied Taylor as a friend, and there was nothing wrong with their private interactions.

At least it didn't trigger Conan and Heiji Hattori's curiosity radar.

In fact, Kazuha Toyama was somewhat interested when she heard that the environment of Misa Takeda's cemetery was quite nice.

Unfortunately, Ran, who usually cooperates with her, has to conduct an investigation at the Takeda residence this time.

Kazuha Toyama makes a very loyal choice to investigate alongside Ran Mouri.

As a result, only Hayashi Ryoma, Taylor, and a few of Hayashi Ryoma's men went to the grave of Takeda Misa to pay their respects.

Taylor politely declined the maid Shioya's offer to lead the way, smiling as she said that she would never forget that place, even if she died.

Then Taylor, as if he had "gone off the act," sat in the passenger seat and gave directions to Lin Longma's men.

The whole process was very decisive, as if he had been here not long ago.

Following Taylor's directions, the black Land Rover Defender drove for less than forty minutes on Luoxuan Ridge.

We eventually arrived at a valley.

Indeed, as Taylor said, the scenery here is vastly different.

“Mr. Taylor knows the way very well.” Lin Longma turned his gaze away from the surrounding scenery and looked at Taylor.

Taylor is laying flowers at Misa Takeda's grave.

Next to the fresh bouquet was a bouquet that looked a little wilted, but judging from the way it was arranged and the types of flowers, it looked strangely familiar.

Isn't this the bouquet Taylor brought?

"The flowers look nice." Taylor didn't answer, but Lin Longma stared at the two bouquets and said again.

"Of course I'm familiar with it. I'll never forget this road that led from the Takeda family."

The flowers are beautiful, of course; I chose them specifically.

Taylor stared at the grave for a long time before finally standing up and responding to Lin Longma.

These words could be seen as a harbinger or a beginning. At least for Lin Longma, Taylor's words were tantamount to admitting that this was not the first time he had set foot on Luoyuan Ridge in three years.

What did Taylor say when they were at the Isshin-kai stronghold?

He was rescued by the Takeda family three years ago and was carefully cared for by Misa Takeda. Afterwards, he returned to America for work. This time, he came back to see Misa Takeda again.

The reason for finding Ryoma Hayashi was to seek the help of the two famous detectives to investigate the Takeda family.

Three years ago, Taylor was just a bedridden "useless person" who needed Misa Takeda to take care of her even for basic living. It's impossible that she knew about the Takeda family's situation three years ago.

Otherwise, if he had the ability to detect abnormalities while lying in bed without moving, what would he need a famous detective for?
Why not just do the investigation yourself?

Another question is, what exactly does Taylor do for a living? Over those three years, he had countless opportunities to return to Luoshouling.

But he stubbornly waited for three years.

The three-year mark is a delicate one; it's enough for a professional to make a job change or become familiar with a job, going from novice to expert.

From a novice to a seasoned pro.

Or, you could complete a promotion from training to a stable position.

Ordinary office workers may not have this time, but Taylor is a freelance photographer. Would someone with such a profession and such a person lack time?

There were plenty of suspicious points, but that didn't stop Lin Longma from becoming increasingly curious about Taylor.

If he wasn't mistaken, the guy named Negishi Akio who died a few days ago might also be related to Taylor.

But who cares?
Lin Longma was never a self-proclaimed righteous detective; he was just a businessman who helped a large number of people find a way to survive.

Mysterious figures like Taylor happen to be the kind of people Lin Longma welcomes most.

Mystery sometimes means uncertainty, and uncertainty is a great thing for Lin Longma and the Yixin Society.

What Lin Longma fears is not variables, but rather variables that are out of control, meaningless, or even change in a bad direction.

Taylor's change is now presented to Lin Longma, and it is now up to Lin Longma to personally examine whether this change is good or bad.

“This is not Mr. Taylor’s first time visiting this cemetery.”

“Of course, I also came to pay my respects to Misa not long ago. This bouquet of flowers is from me.”

Taylor showed no embarrassment or attempt to hide anything in response to Lin Longma's question; she even pointed to the bouquet that had been sitting for a while next to the fresh bouquet.

When Taylor left the Takeda residence, he made no attempt to conceal his identity. If he had wanted to, he wouldn't have been so "careless."

This is a small "test" in itself. If Lin Longma crosses this threshold, it will naturally become the starting point for conversation.

As it turned out, he (Taylor) had a good eye, and Lin Longma indeed started to communicate with him following this lead.

"So this isn't your second time visiting the Takeda family?" Ryoma Hayashi continued to ask.

"Of course, how could I know all this if it were only my second time here?"

Lin Longma could tell that Taylor's self-control was quite good, but Takeda Misa seemed to treat him very differently.

Is it really because of love?

"I guess no one in the Takeda family knew you came last time?" Lin Longma quickly made his judgment and continued to ask.

"nature."

"You killed Akio Negishi, didn't you?"

".yes."

When Lin Longma asked his last question, Taylor didn't answer immediately, but pondered for a long time before replying to Lin Longma.

This is understandable, as there is no basis for mutual trust between Lin Longma and Taylor.

It is rare for a murderer to confess his crime to someone in person.

Unless he is very confident in his methods of exonerating himself, then the questioner's character will be put to the test.

Given that Lin Longma and Taylor did not have a close relationship, Taylor's actions seemed more like a high-stakes gamble.

Will Bet Lung Ma report Taylor's crimes in Lok Kuang Ling to the police?

Given their casual acquaintance, Taylor wouldn't normally gamble so heavily.

Even the most thrill-seeking gamblers wouldn't bet on such an astonishingly high odds.

Gamblers who have no sense of reason gamble in order to win, but what chance of winning is there in this kind of thing?
As the saying goes, something unusual must be going on. Taylor made such a big bet, so his ambition must have been immense! And yet, Taylor, that foreigner, won the bet.

Murder was nothing to Lin Longma; he was one of the organization's finest men, and his colleagues would laugh at him for turning pale at the sight of someone committing murder.

At this moment, Lin Longma was even more curious about what Taylor was seeking that made him dare to admit to murder in front of him.

Another issue is Taylor's identity.

Taylor gave Lin Longma a sense of unbridled arrogance from beginning to end, and this was especially true when he revealed the murder.

At that time, Taylor was weighing the pros and cons more than I was saying, and these pros and cons were not the ones that might lead to imprisonment.

Instead, they simply use murder as a bargaining chip—can a normal person think like that?

Then it's time to "verify identity".

Ryoma Lin lightly brushed aside Taylor's admission of murdering Akio Negishi, as if the two had exchanged a few polite words like "Have you eaten?" and "I have, how about you?"

Even setting aside his status as a high-ranking member of the organization, killing someone in Beika Town is not something that would make a big company president very surprised.

For the president of Beika Town, killing is never surprising; being killed is what's surprising.

"Mr. Taylor has spent a great deal of time and energy. Is there something you want?" Lin Longma asked bluntly.

Taylor suddenly realized that inviting Lin Longma to this place, Luo Gu Ling, by sheer coincidence might not be such a bad thing after all.

If it were two veteran detectives who came, he would have to find a way to guide their investigation.

But for Lin Longma, a successful businessman who runs a company, it seems all he needs to do is offer a deal he can't refuse?
It feels like the difficulty level has suddenly dropped by a huge amount!

Most famous detectives are somewhat stubborn; otherwise, most murderers would be figuring out how to bribe detectives at crime scenes instead of just trying to fool them.

Compared to the veteran detectives who still have some principles, Lin Longma, the businessman, is undoubtedly easier to talk to.

"Actually, I noticed something was off about the Takeda family three years ago when I was recuperating from my injuries there."

Taylor nodded and began his story in front of Misa Takeda's grave.

"At first, I was indeed limited in my mobility and could only lie in bed without moving."

But later, after my injuries improved and I was able to walk more easily, I visited the Takeda family residence with Misa as my companion.

"The Takeda family has been making puppets for generations, but their puppets are only known to a small extent in Tottori Prefecture."

Compared to the puppet-owning families of Kyoto and Osaka, the difference here is like that between a landowner and an old-money aristocrat.

Taylor gave a very apt example to illustrate the awkward position of the Takeda family in the world of puppet making.

Indeed, if you want to choose a puppet-making family with a long history, there are plenty of options in Kyoto and Osaka.

The Takeda family was just a small family in a remote area of ​​Tottori Prefecture, and was not particularly famous.

"Although the Takeda family was just a small family in a remote area, they lived a life that was no less luxurious than others."

Even the puppets made by Shinichi Takeda, the head of the family, were in short supply.

I heard from Misa that he was the head of the Takeda family who changed the fate of the Takeda clan. I didn't care at first, but I never imagined that he would end up harming Misa.

Taylor grew increasingly resentful as she spoke, her anger and anger growing ever stronger.

Judging from his tone, he seemed to want nothing more than to grab a rifle and rush into the Takeda residence to kill Takeda Shinichi.

"So, Miss Misa's death is related to Shinichi Takeda?" Lin Longma asked Taylor, distilling the key point.

"Yes, there's a high probability of that."

Lin Longma almost lost his composure. Regardless of the probability Taylor was referring to, as long as he couldn't provide concrete evidence...
Isn't this just baseless accusation?

What kind of Qin Hui is this from the Heisei era?

"Mr. Taylor, when you killed Akio Negishi, didn't you ask him anything?"
And wasn't he Shinichi Takeda's partner? Why did you kill him?

"I wanted to kill Shinichi Takeda!" Taylor said through gritted teeth.
"That day in the warehouse, I intended to kill Shinichi Takeda, but when I got there, I found that the person inside was not Shinichi Takeda."

But since Akio Negishi had seen my face, I had no choice but to go all the way to keep it a secret.”

Got it, the unwritten rule in your line of work is that you can't be judged by your face.

If his face is seen, either kill him or recruit him into your gang.
What kind of advisor from the Heisei era?

“I did ask about Akio Negishi, but that guy is just Shinichi Takeda’s partner.”

He knew nothing about the Takeda family.

However, Akio Negishi did say quite a bit about Shinichi Takeda's business dealings. But these things need supporting evidence—that's what I'm hoping you'll do, Chairman Hayashi.”

"Investigate the Takeda family thoroughly, or more precisely, the secret dealings of Takeda Shinichi, gather evidence, and finally bring the Takeda family to trial."

"Since Misa has already committed suicide, I'm too lazy to judge the rights and wrongs. I will just blame everyone in the Takeda family equally."

Everyone in this family must be punished.

The idea of ​​trying an entire family sounds horrifying, but Lin Longma knows that in practice it's incredibly simple.

As long as Takeda Shinichi goes to prison, that's fine.

Yes, it's not even necessary for Shinichi Takeda to die. As long as he stops the anesthetic business, the Takeda family will naturally lose its biggest source of income.

Without anesthesia, who would buy their puppets?

The entire Takeda family practically lost all income.

It is common knowledge that apart from mountain dwellers and the wealthy, no one else can live in the mountains.

First, there's the cost of living. People in the mountains can be self-sufficient, and they've been doing it this way for many years.

However, for the wealthy, purchasing daily necessities alone in the mountains is a considerable expense.

The Takeda family could have afforded this money, but without the income from anesthesia, and with their puppetry skills abandoned for many years, how could they possibly afford it?
The third brother's company went bankrupt, so he came back to rely on his eldest brother. Although the second brother had always lived in Tokyo, Shinichi Takeda, as the eldest brother, had always given him a lot of financial support.

It can be said that Shinichi Takeda not only supported the main Takeda family, but also helped his two younger brothers' families.

This guy isn't a good person, but he's definitely a good older brother.

The most important source of income has been cut off. The Takeda family won't die, but they will definitely have an extremely difficult time.

Especially when compared to the life of the Takeda family in the past, the difference is like heaven and earth.

It turns out it wasn't Qin Hui and his advisor, but Rainbow Cat, the young hero from the Heisei era!

This is not difficult for Lin Longma.

It could even be said to be very simple—don't forget that Heiji Hattori and Conan are also at the mansion.

With these two things around, how could the Takeda family's little secrets possibly be kept hidden?

"But what are the benefits? What benefits will I get, Mr. Taylor?" Lin Longma said bluntly.
"If it's in US dollars, ordering me around won't come cheap."

(End of this chapter)