Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

The rain was still falling, the fine raindrops carried by the wind, slanting against the car window.

Since Ichikawa's female secretary was already considered a suspect in the murder, Inspector Samezaki and Hayashi Hideichi immediately drove to the Shimazu Group, and Murakami Yui was also forced to go along.

"The Shimadzu Group's headquarters is located in the heart of Shinjuku Ward, in that tallest glass building," Inspector Samezaki said, gripping the steering wheel with a hint of seriousness in his voice. "Cases involving these large corporations are always very troublesome to handle."

As he spoke, he glanced at Murakami Yui in the back seat through the rearview mirror. The female teacher was gazing absently at the fleeting street scene outside the window.

Lin Xiuyi sat in the passenger seat, his fingertips unconsciously tapping his knees. His biggest worry now was that the phone call earlier had alerted the secretary and scared her away.

The rain finally subsided a bit when the police car stopped in front of the Shimadzu Corporation headquarters building.

The three entered the lobby, where the receptionist, dressed in an elegant suit and wearing a professional smile, asked, "Do you three have an appointment?"

Inspector Samezaki flashed his badge: "We're from the Metropolitan Police Department. We're looking for Ishihara Megumi, the secretary of your manager, Ichikawa Eisuke."

The receptionist's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "Please wait a moment, I'll contact them for you."

She picked up the intercom, whispered a few words, then hung up and shook her head at the three of them.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Ishihara is not at work today. She has already asked the company for leave."

"Taking leave?" Lin Xiu frowned immediately. "When did she take leave? What was the reason?"

"I took the day off this morning," the receptionist replied, her tone as calm as if she were reading from a script, "the reason being that I wasn't feeling well."

Inspector Samezaki and Hideaki Hayashi exchanged a glance; this was far too coincidental.

"Then who answered the phone when we called Ichikawa's office just now?" Inspector Samezaki pressed.

"This..." The receptionist paused, clearly unsure how to respond.

“Find someone who knows the situation to talk to us,” Inspector Samezaki said coldly, “or we can go up and find out for ourselves.”

"Please wait……"

The receptionist quickly apologized and almost ran away from the front desk to report to someone.

A moment later, she returned with a middle-aged man.

The man was wearing a dark suit, his belly was slightly protruding, and he had a shrewd smile on his face. He looked like a seasoned veteran who had been in the workplace for many years.

"I am Tanaka, the head of the Human Resources Department at the Shimadzu Corporation. What would you two officers like to know?"

His tone was very polite, yet it carried a sense of distance.

Inspector Samezaki repeated the question he had just asked.

“That’s right,” Human Resources Manager Tanaka cleared his throat, “This morning, after receiving a call from the police informing us of the unfortunate passing of Manager Ichikawa, the company immediately sent someone to his office to organize the documents and materials. The person who answered the phone just now was probably Ms. Tanaka, who was in charge of organizing them.”

Upon hearing this, Murakami Yui couldn't help but frown: "He just died, and you're already busy packing his things?"

There was a hint of barely concealed disgust in her voice.

"Even if he's a jerk, does it have to be like this?"

“Miss,” the HR manager’s smile faded slightly, but his tone remained polite, “please understand that Manager Ichikawa is in charge of several important projects, and any delays would result in astronomical losses every day. Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters; this is our group’s principle.”

"Principles?" Murakami Yui sneered. "In your eyes, I'm afraid there's only self-interest." "Teacher," Lin Xiuyi gently nudged her arm, signaling her to calm down; now was not the time to argue about this.

Yui Murakami took a deep breath, and although she was still full of resentment, she didn't say anything more.

Inspector Samezaki cleared his throat, steer the conversation back on track: "Do you know the specific reason why Ishihara Megumi took leave? Is it because she was emotionally affected by the news of Ichikawa's death?"

Department Head Tanaka shook his head, a perfectly timed look of confusion on his face: "I don't know. But..."

He paused, as if trying to recall.

"When Ms. Ishihara called to ask for leave this morning, her voice did sound unwell, almost tearful. We didn't know about Manager Ichikawa's situation at the time; we only found out later..."

"Perhaps she's too heartbroken about this. After all, she's Manager Ichikawa's secretary, and they have the most contact with each other."

"Heartbroken?" Inspector Samezaki scoffed, clearly not believing the story, his tone laced with sarcasm. "The manager is dead, and the secretary is crying her heart out. It seems their relationship is quite unusual."

“Well…” Department Manager Tanaka smiled awkwardly, his eyes darting around. “I’m sorry, your question involves the personal privacy of employees, and our group does not interfere in such matters.”

He seemed completely unmoved by reason, clearly unwilling to say anything more.

Lin Xiuyi remained silent, observing the scene without making a sound.

He noticed that the receptionist next to him, after hearing what Minister Tanaka said, almost imperceptibly curled her lips and a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes, clearly indicating that she did not agree with the minister's statement.

Lin Xiu glanced at the personnel manager in front of her, who was smiling like a Maitreya Buddha but knew nothing about the matter, and then she had an idea: "Excuse me, where is the restroom?"

"Turn left into that corridor..."

The receptionist instinctively gave directions, but was interrupted by Manager Tanaka before she could finish speaking.

"Alright, take this officer to the restroom."

Minister Tanaka was clearly worried that Hayashi Hideichi would use this as an excuse to sneak upstairs to investigate, so he specifically asked the receptionist to keep an eye on him.

However, this thought played right into Lin Xiuyi's hands.

He was just thinking about how to get the receptionist away from him, but he didn't expect the HR manager to be so "cooperative".

Lin Xiuyi subtly gave Inspector Samezaki a wink, signaling him to keep Chief Tanaka calm, and then followed the receptionist toward the restroom.

Guided by the receptionist, Lin Xiuyi quickly arrived at the restroom door.

He didn't go in. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he turned to the receptionist with a gentle smile: "Manager Ichikawa must have a very good reputation in your company, right?"

"Sorry, this..."

The receptionist clearly didn't want to answer, but her slightly furrowed brows and the disdain at the corner of her mouth betrayed her true feelings.

"Looks like his reputation is pretty bad," Lin Xiuyi smiled slightly, his tone relaxed as if he were chatting casually. "By the way, do Ichikawa and his secretary, Ishihara Megumi, have some kind of special relationship? Like... lovers?"

The receptionist's expression changed instantly. She glanced around warily, quickly pursed her lips, and looked at Lin Xiuyi with a stern face, giving him a "no comment" look. (End of Chapter)