Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 533 Crybaby

"You must find her!"

Mrs. Yamada abruptly raised her head, her eyes filled with determination.
"I must see with my own eyes which vixen seduced my husband!"

Kosuke Yamada stood to the side, looking embarrassed and at a loss, muttering, "Sister-in-law, don't be too sad," but he didn't know how to truly comfort her.

……

Back in the police car, Officer Matsumoto started the engine while rubbing his chin.

"Lin Jun, do you think this could really be a crime of passion?"

"That mistress might be a doctor, which would make it reasonable for her to know Kenichi Sato."

"It's even possible that she was having affairs with both Dr. Sato and Associate Professor Yamada at the same time, and was their shared lover!"

Officer Matsumoto paused, then, upon reflection, found the idea increasingly plausible, and continued speaking to himself.
"Then there was another man who also loved this woman deeply, and in order to have her all to himself, he simply killed both of his rivals!"

"Look, this way, we can connect the two victims. The murder weapon was Dr. Sato's katana, which the murderer may have taken from the Sato family. He may have originally intended to frame someone, or he may have just used it because he was in the mood."

Finally, Officer Matsumoto looked smugly at Hayashi Hideichi.

"How's my reasoning?"

Lin Xiu looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Praise me!"

Have you been reading a lot of detective novels lately?

Officer Matsumoto made no attempt to hide his feelings, admitting, "To improve my reasoning skills, I've been reading whenever I have free time lately, especially Edogawa Ranpo's novels. After reading them, I feel like my thinking has become much broader!"

"No wonder he has such a vivid imagination."

Lin Xiuyi rubbed his forehead, asking with a wry smile, "..."
"Think about it carefully. If you had a mistress, would you proactively give her phone number to your wife at home, and even specifically say that she could contact you if it's important?"

Without a second thought, Officer Matsumoto blurted out, "Of course not! It's easy to find the exact address through a phone number. What if my wife traces the number and gets caught? That would give us away!"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, the smug look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of sudden realization.
"That's right! Since Associate Professor Yamada dared to give his phone number to his wife, it means that number definitely wasn't his lover's contact information; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so careless. My reasoning just now was indeed a bit far-fetched..."

Seeing Officer Matsumoto's frustrated expression, Lin Xiuyi couldn't help but smile.

"It's not entirely useless. At least we found a key clue: that phone number, and Associate Professor Yamada's unusual behavior of not returning home every Saturday night."

His smile faded, and his expression turned serious.

"Officer Matsumoto, please call the First Investigation Division and have them immediately check the detailed address of the phone number Mrs. Yamada gave you."

"As for us, let's go to Dr. Sato's house to check on the situation first."

……

The police car sped along and soon arrived at Dr. Sato's house.

When Mrs. Sato opened the door, her face still bore the lingering sadness.

Upon seeing Officer Matsumoto, she asked politely but distantly, "Officer, is there anything else? I've already said everything I needed to say."

"Sorry to bother you, we just wanted to confirm a few more details."

"I'm being polite," Officer Matsumoto said, his gaze unconsciously sweeping around the room, trying to find clues related to the "lover." He clearly hadn't completely given up on his theory of a crime of passion; after the routine questioning of Dr. Sato's social connections, he cautiously shifted the focus, asking Mrs. Sato...

"Madam, I wonder if Dr. Sato has been acting strangely lately? For example... has he made a female friend who also works in the medical field?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sato's face instantly darkened, her tone clearly showing displeasure.
"Officer, you're not trying to say my husband cheated on me, are you? Let me tell you clearly, that's absolutely impossible!"

“My husband has passed away. Please stop insulting him with such nonsense!”

Officer Matsumoto was surprised by the other party's strong reaction and quickly bowed awkwardly to apologize: "I'm sorry, madam, I misspoke. Please don't take it to heart."

Mrs. Sato snorted coldly, her expression softening slightly, but her tone still carried dissatisfaction.

“Although my husband does often go out on Saturday nights and comes back close to dawn, smelling of alcohol, he is definitely not going out to meet his lover. I know what kind of person he is better than anyone else.”

"Saturday?"

Lin Xiuyi and Officer Matsumoto were both stunned. They subconsciously exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise. What a coincidence!

It is no coincidence that two victims who had no connection both had a habit of not returning home on Saturday nights.

Lin Xiuyi immediately seized upon this crucial information and pressed for further questions.

"Madam, are you so sure that Dr. Sato isn't going on a date because he told you what he was going out to do?"

“He never said what he was going to do specifically. Every time I asked, he would just say that he was going out with some old friends and told me not to worry.”

Mrs. Sato thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and added,
"But one time he came home very late, completely drunk, and was mumbling something like 'crybaby' incoherently."

"I asked him who he was, but he just smiled and said he didn't remember when he woke up the next day."

"A crybaby?"

Lin Xiuyi silently memorized this strange nickname.

Dr. Sato said he was out having fun with an "old friend," while Associate Professor Yamada said he was "seeing a doctor."

Both disappeared on Saturday night, but gave completely different reasons.

Inspector Matsumoto also realized that something was amiss, and his previous theory of a crime of passion was completely overturned, replaced by deeper doubts.

"Are they both attending the same secret gathering? Or are they involved in something shady together?"

"My husband would never do anything illegal!"

Mrs. Sato suddenly raised her voice, her tone full of dissatisfaction and defensiveness.

"He has worked for twenty years, saved countless lives, and is a widely loved and respected doctor. How could he possibly commit a crime! Please do not make unfounded speculations about him!"

Officer Matsumoto quickly stood up, nodded awkwardly, and apologized: "I'm sorry, madam, we misspoke. We didn't mean to doubt Dr. Sato; we were just asking about some details as a routine matter. Please don't take it to heart."

Lin Xiuyi added at the opportune moment: "Mrs. Sato, we understand your feelings. Officer Matsumoto was just speculating casually and there is no conclusion yet. We also want to find the culprit as soon as possible and give Dr. Sato justice."

Mrs. Sato's expression softened slightly, but it still carried a clear air of aloofness.
"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say, and I've told you all the details I could remember."

She stood up, making a gesture as if to see the guest out.
"It's very late now, and I still have to take care of my elderly parents and children at home. Please go back."

(End of this chapter)