Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Inspector Megure drove his police car through the streets of Tokyo and finally stopped in front of a mahjong parlor called "Zuketsu-sou".

The mahjong parlor is located in a relatively quiet alley. It looks ordinary from the outside, but you can see that it is brightly lit inside through the windows.

Inspector Megure parked his car, and Hayashi Hideichi and Mouri Kogoro followed him into the mahjong parlor.

The hall was filled with smoke, and the sound of mahjong tiles clattering could be heard everywhere.

Officer Matsumoto was talking to a middle-aged man, who, judging from the apron he was wearing, was probably the manager of the mahjong parlor.

"Mr. Lin, you've finally arrived."

Officer Matsumoto came to greet him.

"The store manager has confirmed that Dr. Sato and Associate Professor Yamada are indeed regulars here, coming almost every Saturday night without fail."

Officer Matsumoto led the three to an empty table in the corner.

"There are two other people who regularly meet with them: one is a middle-aged lawyer working at a law firm in the city center, and the other is a student majoring in psychology at Keio University."

"The four of them often get together to play mahjong, sometimes until the early hours of the morning."

"Was they together last Saturday?"

Lin Xiuyi immediately seized the key moment: last Saturday was the last gathering before Dr. Sato was murdered.

“No.” Officer Matsumoto shook his head. “According to the boss, only that college student came last Saturday.”

"He waited until after 10 p.m., but the other three hadn't arrived. He looked very strange, both angry and anxious, and he kept getting angry into the phone."

"The boss wanted to go up and ask about the situation, but he suddenly got up and left in a hurry, without even taking the deposit. As a result, Dr. Sato was murdered the next day."

"So, this college student is the murderer!"

Inspector Megure's eyes lit up, and he clenched his fist excitedly.
"They must have had a conflict while playing mahjong, or some kind of grudge, to get revenge by killing him!"

"Don't jump to conclusions."

Officer Matsumoto tapped the table, signaling him to calm down.
"The boss also revealed an even more crucial piece of information: these four people not only play mahjong, but they also often like to talk about various criminal cases."

“Once, the boss passed by their table and vaguely heard them discussing ‘how to commit the perfect crime,’ but he didn’t hear the whole thing.”

"The perfect crime?"

Lin Xiuyi raised an eyebrow. This explained the meticulousness of the murderer's methods: using a stun gun to knock someone unconscious, using the victim's samurai sword to commit the crime, and leaving no trace on the doors and windows. Clearly, the perpetrator had come prepared.

Officer Matsumoto added, "There's another situation: a regular customer at the mahjong parlor has a terrible relationship with these four people. They often have verbal conflicts over trivial matters such as fighting over seats or miscalculating chips. Once, they even almost came to blows."

"Verbal conflict?"

Inspector Megure answered without hesitation.
"Could this guest be the murderer? Did he hold a grudge because of a conflict and commit a series of murders?"

At this moment, all he could think about was avenging Officer Morimura and he wanted to catch the murderer immediately.

"The boss also said that this customer was very suspicious."

Officer Matsumoto nodded, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned closer and whispered.
"The store manager said this person didn't look like a good person; he had previously stolen a gun from a nearby guard post."

"what?"

Inspector Megure was so startled he almost stood up, his voice rising eight octaves.

"Stolen gun? A police officer's gun went missing?"

Japan has extremely strict gun control, especially for police firearms. If they are lost, it is a major incident. How come no one reported it?
“It was only half a day after it was lost.” Officer Matsumoto quickly pressed him down. “It is said that the gun was anonymously returned to the guard post that night, and not a single bullet was missing.” “Beihana Police Station felt that no loss had been caused, and they were afraid of being criticized if they reported it, so they kept quiet about it.”

"If the boss hadn't overheard people talking about it at the mahjong parlor, we wouldn't have known about it at all."

This approach is clearly not in accordance with proper procedures, but given the importance placed on "face" within the Japanese police system, such cover-ups are not uncommon.

"How is the boss sure this person stole the gun?" Lin Xiuyi asked. "Did he see it with his own eyes, or is there other evidence?"

“There’s no concrete evidence.” Officer Matsumoto shook his head helplessly. “That’s just what people in the mahjong parlor are saying. Apparently, on the day the gun went missing, someone saw him acting suspiciously near the guard post.”

"However, this person usually idles around and has a very bad reputation, so everyone is willing to believe that he did it."

"But to kill two people after just a few words of argument," Lin Xiuyi pondered, "isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"No matter what, we should bring these three people in for questioning first; that should lead to a breakthrough in the case."

As Officer Matsumoto spoke, he pulled a notebook from his pocket.

"I have already obtained their identification information and contact details from the boss."

"The psychology student's name is Hirato Doji, 23 years old, a graduate student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tokyo."

"The man who stole the gun is named Onibo Dokuro, 45 years old, unemployed, and has a history of violence."

“There’s also a middle-aged lawyer, whose name is…” He glanced down at the notebook, “His name is Usui Ritsujin, he’s 38 years old and works at a small law firm.”

"Senior, I'm taking men to capture that gun thief, Onibo Dokuro!"

Inspector Megure volunteered, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit.

“He has a prior record of stealing guns. If he really is the murderer, I will never let him get away with it!”

He was still feeling guilty for letting the murderer escape right under his nose and was eager to catch the murderer to make amends.

Seeing Inspector Megure's eagerness for revenge, Officer Matsumoto frowned.

He understood Megure's feelings, but the worst thing in handling a case is to act impulsively. If he messed things up because of his emotions, he might alert the enemy.

“No need.” Officer Matsumoto refused decisively. “Take Lin Jun and Mori to see lawyer Mizuma Tsukihiko and college student Hirato Doji and ask them in detail about their whereabouts last Saturday.”

"Leave that Onibo Dokuro to me, I'll go and catch him myself."

At this point, Officer Matsumoto patted Inspector Megure on the shoulder.

"You need to stay calm when handling cases. Morimura doesn't want you to make mistakes because of impulsiveness. Follow Lin-kun and listen to his opinions."

Although Inspector Megure was somewhat unwilling, he knew that Inspector Matsumoto was right, so he could only nod.

"I understand, senior. I will stay calm."

……

Hideichi Hayashi and Kogoro Mori followed Inspector Megure into the police car.

Just as the car door closed, Inspector Megure let out a heavy sigh, scratching his head in frustration, his expression full of annoyance. He was clearly still upset about not being able to secure the mission to capture Dokro Onibo.

"Don't overthink it. Officer Matsumoto doesn't want you to go because..."

Lin Xiuyi tried to comfort the other person, but Mouri Kogoro, sitting in the back row, couldn't help but interrupt.

"Is Officer Matsumoto trying to steal the credit? That Onibo Dokuro even dared to steal a police gun, so naturally he would too..." (End of Chapter)