No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

However, to Aokata's surprise, Shiratori suddenly called Takagi after searching the crime scene once.

"Takagi, how did things go at the movie theater?"

"As for surveillance footage—there were so many people at that time that it was impossible to tell who was who."

"Yes, it's Sunday, so there will naturally be a lot of people. Actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor. Could you go to the trash can and find a cup with a flower-shaped straw wrapper wrapped around it? If you find it, please hand it over to the forensic department. Thank you."

Seeing Shiratori's hesitant expression, Kitahara Masaki immediately realized that he must have figured out where the unease lay.

"Also, please buy me a drink and remember to bring the straw and wrapper."

After Officer Shiratori finished making the call, he seemed to have all his strength drained away. He quickly left everyone's sight and went to the sink to wash his face repeatedly.

Kitahara Masaki was puzzled. This woman might not necessarily be his first love from back then, so why was she so depressed? Or was there really something to prove that she was the little girl from back then?

However, Vermouth pointed to Kitahara Masaki in the kitchen cabinet, where there were two cups, each surrounded by a cherry blossom-shaped paper ribbon.

"It seems that the officer confirmed it through that method. Masaki, you were slacking off again during the search, weren't you? Otherwise, how could you have missed it?"

"That was a huge blow to him, but he still took the case very seriously. Kitahara-kun, you were slow to react this time. Isn't it a superior's duty to be considerate of his subordinates' feelings?"

Hmm—Vermouth and Haibara's arguments were both valid, leaving Kitahara Masaki speechless for a moment.

However, Kitahara Masaki quickly went to discuss it with Shiratori, and Shiratori's desire to solve the case was very strong, as if he wanted to sever his own long-held lingering thoughts.

After Takagi returned, Shiratori finally confirmed the straw wrapper, took a deep breath, and shared his reasoning with everyone.

"The person who beat the victim to death in this room—that's you, Miss Cangli!"

"What are you talking about, Officer Shiratori? I was right next to you at the time!"

“I was dizzy at the time and didn’t notice my surroundings at all. The kids sitting in the back were separated from our row of seats by a wide aisle, so they only saw your hat! But the person wearing that hat at the time was me.”

What?!

Megure and Takagi performed consistently, appropriately showing surprise when others were making their deductions; they were definitely five-star viewers.

"As for the light that came on, it was indeed the light from a cell phone, but at that time the phone was on top of the cup, and you used the deceased's phone to make the call. Then, to avoid arousing suspicion, you even bought two extra tickets for the seats next to you and me, so even though it was a rest day, those two seats were empty. As for why you gave up the seat next to you, it was to make the person who bought that seat a witness to your actions. The same logic applies to your encounter with the five children; you deliberately left your wallet behind to create opportunities for them to interact with you."

Miss Cangli still tried to struggle and retorted:

"These are all just your deductions. If you hadn't been asleep, none of your deductions would have held true."

"Of course, I think the reason I felt confused was because after you deliberately spilled my drink, you put sleeping pills in the new drink you bought for me."

"Then you can go find that cup. Isn't there a very obvious mark on it? It's that paper flower ribbon!"

"Yes, I really liked that paper flower ribbon, so I specially took a section as a souvenir. Since you're so confident, you probably took the cup with the sleeping pills after I fell asleep and disposed of it, right? But the cup you brought back afterwards also had the same paper flower ribbon, but the length of the ribbon on it was exactly the same as the original straw wrapper!"

Officer Shiratori seemed to shout out his deduction, and the paper flower he had kept as a memento was now tightly clutched in his hand.

Chapter 307 The White Bird Rekindles Hope

Kitahara Masaki watched the distressed Shiratori without offering any help. This young master, despite his prestigious background, possessed the same pride as other police officers. This was certainly a good thing, but Kitahara Masaki hoped they could consistently perform exceptionally well in ordinary times, rather than only having a sudden flash of inspiration when it came to their first love.

"The sequence of events was as follows: First, before the movie started, I would get close to the guest who was about to become my alibi. Then, I would put sleeping pills in the drink of the person next to me. During the movie, after confirming that the person next to me was asleep, I would make him wear my hat. Then, I would switch the cup with the sleeping pills with my own cup, put my cell phone on top of the cup, and finally sneak out of the movie theater and dispose of the cup with the sleeping pills."

What happened next was obvious. After running out of the movie theater, Miss Cangli immediately took a car home, beat the victim to death, and then used the victim's phone to make a call to her own phone, allowing the children in the back seat to see the hat in the light.

Afterwards, they rushed back to the movie theater and replaced Officer Shiratori's drink cup with a new one. However, Officer Shiratori had torn off a piece of the original paper ribbon, but the new ribbon was missing. Therefore, the mismatched ribbon length was the best proof that Ms. Aokaga had changed the cup.

Kitahara Masaki understood what had happened, but seeing Conan's furrowed brows, he knew that decisive evidence had not yet been found.

"Where's the evidence? These deductions alone can't prove I'm the culprit! Officer Shiratori, why are you suddenly so hostile? Weren't we having a pleasant conversation just now?"

Shiratori sighed and took out an evidence bag from his pocket. Inside was a loose thread, the same color as Miss Cangli's hat.

“When I touched my head just now, I felt this little thread in my hair, so I think there must be some of my hair stuck on your hat, that’s the decisive evidence.”

Miss Cangli looked at the white bird in front of her, took off her hat and threw it at his face, and confessed her crime.

Her motive was obviously that she was deceived by the scumbag, so she killed him. Although the scumbag was indeed a scumbag, if she had reported it to the police, they could have helped her sue him for fraud.

Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now. Officer Shiratori lowered his head and said quietly:

"It's a real shame, because you weren't like this before."

"Do you know me from the past?"

"Yes, maybe you don't remember anymore."

"Heh heh, then let me tell you a fact! The passage of time can turn an angel into a demon! Hahaha!!!"

After Takagi pulled Aokasa away, Shiratori leaned weakly against the wall and then slowly sat down.

Kitahara Masaki pretended not to see anything and went to the balcony with Vermouth to enjoy the view.

"Masaki, do you think a demon can turn into an angel?"

“An angel is an angel because it is born in heaven. Humans cannot choose their birth environment. But of course you can change it, otherwise why would you come with me to change that environment?”

"Yes, that's right. At least I'm lucky compared to that police officer."

"Sigh, he had it tough too. His first love turned out to be a criminal he personally apprehended. That kind of experience is truly—"

However, the innocent and outspoken Junior Detective League wouldn't care about such things. Mitsuhiko directly said to Shiratori:

"Do you want me to call Officer Sato over? I have her phone number."

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Masaki slapped himself in the face.

You guys are really something else, adding fuel to the fire in this situation, like dancing in a minefield.

Garen's whispered words were both silent and disarming.

Just as Kitahara Masaki was about to take the group of kids outside, Ayumi suddenly took out something and gave it to Shiratori.

"This is the cherry blossom bracelet that our teacher told us about. She also told us that cherry blossoms are a symbol of courage, so Officer Shiratori, please don't be so down anymore."

"Teacher—who are your teachers?"

"Ms. Lin, she's our class's homeroom teacher."

Hearing this, Officer Shiratori felt confident again. He stood up with renewed vigor and asked Ayumi:

"Ahem, I'd like to meet that teacher. Yoshiwara-kun, could you help me?"

Kitahara Masaki looked at Shiratori speechlessly, realizing that he had been worrying for nothing. Surely the world of Detective Conan wouldn't leave these red-side characters without a partner, right?

------------------

However, the world of science fiction did grant them a favor, and in less than a few days, Ms. Kobayashi became an important eyewitness to a murder case.

This shocked Kitahara Masaki. Has the world really gone to such extremes to promote a romantic relationship?

At that moment, Ms. Kobayashi arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department with the five kids who never missed a day, and were being questioned by Shiratori.

"Ahem, let's first summarize the events of the case. Miss Kobayashi, you got separated from these children on your way to see the fireworks. While searching for them, you suddenly heard what sounded like two people arguing in an alley, and then you saw the culprit trying to escape. Conan, who heard your shout, also rushed to the scene. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right."

Ms. Kobayashi is a passionate mystery writer, but this was her first time visiting the Metropolitan Police Department, so her voice sounded a little hesitant. Shiratori, being very considerate, chatted with her about other things before continuing with his questions.

"And is the deceased you found the same person in the photo?"

The deceased was named Yutian Jing. Although she looked like an obese middle-aged man, she was actually a woman.

"It should be this person."

"Okay, so do you remember what the two of you argued about back then?"

"Hmm—I remember it was right when the fireworks started going off, and the female prisoner shouted, 'Stop talking nonsense, give me that thing now, or I'll kill you!' Although I didn't see the prisoner's face, I could see the outline of her body, for example, she had a rather prominent bust, and she also had her hair tied in a ponytail."

At this moment, Conan provided an assist, saying:

"Although the teacher didn't see the murderer's face, the murderer likely saw what the teacher looked like. Fireworks were going off not far from there, and the perpetrator was in the shadows. I remember when I rushed over after hearing the shouts, I wasn't the only one there; the perpetrator had also returned to the scene of the crime."

"This is far too dangerous!"

Just as Officer Shiratori was about to say, "I'll protect you with my life," the Junior Detective League kids immediately declared they would protect Ms. Kobayashi. If Kitahara Masaki were there, he would definitely be thinking to himself, "We Junior Detective League will definitely hold you back so you'll miss your chance to escape while protecting us."

Shiratori took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, thinking to herself how daring kids these days are.

Chapter 308 Are all these police officers love-struck?

"Oh, right! I also saw the side of a moving company truck in the alley, with a big number printed on it, it must be 09!"

The trucks with phone numbers printed on them are mostly belonging to moving companies and freight companies.

"Okay, I'll have someone investigate right away. We've already found three suspects, and my colleague will bring over the audio recordings of all three of them shortly. I hope you can identify which one sounds more like the voice you heard earlier."

"Ok."

Before Takagi and Sato brought the recording materials, Ms. Kobayashi took the kids to the restroom, while Officer Shiratori looked forward to taking things further with that teacher.

The suspects were two women and one man. The two women had long hair, while the man appeared to have just had a haircut. However, Ms. Lin did not see the suspect's face, so the police did not allow her to identify him.

However, when Ms. Kobayashi returned to the meeting room, she appeared furious and her attitude towards Officer Shiratori changed abruptly.

However, this teacher did not let personal emotions cloud her judgment when it came to catching the troublesome person. After listening to the recordings of the three suspects, she gave a direct negative answer to each one.

Chiba also discovered information about a truck with the number '09' on its body, but in reality, no moving or freight trucks appeared near that alley that night.

After the statement was taken, Officer Shiratori offered to give Ms. Kobayashi a ride home, but was refused without hesitation. In the end, Chiba was asked to take her home instead.

Confused by Kobayashi-sensei's sudden change in attitude, Shiratori fell into self-doubt. However, Hai, who was always giving statements at the Metropolitan Police Department, said:

"I think the reason Ms. Kobayashi is like this is because she saw Officer Sato. And if she also heard that you used to pursue Officer Sato, she would naturally think that you are so nice to her because she looks like Officer Sato. In other words, she thinks that you are using her as a substitute for Officer Sato, right?"

The white bird, enlightened by the words, finally understood the reason and said:

"I never even considered using a body double! She was the key to my becoming a police officer, the person who changed my destiny!"

"Well, you should hurry up and tell your teacher, because how will others know if you don't tell them?"

"That's right. I'll explain it to her personally after I've settled this case."

Inspector Shiratori had fallen in love, to the point where he needed elementary school students to comfort him. The five kids' eyes conveyed this message, making Shiratori realize he had to solve the case quickly. So he immediately went to the First Criminal Investigation Division to find Kitahara Masaki.

Meanwhile, Kitahara Masaki was organizing information about 'Napoleon' with Koshimizu Nanatsuki. Kitahara Masaki had taken all the useful information, leaving mostly meaningless speculation. Kitahara Masaki himself had previously stated in the Metropolitan Police Department cafeteria that he would definitely catch this vigilante who disregarded the police.

So at this moment, Kitahara Masaki was having a great time directing and acting out his own story. However, the arrival of Inspector Shiratori dampened his spirits. The case had already entered the three-way selection stage, and now there was this eyewitness, who was also causing him trouble. It made him sigh, "People in love usually have zero IQ."

"Learning to discern testimony is also one of the essential skills for police officers."