No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

The old man, who didn't have a seafood-inspired hairstyle, quickly fell asleep again, showing absolutely no respect.

"Sigh, how did it come to this? Officer Kitahara, it seems we can't question him anymore."

"That's true, but why do you seem so happy?"

"No, no, how could that be? Representative Muto has regarded me as his successor. If it weren't for his recommendation, I would have been a secretary for the rest of my life."

"Oh, how about this? In order to solve the case as soon as possible, and in order to help you get the position of councilor sooner, we can have the doctor use some stimulating drugs to wake you up quickly."

Upon hearing that such a thing was possible, Kawamura immediately rejected it:

"No need, no need. My matter doesn't need to be rushed. The most important thing now is for the councilor to recover. So please don't let him continue to overwork himself. Thank you."

“I see. Of course, we don’t want the councilor to overwork himself. It’s most important for him to take good care of his health. So we’ll be going now. Secretary Kawamura, you should also leave.”

Kawamura bowed and left the ward, while Kitahara Masaki watched the man's retreating figure, lost in thought.

"What do we do now? Kitahara-kun, I think that secretary is highly suspicious. All the evidence proves that there was a third person present at the time, and it seems that the secretary has been looking for opportunities to be alone with the senator."

"Hmm—it seems we have to set a trap for him."

Kitahara Masaki replied with a smile.

As for the unsuspecting secretary Kawamura, he sat in the car with a solemn expression. He knew very well that the senator was not dead. Even if he had amnesia now, he would probably remember in a few days that it was he who had smashed the back of the senator's head.

The more Kawamura's secretary thought about it, the more frightened he became. He sat in the car for a full hour. Then, as dawn was approaching, he sneaked back to the hospital. Since he had just been to the politician's ward, he quickly found his way to the ward. Without thinking about why there were no police officers at the front door, he pushed the door open and saw the politician with his head wrapped up like a dumpling.

Kawamura's secretary slowly approached the hospital bed. After putting on gloves, he picked up a needle from the bedside and then took out a bottle of chemical agent that would be absolutely fatal if injected into the human body. As he was drawing the chemical agent into the syringe, a sound suddenly came from the wardrobe next to him.

"That's enough for now, Mr. Kawamura. Officer Shiratori is going to spend some quality time with Ms. Kobayashi today, and it wouldn't be good if you caused any delays."

Kitahara Masaki pushed open the wardrobe door, holding a Taser in one hand and a video camera in the other.

As for the hospital bed that should have been occupied by the senator, it was now occupied by Shiratori. He had gastroenteritis, but he had wrapped his head up tightly and kept it under the blanket, which made him sweat profusely.

call--

What terrified Kawamura even more was that police officers were lying on the other beds in the ward. They lifted their blankets and stared sharply at Kawamura. Takagi and Sato were also standing at the door. Basically, the entire ward was waiting for Kawamura to come in.

"Damn it! Kitahara Masaki, you tricked me!"

"No, it's just that you're too stupid."

Kawamura was still thinking about what it was like when he became a member of parliament. He had no intention of surrendering, so he rushed towards the door to see if he could escape.

Conan, who was hiding under the bed, immediately shot him with a tranquilizer dart, while Kitahara Masaki's Taser also hit him.

So Kawamura was first anesthetized and then electrocuted, but because the anesthetic flowed through his bloodstream, he wanted to fall asleep again, but he couldn't fall asleep at all because he had been hit by a Taser.

Kawamura was in great pain due to the combined effects of anesthesia and electric shock. After the anesthesia wore off from the electric shock, or after the Taser finally ran out of power, Kawamura collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolled back and foaming at the mouth.

"Perfect timing, Takagi. Go call the doctor. Once he's awake, take him straight to the Metropolitan Police Department."

It happened to be at the hospital, so we didn't even need an ambulance. Hopefully, future prisoners will be this conscientious, saving the police from having to work so hard.

Just as Conan crawled out from under the bed, thinking the case was closed and he could go home, Kitahara Masaki walked to the ward where the politician had been transferred, knocked on the door, and went inside.

The amnesiac senator acted as if nothing had happened, completely different from his state just moments before when he had lost his memory.

"Has the person been caught yet?"

"Gotcha. Mr. Muto, why did you pretend to have amnesia in the first place?"

"Officer Kitahara, what are you talking about? I didn't pretend to have amnesia at all."

"Whether you're pretending or not, you know in your heart, but I don't think you have any reason to protect a secretary. So I did some investigation and found out that Secretary Kawamura—it seems to be your illegitimate son. Turns out he doesn't know anything about this and even plans to come and kill you."

Representative Muto remained silent for a long time, then looked at Kitahara Masaki and said:

"Since you came alone, Officer Kitahara, you must be trying to get something from me."

"Of course, it's also fortunate that you're a member of parliament."

"Now that you've said that, I'm the one who's at their mercy."

"It's simple, you have to help me investigate these two congressmen."

After seeing the names of the two councilors, Representative Muto hesitated and asked:

"The Black Organization? Do you want to catch them by the tail?"

"This is not something you need to know. Also, I can arrange for someone to take care of your illegitimate son in prison, but how he will be taken care of is up to you, Representative Muto."

After explaining his request, Kitahara Masaki walked out of the ward and saw Conan standing outside the door eavesdropping.

"how?"

"Who are those two councilors?"

"Hmph, just a new pawn of the Black Organization. But now the Black Organization's missions in Japan are repeatedly thwarted, so the BOSS is likely to come to Japan. The movements of these two councilors can help predict the BOSS's actions."

Of course, the two lawmakers only learned of this through the zoo's intelligence network.

Chapter 358 Two Organization Members on Television

"Sigh, Sera, do you think I still have a chance?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki was slumped over the table, looking completely unmotivated, which made Sera Masumi feel once again that the police officers in the Metropolitan Police Department were all love-struck fools.

"Sister Koshimizu, last night, no, it should be this morning, Brother Kitahara and Sister Evelyn solved two cases together."

"Waaah, stop talking. They were clearly going to the radio station at midnight, but how did they run into a case again? And even if I were there, I might not be able to deduce it faster than him."

"Don't give up! Koshimizu-neechan, of course I mean the reasoning aspect. And I think Kitahara-nii's summary of the essential lessons in crime investigation is very accurate."

"Oh, you mean the rice flower crime law he summarized? Those are all just coincidences."

"Is it really a coincidence? I don't think it's a coincidence. After all, they've solved so many cases. But so many cases involve Detective Mouri and Conan, so they must have some kind of special constitution. A constitution that can trigger crime."

"That's all superstition! And those 'three-choice' rules, the probability of an outsider being the culprit is extremely small, and the 'Detective Mouri before he falls asleep is a bad detective' and other such rules seem like metaphysical laws, just like having to choose a good time to draw cards in a mobile game. These are not things that we police officers should believe in at all."

Sera Masumi, as a newcomer to the Crime Investigation Division 1, thought that the Beika Crime Law taught to them by Kitahara Masaki made a lot of sense. However, Koshimizu Nanatsuki, as a veteran of the Crime Investigation Division 1, knew very well that it was just something Kitahara Masaki wrote down casually to prank Detective Mouri and Conan.

"By the way, Koshimizu-neechan, I remember the Metropolitan Police Department was recently invited to participate in a program, right? You and Kitahara-nii went on that program together!"

"Even so, I can go with Masaki, but Evelyn was invited too. It seems those bastards at the TV station want to see a good show!"

Sera Masumi and Koshimizu Nanatsuki were talking about a mystery program recently launched by Nichiri TV. The station collects all sorts of bizarre cases from around the world and then hands them over to the guests on set for deduction. To make a splash in the first episode, they invited Kitahara Masaki, Vermouth, and Koshimizu Nanatsuki. The Black Organization must be feeling pretty uneasy; two of the three guests are members of the Black Organization, and they're appearing on a television program broadcast to the entire nation of Japan.

However, their laughter completely vanished when they discovered that Kitahara Masaki and Vermouth were both traitors.

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

"Hello everyone, this is the first episode of 'Case Solving,' and I'm your host, Yoko Okino!"

Because the three invited guests all had extensive on-screen experience, the recording was completed quickly. As the three of them sat in front of the TV watching their own appearances, they had no idea how the TV station would edit them.

Meanwhile, mystery fans like Conan and Heiji Hattori sat in front of the TV to watch the mystery program on time. Even Shuichi Akai, who had always been suspicious of Masaki Kitahara, watched it on his phone while keeping an eye on the lower-level members of the Black Organization.

"Big brother! Yawenyi and Vermouth are both on TV!"

"Heh, stupid Japanese police, they don't even know that our members have appeared in front of the entire nation of Japan."

In short, many people who don't usually watch TV sat in front of their TVs to watch this program, and the biggest winner this time was actually Nichiri TV.

"I'm sure everyone is very familiar with our guests! But let me introduce them to you one by one."

The three women, with light makeup, looked no different from celebrities. In fact, it's more accurate to say that celebrities don't have the intelligence of these three. Their good looks alone were enough to attract most viewers.

"Our show features a variety of cases from all over the world, and in this episode, we even have a woman who committed the perfect crime! After this woman, who was once a 'criminal,' recounts her past, our three guests will offer their deductions. Without further ado, let's welcome Ms. Bill, who was acquitted in the United States!"

A middle-aged American woman with gray hair walked onto the stage, looking like someone who was about to sing or give a speech. However, after Yoko Okino's introduction, everyone realized that this well-maintained middle-aged American woman was the one who had committed the 'perfect crime,' yet she was declared innocent and released by the American court.

"Hello, challengers from Japan. No police officer in the US can see through my methods. I hope you can."

"Hey? Ms. Bill, if the three guests see through your tricks—you'll be going back to the US and going to jail."

"So many years have passed, there is no evidence left, so even if you see through my methods, it will be meaningless."

Such arrogant remarks made all the viewers of the show hope that the three guests could quickly figure out her modus operandi and, ideally, send her to jail.

“After graduating from university, I went to New York to work alone. Later, I went to work for a publishing house, where I met my husband. He was a very popular writer in the area. The crime scene was the villa where we lived, and the deceased was my husband.”

The camera then panned to the three guests. Vermouth feigned surprise, while Kitahara Masaki, as the camera focused on him, said, "Viewers, don't imitate this, because I'll definitely catch the culprit!" Koshimizu Nanatsuki's reaction was the most amusing. Realizing she was in a close-up shot, she asked a nearby TV crew member, "Should I pretend to be startled, or should I put on a very righteous expression?" This whispered interaction was captured in its entirety by the close-up, instantly shattering the tension and even adding canned laughter to the background.

"On the day of the incident, we had just been interviewed by a reporter, mainly focusing on my husband. The maid was preparing lunch in the kitchen, and I remember she was grilling beef. They talked until noon, and after the reporter left, my husband and I ate the grilled beef prepared by the maid, followed by Japanese Imagawa-yaki for dessert. Then my husband suddenly appeared to be in great pain and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but it was too late. He died in the hospital that same day despite all efforts to save him."

The American, who claimed to have committed the perfect crime, recounted the events of that day in fluent neon.

Chapter 359 Japanese Sweets

Next, Yoko Okino announced the start of the Q&A session. Because solving a case requires knowing many details, this segment was designed to help the three mystery-solving guests obtain more information.

First, Kitahara Maki asked a question:

"If the cause of death is poisoning, is there anything else we can tell us about the cause of death? For example, what kind of poison it was, and where the poison was detected?"

"After the police determined the cause of death to be poisoning, they quickly analyzed the poison and found that its composition was similar to that of insecticides, which can be easily obtained in the United States. As for the poison reaction, it was not found anywhere else, because the two of us had already eaten the poisoned pastry. Then the police speculated that there was a high probability that the poison was mixed in with the pastry filling."

"I see. So we can be sure the poison was mixed in with the pastries, not the beef?"

"Yes, because we ate the dessert a while after eating the beef, so the beef was fine. Besides, the maid cut those two pieces of beef for the two of us."

Next, Nanatsuki Koshimizu asked a question:

"That pastry—did you buy it?"

“That’s right, I bought that pastry and I took it out. Because of that, the police immediately treated me as the prime suspect and kept me at the police station for a long time.”

"But you were still acquitted, so please explain the details of the subsequent investigation."

“No problem. The reason I was acquitted is because of that reporter. After leaving the villa, he sneaked back and spied on my husband and me while we were having dinner from the window outside the villa.”

The program then aired a short animation depicting a person dressed entirely in black sneaking away from the villa. He witnessed the entire process of the writer and his wife having a meal, and even saw the husband collapse after finishing his dessert.

Later, a witness section was added to the upper left corner of the program, but of course, it only featured one reporter. There was also a deceased person section—the writer—and a suspect section—the writer's wife and the family's maid.

Finally, Vermouth asked a question:

"More than anything else, I'm curious about your motives. No, let me guess first, it's probably an extramarital affair. But when you mention your husband, you don't seem to feel hatred, but rather a sense of resentment. So he didn't actually abandon you, but is just a promiscuous person, right?"

Unlike Kitahara Masaki and Koshimizu Nanatsuki, who are both serious investigators, Vermouth prefers to observe the expressions of criminals and try to decipher their motives, as in the bus hijacking and villa poisoning cases she encountered before. She enjoys deducing their pasts and seeing what kind of unpleasant pasts they harbor.

The TV station also added close-up shots in post-production, focusing on Ms. Bill's face. After Vermouth made her speculation, the middle-aged woman clearly showed signs of wavering. What was originally not a very obvious expression was captured by the close-up shot.