No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Page 9

However, mathematicians say that there exists at least one field in Scotland with at least one sheep, and that sheep has at least one black side.

Thinking about this, Kitahara Masaki combined the laws of Detective Conan to conclude that the person in the car might not be Takei Naoko, so the person pretending to be a hostage was the kidnapper!

"Inspector Megure! The criminal's car crashed through the roadside railing and plunged into the river!"

And sure enough, they failed to catch the criminals in the car.

"What! Immediately contact the rescue team and set up defenses on both banks of the river!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, and following the scientific principle that the hostages could not have died at the beginning, Kitahara Masaki calmly went to the location where the van had disappeared, waiting for the crane to lift the van, which was definitely empty, out.

While waiting for the results, Mori and his group arrived at the scene. This time, Conan was much more patient, obediently standing aside and waiting for Kitahara Masaki's instructions.

“Mr. Kitahara, Naoko, she…”

The hostage in this case, Naoko Takei, is Ran Mouri's classmate. Out of concern for her classmate, she and Conan dragged Kogoro Mouri to the scene to inquire about the hostage's situation.

"Don't worry, Miss Mori."

After comforting the kind girl, the van that had plunged into the river was also salvaged. As expected, it was already empty, and only the driver's side window was broken.

In fact, the police acted quickly enough this time, but the search and rescue team found no one near where the van fell into the river, which means that the criminal had a means of transportation to leave quickly or hid in a building on the other side of the river.

"Inspector Megure, send some people to the other side of the river to conduct interviews. If the criminal is hiding over there, there should be eyewitnesses given his soaking wet condition."

"Yes, Takagi! Chiba! Each of you take a patrol team to the other side of the river to conduct a search!"

"Inspector Megure, I'll go and check if the criminal was able to quickly leave the vehicle on the river."

"Thank you for your hard work, Kitahara."

After getting in the car, Kitahara Masaki sent Conan a text message, asking him to go to President Takei's house to see if anyone had any marks on their body from just finishing diving. Tight diving gear often leaves white marks on people's bodies, and the river is not shallow, and the water pressure at the bottom of the river can also affect hearing.

The most suitable person to find these clues is naturally that little devil.

As we drove slowly along the riverbank, we encountered an old man fishing by the river. Before we could exchange a few words, the old man called out:

"Officer, you really need to check with the yacht rental place. Just now, a speedboat driver almost knocked my boat's bow askew. Those rich kids should be thoroughly investigated!"

After dealing with the old man who had a deep prejudice against rich people, Kitahara Masaki went to a nearby place to rent and store speedboats.

On the other yacht, there were still diving equipment dripping water.

It was effortless.

Even if he doesn't remember the specific details of the case, Kitahara Masaki, as a time traveler, can look at these strange cases from a superior perspective. Combined with the principles of Detective Conan and techniques such as Kogoro Mouri's elimination method and Ayumi Yoshida's locking method, he can usually find the real culprit and the evidence prepared by heaven for solving the case very quickly.

beep beep.

Kitahara Masaki, who had been resting on the speedboat for a while, received a text message from Conan that read:

“Brother Kitahara, Miss Hanai, the secretary of President Takei’s family, shows signs that she has just been diving.”

Well, with the help of a perfect tool for solving cases, we can convict the identified criminal.

Chapter 15 I don't care about Japanese laws, I just want my mind to be clear.

Kitahara Masaki did not arrange for Conan to continue investigating Hanai's whereabouts because he felt something was strange. If the secretary next to President Takei was the kidnapper who kidnapped Naoko Takei, then she would have had many opportunities to collect the ransom in advance and escape.

But she didn't.

It's more like they're torturing President Takei...

Thinking of this, Kitahara Masaki connected the case to Tokito Eiji, the murderer in the computer program murder case, and roughly guessed the motive of this Hanai secretary.

The presidents of these large companies usually do incompetent things, and as a result, they are always subjected to various forms of punishment.

As he read the information Conan sent him, Kitahara Masaki felt the wonder of the Conan world even more.

According to Takei's family situation, the relationship between the president and his daughter is not harmonious. Basically, the president leaves his daughter aside for the sake of his work, and because he is involved in mergers and acquisitions, he can be said to have a bad reputation in the industry.

The ransom demanded was originally 50 million yen, which was naturally not a problem for Mr. Takei, whose residence is a large villa. However, this money-loving man actually used shredded newspapers as ransom, and even after repeated persuasion from the police, he was unwilling to pay any more money.

Because her mother died early, Hanai, the secretary who had been taking care of Naoko Takei, became very close to this poor girl. Naoko even regarded Hanai as her mother.

interesting.

Could Naoko Takei also know the inside story of this kidnapping case, and thus assist her secretary Hanai who always takes care of her?

From the police's perspective, it would be natural to search for evidence of Hanai's crimes and find Naoko Takei. However, for an undercover police officer capable of meddling in other people's business, it would be more satisfying to let Naoko Takei choose the outcome.

"Hey Conan, the information you've gathered is very useful, but let's leave the rest to the police."

"Yes, I understand, Kitahara-nii. I believe you've already found the evidence to convict Secretary Hanai."

Kitahara Masaki was silent for a moment before replying:

"Sometimes convicting someone is not the best option."

"What do you mean?"

"If Naoko Takei truly regarded Secretary Hanai as her mother, then how would this high school girl, caught in the middle of the adults' grudges, feel after sending Secretary Hanai to prison?"

Conan, who was always focused on finding the culprit through deduction, never thought about what would happen after the case was closed. For a detective, deducing the truth was his primary task. The feelings of the victims were never a consideration for him.

"Go home. This is indeed the work of adults. Asking you, a high school student, these questions was just something I did on a whim."

After hanging up the phone, Kitahara Maki, who was waiting for night to fall, had already driven to the front door of Takei's house. If Hanai, the secretary next to President Takei, was the kidnapper, then she would most likely go to see Takei Naoko that night, or at least bring her some food.

After all, she was a woman who could be recognized by even a sensitive high school girl, and Kitahara Masaki bet that she wouldn't abandon Takei Naoko and bear to let her eat cold convenience food.

For the sake of an innocent student's future, Kitahara Masaki was willing to wait, which could be considered as giving the secretary a chance.

The car stereo played songs on repeat over and over again. At 10 p.m., a car slowly drove out of Wu Ju's house and headed to some unknown place.

call.

Kitahara Masaki let out a long sigh of relief, letting the drone slowly follow, while he drove behind at a distance.

In just over ten minutes, the car entered an abandoned warehouse area, which could be described as a perfect hiding place.

The footage from the drone made Kitahara Masaki smile. In the footage, Secretary Hanai gently knocked on the door of a warehouse, and the people inside quickly rushed out and opened the door for her.

Since that's the case, I no longer need to take her back to the police station.

Donning a mask and a nameless top hat, along with a police uniform, the same middle-aged policeman appeared as before.

Boom, boom, boom.

Kitahara Masaki walked slowly and silently to the warehouse door, then rhythmically knocked on it.

Knocking on the door was just to let them know; Kitahara Masaki never expected them to open the door.

Upon entering, the two were startled to see Kitahara Masaki in his police uniform. Then, as if resigned to his fate, Secretary Hanai walked forward alone and obediently extended his hands to await the handcuffs.

"Officer, I forced Naoko to do all of this. I confess."

"No! Miss Hanai, I did it voluntarily!"

The two women were arguing fiercely, each trying to prevent the other from taking the blame. I wonder what President Takei would think if he saw this.

If he still doesn't understand that some things can't be bought with money, then Kitahara Masaki will quickly tell him to remake.

"Alright, alright. There's no need to pass the buck in front of me. I came alone to see what your choices are."

Upon hearing Kitahara Masaki's words, the two stopped what they were doing and hesitantly looked out of the warehouse. Indeed, it was empty and still pitch black, with not even a police car in sight.

"Sir, you mean..."

"It's very simple. Ms. Hanai, you can continue with your plan and kill President Takei. If you do, I will have to arrest you. Or you can stop now, abandon your plan, and let everything return to normal."

"This……"

On one side is President Takei, who has a grudge against him, and on the other side is Naoko Takei, who loves him.

The female secretary who orchestrated the kidnapping was in a state of extreme anguish. Seeing the conflicted woman before him, Kitahara Masaki spoke up to offer a word of advice:

"Trying to have it both ways will only result in pleasing neither side. Do you want short-term revenge or long-term family ties? Weigh it carefully on the scales in your heart to see which side is more important."

At Kitahara Masaki's urging, Secretary Hanai ultimately chose the latter, and she grasped Takei Naoko's hand, saying:

"Then, sir, are you really willing to keep this a secret for us?"

“I was prepared when I came alone.”

Kitahara Masaki took out a printed sheet of paper containing the statements that the two of them needed to memorize. As long as Takei Naoko didn't cause any problems, the police would be unlikely to suspect Hanai Secretary.

After all, the diving suit that could serve as evidence had already been stored away by Kitahara Masaki in a safe house specifically for storing incriminating evidence. He had also destroyed all traceable information about the van; even if they traced it back to the used car dealership that bought it, the dealership owner couldn't produce any purchase record.

All that was left was this warehouse. After a moment's thought, Kitahara Masaki decided to follow the Black Organization's usual practice and burn it down.

"Officer, may I ask your name?"

Knowing that her family would no longer be torn apart by hatred, Naoko Takei hoped to repay the police officer in front of her, who looked to be fifty years old.

However, the police officer replied:

"My name is Napoleon (Courvoisier)."

Waving goodbye to the peculiar mother and son, Kitahara Masaki took out a lighter and gave the warehouse a good makeover.

The burning warehouse reflected his unreal face and genuine smile.

Chapter 16 I'll treat you to a big slap on the wrist.

"Brother Kitahara!"

"What's wrong, Inspector Megure?"

This familiar-sounding beginning still happened in the police station.

After the warehouse where Naoko Takei was hiding was burned down, she quickly went to the nearby police station and was then taken home.

Police are still sending officers to the scene to investigate, hoping to find clues about the kidnappers and further investigation.

However, under Kitahara Masaki's cover, all the clues disappeared.

However, since the hostages were safe and the president of the Takei Company did not suffer any property loss, the case was put on hold.