Chapter 163
When Saiki Usaba and Kenji Hagiwara returned to the Metropolitan Police Department, they happened to see Miwako Sato also driving back.
However, her expression didn't seem to indicate that the problem was solved; instead, she looked rather worried.
System: [Did you and Yusaku Kudo both make a mistake in your reasoning?]
Usoppō Saiki: [How could that be! I'll go ask.]
So Usaku Saiki greeted Sato Miwako.
Sato Miwako forced a smile, and Hagiwara Kenji, who wasn't quite sure what she and Usui Saiki had talked about that morning, couldn't help but ask.
What happened?
“…Sigh.” Miwako Sato sighed, “That case yesterday…”
Kenji Hagiwara immediately understood: "That urban legend? Do you need help?"
“Kanakawa-kun and Kudo-san have already helped, and the murderer has confessed.” Sato Miwako’s lips twitched. “But do you remember the doctor in this case who gave the deceased the banned drugs to sell?”
"Hmm?" Kenji Hagiwara had a bad feeling. "What's wrong with this doctor?"
Sato Miwako said expressionlessly, "He's dead. Just now."
Hagihara Kenji: "..."
Usoya Saiki: "...This person has really bad luck."
"It was a shooting, so we actually suspect that it wasn't just about giving him illegal drugs; there might be other issues involved..."
Sato Miwako pressed her temples, feeling a headache coming on: "But the police have taken over this case, and it feels like there's no end in sight. It's a bit upsetting."
Kenji Hagiwara comforted him, saying, "You have to get used to this. The police are never reasonable."
Bo Yezhai: "..."
I felt like laughing, and even wanted to record it.
They walked into the Metropolitan Police Department while chatting, only to see Yusaku Kudo also walking out with a worried look on his face.
I inquired about the situation.
"Sigh... I have a friend who is a screenwriter of crime dramas. I was planning to get together with him after I returned to China this time, but I just found out that he was murdered last night."
Everyone: "…………"
It seems like things aren't going well for everyone today...
Kenji Hagiwara glanced at Saiki Usui with suspicion.
Usoya Saiki was very perceptive: "Why are you looking at me?"
"Our case was resolved too easily. I'm worried that some strange trouble might arise later," Kenji Hagiwara said rather bluntly. "It went too smoothly. I'm a little uneasy."
Usoya Saiki: "...Then you can take the initiative to make it more difficult for yourself next time."
The group was chatting in the corridor when Inspector Megure came out with a frown.
Kudo Yusaku was shocked. He had just left Inspector Megure's office not long ago, and Inspector Megure seemed to be in a good mood at the time!
Inspector Megure looked up and saw them, then couldn't help but sigh.
Kenji Hagiwara felt a chill run down his spine: "Inspector? What happened? Is there a problem with the case you're handling?"
Inspector Megure asked, puzzled, "What do you mean 'also'? It's because there's been a problem with Shiratori-kun's case... He hopes that Kanekawa-kun can go and help out."
Bo Yezhai: "…………"
Kenji Hagiwara: "...Is it that everyone else, except for me and Fukaru, is having a really bad day with their cases?"
Inspector Megure shook his head: "No, strictly speaking, this isn't really Shiratori-kun's case... Didn't he take the day off yesterday? Actually, his college classmate is getting married today, and he went to the groom's bachelor party yesterday, only to find the groom dead this morning... This case was actually assigned to someone else, but Shiratori-kun felt it wasn't reliable, so this is why..."
I want to send Hanchuan Shenliu to check on the situation.
However, the person in charge of this case is not Inspector Megure's subordinate. If he sends someone there, it would be like causing trouble. But Shiratori Ninzaburo seems to think that if the case is closed like this, there will be wrongful convictions, and it would be even more embarrassing to be proven wrong later.
Inspector Megure sighed deeply: "Anyway, that's the situation. Shiratori-kun... he might be too heartbroken, so his judgment might not be accurate. You might have just wasted your trip..."
Kenji Hagiwara was still very enthusiastic: "It's no problem, it's only a half-hour drive there... What do you think, Fuka-ryu?"
I don't care about Usoppei. It sounds like there are a lot of people at the wedding, so maybe I can raise more suspicion points. That sounds good too.
And so, Kenji Hagiwara and Saiki Usuba, who had just returned to the Metropolitan Police Department, set off again.
Shiratori Ninzaburo called Usuba Saiki so they could listen to the case details in the car, saving time.
“Yesterday, a few of my classmates and I were drinking together. We drank until about 10 p.m. Ebina… who is supposed to be the groom today, said that he had to prepare for the wedding the next day and couldn’t continue drinking, so he had to leave early.”
Shiratori Ninzaburo's voice came through the receiver.
"When a few of us went to his house again today, no one answered the doorbell when we knocked. When we broke in, we found that he had been stabbed to death. The scene looked like a home invasion robbery. The alarm clock was also broken. The time was frozen at 10:43. Before he died, he was sending an email to his fiancée. The content was 'I'm sorry, let's talk about that another day.' The time was 10:42."
Sitting in the passenger seat, Usakabe Saiki asked slowly, "So, is there a problem?"
Shiratori Ninzaburo said in a serious tone, "The people in charge of the case are planning to close it as a burglary, believing that he was attacked because he was focused on sending emails... But I feel there is something wrong. I suspect that the email was not sent by Ebina."
As an elite detective after all, Shiratori Ninzaburo noticed some details amidst his grief.
“His typing habits are different from Ebina’s. He always typed the katakana ‘e’ as ‘ェ’, but it was different in this email. But after I told the police officer in charge, he said that people are not machines and will definitely make mistakes sometimes, maybe it was just a slip of the hand… He also said that I was too emotional and suggested that I not get involved in the case, so he did not intend to take any of my opinions into account.”
It was clear that Shiratori Ninzaburo was trying to calm down, but his anger was still very evident.
Kenji Hagiwara, who was driving, was very tactful and wouldn't say something like "It's certainly possible that it was a slip of the hand." Instead, he asked, "Besides that, is there anything else that feels off?"
Shiratori Renzaburo paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then slowly said, "I'm not so sure about other places, but I hope Kankawa-kun can come over. Maybe he'll know once he sees it. Everyone's here now."
This made even Bo Yezaki curious.
Kenji Hagiwara was a little worried about Ninzaburo Shiratori's mood, so he used his driving skills to quickly get to the scene without violating traffic rules.
The deceased's house is now full of people, including his fiancée and even his ex-girlfriend. When they arrived, they witnessed the deceased's ex-girlfriend slapping his fiancée.
Kenji Hagiwara was startled and instinctively stopped the woman who was about to leave: "Excuse me, could you tell me what happened? Why did you hit someone?"
The deceased's ex-girlfriend sneered: "Are you a cop? You should ask the person who was beaten why they're so guilty! I suggest you arrest her right now! She's definitely the murderer! Get out of the way! I don't want to be in the same room as her!"
Usoppei Kiri walked over at this moment and casually asked, "What happened?"
The deceased's ex-girlfriend froze as she tried to push aside Kenji Hagiwara, suddenly becoming much more restrained. She looked at Saiki Usui with a hint of suspicion, then glanced at the police officers outside, seemingly having a mental battle trying to understand why this person was here...
Sure enough, as soon as Usuha Saiki arrived, the noisy atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn and quiet, which finally made it more in line with the atmosphere of preparing for a funeral.
Bo Yezaki glanced around, and even the police officer in charge of the case seemed intimidated, using polite language: "Mr. Hanchuan, what brings you here?"
All eyes turned to the middle-aged man who looked to be nearly forty, and then to Han Chuan Shenliu, whose expression kept everyone at a distance...
So, this guy is also a policeman? If you hadn't told us, we would have thought he was a gangster... And why is he using honorifics with such a young person when he's so old? Does that person have a higher rank than this veteran policeman?
It's just one person who died, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss and attract the attention of the higher-ups?!
Usoppai was not very familiar with the police officer in charge of the case, but he was always blunt: "I was just passing by and saw the police tape, so I came over to check the situation."
Kenji Hagiwara smiled and said, "Please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
The police officer in charge said awkwardly, "This case isn't difficult. It's just that during a home invasion robbery, the homeowner was killed... The main problem is finding the culprit."
It would have been fine if he had sought help from Kanakawa Shinryu at the Metropolitan Police Department, but with so many outsiders watching, expecting him to act as if he were completely obedient to someone so much younger than himself... he also had his pride.
It's not like he can't solve cases just because he's separated from Hanchuan Shenliu!
Usakabe Saiki tossed out an ambiguous "Is that so?" and turned to walk inside. Shiratori Renzaburo helped him point the way, and it seemed they were heading towards the crime scene.
The police officer in charge hesitated for a few seconds but did not stop them. He felt that his judgment was correct and also wanted to show off his strength to those who were secretly jealous. So he even jogged a few steps and led the way.
"This is it." The police officer in charge led them to the crime scene. "Look, the French windows were smashed, all the valuables were stolen, the alarm clock is here, and it's broken too. This should be the time of the incident..."
He wanted to bring Hanchuan Shenliu into his rhythm, but unfortunately, he was interrupted before he could finish speaking.
"This is not the crime scene."
The police officer in charge was taken aback, then somewhat annoyed: "What?"
"This alarm clock is too deliberate, as if it's trying to emphasize the time of this incident. My alarm clock is also of this brand. If it were just a normal drop, it would be hard to get this badly damaged. It would have to be dropped with a lot of force to achieve this."
The officer in charge was getting a little annoyed: "But it's not impossible that it broke because of the wrong angle of fall, is it? You...you...you don't have any other reasons?"
Han Chuan Shenliu stood up from beside the corpse and gently brushed the dust off his clothes.
"As for the reason... I actually noticed it as soon as I walked in. This should be a group murder. All the testimonies from their gathering last night cannot be trusted."
The police officer in charge: "...??? How did you figure out it was a mass murder?!"
Did you even have a minute in there?! That's ridiculously slow! It's even stranger than an armchair detective!!!
And have you forgotten that you just said you were just passing by...? What's with this attitude that makes you seem to know more about the case than I do?! Aren't you even going to pretend?
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Bonus chapter
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Only Usuha and Hagiwara had a smooth day.
...However, there was indeed a sequel to that bombing case.
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The case is adapted from the TV series "Aibou".
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