Chapter 13: Who stole the detective's spotlight? ...
Life is more than just the present hardships.
There will also be resentful people around who will keep nitpicking your details.
Morofushi Kagemitsu took a deep breath, got up and followed Matsuda Jinpei, who had one hand in his pocket and the other holding a riot helmet. The two walked one after the other toward Mouri Kogoro, who was sitting in a chair.
“That was a fake bomb.” Matsuda Jinpei stopped and summarized succinctly, “It was all show and no substance.”
"Then, Officer Matsuda, when you were defusing the bomb, did you notice that the bomb casing was very sticky?" Kogoro Mouri's mouth was hidden in the shadows, maintaining an air of mystery that made people dare not disturb him, as he asked in a deep voice.
Matsuda Jinpei was taken aback by what he heard, not quite understanding what the other party wanted to know. Instead, he felt that the detective in front of him, who seemed to be deep in thought, looked a bit off.
Is his throat... really moving? The perceptive curly-haired police officer looked at Kogoro Mouri's neck, which was half-hidden in the shadows, and was unsure for a moment when the other did not speak.
A note and a notebook came into his view.
It was Date Wataru who handed Matsuda Jinpei the threatening note and his notebook of clues, indicating that he should quickly fill in the previous information.
However, upon noticing the oil stains on the note, Matsuda Jinpei understood what Kogoro Mouri was referring to. He quickly flipped through the squad leader's notebook and replied, "Yes, there was some machine oil residue on the side of the bomb. It was left by the person who installed it."
After reviewing all the records, the curly-haired officer slammed the notebook shut. Morofushi Kagemitsu looked away from behind him and handed the notebook back to Date Wataru. The two of them quickly synchronized their progress on the case investigation.
“However, this isn’t machine oil; machine oil is a darker color.” Matsuda Jinpei showed everyone the increasingly obvious oil stains on the paper and explained, “Animal fat will leave a curdled residue when it solidifies, so this should be rapeseed oil.”
“Well, that’s how it is.” Date Wataru took back the notebook and turned to the latest page. “But Mr. Ikeda doesn’t use rapeseed oil in his kitchen. If, as Mr. Nakagawa said, a note was found on the counter…”
The burly police officer's gaze was sharp as he stared directly at Hirata Mimi, whose face was stiff. "So, it was a frame-up by an outsider who doesn't know anything about the kitchen."
"Mr. Nishimura, who is in charge of delivering the food, enters the kitchen directly through the back door and does not go into the restaurant itself."
All eyes were focused on Hirata Mimi, who was the first to enter the restaurant to clean up. Conan, who was sitting behind Kogoro Mouri, was also taken aback. He was about to say this.
However, after piecing together the clues from the kitchen, Date Wataru quickly deduced the truth.
Hearing his assertion, Nishimura wiped the sweat from his brow, while Hirata Mimi's gaze became flustered. The waitress stammered for a moment, unable to defend herself, and hurriedly said, "Bomb... I didn't plant a bomb!"
"I just hope Mr. Nakagawa won't sell the shop to the family across the street."
Hirata Miumi clenched her hands at her sides and readily admitted that she had written the threatening note. "That's why I wanted to use Mr. Ikeda's name to threaten him, but I never intended to plant a bomb!"
“Mr. Fujioka is a very experienced businessman.” Daisuke Nakagawa looked incredulous that the waitress, Mimi Hirata, had done this. “Even if you hand the shop over to him, you won’t be affected in any way.”
“No, Manager.” Hirata Mimi lowered her head, but her voice became louder. She explained somewhat awkwardly, “Not everyone is as indifferent to other people’s past as you are. Mr. Fujioka always refuses waiters who have been fired before.”
"I...I need money right now." The neatly dressed woman gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, her usually ramrod-straight back now slightly hunched. "I can't lose this job, I'm so sorry, Mr. Nakagawa!"
"But I didn't plant the bomb!" she shouted, her face flushed, addressing the skeptical crowd. "I didn't intend to disrupt the restaurant's normal operations!"
“You definitely didn’t plant the bomb.” Matsuda Jinpei picked up where Date Wataru left off. He carefully took out a pair of gloves from the pocket of his bomb suit. They were covered in a sticky, brownish-black liquid that ran slightly when he unfolded them.
“As Mr. Mori said, the side of the bomb is covered in a lot of engine oil.” Matsuda Jinpei casually put the gloves on the table, his gaze fixed on Nishimura, the deliveryman wiping his sweat, and pointed out the problem bluntly, “And you have engine oil on your hands that you haven’t wiped off.”
"Ah... I drive a tricycle, it's perfectly normal for my hands to have engine oil on them," Nishimura explained hurriedly, his outstretched fingers indeed stained with black oil. "That doesn't mean I planted the bomb."
"If you ask me, it must have been this woman who did it!" The man gritted his teeth and pointed at Hirata Mimi, who looked shocked. "She said she didn't want to disturb the shop's business, but she was probably just afraid of being discovered."
“Ms. Hirata is indeed afraid of being discovered, so she disguised her behavior.” Seeing that the truth was about to be revealed, Conan, unwilling to waste a tranquilizer dart and hand over the truth, quickly put his bow tie to his mouth and interjected.
Kogoro Mouri's voice once again drew everyone's attention. The composed man called over Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, who was waiting to the side, "Tsuburaya-kun, please show me the photo."
"Okay, everyone, please take a look. This is the oil drum we found on the tricycle." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya pulled up a photo on his phone. The old-fashioned phone screen was small and the photo was blurry, but it was enough to make out the discarded oil drum in the center of the photo.
"What? There's nothing like that in my car!" Nishimura looked at Hirata Mimi and said repeatedly that she was framing him.
Having already guessed who planted the bomb, Hirata Mimi readily admitted it, then stirred up Nishimura's suspicions: "I've always been curious why the quick-witted Nishimura hasn't come back."
"Looking back now, you were probably planting the bomb when no one was watching the restaurant," the waiter explained, reconstructing the timeline. "Mr. Nakagawa usually went to the kitchen next door in the morning to sort out the accounts, while Mr. Ikeda needed to count the vegetables, which gave you the perfect opportunity to commit the crime."
"No, no! That's utter nonsense!"
That's exactly right, and you've left behind the most crucial evidence. Conan, sitting behind Kogoro Mouri, adjusted his glasses and aimed at the bow tie, ready to reveal the truth.
“Arno, this… Mr. Nishimura.” Hikaru Midorikawa, who had been standing silently to the side as a background figure, suddenly spoke up, raising a hand as if to answer a classroom question, and giving a shy smile to the people looking over.
“I assume you’ve already cleaned your hands of the oil.” The college student was very polite and pointed to the two obvious oil stains on Nishimura’s pants. He then smiled and said, “But this kind of sticky oil is hard to clean without alcohol.”
"Engine oil will emit a blue-white fluorescence when exposed to ultraviolet light." Midorikawa Hikaru suddenly changed the subject, saying the exact same knowledge point that Ai Haibara had explained, and then helplessly spread his hands at the stunned Nishimura.
"Once the machine oil left between your fingers is left on the bomb cap, you can see it just by shining a UV light on it."
“I think even if Officer Matsuda wiped some of the fingerprints off during the disassembly, the remaining fingerprints would still be easy to identify.” He winked at Nishimura, whose face had turned pale, and kindly advised, “Confessing can reduce your sentence.”
Nishimura collapsed to the ground, her head hanging low. "I... I just didn't want to lose this job."
"I have a criminal record, and no restaurant has been willing to hire me..."
The case is now clear.
…
"Wayway: The Truth Behind the Fake Bomb (Completed)"
"Passing Station: Fake Bomb Threat Incident (Completed)"
"Final route plan generated: 1.51%"
Zhuge Tongzhi stroked his chin as he looked at the increasing progress value. It seemed that solving cases gave more progress value than the daily path. And for the same case, the previous 'Crossing the Mall Robbery Case' had a 1% bonus, which was twice that of today's case.
Is it related to the nature of the case?
Zhuge Tongzhi, with Midorikawa Hikaru holding his hand, was lost in thought and did not pay attention to the predicament of his guardian.
For the first time, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who was carrying the script alone, realized that the straightforward Matsuda Jinpei was so difficult to deal with.
“…Ah yes, I live at school now, so Xiaotong will be living alone.” He revealed a look that was a mixture of helplessness, guilt, and genuine embarrassment from being constantly questioned. “But I will take care of her on weekends, I promise.”
"After all, I am her only family now."
The young man with blue-gray dog-like eyes looked gently at the girl beside him who was lost in thought, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
The officer standing next to Matsuda Jinpei was moved by the superb acting skills. He couldn't bear it and tugged at his superior, who was about to ask more questions, and whispered to him that it was time to call it a day, as the other team members were waiting outside the store.
"Well, see you later." Matsuda Jinpei still couldn't find any obvious flaws, but remembering that he had exchanged contact information with Zhuge Tongzhi, he let the strange person go.
He took one last deep look at the young man whose appearance and demeanor were strikingly similar to Hagi's, then turned and left with the members of the Virginity Explosion Group.
Morofushi Kagemitsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After seeing off his difficult colleague, he turned his attention to Zhuge Tongzhi. Although he had been delayed by the case, thanks to the several excellent detectives on the scene, he could still make it back to class in the afternoon.
"Xiaotong, let me take you home." He smiled and continued the conversation from where they started, "How about I pick you up for dinner tonight, and then we can go grocery shopping together?"
"Hmm?" Zhuge Tongzhi's attention had just been drawn away by the sullen Conan. After Morofushi Kagemitsu patiently repeated the story, Zhuge Tongzhi pondered for a moment and then readily agreed.
She suggested, "I know a sandwich place that's super delicious! Let's go there for dinner."
"Eh—really? No problem." Morofushi Kagemitsu replied obliviously, adding a few words of coaxing, "If even Kirito praises it, I'm really looking forward to it!"
"I'm not kidding," Zhuge Tongzhi said with an innocent smile. "It really is a super delicious sandwich."
Compared to the sandwiches you make yourself, the taste isn't drastically different, it's practically identical!
A note from the author:
----------------------
Conan, frustrated as three people take turns stealing his lines for the first time.
Matsuda Jinpei: I missed the mark, I'll definitely do it next time.
Ida Wataru: Elementary school students are really helping to solve the case (still shocking)
…
About dinner
Zhuge Tongzhi: Ready to watch the show. (jpg)
Unaware of anything amiss: Hmm… let me see how it compares to my skills.
…
Rei Furuya, who was working quietly, felt a chill run down his spine.
Well, those two bastards are probably going to come and watch him cook again. (clenches fist, inhales, holds back)
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