Chapter 16 Bomb Disposal Expert
"Danger cleared."
Matsuda took off his thick protective suit and let out a long sigh of relief. He glanced at the time: What a coincidence, it's time to get off work.
However, things didn't go as planned, and Matsuda never expected that a "big problem" was waiting for him today.
"Matsuda-senpai! A student would like to interview you."
A new police officer ran over quickly and shouted, his voice so clear that everyone present could hear him clearly.
"Oh my! Our Jinpei-chan has become a big celebrity!" Hagiwara nudged his childhood friend with his elbow with a grin, then turned to ask, "Is the girl pretty?"
“Ah…” the new police officer scratched his head and replied awkwardly, “Hagiwara-senpai, that was a boy.”
Upon hearing this, Hagiwara was overjoyed and laughed, "Looks like Jinpei-chan is popular with both men and women!"
Matsuda maintained a sullen expression throughout, and only after Hagi finished laughing did he coldly ask, "Why are you interviewing me?"
"Yes, it's because I said Matsuda-senpai was a bomb disposal expert, that's why that kid..."
Under Matsuda's intense gaze, the new recruit's voice trailed off, until finally he couldn't continue and apologized, "I'm sorry, Matsuda-senpai, I shouldn't have said that! But that kid seems to have something very important to do, and he absolutely needs someone who's an expert in electrical machinery. Why don't you go take a look?"
With a mix of displeasure and curiosity, Matsuda approached the student who was supposedly going to interview him.
"Are you Officer Matsuda?" The boy's voice was lively and cheerful.
Matsuda nodded.
"Officer Matsuda, I'm Shinichi Kudo from Teitan Junior High School. May I ask you a few questions?"
Through his sunglasses, Matsuda sized up the boy:
Around 15 years old, still in the developmental stage, he was a head shorter than him, but looked more mature than other kids his age.
His clothes and appearance were no different from those of an ordinary middle school student; the only thing that attracted attention was his eyes—they were very bright.
Meanwhile, Shinichi was also observing Matsuda:
An aura that keeps strangers at bay, a cold and sharp tone, and eyes hidden behind sunglasses.
All of this was far removed from Shinichi's preconceived notions of what a police officer should be. But it was precisely this sense of alienation that piqued his interest.
"A very interesting subject of observation"
Matsuda and Shinichi silently evaluated each other in their hearts.
"Jinpei-chan, I'm going first! I'll be waiting for you at the usual spot—" Before Matsuda could respond, Hagiwara took the lead and said, "Kudo-kun, bye-bye! Remember to interview me next time a female classmate comes!"
Shinichi was bewildered by the overly familiar police officer and asked, "Officer Matsuda, who is this?"
"Ignore him!" Matsuda replied irritably.
"Are you free later? Where's our usual spot?"
"Kids shouldn't meddle in adult matters." Matsuda bluntly shut Shinichi's curious mouth. He habitually reached for a cigarette, but after glancing at Shinichi, he put his hand back in his pocket and asked, "What does Kudo-kun want to interview?"
"I'd like to ask Officer Matsuda a few questions." Shinichi said, pulling out his phone and showing Matsuda several images. "Officer Matsuda, can you tell what these are?"
"Is this a fire? A fire caused by aging wiring? There are still unburnt wire ends down there."
"Officer Matsuda, are you sure? But the fire investigators concluded that the fire was caused by a cigarette butt."
"Oh? I'm sorry, I don't know much about fire. You've come to the wrong person."
“No! I don’t think Officer Matsuda is wrong, because I think so too,” Shinichi said firmly.
Matsuda wore a strange expression and said, "Kudo-kun, if you think the police officers in charge of handling the fire have made a mistake in their conclusions, then you should go and reason with them. What are you doing here interviewing me? Are you really here to conduct an interview?"
Caught red-handed, Shinichi dropped the pretense and laid his cards on the table: "Officer Matsuda, these photos were taken at the scene of a fire that happened this Thursday. Although the police haven't reached a conclusion yet, I think their investigation is going in the wrong direction. But they think I'm talking nonsense, so I need evidence, irrefutable proof! I think Officer Matsuda, as a bomb disposal expert, can help me."
"Sorry, I haven't quite figured out the relationship yet."
Matsuda yawned, seemingly unimpressed by what he was saying.
"The police currently believe the fire was caused by a cigarette butt on the 7th floor igniting nearby flammable materials. However, this is not the case. The fire broke out in the middle of the night. Although there were few witnesses, my investigation proves that the fire started on the 8th floor."
"Shouldn't the police investigate this matter thoroughly?"
"The police believe those people couldn't see the building clearly because it was dark and there was thick smoke!" Shinichi replied angrily.
"Were those photos taken on the 8th floor?"
"Yes, the fire started when construction workers on the 8th floor turned off the power after finishing their day's work. The cause wasn't just aging wiring; more importantly, someone tampered with the wiring. Furthermore, the arsonist moved items that were originally piled up in the fire escape to the 8th floor, further accelerating the spread of the fire. However, this also gave people inside the building a chance to escape. I haven't figured out this part yet; perhaps the arsonist didn't intend to take lives..."
Matsuda interrupted, "Wait, isn't this all your reasoning? What did the construction workers say?"
“It’s my deduction! The workers said that static electricity was indeed generated after the power was cut off. But because this kind of thing happens often, and they discovered the fire more than 20 minutes later, the police believe that this is not the cause of the fire.”
Matsuda frowned slightly and said, "Kid, you've given me so much rambling, but you don't actually have any solid evidence to back it up, do you?"
“So now I need Officer Matsuda’s help to prove that this is true!” Shinichi said firmly.
Matsuda was so angry he almost laughed: "Kid, why should I believe you?"
"Then why did you keep listening if you didn't believe me, Officer Matsuda?" Shinichi asked pointedly. "Officer Matsuda should be off work by now, right? Why didn't you go home or to your usual meeting place with your colleagues? And why are you listening to a strange junior high school student rambling on... So, Officer Matsuda must care a lot, right? I just heard from other officers that Officer Matsuda is a responsible and dedicated senior."
"Flattery won't work, I'm not buying it," Matsuda replied coldly, seemingly a little angry as he turned to leave.
Seeing this, Shinichi grabbed the other man's arm and shouted, "Then let's do this to stop the criminal from doing something else! I know the criminal killed someone last year and set a fire this year. If we arrest him soon, who knows what other crimes he'll commit! Officer Matsuda, are you just going to sit idly by?"
Matsuda was taken aback, then asked seriously, "You're saying the criminal committed murder?"
Shinichi, feeling intimidated by the other person's aura, replied somewhat timidly, "Although there's no evidence..."
"Don't make things up without evidence!"
"Wait! Officer Matsuda, don't go! I really need your help! Although the professor made a fire simulation device, the detonator for that electric spark just isn't working properly..."
"Where is it?" Matsuda asked anxiously.
"Oh? At home!"
"You simulated a fire at home and even installed a detonator?!"
"It's not my house, it's the doctor's house." Shinichi showed a rare blank expression, completely unaware of what the other person was focusing on.
"What's the difference?!" Matsuda roared, grabbing the other man by the collar and dragging him into the car without another word. "Where does the professor live?"
Shinichi timidly gave his address and sat obediently in the passenger seat, not daring to say another word.
This was the first time he had ever seen Matsuda angry; it was a bit scary.
Matsuda angrily brought Shinichi to the professor's house.
He had assumed that Professor Agasa was a terrorist or a dangerous person, but to his surprise, he was greeted by a kind and amiable fat old man.
"Doctor, this is Officer Matsuda. He wants to see your invention."
Shinichi stood behind Matsuda and said, noticing that even indoors, Matsuda showed no intention of taking off his sunglasses: "I wonder what kind of eyes are behind those sunglasses?"
The professor was delighted to hear this, his face beaming with pride and smugness. He then pulled Matsuda aside and began to boast about his inventions.
Things like dancing little people, mini flying machines, and robot vacuum cleaners.
Matsuda is usually a person who likes to tinker and make things, and his house is filled with little gadgets he made himself in every nook and cranny.
After observing Professor Agasa's achievements, he felt a sense of inferiority.
"The professor is amazing!" Matsuda exclaimed sincerely.
"Oh, not at all, these are just trivial little things!" the doctor said modestly, though he was secretly overjoyed.
Seeing the two chatting more and more happily, Shinichi, who was completely ignored and became invisible, was about to explode with anger!
"Good heavens! Officer Matsuda, whom we went through so much trouble to find, has suddenly become the professor's close friend despite their age difference?"
"Where do you place me?!"
"Ahem!" Shinichi started giving the doctor a wink.
The professor, who was having a pleasant conversation with Matsuda, was puzzled and said with a smile, "Shinichi, is your throat sore? Drink some more water!"
Shinichi, growing increasingly anxious, glared at the doctor and, unable to contain himself any longer, pulled him aside, saying, "Doctor, have you forgotten the important matter?"
The professor suddenly remembered something, cleared his throat, and said to Matsuda, "Officer Matsuda, please allow me to introduce an important invention."
Matsuda appeared very interested, but when he saw the real thing, he suddenly had a bad feeling: "Doctor, could this be that?"
"That's right! This is the fire scene simulation simulator that Shinichi asked me to make. Officer Matsuda, please don't be nervous. This equipment is very safe. To solve the air pollution problem caused by the thick smoke, I also equipped it with an air purifier. Isn't that thoughtful?"
Matsuda and Shinichi exchanged glances, then cautiously asked, "Is it really safe?"
“Of course! I can demonstrate it to you now,” the doctor replied without room for argument.
Before Matsuda could stop him, the professor pressed the switch.
With a deafening roar, a blinding flash of light appeared before Shinichi's eyes.
For a second, my mind went blank. When I came to my senses, Matsuda had already shielded me with his body. Broken glass shards were scattered all over the ground, and the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell.
Matsuda pulled Shinichi up from the ground, turned to the professor, and said seriously, "Professor, this thing is too dangerous, we can't keep it!"
The doctor was also quite frightened, but fortunately he was not injured.
He felt a little wronged and sorry for her, and said, "I'll revise it again..."
Matsuda expressed his strong opposition: "No! It must be demolished!"
The doctor wanted to say something more, but Matsuda, with his perfect execution skills, had already started dismantling it.
"Blood..." came a boy's voice from behind.
"Huh? You're injured?" Matsuda turned around and asked.
"I'm fine, Officer Matsuda, your arm is bleeding."
"It's alright." Matsuda wiped it haphazardly and continued taking it apart.
Shinichi pleaded, "Can't the professor just lock this up? It doesn't necessarily have to be taken apart..."
"No, this thing is a ticking time bomb. Today it might shatter glass, but tomorrow it could blow up the whole house. This is a residential area; we absolutely cannot keep it!"
Dr. and Shinichi then stopped insisting and silently stopped Matsuda's bleeding, letting him dismantle the thing.
It was getting late, and seeing that Matsuda was in a hurry to leave, Shinichi didn't want to bring up the fire case again.
He asked curiously, "Is Officer Matsuda going to his usual spot to meet his colleagues?"
"Yes, I'm leaving now! Doctor, be careful in the future, and don't tinker with such dangerous things again. See you next time!"
After saying that, Matsuda strode out the door. Shinichi, still unwilling to give up, asked, "Officer Matsuda, what exactly is this 'old place'?"
Matsuda casually exhaled a smoke ring and replied without turning his head, "A drink—let's go!"
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