Chapter 45 Polo Cat Cafe
It was late at night when Conan returned to the detective agency from the secret base.
The young detective could see from afar that the Poirot Cat Cafe downstairs was still open, with warm yellow light shining through the glass curtain wall, and a cat was perched on a cat shelf looking back at him.
It felt especially warm and peaceful on the dark and cold night.
Conan had an idea and ran over to tease the big, furry cat through the glass.
This is a Siberian forest cat, large in size and lively.
Its eyes were as clear as blue crystals, its thick fur was covered with Neva-colored patterns, and it had a large tail like a squirrel trailing behind it.
"Hikaru!" Conan called out the big cat's name affectionately.
The Sissen started meowing at him and scratching at the glass with its paws, as if trying to get out.
So Conan turned a corner and went into the coffee shop, intending to play with the cat for a while before going upstairs.
However, as soon as Conan pushed open the door, he was so startled by the words "Welcome to Poirot Cat Cafe" that he nearly fell over.
It's not because the service staff's attitude is bad, but because that voice is just too familiar!
Conan's shock was written all over his face. He looked up at the blond waiter's "friendly" smile, and his mind went blank for a moment.
"Why is Amuro Tooru working here?!"
"Meow meow—" Hikaru ran to Conan's feet and rubbed against him.
Actually, there are many cats in the cat cafe, but this one is the closest to Conan. Even when he was still Shinichi Kudo, Hikaru was always sticking to him.
However, Conan unusually did not respond, because he was completely stunned.
"Oh dear, it seems Hikaru really likes you! Come on, give it a hug!" Amuro skillfully placed the cat in the little boy's arms, then closed the shop door and asked, "What does Conan want to eat?"
"Huh? I..."
"How about a sandwich? It's quick to make, I can't make any complicated dishes since we're closing soon."
"Huh? Oh! Hmm..." the little detective mumbled incoherently.
After eating Matsuda's roasted sweet potato, Conan felt a bit full and didn't originally intend to have another meal, but for some reason he agreed without really thinking about it.
"Then please sit down and wait a moment, it will be ready soon!" Amuro said with a smile.
The little detective sat in a corner of the sofa, holding a big cat, looking lost in thought.
It's currently the season when Nishimori's fur is thickening, so Hikaru looks like a big fur ball, and seems to be even bigger than the little detective.
So Conan put Hikaru on the table and hid his head behind the cat to secretly observe the waiter's every move.
But Hikaru wasn't happy about it. He meowed and wanted a hug, and insisted on squeezing onto Conan.
Amuro saw this and joked, "Hikaru wants you to hold it! Don't be afraid, it's very well-behaved and won't scratch you."
Conan sighed helplessly and hugged the cat in his arms.
Fortunately, the sandwich was served quickly, allowing him to temporarily avoid eye contact with the waiter.
There are only two two-legged creatures in the cat café.
One of them was eating a sandwich while using one hand to pet the cat.
The other pulled up a chair and sat opposite, carefully examining its kind.
Matsuda just called, and Amuro already knows about the little detective's glorious deeds.
If Conan finding the design blueprints left behind by the culprit is surprising, then Matsuda praising Conan as "smart, cute, and with a sweet tongue" is puzzling.
"Edogawa-kun, can you please stop being so hypocritical?"
Amuro stared at the little detective who was happily petting the cat but wouldn't even glance at him, thinking to himself.
But he certainly wouldn't say it out loud, because that would seem too beneath him.
"Since you're enjoying your food, I'll take that as a compliment."
The chef consoled himself.
Amuro patiently waited for Conan to finish his sandwich before asking, "How's the investigation into Kawabata going?"
This time, Amuro didn't give Conan an earphone or a listening device like before, not out of trust, but because Kawabata is a very wary person.
Amuro didn't want to risk being discovered, so he only sent a "child" to gather information.
Conan lowered his head and remained silent, holding Hikaru tightly in his arms, as if she were the only thing that could bring him warmth and a sense of security.
Seeing this, Amuro softened his tone and said, "It's alright, I can give you two more days."
Although Conan can work around the clock because Teitan Elementary School is closed, it's expected that it will be difficult to get Kawabata to talk.
Moreover, once Conan finds out that the person is a police officer, he might quickly make the connection to his own identity, so waiting a little longer wouldn't be a bad idea.
To everyone's surprise, Conan replied in an extremely calm and composed tone, completely unlike a child, "I've found out everything."
"Oh? Then please tell us about it!"
Conan took a deep breath and slowly said, "Officer Kawabata Hisashi is 30 years old this year. He graduated from the police academy seven years ago with top marks and joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Division. His family has been in business for generations, and he is their first policeman."
"First place, that's impressive!" Amuro casually praised.
"Meow—" Xiao Guang echoed from the side.
Conan glanced at the other person, patted the cat's head, and continued, "Actually, Inspector Kawahata had always been second in the police academy entrance exam and all the assessments in between, but he got first place for the only time in the graduation exam. Inspector Kawahata once asked the student who had always been first place if he had deliberately lost to him at the last minute. But that person said no, so Inspector Kawahata attributed it to his good luck and that his hard work had paid off."
Conan paused for a moment, then continued, "That student, like Inspector Kawabata, went to work for the Ministry of Public Security. Just three months after joining, they were assigned to a secret mission. I didn't find out the specifics. However, an accident occurred during the mission's preparation phase..."
"Initially, Officer Kawabata, who graduated first in his class, was the main person in charge of this mission, and his classmate was his deputy. However, a few days later, they were suddenly notified that their roles would be switched, and Officer Kawabata became his deputy. Naturally, he was dissatisfied and went to question his superiors about the reason. The answer he received was ambiguous, the gist of which was that the superiors felt that his classmate had stronger overall qualities. Officer Kawabata felt that his superiors did not trust him, so he went to other leaders to argue, but to no avail. Therefore, Officer Kawabata had no choice but to agree to be his classmate's deputy."
After saying this, Conan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong?" Amuro asked with concern.
"Why did you make me investigate this..." Conan muttered to himself, which didn't sound like a question.
Amuro frowned, a vague sense of unease creeping in: perhaps the truth of the matter was not as simple as he thought.
Conan swallowed a few times and continued, "However, just before the mission officially began, disaster struck. Inspector Kawahata's classmate was in a serious car accident. The driver was named Numabuchi Kiichiro, a fugitive criminal. Numabuchi died on the spot, while the classmate was seriously injured and had to have a limb amputated to save his life."
Upon hearing this, Amuro sensed something was amiss and asked, "What's that student's name?"
"Yangzhuo Qianki."
"Qian Muliang?!"
Upon hearing this surname, Amuro nearly jumped off his chair in shock.
"Is there a problem?" Conan looked at the other person with a strange expression.
"No, it's nothing, please continue..."
Conan composed himself and said, "Officer Chiki's injuries were very serious, and he passed away after a week in the hospital. However, the police investigation has gathered evidence that Officer Kawahata knew the driver who caused the accident. This was not a car accident but a premeditated murder, and the motive was jealousy of his colleague and dissatisfaction with his work assignment."
"What evidence?"
“There were some communication records and financial transactions. But Inspector Kawahata said he had never done such a thing and that the evidence was fabricated by someone with ulterior motives. In order to prove his innocence, Inspector Kawahata requested a forensic autopsy.”
Why is an autopsy necessary?
"Because Inspector Kawabata realized that Inspector Chigiri had been murdered, and the perpetrator wanted to pin the crime on him. The car accident could have been fatal, but Inspector Chigiri miraculously survived, so the perpetrator might have committed a second crime."
"What were the autopsy results?"
"The forensic examination determined that Officer Chiki died from his injuries and that there was no secondary injury. Therefore, Officer Kawahata was arrested and imprisoned."
In less than six months, he went from being the top student in the police academy to a prisoner.
Amuro didn't want to think about what it felt like, nor did he dare to.
"But how was he released?" Amuro asked.
"Because another forensic doctor insisted on performing a second autopsy, but reached a different conclusion."
"Oh? Why did the forensic doctor make that request?"
"According to Officer Kawabata, the forensic pathologist was a relative of Officer Chigi Ryo, and she reviewed the autopsy report and believed that the cause of death was questionable."
"Could you tell me the name of that forensic doctor?"
"Eiko Oda".
"It really was her!"
"Forensic pathologist Oda determined that Officer Chigi Yoshio died from tetrodotoxin poisoning, not from severe injuries. However, someone quickly came forward claiming that the pathologist had been paid by the Kawabata family to fabricate evidence, leading to a long legal battle. The lawsuit lasted nearly two years, during which Officer Kawabata remained in prison, and Dr. Oda had his forensic license revoked and nearly severed ties with Chigi Yoshio. Ultimately, Dr. Oda's colleagues petitioned the court, which acquitted both officers due to insufficient evidence."
"Later, Dr. Oda switched to another forensic institution to continue working. Meanwhile, Officer Kawahata asked his superiors to help him get a job in the archives, and it's been almost 5 years now."
"It's just a change of prison."
Amuro listened to this passage in silence, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Without a doubt, Chigi Ryo and Kawahata were undercover agents sent to infiltrate the organization.
So why did it bring disaster? The answer is self-evident.
This was the first time he had a concrete understanding of the enemies within the public security system:
So what if you're number one in police academy?
If you touch the vested interests of those in power, they can still crush you.
As an undercover agent, he was keenly aware that his real adversary was not the organization, but this fertile ground that breeds evil.
The most terrifying thing is not that the organization has been running rampant for decades and left police forces in various countries helpless, but that even if the organization is gone, the "mole" may still be there.
Amuro thought with deep sorrow:
Police officers are unsung heroes hidden in the shadows; their deeds are mostly sealed in secret files.
However, people like Chiki Ryo and Kawabata, who suffered misfortune and had their ambitions unfulfilled before the mission even began, were not even worthy of being mentioned by name in the report.
Think about it again: what would have happened if our predecessors hadn't stepped on our landmines?
Could it be that Jingguang is the one who dies a violent and mysterious death, while he himself is the one who is wrongfully imprisoned and unable to defend himself?
It was around that time that the National Police Agency realized that sending in undercover agents might encounter resistance from the Ministry of Public Security, but it was still uncertain whether there was actually a mole.
Therefore, the strategy was changed the following year. Kazami was transferred to the National Police Agency, and Kagemitsu resigned directly from the Ministry of Public Security. Together with himself, who originally belonged to the ZERO Group, and Kuroda, the public security superior who had been using the false identity of the First Investigation Division's manager, they formed a new undercover team.
"Two generations of police officers sacrificed their lives to ensure that this undercover agent survived six years of close calls!"
A bitter smile appeared on Amuro's face.
"Why is this cozy café, with its adorable cats and intelligent children, discussing such a painful past?"
"What about the rumors about another high school classmate?" Amuro asked again.
"Inspector Kawahata did have a high school classmate who graduated from police academy with him and joined the Ministry of Public Security. However, he was unaware that the classmate had caused his partner's death."
"So that's nonsense? Who is that student?"
Conan gave Amuro a meaningful look and asked, "Wasn't that person one of your subordinates? You sent him to follow me two years ago, have you forgotten so quickly?"
"Huh?" Amuro was taken aback, and a name immediately popped into his mind: Kazami?
"Could it be that the person who killed my partner was Zhi Jing?"
"But the timing and causality don't make sense, do they? Kazami had already been transferred to the police department before he went undercover, didn't he?"
"Is it a case of misinformation spreading incorrectly, or was false information deliberately released from the outset?"
"Officer Kawabata said that this rumor only started appearing in the last few months. Moreover, Officer Kazami came to see him recently because Officer Kazami had been receiving fake bombs with cryptic notes attached."
"Such a thing actually happened? Why didn't Kazami tell me?"
"Inspector Kazami felt that the tone of the note seemed similar to that of the prisoner who had escaped this time, but it was definitely not the same person. If it were a child's prank, they shouldn't be able to imitate this style. But since no real harm was caused, it was inconvenient to call the police, so he took the initiative to ask Inspector Kawabata for help."
Are they close?
Conan looked at the other person with an incredulous expression, as if to say: Don't you know your own subordinates?
But Conan answered seriously, "We used to be very close, but we haven't kept in touch much since we started working. Inspector Kazami contacted his old classmate mainly because Inspector Kawabata works in the archives and can access old files to compare with the criminal's notice. They both believed that the matter was indirectly related to the criminal. So they went to the prison to talk to the criminal but got nothing. In the end, they didn't find the person who delivered the bomb, and the matter was dropped. Later, the criminal escaped from prison."
Amuro nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm done telling the story." The little detective put the money for the meal on the table, nimbly jumped off the sofa, and reluctantly rubbed the cat's head.
Before leaving, Conan glanced back at Amuro.
That stubborn look in his eyes, mixed with hatred, made Amuro's heart tremble.
Conan asked coldly, "Do you still keep your word?"
"Huh? Of course." Amuro answered without thinking, completely unaware of what he had promised the other party.
Only after the young detective had left did Amuro belatedly realize:
Could it be because of Xiaolan?
However, this time, the police officer and his prospective assistant were completely on different wavelengths.
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