Chapter 251
Among everyone present, Mr. Nakajima was the one most eager to get his hands on the briefcase.
He had thought that today, the moment he most needed to keep his composure would be when exchanging keys with his transaction partner—but now, with this group of police officers standing before him, he felt his legs were about to give out.
When Mr. Nakajima had arranged this transaction method with his partner, he had no idea that today he would be hosting the famous detective Sleeping Kogoro, much less that there would suddenly be a terrorist attack that brought the police running over.
He felt his psychological preparation was far from adequate.
So when a police officer came over to call them forward, his heart was filled with terror, afraid that his betrayal of the programmer list had been exposed... surely not, right? There had been an explosion right next to them—would the police really be paying attention to a small fry like him?
With such hopeful thoughts, Mr. Nakajima walked anxiously to the front desk.
Little did he know that among his colleagues was someone even more anxious than him—Mr. Takeshita.
After all, Mr. Nakajima was merely trading away a programmer list, but Mr. Takeshita had secretly switched out the briefcase that Mr. Nakajima had stored—he hoped that when Mr. Nakajima opened the case later, he would immediately be blown to pieces, so he had placed a bomb inside.
Originally, he had expected this to happen at the earliest after work in the evening, but suddenly it was happening much earlier... with so many police around...
Mr. Takeshita cursed inwardly at whoever had carried out the terrorist attack—of all days to choose, why today! It completely disrupted his plan!
Although both had used bombs, Takeshita didn't think the explosion that had already occurred was related to him.
After all, this was Tokyo—there were too many bombing cases, and how could he possibly imagine that while he had switched briefcases with Mr. Nakajima, Mr. Nakajima was also planning to switch briefcases with someone else? This wasn't some TV drama—such coincidences were too absurd.
Therefore, being quite worried, on the way over he asked the police officer who had summoned them: "Um, that explosion over there..."
The police officer named Date Wataru replied gently: "It's under investigation. Since there might be other bombs, we need to evacuate personnel quickly."
Both Mr. Takeshita and Mr. Nakajima secretly breathed sighs of relief.
—With that attitude, it meant his actions hadn't been exposed, right?! That was good!
Then they saw that person.
Though people in black suits weren't exactly rare, everyone's first glance would inevitably be drawn to that dark-haired, red-eyed young man.
His expression was cold and indifferent as he glanced lazily in their direction, instantly bringing an almost terrifying sense of oppression.
Mr. Nakajima: "...!!!"
When Mr. Nakajima had seen this person called Samukawa Shinryu at the explosion site earlier, he had already felt something was very wrong.
That dangerous aura like a lawless maniac, that overwhelmingly strong presence, and someone who clearly had no interest in games yet coincidentally appeared at a game launch event—he must have had ulterior motives! There was absolutely no way he was here to try out games...
Therefore, Mr. Nakajima had been thinking at the time that this Samukawa Shinryu might be someone from the organization he was dealing with!!!
After all, that two-meter-tall man who had died was also completely out of place at this game launch atmosphere, and Samukawa Shinryu's danger level was even higher.
As for that person called Officer Matsuda, he also didn't look like someone who would enjoy playing games—he was probably a corrupt cop brought along just in case, who never expected something to actually happen...
Now that the transaction had failed, were they planning to take back his money?
But the failure of the transaction wasn't his fault...
Moreover, Mr. Nakajima secretly suspected in his heart whether the death of his transaction partner was related to the person before him. After all, even if they were from the same organization, internal conflicts and taking opportunities to silence people weren't impossible, right?
If he couldn't get that money because of this, wouldn't that be quite unfair?
Mr. Nakajima felt aggrieved.
Mr. Takeshita, who also harbored guilty secrets, had his own theories.
Good heavens, could this be the Moriarty who had sold him the perfect murder plan?!
What was the situation with him appearing here now?
Wait, could it be that the explosion was another criminal plan sold by this Moriarty consultant, and now that he discovered it had affected his own plan, he was here for after-sales service?
What had he done to deserve this! From the current situation, his plan could still continue—it hadn't failed at all!
But was it really okay for the Moriarty consultant to appear here? Were the police really not reacting at all?
Several people watched as Samukawa Shinryu slowly walked toward them and said flatly: "There was a terrorist attack just now. Your company president needs to hold a meeting. Now take your belongings and go find your president."
Everyone: "...?"
Huh? Why was this person giving orders? Where were the police?
They looked toward the police officers nearby, only to find that the officers were either looking down at their phones, discussing something among themselves, or smiling at them.
How strange, really strange.
They didn't know what to think, didn't dare to ask, and could only awkwardly hurry to the front desk to collect their stored packages one by one.
Mr. Nakajima and Mr. Takeshita were the most nervous.
Especially Mr. Nakajima, who was the last to collect his item. The moment he pulled out his claim ticket, several people in the know began to frown.
They had all stored items together and should all have numbers in the nineties, yet his was in the hundreds...
Mr. Nakajima's back was soaked with sweat.
If everything had gone according to the original plan, when he collected his stored luggage, he would have been separated from his acquaintances, and no one would have paid attention to what number he had. But now this...
Among the three suspects, the most innocent one was bold enough to speak: "Um, we've collected our things, so shall we go find the president for the meeting?"
With such an incident occurring, there would definitely be a meeting. He wasn't particularly suspicious.
Seeing someone willing to stick their neck out, Mr. Nakajima and Mr. Takeshita quickly voiced their agreement: "Right, right, right, thank you, officers. You've worked hard. We'll leave now and won't disturb you..."
Edogawa Conan couldn't help but frequently glance toward Samukawa Shinryu.
Were they really going to let them leave just like that? Surely the cover-up wasn't this obvious?!
Just as Inspector Megure was about to speak up, Samukawa Shinryu finally spoke.
"Wait."
Mr. Nakajima and Mr. Takeshita's hearts immediately sank.
"Mr. Nakajima." Samukawa Shinryu said methodically, "Please give me your briefcase."
Mr. Takeshita: "...???"
His bomb was still inside! What did this mean?! Why stop his plan?!
Mr. Nakajima: "...!!!"
The money he had received was still inside! What did this mean?! Was the transaction void?! Or was this a double-cross?!
No wonder they had him collect the briefcase in front of so many police—they were counting on him not daring to expose the truth, weren't they?!
The two men, both feeling they had been set up, simultaneously showed expressions of slight resistance mixed with fear.
In the ensuing silence, Samukawa Shinryu repeated: "Please give it to me."
He emphasized the honorific, making it sound strangely sarcastic, as if threatening someone.
Mr. Nakajima gritted his teeth. Not daring to argue with this person who intended to double-cross him in front of the police, he could only accept this loss and reluctantly handed over the briefcase in his hands.
Samukawa Shinryu took the briefcase and raised his hand to open it.
At this, Mr. Takeshita completely lost his composure and immediately shouted: "Stop!"
But Samukawa Shinryu paid him no heed. With a click from his hands, Mr. Takeshita turned and fled toward the exit, only to be restrained by Date Wataru who grabbed his arm from behind.
Inspector Megure was still confused: "What's going on? Why is he reacting like this?"
Hagiwara Kenji understood and explained: "He probably thought there was a bomb in the case."
"...Huh?"
Mr. Takeshita, hearing no explosion, tremblingly turned around only to discover in shock that the opened briefcase contained nothing but paper money.
His earlier behavior immediately made him look like a fool who had exposed himself.
"How... how could this be..."
The situation had changed too rapidly for him to react. Now, thinking carefully, if there really was a bomb inside and the other party was indeed knowledgeable about it, they definitely wouldn't actually open it...
Damn it! He had exposed himself!
Why couldn't he have stayed calm!
While Mr. Takeshita was filled with regret, he also felt this wasn't entirely his fault.
Because that person looked like someone who didn't value human life at all—not just others' lives, but his own too. The behavior of dying together with a bunch of police officers didn't seem completely impossible for him!
Mr. Nakajima was also confused: "Why did he think my briefcase contained a bomb?"
Date Wataru also understood: "He wanted to kill you, so he switched your luggage. Who knew your luggage wouldn't be collected by you personally, resulting in that person being blown up instead... The victim really suffered an undeserved calamity."
Hagiwara Kenji continued: "However, using this method for transactions suggests the content probably wasn't anything legitimate. Now, Mr. Nakajima, please explain what exactly you were trading and who the other party was."
Mr. Nakajima still wanted to make excuses, but Samukawa Shinryu spoke leisurely.
"Since Mr. Takeshita switched briefcases with you, the key the deceased was holding should match Mr. Takeshita's case, and the number in your hand is clearly not the original one..."
Mr. Takeshita, having unfortunately exposed himself, heard this and completely broke down: "So you knew what was going on all along?! Then what was all that earlier about?! You even lied to us about the explosion being a terrorist attack... what was the point?!"
At that moment, all the police fell silent.
Edogawa Conan, who had been quietly observing everyone, was also puzzled, and seeing the officers' reactions made him even more curious.
Indeed, from Samukawa Shinryu's performance, he obviously knew the truth from the beginning. Unlike a detective who would reason through things slowly, he should have just presented evidence and identified the culprit. Why go through such a roundabout process?
The police seemed to know something, each with subtle expressions...
Edogawa Conan tried very hard to analyze, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. Like the unwilling Mr. Takeshita, he could only stare at Inspector Megure, waiting for an answer.
Inspector Megure looked away: "In any case, the case is solved. Take them back to the Metropolitan Police..."
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
Inspector Megure! You're just brushing people off like that?! No explanation at all?!
At this moment, Mouri Kogoro, who hadn't fainted, proved useful!
He walked over to Inspector Megure and quietly asked: "So why exactly did you let Samukawa do that? Wouldn't it have been fine to just arrest them directly?"
Edogawa Conan closely followed Mouri Kogoro, expectantly waiting for Inspector Megure's answer.
While Inspector Megure could give others the cold shoulder, when faced with Mouri, his frequent collaborator, he thought about it and decided to be direct. He sighed.
"How should I put it... the reason is rather hard to explain."
Mouri Kogoro pressed: "What reason?"
Inspector Megure's expression was one of utter resignation: "Toying with criminals is Samukawa's personal hobby. Everyone's gotten used to it..."
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
Mouri Kogoro: "...Toying with criminals???"
Mr. Takeshita, who had sharp ears, heard this and whirled around, his eyes practically blazing with fury!
"I thought I had misunderstood... but it really is you! Consultant Moriarty! Because you wanted to toy with me! That's why you sold me the plan, then deliberately sabotaged it?!"
Edogawa Conan: "...?!?!?!"
—Samukawa Shinryu had way too many secrets! But bring on more! He could keep taking it all in!