Chapter 264
Hearing the thudding sound of a group of people running up, Samukawa Shinryu glanced back at them and said in a very calm tone: "You're here."
Accompanied by the soundtrack of cries for help, his demeanor inexplicably gained several degrees of eeriness.
Everyone: "..........."
Why was this person so calm...
Edogawa Conan, being short, noticed something others couldn't see.
He discovered that when Samukawa Shinryu turned around, his left foot stepped back half a step to maintain balance, but his right foot remained firmly planted in its original position, not changing angle even a fraction.
This was undoubtedly somewhat awkward, and the reason Samukawa Shinryu had to do this...
He shone his flashlight toward Samukawa Shinryu's feet.
Everyone's attention followed the light and was surprised to find that under Samukawa Shinryu's black leather shoe, he seemed to be stepping on something white...
Wait! That was a human hand, right?!
Someone had fallen down and was clinging to the edge of the deck?! And Samukawa Shinryu was stepping on their hand?!
Just then, the person who had fallen also heard the sound of people arriving, and his rescue dialogue immediately changed.
"Help! I'm going to fall! Samukawa is stepping on me!"
Now everyone finally understood—some rushed to check Hattori Heiji's breathing, others lay on the deck to help pull up the person about to fall, while others gently urged Samukawa Shinryu to lift his foot...
After a flurry of chaos, the fat Mr. Kujii was finally dragged up.
Having walked the line between life and death, Mr. Kujii was still shaken, trembling all over. Though he had been able to shout for help just moments ago, now when he looked up and saw Samukawa Shinryu acting so brazenly, his throat could only produce gasping sounds—he couldn't form a complete sentence.
Samukawa Shinryu didn't care at all about being caught at what looked like a crime scene. He casually leaned against the railing to enjoy the sea breeze, slightly tilting his head to watch the busy crowd with an emotionless gaze.
And strangely, no one approached him or tried to arrest him—they just let him watch the excitement from the side like a passerby.
After rescuing the person, Mouri Kogoro wiped away cold sweat and turned to ask Samukawa Shinryu: "What exactly happened?"
Samukawa Shinryu answered leisurely: "Just as you saw."
What we saw?! Explain yourself clearly—don't let people misunderstand, or you could die!!!
Former Officer Samezaki controlled his emotions, swallowing his urge to roar, and pressed his temples: "So, Mr. Kujii is the criminal?"
Everyone turned to stare at former Officer Samezaki in horror.
Police officer! No, former police officer! How do you solve cases?! Are we missing many episodes? How did you reach that conclusion?!
Edogawa Conan had somewhat figured it out.
Wait, not long ago, former Officer Samezaki had said that many of the criminals Samukawa Shinryu encountered would either cry bitterly or beg the police for help...
Sure enough, former Officer Samezaki said with a complex expression: "Generally speaking, whoever Samukawa torments turns out to be the criminal..."
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
What kind of bizarre case-solving method is this?!
The fashionably dressed young woman's mouth twitched: "Huh? Although I felt like you all seemed to know each other, who exactly is he?"
Torturing criminals and such—what kind of situation allows for that?! And actually using that to identify criminals?!
Former Officer Samezaki, whose emotions had fluctuated too much and accidentally let something slip: "..........."
Damn, he'd walked ninety-nine steps—he couldn't fail at this last one! While a police officer having no empathy and saying strange things in front of a corpse was one thing, torturing criminals really couldn't be admitted!
"Uh..." former Officer Samezaki slowly looked toward Samukawa Shinryu. "He is..."
Save me, save me! Samukawa! Say something to save the situation!
Samukawa Shinryu suddenly smiled, his aura inexplicably gaining several degrees of danger: "I'm an old friend of the police."
Former Officer Samezaki: "..........."
The fashionably dressed young woman: "...I was presumptuous."
No one knew what she was imagining, but judging by her expression, she probably wasn't thinking anything good. Especially the way she looked at former Officer Samezaki had become somewhat subtle, as if she were looking at some corrupt cop.
Former Officer Samezaki, feeling his reputation was being harmed, wanted to speak but stopped, ultimately giving up on explanations.
Fine, let it be.
It was just that this Samukawa guy—why could he always make the truth sound so misleading? This was also a kind of ability...
Mouri Kogoro was still confused: "But when the stern exploded, Mr. Kujii was right in front of us. How could he have gone to light the fire? Samukawa got it wrong, didn't he?"
Edogawa Conan pondered: "Maybe it was some kind of mechanism..."
Former Officer Samezaki: "Samukawa has never been wrong... Samukawa, would you care to explain?"
Edogawa Conan looked at former Officer Samezaki with mixed feelings.
Such trust in Samukawa Shinryu...
Based on his observations, this former Officer Samezaki was a very responsible police officer. For even such a police officer to trust Samukawa Shinryu so much—didn't this suggest that although Samukawa Shinryu looked very... well, he actually had no problems as a police officer?
Samukawa Shinryu: "You can ask Mr. Kujii."
So everyone turned to look at the still-trembling Mr. Kujii.
Mr. Kujii had barely calmed down. His hand hurt terribly from being stepped on, his bones nearly broken, and he'd almost died—he felt truly wronged, so he couldn't help but complain first: "He almost killed me..."
Former Officer Samezaki's mouth twitched: "No, if he really wanted to kill you, he wouldn't need such trouble. Doing it so openly could only mean... ahem."
Samukawa Shinryu blinked and said without changing expression: "He was about to fall. In my panic, I could only step on his hand to prevent him from sliding down further."
Everyone: "..........."
That excuse is way too perfunctory... You heard us screaming and running here for so long, yet you didn't bend down to lend a hand?
Mr. Kujii was shocked by such shamelessness, momentarily forgetting his fear and reflexively complaining: "Why don't you mention why I was about to fall in the first place?"
When he'd arrived here earlier, he'd discovered that dark-skinned high school detective shining a flashlight around, apparently having found something. In his panic, he'd knocked the person out with a club, intending to push him directly into the sea to destroy the evidence.
But just as the high school detective's body had slid most of the way over the railing, someone had grabbed him back, then he'd seen stars and been thrown out, nearly falling into the sea himself...
Looking up, he'd seen those terrifying red eyes coldly staring at him in the darkness, while his hand felt pain as if his bones were breaking. Even so, he didn't dare let go, since below was the ocean.
In the middle of the night, if he really fell into the sea, they might not even be able to fish him out.
Most terrifying was that he couldn't be sure whether Samukawa Shinryu really intended to kill him.
Although it seemed like he was just being taught a lesson since he was allowed to scream, looking into those eyes made him feel that Samukawa Shinryu simply didn't care whether killing someone would be discovered...
Thinking further, what if the police's wariness and vigilance stemmed from Samukawa Shinryu having connections above the police force...
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Facing Mr. Kujii's weak accusation, Samukawa Shinryu remained very calm.
"Wasn't it that you slipped?"
Samukawa Shinryu's dark red eyes once again fell on him, his cold gaze seeming to dissect his very being, yet his tone remained polite: "Hmm? Mr. Kujii? Please recall once more?"
Mr. Kujii shivered, as if falling into an endless nightmare. His false composure shattered again, and he fell back into panic: "I... I..."
Former Officer Samezaki could tell at a glance that this person's spirit had been broken by Samukawa Shinryu: "You bastard, since you don't like explaining, could you at least go easier and leave us someone who can explain?!"
A few years ago when working in Investigation Division One, their rare collaborations had always been like this.
He never knew what Samukawa Shinryu had done or how the criminals had committed their crimes. Everyone waited for explanations, but Samukawa Shinryu wouldn't cooperate. If Hagiwara Kenji wasn't there, they'd have to spend time comforting the criminals... What kind of mess was this?
Samukawa Shinryu pondered: "I left you one."
Former Officer Samezaki: "...? Who?"
"Hattori Heiji."
Everyone's gaze fell on the still-unconscious Hattori Heiji.
Just then, Hattori Heiji finally woke up under Edogawa Conan's efforts.
Covering his head, he opened his eyes in confusion, was helped to sit up by Edogawa Conan, then suddenly came to his senses: "I know who the murderer is! I was hit on the head, the murderer is—"
"Mr. Kujii." Edogawa Conan interrupted his monologue.
"Ah, huh?"
Hattori Heiji was stunned, looked around, and finally noticed there were many people around.
He asked in confusion: "Wasn't I supposed to fall down?"
Former Officer Samezaki answered: "Samukawa probably saved you."
"Oh..." Hattori Heiji was very surprised, still a bit slow from his headache, and thanked him dazedly: "Thank you, Samukawa-kun..."
"No need to thank me. I saved you for this moment." Samukawa Shinryu said kindly. "Everyone's waiting for you."
Hattori Heiji: "...???"
Former Officer Samezaki: "Samukawa doesn't like explaining, and Kujii can't speak now. Since Samukawa said you can explain, you should know the truth, right? We're all waiting for you!"
Hattori Heiji: "................"
He looked around, understood what former Officer Samezaki meant, and considered Samukawa Shinryu's earlier words. His expression gradually became subtle.
...What the hell, Samukawa Shinryu made it sound like the purpose of saving him was just to have him explain now!
How much does he hate explaining?!