Chapter 276
Samukawa Shinryu wasn't anxious at all.
He dared to let Mouri Ran come and check the trap set by Kazuto Kyosuke in advance because he had a reasonable explanation.
"Before that." Samukawa Shinryu said very calmly, "Do I need to take a gunshot residue test first?"
Inspector Megure was startled and glanced at Division Chief Odagiri.
Because if they did the test now, it would mean treating him as a suspect... how to put it, according to regulations they could indeed all be suspects right now, but actually doing it would offend people, making it quite delicate.
However, Division Chief Odagiri was worthy of being the Criminal Investigation Division chief, decisive and swift: "Do it, test everyone, including me, and my worthless son."
With even the division chief taking the test, it wouldn't seem like they were targeting anyone specifically.
Inspector Megure also breathed a sigh of relief.
But Samukawa Shinryu suddenly asked: "Why did you specifically mention your son? Are you suspecting something? Did your son have a connection to this case beforehand?"
Division Chief Odagiri's expression wasn't great, but when Samukawa Shinryu worked in Criminal Investigation Division One, he had already grown accustomed to seeing that face, knowing that Division Chief Odagiri always had such a serious expression, and his personality was very upright, so he wasn't afraid of offending anyone at all.
Sure enough, after Division Chief Odagiri's jaw tightened for a while, he still relented: "...I was planning to consult with you about it anyway, I'll tell you later. First, tell us your line of thinking."
Look at that, this is how a leader speaks—not asking Samukawa Shinryu to explain, but asking him to share his line of thinking... Although what Samukawa Shinryu was going to say was the same, Division Chief Odagiri's phrasing made it more comfortable.
"It's simple." Samukawa Shinryu said, "Considering the target is Miss Sato, and there are so many police officers at today's banquet, if the perpetrator wanted to make a move today, they would definitely choose a place with few people, preferably with only Miss Sato, so the women's restroom would be the most likely location to choose. That's why I asked Miss Mouri to observe whether there was anything suspicious when she went to the restroom."
Mouri Kogorou angrily said: "Then couldn't you ask someone else?! Why did it have to be Ran?!"
He almost wished he could change his gender and take his daughter's place on this trip, and didn't want Mouri Ran to be harmed in any way... Fortunately Ran was fine, otherwise...
He suspected Samukawa Shinryu had no heart, and didn't care about others at all in order to achieve his goals!
Hagiwara Kenji also felt it was somewhat inappropriate, but since they were friends, he tried hard to help make excuses: "There are still too few female officers, you can't blame him for that. And normally nothing would happen, it's just a precaution. He probably didn't expect to actually encounter the real thing... Anyway, it's great that Miss Mouri wasn't injured."
Mouri Kogorou was still angry when Mouri Ran said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Um... actually, I was the one who took the initiative."
Mouri Kogorou's angry expression froze, and he turned to look at Mouri Ran in confusion: "What do you mean by took the initiative?"
Mouri Ran pinched her fingertips, saying embarrassedly: "I originally wanted to go to the restroom anyway. When I came out, I saw Samukawa-kun standing in the hallway, looking like he was troubled by something, so I went up to ask... That's why Samukawa-kun asked me..."
Everyone: "............"
Oh, so he was troubled about whom to ask to go to the women's restroom... But it's really impressive that Ran could see Samukawa's troubled expression and dared to go up and ask...
Discovering that it seemed Samukawa Shinryu hadn't deliberately set up his daughter, Mouri Kogorou felt his earlier outburst was somewhat unjustified, but being proud, he couldn't help asking: "Then weren't you afraid there might be a bomb inside? What if Ran opened the door and it detonated..."
Samukawa Shinryu said flatly: "The perpetrator isn't conducting indiscriminate killing, but has a specific purpose. He wants Miss Sato to die. If he set up a mechanism that would detonate and kill an unrelated person, it would waste an opportunity to kill Miss Sato. If I were the perpetrator, I would choose the kind of remote-controlled method like in the electrical room, where I could control the timing myself, and detonate immediately upon seeing Miss Sato enter."
This description made everyone's faces look unpleasant, especially with Samukawa Shinryu repeatedly saying "if I were the perpetrator," which sounded rather unsettling.
However, the person who felt most unsettled was still Kazuto Kyosuke.
From the moment Samukawa Shinryu said "It's simple," Kazuto Kyosuke's mood had been getting worse, even worse than when he discovered Sato Miwako hadn't died.
Because this was equivalent to him smugly thinking he had solved some great mathematical conjecture, only to be told it was just elementary school math and he was thinking too highly of himself.
Most importantly, he had just thought that Samukawa Shinryu regarded him highly because he found him capable, but it immediately backfired—the man didn't think much of his murder plan at all, and had made such deductions even without fully understanding him, knowing only that this perpetrator was targeting Sato Miwako.
He had even severely disrupted his plan.
Otherwise, whether it was Mouri Ran or Sato Miwako who got the flashlight, he could have seen more clearly and his shots would have been more accurate. Maybe Sato Miwako should be dead by now!
But when he went in full of anticipation, the flashlight was still in the cabinet, and he could only rely on that faint light to barely aim at the silhouette... Sigh, his plan should have been perfect, but it was disrupted... No, wait.
A plan that could be so easily detected and disrupted could never be considered perfect.
Samukawa Shinryu's action of having Mouri Ran check the cabinet might have been a test, testing whether his plan was really that simple.
Now, having discovered that his criminal abilities were actually only at this level, what if Samukawa Shinryu felt he was just so-so and chose to abandon him and expose him in front of the police...
Although he could also turn around and accuse Samukawa Shinryu of providing murder consultation, he had no concrete evidence, while Samukawa Shinryu clearly looked like someone who had weathered many suspicions and definitely had a familiar set of procedures for clearing himself of suspicion!
What to do... What did Samukawa Shinryu mean? He hadn't looked at him once since arriving, making him so uneasy... But he shouldn't have left any evidence...
Kazuto Kyosuke barely managed to calm down, planning to continue listening for now.
But just as he thought about how Samukawa Shinryu hadn't looked at him once since the incident, Samukawa Shinryu's gaze suddenly fell on him.
Those cold, dark red eyes looked at him indifferently: "Dr. Kazuto isn't a police officer, is he?"
Only then did Inspector Megure remember: "Oh, we were thinking of having Dr. Kazuto check on Ran earlier, since she was frightened and it would be bad if she developed any aftereffects... Well, Dr. Kazuto..."
Kazuto Kyosuke understood the tactful dismissal.
He immediately became more nervous, his mind full of doubts—what did this mean! Why did they suddenly remember to send him away at this time!
And it was Samukawa Shinryu who spoke up!
Was Samukawa Shinryu about to say bad things about him next?!
But that didn't seem quite right. Based on his experience, most people, especially detectives, when they discovered the perpetrator, actually preferred to describe their deduction process in front of the perpetrator, analyzing the suspicious points bit by bit, then identifying the culprit and presenting evidence...
Now there were so many police officers here, there wasn't even any fear of retaliation—the word "fear" seemed completely incompatible with Samukawa Shinryu! It felt full of incongruity!
Unable to figure it out, but unable to force himself to stay, Kazuto Kyosuke even suspected that Samukawa Shinryu, having no evidence, wanted to deliberately force him to flee, then use "why would you run if you're innocent" as a reason to investigate him, and then discover his connection to the case the attacked officers were investigating...
With his mind full of suspicions, Kazuto Kyosuke forced a polite smile and bid farewell to the others before turning back to the banquet hall.
Running away now would really be the end! He wouldn't fall for that trick!
The group couldn't very well continue discussing serious matters in the hallway. Now that Samukawa Shinryu had clearly explained why he had Mouri Ran check if there were any problems in the restroom, it was about time to move to the next step.
Hearing police sirens from downstairs, Division Chief Odagiri said gravely: "Everyone should take the gunshot residue test first."
"I don't think anything will be detected." Samukawa Shinryu said, "When planning a murder knowing there are so many police officers at the scene, considering how to avoid gunshot residue is basic."
Mouri Kogorou muttered: "It's not as simple as you make it sound..."
When he was a detective, how many criminals had he caught through gunshot residue! Most criminals had no way to solve this problem! Washing hands couldn't prevent it from sticking to sleeves, and in this setting, wouldn't it be extremely conspicuous if someone suddenly had a missing outer garment?
Edogawa Conan asked in a curious tone: "Huh? Does Samukawa-kun know many ways to avoid gunshot residue detection?"
"I suppose so." Samukawa Shinryu said modestly.
"For example?" Edogawa Conan asked curiously.
Samukawa Shinryu: "Make a hole in an umbrella, wear gloves, put your hand through the umbrella held in front of you and shoot. Most of the gunshot residue would land on the umbrella, with a small part landing on the gloves. Just dispose of the gloves and no gunshot residue would be detected on yourself."
When Edogawa Conan heard "umbrella," he suddenly froze.
Because he remembered that when he ran over, passing by the umbrella rack, there was one umbrella that seemed strange—compared to when he first saw it, it had changed positions... Could it be...
Realizing something, Edogawa Conan ran out at full speed. Mouri Kogorou couldn't even call him back: "Hey! Conan! Damn that kid..."
The group hadn't planned to stay here anyway, so they simply followed him out.
In the blink of an eye, Edogawa Conan ran back with an umbrella: "There really is a hole!"
Inspector Megure: "Huh?"
Edogawa Conan opened the umbrella in his hand to demonstrate: "Look! This umbrella really has a hole!"
Everyone: ".................."
The crowd silently turned to look at Samukawa Shinryu.
You give an example, and you just happen to pick the umbrella?!
You! Exactly how many layers deep have you already seen through the truth?!
Hagiwara Kenji, who was more familiar with him, directly asked: "Obviously everyone wasn't planning to discuss anything more, so why did you suddenly make Dr. Kazuto leave? Is there something wrong with him?"
Samukawa Shinryu: "Oh, he should be the perpetrator."
Everyone: ".................."
This kind of thing!! Why can't you just say it directly from the beginning?!