Chapter 277
Division Chief Odagiri pressed his temples, unable to speak for a long time.
Inspector Megure's mouth also twitched: "Samukawa, you..."
Mouri Kogorou was the first to lose it and roared directly: "Why didn't you say this kind of thing earlier?!!"
Samukawa Shinryu said righteously: "I forgot."
Edogawa Conan's eyes turned into half-moons: "Heh heh..."
Forgot to say Kazuto Kyosuke was the perpetrator, but didn't forget to send him away, huh?
Who would believe that?!
Edogawa Conan looked toward the reliable police officers, hoping they would say something about Samukawa Shinryu—ability is one thing, but having a poor attitude is also a problem!
Under Edogawa Conan's expectant gaze, Hagiwara Kenji sighed deeply: "We came over and the suspect was right here, and we had no evidence. This kind of thing really is hard to bring up..."
Edogawa Conan: "............"
Officer Hagiwara, you're really skilled at making excuses for your friend...
However, Inspector Megure, who was familiar with Samukawa Shinryu, wasn't buying this at all: "Samukawa-kun, when did you start suspecting him?"
"After learning that Miss Sato was attacked." Samukawa Shinryu answered, "Before that, I only thought he was an ordinary fugitive."
Everyone: "............"
No, being a fugitive itself is already very extraordinary!!
But compared to Edogawa Conan and Mouri Kogorou who couldn't accept this explanation, the Metropolitan Police people were much more accepting.
"I see." Hagiwara Kenji even started helping make excuses again, "No wonder you asked Division Chief Odagiri if his son was involved in this case. You thought Dr. Kazuto was also connected to the related case and wanted to find flaws, right."
Edogawa Conan couldn't help himself: "Speaking of which, how did Samukawa-kun know the perpetrator's next target was Officer Sato? Did Officer Hagiwara tell you?"
Hagiwara Kenji: "...No, do I look like someone with such a loose tongue?"
Mouri Kogorou pondered: "Then who let it slip?"
"It was Takagi and Shiratori." Samukawa Shinryu said unexpectedly, "When they saw Miss Sato, they both showed worried expressions. Combined with recent events, I judged that the next target might be Miss Sato, but I wasn't certain enough, otherwise Miss Mouri wouldn't have needed to risk helping me check the cabinet."
Inspector Megure had a moment of realization: "I see."
Division Chief Odagiri also nodded approvingly: "Your observation skills are as sharp as ever."
Edogawa Conan: "............"
No, aren't you all a bit too trusting of Samukawa Shinryu?! No wonder nobody asked about this for so long—you all think this is like an open-book exam for Samukawa Shinryu, not worth mentioning?!
Although he'd asked quite a few questions, Edogawa Conan wasn't actually suspicious of Samukawa Shinryu, just didn't quite understand this person's behavioral patterns. Getting it clear was enough.
After all, both he and Hattori Heiji felt that Samukawa Shinryu just had a dangerous aura, but being able to gain such trust from the police meant the person himself was definitely fine.
After receiving this new information, Inspector Megure also got into the zone: "So the case Sato and the others are investigating... is also related to doctors."
Division Chief Odagiri said gravely: "A doctor named Jinno Tamotsu was found dead in his apartment. Because he had been sued by a patient's family for surgical malpractice before his suicide, and his suicide note also apologized for the surgical error, the case was closed as suicide. But his sister believed her brother was scum and couldn't possibly commit suicide over such a thing—it must have been murder. So Officer Tomonari reopened the investigation... The two deceased officers and Officer Sato were all participating in this case under Officer Tomonari's leadership at the time."
After a pause, he continued.
"My son seems to have some connection with the deceased's sister. Officer Tomonari died of a sudden heart attack the day he was following my son, and the person left to monitor didn't investigate further because they recognized my son... I asked my son about it, and he said it was because he knew Jinno Tamotsu was illegally selling drugs, so he blackmailed him... Because it felt wrong, I recently asked several officers who investigated the case at the time to reopen the investigation after a year, but I didn't expect it would lead to their deaths..."
Hearing Division Chief Odagiri's words, which exposed even his family's dirty laundry, the other parents, Mouri and his wife, showed sympathy and emotion, and everyone else felt admiration for the deceased officers.
Only Samukawa Shinryu remained expressionless, as if he had merely received additional information from this speech, while selectively ignoring the human emotions and social niceties: "Then I suggest investigating the relationship between Jinno Tamotsu and Dr. Kazuto Kyosuke. Dr. Kazuto might be the real killer of Dr. Jinno."
The atmosphere froze awkwardly for a moment.
Inspector Megure seemed to want to say: The chief rarely spoke so much, and this is your response?!
But thinking about it, solving the case was indeed more important, so he nodded seriously: "I understand, I'll have someone investigate privately later."
Samukawa Shinryu continued: "Although there's probably a low chance of detecting gunshot residue, we still need to test. We must let the perpetrator think the police have no leads at all. There's no need for alibis."
With so many people in the banquet hall, alibis would be difficult anyway. Not everyone would be constantly chatting with others—there would always be people who wanted some quiet time. When the lights went out and everyone panicked, then when they came back on... For ordinary people, memories during this period would be fuzzy, making it hard to confirm anything, and it was even common to be led to false memories.
Since they already knew who the suspect was, there was no need to waste time on such things. They could just say it might have been an outsider and there was no need to investigate alibis.
"The gloves were probably flushed down the toilet." Division Chief Odagiri frowned, "Finding evidence will be somewhat troublesome..."
Hearing this, for some reason, Edogawa Conan could already predict what Samukawa Shinryu would say.
Based on his experience, Samukawa Shinryu would definitely say—
Samukawa Shinryu: "Just wait for new evidence."
Edogawa Conan: "............"
He knew it!
Last time on the ship too, he clearly discovered the fugitive early on but insisted on waiting until one died in the gang fight before stepping forward.
If Hattori Heiji hadn't appeared, forget one death—Samukawa Shinryu might have waited until only one was left before revealing the truth...
This person's way of thinking was really... hard to say whether it was rational or cold-hearted, because waiting for new evidence meant letting the perpetrator strike again, and if they weren't careful, someone else could get hurt...
Mouri Kogorou still didn't like Samukawa Shinryu and asked as if deliberately being contrary: "Can you guarantee the perpetrator will definitely strike again? What if they give up after one failed attempt?"
Samukawa Shinryu: "It's fine, I guarantee he'll strike again."
Mouri Kogorou: "...?"
What kind of strange statement was that? It felt odd...
Hagiwara Kenji even patted Samukawa Shinryu's shoulder, wanting to say something but stopping: "You... take it easy."
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
Huh? This is just Samukawa Shinryu making a prediction, right? How else should he take it easy?
Although Edogawa Conan was somewhat confused and still had many questions to ask, the others felt it was about time, since Metropolitan Police cars were lined up downstairs and it would be strange if they didn't go back soon. So the Mouri family and Edogawa Conan left first.
Samukawa Shinryu discussed something quietly with several officers before returning to the banquet hall to pretend he knew nothing and undergo the gunshot residue test.
Kazuto Kyosuke had been waiting anxiously in the banquet hall. Seeing them return without immediately arresting him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
That made sense—if they were going to arrest him, they shouldn't have let him leave earlier. Moreover, they were actually testing for gunshot residue, which meant that although Samukawa Shinryu had guessed where he struck, he hadn't guessed his method... Well, Samukawa Shinryu was human too, not like he was cheating.
When so many people at the scene all tested negative for gunshot residue, the police would probably suspect it was an outsider's crime, and his suspicion would decrease considerably.
...But with Samukawa Shinryu around, he could never relax.
He had to figure out what Samukawa Shinryu meant by disrupting his plan!
Kazuto Kyosuke actively went to take the gunshot residue test, cleared himself after proving his innocence, then went to look for Samukawa Shinryu.
Samukawa Shinryu had finished testing early and was standing in a corner doing something on his phone, looking like he was typing quite frequently.
Was he chatting? It didn't seem like it—at that frequency it would definitely be a chatterbox, and Samukawa Shinryu clearly wasn't that type.
Although Kazuto Kyosuke had a stomach full of questions to ask, he didn't dare go over right now.
After all, there was no one around Samukawa Shinryu, so going over suddenly would be too conspicuous.
With this hesitation, he hesitated until everyone dispersed—after everyone finished a round of testing with no problems found, this group of people couldn't be detained without reason for too long, so they had to be released.
Then, still wondering how to get Samukawa Shinryu's phone number, Kazuto Kyosuke saw a group of people on the first floor discussing going to the hospital to visit Officer Sato.
The car couldn't fit everyone—someone had to stay behind and take a taxi.
Talk about opportunities being reserved for the prepared! Kazuto Kyosuke, who had driven there, quickly seized the chance: "Well, actually I have space in my car. I heard Miss Sato was taken to my hospital, so how about..."
Samukawa Shinryu turned his head: "Then we'll trouble Dr. Kazuto."
"No problem, it's on the way."
Inspector Megure watched Samukawa Shinryu follow Kazuto Kyosuke and leave, getting into the car where Hagiwara Kenji sat in the back seat. After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but complain.
"Just seeing how naturally he accepted riding in the same car as Samukawa-kun despite just meeting him shows he definitely has problems!"
Hagiwara Kenji was embarrassed: "Inspector, don't look at things through colored glasses... I can't tell if you're complaining about Dr. Kazuto or about Shinryu!"
Inspector Megure coughed awkwardly: "Let's go, to the hospital."
As Inspector Megure had complained, most people really weren't comfortable sharing a car with Samukawa Shinryu.
Kazuto Kyosuke started feeling uncomfortable all over when he got in the driver's seat. If he didn't have questions to ask, he would have regretted and wanted to kick the person out immediately.
Clearly Samukawa Shinryu wasn't doing anything, just being silent, but he felt like someone had put needles under his seat—he couldn't sit still, and his heartbeat wasn't as steady as usual.
He had wanted to wait and see if Samukawa Shinryu would take the initiative to explain something, but this situation seemed hopeless. Kazuto Kyosuke had to speak first.
"Um... Samukawa-kun." Kazuto Kyosuke asked, "Is Miss Sato alright?"
This topic was very safe and related to the case. If Samukawa Shinryu wanted to chat with him, he should respond.
Then he heard Samukawa Shinryu reply flatly:
"She didn't die, so you're disappointed?"
Kazuto Kyosuke: ".................."
This one sentence left him speechless.
Is this necessary?! Is this necessary?!
Japanese, such a euphemistic language, but you don't use any linguistic artistry at all. You can't speak without saying something shocking, can you?!
This made Kazuto Kyosuke suspect that Samukawa Shinryu was carrying recording equipment, planning to record his response and report him!
So Kazuto Kyosuke immediately became cautious: "How could that be? I'm happy for her—after all, I'm a doctor, and I always hope patients can be well."
"Speaking of doctors." Samukawa Shinryu suddenly said, "Recently, a doctor I know was arrested for murder. Do you know why he was caught?"
Kazuto Kyosuke's heart began to feel unsettled, thinking this was a warning to him?
"Why?"
In the rearview mirror, Samukawa Shinryu's dark red eyes looked up to meet his gaze.
"Because he didn't come to me. If he had, he wouldn't have been caught."