Chapter 279
Hearing his original name, Edogawa Conan had to consciously control even his breathing to avoid any noticeable anomalies in such details.
Why did Samukawa Shinryu suddenly bring him up at this time? When he was still Kudo Shinichi, he hadn't had any contact with Samukawa Shinryu, had he?
Hagiwara Kenji paused, thinking for a moment: "Now that you mention it, indeed... He used to appear in newspapers frequently, and colleagues would mention him when writing reports... He suddenly vanished without a trace."
Samukawa Shinryu asked again: "Did something happen to him?"
"...Probably not? When I saw Mr. Yusaku last month, he seemed emotionally normal."
Edogawa Conan was sweating profusely.
He knew his parents had been living in America for several years and rarely returned, especially recently. They had only come back twice—once was to play the villain to scare him, wanting him to understand the danger and go back to America with them, and once was when his mother had fought with his father and his father came to chase after her... Both times happened after he was attacked by the Black Organization.
During their rare visits, besides handling matters with the publishing house, Kudo Yusaku might also visit Inspector Megure at Metropolitan Police to ask if there were any cases he could hear about as writing material...
Officer Hagiwara probably encountered his father during such occasions.
It would have been fine not to mention it, but now that the matter was thrust right under Edogawa Conan's nose, he suddenly realized that if people from the Black Organization went to Metropolitan Police to investigate his situation, they might discover he wasn't actually dead! Because what he told Inspector Megure was that he was on a secret investigation—far from being dead, it couldn't even be called missing.
According to Haibara Ai's description of the Black Organization, that organization might have their own people among the police!
The reason he hadn't been exposed until now—could it be that Metropolitan Police... or rather, Criminal Investigation Division One didn't have anyone from the organization?
Could Samukawa Shinryu's sudden inquiry about him actually have ulterior motives, despite their previous lack of contact?
Edogawa Conan's mind was racing and thinking a lot, which caused his suspicion value to skyrocket in just a few seconds, instantly leaving Kazuto Kyosuke, who had been speculating all evening, far behind on the system's daily suspicion value contribution leaderboard.
Even though he had managed to eliminate various interfering factors and decided Samukawa Shinryu was a good person, it couldn't stop Edogawa Conan's slippery slope of speculation at this moment, especially since he had just faced off against organization members not long ago and was still somewhat traumatized.
At this moment, Hagiwara Kenji, like a ray of light shining into hell, directly asked the question for Edogawa Conan.
"Why are you suddenly concerned about that high school detective?"
Yes! Why?!
Edogawa Conan roared internally while waiting for Samukawa Shinryu's answer.
Samukawa Shinryu: "Collecting information."
Edogawa Conan: "???"
Hagiwara Kenji paused, somewhat puzzled but didn't continue asking, since he understood the nature of Samukawa Shinryu's usual work—collecting any kind of information wasn't strange.
But his composure made Edogawa Conan unable to stay composed.
What kind of person would want to collect information about Kudo Shinichi at this time?! Samukawa-kun! You don't have any connection to the organization, right?!
However, today's incident did remind him of something.
His father might have some understanding of Samukawa Shinryu, who had previously worked in Criminal Investigation Division One... He should ask his father about his impression of Samukawa Shinryu later!
Although asking would feel like admitting defeat, at this critical moment, he couldn't worry about competing with his father! If Samukawa Shinryu really had some problem, discovering it early might give them a chance to salvage the situation.
After walking for a while, the group finally met up at the elevator and began heading to visit Sato Miwako in her hospital room.
Kazuto Kyosuke returned to his office, checking whether there were any additional notification documents during his absence, planning to find an excuse to work the night shift at the hospital to observe the situation.
First, he needed to know exactly how severe Sato Miwako's injuries were. This was simple—he was after all a party to tonight's banquet, so he could ask the colleague who treated Sato Miwako under the pretext of "I was also at that banquet and I'm a bit uneasy, I'd like to ask about the situation." His colleague probably wouldn't be too wary.
The plan was good, but as soon as he stepped out, Kazuto Kyosuke found Shiratori Ninzaburo spacing out in the hallway near his office.
"...Mr. Shiratori?" Kazuto Kyosuke felt this was a good opportunity. Maybe he didn't need to find his colleague after all, and could gather more intelligence from the police. "Are you looking for me? You must be under a lot of pressure after what happened tonight?"
Shiratori Ninzaburo smiled bitterly: "Ha ha, well, there is some pressure indeed... But I remember you're not on duty tonight, and I don't know when my superiors will call me, so just getting some fresh air is fine."
Kazuto Kyosuke naturally asked: "How is Officer Sato?"
Shiratori Ninzaburo's expression became serious: "She hit her head, but fortunately, none of her injuries will leave aftereffects, it's just..."
"Just what?" Kazuto Kyosuke became nervous.
"She says she remembers roughly seeing the perpetrator's build and hairstyle by the flashlight's light, but now whenever she tries to recall it, she gets a headache." Shiratori Ninzaburo sighed, "We took brain scans, nothing's wrong, it's probably psychological factors. Hopefully after a night's rest, she'll be able to remember tomorrow."
Kazuto Kyosuke: "............"
That night vision ability was a bit ridiculous. At the time, he was standing in the dark area by the door, while Sato Miwako was standing near the light source, which allowed him to judge her position. But you're saying Sato Miwako could actually make out his silhouette in that environment... Do police officers need to train their night vision abilities?!
What should he do! He couldn't suddenly go get a haircut now! Wouldn't that be like protesting one's innocence too much?!
No, he couldn't just sit and wait for doom. He needed to deal with Sato Miwako quickly. What if she suddenly connected him tomorrow after waking up!
Samukawa Shinryu actually gave him three days... Thinking about it now, that was really too generous. Sato Miwako was the one who really wasn't giving him any way to live!
After just this brief conversation, Shiratori Ninzaburo suddenly pulled out his phone, saying a superior was looking for him, and hurriedly took his leave.
Kazuto Kyosuke considered for a moment, still maintaining his original plan to find his colleague to confirm the situation.
"It's true! I was changing a patient's medication at the time and happened to hear her say she should have seen what the perpetrator looked like, but now she gets a headache whenever she thinks about it. The police told her to rest well... Then someone said that mental relaxation helps with recollection, but if the medication wears off and the pain keeps her from sleeping, that definitely won't work, so they asked what would be better... In the end, they gave her a sedative."
The colleague sighed: "The person who made the suggestion looked really scary, I almost thought he was the perpetrator."
Kazuto Kyosuke: "...? Wait, was the person who made the suggestion someone with dark blue hair and red eyes?"
"Right, was he also from your banquet? Didn't anyone suspect he was the killer?"
Kazuto Kyosuke absentmindedly brushed off his colleague and left the colleague's office.
Hmm... From this perspective, it seemed Samukawa Shinryu was still helping him. Otherwise, if Sato Miwako suddenly woke up at 2 AM and remembered him and reported him, he'd be finished.
Although he had doubts about being able to see his silhouette clearly in such dark conditions.
The flashlight hadn't even been taken out, and from that angle, only that tiny bit of light from the cabinet door gap couldn't illuminate his area. He was hidden in darkness with an umbrella blocking him... What could she see clearly?
But he didn't dare take the risk. Sato Miwako would have to die sooner or later anyway, so it was better to do it sooner for his peace of mind.
Unfortunately, after the first assassination failed, Kazuto Kyosuke couldn't think of other methods. After all, he wasn't a professional killer—he couldn't immediately come up with murder methods given a target...
Ultimately, he had only put some thought into Sato Miwako's case. The two detectives who died before—one he killed on the street, running away before others could react, and one he killed in an empty parking lot. Neither had any technical content. If there had been cameras nearby, he would have been done for.
What should he do...
At this moment, Kazuto Kyosuke suddenly saw Samukawa Shinryu buying drinks at a vending machine.
His eyes lit up, remembering Samukawa Shinryu's earlier meaningful story about "I had a doctor friend who didn't listen to me and ended up dead." He coughed and approached.
"Samukawa-kun, you're still here?"
"Yes, I'm waiting for Kenji." Samukawa Shinryu looked unapproachable but answered any questions.
Kazuto Kyosuke tentatively asked: "Waiting here? Would you like to sit in my office for a while?"
As he spoke, he tried hard to hint with his eyes.
—I want to consult about something! Boss! Give me some face! Face-face fruit activate!
Samukawa Shinryu didn't refuse, which finally made Kazuto Kyosuke, who had been very nervous and worried he had misunderstood something, breathe a sigh of relief.
After returning to his office, even with the naturally cooling Samukawa Shinryu there, Kazuto Kyosuke couldn't help but relax somewhat, returning to his usual state.
After all, being on his own turf was naturally the most relaxing.
Kazuto Kyosuke looked at the cola can that had just rolled out of the vending machine in Samukawa Shinryu's hand and said: "Please sit, I won't ask what you'd like to drink."
Samukawa Shinryu sat down calmly, then opened the cola can and asked directly: "Are you looking for consultation?"
"...Ha ha, somehow I feel like it would be more normal for me to say that."
As a psychiatrist, Kazuto Kyosuke found this very strange. Plus he was actually still somewhat hesitant, so he couldn't help but crack a joke first to ease the atmosphere.
"If you don't speak now, you'll be arrested later." However, Samukawa Shinryu gave him no face at all. "Are you sure you want to continue with this nonsense?"
Although Samukawa Shinryu was still using polite language, the pressure was definitely applied to Kazuto Kyosuke.
Kazuto Kyosuke hadn't expected Samukawa Shinryu to be so direct, but thinking this was his own territory, that hair-raising sense of horror also diminished somewhat.
"...There's no need to put it so..." Kazuto Kyosuke struggled.
"If you don't want to talk about that, forget it." Samukawa Shinryu asked, "Then are you willing to talk about your grudge with Jinno Tamotsu?"
Kazuto Kyosuke's nerves tensed again: "...Why bring this up suddenly?"
Samukawa Shinryu's dark red eyes looked at him calmly: "Don't be nervous. I have my own sources of information. I'm just curious why you would want to kill someone. You don't seem like a psychopathic murderer."
Kazuto Kyosuke: "............"
What kind of information sources? We only met for the first time today—even just this evening! You already investigated to this extent in such a short time?!
How terrifying. What kind of massive organization is behind Samukawa Shinryu... I see, no wonder his attitude toward him suddenly changed. Could he be trying to recruit him for the organization behind him?
Kazuto Kyosuke couldn't help but start overthinking again.
Samukawa Shinryu tapped the cola can, reminding him: "I don't know what you're thinking, but I think whatever you're thinking is probably wrong."
People tend to trust their own judgment more, so Kazuto Kyosuke remained silent about Samukawa Shinryu's reminder.
He felt that Samukawa Shinryu's words were hinting at the power behind him, telling him to be smart, cooperate a bit, stop beating around the bush with nonsense. When it was time to surrender, he should surrender. Continuing to dodge would be somewhat ungrateful.
But since Sato Miwako might identify him tomorrow, continuing to hide things really didn't have much meaning.
However, Kazuto Kyosuke was habitually cautious and still didn't say much, only loosening up slightly, admitting: "...Dr. Jinno was jealous of me."
"So he ruined your dominant hand?" Samukawa Shinryu asked.
Kazuto Kyosuke hesitated, didn't speak, but just nodded—Jinno had admitted it himself, what was he afraid to admit!
Samukawa Shinryu said flatly: "Your technique was very clean, making it look like Jinno committed suicide. It seems your hand wasn't too badly affected."
This hit Kazuto Kyosuke's sore spot.
Because this was his office, his own territory, he was relatively relaxed, and Samukawa Shinryu seemed to already know most of it—rather, precisely because Samukawa Shinryu clearly knew what was going on but still spoke so casually, it made Kazuto Kyosuke even more unable to bear it.
So Kazuto Kyosuke, who had kept his mouth shut since meeting Samukawa Shinryu, couldn't hold back and immediately jumped up.
"What do you mean not too badly affected?! It was just cutting his artery, not performing surgery—it doesn't require precise operation at all! My hand still can't return to the operating table, do you understand?!"