Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 793 Ireland: (dirty words)
"Mr. Maori, who is that fierce-looking man?"

"That's Inspector Matsumoto Kiyonaga, the management officer of the Metropolitan Police Department... If you keep talking nonsense, you'll get beaten up."

"So someone like this can be an administrator? Then, what about that guy over there? Is he also a detective in Tokyo? I see he has the same consultant badge as you..."

"…You were able to become a police officer, so your written test scores must have been surprisingly good."

"Eh?"

As soon as I put the earphones in my ears, the first thing that came through was the conversation between Kogoro Mori and Sou Yamamura in a low voice.

Conan understood what Kogoro Mouri was complaining about, and the corners of his mouth twitched for a while.

If his grades had not been good enough and he had not successfully passed the examination and entered the professional group, let alone promotion, it would have been a question whether Shancuncao could even be hired by the police station.

"Why don't they arrange for someone who is only good at taking exams to do logistical clerical work? They let him be a detective in charge of violent crimes. The officials in Gunma Prefecture are so careless..." Conan slapped his forehead and couldn't help but complain about Yamamura Cao.

Although Kogoro Mouri has limited abilities as a private detective, as a criminal policeman, not to mention his ability to solve cases, his basic professional skills, including his social skills, are impeccable.

In contrast, Shancuncao's way of dealing with people and his current police rank are particularly eye-catching.

Tang Ze suppressed the smile on his lips, and his eyes drifted towards the glass door on the police department side.

This story probably started when Shancuncao made up his mind to become a policeman...

To be honest, judging from Yamamura So's work style and the way he solves cases, he is indeed not suitable to be a criminal policeman. But perhaps in order to fulfill the agreement he made with Zhufu Jingguang, Yamamura So actually endured such a disadvantage and relied on his good grades to become a mid-level police officer. We have to admit that he is quite capable.

"Maybe the Gunma Prefecture Police Department has already discovered it. However, he is from the professional group, and he has to come here anyway, so he can't return it." Tang Ze guessed pertinently.

"Then we can only pray that there will be fewer difficult cases in Gunma Prefecture in the future..." Thinking of Yamamura So's identity, Conan couldn't help but sigh.

As the two of them sighed, there was a noise of tables and chairs in the conference room. The police officers sat down and officially began to discuss the case.

"Except for the sixth victim, the victims of the first five cases all died from stabbings with large knives. Judging from the state of the wounds, the murderer held the knife in his right hand and swung it with great force. The murder weapon in the five cases can be identified as the same sharp weapon. In the first five cases, the murderer's modus operandi was also very consistent. The victims were first knocked down by the murderer with an electric shock device, and then taken to the place of death and killed..."

Kogoro Mouri, holding the archival documents in his hand, listened to Shiratori's introduction while trying to match his description with the contents of the documents one by one. His expression was more serious and reserved than the police officers in the audience.

This behavior does not mean that he attaches special importance to this case because of the scale of the case, but his position is really too strange.

The other police officers sitting in the conference room were seated according to their respective territories. The front row was composed of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division's own personnel. The arrangement and layout were clear.

Therefore, it would be very awkward for a guy like Kogoro Mouri, who is not a policeman at all, to arrange seats.

He understood the principle, but why was he placed in front of the whiteboard?

It was as if the seats were arranged next to the podium. It felt more like a public execution than a privilege.

Kogoro Mouri, who was sitting upright, adjusted the position of his tie and glanced at the man sitting on his right who was writing something in a notebook.

Fortunately, he was not the only one sitting here being scrutinized.

No one knew why, but this former detective who was also invited to be a special consultant was just like him. He was under the constant scrutiny from everyone, but he was in a very relaxed state, as if he didn't take the police officers from all over the country in the conference room seriously at all. His face was filled with a dull expression that was hard to tell whether it was calm or showing off.

Before coming, he had heard his daughter mention this consultant who received the same treatment as him.

It seems that he is not only a former criminal policeman, but also a policeman involved in the case of Tang Ze.

After learning about Karasawa's situation, Kogoro Mori used his connections as a policeman and the convenience brought by his increasingly famous identity to inquire about it from various sources.

In any case, the boy who was staying downstairs had a good relationship with their family. The changes in his relationship with Yingli, including his daughter's gradual change of mindset in recent days, were all related to him. If possible, he still wanted to help as much as possible.

However, the feedback from both sides was not optimistic.

It is hard to say what the truth of this case is. There must be a lot of water involved. Kogoro Mori is worried about Karasawa and is also anxious about his daughter who may also be affected.

Now, since I have a rare opportunity to meet with people related to his case...

"…In addition to the question of why the kidnapped victims were taken to another location to be killed, there is another bigger question, which is the decisive evidence that ultimately made us decide to merge the sixth case with the previous five. That is the mahjong tiles that appeared next to each of the dead. Please turn to the first page of the appendix."

Conan, who was sitting in the corridor listening attentively, couldn't help but frowned and began to think about how to get the complete investigation materials of the task force.

The case lasted for several months, involved as many as six victims, and spanned the entire country of Japan. The clues left in the files and photos of the scene have long made it difficult to find more conclusive evidence through on-site investigation, and the disadvantage of not being able to obtain case materials is too great.

He was pondering over how to obtain on-site information when he felt Tang Ze, who was sitting next to him, gently touch his wrist.

Conan, who was busy recording in his notebook, finally raised his head, and then looked in surprise as Tang Ze took out a thick document from his commuter bag and handed it to him.

It was exactly the same as what Megure Jusan had arranged to distribute to the police officers present.

Conan widened his eyes, looked at Tang Ze's bag that looked like a treasure chest, then looked down at the place where he had just been touched by Tang Ze, and his thoughts diverged violently in an instant.

How was this done? Is this also a reflection of Tang Ze’s “ability”?
He just wanted a copy of the file a little urgently, and he made a light touch, and his "wish" was fulfilled? He could even directly replicate all the information in the file one-to-one?
Is it so miraculous? Then, did he sincerely make a specific wish, for example, he wanted to get the murder weapon used by the murderer, or something that the murderer took from the victim...

He was still daydreaming, thinking about how to use Tang Ze's power in the field of criminal investigation through a more precise screening method, when he saw Tang Ze roll his eyelids at him and pat the cover of the document.

Conan was stunned for a moment and turned to the title page of the document.

Then I saw the Chinese characters "高木ＷＥＳ" written there in horizontal and vertical lines.

"I just felt that the details of this case would be difficult for ordinary people to get to know, so I 'borrowed' it from Officer Takagi when I came back just now." Tang Ze narrowed his eyes and moved a little further away from him, "You seem to be thinking about something very outrageous."

There was no need to ask. Just by looking at Conan's bright and burning expression, Tang Ze knew that the guy whose mind was full of solving the case was beginning to think about the possibility of using Tang Ze's ability as his golden finger.

Boy, just be a serious detective and don’t use me to find bugs.

Conan touched the words and looked at Tang Ze's bag, still a little unconvinced: "Really? Then Officer Takagi will have to go in empty-handed?" "That's the information compiled by their Investigation Division. Of course there are more. He looked through this one himself and made some notes. I think it's closer to first-hand on-site information..." Tang Ze knocked on Conan's head, "I can indeed 'perform magic' for you to some extent, but I can't completely 'create something out of nothing'. If I had this ability, those people would have been caught in one fell swoop."

"Really? Then is it possible that you have never tried it before..." Conan blinked, still feeling a little anxious.

"It's impossible. I know where the boundary line is. I can't create something I don't know myself." Tang Ze made a cross and firmly defended his right to interpretation.

"Oh, well, what a pity..." Conan temporarily withdrew the idea of ​​developing gameplay, opened the document in his hand, and quickly found the appendix described by Shiratori Renzaburo.

The appendix contains photos of the front and back of six mahjong pieces, listed in the order of the crimes, with the time and location of discovery noted, corresponding to each victim.

They are all patterns of seven tubes. Each one has one of the circles of the seven tubes painted red with red paint, a letter is written on the back, and then a black line is drawn in the middle with a black marker.

Even if we don't understand the murderer's motive, just by looking at the suggestive content, we can guess that this thing is probably closely related to the murderer's motive.

"Another thing that needs extra attention is that the murderer took a personal item from each victim. Because these are very obvious characteristics of the deceased when they were alive, relatives and friends have confirmed this after identification." Shiratori Jinzaburo's voice was still ringing, "Because these are small items, we can't completely rule out the possibility that they were accidentally lost during the kidnapping. But since this phenomenon has occurred in all six people, we think that for the time being we should still regard it as the murderer's intentional act."

"Well, I believe that anyone can see that this information is very crucial." Seeing that Shiratori Renzaburo had finished introducing the situation, Megure Jusan cleared his throat and took over the conversation, "But now the most important thing is the true meaning of these characteristics and the reason why the murderer did this."

Having said that, he turned his gaze to the people in the room, and his eyes swept across everyone's face equally, indicating that they could speak freely on this issue.

Kogoro Mouri clicked on the information that listed the mahjong photos and was about to stand up to explain the answer he had already thought of, but then he remembered something and his eyes couldn't help but drift to Adachi Toru beside him.

At a time like this, it seems more important to observe Adachi Toru's reaction than to try to show off yourself.

Before contacting this person, you should always understand his or her temperament and try to understand whether this person has good or bad intentions towards Tang Ze.

"Mr. Adachi, what do you think?" Maori Kogoro took the initiative to speak, without lowering his voice, deliberately directing everyone's attention to Adachi Toru. "I heard from the Metropolitan Police Department that you often come across this kind of serial murder cases with a long time span and consistent criminal behavior. You should have more unique insights."

Ireland didn't want to talk, his attention was focused on the list of lost items of the deceased: "..."

The word "contact" is used very subtly.

If I remember correctly, this grassroots member whose identity was requisitioned joined the organization in order to get the organization's help in cleanup and to cover up his crime of killing multiple people.

No, he remembered that based on the information he had collected and the conclusions he had observed before coming here, this detective with a less than serious temperament loved to be in the limelight and wanted to appear in the newspaper five times a week. He was completely prepared to use the other party's activeness to cover up his own presence.

What drama is going on now?

Could it be that Kumail took advantage of his good relationship with this person and said some nonsense to induce him to test him and force him to make some mistake?

Ireland's eyes twitched violently when he thought of the email that Kumail had sent him before he walked in. The email was not even sarcastic, but was directly pointing at his nose and mocking him, as well as the obvious and undisguised sarcastic expression.

Under the influence of Bourbon, Kumail learned nothing else but how to speak.

You look down on his acting skills and think you'll make a fool of yourself if he speaks in public, right?

"Ah, Mr. Maori, you are exaggerating." After a second to regain control of his expression, Ireland smiled and slowly stood up. "I was just lucky enough to play a role in the investigation of a few cases. However, if you insist on me speaking first, I do have some ideas, just consider them as a starting point."

Ireland, who is not very familiar with the specific character of Adachi Toru, tried his best to fit the image of an incompetent policeman who is lazy and does not pay much attention to rules and regulations, and his words were quite standard.

This immediately attracted the attention of almost everyone in the search section.

In the past two days, the policemen who had been targeting him openly or secretly all had stern faces, leaned forward slightly, and looked as if they were ready to attack.

It seems that if he can't explain it clearly, it's hard to say who will be hit by this brick.

Ireland, who was in a dilemma, took a deep breath, cursed Kumail, who provided the identity, ten more times in his heart, and finally figured out the appropriate words.

"If I were the murderer - oh, this is my personal habit of thinking, I would try to put myself in the murderer's perspective to consider the case. The deceased had been attacked by an electric shock device and lost his ability to act, and I could transport the living deceased dozens or even hundreds of kilometers to the scene of the murder and body disposal. I should have the ability to subdue an adult male and be able to take people on a long journey without arousing suspicion. Then, I could have chosen to kill the other party on the spot, or find a more concealed location to dispose of the body. But I didn't do this, why?"

"Because you have other purposes?" Sato Miwako, who was sitting in the first row, said in a gloomy tone, "I have ulterior motives, so I have to make a lot of arrangements."

"Of course." Ireland, who always felt that she was scolding him, glanced at her and continued, "Normally, murderers tend to commit crimes in a more accustomed and convenient way. If I acted differently, then this decision must be closely related to my purpose. The purpose of this case is actually closer to public execution, which means that I must have a close connection with these dead people."

"That means the murderer is in the network of these people, or knows the deceased for some reason." Maori Kogoro nodded, and without waiting for Ireland's next words, he immediately asked, "What about mahjong? If you are the murderer, why would you put such a mahjong there?"

Ireland, who felt that there was something wrong with this statement, was silent for a second before answering: "The information on the mahjong is indeed crucial, so it cannot be interpreted casually. I think we can investigate the deceased again, and perhaps we can come to a new conclusion."

"What about taking away personal belongings? Is this also part of the execution, as a 'symbolic' punishment?" Seeing the strong atmosphere of questioning, Megure Jusan also asked.

Ireland's eye twitched again.

Good question, I also want to know why this murderous idiot did this.

If he didn't do that, would he be standing here, being surrounded and questioned by a bunch of incomprehensible policemen and detectives like they were looking at a monkey?

"I think this may have nothing to do with the purpose of my action." Ireland pursed his lips, trying not to draw their attention to those things. "Maybe they were not specially selected. I should just kill people to achieve a certain goal or purpose. After all, if I really want to find something as a 'trophy', I am fully capable of taking away more symbolic items, such as their ID documents, or things related to their profession."

In short, it should not be a drawstring bag in the pocket of some low-key, ordinary office worker who works hard and has a bit of identity problem.

...Speaking of which guy is in charge of the connection, why on earth would he put such an important thing in a drawstring bag? !
Keep it safe, put it in your bag, and lock it in the safe! Damn it!

Ireland's inner resentment could not be received by the police present.

They just exchanged a suspicious look, then looked him up and down for a moment, their expressions noncommittal.

Takagi Shizuo touched his ears. Although he couldn't say anything unpleasant, he still followed his emotions and whispered, "Yeah, yes, you are a serial killer, and everything you said is right."

Ireland's eyes really twitched this time.

(End of this chapter)