books44 Chapter 288 I, Kuromon Haruya, am a heartthrob (shyly)
Chapter 288 I, Kuromon Haruya, am a heartthrob (shyly)
"...After Yanase invited me, I decided to play along and pretended to be drugged so he could take me to the warehouse. I originally planned to use my personal recorder to record evidence, but unexpectedly, halfway there, I was suddenly drugged from behind by an unknown person."
When I woke up, Yanase was a completely different person; he set himself on fire right in front of me.
"Besides your previous account, do you recall any further details about being drugged?"
"I'm sorry." Kuromon Haruya raised his hand and gently touched the back of his neck, shaking his head regretfully: "Like I said, I only remember being stabbed in the back of the neck by someone, and then I lost consciousness."
"Is that so..." The unfamiliar police officer on the other end pondered, casting an unsettling probing glance.
Yoruichi Kuromon turned his gaze back to the two police officers.
Their faces were completely unfamiliar, and Kuromon Haruya was quite certain that he remembered the appearance of every officer under Inspector Megure. Normally, these kinds of criminal cases should be handled by the First Investigation Division, and outside interference was a cause for concern.
The officer put down the pen he was supposed to be using to take notes, tapped it irregularly on the table, and hinted in a flippant tone:
"So, is it also possible that there were no other accomplices along the way, but rather that the prisoner's anesthetic residue was left on his collar and was accidentally inhaled by you?"
"But the stinging pain I felt at the time..."
"In fact, since the last statement was taken, the forensic team has conducted a special investigation at the scene, but they have not found any traces that could have been left by a third party."
Your so-called attack and stinging sensations might be illusions caused by anesthetics, high temperatures, or the thick rope. Ryuichi Yanase is insane; his claim that you mailed him a bunch of photos of the fire is pure delusional paranoia.
The officer crossed his arms and rested them on his chin, gradually applying pressure:
“I heard you’re an honorary advisor. In that case, Mr. Kuromon, you must understand the pressure on our police system, right? I know such a shocking event must be unsettling for you, but please abandon any speculation about a so-called ‘serial killer.’”
Yoruichi Kuromon bit his lower lip, his eyelids trembling slightly like feathers in a breeze. His unhoned pride made him always want to keep his opinions to himself when facing certain matters, but unfortunately, this time the Metropolitan Police Department was not on his side.
This uneasy expression was reflected in the officer's eyes, which pleased him immensely. Because this was exactly what his superiors wanted.
In the end, the overly popular young photographer relented:
"...Ah, yes. That's about it."
The officer then gave his first and last smile since he appeared: "Very good."
squeak--
As the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, the long and tedious second interrogation process finally came to an end, and Haruya Kuromon breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Heimen!"
After putting down the snacks offered by Officer Takagi, Conan jumped off the bench: "How's the interrogation going? Has the police found anything about that so-called alchemical drug?"
Without giving a direct answer, Kuromon Haruya put on a mask and a baseball cap, took Conan's hand, casually pulled out a notice from the bulletin board, and brushed past the reporters who were lying in wait at the police station entrance, just like any other citizen.
"Recently, the case of renowned fire photographer Ryuichi Yanase, who deliberately set fire to kill several people for staged photography, has attracted widespread attention from the public... In pursuit of the most perfect work, Ryuichi Yanase chose to self-immolate in a staged abandoned warehouse... Some people on the internet have already called him the 'shutter cremator'."
"...According to sources, he kidnapped his most admired professional photographer, Mr. Kuroba, to record his final moments. The photo circulating in the news was taken by him, but so far, Mr. Kuroba's personal blog has not officially responded."
Conan raised his head, unable to see Kuromon's expression through his mask, but he knew the latter wasn't the type to attract attention, so it couldn't be too pleasant for him.
He cracked his clenched index finger and scoffed, "Seriously, do these reporters need to make such a big fuss? Cases like this happen every now and then; it's nothing unusual in Beika Town. They should be tracking down that serial bomber instead!"
"..." Kuromon Haruya, who had originally planned to maintain a melancholic youth persona for a while, couldn't hold back any longer.
Listen to this, is this even human language? Even a crime syndicate boss can't speak like that.
What? This came from the mouth of the Reaper of Mikasa? Oh well, never mind.
He opened the door of a car parked on the side of the road, shoved Conan next to Kogoro Mouri, quickly pulled off his mask, and shook his head:
"Unfortunately, the police have not found any useful leads. Rather than investigating potential serial killer instigators, they would prefer that I issue a statement to clarify the situation and prevent further social unrest."
Although this minor incident is just a minor setback for the tough and resilient people of Mihua.
"Hmm?" Kogoro Mouri was also somewhat surprised. "After your warning, Inspector Megure actually decided to handle it this way?"
“I’ve never seen the officer who took this statement before. Neither his demeanor nor his tone are like those of a Beika person. I’m afraid they were… sent down.” Kuromon Haruya pointed to the roof of the car above, his meaning self-evident.
"In short, the police believe that this incident is now closed, and that it was just a case of a crazy photographer setting fire."
"Hey!" Conan grumbled, clutching his headrest. "What about the 'alchemy potion'? Are we just going to leave it like that?"
Although Kogoro Mouri resigned many years ago, he still has an exceptional understanding of the workings of the police force—after all, the positions of high-ranking officials are unlikely to change even in twenty years:
"After all, this is just a hypothetical idea proposed by a few young people like you. It would be truly foolish to set up an expert group and collect all sorts of information based on rumors just because of some alchemical term that has only appeared twice! We can't exactly have the cyber police arrest all Fullmetal Alchemist fans, can we?"
No, it's not like that.
Conan clenched his back teeth, which were grinding against each other, and mentally denied it.
A single name might not be enough, but a series of photos might. While helping to collect the photos at the scene, Shinichi Kudo carefully examined the pictures scattered on the ground.
Besides the photo of Asahi playing the piano in the fire, he also recognized the distant view of the Izu Princess Hotel billowing smoke, and the warehouse burning in the sunset with traces of Miyano Akemi's blood remaining.
However, this is a clue that cannot be revealed to the police.
If Inspector Megure were to reopen the investigation into the 1 billion yen case, would the organization's mole within the Metropolitan Police Department become alert, and thus become aware of him, and of Kuromon, who had seen Gin? He might not even know if the organization is currently aware of anything.
But what Conan doesn't know is that he can solve this mystery simply by taking a quick look at Kuromon Haruya's phone right now.
[Fu-chan:]
The older brother said the plan to boost his own profile by staging the whole thing was good. But allowing outsiders to view internal organization emails was a one-time exception, not even for a dying person.
[A seductive, cunning beer:]
Understood. By the way, could you please let me know in advance if Gin has any plans next time? Suddenly knocking me out really disrupted the schedule.
[Fu-chan:]
He suddenly drugged you? I know you're infatuated with your older brother, but if it's to the point that thinking about him during a mission causes you to faint, you should probably see a doctor.
[A seductive, cunning beer:]
...I mean, on the day Yanase was kidnapped, they suddenly knocked me unconscious with a tranquilizer dart, tied me up, and then scattered photos all over the floor. Wasn't the organization accessing my records just to locate me?
[Fu-chan:]
Wait, Butber, what are you talking about? My brother and I haven't seen you in ages!
[A seductive, cunning beer:]
...So who was the attacker who completely blocked my senses a few days ago?
"what!"
A blood-curdling scream suddenly came from behind him. Gin turned around and pointed the sniper rifle, which was originally aimed at the virtual target, at the source of the sound: "Give me your reason."
Clutching his phone with the Yoko Okino standee hanging on it, Vodka's face turned ashen, and he trembled: "Big brother, something terrible has happened... something really bad has happened!"
On the other end of the phone, Kuromon Haruya stared at the silent contact bar and chuckled:
'I wonder if they can figure out from this familiar camera angle that the alchemy potion is the boss... Our family bond is so strong, they definitely can!'
'Speaking of which, I, Butber, am just too charming. I actually have the boss, Gin, and Vermouth all vying for me!'
"Sigh, this is what they call a heartthrob, isn't it?"