In the world of Detective Conan, the female characters are all acting strangely!

Page 158

noon.

Tsukikage Island Village Office.

Inside the Metropolitan Police Department's temporary command center.

The village chief's secretary, Hirata Kazuaki, is confessing to the crimes of the Moon Shadow Island smuggling group.

Talk about it.

Although he was hit by Conan's killer soccer ball and sent flying several meters, he was still unharmed compared to the henchmen who had broken arms or legs.

As the village chief's secretary, and familiar with the drug cartel's operations, he was the most suitable person to interrogate, given that the leaders were all dead.

but--

"You mean, all the pro-independence schemes were devised by Hideo Kawashima, the goods were supplied by Tatsuji Kuroiwa, and the sales were previously handled by Ken Nishimoto, and after Nishimoto left, Hideo Kawashima took over?"

Xia Ye held Hirata Kazuaki's statement, looked at it, and asked, "And what about you? What were you responsible for?"

"I?"

Hirata Kazuaki looked completely innocent:

"Actually, I was in charge of the official business of Black Rock Village Chief. He looked down on me because I was timid and never let me participate in the exclusive transactions. Officer, really, you have to believe me!"

"What a waste of time!"

Xia Ye waved to the side.

"Officer Tanaka~"

"Officer Akiyama, what do you need me to do?" A police officer who was waiting nearby walked over, his attitude very sincere.

After all, Xia Ye's performance in the two operations at the abandoned factory and Moonshadow Island was perfect. His leadership qualities as a criminal consultant were activated, and his ordinary colleagues already had great faith in him!

"Officer Tanaka, could you please go to the village activity room? There's a mechanism under that piano; opening it should reveal some unique items. Please bring it back, and remember to wear gloves!"

Xia Ye gave the order calmly, but her gaze fell on Hirata Kazuaki's face, where he saw his face gradually turn pale and his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Yes, Officer Akiyama!"

Upon seeing that Supervisor Matsumoto nodded slightly, Officer Tanaka immediately responded and went out.

"How did you know?"

Hirata Kazuaki's face was ashen, and he looked dejected.

Xia Ye said with a disdainful look:

"First of all, you seem very nervous about people getting close to that piano, and you quickly stop me when you see me about to play."

"Secondly, you were sent to test me back then, weren't you? The fact that you cared so much about the piano under those circumstances suggests there's a secret involved!"

"As for that 'Moonlight Sonata' curse, you made that up too, didn't you? Your purpose was to keep people away from that piano you used to trade for your unique pieces."

"You're right!"

Hirata Kazuaki confessed to his crimes.

He was just trying to see if he could get away with it, since he didn't openly engage in the business of selling counterfeit goods, but secretly used that piano to trade counterfeit items and make a little money.

Now this police officer knows so much about it, it's like he saw it with his own eyes.

Since things have already come to this, there's no point in struggling anymore. Just confess quickly. After all, given the charges against you, you'll only be out in three to five years!

A police officer who easily took down twenty members of a pro-independence trafficking group and killed three of their leaders is best left alone. Otherwise, even if he kills you here and then charges you with assaulting a police officer, you'll have died for nothing!

"take away!"

Matsumoto, the manager, waved his hand, and immediately the waiting police officers dragged Hirata Kazuaki away.

"Snapped!"

"Shocking!"

Manager Matsumoto's eyes burned with rage. He slammed his hand on the table, finally losing his temper.

"Over the past twelve years, tons of unique goods have been smuggled from this small island to all over the country! It's only twenty nautical miles from Tokyo, practically right under their noses, yet the Metropolitan Police Department hasn't found a single clue! It's simply—"

He stopped.

At his level, he couldn't utter words like "good-for-nothing" or "a bunch of useless trash"; those are words reserved for high-ranking officials at the ministerial level or above...

"Matsumoto Management Officer~"

At the door, Sato Miwako helped Asai Makoto walk in, just as Matsumoto Kiyonaga slammed his fist on the table. So she gave Natsume a questioning look: "My boss is angry right now, why did you call me here?"

"Sato's here, come and sit down~"

After calming his anger slightly, Officer Matsumoto looked at the injured Makoto Asai and forced a kind smile: "Ms. Asai, I'm so sorry that you were injured during this operation. Don't worry, the Metropolitan Police Department will compensate you!"

Asai Makoto opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. Natsume took over, speaking seriously:

"Our Metropolitan Police Department does owe Honesty an apology, but not because of this incident, but because of the great fire on Tsukikage Island twelve years ago."

"What do you mean?"

Manager Matsumoto frowned, sensing a hint of sarcasm in Natsume's words.

"Twelve years ago, Keiji Aso, a famous pianist from Tsukikage Island, returned to his hometown. After holding a concert at the village's community center, he locked himself in his house, murdered his wife and young daughter, and then set himself on fire."

Xia Ye chuckled:

"Of course, this is the conclusion reached by the Metropolitan Police Department when they closed the case twelve years ago. Do you, Superintendent Matsumoto, think it's reasonable?"

Asai remained silent and indifferent.

"Xia Ye, just say what you have to say!"

Superintendent Matsumoto was naturally unaware of the case, but the sarcasm in Xia Ye's words was indeed not a misperception. This young man clearly held the Metropolitan Police Department, at least the Metropolitan Police Department of twelve years ago, in utter contempt!

However, he was not displeased by this. On the contrary, he was somewhat gratified. He was not afraid of your indignation, but he was afraid of your indifference. The fact that you were angry showed that Xia Ye still cared about the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, at least about wrongful convictions. Wasn't that a good thing?

"Be honest, why don't you tell me?"

Xia Ye looked at Asai Makoto and asked.

"it is good!"

Makoto Asai nodded with a complex expression, his eyes filled with sorrow as he recounted the entire story of the case from years ago, then said calmly:

"After Keiji Aso died, the police hastily closed the case as a suicide. Tatsuji Kuroiwa and his gang found a new channel and began using Tsukikage Island as their base to smuggle separatist goods into the mainland, and they continue to do so to this day."

"So you are?"

Manager Matsumoto looked very unhappy.

After listening to just a few sentences, he knew that the Metropolitan Police Department had made another wrong case, and now the family members of the perpetrators had exposed it to his face.

Although the family member was calm and did not say anything offensive, he felt a strange sense of guilt when looked at by Asai Makoto's somewhat indifferent gray-blue eyes!

"Asai Makoto, whose real name is Asai Narumi, is the eldest daughter of Asai Keiji, who was recuperating in Tokyo twelve years ago due to illness."

Asai Makoto said calmly:

"Asai is my adoptive parents' surname. Two years ago, I graduated from medical school and came to Tsukikage Island to work as a doctor and investigate the truth of what happened back then. In the past two years, I have almost figured out the case from twelve years ago, but I don't have any conclusive evidence."

"No evidence?"

Superintendent Matsumoto frowned deeply. Without evidence, the case could not be overturned, and thus, compensation could not be made to the victim's family, who had been bearing the truth alone for so long due to the Metropolitan Police Department's mistake.

Actually, there is evidence.

Xia Ye spoke up, then looked towards the door amidst everyone's surprised gazes, "Hmm, finally here, looks like we found it~"

"Oh, I've finally found it!"

The only policeman at Moonshadow Island Police Station, an elderly man with a completely white beard, walked in and placed a thin sheet of music on the table:

"The Metropolitan Police Department didn't even investigate the fire scene back then. I found this sheet music in the safe that wasn't burned in Keiji Aso's house. It's one of Keiji Aso's belongings!"

"Is this my father's keepsake?"

Asai Makoto stood up excitedly, but this aggravated her wound. However, she ignored the pain of the tearing wound, picked up the sheet music on the table, and after just one glance, large tears welled up in her gray-blue eyes and dripped onto the sheet music in her hand:

"That's right, it's my father's will!"

"This will was written in code using Roman letters and piano keys. It was left for me because only he and I could understand the code on it!"

"Suicide note?"

Matsumoto's manager looked grave:

"What did it say?"

"They said—"

Makoto Asai bit his lip, his eyes filled with sorrow:

"Knowing he was going to die, he wrote down in code on the sheet music before he died the whole story of how the four men knocked his mother and sister unconscious, locked them in the house, and set it on fire, as well as the fact that they were trafficking drugs back then, and even the information of the suppliers and buyers of the drugs back then!"

"Tsk!"

Xia Ye's eyes were filled with mockery:

"Back then, if the Metropolitan Police Department had just conducted a brief investigation of the fire scene and checked Keiji Aso's family information, they could have not only solved an arson and murder case, but also nipped a pro-independence group in the bud!"

"Unfortunately, they seem too lazy to even do routine work. They're not only useless, but they also lack any professional ethics!"

Manager Matsumoto's face was ashen, but he couldn't refute it at all, because even he thought so.

Xia Ye is right. The problem isn't really the ability, but the attitude!

Twelve years ago, if those investigating this case had seriously collected evidence, they could have solved it simply by conducting tedious and repetitive investigations. Instead, they hastily concluded the case as a suicide, which is simply outrageous!

"Summer Leaves~"

Sato Miwako originally wanted to remind Natsume that she and he were both from the Metropolitan Police Department, but when she saw Asai Makoto's trembling little hands and tearful eyes as he held the sheet music, she felt that Natsume was right to scold him. Those people were really too irresponsible!

"I will personally verify this case!"

Manager Matsumoto stood up, looked at Makoto Asai, and said earnestly:

"Once I return to the Metropolitan Police Department, I will reopen the investigation. After the investigation, the Metropolitan Police Department will announce the details of the case to the media, and—"

"Apologize to the victims' families!"

"what?!"

Makoto Asai suddenly raised his head.

Her slightly red and swollen eyes made her look even more pitiful, giving her the feeling of a delicate beauty like Daiyu.

She was utterly astonished—the Metropolitan Police Department had apologized to the victim's family in the media?

She only wanted the truth of the case from back then to come to light, but she didn't expect the Metropolitan Police Department to be so decisive. By reopening the case in the media, they were essentially admitting their failure back then. This Matsumoto supervisor really has guts!

This improved her impression of the Metropolitan Police Department slightly!

.......

Moon Shadow Island Wharf.

"Xia Ye, I'll head back now~"

Sato Miwako boarded the ship's railing, waved to Natsume and Asai Makoto, and said with a smile:

"Be honest, remember to keep in touch. If you go back to Dongdu, come visit me, and I'll introduce you to some good friends~"

"it is good!"

Makoto Asai understood what Miwako Sato meant, and she was also curious about those overly enthusiastic "companions":

"I'll be there!"

"Goodbye then!" Sato Miwako waved again and then went into the cabin.

"goodbye!"

"Xia Ye!"

Just as Natsume and Asai Makoto were about to turn and leave, they were stopped by Manager Matsumoto. He walked over, glanced at Asai Makoto, and whispered:

“I can accept that those three people were killed by you in self-defense when they tried to commit a crime, but this is a one-time exception. As a police officer, you should avoid causing deaths unless absolutely necessary! Understand?”

"I understand, Manager Matsumoto~"

Xia Ye wore a sincere smile, but Manager Matsumoto felt that the guy wasn't listening at all... ugh.