"Mr. Masuo, you really went through a lot of trouble!" Sato Miwako smiled as she handcuffed Masuo Keizo's other hand.
"Officer, y-you are..." Masuo Keizo looked bewildered.
Who is he?
Where is he?
What is going on?
The smile disappeared from Sato Miwako's face as she said sternly, "Mr. Masuo Keizo, I am now arresting you on suspicion of conspiring with others to rob a bank!"
Masuo Keizo's heart skipped a beat. "What robbery? Officer, the bank I'm in charge of was robbed. I'm the victim!"
Sato Miwako said, "Mr. Masuo, it's useless to argue. Your accomplice has confessed everything and provided a recording of your phone conversation with him. The motive is also clear. You said yourself in the recording that you conspired with someone to rob the bank you manage, all for your wife who spends money like water."
"So that's how it is," Haibara Ai muttered to herself. "Earlier, Officer Sato said it would be better for Mr. Masuo to come alone, and that after today, Mrs. Masuo wouldn't need to worry. It was because the robber had already been caught, and the police were waiting for the other accomplice to deliver himself..."
"Uncle, you really are stupid," Genta said disdainfully. "Delivering yourself right to their door!"
The panicked Masuo Keizo: "..."
Kicking someone when they're down. Fatty, you're going too far!
"Officer Sato is amazing!" Ayumi said admiringly.
Mitsuhiko looked thoughtful. "So police work is this easy..."
"It's not easy at all!" Sato Miwako waved her hand to refute. "Interrogating over ten criminals all morning, some even needing identity verification. If it weren't for some physical evidence being sent over as well... Ahem, anyway, the interrogation rooms are all full now. When we learned about this clue, Mr. Masuo had already left home. I could only wait here first. Additionally, two officers rushed to set up an ambush on the road and near his house, fearing Mr. Masuo might flee after receiving news. So, being a police officer isn't that easy."
Masuo Keizo: "..."
Truly hardworking. To catch me, there were even people lying in ambush...
Ayumi pondered. "Although I don't really understand, it does sound like hard work..."
Conan chuckled dryly in his heart. He wasn't sure before, but now it seemed July really did catch a lot of criminals and send them over.
Saying the police worked hard... actually, they had it pretty easy.
But then again, for the robbery three days ago, even the police hadn't fully investigated it. The wanted poster was probably just to gather leads and didn't release information about the criminal.
For such a criminal to be caught, along with physical evidence... that guy codenamed July was a bit too terrifying. He basically solved the case and caught the culprit all by himself...
"Alright, I'll find an office to use as a temporary interrogation room," Sato Miwako reached out and pressed down on Masuo Keizo's shoulder. "Takagi, you find a place to take the statements too!"
"W-Wait!" Masuo Keizo's face turned pale in an instant.
When his wife was held hostage by the robber, she recognized the robber as his friend. Afraid of being implicated, he had already set a trap to kill his wife.
Since the police already knew about his involvement, there was no need to kill his wife... No, wait, it might be too late now. He absolutely couldn't say anything!
If he didn't say anything, he might be able to use an alibi to muddle through, praying the police wouldn't see through his method.
If he said something, and the police failed to stop it in time, once that mechanism was triggered, he wouldn't just be facing robbery charges, but murder as well...
"Mr. Masuo, is there anything else?" Sato Miwako asked.
Chi Feichi stared at Masuo Keizo. He also wanted to see if this man would give up on killing his wife...
"No, n-nothing!" Masuo Keizo was sweating profusely. Can't say it, absolutely not...
"Call Mrs. Masuo," Chi Feichi considered it and decided to give a reminder.
"Huh? Call Mrs. Masuo?" Takagi Wataru didn't react. "Why?"
A flash of inspiration struck Conan, and his expression changed drastically. "The robber holding Mrs. Masuo hostage was Mr. Masuo's friend. She very likely recognized him! If Mr. Masuo is worried about being exposed, it's not impossible for him to harm Mrs. Masuo, or even silence her! Brother Chi, that's what you're thinking, right?"
Takagi Wataru scratched his head. "But both robbers in the case have been caught. Mrs. Masuo shouldn't be in any danger..."
Masuo Keizo was drenched in sweat, unable to utter a word.
Sato Miwako noticed Masuo Keizo's abnormal behavior and shouted, "Takagi, make the call! Tell Mrs. Masuo to go immediately to Officer Tanaka who is lying in ambush near her house. I'll contact Officer Tanaka right now!"
Takagi Wataru hurried to use the landline on the desk to make the call, but no one answered on the other end.
Sato Miwako contacted Officer Tanaka via mobile phone. "Officer Tanaka, go to the Masuo house immediately. Mrs. Masuo might be in danger. Hurry!"
Five minutes later, Sato Miwako's phone rang.
"Hello..." Sato Miwako answered immediately. After listening to a few sentences, the anxious expression on her face suddenly subsided. Seeing everyone looking at her, she put down the phone and shook her head. "Mrs. Masuo was stabbed in the heart with a knife. She's dead."
Masuo Keizo slumped to the floor, covering his face with his handcuffed hands. "I should have said something earlier. No, if I had known... if I had known it would be like this..."
The room fell into a heavy, oppressive silence.
Conan quietly observed Chi Feichi, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
Although Hattori Heiji suggested catching Chi Feichi in a compromising situation to exchange for the video, and Conan thought it was a good idea, he believed it was harder than getting the memory card.
As a friend, he wouldn't use real leverage to blackmail Chi Feichi. Even if it was just to delete a video, blackmail hurt relationships. From the start, he just wanted to find an embarrassing moment of Chi Feichi to jokingly exchange for the video.
But Chi Feichi was too calm. Calm to the point of pathology. Just like now, when everyone else looked heavy-hearted, Chi Feichi's expression and gaze hadn't changed at all. He was still the same as usual, calm to the point of indifference.
Before this, he had seen another man who looked at dead people with the same indifference—the man named Gin!
He didn't think Chi Feichi was connected to that organization, but they say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and the emotions in one's eyes don't lie. He worried whether Chi Feichi's abnormal condition was a change in his illness, or rather, he didn't want his friend to turn into someone like Gin...
Chi Feichi sensed Conan's gaze. When he looked down, Conan had already withdrawn his gaze with a heavy expression.
Chi Feichi: "..."
Why do I feel like I'm being targeted by the God of Death elementary school student again?
Conan: "..."
Sigh, these friends around me really make me worry endlessly...
"Takagi, take them to give their statements first," Sato Miwako broke the silence. "The delivery packages should be finished dismantling. Others can free up their hands to go to the crime scene. I'll be responsible for interrogating Mr. Masuo."
"Okay!" Takagi Wataru responded. After watching Sato Miwako leave, he found an empty office and began taking statements.
The children of the Detective Boys and Professor Agasa could give statements together. They went to the Blue Castle together, and their experiences were largely similar. With Professor Agasa accompanying them, the children's statement process would be easier.
Chi Feichi had lived in the Blue Castle for a while, and there were some matters that needed confirmation. Logically, Chi Feichi's statement should be taken separately and then cross-referenced with the Detective Boys' statements, but there was no choice...
The police force was truly insufficient today!
"Then, children, please sit for a while," Takagi Wataru sat behind the desk after preparing the recording equipment. "Mr. Chi, regarding Nishikawa Mutsumi's murder and attempted murder case at the Mamiya family castle, may I ask the date you moved into the Mamiya house?"
Chi Feichi recalled. On the day he was discharged, Mamiya Mitsuru signed the papers, and there was a date below. "May 27th."