Shirakawa didn't give Inspector Megure a chance to speak. He pointed at the Inspector's nose and started shouting, "Why didn't you catch that guy sooner? If you had, Tae wouldn't have had to die! The Japanese police are just a bunch of useless fools!"
"Alright, Noriyuki, that's enough..." A woman nearby, dressed in a purple suit with a short, coffee-colored ponytail, seemed more level-headed. She pulled at the agitated Shirakawa Noriyuki, trying her best to prevent him from doing anything extreme.
"A bunch of useless... fools..." Hearing those words, Inspector Megure froze on the spot. That phrase made memories flood back into his mind, as if he were transported to a long, long time ago...
Fujino noticed Inspector Megure's unusual behavior and stepped forward, supporting him by the shoulder. If he remembered correctly, Inspector Megure's wife had said something similar back then, and then she was severely injured by a culprit. It seemed Inspector Megure might have developed a psychological trauma from that incident.
"Fujino-kun." Inspector Megure recovered and turned to Fujino, his face noticeably pale, even looking a bit pitiful and wronged.
"Leave this to me," Fujino took a deep breath and turned to Shirakawa, who was still yelling. "I say, you just called the police a bunch of useless fools, didn't you?"
Fujino actually found the term "useless fools" somewhat fitting. However, he held the stance of "I can say it, but others can't!" regarding this particular insult. After all, he was, in a way, part of the police force now. Calling the police useless fools was indirectly calling him one, wasn't it?
"Yes, useless fools!" Shirakawa was clearly still defiant. He mistook Fujino for a regular police detective. "It's you guys who caused Tae's death! If you're not useless fools, then who is?!"
"Perfect. I happen to be part of the police force as well. Dare you say that again?" Fujino narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grim. His aura intensified, and the ambient temperature perceptibly dropped a few degrees. "Dozens of murder cases happen in Tokyo every day. If you think the police are useless fools, then you do it. You try to solve them."
"I..." Shirakawa felt a chill run down his spine under Fujino's gaze, stammering and unable to speak. A moment later, he weakly asserted, "What kind of attitude is that? I'll file a complaint against you!"
"If you don't have the ability, then don't stand here blabbering. No one will mistake you for a mute if you stay silent. My name is Fujino Touji, I'm a detective, and a part-time consultant for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division. Go ahead and complain, I don't care if I lose the job!" Fujino turned and walked back inside the police tape, continuing impatiently without looking back, "If you can't find the culprit yourself, then stop whining here and blaming all the mistakes on the police. If you can't catch the culprit, then get out of here and stop interfering with the investigation! If you dare to make a scene here again, I'll take you in for obstruction of justice!"
"..." Everyone present was stunned. They stared wide-eyed at Fujino, who had returned within the police tape. They were clearly shocked by Fujino's blunt confrontation with a civilian. After all, people in all Japanese police departments rarely dared to get into conflicts with the public. Confrontations were practically unthinkable. One complaint was all it took; a minor offense meant a fine, a serious one meant disciplinary action or even dismissal.
"Inspector Megure," Fujino inquired, "Can we continue the investigation now?"
"Oh... oh!" Recovering, Inspector Megure immediately signaled the police officers on site to continue investigating the crime scene.
"That guy was so speechless he couldn't say anything..." Sonoko sidled over, glancing at Shirakawa, who dared not utter another word beyond the police tape, a look of excitement on her face. She turned to Ran and asked, "Am I right, Ran?"
"Hmm..." Ran nodded, then suddenly remembered something and added, "He has a bit of that Hiratsuka-sensei vibe. Very imposing."
"This guy, he seems even scarier when he's angry than when he's usually scheming," Conan swallowed, secretly thinking to himself that Ran's feeling was quite accurate. Not exactly identical, but it was clear they had the same teacher. He wondered if Ran's violent tendencies were also influenced by that woman?
"Fujino, aren't you really afraid that guy will complain about you?" Sato Miwako approached, whispering a warning, "If it really reaches the police headquarters, you might face disciplinary action, or even dismissal."
"It's just a consultant detective position, anyway," Fujino said, completely unconcerned. "Let him complain. I'll just quit. How much does a police officer even make? It's not as much as a detective."
"Haha..." Sato Miwako gave a speechless laugh. So, he really was carefree when it wasn't his main job. She couldn't do something like that... Not just to inherit her father's will, but also for her own aspirations. And this job allowed her to take action and avoid going broke...
She sighed softly, Sato Miwako pulled herself together, then felt a slight sense of grim satisfaction, saying with a sense of triumph, "But Fujino, you really let us vent some anger today. Usually, we don't dare to talk back."
Inspector Megure nodded beside them, a little touched. It felt good to have Fujino step up. Takagi also couldn't help but nod. Fujino... he really did what they usually didn't dare to do.
---
"The victim's name is Aizawa Tae, twenty years old." Soon, Takagi had confirmed the victim's identity and began his report. "I heard that about a year ago, she worked here, but she was dismissed due to certain circumstances and hasn't found a new job yet." He then turned to Shirakawa behind him. "The reason she was here, I heard, was that she had arranged to meet Mr. Shirakawa in the parking lot. Mr. Shirakawa's father is the owner of this department store. Their original plan was to go to the restaurant Mr. Shirakawa manages for dinner, but then this happened."
"In other words..." Sato Miwako picked up the thread, summarizing, "The victim got out of her car after driving here and was heading to the agreed-upon restaurant to meet, which is why she was killed by the culprit."
"It seems the primary crime scene is here," Inspector Megure, having regained his composure, analyzed the situation. He turned to Shirakawa, noticing the woman who had pulled him back earlier. "By the way, Takagi, who is that woman?"
"That's a waitress from the restaurant Mr. Shirakawa manages. Her name is Konno Yuri." Takagi flipped through his police notebook. "She said the victim's boyfriend was her college classmate, and she had a good relationship with him, often discussing things."
"Discussing things?" Sato Miwako picked up on the key detail.
"Yes, Mr. Shirakawa's father didn't seem to welcome the victim very much," Takagi thought for a moment and nodded. "He even made their relationship very strained. Mr. Shirakawa usually discussed these matters with Ms. Konno."
---