"Mr. Washinuma, care to explain what these negatives are about? You didn't steal them from Kazuhiro Ootaka, did you?" Baishi held a stack of negatives, staring at Noboru Washinuma with a face as dark as thunder.
Due to his height, Baishi stood in front of Washinuma, completely blocking the overhead cabin light, his shadowed face looming over him…
Gulp—
Unable to withstand the pressure, Washinuma hurriedly explained, "No, no! These are photos I took myself. They're not very clear, but I figured they could fetch a bit of money… Tatsukawa, you saw Ootaka's negatives before, right? They were much clearer than these!"
Right!
Exactly!
What kind of junk did you shoot?
Baishi cursed inwardly…
Following Shinichi's earlier hint, Baishi had devised a plan to temporarily conceal that "the negatives were already destroyed," aiming to bluff these suspects—especially Edward—and had searched the other two's luggage.
Sure enough, he found negatives in Washinuma's luggage!
Though they were just negatives, with Baishi's [Insight] skill, he could see them as clearly as photos when held up to the light, even discerning color differences perfectly.
But…
Baishi realized the photos were barely usable. While the U.S. congressman's face was somewhat recognizable, the woman's face was completely indistinguishable!
These negatives couldn't meet Baishi's needs.
So, Baishi deliberately said this in front of Edward to bait him, and at the same time…
"We didn't find negatives in anyone else's luggage, so it's hard to believe your story…" Baishi said intentionally.
"Huh? But…" Washinuma panicked instantly.
"Here's the deal: since you claim you took these, tell us exactly where and how you shot them. We'll verify it later," Baishi said, acting as if he was looking out for him.
Shinichi, watching from the side, was speechless…
He could tell Officer Baishi was fixated on the "scandal" rather than the murder case, and he wasn't planning to reveal the film fragment yet.
At this moment, Baishi ignored the murder case, pulling Washinuma aside to take his statement…
Shinichi didn't yet know Baishi's true motives, assuming it was some internal power struggle, so he didn't pay it much mind.
Baishi's actions played right into Shinichi's hands. This was his first murder case, and he wanted to fully deduce the truth, not solve it with just one or two pieces of evidence or clues.
Detectives… or rather, "famous detectives," solved cases very differently from the police.
Famous detectives often used deduction to reconstruct the crime, forcing the culprit to confess, whereas the police didn't need to know every detail perfectly.
For the police, solving a case relied less on "deduction" and more on using deduction for the first step—establishing a "direction of investigation."
No rigorous deduction was needed; they'd come up with a few possibilities, investigate each direction through visits and evidence collection, and once they had evidence and a motive, they'd apply for a "search warrant" or "arrest warrant." Through searches and interrogations, they'd obtain more confessions and decisive evidence to form a chain of evidence, then write a "prosecution report."
The prosecutor would review the report. If it was sufficient, they'd file charges; if not, they'd scold the investigator and point out what needed further investigation…
Thus, a "famous detective" wasn't necessarily a great cop, and vice versa. Famous detectives hyper-focused on the "establishing a direction" step, sometimes overly relying on it in the eyes of the police.
The cases where Megure sought Kudo's help were the "clueless" ones, where the police couldn't even find a direction, prompting them to turn to "famous detectives."
Shinichi's goal—or rather, his "hobby"—was clearly deduction…
So, Shinichi didn't mention the key clue in Baishi's pocket, instead obsessing over how Toritsu Amano disposed of the murder weapon and fabricated an alibi. Given her relationship with the victim, drugging him wasn't surprising, but the weapon hadn't been found, and she had an alibi!
Baishi, meanwhile, wasn't interested in Shinichi's detective game. He took Washinuma's statement while… keeping his attention on Edward nearby.
Just then…
Ding ding ding—
"Dear passengers, due to weather conditions, this flight will return to Yokohama Airport in Kanagawa Prefecture. Our company will provide free accommodations and arrange for your continued journey as soon as possible. Please remain patient…"
The announcement of the return flight came over the intercom, but…
Baishi breathed a slight sigh of relief before his heart tightened again—Yokohama Airport? Landing at an East Coast airport was reasonable, but…
The case Baishi was investigating involved the Minister of Justice's ties to yakuza groups in Kanagawa Prefecture. The "Metropolitan Police Department," where Baishi worked, was essentially the "East Capital Police Headquarters," with no jurisdiction over Kanagawa cases. This was why he had to "strike indirectly."
But now…
Landing right in the enemy's lair—wasn't that a bit targeted?
However, Baishi's mind stirred, and a slight smirk curved his lips. He hadn't found any usable negatives, so if the other side didn't make a move, he'd have no leverage!
If this forced landing was indeed meant to target him…
Even better!
Want to play rough?
As long as they played fair and didn't bring heavy weapons, Baishi wasn't afraid!
Gulp—
Washinuma, seeing Officer Baishi's cold smirk, grew even more nervous and continued his statement!
…
As for Shinichi…
He was busy cracking Amano's alibi!
According to the flight attendant's statement, she went to the restroom *before* the victim—a classic "little trick."
"I get it now! The trace was…" Shinichi finally figured out what the murder weapon was. "Ran! I need to ask you something!"
Since the plane required security checks, overly conspicuous weapons couldn't be brought on board.
The victim's wound was likely…
The result of a sharpened wire from an "underwire bra"!
Not knowing much about it, Shinichi needed to consult Ran first…
Ran's face flushed red, and she shoved him away. "W-What are you talking about, you pervert!"
"No, no, it's for the case… Can you just tell me…" Shinichi quickly explained to Ran.
"Hey, what are you two doing?" Megure, seeing the "young couple" flirting, was immediately annoyed.
"No, Inspector Megure, I know who the culprit is!" Shinichi declared, brimming with confidence.
…
Toritsu Amano had already left traces. Since the wire from her "underwire bra" had been removed, it scratched her during large movements. Even without Shinichi's deduction, a thorough search by a female officer upon landing would have found it!
As for the "fake alibi"…
With blood on the bra's wire frame, it was solid evidence. The alibi's flaws would eventually be exposed during interrogation, and its weight wasn't enough to overturn the evidence of the murder weapon. Ignoring the flight attendant's testimony and sending the case to prosecution was viable, unless the defense lawyer could challenge the flight attendant's statement, which would be a courtroom battle.
But with Shinichi around, things were simpler. He directly cracked her method, compensating for a detective's lack of an "interrogation" phase with "deduction"…
"Wait, but Toritsu doesn't have the negatives, right?" Chizuru Tatsukawa still couldn't believe her friend was a murderer.
"Well…" Shinichi glanced at Baishi, who was glaring at him, so he didn't reveal that "the negatives had been cut up and flushed."
Toritsu Amano, no longer resisting, confessed to the crime.
Shinichi also didn't forget to expose that Edward had tampered with the body, knowing full well that Edward understood Japanese.
As the plane landed at Yokohama Airport, Edward immediately called the embassy, requesting bail—his offense was minor, merely disturbing the body…
As for the "scandal negatives," he and the U.S. congressman were victims of blackmail!
After all, "lifestyle scandals" weren't something the police could regulate.
"I'll be taking your negatives as evidence," Baishi said to Washinuma without hesitation.
"Uh? Oh… Okay…" Washinuma didn't dare argue…
Though unrelated to the murder, he had indeed planned to use them for blackmail.
Having taken a lengthy statement from Washinuma and confiscated the "negatives," Baishi, feigning satisfaction, checked into the airline's arranged hotel…
Edward, seeing Baishi's expression… assumed he'd really obtained key evidence!
(End of Chapter)
Translator's Note:
The "negatives" are not metaphorical or abstract; they are literal photographic film strips containing scandalous images. Their destruction (except for a fragment) and Baishi's use of Washinuma's inferior negatives for bluffing drive the plot, highlighting his strategic thinking and the limitations of his current evidence.