Swinging Wife Murder (Combined Chapter)

The body was charred by the flames from the explosion, and the stench was overwhelming, causing Fujino to feel a sense of unease.

This was the first time he had ever seen a local specialty like rice flower that was so stimulating to both the senses of smell and sight.

"Brother Fujino, how are you doing?"

Mori Kogoro asked in a deep voice.

Fujino turned his head and gave Mori Kogoro a calm little look.

Kogoro Mori understood the deeper meaning behind it.

Then he called out to the person next to Megumi who was using the police as a tool, "Ran, go call the police!"

"Kuanmei!"

Megumi, who was being supported by Ran, suddenly shouted and then collapsed into Ran's arms.

"Mouri-niisan, you should take Miss Megumi to the hospital first."

Fujino gave a brief explanation, then took out his phone from his pocket. "Leave this to me."

"Please, Fujino- kun."

Kogoro Mouri nodded emphatically, and then he, Ran, Conan, and the others drove to the hospital in a Ford Taurus.

A bank in Mihua.

The phone rang suddenly Juzo Megure was handling a case.

I took out my phone and saw the contact name [Fujino- kun].

Juzo Megure: "..."

Could it be that this young man has encountered another murder case?

I hope not...

He took a deep breath and pressed the answer button, "Brother Fujino, you should have picked up the bulletproof vest... Is there anything else you need?"

Fujino said calmly, "I just brought Mouri-niisan over to visit the female student, and we encountered a car explosion just as we arrived at her house."

"Has anyone died?"

"One of them was blown up."

"..."

Juzo Megure, his hand holding the phone momentarily gone, when suddenly he realized something.

He said, "How could Fujino- kun have encountered a murder case for no reason?"

So it was because of that guy.

Hang up the phone.

Fujino activated his Eagle Eye Vision and began to survey the crime scene.

In the world of Eagle Eye Vision.

There are three different types of footprints around the parking garage.

Two small footprints of women, and one large footprint of a man.

Fujino glanced down at the large footprints lingering around the car, and the image of the sunglasses-wearing man who had blocked her way earlier flashed through her mind.

Turning around, he turned his gaze to the car that had been burned down to its frame.

His gaze fell on the large hole blown open beneath the driver's cab.

Was it placed under the chassis?

Fujino sniffed the stench around him, then lowered his head and pondered, "That makes sense. If it were placed inside a car, anyone who isn't blind should be able to spot it."

Just as he was pondering, a system notification suddenly sounded in his ear, "A new Detective Profession Mission has been detected. Please check it!"

"Are they here?"

Fujino was not surprised by the release of the System Task.

With a thought, the system's task interface opened:

Detective Profession Mission: Car Explosion Case

Task objective:

Objective 1: Solve the car bomb case

Second objective: to find the real culprit in the car bombing.

Task Rewards:

Objective 1: 500,000 yen, 100 Detective Reputation, and 1 All Profession Points.

Target 2: 500,000 yen

"Two objectives?"

Fujino stared at the system interface and exclaimed in surprise.

He immediately frowned slightly. "It seems that this case is a double case."

System Task can sometimes provide Fujino with some case-related suggestions.

This time, the system presented two separate objectives.

The murderer is one target, and this car bombing case is another.

"If it's two cases..."

After a pause, Fujino looked up and glanced at the window on the garage roof.

A row of women's footprints was clearly visible on it.

Gazing at the row of footprints, Fujino's thoughts gradually cleared, and he began to understand the two objectives issued by the system.

Police quickly arrived at the scene and began investigating the explosion.

"The deceased was named Tanaka Hiromi, and she was thirty-two years old... The cause of death was being killed by a bomb."

Holding the police officer's notebook, Sato Miwako explained the clues they had found, "The type of bomb cannot be determined yet, but it uses an explosive device that triggers when the tires rotate."

"By the way, Officer Sato, I now have some leads regarding the culprit."

Fujino recalled the man from before, "Just as I was coming over, I encountered a red car with the license plate number Shinjuku 230? 13-1. It was a man wearing sunglasses."

"Shinjuku 230."

After hearing this, Sato Miwako pondered for a moment, as if she had remembered something, and asked Fujino urgently, "Was that man square-chinned?"

"That's right."

Fujino nodded, looking somewhat puzzled. "Officer Sato, do you know him?"

"I am currently handling a case involving someone walking alone at night, and it is related to him."

Sato Miwako thought for a moment, "His name is Takahashi Hiromasa, he is thirty-three years old, and he is currently working at a chemical factory."

"A few days ago, his wife went to Convenience Store to buy something at night, but on her way home, she was stabbed in the abdomen by a thug and eventually died from excessive bleeding."

"At the time, we investigated from the direction of the nighttime murderer and found that he had taken out a huge accidental death insurance policy before his wife died, and he also had a large amount of debt."

"If that's the case, then it's very likely that he killed his wife."

Fujino lowered his head in thought, "Something like using his deceased wife to defraud a large insurance payout."

"That's what we thought at the time too."

Sato Miwako agreed with Fujino's statement, but after a pause, she denied it, saying, "Unfortunately, he had a solid alibi when the case occurred, so we simply cannot be sure that he is the murderer."

Upon hearing this, Fujino fell into deep thought.

If you work for a chemical company, getting your hands on a chemical bomb shouldn't be too difficult.

The person I just saw must have been that guy, but why did he come here today to kill Megumi...?

As I pondered, a bold guess came to mind.

He raised his head and said to Sato Miwako in a deep voice, "Wife swapping."

"Um?"

Suddenly, Fujino felt a strange gaze sweeping over him.

Looking up, he saw Sato Miwako staring at him with a strange expression.

Fujino: "..."

"I mean, killing someone to exchange for their wife."

Fujino took a deep breath. "It's about two husbands exchanging killings of their wives in exchange for a large insurance payout."

Sato Miwako breathed a sigh of relief, "I see, I thought..."

"What did you think?"

Fujino looked at Sato Miwako with surprise.

"Nothing."

Sato Miwako face hardening. "In short, based on Fujino's reasoning, this case can be investigated as a wife-swapping case for the time being."

"Um..."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Ring ring!"

Suddenly, a phone ring interrupted Fujino's thoughts.

He took out his phone, and the screen displayed Mori Kogoro's contact name.

When Fujino answered the phone, he heard Uncle Mori say, "Brother Fujino, Megumi has woken up. How's your investigation going?"

"There has been some progress here."

Fujino paused, then looked up at Sato Miwako: "I'll be going to the hospital with Officer Sato in a bit. Please have Miss Megumi get ready."

Afterwards, Sato Miwako took Fujino back to the Metropolitan Police Department to retrieve some materials, and then headed straight to Beika Central Hospital.

Fujino pushed open the door to the ward and immediately saw Megumi lying on the hospital bed.

At this moment, her long brown hair was loose, her head was wrapped in bandages, and her slightly mature face showed visible signs of vicissitude. She stared blankly out the window.

Fujino stared at Megumi, his eyes slightly narrowed, his thoughts unreadable.

After that, Sato Miwako began her routine questioning of him.

The inquiry revealed that Megumi's full name was Sakihara Megumi, and the person who was killed in the bombing today was her younger sister Tanaka Hiromi.

The explosion site today is her family home. She lives in Nishitama City, and her sister, who doesn't have a stable job, is temporarily staying there.

Sato Miwako recorded all of the above.

After a pause, he asked again, "Was the car that exploded your sister's car?"

"No..."

Sakihara Megumi shook her head. "That car is mine."

"Your car?"

Sato Miwako was taken aback by what she heard.

"That's right, that car is mine. I just drove it from Nishitama City this morning."

Sakihara Megumi continued, "My sister's car was in the repair shop, so she let me park in her garage. Because I'm not very good at backing up, my sister..."

At this point, her voice trembled slightly with tears. "She just asked me to help her back the car out..."

Sato Miwako nodded slightly, lost in thought.

If that's the case, then it really is just as Fujino said.

Wife swapping... murder and the like.

Pulling herself back to reality, she continued, "So, when did you leave your home in Nishitama City?"

"It was around 11 a. m. today."

When did you arrive at your parents' home?

"About thirty minutes later, at 11:30..."

"The explosion will occur at noon today."

Uncle Mori suddenly chimed in, "In other words, the killer planted the bomb during those thirty minutes."

"So that's how it is."

Sato Miwako head and thought for a moment before casually asking, "Do you remember the red car and the man wearing sunglasses?"

"Red car?"

At that moment, Sakihara Megumi suddenly spoke up, "Shortly after the explosion, a red car suddenly reversed and rushed towards me. Luckily, I dodged in time and was not hit."

Is this the man?

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako's eyes lit up, and she took out a photo to show Sakihara Megumi.

"That's him!"

Sakihara Megumi crossed her arms over her chest, terrified.

"It's the same person who blocked our way before!"

Mori Kogoro glanced at the photo, somewhat puzzled. "But who exactly is he?"

"This guy is the husband of the victim in another case."

Sato Miwako paused, glanced at Sakihara Megumi, and didn't continue.

He then called the others out and explained the situation.

"What did you say?!"

Mori Kogoro raised his voice. "Megumi was actually..."

"Dad!"

Ran quickly covered Mori Kogoro's mouth and whispered, "Please don't let Miss Megumi hear this..."

"That guy is really awful!"

Mori Kogoro gritted his teeth in anger, his fists clenched tightly.

"Excuse me, which room is my wife, Sakihara Megumi, in? How is she doing?"

At that moment, a man's voice came.

The group turned around and saw a man in a gray suit with an honest-looking face asking them questions.

Everyone: "..."

The main character arrived right after we finished talking, right?

"Are you Mr. Sakihara?"

Sato Miwako spoke first, her face grim.

"That's me, may I ask..."

Sensing the gloomy atmosphere, the man clearly noticed that something was amiss.

Before he could finish speaking, Sato Miwako walked towards him and said, "Mr. Sakihara, you are now suspected of murder. Please come with us for questioning."

"Murder?!"

The man was clearly stunned for a moment, and his expression gradually turned cold.

Before anyone could react, he turned and ran.

Just as Sato Miwako was left behind by a figure.

It's Uncle Mori!

Uncle Mori grabbed him by the collar.

Uncle Mori executed a beautiful over-the-shoulder throw.

Uncle Mori started frantically spitting on the man's face.

Two hours later, Takahashi Hiromasa and Sakihara Kazuo were arrested and interrogated by the police.

The police officer, who had been conducting interrogations for many years, quickly extracted the crimes they had committed from the two men.

The two confessed to the crime of Swinging Wife Murder.

As for the motive for the murder...

Takahashi Hiromasa owed a huge sum of money.

Sakihara Kazuo, on the other hand, had an affair with his sister-in-law.

Half a year ago, Sakihara Megumi inherited her parents' estate because she was the eldest daughter.

Sakihara Kazuo planned to kill his wife for insurance money and obtain a large inheritance in order to help his sister-in-law open a clothing store and to have a legitimate relationship with her.

The two hit it off immediately and began plotting the Swinging Wife Murder.

"Fujino- kun, you're right."

Sato Miwako slammed a stack of documents on her desk. "Just a few weeks ago, Sakihara Megumi did indeed have a high-value insurance policy taken out, and the policyholder was her husband Sakihara Kazuo."

"If that's the case, it's obvious that Sakihara Kazuo and Takahashi Hiromasa conspired to Swinging Wife Murder."

Fujino sat in the chair next to the desk, picked up a cup of tea, and said, "The culprit in the case you investigated before, Officer Sato, should be Sakihara Kazuo. And the reason why Hiromasa Takahashi came to plant the bomb this time should also be to kill Sakihara Megumi."

"Hiromasa Takahashi originally intended to kill Megumi, but he didn't expect Hiromi to drive the car."

Mori Kogoro's face darkened. "If that's the case, then Hiromi was killed in an accidental explosion..."

"That should be it."

Fujino nodded, saying nothing more, and simply took a small sip of tea.

"These people are really going too far."

Ran lowered her head, somewhat saddened. "Miss Megumi is so pitiful..."

Is it really that simple?

Conan, however, frowned, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with the result.

He had a feeling that something was wrong.

But I can't quite put my finger on it.

He looked up at Fujino and saw that Fujino didn't react at all, which gave him a headache.

Ah... my brain is about to grow out!