Introductory Investigative Methods / The Killer's Method

The doctor looked somewhat surprised after learning Jiang Hang's identity and that Jiang Hang had found a listening device in the ward within five minutes of entering.

"I've heard of Sleeping Kogoro and Eagle-Eyed Detective for a long time. I didn't expect that you two famous detectives are so close in private. It's truly an honor for me to know two of you."

He extended his right hand and shook hands with Jiang Hang, then added that he usually enjoys reading detective novels and that Jiang Hang could come to the hospital to see him if he ever experiences any psychological stress.

Jiang Hang smiled and responded to the other party before leaving Beika Hospital with Conan.

"Um... is that Mr. Jiang Hang also a very famous detective? And why does it seem like Conan and him have a very good relationship?" Ran, lying on the hospital bed, asked Sonoko with a hint of curiosity.

For some reason, she felt a strange sense of familiarity when she looked at Conan, but she didn't understand why.

Kogoro Mouri answered for Ran: "Conan's parents are old friends with Jiang Hang, so he often goes to Jiang Hang's office to play. It seems that Jiang Hang even took Conan as his apprentice. Sometimes when Conan plays outside too late, you will go to his office to bring Conan back."

"As for Jiang Hang, he's a famous detective, but of course, he's still a bit inferior to your father. In terms of the number of cases, your father far surpasses him," Kogoro Mouri said shamelessly to his amnesiac daughter. Even Eri Kisaki couldn't help but give him a strange look.

As Kogoro Mouri said this, he also observed Ran's expression, hoping that his words would leave an impression on Ran.

Unfortunately, his explanation did little to improve Ran's situation.

According to his father, Conan is just a smart elementary school student who lives in their home.

But why did she subconsciously feel that the child was trustworthy?

Aside from Conan, Ran has only ever had this feeling for one other person.

Her gaze fell on the photo album in front of her. In the photos, besides her and Sonoko, there was another boy smiling at the camera.

Sonoko Suzuki told her that the boy's name was Shinichi Kudo, and that he was her childhood friend who had grown up with her since they were little.

But since the two of them went to an Amusement Park two months ago, Shinichi Kudo has disappeared, and the police have not been able to find his whereabouts.

Sonoko Suzuki didn't say much about Shinichi Kudo's situation. After all, Ran had already lost her memory, and she couldn't bring herself to worry about someone who had been missing for more than two months.

Ran silently looked at Shinichi Kudo in the photo album. Although she couldn't remember anything, she felt trust in the boy who had been missing for more than two months, and she didn't seem to be too anxious about his disappearance.

It was as if she knew perfectly well that the other party was not in any danger at the moment.

Having lost her memory, Ran began to ponder deeply.

Meanwhile, on Jiang Hang's side, after leaving Beika Hospital, he asked Conan about Dr. Kazato.

According to Conan, this Dr. Kazato is not only in charge of Ran's treatment, but is also quite famous in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Many stressed police officers come to him for psychological counseling, and Dr. Kazato always manages to help them relieve their inner stress.

"Is there something wrong with that Dr. Kazato?" Conan asked Jiang Hang.

Jiang Hang said noncommittally, "After he found out that I had found the listening device in the ward by using my observation skills, he kept avoiding letting me notice his left hand. Logically speaking, a right-handed person shouldn't care so much about their left hand."

"In other words, he was probably worried that I would find something on his left hand with my observation skills, but his action directly exposed what might be a secret hidden on his left hand in my eyes."

Jiang Hang merely voiced his suspicions. After all, Kyosuke Kazato was the psychologist in charge of treating Ran, so how could he possibly be the real culprit in this case? Such a development was simply too absurd.

But Conan doesn't seem to think so.

After hearing what Jiang Hang had noticed, Conan told Jiang Hang something else, "Judging from the traces left at the scene, the murderer in this serial murder case, as well as the case that Officer Sato and his team investigated a year ago, is likely to be a left-handed person."

"And that Dr. Kazato was also at the wedding reception last night, which means that if he has a way to evade the gunpowder reaction test, then he is also one of the suspects in this case."

Chapter 205: Chapter 203: Elementary Detective Work

Jiang Hang had never suspected Kyosuke Kazato, since he hadn't even seen the list of people who attended the thank-you banquet last night. No matter how much he suspected the murderer, he couldn't possibly suspect the psychologist who was treating Ran.

But now that Jiang Hang knows from Conan that Kyosuke Kazato also attended the thank-you banquet last night, he can't help but blink.

Upon closer reflection, all three suspects Conan mentioned to him were brought up by the police. However, according to the usual pattern in Conan, in any case involving Conan, the suspects identified by the police can generally be ruled out.

According to Inspector Megure, the three suspects identified by the police are: Rin Jinno, the sister of Tamotsu Jinno, who died in the "suicide" case a year ago; Toshiya Odagiri, the son of Tamotsu Jinno, the Superintendent of the Criminal Investigation Department the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who had extorted money from Nino Toshiro Odagiri a year ago; and Makoto Tomonari, the son of Inspector Tomonari died of a heart attack while investigating Tamotsu Jinno's death a year ago.

The first two are currently under police investigation, while Makoto Tomonari disappeared after last night's shooting, seemingly fleeing to avoid punishment. The police are now preparing to issue an arrest warrant for him.

Judging by real-world logic, Makoto Tomonari, who had a motive, had been missing since last night, and had even appeared at the crime scene, is indeed highly suspicious.

However, in Conan, people who practically wear their "suspiciousness" on their sleeves are often found to be innocent in the end, while those "supporting characters" who seem to have little connection to the case are the real culprits behind everything.

However, he currently has no evidence to prove that Kyosuke Kazato is the murderer; at most, he feels that Dr. Kazato is hiding something.

Therefore, Jiang Hang only remembered the name of Kyosuke Kazato in his mind and added him to the "suspect list".

The two of them quickly arrived at the hotel where the incident had occurred the previous night. Because of the explosion and shooting at the hotel last night, the unlucky hotel was naturally unable to open today, and police officers could be seen working busily at the scene throughout the hotel.

Jiang Hang had previously mentioned to Inspector Megure that he would be coming to the hotel to assist with the investigation, so he simply made a phone call, Takagi Wataru, who was conducting an on-site investigation at the hotel, brought him into the hotel.

Takagi Wataru still looks a bit listless today. The fact that he's still like this after mastering the simplified Meditation Method means that Takagi Wataru probably hasn't slept since last night.

"With something like this happening to Sato, how could I possibly rest before finishing the on-site investigation?" Takagi Wataru's eyes were bloodshot, but he still mustered his spirits and forced a smile at Jiang Hang. "Fortunately, Sato is lucky that the murderer didn't hit her vital organs, otherwise I really wouldn't know what to do."

He then told Jiang Hang everything he had found out, but unfortunately, the pistol and flashlight left at the scene by the murderer did not leave any evidence. All that could be known was that the murderer must have used that 9mm Browning pistol to kill the two detectives and wanted to use it to kill Miike Sato again.

"According to Sato, before she lost consciousness, she could only vaguely remember that under the flashlight, there were some reflections on the body of the murderer behind her. So we speculate that the murderer may have been wearing a raincoat to avoid the gunpowder reaction on his body when he committed the crime."

"If that's really the case, then besides Makoto Tomonari left the hotel early, those who remained at the hotel will also be suspected."

However, it's clear that Takagi Wataru still places more suspicion on Makoto Tomonari.

After all, the police had already gone to Makoto Tomonari's house to investigate. They learned from Makoto Tomonari's mother that Makoto Tomonari had not returned home since a few days ago, after Yoichiro Shiba was shot and killed. Now, Makoto Tomonari's family is also unable to contact him.

It wouldn't be surprising if the other party prepared raincoats in advance to avoid detection of gunpowder residue in order to prevent not having a chance to escape the hotel after firing the shots.

"Furthermore, we haven't been able to find any raincoats with gunpowder residue in the hotel. It's possible that the perpetrator left the hotel wearing a raincoat after committing the crime. In addition, it was raining when the shooting happened last night, so a person wearing a raincoat leaving the hotel wouldn't attract attention."

In the women's restroom at the crime scene, Takagi Wataru shared his speculations with Jiang Hang.

Jiang Hang used Eagle Eye to investigate the bathroom. He could now see not only the blood that Miike Sato had splattered on the bathroom floor and walls last night, but also make some judgments based on the location of Miike Sato's gunshot wound and the location of the blood splatter.

After the system notified Jiang Hang that the "learning space" was open, although Jiang Hang needed to study in the learning space for 300 hours to reach the beginner level in medicine according to the system's judgment, medicine itself is a subject with a T1 level difficulty for beginners. In fact, many other skills do not require so many skill books.

In terms of "detective skills", Jiang Hang already had Eagle Eye with MAX observation ability, which saved him a lot of time to train his observation skills. After the system determined that he only needed about 50 hours to obtain "basic detective skills", Jiang Hang felt that if he did not improve, he would be left far behind by Conan. Yesterday, he gritted his teeth and used up an intermediate skill book that he had accumulated.

At the same time, in order to avoid becoming a theoretical player who only talks the talk, Jiang Hang also used a beginner's skill book in the training space to practice and consolidate the skill he had first mastered through "self-study" after completing his studies in the learning space.

His ability to detect Kyosuke Kazato's hidden left hand in the hospital was thanks to his basic criminal investigation skills; otherwise, even with his Eagle Eye, he might not have noticed it.

Now, with the ability to Revealing Eagle Vision, Jiang Hang can roughly determine where the murderer fired the shot. He can even analyze the murderer's height and build by looking at the shooting angles of the few shots that missed.

"The killer should have been standing here when he fired, and he should have raised the gun to this position when he fired," Jiang Hang tried to simulate the killer's shooting process, while raising his hand to a position slightly above his own chest. "It looks like the killer is a little taller than me and Wataru Takagi."

Chapter 206: Chapter 204: The Murderer's Method

Upon hearing Jiang Hang's deduction, Takagi Wataru immediately perked up.

Jiang Hang's past statements have been remarkably accurate. Although it seemed a bit far-fetched to deduce the killer's height directly from clues left at the scene, Takagi Wataru immediately chose to believe Jiang Hang's judgment.

He compared his height with Jiang Hang's. He was nearly 1.8 meters tall, while Jiang Hang was about the same height. This meant that the murderer must be over 1.8 meters tall.

Takagi Wataru flipped through his notebook. "That Makoto Tomonari's height... 1.75 meters, a bit short of 1.8 meters, but it seems like he'd be tall enough if he wore those height-increasing shoes..."

After speaking, Takagi Wataru stopped talking, seemingly realizing that what he had just said was somewhat inappropriate.

People who are over 1.7 meters tall don't normally need to wear height-increasing shoes to increase their height.

If Jiang Hang's speculation is correct, then it means that Makoto Tomonari may be innocent.

The thought flashed through Takagi Wataru's mind, and Jiang Hang quickly added that the data was just his inference and there might actually be a significant deviation.

Revealing Eagle Vision can see things, but he can't actually see what happened in the past. He can only make reasonable predictions based on existing clues, so it's normal for errors to occur.

Until they find the missing Makoto Tomonari and get to the bottom of his story, Yu Chengzhen, who is left-handed, remains the prime suspect in this case.

With Takagi Wataru's help, Jiang Hang quickly obtained the list of guests who attended the thank-you banquet last night. All of these people had undergone the gunpowder reaction test and had left a brief record of their inquiries.

While Takagi Wataru compiling a list of guests who were around 1.8 meters tall, Jiang Hang used Revealing Eagle Vision to explore the entire hotel and also discussed the case with Conan.

"So, what are your thoughts?" Knowing that his reasoning skills were inferior to Conan's, Jiang Hang directly asked Conan.

Conan, standing to the side, rested his chin on his hand and said, "How could someone wearing a raincoat in a hotel not be noticed? After the explosion, many people took out their phones to use for lighting. Someone like that should be easily noticed."

Jiang Hang glanced around and saw that it was quite a distance from the restroom to the nearest emergency exit, and they also had to pass by the entrance of the hall where the thank-you banquet was being held. It would indeed be quite difficult to avoid being noticed.

Either the shooter took off the raincoat after firing the shot and left the hotel through the emergency exit before being noticed, or the shooter disposed of the raincoat and then returned to the lobby to calmly undergo the gunpowder reaction test.

But after the shooting, the entire hotel was quickly sealed off by the police, and everyone leaving the hotel had to be searched by the police. If the perpetrator had stayed at the scene, how did he dispose of the raincoat without being discovered by the police?

Conan is currently pondering this matter, and he feels as if he has touched the edge of the truth of this case.

However, before Conan could even think of it, Jiang Hang had already discovered an important clue with Eagle Eye's help.

He walked straight to the counter. Because the hotel was closed today, there were only a few staff members cooperating with the police. They seemed to have mistaken Jiang Hang for a policeman.

When Jiang Hang asked, the hotel staff quickly retrieved an umbrella from the side. "It rained quite heavily last night, so almost all the umbrellas in the hotel were borrowed. This is the only one left. It must have a hole in it, so its owner didn't take it with them. We're keeping it and planning to throw it away later."

The staff member handed the umbrella to Jiang Hang. The umbrella's canopy was transparent, and if you looked closely, you could see a hole in it before it was opened.

Once the umbrella is opened, the hole becomes even more obvious, large enough to easily fit a person's fist inside.

Upon seeing the umbrella, Conan immediately had a look of sudden realization.

Before Conan could marvel at Jiang Hang's keen observation skills again, Takagi Wataru strode over with his notebook in hand. "I just wrote down the names of people I remember who are taller than me. Jiang Hang, take a look... Why is there a hole in the umbrella you're holding?"

He thought the umbrella belonged to Jiang Hang and was about to tell Jiang Hang that he had another umbrella in his car when Jiang Hang shook his head at him, "This is not my umbrella."

Jiang Hang said this, then looked at Conan beside him.

Conan seemed to understand Jiang Hang's meaning, and immediately made a gun gesture in front of Takagi Wataru, then shot at Takagi Wataru through the hole in the umbrella.

Seeing Conan's actions, Takagi Wataru's eyes widened, and he immediately understood what Jiang Hang wanted to express.

"You mean, the reflection Sato felt wasn't from a raincoat, but from this transparent umbrella?"

The murderer wasn't wearing a raincoat to avoid the gunpowder reaction on his body; instead, he used this transparent umbrella to avoid it!

Compared to the raincoats, which are easily noticed, the umbrellas were much more discreet. There was an umbrella stand at the entrance of the hall, and the weather forecast predicted rain the night before, so many of the guests attending the thank-you banquet brought umbrellas. The police did not suspect anything about these umbrellas.

Jiang Hang handed the transparent umbrella directly to Takagi Wataru: "Raincoats and such do seem a bit too troublesome, so I thought the murderer would use something more convenient. Then I asked the staff about the umbrella, and sure enough, I found this umbrella that the murderer wouldn't take."

"I just asked the staff, and in their memory, there should only be one transparent umbrella yesterday, but they don't remember who brought it. If you can find out who the owner of this umbrella is, this case can probably be solved."

"However, the murderer probably also thought that the police would find the umbrella, so there probably won't be any fingerprints on it. But this kind of transparent umbrella is not very common, so maybe someone will remember this umbrella."

Hearing Jiang Hang's words, Takagi Wataru carefully accepted the umbrella. "I will investigate."

Chapter 207: Chapter 205: Nisame Association: All I Want Now Is to Make Money

The list that Takagi Wataru put together still has quite a few flaws, but the name of Kyosuke Kazato is still clearly written on the list.

Jiang Hang recalled his meeting with Kyosuke Kazato. The man's height and build did seem to match the characteristics of the murderer he had identified. However, besides Kyosuke Kazato, there were more than a dozen other candidates on the list who met the same criteria.

Let's leave these investigations and inquiries to the police officers Takagi Wataru.

Next, Jiang Hang went to the destroyed power distribution room to conduct an investigation. With his expertise in bombs and his Eagle Eye, Jiang Hang quickly identified that the murderer had used ammonium nitrate explosives.

However, the police had already obtained such clues, but it was not an easy task to use explosives to locate the criminal.

"Just recently, a large quantity of ammonium nitrate explosives was stolen from the Toyo Explosives Depot," Takagi Wataru sighed as he explained to Jiang Hang.

"Recently, there have been several ammonium nitrate explosive explosions in Tokyo. According to our investigation, the Nisame Association, which has been secretly engaged in arms dealing, has recently been selling large quantities of ammonium nitrate bombs modified by bomb experts, in addition to firearms. It is likely that the explosives ended up in the hands of the Nisame Association."

Since the Library Murder Case a while ago, Jiang Hang heard the name "Nisame Association" again from Takagi Wataru.

In the memory of the Director Ochiai, the Nisame Association was a criminal organization that had become increasingly rampant in recent years.

Unlike the Black Organization is a massive transnational criminal organization, the Black Organization abandoned many lucrative shady businesses in order to carry out its plans discreetly.

The purpose of this Nisame Association was much simpler—I had no interest in researching anything else; all I wanted to do was make money.

Therefore, as long as it can make money, they dare to get involved in any kind of underworld or legitimate Nisame Association.

Adult entertainment, gambling, drugs, arms dealing, kidnapping and extortion are all businesses of the Nisame Association, and the Japan police have long been keeping an eye on this organization.

However, although the Nisame Association is ruthless in its pursuit of profit and is more likely to be exposed than the Black Organization, there is a reason why the Nisame Association has been able to exist until now without being shut down.

The Black Organization's style is to be cautious and leave no survivors, keeping as few people as possible aware of their existence. Although they have kept a low profile for so many years, a large number of spies have still managed to infiltrate the Black Organization. However, the fact that these spies have not been able to extract any key information about the Black Organization over the years shows that the Black Organization has done a good job.

The Nisame Association is a mixed bag, taking the style of Japan yakuza to the extreme. This gives the Japan police ample reason to suspect the Nisame Association of many things. However, the Nisame Association always throws out a few insignificant underlings or some of its smaller organizations as scapegoats. In addition, the Nisame Association itself has an extremely complicated background, and there are even many undercover agents within the police force who have accepted bribes from the Nisame Association to tip them off. This makes it very difficult for the Japan police to really find any dirt on the Nisame Association.

Don't even mention that the Nisame Association obtained a large quantity of explosives. After the library Director Tsugawa, was arrested by the police last time, he truthfully admitted that he was helping the Nisame Association.

The next day, the Nisame Association threw the person who cooperated with Tsugawa Shuji into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and moved a group of people related to drug trafficking to a place unknown to the police. In the end, under pressure from various sides, the police were still unable to take any action against the Nisame Association.

Listening to Takagi Wataru mention the Nisame Association, Jiang Hang couldn't help but mentally complain: the low-key black the Black Organization, the high-profile Nisame Association, and on top of that, there's an unknown "mysterious organization" that Kaito Kid doesn't know the depths of. Small Japan has three world-class criminal organizations, and who knows, maybe one day another unheard-of "dark force" will emerge.