Juzo Megure sensed that the situation was getting slightly out of control, so he cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention back.
He knew his subordinates had been restless lately because of Tōru Adachi, the outsider who had been parachuted in.
It was not that it was impossible, exactly. To be honest, he did not approve of the higher-ups' decision either, but this sort of internal conflict was not suitable for public display before colleagues from other regions.
Before Irish could not help but fire back, he stepped in at just the right moment to cut off the discussion. "Thank you, Mr. Adachi, for your reference opinion. Does anyone else have any thoughts?"
"I think we could consider this clue more simply. Could there have been a conflict between the killer and the victims caused by a mahjong game?"
"That seems unlikely. Then how would we explain the patterns and letters on the backs of the mahjong tiles?"
"Rather than their straightforward surface meanings, the killer probably used a code only he and the victims could understand..."
Aside from Irish, who was silently holding back his irritation, everyone else in the conference room followed the discussion into a heated exchange. Outside, Conan listened to all the various speculations flying back and forth as he flipped through the documents in his hands and began thinking.
"What, do you have some thoughts about the case?" Tangze asked when he turned and saw Conan strike his classic thinking pose.
"Hm? Oh, not yet. I think that although this case still has many mysteries, its nature is actually quite clear. The killer is someone connected to all the victims. The main difficulty is analyzing and finding that connection. As long as the police from each region work together, I believe they'll quickly uncover some