Side Quest

Chapter 5: Side Quest

Lin Maoxian crouched down, patted Conan on the head, and said, "You should know who entered the restroom after that young lady went in, right? Go and call them all in. Tell them a murder has occurred here and we need their assistance with the investigation. Can you do that?"

Conan was startled. How does this uncle know that I saw who went in? he wondered, while thinking, How did he even know that? I scanned the cafe thoroughly from the outside just now; how did I miss him?

Lin Maoxian smiled. "After that girl left, you were constantly observing the people who came in. I saw it all quite clearly from where I was standing."

"Oh, then I'll go call them." Conan ran off as he spoke. He said he saw everything I did from the start. How would an ordinary person pay attention to a child's behavior? Is it professional habit, or does he have some other motive?

Watching Conan leave, Lin Maoxian was about to say something to Wakaoji, who was sitting on the floor, when the space provided a prompt: "Adventurer No. 258 has triggered a side quest—Apprehend the Culprit (D-rank)."

"Mission Description: Assist the master detective in solving the case and hand the culprit over to the police after apprehension."

"Mission Reward: 500 Source Points upon completion."

Looking at the prompt, the reward was average, the same as the main quest, so it likely wouldn't be very difficult. Still, every little bit helps; if he found a few more tasks, the rewards would eventually add up.

Taking advantage of Conan's absence, Lin Maoxian carefully surveyed the surroundings, hoping to find some useful clues.

Ever since receiving the emergency call about a murder, Megure Juzo had rushed over with his subordinates. Sitting in the car, Megure felt his own share of frustration. He didn't know what was going on lately, but the frequency of crimes was increasing. While solving each case added a notch to his resume and boosted his chances of promotion, he couldn't guarantee he'd always be able to crack them. If he failed, he'd be in for a rough time. How he missed the days when Kudo Shinichi was around!

"Inspector, we've arrived." The voice of an officer beside him interrupted Megure's thoughts.

"Oh, we're here? Good. Have a few men seal off this cafe. Don't let anyone in or out," Megure ordered the officers following him.

Megure walked into the cafe, scanned the room, and asked loudly, "Who is the owner or person in charge of this cafe?"

The owner hurried forward, voice urgent. "Officer, I'm the owner. I was the one who called the police."

Megure: "Oh, then take me to the crime scene."

Conan, who had been standing to the side, stepped forward and looked up. "Inspector Megure, I know where the crime happened. It's where I first found the body, in the restroom over there. I was just chased out by the person inside." He pointed toward the restroom.

Megure looked surprised to see Conan. "Conan? It's you. What are you doing here? Never mind, since you're the first person to discover the scene, come with me." He led the way toward the restroom.

"Forensics, clear the body and the surrounding area, but try not to disturb the scene. Understood?" Megure stood on his tiptoes to look at the body, fiddled with the lock, and instructed the officer beside him.

Megure then turned to Conan and asked sternly, "As for you, Conan, can you explain why you're here? And how did you find the body?"

Conan replied, "I came here because Ran was meeting someone, and I followed her. But she went to buy me a cake, and since the register at the cake shop was broken, she hasn't returned yet. As for the body, I heard Wakaoji scream, so I ran in. The door was locked, so I jumped up to look."

Just as Megure was about to ask more, an officer handed him a photo, saying the scene had been processed and documented.

After taking the photo and looking at it, he turned to Conan. "Hmm, so the victim fell against the door just like in this photo, right, Conan?"

Conan replied, "Yes, because the door wasn't locked at the time, so I jumped up to take a look."

Megure took the file from the officer and said, "The murdered woman is Himeno Yayoi, 24 years old. She was killed by a single stab wound to the heart."

The officer performing the autopsy pointed to the victim's neck. "Inspector, there seem to be marks on the victim's neck as if she were strangled."

Megure examined the body, then went to the window to analyze the situation. "Hmm, judging by the blood splatter, the killer first strangled the victim, and after she suffocated, stabbed her in the heart. Pulling the knife out caused the massive blood loss that led to her death. He originally intended to steal her money, but killed her after being seen. Looking at the open window, it leads to a path where no one passes by. He discarded the victim's bag and emptied wallet, then blocked the restroom door with her body. This means the killer, who entered through the window, was waiting for prey. After killing Ms. Himeno, who happened to come in, he took her money and fled through the window in a panic."

He then ordered his subordinates, "The culprit must still be nearby. Search the surrounding area and see if anyone saw anything suspicious."

Conan, standing nearby, immediately spoke up. "Wait a minute, Inspector Megure. Did you see that window? Isn't it a bit too clean?" He pointed at the window.

Megure looked at the window and replied, "Isn't that a good thing? Restrooms should be clean!"

Conan said gloomily, "That's not what I meant..."

Kisaki Eri, who was standing nearby, stepped forward. "The little boy is right, Inspector Megure. You've become an inspector now, haven't you?" She looked at Megure.

Megure was surprised to see her. "Isn't this the great lawyer, Kisaki? What are you doing here?"

Kisaki: "I just happened to be here."

Seeing the beautiful woman he had met earlier, Conan asked Megure, "Inspector, you know her too?"

Megure smiled at Conan. "Yes, because she is..."

Kisaki interrupted Megure's answer; she didn't want too many people knowing whose wife she was. Just thinking of that man made her feel embarrassed. She said to Megure, "Let's get back to the point. Judging by the amount of blood, the killer should have been stained with it. Don't you think it's unlikely that there are no traces on the window he escaped through?"

Megure replied, feeling a bit unsure, "But perhaps the killer wiped it clean."

Kisaki said, speechless, "A killer who leaves the weapon at the scene and flees in a panic—do you really think he would do that? Since the weapon was left behind and not taken, I suspect the killer must be someone from the shop, a customer. That's what you were trying to say, isn't it, little boy?" She glanced at the young boy.

Megure thought for a moment and asked, "But Ms. Kisaki, the restroom door was blocked by the victim's body, and the body hasn't been moved. The adjacent stall has no window. Tell me, how could the killer have gotten out of the restroom?"

Kisaki looked at the restroom and said, "There is only one way, of course: from above."

Megure looked at the restroom and asked in surprise, "From above? You mean that gap at the top? But no matter how you look at it, a person couldn't possibly..."

Kisaki said to the officer standing by, "Officer, could you please climb up and take a look?"

The officer pointed to himself. "Me?"

Kisaki continued, "Please don't disturb the scene or the adjacent stall."

Megure also ordered him to try. Under everyone's gaze, the officer climbed over. "It is possible to get through," he told the group.

Seeing this, Kisaki smiled. "See? I knew it was possible."

Megure was still very puzzled. He asked Kisaki, "But if the killer was covered in blood, wouldn't there be blood on the wall when he climbed over?"

Kisaki: "I must point out that, fortunately, there is toilet paper here that the killer used to wipe away the blood. He could have wiped the blood off in a hurry while climbing over the wall."

Megure: "But wouldn't he be afraid of someone suddenly bursting in and seeing him?"

Kisaki Eri was quite surprised, saying to Inspector Megure, "Oh? Could it be that you didn't notice? There is a horizontal bolt on the door at the entrance to this restroom."

Megure Juzo looked at the restroom door in surprise.

Kisaki Eri continued, "As long as the door is locked, this becomes a locked room." Internally, however, she shook her head; this Inspector Megure hadn't changed much, still muddled in his investigations, comparable to that muddled man. She had no idea how he had managed to get promoted to inspector; with a chief like this in the police department, it seemed there would be no shortage of trouble in the future.

Inspector Megure instructed his subordinates nearby, "Alright then, immediately identify everyone who entered or exited the restroom after the victim."

Lin Maoxian, who had been watching from the side for a long time, immediately stepped forward and said to Inspector Megure, "Inspector Megure, I know who those people are. They are all here now; I had Conan call everyone in." If he didn't step up now, he wouldn't know if his mission would ultimately be considered complete, and he also wanted to get familiar with these important characters so it would be easier to deal with them in the future.