You're Too Late

Chapter 25: You're Late

"This is how Ishikawa and the others committed the crime."

After explaining the murderer's trick, Kudo Shinichi concluded, "However, I'm still missing crucial evidence. I need to go back to that alley and search more carefully."

Although he said this, he didn't seem very anxious. The modus operandi has been completely seen through; finding evidence shouldn't be difficult. At this point, the case is 90% solved.

Compared to me,

Lin Xinyi should be slower.

After all, his previous demonstrated ability was just examining bodies. It'll probably be hard for him to see through the murderer's trick of using the environment to create an alibi, right?

This time,

As he thought, Kudo Shinichi suddenly felt confident.

I should be the one to win.

Just like that, Ishikawa led the way, and Kudo, full of vigor, followed him out of the department store.

Kudo now felt very secure. He believes that in this case, his detective skills will definitely be more advantageous than Lin Xinyi's forensic abilities.

Ishikawa also felt very secure now. Even the great detective Kudo Shinichi personally confirmed that this case was a simple suicide. Those incompetent Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department officers definitely won't be able to do anything about him, the murderer.

Thus, with similar feelings of confidence, the murderer and the great detective, one after the other, returned to the alley next to the department store.

By this time, in the approximately ten minutes it took for Kudo and the others to investigate, the swift-responding Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had already arrived at the scene.

Several police cars were parked on the road, and several uniformed officers were maintaining order on the sidewalk.

The entrance to the deserted alley had been cordoned off with emergency tape. Outside the tape, crowds of onlookers, drawn by the case, had gathered.

"Excuse me."

Kudo Shinichi hurried to the cordon.

Ishikawa and Mouri Ran also returned to the scene.

The officers maintaining the cordon were about to stop the three of them, but as the Savior of the Japanese Police, Kudo Shinichi's face was the best pass.

Kudo Shinichi walked past the cordon and then looked at the officer leading the team.

Sure enough, it was his old friend whom he had cooperated with for a long time.

"Inspector Megure!"

Kudo Shinichi greeted him warmly.

With the police here, he could make good use of the Forensics Division's power to meticulously search the scene and help him find the crucial evidence that would complete the last piece of the puzzle.

This way, in this silent battle of deduction, he would achieve true victory.

"Brother Kudo."

"You're here too?"

Inspector Megure was slightly surprised, but then inexplicably relieved. "No wonder I ran into Mr. Lin Xinyi twice at the crime scene today."

"So it wasn't because of him..."

"With Brother Kudo here, everything makes sense."

One grim reaper was enough.

If Lin Xinyi also caused deaths wherever he went, like Kudo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department would be under even greater pressure.

As an older middle-aged man, Inspector Megure somewhat believed in this kind of metaphysics.

"Haha..."

Kudo Shinichi automatically ignored Inspector Megure's complaint.

Detectives are always attracted to cases, so it's normal to be misunderstood.

He smiled and went straight to the point. "Inspector Megure, I have some thoughts about this case."

"Uh..."

Inspector Megure's expression immediately became a bit subtle.

"What's wrong?" Kudo Shinichi keenly read Inspector Megure's expression. "Has something happened with this case?"

"Nothing has happened, it's just..."

Inspector Megure seemed to be speaking to Kudo for the first time in this manner, his tone very gentle:

"You're a bit late."

"The suspects have already confessed."

With that, Inspector Megure pointed behind him:

Sure enough, Aoki, who had been left in the alley, was now surrounded by several sturdy police officers.

His hands were cuffed, and as the officers escorted him to the patrol car, he couldn't help but cry out:

"It... Ishikawa killed him!"

"We were just accomplices, just accomplices! You have to make that clear!"

Kudo Shinichi: "..."

I was only gone for ten minutes, and I haven't even found the key evidence yet, but the suspects have already confessed?

Did Lin Xinyi do this?

How? What method did he use?

At this thought, Detective Kudo's competitive spirit was instantly shattered.

Beside him, Ishikawa's expression was even more priceless:

"Ao-Aoki, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

"When... when did I kill anyone? If you're going crazy, don't drag me into it!"

Seeing Aoki so unreservedly expose the truth in front of the police, Ishikawa was completely dumbfounded:

The trick I designed even fooled a master detective!

And my accomplice just ratted me out behind my back?

Don't you have any respect for my brain cells?!

"Bastard!"

"Shut up right now!"

He shrieked hysterically at Aoki, but this only drew the attention of the police:

"Oh? So you're Ishikawa?"

The officers all looked over with ill intent.

Ishikawa nervously recoiled, then finally yelled, steeling himself:

"So what if I am?"

"Aoki's crazy! Is whatever he says true?"

"I think you should send him to a mental hospital immediately!"

"If you want to say I'm the murderer, you need to show proof!"

"Yes."

"Inspector Megure, what exactly is the evidence?"

Unprecedentedly, Kudo Shinichi spoke up for the criminal.

Because he also desperately wanted to know what clues Lin Xinyi used to uncover the truth, and what evidence he used to make Aoki confess so readily.

He couldn't have just bluffed it out, exploiting Aoki's fragile psychology, could he?

That would be far too unskilled.

"Uh, about that..."

Inspector Megure said very frankly:

"We don't know either, because we just arrived at the scene."

"And when we arrived, that guy named Aoki was already kneeling and repenting in front of Brother Lin, crying and shouting that he was guilty."

"Before we even had a chance to speak, he ran over, sobbing, saying he wanted to surrender, and even asked us to handcuff him."

"As for the specifics of the case..."

"We haven't even had time to ask yet."

Kudo: "..."

Ishikawa: "..."

Neither of them knew what to say, and Ishikawa was trembling with rage:

He now wished he could kill Aoki along with the victim.

This useless coward was truly going to ruin him.

"So there's no evidence at all, then?"

Ishikawa forcefully maintained his composure amidst the silence.

He stubbornly refused to back down, ready to fight to the death:

"Aoki's nonsense alone isn't enough to prove I committed murder."

"You police wouldn't believe a madman, would you? Surely not?"

"Uh..."

Inspector Megure was speechless, eventually turning to Lin Xinyi for help:

"Brother Lin should be able to answer that."

As soon as he spoke, Lin Xinyi instantly became the center of attention.

All the police officers present and the onlookers turned their gaze to him.

There were even people in the crowd eagerly taking photos of him with cameras.

And our great detective Kudo Shinichi, at this moment, was quite frustrated, relegated to the inconspicuous category of "onlookers."

"Alright, then allow me to explain a bit more."

Lin Xinyi stepped forward, his gaze calmly fixed on Ishikawa, who stubbornly refused to budge.

Before Ishikawa could utter a few more harsh words to bolster his courage, Aoki, who had already quietly put on handcuffs, spoke first with a trembling voice:

"Ish... Ishikawa, just confess."

"That man is like a perverted peeping tom who secretly installed cameras in the women's changing room; somehow, he 'saw' everything we did!"

"We can't escape, we can't escape."

"If we confess now, at least it counts as turning ourselves in, and the sentence might be lighter!"

"..."

Ishikawa's face turned green as he listened:

"Shut your damn mouth!"

"Turn myself in? I didn't kill anyone, what kind of confession would that be?!"

"Aoki, if you're going crazy, go to a mental hospital, don't go to the police and make wild accusations!"

Aoki was yelled at and fell silent.

But the look in his eyes as he stared at Ishikawa was filled with despair.

Just then, as the center of attention, Lin Xinyi finally spoke again:

"It's good that you're not confessing."

"Murder and evil deeds deserve punishment."

"It would be too much of a shame to let scum like you get a lighter sentence by turning yourself in."