In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 88

"Make them let me go! I just came here... to secretly observe them!"

"Then I heard gunshots and police sirens. I got scared and wanted to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible, but they stopped me!"

"They say I'm a suspect in the murder of that teacher, and that I'm very suspicious! What's so suspicious about me?!"

"Observe them secretly?" Yuuki Takada glanced at her.

"If you're not Yumi Miyamoto, then what are you doing in this grove? Do you know there's been a murder outside?"

Yuki Takada frowned, his tone full of suspicion, "Yumi Miyamoto, although you are an employee of our Metropolitan Police Department, we still have to handle this situation impartially."

"Currently, a body has been found in Odaiba Seaside Park. Through preliminary analysis, I have briefly confirmed that the deceased is Mr. Kenji Higashiyama, the homeroom teacher of Class C, Grade 1 at Teitan Junior High School. The time of death is estimated to be about an hour ago."

Where were you at that time?

"I..." Miyamoto Yumi was speechless for a moment, her eyes darting around. "I... I just happened to be nearby! But I didn't know the deceased at all. It's not right for you to suspect me, is it?"

Megure Juzo also put on a stern face: "Miyamoto Yumi, this is not the time for jokes."

"A serious case has occurred here. You must truthfully explain your purpose and actions."

"Why did you try to climb over the fence to leave? Normal tourists would choose to leave through the main gate."

"I...I'm just afraid of trouble!" Miyamoto Yumi argued, but her expression clearly betrayed her.

She seemed to have something to hide.

Shinichi Kudo observed quietly from the side.

He noticed that the edges of Miyamoto Yumi's shoes were covered in fresh, dark-colored mud, which was different from the dry sand on the park's main road and the beach, and looked more like the soil from a moist area deep in the woods.

There seemed to be a few minor snags on the cuffs of her casual clothes.

Yuki Takada had clearly noticed these details as well, and his gaze sharpened further: "Yumi Miyamoto, you'd better tell the truth. You should know the consequences of concealing or obstructing official business. And..."

He paused, lowering his voice slightly, "...We just encountered a sniper; they were professional and ruthless. Your presence here, coupled with your unusual behavior, makes it hard not to suspect your involvement in these events."

"A sniper?!" Miyamoto Yumi exclaimed, her face turning pale instantly, and the panic in her eyes becoming even more obvious. "No... it wasn't me! How could I... Oh my god..." She seemed to be frightened by the news, her body trembling slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Yuuki Takada and Juzo Megure's doubts deepened.

"Miyamoto Yumi, what exactly are you..." Inspector Megure hadn't finished asking.

As if she had made up her mind, Miyamoto Yumi suddenly raised her head, looked at the other police officers around her with a complicated expression, and then whispered to Takada Yuki and Inspector Megure:

"Inspector Takada, Inspector Megure, can I speak with you alone? And... where is Sato? Where is Sato Miwako?"

Her request made the atmosphere even more strange.

Yuki Takada and Juzo Megure exchanged a glance and then nodded.

Megure waved to the surrounding officers: "You guys step back a bit, guard the area, and don't let anyone get close."

"Yes, sir!" Although the officers were puzzled, they still dispersed as instructed, maintaining an appropriate distance.

Shinichi Kudo stood still, and Yuuki Takada glanced at him, tacitly agreeing that he could stay.

Seeing that no one else was around, Miyamoto Yumi took a deep breath, her hands nervously twisting together, and her voice was extremely low: "I, I was actually following a group of people..."

"Following?" Yuuki Takada raised an eyebrow.

“Yes…” A hint of embarrassment and a blush appeared on Miyamoto Yumi’s face. “Oh dear… this is a little personal matter… Inspector Takada, have you forgotten the text message I sent you before…”

"Wait? You mean you've been following me and Sato Miwako from the very beginning?" Takada Yuki was somewhat taken aback; he hadn't expected this reason.

Indeed, if what Miyamoto Yumi said is true, then she really can't tell them directly about this unspeakable secret.

Shinichi Kudo was also taken aback, not expecting to hear such an absurd reason.

"And then?" Inspector Megure pressed, feeling that although the reason was personal, it seemed to explain her furtive behavior.

"Then I saw a man behaving strangely on the way, and I followed him into the park, but he was very wary and kept turning around and around, so I lost him..."

"Then I heard some strange noises, like gunshots with silencers! I was terrified and hid behind a bush, too scared to move."

Yumi Miyamoto recalled, her face still showing lingering fear, and said softly, "Not long after that, I heard a lot of police sirens."

"I was terrified, and I was also worried that if my colleagues found out that I had exposed my private affairs, it wouldn't be good for Inspector Takada and the other man, so... this would be too embarrassing!"

"I just wanted to sneak away quickly and find a secluded spot to climb out, but they found me..."

Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, and her face turned increasingly red, clearly feeling very embarrassed by her reason.

After hearing this, Takada Yuki and Megure Juzo were both speechless for a moment.

This reason... is indeed very Miyamoto Yumi, consistent with her somewhat eccentric and impulsive personality.

She got caught up in a case while trying to follow Sato Miwako and her friend, and ended up being mistaken for a suspect because she was afraid of being embarrassed and tried to sneak away... This plot is just too good to be true.

Shinichi Kudo stroked his chin and asked, "Yumi-neechan, you said you heard what sounded like a gunshot with a silencer?"

"Approximately where was it? Did you notice anything unusual at the time?"

Miyamoto Yumi tried hard to recall: "The location... is probably in the direction of that denser forest to the west?"

"It was a bit far from me, and the unusual thing was... Besides the gunshots, I thought I also heard a series of hurried footsteps running by, but the trees were too dense, and I couldn't see the people clearly. Then I was so scared that I didn't dare to move."

The woods to the west?

Yuki Takada's heart skipped a beat; that was roughly the location they had guessed they had encountered the sniper.

The timing seems to match up.

"Where did you lose track of that strange man?" Yuuki Takada asked.

"It was...it was not far from the grove of trees where the body was found..." Yumi Miyamoto pointed in a direction, "After I lost him, I wandered around the area looking for him, and then I heard the gunshot."

This location happens to be right around the crime scene!

Yuki Takada's brain was working at lightning speed.

Although Yumi Miyamoto gave a seemingly reasonable personal reason for her appearance, the timing and location were too coincidental.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, almost all the clues have further pointed to Yumi Miyamoto.

Even though Yuki Takada knew that Yumi Miyamoto was not the culprit, the current situation made it urgent for him.

"Miyamoto Yumi, where is that person you mentioned now?" Inspector Megure asked. If what Miyamoto Yumi said was true, then what clues could be found to confirm her statement?

“I don’t know… I haven’t seen him since I lost him,” Miyamoto Yumi said dejectedly.

Yuuki Takada said to Juzo Megure, "Brother Megure, I think we should gather those three suspects together. I think the culprit is probably one of them."

"Okay." Inspector Megure immediately took out his phone and gave the order.

Yuki Takada then looked at Yumi Miyamoto: "Yumi Miyamoto, even if your reasons are valid, your actions have already interfered with the investigation."

"Furthermore, you may have inadvertently become a witness at a crucial point in time. You need to come back to the police station with us to give a detailed statement. In addition, the marks and mud on your casual sleeves also need to be submitted to the forensic department for comparison."

Upon hearing that she had to go to the police station, Miyamoto Yumi's face immediately fell, but knowing she couldn't refuse, she could only say with a mournful expression, "I understand... Could you please not tell Miwako that I did it because I was following her..."

Yuuki Takada sighed somewhat helplessly, "You'll have to explain it to her yourself. Sato's over there." He pointed in the direction of the main venue.

At this moment, Inspector Megure also finished his phone call, his expression somewhat strange:

“Brother Takada, I’ve contacted the other officers and asked them to bring the suspects over.”

Even during the brief lull between Yuuki Takada and Juzo Megure waiting for the other suspects to be brought in, the atmosphere at the scene remained tense.

Yumi Miyamoto stood there awkwardly, glancing every now and then in the direction of Yuki Takada and Miwako Sato in the distance, her face full of regret and embarrassment.

Yuki Takada fell into deep thought.

The appearance of Yumi Miyamoto and her seemingly absurd reasons did indeed disrupt the originally clear direction of the investigation.

If what she said is true, then the gunshots and footsteps she heard are extremely crucial, and may even be directly related to a sniper.

But what if this was just a lie she made up in a moment of panic? While her identity as a traffic police officer certainly reduces the direct possibility that she is the murderer, it cannot completely rule out other potential connections.

Shinichi Kudo was not idle either; his sharp eyes carefully scanned Yumi Miyamoto's entire body, not missing any detail.

He suddenly squatted down and pointed to a small patch of dark green stain where the sole and upper of Miyamoto Yumi's shoe met, asking, "Yumi-neechan, where did you get this patch of moss on your shoe?"

“Moss usually grows in very damp, shady and remote places, and may even be at the base of the walls of some abandoned buildings.”

"Moss?" Miyamoto Yumi followed his finger, paused for a moment, and tried hard to recall: "I... I'm not sure. Maybe after I lost track of that man, I was in a hurry and wandered around in the woods. I accidentally rubbed it on some damp tree roots or rocks? I was too flustered at the time and didn't notice it."

"Can you still remember the exact location?" Shinichi Kudo pressed.

"Probably...probably a little further west, near that old wall at the edge of the park?" Miyamoto Yumi's tone was uncertain.

Yuki Takada immediately signaled a forensic expert to come over and take samples of the moss on Yumi Miyamoto's shoes, as well as the snags and dirt on her sleeves, and compare them with environmental samples from the main scene and the vicinity of the sniper point.

This might verify the veracity of some of her statements.

Chapter 107 Choose one of three classics

At this moment, a burst of footsteps came.

After calming down Shimazu Mai, who was still pale but whose emotions had stabilized somewhat, Sato Miwako also rushed over.

When she saw Miyamoto Yumi, who was surrounded by police officers and looked quite disheveled, she showed an extremely surprised expression.

"Yumi? What are you doing here? And why are you in such a mess?" Sato Miwako quickly stepped forward, looking at Takada Yuki and Inspector Megure with a puzzled expression.

Upon seeing her friend, Miyamoto Yumi's face instantly turned bright red, her head bowed in shame. She wished she could disappear into the ground, muttering, "Miwako... I... that..."

Yuki Takada briefly explained the situation to Miwako Sato, but of course, he decided to keep some things from Yumi Miyamoto.

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako's expression shifted from surprise to a wry smile, finally settling on a look of helplessness and concern as she gazed at Miyamoto Yumi: "Yumi! You really are... what should I say about you!"

With a sigh, Sato Miwako said to Takada Yuki and Inspector Megure, "Inspectors, although Yumi's behavior was reckless, I think she is indeed not involved in the murder."

“She’s just…sometimes too enthusiastic, and her methods are a bit…” Sato Miwako didn’t finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

“At present, it seems that she is not a major suspect, but her presence here, and what she may have heard or seen, may be crucial,” Yuki Takada said calmly. “We need her more detailed testimony.”

While Yuuki Takada and Juzo Megure were waiting for the other suspects to be brought in, Shinichi Kudo was not idle.

His sharp eyes carefully scanned the area where Miyamoto Yumi was being held, especially the ground near the railing.

"Yumi-neechan, is this exactly where you tried to climb over the railing?" Shinichi Kudo asked, pointing to several relatively clear footprints on the ground.

Yumi Miyamoto followed his finger and nodded: "That's probably it... I was too flustered at the time and didn't pay attention to where I stepped."

Shinichi Kudo crouched down and carefully examined the footprints, especially one of the more complete shoe prints.