In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 10

Woohoo!

Hearing the child crying inside, I immediately put down everything I was doing and went into the bedroom.

Seeing one of the babies crying in the crib, I immediately went over to the child and whispered, "Ahoriya, what's wrong? Did you poop?"

Heh heh heh!

Another child playing in the crib heard this and immediately became unhappy, grumbling, "She's not Ahoriya, I am!"

"Yes, yes, Mom is wrong. You are Horia, and she is Ruby, right?"

Only after spending a lot of time with the two children did I gradually begin to understand what they were saying.

For some reason, even now, I still can't completely distinguish between the two children in front of me.

They look almost identical, but I always seem to mistake them for each other every time I come back.

I've even doubted myself sometimes, wondering if I could really be their mother.

After all, remembering their faces and names is a difficult thing for me.

Soon, after changing Xiaolu's diaper and coaxing the two babies to sleep, I slowly made my way to the restaurant.

Looking at the food prepared on the table, I inadvertently recalled what had happened before.

Having grown up in an orphanage since childhood, the only thing that touched her was the exquisite meal that Xue Nai prepared for her first debut when she took her out that year.

She still remembers it clearly; it was the most delicious meal she had ever eaten.

It was also the first time I felt the warmth of family.

……

The stagnant air in the office, mixed with the lingering smell of tobacco, seemed to freeze time.

Sato Miwako stood beside him, holding her breath, her eyes already brimming with tears.

Perhaps, Yuuki Takada noticed her soft sobs.

"Sato, didn't I tell you before that you must never let other people's subjective opinions influence your own feelings and affect your own judgment?"

Yuuki Takada gently closed the diary and said calmly, "Through this diary, I can roughly deduce several possibilities regarding Ai Mizuno's murder."

Yuuki Takada tapped lightly on the cover of the diary with his fingertips, his gaze sweeping over Miwako Sato's reddened eyes before regaining a calmer demeanor. He said, "Let's start by sorting through the most obvious clues."

He gestured for Sato to look at the passage in the diary about the company president, Jiro Ono:

"The president clearly had a controlling desire for Mizuno Ai, and even after she explicitly refused, he still tried to use his power to pressure her. His diary says that 'a white light appeared in his eyes,' and such details usually indicate extreme fluctuations in a character's emotions—it could be anger, or it could be ruthlessness after being disobeyed."

"More importantly, he knew that Ai Mizuno was a top star in the company, but he called her to his office alone late at night, using a 'compensation party' as an excuse..."

"...Combined with his later question, 'You have a boyfriend,' it's not hard to infer that he harbored a possessiveness towards Mizuno Ai that went beyond that of a superior and subordinate."

“When this possessiveness is rejected, especially by an artist he sees as ‘controlled by him,’ it can easily turn into murderous intent.”

Sato Miwako sniffed, suppressing her emotions: "But why would the president kill her? No matter what, Mizuno Ai is their company's cash cow."

Yuki Takada's eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, "If the money tree gets out of control, it will become a hidden danger."

"Furthermore, there's something you should know: if they can make Mizuno Ai famous, they must also have a way to make her fall to rock bottom."

"Besides, idols aren't made famous just because their companies want to promote them!"

Yuki Takada flipped to the section where Ai Mizuno hid the child and analyzed it carefully: "Ai Mizuno has been acting all along to protect the child."

“But once the president discovered she had a child—especially after he had explicitly warned her not to cause trouble, and the ‘trouble’ he feared actually happened, silencing her became the most extreme way to cut his losses.”

He paused, then changed the subject: "In addition, there is an even more concealed suspect—Mukai Yukina."

Sato Miwako looked up abruptly: "Manager? But the diary says she's been helping Mizuno Ai take care of the child, and even prepared meals..."

“It’s precisely this ‘all-encompassing dedication’ that hides the suspicion.” Yuuki Takada pointed to the manager’s complaint and said, “The resentment in that sentence is almost overflowing. She is both the manager and the caregiver, and is under constant pressure.”

"The most important point is that when we were looking through Ai Mizuno's case file, we found that some of her words were concealed and were not true to the facts."

"What's even more noteworthy is that Ai Mizuno concealed the fact that the company president was harassing her."

"When a person carries secrets and pressure for others for a long time, once it explodes at a certain point, they may develop extreme emotions such as 'I have given so much for you, but you still don't trust me.'"

"Moreover, she was one of the few people who knew that Mizuno Ai had a child and was also aware of her schedule, making her more convenient than the company president to commit the crime."

Sato Miwako was silent for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: "What about the father of those two children? He wasn't mentioned at all in the diary, and Ariaki didn't talk about her father either. Could it be him?"

"This is the most challenging possibility."

Yuuki Takada paused for a few seconds on the words "Yuda Nursing and Obstetrics Hospital" before saying calmly, "Ai Mizuno didn't let her boyfriend accompany her when she was pregnant, and she hid the father's identity from the child after giving birth, which means that this man's identity must never be exposed."

"They could be married, or colleagues in the industry, or even... someone from the company."

He got up and walked to the window, looking at the night outside: "If this man is worried that Mizuno Ai will expose the relationship, or wants to use the child to force him to take responsibility, he has enough motive to kill."

"Moreover, he is very likely aware of the relationship between Mizuno Ai and the president and manager, and may even be able to use these relationships to cover up his crimes."

Suddenly, Yuuki Takada turned around and smiled: "Of course, all of this is just my speculation. We still need to investigate further to find out the specifics."

Sato Miwako quickly took out her notebook and scribbled: "So where should we start our investigation next?"

Yuki Takada's eyes were sharp as he said softly, "First, investigate President Jiro Ono's whereabouts on the night of the incident, especially whether Ai Mizuno behaved anything unusual after leaving the company."

"Re-verify Yukina Mukai's alibi, focusing on asking her if she noticed any unusual emotions when she last saw Ai Mizuno."

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and immediately added, "And there's also that Youtian Nursing and Obstetrics Hospital. Go check their medical records from back then; maybe we can find some clues about the child's father."

The smell of tobacco in the office seemed to have faded a bit, but the atmosphere was becoming increasingly heavy.

Sato Miwako looked at the three names listed in the notebook.

Suddenly I understood what Inspector Takada meant when he said that subjective emotions only blur one's vision, while the truth is often hidden in the gaps between seemingly ordinary words.

Chapter 15 Interrogating the Prisoner

Miwako Sato reviewed the development of the entire case.

Inspector Takada's cold analysis was like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, instantly pulling her out of her objective emotions and plunging her into the chilling vortex of the case.

The current clues clearly point to three people: Jiro Ono, Yukina Mukai, and the invisible "boyfriend".

“I understand, Inspector Takada.” Sato Miwako’s eyes had regained their sharpness as she looked at Inspector Takada and said, “I will immediately go and verify the alibis of President Ono and Mukai Yukina, and go to Tomoda Nursing and Obstetrics Hospital to check the information on Mizuno Ai’s boyfriend.”

Yuuki Takada nodded slightly, his gaze falling once again on the diary belonging to "Ai Mizuno," his hand unconsciously stroking the slightly worn edge of the cover.

"Bring the preliminary on-site investigation report. After the matter is completed, bring Jiro Ono and Yukina Mukai back for routine questioning."

……

About two hours later, the news brought back by Miwako Sato exploded like ice thrown into boiling oil in Yuki Takada's small office.

“Inspector Takada, just as you predicted.” Sato Miwako tensed up almost imperceptibly as she placed a thin report in front of Takada Yuuki and hurriedly said, “I’ve already checked, and Ono Jiro’s alibi is fake.”

"Oh?" Yuuki Takada looked up from the cover of Ai Mizuno's diary, seemingly gesturing for her to continue.

"He claimed that he was working on urgent documents in the company's private lounge on the top floor from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the night of the incident, and his secretary can testify to that."

Miwako Sato's speech gradually quickened: "But we retrieved the surveillance footage from the building's underground parking lot. We found a black luxury car registered under his personal assistant's name that drove in at 6:47 PM."

"At 7:05, a man wearing a hoodie and with a build that was extremely similar to Jiro Ono got out of the back seat and went directly to the second basement level through the emergency staircase. There was a fire exit that led directly to the alley outside, bypassing all the main surveillance cameras."

"The timing?" Yuuki Takada asked after a moment's thought.

"It perfectly matches the estimated timeline of Mizuno Ai's murder," Sato Miwako affirmed. "More importantly, there's been a new breakthrough at the Tomoda Nursing and Obstetrics Hospital."

She took a deep breath and slowly said, "We found the head nurse who delivered Mizuno Ai's baby back then. She has retired, but her memory is still clear. Mizuno Ai was very nervous when she was admitted to the hospital and repeatedly asked for secrecy, especially emphasizing that no one should know who the father of the child is."

"But the head nurse remembered a detail—when Mizuno Ai was in extreme pain before giving birth, she unconsciously gripped the nurse's hand tightly, her nails digging into her flesh, and repeatedly murmured a name...'Ono'."

Ok?

Ono......

Upon hearing this, Yuki Takada's face immediately darkened.

The air suddenly became stagnant.

All that remained was the smell of tobacco mixed with cigarettes and tobacco, so heavy it was suffocating.

Hirohiro Ono.

The name, like a cold iron nail, was hammered into the heart of the case.

“This Hirohiro Ono is the son of the company president, Jiro Ono,” Miwako Sato stated.

"I see."

"It seems that Ai Mizuno's death is indeed inextricably linked to President Ono of this company."

Yuki Takada clenched his fists tightly.

"So, what was Jiro Ono's motive?" Yuki Takada asked seriously, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Would it be worth it for him to personally kill Ai Mizuno, the person from his own company, just because of his desire to control her and the possibility of her scandal being exposed?"

Among the documents in Sato Miwako’s file, another document was pulled out: “We applied for an emergency search warrant and raided Jiro Ono’s office’s private safe.”

"In addition to a large amount of cash and some...sensitive photos, an unsigned 'debt confirmation letter' for a huge sum of money against Ai Mizuno was also found, as well as a 'lifetime renewal contract' with terms so harsh it was almost like selling oneself. The date was three days before the incident."

"Force her to sign?" Yuuki Takada tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a dull thud.

“Very likely. According to Yukina Mukai’s corroborating testimony, the president has recently intensified his ‘special treatment’ of her and has been putting pressure on her more frequently.”

"Or perhaps, that night, Mizuno Ai pushed President Ono Jiro away, causing Ono Jiro's anger to gradually escalate, leading to the final outcome," Sato Miwako analyzed.

Yuuki Takada slowly stood up and walked to the window.

Tokyo's night was still dazzling, the neon lights flickering in his unfathomable pupils.

"By the way, have you found out the source of the medicine in the case file?"

"The indirect evidence pointing to Yukina Mukai is very strong, and the fragments of the medicine bottle were indeed found deep in her trash can."

Sato Miwako frowned and said, "But after Mukai Yukina broke down during the interrogation, she repeatedly cried out a detail: she drugged the children, initially just to make them sleep more soundly before Ai-chan came back, so that the exhausted Ai-chan could rest a little longer."

"The dosage is very small, just enough to make them drowsy."

"But the dosage that actually caused the child to fall into a deep coma on the night of the incident... far exceeded the amount she admitted to."

Yuuki Takada whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning: "You mean..."

"Someone increased the dosage after her! Shortly before the incident!"