The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Page 243

Officer Sato became excited upon realizing that her saviors had arrived, and she instinctively looked towards the door.

An unexpected figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Hey, isn't this Officer Sato?" Aragaki Yu looked curiously at Officer Sato, who had handcuffed himself and the criminal to the sewer pipe. "What's going on here?"

"Uh..." Officer Sato scratched his head awkwardly and explained somewhat embarrassedly, "It was just an accident. I only realized I'd lost the key to the handcuffs after I handcuffed myself and the criminal... But speaking of which, Aragaki-kun, what are you doing here?"

As Yu Aragaki walked into the restroom, he casually explained while spreading his hands, "When I was passing by here, I happened to hear a sound like gunshots coming from this abandoned building, and I was worried, so I came in to check it out."

"So that's how it is!"

Officer Sato had no doubts about what Aragaki Yu said.

The gunshot was fired by himself during the pursuit of the criminal, in order to break the locked door.

In the eyes of the Tokyo police, Yuu Aragaki was a helpful and enthusiastic young man, so it was not surprising that he would run to check the situation after hearing the gunshot.

"The one who encountered the unexpected was actually myself, a police officer..." Thinking of this, Officer Sato lowered his head in shame, unable to look Aragaki Yu in the eye.

……

After Officer Sato briefly explained the situation.

Aragaki Yu looked at the flushed-faced Officer Sato with some surprise, "You mean... this guy escaped while you and Officer Takagi were escorting the prisoner?"

“Um… well…” Officer Sato felt his cheeks getting hot. “On the way back to the police station, we were involved in a collision between a truck and a motorcycle. While I was getting out to mediate, the prisoner took advantage of Takagi, who was guarding him, not paying attention and ran out of the police car.”

"..."

Amidst Aragaki Yu's speechless expression.

Officer Sato gestured to the handcuffs burning himself and the prisoner, muttering helplessly, "The rest is just like what you see now."

Chapter 325 This uncle is definitely not a bad person! (1)

"Damn it!" Officer Sato glared fiercely at the prisoner handcuffed to him beside him. "It's all your fault!"

Aragaki Yu: "..."

"I...I'm innocent..." The prisoner sitting on the ground ignored Officer Sato's complaints, instead muttering to himself with a listless face and a look of utter despair.

"What?" Officer Sato looked at the criminal with some surprise.

"I'm not the culprit! I'm definitely not the culprit!" The culprit suddenly widened his eyes and roared at Officer Sato, "I don't know what happened either. I woke up this morning to find Miss Muranishi already dead!"

Seeing this, Officer Sato turned to look at Aragaki Yu and explained somewhat awkwardly, "This criminal keeps saying that he is innocent."

"It's true!" The prisoner cried out in pain as he looked at Officer Sato and Aragaki Yu.

"Stop joking, Mr. Higashida..."

Before Officer Sato could stop the criminal, Aragaki interrupted her.

"What's going on? Has some case occurred, Officer Sato?"

“Um…” Officer Sato hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure whether to tell Aragaki Yu about the case.

As a person unrelated to the case and not a member of the police force, it is reasonable to assume that Officer Sato should not disclose any information related to the case to Aragaki Yu.

However, ironically, Aragaki Yu had provided the police with a great deal of assistance in this particular case...

"Okay." She looked around to make sure no one else was nearby before continuing, "But you can't spread this kind of thing around!"

When the case was brought up, Officer Sato's face immediately turned serious.

"The person who died this time was Ms. Muranishi Mami, who lived in the same apartment building as Mr. Higashida and was his boss at the company."

"The crime scene was in the bathroom of Ms. Muranishi's room. When her body, which had been strangled, was discovered, Mr. Higashida happened to be sleeping in Ms. Muranishi's bed because he was drunk."

"Drunk and sleeping in the deceased's bed?" Aragaki Yu looked puzzled. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that Mr. Higashida is the murderer of Ms. Muranishi."

“Of course, it’s not just that.” Officer Sato shook his head and continued, “Miss Muranishi’s room key and chain lock were both locked at the time.”

"So, Miss Muranishi's room was a secret room back then?"

“That’s right.” Officer Sato sighed helplessly. She didn’t want to believe that the guy in front of her was a murderer, but all the evidence was clearly presented to her. “In addition, Mr. Higashida’s fingerprints were clearly left on the key to the door, the chain lock, and the video camera cable wrapped around the victim’s neck.”

Upon hearing Officer Sato's words, Mr. Higashida lowered his head listlessly, as he had absolutely no recollection of these events due to his drunkenness.

"Furthermore, according to relevant sources, Mr. Higashida often clashed with Ms. Muranishi at work. On the day of the incident, Mr. Higashida was excitedly telling others in the bar that he was determined to teach that woman a lesson."

Officer Sato stared intently at Mr. Higashida and said, "Therefore, we have reason to believe that you entered Ms. Muranishi's room after getting drunk, and after an argument, you killed her in a fit of rage. The reason you locked the door was to prevent her from escaping, but you accidentally fell asleep on her bed after killing her because you were too drunk."

Aragaki Yu: "..."

"I really can't remember anything about that day!" Mr. Dongtian covered his face, his expression one of extreme pain.

Officer Sato's face showed a look of disappointment: "That's because you were extremely drunk that night!"

Seemingly provoked by the expression on Officer Sato's face, Mr. Higashida suddenly became agitated.

He angrily said to Officer Sato, "You're right, I do have a very bad relationship with that woman because of work, but I wouldn't go so far as to kill her!"

"Hmph!" Officer Sato snorted coldly; she didn't believe the nonsense Mr. Higashida was spouting.

Suddenly, she leaned down, stared into Mr. Dongtian's eyes, and questioned, "Then tell me, if you are innocent, why did you run away when we weren't looking?"

Mr. Higashida was somewhat taken aback when he saw Officer Sato suddenly approach him.

As if he had thought of something, the excited expression on his face softened instantly. "That's because... I have a place I absolutely have to go."

"Where are you going?" Officer Sato pressed.

"..."

Mr. Higashida looked into Officer Sato's eyes, paused for a moment, and seemed to be hesitating about something.

But after a moment's hesitation, he slowly spoke: "It's my daughter in Chicago..."

His eyes suddenly filled with memories. "After the divorce, my daughter was raised by my ex-wife. Recently, she sent me a wedding invitation! I had thought that for the past seventeen years, my daughter had been hating me. How could I not attend such an important day!"

"Huh!?" Officer Sato was stunned for a moment upon hearing Mr. Higashida's explanation.

She suddenly stood up, her expression becoming somewhat hesitant.

"Everything I'm saying is true!" Seemingly worried that the police wouldn't believe him, Mr. Dongtian became agitated again. "If you don't believe me, you can just come to my place and you should be able to find the letter my daughter sent me, along with the plane ticket she sent me!"

“But, but…” Officer Sato was about to refute him.

"This uncle is definitely not a bad person!"

The voice that suddenly came from the toilet door abruptly interrupted her.

"Uh...ah?" Officer Sato looked towards the toilet door with some surprise.

Aragaki Yu also looked in the direction from which the sound came.

Officer Takagi, Conan, and the Junior Detective League members appeared panting at the restroom door.

At this moment, Ayumi was clenching her little fists. Although she looked a little nervous, she still mustered up the courage to stand in front of everyone and defend Mr. Higashida.

"Ayumi?" Officer Sato looked at the little girl with a puzzled expression, not understanding why she would say such a thing.

"me……"

Perhaps because everyone was watching, Ayumi suddenly blushed with nervousness, so nervous that she stammered and couldn't speak.

Chapter 326 This uncle is definitely not a bad person! (2)

"Ayumi." Seeing that Ayumi looked a little nervous, Yuu Aragaki greeted her with a smile.

"I, I... um? Big brother Aragaki!" Ayumi, who was still somewhat incoherent, looked in surprise at the corner of the restroom after hearing someone call her name, only to find that Aragaki Yu was also there.

Seeing that Aragaki Yu waved to her, she excitedly took small steps and ran to Aragaki Yu.

"Big brother Aragaki, what are you doing here?" She looked up at the handsome older brother, her expression excited, showing no trace of nervousness.

"Brother Aragaki?!" Conan and the other members of the Detective Boys all looked at Aragaki Yu.

Because they had just arrived, and their attention was focused on the escaped prisoner handcuffed in the toilet stall, they didn't notice Aragaki Yu in the corner.

Only Ai Haibara glanced up at Yuu Aragaki with a faint air of nonchalance.

She clearly noticed Aragaki Yu hiding in that inconspicuous corner as soon as she entered the restroom.

"Hello! I just happened to be passing by."

After smiling and responding to the children, Aragaki Yu squatted down, gently patted Ayumi's head, and asked, "Ayumi, why do you say this uncle isn't a bad person?"

Under Yuu's warm hand, Ayumi comfortably squinted her eyes, and even her speech became smoother, "Because this uncle not only let me go, but also apologized to me! If he were a bad person, why would he apologize to me!"

After speaking, she blinked her big, bright eyes at Officer Takagi beside her, hoping to gain his approval.

"But……"

Officer Takagi looked somewhat awkwardly at Ayumi, who had a serious expression on her face, scratched his head, and didn't know what to say for a moment. Then he looked to Officer Sato next to the criminal for help.

"Sigh... alright." Officer Sato was silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly and looked at Mr. Higashida, who was handcuffed to him. "Hey, what time is the plane taking off tomorrow?"

"The plane will take off from Narita Airport at 12:30 pm tomorrow." Although he didn't know why Officer Sato asked this question, Mr. Higashida truthfully told him the time and place of the plane's departure.

"Officer Sato?" Officer Takagi also looked puzzled.

“We still have time. As long as we find out the truth of the case before noon tomorrow, and if it is proven that Mr. Higashida is really innocent, then everything will still be alright, right?” Officer Sato suddenly laughed as he looked at the somewhat bewildered Officer Takagi.