LRAB Page 189
Page 189
I remember that the box that guy took was number 98?
Suddenly remembering something, Conan immediately ran towards the storage counter.
As he ran, he kept looking around.
Where is Xiaolan? Where did she go?
"Conan! Where have you gone?"
Just as Conan was searching around, he suddenly heard Ran's voice behind him.
"Ran-neechan, could you show me the number tag we used to leave our luggage?" Conan said hurriedly.
"Number plate? What's the use of that?"
Although Ran was puzzled, she still took out what Conan wanted.
"That's what Officer Matsuda told me. He probably already knows who the murderer is."
Conan casually replied, and upon seeing the two signs marked with numbers 96 and 100 respectively, the kid immediately grinned smugly.
Holding two signs, he ignored Ran's shouts and hurriedly ran to Matsuda's side.
"Hey! I've found an important clue!"
"Hey kid! I didn't call you 'Hey'!" Matsuda punched Conan on the head hard. "You have to be polite to adults!"
Having reprimanded Conan and felt somewhat relieved, Matsuda finally asked,
"What clues have you found this time?"
Conan glared angrily, but seeing Matsuda raise his fist again, he quickly spoke up.
“The box the victim took was number 98, so the person he traded with must be one of Ueda, Nakajima, or Takeshita.”
"Because the only people storing items between Uncle Mori (number 96) and Ran (number 100) are the three of them, and they all have the exact same suitcase."
"So, once they take out the box and confirm the number on it, we can find out who made the deal with the Black Organization."
Matsuda patted Conan's head approvingly.
"We'll see if we can continue the investigation based on this lead later."
After saying that, the two guys, one big and one small, immediately stood guard by the counter, their eyes fixed on the long queue in front of it.
Waiting for the three suspects to show their number plates.
Meanwhile, on the other side, a large number of criminal police officers were also busy at work.
Megure was already overwhelmed with the task of inspecting the briefcases carried by the employees of Mantendo Corporation.
After all, this kind of thing, strictly speaking, does not comply with legal procedures.
Without a search warrant, even detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department have no right to demand the cooperation of those employees.
All they could do was coax and scare them into opening the suitcase themselves.
……
Soon it was Nakajima and his two companions' turn, after Matsuda's turn.
Right under Matsuda and Conan's noses, the three of them showed off their number plates.
Takeshita is number 99, Ueda is number 97, and Nakajima is number 124.
According to Conan's previous statement, Nakajima was originally supposed to store the box between Mori and Ran.
Therefore, his license plate number should be 98.
But now, Nakajima has come to collect his belongings with a number 124.
This clearly indicates that the number plate in his hand has been changed once.
"It seems this is the guy who made a deal with the Black Organization."
Matsuda muttered something under his breath. Then, he stepped forward to arrest Nakajima.
But after taking only two steps, Matsuda suddenly stopped.
"Conan? What kind of person is Nakajima? Does he have any conflicts with anyone?"
How should I ask this question in this situation?
Conan thought about it carefully for a moment.
"Mr. Nakajima? He, Mr. Ueda, and Mr. Takeshita were all members of the same university boxing club. It seems he even stole Mr. Takeshita's girlfriend before."
"The three of them now work at the same company, but according to Mr. Ueda, the idea for the new game 'Detective Kogoro Mouri's Mystery House' was actually his, but Mr. Nakajima stole it."
"Hey, what's the point of asking these questions now? Hurry up and grab Nakajima, then ask him about that organization..."
Conan froze as soon as he finished speaking; he realized what he had just said.
"Officer Matsuda, do you mean the target of this bombing wasn't a member of that organization, but Mr. Nakajima?"
“It’s not impossible,” Matsuda pondered. “If the killer’s target was Nakajima, then at least these two people had a motive for murder.”
"Furthermore, this explains why the key found at the explosion site did not match the briefcase containing the bomb."
"What you said is indeed a very high possibility."
After pondering for a while, Conan had to admit that Matsuda's reasoning was correct.
"Then the briefcase in the murderer's possession must match the key found at the scene."
"Actually, it doesn't have to be that complicated. We can find out by bluffing."
Matsuda tugged at Conan, making him hide to the side, and then walked towards Nakajima.
What's this guy up to now?
Conan hid in a corner and muttered to himself.
……
Next to the counter, Ueda, having received the suitcase, immediately opened it to check its contents before speaking to his two colleagues.
"Hey, you two, aren't you going to open your boxes and check them? These boxes all look exactly the same, so it's easy to get them mixed up."
Matsuda had already walked up to the three of them. Hearing Ueda's words, he immediately felt reassured.
“That’s right, I also think you’d better open the box and take a look. According to our investigation, some people have already mixed up their boxes.”
As Matsuda spoke, he reached out to pull on Nakajima's suitcase.
Chapter 231 I'm still on vacation!
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Nakajima gripped the handle of the suitcase tightly and took a sudden step back.
However, the quality of this suitcase is clearly not very good.
With the two of them working together, the box opened due to the two forces acting in opposite directions.
"what……"
Nearby, Takeshita, who had been secretly watching the situation, immediately dropped to the ground in terror after seeing the box opened a crack, covering his head with his hands and turning his back to Matsuda and the others.
As Nakajima watched in panic as stacks of yen fell to the ground from the box, he lay down in a panic, trying to use his body to block the money.
"What's going on, Matsuda-kun?"
Hearing the commotion, Inspector Megure immediately led his men over.
"The investigation is complete,"
Matsuda pointed to the two people lying on the ground, refusing to get up.
"This was not a terrorist act, but a murder, only by chance the wrong person was killed."
"Killed the wrong person? What do you mean?" Megure was a little confused.
"Actually, this Mr. Takeshita had prepared a bomb and put it in his box today."
Matsuda had to start explaining from the beginning.
“After arriving here, he secretly swapped locker number tags with Mr. Nakajima, the person he was going to kill.”
"That way, as long as Mr. Nakajima uses Mr. Takeshita's number plate, he can get the box containing the bomb. When the box is opened, it can be blown up and killed!"
"But coincidentally, Mr. Nakajima is going to make a deal with a mysterious person today."
"And the transaction was conducted in the same way as Mr. Takeshita's, by exchanging number plates."
"So in the end, Takeshita's number plate ended up in the hands of that victim."
"This man received the leather suitcase that Mr. Takeshita had carefully prepared, and couldn't wait to run to the bathroom to open it. Then, with a 'bang,' he was blown to pieces all over the floor."
"That's the whole story."
Matsuda recounted the entire process of the case in one breath.
"This situation is a bit complicated..."
Inspector Megure couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Brother Matsuda, although I trust you completely, do you have any evidence for what you're saying?"
"Of course,"
Matsuda took out the key and waved it twice in front of everyone.
"This key was found at the explosion site. It should have been given to the victim by Mr. Nakajima through other channels beforehand."
"Based on my reasoning, it can definitely open the box that Mr. Nakajima brought to the company. Look, it's the one that Mr. Takeshita is holding now."
"Just try it and you'll understand."
Megure reached out and took the key, then walked to Takeshita's side.
"Mr. Takeshita, please cooperate with our work."
"Hehe, no need,"
Takeshita chuckled softly twice, then gave up resisting.