Chapter 182: Unusual Identity

"Really!"

Sera Masumi thought to herself and continued asking:

"Mr. Akikawa, did Ms. Ryoko ever tell you who was chasing her?"

"No."

"Why were they chasing you?"

"I have no idea."

Unfortunately, Sera Masumi's last two questions yielded no useful information.

She didn't notice any signs of deceit from Akikawa Kyousuke either.

'Come to think of it, Akikawa Ryoko has always protected Kyousuke at home. How could she have told him something like that?'

Sera Masumi pondered.

At that moment, Akikawa Kyousuke spoke:

"Why are you suddenly asking about this? Does it have anything to do with the case?"

"How could that be? Anyway, thank you for your response, Mr. Akikawa."

Sera Masumi smiled and thanked Akikawa Kyousuke before standing up.

Then, she exited the hallway.

'As expected of a detective, their investigation efficiency is too high.'

Akikawa Kyousuke watched Sera Masumi leave, a faint smile appearing in his blue eyes.

Sera Masumi had been wondering why Akikawa Ryoko kept moving houses with her son.

This suggested that Sera Masumi no longer believed that the neighbors had reported Akikawa Ryoko for abusing her son, forcing her to move.

As for what had changed Sera's mind—

It was clear that Sera Masumi had already locked onto the true identity of the real culprit.

---

Akikawa Kyousuke himself had always had doubts about the relationship between the original owner of his body and the mother of that owner.

And after Sera Masumi questioned him about the reason for the frequent moves, he too confirmed that the mother of the original owner had moved constantly to avoid being hunted.

Half a month ago, Sera Masumi had seen three insurance policies at Akikawa's house.

That's when her investigation into the true culprit of the car accident began.

---

Akikawa Kyousuke initially believed that even detectives would find it difficult to extract information from the Metropolitan Police Department.

Now it seemed he had underestimated Sera Masumi's abilities.

In a case where the Metropolitan Police had made no progress since August of last year, Sera Masumi had identified the true culprit in just half a month.

---

'Based on the hotel owner's earlier description, even the police wouldn't hesitate to kill to suppress information about the organization behind the software development.'

'This proves that the organization's power is also quite terrifying.'

'I just don't know if this organization is the same transnational criminal organization that killed Kyouji Toda.'

Akikawa Kyousuke thought to himself.

---

'The handsome detective went straight to the surveillance room after speaking privately with the hotel owner, then rushed to ask me about the moving situation.'

'When I asked if the fact that the original owner and their mother were being hunted had any connection to this case, Sera Masumi obviously lied.'

'In other words, the culprit behind the car accident is also the real murderer in the dismemberment case.'

'This means the identity of the original owner's mother, who has been hunted by such an organization for nearly a decade, must be highly unusual.'

---

Akikawa Kyousuke pieced together a wealth of information based on his brief conversation with Sera Masumi.

He felt deeply satisfied.

'This handsome detective, with all his skill, intelligence, and sense of justice, is much easier to manipulate than the previous detective who relied solely on illegal methods to coerce confessions.'

Akikawa Kyousuke sighed inwardly.

---

Truly, detectives in this world were no ordinary individuals.

'Speaking of which, Ms. Itakura's skills as a programmer in her previous job seemed exceptional.'

Akikawa Kyousuke recalled the hotel owner's sudden change in expression after he reminded the detectives at the door.

Clearly, not all programmers knew about this hot spring hotel, which was nicknamed the "Holy Land for Programmers."

At the very least, only programmers who had reached the targeted level of that organization would know about it.

---

And Misaki Itakura once mentioned that her father was the best programmer.

It seemed this wasn't just a daughter's biased admiration for her father but a fact.

'So, the hotel owner's mood didn't shift because I revealed the hotel's close ties to programmers.'

'It was because I mentioned "Ms. Itakura" that his demeanor changed so dramatically.'

'Now it seems that not only does the original owner's mother have an unusual identity, but even my young agent's father has a mysterious background.'

---

As Akikawa Kyousuke contemplated this, the phone on the table lit up.

He glanced at the screen—it was Misaki Itakura calling again.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Akikawa!! When I woke up, I saw a bunch of police cars parked downstairs again! Are you okay?"

Misaki Itakura's anxious voice came through the line.

"I'm fine."

"That's good."

Akikawa Kyousuke heard her exhale a long sigh of relief.

---

"What happened this time? Why aren't you in the room, Mr. Akikawa? Are we still returning to Tokyo today?"

Misaki Itakura fired off several questions in rapid succession.

"We might not return today."

"Eh? Why not?"

"I originally planned to wake up at five this morning and take a bath, but I found a dismembered body in the men's bathhouse."

"So I need to give a statement later."

"…"

---

After Akikawa Kyousuke finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

After a while, Misaki Itakura's weak voice replied:

"All right… Anyway, our room is booked until the end of the collaboration event, so there's no problem—"

---

Meanwhile, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police had recovered the murder weapon used by Kunio Furuzumi to dismember the body, based on his confession.

They packed up the twelve dismembered parts of Kawasaki Ryo's body.

The evidence, along with Kunio Furuzumi, who was implicated in the crimes of mutilation and corpse abandonment, was loaded into the police car and taken to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters.

---

According to Detective Sera Masumi, Kunio Furuzumi's computer had been left in his room.

Detective Okamura specifically instructed his subordinates, as well as Akikawa Kyousuke and Conan—who had inadvertently learned about the software development—that the information must never be leaked.

Afterward, they returned to headquarters, where Conan and Akikawa Kyousuke, as primary witnesses, gave their statements.

---

Finally, just before sunset, Conan and Akikawa Kyousuke left the police station.

Back at the hotel, Dr. Agasa arrived to pick up Conan.

Conan invited Akikawa Kyousuke to return with them in Dr. Agasa's car.

Aside from the "brilliant" doctor, Akikawa Kyousuke also noticed the short-haired brunette girl, Ai Haibara, whom he had seen before.

---

(End of Chapter)