Chapter 8: The Irrefutable Lost Evidence

It seems like this chapter got messed up. I uploaded it three times and it was automatically deleted. Now that I can upload it again, I can't see what's in the chapter. If there are many mistakes, sorry, I will delete it and rewrite it.

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Nakajima Takuto returned to the room that the hospital had lent them for the Metropolitan Police detectives' office.

Here, besides Conan and Chiba Kazunobu who were already there, there was another person.

It was the high school detective who has been in the spotlight recently: Masumi Sera.

"Hello, Officer Nakajima."

"It's Miss Sera. Thank you for your help this time."

Nakajima Takuto had heard the name of Masumi Sera long ago, but after seeing her face-to-face this time, he couldn't help but marvel at her appearance.

With a pair of unreasonably delicate cheeks and unique dark green eyes, combined with a light gray visor cap and a very stylish and refreshing short-sleeve shirt, she was simply extremely handsome.

Masumi Sera's personal temperament is far more outstanding than what is published in newspapers and on the internet.

Nakajima Takuto now finally understood why Masumi Sera, as a JK detective, has so many female fans.

"With such appearance and temperament, I'm afraid she might attract a large number of girls wherever she goes. But to think that someone with such a top-tier temperament is a high school student."

Nakajima Takuto complained inwardly.

After finishing greeting Nakajima Takuto, Masumi Sera once again looked back at the table.

On the table were the materials gathered by the Metropolitan Police Department about Akikawa Kyousuke and his mother, Akikawa Ryoko.

There were also documents and information related to this case, which could be handed over to the detectives.

"Nakajima-kun, how is the situation?"

At that moment, Chiba Kazunobu spoke up and asked Takuto Nakajima.

"Not bad. At first, they were quite suspicious of me, but now I've basically earned their trust."

"As Chief Toda said, Akikawa actually has a strong desire to communicate with others."

"I believe that when I return and give him a good warning, he should be willing to surrender."

Hearing this, Masumi Sera suddenly raised her head and looked at Takuto Nakajima.

"I'd like to ask, Officer Nakajima, are you planning to induce a confession?"

"No, how could we do such a thing?!"

Nakajima Takuto was surprised by Sera Masumi's sudden sharp gaze and quickly responded.

"Then I'm sorry."

When Masumi Sera heard this, she slowly withdrew her gaze and looked back at the table.

Just now, Takuto Nakajima had been completely overwhelmed by Sera Masumi's gaze.

Looking back, Takuto

Nakajima also felt a little embarrassed.

Perhaps he felt guilty because he had guessed the correct answer, which is why Nakajima Takuto didn't mind Sera Masumi's rude behavior at that moment.

Nakajima Takuto couldn't help but sigh again in his heart: "As expected of a detective, how cunning."

If outsiders really found out what he and the others had done, the Metropolitan Police Department would likely be back at the forefront of public attention.

Nakajima Takuto still had some doubts about some of the things Conan said last night. Now that Masumi Sera was here, he asked:

"Miss Sera, I'd like to ask, how did you determine that Akikawa Kyousuke committed the murder with the knife? After the car accident?"

"By strangulation."

Masumi Sera said as she took out a photo of the deceased Akikawa Ryoko, taken yesterday by a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department.

"You can see that from the position of the trapezius muscle on the right side of the deceased, there is a thick mark, about 5 cm, slanting downward. This obviously comes from the car's seatbelt."

The driver's seat of most cars in Japan is on the right side, so the seatbelt goes from the right shoulder to the lower left position, which matches the position of the strangulation mark.

"So, shouldn't this strangulation mark be left during a car accident? Because the car was violently unbalanced, did the seatbelt leave a strangulation mark on the deceased?"

"If that's the case, Akikawa Kyousuke, who weighed less than his mother and was sitting in the passenger seat, should have a strangulation mark in the opposite direction on his body."

"Yesterday, the kid (Conan) helped me check the body of the suspect Akikawa and found no trace."

Nakajima Takuto nodded slightly,

"Indeed, he seems much weaker than his mother. It's logical that the impact that left seatbelt marks on his mother should also affect him."

"Of course, yesterday I also examined the body of the victim and confirmed that she wasn't prone to having scars. It can be seen that the seatbelt marks didn't remain from the car accident."

"Then it must have been left behind when the victim struggled violently after the murder."

"Knowing this, we can determine that the stabbing with the dagger happened after the car accident. Then, I heard that triazolam was found in the body of the suspect Akikawa, right?"

"That's right."

"Then the whole case process is now clear," said Masumi Sera with a slight smile.

"That is." Nakajima Takuto suddenly got excited, "Have you obtained irrefutable evidence?"

"No."

The smile on Masumi Sera's face suddenly turned into embarrassment.

"There were no fingerprints of Akikawa Kyousuke on the dagger or the deceased, and Officer Miyamoto found that the car wasn't locked. The car was old and didn't have an automatic locking function. As for the rear-end collision, the car wasn't locked. The eyewitness testimonies are also somewhat ambiguous."

"In other words, there's still a small possibility that a third party committed the crime."

"..."

Nakajima Takuto was a little speechless.

The motive, criminal process, and murder weapon of Akikawa Kyousuke had been determined.

There were no other suspects at the scene.

That basically confirmed that yesterday's detective judgment wasn't wrong. It was indeed Akikawa Kyousuke who killed someone.

The only thing missing is the evidence that Akikawa Kyousuke is the murderer.

This situation has become quite common. The traditional approach of the Metropolitan Police Department has been to interrogate the suspect or have the suspect confess voluntarily.

The first requires many visits and investigations.

Although the detectives obtained a search warrant, it will take some time.

If he could get Akikawa Kyousuke to confess before that date, it would be the best.

Not only would it save manpower and time, but it would also earn him some merit.

"It's almost time, I should bring him food."

Nakajima Takuto stood up and left the room.

"Although it's a bit inappropriate to use this word with a murderer, I still think Akikawa is not evil by nature."

"After all, it was his mother who made the first mistake. He shouldn't have basic legal knowledge being locked at home every day, so he would impulsively do such a thing."

"If we go back this time and have a good talk with him, he should take the initiative to admit it."

Nakajima Takuto thought in his heart and then walked toward the hospital's food preparation area.

"Actually, as Chief Toda of the Police Department added, this is much less troublesome than wasting manpower and time on investigations."

(End of Chapter)