Chapter 18: "Taking the Bait"

"I took the bait."

Conan felt a rush of excitement and then asked:

"By the way, Mr. Akikawa, have you noticed any special features on the killer's hands? For example, tattoos, manicures, scars, etc., anything special?"

Before Conan entered the room, he had asked Detective Wataru Takagi to speak alone with him.

That is, if the microphone signal was heard, Takagi would enter and report that fingerprints had been detected.

And when reporting, the first information provided must be true.

The goal is to increase the credibility of the subsequent report.

"Because no fingerprints were found on the dagger and Akikawa Kyousuke wasn't wearing gloves."

"If he were the killer, then he could have only used the deceased's cotton clothes to wipe the fingerprints off the dagger, and then used blood to cover the grease and skin flakes left on the clothing."

"Unlike the trap set by Sera-san, only the police know the 'police confidential information.'"

"This is 'specific prisoner information' that only the killer and the police know."

"Only a prisoner who has erased their fingerprints would think the police couldn't detect fingerprints on the knife."

The cyanoacrylate fumigation method, also called superglue fuming, is a technique that involves heating the glue to vaporize it and form a white polymer that reveals fingerprints. It is a commonly used method in modern forensic medicine.

Although this method is not 100% effective in revealing fingerprints cleaned with blood, it is enough that there is a possibility.

"As long as Akikawa Kyousuke doesn't know the forensic identification results, he can't be 100% sure that his fingerprints have been completely processed."

Conan seemed to be asking Akikawa Kyousuke about the features of the killer's hands, but what he really wanted to know was whether the prisoner touched the dagger directly with his hand.

"Since he heard Officer Takagi say that fingerprints from someone other than Ryoko Akikawa were found on the dagger, if he were a prisoner, he would definitely think his fingerprints weren't cleaned properly."

"In that case, he would have no way to use the excuse that 'a third party wore gloves to commit the crime' to deceive the police."

"Because, in the face of 'tangible' evidence, the rebuttal seems suspicious."

"From the perspective of the 'prisoner' Akikawa Kyousuke, the Metropolitan Police Department has determined that someone touched the dagger's handle with bare hands."

"Then, Akikawa Kyousuke can only invent a hand feature that is completely different from his own."

"But no matter what he answers, he must be the killer!"

"Because, given the circumstances of yesterday, he was the only one who could have touched the dagger with his own hands!"

Various results from the Metropolitan Police Department's investigation show that Akikawa Kyousuke is the only person with a motive in this case, and also the only person who could benefit from Akikawa Ryoko's death.

As long as Akikawa Kyousuke is the killer, and combined with the clues at the scene, his modus operandi can be deduced.

This is Conan's absolute confidence in his reasoning ability.

As long as Akikawa Kyousuke doesn't deny that the prisoner touched the dagger with his own hands, it would be equivalent to admitting that he is the prisoner.

However, due to Takagi Wataru's presence, Akikawa Kyousuke couldn't deny that the prisoner touched the dagger with his own hands.

In the case of asymmetric information, it is obvious that the side with more information has the advantage.

Akikawa Kyousuke looked at Conan's confident expression, and his heart raced.

Indeed.

After hearing the criminal officer behind him say that the Metropolitan Police Department had detected fingerprints from someone else using cyanoacrylate fumigation, he couldn't help but doubt his handling of the situation.

But then, when he heard Conan ask about the features of the prisoner's hands, Akikawa Kyousuke realized something.

That is--

"Indeed, Nakajima didn't hand over the recording this morning!"

If Conan knew that the forensic identification results had been obtained, it would be absolutely impossible for him to ask this question.

So it must be that Takuto Nakajima didn't inform them about this matter.

Through contact with Takuto Nakajima in the morning, Akikawa Kyousuke was convinced that Nakajima Takuto had the sense of justice and responsibility of a criminal detective.

But in the end, there must have been people who placed their own interests above their hearts.

Well, for such a person, as soon as their real interests are threatened, the balance between their sense of responsibility and their self-interest will definitely tip toward the latter.

To achieve this goal, two things need to be done.

One is to build up their anger and reduce their patience.

In the end, Nakajima Takuto lost his mind and was forced to confess, getting discovered.

The second is to hit the mark again to reduce their mental resistance.

By harming his body through overeating, it added to the mistakes Takuto Nakajima had made.

In this case, the recording that documented his great error would become an unstable bomb threatening his career as a criminal detective.

Not knowing when the bomb would explode and affect him, dismantling it completely is obviously the safest approach.

As expected, Nakajima Takuto didn't dare to hand over the recording.

At least, no one present knew that they already knew the forensic identification results.

With a confident smile on his lips, Conan stared intently at the surprised Akikawa Kyousuke and watched him open his mouth.

"No, how is this possible..."

Conan heard the words coming from Akikawa Kyousuke's mouth that reflected his inner tremor.

"Could it be that you can't even invent a random hand feature? Are you completely panicking knowing that your fingerprints are exposed?"

Conan thought to himself.

Then he heard Akikawa Kyousuke continue saying:

"I clearly saw that the person who stabbed my mother was wearing gloves."

Akikawa Kyousuke's words caused Conan's eyes to widen suddenly, but his pupils contracted sharply.

The confident smile on his face froze in an instant.

It was obvious that he had blocked Akikawa Kyousuke's escape route, leaving only one path that would eventually fall into a trap no matter how he took it.

However, he never expected that Akikawa Kyousuke would still walk toward the blocked road.

Conan had been observing Akikawa Kyousuke's reaction.

His eyes suddenly widened in shock.

Then he furrowed his brow, expressing confusion.

Looking before speaking is a sign of recollection.

Finally, he gave a firm answer.

All these reactions were too natural.

It really seemed like the acting of someone who hears something different from what they remembered for the first time.

Indeed.

As for describing the prisoner's hand features, no matter how Akikawa Kyousuke responded, he would be the prisoner.

But Akikawa Kyousuke directly declared that the prisoner was wearing gloves, so the situation was different.

"Could it be that he really isn't the prisoner?!"

"Is there really someone who was driving a motorcycle, caused a car accident, then killed Ryoko Akikawa and escaped?"

Sera Masumi noticed that Conan was temporarily in shock because things turned out differently than expected.

She quickly guided Sato Miwako to continue questioning Akikawa Kyousuke.

"The interrogation isn't over yet."

"As long as Akikawa says something that doesn't match the facts, he will still be under suspicion."

However, until the investigation is complete,

Akikawa Kyousuke didn't say anything that made them realize it was inconsistent with the facts or that there was a problem with the logic.

Sera Masumi looked at Takagi Wataru's detailed record, word by word, and nodded.

Then she looked at Akikawa Kyousuke, smiled, and said:

"Sorry, Mr. Akikawa, could you say what you just said in reverse?"

**(End of Chapter)**