Chapter 237: Medication Time
Sera Masumi followed Nakamori Ginzo to review the surveillance footage.
It was discovered that, just as the officer who called earlier had stated, at approximately 12:22 a.m. this morning, Tsukino Takashi was dragged into the Scarlet Shadow Heart collection room.
Tsukino Takashi was already unconscious when he entered the collection room.
Moreover, his hands and feet were only tied by the man dressed in black after entering the collection room.
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"Mr. Tsukino's mouth was gagged when he entered the room.
Although the prisoner in the video had his back to the camera, blocking Mr. Tsukino, it is also clear that he didn't administer anything to him inside the room.
This means that Mr. Tsukino fell unconscious before 12:22 a.m.," Sera Masumi pointed at the surveillance footage and spoke quietly.
Nakamori Ginzo and the officers nearby nodded as they listened to her explanation.
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Although Nakamori Ginzo didn't object to what Sera Masumi said, there was something he didn't quite understand.
"Does determining the exact time Mr. Tsukino lost consciousness have any significance?"
"Yes, it does," Sera Masumi replied.
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"It's difficult to wake someone with light stimulation. The heart rate is normal, but the breathing rate has slowed, and there are no visible external injuries on the body.
These characteristics align with falling into a deep sleep after taking sleeping pills.
So, I suspect that Mr. Tsukino became unconscious because he was given sleeping pills."
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"That makes sense, Miss Sera. You already mentioned these conclusions earlier," Nakamori Ginzo nodded again.
Now, Tsukino Takashi had been taken away by the medical staff.
Presumably, the results of the medical tests would soon be announced, confirming whether Sera Masumi's theory was correct.
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"Sleeping pills can generally be divided into three categories: benzodiazepines such as diazepam, non-benzodiazepines like zolpidem, and barbiturates commonly found in older sleeping pills.
Benzodiazepines have a longer duration of action, typically lasting 6 to 12 hours.
Non-benzodiazepines have a duration of action of about 3 to 8 hours.
Barbiturates, similarly, range from 6 to 12 hours.
Based on the surveillance footage, Tsukino took sleeping pills before midnight.
But it's now close to 9 a.m., meaning at least 9 hours have passed.
So, we can rule out non-benzodiazepines, leaving the other two as likely options.
This also suggests that Mr. Tsukino will likely wake up soon," Sera Masumi explained.
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Although reviewing the surveillance footage and Toru Amuro's previous reminders about the case had led to significant progress, the police still had relatively little concrete evidence and very few leads.
Therefore, the testimony of the victim, Tsukino Takashi, became particularly crucial.
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"Once the medical staff identifies the drug component in Mr. Tsukino's body that caused his coma, they can calculate the time he was drugged based on the half-life of the substance in the human body.
This would allow us to better pinpoint when the perpetrator must have struck," Sera Masumi said, glancing subtly at Conan beside her.
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Sleeping pills, half-life.
Such familiar terms.
It was precisely because she and Conan initially overlooked the changes in the half-life of triazolam in patients with liver dysfunction that they once suspected Akikawa Kyousuke as a criminal.
---
With such obvious evidence in front of them, neither she nor Conan had noticed it.
But it was also because Conan trusted his own judgment that he didn't suspect Akikawa Kyousuke as much as he should have.
This was why he didn't find anything different about Kyousuke compared to ordinary people.
Sera Masumi withdrew her gaze and watched as the officer in front of her slowly dragged the surveillance footage's timeline.
---
She then saw the black-clad perpetrator standing in front of the Scarlet Heart display case.
It was unclear whether the perpetrator knew the location of the hidden camera, but his back blocked the lens.
As a result, the camera didn't capture the moment the perpetrator stole the Scarlet Heart ruby.
This scene lasted for about 1 to 2 minutes. After the black-clad perpetrator left, the Scarlet Heart ruby in the display case had vanished.
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"Officer Nakamori, you must know how to open this display case," Sera Masumi said.
"If you know how to open it, how long would it take?"
"It only takes a few seconds if the unlocking conditions are met," Nakamori Ginzo replied.
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He noticed that when Sera Masumi asked about the unlocking conditions of the display case, she didn't inquire about the specific details.
This made him feel at ease.
Although the ruby had been stolen, when it was recovered, it would undoubtedly be placed back in this display case.
The fewer people who knew how to unlock it, the better.
Sera Masumi's way of questioning showed good judgment.
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"So, does that mean the time this person took to open the display case was too slow?" Sera Masumi asked.
By confirming this, it could be determined whether the perpetrator was familiar with how to open the display case.
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"It's hard to say. While it took them longer than the minimum time to unlock it, they weren't excessively slow," Nakamori Ginzo frowned.
"Besides, if they didn't know how to unlock it, they wouldn't have been able to open it no matter how long they tried.
It can only be said that perhaps they aren't very skilled with this unlocking method."
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While Sera Masumi and Nakamori Ginzo discussed, Conan pointed at the screen and said, "Officer Nakamori, look.
Even though this perpetrator concealed their appearance, based on their body shape, they seem similar to Mr. Tsukino."
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Hearing this, Nakamori Ginzo carefully observed the black-clad perpetrator's physique and compared it to Tsukino Takashi's body shape in his mind.
Indeed, the results were as Conan said—their builds seemed similar.
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"Perhaps Miss Sera's guess is correct.
Does Mr. Tsukino have a sibling with a similar build?" Conan asked.
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"I recall that Mr. Tsukino does have a younger brother, two years his junior. His name is Tsukino Masayuki.
But his brother rarely appears in the media, so I don't know his exact build.
Also, we can't directly investigate Mr. Tsukino Masayuki based solely on speculation without substantial evidence.
After all, Mr. Tsukino Masayuki also holds a high position within the Tsukino Consortium."
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(End of Chapter)