"Hey, Young Hattori, stop beating around the bush already."
Inspector Megure was feeling a bit frustrated. Heiji's expression was enough to make anyone nervous.
"There are three suspicious points!"
Heiji held up three fingers: "First, why did the robbers choose the exact moment the money was going to be deposited into the vault to attack? I understand that the time money is deposited into the bank is irregular. Second, after entering, the robbers did not search the interior. For career criminals, that's a mistake they would never make, unless they already knew the exact situation. Third, and the most important point, after entering, they didn't guard the counter area at all. For career criminals, that behavior is simply unbelievable."
"Correct. Each of those three points suggests that there is an accomplice of the robbers in here, which is why they have been able to act with such... audacity," Satō Miwako said, looking seriously at the bank employees.
The employees lowered their heads slightly, not out of guilt, but because Satō Miwako's gaze was too intimidating.
"You lot, can you tell us what you were doing when the robbers came in?" Inspector Megure asked, looking at them seriously.
Officer Takagi had already taken out his notebook to take notes.
"I was calling a client. If you don't believe me, inspector, you can redial to check," Noboru Taniguchi said in a low voice.
Inspector Megure nodded, walked over to the desk phone, and pressed the redial button.
"Uh, hello, this is Inspector Megure from the First Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Department... Yes, yes, I understand, thank you."
After hanging up, he shook his head and then looked at the two women.
"We were serving customers. Customers with numbers 78 and 79 can testify for us."
The two female employees said it with complete certainty. Soon, their testimonies were verified and, indeed, they matched.
"Then..."
Inspector Megure looked at Takashi Nagai, who was wearing a mask, his eyes full of suspicion.
"I was smoking at the back door with Maejima. I came in when I heard the noise. If you don't believe me, you can ask Maejima," Takashi Nagai shouted.
"Maejima?" Inspector Megure looked at him doubtfully.
"I am Tetsuya Maejima. At that moment, I was indeed smoking with Nagai at the back door," Tetsuya Maejima said, stepping forward.
"Then, could there be two accomplices? That you two conspired together?" Inspector Megure did not abandon his suspicions about Takashi Nagai.
"Don't joke, inspector. As you said yourself, the fact that the robbers came in at that moment means someone notified them in advance. Since we also found out today that the money was going to be deposited in the vault, the notification to the robbers had to be today. But I didn't have my phone all day, until Rie gave it to me just before lunchtime, and that's when the robbers came in."
"Who is Rie?"
"That's me. My name is Rie Sokuta. What Nagai says is true," one of the two female employees quickly said.
"Yes, I can testify to that as well," the other female employee nodded.
[They all have an alibi. Which of them is the accomplice?]
Conan touched his chin, thoughtful.
"Young Hattori, what do we do now?"
Inspector Megure was in a bind. They all had an alibi. He had no choice but to look to Heiji for help.
Heiji smiled slightly and looked at Manager Kazuo.
"Arrest him!"
Inspector Megure suddenly shouted. Officer Takagi and the others immediately rushed over and restrained Manager Kazuo.
"What are you doing? It's not me! It's not me! What proof do you have to arrest me? Where is the proof?" shouted Manager Kazuo.
"There's no need to justify yourself. Young Hattori already has proof, right?" Inspector Megure looked at Heiji with expectation.
Heiji, speechless, shook his head.
"What? Young Hattori, you haven't found proof either?"
The situation became awkward.
Heiji, his face dark, looked at Inspector Megure with resignation: "Inspector Megure, when did I say that Manager Kazuo was the accomplice?"
"Ah, then, Young Hattori, why were you looking at Manager Kazuo?" Inspector Megure said, frustrated.
"I just wanted to ask Manager Kazuo if he knew in advance that Sonoko was coming."
"Of course he didn't know. I came to withdraw money on a last-minute impulse. Besides, didn't you bring me here, Heiji? It's impossible for him to have known," Sonoko explained.
"Then, think about what strange behavior the robber had when he went to get Manager Kazuo."
The lobby fell silent. Everyone recalled the scene.
"That robber seemed to know in advance where Manager Kazuo was. He went straight for his target and showed no surprise at seeing people inside. It is evident that someone had notified them in advance."
A cold voice echoed, as cold as winter snow.
[Good thing this cold queen cooperated.]
Heiji nodded with satisfaction.
"But, that only proves there's an accomplice of the robbers in the bank, it doesn't prove anything else," Inspector Megure said, frowning.
"Sonoko, what time did we get here?"
"Ah, oh, I think around ten-thirty," Sonoko recalled.
"And the robbers came in around ten-forty. All of this can be confirmed with the security cameras. Therefore, the notice to the robbers had to be in that time frame."
"Takagi, go check the security recordings. See who was talking on the phone during that time," Inspector Megure had already understood what Heiji wanted to say and addressed Takagi seriously.
"Yes, sir. Please, take me to the surveillance room."
"I'll go too," Satō Miwako said, following him.
Shortly after, Officer Takagi returned, with a serious expression, and looked at Noboru Taniguchi.
"Inspector Megure, between ten-thirty and ten-forty, only Mr. Taniguchi was talking on the phone."
"It wasn't me. The inspector has already checked. It's true I was on the phone at that time, but it was with a client."
"But you could also use your cell phone," Heiji said calmly.
"What a joke! If I had been talking to the robbers, the client would have heard me, right?" Taniguchi defended himself.
"And what if it was after you hung up the phone? Notifying the robbers doesn't take much time, ten seconds is enough," Satō Miwako said calmly. That was the reason she had gone to see the recording.
"This officer is right. Since the robbers came in so quickly, I'm sure you didn't have time to delete the call history. If we redial, the robbers' phone should ring," Heiji said with confidence.
Noboru Taniguchi slumped into his chair, his forehead covered in cold sweat and his face pale.
"Mr. Taniguchi, can we see your phone?" Inspector Megure asked seriously.
"Inspector, I give up. It was me who notified the robbers. I owed them money and I had no choice but to agree," Taniguchi said bitterly.
"Whatever you have to say, we'll talk about it at the station."
Officer Takagi stepped forward to handcuff Taniguchi and take him away.
"Officer Takagi, wait a moment. Mr. Taniguchi, may I see your phone?"
Heiji checked the robber's call history and a smile formed on his lips.
"Young Hattori, you're incredible. If it weren't for you, one would have slipped through the cracks this time," Inspector Megure said enthusiastically.
"Truly impressive," Satō Miwako said, smiling at Heiji.
"Actually, there's still one fish that got away."
"What? There's another accomplice???"
Inspector Megure and the others looked at him in disbelief.
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