Chapter 169: Study Materials
On the Way to Hirota Masami's Apartment
Officer Takagi checked the rearview mirror several times during the drive.
"Officer Takagi, is there something on my face? Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Natsukawa asked, puzzled.
What's wrong with this guy?
"N-nothing!"
Cold sweat broke out on Takagi's forehead. He sat up straight and stopped looking back.
He was just curious, that's all.
Having just transferred from another precinct not long ago, he was very curious about everything—especially Natsukawa.
Kogoro Mouri was understandable. He used to be a detective and was now famous. It made sense that Inspector Megure would ask him for help investigating cases. But this Natsukawa didn't seem to be well-known.
It seemed he'd never given a statement at the Metropolitan Police Department. He shouldn't be a detective.
Conan clearly noticed Takagi's confusion and explained, "Natsukawa-san isn't a detective, but his deductive reasoning skills are very strong. He can always find details that ordinary people miss, and he's solved cases several times, even with Uncle Mouri present."
"Amazing!" Takagi forced a smile, driving while fantasizing about when he would become someone like Natsukawa.
Not only handsome, but his reasoning skills are comparable to Kogoro Mouri's.
He's also rumored to be Instructor Yor's boyfriend.
Honestly, that's truly impressive.
A man who can win over Instructor Yor must be even stronger than her, right?
Thinking of Yor, Takagi felt a little scared. Although he'd only recently transferred to Division One, he'd already been beaten up quite a bit during training.
He'd heard from senior officers at the Metropolitan Police Department that this was a rookie rite of passage. Only by enduring Instructor Yor's beginner tutorial could one become a qualified detective.
If I were like Natsukawa-san, maybe the person I secretly admire would...
The image of Sato Miwako flashed through Takagi's mind.
Compared to other officers who admire Sato-san, I'm far inferior!
I'm terrible at fighting, a complete novice at solving cases, clueless, procrastinating, and indecisive. I'm lucky to even be in the Metropolitan Police Department.
No way! This time, I absolutely have to help Natsukawa-san find the culprit. Maybe I can even get a commendation!
Conan, watching Takagi's face shift between joy and worry, couldn't help but feel concerned. "Officer Takagi, watch where you're going! You almost ran a red light!"
"Oh, right!"
He chuckled, not worried at all. He and Miyamoto Yumi were fairly familiar, and besides, it was working hours. Even if he ran a red light, he'd be exempt from punishment.
Takagi wasn't worried about that at all.
Downstairs at Hirota Masami's Apartment Building
"Are you police officers?"
The building manager looked at the two young men and a child, somewhat incredulous.
What kind of police officers bring a child along when investigating a case?
"I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. Who brings a child on official police business? Don't try to fool me just because I'm old."
The building manager, hands behind his back, squinted warily at them, hesitating whether to call the police—they might be child traffickers.
"Yes, we are," Takagi nodded helplessly. "Conan-kun is a witness in the case, that's why I brought him here."
The building manager was still somewhat skeptical.
"Officer Takagi, show your police ID to this gentleman. He's experienced and quite perceptive—he'll definitely be able to tell if you're a real policeman."
The building manager liked this and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, let me see your police ID. Metropolitan Police Department IDs are easy to recognize, especially with my experience."
The manager nodded with his head held high, quite pleased with Natsukawa's flattery.
A few minutes later—
"There you go." The building manager took off his reading glasses, handed back the police ID, and also gave the keys to Takagi. "Go upstairs, but be careful not to disturb the other residents, or I'll have trouble explaining it."
To be honest, I can't actually read a police ID.
I haven't committed any crimes, so it's normal that I don't understand. The reason I'm checking is just to be safe. I doubt anyone would impersonate a police officer.
The group nodded and headed for the elevator.
"Natsukawa-san, why are we bringing Conan-kun along when investigating a case?"
In the elevator, Takagi couldn't help but ask.
After chatting with Natsukawa the whole way, Takagi had become quite familiar with him, and was now calling him in a friendly manner.
Judging from his casual attitude, he has the makings of Inspector Megure. His future is limitless.
Natsukawa paused for a moment, then smiled and patted Conan's head. "Conan-kun is the leader of the Detective Boys. Not only is his reasoning ability strong, but he often discovers details that ordinary people miss. He's provided Uncle Mouri with important clues several times. With him around, the chances of finding clues left by Hirota Masami-san are higher.
Speaking of which, even the young Sherlock Holmes wasn't that impressive."
Conan blushed a little at the praise. I can't compare to the famous Sherlock Holmes, but compared to the young Holmes, I'm pretty confident.
"Oh, I see..."
Takagi rolled his eyes, unsure what to say. This is practically the same thing Conan just said earlier.
Are these two, one big and one small, just flattering each other?
"Speaking of which, does Hirota Masami-san have another residence?" Conan asked worriedly.
Natsukawa let out a soft "hmm," realizing Conan had guessed it.
But it wasn't a big deal. To allow Conan to be more deeply involved in the investigation, Natsukawa had left him a clue.
"Let's take a look, just in case."
At the Hirota Residence
Takagi unlocked the door.
"Is this Masami-neesan's house?" Conan eagerly rushed inside.
"Hey!" Takagi tried to stop him, but Natsukawa patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Conan-kun is very sensible."
Then Takagi saw Conan quickly put transparent plastic covers on his feet and rubber gloves on his hands.
"So professional..." Takagi exclaimed, suddenly wanting to learn more about the Detective Boys.
"Of course. After all, Conan-kun has been following Uncle Mouri for a long time, so he notices these details."
When the two entered the living room, Conan was already lying on the floor examining it carefully.
Conan mainly wanted to find some of Hirota Masami's hair to store.
After all, she's a member of the Black Organization. I need to keep records—it might come in handy later.
Professor Agasa can do genetic testing on hair and blood samples.
Behind the two adults' backs, Conan carefully tucked a strand of hair into his handkerchief.
Since it was Hirota Masami's house, he wasn't worried that taking a hair would affect the investigation.
Besides, handing it over to the police might not be as quick as Professor Agasa's analysis.
It's not that I don't trust the police...
Well, actually, I don't.
"Did you find any clues?" Natsukawa squatted down in front of him and asked.
Conan shook his head and stood up, pretending nothing had happened. "No, I just accidentally tripped."
"Tripped on flat ground?"
Unlike Takagi, Natsukawa had noticed Conan's little action but didn't say anything.
"..." Conan didn't explain and diligently searched the living room.
He carefully examined the TV stand, sofa, table, balcony, and even the ceiling.
"There don't seem to be any useful clues in the living room." Conan frowned, feeling uneasy. Hirota Masami-san didn't seem to leave any obvious clues.
Before Natsukawa could respond, he ran to the bedroom.
Natsukawa watched the whole time, showing no intention of helping with the investigation.
Takagi was a little confused. What is Natsukawa-san doing?
Is it really okay to just let Conan-kun, a child, investigate everywhere without doing anything himself?
He still didn't quite trust Conan. After all, he was just a kid. It wouldn't be good if he accidentally ruined some important evidence.
Takagi hurriedly followed him into the bedroom.
"Conan-kun, be careful not to touch anything! The forensic team hasn't examined the scene yet, so absolutely do not touch anything!" Takagi earnestly advised.
Kids are so troublesome, especially precocious ones like this. They're really a handful.
Can Conan-kun really find any clues?
"I understand!" Conan agreed verbally, but his actions didn't stop for a moment.
This was the first time he felt so free investigating a case.
Natsukawa-san completely ignored him, unlike Uncle Mouri who would punch him if he saw him investigating.
Officer Takagi seemed to be a newly recruited officer, a little inexperienced. While he verbally warned him to be careful, he didn't physically stop him from examining everything.
Ah, so satisfying! Finally, I can seriously examine the crime scene and deduce the case.
However—
Ten minutes later, Conan walked out of the bedroom somewhat dejectedly.
So frustrating!
He rubbed his tired eyes and sighed. My luck is bad. It seems Hirota Masami-san didn't leave any useful clues here.
"Didn't you find anything related to the case?" Natsukawa asked.
"No..." Conan shook his head, completely forgetting that a child like him shouldn't have such a bitter and resentful expression at this moment.
"Uncle Natsukawa, have you found anything?"
Natsukawa's question seemed almost teasing, which made Conan quite flustered.
I searched for so long without finding any clues, and he only seemed to check the living room. What could he possibly find?
Did I miss something?
"Look over there."
Conan followed the direction of the finger, his gaze finally settling on half of a power outlet visible beside the living room desk.
"A power outlet?"
Takagi emerged from another bedroom and also looked in the indicated direction.
The power outlet next to the desk was unremarkable, except that half of it was obscured by the desk.
This meant the outlet was essentially unusable in its current position.
"Natsukawa-san, is there something wrong with the outlet?" Takagi asked curiously.
Natsukawa shook his head and remained silent, quietly waiting for someone to figure it out.
For ordinary people, the sense of accomplishment comes from discovering the answer themselves. For a detective like Conan, it's even more important—his own deductions are more convincing.
"This outlet is definitely strange."
Conan examined it for a while. "Normal outlets, when not in use, are either completely covered or completely exposed—not half-hidden like this, which ruins the aesthetics."
He hadn't noticed it before. After all, it was just an ordinary outlet. But now, with Natsukawa's hint, he did realize something was off.
The outlet next to the desk should be frequently used. It shouldn't be half-blocked.
Besides, there was clearly some space on the right side of the desk. Moving it slightly to the right would make the outlet fully accessible.
Next, Conan checked the four legs of the desk and found signs that it had been moved.
There was a mark the size of a table leg to the left of each of the four current positions.
These areas were very clean, presumably where the table legs originally stood.
This was definitely done to hide something.
Hide what?
Conan and Takagi exchanged a glance, already having the answer in their hearts.
There's definitely something behind this outlet!
Takagi stepped forward and forcefully pushed the desk aside, fully exposing the outlet panel.
Conan squatted down to examine the details and found that the outlet panel was a bit loose, seemingly not secured with screws. The panel was just clipped onto the outlet box.
He carefully removed the panel.
Click.
A USB drive fell to the ground.
"Officer Takagi, quickly find a way to read the contents of this USB drive!"
Conan was incredibly excited, his dejection vanishing completely. Hirota Masami-san hid it so well—it must contain extraordinary information.
It might even be the key to solving the case.
Mission accomplished: guiding Conan to the clue.
"I-I know! There's a computer in the bedroom I was checking."
Before Takagi could get up, Conan grabbed the USB drive and ran to the bedroom with the computer.
"Is Conan-kun always like this?"
"Yeah, he's a kid. It's normal to be a little impatient."
"So energetic! And Conan-kun is really amazing. He's the smartest kid I've ever seen."
Takagi remarked, already imagining the reward he'd receive for reporting this news to Inspector Megure.
The reward might be uncertain, but praise is inevitable.
And then...
Hehehe, finally some results!
In the Bedroom
The computer in Miyano Akemi's home was a very popular CRT monitor—something most families didn't own.
Computers were still a luxury item at this time.
They weren't very useful for most people, and only a small number needed them for work.
In this era before widespread internet access, it was somewhat suspicious for a bank employee to own a computer.
After all, you couldn't watch TV shows on it.
Setting aside its utility, the price alone was beyond what a bank employee could typically afford.
"How's it going?"
Natsukawa watched Conan's rapid-fire actions. Clearly someone who frequently uses computers.
Rich kids are different. If it were Takagi, he probably wouldn't even know where to plug in the USB drive.
"Wait a minute. The USB drive doesn't have a password, but there are too many empty folders inside."
Not setting a password and using this method of security is quite unusual.
The folders on this USB drive couldn't be too obvious. Natsukawa was afraid Conan wouldn't find the clues if he set a password, so he came up with this method instead.
Yes, Natsukawa had secretly planted this USB drive there yesterday while Miyano Akemi wasn't home.
In his previous life, he'd handled USB drives this way—creating numerous nested folders and then hiding important files within layers upon layers, making it extremely secure.
Unless someone had patience, they wouldn't open each folder one by one, ensuring that only he could access the hidden files.
"Conan-kun, you're amazing! You can even use a computer!"
Takagi exclaimed in surprise. Conan's performance is definitely not something an ordinary child could manage.
No wonder he's Kogoro Mouri's kid.
"Hehe, I..."
Conan was about to say that his dad taught him in Hawaii, but then he remembered that Natsukawa had used the same excuse once, and he suddenly became speechless.
"I often play games at Professor Agasa's house, and the computers there are similar to this one."
Soon, Conan found a folder named "Study Materials" among the layers of nested folders.
"Is this it?"
(End of Chapter)
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