BWDC:SDDK Chapter 122: The Illusionist Who Died in an Accident?
On the way to the backstage area of Tropical Land.
Saguru Hakuba's gaze lingered on Ren Ichimonji, his eyes still filled with a touch of scrutiny.
He was very curious about this man, who had remarkably few records to his name.
He had investigated Ren's background yesterday. However, the results showed a trajectory that was quite ordinary and stable. It wasn't until the Suzuki Financial Group's commemorative ship party aboard the Queen Selizabeth that Ren Ichimonji finally displayed his extraordinary talents.
Hakuba had wondered if the reports were exaggerated. After all, the news regarding those case resolutions always only mentioned Mouri Kogoro; only Mouri Kogoro was ever interviewed. Ren Ichimonji never appeared in the news from start to finish.
Perhaps this suggested that Ren's abilities weren't as outstanding as Inspector Megure had written in his reports?
However, after asking Kazunobu Chiba, Hakuba discovered the reason Ren wasn't in the news was quite simple.
This man claimed to be Batman every single day.
If they interviewed him or invited him onto a program, and he suddenly blurted out something shocking, DC Comics would most likely come charging in to demand copyright fees. Given that, it was easier to just not mention Ren Ichimonji at all.
Besides, Mouri Kogoro was always on the scene—that famous, limelight-loving great detective who didn't carry any copyright risks.
Wasn't that much better than seeking out an obscure new detective who felt a bit mentally unstable and posed a copyright risk? Not to mention, this new detective never accepted interviews himself; the media didn't even have a single photo of him!
"Actually, you know what happened on the rooftop last night, don't you?"
"Suzuki Sonoko might have a high innate resistance to hypnosis, allowing her to wake up quickly after Kaito Kid threw the hypnotic smoke bomb, but you certainly aren't like that—just like Kuroba Kaito."
"You are that mysterious person 'Bat' who has been a hot topic of discussion within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department lately, aren't you?" Hakuba inquired.
Though it was a question, his tone was, as always, phrased as a definitive statement.
If Kuroba Kaito were present, he would find Hakuba's tone incredibly familiar. For no other reason than the fact that when Hakuba previously accused him of being Kaito Kid, he used this exact same tone.
However, Ren Ichimonji remained unmoved.
He knew that Hakuba didn't have a shred of evidence. At most, saying this now was Hakuba's attempt to bluff him into confessing.
Such tactics were useless against Ren.
He was different from Kaito Kid. Kaito Kid would send heist notices and tell those he cared about that he was the phantom thief; if confronted, the Kid would lose his composure and even make mistakes. But that didn't work on Ren.
Everyone around Ren already knew he was Batman.
Even if Hakuba used the same method to bluff the people around him, those people would only say matter-of-factly: [Of course Ren is a bat, because he is Batman,] or something similar.
He didn't send heist notices, so baiting tactics were useless. His alibi was also ironclad. Unless Hakuba could shut the mouths of the dozen or so officers from the Metropolitan Police Department who were eating at Café Poirot, he wouldn't even be able to break the alibi.
The only person who could break that alibi was Rei Furuya.
Because Rei Furuya was actually capable of forging evidence and arresting someone first before interrogating them. However, if Rei really suspected him and planned to move, Ren naturally had his own ways of dealing with him.
"I am investigating the whereabouts of the world's greatest illusionist, Gunter von Goldberg II," Hakuba said in a low voice as he kept pace with Ren.
"His true identity is a world-class assassin wanted internationally."
"A member of the mysterious organization 'Spider.' Last night, his assassination attempt on Kaito Kid failed. And this morning, I received a somewhat ridiculous piece of bad news."
"Gunter von Goldberg II passed away in an accident, and even his body cannot be found."
Dead? No, he's not.
Ren immediately thought of the special mission that had popped up last night. However, that mission had vanished before it could fully form.
This indicated that whatever Koizumi Akako did, it hadn't killed Spider—it didn't even have the potential to pose a fatal threat to him. This was most likely one of Spider's methods of faking his death to escape.
After all, not everyone was as proficient in disguise as Vermouth, who could find a corpse and use makeup to create a body double.
"Fine, it seems you really don't intend to chat with me."
Hakuba finally stopped discussing the events of last night. Though he was certain in his heart, he lacked evidence. A true detective would not arrogantly proclaim the truth based solely on intuition without proof.
He put his hands in his pockets and looked toward the entrance of the pump house not far away.
"We're here," Hakuba said.
Ignoring whatever Hakuba said, Ren did not stop walking. His eyes swept over the marks left near the pump house, and he understood the situation instantly.
The direction he and Hakuba had just come from was the only way to get from here to the scene.
If the person who fell into the water and climbed up from the pump house was the victim who had just gone bungee jumping, then clearly the victim's first reaction should have been to return to the scene to report their safety. They shouldn't have continued toward the backstage area.
This could only mean one thing: the true killer was among the people in the backstage area of Tropical Land.
"It's time to call everyone out and have a proper talk," Ren said.
The police cars of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had already arrived at Tropical Land.
Setting aside their actual investigative prowess, the efficiency with which they reached a crime scene was definitely among the best in all of Japan.
Having received two separate police reports, Inspector Megure hurriedly stepped out of the car. He walked toward the waterway that served as the crime scene and immediately spotted his old acquaintance, Suzuki Sonoko. He greeted her and asked:
"Miss Suzuki, what happened?"
"Were Brother Ren and Detective Hakuba both here? I just received reports from both of them, so why don't I see them now? Where did they go?"
Sonoko, being questioned, was momentarily stunned. She thought back for a moment before replying:
"Ren just told me that he saw water stains on the ground near the waterway under the bungee platform. Someone climbed out of the water and headed toward the backstage area, so he went there to check it out."
"That Hakuba guy, the one who always has a hawk on his shoulder, followed him over there."
Those two are together?
Inspector Megure was somewhat surprised. Then, he immediately realized the situation.
What do you mean "together"? If they reported the same incident from the same location, it would be weirder if they didn't run into each other!
However, since both Brother Ren and Saguru Hakuba were on the scene...
Then the credit for solving this case should be as easy as reaching into a pocket and pulling it out!
End of Chapter
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