In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 80

"Inspector Megure, this is just the beginning."

"Arresting them is only the first step. The real end is to pry them open and expose all their crimes to the light of day," Yuki Takada said calmly, yet with an undeniable determination.

The ticking of the second hand on the wall clock was exceptionally clear in the silence, each tick like a small hammer striking one's heart.

"Bring Ryuichi Mishima in," Yuki Takada said to one of the officers behind him, his voice as resolute as cold iron, each word clear and distinct in the silence.

The door opened, and a man around sixty-eight years old with graying hair was brought in by the police officers.

He was wearing a dark blue uniform provided by the guard, which was slightly oversized and clashed with the traditional Japanese clothing he had worn earlier.

Ryuichi Mishima slowly sat down, the handcuffs on his wrists clanging against the armrests of the chair.

His gaze was lowered, avoiding eye contact with Takayuki, but his spine remained straight, maintaining the last shred of dignity as the head of the Mishima family.

“Mr. Ryuichi Mishima, I am Inspector Yuki Takada, in charge of Yoshihiro Nakamura’s case.” Takada spoke, his voice as calm as a still lake. “You should know why you were brought here.”

Ryuichi Mishima nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the cold table. His voice was hoarse but surprisingly calm: "It's about the company... Mishima Corporation's financial statements. I know about it. As chairman, I failed in my oversight and cannot shirk my responsibility."

"This is not just a problem, nor can it be dismissed as mere negligence." Yuuki Takada immediately corrected, his tone suddenly becoming stern. "This is a large-scale, organized financial fraud within your system!"

He shoved a stack of documents on the table in front of Ryuichi Mishima. “Over the past five years, Mishima Corporation and its affiliated subsidiaries have overstated sales by more than 1800 billion yen through falsified transactions, the establishment of shell companies overseas, and double-counting assets! The actual hidden losses are as high as nearly 800 billion yen!”

"As the head of the Mishima family and the de facto controller of the Mishima Group, you're telling me you were simply unaware of it?"

Ryuichi Mishima finally raised his eyelids, his old but still sharp eyes looking at Yuuki Takada. There was no panic in them, only unfathomable calculation and indifference.

"Inspector Takada, the Mishima Group has a vast business and numerous branches."

"I am getting old, and in recent years I have gradually delegated power."

"The specific business operations, especially the financial details, are handled by my son, Ryunosuke Mishima, the vice president, and Yoshihiro Nakamura, the financial director."

“Who knew they would dare to deceive their superiors and subordinates? I am also a victim.” Mishima Ryuichi casually shifted the blame to the deceased Nakamura Yoshihiro and his son, who was currently being held in another interrogation room.

"You really are a good father!"

"Now that there's a problem, are you going to blame it on a dead man and your own son?"

Yuuki Takada sneered, leaning forward slowly, his gaze fixed intently on the other man. "In all the evidence that Yoshihiro Nakamura left behind, he clearly stated that all major decisions must ultimately be decided by you."

“Behind every fraudulent transaction exceeding 10 billion yen, there is your secret seal and verbal instructions.”

"...Do you need me to play a recording he secretly made of you in his office instructing him on how to handle losses on overseas projects? Your voice is crystal clear!"

Ryuichi Mishima's eye twitched almost imperceptibly, but he maintained excellent control of his expression.

“Recording? Ha, modern technology makes it easy to fake a voice.”

“Yoshihiro Nakamura harbors resentment towards me; this is his revenge.”

"He was discovered and dealt with by the group because of his personal greed, so he took a desperate gamble and fabricated evidence, attempting to drag the entire Mishima family down with him. Inspector Takada, you wouldn't believe the one-sided story of a traitor, would you?"

"One-sided account?" Yuki Takada sneered, pulling out another document from the evidence bag. "This was found in Yoshihiro Nakamura's safe."

"Detailed records of your transfer of benefits to numerous political figures, bureaucrats, and even high-ranking police officers through more than a dozen anonymous overseas accounts!"

"The time, place, amount, and people involved are all crystal clear. Do I need to read them out one by one and ask the people on the list to come forward and confront me? Is this also a forgery?"

Ryuichi Mishima's breath hitched slightly. After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "Necessary business engagements and political donations exist in all large corporations. Perhaps Yoshihiro Nakamura's method of recording them was not standardized, but that does not directly prove that I committed a crime."

"What about Yoshihiro Nakamura's death?!"

Yuuki Takada suddenly raised his voice and slammed his fist on the table with a loud bang, startling even Inspector Megure who was standing next to him.

"Yoshihiro Nakamura's death! The forensic pathologist detected a high concentration of neurotoxins in his blood; it was definitely not an accident!"

"And what about the three journalists who tried to investigate you before, and the auditor from the accounting firm? Can you honestly say that their unexpected deaths had nothing to do with you?!"

"Do you think that by destroying all the visible evidence, no one can find you?"

"The last memo left by Yoshihiro Nakamura clearly states that he had a premonition that he would be eliminated because he knew too much! And everything he knew originated from you!"

Faced with this thunderous questioning, Ryuichi Mishima instead revealed a cold, almost mocking smile. He leaned back in his chair, and despite being handcuffed, he seemed to still be sitting in his large chair.

"Inspector Takada, you are charged with murder and need evidence."

"Witnesses?"

Physical evidence?

The murder weapon?

motivation?

do you have?

Nakamura is dead, and there is no way to verify his identity.

As for the others, I don't know them at all.

If you have evidence, then sue me directly.

"If not, heh..." Ryuichi Mishima's eyes flashed with confidence, his voice turning sinister and threatening, "Watch your words. Even here, the Mishima family's legal team will ensure my legal rights are not violated."

"Don't forget, there are many friends outside who are watching this place."

The interrogation reached a stalemate.

Ryuichi Mishima, that old fox, cunningly shifted the blame for economic crimes onto his subordinates, denied all murder charges, and exerted pressure through subtle threats.

He knew that what the police lacked most was irrefutable evidence to convict him, especially direct evidence of murder.

Yuki Takada took a deep breath, knowing that a direct attack would be ineffective against Ryuichi Mishima.

He gathered the documents on the table and waved to the officer: "Take him back. It's about time to bring Ryunosuke Mishima over."

As Ryuichi Mishima was being led away, he gave Yuki Takada a deep look, his gaze complex and unfathomable, containing scrutiny, warning, and even more... indifference.

A few minutes later, Ryunosuke Mishima was brought in.

Unlike his father, he appeared panicked, his face was pale, his forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and his eyes were unfocused.

He kept looking around the room, as if searching for a non-existent exit.

The wound on his hand had been simply bandaged, but traces of blood could still be seen seeping out.

He almost slipped off the chair when he sat down because he was so nervous.

Yuki Takada didn't ask a question immediately. Instead, he shone the bright spotlight on Ryunosuke Mishima and scrutinized him with a cold gaze, letting the pressure from the silence further strain the other man's already tense nerves.

"I...I need to see my lawyer." Ryunosuke Mishima finally broke the silence, his voice trembling.

"The lawyer will meet with him, but not now."

Yuki Takada said coldly, "Ryunosuke Mishima, you are suspected of participating in and leading a systemic financial fraud at Mishima Corporation, manipulating the stock market, bribing public officials, and..."

He then paused deliberately, observing the other person's throat move violently, "...murder of Yoshihiro Nakamura and several other investigators."

“I didn’t! Murder? How could I kill someone!” Ryunosuke Mishima almost jumped up, shouting excitedly, “It was all…it was all my father, Ryuichi Mishima! It was all his decision! I was just following his orders!”

“Oh? Is that so?” Yuki Takada raised an eyebrow. “But your father just said that he is too old to manage things anymore, and that everything was done by you and Yoshihiro Nakamura without his knowledge.”

“He even said that Yoshihiro Nakamura fabricated evidence to retaliate against the Mishima family because his personal greed was discovered by you.”

"He's talking nonsense!" Ryunosuke Mishima, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly became agitated. His father's ruthless abandonment had thrown him into disarray, and he shouted excitedly:

"He's lying! He made all the decisions! That old man never truly relinquished power!"

"If it weren't for his orders, things wouldn't be in this state now! Nakamura... Yoshihiro Nakamura was the one he ordered dealt with! Because he was afraid that Yoshihiro Nakamura would reveal some crucial information to the media!"

"Handled?" Takada Yuuki seized on the key phrase. "How was it handled? Who did it?"

Ryunosuke Mishima suddenly realized he had let something slip, his face turned ashen, his lips trembled, and he dared not say another word.

"Ryunosuke Mishima, even now, you still won't tell the truth?"

Yuki Takada's tone softened slightly, carrying a guiding tone, "You're the only one who can speak now. Yoshihiro Nakamura is dead, and your father has placed all the blame on you and the dead man."

"Do you think, given his character and abilities, he would allow you to give testimony that is detrimental to him in court? Think about what happened to your brother, Yusuke Mishima."

These words were like a cold dagger, piercing through Ryunosuke Mishima's last psychological defenses.

He recalled his father's cold and ruthless eyes, and the clandestine methods the family used to deal with their rivals, and a chill ran down his spine.

He realized that he might have become a pawn in his father's plan, and might not even be able to leave the detention center alive.

“No…no…” Ryunosuke Mishima muttered to himself, his mind on the verge of collapse.

“Telling the truth is your only way out.” Takada Yuuki pressed on. “Testify against Mishima Ryuichi and cooperate with the police investigation. This is your only chance to get a reduced sentence, or even to save your life. Tell us, who killed Nakamura Yoshihiro? How did they kill him? And who orchestrated the accidental deaths of those people before?”

Ryunosuke Mishima covered his face with his hands, his body trembling violently, as he struggled internally.

Ultimately, the fear of death outweighed the fear of her father.

“It’s…it’s the Mishima family, the Mishima group…” His voice was hoarse and almost inaudible.

"What group? Explain yourself!" Yuuki Takada snapped.

“It’s the Mishima Group that Father secretly trained!” Ryunosuke Mishima raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins and fear. “They’re a group of people who specialize in doing dirty work.”

"Nakamura... was killed by Toshio Kuroiwa. He was a member of the Mishima Group and had been putting trace amounts of poison in Nakamura's coffee for a long time."

“That night… he deliberately increased the dosage and staged an accident scene… most of the previous victims were also victims of the Mishima group, and their methods were very clean, making it look like an accident…”

"Where is Toshio Kuroiwa now?" Yuki Takada immediately pressed.

"No... I don't know. After the success, my father should have arranged for me to leave Tokyo..."

"The list of Mishima Group members, their contact information, and their location?" Takada Yuki's heart pounded. He knew this was the key!

“Only my father has the list…the base…there’s a secret training ground in the basement of the mansion, but the action team doesn’t usually live there…they have a safe house in…in the port area…” Ryunosuke Mishima stammered out the key information.

Yuuki Takada immediately gave Juichi Megure a wink. Megure understood and immediately picked up his communicator and left the interrogation room to deploy police forces to launch an arrest and search operation based on these new clues.

The interrogation lasted for several hours.

Faced with Yuki Takada's precise psychological offensive and the gradually revealed pieces of evidence.

Ryunosuke Mishima, suffering a mental breakdown, confessed to all the crimes of the Mishima family that he knew, including the specifics of the financial fraud, the details of the bribery, and several murders and intimidation incidents carried out by their Mishima group.

Although he could not provide direct evidence of all the murders, his confession became the first sharp knife to tear apart Ryuichi Mishima's defenses.

After obtaining a detailed statement signed and sealed by Ryunosuke Mishima, Yuki Takada interrogated Ryuichi Mishima again.

When Yuki Takada placed Ryunosuke Mishima's confession in front of Ryuichi Mishima, the old man, who had remained calm, finally showed a complete change in expression for the first time.

His gray eyebrows trembled violently as he looked at his son's trembling signature and bright red handprint.