In Detective Conan: Intercepting Miwako Sato at the Start

Page 5

but……

Yuuki Takada casually glanced at every corner of the living room, his gaze finally settling on the low table that held the contradictions and doubts.

He slowly approached, squatted down, and unconsciously ran his fingers along the cold, solid wood surface of the low table's edge.

Feeling the thick layer of accumulated dust, he unexpectedly made a new discovery.

That's the area around the edge of the short table where dust has appeared and gaps have formed.

Clearly, something important was on the short table, and someone had taken it away.

Then, his fingertips paused at an inconspicuous spot on the side of the low table.

There, in the shadows near the joint of the table legs, where the light doesn't shine directly, there seemed to be a few fine, new scratches.

Unlike the slightly worn marks on the low table itself, these scratches are lighter in color and have sharper edges, as if they were made recently.

He took out his powerful flashlight, turned it on, and focused the beam precisely on that area.

“Officer Sato,” Yuuki Takada said softly, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

Upon hearing Inspector Takada's call, Miwako Sato immediately sensed the change in atmosphere and quickly walked over to him and squatted down.

"Look here."

Yuuki Takada carefully pointed to the scratches with his finger and analyzed, "The marks are very new, and the depth and direction... don't seem to be from everyday bumps or damage over time."

"It's more like... something sharp, under special pressure, quickly slicing through and leaving its mark."

Miwako Sato leaned closer and carefully examined the object with the help of the bright light.

Her experience in criminal investigation immediately alerted her to the anomaly: "Indeed!"

"The location is very well hidden, and the angle is quite tricky. These marks... look like they were left when something like a metal hook or the tip of a crowbar was forcibly inserted and pried open?"

She quickly searched her memory for items at the scene but couldn't find anything that could have caused such marks.

Yuki Takada's brows furrowed even more.

He stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire living room once more, finally settling on a small, exquisite white wooden drawer unit placed against the wall.

That was the cabinet that Ai Mizuno used to store some personal items. The police had already opened it during their initial investigation and found some loose cosmetics, hair accessories, a few sheet music books, and fan mail inside. It didn't seem particularly special.

But at that moment, Yuuki Takada's gaze was fixed on the small, locked drawer at the bottom of the cabinet.

The drawer itself was closed, and the keyhole appeared to be intact.

"Has that drawer been checked before?" Takada asked.

“It has been checked,” Sato replied immediately. “Inspector Megure opened the lock himself. Inside were some… well, rather personal souvenirs, photos, and some valuable little gifts from fans. No clues were found that were directly related to the case. The report includes a list of items.”

Yuki Takada did not respond. He walked straight to the drawer cabinet, squatted down, and his gaze fell precisely on the lower edge of the small lockable drawer—the spot right next to the scratch on the low table.

"Hiss..." He took a soft breath.

Miwako Sato followed him and looked in the direction he was looking.

On the lower edge of that small drawer, near the outer edge of the wood, there were several very fine but brand-new scratches!

The location, angle, and depth of the scratches matched remarkably well with those found on the side of the low table!

It seems that something hard tried to forcefully pry it open from the bottom of the drawer from this angle!

"This...this is?!" Sato Miwako instantly understood what Inspector Takada's discovery meant, and her expression changed slightly. "Someone tried to pry open this drawer?"

"After the incident?! After our police cordoned off the scene?!"

Yuki Takada's eyes turned completely cold, like a blade chilled to the bone.

He carefully put on his gloves and gently pulled the locked drawer.

The drawer opened easily—the latch was retracted, the lock cylinder was intact, but there were minor chips and crush marks on the edge of the latch groove.

“The lock wasn’t damaged, but the bolt was forcibly pushed back in.” Yuki Takada said coldly, his voice chilling. “It was done using a very clever but violent method, forcibly prying it open from below, causing the bolt to disengage instantly. So only the bottom left a mark, and the keyhole surface looks fine.”

He quickly checked the inside of the drawer.

Miwako Sato also leaned closer to take a look.

The items in the drawer appear to match the list described in the report:

A small velvet box contained a necklace and several photos, including one of Ai Mizuno with her two children.

Several delicate brooches, a stack of neatly bound letters... arranged fairly tidy, seemingly untouched by rough handling.

But Yuki Takada's sharp gaze swept across every inch of space.

His fingers gently brushed across the bottom of the drawer, and he carefully examined the edges where the photos and letters were arranged.

“Something is missing,” Yuuki Takada said decisively.

"What?" Sato Miwako hurriedly flipped through the preliminary survey list in her hand.

“A diary.” Yuuki Takada pointed to a line on the list. “It says here: ‘A pink leather-covered diary with writing marks on the pages. The contents have not been examined in detail.’”

Miwako Sato quickly checked the list, her face instantly turning deathly pale:

"Yes...yes! The report clearly states that there was a pink diary with a lock!"

"At the time, Inspector Megure said it was the deceased's privacy and that the initial assessment was that it was unrelated to the case. In addition, it was locked, so he did not force it open to take a closer look. He simply registered it as an item!"

"It...it's gone?!"

The drawer, where the diary should have been placed, is now empty!

Although the surrounding items were generally tidy, subtle signs of movement indicated that someone had precisely taken this one item and tried to restore the surrounding items to their original positions in an attempt to cover up the theft.

That diary disappeared as if it had never existed!

The air seemed to freeze.

The cold, pungent smell of blood mingled with the scent of cleaning agents, yet it couldn't suppress the chilling aura emanating from Yuuki Takada and the turbulent emotions churning within Miwako Sato's heart.

Yuki Takada slowly stood up and took off his gloves.

He looked around the room, which seemed cozy but was actually full of death and conspiracy, and his gaze finally landed on the scratches on the low table and the empty drawers.

"The abdominal impact wound doesn't match the height of the furniture, proving there was external force; drag marks point to homicide; the fingerprints on the murder weapon were deliberately wiped off; now..."

Yuki Takada pondered silently as he spoke earnestly, each word striking Miwako Sato's heart like a heavy hammer blow.

"...After the police's initial investigation, the private diary, which was most likely to record the deceased's true thoughts and interpersonal relationships, was stolen by force by prying open the lock."

Chapter 7 Retrieving Surveillance

Yuuki Takada turned to Miwako Sato, his eyes flashing sharply, and issued the order without a doubt:

"Officer Sato, immediately notify the forensic department to thoroughly re-examine the scene, focusing on extracting all traces from the low table and drawers, including those new pry marks! Also..."

He paused, his tone carrying an all-knowing understanding and a cold decisiveness:

"Notify Inspector Megure that the conclusion of 'suicide' in Ai Mizuno's case has been withdrawn."

"This case has been officially upgraded to a murder case!"

"And whoever took the diary, whoever he is, is very likely the real culprit we are looking for, or... a key accomplice!"

Sato Miwako was deeply shaken by this sudden and significant turn of events, as well as by Inspector Takada's powerful aura.

But she immediately straightened her back, her eyes blazing with the fighting spirit of a detective: "Yes, Inspector Takada! I'll get right on it!"

She quickly took out her phone and started dialing.

Yuki Takada turned his gaze out the window again, his mind racing, weaving the scattered clues into a web.

"It seems that in the case of Ai Mizuno, all the clues point to this diary." Yuuki Takada calmly considered the clues he now possessed: "To be able to sneak in after the police had cordoned off the scene, one must either be a habitual offender who is extremely familiar with the environment and acts swiftly, or..."

Yuuki Takada paused, a more unsettling thought creeping into his mind:

"...or they took advantage of some loophole that we haven't yet discovered."

Finally, his gaze returned to those few tiny yet glaring pry marks.

"Professional technique, specialized tools—this was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Sato!"

"Yes, Inspector Takada!" Sato Miwako answered immediately after ending the call.

“You need to do three things right now: First, retrieve all the surveillance footage from all entrances and exits of this apartment building, especially before and after the incident, as well as after the police’s initial investigation, particularly the elevator, stairwell, and underground parking garage entrances and exits.”

"The time frame has been expanded to include the period from three days before the incident to the present."

Yuki Takada's instructions were clear and swift: "Second, conduct a thorough investigation of all of Ai Mizuno's recent visitor records, call logs, emails, and private messages on social media, paying particular attention to those who had close contact with her or had arguments with her in the week before the incident."

"Third, interview the apartment manager and neighbors, especially on the day of the incident and after the police's initial investigation, to see if anyone noticed any unusual people, sounds or suspicious vehicles."

"Understood!" Sato Miwako quickly took notes and picked up the phone again to begin making arrangements.

Yuki Takada put on new gloves and bent down to examine the locked drawer more carefully.

His eyes were sharp as a ruler, examining inch by inch the cracks in the latch and the subtle indentations left on the bottom of the drawer—the very shape of the space where the diary once existed.

Wait... this mark seems familiar, it looks similar to the outline I just saw on the short table.

He discovered that the clasp of a small pearl brooch next to where the diary was originally placed was slightly different from the position recorded in the survey report photograph.

This confirms his speculation: after the murderer accurately took the diary, he attempted to recreate the scene, but left flaws in his haste.

“He had a thorough understanding of the scene, a clear objective, and acted calmly… This was not an impulsive crime.” Yuuki Takada’s judgment became increasingly clear.

The forensic team arrived quickly and, under the personal guidance of Yuki Takada, began their work.

We performed high-precision trace extraction on the new scratches on the side of the low table, the pry marks on the bottom edge of the drawer, and the lock tongue groove.

At the same time, a more thorough second investigation was conducted on the entire living room to look for any trace evidence that might have been left behind, especially fibrous skin tissue that might have come from the murderer.

……

Inside the monitoring room, the light was dim, with only dozens of screens emitting a faint blue glow.

Yuki Takada and Miwako Sato stared intently at the rapidly replaying surveillance footage.

Time ticked by, and the images in the apartment lobby, corridors on each floor, and inside the elevators were repeatedly examined.

Surveillance footage from the day of the incident shows that, in addition to Ai Mizuno herself, several people dressed in delivery or takeout uniforms appeared briefly but left quickly without any unusual behavior.

The records of people entering and leaving the premises during the police investigation are also clearly available.