Chapter 28: Countdown to the Search for the Man in the Windbreaker
Chapter 28: Countdown to the Search for the Man in the Windbreaker
"Can you please tell me what I have done wrong?"
"You know it in your heart. The facts cannot be quibbled with."
I don't know if he was impressed by Qinghai Chuantang's ability or if he trusted her too much. If he knew that this was a wonderful misunderstanding, I wonder if he would break the law knowingly to vent his anger.
"Officer Chuanxi, you saw the portrait drawn by Sister Xiaotang, so you came here to look for the person in the portrait, right?"
Kawanishi Mugui stared at him and looked him up and down. "If I remember correctly, you are the kid they often mentioned, following Maori. We have met several times before. If you have anything to say, just tell me directly."
He seems to be a man who likes to get to the point.
"Sister Xiaotang said that portraits contain too much subjective assumptions, so if you try to find someone based on a portrait, you will miss the real suspect. If the success rate is 10%, then she can only guarantee that the portrait is % correct at most. So, the difference between a portrait and a real person is too big, and it is not worth it to catch the wrong person."
As he spoke, Conan showed the other party the email interface, making him believe that these were not just made-up words.
"Sorry, I was too reckless."
Chuanxi Mugui bowed deeply to him and said, "My sister goes to primary school nearby. There are many alleys there. She even ran into the man in the windbreaker before. I was afraid that she would run into this kind of thing again, so I was a little anxious."
Once a case involves his family, he becomes less calm and rational. This is precisely the most fatal point, just like the "suicide case" twelve years ago.
Conan received another email, and this time it contained two portraits.
The man in the picture above looks young and handsome, and his hairstyle is very similar to Amuro Toru's, but it is more curly and fluffy. The other picture shows the same person, but he is wearing a pair of glasses, which makes people feel a little uncomfortable and it is not easy to associate them as the same person.
Judging from his appearance alone, it is hard for people to associate him with the term "windbreaker man". After all, due to some related works, a stereotype has emerged, and people's first thought is always that the other person should be sloppy or vulgar.
"Is there a portrait of another person?"
"Officer Kawanishi, is there actually more than one man in the windbreaker?"
"this one"
Kawanishi Kiku handed the book to Conan, "It's the portrait of another person in the book, wearing a pair of glasses."
However, when Conan opened it, it was blank.
There was no portrait, let alone any handwriting from before her.
"This is... a disappearing pen!"
If you carefully burn it with a lighter, you can restore the handwriting. Or if you use a pen to burn it, it will also leave a mark, which can be erased with a lead strip.
Stop him!
Conan remembered the email the other party had sent directly to him. It turned out that the real intention was not to let him stop Officer Kawanishi, but to delay time until the handwriting disappeared, so that there would be no evidence.
"The portrait is guaranteed to be 35% accurate at best, please do not over-rely on it."
This is what Conan didn't notice in the email, because it was written in the portrait. If you don't zoom in, it's easy to ignore it because it's really not very noticeable.
This type of portrait is called "simulated portrait". If the portrait is more than 50% similar to the suspect, it can be used for investigation and posting as a useful clue.
35% is at most a reference, and it may not even be a reference. If we really arrest people according to this standard, there is a high probability that there will be cases of mistaken arrests, just like before.
Nothing is omnipotent, neither detectives nor profilers.
The next day, Megure Juzo held a meeting with a few people.
Before entering the meeting room, Megure Jusan called Kawanishi Kiki aside and said earnestly, "I know that the case from twelve years ago has become a knot in your heart. But I hope you remember that you are a criminal police officer now. Being too emotional will affect your judgment. If the person involved didn't care about what happened yesterday, someone else might have complained about you. You finally got back here, so don't make similar mistakes again."
After saying this, Megure Jusan patted his shoulder gently.
"Let's go in."
The deadline is five days, and there are four days left.
"The areas where exhibitionists usually hang out are 'school alleys, streets, parks, and near bus stops.' But the one we met this time likes to hang out near parking lots or places with developed roads. In other words, the other party is likely to move around by car, and there is a high possibility that he lives on East City Street and West City Street."
Dongcheng Street and Xicheng Street are both fairly wealthy places.
Some people may have the prejudice that exhibitionists live in poor areas. But surprisingly, among exhibitionists, there are many people working in professional positions, which is what people often call "elite professions."
"The current investigation is insufficient, so please work harder. However, there is some information that can be used as a reference. The height is over 180 cm, the build is moderate, the appearance is not ordinary, sometimes wearing glasses, and the temperament may be slightly different. The other party is a very young male, maybe even a student, but at least a college student."
"I believe everyone is clear about what happened before."
No one spoke, but everyone had a serious expression.
Megure Jusan nodded with satisfaction and said, "So I hope everyone can work harder to prevent unfortunate accidents. In addition, the other party always disappears suddenly in the alley. It may be someone who is very familiar with the path of the alley, or a resident there. We can start the investigation from this range."
"Now, let's get started."
"Yes!" everyone said in unison.
Sometimes the exhibitionist wears a hat, sometimes he wears glasses, but without exception, he always wears something to cover up his true appearance, and he may even wear a wig. This shows that he is at least not a bold person, and he is still a little nervous.
Of course, there is another situation where one wants to confuse the police.
"At the time, I was walking in the alley, and suddenly I saw a man in a windbreaker in front of me. Men wearing windbreakers were very popular in this area, and it was so late at night. I was so scared that I ran away. The alleys here were like a maze. I ran for a long distance and thought I had finally gotten rid of him, so I stopped to take a breath."
"I didn't expect him to suddenly appear behind me, put his hands over my mouth and nose, and dragged me into a dark alley. I was really scared at the time and kept struggling. Fortunately, a patrolman passed by and scared him away, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
Even now, I still feel terrified and can't help but feel a little scared.
After leaving the alley, Kawanishi Mugui looked at Takagi, "Officer Takagi, did you find anything?"
"Well." Gao Mu scratched his head a little embarrassedly and said, "The other party is very familiar with the shortcut in the alley. He may come here often, or he is a resident here."
"Inspector Megure mentioned this during the meeting."
Kawanishi Kikui's expression was a little cold, and his tone was a little doubtful: "Officer Takagi, didn't you seem to be quite capable during the previous case? How come now, the gap is really quite large, it's like someone controlled you and made you say those words."
Takagi smiled wryly, "Maybe this is what's called 'inspiration'. Mr. Maori is like this sometimes when he helps solve a case. At the beginning, he makes random inferences that seem reasonable but are full of loopholes. When inspiration comes, he transforms into 'Sleeping Kogoro' and uses careful reasoning to identify the real murderer. He can even re-enact the method of committing the crime, just like the murderer himself."
When mentioning "Kogoro Mori", Takagi's face showed a bit more admiration and respect.
Kawanishi Kiku had heard of his name, but he just didn't like him. This was true for all those who claimed to be detectives. For example, the previously popular Kudo Shinichi was actually called the "savior of the Japanese police world."
Could it be that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has to rely on a 17-year-old high school student to solve the case, otherwise it would be helpless?
absurd.
After several sleepless nights, he brought some long-unsolved cases to a successful conclusion, just to be able to return here earlier. In addition to the case twelve years ago, he also wanted to let those people know that the Metropolitan Police Department can still solve cases well even if there are no detectives on the scene.
"Senior? Senior?"
Seeing that the other party was a little distracted, Gao Mu couldn't help but call out to him, trying to bring him back on track.
"Just call me by my name. Senior or something like that makes me sound too old."
Although I am in my thirties, I still have the energetic heart of a twenty-year-old.
Kawanishi Kigui finally came to his senses and looked at Takagi, "Officer Takagi, do you know what to do next?"
"Going door to door?"
Gao Mu hesitated for a moment.
"That's a solution, but there are so many households here, and none of us are familiar with this place. What if we get lost? What do you usually look at when you're lost?"
"map?"
Kawanishi Kiku nodded, "It seems that you have lived up to the high hopes that Inspector Megure has placed on you."
When Takagi heard this, something in his heart was touched, and he instantly became as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
"Senior Kawanishi, let's go back and get the alley map!"
But before he could finish his words, Chuanxi Mugui had already taken out a map from his arms, as if he had prepared it long ago.
Overall, Kawanishi Kigui is actually an excellent detective.
"I asked the patrolman, and he said that the other party fled in this direction and suddenly disappeared."
As he spoke, he drew the route with a pen so that Takagi could see it more clearly.
It was the end of an alley, with a total of three households living here.
Unlock item: disappearing pen.
A profiler who carries a disappearing pen with him. Maybe he can use it to write IOUs or something (laughs) But please don't do this, because it's a crime.
There are many kinds of disappearing pens. Some can disappear after 1 or 2 hours, while others may disappear in just a few minutes. As for the purpose of using disappearing pens, it is mainly for environmental protection and conservation, so the notebooks can be reused (protecting the earth's environment is everyone's responsibility)
(End of this chapter)