BWDC:SDDK Chapter 40: Gotham's Greatest Detective
"Ahhh!!!"
The others in the basement finally reacted. Someone screamed, causing the crowd to descend into visible panic.
Mouri Kogoro, who had also intended to subdue Mifune Katsuji but was a step slower than Ren Ichimonji, halted his advance. He glanced at the beyond-saving Mifune and then at Ren, who was already observing the body. Spinning around, he faced the other cosplayers attending the tokusatsu gathering and shouted,
"Everyone, please stay calm!"
"I am Mouri Kogoro. A violent homicide has occurred here. Please remain calm and wait for the police to arrive and investigate. Until then, everyone stay in the basement—do not leave!"
Before becoming a famous detective, Mouri Kogoro was one of the most outstanding investigators in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. A small matter like maintaining order at a scene was child's play for him. However, while managing the crowd, he felt a flicker of doubt as he watched what Ren was doing.
---Though Ren calling himself Batman made him seem quite eccentric.
But based on his performance at the Nagatomo Group villa previously, Ren's reasoning and combat abilities were only slightly weaker than those of the Great Detective Mouri Kogoro. Could he have discovered something new?
"D-dammit, how did this happen?"
Saotome Madoka, playing the role of Natsumi Rei, looked at the scene in disbelief. She stammered, "Even if there was friction between Honda Osamu and Mifune Katsuji, it shouldn't have reached the point of mutual destruction!"
"What on earth is going on?"
Standing by the body, Ren's gaze swept rapidly across the corpse and the various parts of the firearm. After drinking the coffee, he could only maintain his Batman state for one minute. Although Batman's strength and techniques couldn't be fully utilized now that the "assailant" was dead, his reasoning abilities as one of the world's greatest detectives were still very much in play.
"A pistol modified from a model gun..."
Ren's eyes fell on the weapon nearby. Japan is a country with strict gun control laws; obtaining a lethal handgun is no simple feat. Even modifying a model gun like this requires professional-level hobbyist skills. Of course, for a veteran, it would be simple—they could just take a few sections of water pipe, perform some "super assembly," and transform into a master marksman to make a target "open their heart" to death.
"Was it really just because Honda Osamu mocked his motorcycle?"
"It makes no sense. Honda and Mifune have always had a good relationship. Why would it end like this..." Saotome Madoka repeated anxiously.
Tsutsumi Yasuyuki beside her looked like he wanted to say something, but in that instant, Ren suddenly whipped his head toward Saotome Madoka and barked,
"Shut up! Enough! Don't say another word. If you have something to say, tell it to the police!"
Ren's eyes narrowed, looking incredibly sharp. Unaccountably, a sense of pressure that hadn't been there before surged forth. It caused Saotome and Tsutsumi to instinctively stop talking and stand at attention.
Taking advantage of Mouri Kogoro's distraction, Conan snuck over to Ren's side, also surveying the body. Conan whispered,
"Ren, what do you make of this case? Is it a simple case of revenge killing followed by suicide?"
Ren didn't answer, his eyes fixed on Mifune Katsuji's face. As is well known, Batman is a master of interrogation. To be a master of interrogation, one must know how to observe and interpret a target's micro-expressions. He noticed a micro-expression of shock on Mifune's face the moment the shot was fired. This indicated that Mifune was stunned by the fact that the shot resulted in a fatal injury to himself.
But why?
A man holds a lethal handgun to his own temple and fires. Is it possible for that gun not to cause fatal damage? Unless the gun was loaded with blanks... but these weren't blanks.
"Ren, what are you seeing?"
Conan crouched down, staring at Mifune's temple. He instinctively adjusted his plain-glass spectacles. In his brief observation, the only detail he found was the lack of powder burns on the victim's temple. This suggested the deceased hadn't pressed the muzzle against his head before firing, which differed from typical suicides.
Yet, that alone proved nothing. The deceased had indeed taken a gun to his own temple and fired, and that shot had indeed ended his life. In every sense, it looked like a murder followed by a suicide out of fear of punishment.
However, Conan felt something was wrong, though he couldn't put his finger on it. Thus, Batman's smallest Robin once again turned his gaze toward the most "troubled" Batman and asked:
"Do you think this is just a revenge-killing-suicide case? One with no other hidden details?"
Batman's voice was raspy and low. He replied,
"No."
The vigilante mission had not yet registered as complete, which meant the true culprit of the case was not dead. Furthermore...
"If I were Mifune Katsuji and I wanted to kill someone, I wouldn't just shoot them in the torso."
"I would go for the head. And I would fire follow-up shots."
His voice grew deeper.
"Otherwise, you end up with the situation we have now. The killer is dead, but the victim isn't. Not only is he not dead, he's completely unharmed!"
Unharmed...?!
Conan turned in shock toward the spot where Honda Osamu had fallen. The man dressed in the Patlabor uniform seemed to be just waking up. He pushed himself off the ground with his hands and slowly stood up. This scene left everyone present speechless.
Mifune Katsuji rushed in and shot Honda Osamu, yet Honda lived and Mifune died? They had never seen anything so absurd!
"That was too close. I'm glad I wore the bulletproof vest this time."
Honda Osamu pulled open his uniform. Underneath was indeed a bulletproof vest with a bullet hole embedded in it. Clearly, this high-quality vest had saved his life. He gave a wry smile and said, "Sigh, I really didn't expect things to turn out this way."
---Something is wrong.
A sense of dissonance rose in Conan's heart. The reality unfolding before him felt surreal. It all seemed a bit too...
"Too theatrical."
Ren's voice remained low and raspy. His hair, which had seemed unkempt before, now looked slightly pointed on both sides, resembling a pair of sharp ears. He narrowed his eyes, casting a look of disapproval at Honda Osamu.
"This is a play."
"I've seen many in Gotham... and I've been both the actor and the audience many times."
"This time is no different."
But Batman always manages to break free from the theater and find the flaw. Batman always wins. No matter how thorny the case.
This time would be no different.
End of Chapter
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