Chapter 172: Shuichi Akai's Suspicion
Natsume stared in disbelief at Kaeya, who had no business being here, now inexplicably a suspect in this supposed accident. She had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes.
Honestly, the man just had to insert himself into any and all excitement. And now look where it had gotten him.
"Alright, now tell me about your relationship with the victim." Inspector Megure, oblivious to the strange undercurrents rippling through the small crowd, followed standard procedure and continued his questioning of the suspects.
Among the four individuals, two had known Takano Hideki for many years. The other two, Kaeya and a man in a black knit cap, had only met the victim today.
"Officer, the reason I'm here is that I heard this Mr. Takano was planning to confess to a friend of mine. I simply came to watch the show," Kaeya said, holding Klee's hand. He offered a helpless smile, as if this entire situation was a completely unexpected and troublesome detour.
Natsume's expression remained neutral, but her thoughts were sharp. 'Saying you came to watch the show right to my face... Kaeya, just you wait.'Shuichi Akai's eyes shifted slightly.'A confession to a friend... So, Kaeya's friend is that mysterious girl.'
Was his sudden appearance really that simple? Could it truly be unrelated to the Black Organization?
And then there was the little girl, Klee. He never would have expected the cunning, formidable man he'd observed at the hotel to be so gentle and patient when facing his own sister.
Akai had spotted Kaeya the moment he arrived. He'd initially assumed Kaeya's presence was connected to Cointreau, but the sight of the little girl at his side made him reconsider. His target today was the Organization executive, Cointreau. Coupled with the previous warning—even if it had been delivered by someone else—Akai's instincts screamed that Kaeya was not a man to be trifled with. As long as Kaeya didn't interfere with the FBI's operation, he had planned to ignore him.
However, Akai hadn't anticipated an accident derailing everything before his agents were even in position. With the police swarming the scene, taking action was now out of the question. He could only discreetly send a message to his superior, James Black, informing him to initiate Plan B.
"Besides," Kaeya continued, raising the hand that was intertwined with Klee's, "I only arrived a short while ago. There was no time to set any of this up., I've been with Klee the entire time. I couldn't possibly do something like this in front of a child, could I?"
"Hmm... you have a point." Inspector Megure nodded thoughtfully. According to witness testimonies, Kaeya did indeed lack the opportunity to commit the crime. His name could likely be cleared.
Conan had no objections; he hadn't believed for a second that Kaeya was the culprit.
That left three suspects. For some reason, Inspector Megure felt a strange sense of normalcy return. This felt more like a typical case.
"Officer, by that logic, I also lacked the opportunity," Shuichi Akai spoke up immediately after Kaeya, his voice calm and even. "I was just following instructions to transport this tree here. I only met Mr. Takano for the first time today."
"That's not necessarily true," Kaeya interjected, casting a meaningful glance at Akai. He then turned back to the inspector with a charming smile. "I happened to overhear Mr. Takano scolding this Mr. Akai quite harshly earlier. He even threatened to dock his pay."
He then casually added fuel to the fire. "And Inspector, this Mr. Akai looks so fierce, doesn't he? He doesn't look like a good person at all. Perhaps he did something impulsive in a fit of rage."
"When providing clues, please refrain from baseless speculation," Matsuda Jinpei cut in, his brow furrowed as he interrupted Kaeya's attempt to smear the other man.
Matsuda's mouth twitched. 'Does this Mr. Kaeya own a mirror?'he thought.'Compared to Mr. Akai, he's the one who looks far less like a "good person".'
Despite his words, Matsuda privately agreed that Mr. Akai's aura was far from ordinary. As for whether he was a good person or not, that would depend on the investigation.
"Docking pay? What was that about?" Inspector Megure seized on the potential motive, his gaze turning sharp and searching as he looked at Shuichi Akai. Influenced by Kaeya's words, the inspector suddenly felt the man's level of suspicion rise considerably.
Seeing both Inspector Megure and Officer Matsuda directing suspicious glares toward Mr. Akai, Conan felt a knot of anxiety tighten in his stomach. Surely Kaeya wasn't trying to frame him?
He caught Shuichi Akai's gaze, which sent a clear, unspoken message: 'Stay calm.' Conan took a deep breath, forced himself to relax, and refocused on finding clues.
"It's because Takano felt this man's appearance might steal his thunder," Nakamura Masato, another suspect, spoke up, eager to deflect suspicion from himself. He embellished the earlier events, adding, "So he just made up an excuse to give him a hard time. Also, this tree was originally supposed to be moved by two people, but Takano intentionally made him do it alone."
"So he must have held a grudge against Takano because of it!" Nakamura Masato declared, conveniently pinning the motive squarely on Akai. "That's why he wanted to harm him."
At that moment, Takano Hideki, who had been listening from the side, finally processed the accusations. He immediately jabbed a finger at Shuichi Akai, his voice ringing with indignant fury. "Aha! I knew it was you! You don't look like a good person at all! Nakamura is right; you must hold a grudge against me!"
Takano refused to believe that any of his friends or lackeys were behind the incident. They all got along well, with no conflicts. Harming him offered them no benefit. Therefore, the only remaining suspect was the man he had found to be an eyesore from the very beginning.
'Yes, that's it,'Takano thought, utterly convinced by his own deduction.'It must be him.'
"Officer, hurry up and arrest him! He's definitely the culprit!" he shouted at Inspector Megure. After his outburst, he couldn't help but grumble under his breath, "Honestly, it's all his fault for ruining my confession. Otherwise, my angel would have already said yes by now."
Sonoko, standing nearby, overheard his muttering and rolled her eyes. The man was as clueless as ever. Did Natsume look like she was in any state to accept a confession?
Still, Sonoko decided against correcting him. He wasn't malicious, just dense. Perhaps letting him hit a few more walls and learn a few more lessons with Natsume would actually help him grow up a little.
Conan watched, dumbfounded, as the other suspects and the victim himself joined forces to practically convict Mr. Akai on the spot.
It took a great deal of persuasion from Inspector Megure before Takano Hideki reluctantly conceded that Shuichi Akai was, for now, only a suspect and not the confirmed culprit. But the stubborn set of his jaw made it clear he was only dropping the argument to give the police some face.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, Inspector Megure sighed. Even though no one had actually died this time, the scene felt somehow more troublesome than most of his recent murder cases.
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