Case NOT Closed

“Inspector, are you just letting him go like that?”

Watching as Kensuke walked away from the police station gates, Takagi and Chiba clenched their fists, seemingly unwilling to accept it.

“There’s nothing we can do, we don’t have any evidence,” sighed Inspector Megure.

“Komemon, that guy, is tougher than you imagine. Although we all know what methods he uses, he never leaves behind any evidence easily. If it comes to court, there’s no way to accuse him,” he explained.

“So we just let him continue like this?” Takagi exclaimed in frustration.

“If we don’t have evidence, then we fabricate one. We’ll bring him in for interrogation for twenty-four hours straight. Let’s see if he can still be so arrogant!” Takagi suggested vehemently.

“Takagi, what nonsense are you talking about?” Megure glared at him, making Takagi quickly shut his mouth.

“We’re police officers, how can we do something that violates the law! Go back and write a self-criticism for me, and I don’t want to hear such words from your mouth again!” Megure ordered sternly.

“Yes,” Takagi hung his head low, muttering to himself.

“What violation of the law? You yourself have always violated regulations in the past, letting Kudo Shinichi mess around at the crime scene…” Takagi murmured under his breath.

Meanwhile, Kensuke obtained the information and walked out of the police station gates.

“Thoroughly investigate the information of these two individuals, including this seemingly outsider,” Kensuke instructed Haibara, pointing at the files of Hiroo Tsuchio.

Haibara took the documents and asked, “Why do you want to investigate this person? Didn’t your conversation with Koshimizu-san imply that Kotani Renzo might be the real culprit in this case?”

“Yes, I just said it’s possible,” Kensuke shrugged.

“But in reality, without being completely certain, anyone could be a suspect.”

“I see,” Haibara nodded, “So you’re going to search for evidence, after all, you need to know the truth of the matter.”

“Search for evidence? Have you misunderstood something about me?” Kensuke smirked, showing a sinister smile.

“I never search for evidence. In my case, I always create evidence.”

…

Haibara’s efficiency was truly astonishing.

The next day, she piled a stack of documents in front of Kensuke.

Kensuke glanced at the mountain-like pile of documents and sighed, “I really have to wonder, what were you doing before? Your so-called pharmaceutical research occupation is clearly fake right? Is your real identity some kind of spy sent by a government?”

Haibara rolled her eyes, “What spy? I’m just a poor worker who works overtime without pay.”

“Oi, you don’t have to work overtime voluntarily. I didn’t force you to work overtime!” Kensuke retorted.

“And then next month, you won’t give me any allowance, right?” Haibara countered.

“What nonsense, I’m just keeping the money safe for you. I’ll give it back to you when you grow up,” Kensuke explained.

“You capitalist leech!” Haibara exclaimed.

“Don’t you think it’s already good that I provide you with food and shelter?” Kensuke replied.

“Get lost!” Haibara retorted.

Ignoring Haibara’s insults, Kensuke cleaned his ears.

Oh, about their relationship.

In the second court case, when Conan asked her for information about the APTX 4869, Kensuke overheard their conversation, and the two of them basically told Kensuke everything that he needed to know.

Now, he already knows about her de-aging into a child, about Kudo’s situation, everything.

Of course, the two not-kids conversation that time is not that long, so she didn’t reveal anything about the true information within the Black Organization that she are part of or the real effects of the drug.

But it didn’t matter. Kensuke wasn’t really interested in the dark side anyway. He took Haibara purely for her abilities and didn’t care about that side

Kensuke flipped through the documents.

As he read, a classic smile appeared on his face.

“Very good, I think I’ve probably guessed who the culprit is.”

“Yeah, I’ve pretty much guessed too,” Haibara nodded.

“But you don’t have evidence, right? And the uninhabited island is too far from here, it would be very troublesome to go there for evidence.”

Kensuke shook his head, “Didn’t I say it? I won’t go looking for evidence; I always create evidence.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“That’s right, next, you’ll do as I say and prepare these things.”

Next, Kensuke gave Haibara some instructions.

It must be said that Haibara’s efficiency in doing things was really high.

Just spending another day, under continuous overtime, she had prepared all the materials he needed.

On the morning of the third day, Kensuke made a phone call.

“Is this Hiroo Tsuchio-san?”

A man’s voice came from the other end.

“Yes, it’s me. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, I’m Kensuke Komemon, the lawyer responsible for the Natsuki Koshimizu case.”

“A lawyer? Oh, what’s the matter with me?”

“Well, I’d like to talk to you about something regarding your presence at the scene of the crime.”

“I see.” There was a pause on the other end. “But the police have already questioned me, and I’ve told them everything I know. Shouldn’t you just ask the police directly?”

Kensuke’s lips curled slightly.

“No, no, no, I mean, what you did at the crime scene.”

…

There was a clatter from the other side.

It seemed like the phone had been dropped.

After a while, a man’s voice came from the other end, trembling slightly.

“What, what are you talking about? I didn’t do anything!”

Good, the fish took the bait.

Kensuke continued, “It’s not convenient to talk about this over the phone. How about we meet privately to discuss?”

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

“Okay, where?”

“At 3 p.m., at a café near the Shibuya Station. How does that sound?”

After agreeing on the location, they hung up the phone.

Later, when the time came, Kensuke tidied up and prepared to leave.

“Be careful,” Haibara said beside him after some thought.

“Don’t push people too hard. There are all kinds of people in this world, and many will do irreversible things in a fit of anger.”

“Don’t worry, I know,” he replied.

Then, Kensuke left the house.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the designated café.

The café had an elegant and comfortable environment, with few customers because it was afternoon.

Kensuke found a seat at random and sat down.

After a while, a chubby bald man walked in, panting.

Kensuke waved at him, indicating for him to sit down.

“Komemon-san, what do you want with me?”

The man, Hiroo Tsuchio, seemed a bit uneasy, constantly fidgeting his fingers.

“Let me get straight to the point,” Kensuke tapped the table with his thumb, smiling.

“Tsuchio-san, the real murderer of Kotani Renzo on the uninhabited island, is actually you, isn’t it?”