Chapter 95: Motives
Mouri Kogoro's voice rang out again.
"If we're talking about motive, yours is undoubtedly the strongest, Shimizu Masato-san. And since you participated in those transactions, you must know about the Dark Web. I speculate that you posted an assassination contract on the Dark Web.
The reason you included Nishimoto Ken in the hit list was probably to divert suspicion and avoid becoming a suspect yourself."
Natsukawa nodded repeatedly. Conan's full day of investigation had reached almost the exact same conclusion he'd arrived at.
So, to survive in the world of Detective Conan, you don't need deductive reasoning skills—but you absolutely must have a wild imagination!
Shimizu Masato calmly raised his eyes, his gaze steady and unwavering. "An interesting theory, but these are all just speculations on your part."
The deduction continued!
"I'm afraid you were cut out of their little operation after Kameyama Isamu's death. They definitely didn't want another person taking a share of the profits from their dealings.
Besides you, Nishimoto Ken was also kicked out, but by then Nishimoto Ken had already lost his mind and probably didn't care about any of this anymore.
But you! Suddenly losing that substantial income must have been difficult to accept.
At that point, you probably didn't have murderous intentions yet. What really pushed you over the edge was likely related to the mayoral election."
Shimizu Masato sneered. "Elections are based on the villagers' support. Are you seriously suggesting those three deaths were arranged by the entire village through crowdfunding?"
"If Kuroiwa Tatsuji and Kawashima Hideo had conducted the election through legitimate means, you might have accepted defeat. However, if they rigged the election—that's an entirely different story.
I heard that Kuroiwa Tatsuji and Kawashima Hideo spent considerable money on the campaign, including cigarettes and sake. Although you have a solid reputation among the villagers, you haven't brought them enough tangible benefits. Your approval rating isn't even half that of Mayor Kuroiwa, who came in second place."
Mouri Kogoro paused, as if letting people digest his words.
The village officials of Tsukikage Island exchanged uncomfortable glances. They'd either been on Kuroiwa's side or Kawashima's side, and had all participated in various schemes to win favor.
"Aren't these reasons sufficient?"
Seeing that Shimizu Masato remained silent, Mouri Kogoro slowly raised his hand from behind the sofa, holding two pieces of white paper between his index and middle fingers. Inspector Megure stepped forward and took the papers from him.
"These are promissory notes you wrote. Two IOUs totaling three million yen, borrowed just three days ago. Care to explain what you needed so much money for all of a sudden?"
"As I suspected—IOUs!" Inspector Megure examined them closely. Each note was for one and a half million yen.
The debtor's name was listed as Shimizu Masato, while the creditors were none other than Kuroiwa Tatsuji and Kawashima Hideo!
"Impressive. Using their own money to hire assassins to kill them—you not only eliminated your competitors but also erased your debts. Shimizu-san, your plan was truly brilliant!"
Conan had discovered these two IOUs in the studies of the Kuroiwa and Kawashima residences during his investigation earlier today.
"I had a friend investigate your computer's IP address. Computers that have accessed the Dark Web leave traces on their network IP and localhost, with the host being forcibly marked with a machine code. Your computer happens to have machine code information from Dark Web logins.
Because your computer isn't powered on, I can't investigate further, but examining your computer now will confirm what I'm saying.
By the way, let me tell you something in advance: even if you deleted transaction records and chat logs, the Metropolitan Police Department has methods to recover them. Isn't that right, Inspector Megure?"
"Absolutely correct!" Inspector Megure waved his hand again. "Someone go to Shimizu-san's residence and retrieve the computer!"
He'd wanted to do this for quite some time, but previously had no legitimate grounds. Now he could finally access Shimizu Masato's computer openly.
"This is incredibly exciting."
This was the first time Natsukawa had witnessed Conan's deduction firsthand. The methodical, relentless reasoning was absolutely thrilling.
The case had been transformed completely, utterly different from the original storyline, yet Conan had still managed to solve it.
As expected of a famous detective.
Yor nudged his arm and said curiously, "Why do I get the feeling that Mouri-san's voice just now came from behind him?"
Natsukawa coughed, covering for Conan. "It's probably some kind of ventriloquism technique."
Yor: "..."
What kind of ventriloquism makes your voice come from behind you?
Don't try to fool me just because I look a bit naive!
"By the way, Yor-san, I found the sunrise on Tsukikage Island incredibly beautiful this morning. How about we watch it together tomorrow?"
Natsukawa awkwardly changed the subject.
"Really? Okay then." Yor smiled, her expression filled with anticipation.
Although she looked happy, her voice remained soft.
Many of her colleagues from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had come today, and nearly everyone knew her. To prevent gossip from spreading after they returned, she deliberately minimized her interactions with Natsukawa.
Just as their conversation ended, Shimizu Masato, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke.
He sighed first, then looked up at the ceiling, leaning against the wall. His eyes opened and closed repeatedly, as if lost in deep reflection.
"So we were found out after all!"
Inspector Megure's eyes lit up—the case was finally solved. He hadn't slept for an entire day and night.
"I should never have let Narumi return. I never imagined that Kameyama Isamu's death would be connected to him."
Shimizu Masato spoke with a frustrated expression, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it.
Everyone waited quietly for him to continue, not interrupting.
After taking a long drag from his cigarette, Shimizu Masato began recounting his thoughts.
"After Kameyama Isamu died, Kuroiwa and Kawashima took his share. Nishimoto Ken—because Kameyama Isamu's death was so horrific—went insane and was abandoned by them. His share was also seized by those two.
After taking Kameyama Isamu and Nishimoto Ken's portions, they still weren't satisfied. They found an excuse to kick me out and swallowed my share as well.
I thought that after becoming mayor, my status would rise and they'd accept me back into the operation. But I didn't expect them to use benefits to buy off the villagers. That way, no matter how hard I worked, the position of mayor would remain forever out of reach.
I contacted many people and distributed countless gifts for the position of mayor, and my savings were completely depleted.
At that point, they actually had the audacity to mock me, saying I wasn't capable enough, that I wasn't worthy of participating in their transactions. Their insults infuriated me, and the rage in my heart burned fiercely. That's when I thought of using the Dark Web—the same network we'd used for our transactions—to contact an assassin!"
"Shimizu-san!" Asai Narumi's eyes filled with tears as he stared at Shimizu Masato for a long moment.
"Dr. Asai Narumi, you don't need to feel sympathy for him. He's likely one of the murderers who killed your father."
"How could that be?!" Asai Narumi exclaimed in shock. "That's impossible! Kameyama Isamu didn't mention him before he died. And Shimizu-san has been so good to me for over a decade."
"You said it yourself—Kameyama Isamu only gave a rough confession before he died. Perhaps you didn't hear the complete story. As for Shimizu Masato's treatment of you, it was probably meant as atonement. Let's say he has a tiny shred of conscience—but not much."
Shimizu Masato glanced at Asai Narumi and gave a bitter smile. "It really is karma, isn't it?"
"Shimizu-san..."
(End of Chapter 95)
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