"Such a wound, and it actually killed someone… Either the victim was incredibly unlucky, or the perpetrator stabbed for a long time," Hei Baishi remarked, parting the hair at the back of the victim's head to examine the wound on the neck.
The body was propped against the wall, with the only wound being a small, barely bleeding "dot" on the back of the neck.
Based on Baishi's experience, such a spinal cord injury would typically impair mobility, but the likelihood of it being fatal was low.
"Inspector Baishi, did you know the victim?" Shinichi asked keenly.
He had noticed a change in Officer Baishi's expression upon seeing the body…
Of course, Shinichi didn't think Baishi was the culprit!
Having stayed awake earlier, combined with his exceptional memory, Shinichi clearly recalled who had visited the restroom during the estimated time of death.
Officer Baishi had been in first class the whole time and hadn't come near.
And…
Honestly, even someone with a terrible memory would surely notice if a "moving wall" like Baishi passed by!
"Hm? Brother Baishi…" Megure tensed up at Shinichi's question, thinking to himself: As expected… Brother Baishi isn't on vacation at all!
Seeing their reactions, Baishi didn't hide anything and said, "Kazuhiro Ootaka, 29 years old, freelance photographer. While he's produced some award-winning work, his main income comes from candid blackmail photos."
"Candid blackmail, huh…" Megure immediately felt a headache coming on—this was a "high-risk profession" with plenty of people who'd hold a grudge!
"So that's it. That would explain why his pants pocket was wet," Shinichi muttered.
"Wet pants pocket?" Megure immediately picked up on Shinichi's comment.
"Inspector Baishi noticed it too, right?" Shinichi had already observed that this "Organized Crime" officer was meticulous in investigating the crime scene.
Baishi turned to glance at the smug high schooler before nodding. "Yeah, the inner lining of the pants pocket was wet. There's blood on the wall behind, but its position doesn't match the wound—it's much lower. Also, near the fatal neck wound, there's a trace of something being scraped."
Spotting these clues was second nature to Baishi.
After all, beyond his base attributes, certain technical skills were also within the scope of the "Point-Adding System"!
His [Evidence Collection] skill was already at Level 7…
And since Baishi had also maxed out his base attribute [Insight] to Level 10, his [Evidence Collection] performed at Level 7 (+2)!
The system couldn't directly influence Baishi's thoughts or make him think of things he wouldn't otherwise, but…
From Baishi's perspective, when he saw "crime scene clues," they were automatically highlighted with a "glowing effect" only he could see.
Thus, clues of this level were as clear as day to Baishi!
After speaking, Baishi, who had been visibly disappointed, perked up slightly. "It seems someone moved the body after death and did a quick search."
"Searched the body? So that means…" Megure caught on.
"Exactly. He was carrying photos or negatives that were damaging to someone, and during a blackmail deal, he was silenced for good," Baishi speculated.
Shinichi noticed that, compared to the "murder case" at hand, Baishi seemed far more interested in the blackmail photos tied to Kazuhiro Ootaka!
"That makes things easier!" Shinichi suddenly declared.
As the three officers looked at him, Shinichi said smugly, "The possible suspects… those who visited the restroom during the time of the crime, aside from the victim, number four in total. My seat's in the last row, and I remember them."
"Can you recall their faces? Let's call those four over," Baishi said quickly.
Seeing this, Shinichi was even more convinced that Officer Baishi was on this flight specifically for the victim, never expecting the person he was tailing would be killed mid-flight!
"Sigh… I'll leave it to you," Megure said, knowing he couldn't stop Baishi. As a First Investigation Section officer, his job was to solve the case, and he didn't want to meddle in Baishi's affairs.
As Baishi and Shinichi walked off, Takagi curiously asked, "Inspector Megure, who's that kid? Most people can't remember someone's face after just one glance—four people who just passed by… and in such a dark environment…"
Takagi was beginning to realize the astonishing memory behind the clues Shinichi provided!
After all, in interrogations, he often asked eyewitnesses or victims about a suspect's appearance.
Most couldn't describe someone they'd seen only once during a sudden crime. Even face-to-face, people rarely remembered details clearly after five minutes. Change the suspect's clothes, and within an hour, most couldn't confidently identify them.
"He's the son of an old friend, a mystery novelist. I used to consult his father on some cases… Now that I think about it, even as a kid, he was always running around crime scenes. Seems it honed his scene analysis skills…" Megure said wistfully.
With Yusaku Kudo out of the country lately, Megure hadn't seen his old friend in a while.
"Huh? So we've got a backer?" Takagi zeroed in on the key point.
And then…
He got chewed out by Megure!
The new recruits in the First Investigation Section these days were getting worse and worse!
…
Meanwhile, under Shinichi's lead, Baishi met the four people who had visited the restroom…
Baishi noticed that Shinichi was genuinely identifying them by their faces, not their seat positions!
Since it was a night flight, Shinichi's seat was half-reclined, making it impossible to see where people were seated. He only caught glimpses of their faces as they passed—a habit of a "deduction enthusiast."
And…
To remember someone's appearance after a fleeting glance in the dark, Baishi estimated that, per the system's ratings, Shinichi's base attribute [Memory] was at least Level 7!
Baishi himself was only at Level 7 for [Memory], as base attributes cost too many points to upgrade. So far, he had only maxed out [Physique], [Mental Fortitude], and [Insight] to Level 10. His maxed [Insight] was partly due to his high [Physique] enhancing his five senses and high [Mental Fortitude] improving his focus, which lowered the upgrade requirements for [Insight].
Generally, a base attribute at Level 6 was already "highly exceptional" or "beyond ordinary," while a technical skill at Level 6 was considered "mastery-level"…
Baishi also noticed that the four people Shinichi pointed out were seated "around the victim's seat," all in the same area!
They were: Toritsu Amano, a young woman with short hair seated in the same row as the victim, Kazuhiro Ootaka; Tsuneo Utsukai, a chubby older man in the seat across the aisle; Noboru Washinuma, a scruffy bearded man directly behind; and Edward Crowe, a middle-aged Caucasian man directly in front.
Seeing Baishi approach, the four… no, including Chizuru Tatsukawa, a long-haired woman traveling with Amano, all five looked nervous.
Unfortunately, Shinichi couldn't glean much from their emotions…
After all, with Officer Baishi standing there, anyone would be nervous!
Shinichi also sensed that Officer Baishi wasn't just physically imposing but carried a unique, intimidating aura. He thought to himself: No wonder he's from Organized Crime. With that presence… even yakuza members would tremble in front of him!
And it wasn't surprising—Baishi's technical skill [Intimidation] was at Level 7, boosted by his Level 10 [Mental Fortitude], resulting in a performance of Level 7 (+2), practically "peerless" in this regard.
Unless someone had exceptionally strong [Mental Fortitude] or was backed by a group, they'd inevitably be affected by Baishi's presence.
"What's going on? Kazuhiro… our companion went to the restroom and hasn't come back," Amano asked nervously.
"You four, come with me. Don't try anything funny!" Baishi said bluntly.
"Huh? Uh… what are you… Okay, fine…" The chubby man, Utsukai, hesitated, glanced at Baishi, and then agreed without objection.
"Officer Baishi, you forgot to show your badge…" Shinichi quietly reminded him.
"Oh, I'm with the police… My bad. I'm from Organized Crime, so I'm not used to dealing with regular folks," Baishi said, pulling out his badge while feigning embarrassment.
Indeed, as an Organized Crime officer, he usually dealt with uncooperative yakuza members, which meant Organized Crime cops often spoke in rough slang and weren't exactly polite!
Of course, that was just the surface reason…
Shinichi noticed that during this exchange, Officer Baishi was closely watching the Caucasian man in the front seat. When he mentioned "Organized Crime," the man's expression visibly changed!
(End of Chapter)