Case NOT Closed

The dinner with Masayoshi never happened.

Masayoshi still had some matters to attend to, as being acquitted didn’t mean he could immediately return home; he had to make another trip to the detention center. There were officers from the police headquarters in the lobby, and they would take him temporarily to handle some paperwork.

So, the two of them parted ways in the corridor.

However, as they left, Masayoshi seemed preoccupied.

“I hope that little kid talk didn’t influence him into doing something stupid,” Kensuke muttered and then shrugged.

The contract was over, the trial was won, the fee was paid. Their relationship had come to an end here. As for the rest, it was just a negligible favor.

Whether Masayoshi had a change of heart and turned himself in or wandered around outside without any psychological burden was of no concern to him.

He should think about how to spend that one million yen more practically.

Humming a song by Mai Kuraki, Kensuke, in a good mood, walked out of the corridor and entered the waiting hall of the courthouse.

From a distance, he heard a hubbub of voices.

In the center of the hall, Kensuke saw a swarm of reporters. There were reporters who had come before the trial to try their luck and those who had rushed in after hearing the trial’s outcome. They crowded the entire hall.

“Is it true that the police arrested the suspect without a thorough investigation?”

“Inspector Meguro, please share your thoughts on this trial!”

“Prosecutor Ryuuji, we heard that you and Attorney Kensuke were law school classmates and that you lost your first trial against him. What are your thoughts on this?”

In the midst of the encirclement, people from the police headquarters and the prosecutor’s office were struggling to keep the reporters out.

Seeing this, Kensuke quickly hid behind a folding screen.

Once the troublesome reporters had mostly dispersed, he strolled out casually.

However, he was stopped by a plump police officer in a trench coat and hat just a few steps away.

“Hey, you, that unscrupulous lawyer, stop right there!”

“Hmm, are you calling me, Officer?”

Kensuke raised an eyebrow and turned to look at the round police officer.

Inspector Meguro—some reporters had indeed referred to him as such.

Juzo Megure, this person was considered a veteran character in Conan’s world. Most of the murder cases in the anime were handled by him. Almost every time, the cases couldn’t be solved without the help of detectives, making him the epitome of incompetence in the police department.

“Do you know that the person you defended today is a real murderer?” Inspector Meguro said with a serious tone.

“Oh, here we go again,” Kensuke scratched his ear with his hand.

Just from Conan’s stubborn expression a while ago, Kensuke could guess what he was thinking, it’s probably something that goes along the line of: “Everything you said is wrong, and one day I will catch you.”

“Officer, please, can you get some things straight?” Kensuke sighed and glanced over at Ryuuji Masanami, who was standing nearby.

“Firstly, how can you be sure that he’s the real culprit? You’re just going to believe a few words from a detective? Then what’s the use of your police and prosecutors?”

“Secondly, even if he is the culprit, if he avoids legal punishment, it’s ultimately due to the negligence of the police and prosecutors. It’s the incompetence on the prosecutor’s side. What does it have to do with a simple lawyer like me who is simply doing my job?”

“What did you say?!”

Ryuuji was furious, raising his fist, ready to punch Kensuke.

He had just lost a court case, and now this guy was humiliating him. Who could tolerate that?

“Stop it!”

A cold voice came from the side.

It was Reiko Kujo, and she firmly grabbed Ryuuji’s hand.

“Madam Kujo!”

Ryuuji was so distressed that he was almost in tears.

“Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough?” Reiko scolded him. “Go back and learn how to litigate properly. You disappointed me greatly today!”

“Fine…”

Ryuuji Masanami gritted his teeth, unwilling but forced to swallow his pride for now.

He shot an angry glance at Kensuke and then turned to walk out of the courthouse.

“Kensuke, you’re right. It was indeed our negligence.”

Reiko had an expressionless face, her beautiful eyes gazing at him.

Setting aside Ryuuji Masanami’s issues for now, the biggest failure in this case was actually the mishandling of the evidence at the end. Regardless of the reason, the prosecution should not have allowed the evidence, which was the German Shepherd, to escape to the outside world, providing an opportunity for the defense to exploit.

In the battlefield of the courtroom, any negligence could lead to defeat.

“You’ve taught us a lesson, and we will remember this.”

Reiko gave Kensuke a deep look and then turned to leave the courthouse.

Now, only Kensuke and the people from the police headquarters remained in the courthouse.

“Inspector Meguro, may I leave now?”

Kensuke smiled as he looked at the round and disgruntled police inspector in front of him.

Inspector Meguro, feeling frustrated but unable to do anything, had to step aside and let Kensuke pass.

Kensuke didn’t even glance at them and left the courthouse.

After this court case, he was definitely not on good terms with the people from the prosecution’s side.

But it didn’t matter.

In the profession of a lawyer, could he really expect to get along with detectives, police officers, and prosecutors?

That was not how it worked.

They were natural adversaries from the beginning.

Mihocho, inside an oval-shaped building.

“Dr. Agasa, is the new voice-changing device ready yet?”

Conan sat on a chair, placed his schoolbag down, and urged the elderly man in front of him.

The old man had mostly gray hair, and most of it had fallen out, leaving only a small circle of hair on both sides, the last remnants of his dignity as a middle-aged and elderly man.

“Don’t rush, Shinichi. I’m still working on it.”

Dr. Agasa tinkered with a pile of equipment in front of him.

Conan nodded, “Alright, but please try to make it as soon as possible. The voice-changing device you gave me before had a poor sound sampling rate, and it couldn’t record properly when there was something in between.”

“Kudo, you’ve been acting a bit unusual lately!”

At this moment, a voice came from the side, a voice of a little girl with a hint of playfulness.

The little girl had short chestnut-colored hair and a pair of ice-blue eyes, with a delicate face like a porcelain doll.

Ai Haibara, a little girl who lived with Dr. Agasa.

Conan glanced at her and shook his head, saying, “This has nothing to do with you, Haibara.”

“But I’m very interested,” Ai’s lips curled slightly. “It’s rare to see you so anxious… Can you tell me? Great detective, I really want to know what trouble such a clever person like you has encountered.”