Case NOT Closed

The conversation between Kensuke and Masayoshi continued until noon.

As they were parting ways, Kensuke suddenly remembered something and asked, “Sakaguchi-san, are you absolutely sure that Takeshi was killed by your trained dog?”

“Yes, of course!” Masayoshi replied immediately. “I had been training the dog with those commands for a long time. Takeshi must have been killed by my dog.”

“Sakaguchi-san, is there a possibility,” Kensuke said, “that your commands didn’t have the desired effect, and Takeshi fell down the stairs while playing with your dog?”

“Huh?” Masayoshi was taken aback.

“After all, you weren’t present at the scene, so something like that is possible, and truthfully, him falling down the stairs sounds more plausible than him being killed by a dog that you had trained to respond to your command,” Kensuke shrugged.

In the real world, there were often cases where people believed they were the culprits when the actual truth was different. In a world with a high crime rate like this one, during his legal training and internships, Kensuke had read about many such cases.

It was ultimately a real world, and the original work was just a detective manga. It had many inconsistencies, and the events in the real world might not match what was written in the manga. The manga couldn’t be used as evidence.

After gathering all the information Masayoshi knew, Kensuke left the detention center and headed towards the subway station without wasting a moment.

He had two things to do now.

The first was to visit Masayoshi’s house, the crime scene, for an on-site investigation to gather firsthand information for the upcoming courtroom debate.

The second was to contact the eyewitness at the scene, a woman named Sanae Sugita.

As he walked, Kensuke took out a smartphone from his pocket.

Regarding the technological level in this world, take personal computers (PCs) as an example; they have reached the level of Intel’s 13th generation processors.

However, the customs here were very “nostalgic.” Some places looked modern, while others preserved many facilities and equipment from the last century.

So, it was common to see people using “brick phones,” “flip phones,” and “smartphones” on the streets.

Well, in Conan’s world, this was quite common, so it wasn’t surprising.

Kensuke used his smartphone and dialed a number.

After a bit of Mai Kuraki’s music playing, it took quite a while for an impatient female voice to answer, “I finally got to sleep in on my day off. Who’s this?”

Kensuke tried to maintain a patient tone, “Hello, may I speak to Miss Sanae Sugita, please? I’m Kensuke Komemon, the defense attorney for Mister Masayoshi Sakaguchi.”

“A lawyer? What do you want from me?”

“Are you available right now? Would it be convenient for you to meet in person? I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Oh, I see,” the tone on the other end of the phone immediately changed. “I can meet you, of course. But first, prepare 20,000 yen for my service fee.”

Sanae Sugita was a materialistic girl who loved money, sports cars, jewelry, and all things shiny. She had a brief relationship with Takeshi before.

This information came from Masayoshi, including her phone number, which he provided.

Perhaps driven by resentment, Masayoshi had investigated a lot about Takeshi before the murder case.

Without hesitation, Kensuke agreed to Sanae’s request. “No problem, I’ll give it to you when we meet.”

These additional expenses were not something he had to pay personally. They were considered part of the miscellaneous legal fees separate from the 1 million yen commission fee, and he would reimburse Masayoshi later. This was explicitly stated in the contract they had signed earlier.

After confirming the meeting with the witness, Kensuke wasted no time. He took the subway and bus to reach Miwaka-cho, where Masayoshi’s house was located.

What he saw was a rather large house, a common two-story standalone building in Japan, but larger than average.

Using the key provided by Masayoshi, he opened the front gate. The courtyard was spacious and adorned with some rose bushes emitting a fragrant aroma. Not far away, there was a small doghouse, but it was empty. It was only natural that John, the dog that had attacked a person, wouldn’t be here. All evidence was transferred to the prosecutor’s office before the judicial trial.

Kensuke used the key to open the door and entered the house.

The interior design was a mix of Western and Japanese styles. After passing through the entrance and hallway, he arrived in a large living room.

The living room was spacious, with a high ceiling that reached the second floor. Near the right wall was the staircase leading to the second floor, which was the exact location where Takeshi had died.

Kensuke walked around the living room for a while before reaching the staircase’s position.

The staircase consisted of two segments, and on the landing in between, there remained the outline of a body drawn with white chalk. This was the scene marking for the location of Takeshi’s death.

Kensuke crouched down and stared at the outline for a while. The lower half of the outline was on the landing, while the upper half was on the wall above, indicating that the cause of death was indeed the neck hitting the wall and breaking.

Then, Kensuke stood up and went up the stairs to the second floor.

The landing at the top of the stairs was about ten square meters in size. Along the right wall was a room with a sign reading “Masato,” indicating that it was the room of Masayoshi’s deceased son, Masato Sakaguchi.

This was also where John, the dog, would stand every night to greet its owner.

Kensuke stood on the landing, arms outstretched, measuring its dimensions.

This platform is quite large when you stand on it.

There are several steps between the doorway of Masato’s room and the staircase.

If it were as Masayoshi claimed, that he could accurately and unequivocally make Takeshi fall down the stairs through dog training, then Takeshi must have been extremely careless and unlucky.

After inspecting the area, Kensuke took out a document from his bag. It was a photocopy of the forensic autopsy report on the deceased.

In criminal proceedings, defense attorneys had the right to access, review, extract, and copy documents like this, which were controlled by administrative authorities.

“Hmm…”

Examining the document in his hand and comparing it with the surroundings, Kensuke contemplated.

Regarding how to argue in court, after the on-site investigation, he was starting to form some thoughts.

“Clang!”

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the courtyard.

Kensuke saw several police officers outside, moving a cage containing a dog. There were also two men and women in prosecutor’s office uniforms beside them, along with a few children who were onlookers.

“Hurry up, we still have work to do when we get back!”

“Yes!”

“Woof woof woof!”

The dog inside the cage kept barking and snarling at the police officers outside.

“Conan, didn’t they already send John to the prosecutor’s office? Why is he back?” asked a girl in red among the children.

“Well, when a dog enters a new environment, it can experience some anxiety,” replied Conan, a boy wearing a blue children’s outfit with a bowtie.

“I heard that after John arrived at the prosecutor’s office, he kept barking day and night. The staff over there couldn’t stand it, so they had to temporarily bring him back.”

“I see, that’s so pitiful!”

“Yeah, being used by his owner to commit murder is terrible!”

“How could they make such a kind-hearted dog like John commit murder!”

“They didn’t consider John’s feelings at all!”

The little girl and the two other children, one thin and one chubby, showed sympathetic expressions and strongly criticized John’s owner, Masayoshi Sakaguchi.

At this moment, a sharp and harsh voice came from nearby.

“Adding a baseless sense of justice to a thoughtless animal, elevating its personality, and then criticizing one’s own kind like this, aren’t you kids the despicable ones?”