SWNOVELXO Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Denial
The police from the First Investigative Division arrived late.
They were accompanied by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (EOD) from the Tokyo International Exhibition Center.
This group specializes in handling bombs and other hazardous devices. They are equipped with specialized tools and protective gear to safely disarm explosives.
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Officer Juzo Megure of the Criminal Investigation Division 3 led his officers to the Tokyo International Exhibition Center, where he met with Ginzo Nakamori, also from the police department, and listened to his account of the situation.
"Brother Nakamori, why are you dressed like that?"
"Let's focus on the case first—it's more important."
Although Ginzo Nakamori and Juzo Megure held the same police rank and both were part of the department, Megure still referred to Nakamori as "brother" since he was slightly younger.
Seeing Nakamori's oddly inappropriate attire, Megure couldn't help but feel curious.
Nakamori, however, looked embarrassed and swiftly changed the subject.
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'Conan-kun and Sera… why are those two here again?'
Upon spotting the two detectives, Megure silently cursed.
He now felt their presence brought as much bad luck as Kogoro Mouri.
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Sera Masumi approached Megure and said, "Officer Megure, the person responsible for this explosion is likely Takashi Tsukino."
"Tsukino just broadcasted a message from the control room, so he must still be here."
"If we head to the control room now, we might be able to track him down."
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Megure nodded solemnly and summoned several armed detectives to follow Sera to the monitoring room in Hall B.
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Outside the Monitoring Room
A detective pressed his ear against the door, listening carefully for any movement inside. After a moment, he shook his head at the officers behind him.
Megure gestured to the officer to proceed.
Knocking lightly on the door, he announced, "This is the Metropolitan Police First Investigative Division. Is anyone inside?"
However, after calling out several times, there was no response.
When his attempts proved futile, the officer carefully turned the door handle, opening the door to reveal an empty room.
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The computer screens still displayed surveillance footage, but there was no one inside.
"This is strange," Sera Masumi remarked as she stepped into the monitoring room.
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"Wasn't there supposed to be a staff member making announcements for the entire venue? So why isn't anyone here?"
One of the detectives from the Second Investigative Division, who had accompanied Megure and the others, voiced his confusion.
"Maybe Kaitou Kid knocked her unconscious and is hiding somewhere," Megure suggested.
"But if that's the case, who sent the error correction broadcast just now?
And if Kaitou Kid already declared the gem fake, why would he need to correct his statement?"
Sera questioned.
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Megure was perplexed.
The Second Division detective was also momentarily at a loss for words.
Sera scanned the room but found nothing out of place.
She stood behind an officer reviewing the surveillance footage. After watching for a while, she heard the officer mutter, "Strange…"
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"What's wrong?" Sera asked.
"The surveillance footage from that time is missing. I don't know if it wasn't recorded or if it was deleted," the officer replied.
"Is there any way to recover it?" Sera inquired.
"I'm not sure. I'm not an expert," the officer admitted.
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Sera sighed softly, but before she could say anything, the hallway outside the monitoring room suddenly became noisy.
She turned to look.
The commotion turned out to be the police, who had spotted a suspicious figure while following Megure back to Arena C.
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The person had been apprehended by detectives from the First Investigative Division.
After a quick identity check, the individual was confirmed to be Takashi Tsukino, who had been missing for some time.
At the same time, officers found a stun device in Tsukino's pocket.
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"Mr. Tsukino, why haven't we been able to reach you since this afternoon?"
A detective from the Second Investigative Division questioned Tsukino.
"Kaitou Kid knocked me unconscious! He disguised himself as Professor Kenichi Matsumoto and tried to steal the gem from me," Tsukino explained.
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"So you admit the gem is with you?"
Sera Masumi quickly picked up on the implications of Tsukino's words.
Realizing his mistake, Tsukino hastily added, "No! Didn't Kaitou Kid already take the gem?"
"Are you referring to the gem authenticated by you earlier today?"
"Yes," Tsukino confirmed.
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Sera frowned further.
Tsukino's statement aligned with the earlier broadcast.
However, Sera had already determined that the gem Conan and the others obtained was fake.
'At that time, Tsukino Takashi tried to cover up the gem's authenticity,' Sera thought.
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"Mr. Tsukino, that gem is actually a fake," she said.
"You likely swapped it with the real gem and set it up for Kaitou Kid to steal."
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Sera noticed Tsukino's expression briefly shift to surprise before he quickly composed himself and protested, "No, how could I do such a thing?
The gem is mine—why would I need to do something like that with my own property?"
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Sera shook her head regretfully.
"Mr. Tsukino, what were you doing this afternoon?"
"I heard Kaitou Kid stole the Moonlight Necklace, so I angrily returned to my own hall," Tsukino replied.
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"But I've discovered that the surveillance footage from that time has been deleted," the officer reviewing the video said.
"There's no record of what Mr. Tsukino did during that period."
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(End of Chapter)