pdf-ebookys Chapter 92 The Detective's Thought Process
Chapter 92 The Detective's Thought Process
Having learned from the bank robbery that occurred more than a month ago, the police in Feiyun City have become significantly faster at responding to calls.
Not long after Hugo called the police, the local police officer arrived at the scene with lightning speed to maintain order.
Then, almost in the blink of an eye, the desolate beach was surrounded by a swarm of police cars. As far as the eye could see, there were only black and white patches of color.
The area around the deep pit dug by Ibu and the long-haired dog was now filled with police officers wearing protective caps and forensic doctors in white coats. Yellow police tape had been put up around the area, and the detective trio were politely asked by the officers to provide their first-hand testimony.
Perhaps because Hugo had explained everything clearly on the phone, or perhaps because the detective's identification, which he always carried, came in handy, the police didn't question them for too long. After a brief interrogation, they released the three men. It was as if these three nosy fellows hadn't dug up the body.
Despite the police's polite treatment, the detective still lied to them. In order to keep the almost-doll super stone, which had become important evidence, on his person, he lied and said that the valuable gem was still in the hands of the tree fruit grower, Sister Reina.
After all, once unclaimed evidence enters the police station, it can never leave again. Hugo was unwilling to see the items his client found go to waste, so he cleverly tampered with them.
This Mega Stone, which contains magical power, is currently being carried by Piplup and hidden inside a Poké Ball.
"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen Officer Jenny and Sera?"
On the way away from where the body was found, Bilan stared at the police officers coming and going for a long time, but still couldn't find the familiar couple, which made her wonder.
Hugo answered without hesitation, "I informed the police pair about the progress of the investigation beforehand. They are now doing everything they can to identify the deceased. There are only a handful of scholars in the United States specializing in geological research, so it's only a matter of time before they find out the body's identity."
"Does that mean the case is about to have a major breakthrough?" the girl asked expectantly. "Once we find out the identity of the deceased, we'll know who harbored hatred towards him. Then, by eliminating the alibis of those people on the list, we can identify the most likely suspect."
"Heh." A sneer came from the old man Naoki, who had been observing coldly all along. "Using this method, I'm afraid that in the end, they won't be able to find a single suspect, right? Don't forget the Poké Ball that was stolen from the body. A premeditated murderer wouldn't do something so superfluous."
Mr. Naoki seemed to believe this was a simple case of spirit robbery, and his reasoning did have some merit. However, the detective's assistant didn't see it that way—
"Why do you say that? The murderer could also have deliberately created the evidence of a robbery and murder to mislead the police investigation. Moreover, if the murderer didn't dispose of the victim's Pokémon, the Pokémon would become eyewitnesses to the crime, so the Pokémon would also be a target that the murderer had to get rid of."
Azure's thinking was very clear, and she refuted the old man's arguments with precision.
"Furthermore, I suspect that the cause of death is related to the Mega Stone of the Almost Doll, otherwise the box on the body cannot be explained."
"Then tell me, why did that incredibly important pink glass ball end up rolling down the drain onto the main road?"
The gaunt, gloomy old man sneered at Bilan. Perhaps he couldn't deduce, but he was certainly good at arguing.
Perhaps it's the same-sex repulsion among retired trainers, but Naoki and his detective assistant are particularly at odds, and right now they're almost arguing about the reasoning behind this murder case.
Hugo seemed oblivious to the sarcasm and taunts from the two people behind him, and walked at the very front of the group.
The detective simply wanted to find a quiet place to think; he originally planned to go straight back to the Feather Residence.
Although the old man Naoki looked unwilling, even though the two-hour time limit had long been over, he still followed the detective like a piece of chewing gum stuck to the sole of a shoe, clearly enjoying himself.
Having just witnessed the stubbornness of the elderly, Hugo didn't want to directly shoo them away, so he simply changed his route and started strolling along the coastline of Flying Cloud City.
Sure enough, if I quickened my pace a little, the arguing behind me subsided considerably. If I quickened my pace even a little more, the whole world fell silent.
At midday, the harbor was bustling with ships, and many Fighting-type Pokémon, such as the old repairman, were busy moving goods up and down the side of the ships—but this was only the case for small vessels.
In the distance, a large seaport is anchored with real cargo ships weighing tens of thousands of tons. Containers are piled up on the ships like small mountains of high-rise buildings. Unloading the cargo is beyond the capabilities of the elves. Only the pairs of giant tower cranes that resemble a forest on both sides of the port can handle this task.
Hugo took a deep breath of the slightly salty sea breeze and continued his reasoning—
No one commits suicide by cutting open the back of their neck, and no one buries their own body after death. Therefore, the death must have been a homicide.
Based on the condition of the wound, the tool used to make the incision must have been some kind of hard, keratinous object. From this perspective, the fatal blow was most likely delivered by a Pokémon. For a human to carry out such an attack, they would have needed to silently approach the victim from behind with a heavy object with a sharp cross-section and then launch a sudden attack.
However, the crime scene was near a beach, where the sand would make a rustling sound underfoot, so it was impossible for the deceased not to notice the person behind him.
Similarly, the possibility of wild Pokémon attacking the victim can also be ruled out, as that would also attract the victim's attention.
Of course, some wild Pokémon with the "Levitate" ability could kill under the above conditions. But the detective had lived in Castelia City for over a year and had long since become one with the wild Pokémon around him. As far as he knew, there were no wild Pokémon in the vicinity that could both "levitate" and leave such wounds.
Therefore, there must be a human criminal who can use Pokémon.
After this reasoning, the circumstances of the victim's death become crystal clear—
At the time, the victim was distracted by something or someone, and then the murderer secretly released a Pokémon behind the victim. The Pokémon used a move like "Ambush the Vital Point," which hit a vital point, and the victim was instantly injured and collapsed.
At this point, we can begin to reconstruct the scene of the incident.
Hugo took into account the deceased's suit, the discovered Mega Stone of the Doll, and the box containing the Mega Stone, and added in the currently unconfirmed speculative information, thus arriving at a relatively reasonable death scenario.
The deceased was a geological prospector who spent most of his time traveling through remote mountains and wilderness. He had almost no friends and even fewer enemies. This monotonous work destined him to be a recluse. He had worn a wedding ring on his left hand, but it was no longer there, suggesting that he was probably divorced.
But this geologist paid special attention to the day he was about to die, and even dug out his expensive suit that he hadn't worn in a long time—this could be seen from the ratio of creases to iron marks on the suit, and the smell of dust on the inside.
He was going to meet someone he greatly respected. That person couldn't be a woman; it had to be a man. The deceased's tie with his suit was a plain, understated gray—not the kind of style that women would like. And he wasn't wearing cologne—which was very unusual, because he regularly used a deodorant made from a certain lily-of-the-valley fragrance. Someone who cared about his scent would definitely switch to men's cologne when meeting important women, but he didn't.
The man he met, the one whom a geologist held in the highest esteem, killed him without mercy.