Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Assassination
In the dark venue of the banquet.
The spotlight beam fell on a middle-aged man wearing a suit.
Um... how should I put it...
This Representative Takada really has a unique character... Let's not even talk about his appearance—small head, wide chin, his whole face like an oval-shaped potato.
And even more intriguing is his hairstyle. He's basically bald, but as for why I say "basically," it's because he has a tuft of hair on his forehead shaped like a comma.
Just a small tuft, hanging down in the center of his brow.
As Senichi said, he had never seen such a unique hairstyle before. It's really, really distinctive...
"Come, Representative, this way, please."
Amidst the applause of the crowd, the man in his thirties that Senichi and the others had discussed earlier made a gesture to guide Representative Takada.
"Amazing, you guessed right." Ayako looked at the bespectacled man beside Representative Takada in astonishment. "He really is the representative's secretary, just like Senichi-kun said!"
"But the organizers of the banquet are impressive too. It was so dark here just now, yet they managed to accurately find Representative Takada's position." Ran applauded while speaking.
"They probably predetermined the representative's location from the beginning." Conan said, "Look, that uncle there has a small microphone clipped to his chest. Maybe it lights up automatically when the spotlight shines on it."
"But why isn't Mr. Representative walking straight to the podium?" Ran looked at Representative Takada, who was irregularly advancing through the crowd, with curiosity.
"Well... perhaps it's a common trait among important figures." Senichi smiled and said, "They try to consider everyone and show their affability. It's a quality that representatives should possess, after all. They need support."
Meanwhile, Conan scanned the area where the out-of-place man had been earlier, but his figure had vanished when the lights went out.
"President Ishimoto, excuse me for a moment."
With the movement of the spotlight, the representative's secretary led the non-mainstream hairstyle Representative Takada forward.
But just as Representative Takada passed by President Ishimoto, an unexpected incident occurred!
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the sound of a gunshot, the next moment, a bullet grazed President Ishimoto's shoulder and pierced into the heart of the representative behind him.
"Niikura..." Representative Takada clutched his wounded heart, struggling to say something, but before he could finish speaking, he fell silent.
The tuft of hair on his head swayed in the air as Representative Takada's body shook, and his heavy body slammed heavily onto the ground.
Witnessing Representative Takada's corpse falling to the ground, the guests finally realized what had happened. Countless people fell into panic.
Even Senichi didn't expect that this case would involve firearms and happen so suddenly, without any warning signs.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!"
Accompanied by a terrified scream from within the venue, the guests at the banquet, who had displayed grace earlier, were now in a state of panic. They regained their senses and rushed towards the exit, their faces filled with fear.
Senichi protected Ayako and pulled Ran, Conan, and her close together to prevent them from being knocked down or trampled in the chaos. At the same time, he quickly scanned the potential locations from where the perpetrator might have fired.
Finally, above the stage, in the room where the lights were placed, Senichi caught a glimpse of a fleeting suspicious figure.
Almost instantly, he recognized the man as the same person who stood out at the banquet.
"You and Ran-san stay here!" He urgently instructed Ayako before rushing out.
To the left side of the venue's entrance was a blind spot, also the staircase leading to the lighting room on the upper floor. The door to the lighting room was already open, indicating that the suspicious figure had already vanished.
Conan followed closely and glanced up the stairs, but ultimately shook his head, indicating that the room was empty.
Meanwhile, Senichi scanned the surroundings but didn't find any suspicious individuals, so he reluctantly gave up.
However, not apprehending the culprit didn't mean there was nothing to do. Senichi immediately returned to the banquet hall and revealed his identity. He quickly organized the hotel staff to stabilize the scene and prevent any stampedes or further injuries.
...
The police arrived quickly.
Inspector Megure, accompanied by Takagi, soon appeared at the scene.
However, upon seeing Senichi, Megure couldn't help but express his surprise. "Senichi-kun, what are you doing here?"
"Attending the banquet," Senichi replied helplessly. "After obtaining Iwato Kaze's autograph, I thought everything would go smoothly at the banquet. Who could have expected such an unexpected incident, and a shooting at that..."
Most of the previous cases were ordinary homicides, so this shooting came as a significant shock to Senichi.
It's worth mentioning that this case was entirely different from the usual ones and completely reshaped Senichi's understanding. He had never touched a gun in his previous life, only seeing them on TV or online. One could say that unless he joined the military, he wouldn't come into contact with a real firearm in his lifetime.
Yet, here he was, encountering a shooting incident so casually, and as a party involved. It wasn't a very pleasant experience.
Damn, this isn't "Gunfight at the OK Corral." Obtaining firearms this casually is just too much.
For Senichi, who didn't have the ability to dodge bullets or counter them, he felt incredibly weak at the moment and couldn't help but tremble.
"It seems I need to strengthen my combat abilities," Senichi vowed silently.
While he had known that physical skills were essential, experiencing this firsthand made a deep impression on him. He didn't want to lose his life to a stray bullet one day.
"Senichi-kun, you've been a great help. Now, please tell me about the situation at the crime scene," Inspector Megure interrupted Senichi's thoughts, urging him to provide a detailed account.
Afterward, Senichi explained the situation at the time and presented a threatening letter he received before Inspector Megure arrived.
The letter was obtained from president Ishimoto, who was shot in the shoulder. Before Inspector Megure and the others arrived, it was given to Senichi by Kogoro Mouri when he explained the chain of events.
The reason president Ishimoto turned to Kogoro Mouri instead of the police was twofold. First, president Ishimoto held a strong dislike for law enforcement officers. Second, if no actual crime had occurred, the police wouldn't seriously investigate the matter.
This is also something that can not be helped, after all, It was like the relationship of cause and effect, where committing a crime was the cause, and arrest was the effect—an irreversible process.
Of course, apart from the threatening letter, the photos taken by Conan earlier also came in handy.
In the pictures, the man wearing sunglasses in the background was directly above the politician on the podium in the lighting room at the time of the incident. Not only did he appear suspicious, but he also had the means to commit the crime, making him the prime suspect at the moment.
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