Chapter 56: This Is Suicide

After the police arrived, everyone began to examine the body carefully.
However, there was a clear and distinct difference between the forensic pathologists of Osaka and those of Tokyo.
A forensic pathologist in Tokyo only needed to make a minimal effort to arrive at the conclusion of a case.
In contrast, the forensic pathologist from Osaka examined the body for a long time without having the slightest clue what kind of poison the deceased had ingested.
"Take a look at the victim's hands," Shoichi reminded them from the side.
"Huh?"
The pathologist was momentarily stunned. Am I the professional or are you the professional? What gives you the right to order me around?
Yet, he obediently moved the victim's hand.
The people here were either wealthy or noble and simply could not be offended.
"There's a white line on the fingernails," Heiji said in a low voice.
Shoichi offered another reminder: "The victim's eye sockets are sunken and the skin is dehydrated. This is severe dehydration."
The Osaka forensic pathologist was simply a blockhead.
Even after Shoichi had dropped hints to this extent, the man still remained completely clueless.
"Arsenic compounds. Arsenic trioxide. This is the phenomenon that occurs when someone ingests arsenic," Shoichi stated.
"Oh, oh! I'll go check again right away," the pathologist stammered foolishly.
Shoichi cast a look of utter contempt at the Osaka pathologist.
Too poor, simply too poor. It was hardly any wonder that Nagamune, the forensic pathologist in Tokyo, was able to secure rapid promotions; there were clear reasons for it.
"How do you know so much?" Heiji couldn't help but ask.
Could it be that this scion of a wealthy conglomerate also fancied himself a detective?
Shoichi smiled and said, "I frequently kill—ahem, I mean, I just happen to take a bit more interest in these sorts of things.
"Speaking of which, I often audited chemistry classes back when I was in university."
Shoichi's recovery wasn't fast enough; Heiji could easily fill in the rest of the sentence that Shoichi had left unfinished.
He stepped forward, grabbed Shoichi's arm, and discovered some white powder clinging to his sleeve.
"It's arsenic!" Heiji shouted loudly.
Shoichi frowned.
"How can you prove this is arsenic? Do you want to taste it?" Shoichi asked.
"Hmph!"
Heiji let out a cold snort, borrowed a pair of gloves from the pathologist, put them on, and scooped the white powder from Shoichi's sleeve into a plastic evidence bag.
Handing it to the pathologist, he said, "Test this, and you'll know whether it's arsenic or not."
After taking the bag, the pathologist wore a very strange expression.
Should he really test it?
"Run the test. It'll be a good way to clear my name," Shoichi said.
"Yes!"
Sumitomo Taro, who had been watching from the sidelines the entire time, had his brows locked tightly together. When he saw the white powder on Shoichi's sleeve, he instinctively reached toward his own sleeve as well.
What?!
Sumitomo Taro suffered a jolt of shock. There was white powder on his sleeve, too.
However, he chose not to make a fuss, quietly brushed it clean, and continued to stand off to the side.
Conan frowned, feeling that matters surely couldn't be this simple.
Earlier, he had overheard someone instructing 'Vodka' to poison Takahashi to death.
Someone like Shoichi, born into a major conglomerate family, shouldn't be a member of a criminal organization, let alone a hired killer.
"Big brothers, does arsenic poisoning hurt a lot?" Conan suddenly asked out loud.
"It causes agonizing abdominal cramps," Heiji replied with a frown.
Yet, earlier, no one had heard Takahashi utter a single scream of agony.
Shoichi chimed in as well: "Furthermore, death doesn't happen instantly after ingesting arsenic. Takahashi would have felt physical discomfort, yet he didn't seem to cry out for help."
Heiji looked down at the deceased. Then, what was the reason behind all this?
At that moment, the pathologist spoke up foolishly: "However, my tests show that there is indeed a large amount of arsenic inside the victim's body. Furthermore, the wine the victim drank contains a massive quantity of arsenic."
"Wait?! A massive quantity of arsenic?!" Heiji said, his brows furrowing deeply.
For an ordinary person, ingesting three hundred milligrams was already lethal.
If Shoichi had been the one to poison him, based on the profound knowledge of arsenic he had just displayed, he certainly wouldn't have used such an excessive amount.
No!
If he were going to commit murder by poisoning, he wouldn't even use a poison as crude as arsenic in the first place.
"So, why did Takahashi drink an excessive amount of arsenic without letting out a single scream or calling for help, only to collapse directly onto the floor and die?" Shoichi asked Heiji.
Shoichi then turned to the surrounding crowd and asked, "Who was Takahashi-san in contact with during the half-hour before his death?"
"Takahashi-san was sitting alone at a table drinking," Conan raised his hand and answered.
He looked at Shoichi and said, "I saw him drinking by himself. Besides, alcohol seems to make the effects of arsenic take hold much faster."
Heiji glanced down at the young child.
Why was it that even a random kid knew so much about arsenic?
What on earth was going on in Tokyo?
Even a child was so familiar with a poison like arsenic.
He then glared at that utterly useless forensic pathologist.
How was it that this guy seemed even less competent than a child? Could someone like this really handle a case properly?
Heiji rubbed his temples.
An excessive dose of arsenic had been ingested, yet before dying, Takahashi had not let out any screams or cries for help.
Therefore, "Was it suicide?"
"Bingo." Shoichi clapped his hands lightly.
He looked at the police officers and the pathologist and asked, "Detective Hattori has already presented his deduction. Do any of you have any objections?"
The police officers looked at each other in dismay and could only turn their gazes toward Heizo Hattori.
"Hold on!"
Heiji spoke up again. "If that's the case, why is there arsenic on your sleeve?"
"He probably wanted to frame me," Shoichi said calmly.
Yet, looking at Shoichi's expression and attitude, Heiji felt that it would only be normal if Shoichi were the one framing someone else.
"Hattori-kun, Takahashi-san and I had no grudges between us. I have no motive to kill him," Shoichi reasoned.
"But the arsenic on your sleeve is evidence," Heiji retorted.
"You're just being unreasonable now."
Shoichi spread his hands. "Takahashi-san ingested a fatal dose of arsenic and couldn't possibly have survived for half an hour. Yet, during that half-hour, I had no contact with him whatsoever.
"The arsenic on my sleeve might simply have been scattered onto me by Takahashi-san himself during an earlier interaction."
While Heiji remained locked in a battle of wits with Shoichi, little Conan had already gone off elsewhere to search for clues.
Having kept his eyes on Takahashi earlier, Conan knew that the man had made a trip to the restroom.
Finding a crumpled piece of paper in the restroom trash can, Conan finally managed to piece together the entire sequence of events, instantly clearing up the doubts he had held moments before.
Hurrying back, he saw Kogoro Mouri standing idly by just watching the spectacle, completely clueless about the discussions Shoichi and the others had just been having regarding the symptoms of arsenic poisoning or lethal dosages—unable to insert himself into the conversation at all.
Without a moment's hesitation, Conan drew a tranquilizer dart and fired it straight into Kogoro Mouri's neck with a sharp *thwip*.
Kogoro Mouri's eyes rolled back, and he slumped directly into a chair.
"I have already solved the truth of this case,"
Kogoro Mouri's voice echoed into everyone's ears.
"Takahashi-san committed suicide!"