Wanted Criminal Investigation

Chronology
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Chapter 1068
Information
Title:	Wanted Criminal Investigation
Japanese title:	見当たり捜査 (Miatari Sōsa)
Original release:	February 3rd, 2021
Shōnen Sunday issue:	#10/2021
Volume:	100
Pages:	16
Anime adaptation:	Episode 1085: The Inauspicious Matchmaking (Part 1)  Episode 1086: The Inauspicious Matchmaking (Part 2)

Wanted Criminal Investigation (見当たり捜査 ,Miatari Sōsa) is the 1068th chapter of the manga of Detective Conan. It was written by Gosho Aoyama, drawn by him and his assistants and first released in Shōnen Sunday #10/2021 on February 3, 2021 and has been published as part of Volume 100 on October 18, 2021.

Characters

Introduced

Ms. Kawano
	Kawano's younger sister Swindled by Jinnai

Featured

Characters
Conan Edogawa Ran Mouri Heiji Hattori Kazuha Toyama Wataru Takagi Miwako Sato Kyouma Jinnai Tsurumi Shamoto Torahiko Kawano Soushi Hidaka (body/flashback)

Settings

Featured

• Tokyo Metropolis
  • Beika Ward
    • Haido Town
      • Haido Shrine

Plot

Takagi and Sato arrive at the crime scene and summarize the events. The victim is Soshi Hidaka, 31 years old and a police officer with the department for identifying wanted criminals in public places. He was attacked at the shrine with a blow to the head and pushed unconscious down a flight of stairs. A forensic examination is still pending, but a bloody flag banner on the stairs indicates that the murder weapon was most likely the missing flagpole. According to Ran and Kazuha, Hidaka had mumbled about having identified three wanted criminals on the shrine grounds, making them the three suspects for the murder. Using the victim's index cards, Takagi was able to locate the three criminals on the shrine grounds, which had been cordoned off by the police, and have them brought to the crime scene.

The first suspect is Tsurumi Shamoto, 30 years old and a repeat shoplifting offender. She was handcuffed to the chain lock of a bicycle, which in turn was locked to a street lamp near the parking lot. Both the handcuffs and the chain lock belonged to Hidaka. Sato wonders why Hidaka didn't just handcuff her directly to the lamppost. Tsurumi explains that this was done out of consideration for the victim. At first, he had indeed handcuffed her to the lamppost and was about to chase after the next criminal, but two children who had parked their bicycles in the parking lot came along and made fun of Tsurumi. So that she wouldn't be surrounded by a crowd of people and made a laughing stock, Hidaka tied the handcuffs around the chain lock instead. This made it possible for Tsurumi to hide the handcuffs by crossing her arms in front of her chest, so that only the far less conspicuous chain lock was visible. This way, Tsurumi could lean against the lantern and make it look like she was waiting for someone, preserving at least a little of her dignity. According to her statement, she had accordingly been tied up in the parking lot during the murder, where Takagi had still found her during his search.

Sato wonders why Hidaka hadn't called for help from the police house near the parking lot. Takagi explains that Hidaka had tried, but the officers there were needed at the entrance to the shrine, where a fight had broken out. The brawl was started by the second suspect, Torahiko Kawano, 38 years old. He is wanted for driving without a license and a hit-and-run. Kawano tried to make a run for it when he saw Hidaka chasing Tsurumi, but at the entrance he clashed with some gang members who insulted him. As a former boxer, Kawano then let his fists do the talking, which is why he now has splashes of blood on his face. The masked Heiji speculates that Kawano started the brawl to cover up Hidaka's blood, which was splattered on Kawano during the murder. Kawano gets angry and yells that he wouldn't need to use a rod to commit murder - his fists are the only weapon he would need. Heiji doesn't back down and argues that Kawano's skills as a boxer probably diminished after his career ended and that's why he would need a weapon, which makes Kawano even angrier. He raises his fists and wants to attack Heiji. Heiji has a realization by looking at Kawano's fists and stands protectively in front of Ran and Kazuha. Before Kawano can take another step, however, he is headbutted by Sato, reminding him of his situation as a wanted criminal and a murder suspect held by the police.

The third suspect is Kyoma Jinnai, 29 years old and wanted as a marriage fraudster. He was allegedly not approached by Hidaka and did not even know that he had been identified by a police officer. He was just walking around the shrine grounds looking for his lost wallet, which also contained his credit cards and car keys. Hidaka had therefore recognized and pursued another criminal who has now escaped, and Jinnai was only caught by chance during the investigation. Conan and Heiji have doubts, however, as there are mud splashes on Jinnai's trouser legs caused by running fast on a path with melted snow, for example, which does not match Jinnai's statement. Heiji also says that Jinnai also has something on his face, whereupon he hurriedly grabs his face before Heiji concludes that he only meant Jinnai's birthmark after all.

Sato asks why the suspects were at the shrine. Jinnai wanted to buy the special relationship lucky charm, as his victims would hopefully pour their hearts out to him more quickly. However, after he had bought the lucky charm, his wallet with 100,000 yen in it had disappeared. At this point, Tsurumi speaks up and exposes his lie. She was the one who stole Jinnai's wallet and there was only 3000 yen inside. She had thrown away his wallet and credit cards, but his car key was still in her pocket because she wanted to plunder it too, says Tsurumi while laughing at Jinnai, cackling. Jinnai insults her and inadvertently admits that he actually wanted to escape but couldn't because of the missing wallet.

Tsurumi was accordingly at the shrine to commit pickpocketing. Sato finds this strange because, according to police records, Tsurumi was no longer active as a pickpocket. The records are correct, says Tsurumi, and she also got away from shoplifting because she met a good man who can take care of her. But this man had a car accident and broke his leg, which meant he could no longer work. So Tsurumi decided to pickpocket in the crowds at the shrine to earn a little income.

Sato asks Tsurumi's husband where the accident happened, which reveals that it was Kawano who caused the accident and committed a hit-and-run at the same location in Toriya Town. Kawano thus indirectly brought Tsurumi into the current situation. Kawano himself was at the shrine to get a present for his sister to cheer her up. Said sister had recently been dumped by her boyfriend, whom she had also supported financially. The money disappeared with the boyfriend. But his sister had shown Kawano a picture of the two of them, which is why he now recognizes Jinnai as the swindler who cheated his sister out of her money. So Tsurumi is angry with Kawano for the car accident, Kawano is angry with Jinnai for cheating his sister and Jinnai is angry with Tsurumi for the pickpocketing.

The problem with the case is also the murder weapon. The blood on the flag is Hidaka's blood, but the police can't find the pole. It must be hidden somewhere. Meanwhile, Kazuha and Ran have turned their attention to the snowman near the body. Suddenly there is a strange noise, and the eye of the snowman with a bucket for a hat falls out of its head, clattering to the ground. But the sound of the clattering doesn't match the sound before it, which makes Conan and Heiji suspicious. Sato kneels down and collects the eye. Apparently children have used a gacha capsule as the eye. Sato says that they used tangerines as eyes when they were children as she puts the capsule back into the snowman's head. As she tries to stand up, Sato almost slips, but Takagi catches her. He warns Sato to be careful, as there is still ice on the ground in many places. This gives Heiji and Conan a flash of inspiration. They get Takagi to confirm that there is a tap at the top of the stairs and so they have the case figured out. The murder weapon was right in front of them the whole time, say the two detectives. The familiarity between Conan and "Komoto", the supposed idol under Heiji's mask, makes Ran realize that Heiji is actually under the mask.

Continuity

Referencing

• A Secret Visit to the Shrine (Manga: Volume 100, file 9 (1067) : Flashback to the events that led to Hidaka's murder.

Referenced in

• Snowman (Manga: Volume 100, file 11 (1069)) : Flashback to the suspects and the body of the victim.

Sherry's Soliloquy

Sherry's soliloquy for File 1068.

Sherry's Soliloquy (シェリーのひとりごと ,Sherī no Hitorigoto) is a collection of comments Gosho Aoyama has Ai Haibara say on the official Detective Conan website, Conan News Agency (こなん通信社 Konan Tsūshin-sha) in the course of every new chapter's publication.

Soliloquy of File 1068:
立水栓、どうぶつの森ではウォータービューね・・・
Washbasin faucets are named Water View in Animal Crossing, see.
(February 5, 2021, translation by Spimer)

Animal Crossing Promotional Hints

With every new chapter, players can receive these hints written by Gosho Aoyama in Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Animal Crossing: New Horizons by interacting with four characters named Spade (スペード), Heart (ハート), Diamond (ダイヤ), and Clover (クローバ), who appear in Gosho's Dream Town.

February 8th, 2021:
Spade: I saw movie 1 again-->
Heart: And recalled stuff I'd forgotten, it was fun!
Diamond: K-Kazuha - chan („·_·„)
Clover: That's you! („ ' m ' „)
(Translation by Spimer)

Trivia

The Haido Shrine appearing from file 1067 onwards is based on the Shibuya Hikawa Shrine, which in real life is located in the Higashi district of Shibuya in Tokyo. Gosho Aoyama personally visited the place to shoot the reference photos.

Adaptations

The Inauspicious Matchmaking (episodes 1085-1086)

• The anime add some original scenes not in the manga:

• Conan asks Ran if he can go for a walk rather than standing in line, before go to approach Heiji.
• Conan thinking the reason why the suspects stay at the shrine and if the flagpole is really the weapon.
• Conan wondering if Kazuha would have known Heiji is the man behind the mask, and what Heiji will do if she knows.
• Conversation between Conan and Kazuha about what Heiji might be doing at the moment.

• While the cases where Heiji attempted to confess Kazuha were mentioned in the manga, the anime add flashback scenes of those cases.
• In the manga, Shinichi is shown in the background while Conan is thinking about the mysterious sound. In the anime it is not shown.
• The anime change how Sato deal with Kawano when he got provoked by Heiji. Instead of hitting Kawano on the head, Sato pulls his ear.
• The anime add more reaction from Shamoto when she heard Kawano is responsible of her current condition. She tried to kick Kawano several times, and when Takagi tried to calm them down, Shamoto kicked Takagi several times.

See also

• Manga
• Volume 91-100
• Detective Conan

References

1. Summary translated from the German version of December 16, 2023.