Capítulo 82: Chapter 82: Comes to an End for Now
"Mr. Ohga, you must also know Mr. Kousaka, who just passed away, right?"
Sera Masumi's unexpected words startled Takao Ohga.
Sera Masumi noticed the surprised look on Ohga Takao's face and immediately explained:
"After you heard the scream earlier, you were too determined in rushing over here."
"Usually, when someone unexpectedly discovers a person unconscious, the first step is to shout at the patient to check if they're still conscious and then determine the cause of the fainting."
"But you skipped this step entirely. Instead, you immediately checked his pulse and breathing and asked me to get a defibrillator (DEA). That means you must have known beforehand that Mr. Kousaka would be unconscious, right?"
"Or is it possible that you know Mr. Kousaka and that he's prone to fainting?"
Ohga Takao was taken aback by Sera Masumi's sharp observation.
Although Sera Masumi's reasoning for knowing about the connection between Ohga and Tsunekazu Kousaka sounded a bit far-fetched, her confident tone made it clear that she had already decided that Ohga must know Tsunekazu Kousaka.
Faced with this deduction, Ohga Takao initially wanted to deny it.
However, he realized that if the police investigated, it would be easy to uncover the relationship between him and Kousaka Tsunekazu.
He chose not to hide it any longer and nodded.
"Yes, I know Mr. Kousaka. He's a client of my hospital and came to us for some minor adjustments."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at the obese Tsunekazu Kousaka, lying motionless on the floor, in shock.
No one had expected that someone like Tsunekazu Kousaka would visit a plastic surgery hospital for adjustments.
Takao Ohga continued,
"I'm not sure why Mr. Kousaka fell into a coma, but I've heard that he has respiratory issues and even needs a ventilator when he sleeps."
"So, I suspect that Mr. Kousaka may have experienced sudden symptoms like apnea, which led to his collapse."
"That explains it," Sera Masumi nodded before whispering to Miwako Sato:
"Officer Sato, please send someone to check if Mr. Kousaka has any asthma inhalers in his belongings."
"Also, since Kousaka needs a ventilator to sleep, it's unlikely he would request the Suzuki Foundation to prepare a room for him."
"Just in case, let's confirm whether Mr. Kousaka had booked a room. This will also verify whether Mr. Ohga is lying."
"Understood," Miwako Sato agreed.
Sera Masumi didn't overly doubt Takao Ohga's words since they could easily be verified. Whether or not he was involved in Kousaka Tsunekazu's death, there was no need for him to lie about such details.
After giving instructions to her subordinate, Sato Miwako turned her attention back to the investigation.
Meanwhile, Sera Masumi approached Conan and whispered,
"Hey, kid, have you found any clues?"
"Although the area where Mr. Kousaka collapsed is messy, most of his meal was finished," Conan replied.
"From the leftovers and soup on his plate, we can roughly determine what Mr. Kousaka ate before his death."
"But this banquet is a buffet. Except for freshly prepared items like grilled meat or sushi, most of the dishes were pre-served on plates."
"In other words, if Mr. Kousaka truly died from poisoning, it's unlikely the killer poisoned his food beforehand," Conan continued.
"There's no guarantee which dish Mr. Kousaka would choose. Large-scale poisoning would risk killing many people, which would only increase vigilance towards Mr. Kousaka."
Sera Masumi understood Conan's point.
This case seemed more likely to be an accident rather than a deliberate act. Moreover, despite extensive investigation, they hadn't identified the cause of death or a clear method of murder.
"No, there's another possibility—a method to poison a specific individual without endangering others," Conan explained.
"For example, if Mr. Kousaka had a severe peanut allergy, adding peanuts to his food could be life-threatening for him, but harmless to others."
"But," Conan hesitated, "this method is difficult to confirm with the current clues."
"First, as Dr. Ohga mentioned, Mr. Kousaka requires a ventilator to sleep, indicating that he suffers from 'sleep apnea syndrome,' commonly seen in obese individuals."
"Even factoring in conditions like high blood pressure, fatty liver, cirrhosis, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia—typical in obese individuals—none would lead to sudden choking after eating something."
"If the killer used a food-specific poisoning method effective only on Mr. Kousaka, then it suggests he had undisclosed health issues, and the murderer must be very familiar with him," Conan concluded.
Sera Masumi nodded in agreement with Conan's reasoning.
"If the cause of death were poisoning, it would clearly be murder. However, given the circumstances following Mr. Kousaka's death, suffocation seems more likely. In that case, it's probably an accident."
Conan pointed to the plate collected by the Metropolitan Police Department for testing. Sera handed it over to the forensic division.
Sera Masumi also double-checked the deceased's airways, confirming that Kousaka Tsunekazu hadn't choked on food. This ruled out the possibility of Dr. Ohga using first aid to cover up a murder.
For now, the investigation by both detectives reached a standstill.
The deceased showed no clear signs that could definitively determine the cause of death.
They would need to wait for the judicial autopsy results to decide whether it was an accident or homicide.
Meanwhile, the officers returned after checking the deceased's belongings and the hotel's reception records.
The results showed that Tsunekazu Kousaka didn't have any asthma inhalers and hadn't booked a hotel room.
Thus, for now, the sudden death of Director Kousaka reached a temporary conclusion.
After ordering her team to register everyone present, Miwako Sato dismissed them from the banquet hall and secured the scene.
(End of Chapter)
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