Case NOT Closed - Chapter 61: "The Truth" or Civil Liability, Your Choice, Conan-kun

Conan took out the bugging device, which was very small, about the size of a fingernail, and could be stuck anywhere.

The bugging device looked inconspicuous, resembling a button, making it hard to notice without close inspection.

“Your Honor, this device contains a recording of Koshimizu-san’s confession on the deserted island.”

Conan pressed the button on the device, and the recorded conversation began to play.

The recording included all the people Natsuki Koshimizu had invited to the deserted island at that time.

The sound was very clear, without any electrical noise—this device was upgraded by Dr. Agasa at Conan’s request, making it dozens of times better than the previous recorder he used.

In the recording, three detectives identified three different suspects, but it was Conan who finally arrived at the scene and identified Natsuki Koshimizu. Then, Hattori Heiji tricked Natsuki Koshimizu into revealing the key evidence—a window screw.

Afterward, Natsuki Koshimizu confessed in front of everyone, explaining how she committed the murder, the methods she used, and the reasons behind it.

“This evidence clearly proves that Koshimizu-san committed the murder.”

Conan turned off the recording device.

“In addition, there’s the key evidence of the window screw, from which the forensics team extracted Koshimizu-san’s DNA. The evidence is conclusive.”

As he spoke, Conan glanced at Kensuke.

At this moment, Conan wasn’t pretending to be a little kid anymore. His mind was solely focused on revealing the truth in front of everyone.

A slight smile appeared on his lips, his eyes gleaming with a sense of victory, confident in the truth he held.

Kensuke squinted his eyes.

This little brat had indeed pulled such a stunt.

When he first visited Natsuki Koshimizu in the detention center, he asked her if anyone had a recording device on the deserted island.

Natsuki Koshimizu’s answer was, “There shouldn’t be, there was an inspection.”

Obviously, she had overlooked Conan, thinking of him as just a kid, and most people wouldn’t pay attention to him.

But it didn’t matter; he had anticipated this before the trial.

Everything was under Kensuke’s control.

He walked down from the lawyer’s stand with a smile, slowly pacing towards Conan.

“Edogawa-Kun, are you sure your recording can be used as evidence? Secretly recording is illegal evidence collection!”

Kensuke smiled, his eyes narrowed like a fox’s.

Conan frowned slightly and said, “I’m sure this can be used as evidence because it’s not eavesdropping. It includes the voices of everyone present, including mine, and it doesn’t count as illegal evidence collection under the law.”

“Hm? Edogawa-kun, it seems you’ve done quite a bit of research.”

Kensuke nodded with a smile.

Then he continued, “I heard that there’s a device on the market now, called the Kamen Rider Voice Changer, which can fake someone’s voice. So, how can you guarantee that the recording is real and not faked?”

Looking at Kensuke’s smiling face, Conan frowned even more.

Kensuke’s inexplicable attitude made him feel a bit uneasy.

It seemed like there was some sort of trap.

Conan suppressed his unease and said, “Of course, I can guarantee that the voices are not faked and have not been edited in any way. The voiceprints in the recording can be forensically verified to confirm the identities of the speakers.”

“Very good, very good, excellent.”

Kensuke clapped his hands with a smile.

Then, he suddenly changed his tone.

“Edogawa-kun, I want to ask, did you get my client’s permission to record this?”

Conan was stunned for a moment.

Then he realized something, and his expression finally changed.

“According to the Civil Code, recording a conversation without the permission of the involved parties and then playing it in a public setting, spreading it to others—oh, let me see, this recording includes my client’s personal experiences, social relationships, hobbies, and so on. Your secret recording and spreading of this content completely infringes on her right to privacy!”

“Did you ever think that doing this could hurt a poor girl’s feelings?”

As he spoke, Kensuke’s smile faded, and he adopted a pained expression.

At the same time, he sends a signal to Natsuki at the defendant’s stand using his eyes.

The girl immediately understood and began to cooperate by covering her face and crying, her tears and delicate appearance eliciting sympathy from everyone.

The audience began whispering among themselves.

“This kid is terrible…”

“Whose unruly child is this? The parents should really discipline him.”

“He’s already invading people’s privacy at such a young age. What will he do when he grows up?”

“A criminal in the making..”

“Kids like him will only turn into criminals. I need to go home and educate my own children properly.”

Listening to the murmurs around him, Kensuke’s lips curved into a slight smile, which he quickly concealed.

“Edogawa-kun, though I really don’t want to do this,” Kensuke said, feigning hesitation and sighing.

“But if my client agrees, I will send a legal letter to your guardian, considering a civil lawsuit against you—if you admit that this recording is real and not fabricated.”

“……”

“……”

At this moment, Conan had lost his previous composure.

He glanced around. Whether it was the judge and jury on the stand or the ordinary people in the audience, they all looked at him with strange and disdainful eyes.

Conan couldn’t help but clench his teeth, sweat appearing on his forehead.

Damn it, he had wondered why Kensuke’s attitude never changed.

It turned out this guy was waiting for him here!

Clearly, Kensuke had set another overt trap.

If Conan admitted the recording was real, he would have to face a civil lawsuit and be taken to court again.

If he admitted the recording was fake, he couldn’t reveal the truth, allowing the criminal to escape punishment.

The truth or civil litigation.

He had to choose one, but no matter which he chose, he would fall into the other’s trap.

Conan looked up, biting his lip, at Kensuke’s hateful smile.

Damn it, this guy, this guy…

“Objection!”

At that moment, Hattori Heiji’s urgent voice rang out.

Seeing things going wrong, Heiji stood up and pointed at Kensuke, shouting loudly.

“Your Honor, this guy is intimidating the witness, trying to influence the witness’s testimony! Such behavior is illegal!”

The judge frowned at him, knocked the gavel once.

“Special witness, please be quiet! This is your first warning. If you shout in court again, you will immediately be removed for disrupting judicial order!”

‘Damn it!’

Hattori Heiji gritted his teeth and had to sit down again.

He had to stay silent since this was already his second outburst.

His impulsive nature meant the judge’s patience with him was nearing its limit.