69novels Page 33
Page 33
Chapter 50 Calm down
Suddenly, the air became completely still.
drip.
Hearing only the sound of tea dripping onto the documents and the floor, Kogoro Mouri was instantly plunged into despair.
Upon seeing this, he immediately let out a loud wail and scream: "My...my data, my hard-earned exclusive intelligence, just like that..."
Yuuki Takada looked at the chaotic scene before him, his face remaining expressionless.
Sato Miwako quickly confirmed that Mouri Ran was not burned and asked gently, "Miss Mouri Ran, are you alright? Did you get burned?"
"N-no, I'm sorry!"
"I'm so sorry!" Ran Mouri's face turned deathly pale. Looking at the documents she had destroyed and her father's distraught expression, her eyes instantly welled up with tears, filled with self-reproach. "Dad, officers, I...I..."
"You clumsy girl!" Kogoro Mori finally recovered from the huge blow, jumping up and down in anger. Pointing at the still steaming mess, he shouted anxiously, "Do you know how much effort I put into getting this?"
"It's all over! Everything's ruined!"
“Mr. Mori!” Sato Miwako called out to Kogoro Mori, urging him to calm down. “The accident has already happened, and blaming Ms. Ran Mori won’t help. Please calm down.”
She looked at Ran with a reassuring gaze, indicating that she didn't need to blame herself too much.
Yuki Takada finally moved.
Instead of trying to salvage the doomed wet papers, he leaned forward slightly and gently picked up a piece of paper with its edges soaked in tea and ink stains that resembled an abstract painting.
The paper is extremely fragile and tears at the slightest touch.
“Mr. Mori…” Yuuki Takada looked at Kogoro Mori, his expression unreadable, but his words were like ice water poured over Kogoro’s head. He said coldly, “You just said that this is ‘Mejiro McQueen’s’ information? And that it’s ‘exclusive’?”
"Yes...yes!" Kogoro Mouri's momentum instantly waned when he saw the glint in Yuuki Takada's eyes, but he still forced himself to emphasize, "Although...although right now...sigh! But I guarantee, the contents inside are absolutely explosive!"
"That Megumi McQueen jockey should still be recorded in so many documents..."
"So……"
Yuuki Takada interrupted him, his fingers lightly releasing the torn piece of paper as it fell back into the water stains. His gaze then sharply locked onto Kogoro Mouri, and he said:
"Among these explosive exclusive reports, is there any information that clearly points to jockey Megumi McQueen?"
“Of course…” Takada Yuki smiled faintly at Mouri Kogoro: “The specifics of this information depend on the data you have.”
However, Yuki Takada only glanced at the documents once and then said nothing more.
The information was full of stories about Megumi McQueen, but very little about his jockey.
"Uh... this..." Beads of sweat rolled down Kogoro Mouri's temples. His eyes darted around, avoiding direct eye contact with Yuuki Takada, and he said:
"Specifically... I haven't had time to fully organize the details about Megumi McQueen yet... but the direction is definitely correct!"
"As long as the data is still there, we will definitely be able to find related clues!"
As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a mumble.
After all, the reason he collected those gossip articles and blurry photos was mainly because he had bought this information at a high price when he was drunk, specifically for betting on horse races.
But in Inspector Takada's eyes, these were completely different from what he was looking for.
Yuuki Takada slowly straightened up, his deep gaze lingering on Kogoro Mouri's flushed face for two seconds, as if he knew he wouldn't get anything useful from Kogoro.
He didn't press further, but instead looked at the pile of steaming remains, which exuded the aroma of tea and the smell of decaying paper.
"It seems this trip has indeed yielded a result." Takada Yuki's tone was as calm as if he were stating the weather, but his eyes inadvertently noticed the tea-stained edge, the information about Meguro McQueen jockey.
"Takada-senpai?" Sato Miwako looked at him, waiting for instructions.
She understood that Senior Takada had already concluded that the so-called key information that Kogoro Mouri claimed to have was not only off-topic, but its value was also questionable. This unexpected event actually saved them time in identifying invalid information.
Yuki Takada did not respond to Miwako Sato immediately. After quickly glancing at the information, his gaze swept over the agency again.
The commentary on the replay of the horse race on TV sounded particularly jarring, as the agile horses galloped past on the screen.
“Sato,” he finally spoke.
"Yes."
"I have now figured out the truth behind the death of Mejiro McQueen, the jockey at Kyoto Higashikage Racecourse."
Yuki Takada said softly.
"Ah..." Sato Miwako was undoubtedly shocked by what Takada-senpai said. "No... Takada-senpai, didn't you just say that you found clues from the presence of Kogoro Mouri's detective agency? How could you guess the truth of the case in such a short time?"
At the same time, television began broadcasting news of the death of jockey Mejiro McQueen at the Kyoto Higashikage Racecourse that day.
"If I'm not mistaken, the reason why McQueen's jockey died this time was because of jockey White Ryan."
"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri immediately became anxious and tried to salvage the situation, saying, "I'm sorry, Inspector Takada, what did you just say? I, Kogoro Mouri, guarantee with my reputation as a famous detective that Jockey White Ryan would never do such a thing."
"Besides, what reason would Jockey White have to harm Megumi McQueen's jockey?"
“Mr. Mori…” Yuuki Takada interrupted him, saying softly, “Please calm down first… I know you are a loyal fan of White Ryan, so you are not very accepting of this result.”
"I can analyze this carefully with you..."
Yuki Takada ignored Kogoro Mouri's questioning and his sharp gaze locked onto the television in the office that was still playing a replay of horse racing.
On the screen, it was the final moments of that crucial race at the Kyoto Higashikage Racecourse, with several horses fiercely competing at the bend, the dust they kicked up almost overflowing the screen.
“Mr. Mori, please look here quietly,” Yuuki Takada explained earnestly, his voice instantly drowning out Kogoro Mori’s impatient tone.
He pointed to the television screen, his finger precisely pointing to a horse at the bend—the very horse rider of White Ryan. “Pay attention to White Ryan’s movements, especially his posture and rein control as he enters this bend.”
Although Kogoro Mouri was full of resentment, the almost tangible pressure from Yuuki Takada and his certainty about the truth of the case made him subconsciously look in the direction the finger was pointing.
Chapter 51 The Cause of Death of Jockey Megumi McQueen
Sato Miwako also stared intently at the screen.
On TV, the commentator's voice was full of passion: "First corner! White Ryan has been pushed into the second tier! Whoever can get out of the corner first will be the key to victory!"
The video is played in slow motion.
The two horses were almost touching as they rushed into the bend.
White McQueen is on the outside, and White Ryan is on the inside.
Just as you're about to reach the apex of the curve, at the moment when centrifugal force is at its maximum...
“Look closely at that jockey’s hand!” Yuki Takada analyzed coldly. “Jockey White Ryan’s right hand, at that instant, was not tightening the reins inward to stabilize the horse’s posture.”
"Instead, it made an extremely subtle, yet remarkably abrupt, outward pushing motion." The amplitude was small, as fast as lightning, easily overlooked in the high-speed sprint and dust, but clearly visible in slow motion.
Kogoro Mouri's eyes widened. As a seasoned horse racing fan, he certainly knew what this action meant.
When cornering at high speed, the jockey's center of gravity and the horse's leaning angle are calculated rigorously and practiced countless times.
Any extra push could disrupt the balance, and more likely... affect the opponent who is right next to you.
“This pushing motion,” Yuki Takada continued, calmly looking at his satisfied work, “is not applied to his own horse, but rather creates a tiny impact force through the instantaneous swing of his arms and body.”
"This force acted directly on the waist of the rider Mejiro McQueen, who was almost next to him and slightly ahead. Or more accurately, it acted on the left hip area of Mejiro McQueen, where he supported his body weight."
Sato Miwako instantly understood: "Under that high-speed centrifugal force, even the slightest lateral disturbance is enough..."
"Enough to make a jockey who is already in a state of extreme balance lose his balance instantly."
Yuki Takada continued, his gaze sweeping over Kogoro Mouri, whose face had turned pale.
"Especially on the first corner of such a top race, the jockey's body is completely suspended in the air and leans, relying on precise core strength and perfect harmony with the horse."
"Jockey White's push was deliberately timed and angled with extreme malice. It wasn't meant to push his opponent off his horse, but rather to precisely destroy his core support against centrifugal force."
On the screen, the consequences were clearly captured in slow motion:
McQueen's jockey swayed violently as he was struck by an invisible force. His smooth, tilting posture instantly lost its balance, and he leaned outwards at a great angle.
He tried to pull the reins with all his might to adjust, but the enormous centrifugal force completely dominated his body the moment he lost his core support.
but……
Ultimately, Mejiro McQueen's jockey withstood the pressure and did not call a stop at the crucial moment. Instead, he continued to lead Mejiro McQueen to victory in this year's Emperor's Sho Spring Championship.
Perhaps it was the final, intense impact that made it impossible for him to win the award, and that's why he was in that state at that moment.
"Ah—!" Ran Mouri covered her mouth. Although she knew the ending, seeing the replay of this fatal moment still horrified her.
"No...no way!"
"Jockey White... he might have done it unintentionally!"
"Or maybe it's to adjust his own position!" Kogoro Mouri struggled, trying to defend his idol, but his voice had lost its previous confidence.
The television footage provides irrefutable evidence; the outward pushing motion appears so deliberate and abrupt in slow motion that it is definitely not what is needed for normal horse control.
"Unintentional?" Yuuki Takada's lips curled into a chilling smile. "Mr. Mori, you're a seasoned horse racing fan; you should know better than I do..."
"...At that speed and cornering angle, every move of a top jockey is honed through countless trials, and their muscle memory is so precise that it becomes instinctive."
"An unintentional external push could cost any jockey dearly in training, and it's simply impossible for it to happen in such a life-or-death, high-speed situation!"
"This could only be a meticulously planned and repeatedly rehearsed murder!"
"As for the motive?" Takada Yuuki's gaze lingered on Mouri Kogoro as he asked:
"Those exclusive intelligence items you bought at a high price, although most of them were just gossip and rubbish, I still managed to find some clues."
"Aren't the vague connections between 'huge gambling debt disputes among jockeys' and 'abnormal pressure exerted by the forces behind sponsors on the race results' clear enough?"
"Jockey White Ryan is not only burdened with insurmountable gambling debts, but also firmly controlled by the forces behind him. White Ryan's jockeying is the only stumbling block to his path to a huge prize and to breaking free from control."
“By eliminating him, Bailian can win the competition and earn enough prize money to pay off his debts and satisfy the manipulator’s demands. That’s his reasoning.”
Kogoro Mouri was struck dumb, staggered, and fell into the chair behind him.
On television, Jockey Ryan was crossing the finish line, raising his hands in celebration of victory, a joyous smile on his face.
To Kogoro Mouri, that smile now appeared incredibly sinister and ironic.
His treasured autographed photos, his proud "insider information".
At this moment, they all became resounding slaps to his face.