"Forget it... be careful not to get hit by trash." Fujino sighed helplessly, gave a warning, and then hid himself in the alley behind the dumpster.
A good vantage point... yes, that was true. But hiding in a dumpster like this, well, it was certainly a risky move.
And sure enough...
Before long, someone tossed a bag of trash onto the dumpster.
"..." Juzo Megure frowned, sensing a bit of a stench. What the heck is inside?!
Fujino: "..."
He actually got hit by trash. Fujino's mouth twitched, and he stifled a laugh. After all, this was his superior; he couldn't laugh... unless he couldn't help it. Fujino took a deep breath, poked his head out, and glanced in Miwako Sato's direction.
Miwako Sato was pretending to be on the phone, and the bustling crowd seemed normal. A moment later, Miwako Sato finished her call and decided to move to another spot to continue her stakeout. However, just as she stepped out of the phone booth, Fujino suddenly saw two familiar figures...
"Honestly, girls just never stop shopping." Kogoro Mouri, wearing a trench coat and a knitted hat, walked across the crosswalk, hands in his pockets, grumbling with a bored expression. Conan, walking beside him, nodded in agreement. He regretted coming along. Now that Fujino wasn't even here, he was suffering for nothing.
"Whoa! What a stunning chick!" Just then, Kogoro's eyes lit up as he looked at the blonde, short-skirted woman who had just emerged from the phone booth. His gaze became fixed. "Wearing such a short mini-skirt in this cold weather, she's so full of life!"
"Haha..." Conan glanced at Kogoro's lecherous expression and gave a helpless laugh. Uncle Kogoro was still the same. Turning his head, he suddenly noticed something and spoke, "There's a pen in the phone booth. Could it be that the big sister who just left dropped it?"
"Really!" Kogoro, as if he had found a treasure, picked up the pen and quickly caught up with the woman. He patted her on the shoulder and said with a lecherous grin, "Excuse me, beautiful lady..."
But before he could finish, the beautiful woman immediately grabbed his arm, rammed her right hand into his diaphragm, and then threw him backward, pinning him to the ground on his back.
"???" Conan was utterly dumbfounded, clearly not having processed what just happened.
"Move!" At that moment, a plump figure jumped out of the dumpster. Juzo Megure shouted, and everyone around them sprang into action. Several police officers rushed forward without hesitation to help, pinning Kogoro Mouri to the ground.
Takagi landed two solid punches on Kogoro Mouri.
"What are you doing, ow!"
"Ah, damn it, not the face!" Kogoro was startled, screaming either from the pain or fright, then quickly yelled, "Wait, don't be rash!"
"Hmm?" Juzo Megure, who was also joining in with a few kicks, paused at the sound. Why does that voice sound so familiar? Juzo Megure tentatively asked, "Young Mouri?"
"Inspector Megure!" Kogoro Mouri recognized the familiar voice immediately. "It's me! Kogoro Mouri!"
"It really is you, Young Mouri!" Juzo Megure walked closer to confirm it was indeed Kogoro Mouri. He was surprised, then quickly said, "Let go, this isn't the target! This is Young Mouri!"
"Huh? It really looks like him?" Miwako Sato stood up, examining him closely, also surprised.
"Honestly!" After being released, Kogoro Mouri sat on the ground, grimacing, covering his bruised black eye, and with footprints on his face, he complained mournfully, "What in the world are you doing?! Why did you just hit me?!"
"We were actually apprehending a suspect... we didn't expect you to show up, Young Mouri." Juzo Megure briefly explained the case to Kogoro Mouri. However, since they were on a busy street, their actions had already attracted attention. Afterward, they all went to a nearby Italian restaurant to discuss the details.
At the Italian Restaurant
"I can understand baiting for a serial assaulter of women." Kogoro Mouri, cigarette in mouth, covering his bruised black eye, with a bandage on his head and disheveled hair, complained mournfully, "But why did you hit me?! Do I look like a suspect who assaults women?! And I look completely different from the culprit!"
"Well, your approach to Officer Sato at the time was quite..." Takagi explained with a smile, but halfway through his sentence, he didn't know how to describe it. Juzo Megure, who was more articulate, took over, "In short, it was a bit perverted, perhaps."
"I also felt it was a bit dangerous..." Miwako Sato, now back in her professional suit, covered her face, a little embarrassed. "After all, the culprit is a man around 150 centimeters tall. I thought I was being hit on by a dangerous old man, so I just..."
"Uh..." Kogoro Mouri was speechless.
Perverted... so they really thought I was a suspect who assaults women?! Am I that perverted?!
Thinking this, he looked up at Fujino. "Young man, you were there too! Why didn't you stop them?!"
"I didn't react in time either," Fujino shook his head helplessly. "After all, I didn't expect them to act so fast... and about your pick-up attempt just now, it was indeed a bit perverted."
Kogoro Mouri: "..."
"Hahaha!" At this moment, Conan burst into laughter. He never expected to run into Fujino. It seemed Fujino was investigating this matter. It was a convergence of the world's timeline; a classic Beika City incident, you could say. But Uncle Kogoro being beaten up for being a perverted old man with bad intentions... it was quite funny indeed.
"Bang bang!" Two more thumps.
I can't beat the police, but I can certainly handle you! Kogoro Mouri gave Conan two head-knocks.
Afterward, Juzo Megure showed Kogoro Mouri photos of the victims and explained the details of the case.
"Are all three of them mixed-race children who grew up in the jungle?" Kogoro Mouri examined the photos in his hand. "No matter how you look at it, they don't seem Japanese. Could the culprit be a racist who specifically targets Black people?"
"Wow! So cute!" Just then, Sonoko suddenly popped up from the side, looking at the photos in Kogoro Mouri's hand. "They're all so dark, and the girl in the middle is practically glowing black!"
"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri glanced at Sonoko. Is this child's eyesight bad? Black and still beautiful?