After leaving the department store, the group settled into a nearby burger joint. Having just scored a significant amount of cash, it was only natural to treat the kids to a good meal, so various combos were ordered. But before they dug in, it was time for the "distribution of spoils"—the money, that is.
Fujino laid a million yen in cash on the table, then pulled out 250,000 yen. He handed it to the kids sitting opposite him: "Ten thousand for Genta, ten thousand for Mitsuhiko, and five thousand for Conan..."
He paused, then turned to the two girls beside him, pulling out another 300,000 yen: "Fifteen thousand for Ayumi, and fifteen thousand for Ai."
Fujino chuckled, "Does this split work for everyone?"
Conan just stared, his expression priceless. "What the...?! Why do I only get five thousand when everyone else gets ten thousand?! And why do the girls get fifteen thousand?! This isn't fair! This is discrimination!"
"Hmm?" Fujino glanced at Conan's sour face and quietly pocketed the remaining 450,000 yen. "Conan-kun, do you have an issue with this distribution?"
"N-no..." Conan's mouth twitched. He didn't dare say another word. Even if he was upset, he had to keep it to himself, tearfully accepting his five thousand. He was terrified that the next moment, he'd be "can-opened" by a wooden sword or have the remaining five thousand "knackered" out of him.
"But, Fujino-哥哥..." Mitsuhiko hesitated, "Are we really allowed to take this?"
Ayumi nodded, also a bit worried. "If we take this money home, Mom will definitely ask about it..."
"It's fine. Just tell them you helped me with a case and this is your reward," Fujino said with a smile. "Besides, you nearly got hit, so you earned this. Take it as pocket money, buy yourselves something you like... Oh, and it's probably best not to tell your parents, or they might confiscate it."
"Okay!" Ayumi nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you, Fujino-哥哥! Ayumi can finally buy that doll!"
The three kids excitedly put their money away. "It's great hanging out with Fujino-哥哥!" they thought. "We're well-fed, and we even get pocket money!" The three secretly decided right then and there that they'd stick with Fujino-哥哥 from now on!
Fujino-Boss's New Recruits: +3
Genta grabbed a burger and took a huge bite, aggressively rebounding the weight he'd lost these past few days due to his poor appetite.
Conan watched Genta devour his food, a bead of sweat forming on his brow, but he still spoke up. "Genta, now can you tell us how you ended up being targeted?"
Genta took a swig of water, swallowing the last of his burger. "Well, a couple of days ago, I saw that wanted robber!"
"What?! You saw that robber?!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed in surprise. "You mean the one who specifically targets old folks and women?!"
Fujino frowned. "Targets old folks and women?"
"That's the recent guy, isn't it?" Haibara Ai mused, trying to recall. "He rides a motorcycle, ambushes solitary elderly people or women, knocks them out, or just snatches their bags. If they don't let go, he'll drag them, and several people have already been attacked."
"So, that kind of guy has shown up," Fujino's eyes narrowed, a hint of darkness flickering within them. Robbing old people and women, and a motorcycle thief at that. Some people just don't know when to quit...
"That's him..." Genta mumbled, looking down. "The person I saw looked exactly like the police sketch."
Ayumi asked, confused, "Then why didn't you report it?"
"Of course I reported it, but it was about a week after it happened," Genta mused. "When I saw him, the sketch hadn't been released yet, and I forgot where exactly I saw him. But I found the older brother who saw him with me!"
"Saw him together?" Conan asked curiously. "Then, logically, his appearance should have been confirmed, right?"
"Logically, yes..." Genta hesitated. "Five days ago, there was a robbery near my house, and I went to check it out. I saw that blond older brother in the crowd. I took him to the police station, but he said he'd never seen me and hadn't seen the culprit either."
"Are you sure you saw that robber?" Conan pondered for a moment, then looked at Genta suspiciously.
"Of course I did!" Genta said without hesitation. "That older brother was sitting right next to me. I was really sleepy, and by the time I realized it, he was already there."
Conan continued, "And what about the culprit at that time?"
"I don't know..." Genta scratched his head. "It was like he was there, and then he wasn't. But he definitely saw him too."
"From what you've said, Fujino's right. The person who attacked you was that culprit, and he'd been following you for some time," Haibara Ai said, propping her chin on her hands. She'd been listening quietly, then thought for a moment. "So, besides where you saw him, are there any other distinguishing features? Like what kind of clothes he was wearing, any useful clues?"
"I told the police before that the culprit was left-handed!" Genta recalled. "And he was wearing a weird black shirt with a white skull on it." As he said this, he suddenly pointed to a nearby server and exclaimed, "It's exactly like the design on that shirt!"
Mitsuhiko gulped. "Could he be the culprit who tried to kill Genta?!"
"But that T-shirt is a bit different," Genta mused, stroking his chin. "The culprit's design was '202,' not '1999.'"
"I'll go ask," Fujino stood up and approached the server. "Excuse me, where did you buy that T-shirt? I really like that punk style too."
"Oh, so Detective Fujino is a punk fan too..." The server clearly recognized Fujino. "I bought this shirt at a clothing store called 'BONES' in front of the station, but I don't think they're selling it anymore, are they?"
"No worries," Fujino waved his hand. "I'll go check that store to see if they have other similar styles."
"Well?" the kids asked eagerly when Fujino returned.
"I got the information," Fujino nodded. "But this T-shirt is no longer being sold. It seems like it's been a long time. If we go ask, we probably won't find any clues."
"We still have to try!" Conan reasoned. "If someone there happens to remember, we might get more clues."
With the store's address in hand, the group headed to the clothing shop.
"That's right! That T-shirt was an exclusive item from our store!" The cute cashier with blonde hair and a crop top pondered for a moment. "But even though we had all sorts of styles back then, we didn't have any similar designs with '202' printed on them."
Conan frowned and asked, "Are there any other styles of that T-shirt?"
"Our T-shirts usually have negative English words printed on them, like '1999,' 'HELP,' 'ESCAPE,'" the clerk explained. "For example, with '1999,' some people predicted the end of the world, so we used that inspiration to print T-shirts like that."
Mitsuhiko asked curiously, "Among the people who bought these T-shirts, were there any left-handers? Anyone with strange behavior?"
"I wouldn't know that, little one," the cashier shook her head, hands on her hips, looking helpless. "These T-shirts stopped being produced in 2000, and there were so many customers, I couldn't possibly remember every single one."
"What about 'SOS'?" Fujino looked at the cashier and asked, "Did you print that word back then?"
The cashier thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, we definitely printed 'SOS' as well."
"'SOS'?" Conan, hearing this, was stunned, then immediately had an epiphany. "So that's what it is!"