The police left around 8:40 p.m.
Aside from needing statements later, the case was wrapped up. Hayato Masaki and the others took their leave, not wanting to linger at Okino Yoko's place.
"Man, you young folks are something else—brains working lightning-fast."
Mouri Kogoro couldn't stop praising Hayato.
Beyond his connection to Kisaki Eri, Hayato's referral had landed Mouri Yoko's private number. When the police left, Yoko offered to pay Mouri's fee, but he brushed it off with a grin, settling for a couple of extra autographs.
"Part of it's just luck," Hayato said with a smile. "And I could tell from your face, Mouri-san, you were onto something too."
"Haha, I was this close, you know!"
(Why prop up this clueless geezer?)
Watching Mouri Kogoro laugh shamelessly, scratching his head, Edogawa Conan's mouth twitched.
Still…
Conan stole a glance at Hayato's calm, gentle demeanor, his chest tightening.
This was the first time he'd felt so outmatched in a case.
Despite having a head start with more time to think, he hadn't pieced it together—yet Hayato, with barely a glance at the scene, unraveled Fujie Akiyoshi's suicide method.
Was a mystery novelist's approach to cases really that unstoppable?
The sting of defeat fueled Conan's competitive fire.
But he quickly rallied, vowing to even the score next time.
Hayato, focused on his phone, missed the silent challenge brewing in Conan's mind. He looked at the kids trailing them.
"It's late. We should get these kids home."
"Absolutely. Their parents must be worried sick," Mouri Ran agreed, bending down to the children. "What're your home numbers? We'll call your parents to pick you up, okay?"
"Okay, mine's…" Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko nodded promptly.
"I'm starving, gotta get home…" Kojima Genta slumped, rubbing his belly, barely standing.
Yoshida Ayumi took a sneaky step back, tugging softly at Hayato's sleeve.
Hayato looked down.
"Big brother, my number's…" Ayumi whispered shyly.
Conan, catching it, realized she was angling for Hayato's phone number.
(Kids these days are way too precocious…)
He sighed.
Hayato didn't mind, taking out his phone and calling Ayumi's family as she beamed quietly.
Hearing their relieved thanks, he hung up and glanced at her. "No checking in with your folks and staying out this late—don't do that again, okay?"
"Mm, I won't," Ayumi nodded, all innocence.
"Hayato-nii's right. No more of this," Ran added sternly, eyeing the boys.
"We get it, Ran-neechan."
"I'm so hungry…"
Genta was practically wilting.
Mouri Kogoro grumbled about troublesome kids but stayed to wait for their parents.
"Say, Hayato, ever thought about going full-time detective?"
"I've considered it," Hayato said, pausing. "Though it's mostly to spark ideas for my next book."
"Oh! Well, come to me if you've got questions. I've been at this detective game for years, you know."
"Didn't you mostly chase lost pets and cheating spouses?" Conan jabbed.
"What'd you say?!"
Mouri's rage unleashed a fist.
Eyeing the lump on Conan's head, Hayato's tone stayed even. "I could use your advice, Mouri-san. What's needed to start a detective agency?"
"Oh, just register with the police. You can skip it, but it limits some moves. For publicity, get a flashy sign like mine—haha!"
Detectives held high status here, but only the famous ones. Regulars like Mouri, pre-fame, mostly handled mundane gigs—lost pets, affair investigations.
Hayato nodded, taking it in.
The kids' parents soon arrived, collecting their troublemakers. Hayato declined Mouri's offer to "grab a drink somewhere" and hailed a cab home.
En route, his phone pinged with a text from Okino Yoko:
"Thanks so much for your help today, Masaki-sensei… I wouldn't have known what to do without you."
"If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to ask!"
They'd just exchanged contacts.
Hayato typed back: "No trouble at all. How're you holding up, Yoko-san?"
A moment later:
"I'm okay, don't worry. But I doubt I'll ever come back to this apartment."
A death tends to taint a place.
Beika's property values were bound to plummet—Edogawa's resident grim reaper deserved most of the blame.
Hayato had only asked casually.
Fujie Akiyoshi was likely just a faded high school memory for Yoko—too distant for deep scars. Her agent, Yamagishi Eiichi, though? After his confessions, even if Yoko understood his intentions, their partnership was likely over.
A buzz came from Hayato's inner pocket.
It was the phone Gin had given him—
"Next Friday, 9:20 p.m., training grounds—Gin"
Hayato paused.
"Got it."
He sent the reply, then swiftly deleted both messages.
***
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