"Mr. Tsuneo, it really has been a while." After a quick greeting to Ran, Ikumi Koshimizu walked straight toward the Repairman.
Ran tilted her head, a look of mild confusion crossing her face.
Has it really been that long? she wondered. We only just got back from the Sunset Manor a short while ago...
"Who's this?" Sonoko whispered, nudging Ran with her elbow, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"She's a detective we met at the Sunset Manor. I heard she used to be a medical examiner," Ran explained softly.
"Impressive," Sonoko murmured, her face shifting into full gossip mode as she watched Tsuneo and Ikumi talk.
There's definitely something going on here! These two are hiding a secret!
"I... I think I'll go find Uncle Kogoro at the underground parking lot," Conan said with a forced, innocent smile.
Better to stay away from these two before I hear something I shouldn't—like details about their high-speed escape from the police...
Tsuneo reached down and snagged Conan by the collar before he could scuttle away. Ignoring the boy's silent protest, he looked at Ikumi. "I suggest you start practicing long-distance running."
That way, when you're being chased, you can actually keep up, he thought.
"Hey, hey, give me a break. I even ended up breaking my camera," Ikumi said, her expression turning deadpan. She held up her wrist, showing where she'd bumped it during their flight the night before. It was still clearly sore.
Conan looked left and right. Seeing that only Ran and Sonoko were watching, he gave up on struggling and simply closed his eyes, playing dead in Tsuneo's grip.
"Long-distance running?" Sonoko repeated.
"A broken camera?"
"What are they talking about?" Sonoko was ostensibly looking at sweaters, but her ears were pinned back like a cat's, catching every word.
The context doesn't match at all! Don't you guys have anything more scandalous to talk about?
"This is..." Ran tapped her chin.
Well, I don't know either... but it certainly looks like they've seen each other since the Sunset Manor incident.
"We'll grab that brat later," Sonoko whispered to Ran, plotting. "He definitely knows something!"
A beautiful, mature former medical examiner and the mysterious Repairman? This was prime tabloid material.
"I can't take it anymore. Why do women act like buying clothes and talking on the phone are Olympic sports?" Kogoro Mouri grumbled, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his knit cap pulled low as he paced.
Conan, walking beside him, wore a look of utter weariness.
On that point, I actually agree.
Tsuneo had been dragged off by Ikumi Koshimizu to "help" with something. Apparently, all it took was the promise of a good meal to hook that guy—just like Genta.
"Look at that lady's figure!" Kogoro's eyes suddenly snapped wide, his mood doing a complete 180 as a young woman stepped out of a phone booth.
Wearing a miniskirt in this weather? Remarkable!
Conan followed his gaze. The woman had dyed blonde hair, a pink jacket, and a miniskirt paired with boots. She was the picture of "trendy."
"Uncle, there's a ballpoint pen in there. Did she drop it?" Conan pointed into the phone booth. Sure enough, a brown pen lay on the floor.
"This is a crisis!"
"Miss! Wait! You dropped something!" Kogoro instantly transformed into a Good Samaritan. He waved and hurried after her, reaching out to tap her on the shoulder.
Suddenly, his wrist was caught in a lightning-fast grip.
Just as Kogoro was beginning to feel pleased that she had responded so quickly, the blonde woman spun on her heel. She drove an elbow into his center, hooked his arm, and executed a perfect leg sweep.
Conan stood a few feet away, jaw agape.
That kind of skill is just ridiculous. Isn't she being a bit too jumpy? All he did was try to tap her shoulder because she didn't hear him...
As Kogoro hit the pavement, the scene that followed quickly answered the detective's confusion.
"Move in!"
Inspector Megure leaped out from behind a pile of trash bags. Simultaneously, Officer Takagi and three or four other officers charged from their hiding spots, dog-piling onto the man in the orange knit cap.
"Please! Please! Don't be impulsive!" Kogoro shouted as his face was pressed into the concrete. He sounded like he was in genuine agony.
What did I do to deserve this level of brutality?!
"Wait... Mouri?" Megure paused, hearing the familiar voice. He looked over at Conan, then back at the man on the ground, leaning in to get a good look at his face.
"Why is it you?"
The sting operation was declared a failure. To apologize, Inspector Megure invited Kogoro to a nearby cafe to explain the situation.
"So, you were trying to bait a serial attacker who targets women..." Kogoro sat with a cigarette dangling from his lip, looking at the officers with a deadpan stare.
Seriously? It's broad daylight. What criminal is going to start beating people in the middle of a busy street?
Conan offered a helpless smile.
Well, you were the type of "pervert" who fell for the bait perfectly, Uncle...
"Exactly. That's why we had Officer Sato dress up like that," Megure said with a sheepish laugh. He hadn't expected to actually catch a "wolf," but he hadn't expected the wolf to be a famous detective either.
"But wait," Kogoro argued, still feeling the sting of the pavement. "Your reports said the culprit's height was around 150 centimeters. I'm clearly much taller than that..."
"W-well, Mr. Mouri," Takagi stammered, "the way you approached Officer Sato was... a little..."
Megure cleared his throat. "It certainly didn't look like you had good intentions."
"I thought it felt quite dangerous myself," Sato added, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Er..." Kogoro fell silent, unable to refute them.
"Sigh, it's a real headache," Megure sighed.
"Yeah. The three victims who were attacked all had very flashy, exaggerated styles, but other than that, they had absolutely nothing in common," Takagi noted, nodding.
"And the crime scenes were all extremely chaotic..." Sato added, lost in thought.
The case was a complete muddle with no clear leads.
"By the way, Takagi, do you have the photos of the three victims?" Megure asked.
"Yes, right here." Takagi pulled three photos from his jacket.
They were all taken at the station after the victims had been treated, their heads wrapped in thick bandages. Conan leaned over the table, inspecting them closely.
"This is Miss Ryoko Mizutani. Two weeks ago, she was waiting at a red light when a car rear-ended her. When she got out to argue, the culprit beat her with a metal bat."
Takagi gave a brief introduction of the first victim for Kogoro and Conan's benefit. Then he showed the second and third.
The third victim had been attacked right after stepping out of a phone booth—specifically, the same one where Kogoro had found the pen.
While the victims' faces were different, their head wounds were all gruesome. The attacker was clearly swinging to kill.
Conan frowned as he studied the photos.
These three... their skin tone is several shades darker than Heiji Hattori's...
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