"The second victim was Miss Hitomi Endo. Ten days ago, late at night, she was attacked with a metal bat just as she was coming out of a park restroom."
"As for this one, this is Miss Michiko Ishiguro, who was attacked just yesterday."
After listening to Officer Takagi's briefing, Kogoro Mouri picked up the photographs from the table and held them close to his eyes, squinting with deep concentration.
"Well, Mouri? Can you see anything?" Inspector Megure asked hopefully.
"Well... if I had to say," Kogoro paused dramatically.
The officers all leaned in. If he had to say?
"They're all mixed-race, and they all definitely come from single-parent households," Kogoro declared with a look of utter sincerity, though no one could fathom where he'd pulled that conclusion from.
...
The room fell into a stunned, awkward silence. If he'd based the "mixed-race" comment on their dark skin tones, he might have had a shred of a point—but the single-parent household guess was purely from left field.
"Detective Mouri... you certainly live up to your reputation."
Suddenly, a slender hand reached out from the side and snatched the three photographs away.
"Huh?" Kogoro blinked at the newcomer.
It was that detective woman—Ikumi Koshimizu. What was she doing here?
"Wow, how cute! The three of them are tanned so dark!" Sonoko, standing nearby, leaned in to get a better look at the photos in Ikumi's hand.
The second victim in the middle was tanned to a deep, chocolate brown.
Tsuneo sat nearby, currently preoccupied with inspecting the high-grade beef his "wealthy client" had just bought for him.
Helping her carry a few bags for such a generous reward? I wouldn't mind if she went shopping every single day.
"Actually, they're called '101 Girls.' It's a very popular makeup trend among young women right now," Officer Sato explained, seeing the confusion on the men's faces.
"101?" Kogoro looked even more lost.
"Oh, please, Uncle Mouri, don't tell me you don't know?" Sonoko looked at him with judging eyes.
"Ahem! Of course I know! 101 Girls, right? Pfft, simple stuff," Kogoro crossed his arms, adopting an air of nonchalant expertise.
"Isn't there a very obvious commonality here?" Ikumi said, setting the three photos back on the table. She turned her head and noticed the "Repairman" setting his shopping bags on the floor, and she stole a glance at the contents of one.
Wait, if I remember correctly... that bag contains lingerie...
"Did you guys go to an underwear shop too...?" Sonoko's eyes instantly locked onto the bag, the flames of gossip burning bright within her.
As expected! No one with a 'normal' relationship would go shopping in a store like that together.
And wow, that style is quite daring. So this is what adults...
"Cough! Back to the matter at hand," Inspector Megure cleared his throat loudly to snap everyone back to reality. "Miss Koshimizu, when you speak of a 'common ground,' are you referring to this 101 Girl makeup style?"
The police had noticed this, of course, but there were far too many young women following that trend. If the culprit was simply attacking anyone with that look without a specific motive, the investigation would be a nightmare.
"No. I think there might be another point we haven't discovered yet," Ikumi said, falling into a pensive silence.
If that was the only connection... well, despite the cold weather, there were still plenty of girls dressed like that. If the culprit felt that strongly about it, he'd likely be out committing crimes every single day.
"Tsuneo, what do you think?" Inspector Megure turned toward the Repairman sitting on the side.
In his mind, this young man was usually the most reliable one in the room.
"We could always find Heiji Hattori and put him in a blonde wig," Tsuneo suggested. He always had a plan.
"..."
"Anyway, if that's all we have, finding him is going to be incredibly difficult," Officer Takagi sighed, looking defeated.
"Exactly. We've almost never had a case like this," Sato added, her brow furrowed with worry.
"Actually, I remember something like this happening once," Kogoro mused, drifting into a memory. "It was a serial hit-and-run case targeting high school girls. I think it happened right before I left the force."
Back then, the culprit's target demographic had been strictly limited to high school girls.
Hearing this, Inspector Megure's expression shifted instantly. He stood up abruptly. "I think we should head back and continue the investigation immediately!"
"Right! In that case, I'll get back into my disguise!" Officer Sato nodded.
"No, there's no need for the disguise anymore. You and Takagi go and conduct a targeted investigation into the commonalities between those three victims."
Megure pressed his hat down, his face grim and serious as he turned toward the door. Sato and Takagi followed suit.
"I'll be taking my leave now," Megure said, nodding to Tsuneo and the others before heading to the counter to settle the bill.
"Uh... anyway, what is the deal with those two?" Kogoro blinked, looking over at Ikumi and Tsuneo, who were whispering about something.
Are they dating?
"You're curious too, aren't you?" Sonoko sat down across from him, whispering eagerly.
"Heh heh heh..." Conan let out a dry, speechless chuckle.
The relationship between those two was indeed... complicated.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The sound of a phone drew everyone's attention.
"It's a call from Ran," Sonoko said, picking up.
It seemed the "Unicorn Girl" had managed to get herself lost in the underground parking lot...
"I am truly defeated by your lack of a sense of direction," Sonoko sighed into the phone.
"Hey, Sonoko-nee-chan! The ring, necklace, and bracelet you're wearing... they look just like the ones the older sisters in those photos were wearing!"
"Where did you buy them?" Conan had noticed her wrist, and several details suddenly clicked into place in his mind.
"I didn't buy them, they were a gift! From that department store we were just at," Sonoko explained.
The mall was running a "Millennium Promotion." If you showed your receipts at the exit, you could choose 10,000 yen worth of merchandise as a free gift.
"I see. It looks like the second common ground has been found," Ikumi Koshimizu said, extending her own wrist with a small smile.
This little boy is definitely unusual.
As for that 'Sleeping Sleuth'... when he's awake, he really is just like the rumors say.
Inspector Megure, who was still at the register, hurried back over to look at the promotional items.
"Inspector, they're identical! Even if they don't have all three items, all three victims were wearing at least one piece of this jewelry!" Officer Takagi compared the jewelry to the crime scene photos.
The necklace, the ring, the bracelet—they matched perfectly.
"In that case..." Kogoro's eyes sharpened.
"They were all customers of that department store!"
Meanwhile.
Ran, clutching her shopping bags, wandered through the vast expanse of the underground parking lot.
Admittedly, her "lost" attribute was acting up significantly today.
"Sonoko?" Ran frowned. For some reason, the other end of the line had gone silent.
As she stepped between two parked cars, her gaze was suddenly caught by something in front of her.
"Ah—!"
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