"Do you remember what I mentioned back at the café? Before I became a detective, there was a case where a criminal used a vehicle to specifically target high school girls."
Conan nodded; he remembered those words well. At the time, Inspector Megure's mood had shifted drastically upon hearing about the case, and he had sternly shut down Officer Sato's plan to go undercover as bait.
"According to Superintendent Matsumoto, that was the very first case Inspector Megure handled," Mouri said, recalling the story he had overheard in the parking garage.
"I've always been curious about what kind of hairstyle was hiding under that hat," Tsuneo remarked with a chuckle after finishing his order.
"Word is that Inspector Megure wears the hat constantly to hide a scar on his head," Conan added, having eavesdropped on the conversation as well.
That scar was said to be twenty years old. Back when Megure had just joined the force as a rookie, he took on a series of hit-and-run cases. The culprit's motive stemmed from having been intimidated by "delinquent" high school girls in the past; he would wait for girls who looked the part to be alone before ramming them with his car.
"Delinquents?" Sonoko and Ran exchanged a look. Such girls weren't rare, though no one ever dared to mess with the two of them.
"Yeah. Back then, that crowd would get custom uniforms with skirts long enough to reach their ankles, so they were easy to spot. The culprit used that as his criteria," Mouri explained, taking a sip of his freshly served beer.
Initially, the culprit would flee after hitting someone. But after a few successful attempts, he became obsessed with ensuring the victims died, and his methods grew increasingly brutal. Just as panic reached its peak and everyone began discarding the long skirts, a high school girl stepped forward, offering to act as bait to avenge a friend who had been killed.
"The police shouldn't have agreed to something like that," Ikumi Kyoda frowned. Judging by Megure's reaction today, that girl likely...
"Exactly. The police tried to talk her out of it immediately, but the girl seemed to have a deep-seated dislike for the police and had no intention of stopping," Mouri nodded.
Left with no choice, the police assigned the young Officer Megure to protect her. The culprit, blinded by bloodlust, attempted to run down both Megure and the girl at once.
"Don't tell me..." Sonoko whispered, a bad feeling rising in her chest.
"Inspector Megure suffered a severe head injury, but he managed to memorize the license plate number, which led to the culprit's capture," Mouri paused.
Tsuneo picked up the thread: "The girl's injuries were much worse. They say she was covered in blood and completely unconscious."
Seeing the horrified expressions on Ran and Sonoko's faces, Conan couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry. That girl... well, these days she goes by the name Midori Megure!"
Ran: "..." Sonoko: "..."
Megure?! Did she become the Inspector's wife?! These guys and their habit of stopping halfway through a story... honestly!
"So a plan to bait a culprit touched an old wound," Ikumi Kyoda noted with a nod of understanding.
"As for the real reason Megure won't take off his hat..." Tsuneo smirked. It was likely to hide the story of how he met his wife. His fellow officers would probably tease him relentlessly if they saw the scar and remembered the romantic origins of his injury.
"Achoo!"
Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Inspector Megure sneezed several times in a row.
"Inspector, are you alright?" Officer Takagi asked.
"It's nothing." Megure shook his head, looking across the table at Yoshio Sadakane. He wondered if someone was talking behind his back.
Back to business: the police had found the iron bar the guard had used to attack the girls in the stairwell. If Tsuneo hadn't been tailing him and stepped in, Sonoko would have been in grave danger.
"We are well aware of your objective. But the short-haired girl in the mall today hasn't even graduated high school! She can't even drive—she was just using the keys to put things in the car!"
Megure slammed a piece of evidence onto the table, interrogating the man who thought he was dealing out justice.
"..." Sadakane looked at the exploding Megure, visibly terrified. He whimpered but couldn't get a word out.
"You call this justice? Tell me, what kind of justice is this!" Megure slammed the table again.
Takagi bit his lip. Inspector... this guy looks like he was beaten pretty badly. I think he literally can't speak right now...
The case was officially closed. Since Mouri had been drinking, Ikumi Kyoda acted as the designated driver to drop everyone home.
"She's so cool!" Sonoko sighed in admiration as they got out at the Mouri Detective Agency, watching Ikumi Kyoda climb into the pickup truck in her high heels. A beautiful detective in a trench coat and heels was certainly a striking sight.
"Is she?" Mouri looked up at the sky, his mind seemingly miles away.
Conan kept his hands in his pockets and gave a silent, exasperated smile. Sonoko really had quite an imagination.
Inside the red pickup:
"Hey, you aren't planning to eat someone, are you?" Tsuneo asked, glancing at the female detective who was currently rummaging through her shopping bags.
When they were in that lingerie shop earlier, things felt very "off." And now she was pulling the items out to look at them again.
"Why? Do you like looking?" A shallow smile played on Ikumi Kyoda's lips as she gave him a provocative glance.
"Hmph!" Tsuneo turned his head away dismissively. Who did she think he was? He wasn't going to fall for such cheap tricks.
The next morning, in front of Teitan Elementary.
Haibara yawned as she climbed out of the pickup truck. She glanced at the repairman and said, "Personal suggestion: you should probably clean out your car."
"..." Tsuneo gripped the steering wheel, face expressionless and silent. I'm an adult. I don't need to explain anything.
"Haibara!" "Ai-chan!"
The three kids and Conan approached with their backpacks.
"Morning," Haibara greeted them.
"Why did that guy drive off the moment he saw us coming?" Conan asked, watching the truck disappear into the distance. He had wanted to ask if Ms. Kyoda had suspected anything about him yesterday.
"That idiot is probably afraid you'll see a lipstick stain on his clothes," Haibara laughed, stepping toward the school gates. The car was filled with the scent of perfume; even if it smelled good, it was a bit overwhelming so early in the morning.
Come to think of it, there was a handheld camcorder in the car too. No way...
"What does that mean?" Conan caught up to her, seeing the mocking, brilliant expression on her face. It seemed something had happened that he wasn't privy to.
"Last night, he was probably giving a ride to a very... bold female client. If you're interested, you could investigate it," Haibara said in an encouraging tone.
"A very bold female client..." Conan froze. Who?
(End of Chapter)
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