A Lincoln sedan stopped at the entrance. Heiji got out.
"Young Master Heiji, should I wait for you here?" the butler asked.
"No need. You can go back, Butler Mayuha. I'll call you when I'm ready."
Heiji smiled politely and walked into the police department.
Inspector Megure and the others were sitting, their expressions grim.
"Heiji, my boy, you're finally here."
Seeing Heiji, Megure's face brightened.
"Hattori brat, you're late," Kogoro Mouri said smugly.
"Uncle Mouri, are you here to help too?"
Not just Kogoro, but Conan was there as well.
"Hahaha! With the great detective Kogoro Mouri on the case, no riddle is too hard for me."
"Ah, Mouri! Have you solved the riddle?" Megure asked, surprised.
"Of course." Kogoro nodded. "Look, Inspector. This wooden stick has six red dots."
"Four in the middle, and two at the ends. If we straighten it, what does it look like?"
Megure stared at the stick. A light bulb went off. "It's a train line! The stick is the line, the ends are the first and last stops, and the four dots are the stations in between!"
"Exactly! The Night Baron must be saying Officer Sato is trapped on the Shinkansen line!"
Kogoro was thrilled his deduction was accepted.
"Quick! Search the Shinkansen lines! Miwako must be nearby!"
At Megure's order, the officers outside immediately headed for the train lines.
"But Uncle, there are many Shinkansen stations. How do we know which one?" Conan asked.
Kogoro and Megure froze, staring at the stick again.
Conan pinched his chin, thinking. The uncle's deduction isn't entirely wrong, but it doesn't narrow it down. And what does the sentence mean?
Heiji looked at the stick. When straightened, it had six dots.
The four in the middle were hollow. The two at the ends were half-solid.
He was the one who mailed this, so of course he knew what it meant. But he had to keep up the act.
"The four middle dots are hollow and evenly spaced. Inspector, are there four Shinkansen stations that are equidistant?"
"Equidistant?" Megure's eyes lit up. "Yes! From Beika Station to Kamiya Town, then to Kyoto, then to Nagoya. The distances between those four stations are almost identical!"
"That's it! Those four stations! Inspector, let's go!" Kogoro cheered.
"Let's go!"
Megure suddenly stopped. "Heiji, my boy, you're sick. You don't need to come. Just wait here."
Heiji nodded, sat down, and picked up the note, pretending to think.
Conan followed Kogoro, but glanced back at Heiji. Is Hattori stuck on something?
After they left, Heiji put the paper down, a helpless smile on his face.
It's easy to fool Kogoro and Megure. But fooling that detective freak Conan requires more effort.
Heiji sat there for two hours.
He suddenly stood up, asked the remaining officers a question, and left.
An hour later, Megure and the others returned, defeated.
"Damn it! How could my deduction be wrong? Where did I mess up?" Kogoro grumbled.
Megure was in no mood to argue. It had been almost 12 hours, and they still had no leads.
[What went wrong?]
Conan looked at the stick again, his heart heavy. The longer this takes, the worse it is for Officer Sato. Damn it, I have no idea.
"Wait, where'd the Hattori brat go?" Kogoro asked, looking around.
Conan just remembered Heiji.
"Inspector, Mr. Hattori left about an hour ago," an officer said.
"Heiji is sick. He probably felt worse. He wasn't at the scene last night, so he probably can't help much," Megure said, disappointed.
[Wait. We left three hours ago. Hattori left one hour ago. That means he stayed here for two hours.]
Conan's eyes flashed. He walked over to the officer. "Officer, did Big Brother Heiji say anything before he left?"
"Hey, kid! Stop bothering the officers!" Kogoro snapped.
"Well, Mr. Hattori did ask me one question," the officer recalled.
"What question?" Megure and Kogoro's interest was piqued.
"Mr. Hattori asked me where Officer Sato was kidnapped by the Night Baron last night. After I told him, he rushed off."
This made the three of them frown.
[Why would Hattori ask that? Did he find something?]
Conan looked at the note and the stick again, his brow furrowed.
By now, Miwako Sato had been tied up for 12 hours.
The room was quiet. The 300-million-dollar 'Sunflowers' was right in front of her, but she felt no joy.
[The Night Baron didn't even want this painting. Why did he steal it?]
Miwako tried to distract herself from her fear.
It worked at first, but as dehydration and exhaustion set in, her resolve weakened.
The total silence made it easy for her to break.
She was a police officer, trained for this, but she was also human.
Unable to move... an unknown fate... in a silent room...
Miwako Sato fought to stay awake, but her fear grew.
Just as she was starting to panic, a pleasant sound suddenly filled the room.
It was quiet, but it gave her a thread of hope.
"If they can't save the beautiful officer by now, I can only say the police are incompetent."
"So as not to let you get lonely, here is a song. A gentleman's gift."
The Night Baron's voice suddenly spoke.
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