BWDC:SDDK Chapter 56: High-Speed Deduction
"I was careless... I didn't dodge!"
Conan lay in the dilapidated small room, his expression incredibly grim. He couldn't remember how many times he had been blindsided because he was too focused on the situation right in front of him. He had repeatedly told himself not to repeat the same mistakes, yet here he was again.
---The current situation was extremely troublesome.
Conan struggled against the ropes binding him, but it was useless. The kidnapper guarding the landline phone shot him a fierce glare and threatened:
"Stop trying your little tricks, or I'll kill you right now!"
In the kidnapper's eyes, although this boy in the blue suit looked like an ordinary elementary student, he was actually far more troublesome than a normal child. He had a watch that could pop up a scope and fire something, and a detective badge capable of tracking and communication. If they hadn't been careful, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police might have already tracked them down!
Indeed, Conan's Stun-Gun Wristwatch and Detective Badge had both been taken. The watch was snatched by the kidnapper behind him who noticed something was off when Conan was first knocked unconscious.
As for the Detective Badge...
Just a moment ago, the Junior Detective League had tried to contact him to confirm his location. The kidnapper, whose voice sounded remarkably like Mouri Kogoro, snatched it away and crushed it under his foot. The transmitter chip inside had fallen out, making the situation clear to both captors. Had it not been for that, their surveillance of Conan wouldn't be this strict.
"Alright, stop making noise! Even if you scream until the sky falls, no one is coming to save you!" the kidnapper barked. Seeing Conan and the others go quiet, he nodded in satisfaction.
It was best if these people stayed obedient. Once they got their hands on that demo tape and disposed of the hostages, they could fly far away. It was a perfect plan.
Seeing that the kidnapper by the phone was no longer paying attention, Conan calmed his mind to observe his surroundings and plan an escape.
---First, after binding them, the kidnappers had searched Minami Takayama's bag several times. Combined with the earlier phone threat demanding Shiina Nagano bring Minami and the bag, it was certain their target was the demo tape originally inside.
The kidnappers hadn't expected Minami to be so scatterbrained that she forgot to retrieve the priceless demo tape from the Junior Detective League before meeting Shiina. While her forgetfulness was frustrating, it had actually saved their lives. If she had remembered it, the kidnappers would have likely killed them all the moment they had the tape in hand to eliminate any witnesses.
"Which lyric in that demo tape is the problem..."
Conan observed the kidnappers from the corner of his eye. The one by the phone was a burly man with a common face and seemingly low intelligence. The one who had attacked him—the one with the voice like Mouri Kogoro—stood by the window, judging the situation outside. Conan saw clearly that while his physique resembled Kogoro's, it was merely a disguise.
The man wore a black hat to hide his hair, a mask and sunglasses to cover his face, and used a voice changer. This created the illusion of being Mouri Kogoro. This suggested the kidnapper's true identity was someone who couldn't afford to be recognized by the police.
Conan's gaze shifted to Minami Takayama and Shiina Nagano.
This song was written based on their visit to Sengen-ji Temple on December 31st last year. On that day, an "excessive self-defense" killing occurred at the temple, committed by a man named Satoshi Miyahara.
There were no fireworks at Sengen-ji that day, yet the lyrics mentioned hearing "two fireworks." Those must have been gunshots. In the testimony given by Satoshi Miyahara to the police, he claimed there was only one bullet and he fired only once, hitting the victim's heart. But if there were two shots...
Then Satoshi Miyahara's testimony was a lie. His gun held two bullets. It wasn't a case of accidental discharge during a struggle; he had intentionally fired twice. Because only one shot hit, only one casing was found at the scene!
"That's it... that's the key..."
Conan's thoughts raced. In this life-or-death situation, his mind worked like a high-speed machine, connecting possibilities. A bold plan formed. To escape, he had to target Satoshi Miyahara. Perhaps by revealing his deduction of the murder, he could intimidate Miyahara into hesitation.
It was a gamble, but Conan had no other choice.
"Okay... let's do this," Conan whispered.
Just as he was about to call out to the kidnapper he suspected was Miyahara, the man by the window frowned and spoke to his partner:
"It's too stuffy in here. I'm going down to look around and see if any patrol cars are following."
"Keep an eye on the hostages, especially that brat. No matter what he says, ignore him. Just stick to the plan and we'll be fine."
Before Conan could speak, the man—Satoshi Miyahara—pushed the door open and headed down the external stairs. He casually pulled the iron door of the abandoned room shut, stifling Conan's words before they could be uttered.
Conan's eyelid twitched. Dammit. Now he had to wait for Miyahara to return. He knew nothing about the other kidnapper; trying to persuade him might backfire and lead to a panicked shooting. He couldn't gamble with the lives of the others.
"Is this Inspector Megure? Yes, I want you to transfer to Line 3 and go three stations forward."
The kidnapper by the phone didn't notice Conan's shifting expressions. He was busy repeating the same instructions he had given several times before, leading the Junior Detective League on a wild goose chase. They wanted to frustrate the children so they would ditch the police and try to meet the kidnappers alone. Miyahara had already noticed back at the restaurant that these kids were "active."
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of gunshots suddenly rang out from outside the room.
The kidnapper, Conan, Minami, and Shiina were all startled. What was happening? Had the police found them already?
End of Chapter
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