"Miss Ran, the armed culprit might still be nearby. It's safer if you stay with the others," Officer Shiratori said, running into Ran as she searched for Conan inside the ship.
"But Conan, he…" Ran's voice was laced with worry.
"Don't worry, I'll bring him back. You head back first," Shiratori reassured her.
After persuading Ran to leave, he turned to the communication room, where a certain great detective was making a call with his back to him. A smile tugged at Shiratori's lips.
"Doctor, it's me!" Conan said into the receiver.
"Oh! Shinichi!"
"I need you to look into something urgent," Conan said, still fixated on the shooter who targeted people's right eyes.
This guy was no small fry.
"A shooter who aims for the right eye?" Dr. Agasa glanced at Ai, who was sitting at the computer.
"As expected, that guy wouldn't investigate a random robber-killer for no reason," Ai said with a smirk, handing over a prepared file.
"That guy?" Conan had a sinking feeling.
No way…
"Last night, before his operation in Osaka, Tsuneo asked us to look into this person," Dr. Agasa said, digging through a stack of files to find what Conan needed.
"All we know is that he's a robber of unknown age and gender. His name is Scorpio!"
Conan paused, then asked, "What time exactly did Tsuneo ask you to investigate this guy?"
"Around seven last night, I think," Dr. Agasa said, glancing at Ai for confirmation.
"Seven-thirty. We were just starting our call," Ai nodded.
Who knows what those two were up to in Osaka…
"Got it," Conan said, hanging up.
"Shinichi, did you run into a case?" Dr. Agasa's curiosity died with the click of the receiver.
Honestly, always leaving things half-said!
Grumbling, he slammed the phone back into place.
"You'll get used to it," Ai said flatly.
Yesterday, after all the research she'd done, that so-called knight had hung up on her mid-call.
"Alright, you two, eat something to cool off!" Miyano Akemi brought over two plates of snacks.
…
"Seven-thirty…" Conan stood in the corridor, frowning as he mulled it over.
Kaitou Kid had appeared at Tsutenkaku at seven-twenty.
At seven-thirty, he hadn't even been shot at yet.
Did Tsuneo have some kind of precognition, knowing Kid would get shot in the right eye after his heist?
"Or does he know this Scorpio guy and what he looks like?"
"No, if that were the case, why bother investigating his background?"
The great detective kept dismantling his own theories.
He just couldn't figure out what was going on in that repairman's head.
On his way back, Conan saw the police searching Masato Nishino's room and followed along.
"Inspector, we found it—under Mr. Nishino's bed!" Officer Takagi called out, holding up the necklace.
The ring on it indeed had "Maria" inscribed inside.
"How is that possible?!" Nishino stared, dumbfounded.
What kind of magic trick was this?!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, the secretary might've thought the police planted it.
"Mr. Nishino, it seems we've found the evidence," Megure said, his tone growing stern.
"Wait, Officer, it wasn't me!" Nishino grabbed Megure's collar, shaking him frantically.
"Calm down. It's not him," Tsuneo said, stepping in as Uncle Maori prepared to intervene. He patted Nishino's shoulder to settle him.
Megure's head was already foggy—shaking it like that would only make things worse.
"What? You're saying it's not him?!" Uncle Maori scoffed, eyeing the secretary suspiciously.
Tsuneo walked to the bed, pressed Nishino's usual pillow, and tossed it to Uncle Maori and the others.
"If he were the culprit, the crime scene wouldn't look like that."
Conan watched as Uncle Maori and Megure puzzled over the pillow.
The sound and texture… was it filled with rice husks?
"Maori, have you figured something out?" Megure asked.
"…" Uncle Maori stayed silent.
Inspector, am I supposed to be that much smarter than you…?
"Huh? This pillow's different from the ones we use!" Conan said, hands in his pockets, playing innocent again.
"You little brat! Where'd you run off to this time?!" Uncle Maori snapped, itching to discipline him at the sight of his cheeky grin.
Shiratori stepped over, examined the pillow, and turned to Nishino. "Mr. Nishino, do you have a feather allergy?"
"Y-Yes," Nishino nodded.
"Speaking of feathers, I remember the pillow in Mr. Hikawa's room was torn open, with feathers scattered everywhere!" Conan said, flashing an innocent smile.
"I see!" Megure caught on.
He immediately moved to take Nishino to President Suzuki for confirmation of his feather allergy.
As the group turned to leave, Shiratori, hands in his pockets, watched Conan's back with a slight smirk.
But then, a swift kick landed squarely on his backside.
The kicker? Tsuneo, bringing up the rear.
"What are you standing around for?!" the repairman shot him a look.
What's so funny?
There's already a rumor going around that I'm in cahoots with that thief, blowing up the power station together!
Shiratori's composure shattered, and he stared at the repairman's back in confusion.
What's going on here?!
No way…
…
"Yes, I can vouch for him. Even a little contact with feathers makes him sneeze nonstop," President Suzuki said, seated in the grand hall.
"That's right! Mr. Nishino fled from Ran's room earlier because of the pigeon!" Sonoko recalled a detail.
"So who's the real culprit?" Megure sank back into thought.
"Inspector Megure, have you ever heard the name Scorpio?" Tsuneo's voice cut through.
"Scorpio?" Megure looked over, puzzled.
The repairman glanced down at a certain someone fiddling with a voice changer…
(End of Chapter)
----------------------------
If you enjoy this story, please check out my Patreon to read 30–40 advanced chapters ahead!
I'll leave the Patreon link below: [pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for always supporting me!