Officer Shiratori sat to the side with his arms crossed, tilting his head silently.
Sato actually gave her father's memento to Takagi as a protective charm...
Sirens wailed as Takagi and Shiratori drove off, heading near the sighting location to search for the arsonist.
"Something seems a bit off. It's just catching an arsonist; is it necessary to check their handguns so cautiously?" Ai noticed the actions of Officer Shiratori and his partner.
"Besides that, Officer Takagi and his partner are usually responsible for investigating assault cases." Conan also frowned.
Logically speaking, this type of case shouldn't be handled by them.
"I recall my sister mentioning earlier that a homicide occurred near the scene of the fourth arson." Ai remembered what Akemi had said.
"Although there is no concrete evidence yet, it's highly likely that the victim witnessed the arsonist setting the fire and was stabbed by them when they tried to intervene." Officer Sato nodded.
Conan placed his fingers on his chin, adopting a thoughtful pose.
"Listen closely, everyone. Do not leave my side later," Sato warned the children.
Although Inspector Megure said they had a trace on the arsonist, they still needed to check out the place where Ayumi had spotted the man.
...
Evening.
Shinagawa Station.
"Hello, Inspector? This is Shiratori. We have apprehended the suspected arsonist inside Shinagawa Station." Officer Shiratori glanced at the long-haired man pinned to the ground by two officers, who was crying out his innocence.
The man kept insisting he wasn't an arsonist but a burglar who broke into empty houses.
After a busy spell, Takagi sat on a bench on the platform, tilting his head back and letting out a long breath.
Suddenly, looking at the station sign, he seemed to discover something, and his expression became excited.
Choushirou?!
Could it be that it means this?
"Officer Takagi, who are you calling?" Officer Shiratori leaned in closer, curiously asking Takagi, who was holding his phone with an inexplicable smile on his face.
"N-No one! I just... I just need to go to the bathroom!" Startled, Takagi shoved his phone into his jacket, stood up, and hurriedly left the platform.
"..." Officer Shiratori looked completely bewildered.
That kid really can't hide anything when he lies.
After lying to escape Officer Shiratori, Takagi ran alone to a phone booth outside the station and called Officer Sato, wanting to inform her of the truth behind the Choushirou case.
"Officer Sato."
The call connected quickly. Officer Sato was leading the children in an investigation of the area where the suspect had previously appeared.
"How did it go? Did you catch the arsonist?" Sato asked.
"Um, I know who the robber from eighteen years ago is. If my deduction isn't wrong, the culprit is actually among the people we met today."
As Officer Takagi spoke, he was suddenly enveloped by a shadow.
Startled once again, Takagi saw who it was and hung up the phone immediately.
"You scared me to death, Officer Shiratori!"
Sure enough, you came to spy on me, didn't you?!
"Officer Takagi, I feel your actions are highly problematic." Officer Shiratori crossed his arms, staring at him.
"Nothing of the sort. Don't make wild guesses, okay?" Takagi waved his hand and turned to leave again.
It was understandable.
After all, as two rivals who could simultaneously imagine Sato in a wedding dress, they were bound to clash.
...
"Hello? Takagi?" Sato was confused by the sudden disconnection.
"Did Officer Takagi say something?" Conan looked up and asked curiously.
"He just said that the culprit of the case from eighteen years ago is among the four people we met today."
Officer Sato repeated Takagi's words.
"Did that guy guess correctly?" Ai frowned and took out her notebook.
Although Tsuneo's predictions have happened before, isn't this a bit too accurate...
"Hey, hey, hey..." Conan looked at her speechlessly.
What Officer Takagi said isn't necessarily correct. Is there a need to be so serious?
Besides, that guy Tsuneo loves to spout nonsense. One time he even said Maori-ossan was the murderer.
Not long after, the phone rang again.
It was Officer Takagi calling from his mobile phone.
However, regrettably, he didn't manage to say the culprit's name this time either. The call ended abruptly, accompanied by a scream.
"Officer Takagi? Officer Takagi, what happened to you?!" Sato shouted twice, but the line went dead again.
"Something happened..." Conan frowned.
This call was different from the last one. It ended with a scream, which even he heard clearly.
Sato immediately called Shiratori.
"Officer Takagi?"
"He was with me four or five minutes ago." Shiratori watched the police car carrying the suspected arsonist leave and nodded.
"Report the location and time you last saw him to the central command room at headquarters immediately. Here's what happened..." Sato suspected that Takagi might have been attacked by the real arsonist.
"But didn't Officer Takagi just try to tell you the identity of the robber from eighteen years ago?" Mitsuhiko asked, puzzled, seeing her hang up.
Shouldn't it be the culprit from eighteen years ago who attacked Officer Takagi?
"That shouldn't be possible, because the statute of limitations for that case expired three years ago." Officer Sato shook her head.
From the culprit's perspective, there was no need to attack a police officer over a truth that no longer carried legal consequences.
It was highly probable that the arsonist heard something, thought their identity was exposed, followed Takagi, and attacked him while he was on the phone.
"By the way, those four people we met earlier said they were going to their usual pub for a drink. Where is that pub?" Conan looked up and asked.
"I think it's called Seven Tracks Pub. The location is... in front of Shinagawa Station." As Sato said this, her expression changed.
The place where Takagi and Shiratori went to make the arrest was Shinagawa Station!
"If the culprit from eighteen years ago that Officer Takagi referred to in the call really is among those four, and that person happened to be near the station and overheard some of the conversation..."
Conan didn't continue.
Even if the statute of limitations had passed, a criminal's first instinct would usually be to keep the secret.
Therefore, killing to silence a witness was not completely out of the realm of possibility.
Mainly, the location matched perfectly, forcing one to consider it.
...
Night had fallen.
Elsewhere, our repairman had finished solving his client's problem. Having changed into his outfit, he was holding a map and making marks on it.
"Ikebukuro, Asakusabashi, Tabata, Shimokitazawa, Yotsuya." Tsuneo marked the locations of the first five arsons with a marker.
"Barring any accidents, the sixth location should be in Shinagawa."
The six points sketched out the character for 'Fire' (火).
"Heh heh heh. I'm coming to catch you!"
The Dark Knight let out a series of cold laughs, mounted a motorcycle he had acquired from who-knows-where, and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the night.
-------------------------------
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