Following Takagi's scream and subsequent loss of contact, the police in Shinagawa were mobilized en masse. Assaulting a police officer was no small matter.
For a time, sirens wailed from all corners of the streets.
Officer Sato also urgently drove towards Shinagawa Station.
"It seems necessary for us to contact that guy." Ai, sitting in the back seat, looked at Conan.
They needed to resolve this matter quickly. Ayumi was an eyewitness, and who knew if the arsonist had memorized the little girl's face?
"Yeah. But I think he's already started to act." Conan nodded, secretly taking out his phone and sending a text message to the repairman.
When it came to matters concerning his own people, Tsuneo was always very diligent.
I just don't know if the one who attacked Officer Takagi was the arsonist or the bank robber who killed the security guard eighteen years ago.
Or perhaps, the current arsonist is actually that robber from back then?
Those four people who were paying their respects to Officer Masayoshi Sato at the intersection today...
...
"Officer Sato, what are you doing?" Genta, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the pub outside the window, then at Officer Sato, who was clenching her fists, lost in thought.
"You seem to be sweating a lot," Ayumi leaned forward and asked worriedly.
"N-Nothing." Officer Sato shook her head.
I hope Takagi is safe and sound...
"Seven Tracks Pub. This is the place those four people came to, right?" Mitsuhiko said, pressing his face against the car window.
"Alright, let's charge in quickly!"
Genta said with burning eyes.
Let's go grab those people right now and ask them clearly what happened to Officer Takagi!
In truth, as the leader of the group, he was a bit impulsive and sometimes made mistakes, but he was very loyal.
"No, I can handle it alone. You kids wait for me obediently in the car." Officer Sato stopped the little guy, got out of the car alone, and walked into the pub.
"Honestly..." Genta had no choice but to sit back down with his arms crossed.
However, unbeknownst to them, someone else besides Officer Sato had gotten out of the car at some point, but they hadn't noticed.
"What are you doing, Ai-chan?" Ayumi saw Ai pick up the road map from Officer Sato's car and asked curiously.
"Since we have to sit obediently in the car and can't move, we might as well reorganize the locations of the five previous arsons," Ai said while flipping through the map.
...
Inside the pub.
"Have the four of them already gone home?" Officer Sato asked.
"Yes, about forty minutes ago. They were discussing that arsonist, saying he's been committing crimes everywhere recently. Everyone was feeling uneasy, so they went back."
The owner had a deep impression of this topic.
"Did they talk about anything else while they were drinking?" Conan had entered the shop at some point.
"Conan-kun..." Officer Sato revealed an expression that said 'just as I expected.'
This child was very smart, but also very restless.
"I heard them mention something about 'four happy occasions arriving at the door,' and they happily raised a toast to celebrate," the owner nodded and said.
"Mr. Inomata said today was the fifteenth anniversary of his company's founding, and it has been profitable every year since its inception."
"Mr. Kano said tomorrow is his fiftieth birthday. His three years of hardship in Italy were not in vain, and his restaurant business is booming."
"Ms. Kamitori was beaming with joy because her daughter married into a good family."
"As for Mr. Saruwatari, his family just welcomed a new member; his grandson was just born."
The four of them sat not far from the counter, so the owner heard clearly.
"However, today happened to be the anniversary of Miwako's father's death, so the expressions on everyone's faces were quite complicated."
"Speaking of which, that robber from that case really went too far. Not only did he steal 550 million yen, but he also used the butt of the shotgun hidden under his coat to beat the security guard who tried to stop him to death. In the end, he even ruthlessly killed a police detective."
The pub owner recalled the case known as "Choushirou" while wiping the table.
Judging by his manner of speaking, he seemed very familiar with those old customers and also knew Officer Sato.
"The robber killed him?"
"Wasn't it said that he died in a car accident?" Conan heard a different version and asked curiously.
"There was a witness at the time who said that when the truck approached, the robber suddenly pushed my dad." Officer Sato's gaze sharpened.
Is the culprit really among those four?
"This uncle knows way too much about that case, doesn't he?" Conan glanced at the pub owner, his face full of curiosity.
He knew the robber had killed a security guard, but this was the first time he had heard about using the butt of a shotgun.
"At the time of the crime, that video from the bank was broadcast on TV, but because it was too brutal, it was quickly banned."
"However, the most important thing right now is Officer Takagi. We still haven't figured out if the person who attacked him was the arsonist or the robber from eighteen years ago."
After answering Conan's question, Officer Sato fell into deep thought with a solemn expression.
She had no leads. How were they supposed to continue the investigation?
The famous detective also frowned.
Eighteen years ago. A case where the statute of limitations had expired three years ago...
"The next arson location is right here in Shinagawa!" Ai walked in carrying the road map.
Clearly, she had also deduced that the arsonist intended to carve a giant character for "Fire" (火) onto the map of Tokyo.
...
After Ai entered the Seven Tracks Pub with the map.
"Did they go in to eat?" Genta's brain started to fog up as soon as he got hungry.
"Why are we the only three left here watching the car..." Mitsuhiko also sat down helplessly.
At this moment, Ayumi, who had been keeping an eye on the pub entrance, suddenly froze. Looking at a figure walking past the car, fear appeared on her face.
It... it's him!
"What's wrong, Ayumi?" Mitsuhiko and Genta noticed Ayumi's abnormal behavior.
Is she trembling?
"It's him!"
"The arsonist I saw... it's him!" Ayumi pointed at the man in the trench coat who had already walked past the front of the car.
"His clothes are indeed a bit strange. Ayumi, is it really him?!" Genta's eyes widened.
Except for some salarymen in suits, everyone else was wearing short sleeves. Who would wear a long trench coat?
"Yes, it's definitely him!" Ayumi nodded repeatedly, affirming it.
"W-Wait a minute, look at that person." Mitsuhiko rubbed his eyes.
Did an even weirder person just walk past the car just now?
He didn't see the face.
The person was wearing a black long-sleeved hoodie with the hood pulled up over their head, walking with their head slightly lowered.
If he wasn't mistaken, the hands shoved into the pockets... seemed to be wearing leather gloves?
"Those two seem to be heading in the same direction. What should we do?"
Genta turned to look at Ayumi and Mitsuhiko.
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