While waiting for Inspector Megure to arrive, Kurosawa Hoshino sat reading to pass the time. Then, without warning, he stiffened. As if some "handsome guy" had subconsciously reminded him of something.
He slammed the book shut and smacked his forehead—hard enough to leave a red mark.
Ran jumped. "Hoshino! What's wrong?"
"I just remembered something important. Too bad it came so late." Kurosawa Hoshino sighed.
It hit him: he hadn't needed to wait at all. The librarian, Tsugawa Hideji, had hidden drugs inside the books. He could have simply "discovered" them and called Megure directly.
But the anime had burned that image into his mind—the open elevator doors, the slow ascent, the corpse, Tsugawa's face. He'd been fixated on the body.
"Got it." Ran nodded. She didn't ask what was wrong.
"Yeah. It's fine. I remember now."
A cool touch landed on his forehead. Ran's small hand gently rubbed the red spot, surprising him.
He turned to find her smiling softly. "What are you doing?"
"You hit yourself too hard. Your forehead's all red." Her tone was serious. "Hoshino, your brain is how you make a living now. You can't hurt it. Next time, be gentle. Or you'll make yourself stupid."
Kurosawa Hoshino opened his mouth. No words came out. He was a little amused.
"Okay." Ran withdrew her hand with a mischievous smile. "You keep reading. I think I remembered what book I was looking for earlier. I'll go find it."
He got up and pretended to search the nearby shelves.
Since he remembered, he might as well find the drugs.
It didn't take long. He found a box under the cabinet by the window, stuffed with packaged foreign books. These should be the ones containing the drugs.
He didn't linger. He returned to Ran's side and read with her.
"Did you find it?" Ran asked.
"No. Not on this floor."
"Then let's check downstairs."
"Forget it. Let's wait for Inspector Megure to check the elevator first."
A dozen minutes later, Megure arrived with his team.
He found Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran immediately, then called for the librarian.
Kurosawa Hoshino finally met his childhood nightmare face to face—Tsugawa Hideji.
Thin, wrinkled, Tsugawa feigned ignorance. "Officers, how can I help you?"
Inspector Megure began. "One of your staff members, Kazuo Tamada, is missing. He didn't come home last night. His wife said he stayed late with you to work. Do you know where he is?"
"I don't know." Tsugawa's acting was flawless. "I was wondering the same thing. He disappeared last night. I stayed busy for a while before heading home myself."
Megure glanced at Hoshino and nodded. Hoshino's turn.
"Director, what's your name?" Kurosawa Hoshino asked.
"Tsugawa Hideji."
"Director Tsugawa, while I was browsing the third floor, I found something interesting in a box under the window cabinet."
Tsugawa's expression froze. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. Then he saw the imposing police officers around him. He snapped back to reality. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Hoshino, what's this?" Inspector Megure adjusted his hat. "This isn't what you told me on the phone."
Ran was also confused. Shouldn't they be talking about the elevator problem?
"Inspector, in that box, there was a stack of foreign books. I opened one at random. Inside were drugs."
"What?" Megure was shocked. Then overjoyed. Another achievement!
Ran glanced at Tsugawa, who was trembling. It was a familiar reaction—the same look Kurosawa Hoshino always got when he exposed a culprit.
Kurosawa Hoshino continued. "Director Tsugawa, one more thing. The elevator's weight capacity. What did you put on the ceiling?"
Megure waved his hand. "Men, check both places Hoshino mentioned. Thoroughly."
Half the officers ran upstairs. The other half stood in front of Kurosawa Hoshino, staring intently at the deathly pale Tsugawa Hideji.
A long silence passed.
Then Tsugawa dropped to his knees, hands bracing himself on the floor. His voice was hoarse. "I confess. I was trafficking drugs. I killed Kazuo Tamada."
"I never would have guessed." Inspector Megure stared sternly at Tsugawa.
"Inspector, the case is resolved." Kurosawa Hoshino stood. "Ran and I will be going."
"Wait. I'll have someone drive you."
"No need. Ran wants to walk."
"Alright." Megure nodded helplessly.
Kurosawa Hoshino left the library with Ran.
Outside, he glanced at the system panel. Four Origin Points left to go.
"Hoshino, you have to come with me to the supermarket for groceries, okay?"
"Don't worry. You came to the library with me. I'll go to the supermarket with you."
"Deal. You carry the bags."
"Fine. I'll carry them."
"Yay! Let's hurry!" Ran walked briskly ahead, hands clasped behind her back.
More than an hour later, they returned to the Mouri Detective Agency.
"Dad's not back yet?" Ran took out her phone and dialed.
The call connected. The background was chaos—shouts, screams.
Ran's face darkened. "Dad! You didn't go gambling on horses again, did you?"
"What? I can't hear you!"
"I said—"
"Can't hear you! Hanging up! Not coming home for dinner tonight!"
Ran stared at the disconnected call. Her fists clenched so hard they cracked. If it weren't her own phone, she might have crushed it.
Kurosawa Hoshino was used to this routine. He glanced at Hattori Heiji's backpack on the sofa across from him. Wondered how long until Hattori came to retrieve it.
Those two. They're probably meeting up right now, aren't they?
He smiled. Just thinking about it was amusing.