Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

"No."

"I haven't found it on my end either."

In the afternoon, in an unremarkable apartment building, two police officers from the Metropolitan Police Department stood face to face in the center of a room.

Upon hearing his companion's words, Morofushi Kagemitsu, who had just completed a comprehensive search, frowned slightly.

They arrived here in the morning and spent nearly four hours, from asking the apartment manager and visiting neighbors to determine Itakura Taku's whereabouts, to entering the building to investigate, but they found very little.

The apartment where Itakura Taku lived wasn't small; it was enough for an average family of three to live in. It had very little furniture, was simply furnished, and was kept extremely clean—not just in terms of hygiene, but also because they hadn't found any surveillance cameras or listening devices during their inspection.

If the administrator hadn't confirmed that Itakura Taku had returned five days prior in the evening, and that the layout of a certain room matched the background in the video, they would have suspected that this was an unoccupied room available for rent.

Ishigami also looked grim. Wearing gloves, he picked up the inspection report on the table: "In the end, all we have is this."

Morofushi Kagemitsu shifted his gaze from the curtains, which were faintly piercing the dim sunlight, to the documents in his hand.

This is a physical examination report, with the first line printed as "[Takeuchi General Hospital]".

The inspection took place last Saturday, right when Itakura Taku and the three men lost contact.

They found it on the coffee table shortly after they came in. The coffee table had chessboards for shogi, chess, and go all at once, which was quite eye-catching. The report was pressed under these chessboards.

“It is indeed very serious,” Ishigami said, looking at the test results. “It seems he really meant it when he said he needed immediate heart surgery.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu pondered, "His physical condition is probably true, but that organization wouldn't be so kind, and..."

And it's so strange.

He knew the organization's style; given their approach, would they really leave such important personal information lying around?

If Itakura Taku had voluntarily joined the organization and fallen into darkness, he wouldn't have made such a basic mistake. Even if he had accidentally made it, those responsible for cleaning up the mess would have taken care of it for him.
If he didn't join voluntarily, then why are there no devices in this room monitoring this coerced person? There aren't even any signs of removal.
The Scotch whisky industry couldn't understand it.

All of this seems to be for...

“Our next step is to investigate this hospital.” His companion, unaware of his thoughts, quickly made the decision: “Itakura might still be there.”

Zhu Fujingguang snapped out of his daze, looked at this senior police officer who had never been an undercover agent but was more experienced than him, and sighed inwardly.

"I'm afraid this is the only way."

Since it was an investigation in a different location, and they didn't have many clues, they could only proceed step by step.

The two Metropolitan Police Department officers checked every nook and cranny again to make sure there were no other clues before restoring everything to its original state and leaving Itakura Taku's temporary residence.

The sky outside was already tinged with a dusky yellow. The two skillfully avoided the building manager, left the apartment through the back door, and got back into their car.

"I need to report to the administrator first."

As Morofushi Kagemitsu spoke to Ishigami, he took out his phone.

Just then, his phone rang.

Morofushi Kagemitsu paused for a moment when he saw the caller ID, then answered it directly in the car: "Hello?"

"Hiro, did you go back to the Metropolitan Police Department today?" It was his childhood friend's familiar voice on the other end.

Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced silently at the scenery outside the car window, which belonged to Gunma Prefecture, and said frankly, "I'm currently out of town on a mission. Is there anything I can help you with?"

They were both police officers and knew very well how busy the other person was usually; they would never call at this time unless it was something important.

“Hmm…” Furuya Rei was clearly not expected to receive this answer. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak: “Actually, it’s about Matsuda.”

When his friend was involved, Zhu Fujingguang's expression turned slightly serious: "What happened to him?"

“He and I went to the hotel for the game launch last night. When we parted, he ran into Glenn and they talked. Then there was an explosion.” Rei Furuya said quickly, “But he wasn’t injured. The bomb wasn’t planted by the organization. It was done by another employee of Full Heaven to kill another employee. The original target made a deal with the organization, and the person is currently under control.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu thought about it. He had indeed seen the news about the explosion when he went back to tidy up last night, but such things were too common in Tokyo. Seeing that there were no casualties and the case had not been transferred to him, he didn't pay any more attention to it.

"You called me because Glenn has his eye on Matsuda?" he asked worriedly. "Based on our investigation of Glenn over the past few years, he always avoids the police and passersby; he's an extremely cautious person. Why would Matsuda be talking to him?"

Upon hearing the organization's code name "Glen," Ishigami, who had been waiting impatiently for him to make the call, instantly widened his eyes and sat up straight.

Furuya Rei, unaware of the situation on the other side, continued, "It was Matsuda who struck up the conversation. This isn't their first encounter."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu's heart leaped into his throat.

"Matsuda ran into him at the scene where Pramia's body was found in Shibuya last Saturday," Furuya Rei said, steeling himself.

“Anish was also there at the time. She also spoke with Matsuda and expressed interest in him.”

“So I’ve had someone following Matsuda for the past week, and they even went to the press conference with him last night,” Furuya Rei added. “But he is, after all, a detective with the Metropolitan Police Department, and he often has to go out on patrol. I think it would be better if your Metropolitan Police Department continued to be responsible for his protection…”

silence.

A suffocating silence spread through the car and through the cell phones.

Rei Furuya, who had been keeping this news a secret, was filled with anxiety. He cautiously tried to call out to his childhood friend, "Hiro?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu said calmly, "Zero, you didn't tell me that day."

“That night, I made a point of calling you after your meeting ended, but you didn’t mention Matsuda’s encounter with Anise at all.”

Rei Furuya suddenly fell silent.

What's harder to bear than the enemy's malice is his childhood friend's anger and disappointment. Even when he suddenly received an emergency evacuation notice and had to face the bombs at Pramie in order to fake his death, he had never felt such a chill down his spine.

Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at the clock in the car, then spoke again, his tone still calm: "I have to conduct my investigation, so I won't say any more. Please pass on Matsuda's matter directly to the supervisor."

The phone hangs up.

Ishigami is a hot-tempered man who is not good at reading people's expressions, but even he could sense that Morofushi Kagemitsu's mood was not quite right.

"Zhufu?" he called out hesitantly.

Morofushi Kagemitsu put away his phone, his expression returning to normal: "I'm fine, Ishigami-senpai, let's go to the hospital now."

……

the other side.

Rei Furuya, currently in Nagano next to Gunma, was sweating profusely from the phone call and sighed silently.

Since it involves friends and Anisette, Hiro is bound to get angry...

I was originally going to tell him that I was currently in Nagano and that I could visit his brother when I had some free time, but I didn't expect him to end the call so quickly. Sending an email now would seem a bit odd... Never mind, I'll wait until I finish what I'm doing before I do it.

Rei Furuya put down his phone and looked back at the screen in front of him.

The screen is divided into nine small squares, each displaying a different image.

This is road surveillance footage provided by the Traffic Division of the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters. He and several other people assigned by Superintendent Kuroda to help have been watching it all afternoon.

Glenn drives a black Toyota, a common sight in Japan, and it's possible he'll change cars, making it difficult for an investigation to yield any useful clues...

When Rei Furuya perked up and looked at the video again.

In a corner of the frame, a Rolls-Royce discreetly drives by. (End of Chapter)