Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 553 A new beauty has appeared! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)

Wu Ju's house, living room on the second floor.

Standing by the window, gazing at the sky outside that was dyed red by the setting sun, Naoko Takei's father, President Takei, straightened his back, his whole body seemed to be burning with rage, and his chest was heaving violently.

Finally, his long-suppressed emotions burst out like a flood, and he almost roared, "I don't trust the police anymore, they are just a bunch of rubbish!"

His voice echoed in the living room, shaking the window glass slightly.

"Such a long time has passed, but there is still no news about Naoko, and her whereabouts are unknown! Their so-called investigation is just a perfunctory attempt to fool me!"

As he spoke, he slammed his hands heavily on the wall beside him with endless anger, and the potted plants by the window were almost shaken and fell down.

"If the police are unreliable, I'll do it myself! Even if I have to turn the whole city upside down and look for Naoko brick by brick, I will bring her back safely!"

"So, Detective Maori, I hope you can help me catch that hateful criminal and bring my daughter Naoko back!"

When he said this, he paused, his voice trembled slightly, and there was a hint of fatigue and helplessness mixed in with his anger, and his tone unconsciously softened a little.

"I understand how you feel." Maori Kogoro nodded slightly, his tone calm, "Don't worry, I will definitely help you find Miss Naoko!"

In fact, when Inspector Megure called him earlier, he had already told him President Takei's attitude and the general situation of the case. In addition, at the crime scene, he also deeply felt President Takei's anger, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with the police. Therefore, he was not surprised at President Takei's current attitude.

Moreover, as a father, he could understand President Takei's feelings at the moment.

"But I hope you can tell me some details about how Miss Takei Naoko was kidnapped." Maori Kogoro narrowed his eyes slightly, "This will also make it easier for us to find Miss Naoko's whereabouts faster."

Although he knew the general course of events from the police, he was not as clear as President Takei, the person involved. And those inconspicuous details might be the key to solving the mystery and solving the case.

Seeing that Kogoro Mori agreed, President Takei took a deep breath and tried to calm his surging emotions, but his trembling hands still revealed his nervousness and grief. He slowly turned around and looked at a woman who was standing beside him, remaining quiet and respectful.

The woman had neat short brown hair, delicate features on her fair face, and gentle eyes and brows. She looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. The two golden earrings on her earlobes swayed gently with her movements, reflecting tiny rays of light under the light. She exuded the vitality and charm that only belonged to a young woman.

"Let my secretary, Ms. Hanai, explain the specific situation to you in detail!"

The young and beautiful woman, President Takei's secretary, Hanai, immediately took a light step forward when she heard her boss's order. She put on a perfect, polite and gentle smile on her face and said in a gentle and pleasant voice, "Hello, I'm Hanai."

As soon as she finished speaking, she bowed deeply to everyone with an elegant posture. Her movements were smooth and natural, showing her well-trained manner.

"Could you please tell me the details of how Miss Takei Naoko was kidnapped?"

After taking a deep look at the beautiful secretary Hanai, even with Kogoro Mouri's aesthetic taste, he had to admit that Secretary Hanai was young and beautiful, which was in line with his own aesthetic preferences.

However, due to time constraints and the lack of time to waste, he did not bother with polite greetings. He came up with a serious expression and went straight to the point, asking questions directly to Secretary Hanai, completely lacking the frivolous look he usually had when he saw a beautiful woman.

Secretary Hanai took a deep breath, sorted out his thoughts, and began to narrate slowly: "Okay, Miss Naoko and I made an appointment to go to the movies that day, but I waited for her for several hours and she never showed up."

"Oh!" Maori Kogoro responded softly, as if thinking about something. Then he asked, "So you called the police because you were worried?"

As he spoke, his body leaned forward slightly, his arms firmly supported on his legs, his hands crossed, half covering the area below his nose, his eyes slightly closed, seemingly relaxed, but in fact he was rapidly sorting out the known clues in his mind.

"No, it was the criminals who contacted my cell phone, and then I found out that Miss Takei Naoko had been kidnapped!"

Secretary Hanai quickly shook his head, denying Kogoro Mori's guess, with a hint of panic and fear in his tone.

Maori Kogoro listened carefully, recording key information in his notebook from time to time, not missing any details that might become clues. After Secretary Hanai finished speaking, he pondered for a moment, suddenly raised his head, stared at Secretary Hanai with sharp eyes, and asked, "I think the criminals must have warned you not to call the police, right?"

"Yes! So I didn't dare to delay and reported it to the president immediately!" Secretary Hanai said, turning his head slightly and looking at President Takei who was standing by the window, looking out the window with a slightly lonely back. Then, he could no longer suppress the self-blame and guilt in his heart, covered his face with his hands, and cried, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't asked Miss Naoko to go to the movies that day, she wouldn't have been in trouble..."

As she cried, her legs went limp and she fell to her knees on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her shoulders trembled violently, as if she wanted to vent all the pain in her heart with her tears.

"..."

When President Takei heard her crying, he frowned slightly, but did not react much. His eyes were still staring into the distance outside the window, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Seeing this scene, Mao Lilan and Bai Ye looked at each other, sighed softly, and showed a trace of pity in their eyes. Then they stood up and walked to Secretary Hanai, stretched out their hands to help her up, and said gently: "Ms. Hanai, this is not your fault. No one wants this to happen."

"Besides, now is not the time to blame yourself."

Bai Ye also stepped forward and said in a gentle voice, "The most urgent thing is to work together to find Miss Naoko."

"Ms. Hanai, think carefully again. When the criminals called, did they mention the time, place, or any other details of the ransom payment? Even the most insignificant little things could be the key clue to finding Ms. Naoko."

Secretary Hanai sobbed and tried to calm herself down. She wiped her tears and recalled, "He just said to wait for his call and then tell me where to deliver the ransom. He also said that if we saw any police, we would kill them immediately. That was all."

Maori Kogoro heard this, looked down at his watch, and said in a deep voice: "Time is running out. No one knows whether the kidnappers will harm Miss Naoko before getting what they want. We must get as many clues as possible before then to narrow the search scope."

Conan came over, pushed his glasses, and calmly analyzed: "From the fact that the criminals chose to contact Miss Hanai instead of directly contacting President Takei, they have a certain understanding of the interpersonal relationships of the Takei family. Maybe it was an acquaintance who committed the crime, or they have been observing and planning for a long time." Maori Kogoro rolled his eyes at Conan and was about to tell him not to make trouble, but after thinking about it carefully, Conan's words seemed to make some sense. He looked at Conan, and although he was a little surprised at the kid's sharpness, he still muttered: "Don't talk nonsense, kid, but... it's not completely impossible."

Bai Ye pondered for a moment and added, "And now they know that the police are involved in this matter. They will probably continue to observe the movements of President Takei and the police. We must be extra careful in our actions and not alert them."

President Takei heard their conversation, his eyes filled with determination and resolve: "Everyone, no matter what the cost, you must bring Naoko back safely. Detective Mori, if you need any resources, just let me know. I will fully cooperate."

Maori Kogoro and Bai Ye looked at each other, nodded heavily, and said firmly: "Don't worry, we will do our best."

As he spoke, Maori Kogoro seemed to have thought of something. He looked at President Takei with a serious expression and asked, "President Takei, may I ask, what do you think is the real purpose of the criminals kidnapping Miss Naoko?"

President Takei's face flashed with displeasure, the corners of his mouth turned down, and he pouted unhappily, with a bit of irritation and helplessness in his voice, "If I knew, why would I look for you?"

"Oh, well, let's ask it another way. Mr. Takei, do you have any enemies?"

Facing President Takei's unfriendly answer, Maori Kogoro did not care, nor did he back down because of his non-cooperation. Instead, after a little thought, he took two steps towards where Secretary Hanai had just stood, then turned around, frowned, and asked with a serious expression that was almost cold, "Excuse me, President Takei is known for his fierce merger and acquisition methods in the business world. He is a famous merger and acquisition expert. Could it be that he has made any business enemies because of this?"

From the moment he accepted the commission, Kogoro Mori knew that if he wanted to successfully rescue Naoko Takei, it was of utmost importance to dig deep into the interpersonal network of the client, President Takei.

Because, according to what he knew from his daughter, Mao Lilan, Takei Naoko was a very gentle girl, who got along well with her classmates at school and never got into a fight with anyone. In life, she had no bad habits or disputes, had a regular schedule, was keen on public welfare, and was a good girl in the eyes of her classmates and neighbors.

It is hard to imagine that such a simple, kind and angelic girl would make enemies with others for her own reasons and then suffer such a terrible fate of being kidnapped.

Therefore, after some rigorous reasoning and analysis, Kogoro Mori concluded that the reason she was kidnapped this time was most likely not because she had offended anyone, but because of her father, President Takei.

After all, President Takei works in a fiercely competitive business world, where open and covert struggles are constant and he can easily make enemies if he is not careful.

In other words, only by thoroughly investigating President Takei's interpersonal relationships can we more quickly identify who is coveting his daughter and find the key clues to rescuing Takei Naoko.

As the investigation progressed, the results made Kogoro Mori secretly shocked.

The reason is simple, because President Takei's reputation in the business world is not as glorious as it seems.

Of course, in the battlefield of business, which is a battlefield without gunpowder, competition is extremely cruel, and people in high positions will more or less use some extraordinary means. To be able to run the company to this point, President Takei's means are naturally not too simple.

However, the crux of the matter is that President Takei's methods are too cruel.

In order to achieve his acquisition goals, he often disregarded industry rules, maliciously suppressed competitors, and even resorted to some despicable means, which had crossed the bottom line of many people. Many business owners who had been tricked by him hated him to the core.

It doesn't seem surprising that such a ruthless person would be maliciously retaliated against.

“How can I remember so much!”

When President Takei heard Maori Kogoro's question, the muscles on his face twitched slightly uncontrollably, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly pretended to be calm, curled his lips, and snorted, "What do you mean by that? Competition in the business world is cruel, and everyone relies on their own abilities. How can you become enemies?"

"Also, let me tell you, the business world is like a battlefield. The loser can only blame himself for not being as skilled as the other person!"

As he spoke, he walked up to Kogoro Mori, raised his head slightly, with a bit of arrogance, and even poked Kogoro Mori's chest with his right index finger rudely.

"Do you understand?"

"Uh..." Maori Kogoro was stunned for a moment by President Takei's sudden retort, and the seriousness on his face collapsed instantly, like a balloon that was suddenly punctured. However, he quickly came to his senses and immediately put on his signature awkward smile, scratching the back of his head with his left hand, smiling with wrinkles all over his face, and he looked like he was almost writing flattery on his face. He hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, you are right! You have been working in the business world for so many years, you must know more than me, I am just asking casually, don't take it seriously."

To be honest, if an ordinary person dared to do this to him, Kogoro Mouri would have knocked the person down with an over-the-shoulder throw and let this person know why the flowers are so red.

But it's different with President Takei. The other party is now his big client and is very generous. The huge commission fee is enough to maintain the Mori Detective Agency for a while.

Even if it weren't for the fact that Takei Naoko was his daughter's classmate, just for the sake of the money, Kogoro Mori didn't mind enduring this little humiliation.

"You are such a loser. You become cowardly when someone yells at you."

Conan complained secretly in his heart, and a hint of disgust flashed in his eyes.

He brags so much at ordinary times, but fails at the critical moment. This confused uncle really brings shame to his high school detective!

However, when business competition was mentioned just now, President Takei's reaction was really exaggerated. Not only did his volume suddenly rise, his emotions became extremely excited, and his hands were waving like out-of-control propellers.

This reaction is obviously wrong. It seems that President Takei must be hiding a secret in his heart.

His business methods might be even more cruel and ruthless than anyone imagined, and he might even have been responsible for many deaths.

Could the kidnapping of Takei Naoko this time be related to these shady things?
Thinking of this, Conan couldn't help but fall into deep thought...

(End of this chapter)