I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 465 What's the point of deduction? Just go up and ask! (1st update)
"Shiraishi-kun, Ran, Sonoko... What a coincidence, I didn't expect to see you at the press conference."

Yusaku walked over with his work bag and greeted him warmly.

However, when his gaze met Shiraishi E's, he couldn't help but feel a little awkward.

After all, they had just said goodbye and left, but now they've turned around and come back.

"Uncle Yusaku!" Ran greeted him with delight.

Her acting was good, natural, and she seemed genuinely surprised to see Yusaku Kudo here.

"Uncle Yusaku, it's been a long time. I didn't expect to run into you here." Sonoko wasn't very familiar with Yusaku Kudo, so she greeted him politely.

It wasn't as casual as greeting Kogoro Mouri.

Shiraishi Eya also got into character, nodding politely and saying, "Mr. Kudo, are you here for the press conference too?"

Yuzuka smiled and nodded: "Yes, I participated in the script design of a mystery game, and I came today to see the feedback... It seems to be quite good."

Just as everyone was chatting, several police officers in suits appeared in the area, looking around seriously and starting to question everyone.

A few minutes later, a police officer approached them. He showed his badge and sharply scanned the four of them: "Police officer, because of the recent explosion, the situation is very serious, so we need to conduct a search. Please understand. May I ask why you are at the press conference?"

Shiraishi E calmly replied, "We are students who came to visit after school."

Sonoko immediately added, "I received the invitation from my dad."

"Your father? What's his name?"

"Shiro Suzuki, my name is Sonoko Suzuki."

"Oh! So it's Miss Suzuki. Please wait a moment." Upon hearing Sonoko's name, the policeman immediately became very enthusiastic.

He immediately had another police officer call the front desk to verify the situation.

After saying "Excuse me" twice, the police officer turned his gaze to Kudo Yusaku, who was standing to the side, and asked, "Sir, why did you come to this game launch event?"

Yu Zuo calmly replied, "I am the screenwriter of 'Dark Night Mystery,' and I was invited by the organizers to attend the press conference."

"The Dark Night Mystery? Okay, I understand." The police officer picked up his phone, walked to the side, dialed a number, and began verifying the information.

A few minutes later, after confirming that everything was correct, the police officers softened their attitude: "Sorry to bother you. If you are in a hurry to leave, you can leave now."

After receiving this answer, the four left the game launch event without anyone stopping them.

After leaving the building where the press conference was held, Yusaku Kudo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced at the time and then said to the four of them, "It's still early, how about I treat you to a cup of coffee? I remember there's a nice restaurant nearby! I'll take you there!"

He didn't give the three a chance to refuse and started leading the way on his own.

Shiraishi E understood; the other party still needed an alibi.

“Since Mr. Yusaku is so enthusiastic, we can’t refuse.” He said, then gestured for Ran and Sonoko to follow.

The four of them went to a nearby elegantly decorated coffee shop.

Since it was evening, the restaurant was almost full, and they finally managed to find the last empty table to sit down.

After ordering himself a coffee, Yusaku smiled and said, "You guys go ahead and order, don't be shy... I'm going to the restroom."

As he spoke, he took the important document out of his work bag, got up, and left.

As soon as Yusaku left, Ran and Sonoko could no longer contain their curiosity and began whispering among themselves, "Uncle Yusaku seems to be using us as a cover!"

"It's not just a guess, it must be. He's probably afraid of being watched again!" "Working for the FBI must be really tough, sneaking around like a thief."

"Yes, if it were me, I wouldn't have that kind of mental fortitude."

"........."

Seeing that the two were discussing something very excitedly, Shiraishi pinched their thighs and reminded them, "Don't talk about this kind of thing now... If you want to talk about it, do it later at the hotel. It would be troublesome if someone overheard you."

Xiaolan and Yuanzi realized they were getting too excited, so they stuck out their tongues cutely to get away with it, and then started ordering some desserts.

Although they were going to have dinner later, it didn't affect their mood for dessert at all.

Besides, girls have a separate stomach for desserts.

While the three chatted, Kudo Yusaku quickly came out of the restroom. Because of the high volume of people in the cafe, he stumbled a bit on his way back.

"Phew... I'm finally back." Yusaku sat down again and let out a long sigh of relief. "There are so many people here—hmm?"

He had just breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression immediately changed when he looked at the file bag.

There was a tear at the bottom of the document bag at some point.

The documents inside were probably taken from here.

"Uncle Yusaku, what's wrong?" Ran clearly noticed the change in him.

"The files... are gone." Yusaku's expression turned serious as he looked at the files that had vanished from the file folder.

"Huh? Was it stolen?" Sonoko said in surprise.

“That should be it.” Yusaku looked back with a serious expression and said, “On my way back just now, three people bumped into me… Luckily, those three people are still in the coffee shop and haven’t left.”

"The first person bumped into me very deliberately, and even reached out to touch my shoulder, his fingers seemingly intentionally or unintentionally brushing against his file bag."

"The second person left without even apologizing after the accident."

"As for the third person... after he bumped into me, his apology was a bit exaggerated, and he even pretended to help me straighten my clothes, his actions were so attentive that they were a bit unnatural."

Ran enthusiastically asked, "Uncle Yusaku, have you figured out which one was the thief who stole your documents?"

"Let me think..." Yusaku pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "The first person who bumped into me was too precise; he was most likely a professional pickpocket."

"The second person who hit me ran away immediately after hitting me, without even basic manners, as if he was running away from something... Of course, it's possible he was acting."

"The third person who hit me was overly enthusiastic; he was probably creating a false impression to take advantage of the situation."

"........."

As Shiraishi sipped her coffee and watched Yusaku enter his deduction mode, she couldn't help but remark, "You look exactly like Shinichi."

“Yes, yes… there’s no difference at all,” Ranko agreed.

"Is that so?" Yusaku smiled and then continued his analysis.

But because those three people were all too professional, and each of them was a possibility, he was unable to deduce it in a short time.

"Alright, stop with the deductions." Shiraishi E gestured for Yusaku to stop and said, "Instead of passing the buck, we might as well just go up and let the other party cooperate properly."

“This…” Yusaku hesitated a little, feeling that this method was somewhat crude, illogical, and not quite in line with the approach of a mystery novelist.

However, while he was still hesitating, Shiraishi E had already gotten up and walked towards the first suspect.

(End of this chapter)