Conan: Start from Lucky Three

Chapter 89 President Takei, congratulations on your wealth
"Hey, why did the kidnapper leave?" Yuanzi held the binoculars in her hand with a confused look on her face.

She had originally planned to observe carefully, perhaps she could see the kidnapper's appearance, but in the end, the kidnapper didn't even get out of the car, but just walked away.

As President Takei was about to hand the "ransom" to the kidnappers, he dropped the box in his hand. The "money" inside the box scattered everywhere, and a gust of wind blew the entire dock into a blanket of old newspapers the size of ten-thousand-dollar bills.

That's right, even the newspaper used to pretend the ransom note was old.

No one knew what the kidnapper said, but he didn't even drive the car, stepped on the accelerator, turned around and ran away, spraying President Takei's face with exhaust fumes.

Just as President Takei was in a daze, the detectives who were lying in ambush all around could not stay any longer. They had finally let the kidnapper take the bait. If they didn't catch him now, would they have to wait for the kidnapper to escape and then go to the Metropolitan Police Department to scold them as useless?

Never mind the safety of the hostages or the presence of accomplices. The police have to bring back something after a trip.

In this way, even if someone points at them and calls them trash, they will at least have some fig leaf to cover up.

At this time, the benefits of choosing this rooftop in the garden become obvious.

Since this is the tallest building in the Tsutsumi River Mika Pier section, Tachibana Shizuka, standing on the rooftop, can see far and high, and the entire road conditions around Mika Pier are clearly visible, including the kidnappers' van that is being chased and blocked by police cars.

"Let's go, let's go and comfort President Takei." Tachibana Seiji threw the telescope in his hand to someone else, patted Sonoko's shoulder and prepared to leave the rooftop.

Sonoko turned her head away reluctantly. Although everyone in Beika Town had work to do, such a thrilling police and criminal car chase scene was not something you could see every day.

"You're leaving now? Why not wait until you finish reading? That old guy insisted on using the newspaper to fool people. The person who was kidnapped was his own daughter!
Such a heartless guy, I don’t think he’s that sad.”

"Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, but that can't be said of President Takei. He's not inhumane, it's just that some of his human nature isn't obvious.

Do you really think I'm going to comfort him? It doesn't matter if he's sad or not, but isn't Takei Naoko your classmate? We have to find her first before we can point fingers at President Takei from a moral high ground."

"Oh yes! And there's Takei-san!" Sonoko was so angry that she almost forgot about the kidnapped protagonist.

She took two steps at a time to keep up with Tachibana Shizuka's pace, went downstairs, got into the Suzuki family's Maybach, and arrived at the dock quickly and steadily.

President Takei had not left the dock yet, so he just knelt quietly among the pile of newspapers in silence.

Yuanzi felt sorry for the situation. Girls have strong empathy and cannot bear to see such scenes.

"Don't feel sorry for him. The longer he kneels here, the longer the police who will chase the kidnappers will bow their heads before him.

Besides, if he really regretted it, why didn't he raise the money now? Even an emergency bank transfer of 5 million yen would take some time.

What's more, it was 5 million before, and now that the kidnapper has been frightened, it's hard to say whether it will still be 5 million next time.

If I were him, I definitely wouldn't be in the mood to kneel here and pretend silence is golden."

As for histrionic personalities, Tachibana Shizuka had seen plenty of them in his past life. Perhaps President Takei had already noticed them coming when they weren't paying attention.

Given Sonoko's status, wouldn't it be a good idea to use her sympathy to facilitate his business? Tachibana Shizuka brought Sonoko to President Takei and, without giving him a chance to perform, asked directly, "President Takei, we all saw the hostage handover just now. Tell me what happened."

President Takei had not expected this straightforward way of opening the conversation. He thought that since Sonoko had come here, he had to be polite, or perhaps express some sympathy and condolences for the sake of face.
President Takei has always been a master at reading people's expressions, having built his business so large. It's just that in recent years, he's been less needed to observe others, and more often, they've been observing him. But that doesn't mean he's forgotten this skill.

Seeing the alienation and indifference in Sonoko's eyes, President Takei realized that he had already displeased Sonoko. He did not dare to say too much nonsense at this moment. He just answered whenever Tachibana Shizuka asked him:
"The kidnapper just parked his car next to me and called me to ask me to check on Naoko."

"Are you sure that's Naoko?"

"what?"

"Are you sure that the face you saw was your daughter's face?"

"This" President Takei originally wanted to say for sure, but when he recalled carefully, the curtains on all sides of the kidnapper's car were drawn, and most of the faces of the people inside were exposed.

The eyes of the half-face were covered with a strip of cloth. President Takei couldn't tell from that little bit of information whether it was his daughter's face or not.

It's conceivable that the kidnappers wouldn't resort to fraud during this kind of "inspection"? Aren't they afraid of being exposed?
"Okay, go ahead, and what did you say?"

"I was sure that Naoko was in the car, so I got out and handed the cash box to the kidnappers as planned.

Who knew that I had just taken down a box when the kidnappers said I had called the police and then ran away.

That’s what happened next. The Metropolitan Police Department went chasing the kidnappers, and I’m still here all alone.”

President Takei never forgets to emphasize how pitiful he is, as Naoko Takei has not been killed yet.

Tachibana Shizuka guessed that this bastard might have already planned what would happen after his daughter was killed.

"Let me ask you, who knew that your daughter was kidnapped and called the police?" Tachibana Shizuka ignored President Takei's attempts to gain sympathy.

His experience surfing the internet in his previous life taught Tachibana Shizuka not to empathize too much with internet celebrities. How do you know that their tears and compromises aren't just a script they're presenting to you?
Just watch and see, no matter what they do, they will have fans to argue for them.

President Takei reacted, his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly said: "My secretary, the servants at home, the company's driver, they all know, and there's more!
Before calling the police, I asked the famous detective Kogoro Mouri to find my daughter. He also knew that I had called the police.

Oh, and that Maori detective also brought a high school girl and a little kid with him."

"Okay, President Takei, if you have nothing else to do, go home early. No one will see you kneeling here.

We are going to look for your daughter now. By the way, if we succeed in rescuing your daughter, don’t forget the 5 million yen you promised us.

If you don't pay, then just wait for the Suzuki Group to come and ask for it."

Tachibana Shizuka gave the miser one last, kind smile that said, "Congratulations on your fortune," and then turned back to the car.
"Where does President Takei's secretary live? Let's go find him now."

(End of this chapter)