Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 139 The Disappearance of Miss Nishitani 2

Chapter 139 The Disappearance of Miss Nishitani 2
in the afternoon.

Gao Mo found the two-story cheap apartment where Miss Xi Gu lived without much effort.

It's a little far from the station, but only a ten-minute walk. There is indeed construction along part of the road...

Because of her outstanding appearance, the people in the surrounding shops had a very deep impression of Ms. Nishiya.

I was lucky enough to run into the apartment landlady—a sturdy middle-aged woman.

"Haven't seen it for two days?"

"Yes, Miss Nishitani seems to have changed jobs a few days ago. She doesn't get home until almost 6 a.m. every day. I don't know what happened the day before yesterday, but it seems she didn't go to work and left early in the morning..."

"Thank you."

After making some inquiries, Gao Mo stood in front of Miss Nishitani's apartment on the first floor.

The day before yesterday was the day I went to see him.

"But who exactly are you?" the landlord asked curiously. "Could you be that perverted stalker the police arrested last month? You don't seem like it."

Of course not.

Gao Mo's smile froze: "I'm Miss Xigu's friend. I came to ask her to repay the money, but I couldn't find her anywhere."

"Pay back the money? She even likes to fall behind on rent, yet she has money to lend to others?"

The landlord looked displeased, regarding Gao Mo as if he were a gigolo.

"You'd better come and pay me back. That girl has a hard life and doesn't have much money to give you..."

As he spoke, the landlord suddenly stared at Gao Mo's face, looking suspicious again: "You look... kind of familiar? Could it be... you work at a host club?"

"..."

Gao Mo didn't want to talk to this old lady.

He has changed a lot since then.

He deliberately changed his style and didn't wear makeup like in idol dramas, so it's not surprising that people don't recognize him, but it's not enough to make them think of a male escort club.

Do you have Ms. Nishitani's phone number?

“No,” the landlord said, even more suspiciously. “I only have her home landline number, because it’s registered uniformly… Who exactly are you?”

"I already said I came here to repay the money. I came here to find Ms. Nishitani because I couldn't get in touch with her."

……

After the landlord left, Gao Mo hesitated for a moment, then skillfully put on gloves, took out a piece of wire, and opened the door with a click when he lightly touched it with his fingers.

I'm ashamed to say that my magician's hand didn't perform many magic tricks; instead, it was used to open doors.

Gao Mo casually closed the door, which was riddled with deadbolts, and briefly inspected the interior.

The apartment room is a standard 1K layout. Upon entering, you'll find a dining table and an open kitchen. To the left is the bathroom, and past the kitchen is a small bedroom.

Gao Mo's gaze swept over the shoe cabinet in the entryway and lingered briefly on the kitchen countertop.

Ms. Nishitani is a very particular person. She keeps everything in perfect order, from the tables and chairs to the shoes, everything is arranged very neatly.

However, the kitchen countertop was somewhat messy.

It seems like I'm learning to make Western desserts. I've already prepared the flour and whipped eggs, but I don't know why I've only made half of it.

It looked like they left in a hurry because of something—the slippers they took off at the entrance were just thrown aside.

Gao Mo took off his shoes and walked into the room. With his eyes slightly lit up, he walked to the dessert-making area and subconsciously looked up outside.

Footprints and trampling marks are clearly visible in the green belt under the streetlights.

Stalking someone to the outside of an apartment to spy on them... that's already at a pathological level. The next step could very well be sneaking into the room. No wonder Ms. Nishitani is in such a bad state.

Gao Mo shifted his gaze to the refrigerator next to him.

There were many stickers and log labels on the refrigerator door... The latest date was indeed 2 days ago.

"Keep up the good work today!"

"Today's breakfast..."

"You can do it, Nishinoya!"

"Don't add too much sugar!"

Remember to clean the room every Saturday!

"Smiling face ^_^"

"Big supermarket sale next Friday night!"

The side of the refrigerator has storage boxes containing tea bags and meal replacement powders.

It's as if you can see the busy figure of a woman encouraging herself every day.

Gao Mo frowned slightly.

He didn't quite understand the mindset of a stalker. If you like someone, you should try to pursue them, not create fear for them like a pervert—or rather, you're simply enjoying Miss Nishitani's fear.

Where will Miss Nishitani go?

If you're moving out, you should at least come back to pack your belongings.

Should we go somewhere else to avoid trouble... or should we tell them that something unexpected happened?

After finding no clues in the living room, Gao Mo went straight into the bedroom.

It's a typical single woman's room, still tidy and clean. There's a small table by the window with a stack of pastry magazines neatly arranged, some of which are covered in bookmarks.

Carefully flipping through a book, I discovered that the cover featured Da Shang Zhu Shan—a well-known critic in the pastry world.

Gao Mo didn't want to touch anything else, so he just opened a drawer to take a look.

After going around in circles, I only managed to glean a few scattered pieces of information—this Ms. Nishitani is a woman who strives to live a fulfilling life and pursues her dreams, and she is very determined to become a pastry chef.

Furthermore, judging from the receipts kept in the drawer, it seems that he previously lived in Shizuoka Prefecture.

We still can't determine Nishiya's possible whereabouts; based on this alone, we don't even know that Nishiya went to the detective agency.

Perhaps we should start with that stalker.

"call!"

Gao Mo glanced at the clothes that hadn't been brought in outside the bedroom doors and windows, then rearranged the room and thoughtfully walked out of the apartment.

The biggest problem now is that we don't know who the stalker is.

The police may have a record of it, but they may not disclose it to him.

"Beep!"

I tried calling Inspector Megure, but the call didn't go through.

Wait... we can also ask around at Ms. Nishiya's workplace; there might be some clues there.

Gao Mo's mind was once again filled with the details of what had just happened in the apartment.

Shopping bags, packaging boxes, souvenirs, and large quantities of napkins from the same restaurant...

According to the landlord, if it's a night job, she gets home around 6 a.m.... Ms. Nishiya's workplace is probably an izakaya, ramen shop, or family restaurant that's open all night.

These restaurants usually close at 4 or 5 a.m.

Considering the cleaning and tidying up of the store... the time it would take Nishiya to get home by train is probably 30 to 60 minutes. Subtracting the walking time, the train time would be less than 40 minutes.

call!
A complete map of Tokyo appeared in Gao Mo's mind.

Centered on the station, a 40-minute tram route... an irregular circular area was enlarged and defined, and all eligible family restaurants were selected.

Next, we need to consider the items in the drawer.

Gao Mo opened his phone and started searching.

The internet is still developing slowly, but searching is still relatively convenient, and you can find all the information you need, especially in terms of lifestyle, where you can find a lot of restaurant reviews and sharing.

"Have it!"

Gao Mo successfully secured a spot at one of the newly opened family restaurants.

The business hours are from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. the next day. The shops along the way are also within Nishinoya's shopping range. Most importantly, the napkins used in the new restaurant are the same as those in Nishinoya's drawer.

"The restaurant's phone number is..."

Gao Mo quickly flipped through the restaurant information.

Fortunately, mobile phones have gradually become more common in this chaotic world, and their prices are still relatively affordable.

If it were back in the early days of "Detective Conan," with its bulky mobile phones, finding a restaurant would be a problem, let alone whether Nishinoya even had a mobile phone.

"Yes, I'm looking for Ms. Nishitani... Do you have Ms. Nishitani's phone number? Thank you..."

Getting Nishiya's phone number was easier than I expected.

Surprisingly, Nishitani, who had asked for leave the day before yesterday, called again to ask for two more days off.

Gao Mo entered the phone number and dialed.

It took a while before the call finally connected.

"Hello, I'm Nishiya..."

“Miss Nishiya,” Gao Mo narrowed his eyes slightly, “I’m from the Kido Detective Agency. You left 20 yen behind the day before yesterday, so I’ve come to return it to you…”

"Oh, it's with you guys," the woman on the phone paused, "I'll pick it up myself another day... It's not convenient today."

"I've arrived at your house."

"Boom!"

The sound of something falling came from the other end of the phone, and one could vaguely sense the woman's panic.

"But...how did you know where I live? And my phone number..."

"It's not a very difficult thing."

Gao Mo's mind raced, and he realized that he seemed to have made a mistake.

Not all people with depression are like he used to be.

Nishiya has probably been searching for another way to disappear these past two days.

The reason I didn't go to the agency to get the 20 back was because I needed to avoid the detectives.

"Can we meet?"

Gao Mo looked back at the cheap apartment, as if he could see Xi Gu's vibrant figure full of hope for the future through the window.