Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

……

same moment

In an abandoned warehouse near the Mika Library.

Inspector Megure and Officer Shiratori stared at the three victims on the ground, remaining silent for a long time.

At first, they thought the man in black who suddenly appeared and hijacked the armored truck was an accomplice of the three.

But now it seems that the man in black is more like an enemy of the three kidnappers than an accomplice.

His purpose in hijacking the armored truck was not to rescue the three kidnappers, but to kill them!

Thinking of this, Inspector Megure looked up at the top of the warehouse and then looked around at the empty warehouse.

When they found the three kidnappers, they were each hanging from a steel bar at the top of the warehouse by a rope.

They even had to use several ladders to get the three of them down.

Putting aside why the man in black was willing to hijack the armored truck to kill these three people.

How did he manage to hang these three people up?

Chapter 424 There may be more than one prisoner

Early next morning

Because of the 'hijacking of the armored truck' incident, Tatsuno and his companions declined Suzuki Jirokichi and Sonoko's offer to let them stay in Osaka for two days.

The group took the earliest Shinkansen train and returned directly to Beika.

Because Ran was worried about her mother, Ryūno took her to Eri Kisaki's law firm first.

Kogoro Mouri and Conan took a taxi directly to the Metropolitan Police Department, intending to question Inspector Megure in detail about yesterday's case.

Upon arriving at the law firm, Ryūno and Ran immediately spotted Eri Kisaki diligently working at her desk.

Just as the two had imagined, Eri Kisaki acted as if she knew nothing about what had happened yesterday, burying herself in her work as usual.

It's also sad, because if it weren't for this, how could Eri Kisaki have become the 'undefeated queen' of the legal profession in such a short time?

Talent is certainly important, but without it...

Seeing Kuriyama Midori and Tatsuno Ran enter, Eri Kisaki finally looked up and exclaimed, "Ah, Ran, Tatsuno~ you're here!"

After greeting the two, Eri stretched and got up to walk towards them.

Before Ran could speak, Eri waved her hand with a smile, "You must have come because of what happened yesterday, right? Officer Chiba and his team went home yesterday; I heard the three kidnappers have been killed..."

At this point, Eri patted Ran and Tatsuno on the shoulder, "You two don't need to worry about me. Since that incident, Kuriyama and I have been on high alert. It won't happen again!"

Ran looked at Eri with concern, "But Mom..."

Seeing the worry on Xiaolan's face, Fei Yingli sighed, "How about this, if you two are really worried, come and stay with me at the apartment for a couple of days? It's been a long time since I've cooked for you two."

Longye and Xiaolan exchanged a glance, and the next second, they both shook their heads.

"Auntie, how can that be?! How about this, why don't you come to our house instead!"

"Yes, Mom, we're off these two days anyway, and 2-chome isn't far from your law firm..."

Eri Kisaki gave the two of them a strange look and blinked in confusion.

what happened?

Did I say something wrong?

Why did these two little ones react differently than I expected?

Soon after, the group finalized their next steps.

Eri Kisaki accepted their suggestion to stay with Tatsuno for two days before the turmoil of the 'hijacking of the armored truck' incident subsided.

After a brief chat, Ryuno and Ran left the office without disturbing Eri's work any further.

Half an hour later, in a small conference room of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division.

After knocking, Longye and Xiaolan entered the conference room.

The two arrived at just the right time; the meeting hadn't officially started yet.

Upon seeing Ryūno and Ran, Inspector Megure nodded and gestured for them to sit down.

Then he turned and pointed to the whiteboard next to him, starting with the incident of the armored truck being robbed that day.

Although there were surveillance cameras near the courthouse that fully recorded the scene of the man in black knocking out the police officer and hijacking the armored vehicle.

But whether it was a coincidence or the man in black had extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities, the surveillance cameras did not capture his face.

The place where they eventually found the armored vehicle had no surveillance cameras at all.

Not to mention the details of the man in black's murders, it's impossible to even determine how or when he brought the three victims into the warehouse.

When the three victims were found in the warehouse, Inspector Megure immediately dispatched Officer Shiratori to the vicinity to collect eyewitnesses.

However, few people passed by the abandoned warehouse, and there were no residential houses nearby, so Officer Shiratori was unable to find any useful eyewitness testimonies.

According to the forensic experts and investigators, the time and cause of death of the three individuals have been confirmed.

All three died of suffocation in the evening.

However... this identification result was completely useless in solving the case.

To this day, they still cannot determine the number of the murderers.

It took them a long time to find the three kidnappers hanging in the warehouse.

It took three police officers working together to put one of the victims down.

How could that man in black possibly lift these three people up and hang them on a rope all by himself?

There were no signs of a ladder being used at the scene, not to mention...

Even if the man in black were incredibly strong, it would be impossible for him to carry someone while climbing a ladder and still have his hands free to put a rope around the victim's neck.

Therefore, Inspector Megure judged that there was likely more than one perpetrator.

Besides the man in black, there were at least two or even three accomplices assisting him.

After the small meeting, Kogoro Mouri left the conference room with Inspector Megure, preparing to investigate the relatives and friends of the three victims one by one.

Officer Takagi and the others remained in the conference room to continue organizing the clues.

"Aha..."

Upon hearing the yawn, Ryuno and Ran turned to look at Officer Takagi, only then noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

Ran couldn't help but ask, "Officer Takagi, didn't you get enough rest last night?"

Officer Takagi scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, Officer Sato and I rushed back to Beika very late last night, and we rested in the office..."

Upon hearing this, Ryuno and Ran looked at Officer Sato standing to the side.

Unlike Officer Takagi, Officer Sato looked very well and energetic.

Officer Takagi noticed their gazes and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Actually, there was something he was too embarrassed to tell the two of them.

There was actually another important reason why he didn't sleep well.

Last night, Officer Sato slept on the desk next to him, and he could see Officer Sato's beautiful sleeping face as soon as he opened his eyes.

That's why I didn't sleep well last night...

At noon.

Inspector Megure and Kogoro Mouri and the others returned to the Metropolitan Police Department along the same route.

They have visited several relevant parties, but have not obtained any useful information.

After exchanging a few words with Inspector Megure, Ryūno and the others prepared to go downstairs for lunch.

Inspector Megure's eyes flickered as he watched the retreating figures of Ryūno and his companions.

There was one thing he didn't mention to Longye and the others: they had also been initially considered as 'suspects'.

After all, these three people had just had contact and conflict with them before they were killed.

However, neither he, nor Shiratori, Sato, and the others brought this up in public.

Besides the friendship among the group and their trust in Kogoro Mouri and his companions, the most important factor was that Ryūno and his group all had absolute alibis.

At the time of the incident, they were still on that airship, accompanied by the 'killer bacteria'.

Meanwhile, Eri Kisaki, who was in Beika and had a close 'connection' with the three kidnappers, spent the entire day working at her law firm.

At the time the three were murdered, Eri Kisaki was under the protection of Officer Chiba and his subordinates, and had a perfect alibi.

Thinking of this, Inspector Megure breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it has nothing to do with you...

Chapter 425 The sky is as usual, but my eyes are filled with brilliance.

A ramen shop near the Metropolitan Police Department.

After everyone finished ordering ramen, Kogoro Mouri casually asked, "Ryuno, Ran, is that guy alright?"

"That guy? You're not referring to Mom, are you?" Xiaolan frowned.

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri gave a soft snort and did not reply.

Ryūno squinted at Kogoro Mouri, somewhat speechless.

Do you consider yourself a spoiled, arrogant girl?

He gets shy even when he says his wife's name?

If you're showing concern, just say so. Why beat around the bush like that? Anyone who didn't know better would think you're a teenage girl caught up in a crush…

"Auntie is fine, but Xiaolan and I are thinking of having her stay with us for a few days, to help her clear her head. Although I don't think she really needs a change of scenery..."

"Is that so..." Kogoro Mouri took a sip of his barley tea and said calmly.

Upon learning that Eri was alright, the muscles on his face visibly relaxed.

Just then, Conan suddenly spoke up: "But speaking of which... this incident is really strange."