He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

The Aoyagi couple are probably at home, but for some reason, they don't want to open the door for us.

Inspector Megure and Detective Kazunobu Chiba exchanged a glance, and the same thought suddenly popped into their minds.

Those two people, could they be dead?

With a sudden thought, Inspector Megure said, "Brother Kudo, how about we break down the door?"

Shinichi Kudo, with his extensive experience at murder scenes, knew exactly what they were thinking and nodded: "But before that, let's confirm it one more time. Maybe they just didn't hear it."

As he spoke, he pressed the doorbell again and pressed his ear against the door to check if there was a problem with the doorbell and it wasn't making a sound.

Ding-dong-

Ding dong————

The sound was exceptionally clear.

Shinichi Kudo stepped back slightly, and two heavyweights, Juzo Megure and Kazunobu Chiba, stepped forward, intending to start ramming the door. But just then, a faint, almost inaudible voice came from inside the door asking a question.

"Who?"

Upon confirming it was Aoyagi Chisato's voice, Kudo Shinichi's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward.

"It's me, Aoyagi-san, Shinichi Kudo. I have some questions for you."

There was no reply from inside the door. A few seconds later, the door was opened a crack, and the safety chain remained in place.

Suddenly, a faded pale color appeared in the narrow, dark crevice, just like the edge of the adhesive tape on the door. On the pale side was black hair draped over the shoulders, and one eye looked out, dark and dull, full of deep gloom.

"!!!"

Megure Juzo and Chiba Kazunobu felt a jolt in their hearts and instinctively took two steps back, their hands reaching for their waists.

It's you!

Sadako!

Fortunately, they were all quite worldly-wise, and they quickly realized what was going on. They patted their chests to calm themselves down, and their thoughts were all the same: No wonder Shinichi Kudo said she had a withdrawn and aloof demeanor; it was really quite frightening.

Shinichi Kudo's pupils also dilated slightly, but he quickly composed himself and said:

"We're here to learn more about the situation. May we go in and talk?"

He spoke softly, trying to put his classmates at ease.

Aoyagi Chisato remained expressionless. "My house is a mess. If it's something that can be discussed quickly, ask here." Her gaze briefly swept over Kudo Shinichi, then glanced at the two police officers before looking away. "Am I involved in some case?"

"No, it's nothing." Shinichi Kudo hesitated for two seconds. "Were you resting just now?"

"I was reading with headphones on, so I'm sorry if you've been shouting outside for a long time."

Aoyagi Chisato spoke calmly, without a trace of apology.

Shinichi Kudo didn't care at all. Based on his occasional observations of Aoyagi Chiso in class, he thought that this was very much in line with her personality.

He thought for a moment and then decided to get straight to the point: "Tell Zhongdao that Qingzi came to see you yesterday to say goodbye. I want to know if she mentioned anything else at the time, anything at all, and whether you noticed anything unusual."

“I don’t have any connection with her. What she said yesterday is all I know, and I didn’t find anything suspicious. In fact, I was quite surprised that she came to see me,” Aoyagi Chisato replied.

Shinichi Kudo: "Kiyoko said that she doesn't have many friends in her class and has only spoken a few words to you."

"It was just a greeting when we met. Although I'm grateful that she didn't ignore me, it would be a stretch to say that it was proof of our friendship." Qingliu Qiansu was silent for a few moments. "I think she probably came to see me just to comfort me."

They deliberately showed kindness to me, someone who is usually the most inconspicuous person, and nothing more.

Shinichi Kudo pondered for a moment and felt that this explanation was reasonable. After all, Kiyoko spent most of her time with him at school, and he had never seen Kiyoko have any contact with Aoyagi.

But it's really strange.

Kiyoko said goodbye to Aoyagi yesterday, but today she appeared with Mizuki again. Something just doesn't make sense.

Could it be that Kiyoko wasn't supposed to show up today according to the original plan, but after Amuro Tooru's accident at the abandoned warehouse, she had no choice but to risk her life?

Yes, Shinichi Kudo has already connected Amuro Tooru's torture with the abandoned warehouse.

The reason is simple: Hotaru had invited Amuro Tooru to the Crimson Rose Bar last night, and he knew about it. He had previously sent officers to investigate the area and learned that Amuro Tooru had stood him up, making this deduction obvious.

Evidence for this reasoning also exists, namely the dog carcass found in the abandoned warehouse.

A husky whose fur was glossy and smooth when it was alive.

Police learned from residents near the Amuro Detective Agency that Amuro Tooru had been taking it and another Alaskan Malamute for a walk in the park every morning for some time.

After verifying this, Shinichi Kudo discovered more problems, but none of them had concrete evidence, so we'll leave them aside for now.

Returning to Aoyagi Chiso, Kudo Shinichi suddenly realized her biggest suspicious point.

Was she being too calm?

But upon closer reflection, he didn't really know what kind of person Aoyagi Chiso was, so making such a judgment seemed far-fetched.

However, Shinichi Kudo was unwilling to give up after getting nothing, and asked again, "Are you sure there's nothing? Any irrelevant details are fine."

Aoyagi Chisato fell silent again, which gave Kudo Shinichi a glimmer of hope. He waited quietly, but after a moment, he heard:

"From what I've observed, she's probably not sincere with you. The person she steals glances at the most in class is Shuiyue."

"........."

The tense and exciting detective drama suddenly shifted to a slice-of-life romance, leaving Shinichi Kudo speechless. He nodded and said, "Thank you, I have no further questions."

Although it was strange, it did provide some evidence for his previous speculation.

Mizuki and Kiyoko are indeed very close.

However, Shinichi Kudo slightly pursed his lips, wondering if there was something wrong with Aoyagi's observation. He also paid close attention to Kiyoko during class. Kiyoko's first focus was on him, and her second focus was on Ran and Suigetsu.

I didn't care at all, okay?

Even if there is, it will be only a tiny bit.

Shinichi Kudo looked at Juro Megure and shook his head with a disappointed expression.

Megure patted him on the shoulder, turned and went downstairs. He seemed downcast, glanced into the dark alley, and muttered to himself, "Why hasn't Sato come back yet?"

Behind him, Shinichi Kudo had just stuck one foot out down the steps, but before it could land, it stopped in mid-air.

For some unknown reason, he suddenly turned around and looked back, only to see the dark slit slowly closing, the gloomy gaze vanishing in an instant.

Hey Hey hey!

Could such a thing really happen?

That's impossible!!!

Shocked, Shinichi Kudo lost his footing and stumbled down the stairs.

Inspector Megure, who was a step ahead of him, quickly helped him up, thinking that he had become so engrossed in solving the case after the setback that he had forgotten how to walk, and hurriedly comforted him:

"Brother Kudo, you don't need to push yourself like this, I..."

"Wait a moment!"

Shinichi Kudo quickly interrupted, about to speak, but then lowered his voice and whispered in Inspector Megure's ear, "Do you remember the color of Officer Sato's nails?"

Shinichi Kudo finally realized where the sense of unease he felt after seeing Chisato Aoyagi came from.

It's the color of your nails!

Aoyagi Chisato's complexion was the same as the one he had seen by chance in class—a pale, malnourished look. Although her bangs were cut shorter, revealing her eyes, her gloomy gaze was still highly recognizable.

However, at the moment Aoyagi Chisato opened the door, Kudo Shinichi caught a glimpse of it.

A faint pink luster shimmered on her nails!

Perhaps because the light was dim both here and inside the room, Shinichi Kudo had a very clear impression of that glimmer of light. He just thought it was unimportant. Girls always love beauty, and Aoyagi was no exception. He subconsciously ignored it.

However, when Inspector Megure mentioned Miwako Sato, a picture suddenly popped into Shinichi Kudo's mind.

That was more than two hours earlier, in the police car on the way to the Tokyo Police Hospital, when Miwako Sato, who was sitting in the back seat, handed him a police revolver.

When he received the gun, he would naturally see Sato Miwako's hand along the way, and he vaguely remembered that Officer Sato's nail color was also a light pink.

An ominous premonition suddenly arose from the depths of my heart, spreading wildly like poisonous weeds.

Please, please, don't let it be that kind of thing!

"What color are Sato's nail polishes?"

Megure Juzo was quite puzzled by his younger brother's question, but after thinking it over carefully, he realized that his brother must have his reasons for asking it.

Unfortunately, he still couldn't remember, scratching his head and saying, "I don't usually pay attention to these things."

I feel like it would be weird to pay attention to this; I might accidentally be mistaken for workplace sexual harassment.

Although Sato must know that he is not that kind of person.

However, it doesn't matter if he doesn't know. When Shinichi Kudo asked this question, it was just a subconscious desire to seek confirmation. In fact, he was extremely confident in his observation skills and did not think he could be wrong.

Besides, wouldn't it be easy to just do a quick verification?

Shinichi Kudo took a deep breath, slowly drew his pistol from his right hand, slung it behind his back, walked back to the entrance of the Aoyagi residence, pressed the doorbell, and spoke in a rather apologetic tone:

"Excuse me, Aoyagi-kun, there's one more question I need to ask you."

Will make up

Chapter 282 Vermouth invites a wolf into the house, Amuro Tooru suddenly launches an attack!

Shinichi Kudo thought he had concealed it quite well, but without giving Inspector Megure and Kazunobu Chiba an explanation, he made unusual movements on his own. Even if the two of them reacted quickly and controlled their expressions, they still revealed a slight flaw.

There's no need to even look at them; Shinichi Kudo's return is enough to explain everything.

Aoyagi Chisato, or rather Vermouth, stood behind the door, taking in everything through the peephole, and sighed inwardly.

Cool Guy is still a bit too inexperienced.

However, she has a very keen eye for observation. She doesn't even know where she gave herself away, which is really frustrating.

Perhaps some details weren't done well enough; after all, time was tight, and she couldn't be perfect.

Now that her unusual identity has been discovered, what should she do?

I was hoping to become classmates and friends with Cool Guy again, and take the opportunity to find that disgusting Sherry and see if she would appear next to Cool Guy... — Sherry is still alive?! How is that possible?!