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

"I wandered around the back door of the club for a long time before finally getting in. I thought Mr. Mori had already succeeded, but..." Sato Miwako glanced at the newly-made loser Mori, her eyes filled with complicated emotions, "Was he taking a knife for me?"

"Most likely not."

Shinichi Kudo, who was listening in on the other end of the phone, analyzed, "If all of this was premeditated, then it wouldn't be difficult for him to arrange another team of people at the back door. I don't know if you've noticed any suspicious people, Officer Sato, but they should be targeting Uncle Mori."

Miwako Sato recalled, "There was a delinquent boy leaning against a Harley and smoking at the street corner, seemingly watching pedestrians, but I'm not sure if he had any problems."

"Well, maybe."

Shinichi Kudo wasn't really interested in this, since it was baseless and the person couldn't possibly be caught. He'd rather talk about something more practical.

"Does Uncle Mori still have his phone on him?"

Sato Miwako quickly searched Mouri Kogoro's body. "His wallet is gone, but his phone is still here."

"Call back to the first person in the call log and ask him where he got the information about Yukimatsu Nami, what his relationship is with Uncle Mori, whether he was contacted before he chose to tell him, or whether he told him voluntarily?"

Sato Miwako did as she was told, and the call was quickly connected. Before she could even ask anything, the young man on the other end exclaimed excitedly, "Senior, have you found her? You must give that shameless woman a good beating!"

"???"

Everyone was confused by this. Shinichi Kudo thought for two seconds and then said truthfully, "I am Uncle Mori's junior. He was seriously injured in the alley outside the club. I want to avenge him. May I ask what you know?"

"What?! Is that true?!"

The young man opposite seemed to jump up at the sound of the voice and hurriedly said, "Mr. Mori killed two people in a nightclub for his woman, and he even has connections with the police so he won't go to jail. He's already become our idol."

After I learned he was looking for a woman named Yukimatsu Nami, I contacted him through his widely distributed business cards. How could this have happened?

"........."

Shinichi Kudo was speechless at the thought of two people being killed; Uncle Mori's reputation had become a complete mess.

How did you know the location of Cedar Nami?

Chapter 55 The Familiar Aura of the Black Hand

"I happened to be there with friends last night. That woman doesn't like male escorts, but she's using her money to flaunt herself everywhere. Whenever there's a handsome guy, she brings a bunch of middle-aged women with her to chat him up. It's so annoying..."

"I've treated everyone in the room to drinks!"

Suddenly, Yukimatsu Nami, who was being held in the back seat, interrupted with a shrill voice.

"Damn it, auntie, look at how thick the putty is on your face! You could use it to paint a wall! And what are you thinking, trying to pick up young grass? Besides, if it weren't for those few drinks you had, do you think no one wanted to beat you up last night?"

"Bastards! Ungrateful wretches! You..."

"Shut up, old woman! I heard Mr. Mori was going to cause you trouble, and I thought there would be a good show, but it turns out you were prepared all along? Did you hire security guards? Tsk, it's good to be rich. But now you're in trouble, hahaha, it's really satisfying."

"........."

The argument between this well-meaning passerby and Yukimatsu Nami left everyone speechless. Besides, didn't you just say you were watching the show? You clearly said you admired Mr. Mori, but it turns out you just used him as a free thug.

Oh, right, he said that Yukimatsu Nami was prepared in advance?

Several police officers inside the car all turned their gazes toward Yukimatsu Nami; it was indeed a suspicious direction.

But Shinichi Kudo didn't think so. Upon hearing this, he immediately frowned: "Are you trying to guide our thinking?"

The laughter on the other end of the phone faltered, then quickly turned into a forced laugh: "I don't know what you mean by that, sir. I'm just making a reasonable guess. After all, Mr. Mori is looking for her. They must have some kind of grudge, right? It's normal for them to be prepared for each other and thinking about beating each other up at any moment, isn't it?"

"Okay, Yukimatsu Nami treated you to drinks last night. Is it your choice, or are you going to drink on me? How long will it last?"

“I don’t quite remember. Besides, are you a police officer? I don’t think I should be subject to any form of questioning.”

"Don't you think you answered too quickly? If you don't remember, you should at least think about it."

"Because I'm really annoyed with you right now, goodbye."

"Ha, even your cover-up is quite logical. The person behind you prepared the script for you, but didn't they give you any pointers on your acting skills? Tell me..."

"Ugh, this is so annoying! I don't know what you're babbling on about, just get lost, I'm out of luck today!"

beep beep-

After a busy signal, the police car fell into a long silence. Everyone looked at each other, puzzled by the abrupt change in tone.

Weren't things going quite well originally?

"Ms. Cedar, do you remember that person's voice from just now?" Shinichi Kudo spoke again. "If you do, you do; if you don't, you don't. Don't try to be clever. I assure you, I can tell."

Nami Yukimatsu, who had already said "I have absolutely no recollection of it" on the tip of her tongue, quickly swallowed it back after hearing this.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly, thinking, "Is Shinichi Kudo, this high school detective, actually some kind of ancient demon in disguise?"

She pondered for a while, then finally shook her head dejectedly: "I hit on so many young men yesterday that I can't even remember them all. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, who knows?"

Shinichi Kudo sighed softly, "I understand."

He paused for a few seconds: "Officer Sato, take her back to the Metropolitan Police Department with Officer Chiba. We'll leave Uncle Mori to Officer Kanakawa."

"Don't worry about him being in danger. If this really is a trap targeting him, then their goal is more likely to beat him up to vent their anger than to kill him. Otherwise, Uncle Mori would definitely be dead by now."

"but……"

Before Miwako Sato could say anything more, Shinichi Kudo interrupted her again: "As for Uncle Mori, let him share a room with Officer Takagi. Even if I don't think he'll be alright, this will be a good precaution."

Sato Miwako was silent for a few moments: "Should we tell Attorney Kiyoshi about this?"

"Let's see what Uncle Mori says after he wakes up."

Shinichi Kudo rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly, "Given his past record of acting impulsively, we can't rule out the possibility that he knows the road conditions here and deliberately sent you away so he could teach Nami Yukimatsu a lesson alone."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then added, "Officer Jin Chuan, after you get to the hospital, have Uncle Maoli do a urine test to see if he might have lost control of his emotions again because of that."

"understand!"

After the phone call ended, in the Metropolitan Police Department's Third Investigative Division office, Inspector Megure, who had been sitting idly by for a while, finally couldn't help but speak up: "Kudo, was this the work of a mastermind?"

Shinichi Kudo shook his head: "I'm not sure, Inspector Megure, but if it really isn't a coincidence, then this familiar method definitely belongs to that person."

Megure Juzo suddenly realized, and gritted his teeth, saying, "We can't find any evidence of his existence, right? The existence of that informant is perfectly reasonable!"

Brother Kudo, should we conduct a large-scale interrogation? We just need to find out where we were last night...where we were...

He stopped mid-sentence, explaining that the sheer scale of the project was simply beyond their current capabilities.

Moreover, even if the person involved, Yukimatsu Nami, is unsure about something, they simply cannot discern it even if the other party is blatantly lying.

hiss--

Sure enough, it felt just like before – the unsolvable feeling of a mastermind behind the scenes!

"but!"

Megure's eyes lit up: "As long as we can capture those yakuza members, we can always get some information out of them!"

"Then please let the police do their best."

Shinichi Kudo casually replied, not really caring. Even if the police caught them, they definitely wouldn't get anything out of them. Using delinquents to build a firewall for himself was too easy; he could come up with a whole series of methods in no time.

not to mention……

The police did not catch them at all.

Even though he didn't have high expectations, Shinichi Kudo was still quite speechless when he heard this two hours later.

Are the police being a little too lax?

It wasn't until he was in a silent standoff with Nami Yukimatsu in the detention room, when Inspector Megure brought the fingerprint analysis report, that he regained a sliver of confidence in the police. At least in terms of scientific investigation, the police were doing a pretty good job.

"As expected of you, Brother Kudo! Last night you went so far as to dive to the bottom of the lake to search, and you actually found a crucial clue."

Megure's pat on the shoulder was heavy, and his tone was full of joy, but when Shinichi Kudo heard the name "Nami Yukimatsu" for the first time, there was no smile on his face. He simply took the report in silence and started reading it.

The current time is 9:30 AM on Sunday.

After reading the report, Shinichi Kudo closed his eyes and pondered for about half a minute. When he opened them again, his eyes were gleaming with a sharp light.

"Give me a bottle that is exactly the same as the evidence."

The Metropolitan Police Department didn't happen to have such a thing on hand, so Chiba Kazunobu immediately ran out to buy one.

Although he was chubby, he walked with a surprisingly agile gait, weaving through crowds like a fathead fish swimming upstream.

This amusing scene, seen through the café's floor-to-ceiling windows, entered the pure, amethyst-like eyes of a young girl, eliciting a soft, bell-like chuckle as she covered her mouth.

Hotaru-kun, I'm truly defeated by you.

Chapter 56 Watch out, there's a bad woman ahead!

Inside the café, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled shadows that fell upon a slender young woman.

She sat by the window, a faint smile playing on her lips. Her beautiful and refined face was reflected in the glass, like a delicate traditional Chinese painting, captivating the eye.

Outside, traffic thronged and pedestrians hurried by, but she seemed to be in a tranquil world, undisturbed by worldly strife.

The café wouldn't normally have many customers in the morning, but this time, quite a few men were lingering there.

They were drawn to the elegance of the snow-capped mountain, but once inside the café, they simply sat there, their thoughts of striking up a conversation overshadowed by the elegance.

Do they really have the right to disturb that tranquility?

Is it really possible for such beautiful poems to be incorporated into their own world?

I'm not qualified.

This applies to every aspect.

Although the dress is just a simple white dress, anyone who pays even a little attention to fashion can recognize it as a new seasonal item launched by Fusa Ei less than a week ago.

There are also high-end handbags and jewelry...

Although these things are actually insignificant to her and she doesn't need them to give her value, it is her favor that makes these brands even more glamorous.

But other people can't help but care.

Their inner and outer qualities are in harmony, and their innate nobility and elegance are something that they can never reach.

The longer you linger, the more your courage dissipates, like sand clutched in your hand, drifting away with the wind.