The cross-dressing master in the world of Detective Conan

Moreover, she didn't believe that a serious incident like a group robbery could happen in a metropolitan Tokyo; that kind of thing only happens in places with extremely bad public security.

If Tokyo is considered to have a bad reputation for public safety, then the public safety of the entire country of Japan is worse than that of war zones.

"Calm down, I'll be right there."

After offering a few words of comfort to Ran, Kaoru Kazama returned to his office, picked up his coat, and prepared to leave.

When he reached his desk, he hesitated for a long time, but still took the pistol with him.

It wasn't that she was cowardly, but rather that the missing person was Hattori Heiji, the Grim Reaper of Osaka.

With his ability to cause trouble that rivals his reasoning skills, Kaoru Kazama has no doubt that he might encounter an armed criminal head-on.

After all, this guy can't be easily subdued, so it's always safer to be prepared.

"Xiao Xun, is there any sudden case?"

Her flamboyant actions naturally did not escape the notice of Miwako on the other side.

In fact, as soon as she received the call and left, Miwako's attention had already shifted from the report to Kazama Kaoru.

Given her usual laid-back personality, she rarely makes a fuss, so such a big emotional fluctuation must mean something serious.

"It's nothing, we're just looking for a missing person. We've only been out of contact for three hours, not enough to warrant filing a case yet, so don't worry."

"Then you must be very careful."

"Okay, don't worry."

Under Sato's mother's repeated instructions, Kaoru Kazama lightly pressed the accelerator, drove the car out of the parking space, and left the solemn and dignified Metropolitan Police Department administration building.

As he drove, he wondered what kind of unexpected event could have caused them to lose contact.

"Chris, can you find out who this guy named Nan Chuan is?"

She hadn't forgotten what Ran had mentioned on the phone about the purpose of Hattori and Kazuha's outing today.

It was all to meet someone named Nanchuan.

In that case, the disappearance is very likely related to this person named Nanchuan.

"Okay, Mom, I'll start looking it up right away."

Having Christia with you is like having an encyclopedia with you.

“Mom, there are a total of 53 people named Kusunoki in all of Tokyo. If we exclude women, there are 49 left. If we include those who are associated with Hattori Heiji, then there is only this one left.”

After a period of elimination, the virtual light in front of me displayed the image of a bearded man.

At first glance, he looks like a middle-aged,颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it conveys a sense of listlessness, decadence, and apathy), and his demeanor is somewhat similar to that of an older man.

"Hey, this person also works at a detective agency. It seems the great detective's worries were not unfounded."

Kazama Kaoru was talking about Conan's worries about his future. After spending time with Kogoro Mouri, he discovered that many of his habits and behaviors were actually similar to the older man's.

So I started to worry that I would become a decadent middle-aged man in the future.

However, it seems that it's hard for men working in detective agencies not to end up looking like middle-aged men.

While browsing the profile of the most suitable candidate, Kaoru Kazama discovered that this guy, like the uncle, had no shortage of smoking, drinking, gambling, and horse racing—he was practically a high-end version of Kogoro Mouri.

The reason it's called the high-end version is because Kaoru Kazama discovers that the agency this guy works for is actually the Beika Detective Agency.

This is far superior to the Mori Detective Agency, both in terms of reasoning ability and reputation.

After all, the Mori Detective Agency is just one person, Uncle Mori, taking on cases, while the Beika Detective Agency is a company founded by a group of top-notch people.

It's probably like the difference between a sole proprietorship and a joint venture.

Of course, with the investment from his future son-in-law, the reputation of the Mouri Detective Agency is also slowly rising.

--------

"So, this time, it's because this person named Nanchuan said he had something very important to talk to Kazuha's father that the two of them came here, right?"

"That's what I heard Kazuha say."

"It's not necessarily an accident. Maybe he got caught up in something. Anyway, let's go look for him. Let's go to Nan Chuan's house."

For some unknown reason, the man was still fast asleep and could not be woken up at all.

That's why, in a moment of desperation, Ran called Kaoru Kazama, who was at work.

However, this matter is actually related to Kazama Kaoru. The reason why the uncle is still sleeping so late is because it was too tiring and exhausting to settle the three female drunkards last night.

If she hadn't gotten drunk first, Xiaolan and Heye might not have drunk alcohol.

Even if it is, they have only themselves to blame.

"Well, that's all we can do for now."

Hearing this, Ran nodded, then took Conan and got into Kaoru Kazama's car, and the three of them drove towards Kusukawa's house.

Since Christia was navigating directly on the virtual screen in front of Kazama Kaoru, there was naturally no problem with getting lost.

In fact, she had even thought about waiting for an onboard computer to appear so that Christia could control the car's movement, thus freeing her up.

Chapter 346 My Best Friend Has Disappeared

On her way there, Kaoru Kazama also made a phone call to Kusukawa's workplace.

That is, Beika Detective Agency. They told him that a young couple had indeed come looking for Nanakawa, but the person in charge said that Nanakawa hadn't shown up for two or three days.

Judging from the tone of the person in charge, it didn't seem like they took it too seriously.

It's probably because this guy frequently gambles on football and horse racing, so absenteeism is a common occurrence.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that you don't need to go to the detective agency every day anyway.

This Beihu Detective Agency is more like a law firm, where clients often specify a particular detective to handle their cases.

After all, people come here because of its reputation, and when they're not working, they can basically do whatever they want.

That's why we're in this situation now; even the people at Beika Detective Agency don't know where Kusunoki is.

As for the young man and woman who came at noon, it's almost certain that they were Kazuha and Hattori.

This at least confirms that the two of them were safe and sound before they arrived at Beika Detective Agency at 1:30 p.m.

It's very likely that they also went to Nan Chuan's house to look for him.

Is it possible that they lost contact along the way?

"Xiao Lan, tell me in more detail what Kazuha and the others said before they left."

Kaoru Kazama asked as he drove, turning his head back to look at the car.

We have too little information to determine their situation.

“Let me think… Kazuha told me in detail this morning that a man named Kusukawa said he had something important to tell Kazuha’s father, but then he lost contact with him. That’s why Kazuha’s father asked Kazuha to come to Tokyo with Hattori to find out what this Kusukawa was talking about.”

Xiao Lan touched her chin and recalled carefully.

This gave Kazama Kaoru a rough idea of ​​what was going on; it was very likely that the two of them were involved in the Kusunoki incident.

The most urgent thing is to go to Nanchuan's place first.

Ten minutes later, Kaoru Kazama's car stopped at a second-hand apartment.

A wooden apartment, this style must have been built in the 1980s. I never thought that a detective who is considered a hot commodity would live in a place like this. It seems that he must have spent a lot of money on horse racing.

"Sister Xiaoxun, this is the place."

Because Ran was worried about Kazuha and Hattori, she ran ahead of them, at a speed that even Conan couldn't catch up with.

However, when she saw the note on the door, her excitement vanished in an instant, and her lips drooped.

The note read: "I should be back after noon. Please deliver any registered mail to the landlord."

Xiaolan read it aloud word by word; she didn't know when the note had been left behind.

After trying to knock on the door, no one answered.

However, at the corresponding height, there was a strange mark imprinted on the door.

Because the weather outside had reached the point of heavy rain, the entire door panel was quite damp.

On the contrary, this area is relatively dry, which shows that something was blocking it before, preventing rainwater from seeping in.

"Hey, isn't that mark on Heiji's hat? I think Heiji has been standing in front of this door waiting for Mr. Kusukawa to come back."

Conan made that strange sound again, attracting Ran's attention.

"Sister Xiaoxun must have figured it out by now, hehe, hehe."

Seeing Ran's strange look, Conan immediately used Kaoru Kazama as a cover, desperately trying to wink at her before finally getting a soft "hmm" in response.

"Look, there's transparent tape underneath. It's probably to prevent strangers from breaking into the house or to prevent burglaries. It seems this detective is quite competent."

Kaoru Kazama crouched down, examining the seemingly inconspicuous transparent tape in the crack of the door.

To be honest, Nan Chuan's skill level is much higher than that of the uncle.

This illustrates two points.

One point is that this guy has a very strong sense of self-protection and may have experienced similar stalking or burglary.

Another point is that this guy may have made quite a few enemies in his daily work.

In the world of Detective Conan, criminals hate not the police, but the detectives who use their deductions to send them to prison.

It's probably more intellectually humiliating than physically imprisoning.

"But the tape is loose. Does that mean someone has already been inside?"

Xiaolan also squatted down and pointed to the tape that was only stuck to one side of the door frame.

"No, Sister Xiaolan, look, the parts where the tape came off are already covered in dust. Even if someone went in, it must have been a long time ago."

"So, this guy named Nanchuan should have disappeared suddenly, and then someone else entered his room after he disappeared. In that case..."

As Kaoru Kazama finished speaking, he suddenly stood up and reached for the doorknob.

Then, with a "click," the door opened.

"Hey, isn't this locked?"