Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

The flavor is getting stronger.

However, Sato Miwako did not show any surprise in answering this, saying, "Oh... I forgot to mention, the person in charge already mentioned this on the phone. He said he was worried that the criminals might harm his wife, so he came over before it got dark to deal with it."

"I see."

Just as Takagi Wataru nodded in understanding, Conan began to ask about the suspicious points: "Officer Takagi, why would the wife of the person in charge be harmed by the criminals? Did she have an important clue that could prove the identity of the criminals?"

"Well, I can only say it's possible."

Takagi Wataru replied, "Because she happened to be at the Toto Bank at the time, she was held hostage by robbers who held a gun to her head. It was only because Inspector Megure's wife offered to exchange her that she was able to escape without any injury."

"I see..."

"Officer Sato, the head of Toto Bank has arrived!"

The group quickly turned their attention to the doorway, to the middle-aged, chubby man brought by a junior police officer.

"Mr. Masuo."

Takagi Wataru nodded to Masuo as a greeting, then asked with some confusion, "Um, where is Mrs. Masuo? Didn't she come with you?"

"Hmm, she said she had some business to attend to at the bank and we agreed to meet here. Why hasn't she arrived yet? That's really strange."

Masuo glanced at his watch with some confusion before pointing to the telephone on the desk next to him: "Can I use this to contact my wife?"

"of course can."

Sano watched as Masuo pressed a number, then glanced at his watch.

"This is the third time."

Ai Haibara narrowed her eyes, prompting Ayumi, who was standing beside her, to ask in confusion, "What, a third time?"

"It's the number of times he checks his watch."

Conan answered the question for Ai Haibara, and he had clearly also noticed something was wrong with Masuo.

Unlike Sano, these two found it difficult to immediately assume anything bad about a stranger they had just met.

The conflicting statements, though seemingly contradictory, are actually logically consistent: the latter statement overrides the former.

However, the latter statement did not come true; Masuo arrived alone, and his wife did not appear.

Sano felt he had every reason to suspect that the guy was lying, that the woman was probably already dead, or even that he had killed her.

So this guy is basically using Wataru Takagi to create his alibi.

This is also in line with the normal development process, isn't it?

Chapter 289, 288 (Together) So kind it's frightening.

The call was connected very quickly.

At the same moment, Sano noticed the new mission had been triggered and took a look.

[Please stop Masuo Keizo's murder plan within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you 100 enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 00:00:59]

As expected, a mission arrived. Masuo Keizo was indeed problematic, although it was not quite what he had originally anticipated. His wife seemed to be alive but dying... Before Sano could finish his train of thought, he suddenly got stuck there again.

Because Sano discovered a very outrageous place.

That means the task's time limit is seriously problematic.

Am I seeing things wrong, or is there a glitch in the system? One minute?

What a joke! He doesn't even know where Masuo Keizo's wife is. Even if he did, how could he possibly save her in a minute?

Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for Fat Tiger?

When Sano came to his senses, Masuo Keizo seemed to have finished communicating with his wife and even handed the phone to Takagi Wataru.

Based on the two sentences exchanged between Takagi Wataru and the other party in real time, Masuo Keizo's wife should indeed still be alive...

No, this isn't the time to think about that. The problem should be how to stop Masuo Keizo's murder plan within a minute.

But what exactly was the murder plan? He had no idea.

So far, all we know is that Masuo Keizo wanted to kill his wife. His presence here is most likely to create an alibi. And since his wife is still alive, the fact that he wanted to kill someone else from a distance without making a sound suggests that there must be a... scheme involved!

No, the important thing is not how Masuo Keizo wanted to kill people, but that he wanted to kill people.

That's enough!

Hesitation leads to defeat; disrupting the situation directly is the best solution.

Sano lunged forward and snatched the phone from Takagi Wataru's hand: "I'm Shinichiro Sano, the high school detective. Stop talking nonsense and get out of here immediately. Check carefully if there are any dangerous people, traps, timers, ropes, or strings around where you were just now."

"Hurry!"

Sano spoke rapidly, his tone deep and serious.

Every word he spoke conveyed an invisible sense of superiority and pressure to Mrs. Masuo on the other end of the phone.

In particular, the title of that high school detective has an ineffable influence on ordinary people in this world.

So even though Mrs. Masuo on the other end of the phone was utterly astonished by Sano's seemingly nonsensical instructions, she instinctively complied.

It was only at this moment, when Conan, among the group of people who were startled by Sano's sudden action, realized what was happening and climbed onto the table to press the speakerphone button on the phone.

Sano glanced at Conan but didn't say anything. He just silently stared at the countdown of the mission, which had only a dozen seconds left.

As Sano waited intently, Conan, Takagi, and the others beside him also wore solemn expressions.

...Although they didn't understand what was going on, judging from what Sano had just said, he had clearly noticed something was wrong.

This could even be related to Mrs. Masuo's life safety.

If someone else had suggested it, then it would have been fine.

But since it was Sano who proposed it, it couldn't possibly be without reason, so one has no choice but to be cautious.

Keizo Masuo was sweating profusely.

Because he genuinely intended to kill his wife.

The reason is that the robbery of the Toto Bank was actually planned by Masuo Keizo himself, and the two robbers were also his men.

But coincidentally, the person who was kidnapped at the beginning yesterday was Masuo Keizo's wife. He could sense that his wife seemed to have already recognized the true identities of the two kidnappers.

Therefore, just in case, Keizo Masuo devised this murder plan to create an alibi for the police.

To everyone's surprise, a boy suddenly interfered, and this guy even claimed to be the high school detective Shinichiro Sano.

It can't be that coincidental, can it? They tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead. Is this going to happen?

Feelings of being in a situation where the three causes are completely different, but the symptoms are the same.

Sano was the first to receive the result that the mission was completed.

Just a few seconds later, Mrs. Masuo's exclamation came through the speakerphone: "Oh my god, oh my god, there's a knife on the bookshelf and a piece of wire that's tangled in the gears of the indoor bike!"

"I see. You were riding on that just now, right? Once you ride a certain distance, the line will be taut, pulling the bookshelf and causing the knife on it to pierce your body."

Sano made a perfunctory "reasoning" at the end, and then, ignoring Mrs. Masuo's chatter on the other end of the phone, he tossed the receiver to Sato Miwako, who hadn't yet reacted.

"Don't just stand there, hurry up and lead the team over there. As for who the murderer is who set up this stupid trap, I think Mrs. Masuo will tell you. After all, if she hadn't discovered something and wanted to tell the police, I don't think he would have been in such a hurry to silence her."

As he spoke, Sano glanced at Masuo Keizo, whose face had turned deathly pale.

"As for me, I won't get involved. Officer Takagi, hurry up and make your statement."

"Hey?"

Takagi Wataru originally wanted to sort out the situation and see if he should go with Sato Miwako, but he didn't expect that Sano would grab him by the collar to make a statement the next second.

Conan originally held similar thoughts to those of Wataru Takagi.

But looking at Masuo Keizo, whose legs were so weak that he was being dragged along by Sato Miwako, Conan felt as if there was nothing he needed to do at all.

So Conan decided to follow the group of four who were trailing behind Sano.

……

The five kids didn't give many statements.

It was all done in less than half an hour, with only Conan getting a little more done.

...But Sano still couldn't understand. This guy had clearly encountered far more cases than him, so how could he have solved them in just one or two hours?

On the other hand, Sano's situation was still not resolved by nightfall.

"It's finally over..."

After finally completing all the statements, Sano realized that the kids hadn't left yet, as if they were waiting for him to leave together.

Except for a certain high school detective.

"Where is that brat?"

In response to Sano's question, Ai Haibara casually pointed to the corridor at the other end: "Look, it's just here."

Sano turned his head and saw Conan walking over with Miwako Sato and a policeman who looked like Shiratori Ninzaburo.

The three of them were muttering to themselves, and it was impossible to tell what they were saying.

"Officer Sato, has everything been taken care of with Mrs. Masuo?"

When Takagi Wataru saw Sato Miwako, he instantly lost the weak and listless look he had shown when dealing with Sano's statement, and asked her cheerfully.

"Ah, yes, after we got there, we first confirmed Mrs. Masuo's safety, and then, as Sano said, we learned from her that the mastermind behind the Toto Bank robbery was actually Keizo Masuo. That's probably why we wanted to kill Mrs. Masuo to silence her."

Miwako Sato turned around and explained the situation: "It's a pity that Keizo Masuo's murder plan was stopped by Sano, but we don't have any evidence to prove that he wanted to kill. However, it's not a big problem. He'll be in big trouble for the crime of robbery."

"Oh, by the way, are you guys done? Why don't we go eat together?"

Before Takagi Wataru could even smile after hearing Sato Miwako's words, Shiratori Ninzaburo interrupted him, inviting him to dinner.

Sato Miwako also showed a look of great interest, which made Takagi Wataru, an honest man, extremely disappointed, but he dared not say a word.

However, after Shiratori Ninzaburo mentioned some high-end foreign restaurant, Sato Miwako refused.

Then Shiratori Ninzaburo left dejectedly, and Sato Miwako turned to Takagi Wataru and asked him if he wanted to go to the newly opened noodle shop together.

This almost made Takagi so excited that he couldn't speak properly. He was about to stammer and agree when, unexpectedly, Inspector Megure appeared on the other end.

"Oh, Officer Sato, what are you still doing here? We're about to have a victory celebration party, and everyone's already gathered at the entrance. Aren't you going?"