Maori Kogoro began to understand everything

"Don't worry, he is the Akechi Kogoro of the Heisei era, a mere arsonist..."

"Crackle!" The raging flames were full of heat, mixed with the pungent smell of kerosene. The long-haired man stopped, his sinister face reflected in the firelight, and he turned around and looked at Maori with a grin.

"Very good, this grand carnival is in need of sacrifices, you've arrived just in time!"

The long-haired man licked the blade of the dagger in his hand with his tongue.

"I'll make you suffer less..."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to feel any pain at all," Maori tightly grasped the atlas paper tube and walked straight towards the long-haired man, "You are the one who will feel pain..."

The long-haired man's expression changed slightly: "Are you a policeman?"

"No."

At the same time as the long-haired man stabbed out the dagger, Maori reached out with a paper tube to cover the blade, and snatched the dagger away with a slight shake. Then he stepped forward and gave a fatal shoulder throw.

"boom!"

"you……"

The long-haired man's eyes widened, and before he could react, Maori threw his body heavily to the ground, and he was completely dizzy.

"It's done!"

Maori squatted down and fumbled in the long-haired man's coat for a while, and soon found the kerosene can and matches.

"Great!" Ayumi and her group ran out of the alley excitedly, "Uncle Maori is awesome!"

Mao Li cleared his throat: "Humph, of course..."

"But this arsonist is so lame that he can't even hold a knife properly," Yuan Tai looked at the long-haired man who had fainted like a dead pig with a bad temper, "I thought he was scary, but I worried for nothing."

"Hello..."

Mao Li was so angry - what is scary? This guy had set fire six times and killed someone. He was holding a knife in his hand just now. If it wasn't him who did it, even if it was a policeman, he would have been caught by him...

"Uncle Maori," Mitsuhiko looked at the flame-shrouded warehouse worriedly, "Is this warehouse okay? The fire is so big."

"It'll be okay," Shiratori said, coming over from the alley. "This place was originally scheduled to be demolished next week. There's nothing inside. The firefighters will be here soon to put out the fire."

"Officer Shiratori? Why are you here?"

"Officer Sato told me that, and someone called the fire truck, so I thought it was Mr. Maori and you guys were right."

Shiratori handcuffed the long-haired man, with a look of regret on his face.

"It seems that Officer Sato and Conan are now looking for the robber. Damn, Takagi got there first again..."

"By the way, have you found Takagi?" Maori asked with concern.

"He must have been locked up by the robber, right? Officer Sato said he would question the robber."

Just then, firefighters arrived at the scene and began to isolate the warehouse where the fire broke out to prevent the fire from spreading. Shiratori helped the long-haired man up and said, "Okay, Mr. Maori, come back with me. Thank you for catching the arsonist this time."

"Nothing."

Ayumi and the others followed Shiratori happily, but Maori suddenly stopped and looked at the warehouse engulfed in flames in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Huibara stopped.

"You say, with such a cruel and cunning criminal, can we capture Gao Mu in an instant..."

As Maori said this, he turned and walked to the other side of the warehouse.

In the fierce flames, he vaguely heard a sound of labored breathing, as if someone was calling for help...

"Damn... Damn it..." At the back wall of the warehouse, Takagi had one hand handcuffed to the iron window and his head was covered in blood.

Seeing the flames roaring towards him, Gao Mu stood up hastily: "We must remove the handcuffs first..."

"Bang!" With a sudden loud noise, the entire wooden wall of the warehouse exploded in front of Gao Mu's stunned gaze, wood chips flew everywhere, and only the iron window connected to the handcuffs hung down.

"Eh? Eh?!"

Gao Mu was standing in the middle of the scattered wood blocks, feeling a little overwhelmed. He looked face to face with Mao Li who was slowly retracting his legs outside: "Mr. Mao Li? Why are you here?"

"I should be the one asking you this, Takagi, why are you here?"

……

Half a month later, in Fukui Prefecture, there is a small isolated island in the sea of ​​Wakasa Bay, American Island.

On the sea near the island, a ship cuts through the waves and sails in the moist sea breeze.

"Really,"

Mao Li smoked a cigarette, leaned against the bow in a bad mood, and complained to Hattori Heiji beside him, "You suddenly came here without prior notice, and asked me to go with you to Fukui Prefecture to investigate the case. I came here because your father asked me to take care of you..."

"It doesn't matter," Hattori chuckled, "I'll pay for the travel expenses anyway, so just treat it as a free trip to relax!"

"and then?"

Conan propped his chin up and said listlessly, "Where is the island we are going to now?"

"It's called American Island. Although it's a small isolated island, people around here call it by another name, which is the island where mermaids live."

"Mermaid?"

"Correct."

Hattori looked ahead and explained, "I also heard that there was an old woman on that island who became immortal because she ate mermaid meat..."

Xiaolan and Heye were standing nearby, and they said excitedly, "I've heard of this too. She was the old lady who caused a stir three years ago because of her immortality, right?"

"That's right," He Ye's face flushed with excitement, and she nodded repeatedly in anticipation, "I came here just to be as young and beautiful as him!"

Maori looked at the girlish Xiaolan and the other girl, then turned to Hattori with a sullen face and said, "Hey, could it be that this commission is because someone wants you to find a mermaid?"

"It's the exact opposite," Hattori shook his head, his expression serious. "The letter I received only had a short sentence. It said in trembling handwriting, 'I will be killed by a mermaid, please save me!'"

Huibara glanced at the people who were talking to each other and continued to look at the sea with an expressionless face.

She had been to the so-called American Island before...

Chapter 97: The Client Sends Again

The gift shop at the corner of the village entrance is filled with specialties from Mermaid Island, all of which are mermaid-related products, including mermaid amulets, mermaid belts, dugong buns... the prices are generally around five or six hundred yuan.

Xiaolan and Kazuha stared at it for a while, and finally each of them bought two amulets and a box of dugong buns.

Hattori and Conan were not interested in these souvenirs, and they whispered to each other:

"Please, you haven't contacted the client yet?"

Conan looked at Hattori speechlessly.

"What can I do?" Hattori said angrily. "Although the name and phone number of the client Kadowaki Saori were written on the signature of the letter, I couldn't get in touch with her at all. The first time I called her, she hung up as soon as I picked up the phone. At that time, I could hear the sound of waves and a woman crying on the other end of the line. After that, I called many times but couldn't get through..."

"Then can't you ask where her home is?"

"You think I'm stupid!"

Hattori Toudaichi ruffled Conan's hair and hummed, "The people at the village office said she's rarely at home, so we came to this gift shop where she works to ask!"

"Dugong's arrow?"

Maori did not join the discussion between Hattori and Conan, but went to ask the proprietress questions seriously.

"It's a talisman for immortality," the proprietress explained. "Saori lost the arrow she drew at the festival last year, so she started worrying a week ago that the mermaid would punish her. That arrow is very important. Almost all the tourists who came today came for it..."

Maori frowned and said, "But we just lost a mermaid amulet. Is it really because of this that we will disappear?"

"There really are mermaids," said a female shop assistant with narrow eyes and short hair. "This is what Mingxiang said, that after eating mermaid meat, one becomes immortal. The dugong arrow is tied with the hair that Mingxiang has endowed with divine power. Whoever possesses this arrow can realize the dream of immortality!"

Mao Li looked at the female clerk in confusion: "What's your fate?"

The short-haired female clerk glanced at Maori and continued as she walked away: "Since Saori lost the arrow, it is possible that she fled the island because she was afraid of the mermaid's revenge..."

"Who is she?"

Hattori said in confusion, "Looks like she's very familiar with Kadowaki Saori..."

"Her name is Naoko, and she's been Saori's friend since childhood," the lady boss said, "The person she's talking about is actually the chief priest of this festival, the representative of our island, the great-grandmother of the Shimashiro family."

"Is that the old lady who is famous for her longevity?"

Xiaolan and Kazuha reacted - after they arrived on the island, they did hear people talking about an old priestess at the shrine. It was said that she was either 180 or 200 years old, but no one was sure.

"By the way," the proprietress suddenly reminded, "If you are interested, why not go to the shrine where the festival is held? Miss Kimie, who lives with Mingyang, should also be in that shrine. Miss Kimie and Saori have the best relationship. You may be able to ask for some information there..."

"Shrine?"

Maori and Conan's expressions darkened slightly at the same time.

The disappearance of the client that Hattori had brought in was not a good sign. This strange situation reminded them of the Moon Shadow Island in the past.

"Was the letter of entrustment really sent by that Kadowaki Saori?"

Maori looked at Hattori.

"what?"

Hattori was unhappy about the search for someone, and he stopped walking after hearing this, "Uncle, what are you talking about? Didn't I tell you? I heard the sound of the waves and her crying..."

"Didn't the other party hang up the phone? Was it really Kadowaki Saori herself?" Maori held Hattori's letter of commission, "What if something had already happened by then?"

After Maori said this, Hattori couldn't help but look grim: "Uncle, what do you mean..."

Mao Li shook his head and smiled: "Nothing, just a random thought, maybe she just had something sudden... Because a mermaid killing people is too weird anyway."

Hattori's eyebrows jumped wildly: "Hey, hey... detectives are not allowed to say such things!"

……

At the Meijima Shrine, a shrine maiden with long hair parted in the middle greeted the Maori group. Her jet-black hair was tied into a bun behind her back, making her look cute and pretty.

"My great-grandmother turned 130 this year. You can find out right away if you check the household registration," emphasized Mikojima Dai Kimie. "Really? It's just that she lived longer. Why is everyone making such a fuss about it?"

"And then?" Hattori looked around, "Where is that great-grandmother now?"

"She is in the room now, preparing the three dugong arrows that will be sent out during the festival." Shimashiro Kimie said helplessly.

"Did that old lady really eat mermaid meat?" Xiaolan asked curiously.

“Ah? Haha,” Shimadai was stunned for a moment and said with a smile, “How could there be any mermaids in this world? It’s all made up by others.”

"But the dugong's arrow..."

"That arrow was originally called the 'Cursed Arrow'. It was just a talisman used to ward off evil spirits. But because my great-grandmother lived a long life, the people on the island called it the 'Dugong Arrow' which has the same pronunciation. This is what my late mother told me."

He Ye was surprised and asked, "Is your mother dead?"

"Yes... She died at sea with my father five years ago. My grandparents also disappeared at sea before I was born..." Shimashiro Kimie seemed to be very open-minded. "So, now only my great-grandmother and I, her great-granddaughter, are left to depend on each other..."

"Oh?" Maori asked, scanning the tourists coming and going in the shrine. "I heard that you are Kadowaki Saori's best friend? Have you seen her these days?"

Shimashiro Kimie shook her head and said, "I haven't seen her in the past few days, but four days ago I took a boat with her to the main island. I said I wanted to see a dentist, so she went with me... because we don't have a dentist here..."

"What was Ms. Saori's situation like at that time?"

"She was very scared because she lost the dugong arrow, and she was afraid that the mermaid would seek revenge on her," Shimashiro Kimie recalled. "Although I tried to comfort her that there was no curse, she just didn't believe it..."

A woman with long straight hair parted on the side and wearing a blue long velvet dress came over with a chuckle. "You are so stupid, Jun Hui. You said that because you don't believe in your great-grandmother's power at all. She really has magical powers, and she did eat mermaid meat before."

"Sumie?" Shimashiro Kimie turned around in surprise.

"Don't you know that?" The woman said with a slight fanaticism, "Three years ago, a mermaid's body appeared, didn't it? The mermaid's bones were broken..."

"Shoumei!" A short-haired young man interrupted the woman, "Stop talking, don't talk in front of outsiders!"

"Lu Lang..."

The young man had dark skin and looked at Maori coldly: "If you guys are here to look for Saori, you should go to Saori's house to find out more about the situation. Of course, the prerequisite is that her drunkard father welcomes you first..."

Hattori watched the young man and the woman leave together and asked curiously, "Who is this person?"

"His name is Fukuyama Rokuro," Shimashiro Kimie said with a smile, "He is Shoumei's fiancé and also our friend who grew up together. Don't look at him like that, he is actually a very nice person."

"you?"

"Oh, I grew up with Rokuro, Saori, Sumi, and Naomi from the gift shop, and we were still together until college."

Shimashiro Kimie looked nostalgic.