Chapter 18 "She is dead"

Kogoro Mouri, feeling uneasy, decided to head to the Metropolitan Police Department, taking Ran along with him.

Inspector Megure received them. "Yes, we have indeed captured two of the robbers, but unfortunately, the third, a woman, has gone missing."

"Could it be..." Kogoro was not a fool; he began to piece things together. He quickly recounted the request he had received from Masami Hirota over the past few days.

"In that case, the person who hired you is very likely the missing third robber," Megure analyzed, stroking his chin. "Unfortunately, it is highly probable that Masami Hirota was murdered last night."

"W-what..." Ran was stunned. "Miss Masami, who was so gentle... how could this have happened?"

"Inspector, why do you say she was murdered?" Kogoro pressed.

"Well..." Megure hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell them. "The matter is a bit complicated. Let’s sit down and talk."

***

Conan arrived at the spot indicated by the signal transmitter on his glasses, only to find the park cordoned off by the police.

"What’s going on?" Just as he thought about using Kogoro’s name to slip past, he saw Gin standing not far away, leaning against a black Porsche 356A and smoking.

"!!!"

"Why are they here?! The culprits who turned me into this! Those men in black!"

Without hesitation, Conan found an angle and crept closer, hiding behind another car.

"Aniki, how long do we have to wait?"

"Those cops will leave once they realize there’s nothing to find," Gin replied, his tone impatient.

"I really thought that woman would bring the one billion yen with her," Vodka said with a mocking laugh.

"Hmph, yes, I thought she might at least contribute something to the organization before she died," Gin responded coldly.

"One billion yen! Before she died!" Conan sharply grasped the key terms.

However, he had been crouching there for too long; if he stayed any longer, he risked being discovered. He began to retreat slowly. He couldn't understand why those two men were so concerned about the scene in the park, but he knew he had to find a way to investigate further.

Finally, the search concluded.

Because there was nothing to be found, the police stopped sealing off the park. Gin and Vodka strolled inside brazenly. Due to the police tape previously in place, quite a few curious onlookers had gathered, allowing Conan to slip in with the crowd.

Gin circled the park twice. He occasionally bent down to observe the vegetation along the path until he reached a muddy trail, where he stopped for a long time. After searching the nearby bushes, he finally seemed to find what he was looking for in a thicket.

"Tch, let's go!" he said with a cold face. "A waste of time."

"Right, Aniki!" Vodka followed quickly. "Did you find clues about that woman?"

"She's dead," Gin sneered. "But to be safe, have someone check the testimonies of that woman's accomplices—especially the parts about why she was lured to this park."

"I don't understand..." Vodka asked cautiously.

Gin glanced at him but didn't respond.

"Understood, Aniki!"

***

Conan waited until Gin had left before he dared to walk out into the open to investigate. Interestingly, the spot where he stopped to examine closely was exactly the same place Gin had been.

"It seems a kidnapping took place here. Someone must have ambushed someone else and taken them away. It was clean and efficient, leaving almost no forensic evidence, save for the marks left while lying in wait in the bushes," he analyzed, looking at the trampled vegetation. He then followed the signal from his glasses to the muddy path leading out of the park.

"The footprints here are chaotic, and most were likely left by the police. Excluding those..." Conan struggled to filter out the irrelevant prints. "These are a woman's footprints!"

"Whether it was Miss Masami or not, judging by the pacing back and forth, this woman was waiting for someone here, and then..."

Following his analysis, he spotted a large pool of blood. Judging by the spray pattern, the victim had been killed instantly with a single slash to the throat from behind.

Using the positioning from his glasses, he found a damaged watch in the nearby bushes.

"Just as I thought, the man in black was looking for this. Their target was indeed Miss Masami..." Conan concluded.

However, given the amount of blood, there was absolutely no chance of her survival. It was clear: a kidnapping had occurred here last night, and Masami Hirota had happened to appear on the path used by the kidnappers to retreat, where she was then brutally murdered. Perhaps to avoid complications, the kidnappers had taken both the body and the original hostage with them.

What a cruel irony. A bank robber who had stolen one billion yen had inexplicably been caught up in another crime and killed.

***

"You're saying Miss Masami got caught up in a kidnapping at the park last night and was unfortunately murdered?" Kogoro Mouri listened to Megure’s account, finding it hard to believe.

***

"Aniki, as you ordered, I got word from the police. The woman's accomplice admitted he was the one who told her to go to the park last night. But strangely, he claimed someone had provided him with the plan, saying that if she went to the park, she would die, leaving him to keep the stolen money for himself." Vodka finished a phone call and reported to Gin. "Could someone be helping that woman escape? How could a kidnapping just happen to occur at the same time?"

Gin was silent for a moment.

"I doubt it. Although it sounds like a coincidence, the tactic of letting someone 'happen to get caught up in an unrelated case and be killed' isn't impossible... Besides, think about it—haven't there been many threatening letters sent to wealthy families?"

"Yes. You thought they had ulterior motives, Aniki, because normal kidnappers wouldn't threaten their targets before the abduction."

"It seems those kidnappers were deliberately scaring their prey. By repeatedly sending threats, they not only make people think it's a prank to lower their guard, but they can also identify those who are truly afraid of death. That way, they know which families are less likely to call the police and more likely to just pay the ransom. They're actually quite clever," Gin remarked. "Unfortunately, they made too much noise, and someone decided to use their plan as a cover for their own schemes."

***

"Inspector Kiichi believes that by observing how targets react to threat letters, one can determine which families will not call the police, thereby reducing the risk of exposure for the kidnappers." Kogoro pondered this, finding it quite logical.

"In reality, that is exactly what we are struggling with right now. Even though a kidnapping has occurred, we haven't received a single report," Kiichi said, looking distressed.

"I will help with the investigation as well," Kogoro said, feeling a sense of responsibility. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Thank you, Detective Mouri."

***

Although there were no leads on the kidnapping, the one billion yen had been fully recovered. Even though Masami Hirota was confirmed dead and only two of the robbers were caught, the case was considered closed.

As for the kidnapping, if the victim's family didn't report it, even the most skilled detectives were powerless.

With the matter largely resolved, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. With the reward for recovering the billion yen, it brought a satisfying end to a period of intense pressure.

Kiichi clocked out on time, but instead of going home, he headed toward the Kudo residence.