James Black. He bears the surname "Black" and shares the same first name as James Moriarty, known as the Napoleon of Crime. Even his birthpl
James Black.
He bears the surname "Black" and shares the same first name as James Moriarty, known as the Napoleon of Crime. Even his birthplace is the same as Moriarty's—Baker Street, London—and later, he grew up in Chicago, where Moriarty was also known to be active.
Even in the original story, Conan had once made connections about this identity.
Among the Red Team, he's the only one with such a suspicious name and background.
And in Detective Conan, there are countless references and tributes to Sherlock Holmes.
Interestingly, in the Holmes series, James Moriarty was a highly respected professor of mathematics, a philosopher, and a wealthy businessman. Only a very select few associated with Holmes knew of his hidden true face.
...Someone.
At that instant, Hayashi Yoshiki thought of many things.
"Rum only shines when dealing with the FBI."
—That was Gin's original line.
Combining that with the later intel he received from Vermouth, it became clear: Rum is inside the FBI.
So then, how did Moriarty manage to be both a notorious crime boss and a man of impeccable reputation?
Naturally, the answer lies in his subordinates and accomplices.
And Moriarty's most famous accomplice? None other than Sebastian Moran, or Colonel Moran.
Colonel Moran, known in the Holmes series as the "second most dangerous man in London," is a striking character. Not only is he the right-hand man, but also a man with a passion for gambling and dirty tricks. Moreover, he was known to solve problems using sniping.
—Back in the "Cocoon" game arc related to Noah's Ark, Colonel Moran was found gambling in a bridge club.
Now look at Rum, the syndicate's second-in-command. Just like James, Rum's name also carries a pun reference to Moran.
Moreover, in the three major cases Rum appeared in—the Sushi Restaurant Bomb Case, the Thirty-Six Squares Snow Mountain Case, and the Yoko Okino Attic Locked-Room Case—all of them involved gambling and board game elements. The Snow Mountain case even had cheating at the core of the crime.
Even Moran's trait of using sniping to solve problems was perfectly mirrored in Rum.
In the Holmes series, Moran's sniper shot missed because Holmes interfered and hit a decoy instead. In Detective Conan, after the Sea Ape Island incident, Rum's sniper attempts similarly failed time after time.
With all of this, a theory takes shape:
James Black = James Moriarty
Rum = Colonel Moran
Of course, a theory is only that—a theory. Until there's solid proof, Hayashi Yoshiki wouldn't accept it as fact.
But now, at the very least, he was certain:
The one collaborating with Rum inside the FBI… is James!
Otherwise, why would he have access to the surveillance footage from Shuichi Akai's supposed death site?
—According to Gin, once Akai was confirmed dead, he had already ordered Vodka to erase all the surveillance footage.
The police and public safety bureau tried everything and still couldn't recover the data. So how did the FBI obtain it?
Clearly, someone from within the syndicate had secretly sent it to them.
And Hayashi Yoshiki's sole suspect was Rum.
Now consider this: Rum is trying to use the aging-reversal system to search for the long-missing Karasuma Renya.
Yet Renya herself had ordered Vermouth to destroy that system...
That suggests Rum may have ulterior motives toward Karasuma Renya.
Could his cooperation with James Black represent a third-party alliance independent of both the Syndicate and the FBI?
Staring at James's face, the expression in Hayashi Yoshiki's eyes subtly darkened.
Since he's working closely with Rum, does James Black also know about his identity as Cointreau, the accidental assassin?
It's a question he couldn't afford to leave unanswered.
...
He probably didn't know.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown the footage right in front of him—
"Please don't spread this video around..."
...Huh?
After Hayashi Yoshiki and Conan finished watching the video, James looked at the two and said,
"I understand."
Hayashi Yoshiki nodded. "But may I ask, Mr. James, how did you obtain this video?"
"I'm sorry. That is classified information."
James adjusted his glasses.
—They'll probably assume I planted an undercover agent within the Organization.
Revealing this footage to Hayashi Yoshiki and Conan had been a calculated move to earn their trust.
After all, from their perspective, presenting this video was a risky move on James's part.
But James had no idea Hayashi Yoshikiwas Cointreau.
He shared information with Rum to a certain degree, but their collaboration required an equal exchange of leverage. Many crucial pieces of intel weren't given away freely.
"I understand. I won't ask again."
Hayashi Yoshiki replied quietly.
Then he looked toward Jodie.
"Miss Jodie, I'll share more information with you when the time comes. But for now, our top priority should be identifying the Organization member who infiltrated the hospital."
"I agree."
Having just rewatched the Shuichi Akai death footage, Jodie crossed her arms—she understood what truly mattered.
"You're not shaking me off this time," Conan said, looking at Hayashi Yoshiki.
Hayashi ruffled his hair playfully.
"So, how should we find the infiltrator? Since last month, there've been more than 20 male patients admitted. If we investigate all of them, it might just alert the enemy."
"No need to check them all," Conan replied, "That nurse said the patient was wearing the new hospital slippers... Combined with the time frame she provided, we just need to look into male patients admitted between December 18th and 21st."
A sharp smile formed on Conan's face.
After a round of investigations, it came down to a classic "choose one of three" scenario.
—An old bald man with a broken right foot, a disheveled man with a neck injury, and a middle-aged man suffering from acute back pain...
"In this kind of situation, we could call Uncle Mouri and have him eliminate one of the choices first."
"...You think this is some kind of quiz show with phone-a-friend lifelines?"
Conan squinted in response to Hayashi Yoshiki's teasing.
While the two FBI agents and Conan all fell into deep thought, Hayashi Yoshiki turned his attention to someone else entirely—
—The director of Beika Central Hospital.
A spy for the Organization. A subordinate of the Organization.
And James Black's "trusted friend."
—That guy was definitely hiding some juicy secrets.
At this moment, Hayashi Yoshiki's mind was fully awakened.
They say other people's secrets are as sweet as nectar.
And Hayashi Yoshiki was very much looking forward to drinking deep.