In Conan's world, there were three dangerous cities. The first was of course Beika Town, where Conan lived. Next was the neighboring Haido City. And finally, poor Nishitama City, which always got dragged into trouble.
Nishitama had seen several major incidents: the bombing of the Heaven's Arena skyscraper, the countdown to heaven, and two movie-scale explosions that left buildings destroyed and burned to the ground. The losses alone were enough to bankrupt investors. That was why a "No Conan Allowed" law was so important. If Conan didn't show up, a lot of disasters could be avoided.
"With the countdown on heaven's staircase, I will steal the soul of the Twin Towers. Signed, Kaitou Kid!"
"President, the grand opening is the day after tomorrow. Should we call the police?" The secretary handed the notice letter to Tokiwa Mio, president of the Tokiwa Group, owners of the Twin Towers skyscraper.
"How can we let the police show up at such an important banquet? Do you want me to lose face?" Tokiwa looked at the letter. It might just be a prank. But as president of a major group, she couldn't ignore any potential surprises. Then she remembered—just last week she had met her senior, Mouri Kogoro. He was a famous detective now. Handing this matter to him was the best option.
If it was just a joke, fine. If someone really wanted to steal something, Mouri Kogoro would definitely handle it.
"A joke. Definitely just a joke." When Mouri Kogoro saw the letter, he didn't even think twice before calling it a prank. "Instead of worrying about this nonsense, shouldn't we focus on the murder at the hotel? A Nishitama City councilman was found dead inside the unopened hotel. That's a tricky case, isn't it?"
"I'll have to trouble you with that too, senpai. Please find the one who killed Councilor Oki. As for this letter, since it's clearly a prank, just ignore it. Sorry for bothering you, senpai. I even made you come all this way."
"Not at all, not at all! Helping a beautiful lady is my duty." Mouri slipped again.
But this was nothing new. Back in college, Mouri had always been like this. Only back then, with Eri Kisaki around, he had reined himself in a little. Now that they lived apart, his true nature showed. Tokiwa Mio wasn't surprised. "Senpai, you really know how to talk."
"Hahahaha~~"
This world didn't have Kaitou Kid, but certain things still happened. There were still people teaching Kudo Yukiko and Vermouth about disguises and acting. Events played out the same, just without any connection to the Kaitou family.
But in place of Kid, this world had Lupin the Third.
"Dad, why are you back so late? You didn't go drinking at an izakaya again, did you?" Ran had no words left for her father.
"Who said that? I was in Nishitama City. Just caught the train back."
"Was it about the Twin Towers case?" The moment she realized her father had been working seriously, her attitude flipped completely. "Dad, you must be hungry. I'll go heat up dinner."
"The crime scene there doesn't have much left to investigate. This time it was for something else. Mio-chan received a prank letter, saying someone would steal the soul of the Twin Towers. A prank, obviously a prank. How could they fool the eyes of the great detective Mouri?"
Conan pricked up his ears. "Uncle Mouri, what kind of prank letter?"
"Something like, 'With the countdown on heaven's staircase, I will steal the soul of the Twin Towers. Signed, Kaitou Kid.'" Mouri scoffed. "Kaitou? What does he think this is, a TV drama?"
"'With the countdown on heaven's staircase, I will steal the soul of the Twin Towers'? What does that mean?" Whether it was real or fake, if Conan didn't understand, he had to dig deeper. That was a detective's instinct.
"Brat, I said it's a prank. A prank!" Mouri had already made up his mind.
"But Uncle, within one week—first Nishitama City councilman Oki was killed, then their genius programmer was found dead at home. Now this letter shows up from Kaitou Kid. I think these things are connected."
Thud!
What Conan got in return was Mouri's fist. "Brat, no respect at all. Go to bed. You have school tomorrow. Honestly, I don't know how your parents raised you."
"By the way, I already got the invitation for the banquet the day after tomorrow."
"So much has happened, and they're still going to hold the banquet?" Ran looked uneasy, afraid something terrible might happen there.
"I don't know what Mio is thinking. But it doesn't matter. As long as I, the great detective Mouri Kogoro, am here, even gods and ghosts will have no choice but to surrender! Mehahahahaha~~"
'You old man. I swear I'll marry your daughter just so I can shame you every day.' Conan clenched his teeth in secret.
Because this was a movie-scale case, the story stretched across a full week. On the Sunday before Liu A'dou crossed over, Professor Agasa took the Detective Boys on an outing. On their way back, they went to see the Twin Towers skyscraper, where they ran into Mouri Kogoro, Mouri Ran, and Suzuki Sonoko.
That same night, the councilman Oki Iwamatsu checked into the unopened hotel and was murdered. Beside him lay a shattered wine glass.
The suspects were limited to those who had been present at the time—6 people in total. Over the past week, the Detective Boys used their free time to visit several of them. But one of the suspects, a programmer, was later found shot dead at home. Next to him was the same shattered wine glass as the first victim.
So far, Conan believed the two murders had different perpetrators. And behind it, there might be a lead tied to the Black Organization. He had seen their car parked near the Twin Towers himself.
In short, this was a murder case with an unknown motive. Conan hadn't reached a conclusion on who the killer was yet, but he was sure he'd find the truth during the banquet.
"Conan, I'm here to pick you up."
"Professor Agasa, you came."
"It's already late. Where are you taking the brat?" Kogoro asked suspiciously.
"Didn't we agree? Conan's spending the night at Professor Agasa's house today." Ran, already the perfect housekeeper, had neatly packed his things. "Conan, remember to cover up with a blanket tonight. Don't catch a cold."
"Got it, Ran-neesan. Then I'll be off."
"Go on, go on." Kogoro waved him away.
'Old man, I wasn't even talking to you.'
Conan wasn't staying over for no reason. Since last week, Haibara Ai had been acting strange. During the camping trip, Genta had caught her secretly making a phone call. Later, even the professor noticed her calling someone at home in secret.
Conan also sensed something was off with her mood. That was why he insisted on coming.
Sure enough, that night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Haibara sneaked downstairs to make another call. Luckily, quick-witted Conan pulled the phone line just in time.
Whether by accident or on purpose, he had just prevented Gin from tracing Professor Agasa's location.
In the dim living room, only Conan and Haibara Ai sat face-to-face. Tension hung in the air, and a quarrel was about to erupt.