"Hey, why aren't you guys home yet?"
Tsuneo, after a call from Akemi saying Ai hadn't returned, dialed the detective.
"Something's up!"
Conan's tone was grave.
Following Nakadai's brother's usual route, he'd spotted a man at a convenience store using a thousand-yen bill to buy cigarettes.
Why queue inside when there's a vending machine right outside?
After checking the bill the clerk received, Conan confirmed his hunch.
No watermark—it was counterfeit!
"Don't scare me," Tsuneo said, flipping on the car radio to a comedy show.
The new host, a cute but adorably clueless woman, tossed out quirky cold jokes—perfect for hot weather.
"I'm thinking the ones making these fakes might be from that Organization," Conan said, hearing faint laughter over the phone. He turned away from passersby, lowering his voice seriously.
"Huh?"
"The Black Organization making counterfeit money?" Tsuneo chuckled twice, staying silent.
Dog-brained detective, you looking down on my pal Gin?
"What's that supposed to mean?" Conan asked, confused. With advanced techniques, these near-perfect fakes could flood the market, causing big trouble.
"Nothing. What's your next move?" Tsuneo parked by the roadside, bored, leaning on the steering wheel, listening to the radio's goofy host crack cold jokes.
"I ditched Genta and the others and followed him to the station. I'll contact you once I find their hideout," Conan said, hanging up to ask passersby which train the cigarette-buying man took.
"Ugh, looks like dinner's getting delayed," Tsuneo muttered, calling Akemi to let her know.
The radio host ended with a riddle, giggling, "Hehe, if any listeners know the answer, send it to the station for a chance at my signed photo!"
Tsuneo rubbed his arms. If this woman teamed up with Dr. Agasa, they wouldn't need AC in summer.
…
"Odawara Station?!"
Using clues from station staff, Conan deduced the fake-money man's destination and hopped on a train.
After dark, he got off at Odawara Station.
But after asking around, no one had noticed the man in the black hat he was tracking.
At rush hour, with crowds bustling, unless someone acted oddly, a stranger would go unnoticed.
"If they're making counterfeit money, maybe a real estate agency would know something," Conan thought, heading to one near the station.
"A warehouse?" The agency's manager, a kind middle-aged man, didn't think twice about Conan's question, flipping through his record book.
"You know, somewhere inconspicuous, remote, where no one would notice what's going on. Has anyone rented a place like that?" Conan specified.
"No warehouses rented recently," the manager said, shaking his head, finding nothing.
"Maybe they rented it years ago," Conan added.
The manager closed his folder, crouched, and patted Conan's head. "You're getting in the way of work, kid. Go back to your friends."
Recent records were handy, so he'd humored the kid, but digging up years-old files?
"My friends…" Conan followed the manager's pointing finger, turning to the glass window.
Three terrifying faces pressed against it.
Besides the Teitan trio, Nakadai and the new transfer student, Haibara, stood outside.
"You think we'd fall for it every time?!"
The group stormed into the agency, Genta, as leader, confronting Conan first.
"Conan, you always sneak off!" Mitsuhiko said, glaring with exasperation.
"How'd you guys find me?" Conan stammered, caught off guard.
His tricks usually worked like a charm—what happened today?
Did they suddenly get smart?
"Thanks to Haibara-san's heads-up," Mitsuhiko said, pointing to Ai, who was flipping through a magazine.
"No way you're ditching us to hog all the credit!"
"Exactly!"
"I'll watch you like you're eel rice!"
Conan: …
Nakadai ignored the bickering Junior Detective League and approached the manager. "Sir, is there anyone around here who looks like Soseki Natsume?"
"Soseki Natsume?" Conan frowned, not recalling this clue.
"Yeah, my grandma got a call from my brother, but her hearing's bad. She only caught him saying he was with Soseki Natsume."
"His voice was shaking, and the call cut off halfway."
"The police searched but couldn't find anyone resembling Soseki Natsume, so they wrote it off as a prank…"
Nakadai finished, turning to the manager.
"Soseki Natsume, huh…"
"There is someone nearby who looks like him," the manager said, nodding, realizing this might be serious.
"He's the owner of the corner bookstore. They call him 'Thousand-Yen Bill.'"
The Teitan trio's eyes lit up. "That's gotta be him!"
"Please, sir, take us there!"
They grabbed the manager's arms.
"This won't end well…" the manager muttered, but led the kids to the bookstore.
…
"What's this nonsense about 'Thousand-Yen Bill'?!"
"You mocking me?!"
"Get out!"
With a roar, the so-called "Soseki Natsume" kicked the Junior Detective League out.
"I told you it wouldn't end well…" the manager said, shaking his head.
The hot-tempered bookstore owner, constantly teased for looking like Soseki Natsume, wasn't going to take kindly to this…
(End of Chapter)
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