"What are you doing?!"
As several flashlights swung toward them, the scene of a man and a woman came into sharp focus.
Uncle Maori gaped at Tsuneo and Miss Seiran Urashi, who was pinned tightly against the wall.
The bumbling detective had taken quite a liking to this generous, kind-hearted woman.
Those stunning legs in her qipao yesterday, swaying before his eyes, had left him completely dazzled.
"Tsuneo?" Ran blinked. After days of training with him, she trusted the repairman had a clear purpose, but this scene…
Officer Shiratori stole a glance at Seiran's limbs and her gasping, near-suffocating state, swallowing hard.
That was just too brutal…
"Is this your plan?" Ai shot a sidelong glance at the great detective.
Hard to believe, but from the looks of it, that woman must be Scorpio.
"Heh heh heh…" Conan let out a weak laugh.
I knew he'd make a move, but this scene? I had no idea…
"Could he be Scorpio?"
The question came from Shiroev Chinnikov, the first secretary from the Russian embassy, pointing at Tsuneo.
Striking out of nowhere like that—so suspicious!
"Scorpio?" Tsuneo chuckled, releasing his grip and stepping back.
Freed from her shackles, Seiran gasped for air, like a prisoner tasting freedom.
For a moment there, she thought she was done for.
"Who the hell are you?" Seiran demanded, leaning against the wall, wincing from the pain in her limbs and staring at the repairman in fear.
Tsuneo didn't answer. Instead, he slapped his forehead and turned to Uncle Maori. "I caught an international fugitive. There's a bounty for that, right?"
If there's cash to be had, that's not bad. No free labor here.
"International… fugitive…" Uncle Maori's eyes drifted to those legs.
Scorpio?!
Conan grabbed Seiran's purse and dumped its contents in front of everyone.
The handgun with a silencer spoke for itself.
"So, she's the one who shot at Kid from the air?" Uncle Maori picked up the gun with a handkerchief.
No doubt, it was real.
"That's how it looks," Shiratori nodded, collecting the items from her purse, including the gun, and stowing them away.
"What about Hikawa?"
"What secret did he capture?"
"What made you silence him?" Uncle Maori's expression turned serious as he stepped in front of Seiran, interrogating her.
Seiran fell silent, her mind racing to assess the situation.
"What's wrong? Feeling sick?" Tsuneo asked, munching on a bag of snacks he'd pulled from who-knows-where.
Ai: …
Those snacks… didn't I leave half a bag in the car?
You're the real thief here…
Seiran shot Tsuneo a look, struggling to suppress the pain radiating through her body.
The blows to her ribs hurt more than her battered limbs, leaving her gasping.
"Uncle, do you know who Grigory is?" Conan asked innocently, looking up at Uncle Maori.
Seiran's eyes shifted.
"Grigory?" Uncle Maori blinked, momentarily stumped.
"Did you forget, Detective Maori? We just saw a photo of him with Mr. Kiichi in the castle," Shiratori said, glancing at Conan with a smile.
"Rasputin?"
"But what's he got to do with this case?" Uncle Maori waved a hand, exasperated, signaling the kid not to meddle.
"Me and Sonoko saw a photo labeled 'Grigory' in Miss Seiran's room, right on the table by the door," Conan said, sighing internally as he dropped another hint.
"I got it!" Ran pieced it together before Uncle Maori.
"You're saying Hikawa might've caught that photo on camera when he was filming at everyone's doors."
"Right, Conan?"
Ran leaned closer, staring intently at Conan's face.
"I-I wouldn't know! I just remembered the name. It's Russian, like the egg, so I got curious," Conan stammered, feeling her gaze bore into him.
What's with this all of a sudden?
It's getting chilly—my cover's about to be blown…
"Idiot detective," Ai muttered, arms crossed, from a distance.
"Agreed!" Tsuneo nodded, still munching.
"A photo of Rasputin in her room. Could it be…?" Uncle Maori turned back to Seiran.
"Heh, he is my ancestor, no mistake," Seiran said with a cold laugh, surrounded and cornered, openly admitting her identity.
She was Scorpio.
Her ancestor…
Uncle Maori scratched his head awkwardly.
I thought she was just a fan or something.
No wonder she's been chasing Romanov treasures across the globe. It all stems from this.
Her obsession with targeting the right eye might tie to Rasputin's death, too.
Scorpio continued, "As for the name Seiran Urashi…"
"Rearrange it a bit, and it becomes Rasputin, right?" Shiratori said, snapping handcuffs on her.
"What about Mr. Inui?"
The group still hadn't seen the greedy art dealer.
"Him? Probably thought I found some treasure and tailed me," Scorpio said with disdain.
Lugging a huge bag to hunt treasure in someone else's home.
For a moment, I wasn't sure if I was the thief or he was.
Too bad for him, he died before he could act—saw me loading bullets and attaching the silencer, and that was it for him in that corner.
The group finally pieced together the case and found Shoichi Inui's body in a corner of the underground passage.
Later, Shiratori escorted Scorpio back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
"Uncle, you owe me a big meal," Tsuneo said on the ride back, nudging Uncle Maori.
"Huh?" Uncle Maori tilted his head, confused.
When did I owe you anything?
Don't try to scam me—I didn't fall asleep this time!
"No clue why, but Scorpio was glaring at you with murder in her eyes, reaching for her gun," Tsuneo explained, gripping the steering wheel.
Uncle Maori: …
Why's my right eye suddenly stinging…?
(End of Chapter)
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