More than half a month had passed since the incident with the Egg of Memories.
Suzuki Shiro had personally visited the castle of the Kohsaka family.
As everyone had expected, he didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately decided to gift the egg to Miss Natsumi.
"That thief really played the police for fools again," Xiao Ai remarked, her eyes fixed on her research notes without looking up.
It was said that the real Officer Shiratori from the Metropolitan Police Department was utterly dumbfounded when he returned from his vacation in Karuizawa. The moment he stepped into the office, he was greeted with praise.
Of course, our repairman didn't do too badly either, considering he was the one who personally caught Scorpion, the international fugitive.
"I heard he sent out another notice letter. Wanna go check it out together later?" Mingmei said, bringing a glass of juice to her younger sister.
"Unlike certain people, I'm not exactly interested in him," Xiao Ai replied, turning her head to shoot a sidelong glance at a certain famous detective who was already looking her way.
"All right, I've drawn my card. Your turn, Conan!"
On the other side of the room, at the living room table, Tsuneo was playing Old Maid with the kids.
"Fine, fine," Conan said, acting like he wasn't interested in such a game, but it didn't take long for him to get hooked…
As the repairman would say, this kid was just a tad bit inconsistent…
"A pair!"
Sure enough, the famous detective let out a triumphant shout, tossing his last two cards onto the table.
"Ugh, how come it's just me and Mitsuhiko left again!" Genta grumbled, holding his two cards and glancing at Tsuneo and Conan with frustration.
For some reason, he kept losing today.
"The one who draws the Joker last is definitely gonna be Mitsuhiko!" Genta declared, placing his two cards in front of Mitsuhiko for him to pick.
Mitsuhiko grinned, looking utterly confident. "That's absolutely impossible."
As his fingers hovered between the two cards, Genta's expression kept shifting.
"This kid's hopeless…" Tsuneo said with a wry smile.
"Haha!" Conan's face practically bloomed with laughter.
"I'll take this one!" Mitsuhiko chose the card that made Genta's face twist in worry, successfully forming a pair and escaping the round.
In the end, Genta was left holding the Joker, his face full of misery.
"Damn it, why am I always the one who loses!"
"Hahaha!" The famous detective finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.
"We can tell everything just by looking at your face," Conan said. "The moment we point at the Joker, you're all smiles. When we move away, your expression changes. It's impossible not to notice."
"How could you, Conan? Why'd you have to spill the trick like that?" Mitsuhiko complained, clearly unhappy with Conan exposing their cheating strategy.
What if he ended up with the Joker next time?
"So that's how it works!" Genta exclaimed.
"Let's go again. This time, I'll keep this face the whole time," Genta said, adopting the sinister grin he used when acting like a delinquent collecting protection money.
"I've seen that expression a lot…" Tsuneo suddenly felt an itch in his fist.
"Ugh!" Mitsuhiko shot Conan a speechless look before turning to Xiao Ai, who was off to the side. "Hey, Haibara, wanna join us for a round?"
Xiao Ai, straw in her mouth, tilted her head as she flipped through her notes. "No thanks. I find reading a lot more interesting."
Genta, still wearing that expression, muttered, "You're so not a team player."
At that moment, Mitsuhiko suddenly remembered something he'd heard about.
"Hey, have you guys heard about what happened in Beika Town yesterday?"
"You mean the robbery-murder case!"
Conan nodded and spoke up. "It's the case where the female owner of that French restaurant called Me Escargot was killed, right?"
"What kind of store has a name like that? So weird," Genta said, his little face scrunching up.
The word was way too complicated for him.
Conan explained, "It's not that strange. Escargot is just the French word for edible snails, which are often used in French cuisine."
"Huh? You can eat snails?"
"What, like snail rice bowls or something?" Genta tilted his head, imagining some bizarre dish and nearly gagging.
"Escargot?"
"You're sure it's that restaurant?" Tsuneo's grip tightened on his water glass, his face darkening.
"It's definitely the owner of that restaurant who was killed," Mitsuhiko confirmed, then continued, "Conan, have you heard any details?"
After all, Conan lived with Detective Mouri, who was close to the police, so it wasn't surprising he might know some insider info.
Conan glanced at Tsuneo.
No way, seriously…
He turned to Mitsuhiko and said, "Actually, I overheard it last night when Uncle Mouri was on the phone with Inspector Megure."
"Apparently, the victim didn't wake up until noon. When the robber broke the lock and entered, he ran right into her."
Xiao Ai, holding her book, walked over. "So, the robber thought the house was empty and broke in, huh?"
Conan nodded. "Seems like it. The victim's hands and feet were tied up, and then the robber stabbed her to death with a knife."
"My guess is the killer asked her where she hid her money, took all her valuables, and then killed her just as he was leaving."
Probably because they came face-to-face, and she saw what he looked like.
"You knew the owner of that restaurant?"
The famous detective turned to look at Tsuneo again.
The repairman stayed silent, pulling out his phonebook from his toolbag and flipping through the names.
"Hey, my mom's name is in there!" Mitsuhiko, sitting nearby, noticed Mrs. Tsuburaya's name and phone number.
Many of the names in the book also had home addresses listed.
"Big brother Tsuneo, what's with the person whose name was crossed out on that page?"
"Did they not pay for repairs or something?" Genta leaned over, scratching his head curiously.
"…" Conan looked at the two of them, craning their necks to see the phonebook, and his face turned exasperated.
The people whose names were crossed out… they were all dead.
"Found it." With a heavy heart, Tsuneo crossed out the name of a client he hadn't contacted in a long time.
Back then, she was still living in Beika Town.
After she opened her restaurant in Beika, she'd even treated him to a meal once.
"This… this… this can't be…" Genta and Mitsuhiko exchanged a glance.
Suddenly, they had a hunch about those crossed-out names.
This was practically a Death Note!
"Looks like that robber picked the wrong target," Xiao Ai said, glancing at the repairman's expression. It was like a volcano ready to erupt.
Mingmei walked over to the couch and glanced at Ayumi, who had been squinting sleepily. "Ayumi, you okay?"
What was going on? The girl had been listless for a while now.
"Sister Sakiko, do you have any throat lozenges?" Ayumi's voice sounded slightly hoarse.
(End of Chapter)
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