"Ayumi, you okay?"
Tsuneo crouched beside Ayumi, smiling as he gently patted her head.
This kid must be scared out of her mind.
Ayumi, with tape still stuck to her mouth, was on the verge of tears.
She instinctively glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window nearby.
How did big brother Tsuneo climb up to such a high floor?
"Good thing I came here to fix something last time and remembered the layout," Tsuneo said, tearing the tape off Ayumi's mouth and starting to untie her ropes.
He completely ignored the burglar who had just returned to the living room from the door, now staring at him wide-eyed.
"You!" The burglar gripped his arm-length collapsible baton, sensing things were about to get tricky.
But one sheep or two, it's all the same—kill everyone who shows up today!
"You'll need to back me up later, okay? Tell them I only broke into the neighbor's door and climbed over from their balcony to save you," Tsuneo said, patting Ayumi's shoulder with a grin.
Ayumi wanted to laugh, but her throat wouldn't let her. It hurt and itched, and she clutched it.
"Hey! You better wise up!"
The burglar shouted, charging forward and swinging the baton.
This guy's build looked about the same as his, and he was empty-handed—how could he possibly win?
Get ready to go down!
The baton sliced through the air with a whoosh, clearly no child's toy—it was high-quality.
But the scene the burglar expected, with blood and broken bones, never came.
A single hand caught the baton mid-swing.
Tsuneo turned his head, his smile shifting to something colder as he looked at the burglar. "The case with the French restaurant owner two days ago—that was you, wasn't it?"
"Heh, so what if it was?!" The burglar strained, trying to yank the baton back.
"That's just perfect."
"Ayumi, close your eyes. Your big brother's about to start fixing something," Tsuneo said, gripping the baton tightly and flashing a smile at Ayumi.
"…" Ayumi nodded, dazed, and obediently shut her eyes.
She knew how strong the repairman was—Scorpion, an international fugitive, had his limbs broken in an instant. This burglar…
"All right, let's take this outside. No need to mess up someone else's house."
Even at this point, Tsuneo was still thinking of his client's home.
"You…"
Ayumi only heard the burglar shout once before falling silent.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps—thud, thud—on the floor.
The sound of the door opening.
The sound of the door closing…
When the house fell completely silent, Ayumi opened her eyes and ran to the phone to call the police.
Hearing the officer's questions on the other end, she realized…
I forgot, I can't talk at all…
…
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Thinking it was Tsuneo, Ayumi went to the door and picked up the apartment building's intercom.
"It's me! Open the door!"
It was Dr. Agasa's voice. Ayumi pressed the button to unlock the building's entrance.
At the same time, she opened the apartment door, poking her head out to see where big brother Tsuneo had gone.
"A-Ayumi?!?"
Conan, clutching a soccer ball and rushing out of the elevator, looked utterly baffled.
Why was she standing at the door like nothing had happened?
Ayumi gave him a bright smile.
As expected, I knew Conan-kun would come.
He understands what I was trying to say!
Suddenly, the famous detective remembered someone. "Where's big brother Tsuneo?"
The repairman's phone had gone unanswered earlier—had he gotten here first?
Ayumi swallowed hard and pointed a small hand toward the nearby emergency stairwell.
She thought she'd faintly heard a few screams earlier, but now it was completely silent.
Should we go check?
Seeing Conan head that way, Ayumi cautiously followed.
"Wait!"
"We finally caught up!"
At that moment, Genta and Mitsuhiko burst out of the elevator.
They'd noticed Conan skip class, slipping out right under Ms. Kobayashi's nose.
"Looks like the problem's already solved," Xiao Ai said, walking past them and pushing open the heavy door to the emergency stairwell.
She'd already explained things to Ms. Kobayashi.
The police should be arriving soon.
But this situation…
Seeing Xiao Ai freeze in place, Conan and the others looked over as well.
"Oh?"
"You're all here?" Tsuneo smiled warmly from the stairwell landing, wiping blood off his hand onto the burglar's pants, where half a leg was visible.
"Seriously, big brother Tsuneo, why didn't you contact us through the detective badge?" Genta complained, stepping forward to check things out.
"Don't go over there!" Conan grabbed Genta and Mitsuhiko, shoving them toward Xiao Ai to keep an eye on.
He had no idea how far this guy would go, but the scene definitely wouldn't be pretty…
The famous detective stepped down the stairs to the landing and finally saw the burglar.
The man's body was slumped over the steps, his face covered in blood and swollen beyond recognition.
The motorcycle helmet nearby—probably his—had its visor shattered.
"You…" Conan wanted to say something, but seeing Tsuneo pull out his phonebook, smile, and put a checkmark next to a crossed-out name, he found himself at a loss for words.
He stepped forward silently and checked the burglar's breathing.
It was faint but steady—he wouldn't die.
"So?"
"Figured out what Ayumi's signals meant?"
Tsuneo tucked away his phonebook, his expression relaxed as he smiled.
Conan nodded, glancing at Ayumi by the stairwell door. "The melody's tune was meant to tell us the word 'snail.'"
"And the 'fifth at 10:30' was a clue pointing to the burglar."
Honestly, it was mostly Tsuneo's intense reaction that had sparked his brainstorming.
"Pretty impressive, huh?" Tsuneo gave Ayumi a thumbs-up.
"Definitely," Conan agreed wholeheartedly on that point.
A few minutes later.
Inspector Megure finally arrived with a swarm of police officers.
"Tsuneo, my man?!"
Fatty Orange was shocked, staring at the burglar who barely looked human anymore.
"It was self-defense," Tsuneo said, pointing to the dagger and baton beside the man.
"I-Is that so…?"
Inspector Megure noticed Tsuneo didn't have a single scratch from the fight and wasn't sure what to say.
"Either way, you'll need to come to the station to give a statement later."
Takagi, jotting notes in his little book, hesitated before interrupting their conversation. "Uh, Inspector, shouldn't we call an ambulance first…?"
…
(End of Chapter)
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