Takagi pulled out his phone and dialed for an ambulance.
Stop chatting, the culprit's barely hanging on…
The scene had been photographed, evidence collected, and the ambulance was already on its way.
"Let's go," Inspector Megure said, preparing to take Tsuneo back to the station for a statement.
Ayumi, though shaken, wasn't an ordinary kid and could handle questioning. But with her cold leaving her unable to speak, that would have to wait.
"Inspector Megure, can I come by tonight instead…?"
Tsuneo suddenly remembered that his barbecue with Dr. Agasa and Mingmei was left half-finished.
"Tsuneo, my man, including today's case, you've got two statements to give. Don't wait until tonight—let's do it now…" Inspector Megure shot the repairman an exasperated look.
Seriously, don't you know how many cases you're tangled up in?
No time like the present to clear the slate!
Tsuneo followed Inspector Megure, slowly turning to glare at a certain famous detective.
What the heck has this guy been doing under my name…
Conan pursed his lips, looking away.
He couldn't use the name Kudo Shinichi, so occasionally borrowing Tsuneo's identity for remote assistance was way safer than using Uncle Mouri's.
"Heh, looks like someone's in for it," Xiao Ai said with a smirk as she watched the police leave.
"In for it?"
"Conan, who's in for it?"
The three kids turned in unison to the brain of the group.
The culprit? Yeah, he's definitely having a bad day!
"…" Conan gave a weak smile.
It's me!
The one who's about to be in deep trouble is me!
"Oh, right! I heard Dr. Agasa and Sister Sakiko are having a barbecue by the river!" Genta recalled what Tsuneo had been muttering about before he left.
He might not remember much, but barbecue was seared into his brain.
Mitsuhiko looked tempted, too.
"No way."
"All of you, back to school," Xiao Ai cut off the two kids' daydreams.
"Yes, yes, yes…"
…
"Inspector Megure, you're not serious, are you…?"
Tsuneo rubbed his temples, sitting in the police station office.
He'd spent half the day at the station, even mooching a meal, and everything was going smoothly until a headache-inducing bombshell dropped.
"About that, we just got word from Yokohama. It's almost certainly a mistake," Inspector Megure nodded.
The burglar Tsuneo caught today wasn't the same one who killed the French restaurant owner two days ago.
"I specifically asked him if he was the one who killed that woman!" Tsuneo said, pulling out his phonebook and frowning at the checkmark he'd personally added.
"He was probably just trying to scare you all…" Inspector Megure coughed lightly.
He roughly understood why Tsuneo had gone so hard on the guy.
But colleagues in Yokohama had tracked down the real culprit's trail, and this burglar who broke into Ayumi's house had a solid alibi for that day.
So, it was pretty much confirmed—the repairman had picked the wrong punching bag.
Still, the beating wasn't entirely undeserved, considering the guy was carrying a dagger and had murder on his mind.
"Tsuneo, my man, try not to go so hard next time. The guy was in the hospital for hours before he barely woke up."
Thinking one thing, saying another.
Inspector Megure gave Tsuneo a verbal warning.
"I get it," Tsuneo nodded, grabbing a pen from the desk and crossing out the checkmark in his phonebook.
What a shame. I used him as a punching bag for nothing.
Serves him right!
Who told you to brag like that?
"Inspector, we've sent people to investigate the cases the culprit confessed to!" Officer Satou walked in with a folder.
Takagi, who was taking notes, lit up with a smile when he saw her.
"Good!" Inspector Megure started flipping through the documents.
Tsuneo waved a hand in front of Takagi's face.
This guy…
"Ah? Mr. Tsuneo!"
"Anything else to add?" Takagi snapped back to his serious demeanor, his face flushing red and black.
Oh no, did he notice something?
"Nothing. I can head home now, right?"
Tsuneo wasn't in the mood to tease him, still thinking about the barbecue that was probably over by now.
Damn it, this is all that kid's fault!
"You're good to go!" Takagi nodded.
Tsuneo stretched, slung his toolbag over his shoulder, said goodbye to Inspector Megure and the others, and left the station.
"Thanks to you, everyone's been real friendly to me."
Tsuneo, sitting in his car, answered a call from the famous detective.
He had no idea what those two statements were even about.
At the station, he'd had to sneak to the bathroom to call and ask…
"Alright, alright, next time's on me, okay?" Conan's voice was hushed, probably sneaking the call from the detective agency.
"I still owe Genta an eel rice meal. You'd better cover that, too!"
The repairman hung aup, buckled his seatbelt, and headed home.
…
Nighttime.
Tokyo.
In a shadowy corner somewhere.
"Let's do it this way." A man with long silver hair coldly hung up his phone.
He'd just issued some bloody order, his lips curling into a chilling smile.
"Big Brother, will this really lure that guy out?"
In the pitch-black night, Vodka was still wearing his sunglasses.
"He loves going against the Organization, doesn't he? Let's give him his chance!"
Lately, Gin had finally found some free time to deal with that little rat, the Dark Knight.
"Speaking of, he hasn't shown up much lately. Last we heard, he was in Osaka," Vodka said, glancing at Big Brother's beloved car.
Good thing the guy hadn't been active, or Big Brother's blood pressure would spike again, and Vodka would be the one suffering…
"This operation's got a lot of eyes in the Organization. Who knows, we might get some unexpected bonuses."
Gin tossed his cigarette butt to the ground and got back in the car.
"Big Brother, you mean…?"
Vodka slid into his designated driver's seat, gripping the wheel with a grin.
Will some rat really jump right into Big Brother's trap?
"Who knows…" Gin smirked, lighting a cigarette with the car's lighter and taking a deep drag.
Ever since the Dark Knight showed up and the Miyano sisters vanished one after another, his smoking's gotten worse…
(End of Chapter)
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