Chapter 284: The Detective Agency Hostage Incident
In the end, Sera Masumi accompanied Ran and Natsume to the Mouri Detective Agency. Sonoko, having other matters to attend to, didn't join them this time.
Sera felt a pang of regret, realizing she likely wouldn't cross paths with Conan today. Still, she reasoned, learning more about the boy's performance by observing Kogoro Mouri's case-solving process would be a worthwhile gain.
Just as Kogoro Mouri was breaking into a cold sweat under Sera's relentless, probing gaze, unable to recall the finer details of a past case, the agency door swung open. Three women walked in, their arrival cutting off Kogoro's stammering and allowing him a moment of deep relief.
Unfortunately, before he could fully exhale that sigh, he heard one of them announce that their purpose for coming was, specifically, to hear the great Mouri Kogoro tell his stories.
As the room filled with a shared sense of confusion, one of the women—Mitsui Tamami—took the lead in introducing their group. "We are all amateur female mystery writers."
Yuchi Shinobu added, "And we're friends who met through social media."
"Sawaguri said we could come and listen to stories from the great Detective Mouri Kogoro, so we all came together," Nihei Junka finished, her brow furrowing slightly at Kogoro's bewildered expression. "What's wrong? Didn't she tell you we were coming?"
Hearing their explanation, Ran asked with some hesitation, "Um... the Sawaguri you mentioned, could it be the mystery writer who passed away last month—Ms. Sawaguri Mihono?"
Natsume couldn't help but shoot a glance at Ran, her eyes filled with a quiet sense of wonder. In a way, she truly admired Ran's knack for information gathering. Natsume had never even heard the name 'Sawaguri' before, yet Ran could instantly provide context about the person in question just from a surname. It was genuinely impressive.
However, the fact that this Ms. Sawaguri had already passed away... A familiar, cold dread coiled in Natsume's stomach. Three friends of the late Sawaguri Mihono had suddenly appeared at the Mouri Detective Agency. It was a perfect, textbook 'choose one of three' scenario.
According to the established patterns of this world, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance that one of these three women was the murderer who had killed Sawaguri Mihono.
Natsume felt a wave of helplessness wash over her. 'Seriously?'she thought.'Even with Conan nowhere near the agency, a case is still going to materialize out of thin air?'
"Yes," Mitsui Tamami confirmed, her nod affirming Ran's suspicion. "She was also a friend we met online."
Nihei Junka clarified, "However, the one who invited us here today is Sawaguri Mihono's older brother..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of footsteps echoed from the doorway. A man's voice, laced with a chilling sort of laughter, picked up right where she left off. "That's right! It's me."
Natsume's gaze fell upon the man standing in the entrance, a smile on his face that was so obviously malicious it made her blood run cold. Her ominous premonition was instantly confirmed.
While Mitsui and the other writers were asking this Mr. Sawaguri why Detective Mouri seemed completely unaware of their visit, Natsume's eyes were already moving, subconsciously and rapidly scanning the man and his surroundings, capturing several critical details in a single sweep.
'This is bad.'
Her heart sank.
She saw at a glance that he was holding a gun. That alone wasn't impossible; if he was caught off guard, even Ran could likely kick the weapon from his hand. But the more fatal detail was the unnatural bulkiness around his waist, despite his light clothing. In his other hand, he clutched a small black button. The conclusion was immediate and terrifying: he had a bomb strapped to his body, and the button in his hand was almost certainly the detonator.
Before Natsume could process it further, Sawaguri Kaoru raised the gun and fired a single, deafening shot into the ceiling. Under the terrified gazes of everyone in the room, he snarled, ordering them all to take out their phones and move to the side.
First, Mitsui Tamami and the other two writers shakily retrieved their phones, placing them on a side table.
Then, Natsume, Sera Masumi, and Mouri Ran followed suit, taking out their own devices and starting to walk toward the designated spot.
"I'll take his legs, you take the gun," Natsume heard Sera whisper urgently to Ran as they moved. "Then we'll pin him down, okay?"
Before Ran could even begin to agree, Natsume's hand shot out, pressing down firmly on Sera's arm to stop her. "Don't be impulsive," she hissed, her voice low and tight. "He has a bomb on him!"
Sera and Ran both looked at Natsume, their eyes wide with shock.
"What are you dawdling for?! Put them down, now!" Sawaguri Kaoru barked, his voice sharp and impatient as he noticed Sera and Ran had frozen in their tracks.
Heeding Natsume's stark warning, neither of them made a move. They obediently placed their phones on the table under the menacing aim of Sawaguri Kaoru's gun, then moved to the side as he had demanded.
As she did, Sera's sharp eyes caught sight of the remote clutched in Sawaguri Kaoru's hand, confirming Natsume's claim. He really did have a bomb.
She couldn't help but cast another glance at Natsume, who also called herself a detective. She was amazed by her eyesight. To have spotted those details in such a short amount of time… her powers of observation and analysis were formidable. No wonder she sometimes managed to solve cases a step ahead of Detective Mouri.
However, even though Natsume had successfully prevented Sera and Ran from acting, Sawaguri Kaoru still needed to ensure his threat was taken seriously. To force Kogoro Mouri into compliance, he unzipped his jacket, revealing the horrifying device strapped to his torso.
"Come on! Let me hear the great detective's reasoning!" he roared, his eyes wild with a desperate grief. "Hurry up and find the murderer who killed my sister!"
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