Chapter 13: The Kidnapping of the President's Daughter
A white Toyota Corolla rolled down the highway.
"Tch—it's just a Ferrari."
Conan muttered from inside the car, staring at the red sports car through the window with unmistakable bitterness.
Just some eighteen-year-old high schooler, and there he was driving a sports car worth over 100,000,000 yen with a campus-beauty-grade girl in the passenger seat.
And that girl happened to be his own childhood sweetheart, of all people.
And to top it all off, right in front of him, the two of them had been in that car together…
Conan squeezed his little fists tight and got angrier the more he thought about it—practically on the verge of murderous thoughts.
"What would you know, kid?"
"That's a Ferrari! A Ferrari—do you have any idea what that means?"
Kogoro stared at the sports car with barely concealed envy, practically drooling.
"Hold on!"
He suddenly turned a cold eye to the small boy at his side.
"What's the matter, old man?"
"Don't look at me—I'm not buying you a Ferrari!"
Conan glanced down at Kogoro's wrist.
The Rolex gleamed there, impossibly conspicuous.
Tch.
Buying people off with money—despicable.
"Hey, kid—who said you could come along?"
Kogoro glared at him, voice sharp.
"Vroom! Vroom!"
"Beep, beep, beep… beep, beep, beep…"
Conan turned both hands on an invisible steering wheel, pretending to play at driving, reverting to pure little kid in under a second.
"This kid, honestly—such a pain."
"Whatever, whatever—my bad luck!"
Kogoro pressed a hand to his forehead with a look of total resignation.
They were already on the highway—it wasn't like he could throw the kid out of the car.
Taking him back wasn't an option, either.
This was a taxi—he didn't have the money to make two trips.
An hour later, both cars pulled up in front of a large estate on the outskirts.
Old and elegant, like something out of classical Japanese architecture.
Though the scale was staggering—at least 3,000 to 4,000 square meters, easily.
"Look at the size of it—no wonder this is President Tani's place!"
Kogoro took one look and was almost struck dumb.
"He's an entrepreneur, after all."
"I'd imagine the kidnapper knew how wealthy the Tani family is and went after his daughter because of it."
Conan, for his part, didn't look the least bit fazed.
Growing up under the influence of a famous novelist father and an actress mother, he'd seen his fair share of grand estates belonging to society's elite.
"This is our master!"
The servant said as much and withdrew.
"You're the detective?"
A middle-aged man in a suit, with a prominent mustache—his expression heavy, brow deeply furrowed.
"That's right—I am the legendary great detective, Mouri Kogoro!"
Kogoro tugged at his tie, expression all business.
"Let's cut to the chase."
"This is my daughter—my only child—Tani Akiko!"
President Tani reached into his jacket and produced a well-kept photograph.
In it, a small girl hugged a large dog, beaming with a brilliant smile.
"She just turned ten—if anything happens to her, I—I…"
Big, tough man that he was, President Tani shed tears.
"Sir!"
Beside him, Butler Aso's eyes drifted, guilt-ridden, clearly at a loss for what to say.
"Let's start with the basic situation."
"Walk us through everything that happened today regarding the young lady—every detail, before and after the kidnapping."
Former detective that he was, Kogoro still knew the standard procedure.
"Well, it happened like this…"
President Tani and Aso laid out the details.
Tani Akiko had been playing in the garden when a man in black suddenly broke in and abducted her.
He had issued a warning, demanding the President shut the company down for a month and threatening him not to call the police.
Otherwise, he'd never see the young lady again.
"What did the Man in Black look like?"
"What was his appearance?"
"Was he wearing a black trenchcoat and a black hat—and did he have long silver hair?"
Conan pressed urgently.
In his mind, the cold, sharp image of Gin had already surfaced.
"It was too dark, and my eyesight isn't what it was—I couldn't make anything out clearly."
Butler Aso said, visibly uncomfortable.
"Thud!"
Kogoro landed a loving iron fist on Conan's head and gave him a thorough taste of pain.
"What was that for, Uncle?!"
Conan clutched his head, eyes watering.
"Kid, what's any of this got to do with you?"
"Kids should be playing kids' games!"
"Honestly!"
Kogoro told him off with zero patience.
"Conan!"
"Stop causing trouble—don't interrupt the adults!"
Ran shot him a look too.
This little brat was always a handful—he was genuinely too much.
"Shut the company down for a month?"
"Isn't that a strange ransom demand?"
As Makoto spoke, his eyes stayed fixed on the butler the entire time.
"Strange?"
Kogoro didn't follow.
"Odd or not, all I want is my daughter back!"
President Tani's every thought was on his daughter—nothing else was getting through.
"What I mean is, kidnappers normally demand money—but this one demanded the company shut down for a month."
"What does he actually want?"
Makoto glanced around the room, then settled his eyes on Conan.
He was the only one here who could just barely keep up.
"Right—kidnapping is a serious crime."
"The kidnapper took on enormous risk, yet asked for no money—he demanded the company close for a month. What does he stand to gain?"
Conan bowed his head, thinking hard.
"Clap!"
Kogoro slapped his palm and cried out, excited, "I've got it—it has to be a competitor trying to tank your company, or poach a major contract!"
"Outrageous!"
"And demanding 1,000,000,000 yen in cash—that has to be to cut off my company's cash flow!"
President Tani clenched his fist in fury.
…
…
Aso — Tani family butler. Series: Detective Conan.
Edogawa Conan — Shinichi's alternate identity. Series: Detective Conan.
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Mouri Kogoro — Ran's father. Series: Detective Conan.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
President Tani — Tani Akiko's father. Series: Detective Conan.
…
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Translated by CheapBiscuit.
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