A new day. Morning.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!" A burst of hearty laughter echoed through Shin-Yokohama Station.
"How embarrassing." Ran blushed and hid behind Kurosawa Hoshino as many people turned to stare. She pretended not to recognize her father, who was laughing out loud.
Kurosawa whispered, "When Uncle Mouri received the check, he didn't look at the amount to maintain his composure. Now that he knows it's five million yen—and he got it without doing much work—it's normal for him to be happy."
"Hoshino, how much did Chairman Nagato give you?" Hattori Heiji asked curiously from the side. Conan also perked up his ears.
"Not much. Thirty million."
Those casual words hit Hattori and Conan like a thunderbolt, leaving them dumbfounded.
"Thirty million?" Hattori's mouth dropped open. Then he gritted his teeth and said sourly, "Damn it! I helped too, and I didn't get a single cent. That old man of mine is friends with Chairman Nagato—of course, he wouldn't take money."
Conan asked doubtfully, "But you didn't help at all yesterday. I don't think you'd get paid even if you were offered."
"I didn't help? I—" Hattori pointed to himself, about to say he'd helped plenty, but the words caught in his throat. He realized something embarrassing: he hadn't really helped at all yesterday afternoon or evening. Everything had been handled by Kurosawa. He was practically a bystander, just watching the whole thing with his eyes.
Hattori sighed and fell silent, as if his entire being was about to shatter.
Conan whispered reassurance, "It's okay. I won't say anything if you still want to compete with him now. But if you still have this competitive spirit after a few more cases with him, then I'll truly admire you."
"Go away! I won't talk to someone who's already given up! I'll never admit defeat!"
"Hattori, stop being so stubborn. Follow your true feelings. You're a detective—you shouldn't lie."
Hattori stared intently at the bespectacled boy, unable to utter the many stubborn words he wanted to say.
Just then, the conversation of two people passing by caught everyone's attention.
"Hey, did you see the morning paper? I heard that the Ryujin-go, which disappeared seven years ago near Shiki Island, has reappeared."
"The Ryujin-go? The one carrying one billion yen worth of gold?"
"That's the one."
"Did they find the gold inside?"
"No. The paper says it's empty."
"Hmm, maybe we can go to that island sometime. Bring diving gear—maybe we can find some gold nearby."
Hattori and the others quietly watched the two men leave, chatting and laughing. Kogorō's laughter had subsided. After all, five million yen was a far cry from one billion.
Ran said, "Seven years ago, one billion yen worth of gold should be worth a lot more now, right?"
Kurosawa didn't know the answer to that question. He was using a smartphone; some people were still using keypad phones and flip phones. Who knew how time ticked by each day?
"Not much," Kogorō replied. "If it was worth one billion seven years ago, it's probably only worth around 1.4 or 1.5 billion now."
Kurosawa crossed his arms and pondered. Shiki Island? The Ryujin? That should be from the ghost ship episode. I remember the gold hidden there is easy to find.
"I'm going to the restroom," he told everyone, turning and heading toward the restroom. This situation was different from the maple leaf gold coin incident—that was a bank robbery, with police constantly watching. But the gold on the Ryujin was gold that the ship's owner had exchanged for money when he fled. There wouldn't be any police watching. And now that he had a good relationship with the Suzuki family, he could ask them for help.
Once he was away from everyone, he took out his phone and dialed Sonoko's number.
"Hoshino, good morning!" Sonoko's lively voice came through.
"Sonoko, did you read the newspaper this morning? Do you know about the Ryujin-go?"
"I'll go get my dad's newspaper." Sonoko said, probably heading to snatch it from her father—because Kurosawa heard Suzuki Shiro's helpless voice and Suzuki Tomoko's scolding.
A few minutes later, Sonoko must have finished reading, because she smiled and said, "I know. So it's gold. And I heard that this ship was still floating when it emerged—it hasn't sunk after all these years. That's quite strange. The newspapers are already calling it a ghost ship."
"Sonoko, here's the thing. I roughly know where this gold is, and I'd like to ask your family for help. We'll split whatever we find."
"Huh? How do you know? Are you on Shiki Island? Wait, weren't you at the Nagato family's in Yokohama?"
"I heard it from someone passing by. And I deduced it."
"Huh?" Sonoko's tone was full of disbelief. "Hoshino, how is that even possible?"
"Of course it is." Kurosawa walked a little further to a less crowded area and lowered his voice. "Think about it. A ship hasn't sunk in seven years and hasn't been discovered—but it's only been discovered now. What could be the reason?"
"Well—because it became a ghost ship? Nobody could see it, so they gave it that name."
Kurosawa chuckled. "Ahem, don't be silly. It's actually very simple. It's probably trapped somewhere. The most likely explanation is that it drifted into a seaside cave around Shiki Island and couldn't get out for some reason. Then, after seven years, it drifted out for some reason. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, that really does." Sonoko grew excited. "If that's the case, we just need to find a seaside cave around Shiki Island that can accommodate a ship. I'll tell Dad right away and have him send someone to look for it."
"By the way, remember to bring a metal detector. That will make the search easier."
"Okay."
On the other end, inside a Porsche 356A parked on a Tokyo street, Vodka had finished reading today's newspaper. He exclaimed with delight, "Brother, this batch of gold is unclaimed. Should we go look for it?"
"Let me see the newspaper."
"Okay." Vodka obediently handed it over.
Gin took the newspaper and looked at the detailed records. When he saw the description—"moss on the top of the Ryujin-go"—a glint of light flashed in his emotionless eyes. He too had the same thought: the Ryujin-go might be trapped in a cave by the sea.
"Vodka, I'm going to Shiki Island."
"Brother, are you going to look for this gold? I'll go with you."
"No need. I can go faster alone, and I won't attract too much attention."
"Well—okay."