Half an hour later, at the Starlight Hotel, Kurosawa Hoshino and the others arrived and encountered Inspector Megure in plainclothes at the entrance.
"Hoshino-kun." Inspector Megure greeted them and walked over, then immediately lowered his voice. "Everyone's here, all in plainclothes. To avoid arousing suspicion, I had them separate. I haven't notified the hotel yet."
"Inspector Megure, thank you for your hard work."
"What hard work? I'm not tired at all. Hoshino-kun, what should we do next?"
"Find the hotel receptionist—or better yet, call her over. I have something to ask her."
"Okay." Inspector Megure nodded and turned to leave.
Watching this scene, Keigo Endo asked subconsciously, "Was that a police officer?"
"Yes," Kogorō replied. "Inspector Megure Juzo of the Metropolitan Police Department."
"Then—" Endo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Conan thought for a moment, guessing his thoughts, and said, "Mr. Endo, do you feel like Hoshino-nii was giving him orders like a superior?"
"That's right." Endo answered sheepishly.
Sonoko laughed. "That's because Hoshino is a big shot in the Metropolitan Police Department now. Of course they want to curry favor with him."
Ran explained, "Actually, it's just that Hoshino has solved so many cases for the Metropolitan Police Department. Everyone trusts his judgment, so they don't doubt his orders."
"Oh, oh~" Endo nodded in understanding, feeling a surge of anticipation. He also thought that his son might be in this hotel.
Five minutes later, Megure arrived with two hotel staff members.
"Hoshino-kun, one of them is the hotel receptionist, and the other is the hotel manager. You can ask them if you have any questions."
"Hello." Kurosawa didn't waste any words. He handed them a photo of Endo Keita. "Did anyone check in with this child today?"
The receptionist looked carefully and nodded. "Yes, there is indeed this child. He was holding a Kamen Rider toy, so I remember him well. He was brought by a man and a woman."
Endo Keigo covered his mouth in surprise, his eyes instantly reddening. But he dared not make a sound, afraid of disturbing their investigation.
Kurosawa asked, "Do you remember which room they were in?"
"Yes, room 05 on the 24th floor."
"Good." Kurosawa looked at the female manager. "Excuse me, for the child's safety, we may need you to cut off the power to the entire hotel."
"Kurosawa-kun, it's fine." The female manager smiled. "The boss called me earlier and told me to follow your instructions completely."
"When did this happen?"
"Twenty minutes ago."
"Hmm?" Kurosawa was surprised. Inspector Megure had only left five minutes ago, and he remembered Megure clearly stating that he hadn't notified the hotel. So how did this female manager know about it twenty minutes ago?
Damn it. Do I have a mole among my people?
Thinking this, Kurosawa looked at Sonoko and asked, "Is this your family's property?"
Sonoko stuck out her tongue shyly.
Though she didn't say anything, it was as good as saying something. The mole among his people was Sonoko. He really couldn't think of anyone else besides her.
The female manager was stunned. Her face turned pale. She stammered, "Miss Sonoko—I—I didn't mean to reveal it."
"It's alright." Sonoko waved her hand, reassuring her. "It's not your fault. With his strong reasoning ability, it's normal that he figured it out."
"I'm sorry." The female manager lowered her head, but she breathed a sigh of relief. She had almost lost her job.
"Alright, Inspector Megure, let's talk about the plan." Kurosawa called out to Inspector Megure, telling him to turn on his walkie-talkie. Then the two quietly discussed the rescue plan so that everyone else with walkie-talkies could hear them.
Some time passed. Inside room 05 on the 24th floor, a male and female kidnapper were eating, occasionally glancing at Endo Keita, who was already asleep on the bed.
The man was Oi Kyosuke. The woman was Otomo Michiko.
"Kyosuke, didn't you say it only cost thirty million? Why did you add another twenty million?"
"What do you know? He could take thirty million without a second thought. I don't think adding another twenty million is a problem."
"What about Keita?"
"That kid knows us, doesn't he?"
Michiko felt a pang of pity, glancing at Keita sleeping peacefully. But the thought of the upcoming fifty million made her suppress her reluctance.
Just then, the lights in the room suddenly went out.
"What happened?" Kyosuke wondered. He went to the window and looked down. The entire hotel was without power, completely dark. But the buildings in the distance and around it still had power.
"Looks like there's a problem. Let's go to sleep." Kyosuke didn't suspect anything. He took out his phone, turned on the screen, and used the light to walk to the bed and lie down.
A moment later, a commotion and knocking suddenly came from outside the door.
"Fire! Fire! Fire on the 25th floor! Everyone, run downstairs!"
Hearing this, the two were instantly wide awake. They instinctively picked up Keita and ran out of bed. But when they reached the door, they listened cautiously to the sounds outside. Only after recognizing hurried footsteps and frantic voices did they open the door with peace of mind.
The corridor outside was filled with people turning on their phone screens and flashlights, rushing toward the fire escape stairs. Without thinking much, they followed the crowd.
Suddenly, the corridor lights came on. Kyosuke instinctively looked up. When he looked back, he noticed something was wrong. The people in the corridor had somehow surrounded the two of them, pressing down on their arms.
"You two." Inspector Megure said coldly, taking out his police badge. "We suspect you are involved in a kidnapping case. Please return to the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with our investigation."
"You—" Kyosuke tried to say something, but the child in his arms had already been taken away by Inspector Megure, and his hands were also grabbed.
"Oh no~" Michiko murmured. Her legs went weak, and she almost knelt on the ground.
Keita, in Inspector Megure's arms, opened his sleepy eyes, rubbed them, and asked innocently, "Uncle, who are you?"
Inspector Megure smiled. "Keita, right? I'm your father's friend. I came to take you home."
"Really? That's great! Aunt Michiko said I wouldn't see my father until tomorrow, but I didn't expect to see him now. Thank you, Uncle."