Facing Heiji Hattori's question, and the gazes of Ginshiro Toyama and the others, Yusuke Sakata removed his glasses and said in a low voice, "Kurosawa-kun is right. The reason I left the driver's licenses behind was exactly as he said—that was the common point. And he was also right just now: all of them had once trained in the same place, and they all lived in the same dormitory."
Sotaro Goji asked, puzzled, "I checked the times they got their driver's licenses. Some of them even got them 20 years ago. You were just a child then. What grudge do you have against them?"
"They—" Yusuke Sakata paused, his voice filled with anger and sorrow. "They killed my father, and then they all stuck to the same story, saying he died in a drunk-driving accident."
Kurosawa Hoshino and the others fell silent, quietly listening to his words echo through the conference room.
"Twenty years ago, the driver's license training program in Hyogo was famous for being cheap. Hidetoshi Nagao, Tayo Nishiguchi, Kazuto Noyasu—the three I killed—plus the targets I was going to kill next: Sumie Okazaki, Sotaro Goji, and Ichiro Numabuchi. Six people in total. They had all lived in the same dormitory. And the instructor at the time was my father, Tetsuji Inaba."
"Wait, did you say Ichiro Numabuchi?" Ginshiro Toyama's tone turned serious. "You mean the fugitive Ichiro Numabuchi, the one who killed people with a gun?"
Kurosawa Hoshino still remembered that man. He should currently be locked up in a cabin somewhere in the mountains—though he didn't know whether Vermouth and Shuichi Akai had found him yet.
And if those two ran into each other, it probably wouldn't end simply.
Vermouth would definitely want revenge for New York.
And if Akai found Vermouth alone, he'd definitely want to capture her.
"It's him," Yusuke Sakata nodded. "That day I discovered his trail and originally intended to arrest him and bring him to justice. Maybe because I look like my father did twenty years ago, and because his mind was unstable at the time, the moment he saw me, he thought I was my father's ghost come back for revenge, so he confessed everything. It turned out my father hadn't been driving drunk at all. Ichiro Numabuchi resented my father for being too strict, so after drinking, he used the alcohol as courage and tampered with the brakes. The others knew about it too, but none of them said anything. In the end, my father died in a car accident because of the brake problem, and I was adopted by relatives."
"Then where is he now? Did you kill him?" Ginshiro Toyama asked.
"No. I imprisoned him in the attic of a wooden cabin on Mount Minoh. I originally planned to kill everyone and then pin all the crimes on him, making it look like he shot himself."
"Otaki." Ginshiro Toyama looked at Goro Otaki, his meaning clear.
"I'll lead the team there myself." Goro Otaki responded loudly, turned, and quickly left the room.
Kurosawa Hoshino glanced at his system panel and saw that the Source Points column had changed. He was still 9 Source Points away from obtaining his next superpower.
"Let's go." Ginshiro Toyama said to Yusuke Sakata, then led him out of the conference room.
Heiji Hattori opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.
"Kurosawa-kun, thank you for your help." Heizo Hattori came up to Kurosawa Hoshino and extended his hand. "Your deductive skills truly leave me in awe. No wonder Heiji was depressed for so long after returning from Tokyo last time. You really are better than him—and better than I imagined."
"Mr. Hattori, you flatter me. I was just lucky." Kurosawa Hoshino shook his hand, looking humble.
"Kurosawa-kun, this wasn't luck. Heiji's usual case-solving, now that's luck."
"Hey, hey, hey." Heiji Hattori finally couldn't stand his old man belittling him and retorted indignantly, "Say what you want about me, but why do you keep bringing me up? If I were really that bad, could I have solved so many cases before?"
"Then why couldn't you solve this one?" Heizo Hattori's light, casual words left Heiji Hattori's retort stuck in his throat, unable to utter a single word.
"Haha." Kogoro Mouri stepped in to smooth things over. "Mr. Hattori, you can't say that. Your son is still very impressive."
"Mr. Mouri, you're too kind. Please come to my home for dinner tonight. Kurosawa-kun, you and your friends too."
Faced with Heizo Hattori's invitation, Kogoro Mouri agreed without a second thought, and Kurosawa Hoshino reluctantly nodded along.
"Kazuha, are you going tonight?" Ran asked quietly.
"Of course." Kazuha smiled. "My dad will definitely go, so I can tag along."
"Great, I wanted to chat with you properly."
"Me too. I want to hear about all the fun places in Tokyo."
That evening.
Hattori residence.
Everyone sat on the tatami of the Japanese-style room, eating a lavish meal around a low table.
Kogoro Mouri, Ginshiro Toyama, and Heizo Hattori sat at one table drinking and chatting quietly.
Kurosawa Hoshino also met Shizuka Hattori, a woman who had been very popular in his previous life too. She wore a kimono, and her demeanor was gentle and kind, elegant and refined.
——
"Kurosawa-kun, try this too. I don't know if it suits your taste." Shizuka Hattori took the initiative to put food on Kurosawa Hoshino's plate. This was already the fifth time.
"Thank you, I can help myself." Kurosawa Hoshino thanked her again.
"That's right, Auntie." Heiji Hattori glared with dead-fish eyes and said in a low voice, "Kurosawa isn't handicapped. You're making him look like one."
Shizuka Hattori put on a slightly mischievous expression and said, "Heiji, are you jealous of Kurosawa Hoshino? Here, I'll give you some too."
Instantly, Heiji Hattori was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He bristled and said loudly, "Auntie, would I be jealous over this? You underestimate me too much!"
"Even more like it now." Kazuha's muttered comment came right on cue.
Ran and Conan's faces both broke into smiles at the remark, but fortunately they held it in and didn't laugh out loud.
Heiji Hattori's expression stiffened. He glared at Kazuha, then calmed himself down and looked at his mother, saying seriously, "Mom, I mean, this is Kurosawa's first time here. Don't be too enthusiastic or you'll scare him off, and then he won't come again."
"Yes, yes, whatever you say is right." Shizuka Hattori smiled, her tone full of affection.
Kurosawa Hoshino sighed inwardly. These protagonists' mothers were all good mothers—every one of them doted on their children.
At that moment, the sound of a vehicle came from outside the yard.
A short while later, Goro Otaki slid the door open and walked in. He said to Ginshiro Toyama and Heizo Hattori, "Ichiro Numabuchi has been found. But he was killed deep in the forest. There were many bullet holes at the scene, as if left by two groups exchanging fire."
Kurosawa Hoshino raised an eyebrow. It seemed things were just as he had guessed—Vermouth and Shuichi Akai had run into each other.