"I really should have killed you."
Vermouth's voice echoed over the river. In her heart, she felt she was done for this time. Kurosawa Hoshino would probably call the police, and in her current state, she couldn't possibly escape.
She truly regretted it. She should have been more ruthless back then, and she wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Heh…" With a bitter smile, Vermouth murmured, "As I thought, someone like me can never meet an angel again. Ran—there's only one of her—"
"Hey, let me take a look. Don't shoot, okay?"
Just then, Kurosawa Hoshino's voice came from above, snapping Vermouth back to her senses. She stared fixedly at the bridge railing.
Suddenly, Kurosawa Hoshino carefully poked his head out, wearing an expression that practically begged to be punched.
Since "Danger Prediction" hadn't triggered, Kurosawa Hoshino grew much bolder. He said, "Um, you can go now. Bear with it and swim toward the shore."
"You're not calling the police?" Vermouth asked, stunned.
She had thought that after being thrown into the river with a sprained ankle, if Kurosawa Hoshino called the police, she definitely wouldn't escape. But to her surprise, he was letting her go.
"Then why didn't you shoot back then?" Kurosawa Hoshino retorted.
Vermouth fell silent, also asking herself why she hadn't shot.
Was it because of Ran? Or because she knew Kurosawa Hoshino?
"Aren't you a famous detective? Someone like me is obviously a bad person. Are you really going to let me go?" Vermouth couldn't help asking.
"Well, I only solve cases. I don't handle the rest. How about you tell me about one of your cases? When I solve it, I'll catch you then."
"If you miss this chance, you won't be able to catch me."
"There will be chances, Miss Chris."
Those last two words nearly made Vermouth choke on water. She hadn't expected him to actually recognize her.
"Heh, were you surprised? I have a different set of principles when it comes to friends. You didn't shoot, so you probably think of me as a friend too, right? I'm off. Don't catch a cold. Bye."
Vermouth watched as Kurosawa Hoshino waved at her and turned to leave. A strange emotion welled up in her heart.
Enduring the pain in her foot, she began swimming toward the shore.
Wiping the water from her face, she looked at the bridge where the figure had long since disappeared. For a moment, Vermouth didn't know what expression to make—complex and confused, surprised yet uneasy.
"Have I met an angel again?"
"But it seems—he's a dark-hearted angel."
With that, Vermouth lifted her clothes and wrung them out forcefully. Water splashed to the ground.
—
Meanwhile.
A little earlier.
Ran and Kazuha returned after buying drinks. When they reached the Japanese-style room and saw Kurosawa Hoshino wasn't there, Ran asked, "Huh? Where's Hoshino?"
"Didn't Kurosawa go with you two to buy drinks?" Heiji Hattori looked at them strangely.
The two girls were taken aback and shook their heads in unison.
"No," Ran replied. "When Hoshino went outside the yard, he said he was coming back to get his phone. Didn't he come in to get it?"
At those words, everyone in the room fell silent.
Shizuka Hattori said worriedly, "Kurosawa-kun hasn't come back since you two left. He never came in to get any phone. And there's no phone at his seat. Why would he say he was getting his phone?"
"Oh no!"
Heiji Hattori and Conan cried out in alarm and dashed outside toward the yard.
Kogoro Mouri and the others didn't linger either. They all ran out of the yard to the front gate.
But there was only a police car there—nothing else. The surrounding streets were quiet, with only the distant streetlights and the light from the windows of nearby houses.
"Otaki."
Heizo Hattori seemed to have thought of something and asked Goro Otaki, "You said two groups exchanged gunfire on Mount Minoh, correct?"
"Yes."
"Did you find any traces of them at the time?"
"No. We searched around, but it was dangerous at night, so I didn't let them keep searching. I had them guard the intersections and wait until dawn tomorrow."
Immediately, Heizo Hattori turned his gaze to the police car's trunk.
Ginshiro Toyama came back to his senses and asked in a low voice, "Heizo, you mean someone hid in the police car's trunk and came out with it?"
"Not sure. We'll know once we look. If someone was in there, given the conditions in the mountains, there would definitely be traces in the trunk. Otaki, open the trunk."
After Heizo Hattori finished speaking, though his face was calm, he had already prepared for the worst.
He could already imagine: if there really had been someone in the trunk, when Kurosawa Hoshino and the others came out, they would have run right into the person trying to get out. Ran and Kazuha hadn't noticed, but Kurosawa Hoshino had, so he lied to the two girls about getting his phone—actually wanting them to go ahead so he could protect them, while he stayed behind to face that person.
And Goro Otaki had said there was a gunfight on Mount Minoh. It was easy to imagine the other party had a gun. A high school student with no weapon would have no way to deal with such a desperate criminal.
"That brat—" Kogoro Mouri murmured, having also thought of this possibility, and worry filled his heart.
"Dad, Hoshino he—" Ran gradually realized what was going on, and her eyes reddened instantly.
"He—he—" Kazuha opened her mouth to ask something, but seeing her father shake his head at her, she closed her mouth.
As the trunk opened, Kogoro Mouri and the others all took out their phones and turned on the flashlight function, checking the trunk.
The results made them breathe a sigh of relief. No traces were found in the trunk, which meant the possibility of someone hiding there was very low. After all, the mountains were full of mud. If someone had hidden there, it would have been impossible not to leave a muddy footprint or at least a bit of dirt.
Shizuka Hattori comforted them, "Kurosawa-kun probably went to take care of something. He should be back before long. How about we wait half an hour? If he isn't back in half an hour, Heizo, you can send out a search party."
"Yes, let's wait a bit," Heizo Hattori nodded. Since there were no clues in the trunk and no cameras nearby, they could only wait for now.
With that decision made, everyone returned inside with different expressions.
Heiji Hattori and Conan walked at the back, speaking in whispers.
"Hey, Kudo, do you think it's possible that the person hiding in the trunk had already padded their feet with something, leaving no traces at all?"
"If that's the case, then that person is far too meticulous. If Kurosawa ran into them, it might not be easy for him to get away."
"Haha, this is all just our guess. Maybe he really did go take care of something and just used that as an excuse to get away from Ran and the others."
"Let's wait. Half an hour will tell. If he doesn't come back in half an hour and doesn't contact us, then something probably really happened."