Chapter 145: Threatening Letter 2
Recalling the scene, a cold sweat still prickled Takeuchi Koichi's neck. The memory remained sharp, a jolt of fear that refused to fade.
At the time, the letter had been in his hands. He'd been just about to tear it open when Charlotte happened to stop by his office about some work matter. It was her quick thinking that had saved him. She'd noticed something was wrong with the envelope in time; otherwise, it would have been his own hand sliced open.
A razor blade wasn't large, but if it caught you off guard, it could carve a surprisingly deep and nasty wound.
While Ran and Takeuchi Koichi held the older detective's attention, Conan deftly took the letter from his client's hand, turning it over to inspect it from front to back. As expected, he found nothing out of the ordinary about the envelope itself.
It seemed the person behind these threats was being exceptionally cautious.
"Mr. Takeuchi, Big Sister Charlotte is so amazing! She knew there was something hidden inside without even touching it. How did she do that? Can you teach me?" Conan put the letter down, shuffling closer to Takeuchi Koichi with a performance of wide-eyed, childish curiosity.
"Ah, little brother, that is the keen eye of an excellent reporter," Takeuchi said, looking down at the small boy with a proud, fond expression. He was clearly delighted to introduce the special skill of his best journalist. "To observe the hidden truth through the external appearance of things… that is an indispensable ability for someone like Charlotte."
He smiled and patted Conan's head. "You're still young, little brother. Learning these things requires not only talent but also a great deal of experience. Once you graduate from elementary school, if you still want to learn, how about I have Charlotte teach you then?"
It was a classic dismissal. Takeuchi was clearly treating him like a child acting on a whim, using a vague promise to stall for time. Given enough of it, the boy would naturally forget.
Conan maintained a perfectly deadpan expression as the man's hand ruffled his hair.
'Is he really trying to humor me like a child?' he thought, unimpressed. 'And that line about "observing the hidden truth through the external appearance of things"… Is that really a skill a simple reporter should have?'
Kogoro Mouri, meanwhile, paid Conan's interruption no mind. It wasn't the first or second time the boy had chimed in, anyway. There would be plenty of time to scold him later.
"By the way," Kogoro began, his tone turning suspicious, "since these threatening letters were sent to Miss Charlotte, why didn't she come herself? Why is it you, the Editor-in-Chief, who's commissioning a detective to investigate?"
Ran and Conan both turned their gazes to Takeuchi, their curiosity piqued as well.
Hearing the detective's question, Takeuchi Koichi let out a helpless sigh, a bitter smile twisting his lips. "Because Charlotte hasn't taken this matter to heart at all!"
Under the inquisitive stares of the Mouri family and Conan, Takeuchi's frustration with Charlotte's cavalier attitude toward her own safety was evident. Still, he couldn't help but defend her.
"But I can't entirely blame her," he admitted. "Ever since she became a reporter, she has been singularly dedicated to presenting the 'truth' of events in our newspaper. As a result, external attacks and threats have never been in short supply. Charlotte also has some self-defense skills. We've received threatening letters before, but nothing ever came of them, so we've all grown a bit accustomed to it."
He wrung his hands slightly. "This is the first time threats have been sent for three consecutive days, and the first time someone was almost hurt. I told Charlotte to be more careful, but she still isn't taking it seriously. I'm genuinely worried, which is why I came to ask you for help, Detective Mouri. You're so capable, I'm sure you'll be able to find the person sending these letters."
Hearing such high praise, Kogoro Mouri couldn't stop a booming laugh from escaping his chest. He puffed it out and boasted, "Don't you worry! Leave this matter to me, the Great Detective Kogoro Mouri! I will definitely catch the coward who's been sending you these threatening letters!"
"Yes, yes!" Takeuchi Koichi nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with renewed excitement as he looked at Kogoro.
Conan watched the exchange, his expression flat. 'Heh. The old man sure is confident.'
There wasn't a single solid clue yet, but his uncle was already making such a grand guarantee. Did he even know where to begin?
"So, if you have any other clues, bring them all out. Let's not waste any more time," Kogoro said, extending his right hand toward Takeuchi with a face full of unshakeable confidence.
"?" Takeuchi blinked, his expression turning blank.
"Detective Mouri, I've given you everything. It's just these three threatening letters…"
"Ah?" Kogoro's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You mean the only clues are these three letters that show absolutely nothing?"
"Oh, no! There's one more thing I forgot to take out…"
As he spoke, with Kogoro leaning forward in renewed expectation, Takeuchi carefully produced a small, cloth-wrapped object.
He unfolded the fabric to reveal an ordinary razor blade.
It was, quite clearly, the blade that had been hidden in the latest threatening letter.
"It's this…" Kogoro's lip curled, his brief flicker of hope instantly extinguished.
"How is it? Detective Mouri, can you see anything?" Takeuchi asked, his gaze still full of expectation.
"Well… this…" Kogoro stammered, a flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck.
No matter how he looked at it, it was just a common blade you could find anywhere. There was nothing special about it, and he certainly couldn't glean any clues from it.
Fortunately, Conan's next question diverted Takeuchi's attention, saving Kogoro from further humiliation. It seemed the brat was useful for something, after all.
"Editor-in-Chief Takeuchi, you just said the threatening letters were sent for three consecutive days, up until yesterday. Was there no letter sent today?"
By now, Conan had leaned in close, his sharp eyes having already finished observing the blade in Takeuchi's hand.
The blade was indeed ordinary, but its style indicated it had been snapped off from a utility knife. Such knives were common in offices or among university students and teachers. Of course, many ordinary households had them too, so that alone didn't prove much.
He had also noticed earlier that while the paper used for the threatening letters was common, it was the exact same type as standard printer paper. That was unlikely to be a coincidence. It suggested the suspect worked in an environment that involved frequent printing of documents.
Combining the two clues, the probability that the sender was in a leadership position at a university or a company increased significantly. After all, an ordinary employee making a mistake would hardly warrant escalating the situation to threatening a reporter.
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