Mouri Kogoro still thought it was a small surprise from an unknown rich man, while Conan thought it was a gift from a patient.
But Ogawa Masayuki always looked worried. A few minutes later, he finally took out a letter from his pocket and placed it on the table with a sharp voice:
"Unlike before, I received this this month."
"oh?"
Mouri Kogoro took out the letter and looked at it. There were only four lines in it:
Twenty-five million has been paid, and next, I will take what I deserve.
——Taro Tanaka
The name "Tanaka Taro", like Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Xiaoming, is so common that people think it is a fake name at first glance.
Mouri Kogoro automatically ignored the signature and thought about the previous message: "Do you have any items worth twenty-five million? Judging from the meaning of this letter, you want to buy and sell by force."
"How can I have something so expensive...!" Ogawa Masayuki suddenly remembered something, and his expression changed slightly:
"There is a painting left by my grandfather hanging in my office. Although I didn't ask anyone to estimate the price, a colleague who knows painting told me that it is worth at least 20 million!"
The two detectives, one big and one small, said "Oh!" at the same time.
Mouri Kogoro twirled his mustache and said firmly: "Someone must want to buy your painting, but they are afraid that you will not agree, so they came up with this crooked idea of giving you gifts and money first, and then taking the painting away directly!
"
Conan felt something was wrong. He wanted to please others, so why did he give him some old and outdated toys?
He couldn't think of the reason for the moment, so he touched his chin, suddenly wanting to hear what the neighbor who had been silent all the time had to say. However, when he turned around and looked at him, he realized that the person had gone to nowhere.
…Does he find this case boring and doesn’t want to hear about it, or does he already have an idea and is eager to verify it?
I don’t even have a clue yet, but this neighbor has actually entered the practical stage...
Conan had an inexplicable sense of urgency as he peeked at his deskmate after finishing the multiple-choice questions, only to find that he had almost finished the second big question.
But rushing can't solve the problem, he can still only reason step by step.
Since the target of the anonymous person may be Ogawa Masauki's painting, the next step is of course to go to the hospital and look for the suspicious person.
The group quickly got into Ogawa Masauki's car and set off.
When he stopped at a traffic light intersection, Conan, who was leaning against the window, was startled and sat up straight.
He pressed his face against the window and looked carefully at a bus in the next lane.
Mouri Kogoro and Ogawa Masayuki in the front seat did not notice anything unusual about him. Only Maori Lan looked at him strangely, lay down next to him, and looked out in confusion: "What's the matter?"
At this moment, the green light for turning right in front of them turned on. They were still parked on the straight road, but the group of cars next to them had already started to move away.
The bus quickly disappeared from sight. Conan slowly leaned back on his seat and shook his head with a complicated mood: "It's okay."
As a detective who pays attention to details, he knows all the stops in Tokyo, let alone just one bus route in Mihua City.
Therefore, he also knew that the bus just now would make a small circle around the city center and stop near Mihua General Hospital.
It is normal for the bus to stop at the hospital.
But what's unusual is that the neighbor downstairs seems to be sitting in that car?
...Even they only found out where Ogawa Masauki worked after getting on the bus. Shiraishi left so early, so there was no reason to know in advance.
Or did I accidentally miss some details?
Ogawa Masayuki was waiting at the red light when suddenly his back felt hairy.
He felt a thump in his heart and quickly turned around to look around, but found nothing. Only the child behind him looked at him innocently.
Ogawa Masayuki gave him a friendly smile, suppressing the panic in his heart. I think it must be because he has been under too much psychological pressure these days...
Not long after, the green light came on, Ogawa Masayuki calmed down, shifted gears and stepped on the accelerator, and continued on the road.
————
Mihua General Hospital Station.
Shiraishi threw coins into the coin slot, went down to the platform amid a series of jingling sounds in the background, and looked around.
Compared with the places he had been to before, this place was obviously much more prosperous. The high-rise buildings were quite large and had the appearance of a busy city.
He went to the convenience store to buy some snacks as planned and asked the clerk about the location of the kindergarten.
Walking straight along the street, passing through a park, the back door of the kindergarten appeared in front of Shiraishi.
Through the gap between the sky blue fence, you can see a group of children playing with toys in the yard, accompanied by their teacher.
Baishi looked at it for a while, then walked along the courtyard wall towards the kindergarten gate.
Although the path here is narrow, pedestrians often pass by.
Shiraishi was not sure for a moment which one was Ogino's father, but fortunately, he also brought a little kid next to him who was specifically looking for his father.
Just after turning the corner, Ogino Tomoya's eyes suddenly lit up and he ran towards a bench diagonally in front of him: "Dad!"
Sure enough, all the naughty kids have given up, but fortunately this one is special...
Shiraishi still maintained a leisurely pace and did not stop him.
And after Ogino Satoshi rushed out two or three meters, he seemed to be stopped by an invisible wall. His two short legs kicked the ground in vain, but he couldn't run far.
The child was confused for a while and finally figured out the problem.
He walked back pitifully and looked at Bai Shi: "Can we go find my dad?"
Shiraishi was very sympathetic and then rejected him: "No."
At this time, we were still more than ten meters away from the bench.
Shiraishi walked calmly through the cries that only he could hear, the demonic sound filling his brain. During this period, like every pedestrian who was bored and not in a hurry, he casually glanced at the man on the bench.
After walking another ten meters, Shiraishi turned a corner and came to the side where the kindergarten gate is.
There was no need to look back to confirm, he had firmly remembered the appearance of Ogino's father.
——It was a man wearing a brown suit, a wide-brimmed hat, and a square face.
If his beer belly hadn't been one size smaller, Shiraishi would have almost thought that the Megure Police Department was fishing during working hours.
The man had been sitting on the chair with a relatively calm demeanor. There was a hard paper bag at his feet. There was something bulging in the bag, and he didn't know what it contained.
Judging from Ogino Tomoya's previous words, we can only guess that there is at least one deadly sharp knife inside.