Chapter 14 Flames and Shadows

Teitan Junior High School, Friday.

As the weekend approached, the students couldn't contain their excitement.

Although I'm still at school, my heart has already flown off to somewhere else!

The boys and girls each had their own topics to discuss, and they gathered in twos and threes to talk enthusiastically about their weekend plans.

However, none of these topics piqued Shinichi Kudo's interest.

Shinichi's attention was completely absorbed by a fire that had occurred the previous night.

Although the police investigation is not yet complete, preliminary conclusions have been reached:

The incident was caused by a construction worker smoking, and the perpetrator has confessed to his mistake.

At first glance, the case seemed unremarkable, but Shinichi noticed something strange in the news reports:

First, although this was an illegal building that did not meet fire safety standards, the fire, which burned for several hours, miraculously caused no casualties.

Secondly, based on fragmented information, it is known that the fire, caused by a burning cigarette butt, originated on the 7th floor, and according to the person who reported the fire, the thick smoke also came from the 7th floor. However, some reports state that multiple witnesses claimed the fire started on the 8th floor. Regarding this contradiction, different news outlets offer conflicting accounts, leaving opinions divided on whether it was the 7th or 8th floor.

"The floors are only one off, could it be a mistake due to the smoke? But why are so many people making the same mistake?"

"If the accident was caused by a smoldering cigarette butt, then the tarpaulin outside the 7th floor should have caught fire first, and then the fire should have spread to other floors..."

Shinichi muttered to himself, "Thinking back to the previous fires, something just doesn't feel right."

"Could there have been two points of origin for the fire? If so, the possibility of arson is greatly increased."

Shinichi frowned as he pondered.

“Generally speaking, arson is an excellent way to destroy evidence, as a fire can destroy a lot of evidence. However, the police did not find a body at the scene, so this possibility was ruled out.”

"Another possibility is that it was intended to cause property damage to the building owner. However, this illegal structure is about to be demolished. If the intention was to damage the building, isn't it a bit too late to set it on fire now?"

"Could it be to defraud insurance companies? Hmm... that seems more likely. Even if it's an illegal structure, it has the right to claim compensation from the insurance company. Trying to make one last quick buck before it's demolished? Wait, something doesn't quite add up. This building was just sold recently and has already changed hands! Setting it on fire right after buying it doesn't seem like the kind of thing a normal person would do, does it?"

Just as Shin-chan was puzzled, Sonoko suddenly came over: "Huh? This building is on fire?"

Shinichi asked in surprise, "Sonoko, you know this place?"

"Of course I know! My dad wanted to buy it too, but another company beat him to it."

Who is it?

"Ah, let me think..." Sonoko tilted her head and thought for a while, "It seems to be the company of that really popular game from last year, what was it called again?"

Shinichi had a bad feeling and said, "Dr. Virus? Could it be the Sakai Group?!"

"Ah, yes, yes! That's it!"

Sonoko talked on and on to Ran about how much her father had wanted to buy that building, and what twists and turns led to the failed acquisition, ultimately resulting in it being given away.

Shinichi wasn't listening at all; he was thinking about the deeper reasons behind the case.

The kidnapping case from a year ago is not over yet, and the murderer who killed Nakagawa has not been caught.

Is it really just a coincidence that such a strange fire has occurred?

Shinichi immediately decided to go find Yuuki and get some answers, but before he could even step out of the classroom, the doorbell rang.

"Damn it! Of all times, class has to start now!"

Shinichi returned to his seat dejectedly.

He was wondering how to pass the time in this boring math class when the old teacher picked up a set square and started lecturing on plane analytic geometry, a subject no one wanted to listen to.

Even the most diligent and well-behaved students cannot maintain a good learning posture during the last class on Friday afternoon.

The students around him were all drowsy, and the teacher's slow, gentle tone was like a lullaby, hypnotizing the entire class.

But Shinichi was very clear-headed, even excited.

He hid his phone underneath and quickly searched for everything related to the fire.

Unfortunately, his actions stood out among the sleepyheads, so the math teacher made an example of him.

"Kudo-kun, please answer this question."

These words, like an alarm clock, jolted everyone in the class awake.

Even the students who were sleeping the most soundly immediately woke up and looked at Shinichi with sympathy.

Shinichi quickly put the phone that caused the accident into his pocket.

He glanced at the irregularly drawn figure on the blackboard, which was crooked and lacked any geometric beauty, and said with a smile, "First, draw an auxiliary line AE. According to the problem, triangle ABC and triangle AEF are similar."

"Please wait a moment, Kudo-kun," the old teacher interrupted. "Don't skip the proof steps; explain why they are similar."

Kudo shrugged and replied, "The solution is the same as the previous problem! Look, it's still on the blackboard. This problem is just a slightly different one, plus you deliberately drew the figures crookedly, so visually the two triangles don't look alike at all... But now that we know they are similar triangles, the proof is very simple. See example 4.3 in the textbook."

This otherwise rather boring math class became much more exciting for the students because of a little incident, and everyone cast envious and admiring glances at the top student.

The teacher had no choice but to let Shinichi sit down: "You answered very well, but you still need to listen carefully in class in the future."

"Yes, teacher."

Shinichi's answer was unusually obedient.

Finally, the long-awaited school bell rang!

Shinichi, who had already packed his schoolbag, rushed out first and headed straight for the lower grade classrooms.

They bumped right into Yuuki, who had just walked out of the classroom.

Yuuki greeted Shinichi, "Kudo-senpai, it's been a long time!"

Shinichi skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Sakai, is this burning building yours?"

Yuuki couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "I knew Kudo-senpai wouldn't come looking for me for no reason. It really is about the case! But it was just an accident, right? That building was supposed to be demolished anyway."

"The situation is still unclear, so I can't jump to conclusions. But I still feel there are some questions I'd like to ask you about. Sakai, what did your father buy this building for?"

"It's for next year's celebration! Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the Sakai Group, and Dad wants to buy a new office building."

"But there are only three months left until next year. Is it too late to demolish and rebuild?"

"There's still time, the celebration is in December!"

Shin-chan nodded and jotted all this information down in his notebook, then asked, "But now that the fire has broken out, the original construction plan will definitely be delayed, right?"

Yuuki sighed and said, "Yes! That's why Dad's been very anxious lately."

"Another heart attack?"

No, not at all.

Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Sakai, quite a few people wanted this building back then. If I told you that this fire wasn't an accident but arson, can you think of any suspicious targets?"

"Huh? Suspicious... arsonist?" Yuuki frowned. "Kudo-senpai, you know I know very little about what's going on at Dad's company! He won't let me get involved in these things right now. I only heard about this building from Makoto-san after we bought it; Dad didn't even tell me."

Shinichi persisted, "Let's put company matters aside for now and just tell me if anything unusual has happened around you recently? Even if it has nothing to do with the fire, tell me!"

"Eh, this is strange..." Yuuki hesitated. "Kudo-senpai, so many things happen every day. I don't know which one you want to ask about!"

"Let's start thinking about it from today: Have any unfamiliar people appeared around us?"

"Kudo-senpai, you don't suspect that someone else is trying to kidnap me, do you?" Yuuki asked nervously.

"I don't know yet," Shinichi said wistfully. "I just feel uneasy that the case isn't over. Maybe those people are lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike!"

"I'm so grateful to you, Kudo-senpai, for all the trouble you've caused me this past year. I bet you've gone through a lot of trouble because of me."

"No, no, Sakai, you're under my close observation right now. I won't rest until I get to the bottom of this! But really, haven't you noticed anything unusual?"

Yuuki fell into deep thought and murmured, "If anything is unusual, Dad was definitely acting strangely last week."

What happened?

"Yes, two guests came to our house, and after they left, my father had a heart attack."

"Hey? Did you get a good look at what kind of guest it is?"

"A man and a woman, I didn't see what they looked like. They had just left when I came back."

"Besides that? Have you heard anything else about them from other people?"

"No, Dad was very angry, so I didn't dare to say anything..."

"How did they get there? By car or on foot?"

"They drove away, I saw it."

"What color? Do you remember the model and license plate number?"

Yuuki carefully recalled the details and said confidently, "It was a white RX-7, but I didn't notice the license plate number."

For a fleeting moment, Shinichi's brain short-circuited.

My mind was racing with all sorts of tangled threads from the past year.

Although his initial reasoning about the kidnapping was flawed, there was one thing he never doubted:

There must have been two groups involved in the kidnapping.

He initially mistook one of the parties for Yuuki himself. But now it seems that the mysterious other force has surfaced:

That's right, President Sakai has never hired any private investigators.

So who could be the blond man who came to the school to investigate a year ago and then appeared at Sakai's house last week driving a white RX-7?

"Hmph! Just you wait and see!"

"This time, I'm determined to catch you with my own hands!"