Chapter 67 Perilous Situation
"Please take a look, everyone."
Everyone looked in the direction the feather fan was pointing and couldn't help but gasp.
A card was attached to the bottom of the lifting platform, which read:
I have accepted the gem.
Just like when Pisco was murdered, the image and text of Phantom Thief Kid are blood red.
Blood analysis confirmed that the previous message in blood was written with Pisk's blood. However, not a single needle mark could be found on the body, which was the most perplexing aspect for the police.
This blood must also be from the dead.
After examining the body, Mori deduced, "The body is still warm. I think the perpetrator tied the deceased to the roof and covered his mouth. When the elevator descended, the deceased came down with it and was strangled by the rope on the pulley."
"In that case, wouldn't Kidd have already run away?" Nakamori was extremely frustrated.
"All guests entering and leaving the 12th floor today underwent strict checks, and no one was found carrying any gems. If someone were to commit a crime, they would have likely gone from the rooftop, right? Didn't the helicopters outside detect anything unusual?" Gao Ming asked.
Nakamori confirmed with the pilot that there was nothing unusual outside and that a blizzard had started, making it impossible for Kidd to escape in such bad weather using a hang glider.
"Strange, could it be that Kidd is still mixed in with the crowd? Who was the last person Master Tushi saw today?"
Mr. Suzuki replied, "I think it must be Miss Nishimoto. They examined the Black Swan Heart together this afternoon, and I was there too."
However, the police could not find Nishimoto Hoshino. According to the receptionist, Ms. Nishimoto suddenly felt unwell in the afternoon and went to the hospital.
“That woman is suspicious…” Nakamori frowned in thought. “Could it be Kid in disguise?”
"When Mr. Suzuki was inspecting the gems this afternoon, did Miss Nishimoto mention feeling unwell?" Amuro asked.
"Yes, she started having stomach problems in the morning and wanted to go to the hospital. But Master Tu wouldn't let her go, insisting on finishing her work first. In the afternoon, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I let her go to the hospital."
"So, it's very likely that Kidd wanted to frame Miss Nishimoto?"
"Huh?"
Suddenly realizing what was happening, Mori blurted out, "I totally understand! Actually, Miss Nishimoto secretly went to the hospital this morning because of unbearable stomach pain, which gave Kid the opportunity. Miss Nishimoto this afternoon was an imposter!"
“Mori-senpai and I were thinking the same thing,” Amuro replied. “So, Kid, disguised as Ms. Nishimoto, easily took the jewel out and set up the crime scene at that time. The evidence is that no one has seen Mr. Hajime since then.”
"As expected of my eldest disciple, great minds think alike!"
As Nakamori watched Mori and Amuro working together, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: Why is the sleeping Kogoro so awake today?
"So let's evacuate this place right away! Everyone, follow me to chase after Kid!"
"No, Inspector Nakamori, I think Kid is still here," Mr. Suzuki insisted. "Don't you think Kid is acting very strangely this time? He hasn't even shown his face yet! You know, that thief loves to put on airs!"
"Hmm, what you said makes sense... but where might Kid be hiding?"
"No matter what, let's get the body out of here first! The guests have all been quite frightened," Gao Ming suggested.
However, when everyone went to carry the body, they discovered that the inner wall of the top of the elevator platform was covered with a ring of bombs.
"Kid did this too?! Did he want to blow us up?" Nakamori was shocked.
After observing carefully, Amuro calmly said, "Everyone, there's no need to panic. The explosives aren't very powerful and won't cause any damage to the building itself."
"Then we'll have to call the 'virginity-exploding class' to handle it!"
“Officer Nakamori, I just saw two bomb disposal experts I know downstairs. Should I go and ask them to come up?” Gao Ming said.
"Oh, what a coincidence? That's great!"
However, it was no coincidence that Hagiwara and Matsuda were here.
Their arrival on the 12th floor meant only one thing: Plan A had failed.
In fact, the moment Amuro saw the corpse of the magistrate, he foresaw the course of events.
Although Plan A was scrapped, the script itself is still worth mentioning as the first action plan devised by Conan and the Public Security Bureau and on which they placed high hopes.
In short, the double deception is the core of Plan A: the Public Security Bureau needs to convince the organization that Sherry is dead, and also give the FBI a false promise to hand Sherry over to them, while at the same time ensuring that Akai cannot take Sherry away.
To solve these two major problems, Conan came up with an idea: two fake Sherrys.
Sherry inside the ball was used as bait by the FBI to lure Gin into a trap. The one outside was used by the organization to mislead Akai.
Throughout the entire process, there were no public security officers or police; it was simply a confrontation between the FBI and the organization, or to put it more bluntly, a confrontation between Akai and Gin.
This was a perfect plan for Bourbon, who was implicated in the Pixar incident, as it minimized the risk of exposure.
In other words, of the six forces, only the organization and the FBI are out in the open. Bourbon belongs to the former, and he wants both sides in tonight's contest to believe that Bourbon is a loyal intelligence gatherer.
Therefore, inviting Shirley to dance earlier was all for show.
As for the truth of the matter?
Of course, it was the Public Security Bureau, hidden in the shadows, who teamed up with Conan to plan all of this; they deceived both the enemy and their comrades.
Kagemitsu tells Akai that while Kid is stealing the jewels in the dark, Sherry will come up from the elevator platform, and the FBI needs to send someone to meet her.
Bourbon, on the other hand, convinced the organization that the FBI's plan was for Sherry to ride on an elevator to the rooftop, while Akai escaped in a helicopter, and incidentally, take care of Gin.
So how exactly did Sherry escape?
This problem wasn't resolved in the original script; instead, it was solved with the organization's help: after learning of Akai's plan, the organization intended to plant a bomb on the elevator to kill Sherry. To kill Akai, they used another person to impersonate Sherry, and this organization member was considered a trophy "given" to Akai by Kagemitsu. As for who this person actually was, it's still unclear.
It is currently known that Cohen and Calvados are on the rooftop, the identity of the person impersonating Sherry is unknown, and the others are likely at the ball. However, Bourbon doesn't know who they are impersonating; he's not even sure which one Kid is.
To ensure Sherry's safety, Conan suggested installing a mechanism on the elevator platform with an opening. Instead of going up, Sherry could jump through the gap to escape when the platform rises. If the organization found out later, they could blame it on Kid.
"By shifting all the blame onto Akai and Kid, making the organization believe that they came up with the rooftop fake Sherry scheme, everything will seem natural, and that will ensure Bourbon's safety."
This is the guiding principle of screenwriting.
Jingguang's assessment of Conan's Plan A was: "When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman reaps the benefits."
However, this seemingly attractive plan was initially rejected because it was too risky!
Not to mention that neither the organization nor the FBI are fools and would be easily fooled, Kidd's reliability is also highly questionable.
However, Conan was unusually persistent, and the preliminary preparations for the plan went smoothly, ultimately making it the preferred option.
However, the death of the Tushi marked the failure of Plan A.
Not only was the elevator unusable, but Akai's failure to wait on the rooftop ruined the entire plan.
This bomb was prepared for Sherry to fake her death; if the plan fails, we'll have to ask Hagiwara and Matsuda to detonate it.
"Who sabotaged this plan?"
It couldn't be the FBI, so it must be an organization.
The reason is quite easy to guess: the organization essentially orchestrated this rooftop fake Sherry scene to eliminate Shuichi Akai. However, Hajime's death indicates that this plan is no longer in use.
Therefore, it can be naturally deduced that: "Akai and Gin clashed earlier, so there is no longer a need for such a trap."
Thus, the savior, who had long coveted the Black Swan, could be dealt with conveniently, and could even add another entry to the cursed list of this legendary gem.
"But the question is, why didn't Akai say anything?!"
Amuro frowned. He naively thought that the starting gun would fire when the music started, unaware that the competition had already begun long before the ball.
Gao Ming went downstairs to invite Hagiwara and Matsuda, but unexpectedly ran into Kansuke first, who recognized Kongming at a glance.
"Zhufu, something's happened!" Gansuke's voice was somewhat panicked.
"how?"
Gan Zhu pulled Gao Ming aside and said in a low voice, "All four of them are dead."
Gao Ming was horrified; he knew what the other party was talking about: the four suspects from the Woodpecker Society.
"when?"
"This afternoon. Originally, since they had been detained for a month without any decisive evidence, the higher-ups decided to let them go home, suspend them from their duties and reflect on their actions, and send people to stake out their location. But when they were released this morning, before they even had dinner, they were all gone."
Have they found the murderer?
"There was nothing there. It was only because one of the police officers who was staking out the house for dinner left the stove on that they realized something was wrong. The autopsy report hasn't come out yet, but I wanted to let you know first."
Gao Ming nodded solemnly.
"By the way, how are things on your end?" Gansuke looked at his outfit with slight surprise.
"Also, there are some bombs that need to be dealt with."
Just then, Hagiwara and Matsuda walked over, but because Matsuda's leg injury had not fully recovered, he walked a little slower and fell behind.
As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and Matsuda's recovery time was around 90 days. However, he didn't want the cane that was too cumbersome, so he replaced it with a lighter one like Kansuke's, and with his signature glasses, Kansuke couldn't help but think that Matsuda was blind.
Seeing Matsuda approaching, Ganju hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sir, it's too dangerous here. You'd better not wander around. Let me take you to safety!"
Matsuda looked completely bewildered: "Huh? What did you say?"
Hagiwara was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight.
Seeing the two looking completely bewildered, Gao Ming lightly waved his feather fan and said, "Don't judge a book by its cover. This is a bomb disposal expert I invited."
Suddenly, Inspector Nakamori's voice came from outside the window: "Kid, you can't escape! Surrender now!"
The people at the ball were all surprised and turned to look at him. Nakamori, exasperated, shouted, "Team 2, come with me! That thief is hiding on the roof!"
Amuro stood by, smiling without saying a word. He knew immediately that this was Kagemitsu's masterpiece.
In reality, Jing Guang hacked into the helicopter's communication system and played a pre-prepared recording through a loudspeaker, luring the police up to deal with the organization members on the rooftop.
Kagemitsu also shared some good news: Akai has finally shown up.
Just as everyone was eagerly awaiting news from Inspector Nakamori, an unexpected incident occurred at the ball: another Ayako appeared!
Unlike the catwoman at the ball, the newcomer Ayako wore a headscarf, her clothes were torn, and bloodstains were visible on her elbows. She cried out in a hoarse voice, "Yuzo, I... I just encountered..."
The vampire baron was horrified and rushed to comfort his sobbing fiancée.
"What's going on? Could it be... could it be that she is..."
“That’s impossible! Kidd is on the roof, and look closely at this woman’s face and listen to her voice! It’s obviously fake!” Catwoman argued vehemently, firmly denying that she was Kidd.
"Nonsense! You are Kid! I felt something was off earlier. Why was Ayako wearing clothes and shoes like that? Why wouldn't she dance with me? Because you're the fake one! You slapped my fiancée's face until it was swollen, and you still have the nerve to say such things? It's absolutely despicable!"
Amuro, who had been silently watching the show, had already guessed the truth and sighed: Dealing with mystics is really troublesome!
The vampire baron grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and strode toward the catwoman, yelling furiously, "You bastard! I'll make you pay!"
The words had barely left his mouth, and before the bottle could even hit its target, the light went out again…
—The other side of the hotel.
There was a knock on the bedroom door. When Ai opened it, she found an envelope of unknown origin slipped under the door.
Upon opening it, my whole body trembled slightly.
"Ai, what's wrong? Who was knocking on the door just now?" the professor asked.
"Nobody's here, you must have misheard."
"Huh?"
Before the doctor could ask any more questions, an anesthetic needle was shot into the old man, who slumped into his chair and fell asleep.
The little girl with tea-colored hair looked at the professor, then at the fast-sleeping Uncle Mori, and gave a sorrowful smile, saying in her heart, "Thank you all for taking care of me."
"Sister, it seems I can't escape after all."
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