Chapter 17121720 [Death Flag]
Jiang Xia made up an excuse: "The boss is looking in the direction Mr. Takei mentioned and doesn't need help from anyone else, so I wanted to come and see where Ms. Takei might have drifted along the river. Maybe she's lucky enough to be rescued by a kind passerby and taken home. As a classmate, I have to try my best to find her."
Conan nodded in agreement, but halfway through, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer a high school student. So he added sleekly, "Jiang Xia's friends are my friends! Just like Xiaolan and Sonoko, I will try my best to find them."
Secretary Hanai sighed. She walked to the riverside, looked at the broad river surface, tears welling up in her eyes. "But it's been almost a day and there's still no trace of Naoko. Who can survive in the water for so long? She might have..."
She shook her head and didn't finish her words, but everyone could hear the meaning behind her words - Takei Naoko might be dead, so it would be better to look for the robber instead of looking for her.
Soon, Secretary Hanai seemed to have no mood to continue the conversation and said goodbye and left.
Kinoshita Yoko looked at her from behind, and when she walked away, she sighed softly, "It's not just Miss Naoko who thinks of Secretary Hanai as her sister, Secretary Hanai should also think of Miss Naoko as a relative. It's really sad to see such a sudden separation of life and death."
She suddenly thought, if it was Jiang Xia who fell into the river, whether he was alive or dead was unknown...
Yoko Kinoshita: “…” Although she was not able to watch Jiang Xia grow up like Secretary Hanai did with Takei Naoko, she watched Jiang Xia’s detective career develop little by little.
Just thinking about the scene of Jiang Xia suddenly dying, leaving behind an empty office and an unreliable detective boss, Yoko Kinoshita couldn't help but raise her hand to cover her heart, feeling sad.
But when she turned around, she saw that the unlucky person she had imagined was not affected by Secretary Hanai's emotions at all.
Jiang Xia was standing next to the guardrail, looking across the river, and so was the child at his feet.
Seeing that Kinoshita Yoko had come back to her senses from her sadness, Jiang Xia pointed to the boat on the other side of the river and said, "Let's go find the people over there and ask about the situation."
…
Across the street, there are many middle-aged men who have nothing better to do and come to the water in their boats to fish. Based on experience, these fishing enthusiasts often do not fish for just one day and then leave, but will stay near the water for a long time.
So it is possible that someone in this group was present when the kidnappers crashed into the river and noticed something that the police did not.
Jiang Xia went over to ask, and sure enough, someone talked about a situation worthy of attention.
"A suspicious person came out of the water? No, that's not the case. But if I have to say something that impressed me deeply..." The uncle snorted, a little angrily, "Actually, I don't fish here usually, but somewhere upstream. Yesterday, I heard a loud noise coming from here, so I came here specially to take a look. Who knew that there was a guy driving a speedboat on the river, who swooped past and almost knocked my boat off its bow. He was so uncultured!"
Conan was startled, feeling that the boat was very suspicious, and asked: "Where is that speedboat parked? Do you know who its owner is?"
"How would I know? It must be something from some rich family, so it dares to run rampant in the river." The uncle scratched his head. "If you want to find it, you can go up to the dock above and have a look. Speedboats are basically parked there when not in use. I remember that the speedboat that almost hit me had a piece of paint missing from the tail. It should be easy to find."
…
The three of them then went to the dock again, following the clues provided by enthusiastic passers-by, and they actually found the ship very quickly.
Kinoshita Yoko was holding the camera, feeling a little conflicted. She whispered to Jiang Xia, "This seems to be a personal property. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for us to go up directly? How about asking my assistant to contact the owner of the ship?"
Jiang Xia thought it was too troublesome, shook his head at her, and then poked Conan.
Conan: “…”
Soon, the elementary school students ran up the ladder and got on the boat.
Jiang Xia followed him and said, "The child is disobedient. I will go and bring him back."
Then the two of them climbed onto the speedboat one after the other.
Yoko Kinoshita was stunned: “…” So that’s how the child used it?
She seemed to have opened the door to a new world.
Soon, Yoko Kinoshita followed suit and chased after them - it was too dangerous for two minors to run around without permission, and she, an adult sister, had to supervise them.
…
Soon, all three of them were on the speedboat.
Fortunately, the ship owner did not come out to complain, so they could inspect at leisure.
When I looked down, I saw a set of diving equipment under the stool.
Jiang Xia picked up the diving suit casually and found that there was a trace of moisture on the folded part, as if it had been used not long ago.
He glanced at Kinoshita Yoko's camera and said, "Inspector Megure should be relieved. The kidnapper didn't fall into the water because he had nowhere to escape from the police. He had planned it in advance. He changed into a diving suit in advance, smashed the window of the vehicle after it fell into the water, and dived into the water. While everyone else's attention was on the vehicle that fell into the water, the kidnapper got into the speedboat hidden under the bridge in the blind spot around him, and then quickly left among the small boats that came to watch the fun."
Kinoshita Yoko was stunned for a moment: "Even the boat and the diving suit were ready, but he was so sure that Mr. Takei had called the police?"
Conan thought of something, his face changed, and he suddenly started rummaging through things around him.
Jiang Xia: "I just checked, there is no room for a body here. And it is very difficult to lead someone diving. When the kidnappers escaped from the car, they probably didn't take the hostages with them."
Conan stroked his chin and thought: "Where did the hostage go? I remember Mr. Takei said that he saw his daughter in the kidnapper's car."
Jiang Xia stood up and quickly followed the clues: "Let's go find the administrator and ask the owner of the speedboat first."
…
The administrator didn't provide much information. The speedboat here can be rented with money, and the name left by the kidnapper is obviously a fake name. The address and phone number are all fabricated.
After walking out of the administrator's cabin, the three were about to go back to the yacht to take a look, but Jiang Xia suddenly received a call.
"The commission has been cancelled." Takei Katsuhiko's voice came from the phone, "You detectives have nothing to do now. Send the account to my secretary and I'll ask her to transfer the commission fee to you."
Jiang Xia: "Are you not looking for the kidnappers and Miss Takei anymore?"
Takei Katsuhiko snorted coldly, his attitude was completely different from yesterday: "My daughter is already dead, why are you still looking for kidnappers! You are not allowed to interfere in this matter again, otherwise I will sue you for invasion of privacy."
After saying that, he hung up the phone forcefully.
Jiang Xia looked at his phone and the other two looked at him.
Katsuhiko Takei has a very loud voice. Kinoshita Yoko heard what happened just now and found it difficult to understand: "What on earth is he thinking about?"
Jiang Xia translated Takei Katsuhiko's words: "It seems that the kidnappers contacted him again, so he cancelled the commission and wanted to go to negotiate alone."
(End of this chapter)
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