Chapter 3439 3451 [Suzuki Family Ransom]
At that time, in order to have fun, Suzuki Sonoko paid close attention to everyone passing by, trying to find the owner of the lost mobile phone, "Sonoko", who had the same name as her, and the man who was suspected of wanting to ask "Sonoko" out to confess his love. Although she ruled out the two people at the next table after just one glance, she did still have some impression of them.
Officer Sato asked her for more details. After a moment, the policewoman nodded and said, "Judging from the location of the cafe and the alleyway that the witness saw, the two kidnappers are most likely the ones you saw in the cafe."
"How could this happen..." Suzuki Sonoko's eyes were filled with tears. "If I had known I wouldn't have gone to the bathroom, let alone had the sudden idea of waiting for the owner of the lost phone."
Huiyuan Ai then remembered something else. She looked up at the police officer in front of her and asked solemnly, "Who called the police on this kidnapping case?"
"Oh, that's right!" Suzuki Sonoko realized belatedly, "Ai and I didn't report it, and the passerby was the one you just found. Could it be that Xiaolan managed to escape and got the phone to call the police?"
Inspector Megure was stunned: "You didn't call the police?"
The high school girl and the mini scientist shook their heads at the same time.
Inspector Megure scratched his head. "That's strange. The call I received only said that there was a kidnapping case in the coffee shop here, and asked us to come over to investigate as soon as possible..."
So was it a passerby who was worried about getting into trouble and reported the situation anonymously, or was it someone playing a prank?
Speaking of pranks, Inspector Megure suddenly discovered a possibility: "In that case, then on the bright side, Xiaolan might not have been..."
Suddenly, with a buzz, Suzuki Sonoko's cell phone rang.
She looked down at the screen and was startled: "It's Xiaolan's phone!"
Inspector Megure's expression suddenly changed. He threw aside his previous lucky guess and immediately ordered, "Press play, and remember to record! Sato, take the positioning device... Tsk, the device is still on the way. Forget it, take it first and try to stabilize the other side!"
Suzuki Sonoko nodded nervously and pressed the answer button with gritted teeth.
With a beep, the phone was picked up and a male voice came from the phone.
The man said simply and without further ado, "Listen carefully. We've kidnapped a high school girl named Mao Lilan. If you want to rescue her, prepare a 50 million yen ransom. Then, take the money and board the Tobacco Barr Line yacht that leaves tonight at 10 o'clock. How about that? I've given you three hours to raise the money. Don't accuse me of being disloyal."
"Ah, thank you, but three hours is too long!" After hearing that Mao Lilan was indeed kidnapped, Suzuki Sonoko's mind was in a mess. She just wanted to rescue her as soon as possible. "One hour is enough. I'll give you the money. Just let Xiaolan come back!"
Inspector Megure was stunned when he heard this, and he gestured frantically: "That's not how you negotiate ransom! The more you do this, the more the kidnappers will ask for!"
"...Uh, but this Miss Suzuki seems to be the daughter of the Suzuki Group." Halfway through his gesture, he suddenly remembered something and muttered to himself:
"Plus, if there's too much money, it's going to be too heavy for the kidnappers to carry. If they're unable to move because they've received an unexpected large sum of money, wouldn't that make it easier to catch them?"
This thought flashed through his mind, and he did not try to persuade her anymore. He just gave Suzuki Sonoko an encouraging look and listened quietly.
“…”
On the other end of the line, the kidnapper was also silent for a moment, then he sneered, "It seems you're quite wealthy—I'm sorry, miss, I've changed my mind. Now I want a ransom of 100 million."
"Okay!" Suzuki Sonoko agreed. "Transaction in one hour!"
The other party was stunned: "Why is it still an hour?"
Suzuki Sonoko was bewildered: "Because...it takes so long to get there."
Anyway, it only takes time to transport the money. As for whether it is 50 million or 100 million, the difference is actually not that big.
The man on the other side understood and, remembering his purpose of diverting the police's attention and covering up the murder, he gritted his teeth and said, "I've changed my mind again. Now I want 1 billion!"
Suzuki Sonoko's expression finally changed: "One billion?"
The kidnapper felt refreshed when he heard her troubled tone: "Why, no money?"
Suzuki Sonoko murmured, "Yes, I do, but it's 1 billion yen, I can't carry it all by myself."
Kidnapper: “???”
What do you mean by "yes, yes, yes"? You're just bragging, little girl! Do you know what 1 billion yen means?
He snorted coldly, not wanting to argue any further. After all, his goal of stalling for time had finally been achieved. "That's your business, figure it out yourself. Anyway, tonight at midnight, on this yacht sailing on the Tobacco Barr route, I'll hand over the money and the hostage!"
After saying that, he hung up the phone angrily, threw the phone behind a passing truck, and drove back to the abandoned factory where the hostages were being held.
…
The tennis court, in a temporarily requisitioned lounge.
A group of police officers looked at each other in bewilderment as they watched the phone beep twice and then be hung up.
After a moment, Inspector Megure realized something: "This person's voice is exactly the same as the previous kidnapping reporter."
Sato Miwako was stunned: "In other words, the kidnapper reported the case himself?"
Inspector Megure nodded. "We still need to compare the voiceprints, but from my feeling, this should be the case."
"The kidnappers reported the case..." Suzuki Sonoko collapsed onto a stool, bewildered. "But I remember in kidnapping cases, the kidnappers never allowed the hostages' families to call the police. Why did the kidnappers do the opposite this time?"
The police could not answer this question: they were also at a loss.
Haibara Ai pulled down her hood, wrapping herself more deeply in it, and also fell into deep thought.
"Something's wrong."
This was the conclusion she instinctively came to.
——Although Sherry is just a researcher and doesn't usually have to go on missions involving fighting and killing, she has lived in an environment provided by the organization since she was a child, and has been influenced by it, so she has a certain understanding of various transactions.
“Although the organization occasionally sets up transactions at sea, that is always without the police noticing.
"But like today, putting yourself right under the police's noses, and even deliberately choosing the transaction location on the endless sea... How is this any different from walking into a trap?"
"unless……"
Unless the other party has no intention of asking for the ransom, but has other purposes!
Thinking of this, Huiyuan Ai turned to look at Suzuki Sonoko and tugged at her clothes: "Think carefully, do the two men you met in the cafe have any special purpose?"
"Special purpose?" Suzuki Sonoko racked her brains to recall, then hugged her head in despair: At that time in the cafe, she didn't pay any attention to those two ordinary-looking men!
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