Chapter 3572, Page 3584: [Have you ever heard of a stage?]
James sighed with a worried expression, then used his amiable demeanor to look kindly at the high school students in front of him:
"We're not entirely sure of the perpetrator's motive for taking your photos. My initial guess is that he might hold a grudge against Judy and, having discovered her close relationship with you, wanted to use you as a way to retaliate against the FBI agents who had caused him so much trouble."
"The reason I didn't say anything earlier was because that person had already successfully kidnapped Judy, so they probably wouldn't hold a grudge against you anymore. Therefore, I felt there was no need to bring up these things and cause you unnecessary trouble."
"But now that you've discovered the photos, there's no need to hide them anymore. Telling you this will only make you more vigilant and prevent you from encountering danger like Miss Mori."
At this point, James said seriously, "I'll give you an email address. If you see anyone suspicious around you, you can email me immediately. Although Judy and I are about to return to the United States, I can contact some people I know to help you investigate and handle the situation."
"Is that so?" Ran Mouri paused, pondered for a moment, and felt that this explanation was much more reasonable than Ms. Judy's earlier explanation of "liking to put up photos of friends at home".
Moreover, Ms. Judy's overly complicated and complex expression just now seemed to barely match this line of reasoning.
Thinking of this, Ran Mouri's suspicions lessened slightly. She took the business card James handed her and saved the email address on it.
Judy finally came to her senses and added, "If you encounter a suspicious person, be sure to tell us first, instead of acting on your own—that person is difficult to deal with, and you must not alert them!"
Sonoko Suzuki nodded in agreement: "He is indeed very difficult to deal with. Even a trained FBI agent like you was kidnapped by him. If that person wanted to deal with us, it would probably be even easier."
Judy's eyes twitched as she recalled this painful memory, and she couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Indeed, to be kidnapped by criminals instead, I, an FBI agent, am a complete failure."
Jiang Xia lowered his head and looked at the foreign teacher on the hospital bed, who was once again emanating a murderous aura reminiscent of French fries because of recalling Vermouth. He nodded slightly in satisfaction: "..." Don't underestimate yourself. It doesn't matter if your career fails. At least your murderous aura is quite successful, teacher. It would be even better if you could emanate it not only towards Vermouth but also towards others.
After James finished speaking, he quietly observed the expressions of several high school students.
Having said most of what needed to be explained, and fearing that further delay might lead to Judy saying something that would make his heart skip a beat, James didn't hesitate any longer and politely began:
"Because of that kidnapping, Judy's health is now very weak..."
Seeing his gaze, Judy remembered what they had agreed on earlier and obediently leaned back on the hospital bed, weakly saying, "I have a bit of a headache, you can go back now—thank you for visiting today, if there's a chance..."
She had intended to make a polite suggestion, saying they could go out together sometime. But the moment those words left her mouth, a flood of unpleasant memories of traveling together washed over Judy.
"..." After a moment of silence, Judy pretended to have fallen asleep halfway through her sentence and flopped back onto the bed.
James quickly took over, opening the door and saying, "Let's go, I'll take you downstairs."
The three high school students nodded and followed him out.
Meanwhile, Conan, who had a very low profile, lagged behind them, walking slower and slower... then quietly stopped and darted back to the ward.
...
Hearing the door open, Judy assumed James had returned, so she stretched and sat up: "They're gone?"
Turning around, I saw no James at the door, only a first-grade student wearing glasses.
Judy: "..."
Judy: "!!!"
Without thinking too much, she remained in the stretching position and slumped back onto the hospital bed, trying to pretend that she had just been sleepwalking.
"Ms. Jodie." Conan walked over, his eyes twitching slightly. "It might not be the best way to put it, but I have a feeling that your mental state seems to have deteriorated a lot compared to before... Are you alright?"
Judy hesitated between pretending to be asleep and answering, then, thickening her skin, she closed her eyes and didn't move.
Conan sighed as he watched the terrible feigning-sleep technique, and began to have some doubts about this group of allies who were working together to fight the Black Organization.
But never mind, it doesn't matter if I don't have the ability, as long as I have the intelligence.
He walked to the bedside, ignoring Judy's terrible feigning sleep, and asked bluntly, "Have you ever heard of a stage?"
With a loud clang.
Judy jumped out of bed, staring at him in utter shock.
Conan was startled and took two steps back. Then he looked at the foreign teacher who had suddenly come back to life, seemingly lost in thought.
"When I asked Mr. Okiya this question last time, he looked like he'd been struck by lightning. This time, when I asked Ms. Jodie this question, she reacted just as strongly... Could it be that in some circle I don't know about, that terrifying executive who delivered passports to me and Haibara is quite famous?"
The thought flashed through his mind, and Conan became even more excited. He leaned closer, clinging to the edge of the hospital bed, and asked, "How much do you know about that person? What's his code name? What has he done?"
Judy stiffly lowered her head, looking at the little guy clinging to the edge of the bed like a ghost.
...It's so incongruous for a first-grade elementary school student to talk about Uzo.
"But is this guy really just an ordinary first-grade elementary school student?" Judy's mind raced, recalling countless past interactions. Looking at Conan's reflective glasses, an FBI agent's thoughts raced, her heart rate soaring.
"Is this a test from Uzo? He wants to know how much the FBI knows about him?"
"But, but there's no point in testing him, is there? How much do we know about him? Does he really not know? If he really didn't know, he wouldn't be hanging around Shuichi every now and then, and then rip us off."
"But if he wasn't sent by Uzo, why would Conan know so much? Could it be..."
Judy frowned as she looked at Conan, then remembered something: "You...you wouldn't have been shrunk like that child, would you?"
Conan: "..."
Tsk, I thought Ms. Judy seemed a bit dull today, and I was hoping to sneak some information out of James, but now... how come I'm the one who got the information out of her?
It wouldn't be a problem to admit this to the FBI, since the FBI already knows about the organization, and there's no need to worry about them being silenced for hearing too much from us. But…
Recalling Judy's condition earlier, Conan couldn't help but feel a deep sense of suspicion.
Is it really safe to tell the FBI about this?
—Will they really not leak secrets?
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