Chapters 3511 & 3523 [Ai Haibara: Enatsu Miyoshi] Requesting monthly votes (づど)
"Oh, sorry." The middle-aged man responded sheepishly, opened the passenger door, and climbed out from the other side. "I'm really not good at driving, but I'm quite good at fixing cars."
Officer Sato looked at the middle-aged man, who had an ordinary, even somewhat ugly, appearance: "And what's wrong with you?"
Middle-aged man: "My name is Naokazu Fukuchi. I work at a car repair shop. Although our shop is closed today, this car still hasn't been fixed, so I stayed at the shop and have been working overtime until now."
Officer Sato glanced at his notebook: "But my colleague said that when he saw you, you were driving around the shopping street."
"It's not just a casual stroll, it's a test drive." The middle-aged man shook his head. "To make sure it's fixed and won't be sent back to the factory, we definitely have to test drive it before handing it over to the customer."
"Okay." Officer Sato noted his situation and then looked at the last car. "And you?"
The driver got out of the car. Unlike the blond and curly-haired men in front, he had a completely bald head with a receding hairline.
Mediterranean pushed up his glasses: "My name is Toshiaki Izukawa, and I run a lock shop in 1-chome... I never imagined that someone who sells locks and keys every day would lose the original key to his own car."
Officer Sato looked at his car: "Your car is different from the other two—their cars were covered in mud and rainwater, how come yours is so clean?"
Being tidy is a good thing, but in a case like this, it becomes highly suspicious. Upon seeing the suspect driving a clean car, Sato Miwako's first reaction wasn't, "This person is so tidy," but rather, "Has there been blood on the car?"
Mediterranean seemed oblivious to her implied meaning and chuckled, "Whenever I go out, I always make sure to wash the car thoroughly—this car is my lifeline, and I won't let it appear on the street looking grimy like those people who don't take care of their vehicles."
The blond-haired man's eyes twitched: "Who are you picking? So what if you're covered in dust? Cars are meant to be driven! They're not collectibles."
"Alright, alright," Officer Sato interrupted the minor argument, then asked the balding man, "Where were you at 4 PM this afternoon?"
Mediterranean: "I received a call from a client who said she had lost her house keys, so I took the locks and went to find her. But she wasn't very good at describing the location, and I couldn't understand where her house was, so I just kept driving around in that area."
"Before we could find it, she called again, saying she remembered she had a spare key at her boyfriend's place..."
The suspects were describing the situation to Officer Sato.
Nearby, Jiang Xia leaned against another car, sending messages while listening to the three suspects' conversation in a half-hearted manner.
When the third person spoke, he seemed to remember something and asked through the crack in the car window, "So, do you know who the murderer is?"
"!" Ayumi Yoshida jolted, feeling a sense of unease, like being called on by the teacher for daydreaming in class. She whispered, "Not, not yet..."
These three people are so similar in height and build, their voices are so alike, and even their eyes seem to be cut from the same mold...
The only difference was in their clothes and hairstyles, but these were hidden inside the raincoat, so she hadn't seen them at all.
Beside her, Ai Haibara turned to look at her, not surprised by the situation.
She planned to comfort her dejected classmate and remind her to be more careful in similar situations in the future. But before she could speak, Ayumi Yoshida's eyes hardened again:
"I couldn't see the details through the car window, but if I went over and looked at it face to face, I should be able to find the murderer!"
"?" Ai Haibara paused, "What if they still can't find him? — The criminal is released without charge, but he remembers your face. After he leaves, he might take revenge on you, and even involve your relatives and friends..."
"Haibara!" Conan glanced at Jiang Xia outside the window, feeling rather guilty: he knew that Ai Haibara's words were all heartfelt words based on "Sherry's" experiences... but what if he said too much and Jiang Xia heard him and became suspicious?
The more he learned about the Black Organization, the more dangers he faced, and he only hoped to involve as few people as possible.
Ai Haibara gave him a strange look, then silently looked away.
After a pause, she didn't continue, but looked at Ayumi Yoshida: "In short, I understand your desire to bring the criminals to justice, but you need to learn to be patient and discreet—this is not only for your own safety, but also to protect your friends."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ai Haibara thought of herself once again.
The FBI had just introduced a witness protection program when she encountered such a case... it was as if fate was pointing the way for her.
"It seems I should accept that plan too, to protect myself and those around me by staying away from the organization." Ai Haibara imagined that future, thinking she would feel at ease, but her brows furrowed involuntarily. "But..."
But if she really becomes a protected witness, then she will never be able to return here and will no longer be able to interfere in anything.
She still has many things she hasn't finished, and what if... what if sometimes, in some things, it really is just a matter of her contributing a little bit of effort?
Ai Haibara felt as if she were standing on the lever of a balance scale, with heavy weights on both sides. She swayed in the middle, feeling as if she should go to either side, yet also as if she couldn't go to either side.
If only she could ask someone else this difficult choice, but she had asked Jiang Xia several times in her spare time, and Jiang Xia seemed to genuinely think that whatever she chose was fine.
“Jiang Xia must be well aware of Shirley’s importance to the organization, yet he still gave me so much freedom.”
Ai Haibara's feelings were extremely complicated: "For this choice, how much sacrifice did he make behind my back? And I actually thought Jiang Xia was that terrifying cadre before..."
No, this should not be done.
Jiang Xia is undoubtedly a good person, although for some reason, the aura of the organization emanating from him seems stronger than before, but...
While her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, she heard Ayumi Yoshida's voice from beside her.
The little girl seemed to completely disagree with what she had just said and was now trying to refute it:
"Ai, what you just described is only the worst-case scenario. You should think of it this way—if I identify him up close and Officer Sato successfully catches the thug, then no one will be stabbed by him anymore!"
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