Chapter 128 Twenty-two Cats
"It's indeed him." A look of understanding appeared on Kuaidou's face.
Facing Conan's inquiring eyes, he explained as if he had just remembered: "I was a little concerned when we separated before, so I put a little thing on the store manager."
Seeing Kaito tapping the hidden communicator in his ear, Conan kept his dead eyes and lightly kicked his heel: "Don't put eavesdropping devices on others, you thief."
"Do you really have the qualifications to teach me a lesson about something like this, Detective?" Kuai Dou responded calmly.
After the explosion, they planned to go downstairs to see what was going on. However, because the generator room was blown up, the power was out in the entire building and the elevator could not be used. If they took the stairs, they would be caught on the spot by the police who were guarding there.
Conan and Shirley had taken advantage of Kid's appearance to divert the police's attention and ran upstairs. Now the police have returned to the stairs, not only to catch Kid, but also to wait for suspicious people. They can't use the same trick again.
Kaito said that he could transform back to his original form and fly down like before, but Conan passed him by. Who knows if he would blend into the crowd and change his identity after he went down? Never let a slippery thief go alone, this is the lesson of detectives.
It was when they were discussing what to do that Kaito overheard the conversation between the store manager and the strange blond man. When asked by Conan, he did not hide anything and simply recounted what he heard.
"Although I don't know how they got the news so quickly, but since it was said by the store manager, it must be true." Kuaidou touched his chin thoughtfully, "Oh, my action really happened at an unlucky time."
"The unlucky one should be the criminal." Conan complained, holding Kaito's cloak tightly. "Don't try to fool me. I know you must have a backup candidate - about the criminal."
Before Kaito said, "It's him," he didn't look too surprised at all. I guess he has already figured out who the criminal might be.
"Well, for the sake of pretending to be your sister Xiaolan today." Kuaidou raised his left index finger. "Let me make it clear in advance that I'm just guessing. Yesterday, I came here to scout the area in advance for the operation, and I met a suspicious man in black. He was hanging around the generator room for a long time... I was going to go over and take a look, but the bodyguards arranged by the old man were too sensitive. In order not to be exposed during the scout, I just left." According to the information overheard, the man in black is definitely the most likely criminal at the moment. After all, even the thief Kid had to avoid the bodyguards when he was not in disguise, but that man was able to 'hang around for a long time' there, which is enough to show that the bodyguards knew that the other party had the power and reason to do so.
That is, the hotel staff.
"I sneaked into the banquet today and saw him talking to that old man. I don't know what they talked about, but he scolded me." Kuaidou said that he didn't mean to gossip about others. It was because he was paying attention to Suzuki Jirokichi and was forced to pay attention to the man in black. "Even if it's not him, it won't hurt to confirm it..."
Kuaidou's face froze before he could finish his words.
Conan and Shirley looked at each other and realized that something had happened to the store manager on the other side of the eavesdropping device. For a moment, both the man and the dog were a little nervous. Then they saw Kaito covering his face and mumbling something.
"The store manager found my bug." The thief who had just fallen from grace made a poker face, not showing his inner emotions. "He said that we should go find the criminal, and he and another person will dismantle the bomb."
Conan was not surprised that the store manager would find out. What he cared about was——
The black-haired detective narrowed his eyes. "Is that all you said?"
The thief appeared calm: "Yes."
But the fact is...
After Furuya and the store manager combined the information sent by Hagiwara and others to deduce the location where the criminal might have placed the bomb, the former saw the latter taking out a small machine from the pocket of his coat.
Jōtani's face changed: It's a bug!
The store manager noticed his vigilance, waved his hands and made the shape of "someone I know", then calmly knocked on the surface of the eavesdropping device to alert the other party under Fūya's gaze, and then spoke briskly and gently: "So, I'll ask you to find the criminal, and leave the bomb to us, is that ok, Mr. White Crow?"
After saying this, the store manager threw the eavesdropping device under the tablecloth of the dining cart next to him.
Fūya suddenly realized: "Kid?"
"Yes." The store manager smiled and said, "This is more secure. Let's leave it to the children."
Children? Fūya couldn't help but complain in his mind.
Not to mention that Kidd's first appearance was 18 years ago, it sounds like that thief has other children helping him, right? And, if we really compare, how can you, a store manager who has only been awake for two months, have the confidence to call other children... just because you are 27 years old?
But he was smart enough not to say anything. Instead, he followed the store manager's suggestion and separated from the other party to officially start looking for the bomb in private.
By the way, the people in the banquet hall had been gathered together and evacuated downstairs not long ago. Both of them suspected that the criminal was still hiding there, so they only told Suzuki Jirokichi and Officer Nakamori about the bomb and asked them to evacuate as soon as possible. If conditions permit, if they accidentally found the bomb, they must not act rashly and contact them to dismantle it.
The store manager claimed that he was very clever and had learned bomb disposal in Hawaii. Fūya said that a private detective had to be able to do everything, not to mention bomb disposal, he was even skilled in defusing eggs from small animals. After all, the job atmosphere in Tokyo is quite competitive, and one has to be able to do everything.
After saying this, the two of them turned away tacitly, and in their hearts they simultaneously complained about each other's excuses.
On the other hand, Kaito had previously thought that the store manager's invitation was just to "sponsor Kidd", and he never expected that the other party had also discovered his original identity. He felt a little complicated for a while, but when it came to business, he quickly adjusted his mood.
The final result of the discussion is to reverse the current situation.
"He's an adult. His appearance would arouse vigilance. He can't disguise himself as you and let the police find out, 'Oh, so Kudo Shinichi is the Phantom Thief Kid.'" Shirley said slowly, blocking Conan's rebuttal. "And you, the Suzuki family and that Maori detective will recognize you. Maybe they are still trying to figure out why Conan and Xiaolan disappeared suddenly. Are you sure you want to show up yourself?"
Conan opened his mouth and had to admit that Shirley was right.
Neither of them is suitable to appear in human form, so in the end this task can only be completed by Shirley.
A few minutes later, a brown-haired girl with a puppy in her arms and a white crow on her shoulder appeared at the stairs.
"Oh, it turns out that the prototype of the Great Detective is the Border Collie." Shirley finally got this opportunity, and she joked with a sense of schadenfreude.
Everything changes with time.
The black and white sheepdog lying on her arms raised its paws and pressed them on her eyes, letting out a pitiful howl in her throat, trying to get Shirley to sympathize with her and let her go, or at least not take pictures and show them to the store manager later!
Then he was laughed at by the white crow on his shoulder.
Conan immediately looked up and glared at Kaito, then retorted: "Why don't you explain why you carry children's clothes with you?"
Kuaidou pecked his feathers gracefully and said mysteriously, "Because I'm KID."
—
Chi Jiang Na Yue sat cross-legged in front of the cabinet, dismantling the bomb in front of her quickly and skillfully.
He had already found two bombs on this side. He conservatively estimated that the prisoner wanted to blow up the entire banquet hall, but he didn't care. The team here was too luxurious. What he should worry about was probably the safety of the prisoner.
The black-haired young man with his back to the door suddenly paused, then stopped moving as if he was sleepy and yawned.
In front of him, the time of the bomb had stopped.
"How many more are there?" the store manager muttered to himself, "Ah, I really want to sleep."
He was in a state of brief relaxation and seemed unaware of the danger approaching from behind. It was not until the sound of hunting wind reached his ears that he suddenly realized there was someone behind him.
However, it was too late. The man hit the store manager's head hard with the stick in his hand, knocking the man who had ruined his plan unconscious.
"That's the consequence of meddling in other people's business," the visitor said coldly, "you can go to hell and take a nap there!"
The visitor didn't see that the screen of the mobile phone in the manager's arms was on, and it clearly said "Calling" on it.
When Furuya hurried to the room where the store manager had last reported his location, the criminal had already escaped, and the door of the room was locked tightly, with even a broken key stuck in the keyhole, eliminating any possibility of escape.
He couldn't help but punch the door: "Damn it!"
At this time, Fūya moved his gaze downward and saw something familiar.
There is actually a cat hole on the door of this room.
Fūya fell into deep thought.
Oh no, if he wants to save the store manager, he can only change back to his original form and go in, but he doesn't know what the store manager's condition is. What if the other party is awake? He will have to explain the embarrassing question of "Why did my cat appear alone at the explosion scene?", or he will be exposed on the spot.
But at this point, is there any other way besides doing this?
The blond policeman sighed, and after a while, he disappeared in a white mist, replaced by an agile Siamese cat.
The cat crawled into the cat hole, slid around the door lock that the criminal had maliciously set up and successfully slipped into the room.