A hostage killing the robber—what a bizarre case. Murder is a criminal offense. Even if it's self-defense, it still requires a judge's ruling. That meant Ada had to appear in court, and Liu A'dou needed to find a lawyer.
Conan already knew that Liu A'dou and Ada Wong were actually husband and wife. He still didn't understand why they pretended to be just lovers, but the immediate issue was handling this case. Although the facts seemed clear—the robber's direct cause of death was Ada's punch—could an ordinary person's fist really kill? As a detective, Conan felt this needed more investigation.
The police dragged the body back for autopsy. The conclusion would come later, but for now Ada had to be held at the station.
Liu A'dou went straight to find a lawyer, naturally choosing Eri Kisaki, Mouri Kogoro's estranged wife. From what he knew, she had never lost a case.
Even on Earth-13, Eri's office was still in the same old place. A'dou left Haibara to watch Nono while he went to see the lawyer.
Eri was just about to leave work. Her secretary, Midori Kuriyama, finished tidying up and was getting ready to go home.
"Eri-sensei, there's a phone call for you." Midori was puzzled—who would call this late?
"Put it through." As a strong professional woman, Eri didn't mind taking a last-minute call before leaving.
"Hello, who is this?"
"Are you Attorney Kisaki? I need your expertise." It was Liu A'dou. "I'm already on the way to your office. I called to ask you to wait for me a little while longer—I'll be there soon."
"It's already past working hours," Eri replied. "Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?"
"Of course not. I'm already downstairs, heading up now."
"…" Eri sighed. If that was the case, she'd give him two more minutes. "Fine, sir, I'll wait for you in the office."
As soon as she hung up, there was a knock on the door. Eri frowned. 'That fast?'
Well, of course he was quick. A'dou wasn't about to let Ada spend the night at police headquarters.
She hadn't expected him to be a high schooler, and one who even went to the same school as her daughter. "I'm Kisaki Eri. How can I help you?"
"I'm Liu A'dou, a student from Teitan High. I'm here because I need you to defend someone in a self-defense killing case. But before that, I need you to bail her out of the police station," A'dou said. "I'll explain the details on the way."
A self-defense killing? Eri had handled such cases before. If it was truly self-defense, the court usually ruled not guilty. "This is my job. But you should know my fees." The undefeated queen of the legal world charged very high rates.
"I understand, I came prepared." A'dou pulled out money. "Now, will you come with me to the station?"
"Of course. But this money only covers my consultation. If I decide the case isn't suitable, I have the right to refuse defense," Eri warned.
"Naturally. Let's go."
On the way, A'dou explained what had happened. Eri thought it over. With so many eyewitnesses, it should be reliable. Still, the irony was sharp: a robber killed by his own hostage's punch.
Inspector Megure was busy chewing out Takagi, Sato, and Chiba. "You let an armed robber escape into a crowded street? This mistake is huge! Lucky no civilians were hurt, or else all three of you would be facing serious disciplinary action. Has the autopsy report come back yet?"
"Not yet," Takagi answered, "but it'll probably be ruled excessive self-defense. We all saw it—one punch from the hostage, and the robber went down."
"Yeah, and the guy had already emptied his clip. In that situation, even if the hostage killed him, shouldn't it still be fine legally?" Sato added.
Megure glared at the three of them. "The verdict is for the judge to decide. What we need to do is investigate the scene thoroughly and prove the hostage's innocence."
"Yes, sir!"
Eri Kisaki already knew Inspector Megure, so with her stepping in, bailing Ada out went smoothly. Megure also felt this whole mess was due to his subordinates' negligence, so he treated Ada politely and didn't make things difficult.
"Mom?"
"Ran?"
"Eri?" Mouri Kogoro was just as surprised—why was his estranged wife here?
"Dear?" Eri hadn't expected the whole family to show up. "Why are you all at the police station?"
"Mom, we came to pick up Conan. That kid got dragged into another case again." Turned out Conan hadn't gone home at all but followed Takagi straight to the station.
Takagi was basically Conan's inside man at the precinct. No matter the situation, Conan always leaned on him, and Takagi always agreed—his blind worship of Kogoro even extended to Conan, answering every request without fail.
"But Mom, why are you still working this late?" Ran asked.
"Yes, just work," Eri replied simply, not explaining further.
Seeing her parents bump into each other like this, Ran's mind started spinning. "Since it's such a coincidence, why don't we all have dinner together? I haven't cooked anyway. What do you say? Please?"
She phrased it like a question, but her expression was practically shouting: Say yes, say yes!
What a gathering. Liu A'dou had only come for paperwork, but now the whole Mouri family was here too. Too bad he couldn't summon Dragon Balls with this lineup.
"What a coincidence, Mouri Ran."
"Liu A'dou?" Ran jumped a little.
Kogoro narrowed his eyes, sizing the boy up. "And who's this pretty boy? He's too handsome to be trustworthy."
"Papa, he's a transfer exchange student in my class—Liu A'dou."
"Weird name," Kogoro muttered, though he quickly brushed it off. "Forget dinner, I already promised someone a mahjong game. Ran, take the brat home. If you're hungry, boil some noodles."
Still the same as ever. Eri thought to herself, When will this man ever change?
"Mom!" Ran saw her father was hopeless, so she turned her pleading eyes toward Eri instead.
"Since you're all family, why don't I treat you to dinner?" Liu A'dou cut in smoothly. "It's also to thank Attorney Kisaki for her help."
"Huh?" Ran hadn't expected her mother to be here on A'dou's behalf. "Did something happen?"
Ada, freshly bailed out and escorted back by Takagi, answered herself: "Nothing big. I just accidentally killed someone."
Kogoro and Ran froze in shock. Their teacher… killed someone?
Conan frowned. Ada's calmness was too unnatural—not how an ordinary person should act. Was there more to this? His detective's instincts kept pushing him to suspect, to dig deeper.
But Takagi explained it was a self-defense case, and there wouldn't be any legal issue. Only then did Ran breathe easier. "Teacher, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ada waved it off. She had seen her share of bloodshed and blades. "Let A'dou treat us to dinner."
Ran suddenly remembered how close Ada and A'dou seemed. Could it be… had A'dou actually managed to win over the goddess?
Since Liu A'dou was sincerely offering, no one could refuse. Ran felt secretly glad—her parents would be sharing a meal again. If her father behaved himself at the table, maybe, just maybe, her mother might soften and move back home.