"Yes, I—" Before the man could finish speaking, another man walked over in front of Kurosawa Hoshino and the others, interrupting him.
"Attorney Kisaki, long time no see."
Will I encounter another case today? Kurosawa silently complained in his heart. Nothing in the world of Detective Conan was a coincidence. Strangers appearing one after another meant there would be another case today. Or perhaps it was foreshadowing for the next case.
"It's you, Mr. Sawaki. Long time no see." Eri glanced at the man opposite her and greeted him with a smile.
After speaking, she looked at the man from before and said in a warning tone, "Murakami Joe, it's been ten years since we last met. You've finally been released from prison. I hope you'll start living a good life now and not do anything foolish again."
"Mrs. Mouri, you misunderstand." A hint of tension appeared on Murakami's haggard face. "Actually, I was doing very well in there. I've re-examined myself. I'm very grateful to Mr. Mouri for catching me and sending me to prison—giving me a chance to reform. Otherwise, in a few years, I might have ended up like my friends, all of them dying 'accidentally.'"
Sawaki Kohei maintained a faint smile, but when he heard these words, his eyes flickered slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
Murakami Joe? Sawaki Kohei? Another movie. Kurosawa thought, looking at Sawaki. This guy was a bit crazy in the movie—completely disregarding the lives of innocent bystanders for the sake of those he wanted to kill. Now that I've interfered, will he still act like he did in the original story?
"What did you say?" Murakami's words startled Eri. "Those accomplices who laundered money with you back then all died unexpectedly?"
"Yes, yes." Murakami's eyes were filled with fear, and his body trembled slightly. "The police told me this while I was in prison. So I'm very grateful to Mr. Mouri. If he hadn't caught me, I might have died unexpectedly too."
Eri's expression returned to normal. "I don't want to hear about your affairs. Now that you're out of prison, live a good life—or stay away from Tokyo. After all, you don't know if those people will target you again."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. I was just about to go to the Mouri Detective Agency to thank Mr. Mouri, but I didn't expect to run into you here. Mrs. Mouri, please tell Mr. Mouri for me that I thank him. I'll be going now." Murakami tightened his coat, looked suspiciously at the crowd of people coming and going, and strode away.
"Attorney Kisaki, I also have to take care of something." After saying that, Sawaki naturally walked in the direction Murakami had just left.
"Mom, who is this Mr. Murakami? I feel like—" Ran hadn't finished speaking when she let out a scream. She clutched her head and fell to the side.
Kurosawa was startled and quickly caught her.
"Ran!" Eri exclaimed in surprise. "Ran, are you alright? What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"
Sonoko quickly took out her phone. "I'll call an ambulance right away."
"No~ no need~" Ran leaned against Kurosawa, her face showing a trace of pain. "Sonoko, I'm fine. I just remembered some things from when I was little."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's find a place to sit down," Kurosawa said.
Thinking about the plot of the movie, he felt that Ran must have remembered the scene from ten years ago when Kogorō had shot and injured Eri. Ran couldn't remember that incident—probably because witnessing her father shoot her mother was a strong traumatic experience, extremely painful for her. Unable to bear the pain, her brain had automatically activated its self-protection mechanism, selectively forgetting the memory to avoid reliving the fear and pain. Now that she was older, Murakami's appearance was like a keyword, bringing all the memories to the surface and allowing Ran to recall them perfectly.
By the roadside. Inside a black car.
"Damn it." Masuyama Kenzo frowned as he watched Murakami leave Kurosawa's side.
"What's wrong?" The voice came from the passenger seat. It belonged to a somewhat muscular foreign man with short blond hair and a somewhat fierce appearance.
"Ireland, you didn't come to Tokyo before, so you don't know, but recently a very popular high school detective has emerged."
"The high school boy from that group just now?"
"Yes." Kenzo said calmly, "Although I don't like this kid, I have to admit he's quite good at deduction. If you kill Murakami, and the police know he met Kurosawa Hoshino before, they'll definitely ask him to help investigate. At that time, it might lead back to you—exposing your identity."
Ireland chuckled lightly. "I know what a detective is—provided he can find the body. Leave it to me. I'll take his body with me. It will only make people think he left Tokyo, not that he was murdered."
Kenzo sighed. "It's all my fault for being too reckless in silencing him, letting the police protect Murakami. Otherwise, even if he was in a regular prison, I could still send someone to kill him."
Ireland shook his head helplessly. He knew very well that Kenzo—whom he treated like a foster father—was just bragging. Because none of Kenzo's men were capable of carrying out a murder mission in prison and then willingly committing suicide. He had embezzled money from the organization and hired Murakami's gang to launder it. He couldn't possibly have asked the organization to send people to silence him. So he didn't have any truly loyal followers—only people who would do things for money, and these were often the most unreliable.
"I'm leaving." Ireland put on his hat and mask, got out of the car, and quickly chased after Murakami.
Not long after, he caught up with Murakami and also saw Sawaki, who seemed to be inviting Murakami somewhere. Murakami agreed. To avoid complications, Ireland silently followed, watching the two enter an apartment building.
Ireland didn't go in but hid in an alley outside. He hid until nightfall, when the surrounding streets were deserted. Just as he was about to enter the apartment under the cover of darkness, the apartment building door opened. A man—also wearing a hat and mask, carrying a shovel and a long object wrapped in a blanket—stealthily approached the small park next to the apartment.
Ireland raised an eyebrow, feeling this figure resembled the man who had invited Murakami. He decided to quietly follow him.
Upon arriving in the park, he found the man digging a hole, the blanket spread on the ground. In the moonlight, Ireland could clearly see that inside the scattered blanket was a person—his target, Murakami Joe.
Interesting. Ireland's eyes narrowed, and he continued to observe secretly.
Sawaki buried Murakami's body. Then, instead of returning to the apartment, he headed toward 5-chome. Thus, without Sawaki's knowledge, he led Ireland to the vicinity of the Mouri Detective Agency.