"I want to know too."
"Me too."
Ran and Sonoko both spoke up, staring wide-eyed at Kurosawa Hoshino.
"Alright, I'll ask." Kurosawa actually already knew the result, because his Origin Points had increased. He picked up his phone and dialed Inspector Megure's number.
"Haa~ Hoshino-kun, good morning." Inspector Megure yawned, speaking in a tired tone.
"Inspector Megure, did Sawaki Kohei confess why he attacked me?"
"He confessed." When it came to business, Inspector Megure's tone became serious. "Hoshino-kun, you don't know—this Sawaki Kohei not only wanted to attack you, but I and Attorney Kisaki are also on his attack list."
"Mom?" Ran was shocked when she heard the voice on the speakerphone. But the thought that Sawaki had been caught brought her a sigh of relief. She also remembered what Kurosawa had told her mother yesterday, and her gaze softened.
"Ahem, Hoshino-kun, I didn't expect your sixth sense to be so accurate. Thank goodness you dealt with him, otherwise I would have been in danger." Inspector Megure sincerely thanked him, then continued, "As for why he attacked you, Hoshino-kun, it all started with his murder plan. Three months ago, due to a car accident and work stress, he temporarily lost his sense of taste. As a sommelier, Sawaki couldn't accept this loss and wanted to kill those who had caused his condition and made him feel uncomfortable. But these people had all had some contact with him. Without a perfect murder plan, he would likely be suspected after killing one or two."
"So he thought of a novel he had read—Agatha Christie's The A.B.C. Murders. In The A.B.C. Murders, the killer chooses the crime scene and victims in alphabetical order. So when Sawaki saw Attorney Kisaki and Murakami, he thought of Mouri-kun. Because Mouri-kun's name contains the character for 'five,' and the names of the people he wanted to kill could be broken down into numbers. So he decided to use Murakami to cause trouble. After all, Murakami was the one that Mouri-kun arrested. It would make more sense to pin all the clues on Murakami."
"As for why he attacked you, Hoshino-kun—" Inspector Megure paused, then said with a wry smile, "Because he felt the news reports about you were too exaggerated, yet you've never lost a case. Plus, you live close to Mouri-kun, so you'll definitely help. For his plan to proceed smoothly, he had to eliminate you—this high school detective currently solving cases quickly with a one hundred percent success rate."
Kurosawa laughed. "So he doesn't want someone like that to exist in Beika Town?"
"Haha, that's exactly what I mean." Megure laughed heartily.
Ran and Sonoko couldn't help but chuckle. Mizunashi Rena found this statement amusing and decided not to delete it from the evening news broadcast—and even use it as a headline in the next day's newspaper.
"Inspector Megure, how did he know I lived here?" Kurosawa was also quite curious about this.
"Uh, he's friends with Kogorō Mouri. When they were drinking earlier, he said Kogorō was bragging that you were his apprentice and even gave out your address."
"It's Uncle Mouri!"
"It's Dad!"
Ran and Sonoko were exasperated. They never imagined Kogorō would reveal the address while bragging.
"Inspector Megure, how is Murakami?"
"He was tricked into his apartment by Sawaki and killed. His body was buried in the nearby park."
"That's all then, Inspector Megure. Bye." Kurosawa finished speaking, hung up the phone, and looked at Mizunashi on the other end. "Ms. Mizunashi, that's the situation. For more details—or who these people Sawaki wanted to kill—you'll have to ask the Metropolitan Police Department."
"Thank you, Kurosawa-kun. I'm so sorry to disturb your sleep." Mizunashi said, already standing up.
Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Ran and Sonoko with a smile and said in a teasing tone, "Ran, Sonoko, because you two often appear in the news with Kurosawa, people online are talking about who is Kurosawa's girlfriend—or whether he's two-timing you."
Seeing the two girls blush instantly upon hearing his words, Mizunashi couldn't help but let out a cheerful laugh. "Goodbye, Kurosawa-kun." Giving Kurosawa a teasing wink, she strode toward the entrance, changed her shoes, and left.
"So, who's going to be my girlfriend? Or both of you?" Kurosawa jokingly asked the two shy girls.
Ran's face was flushed, her pale purple eyes darting left and right. "Hoshino, don't talk nonsense."
"Hmph, you want both of us? You wish." Sonoko put her hands on her hips, trying to keep her voice from sounding flustered. "If you're looking for a girlfriend, I wouldn't mind being one."
Kurosawa looked at Sonoko, noticing her slightly trembling body and fluttering eyelashes, and chuckled. "Why are you trembling so much?"
"Really? No, I'm not trembling at all." Sonoko pinched her arm, then her cheek.
Click. The bedroom door opened. Haibara, who had been listening to the commotion outside, finally came out.
"Feeling better?" Kurosawa, his attention drawn to her, walked over and reached out to rub her head.
Sonoko, seeing Kurosawa teasing Haibara, had a flash of disappointment and annoyance in her eyes. A hint of regret appeared on her face, but it vanished in an instant.
"Sonoko." Ran leaned close to her best friend's ear and whispered, "Were you serious just now?"
Sonoko replied in a low voice, her face serious. "I was just half-jokingly testing the waters—thinking of what Aunt Kisaki said. If Haibara hadn't come out, I might have been able to find out the result."
"Hoshino was obviously joking just now."
"I was joking too." Sonoko smiled, reverting to her carefree self. "Anyway, everyone's joking. Nobody takes it seriously. Ran too, you should have been bolder. You were too cowardly. Look at me—I just said I wanted to be his girlfriend, and he didn't even dare to answer."
"I was too shy at the time. And it was just a joke. You didn't even dare to joke—you're too cowardly. Embarrassing."
"Hmph, I'll dare next time."
"Good, keep it up. We'll see how you do next time."
"Ran, let's go to your place. I'm hungry." Kurosawa brought Haibara over.
"Oh, okay." Ran nodded, no longer talking about this kind of thing with Sonoko.
Then the group left. They arrived at the third floor of the Mouri Detective Agency.
As soon as they entered the living room, they saw Kogorō frantically hiding something.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Ran casually approached. When she was close enough, she suddenly sped up, grabbed the letter clutched in his hand from behind, and snatched it away.
"Hey! You brat, give it back!" Kogorō said anxiously.
"No, let me see what it is first." Ran stepped back to Kurosawa and the others, spreading it out for them to see.
Seeing that he couldn't get away with it, Kogorō sighed. "Look, look, take a look. It's nothing serious—just a request."