Chapter 652: The Red T-Shirt Puzzle
Maori Kogoro's forehead was covered with cold sweat. He asked the man with glasses to confirm: "You said that if we can't find the person who sent the red T-shirt, we have to detonate the bomb?..."
"Yes, that's what the masked man said." The man with glasses nodded and carefully held the bag back in his arms, fearing that the bomb inside would explode with a bang if he moved too much.
"And the sender is on this floor?"
The man with glasses stood up shakily and said affirmatively, "Yes. He also said that if the man gave his name, the bomb would not be detonated."
Hearing that there was such a direct method, Maori Kogoro immediately shouted to the crowd: "Hey, did you hear that? I don't know why, but the guy who sent the red T-shirt as a prank is here, right? Come out now!"
But he obviously thought the matter was too simple. No one present stood up to admit it, or they didn't dare to stand up.
No matter what the purpose of sending a red T-shirt to scare others is, it is impossible for the sender to admit his identity just because of a few words.
Not to mention, now the people who received the T-shirts are threatening so many people with bombs in order to force the sender to come out.
Anyone with a bit of common sense knows that once you stand up, the conversation can never be simply ended by saying, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have played a prank" or "It's okay, I forgive you."
Going further, was it really just a prank for the sender to send these red T-shirts?
Mao Lilan looked at the crowd around her and said worriedly, "No one is coming out yet."
Kogoro Mori had actually anticipated such an outcome, and his advice just now was just a trial attempt.
Seeing that no one came forward, the man with glasses said, "Well, the masked man also said that the elevator is not allowed to stop at this floor and stopped the escalator."
Maori Kogoro said in a deep voice: "I see, so you want to trap all the people on this floor here?"
"What?!" There were several exclamations from the crowd.
"I do not want!"
Knowing there was a bomb, they were already scared, and they didn't run away immediately, wanting to watch the fun or find out what was going on. But when they heard they were going to be trapped on this floor with the bomb, some of them couldn't stand the pressure and ran towards the elevator. Seeing this, the others also ran away, and the scene fell into chaos.
No matter how much Kogoro Mori shouted, no one listened to him.
Faced with the threat of death, how can a person's voice reach the ears of these people?
But how could the masked man let them escape?
White smoke suddenly came out of the paper bags placed in three places. Everyone thought the bombs inside were going to explode. They screamed in fear and retreated, looking for places to hide.
Kogoro Mori couldn't bear to watch it anymore. If he continued to let these people run around, not only would it waste time and anger the masked man, but it might also cause a stampede due to the chaos.
If someone can't bear the fear and flees from this floor, everyone will be buried with him, and the people on other floors will also be affected.
"Calm down!" he roared, and the chaotically running crowd slowly quieted down, and everyone looked at Mouri Kogoro.
Maori Kogoro glanced at the crowd, looked at the man with glasses and confirmed in a deep voice: "Before we find the sender, anyone leaving this floor will cause the bomb to explode, right?"
The man with glasses nodded vigorously: "Yes, that's right!"
Maori Kogoro coughed hard and said loudly: "Everyone heard it clearly, right? So for the safety of yourself and the people around you, please do not leave the floor at will!"
"I, Maori Kogoro, will definitely find the sender and let everyone leave safely!"
"What, Maori Kogoro?"
"The famous detective?"
"I've heard of him. Although he's not as famous as the other high school detective, he's indeed a very famous detective in Tokyo!"
Kogoro Mori was originally feeling somewhat proud, but suddenly a few discordant voices emerged amid the exclamations, causing him to frown.
"Are you the sleeping Kogoro!?" The man with glasses walked towards Mouri Kogoro in surprise, wanting to shake hands with him.
Maori Kogoro was shocked: "Don't come over here, you still have a bomb on you! What if it explodes accidentally?"
"Oh, sorry..." The man with glasses stopped walking awkwardly.
Kogoro Mouri looked around and found a staff member who walked up to him and asked him to notify the department store management to stop the escalator, block the stairs, and control the elevator not to stop on this floor.
Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Conan suggested to Maori Kogoro: "Let's take a look at the red T-shirts sent by unknown people every week. Maybe we can find some clues from them?"
Before Maori Kogoro could answer, the man with glasses shouted in surprise: "That's weird, did I say I would send you a red T-shirt every week?"
Maori Kogoro explained: "Because someone commissioned me to investigate and asked me to solve the matter of the red T-shirts that are sent every week. Now it seems that the person is very likely to be the bomber, that is, the accomplice of the masked man."
"He had originally agreed to meet me at the sporting goods counter in the Mihua Department Store after noon today to discuss this matter with me, but unfortunately he hasn't shown up until now."
"I see." The man with glasses wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Maori Kogoro set his eyes on the bag on the bespectacled man's shoulder and said, "Okay, now let's take a look at these red T-shirts and see what puzzles are hidden in them."
Seeing the man with glasses about to come over, he quickly stopped him and said, "Just watch from a distance."
"Oh, okay." The man with glasses was stunned for a moment, nodded, put down his bag, and then obediently took a few steps back.
Then, Kogoro Mouri and Conan walked forward together and opened the bag.
Neither of them noticed that, on both sides of the back of the crowd, there were two people staring at them intently.
One of them had light brown hair, squinty eyes and wore glasses; the other one wore a black hat and had faint traces of burns on the right side of his face.
···
While Kogoro Mouri and Conan are nervously searching for the mysterious sender.
On the other side, Amuro Detective Agency.
In addition to the coffee shop manager, Youye also asked the surrounding shop owners and the results were similar.
Yuya pondered and said: That is to say, when they were fighting the organization over Rena Mizunashi openly and secretly, Toru Amuro, also known as Bourbon, was not in Tokyo.
No wonder the members of the organization that appeared at that time were still Gin’s old acquaintances, and there was no extra member.
As to why he left Tokyo and his identity, it is unknown.
"So, the Akai Shuichi with burns on his right face was actually Bourbon in disguise?" Yuya pondered.
The reason why it's not Toru Amuro is because he has no need to do so.
If Toru Amuro wanted to know whether Shuichi Akai was alive, he only needed to ask Yuya directly. Now that he was almost laying his cards on the table to Yuya, there shouldn't be any major concerns about getting such information.
Toru Amuro should be able to see that he prefers the Neon Police to the FBI, after all, he has a large group of old acquaintances in the Metropolitan Police Department.
Since he pretended to be Shuichi Akai by using Bourbon's identity, it means that this was most likely a mission from the organization.
Yuya couldn't help but narrow his eyes. What happened to make the organization start to doubt Akai Shuichi's life and death again? They even arranged a code member to pretend to be Judy and show up beside her to test her reaction.
Thinking of this, Yuya said to Miyano Shiho: "Mio, you go home first, I have some things to deal with."
Miyano Shiho was stunned for a moment, vaguely guessing what he was going to do, and couldn't help but worry: "Will it be dangerous?"
Youye smiled, rubbed her cheek with his fingers, and said softly: "Don't worry, everything will be fine, wait for me at home."
Miyano Shiho knew that she couldn't persuade Yuya, so she could only nod and agree. Then, under Yuya's gaze, she got into the car and left, looking back every few steps.
Youya stood there in deep thought for a while, took out his cell phone and sent a message to Judy, but after waiting for a while he received no reply.
He found Conan again and learned that he and the Maori father and daughter were still in the Beika Department Store and were involved in a bomb threat.
As for Judy, he said he hadn't seen her since they separated.
"Bomb?" You was a little stunned. He was worthy of being Conan. He would encounter a bomb incident whenever he went out.
Soon, Conan sent another message, roughly explaining the reason for the incident.
"A mysterious person sends me red T-shirts every week? Thirteen in total. This is probably not a simple prank. The other party must have a purpose for doing this."
You also plans to go to the department store to check out the situation.
According to the time described by Conan, Judy should still be in the building and has not had time to leave.
Seeing something happen, even if she couldn't get close to the scene, she probably wouldn't just sit there and watch and leave. She would most likely observe the situation nearby.
Since Judy is there... then Bourbon pretending to be Shuichi Akai might be there too.
Thinking of this, Youya called a taxi and came to the Beika Department Store.
Just as he was about to enter through the gate, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.
Youye was shocked. Is someone monitoring this place?
He took a quick look and stopped a passerby who was in a hurry, pretending to ask him what happened inside.
After understanding the general situation, Youya thanked the other party and watched him leave.
Taking advantage of this time, he pretended to casually glance across, and soon saw a rifle and a woman holding a gun sticking out of a window of the opposite building.
Yuya had already looked away before he could draw the other person's attention.
Female, sniper, with an orange mushroom head and obvious features, she should be Gin's subordinate, Chianti.
But... isn't this guy too blatant? How can someone stalk someone with a sniper rifle like this? Is he afraid that others can't see her?
Since Chianti appeared here, it meant that Gin must be nearby. However, he did not find the iconic Porsche 356A. It must be hidden in a hidden corner.
Putting this matter aside, Yuya walked into the department store.
Through the phone call with Conan, he heard every progress of the investigation into the mystery of the red T-shirt.
The red T-shirts didn't arrive once a week, but for seven weeks. Seven weeks, six weeks, and five weeks ago, two red T-shirts arrived; four weeks ago, one red T-shirt arrived; then, three weeks, two weeks, and last week, two red T-shirts arrived again.
There are a total of thirteen items here.
At the same time, red marks were found on the shoulder of the man with glasses, but he said that it might be because the tram was very crowded and he didn't know whose lipstick got on it.
In the bag that contained the T-shirts, we also found an invoice for the purchase of the T-shirts, which was mailed on the same day.
Conan, who is very observant, found the logo of the Rice Flower Department Store on last week's receipt, which means that these red T-shirts were purchased here;
At the same time, the receipts were all issued at 12:28.
Kogoro Mouri quickly realized why the other party was so sure that the sender was on this floor.
Since the time of each previous purchase was 12:28, that means, seven days after the last red T-shirt was sent, at 12:28 today, the mysterious person will definitely buy a red T-shirt here.
That's why I made an appointment with Kogoro Mori to meet here after noon.
As for why it is in a sporting goods store, it is because this T-shirt is often worn as an inner garment when running or exercising, and such clothes are generally sold in sporting goods stores.
Kogoro Maori immediately asked the staff where such clothes could be bought. After receiving a positive answer, he asked the staff to take him over to check out the situation.
Mouri Ran looked at Conan in confusion - he was staring at last week's receipt in a daze. According to his usual habit, he would definitely follow Mouri Kogoro to check the situation at this time.
Puzzled, Mao Lilan came over and asked, "Did you find anything suspicious?"
Conan nodded: "If it's just to hide the place where the clothes were purchased, you only need to tear off the upper left corner, why tear off the upper right corner as well?"
Mao Lilan tilted her head, not understanding the reason, but as a homemaker, she also found something strange.
"Look at this T-shirt that was sent separately," Mao Lilan picked up the T-shirt that was sent separately four weeks ago and said, "There are strange creases on it. If you fold it along the marks, it will become like this..."
Under Mao Lilan's operation, the red T-shirt changed into a shape with the left hand slanted upwards and the right hand slanted downwards.
Conan's pupils shrank slightly as he watched this scene: This is...
Could it be that?