[Eliminate Conan's suspicion?]
Heiji raised an eyebrow and discreetly glanced at Conan.
He's already suspicious? How?
He thought for a moment. I haven't shown many flaws. Was it when I saved Sonoko?
That morning, he had snow on him... he was holding a snowboard... his feet were wet. I see. He went to verify what I said.
Heiji hadn't cared at the time, but now it was obvious.
[But when did he start suspecting me? I didn't show any flaws before that.]
Heiji would never guess Conan was relying on his absurd intuition.
He originally planned to just have the Night Baron show up, but now he had to change strategies.
Heiji smiled and had an idea.
The Night Baron on the roof suddenly moved, diving down in a blood-red arc.
"Quick, get him! It's really the Night Baron!" Inspector Megure shouted.
Countless police officers gave chase. If the opponent didn't fight back, the police generally couldn't shoot.
"The Gentleman of the Night greets you all."
"Night Baron, stop! Or I'll shoot!" A stern female voice rang out.
Miwako Sato, her eyes cold, raised her pistol at the figure.
The Night Baron looked down. "Ah, a beautiful officer. To meet in the daylight, it must be fate."
"Allow this gentleman to leave you a gift."
He pulled something out and threw it at her.
A gold coin glinted in the sun, landing near Miwako Sato with a clink.
"A Maple Leaf gold coin?" Miwako Sato frowned.
"Just like the riddle said, the 'Sunflowers' inside is a fake. When sin truly appears, the Gentleman of the Night will return."
The Night Baron turned a corner and vanished.
Conan's face was grim as he ran with the police, chasing the Night Baron.
"Damn, he turned the corner!" the police yelled, losing sight of him.
[Damn it.]
Conan ran to the corner.
Poof! A cloud of white smoke exploded, obscuring everyone's vision.
[Damn it, where? Where?]
Conan listened, but it was too noisy to hear anything.
The smoke cleared. The Night Baron was gone.
"Reporting, the Night Baron has disappeared!"
"Damn it! He got away again!" Megure and Nakamori were furious.
[Damn it. That was definitely the Night Baron. That strange gliding ability... it had to be him.]
Conan angrily threw his ticket on the ground.
Heiji suddenly started coughing violently.
Kazuha and Sonoko ran over to support him.
Conan looked at Heiji with a bitter smile. Looks like I completely misunderstood Hattori.
But... could it be his assistant?
The Night Baron didn't even go inside, nor did he steal the painting. Just a distraction...
A light flashed on his glasses.
[Hattori is still a suspect.]
The "mission complete" prompt didn't sound in Heiji's mind.
Heiji was speechless. What is this detective freak basing his suspicion on? This is ridiculous.
"Consultant Suzuki! The Night Baron said the 'Sunflowers' is fake! Are you deceiving us?" a reporter shouted.
"What? It's fake?"
"Consultant Suzuki, we demand an explanation!"
"You're deceiving us! We demand to verify the painting!"
The scene fell into chaos.
"Haha! Let's see how they handle this!" Kaito Kuroba laughed, then grew puzzled.
"But what was the Night Baron doing? Just causing chaos?"
[Heh. I'll ignore Hattori for now. The Suzuki Corporation is in trouble.]
"Consultant Suzuki, is this true?" Inspector Megure asked grimly.
Using this many police for a fake painting was unacceptable.
If they had been told in advance, it would be fine, but deceiving the police was a violation.
"Uncle~~"
Sonoko supported Heiji, her eyes full of worry.
Everyone waited for Jirokichi's answer.
He stood quietly, looked at the crowd, then turned to Heiji. "Heiji, my boy, is it time?"
Everyone turned to Heiji.
"What's going on?" Kaito Kuroba had a bad feeling.
Heiji nodded. "The Night Baron came, but Kaitou Kid didn't. It's just as his riddle implied. You can say it, Consultant."
Jirokichi nodded. "Got it."
He stepped up to the microphone. "Everyone, the Night Baron's words were slander. The 'Sunflowers' here is the real one. Why else would security be this tight?"
"Or maybe you fooled the police, too!"
Inspector Megure and Inspector Nakamori nodded furiously.
Jirokichi laughed. "Ridiculous! Why would the Suzuki Corporation do something so idiotic? If you don't believe me, we have many famous art experts here. Please, verify it. Or the police can find their own expert."
"In that case, we won't be polite."
Inspector Megure nodded to a man in a suit.
"Wait. For the painting's safety, I need to verify this gentleman's identity."
"Heiji, my boy, are you suspecting he's Kaitou Kid?" Megure asked.
Heiji nodded. "This is the real 'Sunflowers.' If it's damaged, I doubt you can afford it, Inspector."
Megure's face changed. "No problem." If it's damaged, I couldn't pay for it even if I sold my whole family.
Heiji walked up to the expert. After a moment, he nodded. "You can go."
"Mr. Hattori, aren't you going to pull his face? What if it's a mask?" Nakamori asked.
"Pulling a face is the crudest method. You can tell if someone is wearing a mask just by looking. Pores don't lie."
Heiji gestured for the expert to proceed.
Everyone watched the expert.
After a long time, the expert came out. "That is indeed the 300-million-dollar painting. As for whether it's a Van Gogh original, no one in the world can guarantee that."
"What? Impossible! How could they put the real one here?" Kaito Kuroba was stunned.
"It's the oldest trick in the book: using their own plan against them. Damn it, Heiji Hattori solved my riddle! I've been played!"
-----------------
Currently on Patreon: 265 chapters available.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LEYI396
If you're enjoying it, could you leave a review? It truly helps a lot. It doesn't have to be long—anything is enough. And the more reviews we get, the more early-access chapters I'll release as a thank-you.