Three days later.
That afternoon, on the second floor of the Mouri Detective Agency, Kurosawa Hoshino lay sprawled on the sofa, scrolling through his phone, while Conan sat across from him at the coffee table, diligently doing his homework.
"Hey, brat."
Mouri Kogoro emerged from the bathroom, shaking water from his hands. "Have you and Ran been fighting lately?"
"No." Kurosawa Hoshino sat up, setting his phone aside.
"No?" Kogoro raised an eyebrow, a skeptical smirk on his face. "Kid, I'm not blind or stupid. Ever since we got back from Beika Shrine, Ran's been acting strange around me."
"Haven't noticed anything."
"Hmph. Wait a minute—Ran should be coming down soon. Let's see you deny it then."
Just then, the door opened.
Ran, dressed up nicely, poked her head in and said softly, "Dad, Conan, I might be back late today. Why don't you two go out for dinner tonight?"
She glanced at Kurosawa Hoshino, who was staring at her, then quickly looked away. "Hoshino, you too. Bye-bye."
"Ran-neechan, where are you going?" Conan asked.
"To meet someone."
Without another word, she closed the door and left.
Conan frowned. Something's off. Ran's all dressed up—looks like she's going on a date.
He couldn't help but glance at Kurosawa Hoshino, even more confused.
If Ran and Hoshino were together every day, a date would make sense. But Hoshino was still here, and Ran was dressed up nicely—who was she going to see?
No. I have to follow and see.
Conan dropped his pen, abandoned his homework, and ran for the door. "Uncle Mouri, Hoshino-nii, I'm going to Professor Agasa's house! Be back later!"
His departure barely registered with the two men left in the room.
They stared intently at each other.
After a long moment, Kogoro Mouri said quietly, "You brat. Got any excuses now? Ran's reaction just now—you still saying nothing happened between you two?"
"I really don't know." Hoshino shrugged helplessly.
He wasn't stupid. No way he was revealing what happened that night.
What he hadn't expected was for Ran to be this shy for so many days—so obvious that even Kogoro Mouri noticed.
"Fine. Don't say it then." Kogoro patted him on the shoulder with the air of a seasoned veteran. "Hoshino, girls are like that sometimes. Angry for no reason. Throwing tantrums for no reason. We men gotta be magnanimous. A little coaxing and it's fixed."
"Uncle Mouri, your words aren't convincing."
"What's not convincing about them?"
"I don't think you want to hear it."
"Go on. I'm listening." Kogoro crossed his arms, exuding authority.
Kurosawa Hoshino touched his nose and said slowly, "What you just said was good and all, but Uncle Mouri—what about Ran's mother, Auntie Kisaki? Why didn't you coax her properly?"
"..."
Kogoro froze, completely blindsided.
"Uh... I..."
"See? You can't even do it yourself, and you're trying to teach me."
"You brat—shut up and play on your phone!"
Face dark, Kogoro stomped toward his desk, ignoring him completely.
Kurosawa Hoshino grinned, lay back down, and pulled out his phone to browse the news.
Half an hour later.
A coffee shop in Beika Town.
"Ran!" Sonoko waved as her best friend walked in.
"Sonoko, you're here early." Ran slid into the seat beside her, casually placing her small bag on the table.
"Came with you to see your aunt—of course I had to be early!" Sonoko patted her chest, looking very loyal.
Ran smiled and gently nudged her.
"Ahem. Enough about that." Sonoko changed the subject. "It's been days. Still not over what happened that night?"
Ran blushed. "I haven't thought about that day at all."
"Then why didn't you invite Hoshino? Let Auntie meet him?"
"It felt... strange. Bringing a boy to meet Mom. Like..." Ran hesitated, her expression awkward. "Like introducing a boyfriend. So I just didn't invite him."
Sonoko considered this. "Yeah, that makes sense. If I suddenly brought a guy home, they'd probably think the same thing."
Not far away, Conan—who had secretly followed—muttered to himself, They're not on a date? Why's Sonoko here too?
Confused, he watched the coffee shop entrance, trying to see if they were meeting a man or a woman.
Soon, he spotted a woman who had just entered. She looked familiar.
Tall and slender. Poised. Long brown hair styled in a bun. Thin-rimmed metal glasses.
She wore a purple fitted blazer over a white shirt, paired with a matching A-line skirt. Long, straight legs in black stockings and black high heels.
Every step exuded the intellectual charm of a mature woman. The men in the coffee shop couldn't help but stare.
Conan's eyes widened.
He watched the beautiful woman walk straight to Ran's table. Then Ran's next words shocked him—because he heard the word "Mom."
"Mom? It's her!"
Suddenly, unpleasant childhood memories flooded back. Memories of being scolded by Eri Kisaki.
So Ran came to see Auntie Kisaki.
Conan finally relaxed. He'd worried for nothing. His biggest enemy was still Kurosawa Hoshino.
Why's she coming over?
He noticed Eri Kisaki walking toward him. He sat up straight, thinking he'd been caught.
False alarm. She was just heading to the restroom.
Ten minutes later.
Conan glanced at Ran and the others chatting happily with Eri Kisaki. Time to head back.
Then—a terrified scream from the restroom.
Instinct took over. Conan rushed over without hesitation.
When he reached the restroom, the first thing he saw was blood flowing from under a stall door.
Oh no!
His expression shifted. He ran to the door and pushed—no give. He jumped up, grabbed the top edge, and peered through the gap.
A woman lay slumped against the door, eyes wide open, motionless. A bright red wound marked her chest. A bloodstained knife lay on the floor.
Twenty minutes later.
A murder had occurred. Inspector Megure's turn.
Inside the coffee shop, Megure looked over the four suspects—three men, one woman. His gaze lingered on the woman. The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed.
"Attorney Kisaki?!" His eyes went wide. "What are you doing here?"
"Inspector Megure, long time no see." Kisaki Eri adjusted her glasses and gestured toward the crowd. "I'm here to see Ran."
"Ran?"
Megure's face lit up. He scanned the crowd—sure enough, there were Ran and Sonoko. He strode over.
"Great! You're here. Hoshino should be here too, right?" He looked around eagerly, then blinked, confused. "Uh... where is he?"
Ran said weakly, "Inspector Megure, Hoshino didn't come with us today."
Sonoko nodded. "Yeah. We didn't expect to run into a murder case."
"Haha, that's fine. Just watch us, the police." Megure forced a smile, already resigned to investigating until nightfall with no culprit in sight.
He approached the four suspects, including Eri Kisaki. "Who was the last one to use the restroom?"
"This auntie." Conan pointed at Eri Kisaki.
Eri Kisaki glanced at him and nodded. "That's right. Chronologically speaking, it was me."
"This..." Megure hesitated.
No one before her had noticed blood. But after she came out, someone else went in and found it. That made her a prime suspect.
"Conan!" Ran called out, anxious.
Because of the murder, she hadn't even had a chance to ask why Conan was there. Now he'd pointed at her mother—she feared it would damage her reputation.
I'm sorry, Ran. Conan thought silently. Even if it's your mother, I can't hide the clues.
The other three suspects breathed sighs of relief. One by one, they began distancing themselves.
"I was first. Didn't see any blood on the floor."
"I was second. Didn't see anything either."
"I was third. Even less likely. If it were me, this lady would've seen it when she went in."
"Alright, quiet." Megure cut them off, frowning deeply. He turned to let his officers continue examining the scene.
Not far away, Sonoko tugged at Ran's clothes. "Let's call Hoshino. Have him come take a look. He can definitely clear your aunt's name and solve the case."
"Right!" Ran slapped her forehead.
She'd been so frazzled she'd almost forgotten to ask for help.
She pulled out her phone. Her thumb hovered over the contacts. For a moment, it paused on "Kudo Shinichi."
Then, after a heartbeat of hesitation, she scrolled down to "Kurosawa Hoshino" and pressed dial.
A few seconds later, the call connected.
"Lit—"
"Hoshino, help me, I—" Ran cut him off and hurriedly explained everything happening at the coffee shop.
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