Seated in the passenger seat, Akemi held Ritsu's phone while studying the photo of the calling card.
She wasn't particularly confident when it came to solving codes she hadn't designed herself. After staring at it for five whole minutes, she still couldn't make sense of it.
"So," she asked, "can you at least tell me what you're planning to do tonight?"
"You've already figured out that the incident will happen tonight," Ritsu replied. "That's already halfway to the answer."
Akemi pouted.
"Just tell me already. I'm the kind of person who likes horror movies to be spoiled before I watch them."
'Well, that's because they're horror movies...'
Ritsu grumbled inwardly. He had no intention of keeping the answer from her anyway.
"Let's start with the first sentence. 'When the moon separates the two.' The 'two' refer to an artificial satellite and the sun. Put the whole sentence together. What does it remind you of?"
With the hint, Akemi thought it through several times before her eyes widened.
"Could it be... a lunar eclipse? The moon positioned between an artificial satellite and the sun? Then that means Phantom Thief 1412 will appear... after midnight?"
"Exactly," Ritsu nodded.
"Most likely sometime between 12:30 a.m. and around four in the morning. As for the remaining sentence, it points to where he'll appear. Think about this operation's target, Black Star in English. You should be able to figure it out."
'Black Star... BLACK STAR...'
Akemi's eyes lit up.
"Of course! 'BS'—BS Broadcasting!"
"Exactly."
"Then the 'waves' in 'following the invitation of the waves' refers to radio waves. That means Phantom Thief 1412 will approach from the direction of the BS broadcast signal."
"If that's the case, there's only one possible location. The rooftop of the Haido City Hotel?"
Ritsu smiled.
"Looks like you've got the makings of a detective after all."
Akemi shook her head with a laugh.
"Come on, I know my limits. Without your hints, I don't think I would've figured it out."
"But there are people who still couldn't solve it even with hints," Ritsu said.
"At the very least, you're smart."
"Thank you for the compliment."
She smiled sweetly.
"I'll keep working hard."
His slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the steering wheel as he looked toward the Beika Museum in the distance.
"Still... This gentleman thief certainly enjoys toying with the officers of the Second Investigation Division. As someone from the MPD, I should have a little fun with him too."
Akemi blinked.
"Hm? What are you planning?"
"For example, what if I steal the object he's planning to steal before he gets the chance? In that case, people might start questioning his competence as a phantom thief.
Or perhaps... I'll make him suffer his first real setback tonight."
Tilting her head, Akemi suddenly felt that Ritsu was actually the most devious person of them all.
He simply rarely showed this surprisingly childish side of himself. Now, she almost felt sorry for the mysterious Phantom Thief 1412.
Just what was going to happen tonight on the rooftop of the Haido City Hotel?
...
12:28 a.m.
Haido City Hotel Rooftop
Conan, dressed in a dark navy suit, quietly appeared on the rooftop.
He crouched down, placed an empty aluminum can on the ground, then took a small firework from inside his jacket and stuck it into the can.
Now, all he had to do was waiting for a certain someone to deliver himself to the scene.
Thinking back, thanks to Haibara's help, he'd managed to uncover quite a bit of information about Phantom Thief 1412.
Resting his chin on his hand, Conan pondered.
'If I calculate from his first appearance eighteen years ago... He would've already been a young man back then.
Wouldn't that make him nearly forty years old now?'
Remembering Sonoko's infatuated expression, Conan couldn't help shaking his head.
'I seriously don't understand high school girls these days. How could they be obsessed with a faceless man pushing forty?
Besides... no matter how glamorous he makes it look, a phantom thief is still a thief.'
Then another thought occurred to him.
The thing that had surprised him the most was that his own father actually had some connection with Phantom Thief 1412.
In fact, it was his father who had given the thief his new name—Kaito Kid.
Conan glanced at his watch with his trademark half-lidded expression.
Five minutes had already passed.
To keep from freezing stiff before Kaito Kid arrived, he began jogging in place.
"Achoo—!"
"My, my."
A voice suddenly came from behind him.
"What are you doing up here, little boy? You'll catch a cold, you know."
Standing before Conan was a man dressed in an immaculate white tuxedo with a white top hat. Although the monocle concealed much of his face, Conan could still roughly judge his age.
'He's... young. Definitely not some middle-aged man nearing forty. Thirty? No... probably around my original age.
Either a high school student or a college student. Which means, something's seriously wrong. Could this Kaito Kid be a fake?
Otherwise, if the real Phantom Thief 1412 first appeared eighteen years ago, this guy would've just been a little kid back then.
There's no way he could've become the internationally famous phantom thief.'
Conan crouched down and lit the firework.
Once it exploded brilliantly across the night sky, he turned around with an innocent smile, placing both hands behind his head.
"I'm just setting off fireworks! They're pretty, aren't they?"
With both hands tucked into his pockets, Kaito Kid couldn't help curling the corners of his lips.
'Interesting. This bespectacled little brat is definitely more than he appears.'
"You see?" Conan continued.
"Those helicopters are coming this way. I think they've already noticed this place."
Kaito Kid carefully observed Conan's build one last time. After confirming he wasn't disguised, he smiled.
"Little boy... You're not an ordinary child, are you?"
"My name is Edogawa Conan."
Conan's tone abruptly changed.
"I'm a detective."
Seeing the dramatic shift in demeanor, Kaito Kid raised an eyebrow with interest. He wanted to hear what other surprises this child had in store.
Keeping both hands behind his back, Conan quietly flipped open the cover of his wristwatch tranquilizer gun.
The carefree expression of a child disappeared, replaced by the serious gaze of a detective.
"Are you really going to stay here, Kaito Kid-san? If you don't leave soon, those helicopters will be here."
To Conan's surprise, Kaito Kid calmly pulled out a handheld radio.
A police radio, no less.
'What...?Did this guy steal equipment from the MPD too?'
What shocked Conan even more was what happened next.
Without using a voice changer, Kaito Kid's voice instantly became identical to Inspector Chaki Shintaro of the Second Investigation Division.
'How did he do that?!'
"Hello? This is Inspector Chaki. Kaito Kid has been spotted on the rooftop of the Haido City Hotel. All patrol units and helicopter pilots, listen carefully.
Proceed to the Haido City Hotel immediately and arrest Kaito Kid!"
The moment Kaito Kid activated that radio, the one in Inspector Chaki's hand automatically disconnected. It was a little trick Kid had arranged earlier while disguised as a maintenance technician.
Watching the helicopters converging on the rooftop, Kaito Kid casually tossed away the radio.
"Well?"
He smiled.
"Are you satisfied now, little detective?"
Conan couldn't understand him at all.
'What on earth is this guy thinking?!'
At that moment, the rooftop door burst open.
Having successfully deciphered the code, Inspector Ginzo Nakamori of the Second Investigation Division stormed onto the roof, pistol raised.
"Don't move, Kid!"
"Oh?"
Kaito Kid smiled politely.
"So it's Inspector Nakamori. Good evening."
"Hmph!"
Nakamori snorted.
"Keep talking while you still can! You're completely surrounded now, Kaito Kid! There's no escape this time! Surrender!"
Kaito Kid remained perfectly calm. Instead, he applauded.
"The reason I sent that calling card was merely a rehearsal. I never intended to steal that pearl tonight."
With a flick of his wrist, he threw a card that embedded itself into the rooftop. Pulling down the brim of his hat, he smiled.
"Until next time, Inspector Nakamori. And you too, little detective."
He immediately tossed a flashbang onto the ground.
A blinding burst of light erupted.
At the same time, he activated his hang glider and leaped from the rooftop, disappearing into the endless night sky.
.
"Phew... Good thing I planned ahead. I guessed what Inspector Nakamori would do. If I hadn't painted my hang glider black this time, escaping would've been a real pain."
Kaito Kid wiped away imaginary sweat.
After all, this was only the second time he'd taken over his father's role. He still wasn't completely used to it.
For example, his disguise-changing speed still wasn't fast enough. Otherwise, he could've transformed into a police officer and slipped away unnoticed.
"Achoo... Man, it's freezing tonight."
Talking to himself, he landed atop the nearby New Beika Hotel.
After folding up his hang glider, he prepared to change out of his white suit. Flying through subzero night air, his nose was practically about to freeze off.
Fishing his phone out of his pocket, Kaito Kid pressed a speed-dial button.
"Grandpa Jii? Are you in the underground parking garage?"
"I'll be there in a minute."
"Okay, got it. See you soon."
He was about to remove his disguise when—
Click.
The unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked echoed through the rooftop. He could even feel the cold, black muzzle trained squarely on him.
Kaito Kid slowly raised his eyes.
Only then did he realize, there was someone else on the rooftop.
A thin black vertically striped kimono. Mist-blue hair tousled by the night wind. And a black silk ribbon covering the eyes, making it impossible to see the person's face.
"You are..."
The stranger spoke first.
"Arsène Lupin?"