Difference between revisions of "Volume 32"
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| − | Heiji doesn't get why his father punched him, and the latter answers his son is completely unable to keep a cool head, instead just annoying police, he's nothing but a vain sprog thinking he's a great detective but actually just destroying paramount exhibits by searching a corpse in such a disrespectful way. Heizo then tells his son to clear off, as the police will try to prevent the murders Heiji was unable just to foresee. As Otaki tries to step in, Toyama holds him back, asking him if he did follow his orders to have a certain person shadowed by his men. Hearing that, Otaki figures out why Heizo acted that way with Heiji : in order to protect his son. Otaki tells Heizo about the murders, adding that the forensics actually found nothing but Kato's fingerprints on his lighter. He underlines there's no point thinking about anything else but suicide, unless they find any other elements. Heizo orders him to leave a couple of agents dealing with the case, and tells the other ones, including himself, Toyama and Otaki, to leave the place since police have more serious cases to investigate than such base ones. Otaki stands flabbergasted while Toyama can't believe Heizo really "has the intention to do it". Meanwhile, a mysterious suspect is glaring at the police officers from among the crowd. | + | Heiji doesn't get why his father punched him, and the latter answers his son is completely unable to keep a cool head, instead just annoying police, he's nothing but a vain sprog thinking he's a great detective but actually just destroying paramount exhibits by searching a corpse in such a disrespectful way. Heizo then tells his son to clear off, as the police will try to prevent the murders Heiji was unable just to foresee. As Otaki tries to step in, Toyama holds him back, asking him if he did follow his orders to have a certain person shadowed by his men. Hearing that, Otaki figures out why Heizo acted that way with Heiji: in order to protect his son. Otaki tells Heizo about the murders, adding that the forensics actually found nothing but Kato's fingerprints on his lighter. He underlines there's no point thinking about anything else but suicide, unless they find any other elements. Heizo orders him to leave a couple of agents dealing with the case, and tells the other ones, including himself, Toyama and Otaki, to leave the place since police have more serious cases to investigate than such base ones. Otaki stands flabbergasted while Toyama can't believe Heizo really "has the intention to do it". Meanwhile, a mysterious suspect is glaring at the police officers from among the crowd. |
| − | Otaki tries to convince Heiji to stop sulking and being so sad, since his father did it "just because he's infuriated at the fact two people were killed near the police headquarters". While Kogoro says this is not a reason to punch him in the face, Kazuha says maybe Heizo did it due to what she heard in the car, the fact that the murderer could be that serial bank robber who started to operate just after the first discovery of the burned out body thirteen years ago. Those | + | Otaki tries to convince Heiji to stop sulking and being so sad, since his father did it "just because he's infuriated at the fact two people were killed near the police headquarters". While Kogoro says this is not a reason to punch him in the face, Kazuha says maybe Heizo did it due to what she heard in the car, the fact that the murderer could be that serial bank robber who started to operate just after the first discovery of the burned out body thirteen years ago. Those five bank heists were responsible for the death of not less than seven people, and the robber and his dangerous gang are still walking free. Kogoro understands and pokes fun at the situation of a caring father going as far as beating up his son in order to protect him from a case which is even more dangerous than he thinks. Heiji gets up and says he would almost cry about this situation too, actually cry about his father's utter stupidity, since hitting him made him even more eager to looking for the true murderer, and he adds he's not as understanding as Minamoto no Yoshitsune in the ''[[Wikipedia: Kanjinchō|Kanjinchō]]'', but more stupid than him for Conan. |
Conan thinks about it, and wonders why Heizo beat up his son, knowing this would prompt him even more to disobey. Heiji says Katagiri didn't commit suicide, and asks Otaki to have a look at Katagiri's coat's right side, where they spot three strange but similar small blood marks. This probably means Katagiri was bashed by her attacker, and her blood splashed on the latter, who left three blood marks of "something" from his clothes on Katagiri's coat while carrying her body. This also means she was probably already dead when Kazuha and Ran saw her, though the girls deny it absolutely, since she was moving as if she suffered from fire. Anyway, Heiji says the three participants are the most suspicious ones since two victims out of the four were from their own tour group, and Heiji and Otaki question them as they arrive at the Gokuraku Bridge, wondering what's happened. Fukushima wonders why she committed suicide, and Otaki says suicide is just a possibility. Kasuya declares he went to have a snack in a close-by bar, while Wakisaka did the same but not at the same place, and Fukushima went back to Nanayari Hotel to change clothes and come back right after. He was with Katagiri but underlines he would have stayed with her if he had known what was about to occur. As Kogoro hears the girls say Kato and Katagiri might have been "ordered" to kill themselves, he turns to Wakisaka, saying that "Nobunaga" could have ordered them to die... | Conan thinks about it, and wonders why Heizo beat up his son, knowing this would prompt him even more to disobey. Heiji says Katagiri didn't commit suicide, and asks Otaki to have a look at Katagiri's coat's right side, where they spot three strange but similar small blood marks. This probably means Katagiri was bashed by her attacker, and her blood splashed on the latter, who left three blood marks of "something" from his clothes on Katagiri's coat while carrying her body. This also means she was probably already dead when Kazuha and Ran saw her, though the girls deny it absolutely, since she was moving as if she suffered from fire. Anyway, Heiji says the three participants are the most suspicious ones since two victims out of the four were from their own tour group, and Heiji and Otaki question them as they arrive at the Gokuraku Bridge, wondering what's happened. Fukushima wonders why she committed suicide, and Otaki says suicide is just a possibility. Kasuya declares he went to have a snack in a close-by bar, while Wakisaka did the same but not at the same place, and Fukushima went back to Nanayari Hotel to change clothes and come back right after. He was with Katagiri but underlines he would have stayed with her if he had known what was about to occur. As Kogoro hears the girls say Kato and Katagiri might have been "ordered" to kill themselves, he turns to Wakisaka, saying that "Nobunaga" could have ordered them to die... | ||
Revision as of 06:30, 21 May 2023
| ‹ Volume 31 | List of Chapters • List of Cases | Volume 33 › |
| Volume 32 | |||
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| Release date: | April 18, 2001 | ||
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| Chapters: | 318-328 | ||
| ISBN: | ISBN 4-09-126162-0 | ||
| Publisher: | Shogakukan | ||
| English release date: | November 17, 2009 | ||
| English ISBN: | ISBN 1-4215-2200-4 | ||
| English Publisher: | Viz Media | ||
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Volume 32 was released on April 18, 2001 in Japan.
Contents
Cast
Gadgets
Chapters
Tiger Scroll Case
File 318 - The Ruler's Treasure
The shopkeeper actually has Kazuha's wallet and the latter is overjoyed. She says there are plenty of charms in it in order to bring good luck around her, yet she adds it doesn't always work as the shopkeeper comments on a murder which has just occurred near the store. Otaki and the police arrive and Kogoro has some empathy for the inspector who has to solve two murders in two days. Kogoro says he quickly found the identity of the victim since the latter wore the paulownia flower badge emblem of Hideyoshi, then it's Yuji Kato, who plays Hideyoshi in the game trip. The four other participants introduce themselves to Otaki and confirm Kato's death, and explain Otaki the game. Kato had been missing and they all went and looked for him, hoping to find him very quickly as he wore a big and very noticeable red woolen jumper. They never expected him to die, and don't know at all the reason why Kato committed suicide by setting himself alight. Otaki asks why Kogoro thinks Kato killed himself, and he answers that Kato deliberately put on such a flammable jumper, and climbed up the roof, despite heavy rain, in order to commit suicide in a rather spectacular way.
Meanwhile, Heiji ties a rope around Conan and cranes him down over the roof, in order to hold him since the roof is dangerous and slippery. Conan investigates the place where Kato started to burn, and notices some small charred remains, along with a lighter, and under the lighter he notes there is a kind of cone-shaped mark. The four participants discuss Kato's death, and Katagiri says none can really know what one truly hides in their deeper self, and Kasuya adds Kato chose to die as a war hero on the Osaka Castle. Heiji shows Kato's lighter to Otaki, but refuses to believe the suicide theory : when someone sets themselves on fire, they don't usually take the time to close their lighter and put it leisurely over the roof. It's very likely that the lighter could have closed itself when falling from Kato's hand on the roof, but then why is it on the flat part of the roof, why didn't it slide along the curved part, and then fell down somewhere on the roof or on the ground ? Moreover, something cylindrical had been placed on the flat part of the roof before it started raining, and then someone removed that item, and put the lighter instead, explaing the cone-shaped mark. This item certainly has to do with the small charred remains over the roof.
The forensics show Otaki Kato's burned belongings, among which a small piece of burned earthenware, and a burned scroll. When Otaki says the ideogram "dragon" is featured on the top right corner of the scroll, the four participants suddenly get tense. Kazuha says the piece of earthenware maybe has to do with the similar ones found on corpses that were discovered at Osaka Castle recently and thirteen years ago, both completely burned. She goes on telling Heiji about the conversation she heard in the car yesterday, explaining the 848, the location of the bodies, and so on. As she tells about "the treasure of the mortals", the other participants listen carefully and with a certain excitement. Conan tells Heiji the inner part of the earthenware has shiny sparkles, which might be gold, but doesn't seem to be very worthy. Both detectives try to think more deeply about the case, and are reminded of Kato's dying message with the umbrella. They reflect on the link between umbrella/rain and Osaka Castle. Heiji says Osaka Castle's Sakura Gate has a stone called Tako on its left and right, and there is also a wall protecting its central tower, with a stone called Ryuko. And just like the Tako stone, the Ryuko stone, when it's raining, shows a kind of mirage where it's possible to make out a tiger and dragon.
Conan and Heiji suddenly realise something then, and snatch the scroll from Otaki's hands to wet it under the rain : their idea turns out to be the right one as the water discloses a hidden message on the scroll : a kind of double-circle item and its measurements (with old medieval units) on the left, and an illegible message on the right. Conan and Heiji believe there is indeed a hidden treasure somewhere in the castle, which greatly arouses Fukushima's curiosity, while Wakisaka is examining a piece of earthenware he seems to own, and Kasuya calls someone to which he says they should wait a moment and stay where they are for now, as the police seems to still have a long way to go. He adds they shouldn't worry as the item in question is close to hand, therefore no need to change their plans. Katagiri, as to her, mysteriously smirks at the whole situation.
File 319 - Back to the Past...
Heiji and Conan found out part of the truth about the treasure, and Heiji reveals that the pieces of earthenware found on the three victims, and that contain gold, are actually made of sand mixed with gold. He adds that rainwater actually disclosed the truth about the scroll : it was composed of several sheets stuck together one over the other, and only wetting it could enable the true scriptures to appear. Heiji says it's just like the Tako or Ryuko stones : when rainwater comes in contact with them, some dragon and tiger shapes come out, due to wetting. Though, Otaki says most of the scroll's instructions went into ashes. And Kogoro doesn't get the meaning of the double-circle shape on the scroll, and Ran and Kazuha say it might be a flask, an item which is representative of Hideyoshi's notorious alcoholism. Therefore, the piece of earthenware may be a flask's, in which gold dust would have been stored. As Kogoro says that, according to the measurements, the flask is quite small (30 centimetres), which makes for a rather tiny treasure, Heiji underlines that, indeed, a single flask of gold dust would not be enough, but what about that legend according to which Hideyoshi would, after each victory, tie a little flask to his spear, and it is said that his spear was considered as the symbol of his riches, since it would then carry not less than 1000 flasks each filled with gold dust, the "Bunch of the 1000 Flasks", which would resemble his paulownia emblem, with a huge flask on the top, the tiny others below, and several ribbons fluttering in the wind. If the scroll leads to the 1000 flasks Hideyoshi could have hidden in his castle after his death, then that really makes for a colossal wealth, not forgetting the added value of 500-year-old famous golden items.
Heiji supposes that, given three people were killed in the same way, each having a piece of flask in his pocket, and probably looking for the treasure, especially since Kato had a scroll, this means someone close to them and mad about Hideyoshi and his treasure could have killed them, in order to be the sole owner of the treasure, and, saying so, Heiji casts a suspect glance at the participants. Kazuha adds her father and Heiji's figured out the truth even without the scroll since one of the fragments Toyama had with him and had found on one of the first corpses had the shape of a jar opening, and moreover the 848 number could lead to the flask being the 848th out of the 1000. If they found gold dust inside, then it's perfectly normal they came up to that conclusion. This can't only be a myth then, since it is said Hideyoshi had poured a great quantity of gold dust into his castle's wells in order to purify the water, and Ieyasu would shudder at imagining his rival's enormous riches. Hideyoshi though made the whereabouts of his treasure secret as he concealed the clues that could lead to it : sticking the sheets of the scroll together, mixing gold dust with sand inside the flasks, etc.
Toyama comes along and interrupts Heiji to add that the dragon scroll inevitably refers to the tiger's one, since just like both Tako and Ryuko stones show a dragon and a tiger, there are actually two scrolls, one for the dragon to show part of the clue to the treasure, and one for the tiger to show the other part, and it's necessary to wet the tiger's one just as well to figure out the truth. Kazuha says she's the one who called her dad, as the Prefectural Police is very close, and she wants her father to investigate the case for Heiji to leave the crime scene at last, and come with her and the others to have a bite to eat. Besides, Toyama knows more about the previous similar cases than Heiji does. The latter starts yelling at Kazuha just like usual, but quickly stops as Toyama coldly glowers at him, and rather suggests she should go and wait for him there. Kazuha then leaves in anger, but turns around discreetly to cast a glance at Heiji and behold, with a certain loving interest, her friend's deep and passionate concentration on the case. The game participants ask if they can do the same, and then come back, as they haven't eaten a single thing since noon, and they want to change clothes due to rain. Otaki agrees to let them go as their hotel is near, but orders them to come back to the Castle as quick as possible once they're done. Toyama suddenly turns around as he recognises a voice he heard a long time ago, and which has to do with a bloody crime scene with banknotes all over. Toyama then gives Otaki a secret order and the latter complies and goes away, while Toyama gives a phone call to Heizo.
At the noodles restaurant close to the castle, Ran has Kazuha own up to having actually called her father to increase Heiji's interest in the case, and having the pleasure then to behold his lovely face when he's overfond of something. Ran says Kazuha's just as stupid as she is, since Ran also loves seeing Shinichi's passionate face during cases, though it gets on her nerves somehow. Ran realises Conan is not with them and probably remained at the castle. That same Conan finds a burned battery near the place where Kato had fallen, and he and Heiji realise Kato's death is actually not a suicide but a well-performed murder. Ran and Kazuha quickly leave the restaurant after eating since Ran is worried about Conan, and Kazuha tries to comfort her saying police agents are everywhere due to the recent crime, and he's not in danger, and no murders can occur any longer. Though, they notice in front of her Maho Katagiri who sets herself alight with a lighter and throws herself into the river. Ran and Kazuha rush to the bridge's guardrail and see her burning corpse in the river, and they start screaming and calling the police. Suddenly, they spot someone spying on them from behind, but the person runs away.
Katagiri's body is fished out, half-burned, and Otaki notices she actually died of a blunt force trauma, probably when her head violently hit one of the bridge's pillars when she jumped, leading them to believe she indeed committed suicide. However, Heiji harshly questions Kazuha, saying it's impossible she killed herself, and that the runaway person they saw must be the one who killed her from far, using a kind of trick. The girls though deny it as impossible. Heiji gets infuriated and starts searching the victim's corpse, despite this being strictly forbidden, and suddenly Heizo grabs him by the collar and punches him violently in the face.
File 320 - Naniwa Kanjinchō
Heiji doesn't get why his father punched him, and the latter answers his son is completely unable to keep a cool head, instead just annoying police, he's nothing but a vain sprog thinking he's a great detective but actually just destroying paramount exhibits by searching a corpse in such a disrespectful way. Heizo then tells his son to clear off, as the police will try to prevent the murders Heiji was unable just to foresee. As Otaki tries to step in, Toyama holds him back, asking him if he did follow his orders to have a certain person shadowed by his men. Hearing that, Otaki figures out why Heizo acted that way with Heiji: in order to protect his son. Otaki tells Heizo about the murders, adding that the forensics actually found nothing but Kato's fingerprints on his lighter. He underlines there's no point thinking about anything else but suicide, unless they find any other elements. Heizo orders him to leave a couple of agents dealing with the case, and tells the other ones, including himself, Toyama and Otaki, to leave the place since police have more serious cases to investigate than such base ones. Otaki stands flabbergasted while Toyama can't believe Heizo really "has the intention to do it". Meanwhile, a mysterious suspect is glaring at the police officers from among the crowd.
Otaki tries to convince Heiji to stop sulking and being so sad, since his father did it "just because he's infuriated at the fact two people were killed near the police headquarters". While Kogoro says this is not a reason to punch him in the face, Kazuha says maybe Heizo did it due to what she heard in the car, the fact that the murderer could be that serial bank robber who started to operate just after the first discovery of the burned out body thirteen years ago. Those five bank heists were responsible for the death of not less than seven people, and the robber and his dangerous gang are still walking free. Kogoro understands and pokes fun at the situation of a caring father going as far as beating up his son in order to protect him from a case which is even more dangerous than he thinks. Heiji gets up and says he would almost cry about this situation too, actually cry about his father's utter stupidity, since hitting him made him even more eager to looking for the true murderer, and he adds he's not as understanding as Minamoto no Yoshitsune in the Kanjinchō, but more stupid than him for Conan.
Conan thinks about it, and wonders why Heizo beat up his son, knowing this would prompt him even more to disobey. Heiji says Katagiri didn't commit suicide, and asks Otaki to have a look at Katagiri's coat's right side, where they spot three strange but similar small blood marks. This probably means Katagiri was bashed by her attacker, and her blood splashed on the latter, who left three blood marks of "something" from his clothes on Katagiri's coat while carrying her body. This also means she was probably already dead when Kazuha and Ran saw her, though the girls deny it absolutely, since she was moving as if she suffered from fire. Anyway, Heiji says the three participants are the most suspicious ones since two victims out of the four were from their own tour group, and Heiji and Otaki question them as they arrive at the Gokuraku Bridge, wondering what's happened. Fukushima wonders why she committed suicide, and Otaki says suicide is just a possibility. Kasuya declares he went to have a snack in a close-by bar, while Wakisaka did the same but not at the same place, and Fukushima went back to Nanayari Hotel to change clothes and come back right after. He was with Katagiri but underlines he would have stayed with her if he had known what was about to occur. As Kogoro hears the girls say Kato and Katagiri might have been "ordered" to kill themselves, he turns to Wakisaka, saying that "Nobunaga" could have ordered them to die...
Kasuya steps in, saying Fukushima could have used Mitsuhide's three minutes to switch roles with any of the other characters and order something just as well. Kasuya also emphasizes that, being Ieyasu, he can't have ordered such a thing. Though, Wakisaka and Fukushima believe it impossible that someone just kill themselves on orders from anybody. What's more, Katagiri had the role of an observer, and then she would have certainly been more suspicious than usual, and it's just unlikely to think they kept on playing the game even though one of them had died before their eyes. The forensics tell Otaki they've found another fragment on Katagiri, along with a photograph showing five people standing around the dragon's scroll, including younger Kato and Katagiri, implying they know each other. None seems to know who are the three other people on the picture except the younger Hirano, the trip's planner, who was supposed to come with them but had a last-minute hitch which had him postpone his coming. The three participants say Hirano should be the first one to be questioned if the serial killer has a connection with the trip, and they tell Otaki the name of Hirano's website, before going back to their hotel.
Conan believes the person Kazuha and Ran saw on the bridge has to be the murderer, though he still can't figure out how Katagiri was killed since the girls saw her suffering from fire before leaping into the void. Both detective boys deduce the culprit left blood zipper marks on Katagiri, yet all three participants wear clothes with zippers, and Conan wonders what could be the reason why the murderer changed clothes before and after his deed. And eventually, he and Heiji find out something interesting. The wind then starts to pick up and Ran's umbrella flies away in the air, and at last the detectives understand their mistakes and discover the whole truth. Kazuha tells Otaki and co that Heiji seemed to have found out who the murderer is, and he's quickly run away with Conan. Both boys indeed rush into the city to try and find the three participants. Conan seems to have phoned the hotel and gotten confirmation that one of the participants at least is innocent since he directly went back to the hotel, while the two others didn't.
Heiji fears the killer might murder another person, and Conan says indeed it's the case, since the police will quickly find out something went wrong with the "suicides", and thus there's only little time left for the killer to assassinate his last victim. They suddenly spot Kasuya and deduce "he probably wants to erase the evidence of his guilt". Conan decides to call the police but Heiji tells him to hang up : police will probably have the murderer fly away, whereas a deduction show from two kids won't scare him and will lead him to confess more easily.
Saying so, they start tailing Kasuya, but are completely unaware that they are being followed by a gang of dangerous crooks.
File 321 - The Sad Tiger Scroll
Heiji and Conan notice Kasuya enters a strange warehouse, while Conan's got the feeling they are being watched for and followed. Indeed, as they enter the warehouse too, they don't realise the gangsters are just nipping at their heels. Conan prepares his stungun wristwatch while Heiji keeps an eye on Kasuya's moves. Suddenly, Conan is discreetly abducted by an unknown assailant in the dark, without Heiji's noticing it, and the latter says he'll go first after Kasuya, and Conan will follow him once he's done with relieving himself. Kasuya knows he's being tracked by Heiji but pretends not being aware of it, and keeps on climbing up the stairs, at the top of which he meets...
People
Major events
Kazuha and Ran discuss their feelings for their respective detective boyfriends.
Wounded Idol Case
Characters introduced
| Osamu Kenzaki | |
|---|---|
 |
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File 322 - A Long-Awaited Gathering
Kogoro Mouri gets an invitation for an engagement party from his favorite idol, Yoko Okino. Kaoru is the one who is getting engaged is another star and a former member of a group they all used to be in. She is a fan of Kogoro Mouri and wanted him to find out who was stalking her. Kaoru decides to take a bath. And the rest of the girl group decide to dress up and sing their old song to surprise her. Conan discovers blood leading to the door and they find her attacked. Bloody clothes are found outside which were made to make it seem like it was Kaoru's stalker but really is someone at the party.
File 323 - The Secret of the Idols
Megure searches everyone for the murder weapon but it isn't found. Though they discover a listening device and find drawers tampered with.
File 324 - The Idols' Regret
People
Major events
It turns out that Terumi Hoshino knows one of our heroes!
Kidnapped Tourist Case
Characters introduced
| James Black | |
|---|---|
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|
File 325 - Something the Lion Dropped
Professor Agasa and the Detective Boys are at a circus (named "The Animal Show with Paul & Annie"), and they enjoy it very much. After the show, they leave the venue and notice a man who appears to be Randy Hawk (the show's sponsor, Paul and Annie's father and a businessman from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who is currently taking the circus on a worldwide tour) surrounded by reporters. Since the man seems very tired of and upset about the swarm of questions from them, Haibara comments that he should have hired bodyguards, and Conan explains that Hawk never does because, according to him, he "comes from a lineage of cowboys and cowboys know how to defend themselves". The man finally loses his temper with the reporters and lashes out by saying "Can you give me a break!?" Conan notices his British accent, realizes that he is not actually Randy Hawk and quickly comes up with a rescue plan. Conan tells the reporters that the man is a friend of his grandfather (Haibara points at Agasa at this moment) called "Thomas" and the rest of the Detective Boys takes advantage of their confusion to drag the man away, claiming that they have planned to have lunch with "Thomas".
After they have left the circus, the foreign man thanks the Detective Boys for having gotten him out of trouble and mentions that he has come to Japan because he adores Hawk's show and knows that only in Japan can he buy a limited edition of Hawk’s lion keychain. Agasa asks why Conan knows that the man is not Hawk, and Conan gives the above-mentioned rationale, and adds that Japanese people cannot differentiate between Westerners very well. The foreign man is impressed by Conan's deductions and bends down to congratulate him for being so perceptive. The man then introduces himself as James Black, and the Detective Boys also introduce themselves to him and show him their badges. James instantly recognizes that Sherlock Holmes is on the badges, and compares them to the Baker Street Irregulars. James further comments that coincidentally, he was born on Baker Street; he adds that he was raised in Chicago, the Windy City where Al Capone (a nefarious gangster active in the 1920s) stormed.
In order to show the Detective Boys his gratitude, James decides to treat his new friends to a nice lunch (he was going to meet with a friend, who he describes as a long-haired man, before being stopped by the reporters, but it appears that he has forgotten about this), and since Agasa's Beetle does not have enough seats, James says that he will fetch his crossover car parked not far away. After he is gone, Haibara asks Conan in a mildly concerned manner what he feels about James; the latter responds with "nothing negative" and is surprised that Haibara finds James slightly suspicious.
James reaches his crossover. As he opens the door, two police officers interrupt him. They explain that his crossover was stolen a week ago, and since they want to know the exact circumstances under which James rented it they have a few questions for him (including his name, where he is accommodated etc.). James agrees to take the questions beside their police car on the other end of the alley, and as they approach the vehicle, James tells the officers that he wants to notify the Detective Boys about his situation first. Upon hearing this, one of the officers takes out a gun; he proceeds to hold it against James’ back and order him, in a menacing manner, to get in the car immediately. James is petrified by the sudden turn of events, so he does not manage to move his body; this prompts the officer to kick James into the car. James' lion keychain falls off as a result, but since the “officers” deem it unimportant, they drive off without further ado (there is another “officer” in the driver's seat). On the way, they reveal to James the motive of the kidnapping: they want James to share with them the money that he earned by "whipping animals". James, knowing that they have mistaken him for Randy Hawk, starts protesting, but this is ignored by the kidnappers.
Agasa and the Detective Boys set out to look for James after waiting for him for 40 minutes, and they eventually spot his crossover (they know that it is his because Mitsuhiko notices that there is a cute lion figure beside the front window). The crossover is in a strange state: the door is open, and the keys are on the door lock. Some children playing nearby tell them that James entered an alley nearby with two men in coats, and with this clue the Detective Boys are able to find the lion keychain of James. They notice bloodstains on the keychain; namely, on the symbols "P", "&" and "A" of "Paul & Annie". Conan deduces that this must be a message from James to them, but he struggles with its meaning. This file ends with a panel in which James is sucking his finger (which has been injured for some reason), looking collected and unafraid, and a smirking kidnapper sitting beside him.
File 326 - P & A
The kidnappers brag about their "good catch", believing that they will get millions as ransom from Hawk's children in exchange for his release, and they completely disregard James' insistence that they are mistaken until they hear Randy Hawk speak on the radio. One of the kidnappers suggests killing James straightaway, but another reprimands him for being hot-headed and suggesting something this stupid and says that they must follow the original plan, drive to the mountains of Gunma Prefecture and dispose of James there. On the other hand, Agasa and the Detective Boys head to a police station nearby to ask for their help, but the policemen there completely fail to grasp that they might be dealing with a kidnap and that the situation is dire. Seeing that they cannot depend on the police, the Detective Boys try to figure out the meaning of "P & A" on themselves, and are unsuccessful. So they are forced to resort to asking pedestrians nearby whether they have noticed anything suspicious, and at this moment Ayumi notices that her detective badge is gone. She hypothesizes that James took it from her to appreciate the silhouette of Sherlock Holmes on it. Knowing that James likely has the badge, Conan changes the plan and uses his criminal-tracking glasses to try to track James' location. This reveals that James is 16 kilometers away from them, going towards Saitama Prefecture (which is located between Tokyo Metropolis and Gunma Prefecture) on Ikumo Highway and in all likelihood on a vehicle.
Conan calls the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and urges Takagi to set roadblocks on Ikumo Highway, on the border separating Tokyo and Saitama. Takagi patiently explains that he cannot do so, but Sato, knowing that Conan is the one calling, grabs the landline and listens to what Conan has to say. She agrees to do what Conan deems necessary and promises Conan that she and Takagi will set out immediately for Saitama. Takagi is astounded by her decision, but Sato justifies it by saying (happily) that cases involving Conan tend to be interesting and that there is not another case at hand anyways.
After the call, Conan asks Agasa to take them to Saitama as well, as they are the only ones besides the kidnappers who can actually recognize James. Haibara says that she finds it weird that James, knowing that whoever kidnapped him was fishy (if he did not know then he would not have time to injure himself and leave the message on the keychain), still went with them. Conan says that she is overthinking and wonders where she is going with this. At this instant, the mysterious man with the black knit hat (i.e. Shuichi Akai) passes the Detective Boys and stares discreetly at them. Haibara immediately reacts to his presence and turns around with an extremely frightened expression on her face, but Akai has already driven off. Haibara screams at Conan in panic, asking whether he has noticed Akai, and Conan says that he has not because of the car's high speed. This response (for some reason) calms Haibara down.
The kidnappers reach the roadblocks and encounter Yumi, who has been instructed by Sato to peep into every passing car to check for foreigners. Since they have made their car resemble a true police car, have covered James with a coat and have prepared a well-crafted fabrication, she allows them to pass without suspecting them in the slightest way and believing that they are police officers transporting a petty criminal. Agasa and the Detective Boys then arrive and are astonished to learn that the police have not noticed a single problematic vehicle. Since the battery of his glasses is dying, Conan knows that he cannot keep tracking James' movement for much longer; thus, Agasa encourages them to try to focus on the message again. After some unfruitful discussions, Ayumi suggests that since James likes animals so much, "P & A" might be related to animals. This inspires Conan, who exclaims at once that he knows where James is and thanks Ayumi excitedly. Meanwhile, more than 8 kilometers from Conan and company (and on a highway of Saitama), James sees through the rear-view mirror that Akai was right behind the kidnapper's car (note that it has never been revealed how Akai managed to find James), and he smirks mysteriously.
File 327 - A Stupid Plan
People
Major events
- Haibara says that James Black is giving her a weird feeling and James seems to be acting too calmly being kidnapped plus some other obvious hints.
- James and Shuichi seem to be working together and the former refers to Conan by the name "Cool Guy" because the photo of Conan in the Vermouth room's says this name.
Sato's Omiai Case
Characters introduced
| Isokichi Kamoi | |
|---|---|
 |
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File 328 - Sato's Omiai
Sato's mother laments that her daughter is spending her day off lying lazily in the living room, after getting up at noon, eating mandarins and watching sports on TV, while this is not a behaviour that suits an important police officer. Instead, she suggests Sato should have a look at the pile of pictures her mother places in front of her, and Sato gets it that here we go again with the Omiai (arranged meeting and/or marriage in Japan) discussion, and as usual she has to force herself to get stuck with all the pictures of potential husbands. She first refuses to do it, explaining she sees enough pictures of corpses as part of her job, but her mother starts crying and tries to have her do it, saying she's been feeling so alone since Sato's father died in action. Miwako then accepts to only meet that person, and she flings a picture at random at her mother with her toes. Mrs. Sato opens the folder and when seeing the picture, she feels overjoyed, saying Miwako is indeed her daughter, given they have the exact same likes.
Meeting them in the street, Yumi tells Ran, Sonoko and Conan about Sato's doing a Omiai and being, at the moment, at the Japanese restaurant in order to meet her "future husband". Conan and the girls can't understand she chose a picture at random. Though, it's really unlikely any men, except unexperienced or serious ones, would accept dating a policewoman, spending most of her time on crime scenes. Yumi says not even Takagi is aware she's doing a Omiai, since all men at the police's are crazy about her, and she didn't want to wreak havoc nor shame herself by revealing it, and anyway she won't say yes to marriage. Moreover, there's absolutely no chance at all she will have to answer a proposal, since actually Yumi was tasked to tell Takagi about it, and she knows he will rush to the restaurant to stop her from saying yes, telling her she has "an unexpected and urgent case to investigate". After that, no groom will ever want to meet her again. Yumi wishes Takagi would at last declare his love to Miwako. Sonoko wants to see the Omiai with her own eyes, but Yumi can't give them a lift there since she's currently on duty. Though, they unexpectedly meet Dr. Araide, and ask him to drive them there. They want to see if Takagi really will come or not, as they know he and Miwako actually love each other.
At the Minatoro Restaurant, Sato, dressed up to the nines in a traditional Japanese outfit, gets annoyed at her "husband"'s being more than 10-minute late, and she's about to leave as Isokichi Kamoi, the "groom"'s butler, comes in and apologises for his young master's lateness. The master's parents are away and couldn't come, and that master comes in too, saying he's late due to taking much time to choose the most suitable flowers to "Inspector Sato", and he's revealed to be Shiratori. Mrs. Sato and Shiratori seem to know and like each other. Sato understands her mistake, though it's a rather huge stroke of bad luck. Sato's mom tells her that, just like herself, her daughter has a crush on police agents. Sato tries to have Shiratori believe she really chose him at random, and he replies fate then decided for them to meet and get married maybe. Miwako secretly hopes Yumi didn't forget her promise to tell "her knight" to go and fetch Miwako before things get worse. Though, Miwako wonders who "Yumi's knight" actually is - she is ignorant of him being actually Takagi.
Takagi has a sneezing fit as if someone were thinking about him. He gets Yumi's phone call telling him to check his text messages since she sent him something. Suddenly, someone screams behind him, saying a robber burglarised the convenience store and is trying to run away. Takagi and Chiba chase him, leaving Yumi's phone call into the car. They tell the crowd to stand aside and free the way for them, and they find an old man who's just been bumped into by the robber. The man says the robber went to hide into the park's public restroom. Takagi and Chiba rush there and find the gloves, helmet and long coat the robber was wearing, along with the booty bag, and they enter the restroom, ordering everyone to leave cabins and show up. Three people emerge : a tall and built man wearing a blue jumper and an earring named Hiroshi Zama, a small woman wearing a black hoodie named Eiko Koshimizu, and a middle-sized man wearing a green pullover. Takagi takes them near the old man, and asks him to tell them which of the three jostled him. He says he can't say for sure since his glasses had fallen during the shock, but he can at least say it was a woman wearing a blue jumper under her coat, smaller than or as small as him. Takagi doesn't understand since the only woman wears a black sweater... The three ask the police agents the permission to leave, since it seems they're out of the picture in that case, but Takagi and Chiba ask them to wait a moment as they need to listen to some other testimonies.
Sonoko and co are told by the restaurant's waitress that Sato is dating Shiratori in one of their rooms. They are astounded and don't know what to do, but Conan says they are old friends of Shiratori's parents, and they came to prepare a nice surprise for the couple, but they need some more time to finish it, and they ask to go into the next room to theirs to do so. In the meantime, the Satos, Shiratori and Kamoi are enjoying a delicious Japanese dinner, since Miwako doesn't appreciate French cuisine. Her mother is surprised to hear that, but Miwako seems to be lost in her thoughts, and Shiratori notices it.
Takagi asks the gathered crowd about any witnesses of the robbery around, and Zama, in the police car with the others, suggests Chiba should ask the convenience store about the robber. Chiba replies they did : the robber came in the place at around noon, when there's usually none or only a few people, and threatened the cashier and the manager with a knife, showing a "Take out money" paper to them. None could tell about his/her voice or appearance then. A high school student tells Takagi she was in a clothes' shop when she heard the scream and saw the robber running past the store : he/she's a very tall person, as he/she was at least one head taller than the other people in the crowd, and he/she wore a green sweater. She'd say the robber is a man, given his/her size and bulk. Takagi says the tallest suspect is Zama, but his sweater is blue. A passer-by then tells Takagi that a close-by bar's manager bragged about seeing the robber running past him. The manager is questioned, but can't say if the robber is a man or a woman, though he knows he/she wore a black sweater under his/her coat, and he/she's about 1.70 meters tall. Takagi says Kamieda is that tall but he wears a green jumper... The inspector is therefore all at sea and can't match testimonies.
In the meanwhile, Mrs. Sato and Kamoi decide to leave the couple alone, and Shiratori casts a glance at Sato who keeps looking at her phone in wait for the "knight" to call her. Shiratori tells her, all of a sudden, that he knew she expects a "valiant knight to come up and rescue her from the ugly ogre". Sato pretends not to understand a word he says, and he answers he agrees to make a deal with her : if Takagi comes along, Shiratori will leave the place and accept things how they are. But if Takagi doesn't, Sato will have to accept his marriage proposal. Sato asks him why he speaks about Takagi, and Shiratori says why not, and bursts into laughter, saying he got her there. Sato starts thinking deeply, while Conan and co are eavesdropping their conversation from the next room, and they suddenly hear Sato saying she agrees to the deal.
People
Cover in other countries
See also
| Volumes of the Manga | ||
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