Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Eri looked at it over and over for a long time, but couldn't find any trace that pointed to its owner.

"Could it be Miss Grey's?" The thought suddenly popped into the girl's mind.

Miss Grey was the teacher in charge of reception at UCLA. She was blonde, blue-eyed, and had an elegant demeanor; she certainly looked like the kind of person who would wear a trench coat like that.

But then she thought again and rejected the guess.

On the day he left the United States, Lin Xiuyi and Miss Grey only exchanged brief greetings and did not seem to know each other well.

Moreover, during their two days in the United States, the two were almost inseparable, except when they were sleeping at night.

Lin Xiuyi didn't have any time to talk to Miss Grey alone, so how could he possibly get her trench coat?
Whose is it?

Eri Kisaki became increasingly confused, feeling as if her heart was being scratched by cat claws.

She folded the trench coat again and put it back in her suitcase, but she no longer had the heart to tidy up her clothes.

All night long, the girl tossed and turned, her mind replaying every detail of her time in America, trying to find any clues that Lin Xiuyi might have had contact with other women, but she had no clues until dawn.

……

The next day, without Lingzi acting as her "little alarm clock," Lin Xiuyi slept straight until after 10 a.m.

He yawned as he walked out of the bedroom and immediately saw Kogoro Mouri sprawled on the sofa in an extremely undignified posture, with a trace of drool at the corner of his mouth and most of the blanket on him fallen off.

Last night, after Lin Xiuyi went to bed early, the bored Mouri Kogoro watched police dramas on TV until he finally drifted off to sleep in the middle of the night.

Perhaps hearing footsteps, Kogoro Mouri groggily opened his eyes.

"Mom, what time is it? If it's still early, I'll sleep a little longer..."

“It’s almost 10:30.” Lin Xiuyi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Also, you called the wrong person. You should call him ‘Dad’.”

"roll!"

Kogoro Mouri instantly sobered up considerably, grabbed a cushion from the sofa, and threw it at his friend.
"It's only 10:30. What's wrong with sleeping in on a holiday? Don't bother me, I need to catch up on my sleep..."

Before he could finish speaking, the doorbell at the apartment entrance suddenly rang.

Lin Xiuyi walked to the door, reaching for the doorknob as he turned back to Kogoro Mouri and said, "It's probably Reiko coming back. You'll have to get up even if you want to sleep. If she sees you've made such a mess of the sofa, she'll definitely give you a hard time..."

Halfway through her sentence, Lin Xiuyi's voice abruptly stopped as the door slowly opened, and the smile on her face instantly froze.

Standing outside was not Reiko, but Eri Kisaki, wearing a beige dress and pulling a suitcase.

The girl had faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept well last night.

Oh no, this is terrible!

Lin Xiuyi's heart skipped a beat. Last night, he had been so busy investigating the serial murder case that he had completely forgotten about the Sharon trench coat hidden in his suitcase.

Seeing the familiar suitcase in Eri's hand, memories flooded back, and cold sweat almost broke out on his back.

"Eri? What brings you here?"

Lin Xiu subconsciously took a half step back, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible guilt.

"Can't you see?"

Eri Kisaki expressionlessly reached out and patted the handle of her suitcase.
“When I came back from the airport yesterday, Ms. Murakami originally wanted to deliver your luggage to the izakaya, but I was worried that no one would be there, so I asked her to leave it at my house first.”

"Really? Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Xiu smiled and quickly reached out to take the suitcase. "Come in and sit down, let me carry it, it's quite heavy."

"No hurries?"

Eri Kisaki dodged his hand by turning to the side.
"Let's open it and take a look first. It would be troublesome if something was missing or there were some extra things that shouldn't be there."

"How could that be?" Lin Xiuyi continued to play dumb. "There are just a few clothes and toiletries that I changed out of. There's nothing valuable inside, so nothing is missing."

"Your clothes?" Eri Kisaki suddenly snorted. "When did you start liking to wear women's trench coats?"

What women's trench coat?

Lin Xiuyi feigned surprise, acting as if to say, "I don't understand what you're saying."

Kogoro Mouri, who was lying on the sofa pretending to be asleep, had been listening intently to their conversation.

Upon hearing the words "women's trench coat," he instantly perked up, sat bolt upright, and curiously peered over to ask.
"Where did this women's trench coat come from? Shuichi, you don't like women's clothing too, do you...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he met Eri Kisaki's cold eyes.

His gaze was like it was filled with ice shards, and Kogoro Mori instantly knew better than to shrink back, grab the blanket and cover his head, muttering, "I didn't hear anything, I'll go back to sleep," completely burying his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Eri Kisaki stopped beating around the bush, pulled her suitcase directly to the center of the living room, squatted down, and unzipped it.

"What's going on with this trench coat? I was with you almost every day during our trip to America, and I didn't see you buy any new clothes. Besides, this trench coat clearly isn't new; there's a faint scent of perfume still lingering on the collar!"

As she spoke, she reached into the bottom of her suitcase and pulled out the black silk trench coat.

"A trench coat?"

Lin Xiu blinked, deliberately feigning a confused expression.

"Why is there a women's trench coat in my suitcase? Eri, did you pack the wrong clothes and put your own trench coat in my suitcase?"

"Hmph, you're still pretending!"

Eri Kisaki unfolded the trench coat and handed it to Hideaki Hayashi.

"Look at yourself, does this trench coat look like the size and style I would wear?"

Lin Xiuyi quickly considered countermeasures in her mind, but maintained an innocent expression.

"Didn't you just say that this time when we went to America, we spent all our time together except for sleeping in separate rooms at Brian's house at night?"

"Where would I find the time to buy a women's trench coat and secretly hide it in my suitcase? Besides, why would I need a women's trench coat?"

His sincere tone and open eyes made Eri Kisaki hesitate a little.

"But this shouldn't be something you brought from Japan."

Eri Kisaki frowned and held up the trench coat to show it off.
"I helped you pack your suitcase before you went to America."

"Could it be that I was in such a rush packing day that I accidentally took the wrong thing?"

Lin Xiuyi pretended to pat her forehead.

"That's it! That must be it! Mrs. Brian has several similar trench coats at home."

"So much happened in those two days, the shooting and the FBI. My mind was a mess when I was packing, and I might have mistaken her trench coat for my own and accidentally stuffed it into my suitcase!"

This explanation sounds plausible, fitting the chaotic situation at the time and perfectly explaining the origin of the trench coat. (End of Chapter)