Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

"Your shirt definitely has Mr. Kaneda's fingerprints on it!"

……

After everything came to light, Professor Iwama knelt on the ground with his head down and told everyone the reason for killing Kaneda.

Kaneda had learned that he had previously appropriated students' papers, and used this to blackmail him…

Professor Iwama only thought of this path in order to avoid being threatened by him further.

Shortly afterward, Professor Iwama was taken away.

The next day

Ryuno and his friends arrived at Beika Station. Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha were going back today.

Before leaving, Hattori Heiji waved with a smile: "Thank you for your hospitality this time. Next time you come to Osaka, I will definitely show you around!"

Ran walked up to Kazuha and whispered something in his ear.

Although he didn't know exactly what Ran said, Ryūno guessed a little from the slightly flushed face of Toyama Kazuha.

It must be something about love again.

After seeing the two off, Ryūno and Kōran returned home.

After finally seeing Toyama and Kazuha off, only Ryūno and Ran were left at home.

The two sat on the sofa, ready to watch a movie after a long time.

Just as Xiaolan was looking down to select a videotape, Longye gently tapped the tip of Xiaolan's nose with his finger.

Sensing Ryuno's actions, Ran looked at him curiously.

At this moment, Longye's eyes were filled with a mixture of clarity and passion.

After a few seconds of eye contact, Xiaolan leaned back on the sofa.

Then she pouted and looked at Longye with her big, watery eyes.

Upon closer inspection, a hint of a smile could be seen at the corners of her mouth.

Seeing this, Longye chuckled and stroked Xiaolan's hair with his right hand.

……

A few days later

Ryūno and his companion received a call from Uncle Mori.

Not only did the horse he bought earlier win a big prize, but he also received a very lucrative job offer.

The purpose of the call was to invite them to a nice meal.

After listening to Uncle Mori's words, Tatsuno and Ran immediately accepted his invitation.

Are you kidding me? Kogoro Mouri is treating us to a meal for no reason?

This kind of thing, where the sun rises in the west, might never happen again!

Even Xiaolan exclaimed in surprise, curious about what kind of food her father would treat them to.

After packing their things, Ryuno and his companion headed to the Mouri Detective Agency.

Maori Detective Agency

"Really, Dad?!"

"Yes, yes, yes! How many more times are you going to ask... Putting the horse race aside, the reward for that commission is indeed 500 million. She's already transferred one-fifth of the payment to me in advance~"

Upon hearing the reward, Longye frowned.

To be honest, it was just a simple infidelity investigation, and the reward was really outrageous.

Although the other party is the president's wife, but...

Before an investigation has even officially begun, 100 million has already been transferred. Isn't that suspicious?

Conan, sitting opposite Ryuno, also looked serious, seemingly deep in thought.

"dong dong dong"

At this time, a knock on the door suddenly sounded.

Xiaolan turned to look at the door: "Please come in!"

The moment the door opened, Uncle Mori called out loudly, "Excuse me! We're closed for today, we're about to leave..."

Before he could finish speaking, a fair-skinned woman in a kimono suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

"I'm sorry, I called the other day but no one answered. I was thinking of visiting in person."

After looking around, the woman respectfully asked, "May I ask which one of you is Mr. Mori?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan immediately pointed to the desk: "This is... wait, where's Dad?"

Xiaolan turned her head and found that her father was no longer at his desk.

At that moment, Uncle Mori came out from the inner room.

He had changed into a clean white suit, and his hair and beard were neatly groomed.

As he approached the woman, he said in a low voice, "I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting! This beautiful lady, I am Kogoro Mouri."

"Boom!"

……

The woman sat down on the sofa.

Seeing Detective Mouri sitting opposite her, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.

At this moment, a large bump appeared on Kogoro Mouri's head.

"Hello, my name is Shizuka Ikenami. I heard from a friend that as long as I find Detective Mouri, you can definitely help me find the person I'm looking for."

"Oh? Who are you looking for?"

“He was my classmate in middle school. We were both in the kendo club back then. His name is Shibata Shiro.”

After speaking, Ms. Chi Bo took a photo out of her bag and handed it to the table.

The photo shows several young men and women dressed in kendo uniforms.

Upon seeing the girl in the photo, Uncle Mori's eyes lit up: "Could this girl in the photo be...?"

"I'm really embarrassed to say this, but this girl is me. This photo was taken 30 years ago."

Thirty years ago?!

As soon as he said it, Uncle Mori exclaimed in surprise.

The three people standing nearby, including Longye, also showed expressions of shock.

The boy and girl in the photo are clearly around ten years old. That means the woman is over forty!

But the woman in front of me looks like she's in her early thirties; it seems that time hasn't left any marks on her face.

Even Tatsuno, who already knew the woman's identity, was surprised.

Aside from Yukiko and Eri Kisaki, she is the "most beautiful mature woman" he has ever seen.

Whether it was her innate elegance and poise or her fair and radiant skin, she left everyone in awe.

After regaining his composure, Uncle Mori said seriously, "Could you please tell me your interests while you're at it?"

“Okay. But I’m not that familiar with Shibata Shiro…”

"No, I meant you..."

"Crack!"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a sound of clapping hands behind him.

Uncle Mori swallowed hard, not daring to turn around.

Chapter 144 The Laughing Dog Is Laughing at a Hundred Steps for Fifty Steps

Sensing the murderous aura emanating from behind him, Kogoro Mouri immediately decided to change his tone. He pretended to look at Ms. Ikenami in front of him seriously and cleared his throat.

"Ahem! Let's talk about your purpose. Is your only goal to get me to help you find Mr. Shibata? Is he really your first love...?"

Upon hearing this, Ms. Chibo's face showed a look of reminiscence: "Actually, no, I wanted him to return a photo to me. It was the only photo I could keep as a souvenir when I won the semi-finals at the Summer Games."

"But if it's such an important photo, why did you give it to him?"

“I once borrowed a book from him and accidentally slipped that photo inside. I didn’t notice at the time and just returned the book to him.”

Uncle Mori smiled with relief.

He knew it! How could such a beautiful lady possibly have a first love?

Thinking of this, he was in a great mood: "Ms. Ikebab, would you like something to drink?"

"Reiko will do."

"Reiko?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback after hearing Ms. Chibo's words.

Are we just ignorant? What exactly is Reiko?

Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Ms. Ikenami covered her mouth and smiled apologetically: "Sorry, I was thinking about something just now. 'Reiko' is what Mr. Shibata used to call me, I think it's the name of the heroine in the book."

"Just a cold coffee would be fine, thank you."

Although somewhat confused, Kogoro Mouri went into the kitchen and made a cup of coffee for Ms. Ikenami.

But Conan is clearly not so easily fooled.

After hearing this explanation, he placed his hand on his chin and carefully considered the word "Reiko" that Ms. Ikebab had just blurted out.

Generally speaking, only things a person does or says subconsciously are reliable.

Reiko... cold coffee...

Just as Conan was pondering the connection between the two, Uncle Mori returned to his seat.

He looked at the photo in his hand carefully, then scratched his head with a troubled expression.