No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

"Hehe, I happen to not have any friends of similar age or compatible with me in Japan, so I hope Officer Kitahara can give me Miss Evelyn's phone number."

Hehe, you couldn't resist after all?

But I haven't caught Shuichi Akai yet, so let me stay by the river a little longer.

"Yes, of course, but I need to ask her first. She doesn't like strangers calling her all the time."

"of course."

The silence along the way made Judy a little awkward, as if she had only helped Kitahara Masaki to get his girlfriend's phone number. While that was indeed the case, she was also a little surprised. She knew nothing about Kitahara Masaki. This police officer was always portrayed as a model by the Metropolitan Police Department on television, but his past was often overlooked, with many assuming he came from a wealthy family.

Even during the several days of surveillance, Kitahara Masaki, whom Judy saw, never seemed like a policeman; he seemed more like a playful young man.

His disguise was so good that it was convincing.

Once Judy understood this, she knew his background must be extraordinary, but she never imagined that it was the result of the Black Organization's boss's machinations.

----------------

Several days had passed since 'Judy begged Evelyn for her phone number to contact Vermouth,' and Kitahara Masaki found her relaxed expression amusing. In fact, he was amused by his own scheme. Judy was acting to track down the people who killed her parents, but he had used her for his own purposes.

He wouldn't use nonsense like "for the greater good"; it was all for his own future so that he could live a life completely free from the organization.

Moreover, for Kitahara Masaki, Vermouth was his savior, and it was impossible for her to fall into the hands of the FBI.

"Kitahara-nii, what's wrong? I keep thinking you look a bit serious."

"Ah, it's nothing, it's just that one of my few remaining consciences is aching slightly."

"This doesn't sound like anything's wrong; on the contrary, it makes people even more concerned, in every sense of the word."

"Anyway, just patiently teach me magic tricks, and at the same time, we'll plan how to lure those people from the zoo out and then catch them."

Kitahara Masaki continued to seek out Kaito to learn magic, while also keeping an eye on Jodie's movements. James was being pursued by the Public Security Bureau, so he wasn't worried.

beep beep-

Hearing the phone ring, Kitahara Masaki dropped the karuta cards he was cutting to the floor with a thud. However, it wasn't his phone ringing; it was Judy's. But the English teacher was currently engrossed in arcade games and chose to ignore these calls from male teachers.

This English teacher is quite something. Now she plays games after class because Kitahara Masaki gave her Vermouth's phone number. So she's finally free from the tension of thinking about how to get close to Kitahara Masaki. She no longer needs to camp near Kitahara Masaki looking for an opportunity to approach him. Instead, she's starting to think about how to get close to Evelyn and find out from her that the person who might be Vermouth's friend is...

Because the role she had to play had changed from a famous police officer with keen intuition to an ordinary young woman of the same age, her mindset naturally changed a lot. At this point, if she could just give it a push, things might just go smoothly.

However, Kitahara Masaki wasn't in a hurry, because he wasn't the only one investigating Akai Shuichi; Amuro Tooru was also involved. Kitahara Masaki would only resort to this method if Amuro Tooru truly couldn't find Akai Shuichi, or if he found him but let him escape.

beep beep.

Okay, I just finished talking about her, and now it's my turn.

"Brother Kitahara! It's a kidnapping case!"

"Okay! I'll be right there!"

Watching Kitahara Masaki rush off to handle a case, Kuroba Kaito couldn't help but marvel at how this police officer was a true master of time management. He could learn magic tricks, text his girlfriend, find out what cases needed his attention, and even offer several suggestions for his plan to lure the zoo out of the investigation. He truly wondered how Kitahara Masaki could achieve such a feat.

When Kitahara Masaki arrived at the couple's home, he saw a distressed couple; it seemed that their son had been kidnapped.

"Tell me about the situation."

“Okay, Kitahara-senpai. Here’s what happened: This afternoon, Mr. Kataoka received a call from the hospital saying that his son, Kataoka Jun, had gone missing. Then, the kidnappers called and said they had taken the child. Now, the kidnappers want this lady to deliver the ransom.”

"This lady?"

"Yes, Ms. Jiang Qi and Mr. Kataoka, the father of the person involved, are only in a romantic relationship, not a married couple. The biological mother of the kidnapped child passed away five years ago. However, Ms. Jiang Qi is quite brave. Even when the kidnappers specifically asked her to deliver the ransom, she did not refuse and expressed her willingness to deliver the ransom."

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Masaki slapped Takagi on the head and said:

"What are you thinking? What if Miss Jiang Qi gets injured because of the kidnappers? Or what if she's an accomplice of the kidnappers?"

After disciplining Takagi, Kitahara Masaki finally pushed open the door and went inside. The father of the person involved and the woman who was to become the child's stepmother both stepped forward and asked:

"You must be Officer Kitahara! Please, you must rescue the child, no matter the cost!"

"Since the kidnappers specifically requested that I deliver the ransom, then let me go!"

Kitahara Masaki looked at the two adults and gestured with his palms to indicate that they should not rush.

“I understand how you feel. We will send a policewoman to deliver the ransom in place of Miss Jiang Qi.”

"But……"

"Don't worry, we will definitely catch the kidnappers."

After saying all that, Kitahara Masaki beckoned Sato to go to another room with him, and then began to do Sato's makeup. An hour later, Sato's face already looked about 80% like Miss Jiang Qi.

Looking at Officer Sato in front of him, Kitahara Masaki nodded in satisfaction.

Chapter 168 Conan, where did you run off to?

"This... Inspector Kitahara, your makeup skills are truly amazing!"

"It's alright. Also, after you leave, just say that a professional helped you. I don't want word to get out that I can disguise myself or do makeup. Understand?"

"Yes!"

As Sato prepared to leave with the bag full of ransom money, a person in uniform suddenly appeared at the victim's home and said:

"Please let me take you to the scene."

"And who is this?"

"Oh, this is Mr. Kitayama, the driver for Mr. Kataoka's household."

Upon hearing Inspector Megure's reply, Kitahara Masaki nearly lost his composure, but he politely declined the driver's offer. Once the driver was out of sight, Kitahara Masaki immediately spoke to Inspector Megure:

"Besides Mr. Kataoka, Ms. Jiang Qi, and this driver Kitayama, who else in this family knows that the child has been kidnapped and that we have become involved in this matter?"

"Ah... no, there are only the three of them."

"That's good. Inspector Megure, you should immediately send someone to keep an eye on this Kitayama driver and see if he contacts anyone. Also, the two people in the house must be monitored to prevent them from being accomplices of the kidnappers."

Honestly, in kidnapping cases like this, maintaining secrecy and keeping the kidnappers guessing about the police's strategy is crucial. It turns out there was a driver hanging around the Kataoka house just now, and Kitahara Masaki almost blurted out, "Who are you?" when the driver asked if he wanted him as a driver.

"Inspector Megure, next time remember to keep unrelated people like the driver away from the area. We can't let people who aren't really involved with the hostages know about the progress and contents of the search."

After giving them instructions, the group immediately headed to the ransom delivery location to await the arrival of the kidnappers.

At 2 p.m., the kidnappers appeared on time, driving a very conspicuous pickup truck with the Bee Delivery logo on it. As it appeared in front of Officer Sato, its license plate number was reported to Kitahara Masaki, who was not in the truck but in the police helicopter.

Because Kitahara Masaki caused the Metropolitan Police Department's crime-solving rate to skyrocket, many weapons, equipment, and vehicles were approved, including a police helicopter.

"Inspector, the criminal took the ransom from me and left immediately. What should we do next?"

"We're tracking the kidnapper's movements from both the ground and the air. We've already installed a transmitter in the bag containing the ransom, so don't get too close to the prisoner. Takagi and Chiba, you two take turns tracking the prisoner, while I'll monitor its movements from the air."

However, the truck soon entered a tunnel, causing the helicopter to lose sight of it.

"Inspector! The prisoner has stopped moving!"

"what?"

Did they discover the transmitter?

"Let's go around first! Let's head to the tunnel exit ahead of everyone else. And Chiba, what are you doing? Hurry up and keep up, don't let it out of our sight!"

The tunnel is quite long, but Chiba reported that no trucks stopped, which means that the culprit tore off the wallpaper from the vehicle and changed the license plate!

That's pretty fast, but the advantage of a helicopter is that it's even faster.

By replaying the video, it was found that a similar van did indeed drive out of the tunnel, and it did indeed have a different license plate.

Perhaps these prisoners thought they had thrown away the transmitter and gotten rid of the police surveillance, so they were sure they could escape, but unfortunately—airplanes don't need to go through the hassle of running on the road.

Soon the helicopter caught up with the small truck and watched it drive into a factory.

"Lower it!"

"But there aren't any usable landing spots here!"

"It's okay, there's a ladder, hurry up! Once the kidnappers get the money, they'll probably kill the hostage to silence her!"

The pilot followed Kitahara Masaki's instructions, but he could only land Kitahara Masaki on the roof of a nearby building, because descending further would likely encounter turbulence between cities, so he could only descend to this altitude.

"Brother Kitahara! Aren't you waiting for reinforcements?"

"I can't wait any longer, I'm coming right now."

Standing on the roof of this five-story building, Kitahara Masaki slid down using the water pipes as a makeshift shield, wearing out his gloves and shoes. Kitahara Masaki thought that he would definitely ask the Metropolitan Police Department for reimbursement after rescuing the child.

"Police! Don't move!"

After kicking open the factory gate, Kitahara Masaki rolled behind cover after shouting his message. The drone he had launched circled the factory and only found the kidnapper who had just taken the money.

"Don't make any rash moves! We have hostages in our hands!"

"Who are you trying to fool? You're all alone here."

As Kitahara Masaki slowly approached, the kidnapper frantically pulled out his pistol, only to have it knocked away by Kitahara Masaki's quick, precise Iaijutsu.

"Tell me, where are the hostages?"

"It's there!"

The speed at which he changed his expression left Kitahara Masaki speechless.

However, when the basement door was opened, it was empty.

"So, what about the hostages?"

"I can't reach it!"

The kidnapper, with a pistol pressed against his forehead, was trembling like a sieve. It seemed he wasn't lying, but the fact was that the hostage was missing.

Who are your accomplices?

"Kitayama! That's the guy who works as a driver for the Kataoka family."

Having learned this information, Kitahara Masaki immediately dialed Inspector Megure's number:

"Hey! Brother Kitahara, I was just about to call you. There's something very important—the hostage has returned on his own."

"What could be more important than my affairs... What... The hostages came back on their own? How did this happen?"

"Ahem, it's like this, today a group of children went to visit their friends in the hospital. And the person they were visiting turned out to be the target of this kidnapping."

"Those children, you mean..."