The Interrogation Room
Bang!!!
In the interrogation room, Miwako Sato slammed the table hard, causing it to shake violently.
"Explain!"
She glared sharply at Yukiko Kudo, currently disguised as a plump middle-aged woman, her tone so fierce it sent a shiver down Yukiko's spine.
"Where were you planning to abduct the child to?"
"Do you have any accomplices? Who are your superiors and subordinates?"
Under Miwako's intense glare, Yukiko, knowing full well this was a disastrous misunderstanding, forced a smile—one that looked more pitiful than amused.
"You still dare to smile!?"
Bang!!!!!
Woohoo...She's supposed to be a pretty woman... How can she be so terrifying!?
Handcuffed to the bench, Yukiko Kudo realized this situation had spiraled completely out of her control.
With an awkward grin, she attempted,
"Officer... may I make a phone call?"
"For what purpose?"
"This is all just a misunderstanding. Let me call my husband—he can explain everything."
"A misunderstanding?"
Miwako's face darkened at the word. She rose from her chair and stared down at the sweating Yukiko, her voice biting:
"So what—should I just take off your handcuffs, escort you out of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and wave you goodbye?"
"...I'm telling the truth!"
"Cut the nonsense! What's your name!?"
"Edogawa Fumiyo..."
Yukiko lowered her head sheepishly, but immediately shook it and said with resolve:
"No, that's not right. My real name is Yukiko Kudo."
Upon hearing that, Sato Miwako's veins nearly popped.
Was this woman trying to mess with her!?
Did she think she didn't know who the famous retired actress Yukiko Kudo was?
Sato took a deep breath to calm herself. With a sarcastic twitch at the corner of her lips, she began gathering the documents on the table.
"Fine. Since you're not cooperating, we'll charge you with kidnapping and abduction. You can wait for the public prosecutor to sort you out."
"Wait, wait! Officer, I am Yukiko Kudo!!"
Yukiko sat upright, trying hard to prove herself.
She tried to lift her cuffed hands to remove her fat-suit disguise—but perhaps due to too much padding, or the awkward positioning, she failed. As Sato Miwako and another officer exited the room, Yukiko even knocked over a paper cup, spilling cold tea all over her costume.
Tsk… the water's too cold!
Meanwhile, in the Records Room
"Here, Mr. Hayashi—please have some tea."
"Thanks."
During the record-taking process, Wataru Takagi noticed that Hayashi Yoshiki's cup had gone cold, so he kindly brought him a fresh cup of hot tea.
Knowing that Hayashi's right hand was injured, he thoughtfully placed it to his left side.
"Human traffickers are truly despicable. Thank goodness you noticed it in time, Mr. Hayashi."
"It's mostly because of Conan's sharp instincts."
Hayashi Yoshiki smiled warmly.
"I just hope he won't suffer any lasting trauma."
"Yes, there are officers speaking with him now. Once we finish here, please check on him... Shall we move on to the next part of the report?"
"Sure."
An Unexpected Visitor
Just then, someone unexpected arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
Yusaku Kudo.
The world-renowned mystery novelist walked in with an apologetic smile and went straight to Inspector Megure, intent on explaining the massive misunderstanding.
What a disaster...
He had wanted to teach his son a lesson—and now his wife was in a holding cell.
After laying out the entire situation, Yusaku couldn't help but cover his face in embarrassment. Inspector Megure's face darkened considerably.
"Brother Yusaku... You're telling me this was a prank you two came up with on a whim? Do you understand how much chaos this caused!?"
"Yes... We admit we weren't thinking clearly. We're deeply sorry for the trouble, Officer Megure."
"Never mind the disruption to traffic from the chase. What if we had a real emergency we couldn't respond to in time? But even more serious—Hayashi Yoshiki risked his life thinking it was a real kidnapping! Do I need to spell out how dangerous that was!?"
"I... We're truly sorry. We'll apologize to Mr. Hayashi ourselves and cover any damages. We really regret what we did."
Inspector Megure sighed deeply and led Yusaku to the interrogation room.
Clearing the Air
When Yukiko saw her husband, she immediately stood up in excitement—now half out of her costume.
Once Inspector Megure confirmed that the "human trafficker" was indeed Yukiko Kudo, he relayed the facts to his team and had Conan brought in.
After everything was clarified, Conan looked at his parents with a profoundly blank expression.
"Brother Yoshiki thought I'd really been kidnapped. He chased after you immediately, without hesitation. He risked his life to save me."
"...We know."
"His car got dented."
"...We'll pay for it," they murmured.
"He hurt his right hand."
"We know..."
"I heard he had half a manuscript written for his next novel. He even had a deadline set with his editor... and now his writing hand is unusable."
"We're really sorry. We'll make it up to him..."
They bowed their heads even lower.
Though the Kudo couple were usually warmly welcomed at the police department, today they endured the icy gazes of the entire station—including Megure. They desperately wished they could disappear into the floor.
The Final Blow
Conan sighed heavily.
Yusaku and Yukiko Kudo had used the identities of Conan Edogawa's distant relatives. Claiming they hadn't seen him in a long time, they staged a fake kidnapping to "test" him—
What a stupid idea…
Conan couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of expression Hayashi Yoshiki would have when he learned the truth.
He didn't have to wait long.
"So... it was a misunderstanding?"
Hayashi Yoshiki stood at the door—his smile was gone.
The couple could only bow their heads again.
"Our deepest apologies..."
Silence.
More than ten seconds passed in oppressive silence.
Then came a soft sigh from Hayashi Yoshiki.
"At least there won't be any psychological trauma for Conan. That's the most important thing."
He smiled gently.
The sudden wave of guilt hit both Yusaku and Yukiko like a truck.
Especially Yukiko—when she saw Hayashi almost reach out his injured right hand to shake hands, only to pause from pain and silently switch to his left...
She really wanted to slap herself.