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Just as the atmosphere was getting heavy, Ayumi's laughter suddenly rang out from under the bed."Hey, check this out! What the heck are these weird drawings? So bizarre—hahaha!"
Drawings hidden under the bed? Could it be… the classic otaku stash?Hanabumi immediately had a dirty thought.
But when Ayumi pulled out the artwork, both Hanabumi and Conan's expressions changed.Haibara glanced at the paintings and said calmly, "This one's The Weeping Woman by Picasso."And that wasn't all—there were also works by Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, and Utrillo. These were all insanely valuable paintings. So why the heck were they shoved under the bed?
Jun'ya explained that all of them were painted by his older brother, who apparently studied art.
What really caught Hanabumi's eye, though, was a portrait of Natsume Sōseki. That's the guy on the 1000 yen bill. Could it be that his brother got involved in counterfeiting?
Digging deeper, they learned that Jun'ya's brother had once entered that portrait in an art exhibition—but no one appreciated it. The only person who praised it was a strange woman dressed head to toe in black, wearing a hat with a low brim that covered most of her face.
Hearing that description made Conan jolt."When exactly did you see her?"
Jun'ya was startled by Conan's intense reaction. "Uh… about ten days ago, I think?"
"Besides that woman, were there any men in black too?"
"Yeah… yeah, there were two of them…"
Conan's face darkened immediately. He thought of those black-clad men who had forced the poison down his throat…
Thinking about the people who shrunk him, Conan practically shouted,"Where could your brother have gone around here? Take me there now!"
His brother's wallet was still in the drawer, and his bike was parked right outside. Clearly, he hadn't gone far—he'd been taken.
Seeing Jun'ya still spacing out, Conan didn't waste any time. He grabbed his hand and took off running."Let's go! We need to search the area for clues!"
Jun'ya was totally confused by all this. My brother's the one who got kidnapped—why does this kid look more panicked than I am?
The other kids quickly ran after them, leaving just Hanabumi and Haibara alone in the room.
"What do you think?" Haibara asked suddenly with a calm smile.
"Huh?" Hanabumi blinked. "I'm not a detective—what do you expect me to think?"
"No, I mean—what do you think about Kudō?"
Hanabumi shook his head slightly. "He seems smart, but letting his emotions show on his face like that? That's kind of shallow. Personally, I'm more into people who are smart and cool-headed… like you."
Haibara was taken aback for a moment, then said nothing.
The investigation kicked off. The kids wandered all over the neighborhood, asking around about Jun'ya's brother. They checked in at all the shops he used to frequent, but none of the owners had any memory of a woman in black or anything suspicious.
They kept searching until the sun started to set, but it was like Jun'ya's brother had vanished into thin air.
"Damn it!" Conan was super frustrated."I've checked the amusement park, alleys, department stores—anywhere he might've gone. No one's seen him. No one's seen the woman in black either…"
The kids all stopped to catch their breath. There was a convenience store nearby, so they went in to buy some drinks.
Just then, a man at the counter was buying cigarettes.Hanabumi felt something off. Why's he lining up inside to buy smokes when there's a vending machine right outside?
Then he saw the man pull out a 1000 yen bill, and Hanabumi smirked.Ah, I get it. The vending machine can detect fake bills, but a person might mess up. He's gambling on that chance.
As soon as the man left, Conan dashed over and snatched up the 1000 yen bill.
The cashier looked shocked, thinking the kid was trying to steal, but then Conan handed it right back and said,"Call the police—this is counterfeit!"With that, he ran out of the store.
"....."