Chapter 31: Conan is Kudo's Spy
"It's medicinal liquor, but Anya can't drink it. Besides, you already had a cup of hot cocoa today with extra sugar. No more sweets, or you'll get cavities."
Natsukawa's threat was quite effective, mainly because Anya had witnessed the suffering of her classmates with cavities at school.
She decided her small body couldn't handle the terrifying reality of dental pain.
She could always drink it tomorrow anyway.
"Hattori-kun, just how many bottles of that liquor did you bring?" Natsukawa asked with some concern, glancing at the bulging backpack in the rearview mirror.
"Uh, one bottle went to Mouri-san, and one to you. That's it."
Hattori tightened his grip on his backpack, making the bottles clink together.
Seriously?!
Do all you Osaka guys make friends by sharing alcohol?
And such strong liquor at that.
The car pulled up in front of the Mouri Detective Agency.
Hattori quickly jumped out, as if afraid Natsukawa would confiscate his precious bottles.
Of course, there was another reason for his haste.
He needed to prove the connection between Conan Edogawa and Shinichi Kudo as soon as possible.
He'd found the name "Conan Edogawa" incredibly suspicious from the start, and after Natsukawa's hints, he was certain it must be an alias.
Perhaps Conan's real name was Conan Kudo?
No—the name "Conan" was clearly borrowed from Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous mystery author.
If the eldest son was named Shinichi Kudo, what would they name the second one?
Daiji Kudo? Kojiro Kudo?
His mind raced through possibilities as he hurried upstairs.
Natsukawa watched him go with an amused smile, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction.
Conan! Let's see how you handle this one.
Would Conan be forced to reveal his true identity, or would Hattori confirm his theory about Conan being the secret second son of the Kudo family? Only time would tell.
The GTR rolled back into Natsukawa's garage, and Anya was already fast asleep in her seat.
"Drink... drink some liquor... and become... a beautiful lady..."
Gently lifting Anya into his arms and hearing her sleepy mumbling, Natsukawa's eye twitched in irritation.
Looks like I need to hide that bottle.
At such a young age, already thinking about drinking! And such strong liquor too! This wouldn't do. It was all that idiot Hattori's fault—Anya must have been influenced by seeing Conan drink and smelling the strong aroma. After all, medicinal liquor did have quite a potent scent.
After tucking the girl into bed, Natsukawa returned to his own room to rest.
There was still no word from Franky. The interrogation probably wasn't finished yet. He hadn't expected someone as easily rattled as Tsujimura to be so stubborn under pressure.
But with Franky's methods, he should extract the information by tomorrow. A good night's sleep tonight—the next few days would be busy.
The tequila situation was complicated, but fortunately, Franky had already gathered some useful leads.
Meanwhile, across the street at the Mouri Detective Agency, some commotion was brewing—though the sound didn't carry to Natsukawa's house.
"Hattori Heiji! What are you doing?!"
Ran stormed into Conan's bedroom.
Hattori was crouched next to the bed, about to remove Conan's glasses.
"Nothing, I just came to check on Conan." Hattori's eyes darted around guiltily, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Get away from him! And don't you dare give Conan any more of that liquor!" Ran planted her hands on her hips, glaring at Hattori while scanning for any bottles he might be hiding.
Although Natsukawa had explained the medicinal properties of the alcohol, Conan was clearly having adverse reactions, so he absolutely couldn't have any more.
"Fine, fine!"
Hattori sighed in frustration but made one last attempt. "Why is Conan sleeping with his glasses on? Shouldn't he take them off?"
He reached for the glasses again.
"Take off his glasses?" Ran blinked thoughtfully, but remembering how strangely excited Conan had gotten the last time she'd removed them, she shook her head firmly. "No need. Let him rest."
She gently pushed Hattori's hand away.
The two left the room, though Hattori kept looking back with every step, like a lovestruck teenager being separated from their crush. It made Ran frown deeply.
What is this guy's deal?!
First he said he came to see Shinichi, then he got interested in her father, then Natsukawa-san, and now he was fixated on Conan.
"By the way, did Kudo mention when he'd be back?" Hattori asked as they entered the agency's main office.
Ran didn't have an answer to that question. She shook her head. "Shinichi didn't say. He's probably working on some important case and can't get away. He'll come back naturally when he's done."
"Is that so? Don't you find it suspicious that Kudo might actually be right beside you this whole time?"
Hattori brought up his earlier theory again.
"Huh?"
Ran's eyes widened.
Right beside me?
"I told you this afternoon—Kudo called you but didn't ask about your wellbeing, only about school matters. That's clearly suspicious. He must have another way of getting information about you."
Ran looked thoughtful.
He had a point.
Hattori's words made sense, but if Shinichi was nearby, why hadn't he shown himself? What could be the reason?
"But I haven't noticed anything unusual. If Shinichi were right beside me, how could he hide it so well?"
Hattori's expression turned mysterious, half his face cast in shadow. "Maybe Conan is a spy that Kudo planted next to you. You mentioned this afternoon that Conan started staying at your house right after Kudo disappeared."
"H-How could that be?!"
Ran's face paled, and she unconsciously took a step back, genuinely unnerved by Hattori's dramatic delivery.
"Just kidding! Don't take it seriously!"
Hattori laughed, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. This caused Kogoro Mouri, who was sprawled on the sofa watching a recorded variety show featuring Yoko Okino, to frown repeatedly at the noise.
"Hey, Hattori, keep it down. You're disturbing my Yoko time."
Hattori: ...
Ran: ...
Is this really a famous detective? He's just a middle-aged fanboy!
Hattori became even more certain of his judgment. Kogoro Mouri was definitely all flash and no substance, and every case he'd solved was only because he had Shinichi Kudo backing him up.
"Alright, I'm heading out now. See you next time." Hattori slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the door.
He'd set Conan aside for now, but having reasoned this far, he was fairly certain Conan was Shinichi Kudo's younger brother. Even if he wasn't, there was definitely some connection to Kudo.
Of course, the brother theory seemed most likely, because Conan really did resemble Kudo. He'd been too caught up in his own assumptions before, but Anya's innocent observation had cleared everything up.
"But it's so late!"
Ran checked the time—it was almost eleven o'clock.
Although the Mouri household didn't have a spare room for Hattori, Natsukawa's place seemed to have an extra bedroom. If Hattori wanted to stay overnight, she could just let them know.
The two families were on good terms now, after all.
"It's fine. A friend of mine is visiting Tokyo, and I'll stay with her."
Just then, a car horn sounded from the street below.
"That's my ride. I'm off now. If you get in touch with Kudo, please give him my regards!" Just before leaving, Hattori turned back one more time. "Oh, and Conan too—please say hello to him for me!"
"Okay."
Still confused, Ran could only nod in agreement.
"A stretch limousine? Is Police Chief Hattori Heizo's family really that wealthy?!"
Kogoro Mouri glanced out the window at the sound of the horn, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
A sleek exterior, classic and elegant black finish, stretched body, and a luxurious emblem on the hood—in short, expensive.
The car picking up Hattori was an actual stretch limousine! And this kid had the nerve to accuse the Tsujimura family of abusing their authority?
He probably had no idea how much his own father might have embezzled!
Even Hattori Heizo, as the Chief of the Osaka Prefectural Police, shouldn't be able to afford a car like that.
With those thoughts swirling, Kogoro watched as the driver stepped out and opened the door. A young woman with short, light brown hair emerged from the vehicle.
"Hattori~"
The girl rushed toward Hattori with a sweet, affectionate voice that left Kogoro stunned.
His thoughts shifted slightly. It seemed the wealthy one wasn't Hattori Heizo after all, but rather young Hattori, who'd managed to land himself a rich girlfriend. These kids nowadays—still in high school and already dating wealthy heiresses. What kind of behavior was this?
"Ran, you'd better not end up like Hattori!"
As an overprotective father, Kogoro had mixed feelings about his daughter's relationship with Kudo Shinichi.
The main issue was that Kudo Shinichi was also his rival in detective work, which made him even more resentful.
That kid solved cases without charging fees—how were other detectives supposed to make a living?
At least now that he'd disappeared, it gave the detectives in Tokyo some breathing room.
"Dad, what are you talking about?!"
Ran also peeked out the window, her cheeks flushing slightly.
That girl was so fair and pretty—the complete opposite of Hattori's dark complexion.
(End of Chapter 31)
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