Chapter 268: Interesting Photos
"Ran-neechan, I want to see too! Let me see!" Conan exclaimed, tugging insistently on Ran's arm as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
Not thinking much of it, Ran handed the camera over. "Be careful with it, okay?"
Conan gave a quick hum of acknowledgment, his small hands carefully taking the device. He then began to slowly flip through the photos Charlotte had just taken. After a few moments, a quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips.
Thankfully, Charlotte had only snapped three or four pictures during the subsequent case investigation. While Kogoro Mouri wasn't caught with his mouth agape in any of them, the small number of photos meant it could easily be dismissed as a coincidence.
Just as Conan started to relax, his eyes suddenly narrowed, his gaze locking onto the very last photo in the sequence. There, in the corner of the frame, was a partially obscured but still vaguely familiar face, the features half-hidden by a hat. It was clear that when the picture was taken, the person had been moving with the crowd toward the stairwell.
A knot of ice formed in Conan's stomach. 'It can't be... him, can it?'
"Co-Conan-kun, what's wrong?" Ran asked, her brow furrowing with concern as she watched the boy's expression shift from relief to stark alarm. "Hey! Where are you going?!"
Without a word, Conan thrust the camera back into Ran's hands and bolted toward the stairs.
He had just clattered down a single flight when a figure blocked his path. It was Jodie, who was also searching for someone in the building. From their brief, hurried exchange, Conan learned that she and Andre Camel had also spotted a man resembling the scarred Shuichi Akai in the department store. More than that, it was highly probable that he was the one who had left the cryptic message for Jodie: "It's dangerous here, leave quickly."
This revelation only solidified Jodie's belief. She was now more convinced than ever that the man was Shuichi Akai, and that he hadn't returned to the FBI simply because he had been grievously injured in the incident that was supposed to have claimed his life.
"It really is dangerous here..." Andre Camel's voice was grim, a stark reminder to both Jodie and Conan.
"Why?" Jodie asked, confused by his sudden gravity. If he was referring to the bombing incident upstairs, that had already been resolved.
"Because I saw it," Camel stated, his words heavy. "Through the window of the hotel across from this department store, I saw the silhouette of a sniper. And parked on the street below... is a black Porsche 356A."
The name of that car, that specific model, flashed through the minds of both Conan and Jodie like a bolt of lightning. Gin.
Worried that the Black Organization was here to eliminate the man she believed to be Shuichi, Jodie disregarded the protests from both Conan and Camel, spinning on her heel and sprinting for the ground floor.
A maelstrom of fear and desperation churned in her chest, her mind flashing through one horrifying scenario after another. Bursting out into the vicinity of the main entrance, she frantically scanned her surroundings, her eyes darting through the bustling crowd, searching for that familiar, scarred figure.
'Shuichi, where are you?'She didn't miss a single corner, her gaze sweeping over every face, every shadow. Suddenly, she saw it—a familiar back walking away from the mall with the flow of the crowd. She recognized him instantly.'There! It's Shuichi!'
Jodie's eyes widened. "No, Shuichi!" she screamed, her voice laced with a desperate, terrified edge. "You can't go out there!"
As she shouted, she plunged into the crowd, pushing her way toward him in a desperate attempt to stop him from stepping into a potential kill zone. But in her haste, she collided hard with someone, the impact sending her stumbling to the ground.
"My apologies," a calm voice said as a hand helped her up.
By the time Jodie was back on her feet, Shuichi had vanished into the sea of people. She didn't spare a second glance for the person who had helped her; she simply pushed past them and ran forward, her anxious search resuming.
The person she had pushed aside watched her retreating back with a slightly dazed expression.
"Mr. Okiya, what a coincidence. You're here too."
The person who had inadvertently bumped into Jodie was, indeed, Okiya Subaru. He turned his head at the sound of the familiar voice.
It was Natsume, the young woman he had met before, standing with her friend. Okiya Subaru recalled the general description Conan had given him; this must be the reporter from the Beika Daily, a member of that mysterious Teyvat Organization.
'What a lively day,'he thought with a flicker of dry amusement.'A bomber, the FBI, the Black Organization... and now the Teyvat Organization have all appeared in the same department store.'
"Mr. Okiya, have you seen Conan?" Natsume asked, her tone laced with a hint of exasperation. "He just ran downstairs a moment ago. Did you see him go out the main entrance?"
"No," Okiya Subaru replied, shaking his head. "I was just nearby, but I didn't see Conan-kun. He should still be inside the mall."
"Then Charlotte and I will go look for him inside again," Natsume sighed. "Honestly, he just vanished. I guess I really need to keep a closer eye on him from now on."
Her voice trailed off, sounding genuinely frustrated.
After bidding Okiya Subaru farewell, she and Charlotte turned and walked back toward the stairs, apparently intending to conduct a more thorough search.
Once they had walked a fair distance, ensuring Okiya Subaru was no longer in sight, Natsume grabbed Charlotte's hand, her previous frustration replaced by a spark of excitement. "Well?" she asked hurriedly. "Did you get the shot?"
"My photography skills are top-notch," Charlotte declared with a confident smirk. "There's no photo that I, Charlotte, can't capture."
She took out her camera, flipped to the photos she had just taken, and handed it to Natsume.
Natsume quickly scrolled through them. The images had perfectly documented the chaotic scene that had just unfolded. One photo, in particular, was absolute gold.
It had captured Scarred Akai, Jodie, and Okiya Subaru all in a single, perfect frame.
Scarred Akai was walking away, seemingly oblivious, amidst the crowd. Behind him, Jodie was reaching out desperately, her expression a mask of panic. And right in front of Jodie, positioned perfectly for their impending collision, was Okiya Subaru.
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