Chapter 287: A Familiar Face Strikes  

A detective from the Metropolitan Police Department shot dead? 

This case rang a bell in Fujino's mind… 

If he remembered right, it was from *that* movie. 

Lost in thought, Fujino hung up the phone and headed across the street to the Mouri Detective Agency. 

*Ding-dong!* 

Fujino, umbrella in hand, pressed the doorbell of the agency. 

"Fujino-senpai!" 

Ran opened the door quickly, greeting him with a familiar smile as she saw him standing outside. 

"Is Brother Mouri home?" 

Fujino peeked inside but didn't spot Kogoro Mouri anywhere. 

"Dad left early this morning…" Ran said, tilting her head. "Fujino-senpai, did you need him for something?" 

"Yeah, here's the deal…" 

Fujino explained quickly. "Inspector Megure just called me. Conan's gotten tangled up in a shooting case. They couldn't reach Brother Mouri—his phone's off, and the agency line's dead too—so they asked me to let him know." 

"Conan's caught up in a shooting?!" 

Ran froze, her eyes widening. 

She could've sworn it hadn't been *that* long since the last shooting case… 

How'd he stumble into another one already? 

Snapping out of it, her voice grew anxious. "He's not hurt, is he?" 

"Shouldn't be," Fujino reassured her. "Inspector Megure said Conan got mixed up in it, but the actual victim was a cop. I'm pretty sure he's fine." 

"Oh, thank goodness…" 

Ran let out a relieved breath. 

"But, uh, Brother Mouri's phone being off makes sense—he's always like that. Why's the agency line down too, though?" 

"…" 

Ran hesitated, fumbling for an answer. 

She glanced back at the agency's landline… 

Yeah, she'd accidentally smashed it. 

Fujino: "…" 

Classic Ran—Unicorn Girl strikes again. 

No wonder no one could get through. Poor phone didn't stand a chance. 

--- 

With Brother Mouri nowhere to be found, Fujino had no choice but to take Ran along to the investigation headquarters set up at the Mihua Police Station for this nasty shooting case. 

Inside the meeting room at Mihua Police HQ… 

Fujino pushed the door open. The room was a simple, cluttered space—blinds hung over the window, a whiteboard sat in one corner, and a couple of filing cabinets lined the walls. 

In the center was a big rectangular conference table. 

Inspector Megure Jūsan sat at the head. On the left side were Conan and the Detective Boys, while the right side had three officers, including Takagi and Sato. 

"Fujino, my man!" 

Megure stood up to greet him as soon as he walked in. 

"Brother Megure," Fujino replied with a nod, stepping in with Ran, who was rocking a pink vest and a light purple skirt. 

"Where's Mouri at?" 

Megure glanced behind them, frowning. "He didn't come with you?" 

"Uh, Dad left early this morning. No idea where he went…" 

Ran gave a slight bow. "So Fujino-senpai had to step in instead." 

*Yeah, that guy's as unreliable as ever when it counts,* Megure grumbled to himself. 

Still, he was glad Fujino showed up. 

At least Fujino was way more dependable than that nap-happy slacker. 

"Fujino, I gave you the rundown on the phone earlier, but let me fill you in properly now," Megure said, walking over to him as he laid out the case. "The victim this time is Officer Narazawa from our First Investigation Division. He got shot by a perp with a handgun right outside a phone booth. Before he died, he grabbed his police handbook off his chest. That's all we've got—no other leads." 

Fujino: "Anything from the bullet trajectory or the handbook?" 

Megure shook his head. "This just happened. Even rushing it, we can't pull any solid conclusions this fast." 

"Got it," Fujino said, rubbing his chin. 

Clearly, this killer was a step ahead—smarter than most. 

The simplest way to kill? Pick a rainy day and pop off a few shots in the street. 

As for the police handbook, Fujino recalled it was a red herring. 

The real clue was the heart. 

This time, the culprit was Kyōsuke Kazato—the police psychologist. 

No wonder they'd misread the clue. 

"Heart equals psychologist" was pretty out there, after all. 

"Fujino, got any theories?" 

Megure asked, noticing his thoughtful look. 

"Yeah, a few," Fujino replied. "I'm thinking it might be a killer from a past case who got away." 

"Hm, we were leaning that way too," said Miwa Sato, stepping over in her red blazer and black shirt. Her voice was soft. "But Officer Narazawa worked *so* many cases. Trying to narrow it down from there's like looking for a needle in a haystack…" 

"Exactly," Megure sighed. "Right now, the only ones who can ID the suspect are the kids who saw the shooting." 

"Well, I've got another angle," Fujino said, narrowing his eyes. 

"Another angle?" 

Sato and Megure turned to him, curious. 

Under their stares, Fujino said gravely, "Since the killer targeted him at a phone booth, it means Narazawa was being watched. They knew his schedule. Which means it's very likely…" 

"A familiar face?" 

Megure's expression darkened. 

Sato's face tightened too. 

A familiar face meant it was an inside job—someone from the police. 

If Fujino was right, this case could shake up the top brass at the Metropolitan Police HQ. 

It'd be way beyond what a regular inspector or assistant could handle. 

The case wasn't set in stone yet, and they didn't dare jump to conclusions… 

But Fujino's theory—or bluff—had them hooked. 

If it *was* true, though, it meant a traitor in their ranks. 

That'd make this a whole lot uglier. 

For the police, that was a topic they'd rather avoid at all costs. 

"Eh, it's just a wild guess, though," Fujino said with a light chuckle, easing the tension. 

"No, Fujino, I think you're onto something," Megure said, still dead serious. He trusted Fujino's word completely. "It's a sensitive idea, sure, but it's plausible… If it's true, though, it's out of my hands." 

Sato, knowing her rank kept her from weighing in, just nodded silently. 

"Yeah, we can't say for sure yet," Fujino agreed. "Gotta see where the investigation takes us." 

"For now, the only ones who can pin down the suspect are those kids…" 

Megure returned to his seat and looked at the little crew on the left. "I know we've asked a bunch already, but could you guys tell us again what the killer looked like?" 

Mitsuhiko piped up first. "I remember it was a young guy!" 

"No way!" Genta shot back. "It was a big sister!" 

"It wasn't a big sister!" Ayumi chimed in. "I saw a middle-aged uncle!" 

Takagi, sitting across from them, couldn't take it anymore and cut in to change the subject. "Okay, what color was the umbrella they were holding?" 

"Black!" 

"No, it was green!" 

"I think it was blue…" 

Mitsuhiko led off again, Genta argued back, and Ayumi threw in her own take. 

The three of them bickered nonstop, offering nothing useful. 

Takagi and Megure couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. 

Did these kids *actually* see the suspect? 

It was starting to feel like they were just making stuff up. 

Sato, though, stayed patient. 

She'd seen this play out before and wasn't fazed. 

Usually, in moments like this, that sharp-eyed little brother would pick up on something and drop a clue… 

She glanced at Conan and asked softly, "What about you, Conan? Do you remember anything about the culprit?" 

Conan: *Finally, they're asking me!* 

Fujino: *He's got the hang of this, huh.* 

Conan thought back and said, "I remember their raincoat and umbrella were both gray. Couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, but they held the umbrella with their right hand." 

Sato nodded, satisfied, then rubbed her chin. "So that means the killer shot with their left hand." 

Megure added, "If they used their left hand to shoot… they might be left-handed." 

Just then, the meeting room door swung open. A chubby officer waddled in, holding a report. He walked up to Megure and said, "Inspector Megure, we've got the results. Based on the power, the bullet that hit Officer Narazawa was a 9x17mm Browning short round. The perp used a 9mm automatic handgun." 

"A 9mm, huh…" 

Megure narrowed his eyes. "That's a low-recoil round. Even a woman or an amateur could use it easily with a little practice." 

"Low recoil, huh?" 

Fujino rubbed his chin. "If that's the case, the perp's left hand might be injured." 

"Hm?" 

Megure looked puzzled. "How do you figure that, Fujino?" 

"Well, a bullet like that isn't super powerful. If they wanted a kill shot, they could've gone for something stronger, but they didn't…" 

Fujino paused, then explained, "That suggests their dominant hand is the left, but for some reason, they couldn't handle a bigger round. Or maybe they're hiding which hand they favor." 

"Makes sense," Megure nodded, buying into Fujino's reasoning. 

"By the way, who's this guy?" 

Fujino looked up at the chubby officer, squinting. He seemed kinda familiar. 

"This is Chiba," Megure said. "He just transferred to our Third Division a while back. Still a rookie." 

He turned to the officer. "Chiba, this is Fujino. First time meeting him, right?" 

"Detective Fujino! I'm Kazunobu Chiba. Nice to meet you!" 

Chiba grinned goofily, sticking out his hand. "I've never met the famous Detective Fujino Dōji before! I'm a huge fan of *Detective Samonji in the Dark* too!" 

Fujino froze, feeling a bit awkward, but shook his hand anyway. "Uh, same here." 

--- 

After a short investigation, the kids couldn't recall anything useful, so the police let them go. 

"Detective Fujino!" 

Right as he stepped out of the meeting room, Fujino ran into Ninsaburō Shiratori. 

"Officer Shiratori," Fujino greeted back. "You here for this case too?" 

"Yeah, the higher-ups are taking it pretty seriously," Shiratori nodded, then paused. "Oh, by the way, Fujino, my sister Sara's celebration is this weekend. It's just the bride and groom's friends. If you've got time, think you could swing by?" 

"Sure, I'll make it if I can," Fujino agreed without hesitation. 

But then he paused and asked, "Uh, how many days away is the weekend again?" 

"Huh?" 

Shiratori gave him a confused look. "Three days from now. You forgot, Detective Fujino?" 

"Ahem," Fujino coughed lightly. "Got busy and spaced it. Thanks for the heads-up." 

Shiratori came from a wealthy family and had the rank of inspector to boot—he was a big deal. 

You'd think he'd be tight with high society types already. 

But Fujino, as the eldest son of the Fujino conglomerate, used to keep a low profile. 

Now, his rep as a famous detective had completely overshadowed his old social standing. 

A wedding party for a guy like Shiratori's sister would draw plenty of big names… 

Good chance to network, hand out some business cards, maybe snag a few cases. 

But the real kicker? 

Kyōsuke Kazato would be there too. 

He'd try to pull off his assassination plan—shooting Miwa Sato. 

Sure, he wouldn't succeed, but it'd still leave her badly hurt. 

And Ran would end up with amnesia because of it. 

--- 

That night, another cop was killed in his apartment building's underground parking garage. 

The next day, the newspapers went wild. Since the second victim was clutching a police handbook too—and from the same department—all sorts of theories started flying. 

Radical activists, gang retaliation, personal grudges—you name it. 

Even the tabloids got in on it. 

"These news vultures sure don't waste time pouncing," Fujino muttered, setting the paper down with a sigh. 

Yup, the media had no shame. 

The bodies weren't even cold, and they were already spinning rumors for clicks. 

*"Orpheus no Namida, ai wa kanashimi o seoite, tsuyoku nareru kara…"* 

His phone rang, cutting through the moment. 

He pulled it out—**[Megure Jūsan]** flashed on the screen. 

"Hm?" 

Fujino frowned. 

Why was Megure calling him now? 

In his memory, this case should've already shifted to an internal police investigation… 

(End of Chapter)