Chapter 24: Your Son Is My Son

Fujino remembered this particular case—it was the "Monthly Gift Case" from Detective Conan…

If he recalled correctly, this case was triggered by a little boy who had died of appendicitis two years ago under Ogawa's care.

The boy's father had sent both the insurance money and gifts to Ogawa, and now, two years later, he had come to take the life of Ogawa's son, Yuta…

"My son?!"

Ogawa stood up abruptly, his face filled with confusion as he looked at Fujino. "Is that true?!"

"25 million yen—that's not a small amount…"

As he spoke, Fujino picked up a toy from the coffee table and pointed at its packaging. "Didn't you notice? These packages are already very old… Some of the toys even have scratches."

"Detective Fujino, you mean…"

"These toys that person sent you are probably all secondhand. The money and the toys—clearly, they were meant for your son."

As he said this, Fujino picked out a handheld game console, turned it on, and pulled up the character name screen. "The name 'Tomoya Ogino'… Does that ring a bell?"

"Tomoya Ogino…"

Ogawa frowned in thought before suddenly shouting, "I remember now! That was a patient I treated when I first started working here, about three years ago!"

"That patient was a little boy. He died because his appendicitis wasn't detected in time. After his death, his father even beat me up—I remember it clearly!"

"That must be it."

Fujino nodded. "25 million yen… I remember that's about the insurance payout for an accidental death of a grade school child."

"Tomoya Ogino died during treatment, and unable to cope with the grief of losing his son, his family started sending you gifts and money… until today, the total adds up to exactly 25 million yen…"

"As for those toys… I believe they were the child's belongings."

Slowly standing up, Fujino took on a thoughtful expression and reasoned, "Combined with the content of that letter, if I'm not mistaken, the person sending you these things intends to take your son's life today—to make you experience the pain of losing a child."

"I'll call my wife right now and have her take Yuta home!"

Just as Ogawa rushed to make the call, Fujino shouted, "No need to panic yet!"

"Then… what should I do now?"

Ogawa was clearly at a loss, turning to Fujino anxiously for guidance.

"Ahem…"

Fujino coughed lightly. "First, use our house phone to call the kindergarten and confirm whether your son has been picked up yet."

Hearing that, Ogawa quickly called the kindergarten, and after confirming that his son had not yet been picked up, he finally let out a sigh of relief and sat back down on the sofa.

"So, Detective Fujino, what should I do now—should I call the police?"

"Since your son is still safe, we still have time to prepare. No rush."

As he spoke, Fujino poured Ogawa a cup of hot tea and explained, "If we call the police now, we don't have any concrete evidence proving that someone is trying to abduct your son. Even if we report it, I'm afraid it won't do much good…"

"How could this be…"

Ogawa lowered his head, clutching his thigh, his expression full of frustration and despair.

"However, this matter isn't entirely without a solution…"

"Detective Fujino—please, whatever it is, just say it!"

Ogawa quickly raised his head, treating Fujino as his last hope.

This detective was reliable.

Based on only fragmented clues, he'd already deduced the identity of the person sending the gifts and money, as well as the intent to harm Ogawa's son.

If this man couldn't solve it, then likely no one could.

"It can be solved."

Fujino poured himself a cup of black tea, taking a small sip. "But… that original 60,000 yen investigation fee… will probably have to be upgraded to a 600,000 yen bodyguard fee.

—

"What?"

Fujino was already used to such reactions and explained calmly, "Strictly speaking, right now you're consulting me on a matter. Although you are my client, your current commission is only for me to investigate who that person is."

"Now that you're commissioning me to protect your son, that is a separate job, with a different fee. A standard investigation costs 60,000 yen, but a personal protection assignment costs 600,000 yen."

"If that person is after your son's life, there's no telling whether they'll be carrying a weapon or not… risking my life isn't worth just 60,000 yen."

"I'll pay the 600,000!"

Ogawa gripped Fujino's hand tightly. "Detective Fujino, I beg you, please protect my son!"

"In that case—your son is my son. I absolutely won't let Yuta come to any harm!"

Fujino declared solemnly.

Then he added, "Right, the 60,000 yen you paid earlier will be counted as a deposit. The remaining 540,000 yen—remember to transfer it to my account once the job is done."

"No problem!"

Ogawa nodded firmly.

…

Over an hour later, in front of a certain daycare.

"Detective Fujino, are you sure that person will come to pick up Yuta?"

Sitting in the passenger seat of the car, Ogawa grew increasingly restless from the lack of movement and couldn't help but ask Fujino.

"Based on my deduction, I won't be wrong."

Fujino cast him a sideways glance and explained, "Even if Yuta isn't in danger, that earlier 60,000 yen commission has already been completed—you wouldn't be at a loss, would you?"

"…Got it."

Ogawa nodded after thinking it over, realizing that made sense.

Moments later, he looked up and spotted a suspicious figure lurking near the daycare entrance.

"That's him!"

His eyes widened in shock, and he pointed excitedly at the sneaky figure. "I'd never mistake that face—three years ago, that guy assaulted me!"

Just as he was about to get out of the car to stop the man from abducting his son, Fujino firmly pressed him back into his seat.

"You're just going to sit here and watch him take my son away?!"

Completely blinded by rage, Ogawa roared at Fujino.

"Enough!"

Fujino gripped his shoulder tightly and spoke in a deep voice, "Don't forget—he knows your face. If you act recklessly now, your son might not be the only one to die… The other kids in the daycare could get dragged into this too!"

"How… how could it come to this…"

Ogawa slammed his fist against the glove compartment. "Why does something like this have to happen to me…"

"I understand how you're feeling."

Fujino nodded and reassured him, "But since I've taken this case, I swear—I won't let Yuta get hurt. Not even a scratch."

After he finished speaking, Fujino glanced at the now-dented glove compartment with visible heartache. After pausing for a moment, he added, "But you'll have to pay 50,000 yen for the glove compartment repair."

"No problem."

Ogawa nodded again, feeling guilty about his earlier outburst.

(End of this chapter)