Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

New York, USA.

There are a dazzling array of billboards on both sides of the street. Pedestrians of different skin colors are surging on the street. The round tables outside the street coffee shops are full of people.

Among them was an Asian teenager wearing a blue hoodie. He was holding black coffee and had already drank half of it.

Next to him was a woman with wavy hair. She was wearing a sunhat and sunglasses and was chatting on the phone with someone on her cell phone.

"Are you really not going to come? I have already scheduled a visit to the Conservatory of Music tomorrow. I have submitted my application for visiting the school. Janice will have a performance soon. As a friend, I want to encourage her before she goes. It is not easy for her to have such an opportunity..."

"You ask Xiaoxin?... He just arrived in New York this morning... Yes, he came alone. It was supposed to be his childhood sweetheart, but the girl happened to draw a travel ticket and went out with her family. How late will it be? Heaven comes..."

The boy rolled his half-moon eyes, drank coffee, and glanced around in boredom.

……

Kudo Shinichi, male, sixteen years old.

The only son of the world-renowned mystery novelist Yusaku Kudo and the once sensational actress Yukiko Fujimine, he is a freshman at Teitan High School.

His ambition is to become a famous detective like Sherlock Holmes.

His parents immigrated to the United States two years ago, but he did not go with them, choosing to stay in Japan and live alone. Every holiday, he would fly to Los Angeles or Hawaii to meet them and stay for a while.

This time too, he came to the United States as soon as he had a holiday. It's just different from the past. His father stayed in Los Angeles to work on the manuscript, and his mother asked him to meet in New York and planned to take him around here.

Moreover, she also said——

"I let him rest all morning and now I'm taking him out to meet a friend."

……friend?
Kudo Shinichi suddenly remembered that before he set off, his mother mysteriously said she wanted to give him a surprise.

Could it be tickets to the Ray Katis game? He happens to have a home game in New York these days.

Or are you planning to take him to Shi Chuande Bookstore for shopping? There is the largest second-hand bookstore in the world, and maybe he can find some first edition books of mystery works.

At that time, he couldn't guess what it was. Looking at it now, could this "surprise" be this friend?
Kudo Shinichi couldn't be sure of the result. He drank his coffee and heard that Kudo Yukiko hadn't finished the phone call yet, so he couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Who are they? They have been sitting here for twenty minutes. Are they too late?

He was so bored that he counted how many people passed by him. The United States is indeed a country of immigrants. The people walking by are black, white, mixed-race, Latin... There are also Asians, the smallest number.

But speaking of it...are there more police patrols on the streets of New York than there are in Los Angeles?

This question arose in Kudo Shinichi's mind when he once again saw a patrol officer walking by in front of him and a police car with blue NYPD letters parked on the street.

He looked away from there, wanting to ask Kudo Yukiko when that friend would come. Suddenly, he seemed to hear something and turned his head to the other side.

"Woooo..."

"Mom... Dad..."

——The last sentence is in Japanese.

Kudo Shinichi stood up suddenly. Although the sound was almost drowned in the footsteps, he still looked around, trying to find the source of the sound.

Soon he saw a black-haired girl, at most five years old, standing by the trash can at the intersection. Wearing a dress and holding a bear doll that was either dark-colored or too dirty, some well-wishers were already asking questions around her.

"Mom, let me go over and take a look!"

Kudo Shinichi left a word and ran over without getting a response.

"Why are you alone?"

"Kid, don't be afraid, where are your parents?"

"Oh my God, why would you leave your child alone on the side of the road? She only has one shoe on her feet -"

"She's covered in sweat...is she sick?"

"——Sorry, let me borrow it!"

Kudo Shinichi relied on his small body to successfully squeeze through those people and squat down next to the girl.

"Little sister, are you Japanese?" he asked in Japanese.

The crying girl seemed to understand. She raised her head and looked at Kudo Shinichi.

When Kudo Shinichi got closer, he discovered that there were many strange things about the girl, such as her cheeks were red and she was sweating, and the clothes on her back were wet. For example, she only had one shoe on her foot (with socks), and the outline of her facial features. A bit darker than the average Asian.

Is he mixed race? He was confused and asked again: "Don't be afraid, I am also Japanese - why are you here alone? Where are your parents?"

The girl said ignorantly: "Dad is sleeping and mother has left."

"Ah?" Kudo Shinichi was confused.

"The uncle who picked us up said so."

The young girl tried her best to organize her words, "He said that daddy was going to bed and mommy was leaving. He told me to wait where I was, and he made an appointment with me on a time to meet... By the way, he also gave me this."

She raised her hand, and there were strange red marks on the inside of her wrist, like lipstick scratches. She showed the bear doll to Kudo Shinichi.

"But it was too hot inside, so I opened the door and walked out, and walked all the way here."

A strange feeling arose spontaneously, and the intuition called detective was knocking on Kudo Shinichi's brain. He immediately held the girl's other unscratched hand: "Can you take me there?"

This is a commercial street, far away from residential areas. She is too young to be noticed by walking so far alone, and the store does not turn on the heat and air conditioning this season. If she had stayed there before, it would not have been so hot... ...The most likely place is the car!
The girl pointed to the back, and Kudo Shinichi remembered that there was indeed a parking lot there. Regardless of what the people around him said, he picked her up with one hand and ran towards her.

When Kudo Yukiko finished the call, she heard the crowd not far away scream, and some people ran to find the patrolman on the street.

She was a little confused and thought about it carefully to make sure she didn't hear any strange noise just now, so she turned around to talk to her son: "Xiaoxin, let's go...???"

She saw the empty seats and the knocked over coffee cup on the table, and her words stopped abruptly.

……

Kudo Shinichi has been playing football for a long time and his physical fitness is not bad. He carried a five-year-old child like a shopping bag and ran very fast, leaving all the noise behind him.

He took the girl to the parking lot.

The area is very large, all cars are parked on the ground, and bushes surround the outside, making a rustling sound when the wind blows.

Without waiting for the girl to show him the way, he found the target vehicle on his own - in this area with poor security, only this car door was slightly open, with the car keys on it.

Kudo Shinichi put the girl down and approached the car. After making sure that no one was inside, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket, put it on the door, and opened the door wide.

"do not come."

He told the girl, leaned in to observe carefully, and took a sniff.

It's very hot, the air conditioner is on in the car, and there is a scent of perfume that is almost dissipating. Is it left by the girl's mother? I can't smell other drugs for the time being, and there is no blood...

...No, there is the smell of blood nearby!
Kudo Shinichi looked serious, quickly exited the car and looked behind the car.

The car was parked so far back that the black rear end almost crashed into the bushes, and he saw the trunk open a crack.

Nothing could be seen from this side, so he went around to the other side.

Then he saw a hand.

A human hand stretched out from the trunk. Judging from the appearance, it was obviously a male hand. From this position, only the wrist and palm can be seen, and the palm hangs downward without any obvious scars.

What on earth is this——

"hands up!"

Before Kudo Shinichi could go up to check, a loud shout suddenly came from behind him!
"Put down what you are holding and raise your hands immediately! Place them where we can see them!"

"Put your hands on your head!"

"——Shinichi! Hurry up and do it!!!"

Kudo Shinichi was stunned. Through the rearview mirror of the car in front of him, he saw several policemen pointing guns at him behind him!
"???"

He suddenly reacted.

In Japan, ordinary police officers may never use a gun in their entire life. They must apply for a gun. If they shoot at will, they may face troublesome review, suspension investigation, or even resignation.

But here it is…

Kudo Shinichi, who belatedly realized where he was at this moment, raised his hands and spread his palms to show that he did not have any weapons in his hands.

The police were about to step forward, but at this moment, Kudo Shinichi heard another voice.

——That voice sounded familiar to him.

"Sorry, gentlemen and ladies, please put down your guns. I know him. He is just a student who just came to the United States and will not be a prisoner in this case."

Kudo Shinichi turned around.

He saw his mother Kudo Yukiko looking at him anxiously, and also saw the people standing next to her.

He was a young man in his twenties, with tanned skin that looked like sunbathing. Her long black hair was parted and tied into a ball at the back of her head, and the rest was draped over her shoulders, with a touch of emerald green glowing faintly among the jet black.

"A-Teacher Aoliu?!"

Because he was so shocked, Kudo Shinichi shouted out, and then he reacted: "Are you the friend my mother said?!"

How did you meet? Why doesn't he know? ! ?

Aoyagi Binguang walked towards Kudo Shinichi, and the policemen put down their raised guns one by one, and he walked up to him.

"Yes." Qingliu Binguang said helplessly, "Let's wait until we get to the police station to talk about the rest."

He glanced at the hand: "I really didn't expect that I would encounter a case during my rare vacation..."

"........."

……

Kudo Shinichi, male, sixteen years old.

A high school boy who aspires to become a famous detective.

——On the first day of my safe flight to New York, I went to the New York City Police Department because of a murder case. (End of chapter)