In the garage.
Watching Jiang Xia and Conan walk away, the butler let out a long breath and leaned weakly against the hood.
But soon, he straightened up nervously again.
"I don't remember hearing any footsteps before. When exactly did that young Detective arrive? How much did he hear?" Uneasy, the butler turned back to look at the tampered car.
Once suspicion took root, the more he looked, the more conspicuous certain things became.
He couldn't help muttering to himself, "Was that airbag really so obvious? Even an elementary school student noticed it. If she noticed something too, then..."
After hesitating for a moment, the butler took a deep breath, and his gaze gradually hardened.
Jiang Xia led Conan toward the Villa. Just as they were about to enter, he paused when he spotted someone familiar.
—Akai Shuichi emerged from the small woods at the side. Perhaps because he had been working all night, there were faint dark circles beneath his eyes, making his already fierce-looking face seem even gloomier.
Conan shuddered and immediately went on guard.
"Mr. Akai?" Jiang Xia tapped off some ash, looking somewhat puzzled. "You... were searching for the murderer nearby last night?"
"..." Akai Shuichi had no way to say that he had seen a familiar curly-haired one, much less that he had chased him all night and failed to catch him.
So he gave no answer, merely coldly distancing himself from these innocent civilians. "Don't ask. It has nothing to do with you."
Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran, who had just followed the sound over, saw this and began whispering again. "Yesterday, he looked like such a quiet, honest guy. Why did he suddenly become so aloof today? Could he have done something shady last night, and Jiang Xia hit a sore spot