(Thud)
Beside him, Jiang Xia fiddled with the old-fashioned pistol and casually played peacemaker. "Maybe Conan just wants you to watch what you say—this case involves world-famous athletes, after all. It wouldn't look good if your deduction turned out to be wrong."
"Wouldn't look good?" Hattori Heiji snorted. "That might sound believable coming from someone else, but not from you. When you knock out those criminals, have you ever considered how it looks?"
As he spoke, he remembered that Jiang Xia had yet to solve the case. Stroking his chin, he felt as though he understood.
"You think that American reporter got what he deserved, and you sympathize with Kudo, so you've been dragging your feet on solving the case, right? What's wrong with you Tokyo Detectives? Solving a case is solving a case, and a murderer is a murderer. It's like a math problem—one is one, two is two. This isn't some game of personal favors."
Jiang Xia fell silent for a moment. "..." This was why he liked being around detectives—not only were there cases, killing intent, and ghosts, he could also act freely. As for the logic behind those actions... they would naturally fill it in seamlessly for him.
Just as he was thinking that, Hattori Heiji abruptly spun around and stared at his hands. "Wait, what are you doing?"
"..." Jiang Xia said, "Solving the case."
Hattori Heiji lunged at him. "Stop playing with it! That's evidence! And what if it goes off while you're messing around with it?!"
Jiang Xia sidestepped him and said seriously, "Come to think of it, have you considered why there were two pistols at the scene?"
"Uh..." Hattori Heiji's attention was briefly diverted. He began thinking, then his expression suddenly turned grave. "Could it be... could there be another murder