The two Chiba Prefecture police officers stared at the room door before them as if facing a formidable enemy, mentally rehearsing eighteen ways to rush in and subdue the villain inside once the door opened.
But after holding their breath and waiting for a while, the door before them remained quiet. No one came to answer it.
"Strange, is nobody home?" The two officers exchanged a glance and muttered in confusion. "The information we received clearly said he basically stayed home sleeping in during the mornings... Could he really have gone out today, of all days?"
Conan looked at the room door and habitually reached up to twist the handle.
With a creak, under the stunned gazes of the two officers, the door actually opened—the door was unlocked.
The officers: "..." Wait, was opening someone else's front door without permission a bit against the rules?
The officers: "..." But they hadn't opened it. A tiny, enthusiastic member of the public had...
After a brief internal struggle, the horse-faced officer looked at Conan, suddenly wore an expression of realization, and turned back to give Jiang Xia an admiring look.
Then, acting on the principle that opportunity should not be missed, he knocked on the already-open door. "Mr. Kumada, why is your front door open?—We're coming in."
As he spoke, he pushed the door open, intending to see whether this important suspect had failed to hear their knocking because he was sleeping in, or whether he was not home.
Yet in the next instant, the two officers' eyes widened sharply at the sight before them.
The good news was that Kumada was home.
The bad news...
He was neither sleeping in on the Tatami nor hiding behind the door to ambush them—this important suspect who had put the police on high alert