Jiang Xia turned around at the sound and discovered that the person approaching was actually someone he had just discussed with Haibara Ai not long ago—Kudo Yukiko.
"Yukiko... sis." Before Kudo Yukiko could correct him, Jiang Xia consciously switched to the form of address this neighbor aunt preferred. "You're back in Japan?"
"Not 'you,' just me!" Though she was theoretically already over thirty, Kudo Yukiko still looked and acted like a young girl. She flicked the High Ponytail tied behind her head and said breezily, "Yusaku is still rushing to meet a deadline. Several editors are watching him, so he can't leave at all—meaning I have to handle things in Japan for him. This time, I came back with a mission!"
"Really?" Jiang Xia looked at her with interest. "What mission?"
Kudo Yukiko felt around in her small shoulder bag, searched for a moment, and pulled out a slightly crumpled letter. "It's from a friend Yusaku knows. Someone in his family received a threatening letter, and he was worried something might happen, so he wanted to ask Yusaku to investigate and eliminate any hidden dangers."
"Unfortunately, Yusaku can't get away, and I'm not very good at investigating cases. I wanted to take Shinichi with me to have a look at their house, but..." Kudo Yukiko scratched her cheek and looked toward the Detective Agency's door. "Shin-chan doesn't seem to be home?"
Jiang Xia turned back for another look as well.
While he had been standing outside knocking earlier, the Ghosts had already politely let themselves in to check the situation—there was no Mouri Ran or Conan in the Mouri Detective Agency. There was only Mouri Kogoro, tightly bound on the sofa, sleeping uneasily and snoring with a frown.
After thinking briefly, a Spirit Medium pressed down his conscience and nodded.