Back then, eager for gossip, Suzuki Sonoko had carefully watched everyone passing nearby, hoping to find the phone's owner, "Sonoko," who shared her name, as well as the man who seemed to have arranged to confess to "Sonoko." She had ruled out the two people at the next table after just one glance, but she did retain some impression of them.
Officer Sato asked her for more details. A moment later, the female police officer nodded. "Judging from the café's location and the location of the alley that witness saw, those two kidnappers were very likely the people you saw at the café."
"How could this happen..." Suzuki Sonoko's eyes brimmed with tears. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone to the restroom, much less suddenly decided to wait for some phone owner."
Haibara Ai remembered something else. Looking up at the police officer before her, she asked gravely, "Who reported this kidnapping to the police?"
"Oh, right!" Suzuki Sonoko realized belatedly. "Ai and I didn't report it, and you only just found the passerby. Could it be that Ran escaped successfully, got hold of a phone, and called the police?"
Inspector Megure froze. "None of you called the police?"
The high school girl and the Mini Scientist shook their heads at the same time.
Inspector Megure scratched his head. "Then that's strange. The call I received only said that a kidnapping had occurred at the café here and told us to come investigate as soon as possible..."
So was it a passerby anonymously reporting the situation out of fear of getting dragged into trouble, or was someone playing a prank?
Speaking of pranks, Inspector Megure suddenly thought of a possibility. "In that case, looking on the bright side, perhaps Ran wasn't—"
Suddenly, Suzuki Sonoko's phone buzzed.
She looked down