Shuichi Akai looked at Rikimichi Kusuda, slumped in the driver's seat and dead beyond any doubt, and took a moment to restrain himself from turning to look toward the source of the shot.
He merely used the rearview mirror of the overturned vehicle to watch that faint glint vanish into the foggy sky.
There was more than one sniper among his allies, but he could roughly guess who it was.
After so many years apart, the returned Scotch had improved again...
In response to Conan's hesitant, unspoken question, Shuichi Akai gave an immediate answer.
"Suicide."
"Huh?" Conan, who had been about to move closer to inspect the inside of the car, froze and looked up.
"He saw me and recognized the identity of his pursuer. Afraid of that, he chose suicide."
Shuichi Akai's voice was flat and steady, as though everything he said were the truth.
"Ha..." Conan opened his mouth in astonishment.
Before he could ask why Shuichi Akai had done that, Shuichi Akai's phone rang.
"How did it go?" Jodie's tense voice came through.
Even without seeing Rena Mizunashi herself, their attempt to flush out the snake was practically an admission of guilt. Rikimichi Kusuda's immediate decision to flee naturally meant he had confirmed Rena Mizunashi's whereabouts.
More important than whether he lived or died was whether the specific intelligence had already been leaked to the Organization.
"He's been stopped. He didn't have time to contact the Organization," Shuichi Akai answered calmly. "However, there's no way to learn any further details."
Jodie swiftly exchanged a glance with James in the driver's seat and switched the phone to speaker.
"Did something happen?"
"The one who ran into trouble wasn't me. He used a gun to escape to the next world." Shuichi Akai lowered his gaze to the gun clutched