"So what was that 'murder weapon' he mentioned? Hadn't his investigation ended ages ago?"
"Oh, he probably meant something that could genuinely prove his innocence. A DNA test report, for example."
"A paternity test? Leaving aside whether they could even find blood samples from the Nihira couple, even if they rushed them to a lab, there was no way it could be done that quickly, right?"
"In theory, paying extra could speed things up. At the fastest, maybe a dozen hours. But there's no need for that. Just like how Takatoku Nihira discovered his son wasn't biologically his, all he had to do was find the hospital's blood type records... Ah, Miss Koshi."
Natsuki Koshi, seated at the tea table near the entrance, watched the two approach. She raised her brows and asked quietly, "Did you find him?"
Others might not know where Tangze and Akechi Goro had gone, but she certainly did.
Ever since they had arrived in this village, Akechi Goro had looked ready for a fight. His attitude had been far sharper than usual, and his words had not been pleasant either. Once they encountered the "amnesiac" Shinichi Kudo, he had acted as though facing a formidable enemy, never relaxing for even a moment.
So when Akechi Goro found an excuse to leave early, the most likely thing he wanted to do was search for the missing Shinichi Kudo himself—Conan-kun.
The Phantom Thief Troupe had not hidden anything from her in that regard. Natsuki Koshi had more or less prepared herself for what sort of enemy she was facing and how she had become entangled in this mess.
Judging from what they had just been discussing, they had presumably already found him.
"Of course. What else could have happened to him?" Hoshikawa Teru nodded blandly. "He was