"You look very confident..." Facing Saguru Hakuba's gaze, Tangze calmly tilted his head. "The profile you described does match me in some ways, but it doesn't sound particularly logical. How did you reach those conclusions? Was it through the police investigation as well?"
Tangze was genuinely curious about that.
As far as he remembered, Saguru Hakuba was indeed among the elite class of detectives, but he was not the sort to rely on his family background. Him running into a murder case while investigating Kaito Kid this time probably had nothing to do with the resources he claimed to have used.
The reason he had proactively mentioned that he was the son of the Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police was less about indicating that the police were his source of information and more about earning the trust of a room full of strangers.
Saguru Hakuba was the kind of detective who did big-data research himself.
Like Batman, sort of.
No wonder the name Red Herring suited him so well.
"Just a few detective tricks." Saguru Hakuba shrugged, his tone light. "According to my deductions, something may have happened during the years Kaito Kid lay dormant. That is actually quite common in the criminal world. For example, the criminal might suddenly fall ill, die, or undergo drastic changes in his living circumstances, forcing him to alter his methods—or even disappear entirely..."
As he spoke, Saguru Hakuba pointed in Tangze's direction again.
"Or perhaps he got married, had children, or took on an apprentice..."
Tangze raised an eyebrow, a faint suspicion forming in his mind.
This was no longer mere general speculation. It was clearly pointed. Saguru Hakuba had not returned to Japan for a small matter.
"Um..." As the two held each other's gaze, their eyes clashing silently, Kaito Kuroba