First Meeting at the Coffee Shop

Chapter 4: First Encounter at the Coffee Shop

Inside a coffee shop.

Ran Mouri looked slightly helpless as she said to Conan, who was sitting beside her, "Honestly, didn't I tell you that I was going on a date today? Why did you still follow me, Conan?"

Conan held his head with both hands and feigned playfulness. "Because I wanted to see Shinichi-niisan too. Wow! Shinichi-niisan is so slow, when is he finally going to get here?"

Ran smiled and said, "To be honest, Conan, the person coming here today isn't actually Shinichi."

Conan asked in surprise, "Eh? Then who is it? Why would you lie like that just to meet them?" In his heart, however, he hoped Ran would reveal 'him' quickly.

Ran said shyly, "She is a very important person to me, you know?"

Conan said gloomily, "Uh, even more important than Shinichi-niisan?"

Ran smiled and said, "You little silly, how can you compare the two of them? Alright, alright, it's about time, why don't you head home?"

Conan replied directly, "But I don't want to go home yet."

"Oh, that's right, you like cake, don't you, Conan? I'll go buy you a slice right now, and once you have your cake, you have to be a good boy and go home." As Ran spoke, she headed toward the exit.

Passing by the waiter, Ran smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I'll be back in a moment." With that, she opened the door and walked out, clearly off to buy the cake.

Conan watched Ran's retreating figure and thought to himself, It's no use, Ran. I will use my powers of observation and insight to take a good look at exactly what kind of extraordinary person this is that you're meeting. Hehe, because there is always only one truth. Just you wait, Ran.

The door to the coffee shop suddenly opened, and the first to enter was a woman wearing sunglasses.

The waiter smiled and said, "Welcome. Is it just one person? If so, would you mind sitting at the counter? Oh, miss—"

The woman in sunglasses ignored the waiter entirely, found a seat for herself, and said offhandedly, "Coffee."

The waiter was caught off guard and asked, "Hm?"

The woman in sunglasses said loudly, "Coffee. I'm ordering coffee, didn't you hear me?" As she spoke, she lifted her wrist to check her watch and turned her face toward the window.

Conan watched the situation and thought, It's a woman, and this lady has a really nasty attitude. But she's keeping track of the time—could she be the one? How could that be! Thinking of how Ran said it was someone very important to her, he turned his attention back to the door.

The door opened again, and a man walked in.

The waiter stepped forward and smiled, "Is it just one person?"

The man rubbed his head sheepishly and said with a smile, "Sorry, I have a paper to write, and I absolutely have to finish it today. Could you please give me a quiet seat? Thank you."

Watching the waiter lead the man away, Conan thought, A college student? It probably isn't him. A normal person wouldn't be writing a paper while meeting someone. No, it's not him.

The door opened once more, and a beautiful young woman entered.

The waiter stepped forward to greet her, "Welcome."

The woman said, "I have an appointment to meet a friend here. It looks like she hasn't arrived yet." She then found a seat and sat down.

The waiter asked, "What would you like to order?"

The woman handed over the menu and said, "Then just give me a cup of coffee."

Conan secretly watched the young woman and thought, Wow! She's a real beauty!

The woman took out an envelope she had brought with her, which had the name of a law firm printed on it. She glanced at it, and her face immediately turned cold.

Conan was startled by the woman's expression and sat up straight, thinking, She's angry, but why would she be so upset just from looking at that?

The door to the coffee shop opened, and a middle-aged man sat down at the counter on his own, greeting the owner, "Hey, Boss."

The owner set down a polished glass and smiled, "Ah, Mr. Denyama, what happened to your finger?"

Juzou Denyama held out his finger and chuckled, "We were practicing rugby, and these fingers got messed up. Luckily, my wedding ring got stuck."

Conan watched the middle-aged man who had entered and thought, No, it's not him either. If he had an appointment to meet someone here, he wouldn't just sit at the counter without even looking around.

The owner asked with a smile, "Why did you go get a haircut?"

Denyama rubbed his head and said, "Oh, my hair was just too messy."

Just then, the woman in sunglasses left her seat, walked to the counter, and asked the owner, "Where is your restroom?"

"Right over there." The owner pointed to the side. As he watched the woman walk over, he added, "Though it is shared by men and women."

The woman replied casually, "Fine, I know."

Conan, off to the side, thought, Hey, how would someone who didn't know where the restroom was know that it's shared? Sigh, why am I worrying about things like this? The important thing is Ran's date. He hasn't appeared yet—or could he have already arrived?

He looked toward the entrance just as the door opened, and a long-haired man walked in.

The waiter stepped forward to greet him, "Welcome!"

The long-haired man looked around and said, "I have an appointment to meet a beautiful lady here. It seems she hasn't arrived yet."

The waiter replied, "I see. Then please follow me this way." He led the man to the booth right next to Conan.

The long-haired man said to the waiter, "Let's do this: bring me a cup of tea first."

Conan watched the man in the next booth and thought, Could that be him?

Beep, beep, beep!!!

The long-haired man's phone rang. He answered it and said with a smile, "Hello? This is Wakaoji. What? It's you. I'm on a date with a girl, could you not mess around? That's right, the girl. She was a girl I saw when I was interning at the TV station, and she looked quite nice. There aren't many innocent girls like that left these days."

The TV station—that was the time the TV producer was murdered.

"Women are such creatures; as long as you whisper a few sweet nothings to them, they're yours for the taking. Hahahaha!"

Conan glared at Wakaoji in fury, thinking, Damn it!

"That's right, just don't go saying that to other girls. See ya." Wakaoji hung up the phone and tied back his long hair.

Conan thought angrily, Fine, just you wait. Once I boost the power of my shoes, I'm going to kick this playboy out of here.

"Mr. Edogawa? Is there a Mr. Edogawa here? There's a phone call for you." The waiter called out to the room.

Conan had no choice but to walk over and take the receiver. "Hello? Who is this? Ran?"

"Hey, Conan, I'm so sorry, but I can't make it over to you just yet. The register at this shop is broken, so they can't give me any change. Oh, by the way, did anyone come looking for me earlier?" Ran's voice came through the other end of the line.

Conan replied gloomily, "Yeah, someone did. Long hair, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's her! But that's strange, she usually keeps her hair tied up."

"That's right, he had it tied up just now. Hey, Ran, could you please not meet with people like that?"

"Hmm, the register seems to be fixed now. I'll be back soon."

Conan urged, "Wait... wait!" But on the other end of the line, Ran had already hung up.

Lin Maoxian sat in the corner sipping coffee, watching Conan put down the phone, his mood remarkably good. He had only stopped by the nearby bank to finish some business and happened to pass by this café, intending to grab a coffee and rest for a moment. He hadn't expected to run into the two main protagonists here. Although he didn't know exactly where the plot was currently, wherever Conan (Kudo Shinichi) went, an incident was bound to occur. He would have to make sure to put on a good show later.

"AAAAHHH!!!" A scream of terror erupted from the restroom.

Lin Maoxian immediately followed in Conan's footsteps toward the restroom, accompanied by the man named Juzou Denyama.

They saw Wakaoji collapsed on the floor in terror, pointing a finger toward the innermost stall. "Th-th-that..."

The restroom door was closed, but a pool of blood was seeping out from underneath it.

"It's blood," Conan said as he rushed forward.

Juzou Denyama: "Little kid..."

Conan rattled the doorknob and said, "It seems to be blocked from the inside." He crouched down, activated his power-enhancing shoes, jumped onto the top of the stall door, and peered inside.

The woman in sunglasses who had entered first was already lying in a pool of blood; she had clearly been murdered.

Lin Maoxian stepped forward, picked Conan up, and set him down. He then stood on his tiptoes to look inside. It was a murder case. He glanced at the fallen Wakaoji and Juzou Denyama standing to the side and said, "Someone is dead inside. You two go tell the manager to call the police. Also, don't let anyone leave this café. We aren't sure of the situation yet, and the culprit might still be inside. As for you, kid, this is clearly no place for you. You should go wait outside."

Conan looked at the man before him. This person hadn't been among those who entered earlier, so he had clearly arrived even before him. Yet, Conan replied, "Okay, but I'm technically one of the first people to discover the scene. I'll just watch from the side; I won't move around or disturb the crime scene."

Lin Maoxian looked at the adorable Conan. It was hard to tell—if one didn't know beforehand, who would ever guess this was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old high school student? Even if someone said it out loud, no one would believe it.

He smiled at Conan and said, "Fine, but you certainly know a lot. To know all that at your age is truly impressive. But could you do me a favor?"

Conan feigned shyness. "I just follow my uncle around, so I've picked up a few things from watching him. If there's anything you need, just tell me." As long as he doesn't kick me out, it's fine, he thought.