Their First Meeting at the Coffee Shop

Chapter 4: Their First Meeting at the Coffee Shop

Inside a coffee shop.

Ran Mouri looked somewhat helplessly at Conan, who was sitting beside her. "Honestly, didn't I tell you I was going on a date today? Why did you come along anyway, Conan?"

Conan clasped his hands behind his head and said playfully, "Because I wanted to see Big Brother Shinichi too. Wow! Big Brother Shinichi is so slow. When's he getting here?"

Ran smiled. "To be honest, Conan, the person I'm meeting here today isn't Shinichi."

Conan asked in surprise, "Huh? Then who is it? Why are you meeting him, and why did you have to lie about it?" Inwardly, he hoped Ran would hurry up and say who "he" was.

Ran said shyly, "She's someone very important to me. Understand?"

Conan said gloomily, "Uh, more important than Big Brother Shinichi?"

Ran smiled. "You silly boy, how can you compare the two of them? All right, that's enough. It's about time you went home, okay?"

Conan said outright, "But I don't want to go home yet."

"Oh, right. You like cake, don't you, Conan? I'll go buy you a piece now. Once you've got your cake, you have to be a good boy and go home, okay?" Ran said, heading outside.

As she passed the server, Ran smiled and said, "Sorry, I'll be right back." Then she opened the door and went out, apparently to buy some cake.

Watching Ran walk away, Conan thought, That won't work, Ran. I'll use my powers of observation and deduction to get a good look at what kind of three-headed, six-armed monster the person you're meeting this time is. Heh heh. There's only one truth, so just you wait, Ran.

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

The server smiled and said, "Welcome. Just one person? If so, could you sit at the counter? Miss—"

The woman in sunglasses ignored the server, found a seat herself, and casually said, "Coffee."

The server seemed a little taken aback. "Pardon?"

The woman in sunglasses raised her voice. "Coffee! I want to order coffee. Didn't you hear me?" She checked her watch, then turned to look out the window.

Seeing this, Conan thought, She's a woman, and that big sister has a really bad attitude. But she keeps checking the time. Could she be the one? No way! Remembering that Ran had said the person was someone important to her, he turned his attention back to the coffee shop door.

The door opened, and a man came in.

The server stepped forward with a smile. "Just one person?"

The man rubbed his head sheepishly and smiled. "Sorry, I have a paper to write, and I have to finish it today. Could you find me a quiet spot? Thank you."

As the server led the man away, Conan thought, A college student, huh? He shouldn't be the one. Ordinary people wouldn't keep writing a paper after arranging to meet someone. No, it can't be him.

The door opened again, and a beautiful young woman came in.

The server stepped forward to greet her. "Welcome."

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

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

The young woman handed over the menu and said, "Then I'll have a cup of coffee."

Conan secretly watched the young woman and thought, Wow! She's gorgeous!

The young woman took out an envelope she had brought with her. The words "Law Office" were printed on it. She glanced at it and immediately looked furious.

Startled by her expression, Conan quickly sat up straight and thought, She's angry. But why did she get so mad just from looking at it?

The coffee shop door opened, and a middle-aged man went over and sat down at the counter. "Hey, boss."

The owner set down the glass he had just wiped and smiled. "Mr. Denyama, what happened to your fingers?"

Juzou Denyama held out his fingers and chuckled. "I hurt these while we were practicing rugby. Good thing my wedding ring got stuck on them."

Looking at the middle-aged man who had just come in, Conan thought, No, it's not him either. If he were meeting someone here, he wouldn't sit straight down at the counter without even looking around.

The owner smiled and asked, "Why'd you get your hair cut?"

Juzou Denyama touched his hair. "Oh, it was getting too messy."

Just then, the woman in sunglasses left her seat and walked over to the counter to ask the owner, "Where's your restroom?"

"Over there." The owner pointed nearby. As the woman walked off, he added, "But it's shared by men and women."

The woman casually replied, "All right, I know."

Conan thought, Huh? How does someone who doesn't know where the restroom is know it's shared by men and women? Sigh, why am I even worrying about that? What matters is Ran's date. That person still hasn't shown up. Could they already be here?

He looked toward the door. Just then, it opened, and a long-haired man came in.

The server stepped forward to greet him. "Welcome!"

The long-haired man glanced around and said, "I arranged to meet a pretty young lady here. It looks like she hasn't arrived yet."

The server said, "All right, please come this way." He led the man to the seat next to Conan.

The long-haired man told the server, "How about bringing me a cup of tea first?"

Looking at the man beside him, Conan wondered, Could that be him?

Beep, beep, beep!!!

The long-haired man's phone rang. He answered with a smile. "Hello, this is Wakaoji. What? Oh, it's you. I'm meeting a girl, so don't mess things up, okay? That's right, that girl. I met her when I was interning at the TV station last time. She's pretty cute. You don't meet many girls that innocent these days."

"The TV station—that was when the TV producer was murdered last time."

"With women, all it takes is a few sweet words and they're yours. Hahahaha!!!"

Conan glared angrily at Wakaoji and thought, Damn it!!

"Right, don't go telling other girls about this. See you." Wakaoji hung up and tied his long hair back.

Conan thought angrily, Fine, just you wait. Once I power up my shoes, I'll kick that playboy right out of here.

"Mr. Edogawa, is there a Mr. Edogawa here? You have a phone call." The server called out to everyone nearby.

Conan had no choice but to go over and take the phone. "Hello? Who is this? Big Sister Ran?"

"Hello, Conan. I'm sorry, but I can't get back to you just yet. The cash register at this shop is broken, so they can't give me my change. Hey, has anyone come to see me yet?" Ran's voice came from the other end.

Conan said glumly, "Yeah. The one with long hair, right?"

"That's right, that's her. But it's strange. She usually ties her hair up."

"Yeah, she tied it up just now. Hey, Big Sister Ran, can't you avoid meeting someone like that?"

"Hmm, it looks like they've fixed the cash register. I'll be right back."

Conan hurriedly said, "Wait... wait!!" But Ran had already hung up.

Lin Maoxian sat in a corner, drinking coffee. Seeing Conan put down the phone, he felt delighted. He'd just finished some business at a nearby bank and happened to pass this coffee shop. He'd only meant to have a cup of coffee and take a short break. He hadn't expected to run into both the male and female leads here. He didn't know where the story was up to, but wherever Conan (Kudo Shinichi) was, an incident was bound to happen. He'd better make a good showing when it did.

A terrified scream came from the restroom.

Lin Maoxian immediately followed Conan toward the restroom. The man from earlier, Juzou Denyama, went with them too.

Wakaoji had fallen to the floor in terror, pointing at the innermost restroom stall and stammering, "Th... th... that..."

The restroom door was shut, but a pool of blood lay on the floor.

"It's blood!" Conan said, then ran over.

Juzou Denyama said, "Little boy..."

Conan turned the doorknob and said, "It seems to be blocked from the inside." He crouched down, activated his power-boosting shoes, and jumped onto the top of the restroom door to look inside.

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

Lin Maoxian lifted Conan down, then stood on tiptoe to look inside. It was a murder case. Glancing at Wakaoji on the floor and Juzou Denyama beside him, he said, "Someone's dead in there. Go to the counter and tell the owner to call the police. Also, don't let anyone leave this coffee shop. We don't know what's going on yet, and the culprit might still be inside. As for you, kid, this clearly isn't a place you should be. You should wait outside."

Conan looked at the man in front of him. This man hadn't been among those who came in earlier, so he must have arrived before Conan did. But he said, "Okay. Still, I was one of the first people to discover the crime, so I'll just watch from the side. I won't wander around or disturb the scene."

Looking at the adorable Conan, Lin Maoxian could hardly believe he was really a high school student of sixteen or seventeen. If he hadn't known beforehand, who would ever have guessed? Even if he told people, they probably wouldn't believe him.

He smiled at Conan and said, "All right. You sure know a lot, even about this sort of thing. That's impressive. But could you help your uncle with something?"

Conan pretended to be embarrassed. "I just follow the adults around and pick up a little here and there. If you need anything, just tell me what to do." Inwardly, he thought, As long as he doesn't kick me out, that's all that matters.