"So that's what happened." Inspector Megure, who had arrived at the scene, said after learning the whole story, "Officer Takagi, there's nothing you could have done, don't take it to heart."
"It's not your fault, the killer was too cunning!"
"Who could have known he would kill them en route?"
Just as Chiba had said, Inspector Megure did not blame Takagi Wataru.
"Officer Takagi, I didn't realize you were so capable, to actually snatch this sniper rifle from the killer's hands." Miwako Sato examined the weapon, looking at Takagi Wataru with new respect.
Takagi Wataru was surprised that Officer Sato would praise him. He beamed, and his mood instantly improved.
However, at this moment, Shiratori Ninzaburo unceremoniously spoke up, "Officer Sato, this wasn't snatched by Officer Takagi from the killer, but deliberately left behind by the killer!"
"Oh?" Miwako Sato's attention was immediately drawn to Shiratori.
Shiratori began to analyze logically, saying, "From the location of the vehicle to the killer's sniping spot, there's a distance of about five hundred meters."
"By the time Officer Takagi Ran over, the killer had enough time to come down from the building and escape."
"However, Officer Takagi Ran into the perpetrator while going upstairs!"
"This indicates that the killer was waiting for Officer Takagi!"
"Other than that, I can't think of why Officer Takagi would run into the perpetrator while going upstairs!"
"Huh?" Takagi Wataru only then realized that it really seemed to be the case.
Miwako Sato frowned and asked, "So… why would he do that?"
"Nothing, just pure arrogance, not putting the Police in his eyes!" Shiratori expressed his opinion, saying, "The killer is very confident in his skills."
"By throwing the gun to Takagi, the killer is showing he isn't worried the Police can trace him through this sniper rifle!"
A group of Criminal Police officers listened to this analysis and all agreed it made sense.
Miwako Sato frowned and said, "This… is the killer really that arrogant?"
"It looks like this matter is going to be troublesome." Inspector Megure sighed, he could already anticipate the reaction from his superiors.
Seeing more and more reporters arriving, he quickly had people deal with the scene, restore traffic, and went back to discuss with his superiors how to handle the situation.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The next day at noon.
Baishi Hui came to Class 2-B with his bento, looking for Ran, Sonoko, and Shinichi for lunch.
Shinichi, seeing Baishi Hui, couldn't help but say, "Shirashi, something big happened! Did you see yesterday's breaking news?"
"Hmm? What news?" Baishi Hui grabbed a chair and sat down, asking with a curious tone.
"Explosive news! The two kidnappers you caught yesterday were killed!" Shinichi said, raising his voice, "And they were killed inside the car!"
"12.7mm caliber sniper bullet, two birds with one shot!"
"That killer's marksmanship is quite impressive!"
"According to Officer Takagi's eyewitness testimony, the culprit is a man wearing a white shirt, light blue trousers, and a mask that only covers half his face."
As he spoke, Shinichi unconsciously began to deduce again: "The killer should be an accomplice of those two kidnappers."
"Upon seeing them arrested, he immediately struck them down!"
"It seems the other party is very professional and likely not doing these things for the first time."
"But what's strange is, why didn't the killer act when those two kidnappers were caught by you?"
At this point, he frowned and began to ponder.
"It's too scary." Ran had no mind to think about why, only worriedly said, "Even the Police can't protect them."
"Isn't that right? My mom told me to go straight home after school these days, and not to play outside anymore." Sonoko said glumly, she had been thinking about going on a few dates with Baishi Hui.
She didn't expect to be interrupted by something like this.
"It looks like it's better for everyone to be careful these days." Baishi Hui cooperatively said a few words.
He came mainly to see Shinichi's reaction.
Seeing that the Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei era had no ideas, he felt relieved.
During their casual chat, Ran suddenly mentioned, "Shirashi-kun, do you have time after school?"
"Yes, what's up?" Baishi Hui looked at Ran, not understanding what she wanted from him.
Not only him, but even Sonoko and Shinichi cast surprised glances at Ran.
Ran, afraid of being misunderstood by the two, quickly explained, "The competition is starting soon, and I want to find a strong opponent to train with!"
"Yesterday, I saw how amazing Shirashi-kun was, easily taking down those two kidnappers."
"So I wanted to ask him to come to the Karate Club with me after school to practice."
Sonoko and Shinichi nodded in understanding.
"Okay, no problem." Baishi Hui readily agreed, willing to help.
He remembered that in the anime, in Ran's final match against Wada Yona, she was the one being pressured.
If she hadn't been spurred on by Shinichi at the end, and Ran hadn't unleashed her inner power, then Wada Yona would have been the champion.
It was unavoidable that Ran couldn't defeat Wada Yona.
After all, Makoto Kyogoku and Wada Yona were both students of Haido High School.
The official rating for Makoto Kyogoku's combat power was Special A-rank, while Ran's was only a pitiful B-rank.
Wada Yona had Makoto Kyogoku's guidance, while Ran only had her senior, Sumi Tsukamoto, to guide her.
Ran's senior, Sumi Tsukamoto, no matter how strong, couldn't be stronger than Makoto Kyogoku.
Since their "teachers" were not on the same level, it was unavoidable that Ran's strength was inferior to hers.
"Really? That's great!" Ran cheered happily.
"Hmph." This made the nearby Shinichi very jealous. He snorted, "Why Shirashi-kun? What about me?"
"Of course not, I was just afraid you'd refuse, Shinichi." Ran looked at him, clapped her hands, and excitedly said, "Since you want to come too, then let's all go to the Karate Club after school!"
"It's a deal! You can't run off after school!!"