As a Police Officer, I'm Always Worrying About Something - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Conan’s First Year (2)

After hearing Nakamura Masaya’s confession, Chinna immediately told Takagi to turn the car around but by the time they returned to the scene, Inoue Sakurako was nowhere to be found.

Date, realizing something was off as well, looked around the now-empty area but could do nothing.

He patted Chinna on the back. “Let’s head back and report it. There’s nothing else we can do.”

Chinna nodded. There really wasn’t any other option.

As the patrol car drove away again, Chinna received a call from Miwako Sato.

“What? You said Inoue Sakurako was found in the ambulance?”

“Yes,” Miwako confirmed. She also knew that the person who had reported the case to Chinna was a doctor named Inoue Sakurako.

Now that the real doctor had been found unconscious in the ambulance, it meant the one at the scene earlier was someone else entirely.

Who they were and what their goal was. No one knew.

“Bring her to the interrogation room. I’m heading back now!” Chinna said, urging Takagi to drive faster.

As soon as the patrol car stopped in front of the MPD headquarters, Chinna bolted inside accidentally bumping into Jinpei Matsuda, who was just about to clock out.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Matsuda shouted after her.

Seeing Date escorting a suspect behind her, Kenji Hagiwara asked, “What’s going on, Captain? Why’s Chinna in such a rush?”

Date gave a quick summary of the case and handed the suspect over to Takagi for processing.

Chinna didn’t even stop to acknowledge Matsuda she just shouted “Sorry!” and ran straight in.

When she saw the face in the interrogation room, she knew immediately, the only lead they had was gone.

Still, she wasn’t ready to give up. After all, this case had spanned over six months.

“Why did you report the incident?”

“Miss Nakamura stopped me from helping.”

“That’s it?”

“Y-Yes… that’s all.”

It was the same face, but the aura was different—subtly but noticeably.

“Why did you reveal the method of murder?” Chinna suddenly leaned in.

“What?! Murder method?!” Inoue Sakurako looked shocked. “I never said anything like that!”

Her face was full of confusion and even a bit of indignation at the accusation.

That was all Chinna needed to confirm, this wasn’t the same person she’d spoken to at the scene.

She tapped her fingernails rhythmically on the table. “Have you experienced anything like this before?”

“You mean like falling asleep for no reason?” Inoue thought for a moment. “Not often… just in the past six months or so.”

“Sometimes I fall asleep randomly, or sleepwalk. Nothing serious though. My supervisor even gave me a few days off because of it.”

Chinna sighed inwardly. Now she was completely lost. Inoue had no reason to lie, this kind of thing could be easily verified.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Chinna said, standing to escort her out. “Sorry for taking up your time.”

“It’s alright,” Inoue replied, still dazed. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.”

Chinna composed herself and returned to the office.

Date asked how it went. When she replied, “It wasn’t her,” he didn’t seem surprised.

“Well, don’t worry too much,” he said gently. “You’ll catch her eventually.”

Chinna nodded, then changed the subject.

“Come to think of it, the footage from the camera wasn’t enough to convict her. If Nakamura Masaya had just held out a little longer, she might’ve gotten away with it.”

Date looked exasperated. “You’re hoping she didn’t get caught?!”

“No, no! I’m just saying,” Chinna said quickly. “Don’t take it seriously, Date.”

Just then, she noticed Miwako Sato writing up a case report nearby.

“Miwako, what case were you working on today?” she asked.

Miwako paused her pen. “A story about a guy getting strangled with a necklace on a roller coaster.” She pointed at Chinna. “Your little cousin helped solve it.”

Chinna froze. That’s what she’d forgotten—she was supposed to stop the whole chain of events from the very beginning!

She grabbed her jacket from the chair. “I’ve got something to do! I’ll be back to write the report later!”

“She’s all over the place today,” Date said, watching her rush out.

Miwako picked up her pen again. “You’ll get used to it. Chinna always forgets things.”

Chinna ran to her car, opened the door, slammed it shut, turned the key, and hit the gas in one smooth motion.

The car shot forward like an arrow, skimming the edge of the speed limit. She reached Tropical Land in record time.

But the gates were already locked.

Slumping back into the driver’s seat, she stared at the closed amusement park in despair. ‘So this is how my new career path begins…’

Just then, her phone rang.

“Chinna,” Miwako said on the other end, “we’ve got a kidnapping report. Inspector Megure wants you, me, and Takagi on it.”

“I just left the station!” Chinna groaned. “Miwako, why are there so many cases today?!”

Miwako gave her the address and sighed. “No complaints, just get over here.”

Chinna sighed, hung up, and drove to the location Miwako had given her.

When she arrived, Miwako and Takagi weren’t there yet. She parked, got out and immediately spotted a man in a ski mask lying on the ground, barely conscious.

She crouched down and placed a finger under his nose. Feeling breath, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Chinna?” a familiar voice called.

She turned and saw Ran Mouri.

“Ran! It’s been a while,” Chinna said, standing up. She pointed at the masked man. “Is this the kidnapper?”

Before Ran could answer, a dog barked loudly—“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Then came Kogoro Mouri’s booming voice. He strutted into the room and kicked the masked man a few times. “Haha! The kidnapper has been caught by the great detective, Kogoro Mouri!”

Just then, Miwako and Takagi arrived at the scene.

After loading the suspect into the car, Takagi began questioning the witnesses.

“Excuse me, but which one of you is named Vesper?”

“We didn’t call the police,” said the father of the kidnapped girl. “It started as a joke, and then the guy said not to call the cops, so we didn’t.”

“No one here is named Vesper either,” added the elderly butler behind him.  

“That’s strange,” Takagi scratched his head. “Then who called the police?”

‘Vesper—a cocktail made with gin, vodka, and Lillet Blanc,’ Chinna mused, resting her chin on her hand. ‘It must’ve been someone from that organization. But why would they report it?’

Though she had her suspicions, Chinna said something entirely different out loud. “Maybe it was just a kind passerby who didn’t want to reveal their real name and made one up on the spot.”

“Maybe,” Miwako Sato replied, still feeling something was off but since the kidnapping case had been resolved, she didn’t dwell on it.

Behind Ran Mouri, Shinichi Kudo, who had been planning to step forward and “reveal” himself, froze in his tracks. ‘My sister wouldn’t make a deduction she wasn’t sure of. She’s hiding something. Is there something we’re not supposed to know?’

‘The two men who attacked me tonight were named Gin and Vodka. And now there’s Vesper, all alcohol names,’ Shinichi thought, pressing his thumb and forefinger to his chin. ‘Is this organization using liquor names as code names?’

Realizing his sister might know something about the group that shrank him, Shinichi tried to rush over and ask her.

But his childhood friend Ran grabbed him. “Conan, the police are busy. Don’t cause trouble, okay?”

Shinichi tried to break free, but Ran’s grip was too strong. He couldn’t get away.

As Chinna was about to drive off, Shinichi panicked and struggled harder, even shouting, “Police! So cool!” to keep up the child act.

“Be good, Conan!” Ran scooped him up. Shinichi, now blushing furiously, forgot what he was even trying to do.

Chinna finished her report and turned to greet the Mouri family. Seeing Conan’s flushed face, she finally remembered her little brother.

But even though she knew the truth, she had to pretend otherwise. Thanks to Yukiko Kudo’s training, Chinna’s acting was solid.

“This kid is…” Chinna trailed off, then smirked. “I’d say he’s your and Shinichi’s child, but he’s a bit too old for that…”

That made not only Conan but also Ran turn bright red.

“Hey! Chinna! What are you saying?!” Kogoro Mouri shouted. “My daughter would never end up with that brat Shinichi!”

“I agree!” Chinna said quickly, trying to calm him down. ‘Sorry, Shinichi. You’re taking one for the team.’

“I don’t think Shinichi’s good enough for Ran either,” she added with a solemn nod.

“Achoo…” Conan sneezed and rubbed his nose. ‘Hey, sis, I can hear you badmouthing me, you know.’

Once Kogoro was pacified, Chinna turned to Ran, who was still blushing. “He’s not Yukiko and Yusaku’s second child, is he? He looks just like Shinichi.”

A bead of sweat rolled down Conan’s temple. ‘Am I about to be exposed?’

“No, no!” Ran quickly replied. “Conan is a relative of Professor Agasa’s. He just happens to look like Shinichi.”

“Oh, right! Chinna,” Ran suddenly remembered. “Have you seen Shinichi today? I haven’t seen him since we got back from the amusement park.”

Chinna shrugged. “He called me around noon to ask what to wear on a date. Haven’t heard from him since.”

“Oh…” Ran replied, visibly disappointed.

“If I hear anything, I’ll let you know, Ran.” Chinna patted her on the shoulder.

“Let’s go, Chinna!” Miwako called from nearby.

“See you around, Ran.” Chinna really wanted to expose Conan’s identity right then but the timing wasn’t right, so she held back.

“Bye, Chinna!” Ran perked up and waved.

Chinna drove back to the precinct, handed off the suspect, and returned to her apartment.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about Vesper. Why had they called the police? Was it really just a random act of justice?

She didn’t buy it.

Glancing at the clock—7:46 p.m.—she figured it wasn’t too late. She headed upstairs and knocked on Jinpei Matsuda’s door.

“Coming!” Matsuda’s voice came through the door.

When he opened it and saw Chinna, he looked surprised. “What’s up?”

Chinna gave him a once-over. He looked like he’d just showered, his usually spiky hair was damp and drooping.

“Nothing much. Just wondering if you have the number for that guy… Kanemoto Toru?” she asked, leaning against the doorframe and twirling her keychain.

“What do you need it for?” Matsuda turned and walked back inside. “Come in, I’ll look it up.”

“Okay.” Chinna followed him in and shut the door behind her.

Matsuda flopped onto the couch, fiddling with his phone. “Why do you need to contact him?”

“No reason. Just want the number.” Not knowing how much Kanemoto had told Matsuda, Chinna kept it vague.

“You don’t have a crush on him, do you?” Matsuda blurted out.

“Huh? What kind of logic is that?” Chinna stared at him. Was his brain broken?

“Forget it.” Realizing how weird that sounded, Matsuda rubbed his head in frustration and handed her the phone.

“Here. His number.” The screen showed a phone number with no name attached. “But text him first. He doesn’t answer unknown calls.”

“Got it. Thanks.” Chinna jotted it down and handed the phone back. As she opened the door to leave, she added, “By the way, your hair makes you look really well-behaved. Like a Shiba Inu.”

Then she shut the door with a thud.

Inside, Matsuda stood frozen, replaying her words. “Me? A dog? If you’re gonna thank me, just say thanks! And if you’re gonna make comparisons, at least learn how to do it properly!”

But no one answered. Chinna was already halfway down the stairs.

On the way back to her apartment, she sent a message to Kanemoto: ‘This is Fujimine Chinna. We met a few years ago. Call me when you’re free.’

About thirty minutes later, her phone rang.

“Hello? Miss Fujimine? Is there something I can help you with?”

Chinna figured he’d spent that time verifying her number. She didn’t mind. She got straight to the point and told him about the anonymous call earlier that day.

She also explained why she was reporting it. “I heard someone call out to Bourbon that day, so I guessed the organization uses alcohol names as code names. When I heard ‘Vesper’ today, I thought of you guys.”

“Thank you for the information, Miss Fujimine. We’ll look into it,” Kanemoto replied politely. He already knew about the incident from other sources, but he still appreciated the tip.

‘To deduce that much from a single codename… this Fujimine woman is sharp,’ he thought after hanging up.

With that off her chest, Chinna took a bath, watched a bit of a drama, and went to bed sleeping soundly.

But not everyone had such a peaceful night. Somewhere across town, a certain shrunken detective was still racking his brain, trying to come up with an excuse to sneak out of Ran’s house and find his sister.