Chapter 25
The Wrong Object of Suspicion
"What? We've been attacked?"
The person who arrived unexpectedly was Masahiko Michiwaki. In his words, he noticed that it was raining and felt it wasn't good to let two girls walk alone with a child at night, so he thought he would come and pick them up. He had just arrived here.
Because of the recent attack, Sonoko Suzuki was reluctant to go out, so at the suggestion of Makoto Kyogoku, who came to check on the situation, she decided to eat at the restaurant in their family's inn instead.
Throughout the meal, Jonah subtly observed Makoto Kyogoku. Although Sonoko Suzuki had previously stated that she had bitten the attacker's hairy arm, it was possible that she misjudged the situation in a critical moment, or that the hairy clothing caused a misunderstanding.
The bandage marks on Kyogoku Makoto's arm, coupled with his unusual concern for Suzuki Sonoko, had already drawn Jonah's attention to this strange man.
After dinner, Masahiko Michiwaki left the hotel, and Sonoko Suzuki and the others returned to the new room that Makoto Kyogoku had changed for them.
Upon entering the room, Jonah immediately checked whether the window locks were intact and secure. He also looked around the room for any secret passages. After confirming that everything was in order, he pulled his bed to the closest point to the door, as if he were going to keep watch for everyone.
"Jonah, you don't need to be so careful."
Seeing Jonah so serious, Sonoko Suzuki felt a little embarrassed. Although she knew Jonah wasn't an ordinary child, he was at least a cute child in appearance.
No matter how much Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri tried to persuade him, Jonah insisted on sleeping by the door, leaving the two with no choice but to agree.
"Jonah, I've noticed you've been watching the innkeeper's son. Is there anything strange about him?"
Because he couldn't bear to see Ran Mouri keep watch with him, Conan Edogawa volunteered to pull the bed over to Jonah's side, saying he wanted to sleep with Jonah.
After a while, hearing Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri chatting quietly inside the room, Conan Edogawa lowered his voice and asked Jonah beside him.
"It's not clear yet, but he is definitely keeping an eye on Sonoko-neechan."
Lying on his pillow, Jonah shook his head slightly. Knowing that his thinking ability was not as good as Conan Edogawa's, he naturally told him what he had observed, hoping that Conan Edogawa could make an effective deduction.
"And he's very capable."
"Impressive, Jonah. You mean he's very skilled? How do you know? Did you see him fight?"
"No, but you don't need to see them fight to judge how strong they are."
"Oh, how did you do that?"
"It's hard to explain; maybe it's the instinct from surviving on the battlefield?"
Jonah's words successfully killed Conan Edogawa's interest in asking any more questions. After the two exchanged some opinions in hushed tones, Conan Edogawa couldn't resist his drowsiness and fell asleep first.
Jonah, on the other hand, spent the night in a state of light sleep, much like he hadn't done in a long time, making sure he would wake up at the slightest sound.
However, nothing happened overnight. The next day, Sonoko Suzuki yawned and followed the group to the "cursed restaurant" that she was very interested in. But when they arrived, she was too tired to get out of the car because she hadn't slept well.
"Should we go ahead first and let Sonoko rest in the car for a while?"
"this..."
Seeing that Sonoko Suzuki looked very tired, Ran Mouri hesitated for a moment, but before she could finish speaking, Jonah stepped forward and spoke seriously.
"No, Sonoko-neechan wants to stay with us."
"But Sonoko is very sleepy..."
Unexpectedly, Jonah suddenly stood up and spoke. Masahiko Michiwaki was about to give it a try when he noticed Jonah suddenly looking at him with cold eyes.
A sudden jolt went through him. Michiwaki Masahiko hadn't expected to feel flustered just because of a kid's gaze. By the time he realized what was happening, Suzuki Sonoko had already been pulled out of the car by Jonah and was staggering toward the restaurant.
Sonoko Suzuki, who was initially a bit sleepy in the restaurant, became more energetic because of the restaurant's excellent food, but Jonah, who has always been interested in food, could not concentrate on eating.
Jonah shifted his gaze slightly, looking at Makoto Kyogoku, who had somehow appeared in the restaurant, a deep sense of confusion flashing through his mind.
Jonah didn't understand why Makoto Kyogoku kept appearing around Sonoko Suzuki, but now Jonah considered Makoto Kyogoku the most dangerous suspect.
Jonah was never one to passively face danger, so when everyone had finished eating and drinking and were about to leave the restaurant for a walk, Jonah quietly approached Conan Edogawa and said in a low voice.
"Conan, keep an eye on Sonoko-neechan, I'm going to follow someone."
"Who is it? Jonah, you're not going to do anything dangerous, are you?"
Upon hearing this, Conan Edogawa's expression changed. He knew all too well how much destruction his "good friend" could cause. Although the other party was likely a heinous murderer who had killed multiple girls, Conan Edogawa did not think that the other party would be a match for Jonah.
Conan Edogawa was just worried that Jonah might go too far in anger and hurt the killer, which would then lead to a police investigation.
"Fine, I can't stop you, but Jonah, you must be careful. Just keep the killer under control and don't hurt him!"
"Um."
After consulting with Conan Edogawa, Jonah no longer hesitated and quietly lagged behind the group as they walked and strolled, then cleverly disappeared into the woods beside the road.
It was inconvenient to follow them in the inn, but Jonah was much more used to it in the forest. Mountain warfare was Jonah's forte, so he quickly spotted Makoto Kyogoku following them at a distance.
Following closely behind Makoto Kyogoku, Jonah tried to detect something amiss, completely unaware that Conan Edogawa had been tricked by Masahiko Michiwaki on the other side. Michiwaki mistook a detective who had been following Michiwaki for a murderer, and while he and Ran Mouri stopped the detective, Michiwaki and Sonoko Suzuki ran off into the woods alone.
When Jonah suddenly heard Sonoko Suzuki screaming in the distance, his expression changed drastically. He didn't have time to follow Makoto Kyogoku. He pulled out the tranquilizer gun he had hidden and rushed towards Sonoko Suzuki.
Jonah reacted quickly, but Kyogoku Makoto was even faster. In the blink of an eye, before Jonah could even react, Kyogoku Makoto had dashed out and disappeared from Jonah's sight.
Although he didn't have Kyogoku Makoto's long legs, Jonah never gave up training, so he was quite fast at running through the forest. When Jonah arrived near Suzuki Sonoko, he saw Kyogoku Makoto with a knife stuck in his shoulder and arm, protecting Suzuki Sonoko behind him.
On the opposite side, Masahiko Michiwaki, looking frantic, grabbed a wooden stick and charged towards Sonoko Suzuki and Makoto Kyogoku.
Thump-thump-thump-