Chapter 88
Conan: Damn it, stop leading Jonah astray!
Although he had many questions about Jonah's remarks, Conan Edogawa held back, considering that treating Kaoru Kusano's wounds was more important at the moment.
The ambulance arrived quickly, and coincidentally, the doctors and nurses who came were the same ones who treated Sato Miwako last time. When they saw Jonah at the scene, they were stunned for a moment, but their expressions relaxed a bit. When they saw Kusano Kaoru's wounds that had been treated, they nodded admiringly at Jonah.
Kusano Kaoru's manager left with the ambulance, while the rest of the people at the scene waited for Inspector Megure and his team to arrive.
"Living in such a luxurious apartment at such a young age, are you the daughter of someone from a certain company?"
"No, Inspector Megure, don't you know Kaoru Kusano? She's the hottest female celebrity right now!"
"A female celebrity, huh? I don't watch TV much, so... um, Jonah, what are you doing?"
As Inspector Megure stepped out of the elevator, he looked up and saw Jonah standing innocently outside the door, leaning against the wall eating potato chips.
"I was kicked out."
"Huh? Who did this, Mori-kun?!"
His eyebrows furrowed, and Inspector Megure's tone carried a hint of anger. Although Jonah had done many dangerous things, Inspector Megure still liked this well-behaved, sensible, and fiercely protective child.
Upon hearing Jonah's words, Inspector Megure didn't even give Jonah a chance to explain further before pulling him into the room and launching into a tirade against Kogoro Mouri, who was smiling and greeting them.
"No, Inspector Megure, let me explain."
After being harshly scolded, Kogoro Mouri was on the verge of tears, and with a wry smile, he hurriedly tried to defend himself.
Kogoro Mouri didn't want to teach Jonah a lesson, but just now, after Jonah had seen off the paramedics and exchanged a few words with Conan Edogawa, he suddenly had a brain fart and grabbed a rope he found somewhere and tied up Kenzaki Osamu.
By the time Kogoro Mouri and Conan Edogawa reacted, Jonah had already tied up Osamu Kenzaki and Terumi Hoshino, and was using the remaining rope to approach Yuki Takeno and Yoko Okino, who were huddled together in panic.
Conan Edogawa was filled with regret. He shouldn't have subconsciously made the deduction that the murderer might be among these people based on the information provided by Jonah. He should have known that Jonah's speed of action was faster than his brain when faced with a problem.
Kogoro Mouri was also startled by Jonah's actions, especially seeing Yoko Okino trembling with fear. He couldn't help but tap Jonah on the head, then tossed him a bag of potato chips and a bottle of drink, telling Jonah to go out and play by himself.
He hadn't said a single harsh word from beginning to end! Kogoro Mouri felt utterly wronged!
"Ahem, let's talk about the case."
Realizing he had misunderstood, Inspector Megure coughed lightly and casually changed the subject, offering no comment on Jonah's behavior of starting to tie people up without saying a word.
As the adults began to talk, Conan Edogawa, who had finished his on-site investigation, walked up to Jonah and whispered, "Jonah, could you please not be so extreme next time? I was just saying it's possible; there's no evidence to confirm it yet."
"And even if the killer is among them, they wouldn't pose much of a threat."
"A person who committed murder isn't a threat? Conan, you're so strange." Jonah blinked, looked at Conan Edogawa, and said in a calm tone that left Conan speechless.
"...You're right, it was my inappropriate comment."
After a moment of silence, Conan Edogawa sighed with a wry smile, his gaze towards Jonah becoming even more complex.
Conan Edogawa discovered that he seemed to have become more confident when facing crime scenes and criminals, and this confidence came from Jonah, who was still eating potato chips in front of him.
Having a contract with you makes you feel like even murderers aren't dangerous anymore. This kind of change in mindset is truly terrifying.
The subsequent investigation had little to do with Jonah. What puzzled Jonah was that after Inspector Megure and his men left, they didn't find the culprit directly. Moreover, Yuki Takeno accidentally ate something and suddenly collapsed in the kitchen. It was only thanks to Conan Edogawa's emergency rescue that she was saved.
"So, the woman with long brown hair is the murderer, and the woman whose neck was cut knew but didn't tell the police."
Jonah only learned the reason from Conan Edogawa afterward, and he couldn't help but look at Conan with some curiosity.
"I'm not curious that the woman didn't care, but why aren't you, Conan, bothered? Shouldn't you tell the police who the real culprit is?"
"...I don't always do such heartless things, do I? I change too."
Looking helplessly at Jonah's serious face, Conan Edogawa felt that his reputation in Jonah's eyes might be a bit off.
"I'm too lazy to even take Jonah's killing spree seriously. No one died this time, so let them do whatever they want."
Is this what they mean by men's fickleness?
"...I already told you, Jonah, stop mimicking Haibara's way of talking! Besides, aren't you a man too?!"
"I am a child."
"...Okay, you are, but why are you so happy to be a child?"
Looking at Jonah strangely, Conan Edogawa was curious as to why Jonah would show such obvious joy on his face.
"Because Sonoko-neechan told me that even if I accidentally reveal something, it's okay, there's something called the Child Protection Act that can help reduce my troubles."
"That gossipy old woman in the garden! What on earth is she teaching those kids every day?!"
Staring at Jonah in shock, Conan Edogawa remained silent for a moment before gritting his teeth and cursing Sonoko Suzuki.
"Fine, do whatever you want, Jonah, are you really not coming to the circus with us today?"
"Yes, Mr. Oshima and I made plans to hang out together."
"Alright, but Jonah, you have to promise me!"
With his hands on Jonah's shoulders, Conan Edogawa's expression was serious, his eyes fixed on Jonah: "The wargame you're going to play will definitely have replica guns, the bullets will definitely be paintballs, and the target won't just fall down and never get up again after being shot, okay?!"
"It seems like Conan isn't referring to a wargame."
"Because that's not what I meant! I'm worried that Jonah will be taken away on a mission by your assassin friend! Understand?"
"Conan, I'm not that stupid."
"Is this a question of whether I'm stupid or not? Let me ask you, Jonah, if that Mr. Oshima invited you to help with an assassination, wouldn't you refuse without hesitation?"
"...certainly."
"You hesitated, didn't you, Jonah! You hesitated, didn't you!"
"No!"
"Yeah, right! You're not even looking at me anymore, how annoying!"