Uncle Mouri had taken a ton of photos during his tailing job, evidence of his completed work.
You could tell that, with a rare job on his plate, Kogoro was taking it seriously.
After all, the 500,000 yen reward was a hefty sum for the Mouri household, which hadn't seen work in a while and wasn't exactly flush with cash.
Kogoro had tailed the target for three days. Ran, Sora, and Conan huddled together, each taking one day's photos to sort by timestamp. The photos were already in order when developed, but Kogoro had tossed them into a bag, leaving them a jumbled mess.
Ran handled Monday's photos, Sora took Tuesday's, and Conan tackled Wednesday's—today's.
Kogoro, meanwhile, focused on scarfing down his meal.
"Uncle took way too many pictures," Conan said.
"Dad's been really motivated lately!" Ran said with a bright smile. "It's been ages since we had work… Speaking of, things only picked up after you and Sora came along. You two are our lucky stars!"
It's all because of Conan… I'd rather not be tied to that. Sora had no desire to share Conan's case-attracting aura. Still, Ran probably included him in her comment on purpose.
Each photo had a timestamp in the corner. As Sora sorted, he started noticing their contents.
He vaguely recalled this case. The client, who was the culprit, had hired Kogoro to tail the target, then posed as the target to mislead Kogoro, creating a false alibi by manipulating the perceived time of death.
The culprit had used Kogoro to establish their innocence.
If that's the case…
Sora picked up two photos—one from Monday, one from Wednesday—and slid them toward Conan.
But Conan didn't take them. He just looked over.
"You noticed too, huh?" Conan grinned confidently, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of discovery.
"Conan?" Ran, curious at his bold statement, paused her sorting.
"Big sister Ran~" Conan switched to a cutesy tone. "Look, these two photos are weird~"
"They are?" Ran leaned over, examining the photos Conan pushed forward. "Hmm… they're wearing the same clothes… What's weird?"
"This one," Conan pointed to the left photo, "shows a left-handed person. But in the other, they're right-handed!"
"Really!" Ran gasped, then turned to her pile. "These are like that too! This one's left-handed, this one's right-handed, this one's left again…"
"But why?"
"Because…" Conan adjusted his glasses, brimming with confidence, "they're two different people!"
Thwack!
"Ow, ow!" Conan clutched the lump on his head, hopping in pain.
Kogoro, looking annoyed, pulled back his fist. "Two people? You think I can't tell who I'm tailing?"
"But Dad, the photos…"
"Ahem, Ran," Kogoro said, "check if the left-handed photos are all from today."
"Let me see… this one, this one… you're right! They're all from today!"
Kogoro nodded, pleased. "I bet this guy injured his right hand last night, so he had to use his left today! That's it—I'm a genius! Hahaha!"
No, that's not it! Conan thought. The photos clearly show someone naturally left-handed… They're posing as Kogoro's target, and they've got some shady secret!
Conan smelled a case. But… what was it?
Glancing at Sora, who'd spotted the clue almost simultaneously, Conan was surprised to see him diligently sorting photos again.
This guy…
Sighing and rubbing the lump on his head, Conan dropped the idea of arguing with Kogoro.
It seemed suspicious, but without more to go on, he'd wait. Things should clear up when Kogoro meets the client…
With school unexpectedly closed for the next few days, Conan planned to tag along with Kogoro to meet the client and sniff out the truth.
Sora finished sorting his share and handed them to "big sister Ran," earning a compliment.
As expected, this was likely the extent of his involvement in his first case post-transmigration.
He'd only pointed out the photos' oddity—with Conan around, he wasn't needed. Kogoro's misguided deduction caught him off guard, though.
But it worked out.
By now, the victim in this case was probably already dead. Catching the culprit early wouldn't change that and might even cost Kogoro his payment… since the client was the culprit.
As things stood, Kogoro might notice something off on his own and catch the culprit without Conan… maybe?
Probably.
Once Ran and Conan finished sorting, Sora declined the offer to stay at the agency and prepared to head back to Dr. Agasa's.
Though the doctor was a takeout expert, Sora had been ordering their meals lately and worried Dr. Agasa might forget to eat.
Ran, seeing how late it was, insisted on walking Sora home.
Sora felt uneasy but couldn't refuse. Ran now saw him as a poor kid neglected by his parents, shuffled around… while she thought Conan was just temporarily fostered.
Holding Ran's hand, Sora felt the resentful glare on his back fade only after they'd walked a good distance.
"Sora… I can call you Sora, right?"
"Mm!" Sora nodded. If only she'd call me Kaedehara or just Sora… "Sora-chan" makes me think of some goddess from an elementary school in another world… But he had no choice.
"Do you ever feel lonely at Dr. Agasa's?"
"Not at all, big sister Ran. And Grandpa Agasa's inventions are super cool!"
"…True!" Ran said. "The doctor doesn't seem great at caregiving, but he's a good guy. Still… you're welcome to stay at my place anytime, okay?"
"Thanks, big sister Ran."
Another polite refusal… Ran's heart ached more. Conan was so close with her, but Sora was different. "Oh, right, Sora, let me ask you something!"
"Do you have a crush on any girl?" Ran asked, trying to recreate a past talk with Conan to see his reaction. "Or, put another way, is there a girl you know who feels really special?"
(End of Chapter)