Chapter 149: Snatching a case from Akaso Kaze is like snatching food from a tiger's mouth

Miwako Sato was very fast.

She caught up to the criminal, grabbed his collar, and performed a spinning throw.

Ya, ah, thud, crash.

After a series of chaotic noises, Miwako Sato blinked at the broken door panel.

Well, this shouldn't count as intentional destruction of public property, right?

Miwako Sato looked at the watch on her left wrist: "18:43, the fugitive criminal Tonda has been arrested!"

As she said this, she recorded it in her police notebook.

The man’s hand reached out limply from the gap in the door panel.

"Oh! The handcuffs' chain broke!"

Miwako Sato grimaced; it seemed she had used too much force and even broken the criminal's handcuffs.

She took another pair of handcuffs from her pocket, cuffed them onto the other person's wrists, and casually locked the other side to her own right hand.

"Come on, stand up!"

As she said this, she lifted the door panel that was blocking her view.

Then, Miwako Sato was dumbfounded.

Conan and the others finally arrived at the building.

"Officer Sato! Where are you?"

Officer Takagi kept shouting.

Ai Haibara looked around and said with slight curiosity, "Strange, isn't this an art museum? Why isn't there a single painting?"

Everyone looked around and saw that the area was empty; there were hooks on the walls for hanging paintings, but not a single one was there.

Conan also felt it was a bit strange.

Mitsuhiko blinked and said, "I think they are probably changing the exhibits!"

Officer Takagi looked back at the children who had followed and said irritably, "Can you guys go back? It's dangerous here!"

Just then, Officer Sato’s voice came through.

"Officer Takagi?"

Hearing Miwako Sato’s voice, Officer Takagi hurriedly turned to look for her and ended up finding her in the men's restroom.

"Officer Sato, why are you here? What happened to the fugitive?"

Miwako Sato gave a dry laugh and said, "I caught him, but there was an accident!"

As she said this, she shook her right hand.

She and the criminal were handcuffed together.

The problem was that the handcuffs had passed through the toilet pipe and couldn't be removed at all.

Miwako Sato continued to laugh dryly: "It seems I lost the key too!"

Huh? Lost it?

Conan looked completely bewildered.

This policewoman looks very fierce, but she turns out to be a klutz.

"There's one more thing; Tonda keeps saying he was framed."

Miwako Sato pointed to the middle-aged man beside her.

"Hmm?"

Officer Takagi and Conan were both stunned and turned to look at the criminal sitting on the floor.

Tonda shouted with an ugly expression:

"I am not the criminal! I didn't do that at all! When I woke up this morning, Ms. Muranishi was already dead! I really didn't kill anyone! Lord Akaso Kaze will definitely be able to help me!"

Miwako Sato looked at Tonda and then turned to Officer Takagi: "He has been like this since just now!"

"It's true! Please believe me! Help me find the Onmyoji, Lord Akaso Kaze; he will definitely be able to prove my innocence," Tonda said anxiously.

Hearing the name Akaso Kaze, Takagi’s expression immediately turned sour.

He frowned and stared at Tonda, asking, "Then why did you run away?"

"That's because my daughter is getting married soon, and I must attend her wedding; the flight is tomorrow at 12:30 PM," Tonda said with a sorrowful voice.

"Twenty years ago, I left my wife and daughter, and since then I have had no news of them. Now I have received my daughter's wedding invitation; how can I not go to such an important event?!"

Ayumi, who was nearby, suddenly said, "This uncle is not a bad person!"

"Because this uncle let Ayumi go and even apologized to me. If he were really a bad person, he wouldn't have done that!"

"And if he were a bad person, how could he possibly need Brother Akaso’s help?"

Miwako Sato thought for a moment and said, "As a daughter, I also don't think Mr. Tonda would commit murder before preparing to attend his daughter's wedding. So, Takagi, go back now and find Akaso-san; let him help Tonda clear his name."

Takagi walked out of the building in a daze.

Conan asked, "Officer Takagi, where are you going?"

Takagi’s mouth twitched, "According to Officer Sato’s instructions, I have no choice but to find Akaso Kaze..."

"Officer Takagi, are you willing to just give up on Officer Sato like this?" Conan suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Takagi was stunned.

"Officer Takagi likes Officer Sato, right?"

"W-what, no way, what qualifications do I have?"

Takagi scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Officer Takagi, why don't we solve this case together? If we do, Officer Sato will look at you with new eyes."

Conan’s eyes sparkled with wisdom.

"Besides, this criminal also escaped from your hands. If we prove he isn't the criminal, Officer Takagi, you won't be punished."

"But, Officer Sato is still waiting for someone to save her..." Takagi was clearly moved.

"It's fine, the art museum will open at ten tomorrow morning. Someone will naturally discover them then; there won't be any problems."

Conan looked excited.

Snatching a case from Akaso Kaze is like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

Isn't it exciting?

Ayumi, who was nearby, blinked her large eyes and said, "I think we should still tell Brother Akaso first."

Conan turned his head and said with a smile, "Does Ayumi like Brother Akaso?"

"Of course, I like Brother Akaso very much."

The little loli didn't know what shyness was.

"If we solve this case, Brother Akaso will definitely praise Ayumi a lot. Maybe he'll even give Ayumi a reward."

"A reward! Will Brother Akaso kiss Ayumi?" Little Ayumi’s eyes were filled with little stars.

"Huh?" Conan was stunned. Are little girls nowadays this precocious?

"M-maybe there will be..." he said uncertainly.

"Then let's hurry and solve the case!" Little Ayumi was full of fighting spirit.

Genta and Mitsuhiko behind them had bitter expressions.

So sad, so miserable, no motivation at all.

Conan turned his head to look; he couldn't drop the ball now.

He hurriedly leaned in and said, "Hey, don't you guys want to show off your reasoning skills in front of Ayumi?"

"If we can solve the case without relying on Akaso-san, we will definitely get praised by the police."

"By then, Ayumi will definitely look at you two with admiration."

Genta and Mitsuhiko’s eyes lit up.

Thinking of the police’s praise and Ayumi’s admiring gaze, the two of them also became full of fighting spirit.

Conan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It really wasn't easy.

Persuading them one by one, is it easy for me?

But having a chance to show off in front of Akaso Kaze, just thinking about it is exciting.

At this time, at the Metropolitan Police Department.

Inspector Megure received news that shocked him.

"What? Can't contact Sato and Takagi?"

Officer Shiratori held the phone and said, "I've been calling their cell phones since just now, but I can't get through at all. Could something have happened while they were tracking the criminal?"

Inspector Megure worried, "Takagi is one thing, but Sato involves Akaso Kaze. Hurry and find them; she must not have anything happen to her! Shiratori, let's go over and take a look too!"

"Yes!" Officer Shiratori agreed immediately.

The entire Metropolitan Police Department was in an uproar because of the disappearance of Officer Sato and Officer Takagi.

The next morning, inside the art museum.

Miwako Sato and Tonda had waited in the building all night.

Miwako Sato hadn't gone to the bathroom all night, and her two slender, beautiful legs were tightly pressed together.

"Why hasn't Lord Akaso come? Maybe he doesn't think much of a small person like me."

Tonda looked disappointed.

"How could that be? He isn't that kind of person."

Miwako Sato said without hesitation.

"And even if he doesn't come, Takagi should have brought people back by now. That guy must want to hog the spotlight himself."

"And that kid named Conan, it must have been him who encouraged Takagi; otherwise, with Takagi’s personality, he would never dare to disobey my orders."

The policewoman quickly saw through everything.

"Damn it, there's no signal for the cell phone here."

Miwako Sato looked at her phone and sighed.

"And it's too late now; even if Akaso-san gets the news, there won't be enough time for him to rush over from the city."

"Mr. Tonda, I am very sorry; it's all my fault for trusting the wrong person."

"But don't worry, even if you miss the flight, Akaso-san will definitely catch the real culprit and clear your name!"

"Sigh, thank you." Tonda looked dejected and smiled reluctantly.

Miwako Sato said, "The art museum is about to open. The cleaning staff should come to the restroom to clean before that, and we will definitely be discovered then."

As soon as she finished speaking, a noisy sound came from outside.

Miwako Sato frowned and said, "It's so noisy outside; it feels like there are a lot of people, and they are playing music. Does this art museum have so many guests?"

"Hmm, I don't think so. There are no residents near this art museum, and usually, no one comes."

Just as Tonda was speaking, a microphone sound came from outside:

"Hello everyone, next we will bid farewell to this Haido Art Museum, which has a forty-year history. There are 10 minutes left."

"This time, we will use the bomb 'Tropical Rainbow' developed by the famous genius scientist Dr. Agasa to put an end to this art museum and give it the most brilliant, beautiful, and colorful ending!"

"Huh?!"

Inside the restroom, Miwako and Tonda were both dumbfounded as they listened to the sound coming from the microphone.