Chapter Thirty-Seven: Sherry's Defection

Conan gritted his teeth, finally looking up to say, "I will find a way to ensure Miss Hirota's safety."

"Very good," Morlay said, clapping softly. "I will do my best to establish contact with her sister within the organization. You have researchers on your side, too, don't you?"

"I will find a way to get that drug. But I want a copy of the research data."

"Then, I wish you luck, great detective."

...

That afternoon, at Professor Agasa's house.

Watching the Professor bustle about, Conan felt a surge of excitement. Akemi Miyano had told him her real name and assured him that she had never killed anyone, which provided a sliver of relief to Conan's conflicted conscience.

"Professor Agasa? Are you finished yet?"

"Don't be so impatient, Shinichi," the Professor said, studying a map. "My friend's safe house is a bit tricky to find... Ah, got it!"

He turned back to look at Conan, his expression worried. "But there is one more problem."

"The organization certainly knows what Miss Miyano looks like. How do you intend to solve that?"

"I have a way... I think." Conan pondered for a moment and dialed Yukiko Kudo's number.

Conan's mother, the film superstar Yukiko Kudo, wife of the renowned novelist Yusaku Kudo, was a master of disguise due to her professional needs. Perhaps she would have a solution.

"Shinichi~" As the call connected, Yukiko's energetic voice made Conan's eye twitch.

*Your son has been shrunk by a mysterious organization! He's facing a life-or-death situation! Why do you sound so completely unbothered?*

And what was that sound of crashing waves in the background?

Still, business came first. Conan said sternly, "Mom, I have someone here who needs a disguise. Do you have any ideas?"

"Mom is currently vacationing at the beach..." The sound of the waves and voices on the other end proved it well enough. "How about this? I'll put you in touch with someone who will come and help you disguise that person."

"They are absolutely trustworthy. I'll text you once I've made the arrangements~"

With that, Yukiko hung up.

After some time, an unexpected visitor rang the doorbell of Professor Agasa's house.

"Terai?!" The Professor was surprised when he opened the door. "I already gave you the address, why did you come yourself?"

"It's not about that, Agasa." Konosuke Jii, Kaito Kuroba's butler and the assistant to the Kaitou Kid, shook his head.

"Then, I haven't finished the new gadgets yet..." the Professor scratched his head.

"It's not about that, either. May I ask, is Young Master Kudo in?"

"Young Master... Kudo?" Puzzled, the Professor invited Konosuke Jii inside.

"Young Master... Kudo?" Conan was also confused. "May I ask who you are... No, wait, I seem to have a vague impression, strange..."

*Hmm, the cousin of Young Master Kaito. I heard from Mr. Yusaku that he took some drug and shrunk...*

Konosuke Jii looked at the child on the sofa. Truly, he looked exactly as he did when he was small.

"I am the butler for your... uncle's family," he said with a kind smile, taking the tools needed for a disguise out of his suitcase. "I'm here to help you with the disguise."

Conan vaguely remembered something, but those memories were from too long ago—back when he was very young, visiting his cousin's house with his parents.

"It's not for me, it's for this lady." Having realized this, Conan felt at ease and introduced Akemi Miyano to Konosuke Jii.

The Professor was surprised. "Wait, Terai, how come you never told me you knew how to do disguises?"

"Ha, you never asked," Konosuke Jii smiled as he worked on Akemi Miyano's transformation, replying to the Professor, "But tell me, how is the progress on your inventions? If you have no leads, why not help me finish those gadgets first?"

"Well..." the Professor scratched his head. "I suppose that's possible."

He turned to Conan and explained, "Terai is the friend who provided the safe house. We've known each other for many years. When I have time, I make magic props—like the ones I made for you—and provide them to him. He's a master of magic, you know."

Conan nodded, not paying much attention. He stared at Akemi Miyano's completely changed face, too astonished to speak.

Not only were her hairstyle and color different, but her facial features were also entirely transformed. The high-precision silicone mask made Akemi Miyano look like a completely different person. Konosuke Jii had also brought several pairs of height-increasing insoles to create a clear difference in her stature. Finally, topped off with a pair of non-prescription glasses, there was not a trace of the original Akemi Miyano left.

After finishing the disguise, Konosuke Jii left with the new batch of gadgets the Professor had made. Professor Agasa and Conan then drove Akemi Miyano to the safe house to get her settled.

...

A few days later.

Morlay, having found countless cats and dogs for his clients using his superb sleight-of-hand and deductive skills, had garnered a multitude of glowing reviews.

However, he really didn't want to do it anymore. After pushing all subsequent clients onto the "Four Heavenly Kings"—Mouri Kogoro and the others—he decided to head to the organization's bar to grab a drink and fish for information.

Yet, the moment he walked in, he saw Gin with a sour look on his face.

"What's wrong?" He ordered a drink, sat across from Gin, and crossed his legs. "What happened now? You look like you've eaten a German garlic sausage."

"Sherry has defected." Gin ignored Morlay's strange metaphor and took a sip of his drink.

"Sherry? Who? Sounds sweet," Morlay mused, rubbing his chin. "Bartender, one more Sherry, please~"

Gin shot him a glare. "The younger sister of the woman you killed. One of the organization's scientists."

Hearing this, Morlay immediately raised his hands. "You know me. Aside from sleeping for a day after finishing my tasks, I've been looking for cats and dogs every single day. Her defection has nothing to do with me."

"I'm not accusing you." Gin hadn't suspected Morlay to begin with. After all, the guy hadn't touched any intel related to Sherry, and there had been nothing unusual about him lately. "She escaped on her own. I don't know how, but she found out her sister had been killed and started refusing to continue developing the drug for the organization."

"The people over there had her temporarily detained in the lab. They only shackled her and didn't arrange for anyone to watch her. As a result..."

Gin gritted his teeth. "When they finally checked, the woman was gone. A bunch of useless trash..."

"Gone? How is that possible?" Morlay found it strange. "Even if no one was watching her, the organization's surveillance should have caught it, right?"

"The routes leading outside were guarded, and there were almost no blind spots in the surveillance. She was shackled at the end of a corridor. While that was one of the few blind spots, there were only walls and a small ventilation shaft on three sides—unless she dismembered herself, there is absolutely no way she could have escaped."

"The strange thing is that the handcuffs show no signs of tampering; they were still locked. I suspect there is a mole within the organization." Gin's expression was grim.

*There is indeed a mole, but this might not have been the work of a mole...* Morlay thought to himself.