To be honest, Ayako's choice actually moved Senichi.
During a date, if one person leaves midway, it's undoubtedly a disappointment.
In such a situation where a friend disappears for ten or twenty minutes and their phone is switched off, most people would think that something delayed them or their phone ran out of battery. They wouldn't associate it with a case at all.
Especially in the current situation, even though Senichi was about 80% sure that Heiji encountered a case, he felt that it was a bit exaggerated in the eyes of ordinary people.
In this situation, Ayako didn't get angry. On the contrary, she supported Senichi, which was a rare thing.
Haven't you seen it in many TV dramas, where detectives and their wives quarrel because of work and family issues? When you compare that to Ayako, who wholeheartedly supports Senichi's actions, you'll know how precious her support is.
And that's exactly why Senichi was grateful to her.
Even if the other person understands and accepts you, it's also necessary to make necessary efforts and show your feelings. Otherwise, if you get used to it over time, it can be a frightening thing.
Without further ado, Senichi left the theater in the darkness and went straight to the surveillance room.
After presenting his credentials there, Senichi explained his purpose and asked the security personnel to retrieve and review the surveillance footage from earlier.
The footage showed that after Senichi and the others entered the theater room, the clown appeared and a group of children swarmed around him with excitement.
After a short magic performance, Yūko, the person in charge of the "Children's Club," checked her phone and then approached the children, presumably saying something about getting ready to board the bus.
Then the clown hopped around and started guiding the children towards the exit.
At that moment, Senichi noticed Heiji's figure. He happened to walk into the lobby entrance while the clown was hopping, and the two collided.
After that, the three children and the others followed the clown and got out of the main gate. Conan greeted the dazed Heiji, and then they both ran outside.
Senichi keenly observed that Heiji's behavior seemed a bit strange. After colliding with the clown, he held his right arm, which had collided with the clown, and appeared absent-minded.
After standing still for a moment, Heiji ran straight outside.
Seeing Heiji's actions, Senichi realized that he ran towards the exit, most likely because he discovered something during the collision with the clown.
So, uncertain about Heiji's situation, Heiji's momentary daze made him uncertain. Senichi decided to follow and see what was happening.
The clown's appearance was clearly intended to lure the children, which meant that if a case occurred, Conan was undoubtedly involved as well.
"Hey hey hey, it's true that good buddies always stick together. So, did Conan get involved as well?" Senichi sarcastically commented with a deadpan expression.
Although he made such a remark, Senichi's inner feelings remained calm, and he had a sense of it being natural.
Between 'Grim reapers', it's not strange to encounter a case together. You just have to get used to it...
But for now, it's all just speculation, and further confirmation is needed.
"Was that clown hired by your opera house?" Senichi pointed to the clown on the screen and asked the manager next to him.
"No, it wasn't," the manager shook his head, looking at the clown on the monitor in confusion. "Maybe it was arranged by the 'Children's Club.'"
After Senichi inquired about the location of the "Children's Club" from the manager, he went to the nearby club to further confirm with the staff there.
Unfortunately, the answer was disappointing. The staff there thought that the clown was a staff member hired by the opera house.
After all, the opera being performed this time was 'Pagliacci', so it was very fitting to have a clown. The person took advantage of this psychological aspect, combined with the lack of communication between the two parties, and took advantage of the situation.
Upon learning this, Senichi asked the staff to contact the bus and the driver.
After hanging up the phone, the staff quickly approached Senichi, looking anxious. "What happened exactly? We can't reach Yūko-sensei or the driver, and even the children's phones are switched off."
"I can't tell you the situation right now. Everything is unknown," Senichi reassured the staff and said, "Before picking up the children, where does the bus usually park?"
After getting the answer, Senichi walked towards the nearby parking area and immediately caught a whiff of a bloody smell.
When he crouched down to examine the bloodstains on the ground, Senichi realized that the blood puddle hadn't even dried yet—it was fresh.
Based on the current situation, it seemed that the driver had been attacked just before boarding the bus.
Now it was completely confirmed that it was a case, and the target was the children!
Senichi immediately became serious because if Hattori Heiji really got involved in the case with Conan and the others, it meant that the three kids, including the unknown children and Yūko, the person in charge, might be involved as well.
If that were the case, the situation would be troublesome. A group of children and three adults could potentially become hostages of this clown.
Based on the current situation, it seemed that the clown's initial target was to kidnap the children, and Heiji, after the collision, seemed to have discovered something and went after him.
If there was only one criminal, the clown, Heiji, who was cautious, might have already subdued him at this moment. With his strength and Conan's high-tech gadgets, it would be relatively easy to handle one or two criminals.
If they didn't manage to subdue the criminal, there were probably around three individuals, and it was highly likely that they were armed with firearms.
In such a situation, Conan and Heiji might be restrained as hostages. They might have been bound and taken onto the bus by now.
However, Senichi wasn't too worried about that. With their abilities, it wouldn't be difficult for them to protect themselves—it was just basic self-defense. At the same time, Senichi believed that they might have left clues on the bus.
Senichi's priority was to quickly call the police, and then find the abandoned bus as soon as possible. With the help of the information left by the two of them, they could take the next steps.
As for why Senichi was confident that the criminals would change vehicles, it was quite simple. Have you ever seen a criminal who robbed a bank or kidnapped hostages without changing vehicles? Such idiots would definitely be caught at some intersection.
And that was the problem Senichi faced!
Since it was a premeditated plan, the criminals would never casually abandon the vehicle, providing clues for the police.
Because if you leave the vehicle there, it indicates that you changed vehicles nearby, and the police would undoubtedly conduct a search centered around that area.
The bus of the "Children's Club" was so conspicuous that it might be seen by people on the road. For the criminals, the best strategy would be to drive a certain distance and then hide the vehicle in a secluded location before abandoning it.
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