"So slow!!"
"My stomach is about to flatten from hunger..." Genta patted his round belly and said weakly.
"It's been almost forty minutes since Mr. James went to get the car, hasn't it?" Dr. Agasa glanced at his watch and wondered, "It shouldn't take this long to pick up a car, right? I hope nothing has happened."
"In that case, Dr. Agasa, you wait here while we go check the situation," Mitsuhiko suggested.
"That sounds like a plan, and there aren't many parking lots within walking distance around here," Conan nodded in agreement with Mitsuhiko's proposal.
"Haibara, let's go check it out together!" Ayumi pulled Haibara, and they joined the three kids in searching the nearby parking lot, occasionally calling out but receiving no response.
However, Mitsuhiko noticed something while passing by a car—the white lion plush toy placed on the dashboard. He immediately called Conan and the others over.
Although they confirmed that this might be Mr. James's car based on the lion plush toy, they didn't find him inside or in the vicinity. What's more, the car doors were left open, and even the keys were still in the ignition.
On the other hand, Haibara, upon questioning some children playing nearby, learned that they had indeed seen Mr. James Black.
"Are you talking about the foreign uncle with a big beard?" a boy with a crew cut asked. "That uncle was taken away by two men in coats."
"Hmm?" Conan was taken aback and asked, "Did you see which way they went?"
"Yeah, that alley over there. I saw them go across from the other side," the boy pointed to the alley opposite where the car was parked.
Upon hearing this, Conan immediately rushed into the alley, followed by Genta and the others. However, after passing through the alley, they found no trace of anyone.
"Hmm?"
Conan was the first to survey the surroundings. Although he didn't see any signs of people, he made an unexpected discovery—a white lion pendant.
"Ah... this is Mr. James's favorite white lion pendant, isn't it?" Ayumi picked up the pendant and examined it, noticing the unique tag that read "in japan."
"In that case, could Mr. James have taken another vehicle around here?" Haibara speculated, looking around.
"Right, didn't Mr. James mention meeting a friend with long hair here before?" Mitsuhiko suddenly remembered.
"Do you think that foreigner forgot about us and quietly slipped away with his friend?" Genta, feeling outraged at the thought of missing a big meal, said upon hearing Mitsuhiko's words.
"No, Mr. James didn't stand us up... He might have gotten involved in some kind of incident," Conan said with a serious expression, showing the other side of the pendant to everyone. "Look at this, there's still fresh blood on the [P, &, A ] letter of 'The Animal Show Watch Paul & Annie' part, right?
This might be a sign that Mr. James encountered danger. But knowing that he had an appointment with us, he left this distress message for us in case of an emergency!"
"What!!"
"We need to contact the police right away!"
After hearing Conan's analysis, the kids looked around frantically, trying to find a nearby phone booth to call the police. Haibara, on the other hand, took out her phone and snapped a photo of the bloodstained pendant that Conan was holding. Then she began typing on the keyboard.
"Ah! Haibara, do you have your phone with you?"
"Hurry, call the police! This is not the time for leisurely photography!"
The kids shouted as they saw Haibara taking out her phone.
"Don't worry."
Haibara explained to the three kids while editing a multimedia message, "I've sent the photo to Officer Senichi and explained the situation briefly.
If we go through the usual channels to report this, the officers at the nearby police boxes might not take it seriously.
Even if we hand over the pendant, it'll be too late once they verify the bloodstains."
"In that case, I directly contacted Officer Senichi. I believe his involvement will make people take this more seriously."
"That's right, and the immediate priority is to conduct a nearby investigation, to see if anyone saw the foreigner getting into a specific vehicle and heading in a certain direction."
Conan nodded, "Otherwise, even if we inform Officer Senichi, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack without a search direction."
Of course, James's message was also important, but since it couldn't be deciphered at the moment, it would be a waste of time to linger on it. Moreover, the message could point to various aspects, whether it was the direction or the destination of the culprit.
If it was about the direction or the destination, there would at least be a lead to follow. But if it was about the appearance of the culprits and they couldn't even find any trace of them, having descriptions wouldn't be very helpful.
"So everyone, let's split up and search the area for any signs of the foreigner!" After explaining, Conan immediately directed, "If you find anything, use the detective badges to contact us!"
"Oh!"
The kids raised their fists with determination and scattered in all directions. However, Ayumi ran a few steps and then stopped.
"Huh?" Ayumi looked anxious as she searched her pockets. "My detective badge is missing!"
"Think carefully if it fell somewhere," Haibara reassured Ayumi, seeing her anxious expression.
"Yeah... I remember the last time I took out the detective badge was to show it to Mr. James..."
Ayumi suddenly exclaimed, "Maybe my badge is still with Mr. James!"
"What!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed, "That's great news! There's a transmitter inside the badge!"
Meanwhile, Conan had already activated the tracking device through his glasses and was checking the current location of the badge.
"Found it!" Conan looked at the map with the location and said, "It's just 15 kilometers northwest from us! Right now, it's heading north along the Naka River towards the Shigemori Highway! Judging from the movement, it should be in a vehicle!"
"That's it, did you hear that?" Haibara said to her already connected phone.
"Yes, I heard it clearly. I'm on my way now," came Senichi's voice from the phone. "Additionally, I'll contact the nearby detectives to be on the lookout for foreign individuals in vehicles."
"I've sent you all the information about the case, including the foreigner's distress message, to your phone. Perhaps that message is the key to finding them," Haibara continued.
"Oh, I received that. I'm heading out now, and I'll call you again later," Senichi said before hanging up the phone.
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