The old man's testimony naturally sparked dissatisfaction from Eiko Koshimizu, while the other two men, upon hearing the testimony, took on an indifferent appearance, seemingly ready to leave.
Of course, Senichi and Takagi couldn't simply trust such ambiguous testimony to conclude the identity of the criminal and release the other two suspects. They directly used the excuse of "needing to gather information from other witnesses before leaving" to block the two.
"Could you please watch over these three, Detective Senichi? I'll go over there to ask if anyone witnessed the features of the robber just now," Takagi said and then ran off towards the distance.
"Sure, I got it. You go ahead," Senichi waved his hand, standing by the car, observing the three individuals inside, looking for any signs of unusual behavior.
However, in the Detective Conan world, criminals indeed possessed the acting skills of a film star and the nerves of a heart surgeon when committing crimes without showing evidence.
Not to mention being nervous or guilty, even though Senichi focused entirely on observing the three, his sharp insight failed to detect any flaws.
But at this moment, Senichi's phone rang directly. Glancing at the incoming call, he saw it was a call from Sonoko, so he answered.
"Hey, Sonoko? What's up?"
"Brother-in-law, are you with Detective Takagi?" After answering the call, Sonoko's slightly urgent voice came through.
"Hmm? Are you looking for Takagi?"
Although Senichi was a bit puzzled, he replied, "We just encountered a robber. After a chase, we pinned down three suspects. Takagi is currently questioning people around to see if there are other witnesses who saw the features of the criminal."
"Ah? So, Detective Takagi doesn't know yet?" Sonoko exclaimed at the revelation.
"Doesn't know what?" Senichi questioned.
"The matter about Sato Detective's blind date!"
Sonoko quickly explained the situation to Senichi, and then said with some frustration, "I thought Detective Takagi, as the 'White Knight,' would already know about it, but who would have thought he's still in the dark..."
"Ha... I'll pass on the message to him later," Senichi smiled and, seeing Takagi returning, told Sonoko, "Well, Takagi is back now, so I'll hang up."
"So, if you hadn't made this call, Detective Takagi wouldn't even know about this?"
On the side of the Shu Du Building, after hanging up the phone, Ran, who had been listening to their conversation, expressed concern, "You mean they encountered a case? Does Detective Takagi have time to come over?"
During the time she was eavesdropping, Sato's mom and the butler from the Shiratori family had eaten some food together and then left the room, leaving the two young people alone.
Shiratori was no fool; he noticed that Sato Miwako was waiting for someone to "rescue her" and guessed that the person was Takagi. So, half-jokingly, he made a bet: If Takagi could come without hesitation, he would withdraw without hesitation. If not, Sato Miwako would marry him.
Facing such a wager, Sato Miwako agreed without hesitation.
She didn't even understand why she agreed to such a bet, entrusting her fate to someone else.
She hadn't even received precise information from Yumi about who the person coming was.
But she was so convinced that the person coming to rescue her was Takagi, and she believed that if it was him, he would surely come.
And now, at this moment, Sato Miwako realized that this baseless trust stemmed from a particular feeling.
It was because of this bet that Sonoko couldn't resist inquiring about Takagi's situation from Senichi, wanting to know his current status.
"Yeah, it seems they encountered a case."
Looking at the worried Ran, Sonoko waved her hand, saying, "As for your concern, it's really not an issue. Those minor cases are no problem at all for my brother-in-law!"
"Yeah, since Detective Senichi is also there, there's really nothing to worry about." Ran nodded with relief. "Detective Takagi should come soon!"
"Hehe, things are getting more and more interesting, like a TV drama," Sonoko chuckled, covering her mouth and looking like a bystander enjoying the show. "There will be a good show to watch~"
"You and your schadenfreude..." Ran, seeing her friend's excited expression, couldn't help but shake her head. "Well, as you watch, I'll go to the restroom."
Ran asked the waiter and headed towards the restroom corridor. As she passed by, she brushed shoulders with a short-haired man wearing a knitted hat.
"Huh?"
Upon seeing the man, Ran couldn't help but turn around to look at his retreating figure.
"That man... feels so familiar..."
Ran couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity. "I feel like I've seen him somewhere..."
Just as Ran was puzzled by this unfamiliar familiarity.
On the other side, after Senichi's reminder and seeing the contents of the text message sent by Yumi, along with the news of the bet from Senichi, Takagi was completely flustered.
"What!! Sato has been dragged into a blind date!! ←○★◇▲☆!?!"
Mid-sentence, Senichi couldn't even make out what Takagi was saying, indicating the impact of this news on him.
"Calm down, don't panic."
Senichi patted Takagi on the shoulder, helping him snap out of his daze. "I heard from Sonoko. As long as you get there before sunset, Shiratori will automatically withdraw."
"But... but it's already... and there's also the case..." Takagi stammered upon hearing Senichi's words.
"Don't worry, leave the case to me." Senichi smiled and said, "I'll resolve it quickly. Give me the notes from questioning the witnesses just now, and you can leave the rest to me."
"No, there are some issues with those notes." Despite Senichi's words, Takagi shook his head and resisted the temptation to leave first.
Firstly, he was still on duty, and as a detective, handling personal matters during a case was clearly against professional ethics. It was likely that even Sato Miwako, once informed, would support his decision.
Secondly, the protocol for handling cases required teamwork, and there were three suspects here. Moreover, the statements provided by the witnesses he found had some issues. If it was only Senichi, he wouldn't be able to handle both aspects simultaneously.
Hearing Takagi's words, Senichi didn't continue to persuade him but instead smiled and said, "Then quickly resolve the case. Rest assured, whether it's the speed of solving the case or my driving speed, it will be fast. I guarantee you won't be late."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you, Detective Senichi!!" Takagi, thinking of Senichi's driving skills, felt a bit apprehensive, but considering the fast pace, he couldn't help but feel relieved.
"So, the next step is to quickly solve this case."
Senichi looked at the three people in the car, a hint of sharpness in his eyes. "This cliché 1 from 3-choice scenario, let's resolve it swiftly!"
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