### Chapter 39: Detective's Instinct
"Suddenly, things have been quite peaceful lately…"
At the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Jūzō Megure sat leisurely in his office chair, gazing out the window with a hint of melancholy.
He couldn't quite pinpoint why, but it felt like there had been fewer murder cases recently, and the usually turbulent Mifune Town seemed to have returned to a state of tranquility.
Fewer murder cases were indeed a good thing, but the sudden calm made him feel somewhat out of place.
"Ring ring!"
A sudden phone call broke his train of thought.
Picking up the receiver, before he could say anything, Fujino's voice came through: "Is this Inspector Megure?"
"Fujino, my younger brother?"
Jūzō Megure was surprised to hear the familiar voice.
Could it be that another murder case had emerged?
He asked, "Are you calling about a murder case?"
"No murder case, but I have discovered an international robbery gang."
"International robbers?"
Megure furrowed his brow. "Do you mean the Italian gang that stole the maple leaf gold coins and fled to Japan?"
"That's the one."
On the other end of the line, Fujino glanced at the three men hidden in the corner and described, "One Japanese and two foreigners. They must be the ones."
"That's them! I'll be right there!"
Megure abruptly stood up from his chair. "Where are you right now?"
"Outside the XXX Bank near Tokyo Tower."
"Don't take any risks, we're on our way…"
Hanging up the phone, Megure's eyes gleamed with excitement.
As expected of Fujino! He had managed to locate an internationally wanted gang so easily…
More work for us!
This time, Fujino didn't act rashly. Instead, he called for backup: Inspector Megure.
While he had confidence in his sword skills and the buffs he had, which could easily take down three strong men, he knew better than to face armed criminals head-on.
Charging at armed men with a wooden stick would likely get him shot before he even got close.
...
Soon, Megure arrived at the scene, accompanied by several elite members of the Third Division.
To avoid arousing suspicion from the criminals, they hid in a nearby television broadcast van, leaving only Miwako Sato and Fujino to monitor the suspects.
"Are these guys really the Italian robbers? They don't seem like it."
Miwako Sato, sitting outside a café, glanced sideways at the burly men not far away and muttered to herself.
The three men in white suits were sneaking around, trailing a group of elementary school children, looking more like kidnappers than international thieves. However, Sato had seen their photos before and confirmed they were the wanted robbers.
"So why haven't you moved in to subdue them yourself?" Sato teased, "I remember you were quite brave, Fujino."
Fujino gave her a blank stare.
Sato was dressed in a cropped t-shirt and jeans, looking more like a carefree girl than a police officer. It was probably the peak of undercover work...
Shaking off his thoughts, Fujino retorted, "I'm brave, but not foolish. I know when to act and when not to. Besides, they're armed, and I don't want to end up as a sieve."
"Didn't expect you to be so level-headed."
Sato chuckled, "But by the way, how did you find them? The police have been searching for these guys for days without any useful leads."
Fujino stretched lazily and sipped his coffee. "Do you believe in detective intuition?"
"Intuition, while a bit unreliable, does work sometimes…"
Sato seemed puzzled but intrigued. "But you wouldn't be so cautious just because of intuition, would you?"
Fujino scratched the back of his head. "Actually, it was because of the treasure map the kids had."
"Treasure map?"
Sato was surprised.
"Yep, a treasure map. Just a little while ago, those kids came to me for help deciphering the codes on it."
Fujino continued, "Although I couldn't see it clearly or remember all the details, I'm sure the codes are in Italian."
"Given the morning news, I deduced the map is probably the one for locating the maple leaf gold coins hidden by the Cabane."
"Why would he put the gold coins on such a crude map?"
Sato frowned. "Aren't they the same group?"
Fujino put his coffee cup down and asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you discovered Cabane because of an anonymous tip-off, right?"
"Although I don't know the details, it's true someone tipped us off," Sato nodded. "But how did you know…"
"A year ago, Cabane instructed his men to steal the maple leaf gold coins, but he ended up taking them all himself."
Fujino continued, "Recently, Cabane's men discovered his hideout and found that treasure map in his room. To be cautious, they didn't kill Cabane but reported him to the authorities. They planned to decode the map and retrieve the gold coins themselves."
"I see."
Sato's expression cleared with understanding.
But then, she showed some confusion. "Even if the treasure map ended up with those kids, they wouldn't just follow them… they should solve the problem themselves and retrieve the map."
"That's what should happen."
Fujino chuckled. "But what if they don't know how to decode the map?"
"So they're relying on those kids to find the gold coins?"
"Exactly!"
(End of Chapter)