The Stalker Slain
SLAM!
Before Lisa Minci could even react to whatever Hondo Eisuke had just blurted out, the door in front of them burst open.
"What the hell are you two jabbering about outside my door?!" A powerfully built man stormed out — one half of the couple from the room — glaring at them with undisguised fury.
Lisa sidestepped a few paces to shield Hondo Eisuke behind her, offering an apologetic smile. "Terribly sorry — we didn't mean to disturb you two."
She cast a brief glance at the woman trailing out behind the muscular man — an equally brawny, buzz-cut woman who looked for all the world like a man herself — and offered her blessings with complete sincerity: "You two look absolutely made for each other. I wish you a love that stays as close and lovely as it is today, forever."
Her voice carried a pleasantly magnetic warmth, the kind that made a person feel comfortable just hearing it.
Meanwhile, to keep Eisuke from saying something else impolite right to their faces in the heat of the moment, Lisa leaned in close, caught his eye meaningfully, and murmured a gentle reminder. "Little Eisuke, you've got the wrong idea. That young lady is a genuine, bona fide girl. What you just said wasn't very polite, you know."
"You're a gi—mmph!..." Hondo Eisuke's eyes went wide as he stared at the buzz-cut woman, his face the very picture of disbelief.
But before the word could escape at full volume, Lisa — who had anticipated exactly this — clapped a hand over his mouth, cutting off the remark before it could make the situation any worse.
Feeling the boy's frantic reaction beneath her palm, she said softly, "Easy now, little Eisuke. I know it's hard to believe, but that's simply the way it is."
She slowly released him and smiled, watching him with just a hint of mischief, one brow arched.
Hondo Eisuke drew a deep breath and fought to calm himself. He shot Lisa a grateful look, then turned back toward the girl, thinking to himself — so there really are women out there who look that much like guys!
As for the muscular man, the sight of this beautiful woman smiling so sincerely at him gradually dissolved his anger, leaving only an awkward embarrassment in its wake. He coughed lightly, trying to cover his earlier outburst.
"Thank you for the kind words, ma'am," the man said quietly, glancing over at his companion.
The buzz-cut woman, however, frowned slightly. She had clearly noticed that something about Hondo Eisuke's reaction was off, and a flicker of displeasure crossed her eyes.
"Thanks, but this is our private time. Please don't go bothering people again," she said coldly, then turned to head back into the room.
Lisa nodded with a smile, signaling she understood.
Then, after bidding the pair farewell, she took Hondo Eisuke by the arm and led him away.
As they left, Hondo Eisuke stole one last look back at the couple and couldn't help marveling inwardly: What a truly... special couple.
Once the little episode was over, Lisa and Hondo Eisuke returned, one after the other, to the private room where Sonoko and Ran were waiting.
They had wasted quite a bit of time outside, and not long after the two of them got back, the time Sonoko had booked for the room was nearly up.
In the end, then, Sonoko never got what she came for — the chance to hear Eisuke sing.
Just as the group was preparing to leave the room, Lisa — who had been wondering all evening why she hadn't heard the usual familiar shriek the moment Ran and Conan appeared together — heard an unmistakable cry ring out: "Ahhhh——!"
Sure enough, disaster had struck right on schedule, exactly as she'd expected. She'd been saying it herself, after all — with Conan on the scene, how could the day possibly pass without incident?
By this point, Conan had already sprinted to the door of the room where the incident had occurred, staring at the scene inside with wide, shocked eyes.
Lisa's group arrived a step behind him. By the time they reached the scene, Conan had already slipped inside and was crouched beside the victim, checking something.
Lisa studied the victim's face and gave a slight raise of her brow, her expression turning a little odd.
It dawned on her that the victim was none other than the person who had been tailing them earlier. Her eyes darted instinctively to Conan standing beside the body.
A strange thought took root in her mind, quite against her will: Goodness — that little Conan's god of death powers are getting stronger by the day. This poor man didn't even survive a full day.
From now on, I'd best be extra careful when dealing with him. Imagine accidentally getting caught up in something bizarre at the worst possible moment — what dreadful luck that would be.
Around this time, drawn by the commotion outside, the occupants of the neighboring rooms began trickling out one by one to see what had happened.
Among them were the very couple Hondo Eisuke had disturbed earlier. Spotting Lisa and Eisuke standing nearby, they frowned, checked their steps, and made no move to approach.
Hondo Eisuke saw them too, and his expression immediately turned stiff and awkward, though he said nothing.
Conan caught the boy's strange behavior as well and studied him with a searching look.
At this moment, Conan — just like Lisa — had recognized that this victim was the man who had been following them all along. His first assumption had been that the man was an FBI agent sent by Judy and the others to protect Hondo Eisuke.
Now that man was dead. Add to that Eisuke's off attitude, and the unusually long absence when he'd left the room for the bathroom earlier — Conan's suspicions came down squarely on Hondo Eisuke.
Wait — Lisa had left the room too. She hadn't been gone as long as Eisuke, but the two of them had come back together, which meant she might know something.
Conan looked up at Lisa, about to ask — just as she picked up her phone.
Someone appeared to be calling her. After glancing at the screen, Lisa looked around at the crowd, seemed mildly put off by how many people had gathered, and started walking toward a quiet corner away from the commotion, intending to take the call in private.
Without thinking, Conan quietly trailed after her.