Likes Little Girls?
"You really are Intelligence Section material. You know a lot, don't you?" Cointreau arched an eyebrow, pressing a hand to his temple with the air of a man developing a headache. "The one you're talking about should be the Wanderer. Oh, right — he goes by Glenlivet now. (A whisky name I looked up on a whim — no idea what kind of drink that even is, lol)
Not long after the operation at Haido Central Hospital wrapped up, the Organization's Boss had personally granted the Wanderer a codename — Glenlivet.
After all, the Wanderer's circumstances were unusual. He had never been one of the Organization's own, raised in its ranks; he'd been accepted in from the outside for certain reasons.
And his abilities were more than solid. The higher-ups thought highly of him, so a formal codename was only ever a matter of time.
Factor in how smoothly this latest mission had gone, and the Organization had simply taken the natural next step and made him official.
Cointreau kept probing, working angles into the conversation, hoping to learn more about Glenlivet.
But it was no use. By the time he and Bourbon parted ways, he'd walked away with nothing new — not even a proper name, just "the Wanderer," which was almost certainly a nickname to begin with.
Still, a name was a name, and as a member of the Intelligence Section, Bourbon managed to match the man against some of the rumors circulating within the Organization lately.
Word had it a newcomer had joined recently — someone with an apparently formidable background. Everyone who'd worked with him, Gin included, turned cagey and tight-lipped the moment he came up, wearing expressions that said don't ask.
That had made Bourbon intensely curious about this mysterious newcomer. He'd been itching for a chance to see the man with his own eyes — yet whether by bad luck or something else, the opportunity never seemed to come.
And now, the next time he heard anything about the newcomer, the man had already been granted an internal codename.
How long had it been? Anyone who could earn a codename that fast had to be genuinely capable.
For Bourbon, the Organization growing stronger was decidedly not good news.
Meanwhile, over on the other side of town, the arson case at the Rocking Horse Apartments was drawing to a close.
After a round of investigation and deduction, the crucial clue left behind in Sugiyama Kaito's diary had allowed them to zero in on their suspect — a Mr. Makabe.
Just then, a message came through to one of the officers on the scene: Sugiyama Kaito, who'd been receiving treatment at the hospital, had regained consciousness.
At the good news, Mitsuhiko lit up with excitement and suggested everyone go visit him together.
But the hospital was quite a distance away, and to get there as quickly as possible, the group decided to first borrow a car from Professor Agasa, whose house was nearby.
"The Professor?" When the children mentioned Agasa, Okiya Subaru — whose name had only just been cleared — seemed to perk up with keen interest, leaning closer to them to ask more.
Once they realized how curious Okiya was about the Professor, the children warmly invited him to come along on their visit to Agasa's house.
At the Agasa residence.
"So you're a graduate student in engineering, Mr. Okiya. No wonder you'd be interested in Professor Agasa," Baizhu remarked with quiet appreciation.
"Well, naturally that's the reason," Okiya replied with an easy smile. "Unless Dr. Baizhu has some other theory?"
"Oh, nothing like that," Baizhu said lightly, almost playfully. "It's just that back at the crime scene, I couldn't help noticing you glanced at that little girl — Haibara, I believe her name was — a good dozen or more times. For a moment I nearly worried you had, ah... certain unwholesome tastes."
Feeling the children's suspicious gazes swing toward him at Baizhu's words, Okiya hurried to explain. "I only thought she seemed a little under the weather, so I was keeping an extra eye on her, that's all."
"I see..." Baizhu nodded slowly, wearing a thoughtful expression that generously suggested he believed every word.
Thanks to that unexpected little detour, Okiya found himself hesitating over whether he should still ask the Professor about staying here.
After all, if he pressed on with that plan anyway, wouldn't the explanation he'd just given have been a complete waste of breath?
But opportunities like this didn't come twice. Bracing himself, Okiya laid out his case — his rented apartment had just burned down and he was homeless, and besides, he deeply admired Professor Agasa's inventions — and, under the children's odd, sidelong stares, made his request to stay at the Agasa residence.
Needless to say, thanks to Haibara Ai's fierce objections, Okiya failed to secure a spot under Agasa's roof.
But Edogawa Conan stepped forward with an offer of his own: Mr. Okiya could stay at the Kudo residence for the time being.
Baizhu, watching from the sidelines, couldn't quite suppress his amusement at Conan's display of warm hospitality.
Even without knowing Okiya's true identity, anyone who understood Conan at all would never believe that sharp little brat would simply drop his guard and move a total stranger into the Kudo house — right next door to Haibara Ai, no less. It practically screamed that something about this Okiya fellow was fishy.
Just then, Genta noticed Qiqi scribbling something in her notebook and sidled over, curiosity getting the better of him. Before he could stop himself, he read it aloud:
"The squinty-eyed mister who likes the Professor and little girls — Subaru-niichan."