A Second Warning to Bourbon
Bourbon had no intention of working himself into an illness over this before he'd even learned anything useful.
Besides, something about Granglivé (the Wanderer) had always nagged at him. The man might act arrogant and thoughtless, but Bourbon refused to believe that blood ties alone could explain how he'd walked away from that mysterious organization without a scratch. There had to be something special about Granglivé himself.
Until he understood the full picture, Bourbon wasn't about to act rashly.
At that moment, Banba Yota was already several drinks deep, cheeks flushed with a light buzz, one arm slung around two beautiful women as he flirted and bantered with them in turn.
Xiayu looked away, unable to watch any more of it.
“Huh? Isn't that guy getting married tomorrow? So how can he act like that? He doesn't have the faintest clue about keeping his distance from other women!” Paimon shook her head, a note of indignation creeping into her voice.
At her words, a cold chuckle rose in Xiayu's chest. Heh. The timeless failing of men.
Then her gaze happened to land on a certain waiter, and something seemed to occur to her. She tapped out a quick message on her terminal and sent it to someone.
Meanwhile, in a bar tucked inside one of the Organization's bases, Cointreau had just received a message from his little sister. He stared at the single line on the screen, utterly baffled.
Big brother, don't go picking up any bad habits. Keep yourself clean and decent, okay?
Out of nowhere, with no context whatsoever, she'd suddenly admonish him like this? Cointreau studied the message for a long while and still couldn't make heads or tails of it.
“Hey, Cointreau — what kind of message has you making a face like that? You look positively strange!” Beside him, Vermouth's lips curved upward at the corners. Her alluring gaze brushed lightly over the man next to her as she teased him, half-smiling. She elegantly lifted the exquisite glass in front of her, parted her lips, and took a small sip of the wine before continuing in that rich, seductive voice of hers. “Could it be some kind of guilty little secret?”
“Nothing.” Cointreau pocketed his terminal without sparing her so much as an extra glance. Then, recalling that today was apparently the day Bourbon would make his official debut, he changed the subject outright. “By the way, I haven't seen Bourbon around the Organization lately. Has he started moving?”
Sensing that Cointreau clearly had no intention of elaborating, Vermouth had the good sense not to press. She smoothly followed his lead and answered, “He has. He's decided that famous detective of his is no ordinary man, and he plans to start by working him.”
Her brow creased faintly at the thought of Angel and Cool Guy hovering around Mouri Kogoro, but the expression faded almost as quickly as it came. Setting down her glass, she propped her cheek on one hand and turned to look at Cointreau sideways, offering what sounded like a well-meant warning: “When he does, he'll likely stumble upon a certain someone's treasure. Do you plan to do anything about that?”
That, in truth, was the entire reason she'd summoned Cointreau out for drinks alone today — to remind him that Bourbon was rapidly closing in on his princess. If she could goad Cointreau into obstructing Bourbon's investigation, so much the better.
To her surprise, at her warning Cointreau replied without a flicker of change in his expression, “I've already warned him once.”
Vermouth's eyes went cold. Since when had Cointreau been in contact with Bourbon? Why didn't I know about that?
“Still, you've got a point. Might as well remind him again.” With that, Cointreau raised his terminal once more and fired off a message to Bourbon.
Back at the restaurant, Bourbon noticed a new message arrive on his terminal and slipped away from the others to read it.
Don't do anything unnecessary. — From Cointreau
Bourbon's face went dark. Damn it. Why would Cointreau send me this at the exact moment I'm next to Miss Natsume? Has he been watching me this whole time?!
While Bourbon glared at the message, consumed by suspicion, Banba Yota received a message from the private detective he'd hired and completed a covert handoff with him in the restroom.
From the detective, he learned that this waiter — Bourbon in disguise — had been in contact with Kamon Hatsune, and mistaking their connection for a secret affair, he began to needle and hassle Bourbon at every opportunity for the rest of the evening.
Watching Banba Yota deliberately shoulder-check Bourbon to the floor, Xiayu fought the urge to capture the moment on her terminal.
Just then, a new message came in. She opened it, read it over, then turned her head toward the window.
There, by perfect coincidence, she saw Kamon Hatsune stepping down from a car, opening an umbrella, and looking down at the terminal in her hand.
The night was far too dark, and the rain too heavy, for Xiayu to make out the expression on Kamon Hatsune's face — but she could faintly see how the woman's body had suddenly gone rigid.
Then, as if something had jolted her, Xiayu shot up from her seat. The abrupt movement drew curious, startled looks from Conan and Ran beside her — but she paid them no mind whatsoever, hurrying out the door with quick, urgent strides.