Ming Ke Theater Chapter 087

Yukiko Kudo’s eyes were brimming with tears. She had always been a sensitive person, which was why she became an admired actress. Now, after so many years of being a mother, she couldn’t bear to see such things. From birth to adulthood, every year’s birthday wishes were included. This recording was a mother’s desperate attempt to leave her daughter with love.

“It seems that Ai’s mother knew something might happen to her, so she recorded these tapes for her. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, she would definitely want to attend every one of Ai’s birthdays, boohoohoo…” Yukiko Kudo cried incessantly.

Yusaku Kudo comforted his wife, “Yukiko, don’t cry.”

“But I can’t help it,” Yukiko Kudo wiped the tears from her face with her hand.

“At the very least, this sentiment has been conveyed and wasn’t wasted,” Yusaku Kudo said.

Heiji Hattori was also very moved, but beyond this emotion, a conjecture arose.

“Could it be that the lab fire back then wasn’t an accident?” he muttered to himself.

Haibara Ai heard his words and replied, “The investigation report states it was an accident, but I can’t verify the truth.”

【…

Airport.

Vermouth walked out of the airport, holding her phone and talking to someone.

“Sorry to keep you waiting…”

“However, I don’t think I need to borrow your strength yet… If I do, you’ll have to aim for a direct hit, Calvados.”】

“Calvados, I remember it’s a brandy made from apples. It seems to be another member of the organization,” Kansuke Yamato said.

“An organization with snipers won’t be simple,” Takaaki Morofushi saw the blond man over there, who should be Hiromitsu’s childhood friend, Rei Furuya. He didn’t call him out. If he wasn’t the person he thought he was, there was no need to acknowledge him, but if he was, his words could bring him danger. He leaned towards the latter.

And Hiromitsu, how did he die? Since that phone call saying he had resigned from the police, he had disappeared without a trace. This made Takaaki Morofushi have some suspicions, but he was so young, how could he have died?

【…

The rain poured down.

A man lay in a pool of blood, clutching his phone. At this moment, a hand picked up a pair of glasses next to him. The owner of the hand was a woman wearing a baseball cap.

She bit off the glove on her hand, unsure what to do, when she suddenly noticed someone approaching the door.

“Who are you?” A short-haired girl holding a rabbit doll appeared at the door.

The woman put her index finger to her lips, “Shhh…”

“Teacher, teacher… Jodie-sensei…”

Who was calling her?

Jodie woke up from her memories, realizing she had been spacing out in the teachers’ office. A teacher sitting nearby was calling her.

“You look tired, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“Oh, yes!” Jodie quickly snapped back, listening to him talk about the students being mischievous and giving her a headache. Jodie, in her peculiar accent, retorted, “No! No! Everyone is a Good student! It’s just that I’m about to part ways with everyone, and it’s very sad.”

Yes, she was leaving her job. This news caused a stir in Class 2-B, as everyone had grown fond of this English teacher after spending some time with her.】

“Why is she suddenly leaving?” Heiji Hattori thought for a moment and found the conclusion not difficult to reach. “It seems the FBI has a big operation, probably closing in.”

If successful, they would quickly return to the United States. If they failed, she might be injured or even die, so she needed to deal with the social impact of this identity in advance.

Sonoko Suzuki said, “We were so sad back then. I never thought Jodie-sensei had this other identity.”

Jodie also cared for these students very much and said, “It’s true that I let you down, but I can’t stay there any longer.”

“I understand, I understand,” Sonoko Suzuki winked at her. “If they knew Jodie-sensei was FBI, they’d probably all think it was cool.”

Jodie said, “Is that so?”

Shinichi Kudo felt that Sonoko Suzuki’s guess was not unreasonable.

【…

After class, Jodie, Ran Mouri, and Sonoko Suzuki stayed together. The three gradually talked about Jodie leaving, and Sonoko Suzuki suggested having a party at Jodie’s place.

“It’s Jodie-sensei’s farewell party. We can buy some snacks and juice at the convenience store,” Sonoko Suzuki said.

Ran Mouri said, “Good idea!” She asked Jodie for her opinion, “Teacher, what do you think?”

Jodie, of course, had no objections. Sonoko Suzuki said, “Then let’s go to the convenience store in front of the station.”

Ran Mouri knew the place, “Is that the one where Ayaka-chan works?”

Jodie said, “Ayaka-chan? Do I have a student named that?”

Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki introduced her, saying she was their classmate from middle school, a very cheerful girl. But when they arrived at the store, they saw the owner scolding Ayaka, saying he was going to hire someone to replace her.

They briefly asked about the situation and found that things were very bad for Ayaka. Ran Mouri instinctively took out her phone, intending to ask Conan to analyze the current situation. Jodie took her phone, disapproving of her doing so: “It’s not good to rely on others immediately if you don’t put in the effort yourself. Because the people you can rely on might disappear at any time.”】

Jodie felt that this sentence was like a curse she placed upon herself. She could say such profound truths to two high school students, yet when things happened to her, she found that her reliance on Shuichi Akai was much deeper than she had imagined.

Could he disappear? He did disappear. He might be dead, or he might be alive.

【…

After integrating the bits of information she had, Ran Mouri had a guess, but…

“What was that famous line from Sherlock Holmes?” Ran Mouri asked Sonoko Suzuki beside her. “It’s the one Shinichi always says when he’s trying to act smart… about ruling out impossible things…”

Ran Mouri couldn’t remember how the line went. Jodie said, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth—is that it?”

Ran Mouri nodded and said, “That’s it!”

Sonoko Suzuki got excited, “What, what? Ran, you don’t mean you’ve figured something out, do you?”

Ran Mouri didn’t know how to answer. She did know, but was her deduction correct?

But it was already past nine o’clock, and the store owner was impatient. If Ayaka wasn’t going to confess, he was going to call the police.

Ayaka’s face changed drastically. It really wasn’t her doing. What could she confess?

Ran Mouri saw Ayaka’s predicament and grew anxious. It wouldn’t hurt to state her deduction, but if she was wrong, would it cause trouble for Ayaka? What should she do? What was the best course of action? If it were that guy, if it were Shinichi…】