The old woman got into the car, and Fujino glanced at the Fiat. "A Fiat 500, just like Lupin the Third's car. You've got good taste, Grandma."
"I can't believe you recognized it," the old woman chuckled with a weary voice, pulling out a book. "There aren't many young people who know old cars like this anymore."
"Lupin the Third?" Conan also turned his head, curious, to look at the car.
"Dad, aren't we there yet?" Ran asked, her legs crossed, looking uncomfortable. "Can you drive faster? I need to use the restroom..."
"Ugh..." Kaito Kuroba sighed exasperatedly. Girls were just such a pain. This one was as much trouble as Aoko.
"Miss, if I may be so bold," the old woman in the back suddenly interjected. "The principal of our small town once said that successful people always seize opportunities. Some people think if they miss one, they'll find another, but sometimes, you never get another chance, and the opportunity is lost." She looked at Ran. "You could have easily seized the opportunity back at the gas station, couldn't you?"
Conan couldn't help but ask, "How did you know we just went to a gas station?"
"The ashtray was overflowing with cigarettes, indicating you're a heavy smoker," the old woman said, glancing at the cigarette butts under the car's control panel. "Now the ashtray is empty, which means you've been to a gas station recently. Also, someone who lets a strange old woman into their car probably wouldn't toss cigarette butts out the window in front of their daughter."
"Whoa, whoa..." Kaito Kuroba turned to the old woman, feeling her tone was oddly familiar. "Who exactly are you...?"
"My name is Senjuro Kyodai, and like you two, I'm a detective," Senjuro said in a typical detective's tone, then reached out and pulled out the car's ashtray. "I'll hold onto the ashtray until we arrive. I don't really like the smell of smoke."
"Hey, hey... wait a minute!" Kaito Kuroba feigned resistance. But internally, he was sighing in relief, almost blowing his cover. He had completely forgotten that Kogoro Mouri was a heavy smoker. He hadn't smoked at all since they started driving. After all, he was underage!
Fujino also glanced at Senjuro Kyodai, his eyes narrowing slightly. This old woman... she must have figured out Kaito Kuroba's true identity? He remembered that this old woman was the one who orchestrated this entire case.
---
### The Twilight Mansion
"Wow..." Kaito Kuroba, disguised as Kogoro Mouri, looked up at the Twilight Mansion in the darkness, muttering, "It looks eerie from a distance, and up close, it really does look like a haunted house."
Conan observed the cars in the courtyard, exclaiming, "They're all luxury cars!"
"Indeed, Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche..." Fujino surveyed the vehicles in the courtyard. "Looks like only rich people were invited here." Today, everyone here was a detective. As expected, being a detective in this world still yielded massive profits. But luxury cars didn't matter; they'd all be blown up soon anyway. That's why he didn't drive his Taurus here today.
"Romeo?!" Kaito Kuroba suddenly spotted a car and leaned in to touch it. "That is so cool..."
"Don't touch my wife!" Just then, a man's reprimanding voice suddenly came from behind them.
They all turned around to see a double-chinned man in a green suit and a top hat approaching. "She's my beloved car, which took me five years to finally get my hands on. If another man's dirty hands touch her, she might get upset, and that wouldn't be good... Mustache."
"Mustache?!" Kaito Kuroba was clearly taken aback. What the heck was 'Mustache'? He looked at the mustache on his own face. It seemed to fit...
"Forget it, Mr. Mustache." Fujino stepped forward and patted Kaito Kuroba's shoulder.
Kaito Kuroba: "..." Why are you calling me Mustache too? I'm not Hitler!
"But... never mind." Fujino looked back at the Romeo. He wasn't particularly fond of that style of car. As for treating a car like a wife... well, if fictional characters could be wives, a car wasn't out of the question. It's just... your 'wife' is about to explode.
"Long time no see, Mogi, old boy," Senjuro Kyodai stepped forward and greeted the double-chinned man. "Are you also here for the banquet?"
"Ah, it's Grandma Senjuro."
"I heard you were shot by the Mafia in Chicago last month?"
"I've already forgotten about that... it's not the first time I've been shot."
"Shouldn't you be settling down now? You're almost forty, you can't keep treating your car as your wife."
"I don't think about such things."
Kaito Kuroba: "..."
Fujino: "..."
"Are all you detectives that fierce?" Kaito Kuroba whispered to Fujino.
"What do you think?"
"Uh... you did make an emergency landing in a plane a while ago."
As the two detectives chatted, one detective, one phantom thief, and a little kid followed behind them. Ran had already run ahead into the restroom.
As soon as they pushed open the mansion's main door, a clamor of voices reached them.
"Your chef is sick? Are you kidding me? I came here specifically for that dinner!"
"We apologize. We have already prepared the ingredients for dinner..."
"Then lend me your kitchen! I'll prepare dinner! Honestly, without good food, my brain cells just won't activate!"
What they saw was a portly man in a white suit scolding a maid. The man only stopped when the maid was on the verge of tears and then walked away. Fujino glanced back, and Kaito Kuroba recognized the man. "That guy, he's the gourmet detective Shukuzen Oogami, I think."
"Probably," Fujino said, looking at the maid who was about to cry. That's how maids were; they had to put up with everyone's temper. If the Shimogasa sisters hadn't been taken in by him, they'd likely be enduring this kind of treatment too.
Senjuro Kyodai stepped forward and asked, "Miss Maid, why did you go to such great lengths to invite us five detectives here?"
"No, actually, we invited seven detectives in total."
The double-chinned Mogi Haruomi couldn't help but interject, "You mean besides the five of us, there are two more?"
"There's also a young man and a lady."
"A young man?" Ran's ears perked up, and she asked curiously, "Could it be Shinichi?"
"No way!" Conan quickly said, "I bet it's Heiji-nii!"
"Our master's list does have both their names," the maid shook her head, continuing, "However, Kudo couldn't be reached, and Hattori was turned down by his mother because of his midterm exams."
"Midterm exams..." Fujino couldn't help but snicker. He never thought that kid would be grounded by his mom for bad grades.
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