Heiji sat down on the sofa, right next to Miwako Sato.
"Conan, you watch a lot of TV. Do you know how many days a person can survive without water?"
"I know! It's three days! And seven days without food!"
"But only three days without water. Right, Big Brother Heiji?" Conan said innocently.
Heiji nodded. "That's right. Only three days."
"If we didn't find Miwako in three days, she'd be gone. That's why he said 'reborn'."
"The sentence should have ended there, but he added 'back at the starting point'. That word is the real hint."
The room was quiet. Everyone was stunned.
Because of the wooden stick, they had all ignored that sentence.
"And that 'starting point' has another meaning."
Heiji ignored them, looked around, and picked up a piece of string, tying it in a loop.
"Heiji, my boy, what does that mean?"
Megure looked at the loop, confused.
"A circle... a 'starting point'... Big Brother Heiji, do you mean the wooden stick is supposed to be connected?" Conan asked, shocked.
Heiji glanced at Conan with a strange look.
Conan panicked and quickly covered. "I bet Uncle was thinking the same thing! Right, Uncle?"
"Ah? Yes, of course."
Kogoro Mouri straightened his collar, looking proud.
Heiji gave Conan a deep look, then said, "Inspector, do you have the stick?"
Megure handed it to him.
"Inspector, let's go up to the roof."
"I'm going too," Miwako Sato said.
"Miwako, you should stay here," Megure advised.
"It's fine. I want to see Heiji's deduction."
Miwako Sato tried to stand, but after being tied up all night, she couldn't.
"I'll carry you. Officer Takagi, please bring a chair up."
Heiji lifted Miwako into his arms and walked out.
Takagi just stared, frozen.
"Takagi! What are you standing there for? Get a chair!" Megure ordered.
"Ah, yes, sir!"
Takagi grabbed a chair and followed.
Miwako Sato rested in Heiji's arms, her face red, looking flustered.
Soon, the group arrived on the roof.
The sky was a bit overcast, and a light wind was blowing.
Heiji gently placed Miwako on the chair.
"Inspector, look out from here. What do you see?"
Heiji led Megure to the edge of the roof.
From this building, the view was open. There was a large river in front.
To the right was a bridge, and to the left was another bridge.
This building was right on the centerline between the two.
"Heiji, my boy, just tell us. Stop keeping us in suspense," Megure grumbled.
Heiji sighed and looked at Miwako. "Miwako, can you give me the stick?"
He had slipped it to her when he picked her up.
She handed it to him.
"Inspector, watch." Heiji bent the stick into a square. "Now, what does it look like?"
The square shape, with the red dots at the corners, drew everyone's attention.
Conan stared at it. A square... red dots... corners... bridges... roads...
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
[I get it! I know what Hattori means! That's why he emphasized the 'starting point'! The stick was just a tool to verify that word!]
Conan looked at Heiji in shock. He couldn't understand how Heiji always figured things out so fast.
"Inspector, do you get it?"
Megure shook his head, lost.
Heiji sighed and slowly turned the square horizontally in the air. "How about now?"
Miwako Sato's eyes lit up. "Heiji, do you mean it's a map?"
"A map?" Megure stared at the shape. "I get it! The red dots aren't stations, they're turns!"
"I get it too! From here, that square looks just like the pattern formed by the two bridges!"
Kogoro Mouri shouted, his eyes wide.
[The uncle got it right this time.]
Conan nodded in approval.
Heiji smiled. "To be precise, it's a 3D route map."
"A route map?"
They were lost again.
"How many dots are on this square?" Heiji asked.
"Six!"
"Five!"
"You idiot! There are clearly six dots! Where do you see five?"
Kogoro Mouri angrily smacked Conan on the head.
Heiji shook his head. "Conan's right this time. It's five."
"Heiji, the stick had six dots. Even bent, the two ends still count as two. That's six," Megure explained.
"That's right, Hattori brat! Explain that!" Kogoro said.
Heiji smiled. "Uncle Mouri, look closer. Are there really six dots?"
Kogoro stared at it. "The two end-dots... they've merged into one! How?"
"Exactly. The stick was 'broken' at this dot, so when you connect it, it's five dots, not six."
"But Heiji, my boy, what does that mean?"
Everyone but Conan was still confused.
"These five dots represent the turns the car made. After kidnapping Miwako, he drove from here."
"He turned onto the left bridge, then turned again at the red dot."
"He drove a bit, turned onto the right bridge, and then turned again, coming right back here."
Megure and the others gasped.
"Heiji, my boy... are you saying the Night Baron drove off, just to... circle back to the start?" Megure was dumbfounded.
"Circling back so the ends meet. That's the 'starting point'."
"This building is on the centerline of the bridges. The stick, when folded, also has its 'start/end' point on the centerline of the square."
"It all matches. So, I deduced Miwako was being held here. And that room was the only empty one..."
He didn't need to say the rest.
Everyone was silent, staring at Heiji.
To figure all that out from one word and one stick... what kind of terrifying observation and deduction...
"Heiji, my boy, I'm completely in awe," Megure sighed.
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