"Then why haven't you contacted me for the past seventeen years?"
Mary's questioning voice came through the phone.
It was obvious she had begun to doubt Tsutomu's identity. She simply hadn't confirmed whether the person standing before her was truly her husband.
Ritsu frowned as he listened to the fabricated story Vermouth was spinning.
Although much of it was lies, one thing had become clear:
Tsutomu had disappeared because of the Haneda case, and his fate had remained unknown ever since.
'So... Haneda really is the key.'
"By the way, did our sons come to London too?"
"No. I came with our daughter."
Ritsu froze for a moment.
He immediately picked up on two important pieces of information. First, Shuichi Akai wasn't the Akai couple's only son. Since Mary had said "sons," it was obvious she wasn't including him.
Second, Mary also had a daughter.
Judging by the timeline, Tsutomu disappearing seventeen years ago, that daughter should be around the same age as Shinichi.
"Our daughter?"
"What? Have you even forgotten the daughter you held in your own arms?"
"Ah... that child... she's all grown up now, isn't she? Hm? Mary... why are you crying?"
'Crying?'
Knowing what little he did, Ritsu quickly realized the truth.
Mary had already seen through Vermouth's disguise.
She had figured out that the man before her was an Organization member impersonating Tsutomu.
The reason she was crying... was because she had concluded that her real husband was already dead.
For seventeen years...
She had raised their children alone while tirelessly searching for her missing husband.
'She's incredible...'
At the same time, another worry crept into Ritsu's heart.
'What if that APTX4869 sample really was a failed prototype? Wouldn't that mean I'd indirectly caused my foster mother's death...?'
"When Tsutomu and I separated, our daughter was still in my womb. Who are you?!"
The sounds coming through the phone made Ritsu's brow furrow.
A handgun had just been cocked.
Besides the one Mary was probably holding, two more pistols had been readied at the same time.
"That's right, I'm not Tsutomu Akai. I'm the woman who came to poison you with this pill."
"MI6 intelligence officer... I've finally caught you."
The sound of a latex mask being peeled away followed. It seemed Vermouth had finally revealed her true face to Mary.
Listening to their conversation, Ritsu pieced everything together.
Vermouth's objective wasn't merely revenge against the Miyano family.
Her real goal... had been to infiltrate MI6. Exactly the sort of operation the Organization would carry out.
Fortunately, Mary had already prepared a contingency plan. Otherwise, Vermouth might actually have succeeded.
Ritsu frowned thoughtfully.
At present, he knew who the Organization's infiltrators within the MPD were. The more important question was whether the National Police Agency also had spies.
Judging from Rei's undercover assignment, even if there were infiltrators, they certainly weren't high-ranking officials.
If they were only lower-level personnel, dealing with them would be much easier. The slightest suspicious movement would expose them.
"Oh well. Looks like infiltrating MI6 will have to wait until another opportunity. So I'll accomplish my other objective first!"
"Gulp."
"Click!"
"...?"
Ritsu tilted his head.
'Was that... someone swallowing?'
It sounded strangely unnatural.
And why had it been accompanied by the click of a camera shutter?
"Erasing Mary Akai from existence. As long as you're alive, you're simply... inconvenient for us."
"Well? How does it feel to die from the poison created by your own younger sister?"
"Aaagh!!"
'The drug's already taking effect? Why is it happening so fast? That shouldn't be possible!'
Ritsu clenched both fists.
He hated how utterly powerless he was.
Then—
A splash.
Someone had fallen into the water.
Immediately afterward, an unfamiliar woman's voice exclaimed,
"What happened? Hello? Vermouth? I heard someone fall into the water. You're alright, aren't you?"
Vermouth herself hadn't expected Mary to plunge off the bridge into the river.
Afraid nearby tourists might recognize her face, she hurriedly put on a sun hat before taking the phone back out with a smile.
"My, my~ worried about me? It was only the cat I poisoned that fell into the water."
"Not me."
Hearing that, Ritsu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
If Mary had fallen into the river, her chances of survival were far greater than if Vermouth had taken her away.
"So your target was MI6 agent Mary Akai? Funny... that surname sounds awfully familiar to that annoying FBI guy."
"Fufu~ It's more than similar. She's his biological mother and Elena Miyano's older sister."
Thinking of the little kitten who had escaped from the Miyano family, Vermouth smiled.
"I also heard you let Sherry get away."
"Then you've probably also heard that the oldest Miyano is cooperating with me."
Ritsu sneered.
"Eventually, I'll catch that stray wildcat. Someone capable of creating a drug like that... shouldn't be allowed to remain alive."
Most of Vermouth's suspicions immediately faded.
She had originally wondered whether Augier had intentionally allowed Sherry to escape. Apparently, that wasn't the case.
There was something else she wanted to confirm.
"Oh, right. What's the story with Kudo Shinichi?"
"News certainly travels fast. So you've already heard."
"I remember you promised me... You'd protect them."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had no problem revealing that Shinichi had shrunk. Even if Vermouth eventually tracked down the shrunken Shiho, he would still possess valuable bargaining chips.
Once the witch recovered her heart, she would become another piece that could be moved across the chessboard.
"The fact that you're asking that... Means you don't believe Kudo actually died."
"My, my. So clever, and yet you still don't understand? You and I both know APTX4869's true effect."
'As expected of Vermouth.'
She had already considered the possibility that the drug had finally exhibited its true effect.
Picking up his phone, Ritsu left the hidden room and looked at the still-warm glass of milk waiting on his desk. Smiling faintly, he said,
"Mm. I'll investigate. After all... I've got her sister in my hands. She isn't going anywhere."
"I see. There still hasn't been any movement on that front recently?"
The abrupt topic change was enough to give anyone whiplash. Ritsu took a sip of milk before answering calmly,
"Not yet. But I did receive word that the Suzuki Financial Group will be exhibiting a gemstone near the end of January."
"They're nothing but clowns relying on drugs. You can handle them yourself, can't you?"
"Naturally. And besides... There's something else that's caught my attention."
"Oh? I'm surprised anything besides that could interest you. I'm curious now."
Ritsu's gaze settled on the newspaper lying atop his desk. Its front page reported the reappearance of Kaito Kid.
His previous investigation had already confirmed that the original Kaito Kid had been the missing genius magician Kuroba Toichi.
The only mystery remaining... was the identity of the current Kaito Kid who had begun carrying out these new heists.
"Let me keep a few secrets. After all... People with secrets are more charming, aren't they?"
"Fufu~ You've become quite the bad boy, Augier."
"I learned from the best."
Vermouth wasn't offended in the slightest. Instead, she composed an email on her phone and sent it to Augier.
"I've sent you a little present. Don't forget to check your inbox."
With that, she hung up.
Ritsu had no idea what this so-called "present" was.
But the moment he opened the email, every mouthful of milk he'd been drinking sprayed straight across the room.
"Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!!"
Hearing the violent coughing, Akemi, who had been about to take a shower, hurried over. Stopping outside the bedroom, she knocked on the door.
"Takashi? What's wrong?"
"I-I'm fine. I just choked on my milk."
"You're still exactly the same as before. Remember to drink more slowly. Choking like that really hurts."
"...Okay."
Looking down at the milk splattered across his phone screen, Ritsu finally understood the true culprit.
It wasn't the milk.
It was the photo Vermouth had sent him.
In an instant, everything made sense.
The strange swallowing sound.
The camera shutter.
The photo had been taken from directly behind Mary. It perfectly captured the exact moment Vermouth fed her the pill mouth-to-mouth.
Ritsu frowned, unsure whether to save the picture or delete it.
After staring at it for a long while...
He finally pressed Delete.
At the same time, he couldn't help muttering to himself:
'Vermouth really is a terrifying woman.'
Though... There was still one question he couldn't shake.
'Do elderly people really play this wild...? That's just way too bizarre!'
----
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