Dinnertime.
Outside, it had started snowing heavily. In no time, everything in sight was blanketed in white.
"Wow, so much snow," Ran said. "It's a good thing you agreed to stay for dinner, Dad. Otherwise, we would have been stuck on the way back."
"Yeah." Kogorō also felt relieved.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting." The door leading from the corridor to the study opened, and a man dressed as Dracula—complete with vampire costume—emerged.
Needless to say, everyone knew he was Torakura Daisuke.
Ran whispered in Sonoko's ear, "Haibara was right."
Sonoko nodded and whispered back, "Yeah, he really is wearing a vampire outfit. But I remember Uncle Mouri saying in the car that Mr. Torakura seems to have changed his writing style. So why is he still wearing this kind of clothes?"
Ran blinked. That was a good question. Her mind filled with doubts.
"Kurosawa-kun, welcome, welcome! I didn't expect you to actually come. I thought Mr. Mouri was joking with me. I never thought you and Mr. Mouri would actually be neighbors." Torakura's words were stiff, revealing a hint of insincerity. He approached Kurosawa with a fake smile and extended his hand.
For a moment, the atmosphere became quiet.
"Mr. Torakura, hello." Kurosawa narrowed his eyes slightly and calmly shook his hand.
"Alright, let's eat." Torakura released his hand and sat down next to his wife, Torakura Etsuko.
Unlike the lively atmosphere she had imagined, tonight's dinner was unusually silent. Everyone ate quietly, occasionally glancing at Torakura with strange looks in their eyes.
Half an hour passed. Torakura finished eating first, got up, and headed toward the corridor leading to his study. "Tadokoro, after you've eaten, remember to bring the film reels and red wine. Oh, and that copy of The Bloody Wedding Banquet."
"Yes, sir," Tadokoro Toshiya replied.
With Torakura gone, the atmosphere finally eased considerably.
Sonoko asked, "Does Mr. Torakura seem to dislike Hoshino?"
"I feel that way too," Haibara replied calmly.
"But why is that?" Ran asked, quite puzzled.
The people at the other table overheard this and their expressions became thoughtful. After a long while, Torakura's wife, Torakura Etsuko, spoke, her tone tinged with sarcasm. "Of course, it's because he has many shady dealings. He's afraid of you, Kurosawa-kun—the nationally renowned detective."
"In that case, Mr. Torakura certainly has reason to be afraid of me," Kurosawa said casually.
Actually, it wasn't just Torakura who was afraid of Kurosawa. Torakura Etsuko and the others were also afraid of him, fearing that this nationally famous detective would discover their secrets. However, they were more patient than Torakura. Each pretended to be nonchalant and acted as if nothing was wrong.
Kogorō shook his head, unsure what to say.
"Oh, I see." Sonoko curled her lip in disdain.
Conan thought to himself, It seems this Mr. Torakura has done quite a few bad things behind the scenes. When facing Kurosawa, he was so flustered he couldn't even control his expression. He revealed everything.
After dinner, Tadokoro took the film reels and red wine to the study, then came to the living room to make tea for everyone.
Torakura Etsuko came to Kurosawa's table and said, "We don't have much to do tonight. The only way to pass the time is playing cards. Do you want to play?"
Except for Haibara and Ran, Kurosawa and the others fell silent.
"I'm fine with anything." Ran smiled.
"I want to play," Haibara said innocently, taking advantage of her childlike nature.
"Okay, I'll go get the cards." Torakura Etsuko left the living room.
Kurosawa glanced at the woman's retreating figure, shook his head, and sighed helplessly. Sonoko did the same. The two seemed to have rehearsed beforehand, displaying remarkable chemistry.
Haibara asked, puzzled, "Hoshino-nii, what's wrong with playing cards?"
"Haibara, you'll find out soon enough." Kurosawa gave her a meaningful look.
Sonoko looked at Haibara with pity in her eyes. She never expected that such a young girl would suffer such a beating that even she herself couldn't bear.
Haibara clenched her fists, thoroughly annoyed by the expressions of these two, which inexplicably made her furious. So she turned and glared at Conan.
Now Conan finally figured it out. Haibara couldn't vent her frustrations at Kurosawa's place, so she was targeting him instead.
"You guys play. I'm going to chat with Mr. Doi and the others." Kogorō didn't want to play cards with his daughter either, so he said this and slipped away to the next table.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, both Hamura Shuichi and Doi Fumio had left the reception room for about ten minutes each for some reason.
"Hey, I won again!" Ran threw her cards on the table and gave Sonoko a high five. For this round, the two of them had been on the same team.
This woman— Haibara stared at Ran in disbelief, her hand almost crumpling her cards into a ball.
Half an hour. A full half hour. She hadn't had a single moment of enjoyment in the game. To win, you had to be on Ran's team. Otherwise, there was no way you could win. Ran was like a demon king, firmly grasping victory, always finishing first in every round, never allowing a second person to interfere.
At the same time, Haibara understood why Kurosawa and Sonoko had such strange expressions earlier—it was because Ran was too good at playing cards.
Is this really not cheating? Torakura Etsuko thought to herself, her smile forced. She looked at Ran with great suspicion, hardly believing it was just luck.
"I'm tired. I don't want to play anymore." Haibara threw down her cards and gave up her seat.
Kurosawa and Conan stayed far away, showing no intention of taking over. Kurosawa understood how Conan felt when facing him. Now, facing Ran, he had absolutely no desire to play cards with her—not even as a partner. After all, what was the point of a game where you already knew the outcome and could win by playing recklessly?
"Everyone, take a break and have some coffee." Tadokoro pushed a food cart over, placing a cup of coffee in front of everyone, then pushed the cart toward the corridor leading to the study.
But less than two minutes later, he returned, looking puzzled. He said to everyone, "Strange. I don't know what's wrong with the teacher. I knocked on the door and called him, but he didn't respond."
"He's probably too engrossed in watching a movie, or he's drunk on red wine and fallen asleep," Torakura Etsuko said casually.
Tadokoro shook his head. "Impossible. I've been by my teacher's side for so many years. He would never let himself fall asleep at this hour, because nighttime is when his inspiration for writing novels is at its best."
Kogorō, hearing this, also found it a bit strange. "Shall we go take a look together?" he suggested to the others.