**Chapter 145: Told a Little Lie**

"Two months ago, that should be around the time Mr. Shinmei went missing, right?"

If Fujino remembered correctly, what this editor said should be an important breakthrough.

"That's right!"

Kaori Shinmei wiped her tears. "My father went missing a week before the publication in Bun'gei Era."

"So, Mr. Shinmei disappeared after restarting the Detective Sōmonji series."

Fujino pondered for a moment before continuing to ask the man, "Was there anything strange in Mr. Shinmei's book?"

"There were indeed some strange parts."

The man nodded and then said, "In the preface of his work, Mr. Shinmei wrote, 'To all the detectives in the country, if you think your deductive skills surpass mine, come and uncover the truth of this case!' After this preface was published, it received a lot of feedback from fans... Moreover, this time, Mr. Shinmei also made an appearance in the book as Detective Sōmonji's old friend... This is the first time since the Detective Sōmonji series started."

"Does Detective Sōmonji have many fans?"

"Yes, there are many fans, and they're very passionate."

The man nodded. "Just half a year ago, a fervent fan even threatened to burn down our publishing house if we didn't restart the Detective Sōmonji series."

"So, there are many fans of Detective Sōmonji, including some quite fervent ones."

Fujino paused and then continued, "Those fervent fans even went as far as to threaten to burn down the publishing house?"

"Could it be that those fans kidnapped Mr. Shinmei?!"

The man, suddenly enlightened, said, "If those fans kidnapped Mr. Shinmei to force him to revive Detective Sōmonji, it's not impossible!"

"I don't think that's the case."

Fujino spoke as he turned to Kaori Shinmei, "If I remember correctly, Mr. Shinmei decided to restart the Sōmonji series before he disappeared. You were still in frequent contact with him before that, right?"

"That's right."

Kaori Shinmei nodded. "The day before my parents disappeared, I had dinner at their house and stayed overnight. I found the note saying 'Just went out for a while' the next morning."

"But if that's the case... why did Mr. Shinmei disappear without reason? If he was kidnapped, what was the perpetrator's motive?"

While the man was pondering this, the printer suddenly made a sound.

It was the latest manuscript by Rintarou Shinmei.

Fujino stepped forward and picked up the new manuscript.

The man didn't stop him, as it was almost certain that Rintarou Shinmei was involved in some kind of trouble... perhaps even in danger.

The manuscript still had the same title, "Half the Peak," and the signature was unchanged.

If Fujino was correct, the code should be hidden in "Half the Peak."

After flipping through the manuscript, Fujino suddenly said to everyone, "If that's the case, I know the secret hidden in the manuscript."

"The secret hidden in the manuscript?"

Hearing this, Kaori Shinmei and the man gathered around.

"The secret is actually hidden in the title of the manuscript... 'Half the Peak.'"

Fujino showed them the manuscript and pointed to the words that extended beyond the normal format on each page. "Half the Peak should refer to the first letter of every other line in Mr. Shinmei's dialogue with Sōmonji. Only half of the letters... When put together, it spells 'Please come and save me.'"

"What?!"

"If that's the case, then my father must be kidnapped!"

"These codes must have been written by Mr. Shinmei to mislead others, right?!"

"However, other codes in the manuscripts cannot be solved using this method..."

Fujino placed the manuscript on a nearby table. "Using this method, the other codes only produce meaningless letters."

"Could it be a different format?"

The man leaned over, puzzled.

"I don't think so. There must be another clue."

Fujino examined the manuscript, and his gaze fell on Haibara Ai in the distance.

To be honest, his memory of this part was a bit hazy.

To solve a case, knowing the culprit, recalling some connections, and observing the scene were usually enough.

He knew Rintarou Shinmei was in Room 2407 of Beika City Hotel, but figuring out the exact codes was tricky.

Tricky as it was, it was still possible to reach a conclusion.

He pretended not to know, all to verify a suspicion...

Under Fujino's watchful eye, Haibara Ai silently approached and took a manuscript from the table, examining it.

After a moment, she calmly said, "Every time Rintarou Shinmei appears, it's in France. According to the silent 'h' rule in French, rearranging those letters should reveal the rest of the code, right?"

Then, Haibara Ai played with her hair and showed a typical little girl expression. "Am I right?"

Fujino: "..."

Alright, that's a bit strange.

Why does this feel like Conan?

Unlike Conan's clueless look, Haibara Ai was a cute little girl.

They weren't comparable.

However, this confirmed Fujino's suspicion...

Fujino took the manuscript and examined it. "If we follow the silent letter rule, the codes can indeed be deciphered. The first code is 'Please come and save me,' the second is 'My current location,' the third is 'Beika City Hotel,' and the final message is 'Room 2407.'"

"Putting it all together, it means Mr. Shinmei is in Room 2407 of Beika City Hotel."

"Let's go quickly!"

Kaori Shinmei urged, "If we hurry, my father might still be..."

"We should call the police first!"

The man took out his phone. "If Mr. Shinmei is kidnapped, rushing in might provoke the kidnappers to harm him!"

As an editor, Rintarou Shinmei's life was crucial to his interests.

If Shinmei died, the Detective Sōmonji series would be finished.

His performance would suffer, and the publishing house would face significant losses.

"I don't think that's necessary."

Fujino suddenly stopped the man. "If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Shinmei wasn't kidnapped at all."

"Wasn't kidnapped?"

"It's complicated to explain..."

Fujino looked meaningfully at Kaori Shinmei. "Ms. Shinmei, once we get to Beika City Hotel, everything will become clear."

Though confused, Kaori Shinmei chose to trust Fujino.

The group then drove to Beika City Hotel.

Beika City Hotel, Beika Inn, Beika Hotel—all the same place.

Just different names...

Come to think of it, Kaitou Kid was supposed to appear on the hotel's rooftop last time.

At the door of Room 2407, Fujino lightly knocked with his wooden sword.

After a moment, a middle-aged woman opened the door.

She was around forty or fifty, her face showing a visible sense of loss.

"Mom?!"

Kaori Shinmei exclaimed upon seeing the woman.

"Kaori?"

The middle-aged woman was also surprised to see Kaori.

"Where's Dad?!"

Kaori anxiously asked, "Were you kidnapped?"

"Kidnapped?"

The woman frowned, thought for a moment, and was about to speak when a voice came from inside, "Is Kaori here?"

"Dad?"

Kaori rushed into the room, heading straight to another room opposite the entrance.

Fujino and the others followed, finding an elderly man lying in bed, his hair gray and his face haggard.

"Dad, what's going on..."

Kaori anxiously asked, seeing her father's frail face.

"This was all my doing."

Rintarou Shinmei forced a smile on his pale face. "Two months ago, I discovered I had cancer. I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I wanted the code to be more believable... And given my condition, I knew you'd be heartbroken."

"Dad..."

Tears streamed down Kaori's face.

"Alright, don't cry."

Rintarou Shinmei weakly raised his hand, wiping her tears. "Since you managed to find me, someone must have cracked my code, right? Did this alert the police?"

"No, the police weren't involved. Someone did decipher your code."

Kaori nodded, then looked at Fujino. "It was Detective Fujino who solved it... and he requested not to involve the police."

"Detective Fujino?"

Rintarou Shinmei struggled to sit up, leaning against the headboard, and looked at Fujino. "You didn't call the police, which means you saw through this, right? Even figuring out my plan."

"Yes, it was complicated, but that's the gist of it."

Fujino nodded, not wanting to waste time.

He could see that the elderly man was in his final moments.

Wasting time meant wasting the man's life.

Rintarou Shinmei spoke again, his voice weak, "Being recognized by readers is my life's greatest joy. I've been a writer for 40 years, but there's one happiness I haven't experienced: having someone solve my mystery ahead of time..."

"Your wish is fulfilled."

Fujino shouldered his wooden sword. "I'm a fan of Detective Sōmonji."

"Really?"

Rintarou Shinmei's face showed a gratified smile.

Of course, Fujino told a little lie. He wasn't a fan of Detective Sōmonji, but to fulfill a dying man's wish, a little lie was permissible. He could make it up later.

In the final moments of his life, Kaori and Rintarou talked a lot, occasionally

 involving Fujino in the conversation.

Soon, midnight came.

Rintarou Shinmei fell silent, passing away.

(Chapter End)