Model worker and his little darling

Seeing Shinichiro Araide following behind, Judy suddenly turned her car around so that the two cars faced each other.

Shinichiro got out of the car first, glancing worriedly at Ai Haibara in Jodie's car. "Teacher Jodie, where do you plan to take that girl?"

Judy, looking like a villain, leaned back on the car hood. "No, no, no, I just took her out for a drive. I'm not like you, busy doctor; I have plenty of free time."

He smiled gently and harmlessly, but his hand was secretly placed in a spot where he could easily reach for a gun.

"Free time?" Shinichiro pretended to be surprised.

Seeing this, Judy smiled and said, "Besides, the murder case involving Dr. Araide is about to go to trial, and you'll have to testify in court."

"That matter has been investigated and clarified, and it shouldn't take much time for me to testify in court. If I get too busy, I'll ask Ms. Judy for help."

As soon as Judy opened her mouth, Araide Tomoaki knew she was being tested. Unfortunately for her, she learned the whole story from Taira Kiyoshi as soon as she arrived in Japan.

And so, two people who knew each other's identities began to act out each other's stories.

Judy raised an eyebrow slightly; she already knew this person's identity. The so-called Shinichiro was actually the organization's Thousand-Faced Witch—Vermouth!

"A secret makes a woman a woman!"

"Do you know what? These were the last words you left me. To remember them forever, I've made them my mantra. You're the one who killed my father, aren't you?"

“Chris Vineyard? Or should I call you… Vermouth?”

As Judy spoke, Vermouth removed her mask, revealing her true face. Gently brushing her hair aside, she appeared even more mysterious in the moonlight.

Inside the car, Haibara began to tremble. Even though she was prepared to die, she was still overwhelmed by fear upon seeing the members of the organization.

Most importantly, they all thought Araide Tomoaki was a good person, but she was actually the organization's Vermouth.

Taira and Kudo said that the doctor's house was not being monitored. Did Vermouth not plant a bug, or did she plant one and have it hidden?

So, who exactly is Hirakiyo...?

If that's true, then what exactly is his purpose?

Just as Haibara was lost in thought, the confrontation between the two outside gradually escalated.

Vermouth smirked. "So you were that little girl. I've been looking for you for so long because we only found the remains of your parents in the ruins."

“I remember it was a night when I successfully broke into your house and dealt with the man who was powerless against me, your father.”

"Just then, I heard footsteps. I turned around and saw you, dragging a doll, open the door, looking completely bewildered, and ask me who I was. At that moment, I had my pistol behind my back, squatted down in front of you, and said these words..."

“Shut up, what right do you have to talk about this in front of me?” Judy interrupted Vermouth rudely, and sneered, “I should be glad that you didn’t kill me with you back then, that I didn’t die in that fire, so that I can stand here today and confront you about what happened back then.”

Judy thought that by being the first to expose Vermouth's true colors, she had taken the initiative.

But that incident was a pain that would never fade from her heart. How could she accept hearing this woman talk about it so casually?

"I really should reflect on myself for leaving behind this trouble and letting you live to this day. These years must have been tough, leaving your hometown and using the witness protection system to change your identity and live in this world. It must have been too hard." Vermouth remained nonchalant, not even changing the curve of her lips.

"Later, you bravely carried on your father's legacy and began investigating me, FBI investigator Judy Sterling."

Judy took a deep breath to calm herself down. She couldn't lose her composure. She glanced at Vermouth and said, "You truly live up to your reputation as the Thousand-Faced Witch Vermouth. Anyone with your disguise skills could easily infiltrate any place."

"However, it's quite an achievement that you were able to see through my disguise as Dr. Araide."

"Of course I know. A big star deliberately concealed his identity and went to Xin Chu Hospital for treatment, wasn't it just to kill him and then impersonate him?"

Hearing this, Vermouth smiled. "Even if you rescued Araide Tomoaki from my hands, he still died. It shows that the FBI's so-called protection isn't very effective. Will anyone still trust you in the future?" As she spoke, a sense of pride rose in her heart. As expected of the child she raised, his methods were far more capable than those of the FBI.

Speaking of this, Judy had a heart attack. Shinichiro had been fine in America for so long, but he died right before they were about to take action.

“It was your accomplices who did it, wasn’t it?” Suddenly, Judy’s tone changed. “I once broke into your room at the newly opened hospital. There was a photo of a young woman, about 20 years old, with brown hair, that you had stuck on the wall with a dart. You wanted to kill her, didn’t you?”

She turned and glanced at Haibara, who was terrified, and asked, "What is her relationship with this girl?"

"The last two photos are captioned 'angel' and 'cool guy.' That boy is indeed exceptionally intelligent, but he should be labeled 'kid' rather than 'guy.'"

"As long as that boy named Conan never left this girl's side, you wouldn't dare to make a move. The reason lies in that hijacked bus incident. Why did you risk your life to save him back then?"

Judy had so many questions in her mind, and she asked them all at once.

"Speak up and answer my question."

A subtle smile appeared on Vermouth's lips. "Alright, then I'll tell you, it's because..." she said, reaching into her pocket to pull out a gun.

However, Judy's attention was focused on Vermouth. Realizing that Vermouth was about to make a move, she immediately fired at Vermouth, knocking her weapon away.

"Stand still!"

A beat too slow, Vermouth obediently raised her hand. "This is really troublesome. You actually brought such a dangerous thing. Did you get permission from the Japanese police?"

Judy held her gun firmly, pointing it at Vermouth. "I think it's not too late to apply for cooperation with the police here after I've apprehended you, of course, I'll have to accept the punishment. But before that, there's something I need to get an answer from you."

Why do you never seem to age?

"You left your fingerprints on my father's glasses, but it led me to discover a chilling fact: your mother and Sharon Vineyard are actually the same person."