Mori, Ran, and Conan are at a cafe when they run into Takagi who is aiming to pick up girls. Meanwhile, he finds Sato there doing the same. After a tense date with two strangers, Conan realizes from the conversation that a boy home alone is in danger. When they arrive at their house, the boy has been kidnapped. The kidnapper leaves an email demanding money.

Kogoro and Conan visits a famous author named Osamu Umezu in order to have his book signed. Later they spot Osamu's secretary, Mikami Touru, running to Osamu's house. They learn that Mikami that Osamu is not answering his phone calls and he was going to check up on him. They accompany him to Osamu's apartment and find Osamu dead. Evidence suggests it was suicide but Kogoro notices blood on the trash bin and reveals that it was a murder.