This is not in chronological order, it takes place approximately two weeks before chapter 1.
Ran looked around and realized with a combination of worry and resignation that Conan-kun had, yet again, disappeared in the middle of a heist. She hoped that this time he had at least stayed in the building, and not tried to chase KID across the city again (although at least that time he'd been with Hattori-kun).
Glancing around the room later as she noticed that some of the Task Force were starting a post-heist cleanup, she noted that Nakamori-keibu and Hakuba-san were still absent. Hoping that Conan-kun was with one of them, she began asking the Task Force officers if they'd seen where her charge had gone during the heist. By the time Hakuba-san returned (now covered in dried glue and glitter) she was struggling not to panic. None of the officers had seen Conan-kun after KID had pulled his usual disappearing act, and they had been chasing the thief all over the building.
"Hakuba-san, have you seen Conan-kun?" The detective seemed startled by her question, but his expression quickly morphed into concern.
"When KID disappeared I saw him running out of the room and into a stairwell. Unfortunately, I was caught by a sleep-gas trap on one of the landings as I followed him. Has he not returned?"
"No one has seen him anywhere in the building, I've asked all of the Task Force but they all said they never saw him after KID disappeared!"
"Mouri-san, if Edogawa-kun has not returned, it's likely he is still on the rooftop." Holding up a police radio, he added, "I haven't heard a report of the roof being checked by any of the Task Force yet."
"How can I get to the roof from here?" Ran needed to find Conan-kun, and give him a good lecture about running off without telling her.
"I'll show you the way, Mouri-san, it's likely some of KID's traps are still active." With that, Hakuba turned and led the way out of the room and into the closest stairwell. Ran was impatient to reach the roof, but reluctantly let Hakuba lead the way and point out how to avoid triggering KID's traps; she didn't want to delay finding Conan-kun even longer by getting herself stuck in something.
When they finally reached the rooftop, she immediately began searching for Conan-kun, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her heart as each place she looked revealed no sign of him. Noticing that Hakuba-san seemed to be examining something, she walked over to him.
"Hakuba-san? What did you find? Did Conan-kun drop something?" Her hopes were dashed when the teen detective looked up with a serious expression.
"Mouri-san, I'm afraid it's likely that Edogawa-kun has been kidnapped." The detective moved to the side, revealing a pair shoes and watch, and Ran instantly recognized them as Conan-kun's. "The kidnappers most likely changed Edogawa-kun's clothes to make it harder to identify him if they were caught in the security cameras. His shoes are very eye-catching, and the watch-face is also easily recognizable."
"But why would someone kidnap Conan-kun?" Ran was feeling light-headed with the realization that she had failed to protect her charge, that Conan-kun might be hurt, or worse—
"There's too little data to be able to deduce the motive. The best plan right now is to inform Nakamori-keibu and let the police begin their investigations." After a moment he added, "I will, of course, continue my own search until Edogawa-kun is found."
Reluctantly, and only slightly reassured by the promise, Ran followed Hakuba back inside the building, praying that Conan-kun would be found soon.
What do you think about Hakuba's theory?
Next chapter will be Takagi-keiji talking to another teen detective...