Here's a little short to sate you before I start posting the chapters to the very long and very epic new Detective Conan fic! :D

Case Closed Short 4: The Impossible Shooting Case

The sun was shining pleasantly despite the brisk chill in the Octover air, and Ran, Kogorou, and Conan were on their way to Isamu Fuschida's 'Antique Firearm Exhibition.' Isamu Fuschida was an elderly man who absolutely loved collecting old guns, anywhere from ancient Chinese guns to 19th century American revolvers. He also happened to be a good friend of one of Kogorou's teachers. Since 'Sleeping Kogorou' had quite the reputation, the detective agency received an invitation to the excluseive exhibition. The trio walked through Fuschida's neighbourhood when Conan suddenly sneezed.

"Bless you!" Ran said, chuckling slightly.

"Thanks, Ran-nēchan," Conan sniffed. Someone must be talking about me… or I'm getting another damn cold. Why can't my immune system work like everyone elses? "How much farther is it, ojisan?" he asked. Kogorou looked at the scrap of paper he'd hastily jotted the address down on.

"Err… not far…" he mumbled, "You'd think there'd be a sign or something."

"It's a private showing. Did you expect a giant neon sighn saying 'this way to very valuable and priceless weapons'?" Conan asked sarcastically. Kogorou glared at Conan and was about to smack the little detective when Ran pointed to a lavish house and said:

"There it is! Now you to behave yourselves." She gave sharp looks to both Kogorou and Conan, so they did as they were told. They approached the house and the door opened just as Kogorou went to knock. A young woman stood in the doorway. She was quite pretty with light brown hair and eyes to match. She wore a maid outfit.

"Mouri-sama, I presume?" she asked. Kogorou nodded, so she bowed and said, "Fuschida-sama has been expecting you. Please follow me." They followed the maid inside to an ornate lounge. There, a few rich looking people stood about, admiring several firearms in glass cases.

"Ah! Sleeping Kogorou!" the man sitting in the centre of the lounge said happily. He stood from his posh seat to shake Kogorou's hand. "I've heard a lot about you! I'm Isamu Fuschida. It is a pleasure to meet you." Fuschida was quite tall, standing a good five or six inches over Kogorou. He had grey hair and a grey moustache. His eyes were practically hidden behind thick glasses.

"Fuschida-san, the pleasure is all mine! Let me introduce you to my daughter, Ran, and…" Kogorou jabbed a thumb at Conan, "This little free-loader."

How many times are you gonna call me that? "I do have a name, ojisan, if you've forgotten it; Conan Edogawa!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I hope you don't mind that they tagged along. Ran insisted we take him a long to learn some history," Kogorou explained.

Fushida laughed, "Oh no, it's fine! I think it's important for children to learn something new every day!" He led Kogorou away from Ran and Conan, then said to Ran, "This entire floor is dedicated to the exhibition, so feel free to wander. I have to ask you not to leave this floor, however."

"We won't!" Ran and Conan said in unison. Fuschida smiled warmly.

"Then please enjoy yourselves!" He turned back to talk to his guests while Conan and Ran perused the vast collection of firearms.

This guy has a lot of time on his hands, Conan thought after touring the whole collection. He must have a gun from every year up till the 20th century! Who has money for this!?

"What did you think, Conan-kun?" Ran asked. She wasn't a huge gun fan herself, but she still found it interesting enough.

"It was cool! You don't think those still work, do you, Ran-nēchan?" Conan asked.

"I don't think so. Let's go back to the lounge! I'm sure Otou-san is waiting for us." Ran took a hold of Conan's hand and they walked back to the lounge. There, the adults were having a jolly good time, drinking fine whiskey, smoking the best cigarettes and cigars, and laughing.

One person, however, seemed detached from the rest of the group. He leaned against the wall, smoking quietly. He had short, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Conan Couldn't help but notice the strange, yet subtle stares the man gave Fuschida. The little detective let go of Ran's hand and jogged over to the man. Conan tugged on the man's pant leg and asked, "Don't you want to join everybody else?"

"Conan!" Ran hissed, but he ignored her. The man blinked slowly at Conan.

"Er…" he started. Fuschida, Kogorou, and the other rich folks spotted the man standing by himself.

"Souma-kun! Come have a drink with us!" Fushida said, offering Souma a glass.

"N-no, I'm all right. I don't particularly care for whiskey, thanks," Souma said.

"Suit yourself. Anyway, as I was saying…" Fuschida went back to telling his story and Souma went back to eyeing the old man. That bothered Conan immensely.

Soon, the little gathering was over. Fuschida's maid insisted that their host needed to go to bed, so the guests complied. Ran and Kogorou were arguing over which train to take home, so Conan wandered around the garden. He spotted Souma through the window into the foyer. The man was fiddling with his watch. He came outside and looked at Conan. "Oh… you're the kid from earlier. Listen, have you got the time? My watch appears to have the wrong time," he said.

"Sure!" Conan glanced at his watch and said, "It's 8:30 on the dot!" Souma fiddled with his watch some more.

"Great. Thanks, kid," Souma said. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. As he was about to walk away, a horrifying scream erupted from the house. Everyone outside froze. Conan was the first to dash inside and see the maid run down the stairs with a look of terror on her face and tears in her eyes.

"Fuschida-sama is dead!" she cried.

The police were quickly notified. Eventually, officers were everywhere in the house. In particular, Inspector Megure, Kogorou, Ran, Conan, Souma, the maid, and a woman Conan had never seen before were in the late Fuschida's room. The old man sat slumped in an armchair with a bloody hole in the side of his skull.

Megure pulled out his inspector notebook and read, "The vitim's name is Isamu Fuschida, age 72. Death from a bullet wound to the head. Estimated time of death is from 8:00 to 8:30. The suspects are Etsuko Fuschida, age 69, Honoka Chosi, age 31, and Souma Motoori, age 35. I'm going to give Kogorou, Ran, and Conan the benefit of the doubt and assume you didn't go crazy and shoot the guy. Plus, according to your alibis, you all were outside. We'll start the interrogation with Etsuko-san."

So that's Fuschida-san's wife! I wonder why I didn't see her at the exhibition today? Conan thought. He examined Etsuko. She had a sharp face and cool grey eyes to match her disheveled hair.

"Where were you between 8:00 and 8:30?" Megure asked.

"I was in my room," she answered coldly.

"Can anyone confirm thos?" Etsuko turned her eyes from Megure to Honoka at glared at the young lady sharply. Conan looked at her as well.

The maid? But wasn't she with us the whole time?

"I-I'm afraid I cannot confirm Etsuko-sama's alibi," Honoka said softly, "The only time I saw Etsuko-sama was this morning." Conan thought Etusko froze the poor maid's soul with her icy glare.

"Right, we'll move on to you, Honoka-san. You were the last one to see Fuschida-san alive, correct?" Megure asked.

"Yes… I had taken Fuschida-sama to his room. H-he had a heart condition, you see, so he needed plenty of rest," Honoka explained, "Anyway. I'd taken him up to his room around eight. I left for a few minutes to go to the bathroom and prepare his evening tea. B-but when I came back… oh, God!" She buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

"Did anybody see you?"

"… no, I don't think so…"

Conan furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. So far, either of them could be the killer… they both have good stories… but no good alibis. Maybe I'll do some investigating while Megure questions Souma… Conan snuck off to do just that when Megure asked:

"And what's your story, Souma-san?"

"I was in the foyer the whole time. My watch had stopped, so I was looking for a clock for the time," Souma explained.

"Anyone see you?"

"Yeah the kid saw me…" Megure and Souma looked to Ran and Kogorou since Conan usually stuck whith them, but he was standing next to Fuschida's body, examining the bullet wound.

So the bullet entered on his left side… which mean the killer would have to have been standing in front of that bookcase… but… Conan was lifted out of his thoughts and into the air roughly by Kogorou. "Hueh?!"

"Did you see Souma-san in the foyer, brat?" Kogorou asked.

"Y-yes! He asked me for the time, too! Can you let go?!" Conan cried. Kogorou was holding poor Conan by the collar of his jacket. The older detective released the pint-sized detective and went back to 'solving' the case. Damn him, Conan thought bitterly, but he went back to his thoughts as well. Back to the case. The killer must have been standing in front of the bookcase for the bullet to go through Fuschida's skull at that angle. But what worries me about that is that this room also has no opening windows. He eyed the three windows in the room. Non of them had hinges of any sort and they were all perfectly intact. That suggests that the only two possible people who could have done it are Honoka-san and Etsuko-san. But I'm not so sure… I'll have to keep investigating…

Conan walked up to Etsuko and she immediately snapped, "What do you want, boy?"

"Nothing! I was just wondering where you were during the exhibition. Wouldn't Fuschida-san have wanted you to be there?" Conan asked. His question caught the attention of Megure and Kogorou in particular.

"I loved my husband dearly, but I did not approve of his silly little hobby nor did I want to be a part of his exhibition," she answered.

"That sounds like a motive for murder to me," Kogorou said, crossing his arms. The old lady stared daggers at Kogorou, and he flinched as if he were slapped. Conan scratched his head, deep in thought.

That actually doesn't sound like a motive, you idiot! I find it hard to believe Etsuko-san would murder her own husband because she disapproved of his hobbies! Maybe the money would be a problem, but I'm still suspicious. Plus, I think Honoka-san would have seen Etsuko-san running out of Fuschida-san's room after the murder. Conan trotted over to Honoka, who had separated herself from the group, and asked softly, "Did you see anyone go in or out of the room?"

"No…" she mumbled.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"I am. I swear I didn't see anyone," she answered again. She sniffled pitifully, so Conan left her alone.

I believe her, he thought. At that time, a police officer told Megure:

"We've just finished testing the room and the suspects clothing. There isn't a trace of gunpowder on anything. It's like there wasn't a gun at all."

No gunpowder?! But then who killed Fuschida-san?! Think, Shinichi, think! He stood in the centre of the room, not moving and ignoring the activity around him. His eyes slowly drifted over to the bookcase. About sixty or seventy books thick, ancient books lined the six shelves. In the middle of the fourth shelf, a wooden, very new looking bookend shaped like a lion sat in between the books. It seemed very out of place to Conan, but to anyone else it would look quite decorative.

"Do you like that bookend?" Souma suddenly asked, startling Conan. "I gave it to Fuschida-kun on his 70th birthday. Nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Conan nodded numbly. He scanned Souma and asked, "What do you do, Souma? Like for a job?"

"I run a gun manufacturing company. Fuschida-kun's collection helped inspire many of our designs. He was quite a good friend to me and my family… why do you ask, Conan-kun?"

"I was just curious!"

Souma chuckled and said, "Well, you run along, now. This isn't a place for kids your age." Conan nodded, and Souma went back to standing with the adults.

A single bookend in the middle of a shelf of books? Not just a designers statement, I think… Something clicked in Conan's mind. Wait a second! He told Megure that he was in the foyer looking for a clock to set his watch to! Then he came outside and asked me for the time… Conan darted out of the room. The staircase overlooked the foyer, Conan immediately saw what he was looking for. Aha! I've got you! Now then, Kogorou, time for you to take the spotlight…

"The killer is none other than Honoka Chosi!" Kogorou said triumphantly, pointing at the maid.

"Wh-what?! No! I would never…!" she started to protest, but she was interrupted by an odd, sleepy noise that escaped Kogorou's lips just before he slumped against the wall next to the door, asleep.

Conan stood just outside the door with his bow tie at the ready. "I'm sorry, Honoka-san, I have a very strange sense of humour," Conan said with Kogorou's voice, "The actual person responsible for Fuschida-san's death was none other than Souma Motoori!" Everyone gasped and stared at Souma. The young man simply laughed.

"You think I killed him? You have got a strange sense of humour. Fuschida-kun was my friend! Plus I have a solid alibi! I was in the foyer the whole time and Conan-kun verified that," Souma said.

"That's true. You were in the foyer looking for a clock to set your watch to."

"Yes! Then I went outside and got the time from Conan-kun!" Souma said, getting slightly annoyed.

"Why didn't you just get the time from the clock downstairs?" Conan asked. Souma clenched his jaw.

"I guess I didn't see it."

"It's a very large clock. I doubt you'd miss it," Conan smirked, "I would even go so far to say that the watch on your wrist is fake."

"And why would you say that?"

"Conan-kun told me a few minutes ago that he noticed the hands on your watch weren't moving, and that they seemed fixed on 8:30. It's nearly 10 o'clock now."

Souma lost his temper and shouted, "SO?! How does that make me the killer?"

"Yeah, Mouri-san. We examined every inch of the room," Megure spoke up, "And the clothes everyone was wearing. There isn't a trace of gunpowder. Souma-san can't be the killer!"

"Ah, but I was getting to the best part!" Conan said, "Megure-san, do me a favour and walk to the bookcase, please." Megure did what he was told. Conan asked, "Notice anything odd?"

"Er… no. It's just a normal bookcase." Megure studied the bookcase closely. "… wait. Isn't this a bookend? What is it doing in the middle? And why is it by itself?"

"I overheard Souma-san tell Conan-kun that he bought that bookend for Fuschida-san two years ago for his 70th birthday," Conan said. He grinned slyly. "Now why would Souma-san only buy one bookend and put it right in the middle of the bookcase? Megure, if you could…" Megure removed the bookend and gasped. A silenced pistol sat behind it. The pistol was rigged up with some kind of robot and complex wiring. Megure glared at Souma, who shrank away slightly.

"That… that doesn't prove anything…" he said. Megure held out his hand for the watch.

"Hand over your watch. Now," he ordered. Souma complied, and Megure carefully moved the deceased Fuschida out of the way. Once the area was clear, Megure pushed the button that would have normally light the watch face. Instead, a soft thunk was heard; the bullet penetrated the wall, leaving a small hole.

"Why, Souma-san?" Honoka asked shakily.

Souma clenched his fists and growled, "He mocked my family and my business. He was always going on about how modern weapons were disgusting and ugly and how my family should be ashamed! He was an old codger who deserved to die! Don't think I regret this one bit!" He laughed crazily.

Megure pulled out a walkie-talkie and said, "Takagi-san, bring your men up here now. We have a killer to apprehend."

"'Souma Motoori Jailed for Murder of Isamu Fuschida.' Well I guess that's another case closed by the Great Kogorou Mouri!" Kogorou laughed stupidly. Ran chuckled earnestly and Conan deadpanned.

Only a day has passed and he still won't shut up about it, Conan thought, I guess I'll let you take the credit for now, old man. Till then, this is another case closed!