This story is set after episode 311…as a recap: Conan and Agasa apprehend three jewel thieves in a foreign, stolen getaway car. Conan then proceeds to attempt to trap Gin and Vodka by getting their fingerprints on tape, or saliva off a cigarette butt.
Contact with the Black Organization: Aftermath
"Mou, why am I interrogating this guy? The crime was over in Gunma Prefecture…shouldn't one of their officers be dealing with this?" Takagi Wataru asks himself as he looks into the one-way mirror where the lady-thief sits impatiently.
"Takagi-kun," Sato Miwako chimes appearing from nowhere, giving the easily startled detective a near-heart attack. "We caught them here in Tokyo, we have to at least do a preliminary questioning before transferring them over."
"But Sato-san!" Takagi whines slightly. "We found the third accomplice in the trunk like Agasa-san said. And they were driving the stolen car. And the jewels they stole were hidden in the glove box. It's pretty obvious to me that Agasa-san was right…and besides, robbery isn't our department…"
"Just do as you were ordered, Officer Takagi." She snaps lightly.
"Y-yes ma'am!" He says standing to attention before moving quickly into the other room.
"So you made it past the police check point," Takagi questions monotonously several minutes later.
"Yeah. I'm guessing that boy didn't know who we were for sure at that time."
"A-ano." Takagi starts looking down at the sloppily written report from the Gunma officer in charge of that checkpoint. Conan-kun was in the car at that time…but he was not there when the police arrived after Agasa-san's call… "That boy?" He asks peering at the lady through his eyelashes.
"Yeah." She mutters shifting in annoyance. "That kid in the glasses…I think the old man called him…Shinichi?" She says glancing up and to the left in remembrance.
"You mean Conan-kun?"
"Yeah," She nods, "That's what that idiot inspector called him."
"But Agasa-san called him…?"
"Shinichi." She repeats more sure of herself.
"Aaaahhh," Takagi says swallowing nervously. "Oh-right." He shuffles some papers around. "That's his middle name, it's best to call him Conan so we know who you're talking about."
"Ok." She agrees easily enough.
"So you got past the checkpoint, and Agasa-san asked you to drop them off in Tokyo?"
"Yeah, near that train station that's under renovations."
"And when you got near there that's when Agasa-san figured out you were the thieves?"
"No, it was that brat, Conan. My idiot partner didn't know how to drive the car we stole and we almost got in several accidents. That kid noticed him use the wipers for turn signal, his difficulty shifting and the coins in the ashtray. Somehow he knew I was sitting on the bloodstain, just cause I didn't slide over for him to get in the car. Che. When we got to Tokyo near that train-station he tranquilized my partner and pulled the E-break. He inflated a soccer ball like a balloon and it kept me trapped till I passed out from lack of oxygen…I remember that boy running off…"
"A balloon?" Takagi asks mentally picturing Conan huffing and puffing on a soccer ball themed balloon that grew to be larger than the car.
"Yeah, some fancy belt or something…I don't know. Is that all?"
"A-ah, yes, for now. We'll probably transfer you to Gunma prefecture within the next few days."
"Robbery's only a few years, right?"
"Uh, yeah." Takagi says collecting his things. His mind's spinning a mile a minute and as soon as the door closes behind him he freezes, brain locked on the problem at hand.
No one else would have asked for so many details…no one else would have the pieces necessary…I'll tell you…in the afterlife…Agasa-san called him Shinichi…like Kudo-san, who's been out of contact for a long time…Conan-kun solved the case, caught the robbers and yet wasn't at the scene…he's a witness and yet he didn't stick around to give his statement…Agasa-san…Agasa-san…he looks around, Agasa's sitting at a desk a cold mug of coffee in his hands. He's staring at something on the desk…one of the detective boy's badges! Like he's waiting for something…. They're transmitters right? He'd seem them in action just last week with the Touto tower bombing…he's waiting for someone to contact him. He's nervous, sweat is beading down his face…he's worried! Something snaps within him and he feels lightheaded with the connection's he's making.
Suddenly, Takagi finds himself standing in front of the man. He's not even the slightest bit apprehensive with his next course of action.
"Ne, Agasa-san." The man looks up startled. "Where's Conan-kun?" His eyes go wide-panic-he's going to lie.
"C-C-Conan-kun?" He states. "He, uh, went home."
"Alone?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Without giving a statement?" He asks playing surprised. "That's not like him at all…"
"H-he, uh…had something important…to give to Ran-kun."
"Something that couldn't wait till after a few questions?"
"I guess? Ahahhaha, you know how those kids are." He laughs nervously.
"And Shinichi-san?" Agasa freezes.
"What about Shinichi-kun?"
"The lady-thief heard you say his name a few times. She thought you were talking to Conan-kun." He pauses a moment to watch the panic race across Agasa's face. "I corrected her."
"Aa, Conan-kun…was on the phone with him. I made a special cell phone that looks like an earring…Conan-kun was getting help from Shinichi-kun." Lies! Lies! Lies! His eyes are darting all over the place, his fingers are tapping on his mug, and every few seconds his gaze drifts back to the communicator.
"Is that so?" He asks calmly, sure in his deduction, eyes never wavering from the old man's face.
"Yes..." Agasa locks eyes with him after a moment.
"Ne, Takagi-kun!" Sato chimes, "You're interrogating Agasa-san more than you did that lady."
"A-ah, am I?" He laughs, nervous at being caught. Something is seriously wrong here, and he's not ready to share his theories.
"Yeah, I could see you giving him the third degree from across the room! What gives?"
"N-Nothing, Sato-san." There's something he needs to check on. "I-I'm going out for a walk."
"A walk?" She asks skeptically.
"Yeah, to clear my head."
"Alright, Takagi-kun."
The train station is right across the street from HQ, the ride to the station closest to the one that's closed for renovations only takes about eight minutes. That station just so happens to be the one closest to where Agasa-san and Conan-kun stopped the robbers. It's a quick run to the station that's being renovated.
A flashed badge gets him easy access and makes the workers comply with any questions he asks.
"A boy with glasses? Yeah, a little blonde girl found him curled up in a coin locker."
"Really?" Surprise and worry color his tone.
"Yeah, they just left, uh, maybe ten minutes ago. Seems that he fell asleep in the locker, he was surprised it was morning, took off like a bullet when that Ojou-chan told him."
"Did you get their names?"
"Uh? No…wait, the girl called him 'Kudo-kun', maybe, so I guess that was his name…I wonder if he's related to that mystery writer…"
"Could you please show me where she found him?"
"Yeah, it was the last row of lockers…bottom one…219, I think it was…"
"Thank you for your help. I'll be able to find my way back out."
"Yes sir. If there's anything else…?"
"Actually, if you could keep this to yourself, that'd be appreciated."
"Of course, sir."
"Thank you."
Takagi squats down to look at the coin locker. It's small, but Conan-kun is a small child, he could easily fit in here. He puts on his gloves as he begins his inspection. The air inside…is still warm! It's thick with condensation, there seems to be sweat droplets along the back wall, the slightly salty scent confirms it.
What could have happened? Something…something scared Conan-kun (of all people!) into this locker, and he stayed scared enough to remain in the locker overnight…but no, he was surprised it was morning. So he fell asleep, nearly impossible if he was scared enough to hide…or more likely he passed out from lack of oxygen, hyperventilation from fear would hasten the short amount of time he could have stayed conscious…but what was Conan-kun doing here in the first place?
Did he see something? A murder? But no, Conan-kun's not one to scare easily, for others, like Ran-chan or the other kids, yes. But on his own? For his own sake? He faced down that bomb without a flinch! If something scared him into the locker it's a lot worse than a simple murderer…night time…something that would scare him…maybe a murderer was here…looking for something…or someone…and Conan-kun was scared…that he'd be found…they were searching for someone, not a child, but an adult.
On his knees Takagi peers around the nearest corner, a few lockers are in his immediate line of sight. Taking note of the numbers he begins his search. The first few are a bust, but one has smeared ashes in front of it, tobacco ashes. Inside there's gum-tape residue…four straight lines making a square…big enough to be a compact disk case…or something of equal size, maybe a floppy case? Floppy? That's right…
Conan-kun really wanted his hands on that man's diary…I wonder why? Why was Conan-kun here? What scared him so bad he let himself pass out in a locker? Takagi ruffles his hair in frustration. There are no answers for him here. He closes the lockers before pulling off his gloves. Something about this just doesn't settle right with him. He muses it over as he makes his way back to the station. Agasa-san's on his way out, he looks relieved, much less nervous than before.
"Ne, Agasa-san…"
"H-hai, Takagi-keiji?" Aaaand he's back to nervous, because of him.
"Remind Conan-kun to come and give his statement."
"Is that really necessary?" He asks, playing the caring grandfather. Usually, no, but when has Conan-kun ever had a problem cooperating with the police?
"Yeah. I'd like to talk with him."
"If you insist, Keiji."
"Thanks."
"Aa…" As he watches Agasa-san make his way across the street he lifts something to his mouth…the detective badge! That's it! He's getting to the bottom of this, one way or another. But he knows exactly what to do in the meantime.
"Huh?" Megure asks, blinking up at him in surprise.
"That floppy disc…the one with the diary entries, I want to be sure I have the wording right in my report."
"Well, if you need it, Takagi-kun. All the evidence is here." He says gesturing to a random evidence box that's piled up on a small table to his left.
"Thanks." Takagi mutters as he shifts through it. The disc is easy enough to find, at the bottom of the box in a clear evidence bag. "Ara?" He asks thinking back to the case. "That time…"
"What is it?"
"We made a copy of this disc, didn't we? Where is it?"
"The Copy?"
"Remember? Kogoro-san had you Boot up the computer…and copy this disc onto another…did forensics grab it?"
"Hmm…I don't know, Takagi-kun. But it's not that important, right? We have the original, right?"
"Ah, yeah…I guess so…" Did forensics miss it? Did it matter? Or was it not there for them to grab? Did Conan-kun get his hands on it?
"Well, get to your report. It's due tonight."
"Right, Megure-keibu!" Takagi snaps to attention before evacuating the room. He plops down heavily at his desk looking at the disc with a long sigh. Something about this disc…He pushes it into the A: drive and opens the document. It was one huge file that went back five years. He scrolls to the bottom, finding the most recent entry from a few days ago. As he's scrolling he notices that for someone so neat and organized the spacing between entries seems almost haphazard.
"Yo, Takagi-kun, I thought you finished that report already." Shiratori-san comments peering over his shoulder at the diary.
"A-ahh…I thought of something I wanted to add and wanted to be sure I worded it properly."
"You know paraphrasing would have been fine…"
"I'd rather get it word for word…"
"Alright, Takagi-kun." Shiratori says moving over to his own desk.
Just copy it, he thinks to himself. He clicks at the end of the document and holds the shift key down while clicking the arrow key up and-he should have figured as much! Hidden words! Quickly he clicks off the highlight and closes the document. The file stares at him from the open folder hovering over his desktop as his heart pounds. He scans the room from the corner of his eyes.
Right-click…Copy…he exits the folder…right-click on the desktop…paste…rename: Traffic Reports…he removes the floppy quickly and puts it in the plastic bag like it'll burn him. An empty disc takes its place and the file is copied over once more. He quickly deletes the file from his desktop and clears it from the recycle bin. He'll have to do a more thorough deleting another time, but for now he has to take the disc back to the inspector.
"Done already?" Megure-keibu asks hardly looking up from his work.
"Ahaha…" Takagi laughs nervously. "It wasn't quite as much as I thought it was…I must have mixed Kogoro-san's deductions in with it…"
"Ah, well, it's a good thing you checked after all."
"Yes sir." He murmurs setting the bag back in the box, thinking quickly he shuffles around the contents so it's back at the bottom. There's no need to draw suspicion to it…if someone else were to see this…he doesn't even know what it is! But it gives him a bad feeling.
Back at his desk his hand hovers over the floppy drive while he's lost in thought…Conan-kun…Conan-kun is a very strange child. And a very smart child…somehow he knew, before even looking that there was something of importance on this disc. And-and Kogoro-san helped him get a copy of it! He drops into his chair…Kogoro-san…is a bit of an idiot…but he wouldn't go against the law, or help Conan-kun do so. So it was a coincidence…that Conan-kun took advantage of! He nods decisively to himself, finally puling the disc from the drive and slipping it in with his detective notebook.
"Taking work home with you tonight?" Shiratori asks making Takagi jump a mile high.
"A-a-ahh…" He nods hand settling over his heart, trying to calm its frantic beating.
"Well, Conan-kun is here," he says nodding to the boy who's making his way to Takagi's desk.
"Ah, thanks for the head's up, Shiratori-san."
"Anytime, Takagi-kun."
"A-ah! Conan-kun!" Takagi greets cheerfully. "There you are! We saw in the Gunma officers' report that you were in the car with Agasa-san but you weren't there when we came to collect the thieves. We were worried about you!"
"Ah, gomen, ne, Takagi-keiji! I had to give Ran-neechan the flowers I got her in Gunma! It had been such a long drive already, I was worried they'd wilt!"
"You're usually really good about following police procedure, Conan-kun." He says, watching Conan for any strange movements.
There are none.
He's the epitome of truthful child. That irks him more than anything; he knows Agasa had been lying. He knows Conan had spent the night in that locker—which means Conan has to be lying! And if he's lying now, when Takagi knows he is, and he's not showing any signs of it—when else has he been lying?
"I'm sorry keiji!" He chimes, eyes glinting with sincerity. "It's just, I'm in here alllllll the time! I guessssss I just thought you'd see me soon enough." He's sitting on the chair Takagi had offered him when he first showed up, kicking his legs back and forth like any child his age would…but maybe that's it. Agasa had called him Shinichi…the girl called him Kudo. Conan doesn't usually act like a child…certainly not in the elevator…and maybe that's it…an act…
"Ne, ne, ne, ne, ne, ne! Takagi-keigi! Your eyes are reaaaaaaaalllyyyyy wide!" Conan says staring straight at him. He's got to hide his reactions better than that! He swallows.
"Ne, Ku-Conan-kun. Let's get some lunch." He can feel the eyes on him as Conan cheers.
"Takagi-keiji's buying me lunch! Waaaaiiii!"
"Going on your lunch break already, Takagi-kun?" Sato asks glancing at the clock. It's hardly noon.
"Yeah, Conan-kun said he was hungry and I still have a few questions to ask him." Conan's eyes narrow sharply at him and if he hadn't been watching for it—for something—anything!—he would have missed it for sure.
"Well, no interrogations like poor Agasa-san. Conan-kun's just a kid after all."
"Uh, right." Takagi agrees outwardly, inwardly not so sure about that statement anymore. He fishes his wallet out from inside his desk drawer. Conan's bouncing around, tugging on his hand as he leads the way out of the office.
"Ne, Takagi-keiji…" Conan asks slowing down to a normal pace once they're away from the police station.
"Yes, Conan-kun?"
"Why'd you lie to Sato-keiji?" He looks up at Takagi with big eyes.
"What do you mean, Conan-kun?"
"You told her I said I was hungry…but I didn't say that, Takagi-keiji…"
"Weeell…" Takagi stalls, feet moving on autopilot. "Where did you want to eat, Conan-kun?"
"I'm not hungry."
"Well then I guess…" He leads them into a coffee shop.
"Takagi-kun!" The lady behind the counter calls, "Back for another already?"
"No, no" he says waving his hands gently. "Can I get the booth?" He asks pointing to one in the back corner. The floor length window shows a brick wall that's been painted to look like a park. The bathrooms are on the other side of the center bar, the kitchen entrance is behind the bar and there are no barstools within easy hearing distance of the table. The police come here occasionally to talk to victims who are nervous about going to the station.
"Sure thing, Takagi-kun. I'll bring some chips and drinks over in a minute."
"Thanks." Takagi slides into the seat facing the wall, subconsciously giving Conan the security of not having anything at his back. Conan just stares at the table for a moment before almost reluctantly climbing up. He moves to fold his arms on the table but seems to think better of the action; instead he climbs over to the window to press his face against the glass.
"It's so pretty!" He says, marveling at the poor almost-abstract splotches of different shades of green that are supposed to be trees and bushes and grass that paint the brick wall of the next building over. The waitress brings over a cup of coffee and a cup of orange juice before setting a basket of chips in between the two detectives.
"If you need anything else, just holler." She says cheerfully, winking at Conan-kun.
"Thanks, Nee-chan!" Conan chirps as Takagi smiles and nods at her. He mixes some cream and sugar into his coffee before taking a sip and sighing in bliss.
"Ahh…so good…"
Conan takes a loud slurp of his orange juice before grabbing a handful of chips and stuffing them into his mouth.
"I thought you weren't hungry…" Takagi muses with a chuckle.
"Mm not." Conan replies cheekily around the mouthful. Once he swallows and takes a few more sips of juice, all while Takagi's watching him, he says, "Ne, Keiji, what can I help you with?"
"Conan-kun, I'm sorry, but I noticed some inconsistencies in the reports for the last case. The lady-thief is certain you were the one to catch them and that Agasa-san called you by another name…"
"Maybe her memory is just bad, people forget things all the time."
"But the whole case, Conan-kun?"
"Well, maybe I did figure it out before Agasa-hakase…but that's just 'cause I'm always hanging around Kogoro-ojiichan. He's a great role model!"
"I'm sure he is…" Takagi mutters more to himself than the child in front of him. "But when I asked Agasa-san where you went he said you went to give Ran-san something important. He was staring at the detective badge like it was his lifeline, he seemed extremely worried and I'm positive based on his body language that he was lying."
"He was super worried, I forgot to let him know I made it home safe."
"The lady-thief said you wanted to be dropped off at the train station that's under construction. The place we caught the robbers wasn't too far from there…"
"A-ano, that's because we didn't want them to know where we lived, but still wanted them in Tokyo."
"Is that so? I spoke with some of the construction workers this morning, and they said a little girl came by looking for her friend; he was hiding in the coin lockers and must have fallen asleep because he was surprised it was morning…a young boy with brown hair and glasses. When I showed the man your picture, he was certain it was you." Please don't know I'm lying, please don't know I'm lying!
"A-ano…" Conan-kun looks down; the glare from the sun is reflecting off his glasses and hiding his eyes.
"The locker was still warm when I got there…Conan-kun, why were you hiding in that locker? Why did Agasa-san lie about it? Why did you? What happened last night in that train station?" Are you Kudo Shinichi? What's on this disc? What's going on?
"I was—I was on my way home…" He begins slowly, "I thought this man was following me, he was really creepy, dressed in all black…so I ran into the station, but he followed me! He thought—he thought someone was following him! He-it looked like he pulled out a gun and I—I was so scared! The lights weren't on, and it was so dark, but he had a flashlight, he started doing sweeps of the rows of lockers after he found…something in one. He thought he was being spied on so he started searching the lockers! It was like he could hear my breathing!" His pupils are dilated in remembered fear, his breathings fast and shallow, this at least, is part of the truth.
"Do you remember what he looked like?"
"N-no…" His eyes sweep up making contact. Too quick, it's a lie. "It was too dark to see…" Possible, but he noticed the man following him when he was out on the street, saw him well enough to know he was wearing all black, and not navy or dark brown or gray…Conan-kun's got an amazing eye for detail, if he could tell that he was in black, he could have seen his face, or hair color, or height or build, and not have given him a blanket 'no'.
"Conan-kun…I want you to trust me…"
"I do trust you, Takagi-keiji. You're my favorite detective in Division 1."
"Then can you tell me…why you've been referred to as Kudo Shinichi by two separate people in the last twelve hours? By people, who theoretically should know you better than I do?"
"K-keiji-san…"
"Both Agasa-san, and I'm guessing Haibara-san, called you 'Shinichi' and 'Kudo-kun' respectively…when we were in the elevator last week you told me you'd tell me who you really were, once we were dead!" He stands abruptly slamming his hands on the table as he continues, "That's not something a normal kid says! Either I'm absolutely insane and I need to quit being a detective, or I'm on to something!"
"K-keiji-san…people are staring…" Takagi looks back at the restaurant and even though most seats are far away, every head is tilted in their direction.
"A-ah…Gomen nasai…" He says raising a sheepish hand to the back of his head, bowing quickly at the room before sitting back down. He looks back at Conan, whose face is frozen solid. His eyes are narrowed, lips pursed in annoyance, not a muscle moves as he eyes Takagi warily.
"Let's just say…" Conan mutters, voice low, making Takagi strain to hear it. "Let's pretend you're right, Keiji-san." And it is here that Takagi notices the formality of the address. "What makes you think Shinichi-niichan just woke up one day and said to himself 'I really want to be seven again! Relearning addition and subtraction will be a blast! I can get Ran to baby-sit me and no adults will listen to a word I have to say! It'll be soooo much fun!'" He deadpans no trace of childish amusement in his voice. Takagi gulps.
"W-well, when you put it like that…"
"And how would it happen anyway? Agasa-hakase poisons him accidentally? One day his cells just start regressing? Some witch curses him? It's just not plausible, Keiji-san."
"I-I guess you're right, Conan-kun. Maybe I watch too much anime…" But those sad, old eyes tell him he really is onto something…those are not the eyes of a child…there must be some way, something he just doesn't know about…not plausible…but not impossible. He isn't denying it, just pointing out that it's not likely. If it weren't true, he'd just say so…but he isn't. So it must be, but Conan-kun's right, how? Why? Not by choice obviously, but by force…and Conan-kun…it's almost like he's in that Witness Protection Program…if they had the ability to de-age witnesses! So he's in trouble. Takagi is sure his eyes reflect the solemnity of the situation and the understanding of the trust he's earned.
"Alright, Conan-kun. I think I understand." Conan's eyes lose the icy edge and his face softens in gratefulness. "If you or your Shinichi-niichan need any help. Conan-kun, know I am on your side."
"Thanks, Takagi-keiji." Conan chirps as he hops up from the table.
"No problem, Conan-kun."
"Well, bye!"
"Stay safe!" He replies, waving the boy out the door. He glances back at the table. Somehow the chip basket is empty and Conan's orange juice is gone too…how on earth did he…? Oh well. The waitress brings his check and he gets another coffee—to go, before heading back to the station. He has some reports to finish writing before he gets off at five.
When I get home I've got some more work to do… He thinks patting the pocket with the floppy in it.
AN:/ It really, really, REALLY bothers me how oblivious Takagi is. He has so many pieces of the puzzle, especially in this arc, and it drives me up a wall that he can't (or maybe won't) piece them together! R&R to let me know what you think of this!