Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho. I own nothing but this fanfic and my OCs. I don't intend to make money from this fic. I purely write this fic to improve my English skill and to entertain myself and readers.

Chapter 2

Investigation

Saguru and Baaya walked toward the interrogation room as soon as they had arrived at TMPD office. Saguru entered first. There were two officers waiting for him inside the room. One of them was Inspector Megure, the other was Detective Chiba. After introducing themselves, they began asking a few questions to the teen.

"So, Hakuba-kun, I believe you already know why you're here tonight?" Inspector Megure asked.

"Yes," the blond answered. "Inspector Megure, you told me that a murder had happened. The victim is a police officer and he died after eating a chocolate given by me."

"That's true. Do you know who's the victim?"

"No, but I have two officers in mind," Saguru replied. "I gave chocolates to Officer Ogawa and Officer Mikami, so the victim should be one of them."

"The victim is Officer Ogawa. Officer Mikami told us that you gave him that chocolate," Megure told him. "Hakuba-kun, why did you give your chocolates to them? And why does Officer Ogawa's chocolate contain poison?"

"I gave them those chocolates because I have plenty of it. My birthday was just a few days ago and my friends in school gave me many presents today. Some of them are foods: chocolates, candies, cookies... I do not think I would have all of the presents for myself; it was simply too many for me, so when I met Officer Ogawa and Officer Mikami this afternoon, I decided to share my presents with them. They only wanted the consumable ones, that's why I gave them those chocolates," the blond explained. "They picked the chocolates by themselves. I didn't even know it was a chocolate. All the presents were still wrapped in papers. They unwrapped it by themselves and when they found the chocolates, they took it. If you ask me why it was poisoned, of course I do not know the answer," he paused before continuing, "ah, actually they also unwrapped many gifts besides those chocolates, but since they didn't like it, they didn't take it with them."

"Do you remember the sender of those chocolates?" Megure asked again.

"Rather than remember, it's more accurate if I say I did not see the sender," Saguru said.

"You didn't see the sender?"

"Yes. I have eidetic memory, so my ability to remember events is better than average people. I still remember the wrapping papers of those chocolates. Officer Ogawa's chocolate was wrapped in blue papers and Officer Mikami's was wrapped in green papers. I remember I found Officer Ogawa's chocolate on my desk at school. That's why I said I didn't see the sender."

"Hmm... I see..." Megure looked like he was thinking for a brief moment. After that, he returned his eyes at the teen. "When and where exactly did you meet Officer Ogawa? What were you doing that time?"

"I met Officer Ogawa this afternoon, around 4 o'clock. I was on the way to my home with Baaya. We went by a car and we met Officer Ogawa and Officer Mikami along the way, not far from my school, Ekoda High. They were walking on the sidewalk that time."

"Hakuba-kun, you said you found the chocolate on your desk at school."

"Yes."

"Does your school have surveillance camera around that area? In your class too, maybe?"

Saguru shook his head. "There are several surveillance cameras in my school, but not in classes."

"Hmm..." the inspector rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hakuba-kun, you also said that Officer Ogawa unwrapped the gift by himself."

"Yes."

"Does that mean you didn't touch the package?"

Saguru nodded. "I only touched the wrapping paper."

"Do you know where is that paper now?"

"I've disposed it into a trash bin near my house when I got home. Maybe it's still there."

"Okay," Megure said. "One more question, Hakuba-kun. What do you think of this case?"

Saguru blinked. "What do I think?"

"Yes."

"I... I think someone wants to kill me," the blond replied. "That chocolate was a present for me. It was supposed to be eaten by me. If I really ate it, then I'm sure the victim of this case would be me."

Neither Megure nor Chiba responded to the blond detective. The room was filled with silence for a moment until the inspector finally stood up.

"Alright. That's all for tonight," Megure concluded the interview. He offered a handshake to the teen. "Thank you for your cooperation, Hakuba-kun. After this we should interview your housekeeper. Please wait until we have finished."

"Yes, you're welcome," Saguru accepted the handshake. "Ah, Inspector, may I ask you something?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"Please tell me what poison the culprit used."

"Oh, it was cyanide. It was found on the surface of the chocolate in lethal dosage."

"I-I see," Saguru took a deep breath, the he bowed. "Thank you very much, Inspector."

"No problem."

Baaya entered the interrogation room after Saguru's interview had finished. The blond sat on a bench at the corridor while waiting for his housekeeper. His mind was thinking deeply.

'Cyanide... lethal dosage...'

That chocolate was really intended to kill a person. Someone truly wanted Saguru dead. The blond closed his eyes, trying to calm himself when he realized that he was so nervous. So this was how it felt when his life was in danger. So this was how it felt when somebody wanted to kill him. This was the first time Saguru's life had been targeted by a murderer. The blond had no idea why the culprit wanted to kill him. When he thought about it again, the only thing that could make a person had a grudge against him was his achievements as a detective. He had helped the authorities in capturing many criminals, so maybe the criminals' acquaintances did not like it and then they decided to kill him?

Saguru kept pondering until his father came to his mind.

Could it be that someone wanted to kill him because of his father's job? His father was a superintendent general. He had many achievements as a police officer. Perhaps some of the criminals had a grudge against him and if that was the case, it was possible the culprit wanted to kill Saguru only to take revenge on his father.

If it was not because of his job, then it was because of his father's job. That was the culprit's motive. At least, for now that was all Saguru could think.

Saguru snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a sound of door being opened. Detective Chiba looked out the door of interrogation room and when he spotted Saguru, he called the teen to enter the room once again. Saguru stood up and walked toward him, entering the room. When he had arrived inside the room, the blond saw Baaya still sitting there with Inspector Megure.

"Ah, Hakuba-kun," the inspector smiled. "We just finished our interview with your housekeeper. There are some things we need to tell you both. Please have a seat."

Saguru sat beside Baaya. When he was sure the teen had sat down, Megure cleared his throat before he began to speak again.

"Hakuba-kun, we will have to confiscate your presents to investigate this case further. We will send a team to your house as soon as possible."

Saguru nodded. "Alright. I understand."

"Have you given the presents to anyone else other than Officer Ogawa and Officer Mikami?" the inspector asked. "Or maybe you have used some of them?"

"No, I haven't given it to anyone else. I haven't eaten it, but I have used some of it that are clothes. I needed to check the size."

"That's good then," Megure nodded. "We will continue our investigation tomorrow at your school, Hakuba-kun, so we will also need your cooperation tomorrow."

"Yes, Inspector."

"And we advise you to pay attention to your food. Please do not eat outside as much as possible. Bring your own bento to school." Megure turned to Baaya. "Madam, please take care of him. We don't want anymore victim in this case."

"Understood, Inspector," Baaya replied determinedly.

That night, the police confiscated Saguru's birthday gifts. Saguru felt a bit guilty toward his fans. They all remembered his birthday and even kindly gave him presents, but he probably would never be able to enjoy it.

The atmosphere in Hakuba residence became tense. The servants were nervous knowing that someone wanted to kill their young master. Both Saguru and his father had tried to ease their mind, but their efforts was not really effective. Saguru could not blame them. If he was in their position, he too would be restless. Now that the master could not eat outside, the servants were the only ones responsible for their master's food. If something happened to the master, of course they would become the primary suspects. How could they feel calm when they were in such a situation? Calming his servants would not be easy, that was why Saguru accepted the tense atmosphere in his home without complaining.

On the next day, TMPD's detectives came to Ekoda High to investigate Saguru's case. They investigated the camera footage, they interviewed Saguru's teachers and classmates. His friends were shocked when they knew that someone wanted to kill him through a birthday gift. The news about that case spread out quickly throughout the school. People talked about him all day, but Saguru did not mind. It was only natural that people talked about him when he was involved in a murder case. The blond did not really pay attention to them since he himself was quite busy with the case. He had to cooperate with the police and assist them as a detective. There was no way he would just leave the case to the authorities when he had the capability to help. He wanted to be free from the murder threat as soon as possible and for that reason he was very determined to capture the culprit.

Saguru did his best. Day and night he investigated the case. His mind was too occupied with it that he began distancing himself from his friends. He rarely had his lunch with them, always went to library every free period. Kaito and Aoko's mop fight could not distract him. Kaito's pranks were distracting—very distracting and very annoying—but instead of being pissed off as he usually was, the blond only ignored it as if it was nothing to him, as if it never happened. Saguru really did his best, but after two weeks without much progress, he started to fear his opponent.

Who was the culprit? Who? Saguru was a very capable detective. He had solved many cases. Thefts, murders, kidnappings, robberies, frauds, he had solved them all with the help of the authorities. Usually it would not take long. Usually he was able to solve cases in a matter of days, but this time it was two weeks! Two weeks and he still did not have any idea about the culprit! Whether he liked it or not, the blond had to admit that the culprit was very clever.

Saguru did not fear clever criminals, no. On the contrary, he was quite interested in them. His mind needed challenge and intelligent opponent surely would be able to provide a challenge for him. What made him fear them right now was another thing. This clever criminal wanted to kill him. Why? Saguru did not know the motive yet and it made him uneasy. He still did not know the culprit's purpose for wanting to kill him. Saguru still could not read the culprit's mind. In addition, his death would not be a simple matter. Hakuba family was a prestigious family. His death in the hands of murderer surely would affect Japan and England. He was a famous teenage detective in both countries. His father was a superintendent general. His grandfather had a very successful research laboratory business in Japan. Saguru's death could cause an uproar. The blond was afraid the culprit would make use of that uproar for another bigger crimes, another bigger crimes that he had not been able to foresee.

Saguru realized he was dealing with a difficult case. His opponent was strong, maybe as strong as Kaitou KID, or perhaps even stronger than the thief. The problem was this time his opponent was not a gentleman thief. He was not playing with Lupin. He was playing with someone else, a person more threatening and more sinister than Lupin.

His opponent was Moriarty. Saguru was playing a dangerous game.

TBC


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