Chapter 3: The Tin Man and the Suspect
Sato-keiji and Takagi-keiji watched as I made my way to school. Sato-keiji followed me in the car while Takagi stayed to guard uncle.
They had been with us for five days now and nothing happened. I started back to school the day after I got back when my fever had gone down.
Haibara, the Professor, and I had discussed what had happened. Neither of them had any thoughts as to who the murderer might be but both were keeping watch around the neighborhood.
Haibara met me in front of the Professor's house and we walked towards the school as we did every day.
"So, did you guys spot anything suspicious?"
She looked at me with bored eyes "Of course we didn't. If this killer's as good as you say they are, there's little chance we're going to find anything obvious."
I sighed and looked around. It never hurt to keep your eyes open.
We were about a block away from the school when I felt the bullet brush past me. I spun to my left, from the direction that it come from but didn't so much as see a shadow disappearing. It was obvious now they were using a silencer and far enough away to remain out of sight while aiming.
For being such a great shot at the hospital, I was a bit surprised that they actually missed me. Had Haibara not suddenly clung to me, I would have ran off in the direction of the assailant instead of being spasmodically pulled back when I tried.
"Damn it!" Sato-keiji had jumped out of the car and headed in the direction the bullet had come from and I wanted desperately to follow her. I was going to push Haibara off when I noticed the look in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
The bullet had missed both of us by inches and had hit a plastic garbage container with a thud. Haibara pointed to it.
I brushed around her to see what had gotten her attention. I felt my heart sink again. What the hell was going on?
I took a cloth and grabbed this new picture and shoved it in my pocket. I then grabbed Haibara and made my way over to Sato-keiji's car.
I didn't dare risk going inside because that would make an easy target. I was sure that the shooter had escaped already but I wasn't going to take the chance.
I sat down with Haibara protectively in my arms on the side of the car opposite the direction of the bullet. She looked around shiftily but didn't seem scared.
Sato-keiji came back about ten minutes later, gasping for breath.
"Man… Who ever it is… I didn't even… get a good look…. they were so…fast." She huffed.
She noticed Haibara in my arms and realized something was wrong.
"What happened?"
I took the picture out of my pocket with the handkerchief and handed it over to her without a word, still looking around. It was one thing to play bait, this was another.
She looked at it. I could practically see the profanity trying to make it's way out of her mouth. Her hands were shaking she was so angry.
"Why the heck is the killer suddenly targeting children?" She almost crumpled up the picture of the Tin Man in her hands before relaxing her grip. My brain was working frantically.
What was going on? These weren't the killer's normal habits. They had murdered people around Japan quickly and without notice. Now all of a sudden, people in the area, people around me, were being targeted.
Sato-keiji looked over at Haibara, puzzled. "And why target you? Seems like a long shot to me. You're more distant than most kids I've met but I wouldn't say you're heartless."
Both of us shrugged. It really was a long shot. Haibara wasn't sunshine and daisies but she cared about others. She'd proven that to me quite a bit already. What was the killer up to?
Sato-keiji called it in. Unlike me there was no reason to keep Haibara in harms way and there was no chance I was going to let her get in any more danger.
"Sato-keiji, can you take Haibara back to Hakase's house?" Haibara practically stared daggers at me and pushed her body away but I was pretty set on that.
"Why should I be the one who goes back home? You're in just as much danger as I am and if you're going to school than so am I."
My shoulders fell. "There's a killer still somewhere nearby, you have no problem walking into school where you'll be a sitting target?"
"You don't seem to have a problem with it. I'm not as weak as you like to think I am."
I didn't have anything to say to that. I couldn't ask Haibara to do something I wouldn't do but this was different. I was trying to catch a criminal. All she would accomplish would be getting herself killed.
"Just go back. I'd feel a lot better if you were with Hakase's. What would happen if both of us were killed? It wouldn't get anyone closer to solving this crime so just go back. I don't think anything's going to happened again."
She didn't let up. In the end we both wound up at school, constantly looking out the window for a shadow or movement of any kind. That was of course, half way through the day after the police had interrogated us and uncle had been called, along with the professor.
We saw nothing.
The trip back home was much the same except for the heavy atmosphere around us. All of our eyes were searching but we didn't see anything more that day.
…
Sato-keiji and Takagi were at the agency. They had checked the whereabouts of the Oshiro family at the time of the shooting yesterday, mostly at my request- Or Mouri's, really. As far as they were concerned, the family members were a long shot. I thought so too but no one else had been close to me since this started.
"Ms. Oshiro was with family out of the area for three days and they can account for her the whole time." Takagi-keiji started.
"Oshiro Tadashi-san was in his office at the time, since the building opens at seven. There's security footage of him there during the shooting." He flipped to the next page. "Oshiro Kazu-san was on a delivery in the area and would have a perfect opportunity. We brought him in for questioning." He looked at Sato to confirm this. "Nakamura Hitomi-san was on a plane at the time for three hours and there's no possible way that she could have had time to do anything." He closed the packet and laid it on the table.
"So all we know is that it might be Oshiro Kazu," I mumbled to myself. Uncle must have heard me because he clonked me on the head.
Of course Mouri-ojisan and the others still had no idea that the killer was targeting me too. Ran hadn't brought anything up and since her dad had made it obvious that he was in danger, she was more openly worried about him.
So was Kazu our killer? I had talked to Tadashi-san the other day and he said that Kazu was supposed to meet him and Hitomi-san at the park hours earlier but never showed up. Tadashi-san never asked him why he was late. They didn't suspect that one of their family members were suspected of killing Oshiro-ojisan and the others.
Kazu was missing when his father and the others were killed, he was in the area when Haibara was shot at, and he had opportunity to kill the others around Japan.
But something still wasn't right. What am I missing?
"Can we go see Oshiro Kazu-ojisan?" I asked them. Both looked a little stunned.
"Why would we let you go see a guy who might be a mass murderer?" Takagi rebutted.
"Maybe he'll react to seeing me," I leaned over and whispered near Sato-keiji.
She gave me a grim looked and deliberated silently in her head for a second before sighing.
"Fine. I guess I have no choice in the matter." She grabbed the keys to the car as I followed her out the door.
"Hey, where are you going?" Mouri asked. Takagi-keiji stood up to follow us.
"Ah… Sato-san…"
"No, you stay here." Sato pushed him back in his seat, Takagi blushed slightly at the contact. "You've got to protect Mouri-san. I don't want to come back to a corpse."
There wasn't much Takagi-keiji could say to that since we'd both more or less be protected then so, obligated to his duty, he left out a heavy sighed and fixed himself better on the seat as the both of us walked out.
The trip to the police station was short. Kazu-san was being held in a cell in the back of the station. There were no charges against him that would hold any water and the police couldn't keep him much longer.
Sato-keiji escorted me into the room after she had her own interrogation time. She didn't want to let me in with someone who might be dangerous. Considerate, but I was getting a little annoyed with the degrading perception everyone got around me.
Due to this spare time I had, I was able to watch Kazu-san answer Sato-keiji's questions without integrating myself into their conversation.
"So, where were you on the 4th, three days ago, at around five in the afternoon?"
Kazu-san's appearance took me back. He looked almost nothing like his brother. Where Tadashi-san was angular and of medium build, this man was muscular and thin, with his height around six-and-a-half feet. He had obviously not been thin for long since his clothes were too large for him and well worn. He had a short beard and his dark chestnut-colored hair was in need of a trim.
If you put them up next to each other, Tadashi-san looked like an angel where Kazu-san had more of brutish look of a Viking; a yin to the others yang.
"I've told the cops this several times now. I was at the park reading my book from when Tadashi left to around six in the evening when it started to get dark. I've got the markings on the book, Hell, I'll even tell you what parts I read.?"
The man scratched his face and looked bored. His expression gave nothing away, guilt or innocence.
Sato-keiji spoke up as I watched from behind the glass as their conversation when on. "And what did you do after that? No one can account for your actions until you returned home and you found your mother with the police."
I hadn't known that. Why hadn't I bothered to find out who found the body? Ms. Oshiro had a solid alibi for the shooting at Haibara and I couldn't find a way around that. It was a pretty solid alibi unless the family was all lying for her.
"I didn't want to go and meet up with Tadashi's new fiancée." He practically spat the word out. "He's been trying to get us on better terms but that woman just rubs me the wrong way. Can't control who I don't like now, can I?"
"So what did you do?"
"I left the park at six and went out to get some dinner. I didn't finish until seven and it took me a while to get home. I don't get a day off very often and I was going to spend it my way. If I knew dad was going to get himself killed… I don't know. Can't say I liked the man very much but I wouldn't kill him."
He was being very open. That was either a good or bad thing. It either meant that he was a very honest individual or he had confidence that nothing could be held against him even without an alibi.
"So where were you at around three-in-the-morning that night?"
This question took him aback and he looked at Sato-keiji questioningly.
"Well, hell. I must have been sleeping by then. Who in their right mind does anything else at three?" He looked honestly confused but it's not that hard; I've done it myself often enough
Since Sato was the only one who knew about my involvement, it was obvious that he hadn't been asked this question yet. It would help if we knew if the others were sleeping; it's not like we could prove that they weren't.
Sato sat and thought for a while. There wasn't any reason for me to go in now. If Kazu-san saw me he'd, of course, mention it to his family when he was released. That would only make it harder to find the criminal.
Sato-keiji left the room and looked over at me. I was watching Kazu-san for any signs of nervousness but didn't find any. I shook my head and got up.
I still couldn't tell if Kazu-san was innocent or if he was one of the best actors I had ever seen.
When I got back home, Mouri was still alive. Good sign.
I didn't think the killer would strike while Kazu was locked up. If the police already had a suspect and it was one of the other family members, that would just make it easier to put the blame on him.
There was something I just couldn't put my finger on; something so obvious that I was overlooking.
"Well, Sato-san, we're gathering the family members tomorrow to see if they know anything, but I don't think it's going to help. Even if one of them is this murderer we've been looking for, keeping them together will only make it harder to find out which one." Takagi-keiji announced.
"Well, I guess I'll go with," Mouri spoke up. He hadn't really been trying this time because he was so sure the murderer wasn't here. "Though I'd sooner tell you that you're wasting your time."
"I can come with, right?" I asked in exuberant way.
"No way Conan-kun! You are not getting involved in this anymore!" Ran yelled at me.
My immediate reaction as Conan at this point was to cover my face and plead with her but she wasn't going to make this easy. "Please, Ran-neechan. I won't get in the way."
"No. It's too dangerous. Dad knows what he's doing. He'll find whoever this is, so don't worry about it."
"But I want to go."
"Conan-kun, you have school tomorrow too. I heard Ai-chan was almost hurt today. We have to be really careful. I don't want you to get hurt."
I stood up to her. A hard feat normally and even harder now. "I'm going."
She was absolutely shocked. Conan was her little boy but there was no way I wasn't going to be a part of this. I could have snuck off on my own but I wouldn't put it past her to follow me there and snatch me back home.
I felt her grab my hand. It was so small in hers and I was surprised that I never really noticed.
"You are not being a part of this anymore. I don't care what you want! You are my responsibility now and I'm not letting you go!"
I almost yanked my hand out of hers I was so angry. I wasn't angry at her though and I knew it. I was angry at the whole situation. If I were Shinichi- no, even as Conan, I was never banned from anything I truly wanted to look into. I was not going to look like a child throwing a tantrum. I took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. I was not going to let up.
And neither was she.
We were at a standstill and it felt like the whole room was watching.
I was a little surprised when a cold hand grabbed ours. Sato-keiji looked at me and then at Ran. I could tell the difference in the stares. She agreed with me. Why, I didn't know, but I had shown off a little more than I should have to her before too.
I don't think I've ever seen Ran so upset. She gave me a dark look and released my hand. I could see the tears in her eyes as she left the room.
How could I have hurt her like that? She was only worrying about me. There must have been some other way.
But there wasn't.
Not that I could see anyway. I knew the culprit was close and I couldn't just back away from a challenge. On all the other cases I've been on with them, I've either had Mouri or Ran's unspoken trust and backup when necessary. Now I had neither.
I'd have to find some way to apologize to Ran when this was over. I could tell how mad she was at me. Maybe she would never forgive me. Maybe, I thought for a second…. she shouldn't.
I'd put Ran through so much even when I was trying to keep her out of things. It was impossible. I should have just left and found some way to track the Black Organization on my own. If I really wanted to I probably could have stayed with Hattori. At least he was aware of the danger.
But I chose to stay with Ran. I loved her. I just couldn't vanish and leave her unprotected.
That was pretty conceited of me. It wasn't that I wouldn't leave her. I couldn't.
A hand on my shoulder made me jump. Sato-keiji gave me a long, questioning look. I brushed off my train of thought. I'd find out what I was going to do with Ran later. Leaving myself so open around Sato-keiji wasn't a good idea, even if I could trust her… Nobody else was going to get involved with my problems if I could help it.
I gave Sato a reassuring smile and headed up the stairs to my room. I heard Takagi-keiji and Mouri arguing with her but I knew she wouldn't give in.
Under Mouri's scrutiny, we made our way to the Oshiro house in another white rented car. I could never understand why Mouri insisted on getting the white ones; it wasn't like he didn't get them filthy by the time they were returned.
The way there was silent, though I could practically feel Mouri seething next to me. It made it pretty clear that he was on Ran's side, whether that was because he cared for me (unlikely) or because it would make her happy, I couldn't tell.
We were the last ones to arrive as I noticed Megure-keibu's car along with the red one Sato and Takagi-keiji drive.
The members of the family were all sitting in the living room downstairs. This was the first time I saw them all.
Tadashi and Hitomi-san were arm-in-arm on the left side of the couch. A middle-aged woman, who I inferred was Oshiro's wife, sat on her son's left side, while Kazu-san was on a chair diagonal from his mother.
This was my first time seeing Ms. Oshiro. She was a very shrewd-looking woman. She carried an air around her of being a person of power. Unlike her sons, her features were not well defined though her eyes were sharp and cruel. She was of short stature and her hair fell down in rust-colored curls around her face.
If I thought Kazu-san had looked threatening, this woman took it to a whole new level.
"So except for Kazu-san here, you all have alibi's for the murder of Mr. Oshiro, several homeless people, and the attempted murder of several others. Is there any reason that you can think of that any of you would want him dead?"
This line of questioning was basic but we were dealing with a very uncommon criminal. Whoever this was had killed without reason and had done so mercilessly.
Unfortunately, it made it harder to believe that one of them was the killer. Was I wrong? Why was I so stuck on the idea that the killer was someone close to the latest victim?
"Why would I want my ex-husband dead? We have already been divorced for some years now so it's not like I saw the man." Ms. Oshiro snidely remarked.
"Hey, I had no qualms with my father. Hitomi and I were going to get married next month with father's consent. Unlike the rest of the family, my father and I have always been on good terms." Tadashi-san hugged Hitomi close to him when he said the word 'were'. Their wedding had obviously been postponed due to the circumstances.
"I didn't like the old man much, I told you all this yesterday, but I wouldn't kill him. Hell, he's let me stay with him and Tadashi here for years. I wouldn't do anything to screw that up." Kazu-san was observably mad at the repetition of questioning.
Everyone looked over at Hitomi
"I barley knew the man," she stuttered. "And Tadashi was really close to his father. There's no way I would hurt anyone if it would make Tadashi sad." Hitomi looked over at Tadashi-san and her eyes practically sparkled.
It went on like this for a while. Megure-keibu, Sato, and even Takagi-keiji asked questions as they occurred to them such as, Where were they on the 4th when Mr. Oshiro was killed? What happened when you discovered him dead? Where were you when Mouri was shot at? and other important information that they must have been asked several times by now.
"So none of you have any reason what-so-ever to kill Oshiro-san? There weren't any arguments recently or any old grievances? And none of you had anything against Mouri-san here?" Megure-keibu asked.
"No, please. How much longer is this going to take? We've already been through all this." Tadashi-san sighed.
"This is the last time you'll hear from us. We have all your information and if we figure anything out I don't want any of you leaving town." Megure-keibu threatened.
"Now, where were you all yesterday morning at around seven?" Sato-san asked.
This wasn't the first time they'd been asked. After Haibara and I were shot at, Sato asked Takagi-keiji to get in contact with everyone and find out his or her whereabouts.
"I told you I was at home taking a shower." Kazu-san messed with his hair.
"Was anyone home at the time?"
"No" Kazu-san looked down at the floor. "Tadashi already went to work, mom was still visiting family, and to hell if I knew where that girl was." He gave Hitomi a dark glance but it was laced with fatigue, making him look like a salty old man.
"So Tadashi-san, you were already at the office at that time?"
"Yes" Tadashi let go of Hitomi-san for the first time during the conversation to stretch. "I left for work a little after six-thirty like I always do."
"And when did you arrive?"
He thought about it for a second. "Maybe five minutes to seven."
That was cutting it close. If he had time to shoot at us, then he had to get to the office within minutes. It wasn't possible unless he was lying about the time.
I saw Takagi nod his head out of the corner of my eye. Megure-keibu must have asked him to check into it. I guess Tadashi was telling the truth.
"Of course Ms. Oshiro was still with her sister an hour away, correct?"
She nodded to us as if we were too distasteful to even answer.
"And you, Hitomi-san? Where were you?"
"I was still sleeping." Hitomi-san answered. "Tadashi woke me up and said goodbye before he left and I fell back to sleep. I didn't really wake up until eight or so. Then I made some toast and bacon in the kitchen." She nodded towards the dirty dishes.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Mouri-san, would you like to ask anything?" Megure-keibu asked sarcastically.
Ojisan took no notice of it.
"Of course I would like to and thanks for the offer. Ahem." I held my face in my hand. What damage could uncle do now?
"How many of you have actually seen the Wizard of Oz?" Everyone, including our suspects, looked at Mouri as if he were a nut.
"All of us I guess." Tadashi-san answered uncertainly.
"A ha. And how many of you would kill people based on the story?" Everyone looked at Mouri with confusion and maybe a bit of shock that he was really expecting an answer to that.
"None of us! Why the hell would you think we had anything to do with the murders?!" I didn't think Tadashi-san would be the one to get so upset and it took me by surprise.
"Why? Because you are the culprit!" Mouri pointed at Tadashi.
"What?!"
It was hard to stand next to him. Occhan should make it a point to not accuse people without any proof.
"You and Hitomi-san were getting married and I'm sure your father was probably happy, but you wanted some big show and he wasn't willing to pawn up the money so, in an argument, you killed him and decided to make it look like a homicide."
Mouri's logic didn't make any sense. The wedding would have obviously already been set up if the date was so close so there was no way they fought over money.
"How dare you accuse me of murdering my father! Hitomi and I were planning a small wedding with just the family so how could we have fought over anything?!"
Mouri stumbled over himself.
"A- hm. What I meant to say was that Hitomi-san is the real killer!"
Hitomi grabbed onto Tadashi-san's arm. "Why would I kill my husband's father? I had no disagreements with him and I have an alibi for all five incidents so there's no way I had anything to do with it." She they started crying and Tadashi-san wrapped his arms around her.
Kazu-san stood up. "Don't you dare start accusing me again! I already went to jail once because of you idiots and I don't plan on going back!" He marched out of the house followed by Tadashi-san and a sobbing Hitomi. Tadashi-san shot us a death glare over his shoulder, likely with respects from them all.
"Well, that's that." Ms. Oshiro got up and made her way over to the front door, which Conan figured Tadashi-san would have slammed if he didn't think it would've upset Hitomi more.
"You've disturbed my family enough, don't you think? You'd better go now."
Megure-keibu nodded and stood up. Mouri-ojisan was still stunned at everyone's reaction and wouldn't meet Ms. Oshiro's eyes.
I was about to follow them out when it hit me.
Of course! That's what's been bugging me this whole time! Why didn't I notice it earlier?
While I followed everyone out the door, I went to the side of the house. Kazu-san was nowhere to be seen. He had probably gone for a walk to relieve some of his anger.
Tadashi and Hitomi-san were huddled together in the back yard.
"Honey, don't worry about anything, okay? We didn't do anything and the police are going to find the killer. We can still get married and live a happy life." Hitomi nodded and moved away from him. Her tears were a lot slower now and her voice was controlled.
"Oh my!" She looked over at Tadashi-san with excited eyes. "In all the chaos I forgot to make dinner!" She wiped away a few stray tears from her eyes.
Tadashi-san grabbed her shoulders.
"Don't worry. I'll go do it right now. You stay out here and get some fresh air." He gave her a gentle smile, caressed her tearstained cheek, and ran back in the house. She smiled at his back.
I made my way over to Hitomi-san and she looked down at me a little shocked.
"Didn't you go back home with the detectives?" she asked innocently enough.
"Well, I had to make sure of something first." I gave her a long look. "How did you know there were five incidences?"
She smiled gently at me. "Well, there was Tadashi's father, there was something about a group of homeless people, and there was a shooting at Mouri-san, you, and some little girl." She put a hand on my shoulder. "You really should be getting home. I'll go stop the policemen before they leave."
I grabbed her hand with my own. "You must not be aware that the police don't know that anyone shot at me." Her glance shifted to me quickly. I winked at her. "I didn't tell them."
It happened so fast I didn't see it coming. I was forced to the ground and my hand with my watch was twisted behind my back. I felt the metal and heard the sound of a gun being drawn against my head.
"You wouldn't want to do that." I gasped. "You'd give yourself away."
She thought about that.
"Why did you go after us in the first place? I've already killed so many people. Why did you think one of us was involved?" she whispered into my ear.
"At first I couldn't understand it either," I told her. "It was bothering me the whole time but as I was leaving it finally made sense." I turned my head to look at her as best I could. "It was the chloroform."
"chloroform?" she asked questioningly.
"You used it on that young homeless man. You must have put it all over your jacket when you used it to knock him out." I struggled at little to get into a better position but she only twisted my arm more. "My guess is that you then brought the man back to the house with you, where you brought him up to your father's room. You wanted to kill them at the same time to make the police think it was Kazu-san if they did investigate the family, but you didn't count on meeting us at the park."
I continued, fighting for breath a bit since she was pushing on me so hard. "After you took the jacket back, you made sure that you were wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of light gloves so that it wouldn't irritate your skin. You weren't worry about Tadashi-san getting any on him, since you planned on only staying with him for a short period of time before he found out about his father."
"And how exactly did you figure all this out?"
My left hand was still free and I indicated to my palm.
"When you instinctively picked me up to be nice, quite a bit of the chloroform got on my skin."
This seemed to make her understand my train of thought. She understood that the chloroform I came in contact with from her jacket would giver her away. She must not have disposed of it properly yet.
She shoved the gun harder at the back of my head.
"You are to go out there and join the police. Do not dare tell them any of this. If I see the cop cars come back, I'll make sure to kill everyone in the family and any of the police I can get before they can stop me."
I was shocked. I never thought she would use the family members as hostages. I was going to call her bluff but closed my mouth, afraid it wasn't one. There was a long list of victims.
She let me get up but kept the gun pointed at me from under her jacket. She nodded for me to go as she went back into the house.
What was she doing? I never thought she would kill the others. Was I willing to sacrifice Tadashi-san and his mother in order to catch her?
I had planned on cornering her and either making her give up or, I guess now that I thought about it, getting shot so the police would find her. I never took into account that anyone else would be in danger.
Uncle spotted me coming over.
"What do you think you're doing, you brat? Stay where I can see you!" He grabbed the back of my coat and dragged me towards the car. I couldn't see a way out of this. I would just have to wait until Hitomi-san left an opening I could exploit.
Hopefully no one would get killed before then.
