Thanks to everyone for reviewing :D
Disclaimer: The characters of
Detective Conan do not belong do us, nor does U.N. Owen. Well, the
idea anyways.
note from Umi: There are a few spoofs in here. Can
you guess who they are and where they're from?
(Mat49324's part)
When we got off the bus, we walked to the entrance of the Beika Hotel.
"So, where do we start, guys?" Ran asked us.
"We start by finding that cargo van was," Kogoro responded.
"Then it should be in the parking lot," I assumed.
"Where is it?" Umi asked.
"I should know this," Kogoro said.
"Follow me, kids."
Ran, Conan, Umi and I followed Kogoro to the parking lot. While we were running, I leaned over to ask Ran something.
"Hey, would you mind if we went back to the hot springs after we see the movie you wanted to see, Ran?" I asked her.
"No, not at all," Ran said, smiling at me.
"Then, maybe afterwards, I'll think about spending a little time at your apartment with you."
"Sure, why not," I agreed.
(Conan's point of view)
I wonder if all they have to talk about is that date they're having? I thought.
(Umi's Part)
I looked around where the vehicle was parked. By now, there were so many vehicles that had passed and parked in that spot, it would probably be hard to get anything in way of information here. But, don't knock it 'till you try it. We went over there in a group and immediately, the detectives.. well.. pretty much everyone but Ran and I looked down at the ground.
Umi whipped out a magnifying glass from her.. pocket and studied the different tracks. Mathew took out one from the evidence kit he had been carrying to study the tracks. Even Kogoro had a magnifying glass. I'm assuming he took his from an evidence kit as well. As much as I wanted to go over there, I had to stay with Ran. Besides, Kogoro would just hit me and tell me to scat anyways.
"You think they're getting anywhere," Ran asked me.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Maybe. They're good, from what I've seen," I replied.
We watched them. Umi stood up first.
"Well," she announced.
"most of these tracks were actually made by cars, or at least tires made for cars. However, only one of them is the one we're looking for, IF the UNSUB changed the tires already. If not, then we'll have to get the make etc. etc. from the owner of the van."
Kogoro looked at her with a perplexed look.
"How do you know that?"
"When living with two car-crazed siblings, and one vehicle-obsessed dad, I'm bound to pick up a few tips and tricks here and there."
"Oh." Kogoro simply said.
That made sense to me. We would have to start looking for a witness. Maybe they caught the perpetrator on a camera, or maybe someone who worked here had photographic memory. I should bring this to their attention.
"Hey, shouldn't we look for a witness?"
"Ah, that's right," Kogoro said.
He started giving everyone orders.
"Ran and Conan, you two ask the busboys out here. Mathew, you can check the janitors. I'll check the rest of the workers. And Umi.. You can.. uh.. Check the visitors. Everyone, call if you hear anything. Does everyone have each other's cell phone numbers?"
"No one should have mine, and I don't have anyone's," Umi said.
"Well, you can just page the front desk."
"Dad!" Ran said.
I did notice that unless the person was Yoko Okino, sometimes Eri, Ran, or someone famous/rich, the old man didn't seem to care for them much.
"Here's a list of our numbers," Ran said, handing Umi a piece of paper.
Umi thanked her and gave her her number.
"Now, everyone, split up," Kogoro demanded.
(Umi's point of view)
Wow. Six whole numbers in my address book in my phone. Conan, Ran, Mathew, Kogoro, my cell phone, and my home phone. Since I seemed to forget those two a lot. I sighed and decided to start in the lobby. In the lobby, there were people coming and going and just lounging around. I sighed and started asking people who were on their way out.
(Conan's point of view)
Ran and I were just outside the doors of Beika Hotel. We looked around for a few minutes and I was satisfied with what I had gathered. I looked at Ran and she looked back down at me.
"Ready, Conan?" She said to me, looking serious.
"Yeah," I said.
We headed off to the guys in red, who were waiting to take someone's bag. I got out my notebook and pencil and started asking questions.
"Um.. Were you here when a big white van showed up a few days ago?" I asked.
"No, I was just hired. Today is my first day." The guy in red said to us.
I frowned and faintly heard Ran tell me to apologize for being rude.
"Sorry," I mumbled, and walked off towards the other busboys.
It was the first day for all six of them. I frowned and looked at Ran, who kept telling me to apologize, and then apologizing to the busboy herself. I didn't get it.. Why was it the first day on the job for every one of them? I ran inside and asked the desk lady if there were any busboys who weren't hired just today. She looked slightly puzzled and picked up the phone. Ran came over and shook her head.
"I just talked with Umi. She has nothing." She said, looking bummed.
The desk lady finally looked back at me.
"The manager is busy and can't talk to anyone," she said in a bored tone of voice.
"How long have you worked here," I asked.
"Today's my first day," she said.
You had to be kidding me! Why were all of these guys new employees? I flipped open my phone and gave Kogoro a call.
(Kogoro's point of view)
After finding several workers, none of them had squat. The most one of them probably had was a piece of string and a contract starting today.
"Pip pip pip!" It said.
What the hell? I looked down at the originating source: my phone. Who the hell changed my ringtone? I glared at it and answered it.
"Hello? Oh, it's just you." I said when I found out it was Conan.
"Uncle, all of the busboys just started today. I asked the desk lady and she didn't have much in the way of information: she just started as well."
"Today must be new-employee day or something. None of the damn workers have been here for more than twenty four hours! There's something fishy going on."
(Mat49324's part)
(Ran's P.O.V.)
I called Mathew on his cell. Apparently he too had the same story, but there was one thing he included that might be a clue.
"Meet us in the lobby and tell us, I think Dad should hear this too," I said to him.
We hung up and met up with the rest of the group. Then, Mathew gave us the scoop.
"Well, there were about 17 janitors, and 16 of them were first-day employees," Mathew told us.
"What about the other janitor?" Kogoro said.
"He said he'd been working there for... get this... 32 years," Mathew said with shock in his voice.
(Conan/Shinichi's P.O.V.)
So, there's one janitor who's been working at the Beika Hotel for 32 years like Mathew said, I thought.
Why would there only be one veteran worker? The 32 year janitor must be linked to this -- I'm sure of it.
"Anything else, Mathew?" I asked.
"Not really," Mathew responded.
"Well, we're not really getting anywhere," Ran said to us.
"I hate to admit it, Ran," Umi said.
"But you might be right."
"We can't give up now, ladies," Mathew said to the girls.
"We've gotta keep our heads up and our optimism, too."
I knew Mathew was right. Even if it was only the first time I heard that from him, I instantly referred him as our inspiration for not giving up.
End of chapter.
(Okay, that's going to wrap up another one.)
