Hey !
D-2 before Christmas and I'm still publishing murder stories... Should I really ? Maybe I won't get my presents xD
*shrugs* Never mind, writing is fun, I won't stop for something as petty as Christmas :p
PS: Since some mentioned it was a bit difficult to remember who was who with all those OC, I edited the end of chapter 3 with the names and some info about the characters for this case, hope it'll help : )
o.O.o
Purpalz Miner : Haha, it doesn't help, but it's funnier like that, right ? I need murders for Conan and Heiji ^^ PS: I don't know what's wrong but I never get a warning when you review, first time I see that o.O Lucky I double-check ^^;;;
Laury Rose : Answer in that chapter as to who died!^^ Yep, I did my best so all would have a small suspicious side... Are they hiding a hideous past ? Or are they hiding the murder weapon ? Or are we just paranoid ? xD Yup, I think that even if I had decided to have everyone in the living room, I'd have found a way... Just a nice poison or wait for any to go to the toilet and... bam ! ^^ Hmm about Nanako, you'll see. Same for the relations between each, we'll be speaking a bit about their past in chapter 5 : )
emmahoshi : Don't worry, I wouldn't want you to fail your deadlines because you're reviewing me xD Heard that, so you'll find a reminder at the end of chap 3 as said in the intro :) Haha, it was 'Ren' but yea, I also tend to have problems with gorgeous people that's perhaps why he died so fast xD Heh, we'll slowly see where the OC was implicated and how, this is not a 5-chap story, I'll need a few cases before we can see how big the whole picture is : ) Good luck with your papers if you have some remaining ^^;;;
Anilover : Don't worry, I guess we're all busy with the incoming celebrations : ) Yea, as I said, I wanted to go back to what DC was... But we won't have only mysteries, there'll be some action since that's what I prefer ! :D Haha, yes he is. ^^; Well, in France, they've got a pretty good income, it's perhaps different in other countries... I know in Japan it's also the same. So yea, I'll be back to my old rhythm : twice a week, one chapter each time. Hope I'll be able to stick to it, I'm a bit less comfortable than usual in terms of pre-written / pre-worked chapters ^^; Oh, thanks, I didn't know I was good with summaries, I always feel I'm so clumsy with those...^^; But yea, a true bad guy will appear. A smart one : )
Chapter 4 - Footsteps in the snow
"- What happened ?!" Conan inquired as he and Heiji arrived on the scene, panting from their run.
They had been sharing a room with the girls on the third floor : they didn't want to let the girls alone so the four of them slept together, Ran and Kazuha in the bed and them on the couch. Expecting something to happen, they had kept their clothes on and had been fast to arrive after the yell, to see Meiko was already standing in front of Nanako's room's door.
"- I... Hikari-chan didn't answer when I came to replace at Nanako-chan's side..." She managed to explain, though they could see she was shocked. "I called Yamato-kun and Taichi-kun so they would force the door and..."
The detectives approached and looked in the same direction than the woman, into the room.
The two men she mentioned were here, Yamato crouching on the floor, near the window, bent with a concerned expression on Hikari who, luckily, seemed to be only unconscious. Taichi was near the bed, having probably checked Nanako's vitals but there was nothing left to do for her. He was now staring at the wall, his face so pale it was almost green.
"- What happened ?" Heiji asked once again as they came in.
"- The girls have been attacked, probably from the outside..." The blue eyed declared as he turned his head to look at the newcomers. "Hikari-san has been knocked out and Nanako-san has been... She's dead."
Both boys had both a bitter taste in their mouth, not really happy to have been right once again and perhaps even feeling a bit guilty not to have been able to convince the group that staying together was safer.
Noticing Taichi was still frozen, Conan came closer to him and his eyes laid on what he has been looking at since they came in.
"Another down. One left."
"- Taichi-niisan ?" The small detective dared to ask. "Are you alright ? Taichi-niisan ?
- Uh, yea, I'm good... Sorry, it's the shock to see... " The man's look fell on Nanako-san who was on the bed.
The boy squinted at him, feeling suspicious, guessing perhaps the fact he found his friend dead wasn't the only thing that shocked the brown-haired doctor. But, well, the most important now was to find out what happened so he stopped looking at him and focused on the second victim.
While Ren's murder had been made spectacular, this one was closer to the kind he could usually see. The blond-haired girl had been stabbed with a scalpel right into the heart, probably the one that had also been the previous murder's weapon. Her face was calm, she probably didn't even notice the attack, still sedated by the drugs Hikari and Yamato gave her after she went into shock when she found Ren's body. The two doctors were still on the floor, with Heiji crouching near them, and now Ryo was standing in the entrance, his attention also caught by the yell.
"- I've found a puncture wound at the base of her neck, she may had been injected with something" was explaining Yamato to the Osakan.
"- Found any syringe?
- Not yet...
- Is that what you're looking for ?" Ryo asked as he bent to retrieve a small item he almost stepped on.
"- Don'... touch it..." The dark-skinned finished with a bored look at the black-haired when he saw he was too late in his warning and that the guy had just left his fingerprints on an essential proof. "Never mind...
- Could you show it to me ?" The blue-eyed doctor asked to his friend, who came closer to show a little syringe to him. The man had a disappointed sigh when he saw it. "Nothing is written... I hope it wasn't anything deadly, I can't just treat Hikari-san randomly...
- There's nothing we can do but wait..." Ryo agreed with his usual dark face.
"- Heiji-niichan ?
- Yes, K.. Conan-kun ?
- I think you may see one or two interesting things over here..." The small detective explained, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes at the half-slip from his friend. His annoyance from their last conversation was quickly coming back...
He mentally pushed those thoughts away and waited for Heiji to come closer.
"- This French window was opened... And the glass near the lock has been cut.
- Would explain how that guy could attack Takaishi-han from behind... If it hasn' been smashed, there wouldn' have been any noise..." The Osakan proposed, taking his handkerchief out to open the glass door and look at the hole in it.
"- Yes... There are some footsteps outside also. Probably from a male, according to the size." Conan added with a lower voice, not to be heard by the others.
"- Could ya lend me yer watch ?" The detective of the West asked after he squinted to see something outside on his right.
"- Sure."
"- Some snow is missin' on that pipe connected ta the gutter." He concluded with a sneeze after he bent as much as he could against the balcony's railing. "Goes all the way down, looks like there are more footsteps on the ground, we should also check.
- So, our culprit came from the outside..." The small detective proposed, still with a low voice. "He climbed to the third floor thanks to that pipe and cut that window... We'll have to find his material, he didn't leave anything here...
- Unfortunately fer us, if it was a glass cutter, it can be pretty small... So then the guy managed ta open discreetly the window, drugged Takaishi-han before she could even yell an' stabbed Takeno-han...
- That crime is clearly less elaborated than Ishida-san's..." Conan concluded, his arms crossed against his little chest as he gave the case some thoughts.
"- But still, the syringe, the glass cutter... the culprit was well prepared... Question is, what's the link between Ishida-han, Takeno-han an' that Mina an' how that man discovered it...
- Could be related to that drug trade ?
- Ya mean ya think some o' them were part o' it an' tried ta frame their friend fer their crimes ?
- Could explain everything, right ? The culprit found out what happened recently and threw himself in that vendetta... Oh, by the way, I think we should ask a few questions to Akiyama-san..." The boy pointed out with a suspicious look at the plumb man. "He seems to have taken that message on the wall very personally...
- Noted... Atchoo !" The Osakan sneezed once again with a chill.
"- And I thought a Baka wouldn't catch any cold... Serves you right for hanging around without a jacket." His best friend concluded with a smirk.
"- This is just another proof I'm not a Baka, if any was needed... " Heiji retorted, a smirk also on his face. "An' ya'd better be more compassionate about that cold since, allow me ta remind it ta ya, I was without my jacket because I was helpin' ta help yer girl.
- Got that, got that..." Conan admitted with a pinch of guilt, even forgetting to deny the 'yer' girl part. "Well, my compassion will start by having you back in, it's freezing, and you don't need additional cold !"
Both detectives came back in and closed the door behind them quickly, chilling from the low temperatures.
"- Anything interesting ?" Ryo asked as he saw they were back into the room.
"- Hmm apparently, the culprit came from outside an' used a pipe ta climb here.
- So that's the end of your "the-culprit-is-among-us" theory..." Taichi concluded with an ironic look at the Osakan.
"- Not necessarily..."
"- Hey, easy, Hikari-san, you've been drugged, don't try to move so fast."
The three's attention focused on Yamato and Hikari, since the woman was starting to wake up, so they all came closer.
"- How are you feeling ?" The plumb Akiyama asked with concern.
"- If things could stop moving, that would be great..." She said with a small smile as she sat. "I feel like I have a hangover, but without the alcohol...
- Ya remember what happened ?" Heiji wondered, not wanting to be too blunt, the girl probably ignoring one of her friends had been killed and was lying just there.
"- I think I dozed off a bit... I felt some cold on my neck that woke me up but... I just had enough time to see someone was here before I felt something stung my neck..." The blue-eyed girl explained, rubbing her temples as she spoke. "And Nanako-chan ? Is she safe ?!" She suddenly remembered, trying to get up to have a look at the bed.
"- She's dead..." Yamato declared with a sad face.
Hikari gaped and her eyes started to shine but she was able to keep control on herself and breathed deeply.
"- I'm sorry ta have ta ask that ta ya so soon but do ya remember anythin' about that intruder ?" The detective of the West asked with the gentlest voice he could.
"- I..." The woman stopped and gulped to bring some strength to her voice. "He had a ski mask and a hood so I couldn't see his face. I think he was tall. That's about all..." She concluded, bowing her head with sorrow and guilt from not being able to remember much more.
"- Hey, it's ok..." Yamato said with a low voice as he started to pat her.
The two detectives got up and moved a bit away, to be followed by Taichi and Ryo.
"- So what now ?" The brown-haired doctor asked, looking intensely at the Osakan.
"- As I told ya tonight, we need ta stay packed... In a few hours, we'll be able ta call the police an' all this will be over.
- We have two dead bodies here, and your culprit seems pretty aggressive..." Ryo objected with vehemence. "Never mind that snow, I'll take the risk and take the car to warn the police...
- This is our only way out, we can't let you leave with it !" Taichi snapped with an aggressive tone.
"- Then what, want to come ?
- I..." The other hesitated, concern now on his face. But there was also something else. Distrust.
"- You... ? What? Afraid of the snow ? Or... I can't believe it, you think I could have done that ?!
- Hey, this is not the main problem right now... " Heiji intervened to calm the two doctors down. "I'll be goin' with Yoshida-han, ok ? Like this, no chance fer him ta leave with the car an', since I'm not related ta that suicide, I'm sure not ta be that 'one left' mentioned on the wall." He proposed, trying to keep his eyes on the doctors to avoid the small detective's look of pure disapproval.
"- That's settled then. I'm going to shovel the snow in front of the garage, if anyone wants to help me." Ryo announced with a look at Taichi, who had still suspicious eyes laid on him.
"- I'm coming" The man volunteered.
After they both left, Conan tugged his friend's sleeve to have his attention.
"- This could be dangerous, Hattori..." He pointed out with a low but reproving voice after the other detective crouched near him. "We know the culprit is a male and if that Akiyama was indeed part of the drug dealers, there are very few choices left...
- I'll be careful, don' worry ! Got my o-mamori with me, remember ?" The Osakan joked to try to chase away the serious look on his best friend's face. "An' we need ta do somethin', I wouldn' want our culprit ta go berserk in the lodge with the girls here...
- ...OK." The boy agreed with a sigh. "Just wait a sec', I have an extra DB badge in my bag, I'd prefer you to take it. It's pretty short-ranged and the snow may lower the signal but...
- Got it, I'll take yer gadget." The dark-skinned smiled as he got up.
o.O.o
"- I can' believe ya forced me ta..." Heiji face palmed from the passenger seat. "I told ya it could be dangerous, what if we're stuck in the snow all night ?
- Then I'll help !" Kazuha cheerfully retorted from the back seat.
The Osakan shook his head with a sigh as he settled back against his own seat. When Conan had fetched his badge, he had been forced to explain to the girls what happened, including the fact the dark-skinned volunteered to fetch the police.
The pony-tailed girl, with a not-so-subtle mix of arguments and threats, supported by an amused Ran, had insisted to come with them. Hattori had given up after a last exchange of "Ahou!" in which the girl mentioned she was big enough to defend herself when, considering how often he came back with wounds, on his side, he didn't seem able to.
The three of them, Ryo, Kazuha and Heiji, were now in the car, trying to grab anything they could find as the vehicle was, despite his slowness, shaking like some kind of roller coaster, due to the wind and the uneven road.
The heavy silence was interrupted by a beeping noise and it took a little while for the detective of the West to notice it came from his own pocket, just where he put the badge.
"- Yea, K.. Conan-kun ?" The Osakan corrected when he saw the dark-haired doctor looked briefly at him.
"- ... Heij...-niichan ? ... hear me ?
- Barely, there are a lot o' interferences..." The teen deplored with a look of disappointment at the gadget.
"- You... to come bac...
- Hattori-kun, Yoshida-... probably... culprit !" Ran's voice said with urge as she probably took the badge from Conan's hands.
The detective quickly switched off the badge with a grimace at the girl's too blunt declaration but he was too late, their driver had heard it all.
"- This is a misunderstanding I bet..." Ryo deplored with a low voice, keeping a straight face.
"- If it is really, drive back ta the lodge an' we'll solve that there..." Heiji asked firmly, not wanting the other to notice his stress.
"- I won't go back there. I bet that hypocritical bunch is trying to frame me for those murders just like they framed Mina for their traffic, I won't let them !
- If ya're innocent, ya won' risk anythin'." The dark-skinned pointed out to calm the man down, mildly convinced of his innocence, but he couldn't take the risk to let the man becoming a threat to him, not when Kazuha was there.
"- Ha ! Mina also was but it didn't prevent her from finding the police at her door ! She knew about their damn traffic but she never told me who in the group was part of it ... She wanted to reason them, so they would go to the police by themselves. And they killed her ! They so deserve what's happening to them right now...
- No one deserves ta be killed, Yoshida-han. Turn back now."
The man ignored him and accelerated, throwing accidentally the car against another pile of snow that shook them hardly. The Osakan's eyes widened when that shock moved the man's coat, revealing a knife that was at his belt.
He had no choice, that man was dangerous, they had to stop the car and get away as soon as possible.
"- Kazuha, hang on !" Heiji spurted as he threw himself on Ryo and grabbed the wheel to slam the car against a tree.
The teen hit his head against the dashboard, not able to protect himself as his both arms were on the wheel, but ignored it and jumped out of the car to open Kazuha's car door.
"- Ya ok ?
- Yea I think... Hey, yer head is bleeding !" The girl noticed with concern when she saw some blood was dripping along her friend's face.
"- Just a scratch, don' worry... Let's go !"
The detective of the West grabbed the pony-tailed girl's hand and they both rushed towards the woods, to put as much distance as possible between them and the dark-haired.
Oh, looks like a tiny cliffhanger : )
Merry Christmas to you all and see you next Sunday ^_^