• Chapter 9 •
The Lady of the Lake
"Shinichi?" whispered Ran, as she ran up to him, "Is it really you, Shinichi?"
"Yes, it's really me, Ran," replied Shinichi.
"Conan-kun? You look angry," said Fern, as she glanced at her friend.
That jerk! That idiotic jerk!, thought Conan, trying to restrain his anger.
"I missed you so much!" said Ran, "I tried calling, but nobody answered and then you wouldn't call even though I left you so many messages-" She was cut off, when she realized that he wasn't listening to her anymore, but instead had gently pecked her on the cheek. All of the color drained from Ran's face, when she realized what had happened.
"Shinichi," she whispered.
"Awwww...looks like Shinichi and Ran are getting serious now," commented Sonoko.
"What is going on here?!" asked Inspector Mouri, almost yelling.
"Ah. Inspector Mouri. I haven't seen you in a while, even though I've seen you in the newspapers many times before when I'm on my cases," replied Shinichi.
"Why you little-", Mouri was eventually cut off by Conan's high pitched screams.
"That's not Shinichi! That's not Shinichi!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"What do you mean that he's not Kudo Shinichi?", asked Nakamori, walking up to Shinichi. He quickly pinched either side of Shinichi's face and pulled as hard as he could.
"Please stop, Inspector Nakamori," begged Shinichi, as his face was being stretched out to either side.
"Well, he's the real thing. There's no way that a mask could stay on that tight," said Nakamori.
"He can't be Shinichi. He just can't be!" whispered Conan, outloud.
"What makes you so sure?" asked Fern, also in a whisper.
"Because I'm Kudo Shinichi!" he whispered and then covered his mouth with his hands, realizing what he had done.
It took a moment for her to process it, but then Fern replied, "You. Are. Kudo. Shinichi?"
"Hehe, yes, I am. But you can't tell anyone."
"But how?"
"I'll explain later, but this guy is definitely not Kudo Shinichi."
"Then he must be Kaito Kid!"
"So, Inspector Nakamori, I was told that you were here to catch Kaitou Kid," said Shinichi.
"What? Oh, yes. He plans to steal the Lady of the Lake ring tonight," replied Nakamori.
"Hmmm...he sent a notice, right?" asked Shinichi.
"Yes, here's the original notice," said Suzuki, as he handed a piece of paper to Shinichi.
'The Lady of the Lake will be in my possession at ten o'clock tomorrow.
- Kaitou Kid'
"Okay, so this means we have about half an hour left before Kid strikes," said Shinichi as he read the note. He looked up from the note to see Conan standing in front of him. His expression was not exactly joyful. Shinichi looked down at him, said nothing, but just smiled. It wasn't a warm smile either, but a smile of revenge. "Let's take a look at that gem," he said walking over to the display case. The gem itself was a deep blue sapphire and it was surrounded by several small diamonds.
"So this is the famous sapphire, the Lady of the Lake. You don't have any special gadgets on the display case? Do you, Suzuki-san?"
"Yes, there's a few in fact," he said and motioned for Inspector Mouri to come over.
"Hmmm...so if I touch this…" he said as he placed a finger onto the glass display case. As usual, Inspector Mouri under went a few spasms and took a few steps back. Then the floor underneath him fell through and the top of the hole was shielded from escape by sharp sword-like knives.
"And then if he escapes on foot, there are the dogs," explained Suzuki.
"You wouldn't mind getting me out of here, would you?" asked Inspector Mouri.
"When Kid comes we'll be ready for him," whispered Conan through gritted teeth.
"O-okay, Conan-kun," replied Fern, her head still spinning from all of the new information.
"I just can't help feeling that we're being watched."
