AN: Oh hey, here's chapter ten! We're entering double digit chapters now, kinda depressing that this story has yet to even break twenty reviews though, ahahaha. Still, as always, I thank everyone for reading and I hope you stay with me for the future. To those of you just joining us with this chapter, hello to you all as well!

Well, until next time!

Black Echo

Chapter Ten

There's Nothing Worse Than Not Knowing

"Hey mister, where are you going?"

In the back of his mind, Paikaru couldn't help but feel like he suddenly understood why it was that Edogawa Conan creeped adults out sometimes- as innocent as his curious expression appeared to be, there was definitely something else behind it. He had long since had some kind of vague idea regarding this, but having such a gaze turned completely on him for a change certainly was an enlightening experience. If being a detective didn't work out for him, he should probably consider becoming a child actor specializing in horror movies.

"Ah, just a second, there's some kid talkin' ta me." With his cellphone still in hand, Paikaru allowed himself only a second's time for his mind to reel at this development. Turning slightly on his heel to face the child that he knew full well wasn't a child, he gave him something of a small smile. Hopefully it didn't look half as strained as he thought it felt. "What is it that ya want? I was kind of in the middle of somethin' here, ya know."

Since disguising his accent might only make him look more suspicious- he wasn't very good at it, after all, he made no attempts to conceal it. Sure enough, for a moment, there was a shadow of something that flashed underneath those eyes, as if Conan were considering something. He could also see him just as quickly decide to put those thoughts to the side for the moment.

From that alone, he knew that he would probably be able to figure out a part of the truth regarding the other murder that had taken place at the hotel on this evening. That it was no suicide- and that it was probably the Organization's work. If he had asked that scientist girl about him, he might have been able to find out the fact that the Organization member known as Paikaru had an Osakan accent- that wasn't entirely uncommon knowledge within the Organization, after all. No doubt he would be able to determine that he was the culprit behind the murder.

Even if the body weren't discovered while Conan was still here, the detail would likely stick out to him if he read something about it in the papers. That was just how his minded worked.

Well, if that could give him something of a lead to the Organization's activities, then perhaps that wasn't the worst thing that could happen. Perhaps if he chased the thread that was the man's research, he might even be able to uncover something. If that was the case, then it might even be for the best.

Although frankly, he could do without being pegged as a suspect for a murder that he had nothing to do with. Honestly, what was the culprit of that one thinking? Messing up his otherwise pretty solid plans- what a pain.

Still, few people knew the way Kudo's brain worked better than him. So long as he played his cards right, he could get out of this situation without any problems. He had spent the past year or so watching him interact with murderers with all kinds of personalities and motives, he just needed to draw from that experience in order to weasel himself out of this situation and off of the would be suspects list. As long as he created a chance to get away from him for even a little while, he could probably escape from here.

Hopefully not by jumping from a third story window again, though. His leg had only recently stopped hurting.

"Didn't you hear about what happened in the ballroom, mister?" Conan inquired, putting aside the somewhat unsettled feeling that had risen up within him from the moment the man had spoke. He wasn't seriously going to start suspecting every man with an Osakan accent from now on, was he? At that rate, he would never be able to go back to Osaka again, and he knew right away that Heiji would absolutely hate that idea.

At the thought of his friend, he couldn't help but feel something else tug at him, a vague something that he couldn't quite place. What was that?

It might have been nothing more than the slight resemblance the young man bore to his rival- although frankly, they really had nothing in common save for their dark skin and their Osakan accents. Just that alone was enough to make him think of his friend though- though he guessed that was to be expected. When one coupled those two things together, it was always Heiji that he automatically thought of first. Rather, in spite of knowing several of them, whenever someone even mentioned something along the lines of a 'dark skinned young man', Heiji was usually the first person he thought of these days.

"From the stamp on your hand, we were probably just at the same party, right?" Conan asked, holding up his own hand, displaying the stamp on it. "See? They're the same!"

"Yeah, I was there." Paikaru told him, puling the phone away from his face for a second. There was no doubt that Vermouth had been able to hear Conan's voice from the other end of the phone. At the very least, they would be able to get their stories somewhat straight in the event that he needed to call her back in here- provided she didn't just up and abandon him, like she might very well do. "Did somethin' happen? I stepped out fer awhile myself. One of my companions wasn't feelin' very good, so my friend took him home. Probably drank a bit too much."

Whatever happened, he wanted to avoid being pegged as a suspect for the other murder. The longer he remained here, the higher the chance was that he would be exposed- be it for the murder that he had actually committed, or be it for his connection to the Organization. Not to mention his real identity- and that was something that he couldn't allow to come out under any circumstances.

At the very least, Conan didn't seem to recognize him, even when he was talking to him face to face. As much as he hated to admit it, Vermouth really did have a natural talent for this sort of thing- even Kazuha might not be able to recognize him right now. Taking one of the spare voice changers from that Professor had been the right call. He'd be keeping that thing around for quite some time, probably.

"Someone was killed, you know!" Conan told him, a very concerned look crossing his face. "Isn't that awful?"

"Eh? Really? That's certainly awful." Paikaru said after a moment, sparing a glance over towards the hotel doors. "So that's why the doors are sealed off, huh? I was just about ta meet up with my friend again, when I noticed the staff blockin' the exit. But ta think a thing like that could happen in the middle of such a crowded party. What exactly happened anyways?"

He couldn't exactly deny that there was a part of him that was curious about the case- and a part of him that was itching to help Conan solve it. For tonight though, he would have to swallow what little pride as a detective he had left, and resist that urge. It would be bad if he got carried away giving a deduction and started acting like, well, himself.

"A famous actress was killed. Someone stabbed her during a blackout, I think." Conan told him, masking his considering look beneath his childlike gaze. There was something about this man's words that was bothering him, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. He had already recognized him as the one who he had spotted in the middle of the party- the one whose back had caught his attention. Looking at him again confirmed that he was indeed too tall to be the one that he had just missed the other day, but it didn't help the uneasy feeling that he was carrying with him.

What was it? What was it that was bugging him so much? The fact that he couldn't even begin to place what it was only bothered him more in turn- his instincts were usually better than this.

Still, it was true that he hadn't seen this man or his companions in the ballroom for awhile. The companion that had gotten sick must have been the other man that he had been speaking with- from what he could recall, he looked to be of foreign descent. That meant that it was probably the woman who he was on the phone with now, who he had been trying to meet. He hadn't been able to make out any of their conversation before he had approached him, but he had looked pretty surprised to see the blockade at the door. It could be a pure coincidence that he was down here now, trying to leave the hotel.

"Eh? A blackout?" Paikaru blinked. Nothing like that had happened where he had been- then again, the ballroom had been on a different floor from the ill fated scientist's hotel room. "Did somethin' like that happen?"

"Yeah. But only on the floor the ballroom was on." Conan told him, nodding his head. The young man seemed to be genuinely surprised by this information- if that was acting, then he was pretty good at it. If he hadn't been aware of the blackout, he probably had been on a different floor at the time of the murder- which meant it would have been impossible for him to have done it. Still, he couldn't shake the strange feeling that there was something this young man was keeping from him- but he didn't know what that could be, or if it was even related to the case at hand. "You didn't notice, mister?"

"No." Paikaru said, shaking his head. Since it was something that had happened in such a crowded place, he had been certain it would been a poisoning. But if they had created a blackout, then any number of things would have been possible, provided that they had a way of telling where the victim was. "I was on a different floor from the ballroom. I don't really care fer bein' in big parties like that by myself, so I was just kinda of wanderin' around ta kill time until my friend came back."

"But yer pretty curious, aren't ya, kid?" He couldn't help but ask, not missing the vague way something deep inside Conan almost seemed to twitch at the word kid. That was kind of amusing in it's own right.

At the very least, he seemed to be avoiding falling under suspicion for the moment, just as he wanted. Once he got a chance to, he would find a way to slip out of the hotel and rejoin Vermouth- it would be bad if he were still here when the police arrived, and the number of people who could potentially recognize him increased.

"Uncle Kogoro asked me to go around and ask the party guests on the lobby level some questions!" Conan quickly chirped.

"Uncle Kogoro?" Slightly tilting his head, Paikaru slipped an expression of confusion on his face, acting as if he didn't instantly understand what Conan had meant. After a few moments, he acted as if it was dawning on him. "Ah, ya don't mean that one guy, do ya? That Slumberin' Detective, or whatever he's called?"

"Yeah, the Sleeping Kogoro!" Conan said, nodding his head. Well, whatever the case, this guy probably wasn't related to this case. There were some things that still bothered him, but with the blockade in place, he probably wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile yet. The murder case at hand took priority- especially since the culprit had done something like murder someone that Ran admired. He definitely couldn't forgive that. "You didn't see anyone suspicious wandering around when you were looking around, did you?"

"Anyone suspicious?" Placing a hand to his chin, Paikaru mulled it over for a moment, for once being sincere about the matter. At the very least, Kudo probably wouldn't need him to solve this case- although it was seven shades of frustrating to be so close to him, and not be able to actually help him out. He'd offer his help more properly, if it didn't carry the risk of him being recognized. Still, the fact that they had been talking to each other for this long without him realizing who he was, was a good sign. "No, I don't think so."

"I see..." Making a slightly disappointed face, Conan nevertheless quickly perked up again. "Then, I'll let you get back to your phone call, mister! You should probably tell your friend that you won't be able to meet her for a little while yet."

"Well, I'm just sorry I couldn't help ya any." And there was sincerity again in his apology- for reasons that Conan wasn't liable to understand. If anything, he had only created another problem for him this evening. "An' I'll do that. Does that detective uncle of yers want all the party guests ta go back ta the ballroom, or anythin' like that?"

"Yeah, that would help." Conan told him, nodding his head. He didn't really seem like such a bad guy- bothersome feeling aside. It was always refreshing to find adults that took what children had to say somewhat seriously. "Then, I'll see you later, mister!"

"Yeah, later!" With a slight wave of his hand, fighting the urge to flash one of his more characteristic smiles towards him, Paikaru watched as Conan darted off towards the hotel doors, where he could already make out several of the guests he knew had been at the party amassing at, irritated that they couldn't leave. Among their number, there was one that was no doubt the culprit. Watching as the not child came up to the side of one of them, having zeroed in on them from the start, he couldn't help but let out a small half smile. He was doing what he did best tonight.

It was kind of interesting, in a way, to watch his friend from a different perspective. But unfortunately, he couldn't stay. He had managed to stay off the suspect list for now- but as soon as inconsistencies were shown between what he had told him, and what actually happened, he knew that there would be trouble. Putting his phone up by his ear once more, Paikaru's gaze lingered on Conan for only a moment longer, before he stepped back into the waiting elevator.

"Sorry about that. I guess ya pretty much heard that conversation, so I won't bother goin' over any of it again." Paikaru told her, his eyes narrowing as the doors closed behind him. Pressing the button for the second floor, he once again went over the hotel's blueprints in his head, creating an alternative escape route. The fact that he wouldn't be in the ballroom when Conan came back up there would doubtlessly raise alarm bells in his head, but at the very least, the voice and face that he would likely come to associate with Paikaru weren't those of his own.

In a way, that was to his advantage.

"No, I heard everything. You did rather well, Paikaru." Vermouth couldn't help but observe, a note of amusement laced into her words. "I'm impressed that you managed to fool him."

"He thinks of me as a bad liar. It's not really that hard when yer startin' from that." Paikaru said simply, stepping out of the elevator again as it came to the next floor. There was also the fact that he trusted Hattori Heiji implicitly. Conan had made no moves towards him, obvious or otherwise, so he was quite certain that he hadn't picked up any of those transmitters that he carried with him. He was free to talk as he pleased. "Anyways, I'm comin' ta where ya are. Chances are, the police are gonna find that body a lot sooner than either of us planned."

"Well, not even I could predict that someone else would be murdered tonight." Paikaru said lightly. Sure, he and Kudo had a tendency to run into corpses wherever they went- but he had been hoping that the fact that he was going to be creating one tonight himself might outweigh any random murders. "I suppose it can't be helped. Ya should probably inform the higher ups that there were unpredictable complications this time around."

"I will." Vermouth said simply, lightly tapping the steering wheel as she waited. "Sounds like things are going to get rather busy for you in the near future though, Paikaru."

"Don't say that like yer not the one tryin' ta work me ta death, Vermouth. Or that ya won't enjoy it." Paikaru couldn't help but grumble, brows furrowing together. "Anyways, I'm hangin' up. I should be where ya are in a few minutes."

Doing just that, Paikaru let out a long, drawn out sigh. If Kudo realized that the woman who had been with him at the time had been Vermouth, then there was a chance that he might be able to realize that this face he now wore was nothing more than a disguise. Still, as long as he didn't realize the truth behind his voice, he still had something of an upper hand in this situation.

It would be fine. He would make it fine.

From the moment he had realized that the young man that he had spoken with wasn't among the guests gathered in the ballroom, Conan had a sneaking suspicion that something was wrong. That crawling feeling of dread slowly surfaced again inside of him, whispering to him that everything that he feared was true, that there was a chance that he had allowed one of them to slip by him without so much as a protest. When a few inquires once the case was solved lead him to another corpse, that of one of that man's companions, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had been there. The scene was too perfect to be the work of anyone else.

No wonder he didn't know about the blackout- he had been on another floor, murdering the man that he had been speaking with at the party. A scientist from South Korea, from the sound of it, who worked in the field of genetics. He would follow that thread as far as it could take him- but for now, he had something else to focus on.

The identity of the young man that he had spoken with.

"No. It's to his advantage that not many members know his face, given his main role. I only know that he speaks with a Kansai dialect."

That was him. It had to be him. Now that he was properly listening to them, all of his instincts practically screamed that much- especially now, with the discovery of the corpse. That made it the second time that he had run into the one known as Paikaru in the span of a month. If that corpse found in the burned out storage shed was also his work, then chances were, he really was working out of the Tokyo area at the moment.

And he had just shown his face to him. The Organization had briefly taken an interest in Kogoro before, and he had so freely used his name around him- already he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, wondering if everything was going to be alright. Had he been at this party because of him? Because of Kogoro? He didn't know, and not knowing filled him with the kind of fear that he didn't get from anything else. What if something happened because of him?

No, he had to calm down. Their exchange had happened because of pure coincidence. In all likelihood, Paikaru had been here, at this hotel, because of this man. He had nothing to do with it, nor did Kogoro. Besides, if what Ai had told him was true, and the Organization member that he was most connected to was Vermouth, then it stood to reason that she might have an interest in keeping him away from them. He really didn't understand that woman, but one thing at least was clear about her- that for whatever reason, she valued Ran rather highly. She probably wouldn't act in a way that she knew might put her in danger.

Come to think of it, if he was working with Vermouth, then perhaps that was the reason that he hadn't shot at them back then. It was possible that he had been given orders to avoid directly harming him- so if he had any idea he was with Jodie at the time, it might have caused him to hesitate to fire. If he really was as loyal to that woman as Ai seemed to think he was, then he probably wouldn't question those orders.

Still, why had he let him out of his sight? Even though he knew the answer was that he had been preoccupied by the case at hand at the time, he couldn't help but swear underneath his breath once the reality of the situation sunk into him. He had one of their number right in front of him, and he had just let him get away!

For the second time.

He should have trusted his instincts more- if it was just a matter of changing the height, one could do that with secret boots. They had even done that much recently themselves, in order to disguise his mother as his father, to help throw Amuro off of Shuichi's scent. If that woman that he had been with was Vermouth, then he had to assume that his face probably wasn't his own either. All he had to go on was his voice- and even about that, there was something that was niggling at him.

He had come to this party in an attempt to take a break from this sort of thing, to allow himself a chance to gather his thoughts together again- but he had only ended up becoming more frustrated. He had no way to prove it, and bringing it up carelessly around the police could put them in danger. As he watched both the police and the awakened Kogoro determine that the scene was clearly that of a suicide, even as Conan noticed that there were pieces of security footage missing from the recordings, he once again felt a deep frustration and an equal amount of disappointment in himself begin to brew.

And still, too, that vague feeling, that strange impression he had gotten from speaking with the young man didn't go away. In the back of his mind, there was something faintly brewing- too faint to make out just yet. He didn't have enough information to draw any conclusions about his identity. All he knew about him was his voice, as well as his general body type- even his skin tone might have been altered by makeup.

Even though part of him was already whispering that there was no need to go that far.

It was that thought, that for some reason, he found himself reaching for his phone with a slightly trembling hand. Once he had it in hand, he realized that he didn't fully understand what it was that he wanted to actually do with it- he had just pulled it out by instinct. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he closed his eyes- above all else, he needed to be thinking straight right now.

That's right. Jodie. He wanted to contact Jodie. That was probably the reason he had gone for his phone. Using the FBI, he could gather more information on the murder victim than he would be able to do on his own. Besides, they needed to know that Vermouth- and likely Paikaru- had been spotted here, and recently.

Taking in and letting out another deep breath, Conan steadied himself to make the call. Paikaru had slipped away from him twice now, but he wasn't about to let it happen for a third time.

Still, for someone who had been described to him as the Organization's loyal dog, his personality wasn't at all what he had expected. That too, was something that bothered him- but he couldn't put his finger on the reason why.

There was nothing he hated more in this world than not knowing.

Finally being able to peel off the mask- both metaphorical and literal- that he felt like he had been wearing for far too long, Heiji let out a long breath. Dealing with any communications with anyone high ranking in the Organization was Vermouth's job, and as such, they had parted ways for the time being. He didn't have any way to contact any of them anyways- although he knew full well they had plenty of ways to contact him.

He never really cared for that much.

Speaking of people contacting him though- that was definitely his usual cellphone. With a slight frown, Heiji pulled it out from the drawer he had put it in when they had left the hotel, wondering who it could be. He didn't want to risk bringing it with him to the party, on the off chance that he might forget about the voice changer around his neck. Speaking of which, he carefully reached up a hand around his neck, unclasping it, before tossing it aside on the bed, only then answering the phone.

"Geez, it took ya long enough, Heiji!" Kazuha's voice came through on the other end of the phone loud and clear, before he even so much as had a chance to say anything. "I've been tryin' ta call ya all evening!"

"Ah sorry, sorry. I had my phone turned off." Heiji quickly said, a smile flashing across his face. It was a bit strange to hear the sound of his own voice after using a different one for several hours. "What's up, Kazuha? Did somethin' happen back at home?"

Speaking of voices, it was a bit nice to hear hers. Even though it certainly didn't help with the sense of guilt that was starting to set in now, it still had a refreshing quality to it that helped him feel more like, well, himself. The usual Hattori Heiji, who bickered constantly with the childhood friend that was more important to him than she would probably ever realize.

"Ran-chan called me earlier, soundin' all upset." Kazuha told him. "One of her favorite drama actress was murdered, or somethin' like that. Her father solved the case, so that's fine, but she sounds pretty down. I was thinkin' that you an' I could head ta Tokyo next weekend ta check up on her an' make sure she's okay. You'll be back from the case yer workin' on now before then, right?"

It must have been the actress that had been murdered at that party, Heiji realized, a slight frown crossing his face. So that detective agency Neechan was a fan of her- well, it was no wonder that she would be depressed about it then. If she had been in the area when the murder had happened, then there was all the more reason for that sort of feeling.

"Ah, yeah, I should be back before then." Heiji said, nodding his head. The 'case' was pretty much finished up anyways. He would probably be able to head home as early as tomorrow evening. "There's no case so hard that it'd take me more than a week ta solve anyways! What do ya take me fer anyways, Kazuha?"

"What a thing ta say, since it's happened before!" Kazuha responded, and he could almost see the slightly mocking grin on her face. He half wanted to retort that those hadn't been cases he had been working on at all- but well, it was better not to say something like that. "Although I suppose I should be grateful that yer not takin' half as long as Kudo-kun is. I wonder what that guy's up ta anyways, leavin' Ran-chan behind fer so long like that?"

"Well, I'm sure Kudo's got his own things ta worry about." Heiji said simply, taking a seat on the bed, letting out a slight laugh. He kind of wanted to be there when Kazuha eventually learned the truth about 'Conan-kun'. It would probably be pretty amusing.

Although, by that time, he might not be friends with any of them anymore.

"Anyways, this weekend ya said? I guess I can manage that, fer Neechan's sake." Heiji noted. It was a bit sooner then he wanted to turn back up in Tokyo, but it would be even stranger if he tried to argue against it. Besides, he couldn't say that he wasn't concerned for Ran as well- even if she ran into this sort of thing with alarming regularity, it probably wasn't that easy of a blow to swallow when the person being murdered was someone you apparently admired. "She's pretty tough though, that Neechan, so I wouldn't worry about her too much."

"Well, she apparently did get to punch the culprit once, so I can only hope that took off some of the edge." Kazuha reported to him, and Heiji couldn't help but let out a low whistle. That was probably quite the sight- he was almost sorry that he missed it. "Rather, Neechan, Neechan, it's always Neechan with ya. When are ya gonna start callin' Ran-chan by her own name, Heiji?"

"It's just become somethin' of a habit now." Heiji admitted, scratching his cheek. Perhaps there was a part of him that wanted to keep her at a slight distance from him. He was a part of those same men in black who had caused so much of her current grief, after all- even if she didn't know, and even if he hadn't been the one to poison Kudo in the first place. "What's the harm? I don't think it bothers her any."

"Ran-chan is probably just too nice ta say otherwise." Kazuha said, letting out a long sigh. "By the way, Heiji, where are ya anyways? Ya just left a note sayin' that you were goin' out ta solve a case, an' probably wouldn't be home tonight. Given what's happenin' here right now, yer folks are a bit worried about ya. Ya haven't gotten involved with that whole turf war mess, have ya? Ya shouldn't do that sort of thing."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. I was just in a bit of a rush." Heiji admitted after a moment, unable to help but mentally note that he wasn't just simply involved with that matter- but rather, he had been the one to start it. Given that the party might have run late into the evening, he didn't want to return home in the middle of the night, and had ended up renting a hotel room in Tokyo for the night instead. Not underneath his own name, of course. "I'm in Nagoya, Nagoya. I'm workin' on a case here. Well, I've pretty much already completely solved it, though."

Mentally, he couldn't but apologize to Kazuha for telling her yet another lie. Where had he gotten a reputation for being honest from anyways? That couldn't be any further from the truth. His entire life these days was built on nothing more than a razor thin string of lies, just waiting to be snapped.

"Is that so? I'll tell Auntie then." Kazuha said. "Anyways, come home soon, Heiji. Ya know I worry about ya when yer off workin' on a case on yer own."

It was a shame that she wouldn't be able to see the soft smile that spread across his face at her words, even if he couldn't help but think that he didn't deserve such worries. "Sorry, Kazuha. I'll bring ya along on my next case, okay? Although given that weird reputation I seem ta be gettin' these days, it might involve another monster."

"Don't say somethin' like that, idiot!" Kazuha protested, puffing out her cheeks. "An' I'm comin' along even if it does involve a monster. It's not like any of the ones that we've dealt with in the past have actually turned out ta be real, or anythin' like that."

"Well, that's true." Heiji admitted. "The only real monsters are the murderers. An' those ya can usually take out with a good blow ta the head, in a pinch!"

What a thing for him to say, as if he wasn't one of those monsters himself. The kind of run of the mill culprit that he usually dealt with paled in comparison to the detective that was exposing their crimes. It was almost hilarious, in a way.

"That's true." Kazuha said. "Anyways, let's go see Ran-chan next Sunday, Heiji! I won't let ya forget. An' no ditchin' us either ta go hang out with Conan-kun all day like ya did the other time!"

With a slight laugh, Heiji felt a smile cross his face, even as he couldn't help but hate himself for being able to act like this not that long after he had just killed someone. He might not be half as numb to it as he was in the past, but the fact that he could go back to normal right away after doing something like that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't anything like a good person. "I got it, I got it. Then, I'll talk ta ya later, Kazuha. I have ta get back ta this case. I'll probably get back home before dinner tomorrow, so tell mom ta leave some out for me."

"Yeah, I will! I'll talk ta ya tomorrow, Heiji!" With a click, the other end of the line went dead. Holding the phone in his hands for a few moments longer, he paused to check the call log, scrolling through the many missed calls that Kazuha had made to him. Just as she had said, there were one or two from his mother as well.

There were none from Kudo. He couldn't help but find that strangely comforting.

"Are you certain that the young man you saw was Paikaru?"

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure." If there was one thing that he liked about Jodie, it was that it wasn't doubt lacing her voice right now- but rather, a desire to make sure she understood everything he was telling her. She had promised to meet with him right away the follow morning in regards to the matter, without a second of hesitation. "The body type was the type was the same, and he spoke with an Osakan accent. The only thing that was different from the last time we saw him was his height, but that could have been easily faked."

"That's true." Jodie mused, resting a hand on her chin in thought. They had managed to obtain the security recordings from that night without too many problems. And while the footage had been edited to hide the fact that they had left the party with the murdered scientist, they still showed up in other places. "It's this one right here?"

Tapping the screen to indicate who she meant, Jodie narrowed her eyes as Conan nodded his head, giving the young man captured in the footage a studious look. The quality of the footage wasn't the best, so she wasn't able to make out most of his features. But according to what Conan had told her- that the odds were high that the woman that he was with was Vermouth, that might not even be his real face anyways.

"You spoke to him, didn't you?" Jodie asked, standing back up straight, folding her arms in front of her chest. "What kind of impression did you get from him?"

"Impression?" Mulling over her words for a moment, Conan thought back to his conversation with the one who was likely Paikaru. "Although he was a bit annoyed at first because I interrupted his phone call, after that, he almost seemed somewhat amicable, really." He recalled. "He certainly didn't act like someone who had just murdered a person."

"That's a pro for you." Jodie observed, narrowing her eyes. "Given the fact that he works with Vermouth, according to what you told me before, do you think there was a chance that he recognized you?"

"I don't know." Conan admitted, shaking his head. That too, was something that frustrated him. "He might have, but just didn't react. Considering that she hasn't told any other members about my existence, it's possible that she hasn't mentioned it to him either. At the very least, he didn't make any suspicious moves towards me, although that might just be because we were in a public place."

"That's certainly true." With a deep frown, Jodie leaned her head back for a moment, dwelling on her own thoughts. "Was there anything else you noticed about him, Conan-kun? At this point in the investigation, anything might help."

"Anything else I noticed about him..." Putting a hand to his chin in thought, Conan's brows furrowed together. He still couldn't shake that strange niggling feeling in the back of his mind, that strange sense of unease that had appeared from the moment that he had spoken to him. No, thinking back on it, it might have actually first taken root when he had seen his back.

Still, no matter how hard he puzzled over it, he couldn't figure out what it was. Had he seen him somewhere before? His face wasn't ringing any bells, neither was his voice.

"No, there was nothing else." Conan said after a moment, shaking his head. A vague, insubstantial feeling wouldn't be of much use to the FBI. If it developed into something else, he would come to speak with her again. "As for the man that was murdered, have you been able to pull up data on what he was working on?"

"No, not yet. But it's probably only a matter of time." Jodie told him. "I'll contact you once we know anything more about him. Still, for the Organization to be recruiting a genetics researcher... I can't help but wonder what it is that they're planning. Would that girl know something? You said before that one of her relative was involved with their research."

"I can ask her, but I don't know how much she would know." Conan told her. That was one of the areas where he couldn't shake the impression that Ai definitely knew more than she was letting on- and while he had been able to get what information she knew about Rum and Paikaru from her just by asking, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to get anything this time.

Still, he could at least give it a try.

"Please do." Jodie told him. "Speaking of people with Osakan accents, though, that young man from the other day, Hattori-kun- how much does he know about the Organization?"

He kind of had a feeling that this question was coming one day. Still, it bothered him to hear Heiji referred to in the same breath as that guy- even if he had more or less done the same thing himself earlier.

"Heiji-niichan?" Conan asked. "I don't know. It was Shinichi-niichan who asked him to show up at that party in his place. If he knows anything, I don't think it's much. Probably just enough to know that they exist, and to be careful of them. Why do you ask?"

"It was just on my mind." Jodie told him, giving him a small smile. "That's all. Is there anything else though, Conan-kun?"

"No, not right now." Conan said, shaking his head. "Have you contacted Akai-san about this yet?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to discuss all of the details with you first. James might have mentioned something to him though." Jodie said.

"Then, I'll speak with him myself, since I'm going over there to speak with Haibara anyways." Conan told her. "Be sure to call me if you find anything out, Jodie-sensei!"

With a promise that she would, Conan made his way back out of the hotel. Although he had been able to put a bit of distance between himself and last night's events with a bit of rest, they still bothered him. Scratching his head in frustration as he once again let his thoughts dwell on the chance that he had missed, he stopped mid step, turning back to look towards the hotel. He had more or less been able to determine the escape route that Paikaru had probably taken- but of course, he hadn't left any evidence behind.

This probably wouldn't bother him half as much as it did if it weren't for that vague sense of unease that he was feeling. It was a rather ominous feeling- as if some part of him was trying to warn him that this wasn't something that he should chase too deeply. That he couldn't understand- even when it came to someone as high up in rank as Rum, he never got that feeling.

So why? Why was this bothering him so much?

He couldn't help but feel if he knew the reason why, he would be able to relax a little. There was nothing a detective hated more than not knowing.

Or so he thought.