Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belong to Aoyama Gosho, but my OCs are mine.

Chapter 14

Completing the Puzzle

Yusaku stared at a piece of paper in his hand in silence. He was shocked. That paper made him shocked. The novelist turned his attention toward his son who was sitting at the edge of his bed.

"Why?" finally he asked the boy.

"Why did he give that? Probably because his life is targeted too," Conan answered. "I know you must be quite shocked with this, Tou-san. I was shocked too when I first saw that result." The detective sighed, remembering the content of the paper in Yusaku's hand with Kid's message and insignia at the bottom part.

A gift for you and your parents, Tantei-kun. Use it wisely.

'Damn you, Kid. Always so unpredictable.' Conan sighed once again. He did not know how he should react to the thief's gift. His gift was so precious, true, but Kid never gave him something as important as this gift so openly. Usually he would use a secret code or secret message with his confusing riddles, but this gift was bold, to the point, and clear. It was a solid proof, an undeniable evidence that told him the truth about Lily Mizushima and Yuriko Adams. Conan did not have any idea how the thief could manage to obtain their fingerprint—okay, maybe it was easy to get Lily's fingerprint, but Yuriko? She was supposed to die 4 years ago, but despite of that, Kid was able to get her fingerprint from her things in New York. It seemed that the thief was more resourceful and more skilled than he had thought.

"Tou-san, do you remember Yuriko Adams' case?" Conan asked his father. Yusaku nodded.

"Actually, I have a complete file on that case. It's here in the library," the novelist added.

"That's even better. I'll get it." The boy got up from the bed and walked toward the library, leaving Yusaku alone with Yukiko in their bedroom. The former actress looked unsure. She did not know what to do. She was surprised knowing that a dead woman actually was still alive. she felt exactly like that time when she just discovered that Sharon was alive. She was surprised, shocked, happy, and sad altogether. Not only that, she was also confused with the sudden gift from the phantom thief and at the same time, she was excited with this situation. Kid never gave anything so obvious like this before, without tricks, riddles, or codes. As far as she knew, Yusaku always had to solve the thief's riddles to get something important like this fingerprint test result.

Tonight really was a shocking night for Yukiko and Yusaku. For their son too. Conan rushed toward Kudo residence soon after he had read the gift from Kid at Agasa's house. The boy was in urge. He insisted to talk with his parents in private while carrying a booklet envelope which turned out to contain an important document from the phantom thief.

"Do you think we can trust him, Yusaku?" Yukiko asked. "Do you think that result is true?"

"If it comes from Kid, then it should be true. As far as I know, Kid never lies about things like this," Yusaku replied.

"It's true then? That Lily Mizushima is Yuriko Adams?"

"I guess, but we will know for sure if we look at Yuriko's case again," Yusaku answered. "You know, Yukiko, I remember Yuriko Adams was a hunter, skilled in firearm and archery."

"Are you saying that Mizushima-san could be the sniper?"

"Exactly, but let's wait until Shinichi gets the file for us."

A few minutes later, Conan returned to his parents' room with Yuriko's case file in his hand. The boy read the file first; Yusaku did not really need that since he still remembered the case clearly. Once Conan had finished reading, he gave the file to Yukiko so that she could learn about Yuriko too. While Yukiko read the file, Conan started to discuss the case with his father.

The file told Conan many things about Yuriko. It told him her biodata, her background, her job, her smuggling crime and finally, her suicide. Now the detective knew that Yuriko was more than a smuggler. She was a professional hunter. She was skilled in firearm and archery. She taught people how to use gun and rifle. Her archery skill came from her experience in kyudo. Now Conan knew that Yuriko used to learn kyudo with her mother when she was living in Tokyo. He knew that Yuriko learned it in Arata's dojo. Her mother was Arata's friend.

"How come the police had not suspected him before? I mean, they didn't even think that Arata could be involved in Yuriko's case," Conan said to his father.

"I think that's because they never contacted each other ever since Yuriko went to America," Yusaku answered. "On top of it, she wasn't directly connected to Arata when she smuggled drugs. That time the police only knew that Yuriko smuggled drugs to pay for her boyfriend's surgery."

"If she wasn't connected directly to him, then to whom? Who's the middle man?"

"Ah, that's in another case. I remember the middle man was Eric Wu's follower. Not long after Yuriko had committed suicide, Mr. Wood told me that the Interpol managed to arrest him."

"Eric Wu?" Conan blinked. "Isn't he the one who has a link with one of Interpol's suspects, Elizabeth Gray?"

"That's true," Yusaku nodded. "He was one hell of a smuggler, cunning and astute. He has many followers, scattered around the world after he got arrested, but despite of that, they still manage to do their job—smuggling, I mean."

"Do you mean the authorities haven't captured all of them?"

"Yes. In some cases, some of them were working for another person, some of them tried to keep Eric Wu's legacy. Usually people who try to stick with Wu are easy to capture. The one who worked with Yuriko was in this category."

"He sticked to Eric Wu? Not Arata?" Yukiko asked, confused.

"Yes, but now that the police have found out that Arata's also involved in smuggling crime and that we know that actually Yuriko and Lily are the same person, I believe Arata had a role in this too."

"Perhaps Wu and Arata were partners in crime," Conan stated.

"I agree with you, Shin," Yusaku replied. "If not, why else this Wu's follower could work with Yuriko? I'm almost certain Arata had planned them to work together somehow."

"Huh? Why?" Yukiko asked, did not really get what her husband had said.

"Because Yuriko Adams knows Arata quite well. If she had financial problem, she should ask Arata for help, which means she should ask him to help Harry Green—her boyfriend—when neither her nor Harry were able to pay for Harry's surgery. If Arata was generous, Yuriko didn't have to smuggle illegal drugs in order to pay Harry's surgery, but the reality said otherwise. Furthermore, she had to work with Wu's follower. How in the world Yuriko could have contact with such criminal? The most sensible answer is because Arata somehow connected them with each other. After all, we know that Arata's also guilty for smuggling illegal drugs," Conan explained.

"Does that mean Arata refused to help her?"

"Not quite. Harry Green was able to pay for his surgery, so that means Arata had helped her, but also asked her for something in return," Yusaku corrected.

"He asked her to smuggle drugs for him?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Oh dear..." Yukiko sighed. "If that truly happened, I really pity her."

"Me too, considering Arata was a friend of Yuriko's mother and already knew Yuriko ever since she was young. I have no idea how could he do that to her if that truly happened," Yusaku agreed. "Anyways, now we have some important pieces for our puzzle. Yuriko is still alive. She is Lily Mizushima, a kyudo instructor who works at Arata's gym. Lily clearly knows Arata very well and she's not only skilled in kyudo, but also in shooting. She should be able to use a sniper rifle since she worked as a hunter before, which means she's a potential candidate for our mysterious sniper."

"Yeah, but why did she fake her death? Arata must have something to do with this. And why the police didn't realize Arata's involvement sooner even though they were able to capture Wu's follower?" Conan responded, still had some questions.

"Probably because the police had found her to be guilty for smuggling. If she gets captured, sooner or later the police would find out about Arata since she knows Arata quite well. That sounds dangerous for him, don't you think?" Yusaku answered. "And to answer your second question, I know that Wu's follower that time didn't know Arata. He only knew that he worked with the help of Wu's acquaintance—he referred to him as Wu's business partner, actually. He told the police that he knew nothing about this person except that that person is a man—he didn't know his voice or his face—and that they never met each other directly. The police couldn't ask Yuriko about him too since she had committed suicide that time. Unfortunately, this Wu's acquaintance disappeared as soon as the police suspected Yuriko and this poor middle man was left alone without any help to escape from the police."

"Oh, I see. Then Yuriko's fake death probably was planned by Arata?" Conan frowned. "He was willing to help Yuriko but unwilling to help the middle man?"

"I think so. It's possible Arata helped Yuriko to escape not just because her arrest could lead to his arrest, but also because he cared about her. After all, she's a daughter of his friend and he had known her since she was very young."

"But why would he abandon the middle man? That man could lead him to prison too," Yukiko asked.

"But in reality, that man didn't send Arata to prison, right? I guess Arata already knew what he should do. Maybe at that time, it was better for him to leave the middle man," Yusaku replied, then he looked at the fingerprint result in his hand once again. "I have to admit Kid is impressive for being able to figure out Yuriko's false identity. I may won't ever think about her being alive all this time, teaching kyudo in Arata's gym."

"That's true. I never thought about it either," Yukiko agreed. "How do you think he could figure her out?"

"I think I know how," Conan answered. "Now that I think about it, Yuriko Adams and Mizushima-sensei have similar feature: they both have green eyes, which is a rare eye color in the world, and they both are Japanese-American. Their names also have similar meaning. Kanji yuri in Yuriko means lily and based on Yuriko's file, I know that her mother's surname is Shimizu. It have kanji mizu, just like mizu in Mizushima. Maybe Kid became suspicious when he thought of these things and he decided to confirm it."

"I see! Those things indeed are too much for coincidences!" Yukiko looked amazed. "I wonder why you two didn't realize it," she added, quipping her husband and her son.

"I haven't met Mizushima-san. Of course I don't know if she has green eyes. Moreover, the police haven't suspected her," Yusaku retorted.

"I also didn't think of her being Yuriko Adams because she appears innocent. The police didn't find her to be connected to Arata and the other employees' statement only affirm it. Not only that, the police didn't find any firearm or anything related to it in her house. I haven't suspected her until this afternoon," Conan explained.

"This afternoon?" Yukiko asked curiously while Yusaku looked at his son seriously.

"Yes, this afternoon." Then Conan told his parents about his visit to Arata's kyudojo with the detective boys and how he found out about Lily being familiar with firearms and SLLS, things that a kyudoka should not know. He told them that he began to suspect Lily after he noticed those things.

"Huh, that's indeed unusual for a kyudoka. Perhaps she's truly the sniper," Yusaku muttered, "and if the police couldn't find any firearm in her house, maybe she already disposed the weapon or gave it to Takenaka if that butler indeed is her partner in crime."

"Yeah, but there's still one mystery left," Conan replied. "Tou-san, Takenaka is still missing. We don't know for sure whether he's alive or dead. If he's dead, maybe Mizushima-sensei killed him. If he's alive, maybe he's Mizushima-sensei's partner in crime. If the latter is the case, then maybe they still want to kill someone else—maybe they want to kill you, Tou-san."

"Hmm... maybe," Yusaku nodded in agreement, "but it doesn't matter now, does it? We will just have to confront her to stop her for killing me, if that's indeed her intention. Besides, I'm in good hands here, so we don't need to worry about my safety."

"I guess so..."

"Um, I think you two forget something else," Yukiko interrupted. "I'm sure Mizushima-san was said to witness Mia Vasquez in dojo when Yusaku got shot. If she's the sniper, how come she was able to shoot Yusaku and at the same time witnessed Vasquez-san in the dojo?"

Yusaku and Conan blinked, looked at each other for a moment. Yukiko was right. The police clearly stated that Lily witnessed Mia in Arata's dojo when Yusaku got shot since she was Mia's instructor. If Lily was the sniper, of course it was impossible for her to shoot Yusaku and at the same time witnessing Mia in the dojo.

"If Arata's butler is Mizushima-san's partner in crime, it's possible he's the one who shot me," Yusaku finally said after he had thought for a while. "Moreover, that time Arata was still alive, so it's more likely they were at the same team, working for Arata to kill me."

"Right. Besides, it's impossible if Mizushima-sensei shot Tou-san from Arata's gym. It's quite far from the hall of press conference," Conan added, seriously doubted a sniper could shoot from such distance, "but just to make sure, I think we can discuss this with Subaru-san since he's also a skilled sniper. We should ask the police about the whereabout of Arata's butler too when you got shot, Tou-san."

"Right. I'll ask Subaru-san and Megure later," Yusaku agreed, but then he looked as if he remembered something. The novelist was in deep thought all of a sudden, making Conan and Yukiko confused.

"Yu-chan?" Yukiko called the novelist softly. "What's wrong?"

"The prisoner... didn't at first we think that Arata held a grudge against me because I helped the authorities to arrest his acquaintance?" Yusaku mumbled as he rubbed his chin.

"Now that you mention it, I think you're right," Yukiko responded. "So what's up with the prisoner?"

"We also thought that the sniper might want to kill the prisoner after Arata's death... that Kid might know this prisoner because the sniper also wanted to kill him."

"Uhh, that's true. So?"

"The prisoner that had a connection with Arata and the sniper... could that be...?"

"Eric Wu." Conan finished his father's sentence. His eyes were wide open when he realized this possibility. "Kid knows Eric Wu."

Suddenly the room was filled with silence. Yusaku and Conan looked at each other with meaningful gazes while Yukiko did not know what to say. After quite a while, the former actress could not stand the silence any longer, so she decided to break it.

"Whatever you two are thinking, I want you to explain it to me," Yukiko demanded, throwing an impatience look at her husband and her son. "I don't like being the only one in the dark."

Yusaku and Conan glanced at each other again before finally Conan voluntered himself to explain.

"Kaa-san, if Eric Wu's truly connected to Arata and Kid knows that, I think perhaps Kid and Arata talked about Eric Wu in their meeting."

"Why should it be like that?"

"Because we have guessed that Arata wanted to hire Kid for something in that meeting and Arata offered his gems as a payment, but we still don't know what kind of job he offered to the thief. Kid obviously refused that job because Arata's sniper also wanted to kill him, but why did he refuse it? Moreover, why did he even promise Arata to steal his jewels? Why did he perform dangerous heist like Aoboshi heist?"

"Well, he wanted to alert the police about the sniper who targeted him and he wanted to tell them that he's also involved in Yusaku's case, right?" Yukiko replied.

"Yes, but why did he refuse Arata's job and even more, threaten him with his heist promise? Also, how could he be so sure that the sniper who targeted him actually is the same sniper that had shot Tou-san?"

"Because... because he already knew that Arata was involved in Yusaku's incident," Yukiko answered slowly, trying to process the questions and to remember her previous discussion with Yusaku and Conan many days ago after Aoboshi heist. "Kid knew that Arata had a connection with Yusaku's incident, that's why he refused the job. He threatened Arata with his heist promise to make sure whether or not Arata was truly involved in the case. He had guessed Arata might want to kill him with a sniper when he performed his heist."

"And how do you think Kid could realize that Arata has a connection with Tou-san's case?" Conan asked further.

"How?" Yukiko thought for a moment until something clicked in her head. "Wait. Eric Wu was arrested by Interpol with Yusaku's help and... let's assume he once worked with Arata. If Kid knows Eric Wu, that means Kid already knows that Eric Wu was arrested by Interpol with Yusaku's help since the beginning and later he found out that Eric Wu has a connection with Arata." Yukiko frowned, the she looked at her son. "Shin-chan, do you want to say that Kid only realized that connection after Arata had offered a job to him?"

"Exactly," Conan nodded. "He only realized it in his meeting with Arata and that means the job that Arata offered to him is somehow linked to Eric Wu."

"But what kind of job that could make him realize it?"

"Based on our presumption that the sniper might want to kill the prisoner after Arata's death—which means the prisoner has an important information that could take the sniper to prison—coupled with the fact that the sniper also wanted to kill Kid, it's most likely the prisoner knows something important about Arata and the sniper," Yusaku answered.

"But until now Wu hasn't reported anything about Arata to the police and the recent investigation also said that the prisoners didn't seem to have any connection with Arata. That means Wu doesn't know anything about him, right?" Yukiko asked again.

"Yes, but maybe that's because Arata worked with him with his false identity or through a very trusted mediator—his accomplices admitted that Arata often worked with criminals using false identities or his mediator and the mediator can't be Yuriko's middle man, of course, since that man was Wu's follower. If the police are able to figure out Arata's false identity or his mediator and then they ask Wu about it, what do you think will happen to Arata?"

"Well, obviously he'll be in trouble. His secret business will be exposed and the police will arrest him, and sooner or later they will catch the sniper too," Yukiko answered, then suddenly she realized something. "Hold on. Yu-chan, Arata was already a suspect of fraud case when you got shot, right?"

Yusaku only smiled and nodded.

"Could it be that he was depressed? He was a suspect that time and if Wu truly knows something about him that could endanger him—wait, it can't be, right?" Yukiko worriedly looked at Yusaku and Conan.

"No, it's possible," Yusaku quickly replied. He knew what his wife was thinking. "Maybe Arata wanted to kill Wu, but we know that Wu's still in prison. As long as Wu is in prison, Arata could never be able to harm him. That's why he needed Kid."

"Kid is known as an expert in lock-picking. Not only that, he was able to break into the strongest safe in Japan, so maybe Arata had hoped that Kid would be able to break into prison. He had hoped that Kid could release Eric Wu," Conan added.

"So that's probably what happened at that meeting. Arata offered Kid a job to release Wu, but Kid refused it because he was aware of Eric Wu's link to Yusaku and his Interpol friend..." Yukiko mumbled in surprise.

"There's still something else about this case," Yusaku said again. "Kenji Takenaka, Arata's butler, is also known as Arata's trusted assistant. Do you get what I mean?"

"Trusted assistant..." Yukiko's eyes widened. "Trusted mediator?!"

The novelist nodded. "It's possible Wu also knows about him too. We really should notice the authorities. We have to make sure whether or not Wu knows Takenaka."

"Right," Yukiko responded, still a bit shocked and confused with all of deductions she had heard tonight. "So... if Arata wanted to kill Wu because Wu may have important info about him, why did he want to kill you too, Yu-chan? Why did he want to kill Mr. Wood?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he truly had a grudge against us, or maybe he truly was afraid of us, just like what his accomplices told us. I guess we'll know for sure if the sniper finally gets arrested," Yusaku shrugged. "Anyways, I think we have completed the puzzle. We've progressed this far simply because of Kid's gift. It's really impressive."

"Yeah, though we still have to ensure some things, such as Takenaka's whereabout when you got shot, Tou-san, and whether or not Wu knows Takenaka—oh, right! We also need to ensure Mizushima-sensei's alibi when Aoboshi heist occurred. I think it shouldn't be a problem since the police investigated Arata's employees not long after the heist," Conan said.

"You're right. If she doesn't have alibi when Aoboshi heist occurred, then we can be more confident that she's the sniper. Actually, it will be better if we investigate her totally. I'll tell Megure about that," Yusaku agreed.

"But tell him to investigate her secretly, Tou-san. If she knows that the police suspect her, perhaps she would leave and change her identity again, just like what she had done in the past."

"Sure."

Conan stayed in his parents' room, watching his father talking to Megure via cellphone, asking the inspector to investigate Lily secretly and to investigate if Eric Wu knew Kenji Takenaka. Yusaku also asked Megure about Takenaka's alibi when the novelist got shot and Lily's whereabout when Aoboshi heist occurred. When the novelist finally finished talking, Conan asked him what Megure had said.

"He will tell us the news tomorrow," Yusaku answered.

"I see..." Conan nodded. "I guess it's fine then. We don't have to wait for long."

"Yes. Oh, by the way, it's already this late. Where are you going to sleep, Shin?"

Conan glanced at his watch. It was already past 10 pm. "Huh, I haven't noticed it's already this late. I guess I'll sleep at Professor's house."

"What about school?" Yukiko asked. "You have school tomorrow, Shin-chan."

"I can go back to the agency tomorrow morning and get my stuff for school, so it's fine." The boy got up from his parents' bed where he had been sitting all this time. "I guess I better get back to Professor's house now before he and Haibara fall asleep. Please let me know about the news from Inspector Megure."

"Sure. Don't forget to call Ran-chan. She'll be worried if you don't," Yukiko reminded him.

"Uh, yeah," Conan replied nervously. He really hoped Ran would not get angry when he called her later. After all, he rushed toward Agasa's house without proper explanation and now he would have to tell her that he would sleep in Agasa's house. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Kaa-san, Tou-san. Good night."

"Good night, Shin-chan." Yukiko replied and waved her hand briefly while Yusaku only smiled gently at his son. When Conan had left Kudo residence, Yusaku asked his wife after a moment of thinking.

"Yukiko, when we get back to America, let's visit Chikage-san."

"Huh?" Yukiko was a little surprised. "I don't mind, but why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"Nothing. I just think that maybe we should return the favor since she has visited us."

"Oh," Yukiko smiled. "I guess you're right. She's so kind, coming here all the way from Vegas to visit us."

"Yes," Yusaku smiled as he looked at a gift from Kaitou Kid on his lap. "And Yukiko? Let's visit Toichi-san after this case is over."

"Huh? You want to visit his grave?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why not? It's been a long time since the last time we visited him."

"Well, that's true, but for you to suddenly want to visit him... is it because of Chikage's visit?"

"You could say that."

Yukiko blinked a few times, still surprised by Yusaku's sudden request before finally she smiled. "Alright, I don't mind. We can visit him after this case is over. I'm sure he'll be happy if you visit him, Yu-chan."

"I'll be happy to visit him too," Yusaku replied. He smiled fondly at Kid's gift. He missed Toichi and his magic tricks. He missed Kaitou Kid. He owed Kurobas so much. Those were all the reasons that made him want to visit Chikage and Toichi, but Yukiko did not need to know. He would keep Kurobas' secret to himself. Maybe later his son would figure them out, but for now, he would not say anything about their secret to anyone else, not even to his own family. It was the least he could do to repay their kindness to him.

TBC

Finally I'm able to publish this chapter. Fuuhh... Crime story indeed is hard and cruel :(

Anyways, thank you for your support, favs, follows, and reviews. Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't hesitate to give a review!