Surprise Twenty-Four: Identity?

The plan was a success; the culprit was caught and taken to the Osaka station for interrogation. However, it was quite the odd circumstance: all the Osakan officers in charge of interrogation were sent home due to the late arrival of the cruise ship, so Takagi and Sato were chosen by Inspector Megure to fill in since it would help that they were there while everything was going on. Heiji and Kazuha decided not to go so they could fill out reports of the incidents. Shinichi chose to go and watch from a one-way window since he was feeling something odd about the culprit—something oddly familiar.

"Shin-shin, you know you don't have to go!" Kaito pleaded with him at the port. "Since the rest of the cruise was cancelled, we can just go home!"

Shinichi gave a distant smile. "But I do have to, Kaito. I have to know why all of this happened." He placed a hand on the magician's shoulder. "I know you probably want to come with and make sure I'm safe, but that place is full of officers that can protect me! Besides, the culprit won't even know I'm there."

Kaito gave a pouty face. "But Shin-shin, where will I go then?"

Shinichi handed Kaito his wallet. "Here, use some of this to get a hotel room nearby. Text me the room number, and I'll make sure to let you know when I'm on my way back."

Kaito suddenly hugged Shinichi. "I'll let you go, but please be careful! Never be alone; have someone take you to the hotel, okay?"

Shinichi removed himself from the embrace with a quiet laugh. "Kaito, I'll be okay!" With a small wave, he was on his way to the station.

Five minutes later, the rain started. Shinichi cursed as he pulled up his jacket hood. "Great, the one time I don't have an umbrella; Kaito's going to have a fit!" He quickened his pace and arrived at the station, where Takagi was waiting for him at the entrance.

"Ah, Kudou-kun!" Takagi handed him a warm towel. "Hurry and dry off; the interrogation is starting in a couple minutes."

Shinichi thanked him and did so while following to the secret viewing room. He quietly sat in one of the chairs and noticed he was shivering.

"Ano, Kudou-kun, are you sure you want to do this? You could just watch the recording tomorrow morning." Takagi eyed him with concern.

Shinichi shook his head. "I need to see this in person, Takagi-keiji. I'm not sick anyways, just a bit cold from the rain."

Takagi could see he wouldn't change the detective's mind, so he relented and made his way to the interrogation room.

"Ah, there you are!" Sato looked relieved to see Takagi. "I tried to get her to talk, but she isn't saying a word."

"That's because he wasn't here yet," the culprit said, pointing to Takagi. "I knew you needed two officers for this kind of thing."

Takagi cleared his throat. "Alright, so let's make this simple… Do you admit to killing four people on the S.S. Akai during its maiden voyage?"

The culprit grinned. "'Course I do! Why wouldn't I admit to killing those nameless fools?"

Sato's head jerked up from her notebook. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying you didn't know the victims?"

The culprit burst out laughing. "No! Why would I? They were just my test subjects for some new experiments!"

Takagi intervened. "Um, why did you pose as a nurse? Was it just to find vulnerable people for your targets, or was it something more?"

What the culprit said in English made the hairs on Shinichi's neck stand. "A secret makes a woman woman."

Sato's eyes sharpened. She remembered hearing that some time ago but couldn't place when. "Who are you?" she suddenly asked. "We both know you're no nurse!"

The culprit gave a quick bow in her chair. "Ah, it seems I have not introduced myself properly. I am Marissa, a member of a…ahem, certain syndicate. I know you policemen recently discovered us and our intention, so you probably know of my heritage. My father was Gin, and he gave me the name Marissa. My proper name is 'Sweet Marissa' after the alcohol, but that's beside the point." She giggled. "He was the one that gave me that little twist, if you know what I mean…"

Takagi frowned. "Then were these victims killed in the name of your father?"

Marissa shook her head, a smile still on her face. "Nope! I haven't heard from him in a long time, so I killed them because I was bored…and I kinda wanted to lure him out again."

Sato quirked an eyebrow. "Didn't anyone tell you that he was killed by the cops?"

Marissa began to laugh again. "You really think my father is dead? That's like saying a magician is dead after not appearing out of the water tank after five minutes! He's much smarter than you policemen." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "I don't think you have any more questions for me, so you should take me back to my cell."

Sato began to move towards Marissa when Takagi spoke up. "Actually, I have one question for you, Marissa-san. Why do you kill people? Just because your father did it doesn't mean you should!"

Marissa looked surprised upon hearing this question, but a grin returned to her face. "Well, I just wanted to, that's all. Is that an adequate answer, keiji-san?" Hearing no response from Takagi, she started to maniacally laugh as Sato led her out of the room.

Takagi wanted to just stand there and think about what just happened, but he knew Shinichi was there too and heard everything. He made his way to the secret viewing room, where Shinichi was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands and trembling but otherwise pretty calm. "Kudou-kun, are you okay?" He couldn't help but ask.

Shinichi looked up and smirked. "I-I'm okay, Takagi-keiji; I'm just a little surprised." He began to cough. "Um, would you mind driving me to my hotel? Kaito would have a fit if I walked out in the rain again."

Takagi gave a reassuring smile. "Sure I can! Come with me." He led Shinichi to the back parking lot and started one of the police cars. "I doubt they'll mind me using this for a bit anyway."

Shinichi thanked him and climbed in the passenger seat. After sending a text to what appeared to be Kaito, a mask seemed to remove itself from his face as he let his thoughts wander.

Takagi kept glancing at Shinichi uncertainly, as if considering something. Finally, he sighed. "Kudou-kun, I know you may not like me asking this, but who is this 'Gin' person? I've heard quite a bit about him recently concerning you and can't help but feel concerned."

Shinichi tensed, his eyes wide. After a moment, he relaxed. "I don't mind since I know you're curious, but it's a rather long and detailed story…" First, he explained how Gin was the one that poisoned him and made him shrink to Conan.

Takagi nodded. "Okay, so I get that he's part of that syndicate that shrunk you. But does he have a reputation or something? I noticed a long while ago that Jodie-san would freak out at the mention of that name and one other, but I don't remember."

"Vermouth." The way Shinichi said it sent shivers down Takagi's spine. "She knows quite a bit too, but I don't know much about her except that she was…" He paused with a grimace. "Really interested with me. I think she knew about me a long time ago, but she decided to not tell the others for some reason."

Takagi began to process his thoughts. "Okay, so that's Vermouth. What about Gin? Is he really smart or something?"

Shinichi huffed. "Yeah, you could say that. He was really close to catching me numerous times, but he apparently had one weakness that would have been helpful to know of ages ago… You see, he doesn't remember the names or faces of his victims, so I probably could have gotten away without having to hide like I did. Then again, he was smart enough to be a detective that rivaled my father; he noticed everything."

Takagi gave a low whistle. "That's some guy to have to deal with…" His voice trailed off as he took a glance at Shinichi, who was staring out the window deep in thought. So that's the true enemy that he faced for two years. He kept quiet for the remainder of the drive until he parked in front of the hotel. "Alright, Kudou-kun, here you are! If you don't mind, I'm coming with you."

Shinichi silently nodded in agreement and led Takagi to room 304, where Kaito was waiting with the door open. "You're back!" Kaito hugged him and gasped when feeling how cold he was. "Ugh, you ran in the rain earlier, didn't you? Get inside and change clothes while I speak to Takagi-keiji."

"Um, you may want to be careful around Kudou-kun," Takagi whispered a warning. "What happened in that interview room may make him panicky for a while."

Kaito let out a long sigh. "I figured as much." He turned to Takagi and bowed deeply. "Thank you for driving him home; I know he can be a lot to put up with."

Takagi smiled. "No, it was nothing! Besides, I've dealt with him for quite a long time—ever since his first murder he solved." He laughed at the memory. "Even if Megure-keibu was infuriated with this boy in our scene, I think he realized how helpful he'd become in the future." He paused. "Kuroba-kun, please keep a close eye on Kudou-kun and make sure he's safe. You're probably the only one besides maybe Ran-san that can hear what he really thinks and feels."

Kaito snickered. "Yeah, he may be a handful sometimes, but he's becoming easier by the day!" He stopped as a thought struck him. "Takagi-keiji, you worry about him, don't you? I remember on the ship Sato-keiji was mentioning that you were working extra to help him and Heiji-kun on the case since they couldn't do anything."

Takagi gave a shy nod. "I can't help but worry when seeing how much he has to go through." He smirked. "That's why you need to be careful with him."

Kaito thanked him again before closing the door, turning back inside to see his Tantei-kun sitting on the bed in pajamas rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Shin-shin, you look like you're about to fall asleep! You should be getting to bed; we have to leave early tomorrow morning."

Shinichi's eyes widened at the mere mention of sleep. "N-no, I need to stay up and work on things…" He tried to come up with an excuse, but Kaito wasn't dumb enough to believe it.

"Shin-shin, I know you don't have anything to do…except go to sleep." Kaito crossed his arms with a frown. "Can you at least try to sleep for me? If you relax, you'll be asleep before you know it!"

Shinichi shook his head, bile slowly rising up his throat. "I-I'll be okay…"

Kaito huffed. "Really, Shin-shin, you expect me to believe that?" He plopped in a chair at the bedside. "I am not moving from this chair until you are asleep." He paused. "Oi, Shin-shin, can you tell me what happened at that interview? I can tell that's what is bothering you."

Shinichi looked away from Kaito, an expression of fear obvious in his features. "I don't think I can, Kaito; it's just too much."

Kaito sighed. "Okay then, that's fine. But can you please try to sleep for me?" He stood up and helped Shinichi get settled into bed. "There, doesn't that feel better?" he whispered.

Shinichi's muscles began to loosen, and his eyes grew heavier. "It does feel pretty nice…" It took mere minutes for a deep sleep to creep upon the detective, relieving him of any fear or stress.

Kaito smiled and sat back down. "Finally he falls asleep; I was worried that he would be up all night again!"

Just as Kaito was about to doze off, Shinichi's cell phone rang. Confused, the magician picked it up and turned it on to see who was calling. However, it was an unknown number. Kaito knew that Shinichi wasn't the kind of person to give out his number easily, so he hit answer. "Hello? Who is this?"

The voice laughed. "I should be asking you that question. Why are you using someone else's phone?"

Kaito quirked an eyebrow. "Um, I'm his caretaker. If you want to talk to him, you'll have to wait since he just fell asleep. Do you want to leave a name or message?"

The voice didn't reply for a couple minutes. "Tell him to wait for my call at ten o'clock two nights from now and that he should be alone. Also, be sure to let him know that this is a very important situation that he should never take lightly."

Author's Note: FINALLY we get some progress in this story! So the cruise ship mini-arc is over, and we'll get to bigger, better things in due time...well, I guess if I can finish this one part I'm writing currently (surprise 43, to be exact). On another note, all I want to say to you readers that are still reading this-besides a huuuuuge thanks-is that you should be remembering this woman called "Marissa." I can't really say why just yet, but trust me when I say that you need to remember her.

Speaking of Marissa, did you guys like that I made Gin have a daughter? I wasn't really sure what to do about the culprit, so that was the best I could come up with. If someone wants to make fan-art for her, I would gladly appreciate it. I picture her being tall and slim like her father with cold, black eyes and long, black hair with a silver streak in it. Also, I was going to call her something else that happened to be an alcohol consisting of Gin and Vermouth but thought some of you wouldn't really like that image...personally, I don't once I start thinking about it. Then again, Gin doesn't strike to me as the person to have a girlfriend let alone someone he'd have a kid with. Wait...did he literally RAISE a CHILD?

Oh well, I shouldn't be pondering this too far; I have better things to do like getting ready for All-State Band auditions on the 20th (I make these little messages a week in advance just because I feel like it). I also finished that Sherlock Holmes PS3 game, and it made me cry...and start reading the books finally. I've already read 'A Study in Scarlet' and 'The Sign of the Four,' and I just started 'The Hound of Baskerville.' I think the last one is my favorite so far just because it's so...out there.

[Woah, how long is this "little note?!" Also, do you guys even like me writing these at the end? I felt I should be interacting with my readers, and I like mentioning some things like the Sherlock Holmes things and giving slight hints as to what's coming soon... ;) ]