Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lure

Chapter 34 - SNEAK

He was being watched. Again. But this time, he was almost positive that it wasn't Kaito's eyes he was feeling on him—partly because Kaito had only just left and partly because it just didn't feel like Kaito's gaze.

And that bode ill.

He was in the middle of a case though, so he would have to leave worrying about his watcher for later. Pushing the unease to the back of his mind with an effort, Shinichi turned his attention back to the man seated across the café table from him. Said man was the store manager. He had been in the back room when his customer was poisoned. The man was clearly hiding something, but Shinichi was eighty five percent certain that he was not the murderer. So the question was, what was the man hiding and why?

"I understand that the victim was one of your regulars," Shinichi said. "Is that correct?"

"He is—was, I mean," the store manager agreed. "Comes—came—every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon."

"At around what time?"

The man shrugged. "It varied. After lunch but before dinner. He always left by half past five at the latest."

"Earlier, you told the police that he met with three different people today."

"That's right. One of them must've done it. They were all acting pretty suspicious."

"How so?" Shinichi asked.

"Well, they all seemed like they were angry at him for one reason or another. Think it was about stocks. Those sorts of things always lead ta fighting. Anyway, they were saying how they lost money because he gave 'em bad advice on the stock market. Advise he didn't use himself, since he made a profit."

"You're sure that's what they talked about?"

"Of course. They weren't exactly being quiet about it. I'm surprised you didn't hear them yourself."

Shinichi shrugged and chose not to comment. He had heard some of the commotion, but his attention at the time had been on Kaito and on his books.

"So they were blaming the victim for losing them money."

"That's right. So they offed him. Makes perfect sense."

"But I was told that all three of them left before the victim actually died."

The store manager hesitated then grunted. "Yeah, I suppose. But only two of them left. The last was in the restroom. He must be the killer."

"Can you tell me what you remember about them and their conversation?"

"Well, I don't know much," the man said gruffly. "But you're welcome to what I do remember. Sooner this mess is cleared up, the better."

Shinichi asked the man a few more questions about each of the guests then about the staff and the victim's order. The store manager answered briskly every time, though he ended every comment by claiming that one of those three visitors must have been the murderer. He then took extreme offense at the suggestion that one of his staff might have poisoned the man's coffee and refused to allow the police to test the café's food and beverages for poison.

"What would that do to my business?" he spluttered in indignant outrage. "Having it going around that my food had to be tested for poison. It's bad enough already that people are going to hear about how some guy was murdered here. This is my livelihood you're threatening."

"Sir, we are simply following procedure," Satou-keiji said sternly. "We would be remiss in our duties if we turned a blind eye to anything that might be evidence."

The man only scowled harder. "Are you trying to say my food is poisoned?"

"No," the woman said patiently. "I mean that we need to check out all the possibilities. If you are worried about your business then you should cooperate so that we can help you prove that your food and drinks are safe. Or would you prefer that your patrons be left to wonder and come to their own conclusions?"

The man opened his mouth then shut it again. Eventually, he had to relent, though his disgruntlement remained clear for all to see. He continued to grumble about people trying to obstruct his business as the forensics team took to the kitchen with the employees who had taken and made the victim's orders (two different drinks and a sandwich).

Intrigued by the store manager's behavior, Shinichi followed them and stood aside as the officers worked, chatting idly with the employees as he sought to glean more information.

And so it was that, though it turned out that one of the victim's three guests had tricked one of the café's employees to poison the man's second cup of coffee, there were two arrests made. One was, naturally, the murderer. The other was the store manager, who, it was discovered, had been trafficking in drugs which he disguised as cartons of powdered milk in his storeroom.

Throughout it all, Shinichi continued to sense that unknown watcher.

He could feel those eyes watching him, following his every move as he talked to the police, but neither officer Takagi nor Satou gave any inclination that they felt anything was off. So he said nothing. Instead, he bid them a polite farewell and left the restaurant, senses on high alert as he searched the passing crowds for the source of that stare.

For a moment, he thought it was a man in an alley watching him from the shadows behind a dumpster, but, upon closer inspection, he decided that the man was merely having a smoke somewhere sheltered from the day's brisk breeze.

Though he still didn't feel like the watcher had malicious intentions, he couldn't help but feel unsettled. So he decided to take a detour instead of going straight home to see if he could lose his stalker.

He dropped by a bookstore, spent some time examining a series of shop windows as he searched the reflections of the street behind him, and visited two grocery stores. More than once, it seemed he had lost his invisible watcher, but as he finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned his steps homeward, that feeling returned.

He debated with himself for a few minutes before eventually deciding to go home anyway. After all, people were more vulnerable when walking around in the open. His stalker was clearly persistent, and his address wasn't a hard one to find. It would be best to go home and come up with a plan.

There was a rose on his doorstep.

His first thought was that it must have been left by KID. The thief was always giving him roses. But this rose was different.

The magician's roses were always magnificent specimens rich and color and bloom. This rose did not appear to be entirely fresh, and the blossom itself showed signs of having been accidentally squished at some point in the not so distant past. There was also no card.

Frowning, he picked up the strange rose that could not be from his magician and held it up for a closer inspection. It did not have a strong scent, nor did it seem to be hiding any gimmicks.

Increasingly confused, Shinichi slipped the flower into an evidence bag and took it inside with him before locking the door. He made a quick circuit of the house to make sure that all the doors and windows were secure and that nothing was amiss. Then he set about brewing coffee and perusing his pantry as he decided what to make for dinner.

He couldn't feel the watcher now, but his instincts told him that it wasn't over. With that thought in mind, the decided to call Kaito.

"Someone's stalking you?" The tone of Kaito's voice was distinctly peeved. "Shin-chan, you've got to stop attracting weirdoes. Who knows what they might want to do to you."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, keeping the phone cradled between his neck and shoulder as he chopped up vegetables for the curry he was making. "I doubt it's anything that serious. I don't think whoever it is wants to kill me. It didn't feel like that kind of attention."

Kaito heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Detective, detective, surely you realize that not all stalkers have murder on their minds. They could be conmen or thieves trying to learn your routine and habits."

"I suppose you'd be the expert on that sort of thing."

"Indeed. Although I would never be so unprofessional as to be so obvious. But they could also be spies who want to sell information and pictures of you."

"…Seriously?"

"Or they could be crazy fans who want to take creepy pictures of you so they can pretend to themselves that they know you."

Shinichi winced. "I think I'd prefer the spies."

"They could even be planning how they can get you alone and ravish you."

Shinichi's expression grew deadpan. "Is this you we're talking about now or my hypothetical stalker?"

Kaito paused then laughed. "Okay. I guess I would have to plead guilty to that. But I have permission, ne?"

Shinichi blushed and mumbled something incoherent.

"I'm just saying," the magician continued in a more serious tone. "There're a load of possibilities here that don't involve murder. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"I know, and I'll be careful," Shinichi promised. "But I don't want to call the police just because I feel like someone's watching me."

"Do you think whoever it was is still outside your place?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'll head over there right now and take a look."

Shinichi frowned. "But didn't you say you had errands to run until late today?"

"This is more important."

"But—"

"I've already finished most of it anyway," Kaito cut him off before he could protest any further. "Though I shall be requiring dinner when I get there."

Shinichi looked down at the curry simmering on the stove and had to chuckle. "I've got that covered. In fact, your timing makes me wonder if you planned all of this."

"Sounds good."

He could hear the magician's grin.

"You should be careful too though," he said. "Don't let anyone see you."

Kaito snorted. "Who do you think I am? Just don't open the door to strangers until I get there."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "I'm not an idiot."

"Hey, it's sound advice for people of any age."

-0-

Hanging up, Kaito set off immediately for home. There, he dropped off the rest of his purchases of the day before slipping into the Kaitou KID lair to stock up on supplies just in case he found dangerous lurkers outside his detective's home when he got there.

This news from Shinichi disturbed him, though he reminded himself that his detective's instincts regarding people with malicious intentions was pretty good. That, of course, was balanced out by Shinichi's awful luck and tendency to run head first into dangerous situations regardless of warning signs and common sense.

Donning his black reconnaissance outfit, he took the air. Upon arriving in Beika, he circled over the Kudo Manor a few times, studying the surrounding neighborhood before landing, silent as a shadow, on a nearby rooftop.

All appeared to be quiet in the area, but his finely honed instincts were not fooled.

At the moment, he was observing a nondescript gray car parked just within view of the Kudo Manor. He'd never seen this car in the neighborhood before during any of his many visits since even before he'd taken more than a professional interest in Shinichi. It was not a new car though. And while it wasn't impossible that someone had bought a used car, said vehicle was parked in front of a house where both other cars were new and familiar to the thief.

There was a dark figure in the driver's seat. The gleam off of lenses indicated to Kaito that the man was using night vision binoculars. Oddly enough though, those binoculars were aimed skyward, seeping this way and that as though searching for nocturnal birds.

Or, he thought, indigo eyes hardening, for nocturnal kaitou.

Even as that thought crossed his mind, another, slimmer figure dressed all in black slid out of the shadows by the street and slithered into the passenger seat. There was some muttering between the two as their heads bent close together.

For an instant, a small light flashed, and Kaito caught the briefest glimpse of two faces as a pen scrawled quick and sloppy notes across a notebook page. Then the light went out.

The gray car remained where it was with both passengers now peering out the windows at the Kudo Manor then up at the sky periodically.

Slipping his phone from his pocket, Kaito took several pictures of the car and memorized the license plate. Then, silent as the phantom they called him, he melted into the night and set off for the manor.

-To be Continued-