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Summary: In which Kaito learns there's been a murder, and the investigation into Numabuchi's death begins.

T"Listen, when I said convince her you're innocent, I didn't mean bring her here."

Kaito isn't sure how he should be feeling, but vulnerable shouldn't be it. He'd known that Shinichi would have to prove his innocence in some manner, but bringing Kazuha into their hideout…? Whatever reason the ex-convict had to bring her here… Kaito isn't sure it'll be a good enough explanation.

"Kaito-" Shinichi turns, a guilty expression on his face. He practically shrinks from the stare he receives, even though Kaito's lips have turned upwards, into some amicable version of a smile. He hopes Kazuha doesn't read into the tightness around his eyes though, because he doesn't feel calm enough to fully wear a mask.

His safe house… one of the only places he can let his guard down and now–

"You're KID," Kazuha says, turning her body to look at him more closely. She crosses her arms, leans forward slightly as she stares at him. "Or do ya prefer Kuroba Kaito?"

"Kaito's fine," he says, because any level of intimacy is bound to make her act more open towards him, "And I'll call you Kazuha, is that alright?"

She stiffens for a second – the intimacy is probably too quick for her to wrap her head around, laughable considering how quickly she'd adapted after finding out about Heiji's involvement. She'd helped them escape seemingly without a second thought – before relaxing her shoulders.

"Sounds good t' me," Kazuha says, "nice to meet ya Kaito-kun."

"Now," Kaito says, dropping his bag onto the floor as he stalks forward, crossing the distance from the entrance to both Kazuha and Shinichi. "I don't mean to be rude but, why are you here?"

Shinichi shrivels away from the question, even though it's not directed towards him. Kaito's first thought is that something has happened – maybe she'd been more reluctant to believe Shinichi than they'd expected – but then he racks his brain to the increased activity of police cars on his way back to the safe house.

"I'm helping Shinichi-kun with his case," Kazuha says after a moment, turning away and glancing back at the files they've sprawled across the table. Kaito can't read any of the words there, but from the intensity he feels both exuding, they're obviously important. "And it had to be here."

Kaito rubs at his temples, "you couldn't have gone to a cafe or something? You had to compromise this place?"

The only place he can truly be himself, doesn't have to wear a poker face or mask and… and Shinichi's compromised it because he's incapable of living efficiently as an outlaw?

"The police are on high alert," Shinichi says, turning to face him properly. His eyes look faraway, glassy, but there's conviction there too. "Seeing as someone died."

"Of course they're on high alert, I mean we–" Kaito has to do a double take, feels dizzy on his feet. "Someone what?"

Shinichi doesn't need to say that he's being serious, Kaito knows how to read his expression's at this point. Sharing such a small cell, being confined in the same room for hours a day practically makes you a pro at reading them.

And well… They've gotten this far on trust, Kaito doesn't see a reason not to trust what he's saying.

"Another dead," Shinichi says, "because of me."

Not his fault, Kaito thinks, not Shinichi's. And it's not his fault either – they're not guilty. They can't afford to be guilty, they're not responsible for someone else being killed… they're not responsible for the actions of others, so…

"Let me take a look at this," Kaito says, stepping forward. Maybe he should show some sort of reaction, but a murder? There's no good way to react, so Kaito simply… doesn't. "This is all the information you've got right? We'll see if it coincides with anything I know."

"Kaito-"

Kaito shakes his head, blinks away any hesitation as he snatches some pages up, settling on the floor when he realises there is a distinct lack of a third chair. And maybe he feels like hiding beneath the table, just to sort everything that's happened in his head, but he forces himself not to.

His father had always said that having a poker face offers some sort of security. Even if it's not a particularly healthy coping mechanism, it is, at least, a way to deal with this issue without letting it consume him.

"We've got work to do," Kaito says. Then, he pauses. "If Hattori isn't here, and you know about this murder then… I take it he's gone to investigate?"

Kazuha nods, a small movement that Kaito only catches because it's easier to meet her eye right now that Shinichi's. He's certain the detective is blaming himself, angry at himself for doing something flashy that's led to the murder but – frankly, the flashiness is something Kaito had thought of…

Kaito closes his eyes for a second, tries not to imagine the scene that Hattori is heading towards, before shaking his head.

"Yes," Kazuha says after a moment. She's quiet, almost reserved, but with an intensity that shows she's the calmest of them all. Maybe if she wasn't currently capable of getting them both arrested, again, Kaito would be impressed by her. Instead, he's just… intimidated? "He got a text from Hakuba-kun telling him to show at an address as soon as possible. He's on his way now."

"I came as soon as I got the text message," Aoko breathes as she races up the stair case towards some police tape. She'd been halfway towards the police station, ready to deliver the heist notice when her phone had buzzed, tearing her attention from looking outside the train window. It had been a rare moment of service on the train, the message slithering into her inbox.

A murder.

Ran and Hakuba are stood speaking to a police officer, gathering any information on the victim's identity. Aoko glances at them momentarily, before turning her gaze over to Hattori. He's tense, almost nervous as he stands to the side, glancing at the street name and surveying what Aoko can only assume are CCTV cameras in the street.

She supposes that she should talk to Ran or Hakuba first, for some sort of input as to what's going on, but she's certain that's not the best idea. They're both intuitive, and well, Aoko thinks that it'll be difficult to fool them.

And Aoko really needs to fool them for a little while – If only for Kaito's sake. After all, she'd let him leave without a word, and he's their easiest way to Kudo…

"What're you doing?" She asks Hattori instead, making her way to stand beside the Osakan. She glances in the same general direction as he does, squints at the amount of frayed wired and broken lenses on each of the CCTV cameras.

"I-" Hattori turns to glance at her, (he's pale, swallows air as if struggling to think), "I'm tryin' to see if there's any video evidence tha' Kudo was here."

Aoko crosses her arms, realises that the cameras probably aren't going to give them any help. A good infiltration route, but also a clear point for any argument that Kudo is innocent. A possible copycat murder then? But if no one knows that Kudo's outside of prison…?

"None of the cameras seem operational." Aoko sighs in response, following Hattori as he makes his way nearer to one of the police investigators. He's a slightly rounder man, a detective that Aoko thinks is called Chisa… wait… no Chiba.

"No," Hattori says, turning to glance at Aoko, "they aren't. But in a' area like this, I don't think anyone cares much abou' workin' cameras."

It's true, for an area as run down as this one, there had been a subsequent lack of police influence. Some patrols had been present, when Aoko had left the station behind to find the scene, but there had been broken glass and crushed cigarettes scattered across the pavements.

It's a shame that areas like this even exist, but Aoko supposes there's little they can do in tackling crime without inflicting unjust punishments.

"Detective Chiba" Hattori says as he stops in from of Chiba, not waiting for Aoko's response. "Has th' coroner gathered th' time o' death yet?"

The detective nods, crosses his arms. "It was between 11a.m and 1pm. They've taken the body to the morgue to see if it fits within the profile of… the previous killings, but the basic MO labels this as one of… Kudo-kun's."

Hattori stiffens, a minute detail but something that Aoko reads with a side glance. She tries to narrow in on what exactly has made him nervous, but it's too difficult to read his movements that intricately. There's something though, something that has him riled.

Aoko glances at her phone, the time flashing 15.23 at her. Something about the timings seems off. She bites into her cheek as Hattori asks another question, words that don't quite register. 11a.m and 1p.m.

The realisation washes ice down her spine.

11.30a.m – the rough timing when Kaito had shown at her house. They'd talked for hours; Not long enough that it had dragged, but by the time he'd left, the time had been past 1p.m. And he'd been by himself, no Kudo with him.

Which begs the question: Where had Kudo been?

Aoko isn't sure, but it is worrying. She knows that Kaito's got faith in him, believes that he's innocent, but frankly, she's nervous. Doesn't it seem like too big a coincidence for them to be split up, for Kudo to have been by himself at the direct time?

She's missing something.

"Can we go inside?" Aoko asks, and maybe she should ask things like 'who was the victim?' or 'who discovered the body?', but she'll leave that line of thought to Hakuba and Ran. It'll offer her a little bit of comfort, anyway, if she doesn't know – it'll only lead to a sickly feeling in her chest if she can associate a name with a pool of blood.

"Y-yes," Hattori says, "we need to actually investigate th' scene."

Detective Chiba takes a moment, before nodding his head. They leave the other two behind without a word, following behind the detective as he leads them into an apartment building, up a small stairwell to the second floor. It's a dusty place, abandoned, but there are certain areas that seem to still be in use.

Maybe for the homeless, or for those trafficking drugs. Aoko doesn't know, isn't sure whether she even wants to know.

"I know you probably know this already," Chiba says, leading them down the corridor to a room where they have to duck under more police tape, "but don't contaminate the crime scene. If you really need to move anything I'm sure forensics will give you some gloves."

"We will," Aoko says as they step into the room. Both she and Hattori have to push their way past a small cluster of detectives who're discussing the case near the doors, as they enter the room.

The first thing she sees is the blood. There's a lot of it, splattered across the carpet and the far off wall. It makes Aoko's stomach squirm, and she reaches forward to grab Hattori's arm.

"I'm sorry," she says when he turns wide eyes on to her, "I'll be okay, I just… haven't been at a murder scene before."

"It's alright," Hattori says, and then after a second, "I'm sorry ya had ta attend this one. Let's look over there."

They move nearer to the blood splatter, and Aoko finds herself breathing through her mouth to avoid the pungent smell of copper invading her nose. Instead, it feels almost like she can taste metal in her mouth, something that forces a shudder to run down her body.

The walls – usually beige – are stained red, but in the middle of the stain are clear blotches. A glance to the side of the blood stains shows two cable ties on either side wrapped around the rafters. She supposes that's how the body was suspended, as Kudo's supposed victims usually were.

Hattori pulls his phone from his pocket as Aoko takes a step forward, dropping her hand from his arm. There's something… odd, about the colouring of the blood and she's almost disgusted that she's thinking so intensely about blood.

"Hattori-kun," she says, grabbing his attention. He lowers his phone – wait, was he taking a picture? - and steps forward, waiting for her to respond. "Is it just me or… does this area look a little… wetter than the rest of the wall?"

Hattori squints, looks closer as Aoko points a finger at the area she's talking about. If she can envision a body with this amount of blood… She doesn't know the size of the victim, not without seeing him, but if she's going on the basis that he was the average height then… this blood is above the heart by several centimetres.

"It's… Yeah," Hattori says, almost quiet. "Considering how th' rest has started drying, and how tha's still wet…"

"Almost as if it was added too, after the initial bleeding stopped. Maybe…?" Aoko asks, and Hattori steps forward frowns.

"It's not dripped, like th' rest has. And… it's small, like a rectangle." Hattori pulls his phone out, takes a picture of the area which… weird but okay. "Let's see if anything else seems strange."

Aoko nods. And together they make their way through the room.

"There's something I just don't understand," Saguru says, when he and Ran are climbing the stairs towards the crime scene. They'd been talking to Inspector Shiratori, gaining a wider background on the victim, Numabuchi, and hadn't really gotten answers as such. "How does a serial killer escape under the watchful eye of several guards suddenly go missing."

Ran's pace is brisk, and Saguru had to take longer strides to keep up with her. Her face is scrunched up in thought, fingers clasped together as she tries to come up with some sort of an explanation.

"I don't know," Ran says, shaking her head. "They said they were searching in the woods for it, so they even sent extra forces in."

"Exactly," Saguru says, shaking his head. "How would a prisoner under that much surveillance be able to get away. His base intelligence wasn't very high, according to tests he'd taken, and he wasn't even an escape risk."

Ran curls a strand of hair behind her ear. "Tests can be cheated. Maybe he was waiting for a moment to escape?"

Saguru shakes his head. It doesn't seem plausible, plus, if what Shiratori had told them was true, then there wasn't a change. He'd been heavily chained, kept under the watchful eye of at least three guards at every moment. Some escapes are simply impossible without sheer luck mixed with pure brilliance.

"No," he says, stepping onto the crime scene. "Numabuchi wouldn't have gotten away without a big diversion. Without something massive happening, and even then, they should have caught him while he was still in the woods."

Ran shrugs her shoulders, an indication that she really doesn't know what she should think at this point in time. Maybe if they had more facts, some information from the people in charge of keeping Numabuchi in chains, they'd be able to get some sort of truth from the situation.

"The woods are an hour drive from Tokyo," Ran says, as they move through the crime scene. Neither she nor Saguru are focused much on the scene though, not right now, "if we take into account how long it takes to get there, create a big enough diversion, steal Numabuchi and bring him back here to be killed, Shinichi and KID couldn't have done it."

Saguru pinches the bridge of his nose. "The police are going to talk about how they escaped. You know that someone helped them escape, they wouldn't have been able to get into Tokyo without an accomplice. And they'll argue that this third person was collecting Numabuchi while those two were stealing attention inside Tokyo."

"This is…" Ran shakes her head, "I don't understand anything about this case. I know that Shinichi wouldn't kill anyone, but the day he appears in Tokyo someone dies… I don't understand how someone else could know his location."

Saguru stills, takes a moment to think. Then, turning his eyes towards the police inspectors, he lets out a deep breath. "There are only so many people who know about the escape. The police. The prison. And us. If we consider that no one's leaked this to other groups then…"

Ran makes her way to the window, glances out at one of the cameras and it's wiring. It's been sliced, probably with wire cutters, by how clean the cut is. Saguru follows behind her, a heavy feeling slinking down on his shoulders, weighing him down.

"It'd explain how Numabuchi happened to get away from the guards," Ran whispers, edging Saguru to look at the cameras. It's professionally done, not done by amateurs. Something easily blamed on KID and his skills, but also something anyone with patience and an internet connection can learn to do.

"I think," Saguru says, crossing his arms, "that we really need to talk to both Kudo-kun and KID."

The KID-KUDO jailbreak: Echoes of murder as police hunt two escaped prisoners – including serial killer Kudo Shinichi who murdered six, and infamous phantom thief KID (Kuroba Kaito) – who left their cells and escaped through the solitary confinement unit.

Two prisoners are on the run after breaking out of XXXX using minimal tools, have been named as a serial killer and illustrious phantom thief.

Kuroba Kaito, 18, and Kudo Shinichi, 18, escaped the prison several days ago after leaving a playing card in their beds to goad the police.

Kuroba had been serving a sentence for crimes as the thief Kaitou 1412 (KID). Kudo had been serving a sentence after he was found guilty of serial murder, with six counts of premeditated murder.

Police warn members of the public not to approach the escapees as they are dangerous, and if seen to phone XXX immediately.

Read live updates on this case.

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