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Heiji would've felt fine were it not for two small problems: Shinichi's lack of an escape plan and the idiot not wanting to talk about it. The look in Shinichi's eyes said bad time, not now. Heiji knew he could get his friend out of here no problem if only the idiot would let him help. But, being the stubborn detective that he is, Shinichi ran off with Takagi before Heiji could really scold him.

Shinichi's darting, frantic gaze, the way he kept lowering the brim of his hat whenever he talked to anyone he didn't know, not to mention the fact that he lost his footing and tripped as he followed Takagi up the hill- none of it made Heiji any less nervous about his friend's situation.

If only Kudou would listen, Heiji thought angrily (though it was more anxiousness than anything else). He's gotta get the heck outta here before anyone can recognize who he is, but he's probably already told nee-chan he's coming back after this case. The best we can do now is solve this case as fast as possible. Sighing to himself, Heiji shifted his aching foot. No pressure.

Heiji followed Shiratori up to the house. He left Heiji at the front, casting a look of distaste to Heiji before literally shooing the younger detective away- hand motion and everything- to join Sato. Shiratori never liked young detectives. Sato said Heiji and Shinichi's help would be invaluable. Shiratori said she'll take the fault for (or the credit of) their actions.

Once inside, Heiji heard voices coming from the living room. As he drew closer, he realized that the questioning had barely started.

"-anyone who hated Akagi-san?" Sato was asking. Poking his head into the open doorway, Heiji found the house residents sitting on various couches and chairs. Mina and Kenshin shared the love seat while Nakano took the armchair, and Ishiwatari sat at the coffee table opposite Kakei. They all exchanged glances, accusing and threatening at the same time. The looks between the three houseguests were understandable, but a look flashed between Kakei and Mina caught Heiji's attention. She wasn't hiding something too, was she?

He walked into the room, attracting all attention to himself with his loud-as-heck crutch. Sato brightened. "Hattori-kun, hello."

"Hey, Sato-keiji. Mind if I join ya with the questionin'?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

She shook her head. "Not at all. Do you want to take a seat? That leg must be bothering you."

"I'll stand," he said politely. It would take too long to find a chair, and Shinichi needed all the time he could get. Heiji knew he couldn't waste time with trivial matters. "Thanks, though."

With a nod, Sato turned back to the suspects. "I'll only ask one more time. Can you think of anyone at all who might hate Akagi-san?"

Mina looked at Kakei, her eyes flashing a challenge before looking away. Her face fell, and she bit her lip. The change was so drastic it had to have been practiced. "I- I know of some people."

Kakei's eyes widened. "You wouldn't-"

Ishiwatari, glaring, shot up from his chair. "Don't you dare-"

Mina closed her eyes and spoke slowly, her voice calm but louder than the others. "Taichi-kun is- was- hated by everyone here. Ishiwatari-san fell into heavy debt after Taichi-kun urged him to invest in stocks, and Taichi-kun stole Kakei-san's articles and had them published as his own in the newspaper. Nakano-"

"I'll tell them myself, Mina-chan," Nakano interrupted, and she nodded, sitting back in her chair, a flicker of disappointment quickly hidden behind a grieving wife's sorrow. "I was forced to give up my chance to compete for a spot on the international swim team when an unknown source- I later found out it was Akagi- brought up evidence of a drug abuse problem I supposedly had. It was later proved to be false, but by then, over a year had passed, and it was too late."

Sato had long ago mastered the art of writing without looking at her notepad. She looked between the house-guests-turned-suspects, jotting down the information she'd need later. "In light of this information, you'll understand if I ask where you were last night between seven and nine p.m?"

"No, we're not the only ones!" Kakei growled. "Two more of us have reason to hate Akagi." He dramatically pointed an accusing finger to Mina and Kenshin. "You two! You're having an affair with each other behind Akagi's back! You wanted him gone, didn't you. You hate him and he was only a hindrance so you-"

"Kakei-san, that's enough!" Sato cut Kakei off, her voice harsh and authoritative. "Please, sit down." It wasn't a request.

Grudgingly, muttering under his breath, Kakei obeyed and fell back into his chair, arms crossed and a small grin on his face. Heiji categorized Kakei as Arrogant B*****d™ even as he took the useful information into account.

"So each one of you had a reason to kill Akagi-san?" Sato's pen at the ready, the real interrogation was about to begin.

"I hated him, but he was my best friend in high school. I could never kill him," Nakano said.

"Same for me. He took my work, but he paid me good money. I wouldn't kill my source of income." Kakei held up his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Unless you wanted the life insurance he set up," Mina interjected. "You and I both know how much he put into that, and that he was going to have it all go to the company. Plenty of motive, if you ask me."

Kakei shot another glare her way. "If we're talking about money, then it solidifies your motive even more. If the heir to the Akagi wealth dies, then you and Kenshin-kun would have it all. The house, the money, and the freedom to get married."

Kenshin's face contorted in fury. "I'd never-" His voice cracked as Mina put her hand on his arm, and he took a deep breath. "Kakei-san, I'd never wish anything ill of my nii-san. He's the only family I have left, aside from Mina-chan."

"Then why are you trying to steal his wife away?" Kakei shot back, not missing a beat.

Kenshin bit his lip. "I can't tell you."

"Oh, let me guess. Akagi came to you and asked you to take Mina-chan from him," Kakei sneered.

"For crying out loud, Kakei, drop it," Ishiwatari groaned, interrupting any response Kenshin might've had. "You know as well as I that Kenshin-kun would never agree to something like that. He actually cares about Akagi, unlike the rest of us."

Heiji exchanged a glance with Sato. Thick tensions lead to quickly revealed secrets. Each person was throwing stones from their glass houses, trying to tear down the others before they themselves had nothing left to stand on. People like these made a detective's life so much easier.

"I wouldn't kill my husband, either," Mina huffed. "If I wanted to do that, it would've happened a long time ago, and certainly not with guests over. Besides, Ken-chan was sleeping and I woke him up at around 7:20 to give him some painkillers."

"And where were you, when he was killed?"

Kakei's question earned him another glare from Mina. "I was washing the dishes for about an hour after you three left, and then I took a bath. I was done at about 7:20, when Nakano-san came back with Hattori-kun and the younger kids."

"Can anyone verify that?"

Mina looked up at Sato, almost as if she'd forgotten the police detective was there. She paused only a moment before she answered. "No one else was here."

"I promise you she woke me up," Kenshin offered weakly. "It was around 7:15, maybe a bit before. She didn't kill my brother."

The look Sato gave him was almost apologetic. "Akagi-san, because you are directly related to Mina-san, we can't accept your testimony as evidence."

"My brother is Akagi-san," he muttered with grief. As he registered Sato's explanation, the color drained from his face.

He stared numbly at his feet. "I understand," he mumbled. Mina put her hand on his back.

Ishiwatari leaned forward. "Nakano-san, was Mina-chan with you for the rest of the time after you got back?"

He nodded. "The only time we were apart was when I went to put away the cold medicine I gave to Conan-kun and Ayumi-chan, and even then, Ayumi-chan was with her."

Ishiwatari's shoulders dropped as if a large weight had been taken off them. "Then Mina-chan's innocent. I got a call from Akagi at about 7:45." He pulled out his phone, tapped his screen a couple of times. As he handed his phone to Heiji, Heiji got a good look at Ishiwatari's hands.

Manicured, but not polished. His hand was soft; his cuticles clean and well kept; calluses on his fingerpads, and, when Heiji took the phone in his hand, he could smell a faint aroma coming off of it but felt no residue from scented lotion or moisture from perfume. A quick glance at Ishiwatari (dress shirt, sleeves rolled up, top button undone; ironed khaki pants with an authentic leather belt; gold(en) belt buckle; black shoes, worn but polished; hair combed, styled with a fair amount of gel; teeth whitened, all same length) told Heiji everything he wanted to know.

Ishiwatari had some stressor in his life, one that made him grind his teeth and file his fingernails nearly to stubs, and he greatly cared about the way he looked. The manicure was recent, less than a week old, and if he had suffered a large loss of money in the stock market, then he had to have a well-paying job to be able to buy what he needed to keep himself and his phone in pristine condition.

You might be asking, His phone? Why his phone, Hattori? Because the case is a new one, part of a collection that went on sale last week. (Kazuha was looking at them, wanting to split the cost and set with him. He said no.) The phone itself is old, but the new cases are scented to make it smell nice. Ishiwatari bought the matching set of perfumes that went with the set of cases, so he smelled just like his phone did. Any man who cares enough to coordinate his phone and perfume, as well as regularly polishing his shoes and generously gelling his hair, when he's out with friends for a casual get together must have higher standards than that.

Where does one work where people dress elegantly, are paid just as handsomely, and get calluses on their fingerpads from something rubbing against them constantly? A casino. Ishiwatari was a card dealer at a casino, probably an underground one, due to his muscular build and how much more underground casinos pay their dealers.

Ishiwatari's voice pulled Heiji from the split-second deduction session. "See? One call from him, at 7:46. I talked to him a little after Nakano called. I tried to call him back, but all I got was voicemail."

Sato nodded, taking another note down. "And Kakei-san, where were you at seven last night?

He snorted. "You think I did it? I was looking for the backstabbing idiot for over an hour. There's no way I did it. My car got stuck coming back up the hill. It took me about half an hour to get out of the mud, and I had someone with me for the rest of the night. Ask any of the kids Ishiwatari brought back."

With a nod, Sato scribbled another note. "Ishiwatari-san, where were you between seven and nine p.m.?"

He dug into his pocket, pulling out a receipt. "Mina-chan asked me to get her some groceries since Kenshin-kun was asleep. It took me half an hour to get across the lake, and I took two more trips back and forth between the house and the campsite where Agasa-san and his group were staying. By the time all of them were at the house, it was about 9:30. Agasa-san went back and forth with me. He can verify my story."

Heiji said quietly to Sato, "I can personally vouch for Nakano-han. He found me an' Conan-kun an' Ayumi-chan 'round ten 'til seven. He wasn't alone fer long ta kill Akagi-san."

As she wrote down the information, Heiji fixed his gaze on Kenshin. "An' ya say ya were sleepin' the whole time? I know ya weren't up 'til 'bout midnight. Conan-kun mentioned that ya got up 'round then, an' Ran-chan was waitin' all night for Conan-kun ta feel better. I can't say ya never left your room, since you coulda climbed down from the window somehow, but it's not too likely." Kenshin lifted his eyes slowly, giving a small nod of gratitude.

"Just for reference, what do each of ya do?" Heiji shifted more of his weight to his crutch. It was really getting painful to stand. He'd have to ask Mina for more of those painkillers later.

"I'm a physical therapist, but I haven't worked much since I married Taichi-kun," Mina said.

"I manage a store in the town up north," Kenshin said.

Ishiwatari put away his phone. "I do card magic on the streets for a bit of money." Interesting way of putting it, mused Heiji. "But I work at a casino most of the time, as a card dealer."

Good-naturedly, Nakano narrowed his eyes at Ishiwatari. "And you got on me for trying to stack the deck." He looked back at Sato. "I do odd jobs here and there. Haven't really had much work since Akagi's article forced me out of one."

"I work under Akagi, as a journalist for the local newspaper. At least, I used to, but he got promoted, and now he's dead," Kakei said impassively.

Well, s***. Journalists were trouble, especially with a personality like Kakei's. Heiji had to warn Kudou as soon as possible.

"If that's everything..." Sato shot Hejij a questioning look, and he nodded absentmindedly. "...then please remain here momentarily. An officer will accompany you each back to your rooms. I have to go talk with my partner, and I'm sure you need to talk with yours." She directed the last part at Heiji.

He glanced at his watch and cursed under his breath. It'd been over an hour, and time was limited. Using Shinichi's minimum time just to be safe meant there were only about five hours left. Splitting up probably saved them a good two hours, but sharing information was going to take a while. The quicker Heiji got going, the better.

Just as Heiji started towards the door, it opened on its own. "Ah, Sato-keiji. Is Hattori- in here? I've been looking- for him." Shinichi was breathing heavily, breaking off his sentences just to catch his breath.

Quickly, Heiji limped to the door to shield Shinichi from Kakei's view. "Yeah, I'm here. Come on, let's go ta the kitchen, get ya some water. You look terrible." Shinichi was a bit confused but nonetheless backed away from the door and let Heiji pass. Sato was close behind she closed the door behind her, careful not to let it slam. Those are heavy doors, Heiji thought.

"D***, Kudou, what'd ya do?" he asked once they were alone. "Sprint all the way here?" Shinichi started to walk toward the kitchen, and Heiji followed.

Still panting, Shinichi wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head. "It's like Kyoto. I've still got a cold. The climb up the hill was more difficult than I anticipated," he said with a glance at his watch. He swore. "It's been an hour already."

"On top of that, Kakei-han's a journalist. I thought 'bout askin' him ta just not mention ya, but I don't know if he's trustworthy." Heiji scowled. "One moment he's friendly an' nice, the next he's manipulative an' a real jerk."

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose. "It'll be okay, it'll be fine. I'll ask Shiratori-keibu to keep my involvement a secret. If Kakei-san's the murderer, it'll make things a little easier."

"Oi, Kudou-"

"No, I'm not serious," he interrupted. "Let's go sit down and exchange notes. The faster we get this done..." The faster I can get back to her. It didn't need saying.

Heiji patted his friend's shoulder. "Kudou, hurry up and tell me what ya found, then go find her. She's not the only one who's been waitin' forever. I got this case."

He was panting again, sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm not about to leave a case unsolved. I won't leave you alone to handle things unless my time frame is smaller than I thought."Heiji frowned at the back of Shinichi's head as he walked into the kitchen. "It'd be real nice," muttered Heiji, "if you'd quit walkin' the wire and grab the lifeline I'm tryin' ta toss." He's lucky he's got someone like Ran to put up with him.