(つ･･)つ¤=[]::::::

The door cracked open, and the kids' shouting poured into the kitchen. Kazuha in the lead, she was the first to notice Shinichi. He sat at the table behind Heiji, snoring away without a care in the world. Immediately, she shushed the kids and ushered them out of the room, closing the door behind them.

She took a seat across from Heiji at the counter. "Sorry 'bout that. If I'd known, I wouldn't 've brought 'em in here in the first place," she murmured.

He shook his head. "Ya don't need ta apologize. I'm the one who told ya ta leave your phone on silent. Ya wouldn't 've gotten a notification even if I did text ya."

She punched his shoulder, but there was little force behind it. "Ahou. How am I supposed ta help the two of ya if ya never tell me what's goin' on?"

He shook his head. "Just be there for me, an' that'll be 'nough." A red tint rose to her cheeks as he realized what he'd said. "I mean, be there ta help me out an' stuff, an it'll be 'nough for me ta get the case solved," he stammered.

"Heiji?'

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

He happily obliged.

She rested her chin on her hands. "How long ago did he..."

"'Bout an hour ago, right after ya left. He ate some of last night's dinner and just... clocked out." He frowned. "No, he looked at the autopsy first. Did ya know Akagi-han was sedated b'fore the-" He stopped. She got a look in her eyes, a mixture of hesitancy and something else he could never place. He learned that expression was a signal to stop with the cases. Kazuha always seems happier, more like herself, when he did.

He scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't want ta drag ya inta this case. The only reason I like this kind of thing is 'cause it's like a puzzle that so few people know how to solve, an' I just get all riled up, and-!" There. That look again. "I'm jus' tryin' ta say I know suspects can get weird. Havin' someone close ta ya killed 'll do that ta a person, I guess."

She nodded, silent for a moment. Her gaze shifted to Shinichi. "Should we wake 'im up? I'm gonna tell ya what the 'weird suspects' said, I don't think he'll wanted it repeated twice."

"Maybe, but he doesn't get 'nough sleep as it is." Heiji shook his head at Shinichi. "I told him ta leave the case ta me, ta go an talk with nee-chan, but he keeps insistin' on bein' involved."

She looked back at Heiji. "He's got limited time here, doesn't he."

His heart decided to stop for a moment. His brain thought it was a good idea to do the same. All that came from his mouth was "What."

"Heiji, I'm not stupid." She deadpanned, almost glared at him. "I've talked with Shinichi-kun 'nough ta understand he's in danger. The way you an' Ran-chan act's been makin' me think so, too. I know ya're hidin' somethin' from me, both you an' Shinichi-kun. It's somethin' he doesn't want Ran-chan ta know. I know he doesn't want her ta worry 'bout him.

"So I started thinkin'. Maybe he got sick on this case? Maybe he's got meds he's gotta take ta be fully functional. It's pro'lly why he's always gotta leave b'fore he really talks ta Ran-chan an' why he's always so sick when he shows up." She folded her hands together, expectantly looking up at him for confirmation.

He was dumbstruck for a moment. He ran my hand through his hair at last. "I need ta stop underestimatin' ya, Kazuha," he said, shaking his head with wonder.

She frowned, concerned. "If he doesn't want Ran-chan ta know, he needs ta change somethin'. I'm willin' ta bet ya a trip ta Tokyo that the only reason she hasn't thought about all of this yet is 'cause she doesn't want ta.

"I thought 'bout if ya went away for a long time, did ta me what Shinichi-kun's doin' ta Ran-chan." She sniffed, wiped her eyes (they were shining). He couldn't met her eyes anymore, never really sure what to do when she cried. "I wouldn't want ta think 'bout the situation too much 'till it was over. I'd focus more on the fact I knew ya were alive than what ya were doin' ta me. I know he's not tryin' ta hurt her, but what's Ran-chan supposed ta do if he never shows up, never comes back home for real?" She wiped at her eyes again. "I can't think of what I'd do. I've got no idea what I'd do if I was in her shoes."

Suddenly, Heiji was in a hospital room, the wrong bouquet of flowers in his hands and Shinichi staring at the ceiling. Shinichi's tone is resigned, and he's so tired of lying and he asks Heiji, what would he do if he were in this situation?

Heiji has no answer.

He told Kazuha about that time, leaving out the minor details of the time and place. "He's stuck. If he tells her, he's afraid she might become a target. He got himself trapped in a real s*** situation. I've tried ta think of what I'd do if I were him, but I just can't think of anything, either."

He looked at Shinichi, then back to Kazuha. He still couldn't meet her eyes. He looked at her hands instead. "We're not Kudou an' nee-chan. I don't think we're supposed ta understand their actions an' their thinkin'. Sure, we all get along really nice, but if ya were exactly like nee-chan, I doubt we would've ever have met them in the first place."

He looked at his own hands, such a stark contrast from hers. So dark in comparison. "We're all meant ta be different from each other so we can help each other out. Ya remind nee-chan that there's hope in the world, that jus' because Kudou's gone, doesn't mean she can't be happy. I remind Kudou that no matter how long it takes, he's got someone he can trust ta be at his back, that he's still himself whether he solves his case or not. Our minds think alike, is what I mean," he said in response to her frown.

"I don't think we'll ever know what would happen if I was in Kudou's position. Maybe I'd tell ya right off the bat? Maybe, instead of getting dragged inta the case, I'd get killed instead. I don't what would happen. My point is, we're never really gonna know. I swear ta ya, though," he finally got the guts to meet her eyes. "if ya want me ta, I'll tell ya 'bout the cases I work on. I don't mean ta shut ya out. I jus' never really thought ya cared 'bout my work."

Her response was immediate, sent that emotion he'd ever been able to name through his body. "Maybe I don't, but I care about you, ahou."

They sat in silence. The moments ticked by, but that emotion never went away.

Kazuha murmured something, so soft he couldn't hear.

"What'd ya say?" he asked.

She only shook her head in response, glancing back down at her hands. A deep breath- not one that was like a burden, but a sigh of relief. She looked up, met his eyes. "Heiji, get out your notebook. Ishiwatari-han said a few things ya're gonna want ta remember.'

She relayed what Ishiwatari and Kenshin told her. Heiji told her about the letters we found, how they were evidence of Kenshin's testimony. Kazuha nodded, started to talk about Kakei. How he was rude and abrasive, acted like a pompous jerk until he started spouting things about a Satoru Ryoko.

"She was Mina-han's older sister, an' he said he saw her-" Kazuha broke off. "Heiji? I think Shinichi-kun's havin' a nightmare."

Heiji turned around. Shinichi twitched in his sleep. He no longer snored, but let out a grunt every now and again. He was sleep-talking, speaking barely above a whisper. His words were nonsensical- English mixed with Japanese like the two languages had been put in a blender. Heiji caught words but they had no meaning.

Heiji limped to the table, shook Shinichi's shoulder. "Oi, Kudou, wake up." Shinichi didn't respond, only continued to squirm and mutter in pain as he slept. "Kudou, ya're jus' dreamin'." He rose his voice, shaking Shinichi with more force. Putting both hands on his shoulders, Heiji shook him hard. "Kudou, wake up!"

Suddenly, Heiji noticed the heat Shinichi exuded. He pressed his hand to his friend's forehead, took his pulse with the other hand. Shinichi's heartbeat was erratic, his face hot enough to melt butter.

Heiji swore.

"Heiji?" Kazuha stood up, caution, worry in her voice. "What's wrong."

"His meds 're wearin' off," growled Heiji. If he turns back here, all of Japan could know. With Kakei a journalist, there's that chance he'll publish an article. Heiji flipped out his phone, speed-dialing Ai. "He'll be fine. I jus' gotta call his doctor."

She picked up after the first ring. "What do you want." Monotonous, but that intensity was undeniable.

Heiji pulled a name out of nowhere. "Sakura-san, your patient's pain meds 're wearin' off."

She swore.

He gave her two seconds before he pressed her for information. "Does he have any spares on 'im?"

She swore again. "Yes. Left inner pocket. Give him the pill that's both red and blue. It's the original antidote. Because I destroyed his antibodies, his tolerance to it has gone away."

"Got it." Heiji sandwiched my phone between my shoulder and my ear. Reaching into Shinichi's pocket, he found four pills. One was red and blue, the others various colors. "What do the other pills do?"

"If you get him home in time, you'll never need to know. Give him the antidote and text me his condition afterwards." Her words clipped, clearly implying no further information was going to be given.

"Wakata." He'd take what he could get.

Heiji hung up and dropped his phone on the table. "Kazuha, grab me a glass of water."

Heiji put the other pills back into Shinichi's pocket and held the antidote. One last attempt. "Kudou, wake up!" He shook him hard but still Shinichi remained trapped in his nightmare.

Kazuha set the glass of water next to me on the table. "Take a step back. He might lash out since he's still dreamin'," Heiji warned. Taking a breath, he muttered, "Sorry bout this, Kudou."

Grabbing Shinichi's hair, Heiji pulled his head back and forced the pill into his mouth. Shinichi thrashed as Heiji held his mouth shut. Shinichi was forced to swallow. Heiji let go and held the glass to Shinichi's mouth, but that was the last straw.

Shinichi's eyes snapped open, animalistic fury contorting his face. With a growl, he stood, shoving Heiji backwards to the floor with a roar of "Get off me, you b****d!"

Heiji's head cracked against the tile. His ears rang. Kazuha was next to him in a flash. No, she stood over him, blocking Shinichi from getting any closer.

Ran's voice as she burst into the room, trying to bring Shinichi to his senses. The light was bright, blinding. Heiji's vision was still fuzzy. His head pounded, waves of pain coursing from the back of his head.

More voices, younger ones. Well, crap. The kids were there. Heiji really hoped he wasn't bleeding. Shinichi said something, Kazuha replied. Heiji's ears refused to discern the actual words said.

Someone held out a hand to him. He took it, they helped him to my feet. Faded calluses on the fingertips, the pads on their thumb and pointer finger worn and raw from flipping through countless papers. Kudou.

Heiji leaned against the counter, a hand covering his eyes as the world spun around him. "Kudou, whatever ya're gonna say, give it a minute. My ears 're still ringin' like crazy." He rubbed the back of his head. There was going to be a bruise there later.

After a moment far too long, his eyes refocused, his ears heard clearly again. "I didn't mean to push you. I thought you were someone else." Shinichi looked like a kicked puppy.

Heiji waved away the apology. "Ya were havin' a nightmare 'cause your meds wore off. I don't blame ya."

Shinichi's expression froze. "My meds... wore off?"

Heiji grabbed Shinichi's arm reassuringly. "Don't worry 'bout it. Your doctor gave me a spare a while back. Ya'll be fine 'till we get ya back home."

Shinichi's eyebrows furrowed. How long do I have?

Heiji shook his head. Long enough. the little nee-chan's only worried 'bout side effects, not timin'.

Ran pursed her lips, looking side to side. She started back towards the door. "I'll be outside, if you-"

Shinichi spun around. "Wait. Ran, you can stay if you want. You don't have to go." His arm rose, reached for her.

She smiled. Pain interlaced in her words, the worry lines on her faced lined up perfectly with the lines her cheeks formed when she smiled. Heiji could see Shinichi's heart melt. "I'll be waiting for you after the deduction show."

The door closed behind her. Heiji clucked his tongue sympathetically. "Kudou, ya've got it bad."

Kazuha nodded in agreement. "Jus' kiss 'er already. Ya both know ya like each other."

Shinichi sputtered. "I-It's not that simple," he groaned. "If she gets caught up in this case-"

"She'll regret it less than havin' ya die on her for no d*** reason," Kazuha interrupted. "If ya tell her stuff, she'll know what ya're up against an' maybe she can help instead of stressin' ya out like crazy."

Heiji sat down, his legs sighing in relief. This was Kazuha's show. (Later, he'd wish he'd recorded this.)

Shinichi fumbled for words. "But I-" Stop. Try again. "But she-" Nope. He's missed the goal. "I can't-" And Kazuha's glare hits him out of the ring! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

His shoulders slumped in defeat, acceptance. "I'll tell her something."

Kazuha nodded, triumphant. "Sit down, mystery otakus. I'll tell ya again what the suspects told me."

She told Shinichi about Ishiwatari and Kenshin's questioning, finished retelling Mina's and Kakei's testimonies.

The pieces started to fall into place. The broken drainage pipe, the razor. The sedatives, the lack of fingerprints on the phone.

"But that person's alibi..."

"They could do that thing, but then they'd hafta have that..."

"The timing's all wrong. Even if they had enough time to.."

"He was alive after that, so unless we can find..."

"No, Akagi-san's phone..."

"How did he make the...?"

Shinichi reached over, picked up one of the papers. After examining it for a moment, he facepalmed.

"Hattori, we're idiots."

(つ･･)つ¤=[]::::::

The police detectives and Shiratori did Heiji and Shinichi the favor of bringing all the suspects to the living room. One entrance, guarded by an officer on the inside and Ran and Kazuha on the outside. Each of the windows locked, the shutters drawn shut.

The culprit was trapped.

Mina was the first to speak. "Keibu-san, have you finally figured out who killed my husband? I would very much like it if you would kindly cart him away and leave the rest of us to mourn." She glared pointedly at Kakei. He pretended not to notice.

Sato stood stone-faced before Mina. "These young detectives discovered the truth," she replied simply.

Kakei snorted. "Come on, these kids? They can't be older than high schoolers."

"You were no older when you first opened shop in Tokyo." Kudou spoke up for the first time, drawing all eyes to the two of us. "Akagi-san was no older than us when he published his first article."

"That may be true, but I graduated three years early. Akagi had worked in journalism since he was twelve years old," Kakei argued.

Shinichi raised his eyebrows, tilted his head to Kakei. "We agree, then, that those who achieve greatness start young?"

Kakei was at a loss for words. He scowled, clamped his mouth shut. As a lame, retreating attack: "Who do you think you are, you cheeky brat?"

Takagi stepped forward defensively. "This is-"

"Takagi-keiji, please." Shinichi held up his hand. "I'd rather not my name end up in the papers."

"We're just high school detectives," Heiji said calmly, evenly. "Akagi-san did some publication work for me. The least I can do is lock away his murderer."

Shiratori waved his hand in a 'go-ahead' motion. "I'd like to get home by dark. Please, enlighten us, young detectives."

Shinichi cleared his throat and began.

"Akagi-san was not murdered for money nor for essential resources. Had either of these facts been true, we would not have found him fully clothed in his expensive boat. All his valuables were present as well as a cooler of fish."

"The murder weapon was a long knife found in the trash," Heiji continued. "Both it an' Kakei-han's razor were found with Akagi-han's blood on 'em. The autopsy showed that Akagi-han had been sedated b'fore he died. The Achilles tendons on both his ankles were sliced. The shirt had no incisions, an' no fingerprints but Akagi-han's were found on the boat."

Kakei sighed loudly (obnoxiously). "That's all well and good that you've discovered all this evidence, but what does it mean."

Shinichi leveled a hard stare at him. "Whoever murdered Akagi-san had enough time to sedate him, and take off his shirt before they stabbed him. The murderer left him alone for a moment of time; otherwise, they wouldn't have cut his Achilles tendons to prevent his escape. Akagi-san wasn't murdered in the boat; therefore the murderer needed even more time to implement their plan. They had to lure Akagi away from the boat, kill him slowly, and drag the body back to the boat. "

Heiji double-checked his notepad. "At most, the murderer would need an hour. At the least, half that. That's dependin' on how far away the crime scene was an' how soon the sedative was administered."

Kenshin blurted, "None of us could've done it! Tai-nii was alive only fifteen minutes before Kakei-san got home. Except for Ishiwatari-san, we were all together for the rest of the night, and he has an alibi."

Ishiwatari went for his phone. "Do you need me to show you my proof again, young detectives?"

Heiji shook his head. "Ya're not the person we're worried 'bout. Your alibi's solid, an' I can personally vouch for Nakano-san. That leaves the three people who've got no one's word but their own.

"Akagi Kenshin-han. Kakei Daisuke-han. Akagi Mina-han." I met each of their eyes. "The three of ya 're our main suspects."

Nakano came to Kenshin's defense. "Kenshin-kun's got no motive. He'd never murder Akagi."

"Mina-chan didn't have the time," Ishiwatari argued.

"I wasn't even in the area where they found the body." Kakei glared at Shinichi. "You're just spouting nonsense, trying to get the murderer to say something to convict them. Admit it! You've got no idea what you're doing."

"We found evidence that clearly destabilizes the murderer's alibi," Shinichi said, his voice low, his eyes narrowed in a confident glare. "If you doubt our intellect, you'll find yourself sorely mistaken."

Heiji took Shinichi's arm, pulled him back. "Kudou, crank it down a notch," he whispered. "Ya're gettin' a bit excessive. Take a step back, I'll take the lead."

A small nod, Shinichi's eyes never left Kakei as Heiji launched into their next bout of evidence. "When we examined the body, we found Akagi's phone had three final calls on it b'fore he died. Each was rather strangely typed." I held up a paper with each of the codes written in large numbers. Suspects and police alike peered at the numbers.

"Solvin' it was pretty easy, but I'll explain that in a minute. The biggest piece of evidence from these codes turned out ta be the times the calls were made. Every one of them was at 7:14 pm, half an hour b'fore Ishiwatari-han heard Akagi-han's voice."

The culprit's eyes narrowed as we became closer to revealing the truth. Their hand slid into their pocket as if to conceal the condemning evidence.

"You're saying Taichi-kun called Ishiwatari-san half an hour after he died? Surely you're mistaken about his time of death." Mina's smile was desperate, almost pleading. She put her hand to her heart.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "We never said that, only that he heard Akagi-san's voice." He looked back to the police detectives. "Takagi-keiji?"

"Hai." Takagi took an evidence bag from his pocket. Heiji watched the culprit out of the corner of his eye. As Takagi held the voice recorder in plain view, the culprit froze.

Cue knowing detective grins.

"All ya'd need ta do ta get Akagi-san ta speak from beyond the grave is record his voice b'forehand. Takagi-keiji, will ya play the tape?"

Akagi's voice came clearly through the plastic bag. "I won't...be home in time for...dinner. Let the...others...know."

Ishiwatari looked from his phone to the voice recorder and back again. "That's-that's what I heard. That's exactly what he said over the phone." His head dropped into his hands. "But how?" His voice a cry, his world shattered around him.

Shinichi spoke softly. "If you take Akagi-san's phone from his body and leave your own, you can use it and trick others into thinking he's alive, long after his heart stops beating."

Nakano shook his head in disbelief. "We had to be in constant contact with one another," he argued. "Wouldn't we notice someone's phone was off?"

With a shrug, Heiji explained. "It's simple. The culprit never gave you their phone number in the first place. Their phone is the same make and model as Akagi-san's, so no one would notice it was gone."

Shinichi started to pick up speed. "In fact, we believe the culprit still has his phone on them. With their phone being held as police evidence, they had no way of switching the two phones back."

"Ishiwatari-san, will ya give me Akagi-san's phone number?" Heiji pulled out his phone. With a note of reluctance, Ishiwatari recited the number. Heiji pressed call and held a finger to his lips. "Please, everyone quiet. The murderer likely put the phone on silent."

The phone rang twice. A buzzing emitted from the culprit's pocket. All eyes flew to them.

Sato approached the murderer.

"Care to explain how your husband's phone ended up in your pocket?

"Akagi Mina-san."