Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the next chapter of this story.
This chapter I bring you the promised heist, but before that we still have three days to review~
I'm so mad at myself for again missing an update in time! I'm so sorry guys, it's been so hectic that even when I really had the time, I just was wasted too much to focus on writing. Good thing I have my lovely beta to kick me every now and then and demand something better xD We nearly argued when I wanted to be a lazy bun and neglect some stuff xD So once again big thanks to madelita for bearing with me ;) And well… at least it's a long chapter… again xD
And now for the replies~
DaLantis - I'm very glad you liked it so much and that I've managed to reach my goal and show all of the connections~ Thank you for sharing the thought with me~
PickleWitch - Ah right, I probably should mention that... I will in this chapter~ To say it short - he's ditching class xD
Cerlinfia - Yeah... he probably should, but all of those guys seem to have serious problems with openly speaking about their feelings xD Just a bunch of 'tough guys' xD
Mists - Yay for awkward phone conversations xD I can assure you I had fun with it also ;) And I wonder if you will like the little thing here... ;)
Boogum - I'm glad you managed to send a few words despite the lack of time~ Thank you for cheering for me~
Loyal DC Fan - Turned out as something unsolvable... I'm so evil for my muses sometimes~
Kensy Echo - As you can see, you managed in time ^^" Well Kaito talking weird stuff does help it xD Oh, you're not bad at guessing~ The truth is that Kaito is lonely and is slowly crumbling, but feels that it's his burden alone. Stubborn fool ^^"
parkjeohwi – I'm glad you found my story so interesting~ I can assure you that I love writing him myself ;) But for the sake of keeping some secrets, I can't write him too often ;) But worry not~ Next chapter will include some of his thoughts :D
So without further delay…
Please enjoy and review! :)
Chapter 23: The nightingale's heart
The last few days have been annoying for all of them. After they parted with Kuroba, they went back to Hakuba's manor, while the Brit told his fellow detectives what he found out about around the heist. It was somewhat confusing when they thought about it as whole. The most troublesome part was whether they could hint at what was going on or not to the police. They still had no idea what the goal was behind contacting KID through the advertisements and how they made him comply with any request they had. The kaitou wasn't someone willing to do what he was told to, so the possibility that this was the case here was highly worrying. And Kuroba's reactions didn't help at all – not that that was surprising… They doubted that he would even wince while having a gun at his temple. So to inspect it closer, they had to talk to the opera manager and Furuhata-san. But it was a very tricky thing to do. It was possible for them to somehow tag along with the police and try asking the manager some questions on the side, without having the officers overhear that, but it would be impossible for them to do the same with the actress. She was a celebrity after all, and as there wasn't any open case with connections to her, they had no means to approach her at all before the heist. So the question they had to answer was whether she was threatened and used as leverage against KID. If she wasn't, there was no need to involve the police, as it would only cause trouble for people who decided to contact the kaitou. They had no idea how far Kuroba was willing to go, if the threat was real. They doubted he would seek the police help – especially seeing how poorly they were doing with capturing him. It was most probable that he would try manipulating them to play into his hand and put everything right. In that case, the detectives' interference could ruin his whole plan and end up dangerously for everyone involved. But they weren't going to just sit around, doing nothing.
They had three days left and quite a lot of ground to cover. Their best solution was to divide the assignments between themselves again. And so Hakuba with the Task Force went to the opera building to try and take a first look around there and question everybody he could manage by himself. Hattori focused on research about both opera buildings and their surroundings to find any reason behind changing locations, and Kudo was to look into Furahata Megumi and Tadari Chinzo to find any oddity or suspicious chances in the two women's schedules that could indicate that something was going on around them. By himself, he decided to also spare a bit of time to give the last glance on Gin's images to try and find anything particular. But that plan was somewhat ruined by one phone call.
It was late afternoon and Conan was left alone in the manor when his phone started ringing. At first he was surprised to notice it was Ran, but then it struck him that he never told her that he would be away for so long. He remembered calling the school with the bowtie to announce he would be absent due to illness, but he only told his guardians on Sunday that he would be sleeping over at Agasa's. After it became clear he needed more time, he didn't even spare a thought over this issue. Wincing with fear and trying to fast find an excuse, he answered the call.
"Oh hi, Ran-neechan! Did something happen?" He asked innocently.
"Conan-kun! Why aren't you coming back? I understand Hakase makes great games, but you shouldn't be bothering him for so long!"
"But um... We're having a tournament with the Detective Boys! Please, Ran-neechan! I have to practice, so I can win! Agasa-hakase said it's alright and I don't bother him at all! Pleaseee! I want to win so badly, or Genta will keep on boasting for forever, saying that he is better when he's not!" He whined disgracefully and was glad there was nobody to witness it.
"Um... I don't know... You didn't even give me a call and I hope you're not neglecting school because of it."
"Of course not! And you know how good my grades are. I'm sorry for not calling in sooner. I just got caught up in this. So please don't be mad with me?"
She huffed, clearly having a hard time denying the boy to have a little fun with friends of his age. "Alright. But under one condition - tell me when you'll be holding your tournament~ I'd like to cheer for you~"
Conan felt all blood drain from his face, mind racing for a reason to not let the girl come and see through his lie. "Please don't. It'll make me nervous if there are too many people watching..."
"Ohh... Come on, there's no need to be shy. Plus you owe it to me for making me so worried about you."
"I er... I'm sorry for that... but um..."
"What's the matter Conan-kun? You were never this shy. You're not trying to hide anything from me, are you?" She asked suspiciously.
"No, of course not! It will be this weekend. I'll give you a call when we decide on the time."
"Alright~ Have fun with your practice~! And don't forget to call me!"
"I won't! Bye, Ran-neechan!"
He disconnected the call and hurryingly dialed another number.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Hakase, it's me. If Ran would ask you, tell her that I'm staying the whole week with you to train for a video game tournament, alright?"
"She already did call me yesterday." The elder man noted with an annoyed tone. "Really Shinichi, you should tell me befor, if you decide to use me as an excuse. It was hard to convince her to not worry about you."
Conan winced. "Sorry about that… I got too distracted by this case and forgot about everything else…" He explained apologetically.
"Meh, don't worry about it, Shinichi. I figured it would be something like that." He dismissed the matter with a light tone, like the forgiving grandfather Kudo always felt he was. "Do you need any help with it?"
The boy smiled warmly. "Not with this. I've got already Hakuba-kun and Hattori helping me. But I might need some help with my cover story. Do you mind if I invite the Detective Boys over for a video game tournament this weekend?"
"Not at all. Do you want me to pick a game for it?"
"Yes please. Best pick some kind of soccer game… Ran thinks I'm practicing it this whole week, so I can't suck with the game too much… Anyway, is Haibara there?"
"I think I've heard Ai-kun entering the house some time ago… Give me a moment." Shinichi heard the inventor put the phone down and walk away, calling for the shrunken scientist.
Not long after somebody picked up the receiver. "What is it Kudo-kun?" It was obvious from the annoyed tone, that for some reason the girl was not happy with him.
Shinichi held back a shiver and wondered what he did wrong to anger the women. "Hi Haibara, I need a favor…"
"I already gave you one. The kids wanted to visit the sick you, to make sure you're alright. It wasn't easy to make them drop the idea. Also, they are still looking forward to meeting Hakuba-niisan. Hope you haven't forgotten about that."
He did… "I'll ask him if he has time this weekend…"
Haibara sighed. "You're hopeless… So what is it about now? You're too occupied with that Magician in the Moonlight of yours?" She teased.
Conan twitched at that. He probably should be grateful to KID for making that riddle, so she didn't dwell on what kept the detective away, but somehow he wasn't. "Ha…ha… Very funny Haibara… Anyway, I need your help. Do you think you could get the kids to have a video game tournament this weekend?"
"That's gonna cost you, you know that, right?"
"But you promised to help cover for me!"
"I promised to help you with your nee-chan." She reminded him and Shinichi could just imagine her grinning right now.
He sighed, defeated. "Alright… What do you want for it?"
"Well… if you insist to give me a present…" He gave a flat stare at the phone. "I saw those lovely sandals at 'di Trevi' and I wouldn't mind having them."
Conan rubbed his temple with his free hand, waving his savings goodbye. "Alright… I'll take you there next week."
"Deal. I'll call you when I've arrange everything. Good luck with catching your thief~"
"… See ya…"
Shinichi disconnected the call and pocketed his phone, sighing heavily. This was so not his day, and worse was that he couldn't really blame it on anybody else than himself. But he still tried to charge it on KID and his riddle.
Hattori was investigating around the opera building that was originally supposed to hold the grand show, when he heard a scream. Without even thinking, he ran in that direction only to stumble on a dead body. He ordered an onlooker to call the police and asked everybody present to wait for them without disturbing the scene. He was about to take a closer look at the body, when it occurred to him that he told Kazuha he left Tokyo already! It would be suspicious if his help here would be noticed back in Osaka. Cursing under his breath, he took the phone from his pocket and dialed Hakuba.
Saguru picked up fast and spoke with slight impatience. "Hattori-kun? It-"
Heiji didn't let him finish and he cut him off with a highly annoyed tone. "I need you to come to the previous opera building. NOW!"
The Brit found himself taken aback. "What happened Hattori-kun?"
The Osakan huffed with annoyance and explained quietly. "Somebody died, possibly it's been a murder."
"Alright... And you need me because... You can't figure it out?"
Heiji made a flat stare only to recall that the Brit could not see him at the moment. "Ahou! Even if the unlikely possibility came into existence that I'd have a problem with a case, you'd be the last person on the planet who I'd ask for help!" He growled into the phone.
"But you are calling now." Hakuba calmly pointed out, unfazed by his words.
"Because I'm not in Tokyo officially!" Hattori snapped and huffed, unwilling to continue. "I need you to cover for me when the reporters come."
"Oh..."
"So..? You're coming?"
Saguru sighed, unwilling to have a clash with the competitive teen, who he was slowly getting along with. "I guess there is no avoiding it. I'll be on my way in a few minutes. Stay out of sight for the time being."
"Yeah, yeah... just hurry up, will ya..?" Hattori mumbled, grimacing and huffed again. "And Hakuba-kun..?"
"Yes?"
"... Thanks..."
"Don't mention it." He replied warmly, ending the call.
Sighing heavily, Hattori pocketed his phone and turned to the body to comprehend the whole scene around it and pick up the important details.
Several minutes later Heiji heard the police sirens drawing near and soon he saw inspectors Sato and Takagi getting out of the car. He didn't miss the slight grimace on the woman's face, but it didn't surprise him as he wasn't very popular around Tokyo Police. The man's face held the expression of genuine joy to see the teen, but that one was always like that. The Osakan smiled in return to both of them, approaching the couple to greet them.
"Nice to see you, Takagi-keiji and Sato-keiji."
"Likewise, Hattori-kun." Takagi answered earnestly.
"So what do you have here for us?" Sato asked after straightening from a bow.
Heiji's expression darkened a bit as he returned to business. "It looks like it's a murder... It was made to look like an accident, but I noticed a red line on the victim's throat. Seems it was made by some kind of wire."
She nodded in acknowledgement and turned her attention to the body. She was actually happy to have the assistance of one of the high school geniuses, but somehow Megure's opinion on the Osakan affected her as well. She didn't like that that the teen was too rash and she felt that it was better when cases in Tokyo were handled by Tokyo's detectives.
"Ano..." Heiji mumbled to get their attention again, while scratching his chin awkwardly. "Could not mention my participation in this case? I want to help, but I shouldn't be here at all, honestly speaking."
Takagi blinked at that and after sharing a look with his partner, gave a nod. "Sure. Is it something like with Kudo-kun? But I'm afraid there's not much we can do if the reporters show up. They shouldn't mention your name, as you are still a minor, but..."
The Osakan waved this concern off. "Don't worry about it. Hakuba-kun is on his way and should be able to distract those."
Wataru blinked in surprise. "You called Superintendent General Hakuba to come?!" He asked in utter shock and Heiji gave him a flat stare for it.
Sato just facepalmed and sighed. "I'm sure Hattori-kun meant the Superintendent's son, Hakuba Saguru-kun. You know, the high school detective from England that usually hangs around Division Two, the regular on the KID heists."
Takagi gave a sheepish laugh. "Oh, right... that does sound more reasonable..."
After having that cleared, they returned to the case at hand, the officers starting with gathering statements from the onlookers and potential culprits.
It took Hakuba precisely 31 minutes 26.04 seconds to reach the second opera building and join Hattori, after they ended the call. He didn't manage to question the manager, but the man agreed to meet with the young detective on the next day in the evening, so it wasn't as bad. Fortunately, out of sentiment, Baaya kept his old cape and a deerstalker in the trunk, so he could put them on to attract attention right on the spot.
Unfortunately before he managed to get there, the reporters starting gathering and Heiji had a rough time avoiding them. When Saguru came, Hattori threw him a disbelieving gaze, when he saw what the Brit was wearing. He had to struggle to not start laughing or screaming, but thanks to the seriousness of the case, he managed to get over it fast. Reluctantly, he filled in his fellow detective, while shielding his face with his cap.
"Got four people with a motive, three with means to actually do it. Still looking for the murder weapon, but I honestly doubt that the guy was killed by strangling with that wire. Not a poison either, at least not an obvious one. No external wounds that we could find, but we didn't really undress the guy, so can't rule out an injection. Seems that the poor geezer just dropped dead. I do have a few theories, but…" Heiji didn't have to finish for Saguru to understand that he didn't have anything to support his theories with.
Hakuba sighed, thinking about it and focusing his gaze on the now covered body. He wasn't that experienced with murderers. He did unravel a few, but that was back in England. In Japan, he focused on kidnappings, frauds, thefts and robberies (and with exception of KID's heists, he was successful with them). He had to shift his way of thinking back to the deadly serious matters.
"What about any lingering illness? Do you know if he took any medicine? Or maybe allergy?"
Heiji shook his head, still more busy with turning the case in his mind than on the conversation. "Nothing big. He had a cold and a runny nose, but that's all. Either those guys didn't know about, are concealing it for some reason, or the guy didn't have any serious problems. Up until now, that is…"
Although Hattori didn't show any amusement, Hakuba still shot him a flat glare for the joke. The Osakan didn't even notice it. The Brit sighed, unwilling to fight over it and turned his attention to the body instead. He looked under the sheet and hummed to himself.
"His left slipper is dirtier and damaged than the right one." He said out-loud when Hattori joined him.
"Yeah. And you'll notice that one of the trash cans back at the entrance to the alley is overturned and slightly bent in. And guess what? The bent spot is cleaner. Forensics need to confirm it, but my guess would be that this geezer was lifted and he kicked the bucket, fighting the culprit, who tried to make him faint. But he didn't die there. The line is more red than blue. He just fainted from it and died later. Probably here, but that's just a guess."
Saguru gave a nod, wondering about it and not finding any flaws in Heiji's deduction. "What about the motives?" He asked turning his gaze to the gathered people, and managed to cover the Osakan enough before a flash went off.
Hattori cleared his throat, also noticing the light and grateful for the cover. "I think we got that. You see the woman with long nails? It's the neighbor, the one that started screaming and lured me here in the first place. She hated the guy, or at least another neighbor claimed that. Some kind of an old quarrel, because the deceased used to play the lottery game with her and hit the jackpot on the same day he ditched her. It's said that she promised to kill him and so on. You know, the regular stuff."
"A rather convincing motive… But you don't think it was her?"
"Yeah, it is, but just look at her. One thing is that she is small, no idea how she would manage to hold her ground in a fight against that guy, or how would she carry him over here. But mostly her nails. Seems to me that she's obsessed with them, also no way she wouldn't get them damaged during the fight and I took a closer look. They are real. She wouldn't have the time to clean them or repair the damage."
"Alright. What about the big guy next to her then?" Hakuba shifted his gaze to the man in question and noticed how nervous he seemed and how he kept his hands stuffed deeply in his pockets.
"The dead guy was his mother's brother. Tends to be raging, or so they say, but doesn't have any criminal record. You know – the loud type, but not really dangerous apparently. But here's the kicker. He owns a security firm, seems that his uncle promised to help him some time ago, if it would start getting tough with it. And it did, but the geezer decided to back out on his word."
"So money? How cliché…" Saguru noted with a grimace, holding his gaze a bit longer on the nephew's socks, wondering idly why one of them was lowered significantly.
"It's so often true that you shouldn't worry about stuff like that."
"Point taken. What about the guy in the suit? Seems strong enough to be able to strangle a guy from behind." The blonde didn't miss how, concerning the situation, the man was unnaturally calm.
"Yeah, if he knew how it wouldn't be much of a problem for him." The Osakan said with a tone that made Hakuba sure the teen knew a couple of ways to do it and it was a grim though. "He's the ex-husband of the geezer's daughter. She died two years ago, but managed to get divorced shortly before that. Seems it was an accident. No idea if it's true. Anyway on the outside they didn't have any issues between them, neighbors even claim that they somewhat liked each other and the geezer was against the divorce. But the nephew claimed otherwise. Seems they were close because of some shady business and the guy here wanted to screw with the deceased. The guy himself squirmed somewhat, asked directly by Sato-keiji, so there is probably some truth in it."
Saguru hummed, wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to look into the guy later even if he didn't turn out to be the culprit here. He turned his attention to the last person in question. "And another woman…"
"Yeah. But this one knows how to handle herself. Seems she's training judo, so you know – strangling and holding up a guy, even bigger than her wouldn't be a problem for her. Especially if the guy didn't know how to protect himself from it. And as far as I know, he didn't have any experience in martial arts."
"And her motive?"
"You'd never guess. Seems she was his lover. Pretty sure she was after his cash, but heck, who knows. Anyway, he ditched her and gently speaking she wasn't happy about it."
"A rejected lover… another cliché…"
"And a regular one around crime scenes…"
It took them another half an hour to find the most important evidence and place all the puzzles together. They didn't have any irrefutable proof, so they required the culprit's testimony. And that called for Saguru's deduction show. Honestly speaking, it disgusted Hattori, who felt additionally bad for having his input neglected and all the glory went to the Brit.
When the large male, who's been the nephew of the deceased man, stepped out again to complain about how long it was taking, Hakuba approached him with a smirk. "Worry not, I have already figured it all out. I shall explain now, if you just give me a moment." He cleared his throat and didn't miss how the man curled his shoulders. "The deceased was murdered when he went out to throw away his garbage. It was done by somebody who knew his habits and waited there for him. Also, the victim was a rather healthy and strong man and there were no drag marks from around the garbage cans to the place where the body was found. So the culprit must have been not only strong, but also tall. And the only person matching this description is you!" He said dramatically, pointing at the nephew.
The man took a step back, but regained his composure fast. "What? My size is no evidence! Sure I'm the tallest of the people present, but the real killer could have ran away long ago, because you guys were so slow!"
Hakuba chuckled grimly, as a part of his performance. "That is where you're wrong. Your size was actually the last piece of puzzle. The first evidence is this." He took out a large glove, found by Hattori in a trash can, packed now in an evidence bag. "I am sure that the forensics will find your pieces of DNA from bits of skin. By the way… I have noticed how you keep your hands in your pockets. Is there something wrong with them?" The nephew buried his hands deeper in his pockets, but before he could answer the detective mercilessly continued. "The second evidence is hidden in your left shoe. A wire."
The Brit spoke with such confidence that it caused the man to look down at his boot, only confirming the deduction. Officer Sato placed a hand on the culprits shoulder and grinned at him predatorily.
"So… care to show it now, or do we have to do it at the station..?" She asked teasingly.
"W-wait! How do you even know that my uncle was moved?!" He asked in distress, breathing fast.
Saguru smirked and pointed at the foot of the victim. "That was the easy part. There is some slime on his slipper. The amount seems to match the clear spot on a bent trash can. I believe the victim was lifted when you strangled him with the wire."
"I-I didn't kill him with the wire!" The huge man squirmed under the Brit's judging gaze.
"I know. You didn't plan to kill him. Or at least didn't get to that. You panicked and forgot your uncle had a cold. You covered his face by accident when you moved him. Because he was unconscious, he didn't fight for air, so there are no bruises left and you haven't probably even noticed that he died, before it was already too late." Hakuba replied sadly and took a deep breath. "Now tell us one last thing. Why did you do it?"
The man had tears in his eyes and he curled his arms, seeming smaller than he really was. "I didn't want to kill him. I never would. Honest! But-but I just needed the money! My firm was dying and that old geezer had so much. He promised me that he'd help! But when I needed it, he said that it was a stupid idea for me to even start the business! I just wanted to scare him, so he would believe that the security firm is a much needed thing! If he didn't help me, I would have to dismiss my workers, who are good people and don't deserve that."
"So how did this accident happen? Why did you move him?" Saguru asked helpfully, when he noticed the man was falling apart, without finishing his tale.
"Like you said… I panicked. I-I just wanted to move him, so I had time to think. H-he saw my face when I tried to make him faint. He reached back and took off my face mask. I didn't know what to do. But I never would have killed him!"
The Brit sighed heavily, wondering if he should give the fallen man the last blow, but figured that it was necessary for his retribution. "He didn't see your face."
The man looked at Hakuba in awe, but didn't respond. All off the others present kept silent, eager to hear the explanation to its bitter end.
"You were behind him and he was strangled enough already to have his vision limited too much. I doubt he would have recognized you in that state, even if you stood before him. From the back, there was no way for him at all…" He finished with a grim and sad voice.
The man collapsed, ruined by the detective's words and allowed the officers to guide him to the police car, without arguing. The few reporters gathered around Hakuba and asked their questions that the Brit answered as shortly as he could. Hattori in the meantime managed to slip away without attracting any attention to himself.
After Saguru managed to ditch the reporters, he picked up Heiji with his car. They decided to return to the manor, as there was too much commotion to quietly investigate the building and there was no point for Hakuba to return to the Task Force. Needless to say, Hattori was in foul mood.
"I get it you had to push the guy, but did you really have to make such a show of yourself?" Heiji grumbled, giving his fellow detective a flat look.
Hakuba raised an eyebrow. "Well I didn't have much choice, since you asked me to cover for you."
Hattori grimaced at that and turned his gaze away from the Brit. "Yeah... thanks. But seriously 'Why did you do it?'? I mean, come on, we already deduced that and he would have said it anyway, by that time."
Saguru sighed. "Well, I always found it fair to let the culprit explain himself from his own free will. Also I have to admit it used to be my catch phrase." He admitted reluctantly.
The Osakan gave him a doubtful look. "A catch phrase? Really..?"
The Brit shrugged at that, as it was a natural thing. "Yes. All famous detectives have one."
"Well, I don't."
Hakuba couldn't hold back a snicker "Just serves my point..."
"HEY!"
A victorious screech pierced the sky as the hawk managed to sink its claws in a piece of meat attached to the wire that Heiji spinned in the air. Conan absently watched it land on the ground and tear its target. It was already Thursday afternoon and they still had a lot of questions. After lunch, Hakuba announced that he was going to take care of his pet to briefly take his mind off the case, before he would go and see the manager. The other two hesitantly decided they could use a break themselves and went with the Brit. Watson did seem frustrated by the lack of attention he's been getting lately, and was forcing Saguru to keep his full attention on the bird and its dangerous claws and beak. After some tricks involving feeding and exercise, the hawk calmed down and the Brit offered his fellow detectives to handle it a bit. Shinichi spared only a glance at the bird's claws that were not much shorter than his whole fingers and decided against it, Heiji on the other hand was more than willing. They've spend around one and a half an hour like that and returned to their investigation with their minds refreshed with the activity. They have worked on the case till the last minute, before going to the heist with still a few questions unanswered.
The three detectives were allowed in the backstage to join Nakamori and a few officers from the KID Task Force. Finding the inspector wasn't very hard, as they only needed to follow his shouts. It appeared that he was arguing with the man Hakuba identified for them as Shinjo Takeshi - the opera manager.
"Do you actually want the necklace to be stolen?!" Roared the officer at the sweating, fat man.
"N-no! Why would you even think that inspector..?" Shinjo cried back.
"Then let us do our job our way!"
"Bu-but I cannot let you pull the faces of my actors! You'll ruin their make-up and I don't think they would be very pleased..!"
"But we know KID will mess with the show, so he is bound to disguise himself as one of your actors!"
"Well then, just keep an eye on them, so neither gets abducted..." The manager proposed.
"BUT KID COULD HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS!" Nakamori shouted, losing his temper.
The man backed out, clapping hand on his ears and taking on a scared expression. "B-b-but..."
"So why don't you just have us sing?" A soft, female voice cut the manager off and a woman stepped forward from the onlookers. "You cannot possibly believe KID-san would be able to match a professional singer? I am pretty sure me as well as my colleagues could easily distinguish a fake. Afterwards, much as Shinjo proposed, you could simply have us watched over." She smiled flirtily at the inspector.
The woman was in her early thirties and wearing a sleeveless, deep green dress, with a tight top, and long bottom, with a long cut, showing her leg as she walked. The dress was held by a few strings attached to a high collar, covering her whole neck. She had laughing, green eyes, nicely framed by full make-up, contrasting her reddish hair, pinned up, leaving only a few lose strands.
Ginzo laughed sheepishly, seemingly abashed by his outburst. "Ah Tadari-san~! That's a great idea!"
Shinichi let out a dry laugh. Just leave it to Nakamori to not bother about the suspicious details. "Nee! How come you know that KID isn't a professional singer? He does have a strong voice and is known to have a lot control over it…" He asked with his chirping tone.
"Oi kid! Don't interrupt adults when they are talking!" Nakamori growled at Conan in an angered tone.
"Oh, it's quite alright. Children should be encouraged to be curious." She said with a calm voice, placing a hand on Conan's head, ruffling his hair a little and leaned to the boy. "It's quite simple, actually. You are right that KID-san does have a strong voice and fairly good control over it. It is possible that with proper guidance, he could become a professional singer. But he isn't one just yet. First of all he doesn't control his breathing like he should and tends to strain his voice where it could and should be avoided. If he tried to sing a difficult piece like that, he would find himself out of breath or missing tones. Simply speaking, he doesn't know about some difficult rules a singer has to follow. Does this answer your question?"
"Uh-oh… yeah, thank you, kind lady." Conan chirped, smiling back to her.
"Not a problem at all~"
For the whole time, the manager stared in shock at the woman and hesitated a little. "Are you sure it's a good idea T-Tadari? I-I mean you shouldn't strain your voice too much..." The detectives noted some distress in his voice.
The singer waved her hand, dismissing his worries. "Oh, it's fine, my dear, as long as I don't have to sing the grand solo. Also, there is enough time for me to recover."
The detectives grimaced sympathetically, knowing all too well from their investigation what caused the worry.
Nakamori, on the other hand, seemed puzzled. "Uhm... Recover? Is something wrong..?" He asked in a troubled tone.
The manager grimaced with slight anger at the inspector. "That is not-"
"Do not worry so much Shinjo~!" The woman cut him off with a pearly laugh. "I am sure our brave law enforcer is already aware of my condition and that it simply slipped his mind." She smiled softly and turned her gaze to Nakamori, making the man blush slightly. "Although I would deeply appreciate if you agreed to help keep it away from the public. I do not wish to worry my fans."
"Of course! I can assure you not a word about this will leave my or my subordinates' lips! But erm… just for formalities, if you could…"
Heiji muffled a snort, hearing Nakamori's clumsy attempts to cover his lack of knowledge. Shinichi just rolled his eyes at his friend's cheerfulness.
Tadari acted like she didn't notice it and turned her gaze away, clearly unwilling to talk about the topic. "I um… I don't think it's that important. Let's just leave it, alright?" She asked, locking her eyes with the inspector's, who could only nod in response. The detectives didn't miss, however, the hint of pain in her expression.
The singer helped organize the check up for other performers and herself, although both the manager and the inspector claimed that it wasn't necessary for her to. The song Tadari sang wasn't an especially difficult piece, so the awe of the staff members and other singers was somewhat surprising for the detectives. Nonetheless, her voice was pure and pleasant to hear. When she finished, somebody started clapping and the teens noticed another woman, who came during the song. Tadari beamed at her.
"Megumi-chan~!"She chirped and walked towards the actress to give her a hug.
Furahata laughed cheerfully and hugged her in return. "I'm glad to see you too Chizo-chan~ But I believe you should lower your voice a little. You know, you shouldn't strain your voice so much." She scolded the singer.
Tadari smirked slightly and covered her mouth, giggling. "I guess you're right. Thank you~" She replied with a whisper.
Furahata looked around with slight worry and turned her attention to the other woman. "Are you sure you can do it..? I mean we could-"
"Don't worry dear, I'll be just fine. I'm also sure those brave officers will help us hold KID-san back until we finish our performance. Right, Nakamori-keibu~?" She added a bit louder, turning to the inspector.
The man cleared his throat and puffed his chest. "But of course! There is nothing you have to worry about, Tadari-san!" He announced with a proud voice and looked slightly abashed, turning his gaze to the actress. "But um… I'm afraid I'll have to ask you, Furahata-san, to leave for safety measures…"
Megumi smiled "I'm understand, but inspector?"
"Yes?"
"Do me a favor and don't be too rough on my dream man, alright?" She giggled and left the backstage, escorted by two officers.
Nakamori grimaced and grumbled under his breath and Tadari held back a giggle, watching her friend leave with a broad smile.
The detectives decided between themselves to split and search the area separately. They were positive that KID had to be around there somewhere, but the cheek pulling of the opera staff and the singing test proved that he didn't disguise himself as anyone yet. To avoid trouble, Nakamori assigned an officer for each of the two teens, reluctantly allowing Conan to move freely by himself. It wasn't easy to find anything suspicious, as the backstage usually was a messy place, logical only in the eyes of those who knew what to look for.
In the meantime, one officer followed Tadari to the make-up room. Conan narrowed his eyes and wanted to go with them, but before he could get through the door some guy from the staff grabbed his collar and picked him up.
"Whoa boy! It's no place for you to run around! Did you get lost? Come on... I'll help you find your parents!" And not listening to Conan's attempts to explain the situation, he started carrying him away.
Fortunately, before Shinichi could be taken away, Hattori overheard his voice and explained the situation to the stubborn staff member who solemnly apologized for his actions. When they were walking back to join Hakuba, Heiji grinned at Kudo, but didn't say anything.
The play started on schedule and apparently none of the singers were intercepted by the kaitou yet. It was a type of a ballad opera, so some of the dialogs were simply spoken. Everything went smoothly through the first part and as expected, there was a lot of commotion during the entr'acte. It was fairly hard to keep an eye on all of the actors, staff members and the musicians during this time, but somehow the well-disciplined officers managed to, even despite the angry hisses from the annoyed people they were trying to protect.
And so started the second part. The tension was visible as the grand solo was drawing near. Up until now, to spare her vocal cords, Tadari had only easy parts of songs to voice, always accompanied by another singer or the choir. All for the sake of that one song, after which the necklace would be brought to the singer and stay on her neck for the rest of the play.
During Akodo Hanzo's (the lead male singer) solo, a heavily guarded man, dressed in an angel costume was given the heist target. A few officers went up the staging to keep a close eye on the wires the man would be raised with, to pass the gem to Tadari, after her solo. All held their breaths when Akodo fell over, which was the cue for Chizo to start. The music stopped and the only tone in the air was her mesmerizing, strong voice. After the first few lines, the instruments joined her song, enriching it. The detectives, as well as others listened in awe, able only to think that it was worth coming to just be able to hear it. Conan was the first to snap out of its charm, finally figuring what was bothering him this whole time. He noticed that the singer's voice wavered slightly when the song required high pitches.
He gasped and when the last tones faded, he spoke with startled voice. "KID..!"
The 'angel' was already descending towards the singer, presenting her the necklace. Nakamori turned his startled gaze at the boy and back at the stage and the woman, who noticed the slight commotion, threw the shrunken detective a familiar smirk, right before the whole area got covered with smoke. Dressed if full regalia, KID jumped up from the smoke and hung in the air, casually standing above it. He spread his arms, greeting his audience.
"Ladies and gentleman! As announced, I am pleased to take my part in this performance. Sadly I do not find it worthy enough to bid farewell to a singer as marvelous as the one we have a pleasure to admire here. This is why I decided to add a bit of glamour myself!" He joined his hands and slowly separated them again, so everybody could see glinting wires spread between his fingers.
With a hasty movement, KID spread his arms widely again, making the wires loosely fall down and suddenly stretch, causing some startled gasps from people still hidden under the smoke. The kaitou's grin grew eerie.
"And now. Let the show… continue." He spoke with an ominous voice and moved a few fingers.
There were shocked yelps from the orchestra, as on KID's signal and energetic music started flowing from there. The kaitou moved his arm, waving off the smoke and uncovering the surprised actors looking at him. Akodo was holding Tadari in his arms and it seemed that the woman's lips were sealed with a zipper. KID moved his fingers and the audience noticed wires attached to the actors being moved and causing the people to move accordingly, with surprise written all over their faces.
"The mysterious puppeteer stole the princesses' love along with her voice, from the angel that helped her carve it into a stone." KID started explaining with a narrator's tone. "She became but a mere doll, unable to feel or move. And through the stone, the puppeteer gained power over her subjects." He started descending to the stage and noticed from the corner of his eye a few officers, led by Nakamori to rush there also. "To return her to life, the stone needed to be retrieved and returned. And so the brave enforcers stepped forward, not scared of the puppeteer's power."
As KID landed, Akodo tried to grab him, but without looking at him the kaitou moved his hand, causing the actor to turn on his heel and start singing with a surprised expression. Nakamori roared, encouraging his subordinates to capture the thief, who snapped his fingers causing himself and the officers to get covered in smoke. The instrumental music picked up speed as the smoke cleared, uncovering the officers in clothes matching medieval guards' uniforms, attempting to capture the kaitou.
The detectives didn't stand idly and separated. Heiji and Saguru started climbing the railing, from opposite sides of the stage, to reach the wires, which they noticed were attached somewhere above instead of KID's fingers. Conan, due to his small frame, wouldn't have been able to help them there, so he decided to cover the most probable escape route and prepare a trap there. The teens pushed their way through the startled officers, who were merely watching the show below, unsure what to do. Holding the metal bars tightly, Hakuba and Hattori started walking towards the nearest moving platforms, that had strings attached to them. The Brit hesitated for a moment when he reached it, unsure if cutting the wires was the best idea. Heiji didn't have such dilemmas and strongly grabbed the strings pulling them out of the platform, freeing Akodo from their influence. The actor shot a surprised gaze above and the Osakan grinned at him. Hanzo smirked in return and took out his stage sword, attacking KID from behind. The detectives and the audience gasped, seeing the kaitou trip, grabbing the actor in attempt to hold his balance, causing them both to fall over, which in turn resulted in a small smoke eruption. The officers jumped them and after a short struggle placed a few handcuffs on a white sleeved arm.
Hakuba and Hattori shared distressed stares and rushed to get off the railings, forgetting all about the rest of the platforms. After a brief silence, the audience started cheering as the officers grabbed the dazed KID, forcing him on his feet. Nakamori cheered and rushed his subordinates to take the kaitou off the stage, absently handing the gem to the actor who pulled his sleeve. Akodo hastily straightened his costume and cleared his throat while approaching Tadari, clearly willing to finish the show.
"My beloved, I've retrieved your voice and our love." He leaned to her, gently peeling off the tape with a drawn zipper on it "But I see it was a wasted effort. I have noticed that despite the theft, your beautiful voice has stayed with you, singing ever as clear from your heart." She gasped, surprised hearing those words. He kneeled and placed a kiss on her hand and got up, while having his eyes locked with hers. "I will always hear it, whatever the future may bring." He said bowing before her, offering his hand.
The singer covered her trembling lips with her free hand and there was some wetness in the corners of her eyes. She squeezed gently his hand and smiled with genuine gratefulness.
She answered with a husky voice. "Thank you, my perfect prince. Both for your deeds and your words."
He only smiled at her with warmth in reply and placed a kiss on her fingers again. Hakuba noticed the crewman's lips tremble, as he was holding back a smile, when he pulled a lever to drop the curtain.
During this brief ending, Nakamori with his subordinates managed to drag the still dazed kaitou to the backstage and chuckling with anticipation the inspector tore his hat and the monocle away. Unfazed by the view of Akodo's face, he started pulling his cheeks strongly, causing the man to moan in pain. It took a whole minute of the torture for Nakamori to understand that he was holding by the skin the original actor. He turned immediately around to the stage, but the curtain has already fallen and he saw only Tadari standing alone there. An officer managed just in time to muffle his superior's roar, so the audience wouldn't hear him.
"Nee… where's the hurry..?" Conan stepped forward from the shadow blocking the path for a staff member, who was headed towards the backdoor through a narrow corridor. "KID." He finished with a smirk, seeing a surprised expression on the man's face.
"KID? No, you're mistaken. They just caught him back there." The man claimed reassuringly, although without much hope.
"Oh? And you didn't want to see his face when they unmask him?"
The man's face bloomed with a familiar grin. "Not really. Too much of a commotion for me, you see. I decided to get some fresh air~"
The boy leaned to his shoe, causing some sparks to jump from it. "By the way, my respects. I didn't know you could sing that well. But I guess you still need some practice, if you want to change your profession. Although you had me fooled with your explanation."
The man crooked his head. "Oh? You noticed? My congratulations, Tantei-kun, you do have a good ear. But I can assure you that my explanation was not false. I only spoke about the past. What would it make me, if I lied to curious children~?" He asked with a wide grin.
Conan shot him a flat stare. "Give back the jewel, so we can talk freely."
KID sighed spreading, his arms in a helpless gesture. "I'm terribly sorry Tantei-kun, but I can't spare you any time tonight. Maybe next time~? And as for the necklace… I do believe I have earned it this time fair and square…" He pointed out.
Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "Don't you want to know what we figured out?"
The kaitou chuckled. "I think that you found out enough, but I believe you will make the right choice-"
There was a loud crack from behind KID and he shot a short glance behind his shoulder. That was enough for Conan, who at the same time launched his soccer ball and kicked it in the thief's direction. There was a blast of blinding flash and by the time Shinichi could see clearly enough, KID was gone. Although he was fairly sure that he managed to hit him. Regrettably, the kaitou didn't fall for another trap laid at the exit, probably choosing another route to escape. Unsurprisingly, the noise was caused by a few officers who were looking for the kaitou and Conan learned from them what happened around the scene during his absence.
The boy smirked as most of the puzzles fell into place. All that was left was to confront a few people to clear the rest.
The detectives managed to slip from Nakamori's attention who was busy shouting at… well, practically everybody. Somehow avoiding pulling too much attention to themselves, they approached a private room of the main star of that night's opera. The door was guarded by a sole man, who Conan easily managed to deal with the help of his watch. They settled the guard unsuspiciously against the wall and entered the room, interrupting a conversation between Tadari and Furahata. Both women looked surprised at the boys.
"Um… I believe you shouldn't be here…" Megumi said, slightly taken aback.
Hakuba smirked and replied with a polite tone. "Pardon the intrusion, but we wanted to ask you a few questions. And I believe neither of you ladies would want somebody to overhear them…"
The woman looked at each other and the boys took it as acceptance and closed the door behind them.
"Um… I'm afraid we don't know what you're talking about, but I hope we can clear this misunderstanding." The actress spoke again and offered a nervous smile, as the singer shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat quietly.
Conan threw Chizo a worried look "We know it's hard to speak for you, Tadari-san, but don't worry. We just want to clear some details about this case just for the sake of unraveling it."
The singer let out a small cough. "I don't know what you're talking about, boy." She spoke with a husky voice. "It's just that the smoke irritated my throat…"
"It's not nice to lie." Heiji cut in with an amused tone, scolding her, but continued with an understanding one and a reassuring smile. "It's been probably like that for a while now, right? That's why not many people heard you talking lately."
The woman shot the teen a scared look, but before they could deny, Saguru continued the thought. "We know you had an operation. It wasn't easy to find out what the cause was. It was laryngeal cancer, right? And although the laser operation was a success, it relapsed." He stated, softly watching Tadari's shoulders drop.
The shrunken detective continued with a firm tone. "But you learned about it after the show was announced and for some reason you didn't want to cancel it. So you decided to contact KID. Most likely it was Furahata-san who convinced you to do it. The whole staff knew and agreed to it. The manager helped you contact him and the rest helped out with today's trick. I'm more than sure that we will find convincing evidence of how he did it by himself, but the truth is that he wouldn't manage that without your cooperation. The questions are why didn't you simply cancel the show, why involve KID of all the people and why move it to another building in the last second?" Conan asked, intensely watching the woman.
They did have their theories about the first two questions, but those were delicate matters and it would be far better to allow the women to explain themselves. But the building swap made no sense at all. It wasn't any easier to escape or prepare the trick in this place, it wasn't even that closer to Ekoda to make any difference. There just wasn't any legitimate reason to change the location. Heiji also managed to confirm that the official reason wasn't true. Moreover, it was sloppily made and in a rush.
The women shared a look in a silent conversation, before Tadari gave a small, defeated smile and sighed. "I will explain it the best I can, but... Please don't make the others pay for my selfishness."
"Chizo!" Furahata cut in with shock and turned to the boys "It was my idea, so don't blame her..."
"Oi, oi..." Heiji sweat dropped and let out a sheepish laugh, trying to calm down the women, before they started arguing about it. "We already told you that we just wanted to solve this. In the end nothing bad happened, so there is no need for anybody to pay for this."
The women looked at the detectives in confusion, clearly unsure if they can trust them, but in the end they didn't have much choice. The singer cleared her throat again in attempt to speak, but the actress stopped her.
"Chizo, why not let me say it? You shouldn't strain yourself too much."
Tadari smiled softly and shook her head. "Thank you, Megumi, but I want to explain myself." She turned her attention to the boys, holding up her pleasant smile. "You were right with your deductions. The truth is that I was devastated when I started losing my voice again and heard the diagnosis." She clenched her fingers and looked down. "I... I was told that the only way now was to have a regular operation and cut it all out... Losing my voice completely."
The boys turned their piercing gazes away. They thought that it would be like that, but hearing it said by the person whose whole life was her voice...
Tadari cleared her throat again and continued after a brief pause. "I didn't want that, or to admit to anyone about the relapse. They found out anyway. The manager did try to convince me to cancel the show, or at least change it, but I couldn't bear the thought of disappointing my fans. The truth is that I lived solely for them. So everybody supported me the best they could, but well… It's not like it could have been enough. It was getting worse. Megumi proposed that I ask somebody to double for me." She smiled to her friend clenching her hand. "But you boys see, it's not that simple. There is strong rivalry in our environment and it would be tricky to find somebody willing to cover for me without admitting their participation. And I couldn't have that, because people would start asking why I didn't sing myself. And unfortunately all my friends who I could ask have different voice scales than I do. As a joke, Megumi said that we need a miracle, so we should give KID a call." They both chuckled at that. "I didn't take it seriously at first and I doubt she meant to say that, but as the time passed, it got me thinking… Eventually I decided to give it a try. Everybody was very doubtful of the idea, even I didn't believe that it would work. But he did respond and came to our rehearsal unannounced. That was a very confusing encounter." She chuckled, but was cut off with her cough.
Megumi held her hand, frowning with worry, until the attack ended. She passed her a glass of water. The singer drank it and continued after a brief rest.
"He seemed rather amused with our little taunt and curious about it. I explained him the situation, apologizing for the trouble, but he decided to give it a try. I can't say he was perfect, but did have the potential. And was willing to improve. Under a condition." She smiled softly, taking a brief pause to let her voice rest. "I was the one supposed to meet and prepare him. He also was willing to double for me without making it a heist, but declined the offer to give him the jewel in return. He honestly started pouting like a child, while making his little tricks. He claimed that he only takes the gems during his heists and refused to do it outside of them. I think that was the first time since I learned about the cancer that I laughed so hard. We actually started arguing with him about how we would repay him. In the end, Shinjo demanded him to make it into a heist, nearly forcing him against his will. I can tell you, the manager was so terrified when it occurred to him later that he ordered the KID around." She chuckled again at the memory and they let het a few minutes to calm down. "I started meeting with him once a week at the beginning to help him improve and supervise his progress. Later it was less often. He turned out to be such a nice and gentle b- man." She corrected herself hastily, clearly still wanting to cover for KID.
Hakuba's lips quirked slightly as he idly wondered how much this woman learned about Kuroba during their meetings, while she continued her tale.
"I can tell that he was working rather hard in between our meetings. But we didn't only focus on his practice. We talked a lot also. He made me learn some minor tricks. We never talked about my condition or the operation, but… Somehow he made me believe that the life is worth living. And I decided to take the operation. It's scheduled for next week." She smiled with hope glinting in her eyes and she looked at them. "If I could ask you… Don't get him arrested. I don't know why he's doing what he does… But he's a good man and doesn't deserve to get locked away."
"We know that." Heiji assured her with a smile. "But you didn't say why did you change the location..?"
The women looked at each other and Megumi answered. "Well… The truth is that he asked for it. After the explosion he contacted us, so we wouldn't worry, assuring us that he would come for the show. But last Monday he came over to the manager, apologetically explaining that he wouldn't be able to perform in the other building. He didn't say why and well, Shinjo-san didn't ask him. Especially since KID-san agreed to come if we changed the location to here."
The detectives frowned, disappointed that the riddle remained unsolved and started turning even more worrying. They said their goodbyes and wished Tadari a successful operation. Megumi let them out to avoid confusion with the guard, who managed to wake up in the meantime.
Much as expected the officers found small speakers, hidden in the instruments and loops for the wires both on the instruments and costumes. The notes for the musicians were covered with half transparent red lettering saying that KID decided to take over the show and if the orchestra didn't want the whole show to be a failure, they wouldn't interfere. The actors revealed that after the smoke cleared, they noticed in their ears earphones with a record asking in KID's voice to not go against the new flow of the show. Nakamori personally thanked Akodo for going against the kaitou's wishes when he had the chance and then yelled at him for not showing sooner that the thief managed to switch places with him.
Nobody figured out and the detectives kept silent that all the evidence were placed there by the actors and the musicians or that the instrument records weren't even prepared by KID. Nor that the music was played by the orchestra during the show, instead of just being replayed.
They were about to leave the opera building when Heiji poked Conan's arm to get his attention and pointed with a snicker around the corner. The boy overheard a conversation between two officers of the KID Task Force. Hakuba noticed both his fellow detectives stop, so he also did and started listening.
"I sometimes wonder if we're not the ones seen as the bad guys..." One muttered with a sigh and the Brit was fairly sure it was one of the regular members of the KID Unit - officer Akori.
"Huh? What are you talking about? He's the bad guy! He even stole the necklace... again!" Saguru identified him in his mind as officer Yuzu - a new addition to the Force, who joined after the fatal series heists.
"Yeah well, but we all know he will return it safe and sound anyway. No harm done. And all he did was to enhance the performance to bid farewell to Tadari-san."
"And to ruin their performance in the end..." Yuzu muttered, displeased.
"It didn't seem that anybody felt that way. Tadari-san seemed more touched than angered to me, same for other performers. Everybody was just happy. As always... You'll learn to look forward and trust the KID yourself if you stay with the Force long enough." Akori pointed with a sniker.
"Oh yeah? Do I really have to remind you that you were one of those who got cut with those razor cards of his, not so long ago? And I'm positive that kid who he threw down the staircase wasn't happy either!"
"Oh come on! You weren't even there back then, besides... I cut myself deeper sometimes during my morning shave and he did that only to protect me from getting a bullet, so I'm rather grateful to him. I'm more than sure that he threw the boy with the same purpose in mind."
"The bullet holes could have been prepared before by him, it's not like anybody noticed them happening and as for the boy, I'm sure he could have come up with something that wouldn't traumatize him!"
The other wanted to respond to that, but was cut off by the roar of Nakamori-keibu. "What the hell are you two doing here chit-chatting?! Get it wrapped up so we can finally leave!"
The detectives didn't wait to listen to the scolding and left the building, chuckling quietly.
They calmed down by the time they were outside, each quietly going around their own thoughts. Suddenly Shinichi and Heiji noticed that Saguru was not with them. They turned around to see the Brit standing silently half way from the opera building with a frown on his face. They approached him.
"Something wrong?" Hattori asked with slight concern, shifting his gaze to the numerous police cars parked before the building that seemed to have occupied the other detective's mind.
Hakuba shook his head and turned back to his friends. "Nothing really. Just got caught up in my thoughts." He looked at Conan. "So, you want us to meet your friends at Agasa-hakase's tomorrow at noon?"
"Yeah… thanks for helping me out with it."
They chatted a bit about their plans for the weekend. They decided to return to the manor on foot to allow Kuroba to approach them, if he wanted to. Sadly though, he didn't.
This heist was brought to you by "Escapist" by Nightwish. I know it has nothing to do with an opera, but I saw a KID AMV made with it and somehow started equaling our beloved kaitou with a nightingale, and just itched to make a riddle with it. Then I remembered a few fics where it was claimed that Kaito can sing and the idea started rolling xD
For those who wonder – no, Kaito still can't match an opera singer, he used a few tricks to enhance his voice for the grand solo, but I couldn't find a way for the detectives to figure it out and decided that it's not really that important for them ;)
Bah... constructing cases is definatelly my weak side ^^"
I probably should have Kaito answering an awkward phone call next chapter… I'll think about it xD
Next chapter I hope to bring some laughter to you, so look forward to it~
See you next chapter *grins*
