Nor'hanger Abbey
A Detective Conan Fanfic
By
Deborah (Kosagi) Brown

Acknowledgements:
All usual disclaimers regarding ownership of Detective Conan and related characters apply. This stuff is copyrighted to Aoyama Gosho.

Much thanks to Ysabet and Ryo Hoshi for their beta-reads, without which I'd probably have far too many spelling, continuity and grammatical errors.

Chapter 4: Truth, Lies and Audio Tape – In which Ran regrets her decision to hunt ghosts.

When evening fell we still had seen no sign of Toda-san. In a way it was a relief to realize that – at least so far – the only ghosts I'd seen had been the few old spirits that wandered the halls aimlessly, their needs long since forgotten. It was also a relief not to see that damned dog again, since I wasn't sure I could maintain my composure in its presence, especially now that I'd remembered what an ill-omened beastie it was.

"Now then," Wanabe said as we finished a much less elaborate meal than the night before. "Heidi will be bringing out the equipment and each of you will be assigned an area of the house. You can, of course, decline to join in the game but Miss Abe is hoping that"

"Speaking of Miss Abe," James Aden spoke up suddenly and a bit surprisingly, for he and his wife had been silent and wrapped up in each other the entire afternoon, "We haven't seen her all day. Is she all right?"

I glanced over at Conan and the two of us turned our gaze towards the attractive blonde entering the room with a cart. She blinked at us, innocently, and we gave her what I knew to be identically knowing grins. A slow, conspiratorial, smile crossed her face and we kept our silence as Wanabe said, "Miss Abe was called away, Mr. Aden. She plans to return tomorrow morning."

"Oh how disappointing. We were so looking forward to spending some time with her," Sara Aden said, looking down. "She's such a wonderful actress."

Wanabe made soothing sounds. "I'm sure she'll be glad to take some time to talk with you two when she returns," he said reassuringly. "Now then, let's go over the equipment and your assignments."

Nakamura coughed. "You surely don't expect me to join in this nonsense."

"Oh, no. Of course not." Wanabe smiled. "You and I can discuss the artifact while the others are busy. Perhaps, though, your assistant would like to join the Adens? We'd planned on groups of three but with Toda-san missing"

***

As they prepared to take up their posts, he watched Conan and Hattori's behavior closely. The two seemed to be up to something, a query to Agasa-hakase, by the fact that they snuck off briefly to use Conan's little ear-phone device. He wasn't able to get close enough to hear much without making his curiosity obvious, but he did pick up the name Nakamura and Tokyo University. He wondered what it was the professor had done to earn their suspicion. That conversation earlier, no doubt, though I have no idea why.

***

Half an hour later Conan, Kuroba and I stood at the doorway into the bell tower. "Well, Heiji-niichan," Conan said, looking at the recorder in his hand, then at me, "Should we?"

I looked back at him, then at the extremely casual Kuroba. I have such a bad feeling about this, I thought, even as I nodded. "Let's see. There's supposed to be a monk who hung himself from the bell-tower rope in the fourteenth century, right?"

"That's what Wanabe-san said," Kuroba confirmed, oddly subdued. "No details on why, though." He was carrying the sensor device, a combination temperature and EMG reader that was apparently all the rage among ghost-hunters. "Not that it matters, I guess."

I shrugged. "Doubt it does." I opened the door to the staircase and started up, my flashlight casting wild and misshapen shadows against the walls, giving the feeling of movement where there was none. I had a flash of childhood memory, a similar room in the attic of our house and the way I'd dared myself to visit it despite the fear it'd instilled in me. Hey, I think I'm getting better at this, I thought, though I wasn't at all sure what I'd do if we ran into the dog again.

At the top of the stairs was a trap door that I pushed open carefully. Outside, the fresh night air held the tang of wood smoke and falling leaves. The moon, just past full now, was still bright enough to cast everything into sharp relief. Far below us, the maze was a shadowy confusion, the overgrown hedges twisting in on themselves in a riot of light and dark. At the center was a white area, too distant to make out clearly. A building?

"See anyone?" Kuroba asked and I shook my head. "Wow. This place is bigger than I thought." He leaned down and helped Conan up onto the bench so he could look out at the building below. "Hey, I bet I could make it down onto the roof from here."

"I'm sure you could, Kuroba," I muttered. "Dare I hope you might end up falling on your fool butt in the process?"

"Hey!" Kuroba grinned cockily at me. "I'm better at climbing than that." He paused, glancing down at his device, "Uh I'm getting readings."

I looked around the bell-tower, pretending to scan it with my camera. There was nothing there and I shook my head. "I don't think there's anything."

"I'm not lying! Take a look." Kuroba held out the device, showing the gauges flickering wildly. "It's picking up something." He grabbed at my hand to force me to take the thing and I pulled away just barely in time. "Aw, c'mon Hattori. Don't be that way. Look, I'm sorry if I rub you the wrong way. I do that a lot."

I glared at him, surreptitiously turning on Agasa-Hakase's toy. "Yeah. Okay. Sorry." Taking the device he held out again, I was very relieved that the watch did its job perfectly. Aside from that annoying tingle and slight static shock it apparently gave Kuroba, I picked up nothing. "Let's see where the readings get strongest."

***

Watching Hattori and rubbing his fingers slightly, he frowned. Hattori didn't strike him as the practical joking type and a mild bit of static scarcely qualified as a way to get back at someone for annoying you. Yet he'd seen the Osaka-ko do something to his watch just before taking the device – something he was certain caused that brief sensation of sticking one's hand into a stack of fresh dried clothing. And his expression when I tried to shove the thing at him. He didn't want me to touch him and I don't think it had anything to do with how much he dislikes me. Shaking his head, he followed the other two over to the far corner of the bell tower.

***

The readings went wild at the north side of the bell tower. Temperature supposedly dropped and EMG went off the scale. The only trouble was that I knew perfectly well there was nothing there. Looking at Conan, I raised a brow and muttered, "Trust me to hold on tight?"

"I dunno," he muttered back. "There's nothing on this side, so okay. But I don't want a repeat of that time at the Morizono's."

Grimacing at the memory, I grasped his hands and lowered him over the edge. If Ran had been there, of course, she'd have killed me, but curiosity as to how Abe-san had achieved this effect had the both of us in its grip.

Kuroba moved, grabbing Conan by the belt and holding on. "Belt and suspenders," he said to me. "Man, kid. You are getting big!"

I knew Conan wanted very badly to say something snide in return, so I did it for him. "What do you expect him to do? Shrink? He's a growing boy." I glanced down at my friend. "See anything?"

"Yep. Right here." Conan slid one hand free of my grasp and I moved my grip to just under his arm. A bit of fiddling and he pulled a tiny device free of the stones. "Pull me up."

Once he was on solid ground again, the three of us looked at the device. "Agasa-hakase would have to look at it, of course, but I bet it's sending signals to that," Conan said, pointing at the device Kuroba had been given. "And there's no real guarantee that thing is measuring what they said it would, is there?"

"Nope," I agreed, brushing off my trousers. "Well, this is a bust, I guess. Agreed that we don't tell everyone? I mean, Abe-san's just having some fun."

Conan looked doubtful. "It's a hoax, though"

"But it's a fun hoax and no one's getting hurt. There's no such thing as ghosts anyway," Kuroba answered as he headed for the stairs and I couldn't help but mutter, "I only wish," in Conan's ear.

Conan grinned at me and nodded. "Well all right. I guess."

***

Pretending not to have heard Hattori's whisper to his friend, he contemplated what he'd learned about the detective. A lot of things, actually. All speculation. Least important was the fact that Hattori knew who Conan really was. Going along with that was the obvious point that the two were good friends. Good enough and trusting enough in each other that Conan would let the brash Osaka-ko do things like hold him out over a twenty foot drop with only a mild uncertainty. That closeness meant Conan almost certainly knew whatever secret it was Hattori hid. He suspected that Agasa-hakase might as well – that little device Hattori wore was suggestive of the professor's work. As for the secret itself I think I know what it is. If he was right, though, if Hattori Heiji truly did have an affinity of some sort for the supernatural, it wasn't something that ought to be a problem. After all, for all that he was sometimes referred to as the 'Phantom Thief' he was very much alive. The only question is, what use is that device of his? Is there an aspect to his 'talent' that I don't understand yet?

***

Downstairs was quiet. Quiet, that was, except the sound of a scream that sent the three of us rushing for the basement stairs. Unfortunately, I was the first one there, which meant that I was the one who nearly got slammed into the wall when I reached out for the door and it opened.

"HEY, you AHOU," I growled at Kazuha as she skidded to a halt and was promptly run into by Ran and Aoko close behind. To my surprise, she dropped her flashlight and grabbed me, burying her face in my shirt. Oh wow. Agasa-hakase's little toy only protected my hand and part of my arm, which meant I got a full kick-in-the-face powerful dose of Kazuha's fear and need for protection. She didn't usually need it and it shocked me. "Hey Hush. What happened?"

It was Ran, who'd grabbed Conan up in much the same terrified need for comfort, who spoke. "G ghost Downstairs."

"Ran-neechan! You're squishing me," Conan protested, but I saw the way his hand went to stroke her shoulder and his frustrated and angry expression. At least I could comfort my girl. It didn't help that even Kuroba was getting to do the same for Aoko.

I winced for his anguish and pushed Kazuha back ever so slightly, though I let her hold my protected hand, pretending not to notice. "Tell us." I was beginning to regret the decision to keep quiet about Abe-san's game. It was one thing when the marks enjoyed it, but the girls were obviously terrified. Of course, I'm forgetting that Ran really is scared of ghosts. Her fear probably isn't helping matters.

"Here! Listen!" Ran held out her recorder and played it back. Her voice came through loud and clear for a moment, saying "Is anyone here? Who are you? Do you want anything? Do you want us to leave?" A moment later a hoarse male voice said, "Just get out!"

I looked at Conan and Kuroba and we simultaneously headed downstairs(1).

In the wine-cellar I paused and looked around – nothing in sight. Conan held out his recorder with a raised brow and I nodded, asking, "Is someone here? Do you want us to leave?" When the message was played back I wasn't at all surprised to hear a tired voice saying "Yes," in response. I wondered how Abe-san had done it this time and went in further, only to come to a halt as I found myself face to non-existent face with the black dog. Again.

***

This time he fully expected another trick. He looked around the darkened basement, at the dusty racks of wine-bottles and the clay floor, then watched Hattori, whose expression held a world of disdain. As they repeated the experiment and received much the same answer as before, Hattori rolled his eyes. Just a trick, then, he thought and shrugged, almost disappointed. Or not. Hattori had paused and there was something about the way the young detective was standing The serious expression and sense that he was looking at something that others couldn't see. Something that he was just barely managing to face without running in terror.

***

Holding my ground, I glared at the dog. I would have loved to give it a piece of my mind, since it seemed to be choosing me in particular for its appearances. Instead I stood stock still and waited to see what the thing would do.

For a long moment we had a stand off. Then the dog moved towards me, ever so slowly, its body radiating menace. No thanks, you annoying little yappy dog, I thought, though I feared nothing so much as having to touch it. I ain't going just cause you're standing there growling at me. I don't believe you can hurt me.

"Uh Hattori?" Conan's voice was worried and I barely noticed that he'd forgotten to call me niichan, though Kuroba was still with us. "You okay?"

"In a moment," I answered quietly as the dog came to a halt a few feet from me. I clenched my fists and my teeth. To my surprise, it turned and headed across the room towards the wall, stopping and 'looking' back my way as if expecting me to follow. Then it walked through the wall and disappeared. "Oh man."

"What was it?" it was Kuroba who spoke and I barely remembered to keep my mouth shut, still being too confused by what had just happened. "Hattori?"

"I thought I saw someone," I said. "Must have been a trick of the light." I went to the wall and looked at it for a long moment. When I felt a faint breath of chill air brush my face I realized there was something beyond. Not sure why I was doing so, I examined the wall with my fingers and was somehow unsurprised when a piece of stone moved beneath my hand and a concealed doorway swung open.

Conan trotted forward and shone his light down the passageway. "Look, Heiji-niichan," he said softly, pointing to an object glittering on the ground. I picked it up and recognized it immediately as the brooch that had pinned Toda-san's gaudy silk scarf the night before.

"Fake," Kuroba muttered from behind me. "But it's hers, all right."

Though I wondered how he knew the gem was fake, I didn't bother asking. Instead I went to the stairway. "Kazuha. You, Ran and Aoko go to the waiting room. There's a passage here that looks suspicious and I'm going to check it out."

"But"

"I've got my cell-phone," I pointed out, neglecting to mention that it probably wouldn't work too well underground, "Don't worry. If we run into trouble you're our back-up." Before they could protest more, I headed into the passage, closely followed by Conan and Kuroba.

***

As they entered the passage he reflected that the girls were going to be horribly annoyed with them for this. Especially since Conan had come along. Still, he couldn't help but agree with Hattori's decision not to include them. They had no idea what lay ahead. If they ran into trouble, the girls were the only ones who knew where they were. And why am I going along with this in any case? I should be investigating that artifact whatsis, not playing detective with these two. He knew why, though. Curiosity was a strong component of his own personality, even if it didn't take the same form as it did for the other two, and he still sensed there were secrets to be learned. Hopefully curiosity won't kill the cat, this time.

***

Walking slowly along the passage, I spotted the black dog moving ahead of us. It would stop every so often, slowing enough to permit us to catch up. The blasted thing was leading me somewhere and I really hoped it wasn't straight into trouble. I also hoped that the fact that I'd found Toda-san's brooch didn't mean I was going to find Toda-san's ghost as well.

"Smells like we're close to outside," Kuroba commented from beside me as the dog trotted up a set of stairs. "From the direction The maze?"

Conan and I nodded in agreement. The slow twists and turns of the passage did appear to bring us out somewhere inside the maze. At its center, I rather suspected and was unsurprised to find myself opening a trap door and climbing out into a moonlit courtyard in front of a stone structure.

"It looks a bit like a Greek temple," Conan said softly and I nodded in agreement. There were several stone columns holding up a roof of the same white material. Atop the roof was a statue of a woman drawing back her bow. "What's inside?"

"A tomb," Kuroba answered. "At least that's what it looks like."

I shone my light on the structure. Beneath the roof was a square stone box with a human figure in armor carved onto it. I stepped forward, noting that the dog was gone. Is this what it wanted me to find? I wondered, examining the thing closely. "Hey, Kuroba. Help me push."

"You're going to open it? What if"

"It's been opened recently," I replied coolly, beginning to shove at the stone lid. The thing was slightly askew and I could see fresh scratches in the stone edges of the box. With Conan holding the light and Kuroba beside me, we shoved as hard as we could.

The resulting crack was just wide enough to see into the crypt and when Conan shown his light in I cursed angrily. Toda-san was lying inside, sprawled within with blood on her temple. "My hand's skinnier," Kuroba said, sticking it in and feeling around. "She's alive, but she can't be in good shape."

Conan paused, looking torn. "I'll run back for Ran," he said finally, though it was obvious he longed to stay. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot he could do in his current shape. "You two keep trying to get that lid up."

"Okay." I paused and added, "Be careful." He nodded and ran off.

***

He leaned against the lid, pushing as hard as he possibly could, almost as angry as Hattori. He was a thief but he wasn't a killer and he would never leave a person to die like this. And what else could the person who did this have meant? It's cold out here and she's got that injury to make it worse. He glanced sideways at the enraged Osaka-ko and was very glad not to be the focus of that fury. If anything, it made the dog from the night before seem gentle. Suddenly the lid gave way and he found himself sprawled in a heap against the detective, their limbs entangled in a confused mess. To his surprise, Hattori stiffened utterly and his eyes widened as they stared at each other. Then Hattori spoke. "Kaito Kid."

To Be Continued:

Authorial Notes:
(1) This really happened to a ghost-hunting friend of mine.