Thank you for your patience, it is greatly appreciated. You should all know better than to think I own any part (other than this story) of the amazing manga and anime commonly known as Detective Conan.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to my loyal reviewers: Silver Sky Magician, mysteriousangelgirl, PRIVATE, and of course my very good friend SailorRanger :)

-----------

Chapter 4: Close Calls

The Detective Boys walked through one of the doors that led into the kitchen, the one that Conan had used to get to the staircase. The first thing Mitsuhiko noticed was the flashlight. He went over to the window. "We shouldn't let the batteries run out... Hey, isn't that Professor Agasa's house?"

"Yeah," Genta noted.

"I wonder why the flashlight was on and facing that way..." Ayumi said.

"I don't know, but we should try to find Conan soon, before something bad happens."

Mitsuhiko saw some cups in the drain next to the sink, and pulled a chair over so he could get a drink. "Anyone else thirsty?" He received one yes, and one no. Nobody thought anything of the fact that there was water coming out of the tap, because they had just witnessed something similar a few days ago.

-----------

Conan was putting on one of his old costumes, when he heard the water running. He remembered that he had left some cups in the drain to dry last time he was there, and decided that his friends were probably just thirsty. There were two windows in Shinichi's room, one that faced Professor Agasa's house, and one that faced the street. He remembered that he had left the flashlight on in the kitchen, and worried that if Ran was coming, that she would notice it. He kept an eye out the window that faced the street, while making sure to wait long enough that his friends would be out of the kitchen.

He decided he had waited long enough, when he saw the form of a girl with long hair moving down the street. Panicking, he put in another call to the Professor.

"Shinichi! I thought you would have been in the middle of your plan by now."

"I would, except that they went into the kitchen, and got drinks of water. I've been waiting for them to finish, so I can go back down to the basement."

"Oh."

"But more importantly right now is that I can see Ran out my window! I'm about to get started, but she can't come in... but we already talked about that. Do you have a plan?"

"Yes, and I hope it works."

"Okay, I'll catch back up with you in a little while."

-----------

After the two Detective Boys finished their drinks, all three of them left the kitchen and walked around more, somehow landing themselves in the library. Dozens of shelves of books lined the walls from floor to ceiling. They looked at some of the spines. Many were in Japanese, but even more were in other languages that they didn't understand. From what they could tell, the majority, if not all, of the books were mystery novels. It was no wonder Shinichi was such a great detective.

Conan made sure they were deeply engrossed in the contents of the room before creeping back downstairs. He went back into the kitchen, relieved to find that the flashlight had been turned off. He also saw that they had left their cups in the sink, and washed them figuring that there wouldn't be time to do it later.

-----------

Ran was about to open the gate and walk into the Kudos' front yard, when she saw Professor Agasa out of the corner of her eye. "Professor, what brings you out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Conan said he was coming to visit you with his friends this evening, but he hasn't come home yet."

"But why would you come here, and not to my house?"

"Something told me to call Shinichi... I don't know why. But... when I called, the line just kept ringing. I'm sure something bad has happened." The worried look she gave the older man melted him. He put his arm around her shoulders, and guided her towards his house.

"Why don't you come inside? I'm sure Conan will come back soon."

"You mean he's not with you?"

"I... uh... He took his friends somewhere not long after they stopped by. He said they'd come back to my place to pick up their backpacks before going home."

Something didn't sit well with her, the way he hesitated, but his explanation seemed reasonable enough. "You're sure Shinichi isn't back yet, and that he's still okay?"

"No, he's not back yet, and he's still okay." A smile started to creep across his face at the last part, but he quickly hid it away again, so that it wouldn't arouse any more suspicions out of the girl. He breathed a sigh of relief when she relented and followed him next door.

-----------

The Detective Boys heard the water running again in the kitchen. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko started to go back towards the sound, when Genta noticed something. "Hey guys, look what I found near this desk!" He held two small pieces of glass up in front of his eyes. "Whoa, things get all blurry when I do that."

"Then don't do it." Mitsuhiko took one and tried to look through it. "They must be lenses from a pair of glasses."

This confused Ayumi. "Why would there be just the lenses? Where'd the rest of them go?"

They would have pondered the mysterious lenses longer, except that they heard a scream coming from the direction of the kitchen. "That sounded like Conan!" They didn't know it, but he had fallen down the stairs to the basement after forgetting to turn the light back on. They rushed back to make sure he was okay.

Conan smiled as he rubbed his sore bottom. 'Heh, that killed two birds with one stone... now to implement phase B.' He set his bowtie-voice modulator for a deep, scary sound and pulled the mask over his face. He looked around to make sure there were plenty of things down there that he could bang on to make it sound like he was fighting someone.

The Detective Boys reached the kitchen in a matter of seconds. They saw the door open on the other side of the room and hurried over, immediately thinking the worst.

-----------

End Chapter 4

A/N: Could you see the classic image of the dungeon doors closing? I sure could... It helped me decide that this was a good stopping point. At least two more chapters to go until the end, maybe three if it feels right.