Chapter 9
A/N: Anything in a point of view other than Shinichi's is now considered an omake. Hope you like it;). Sorry this is so short.
After being ushered from the room, Shinichi, with Hakuba walking beside him, was escorted to the office the prison gave Zenigata to work out of, the inspector wanting to be close to Lupin for when he made his inevitable escape attempt. It was more of a closet than a room, seeming even smaller with the supply boxes scattered about, piled high with case files. No doubt they were about Dad, Shinichi thought, eyeing the room for anything he could use. Zenigata wasn't here yet. Hakuba looked around. "He's probably still talking to the profiling expert," he mused. "It might end up taking a while—what are you doing!?"
Shinichi went up to the desk and started skimming through the files there. "Snooping," he said. Wasn't it obvious? "Gramps was looking stressed. I mean, he usually is and it's usually Dad's fault, but it's gotten worse. Something else has him worked up and it's not the fact that he has no leads on the rest of my family."
"So your solution is to break the law!?"
"If you want to be technical, I'm only reading the things he's left out." Shinichi smiled at Hakuba. "It's not my fault he left classified documents in the reach of impressionable children. He should really be more responsible."
Hakuba rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the fond smile on his lips. "Only a criminal would put it in that way."
"You'll never find the evidence to prove it." Shinichi grinned back. "Do you want to help?"
Hakuba seemed to deliberate, weighing his morals against his curiosity, but unsurprisingly, his curiosity won. He sighed. "I'll take this side of the room. We'll have to be fast though, Zenigata will be back soon enough and I don't want to know what he'll do if he catches us."
"He'll probably just complain and tells us not to do it again. He has a soft spot for me," Shinichi said. He turned back to the files and worked in silence, their fingers flipping through page after page. Shinichi couldn't prevent worry from building in him. Gramps looked torn to pieces and the man wasn't getting any younger—he needed to retire soon. Maybe he could convince the man to take on an apprentice to do the physical chasing… Then again, Gramps would take it as an insult to his pride as an inspector, like the last time he had an assistant…
"Hey, does Zenigata have a grandkid?" Hakuba asked.
"Not that I know of. I think he has a daughter though…" Shinichi trailed off, his eyes frozen to a familiar mugshot with a security cam photo beside it. She was a few years older in security camera, but other than a hand-full of wrinkles, she looked exactly the same as she was seven years ago. The same rat's nest hair, the same horrible taste in lipstick, and the same cold look in her eyes—eye. That was right; she only had one eye now. Shinichi bit his lip and glanced at Hakuba, then back at her. He should tell him. It wasn't safe for him not to know, but… Shinichi didn't want to be arrested.
He had to find a phone soon. Papa needed to know that Harper Valentine is in Tokyo.
Omake:
Saguru flipped through the files on his side of the desk. For Lupin to be this worried about Inspector Zenigata… it must be serious. Saguru rarely saw anything other than mild amusement from Lupin—his poker face had to be on par with Kuroba's. For him to be so visibly disturbed…
His hand brushed against a brightly colored mug and, curious, Hakuba inspected it. It was hand-painted, though not very well. Obviously a child's work. In crude handwriting, someone had painted "#1 Grandpa" in English across a meadow background. "Hey," Saguru called out, "Does Zenigata have a grandkid?"
"Not that I know of," came the answer. "I think he has a daughter though…"
Saguru shrugged and was about to set it down when he saw more writing in blue paint at the very bottom of the mug.
It read "Love: Arsène."