Chapter 3

A Fake Witness

The night Ran was kidnapped, she woke up late in the evening. The room she was in was dark and eerie inside, almost like she had been stuck up there for months without anyone knowing. The ground she had been sleeping on was made up of dirty, damaged tatami mats, and she was still in her cords, purple long-sleeve, and jean jacket.

Ran tried to get up, but her hands were tied tightly with ropes and her feet were chained to the floor by a concrete wall. The chains were extremely heavy and she couldn't lift them. Ran felt the painful burn on her wrists from the too-tight ropes and she could feel the sharp ice of the air suck the life from her previously rosy cheeks.

Suddenly, she heard someone's footsteps and pretended to be asleep. She knew the person was behind her, just standing there. Before she could do anything, the person kicked her back, knocking what little air she had in her lungs. She looked up at the man staring down at her. She tried to move, but he stepped on her roped hands.

"Stupid girl, do you really think I'll let you be pain free here? After all, the most important person in the world to me is now dead because of you." he said in a gruff, deep voice. Ran could barely mutter the words she wanted to squeak.

"I don't know what you're…talking about. I don't know who you are…!" Ran said in a husky, breathy voice. The man said nothing. He turned away from her as the moon started shining its white light into the room through the iron-barred window all made of concrete.

"Do you remember Isao Hideyoshi? You went against him in a karate championship..." he said slowly. Ran closed her eyes, remembering the exact moment she finished her winning blow against an older boy. Only months later, she heard that the losing opponent had been in an accident. She couldn't remember what happened though, as her father had told her about it from the newspaper.

The dark man held a pistol to Ran's forehead, slowly breathing along with the rhythm he heard from his victim's mouth.

"If Shinichi Kudo doesn't find you by the end of the month…then I'll kill you myself. I am simply testing his abilities as a detective, but if he does find you, I might as well kill you both. I hate you most in this world…and I hate Kudo for caring for you."

Shinichi…please help me…this man is crazy! I don't know what to do! I know you can find me…the greatest detective I know.

Kogoro had been up all night looking for Ran with the police after learning from Conan that Ran was kidnapped. For once, he believed him. Conan was sent to bed and Jackie Parker had left late that night.

Conan didn't sleep a wink. He couldn't sleep. He only thought of Ran; whether she was scared, worried, alive...or dead. He thought of the promise he made her, that they would rush to each other whenever one or the other was in trouble. Right now, Ran was the one in trouble, and he had no clue where she was.

Conan lay in bed puzzled. He tossed and turned on the floor all night. Suddenly, Conan heard Kogoro walk in the door. He set his coat on the coat rack and sat on the couch outside their bedroom. Conan looked at the clock. It was 6:36 AM, and Kogoro obviously found out nothing. He quietly got up and entered his room and stepped around Conan's bed to sit on his own.

"Conan? Are you awake?" Kogoro asked in a whisper.

"Yeah," was all Conan could manage to say.

"I'm just curious but...while I was out last night, I didn't find out a single thing. Ran is nowhere to be found and Jackie Parker isn't answering her phone. Anyway, if you are really worried about Ran, you can come to look for her with the police. You have permission to skip school, but you have to stay on track, otherwise I'm sending you to school, alright?" Kogoro said to him. Conan didn't want to skip school, but he said that he would put Ran first, so he accepted.

"Yes...I want to help...Ran-neechan means a lot to me just like with you, and I don't think I'll be able to focus in school with Ran-neechan on my mind." Conan said. Kogoro sighed and started leaving the room, but stopped at the doorway.

"By the way, could you call Kudo-kun? I'm afraid I'm going to need his help. I know he makes excuses for being busy, so tell him Ran is missing. That should bring him here."

"I guess so…" Conan said, not sure if Haibara would give him another drug.

Great…I have to explain myself to Haibara before I ask her for one. She knows how important Ran is to me, so she has to give me one!

Picking up his cell phone, he dialled Dr. Agasa's number. He picked up on the fifth ring.

"Shinichi? Is that you?" he asked in a groggy voice.

"Yeah, is Haibara awake?"

"One minute…" Agasa said, putting down the receiver. Haibara picked up, sounding wide awake.

"Let me guess…judging on how Kojima-kun and his father saw you running around looking for something yesterday, a case has come up and you want a antidote to APTX 4869." Haibara said.

"It's not just any case! Ran has gone missing and I need to team up with Inspector Megure to find her! Please Haibara, I don't want to find Ran…I need to find her! I promised she was ahead of everything else and I would come to her no matter what! Even if it means she discovers my true identity…" Conan explained. Haibara's line went silent, then he heard her heave a long, slow sigh.

"The promise you made was stupid…but I guess I have no choice. Come by to pick it up after school."

"I'm not going to school today. I have better things to do," Conan said.

"What about Yoshida-san? She told me you accepted her offer of a boxed lunch today. She seemed really excited." Haibara said.

"It doesn't matter. Just tell Ayumi that I caught a cold and can't make it. She can make one for me another time," Conan said.

"Fine…but I'm not gonna lie to her for you. I'm telling her the reason why you're not there. She'll understand if it's about Mouri-san." Haibara said.

"You've lied to her about me so far, so why is telling her another one such a big deal? Stop acting high and mighty. I'll drop by later to pick up the antidote." Conan said hanging up the phone. Right as he walked away, the phone rang again.

"Hello?" Conan answered.

"Good morning Conan-kun. Is Mouri-kun around?" Inspector Megure said in a tired voice. Conan called Kogoro to the phone.

"Hi Inspector…No, I haven't told Eri yet, but I was just about to let her know that there's nothing to worry about. If she wants to help with the investigation, she can…Understood. I'll see you at the station," Kogoro said. He turned his attention to a very curious Conan. "The inspector thinks he may have an idea on where to go, but I somehow have my doubts." Kogoro said, grabbing Conan's coat and shoving it in his face.

"I'll be right down. Just let me change," Conan said running to Kogoro's bedroom. As Conan buttoned up a shirt and a blue sweater, he remembered how he said something rude to Haibara. He didn't need to get irritable, but Haibara had a tone to her voice that Conan didn't like. He decided he'd apologize when he picked up the antidote.

Conan emerged from the room and put on his sneakers and jacket. Conan ran down the stairs as Kogoro locked the door. Conan watched a late autumn snow come down from the white, fluffy sky. It made Conan think about Ran's cold. Was she warm and comfortable though she was kidnapped, or had she been thrown into a freezing, dark room to cry all on her own? Conan grit his teeth, feeling anger come over him.

No matter the situation, I promise I'll find you…Ran.

Haibara walked through the grade school doors out of the bitter cold air and into the warm entrance. She closed her umbrella and shook off the thin layer of snow. When she looked up, she spotted Ayumi putting two lunch boxes in her cubby. Haibara felt a heavy weight bring down her heart. She felt sorry for Ayumi who had probably spent hours putting lunch together for Conan. She'd be upset to hear Conan wasn't coming to school, no matter the reason.

"Ai-chan! Good morning! It's cold today, isn't it? It was cold yesterday, but today it's even colder," Ayumi said cheerfully. Ayumi's voice trailed off in Haibara's mind. She tried to come up with the right words, but she couldn't bring herself to ruin Ayumi's good mood.

"Well, aren't you going to take off your snowy jacket? I'll wait for you so we can walk together." Ayumi said grabbing her book bag. Ayumi noticed Haibara wasn't happy.

"Ai-chan? Are you okay? Are you sick?" she asked. Haibara sighed and turned to her sweet, innocent friend with a huge crush on a boy who was ten years older than she was.

"Yoshida-san…uh," Haibara was cut off when Mitsuhiko and Genta came through the doors and approached them right away as they always did.

"Ayumi-chan! Have you seen Conan?" Mitsuhiko asked, taking off his hood and unzipping his jacket. Ayumi shook her head.

"No, I haven't. There's still a few minutes before class, so maybe he's running late. He could be in the classroom already too," she said hopefully. She carried her book bag with the boys to class, forgetting that Haibara had something to say. Haibara was relieved though. She could at least wait a while to tell her or let Ayumi find out on her own.

Conan and Kogoro took a taxi to police headquarters to meet up with Inspector Megure. Conan paid special attention to everyone around him, as he often did as a detective. As they entered a meeting room with Megure, Detectives Takagi and Shiratori, and Officers Sato and Chiba, Conan took a look at the inspector's face that had an expression of regret. He shuffled his fingers around a pile of pictures on the table. Conan and Kogoro sat down, pretending to be ready for the meeting.

"Alright…let's get started," Megure said, sliding a picture against the table. "Is this Jackie Parker? The woman who you spoke to yesterday who claimed she saw Ran-kun?"

"Yes, that's her." Kogoro said with Conan nodding in the background.

"Conan, you said you found this woman when you were going around looking for witnesses, and then you brought her back to the agency, correct?" Megure asked.

"Yeah. She said she was a journalist of some kind." Conan said.

"Well Kogoro, you gave me her contact information last night. I tried calling her last night but she wasn't in. Takagi went to her apartment building to meet her personally and the front desk said there was no Jackie Parker in residence." Megure explained.

"What? Are you sure? She did say that she might've been confused because it was a new apartment." Kogoro said.

"For someone who's been travelling around Japan for work for months now should be familiar with Japanese addresses by now. It's possible since Beika is different from Wakayama, but most Japanese addresses are the same format unless they are off the large islands, like Okinawa. It's a possibility for up north in Hokkaido as well, but yet again, they have the same Japanese address format." Megure explained.

Kogoro tried hard to stay calm, knowing he could've been fooled by an American tourist. Conan thought about Jackie. Any odd behaviour might've given her away at that moment, but he couldn't come up with anything peculiar.

"Anyhow, have you called Shinichi-kun? I think he would be a great advantage to the investigation as Ran-kun is his best friend." Megure asked.

"I told Conan to call him." Kogoro said.

"I called him. He said he'd come by later to help out." Conan said innocently. Megure nodded.

"That's good. He can't reject the case as it has to do with Ran-kun. Let's just hope that we will have more progress when he shows up." Megure said, going through some investigation notes from last night. Conan put his hand to his chin as he usually did when he was deep in thought. Kogoro noticed, but he didn't say anything.

Conan might be that detective brat. He made a phone call this morning as I asked, but I don't think it was Kudo he was talking to. I'm sure he said something about an antidote…

Haibara approached the usual table with her lunch tray as usual with Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta already there. Ayumi didn't look nearly as cheerful as she did this morning. She slowly chewed away at her bento, looking seriously disappointed. Haibara set down her tray, sitting across from Ayumi.

"Are you okay?" Haibara asked.

"Yeah…is Conan-kun okay? Do you know if he's sick?" Ayumi asked. Haibara shook her head.

"He's not…really sick. He skipped school today. Something came up." Haibara said.

"Did he remember?"

"Yes, he did. He phoned me this morning to tell you personally that he was sorry and you could make him a lunch some other time, okay? He really is sorry, but there was an emergency this morning." Haibara said, not telling the whole truth. She wouldn't dare tell Ayumi that he casually dismissed her sweet gesture just so that he could go and find Ran. Haibara was tempted to go and beat Conan up after being so rude, but she figured it wouldn't do much. Watching Ayumi eat her specially made lunch, she unconsciously nibbled at her own, thinking about how the case was going.

"Hey, Ayumi! Since Conan isn't here to eat your lunch, can I have it?" Genta called out across the table. Ayumi looked up and hesitated for a moment, then handed it to him to gobble down. She tried her best to smile, but deep inside, she was hurt by Conan's absence.

"It'll be okay, Yoshida-san. Maybe he'll be here tomorrow," Haibara said.

Ayumi got up from the table and walked out of the lunch room. Haibara watched her go outside, crunching through a thin layer of snow on the ground. It was still freezing cold, but Ayumi didn't seem to mind. Her mind was full of only one person. The one and only boy who was actually a true detective in their group, the mischievous friend who was always getting into trouble but safely got them out again, and the only one who could make her feel happy in the middle of a dangerous situation.

Just seeing him, even for a moment, made her hopeful.