Chapter 2: "Hopeless Search"

Nothing. No hints. No trace. Kogoro was missing for a week now. The police were hopeless. The chance of finding a person alive after such a long time period was very low. And even if he was alive, they couldn't find him. They had no suspects. A motive was easy to find though. It was probably revenge, or someone who hates detectives. There were thousands of possibilities, but possibilities weren't enough. They needed something more. They needed a small hint, a fingerprint, a piece of skin, a bullet, anything. But they had nothing. Absolutely nothing. Inspector Megure let out a deep sigh. This was the first case in his life that he couldn't solve. And even if he believed that Kogoro was dead, he couldn't be sure. He was always present when a crime happened. He wished he could find his partner and friend alive, but was there a ray of light and hope out there somewhere?

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Conan observed Ran's condition, which became worse with concern. She was still crying every night, but that was the smallest problem. Every time when she heard a noise, she winced and ran to the house door in the silent hope that Kogoro had returned. But he never stood in front of the door. She didn't eat more than she needed to survive. She didn't talk much, even when he called her with his false voice. The only answer was always just her breathing and a small sobbing from time to time. It made him crazy as well. But the only thing he could do was search. He had to find him and bring him back.

Eri, Ran's mother and Kogoro's wife, finally decided to move to the detective agency to live with her daughter. He was sure that wasn't the only reason. Maybe she was just as sad as Ran was, and searched for some comfort too, even when she didn't show her feelings clearly. But Ran's smile didn't return. Sonoko and Kazuha visited the young karate champion too, telling her that everything would be okay. Sometimes they invited her to a café or on a shopping trip, but she never enjoyed it much. Every time a false smile on her lips. But Conan was happy that she was out, just for a little bit. This way, she didn't have to feel Kogoro's absence, and he didn't have to see her endless tears. Seeing her so upset disturbed his concentration.

Now it was 3am, and he was lying on the dark carpet in the second floor of the agency. He checked over all information that he could collect during the week once again. It wasn't much. Kogoro left the house on Monday the 4th July at 6pm. He wanted to play a little bit of mahjong with some friends, but he never arrived there. Some people noticed him on his way. Some young student girls told the police that he gave them an autograph at 6:30pm. After that, he bought some cigarettes in a kiosk at 6:35pm, but that was everything. After 6:40pm, nobody saw him. He disappeared like a ghost in the sunset. Conan checked the whole trace with Hattori, but there was no sign of the detective, no hint, and nothing abnormal. The small boy let out another sigh. How could somebody just disappear? "Conan-kun…?" Conan turned his head around and saw Ran standing in the door. Her face looked even paler, and caused a painful stab in his heart. He forced himself to smile.

"Is something wrong, Ran-neechan?" he asked her with a grin.

"Why are you still awake? Can't you sleep, tiny one?" That was typical for her. She was in pain and was more concerned about others.

"I'm not tired…" he answered. "But you look tired, Ran-neechan. You should sleep a little bit." He added quickly. The brown haired girl shook her head softly.

"I can't…" she whispered. Some fresh tears formed in her eyes. Conan jumped up and gave her a little hug. Ran was emotionless again before she whispered, "Do you think he is still alive? Do you think he will return someday?" The little boy looked into her violet eyes. He didn't know the answer, but he smiled again.

"I am sure he will return to you…" Another lie, but he couldn't tell her the truth.

It was 5am when Ran finally found some rest. She was curled into a tiny ball, and held Conan in her arms like a little teddy bear. The boy couldn't sleep. Carefully, he escaped from Ran's embrace and looked down at the girl. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon!" Silently he left the room. He had to check the whole area again. There had to be something that he didn't notice before. Maybe it was a scratch or a tiny suspicious stone, something that looked so natural that nobody would notice it.

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It was cold on the July morning. Even though it was summer, a cold breeze cooled down the whole city. Conan was shivering a little bit, but he didn't show it, just like always. It was 5:30 now, and only a handful of people were walking on the streets. They were jogging, or just on their way to work. He didn't know why, but suddenly they looked suspicious to him, and his eyes followed their steps. His ears heard every little sound around him. He didn't notice that he had already reached his goal. "Take it easy, Conan. Think. Don't go crazy now!" he said to himself in his mind. Maybe he was just a little bit tired. He hadn't slept for 4 days, and now his body was weaker than he wanted to believe. But there wasn't time for such unimportant things. He had to concentrate and search, find the truth, be a detective. He rubbed his eyes fast and slowly scanned the place. Here, at this exact place, Kogoro disappeared. There had to be a hint. People didn't just disappear. There was no magic in this world, nor ghosts. But still there was nothing. A streetlamp sent out a weak yellow light on the street.

Conan kneed down. His hands touched the cold and dirty ground below him. "Come on…there had to be something here! Please!" He didn't realize that he was already screaming the words. "For Ran, for your wife, for everybody….please Kogoro give me a hint. There is no perfect crime!" Suddenly, he felt a spark of pain in his heart, he felt something dangerous.

"There is a perfect crime…." That voice. He knew that dark voice. Conan glanced up, and looked into a pair of really cold eyes. Eyes that he had seen before, and whose owner laughed at him in a horrible way. The body of the boy began to tremble. He couldn't do anything against it. The dirty blonde hair covered the left half of the man's face, but his dirty grin was still visible. His black coat blew in the cold breeze.

"Gin…." Conans voice cracked, and the black-clad man grinned even brighter and more horribly. Slowly, he started to walk. There were just some inches between him and the small boy.

"Good morning…Kûdo-kun" he whispered, and threw the thin cigarette that he held in his left hand into a little puddle.

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A little cliff-hanger! XD I hope that you still like this FF and write some comments! Thanx a lot for the comments I already get hug