"I'm guessing I don't need to ask you about bugs this time."

"It's my own apartment, I know every corner of it," said Jodie.

"You know they can break and enter without leaving so much of a trace, right?"

"I don't doubt that, but I've set up some cameras of my own."

"Fair enough."

"So, Cool Kid, what have you done since I last saw you?"

"I contacted my link into Interpol. He's agreed to help me out. In fact, he might be working on it at this very moment. As for you, who in the FBI have you told about the time anomaly yet?"

"I've kept my mouth shut about it. They'd think I was crazy."

"Hopefully if I can get Interpol to confirm it, then maybe they won't think you're so crazy after all."

"Your friends work fast, Conan-kun."

"I know them on a personal level, they don't mind." Jodie shifted one leg over another. Conan took another sip of his orange juice.

"It still bothers me that you're a first grader and you seem to know… well, everything," said Jodie.

"It provides the best kind of cover, at least."

"I know you talked about it being a personal affair, but if we FBI knew what your real deal was, we may be able to help you."

"It's tempting for you to say that, but it will be better in the long run if my business is kept to myself."

"I'm sure that if you've got other people in your circle of confidantes, they won't mind my presence."

Conan didn't say anything.

"We've probably had higher stakes at risk from people other than you. Shuuichi and Kir, especially."

"A sensible guess."

"Another thing," said Jodie. "I've done some research into you. You can't possibly have done things that you said you did. Your files say that you've never boarded a plane or a boat in your life and there's no passport at all, yet there was that case you solved in London, what, a couple of years ago?"

Conan was kind of surprised that Jodie had looked into his records. How much did the FBI have access to when they were still only pretending to be taking a vacation in Japan? "I have a reason for those records not matching, but you knowing this doesn't change the situation. I'm still not planning on telling you."

Jodie seemed determined to get answers. She looked at him directly. "How about this proposal? If you told me who you were, how much would I regard you differently?"

"Not much, but that's because I've given away my intellect and affiliation with you already. You'd just be short of some amazement or curiosity. What you would regard differently, however, would probably be the Organization."

"So what's the difference if you tell me or not? I'd like to know anything if you're keeping information about them from me. It's not like it'll bring us any tactical disadvantages if you supply us with more knowledge, right?"

"Jodie-san, I hate being talked into a corner."

"Sorry, but your situation piques our interest. If you decide to fill us in and tell me everything, you'll have the entirety of the FBI's resources at your fingertips."

Conan decided it was time to utilize his best excuse. "I know that you're telling me all this, but I promised someone that I wouldn't shove my identity around."

"Who?"

"Someone who's just as directly involved as I am."

"I wish you'd just get to the point about this."

"I can't just betray this other person." Conan thought about the fact that Haibara would be incredibly mad if she found out that he had once again given away his identity. But he could give an excuse about them finding out without him telling them, or... "Wait, I've got an idea."

"What?"

"I can't say it directly, but maybe you can figure out the truth yourself. We'll play a game of it." It was a stretch, but we all have to push the envelope sometimes.

Jodie sighed and looked impatient. "How can I do that? I've already tried to piece it together. Nothing makes sense."

"Go on, Jodie-san. Please elaborate. I want to know what you think."

"I want to know what Vermouth wanted from you and Haibara-san. Why did she have pictures of you, her, Ran-san, and Shinichi-san?"

"I can't tell you. Keep thinking."

"This is an awfully painful way to lead me to the truth, Conan-kun."

Conan decided to ignore that comment. "Tell me more about your deductions."

"Vermouth had written things on some of the pictures she took. Yours said 'Cool Guy' even though you're a kid. Ran's had 'Angel' written on hers. Then there was this strange girl-"

"Who?"

"She had brown hair in a perm and there was an 'X' through her picture."

"What inferences can you make about her?"

Jodie put one hand to her forehead. "These are some strange questions, Conan-kun. She looks similar to Haibara-san in appearance. Are they related?"

"I already told her I can't tell you the answers."

"Told who? Haibara-san? That older girl?"

Conan realized that he had screwed up. "Yes."

"That's not answering the question."

"Sorry, but I can't say anything more about it. Please keep going."

Jodie shifted her legs again.

"On the night where we faced off against Vermouth, she seemed to have wanted to kill Haibara."

"Correct."

"Did Haibara have an older sister or relative that had something to do with the Organization?" Jodie put one hand to her chin in thought. "Did Haibara know something about the Organization from her sister?"

"You're half right," said Conan.

"Which half, though?"

He decided not to tell her the actual half that she was right about, and made up a logical statement. "The latter can't be true without the former being true, but the former can be true without dependence on the latter."

"So you're saying that Haibara had an older sister who was involved with the Organization, or perhaps was its enemy?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to elaborate."

"Come on, tell me already, I've gotten somewhere but I can't just infer anything from this. Whoever made you promise to keep quiet about your secret really should have thought about what problems it could pose you."

Conan just stared at her, waiting for Jodie to continue.

"Was it Haibara-san who asked you not to tell?"

"Yes."
"What will she do if you do tell?"

"It's not a matter of whether I tell, it's a matter of whether we're discovered by the Organization because I told someone and they accidentally reveal it themselves. If that happens, then this whole investigation trail is going to peter out because we'll all be dead."

"Why doesn't Haibara-san trust the FBI?"

"She doesn't trust anyone, not even myself." Conan sat back in the chair. "Can you continue, Jodie-san? I can't let you lead me into giving this all away."

"So her relative in the Organization, who looks like her, is dead or has been neutralized somehow, and Vermouth wants to kill Haibara because she probably knows something about her relative, or was given information regarding the Organization."

"You're right on nearly all regards," said Conan. "Except that girl in the picture wasn't Haibara's relative."

"But that girl in the picture looked just like her," said Jodie. "What are you implying?"

"Think about it, Jodie-san."

"Does this… does this have anything to do with Vermouth?"

"That I can't answer."

"Does it have anything to do with you?"

"It has nearly everything to do with me." Conan looked at her. "When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." He smirked because he got to use his favorite Holmes quote. "What does that leave, Jodie-san?"

"Is Haibara that girl in the picture?"

Conan continued to smirk.

"You're bluffing," said Jodie. "That makes nearly no sense at all. I want the truth, Conan-kun, even if you have to give up on your own word."

"I already have, I've been helping you along with this deduction."

"Then why won't you just tell me the full truth already?"

"It's better if you figure it out for yourself."

"What difference does it make, whether you tell me or I slowly discover the answer without any help? It's not efficient, it's not fair or sensible."

"I don't want to give you all of this at once. It's easier to think about this in the way you've already laid it out. Please continue."

"Fine, whatever," said Jodie. "Forgive my testy behavior. So… how can Haibara actually be the girl in that photo? She's six years old."

"What did you say before about Vermouth?" "Well… Vermouth looks the same, no matter how old she is. But that doesn't makes sense for Haibara. How can one go from being a young woman to a…"

Jodie stopped and looked at Conan. "You're not really a little kid, are you."

"Not in the least."

"Then who really are you, if you're not a little boy?"

Conan took off his glasses. "Kudo Shinichi."

Jodie stared at Conan, surprised. "You're him!?"

"You don't really think that Shinichi would have me on my speed dial and yet never talk to Ran, right?"

"I suppose that makes enough sense, but how am I supposed to believe you?"

"What other option is there? With my reasoning abilities, knowledge of several scholarly and trivial subjects, and general attitudes, you should have almost been suspecting it before, had you known me before this happened."

"Not everyone comes to the conclusion that Kudo Shinichi was somehow turned into a first grader right away. But how did you and Haibara reverse your age?"

"It wasn't my idea, nor was it hers. I was poisoned by a drug developed by the Organization themselves. They opted to use it on me instead of outright shooting because they didn't want to draw attention to themselves. The drug was supposed to kill me but it triggered a completely different effect. The Organization doesn't know about this at all, which is why I have to remain under cover."

"So is Haibara one of the victims as well?"

"Self-imposed."

"She took it by her own will? How did she get this drug?"

"She made it."