A/N: Alright. I confess all. I'm late. Again. Don't kill the cat. –wags cat-tail–
Anyway. –coughs– This chapter focuses mainly on giving Shinichi and Ran a good kick in the ass ('cause, honestly, they need it) and reminding you tantei's of all the evidence and all the suspects cross-examined so far, so you can come up with some theory of your own before Shinichi actually gives the solution in two chapter's time. (You know you can.)
Disclaimer: (Do I really have to?) Little me owns nothing at all, except a huge lot of fun in placing the whole DC cast in embarrassing positions and then prodding at them. Come on… catch the cookie.
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Chapter 10 – Truth Is-
'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.' Sherlock Holmes
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Ran slept soundly through eight hours and woke up at half-past eleven with a much clearer mind; feeling, after she had showered and dressed, much refreshed both with herself and with the case at hand. Briggs, mind-reading as always, had placed a breakfast tray outside her door (and he must have had foreseen the exact time of her waking up, too, for the milk was cool and soft and the coffee was hot) and she ate slowly at her window, thinking over what Shinichi had dug up the evening before.
The ABC murders. Yes, there was a definite possibility. And it explained the randomness of the crimes their culprit had committed, or tried to commit until now – if he had been trying to confuse them all along, the whole complex of the letters, the messages left in red paint on the walls, the dossier's disappearance and re-appearance, the wreckage of Makoto's office, the different aggressions, all made sense.
Some things did not, though – how the Poltergeist had entered Makoto-kun's office to begin with, but that, if one reasoned logically, would have to fit in somewhere once everything was cleared. It was the little snag, the catch, the incident of the dog in the nighttime – the one thing that caught in the perfect machine of their deductions – but the one thing also that was the culprit's weak flank, his Achilles' heel. It'd always worked so far – it was the only way he could defeat them but also the only way they could skim round his tricks and get a face-to-face confrontation.
Shinichi must have gone through the same conclusions, too – such as they were.
She finished her coffee, brushed away the scrubs of bread that had fallen off, tied her hair in a loose knot, and went out. She galloped down the stairs, only to run straight into Shinichi, who'd been coming up the opposite way. They staggered for a second,, balance uncertain on the steps, then settled themselves back again.
"Shinichi – I was going to look for you. I was thinking–"
"Me, too. What do you say to taking a break today – leaving the mansion after lunch, going to enjoy nature for a while. We're being oppressed here; outside we'll be able to think it better. Away from all influences," he added, with a pointed look at Ebihara-san in the hall downstairs.
"What's he done?" Ran mouthed.
"Tried to extract from me what we've found so far," he mouthed back. "Looks like he's upset about something. We'd better be careful from now on to who's listening when we're talking about the case. It must be yesterday's incident that triggered his questions," he added thoughtfully.
"Do you think he's—" Ran started, watching Ebihahra-san disappear in the breakfast room.
"I don't know," Shinichi said. "It would be a risky trick. But maybe it's just another one of his twisted schemes. So!" he continued, in a louder voice. "You agree with taking the afternoon off?"
"What?" Ran said, caught-out. "Yes – sure. Why not?" She lowered her voice again, suspiciously. "What ARE you up to?"
"Nothing," he grinned. It was almost the old grin. The one back to seventeen, when Conan-kun had not yet intruded. "Nothing. We'll go after lunch, then. I'll see you at two – I'll be waiting by the car. All right?"
"All right," she said bewilderly, and he smiled a softer smile and pressed her hand before he walked back down.
Accordingly, when she came down at two and paused on top of the outside steps, he was waiting by the car. Hands in his pockets, he was watching the endless continuation of hills with a serious, mournful look, and he was so absorbed she had to touch his arm for him to start and turn to her.
"Gosh – sorry – I was spacing out. I've had too little sleep lately," he excused himself with a sheepish smile.
"Haven't we all," Ran said. She climbed in the car and shut the door. "So where're we going?"
"Wherever you want," was the gallant reply as he started up the engine. "I'll only put my foot down at one thing – let's get away from here. This place is starting to freak me out. First ten years ago, and then now–" he pulled out from in between her car and Asama-san's, circled left with a long gravel shower, and started towards the bridge. "But apart from that, you decide alone. My wheel is at your command."
Ran realized she was blushing like a common schoolgirl and turned hastily towards the window. "I've phoned the clinic before lunch," she said, trying to disguise embarrassment behind an unchecked flow of words. "It seems that Ikenami-san woke up without any after-effects. We could go and see her."
"Good idea," Shinichi agreed. He drove easily past the bridge, and onto the sinuous road. "That'd be a starting point. By the way, I drew the conversation on mystery novels at breakfast – seems that they are all familiar with those. Kano-kun and Kenjin-san had no difficulty at all in admitting that they had read loads of Agatha Christie books – Kano-kun even offered to lend me some."
"It was a far cry," Ran said with a slight smile. "It wouldn't work so easily."
"I know. But it was worth a try."
Their get-well visit to Ikenami-san was anything but instructive. The practitioner, very white against her white pillow, was more of a mute than she ever had been, and what little information they extracted from her brought no new light on the matter: all that she knew was, that she had taken two pills that evening, per usual, and had not tasted anything wrong until she had begun to feel the pain.
No, there had been nothing wrong with the medicine, to look at. Yes, she never closed her door in the daytime – she didn't see any reason why she should, since her precious possessions were locked up in the safe downstairs, and only Briggs had the key to that.
Ran rather saw the reason, but made no observation; and after a few more minutes of useless interrogations they bid their goodbyes and departed. "The woman's always the same," growled Shinichi as they got back to the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "When I was trying to solve that case two years ago and she was supposed to examine the dead man's body to tell us when he had died, she was exactly the same. One piece of information at the time."
They drove on. The car ran rapidly through the gold-and-brown woods, whooshing away the fallen leaves. After yesterday night's storm, the air was fresh and cold and purified, and a clear smell of damp ground drifted up to them through the window Ran had pulled down. A pale sun was shining overhead in a white-silver sky.
They left the woods on their left and edged a ravine smoothly; beyond, the hills were undulating in a match of autumnal shades. Ran, looking first at the panorama, let her gaze stray on Shinichi – his abstracted face in driving, one hand on the wheel and the other on the brake, the arm, tense and relaxed together, the shoulder and the shade of the neck – then back at the face, the mouth, the eyes – the blue eyes, flickering from one point to another–
He glanced at her. "What?" he said, a rapid smile tugging at his lips.
She couldn't help one, either. "Nothing." She stared back ahead at the road with as much dignified an air as she could muster. It was hard. "I've been… thinking."
He turned back to the wheel, with what she hoped was not an amused look. "Don't hurt yourself."
"Hey!"
Towards mid-afternoon they stopped at a teashop in a village they passed, and between muffins and scones and teacups their case invited itself back among them. "I wonder," Ran murmured as she watched her lump of sugar dissolve longuishly into the green-brownish tea, "what's the reason for out man to do all this. His mobile, I mean. He must have one to distort to such extremities, right?"
Shinichi stopped in mid-muffin, swallowed hard, and replied, "I don't know. One of the main rules in detective work is that when you know How, you know Who – in other words, when you've found the mobile and the means, you've found the culprit. I've witnessed it many times, but in this particular case, it's impossible – it's only helpful when it's a first-degree case, like a single murder, but this is a level higher. The clues are strewn in all directions, so we can't solve anything with having to solve something else beforehand. It's a vicious circle, really."
Ran turned thoughtfully her teaspoon in the rippling liquid. "You know, I've had this impression from the start that our Poltergeist is leading us exactly the way he wants us to go. Maybe if we tried to undo everything we've found so far and started all over again on a blank page–"
He was looking silently at her and she realized suddenly the double meaning her words could have. Presently he averted his eyes, and the moment passed, leaving only behind a sort of bitter taste in one's mouth. "Yes, well," he said. "Maybe," and bit back into the suffering muffin.
"Then we should try to lay aside our personal feelings," Ran persisted, determinedly keeping as professional a voice as she could muster, "and list the suspects while we've still got the chance."
"Why not," Shinichi agreed, but unconvincingly. "We can but try." He mentioned the waitress over and asked for writing materials. Ran left them argue over a teashop should stand as a stationer's store and piled up empty plates on the other side of the table, perching the remaining scones and muffins on top, so as to manage a practical space between the two of them. The waitress stalked away, having very presumably lost the battle, and Shinichi turned back to her.
"Come to think of it, Ran, that's a good idea. Shall we write the suspects down under Means, Motives and Opportunities, or in chronological order?"
"The latter," Ran said, sipping tea. "The comparison should be easier between the suspects. That's how I act when I've got to deal with a particularly tough defence to break."
The waitress came back then, suddenly all smiles. She was only a few years younger than themselves, and she must have realized who Shinichi was in the meantime because she laid a pan and jotter in front of him with batting eyelashes and a cooing "Here you are, sir!"
Ran glanced at her companion, anxious to witness his reaction at being assaulted with fangirls all over again, but he hardly spared the girl a rapid look and thanks before he applied himself to his task. Ran drained the last of her tea and bent over the notebook, feeling foolishly satisfied with the world at large.
"Where shall we begin?"
"At the beginning," she said cheerfully. "That's usually the best place to start."
He grinned at her and wrote down Sakagushi-san's name at the head of the first page. "She's our main suspect, isn't she?" he answered her questioning look. "And we have to begin somewhere. You said yourself personal feeling should be kindly shown the way out."
"So I did. Go on, detective. What about her? Is she in fact the daughter of a rich maharajah in exile, trying to reassert her claims to the throne by calling the limelight onto her? Or the great-great aunt of Kano-san and Hikaru-san, who are really lost cousins, and she's trying to kill them both to be the only heiress to their great and hidden fortune?"
"Of course – and Ebihara-san is in fact Frankenstein, whom she's revived two years ago to help her while in her grim purposes. Who's Asama-san – Kaitou KID?" he said, laughing. "Now be serious."
"It's that tea. I knew those herbs tasted weird. Go on, before I get worse."
"All right. Here goes–"
SAKAGUSHI Shizue, lawyerDuring the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Was one of the first on location. Stepped inside, like everybody else. No paint stains to be seen.
During her own aggression Said she had gone off in pursuit of the culprit but can show no evidence of it, bar Asama-san saying he heard them running by his bedroom door. Was shot, not badly, by her own revolver. Evidence of the mirror. (Query: Shot herself?)
During the aggression on Hikaru-san Was sitting with Araide and K. S. during the events, so necessity of an accomplice. Has tamed the cat, so she can have locked it in a room for M. R. to find, so as to prevent her from being on location.
During the failed murder attempt on Ikenami-san Arrived among the last. Strangely calm, didn't show any sign of anxiety thorough the evening and night.
Particular characteristics A remarkably sharp mind and capacity of foresight. Never once excluded the possibility that she could be guilty herself. Before the facts, said she had received quite a number of exceptionally insulting anonymous letters, but could easily have done them herself.
"That's a pretty set of suspicions, but no evidence to speak of."
"No. That's why I didn't want her to be our culprit."
"Well, then, who next?"
ASAMA Taichi, lawyerDuring the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Like Sakagushi-san, was one of the first on location. Stepped inside, like everybody else. No paint stains to be seen, either.
During the aggression on Sakagushi-san Didn't show up. Said later that he'd heard the gunshot and the running but didn't bother himself, feeling others would handle it better than he would, and too much people would only aggravate everything. Seems rather unlikely, under the circumstances.
During the aggression on Hikaru-san Wasn't supposed to know anything about it, but was uncommonly gentle to her the following day and generally kind ever since.
During the failed murder attempt on Ikenami-san One of the first on location. Kept grave the whole night. Bedroom nearest to Ikenami-san's, could easily have gone in and borrowed the bottle unbeknownst.
Particular characteristics With Sakagushi-san, was one of the two who could speak freely of the case with K. S. or M. R. Never showed any kind of lunatic tendencies. Was one of the most hated by the culprit, by the sight of the letters he received. Was the first to mention K. S.'s name when looking for a detective.
"None of the guests show any lunatic tendencies."
"Are you certain? Let's finish this first."
KANO Akira, son of KANO Himura, industrialist (the wealthy kind)
During the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Arrived last on location, just before M. R. did. Couldn't help touching everything. Red paint stains on his right hand.
During the aggression of Sakagushi-san Didn't show up. Said later on that he'd taken sleeping pills before going to bed because he hadn't had enough sleep lately (meaning?). According to him, slept soundly through the whole night and only learnt about the matter the following morning. Likely (query?).
During the aggression on Hikaru-san Wasn't supposed to know anything, but turned out to know quite a lot the following evening. When asked, said it was the main topic to dinner at their end of the table. Added that Kenjin-san had told him about it, having learnt it from Ikenami-san. (Fact.)
During the failed murder attempt on Ikenami-san Shocked. Pale like a sheet, couldn't help looking at the body. Fell asleep during the wait.
Particular characteristics More clever than he looks. (Billard.) After the aggression on Sakagushi-san, was curiously anxious that the culprit should be a man, for no apparent reason. The incident of the phone call in the library.
"I expect you know what's coming off this."
"Yes. Who do you think–"
"I'm not certain. Of course, it could be something completely different from our case. Or not.
KENZAKI Kenjin, politicianDuring the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Stepped inside the room and walked in a pool of red paint. Gave the slipper to Briggs for cleaning the same evening. Window giving onto the quad, which means he can easily have gone and marked the grounds, and two rows exactly under Ikenami-san's window (but that means nothing at all).
During the aggression on Sakagushi-san Arrived right behind Araide and helped Sakagushi-san back to her room. Found an anonymous letter slid under her door when he opened it. Is known to be a hunter, and therefore knows how to handle a gun, especially in order to not kill – which is even harder than trying to kill.
During the aggression on Hikaru-san Wasn't supposed to know anything, but told all about it to Akira-san before dinner. Presumably told by Ikenami-san (who never talks to anyone).
During the failed murder attempt on Ikenami-san Ran off to call an ambulance and sat restlessly all evening.
Particular characteristics Of a remarkable cheerful and beaming composure that could be a mask and couldn't. Has never shown any kind of particular nervousness toward the case. Has only received a small amount of letters, which, if he turns out to be our culprit, is rather clever of him.
"I suppose we can leave out Araide and his wife."
"Oh, yes. Definitely out of suspicion."
"Very well. That leaves us only with–"
EBIHARA Toshiaki, industrialistDuring the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Arrived last of all, behind M. R. Was the only one who didn't go inside the room, and mostly ranted all evening. Letters attacked him violently after that.
During the aggression on Sakagushi-san Needed two glasses of brandy to get over the shock. Afterwards, cursed the Poltergeist heartily but was one of the most eager to refuse the intervention of the police or anybody exterior. Particularly hostile to M. R., probably for the same reason.
During the aggression on Hikaru-san Was the only one who didn't say a word about it, and changed topics every time the subject was put forward. (Akira-san and Kenjin-san's evidence.)
During the failed murder attempts on Ikenami-san No behaviour out of the ordinary, that we know of. The next day (: today), tried to extract information out of K. S., to no avail. (M. R. Thank Goodness!)
Particular characteristics Had a row with Kenjin-san from the very first. Refuses to talk of anything in rapport to the case. Was rather attacked by violent letters, during the first two weeks, but that fell off more recently. Mostly silent and severe. (K. S. Frankenstein. M. R. Yes. Most definitely.)
"And now there's the matter of Ikenami-san."
"Ikenami-san? She was targeted, wasn't she?"
"Yes, and so was Sakagushi-san. Besides, she could have had an accomplice who grew tired of her and decided to bump her off. Here it is…"
IKENAMI Isami, GPDuring the wreckage of Kyogoku-san's office Was still dressed when she came around, with a lamp torch. Her fingerprints were found on the door's knob, but she claims she was mistaken and thought the room was the safe's earlier in the day. Being not able to come in, went for Briggs' blood, and got directed to the right room. Briggs witness.
During the aggression on Sakagushi-san Helped Araide with cleaning and bandaging the wound, and nothing wrong came out of it. Later, agreed that she was used to handling guns, as well – women's guns, not men's.
During the aggression on Hikaru-san According to Akira-san and Kenjin-san, told the latter about it. If true, where did she learn it?
During the failed murder attempt on herself In the evening, took two pills of her usual medicine, ingesting poison (possibly strychnine) along with it. Was found in time and transported as soon as possible to the nearest clinic. There was saved after an hour and a half's operation. (Murder? Suicide?)
Particular characteristics If guilty, must either have tried to commit suicide or have had an accomplice who tried to finish her off. Never speaks to anyone, less of all now. Important point: doesn't possess a computer, or hides it somewhere safe where Emily didn't find it.
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This took them the full afternoon end and part of the evening, and when at nine they came out of the smallish restaurant where they'd dined, the night had fallen long before. The jingle of the door as it opened then closed behind them, the clear and chilly air, the echoing sounds of the deserted street, and then the gentle depth of the seat, the blinking lights of the dashboard switching on in rapid succession, the soft rumble of the car all around them, like some animal purring contentedly.
They drove back through the woods from whence they had come, the car's lights sweeping on the road that stretched, it seemed, indefinitely before them, turn after curve and curve after turn.The forest rustled around them like it was alive, the wind blowing through the branches, the fallen leaves crackling as they passed on, the rapidly running sound of some animal frightened off by their passing.
The moon had risen, and as the woods moved to the right side of the road it showed in between the spacing trees. It wasn't full yet; a few more nights would be necessary to make it a perfect circle, or maybe it had been so a few nights ago. Passing by the car's windowpane, the trees' branches against it were black and finely coated as shadow puppets.
"Shinichi."
"H'm?"
"Can we stop here for a few minutes? The moon's beautiful tonight."
Obediently he slowed down and pulled up in a narrow ground lane that ended up in a field; he turned the engine off and with it the car's lights. Ran stepped out, shut the door, and walked a few steps down the path. The field continued flat some time longer and then lowered suddenly in a sharp steep; far ahead, more wooden hills were cut daintily against the sky, rustling gently under the breeze like stilled, enormous waves of moss-green water.
The moon shone above it all like a chipped pearl in a sky of blue and black, and it cast a silvery reflect onto their surroundings. Ran walked on a little farther.
It was a Shakespearean night, rustling and moving and murmuring; a nightingale trilling from some high branches; a small animal running swiftly in the grass. It was a little cold. She shuddered and rubbed her forearms.
When she turned back, Shinichi was still leaning against the side of his car, hands in his pockets, with a vague look as though some thought had just escaped his grasp and gone off into the wild. She daren't break his concentration and simply stood by his side till he gasped, startling her.
"Ran – I've got it."
His hand found hers, clutched at it, gripped it madly. "I've figured it out – of course – that's why the dog did nothing in the nighttime. We've been stupid fools from the start…" He was really excited; through the darkness, her eyes turned to hers in full detective mode.
And then it all deflated like a pierced balloon. His face fell severe, his mouth closed hard and his fingers let go of hers. "Get in the car," he said, abruptly but not unkindly. "Let's go back home."
He was silent all the way back. He drove determinedly, his eyes fixed on a point ahead and never diverting – he was ruminating his findings, Ran read on his face, and discovering there was not a certainty, not a single inch of evidence in it. It was useless trying to talk it out of him; although she would never admit to herself, she knew him far too well to even try.
At length she turned to the window and watched silently outside until they drove onto the bridge and towards the lights-strewn house. Only then, when he engaged himself into the parking lot, did Shinichi finally speak up. "I won't tell you what I've found, Ran."
She'd suspected that. "Why not?" she asked softly, taking off her belt.
He turned off the engine but didn't open his door – turned to her instead. "Because I don't have a clue whether I'm right or wrong. Not even the beginning of a proof," he said bitterly. He looked weary suddenly – tired and drained and younger in proportion. "And if my suspicions are wrong – if the person I think is our culprit really isn't, you'll be surveying too little of the others."
"But you don't think you're wrong," Ran said, with her hand on the door's handle.
He looked at her in the black windowpane. "No," he said. "I don't."
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Not counting this one, there are four chapters left. I'll be–trying–to update faster, 'cause I want to be done by Christmas… and then I've got another chaptered fic for them in mind, so I should pass on smoothly from one to the other.
Thank you for reading. Cookies, anyone?