Hi I'm back! Finals were rough but I did really well. Thanks everyone who wished me luck. It's finally Summer! I don't know if I can update more now or not with work, family visiting, and volleyball practice. Sigh... This chapter's all ready though! Were gonna check in with the officers for a while now.
Just to let everyone know, this is pre-Sera and pre-Amuro, also Sabaru isn't going to be in it. I just don't know enough about any of their characters to write them well.
Thank you to everyone who commented! You wouldn't believe how many ideas you all give me, (I'm sure mostly without meaning to) and how much it makes me want to write!
Disclaimer: I dis-claim this.
Satou Miwako gripped Takagi's notebook as she watched the officers survey the scene. Though the hope remained that they would find another clue, she knew that they'd found everything there was already. It wasn't much. Other than the box that held her boyfr-partner's, and Conan's clothes, they'd found evidence to convict Itoumo of the murder, though he was much too young to have committed the originals. They'd found Takagi's car parked behind the house, but there were no clues whatsoever pointing to where the man had taken his captives. No clue to anything about the man anywhere in the house. There was absolutely nothing.
She'd personally gone to question the neighbors, but they hadn't found much help there either. A lot of them were at home at the time, but they didn't see much. Apparently Takagi had parked on the side of the road then walked through the gate, Conan with him. The two had gone in, but no one saw what happened after that. A bunch of large trees hid the house from the road, so no one could see what happened after someone went past the gate. One of the neighbors said she saw Itoumo come out and drive the officer's car through the gate, only to drive out in his own car a few minutes later. The neighbor also said she thought she saw a bit of Conan's head through the window. Some others also claimed to see the man driving away with the child, but no one was sure which way he went. At first Satou was worried that no one seemed to have seen Takagi, but reasoned that if he was laid out on the back seat or floor of the car, no one would be able to see him from the outside.
She'd also been angry at first that no one had called in to report the suspicious behavior, but when she'd asked one of the neighbors about it they said they didn't think it was suspicious behavior at all. Because Takagi wasn't in any kind of uniform and was driving a normal car nobody knew that he was an officer. It didn't help that he had Conan with him. Everyone though it was just a man and his son visiting a friend. When they saw Itoumo drive away with the boy they all assumed the man was in the backseat and they were all going on a trip together. No one had any idea of the crime that had been committed. She sighed, it was getting dark now and they still had no leads.
Mouri was still there, though he was much more sober than earlier. He was trying to help but was as frustrated as the rest of them with the lack of leads. Also, Megure was trying to keep him at arms length because of how close the detective was to the case. Ran had arrived a little while ago, and she now sat silently in a corner while the friend she was shopping with was hovering over her, trying her hardest to comfort the shocked girl. She'd taken Conan's kidnapping fairly hard, her worry evident despite her silence. At first the teen had been asking Satou for news what felt like every five minutes, but as she'd answered "nothing new" more and more frequently, the girl had stopped asking. Though the officer was sure that if it seemed like anything had happened the girl would be at it again.
The pages of Takagi's notebook crackled as Satou squeezed it. She was so worried. Who knew what was happening to her partner, with the luck he had it could be anything. Now they had no clues, no leads, not even a hunch and two of their brightest minds were missing. Okay, one of their brightest minds and a guy who occasionally got lucky. Still Takagi was brave and dependable in all types of situations, just the type of person they needed now.
Suddenly Megure came out of the house, Shiratori following behind him as Takagi usually did. The female officer forced down the pain in her heart and walked over to the other officers.
"Any news?" She asked, trying hard to sound professional and cop-like rather than worried and love-sick. Megure just sighed.
"Nothing yet. We have officers stationed at all major transportation terminals such as train stations, air ports, and several subway stops. We've also given a picture of Itoumo, Takagi-kun, and Conan-kun to all of the bus drivers, subway security, and taxi-cab owners. We've also sent out an alert to all traffic officers, toll booths, and checkpoints. The problem is they probably left hours ago, it would be a miracle if anyone saw and remembered them." As if in response to his words, the inspector's cell phone started to ring at that very moment.
"Hello?... Yes...Yes, a man and a child with glasses... yes, that child...YOU WHAT? Get over here, stat!"
"Megrue-keibu, what happened?" Shiratori asked in his irritatingly calm voice.
"We have a traffic cop who claimed to have spotted a car driven by a man fitting the description of Itoumo a couple of hours ago. He says he saw the others too. He'll be here any moment. You guys wait by the gate, I'm sending some men over to where they were last spotted."
"Hai!" The two officers chimed, moving quickly to the gate while the portly inspector searched for someone to follow the lead.
"Satou-keiji! " A familiar female voice suddenly sounded as Ran hurried to catch up to the officers. "What happened? Did you find anything?"
"Maybe. We have an officer who claims to have pulled over the culprit. He's on their way here now."
"S- so you mean you caught him?" Satou winced at the hope in the girl's voice.
"No, we just know which direction they were headed. He pulled them over back when we didn't know he was a kidnapper. It's been hours since then."
"Oh. So Conan could still be... he could still be..."
"We're getting closer. Why don't you sit back down with Sonoko-chan. I'll question him and tell you everything." The worried teen simply nodded, heading back to sit with her friend. Satou grit her teeth. Were she a woman of lesser stuff, she would long for the opportunity to cry with fear for her loved one while her friend comforted her, but she wasn't just anyone. She was Satou Miwako, police officer. Takagi would expect nothing but her best effort, he would want her out on the field doing everything to find and free him. So that was what she would do.
A squad car drove up to the gate, and a traffic officer stepped out, still in uniform. Shiratori stepped up to him.
"Hello, are you the officer who saw the culprit?"
"Yes, I am."
"My name is Shiratori and this is Satou-san. Please tell us everything that happened." The man began to speak, but Satou stopped him. She suddenly realized that they had nothing to take notes with, Takagi almost always did it. They needed some record of what the man was saying. After all, it happened more than once that some minuscule detail, that would've been forgotten had someone not taken note and written it down, was the key to solving the case. Takagi's note sometimes were a lifesaver. Well, she did have his notebook and pen after all, maybe... She flipped to an empty page and nodded to the man to continue.
"I was on the highway when I saw a car go into other lanes and swerve a couple of times, so I pulled it over. I thought that maybe it was a drunk driver but when I got to the window the driver seemed perfectly sober. He looked exactly like the Itoumo guy you're looking for. There was a man laying across the backseat and a little kid with glasses in the passenger seat. They were both asleep and wearing cold masks. The driver said they were sick and he was driving them home after being on vacation. He said he was swerving because the guy in the back was having nightmares. It made sense at the time, so I checked his license and sent him on his way."
"Are you sure the others in the car were Takagi- and Conan-kun."
The man hesitated, "I think so, but I've only heard of them. I haven't actually seen what either of them look like. Other than some pictures of the boy in the newspapers talking about Kid, which I didn't really look closely at..."
"Wait a second..." Miwako said, putting down the notebook as she dug through her pockets and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through the photos, trying to find one of her partner that she could show the officer. Sure she had several pictures of Takagi to chose from, but there was NO WAY she was going to show him the one of when they'd gone to Tropical Land together, or the one of them on a dinner date, or-
"I know you would've found a picture of him by now. Just show him the next one you see." Shiratori commanded. She blushed as she came to the next picture. Oh great, it had to be that one. She turned the phone to the officer, wincing slightly as his face became confused. Of course it had to be a picture she'd taken of one of the posters made after the wedding case. The one with her, in a wedding dress, flipping Takagi, who was in a tux. She heard a small chuckle from Shiratori as he saw what picture she'd shown the man, but she ignored it when the traffic officer spoke.
"That was him! That was the guy in the back seat!" He was looking strangely at Satou, now that he'd seen the embarrassing photo, and she grimaced inwardly. Great, another traffic officer with an interest in her love life. As if Yumi wasn't enough. Turing the phone to face her once again, she quickly found a picture of Conan.
"And was this the child?" She asked. Shiratori smirked at her.
"That was fast. I wonder why it took you so long when you looked for a picture of Takagi-kun." She blushed, wishing for a moment he hadn't met his new girlfriend. Beforehand he would never have teased her bout Takagi.
"Yeah, that was the kid. Man, I can't believe I didn't recognize him immediately. What kind of cop am I if I can't recognize Conan Edogawa. Everyone knows who he is."
Satou was about to ask the man what he meant when she stopped, realizing the statement was probably true. Almost every cop probably knew the child by now, it was surprising that this man didn't recognize him.
"Did you notice anything else strange?" She asked, hoping or some more information, if just the knowledge that it was Takagi and Conan asleep in the car, and not just their bodies.
"Not that I can think of, other than perhaps that he drove perfectly after I pulled him over. He was really, really bad before that. Afterwords, he was like a completely different driver. I don't thing there was anything other than that."
"Okay, thank you for your time. Please call the station if you can think of anything else."
The man nodded and walked away, leaving the other two officers to their thought.
"At least we know which direction he went." The male officer offered to his female companion. She nodded.
"Yeah, but we still don't know anything else. We aren't even sure they're still alive. It could have been their bodies in the car."
"What reason would Itoumo have for driving around with bodies when he left most of their thing here? He must have just kidnapped them, it doesn't make sense otherwise."
"You're right." She mumbled, "I should go tell Ran-Chan the news. I promised to keep her informed." The male officer watched as Satou walked numbly to the girl, who stood waiting with eager yet tear-filled eyes. Then he went to Megure to help in any way he could, not that it was much.
"Satou-keiji, what happened? What did he say?" Now even Sonorous was looking interested, Satou sighed inwardly. It was so hard to try and comfort someone else when your own world was falling apart by the seams.
"It seems he pulled over Itoumo, and Conan-kun and Takagi-kun were definitely with him at the time. They were asleep in his car, and their faces were covered with a germ mask so the officer didn't recognize them right away. We now have a direction we think they went in."
"So, we might find them? We have a chance?"
Satou forced a smile, "We're getting closer." Ran smiled slightly, worry still evident in her eyes, as Sonoko began to bombard her with "I told you the brat with glasses would be fine. Look at all these officers, plus he's really smart. He'll be fine."
The female officer let the teens words wash over her, pretending they were for her as well. She began absentmindedly flipping through Takagi's notebook. Yes, if there was one thing that slightly calmed her mind, it was that her partner had Conan with him. Not that the man was hopeless on his own, on the contrary he was very determined and often surprisingly smart. Yet it seemed when Takagi and Conan were together, miracles would happen. Then again that happened almost anywhere Conan went. Oh well, it helped to think Takagi was a part of the miracle as well. Sometimes he was... sometimes.
A slight smile fit her face as she turned the page to her own attempt at making notes. You could certainly see the difference between Takagi's notes and hers. His were so orderly, so perfect. Takagi was the kind of person who's notes in high school had been photocopied by the other students the day before a big test. They were just so neat, well organized, and understandable. He was rarely seen without his small notebook on a case, always jotting down the information for later use. She knew for a fact that it helped a ton with paperwork. Smiling at the memory of Takagi furiously scribbling the case facts in his neat handwriting, she flipped through the pages once again.
Suddenly she stopped, noticing for the first time her partner's strange color coding. There were some colors mixed in here and there, but for the most part two colors were used: a green highlighter, and a red pen. Nearly every recent case was boxed in red, and several lines in those sections were underlined as well. It wasn't until she saw Conan's name, underlined and boxed in separately that she realized that the child had been present in every red case. It seemed Takagi was taking special note of the cases with Conan. She saw no markings keeping track of experiences with other detectives, other than a red star on those Heiji was on with Conan. Why would he be so interested in Conan? Sure, he was an amazing child, incredible brilliant, but it almost seemed as if Takagi knew about something more. The notebook showed no readily foreseeable clues, containing only case notes and nothing more. She shrugged, it probably made sense to Takagi, and that was the important thing for him.
Another puzzling thing was the green highlights. Though they were the second most common marking they didn't occur nearly as much as the red Conan files. Looking at the dates it seemed that a "green" case occurred about once a month. As she searched for the highlighted sections, she got to more and more recent cases, finally arriving at the one they were working on that morning. Only to stop as she saw that it practically shone a bright neon green. Her breath caught in her throat, could this finally be the clue she'd been looking for?