Meitantei

Chapter 3: Naming the Suspect

After being unable to get back to sleep, Shinichi realized his mind wouldn't settle until he delved into this latest mystery. Within a half hour he'd already searched the newspaper cover to cover, checked his phone's newsfeed, and browsed multiple channels to see if the news might have anything that jumped out at him but found nothing that seemed related to Kaitou Kid. He had, however, given Megure-keibu a rather early morning call to explain his deduction of the suspect in a double homicide he'd deduced from the paper. Two cups of coffee later, and a grateful return phone call from the keibu explaining his deduction had landed them their suspect, Shinichi found himself in the library with his laptop booted and ready to go. He sat and pondered for a while.

The question was: where to start searching?

Like Holmes, when Shinichi was thinking, he needed time to sit and go over his thoughts. After narrowing down a possible time frame for when Kaitou Kid might have gotten into trouble, he crossed out any of the cases that he had already had a hand in solving – either on his own or aiding Ran in her attempts to keep up the Sleeping Kogorou front.

Shinichi had sorted through the remaining number of cases, shuffling through them like a magician did with a deck of cards. He'd discarded the ones where the perpetrators were over twenty-five. He was fairly certain that the man behind the monocle was closer to his age. And as he was unable to attend the heist himself, it was very likely he wasn't able to show up, meaning he was likely detained somehow. That means that the suspect would currently be in jail.

After narrowing it down to cases where the supposed culprit was under twenty-five and had not made bail, Shinichi began to look at the various motives, other people involved, and any other pertinent details of crimes that had occurred between two months and one week prior – the time frame for when Kid had disappeared and the assistant had appeared.

When all was said and done, he'd finally focused on one case. It involved a minor (the name was not revealed due to the suspect's age) who had initially been arrested for theft and possibly murder. The follow up article said that there were indications that it could have been manslaughter due to a prank gone wrong.

As a big jewel was involved, the mention of a prank, and the person being within the right time frame of when Kid's heists had ceased, Shinichi had a good feeling this could be the case Kaitou Kid had been incarcerated for.

The few newspaper articles he'd read led him to make a few conclusions as to what might be going on.

The case information ran as thus: the suspect in question had gone to one Motoyama Kenji's home and subsequent bird sanctuary. Motoyama-san was a man who owned and bred birds and was known for providing birds to bird lovers, aspiring magicians who needed doves or other birds for their shows, and ornithologists. The death of Motoyama-san took place in the bird sanctuary where an unexplained incident caused his death. However, as the suspect responsible for causing the possible accidental incident was also found to have a large family jewel in his possession, police suspected malicious intent as the suspected thief had a ticket to leave for France that day.

If Shinichi remembered correctly, during that particular time period, an international conference was being held in France to discuss thieves, Kaitou Kid being one of them.

The ticket to France made sense; Shinichi wouldn't put it past Kid to show up at a conference where he was the main topic. Also, the jewel had initially caught his attention as Kid could have been scouting out his next heist piece. However, the more he read over it, the more it seemed that if the suspect was Kid, it had to have been a frame job. After all, Kid wouldn't have had the jewel on his person, especially not without announcing his intentions to steal it.

Shinichi ran over what little details the newspaper articles provided for the case again and again, grateful when the clock finally told him that it was a decent enough hour to start making a few phone calls.

His first phone call resulted in a pleasant female voice letting him know that he had reached Lawyer Kisaki Eri's secretary.

"Good morning, Kuriyama-san. Kudou Shinichi here," Shinichi greeted Kisaki-san's secretary cordially.

"Ah! Kudou-kun! How can I help you? If you're looking for Ran-san, she isn't here yet. She's planning on meeting her mom at the cafe for lunch," Kuriyama Midori said happily.

"No, no. I'm not calling in regards to Ran," Shinichi said, noting that Ran would be meeting up with her mother for lunch. "Actually, I'm calling to see whether or not Kisaki-san happened to take the case of the young man who was accused of murdering Motoyama Kenji-san. The newspaper article mentioned her name, but not whether or not she had taken the case," Shinichi explained.

"You know I'm not supposed to give out that type of information. It's classified! I'll have to transfer you to her. She can tell you herself," Kuriyama-san joked, transferring him.

Shinichi waited, doing his best to dispel the strange feel of nervousness he had whenever he spoke with Kisaki Eri. He was grateful that Ran had decided to keep the fact that he had once been Conan from her mother. There was something about Ran's mother that frequently put him in a swivet. Taking a deep breath, he hoped it would help keep him from feeling so on edge.

"Shinichi-kun," Kisaki-san's voice came over the phone. "What can I help you with?"

Shinichi explained that he was looking into Motoyama-san's death and had wondered if Kisaki-san had taken the suspect as her client.

"I have, but I must say that things don't look too good for the poor boy," Kisaki-san admitted. A strange feeling went through Shinichi's chest. He had never known Kisaki-san to lose a case.

"How so?"

"His fingerprints were found on the stolen jewel which was discovered amongst his things. Not only is he the only person to not have an alibi for the crime, there is a video implicating that he was the one who murdered Motoyama-san," Kisaki-san explained. It definitely didn't sound like a winning case for sure. Then again, if the video only implicated that he had committed the crime, it meant that it didn't capture it fully.

"But you don't think he did it?" Shinichi asked.

"Kuroba-kun is known for his pranks, so the manner in which Motoyama-san died seems more along the lines of a prank gone wrong – manslaughter not murder. Yet Kuroba-kun is insisting there was no prank…Anyway, as for the stolen jewel, it appears that he had been showing a great deal of interest in learning more about it. The jewel had been cleaned earlier that day, and the only set of fingerprints were Kuroba-kun's. The jewel was found in Kuroba-kun's things. He also had a plane ticket to leave later that day. The prosecution is trying to push for murder due to this fact. Kuroba-kun insists that he didn't steal the jewel and that the plane ticket was to go sightseeing."

Kuroba...Kuroba...why did that name sound so familiar? Shinichi jotted the name down in his detective notebook, glad that he wouldn't have to fish for the name.

"In other words, it's possible that someone planted it."

"Yes, but proving that is another story. Still, I have a gut feeling that he didn't do it."

"Hmm. Things don't sound too good. Is there any way you can arrange a meeting with Kuroba-kun so I can speak with him?"

"Don't trust my findings?" Kisaki-san asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Ah – no, it's just-"

"No, no. I understand. If I were you, I would be checking every fact too. What a brat you are!" Kisaki-san said, but nut unkindly. "You're assuming that I am going to let you help me with my client case. Let me guess, Yukiko-chan put you up to this?" Kisaki-san sighed.

"Uh, what?" Shinichi asked.

"Yukiko-chan asked you to look into her sensei son's plight, didn't she?" Kisaki-san asked, sounding less sure.

"Well, something like that," Shinichi said evasively, not wanting to give too much away, while feeling slightly confused. It wasn't like he could explain that he thought her client was Kaitou Kid. But what did Kisaki-san mean by his mother's sensei's son?

Kisaki-san made a non-committal noise at his non-admission. Shinichi waited for a moment, wondering if she planned to add anything more as she wasn't hanging up yet either. The only thing left to discuss was that she said she would arrange a meeting.

"When will I be able to speak with him?" Shinichi pressed when Kisaki-san didn't say anything.

"As you know, under Article 111, Paragraph 1 of the Law Concerning the Treatment of Inmates, you fall under the category of people who would be allowed to visit as you are, "a support for civil litigations." You could speak with him on your own," Kisaki-san mentioned.

"Yes, but if you already have the paperwork filed, it's far more convenient to do so in conjunction with your visit," Shinichi said.

"Too true. I was planning on meeting with him today after my lunch break. Actually, I'll be meeting with Ran today for lunch. Would you like to join us?" Kisaki-san invited, slowly. Shinichi wondered if she had been debating with herself over inviting him. As Conan, he had heard her blatantly say that she would rather that Ran not end up with a childhood friend. When they were younger, Ran had followed him on some harebrained adventures. He could understand that Ran's mother might be worried about what Shinichi would drag Ran into. But he'd grown-up a lot since then – twice, in fact!

Thinking back on it, Shinichi also knew that when Kisaki-san had said to Ran that she'd rather her daughter not end up with a childhood friend, she had been very angry at Occhan at the time. It seemed more of a reflection on Occhan than Shinichi. Shinichi was sure she thought highly of his analytical skills, and perhaps hoped to have his help on the case despite her bantering. Meeting for lunch was a good idea for them to discuss the case.

Of course, Kisaki-san had to be thinking of the fact that he would be interacting with Ran as she mentioned her daughter by name. Maybe she was trying to show her support that she approved of them being together by inviting him along?

"I would love to," Shinichi said.

"We'll be meeting at Café Royal at noon," Kisaki-san informed him.

"I'll meet you there."

"Good. I will send word to Kuroba-kun to notify him that you will be coming in my place."

"Ah, actually, would you do me a favor? Would you not tell him my name? Just that someone will be meeting him in your place? I want to surprise him."

"Surprise him?"

"It's an inside joke. He'll understand when he sees me."

"Hmm, I suppose I can."

Shinichi wanted to gauge Kuroba-kun's reaction to his presence. How surprised, and/or pleased he was would help Shinichi sort out which of his theories he would follow.

Shinichi ended the call with Kisaki-san and immediately dialed another number.

"Shin-chan~!"

"Hello, Kaa-san," Shinichi said in monotone. Somehow speaking to his mother had the effect of giving him an instantaneous headache. Shinichi rubbed at his temples, trying to dispel it.

"Mou, Shin-chan. That's no way to greet your lovely mother!" Kudou Yukiko whined at her son. Even thousands of miles away, Shinichi could picture her reaction to his unenthusiasm with detailed clarity.

"Sorry, Kaa-san," Shinichi apologized, not sorry at all. "I'm in the middle of an investigation right now. I wondered if you could give me some background information," Shinichi said.

"Shin-chan's calling me for information?" Yukiko chirped happily. "It's so exciting! What do you need, sweetheart?"

Shinichi explained the information he had found out from Kisaki-san so far. Of course, he'd left out the reason he was interested in the case was that Kaitou Kid's assistant had told him to look into it, but his mother had been most forthcoming with information. He now knew he was looking into information on one Kuroba Kaito. Apparently, Kisaki-san had already called and spoke with his father who, according to his mother, would have called him later to ask him to look into the case. His mother spent a good five minutes squealing how proud she was of her son to have figured out that his father wanted him to look into the case since his father was too busy with an upcoming book deadline.

"Hmm, it sounds like Kaito-chan is in a tough situation," Yukiko said, sadly. "It's such a shame! He's one of the most handsome and charming young men I've ever met!"

The shameless school-girl-like giggle did not help Shinichi's growing headache. Shinichi listened to the few details his mother gave him of how Kaito had given her a rose, even if he had foolishly called her oba-san. Though quite frankly, in Shinichi's opinion, it meant that Kuroba Kaito was quite capable of telling ages accurately: not that Shinichi would tell his mother that.

"Thanks, Kaa-san," Shinichi said, looking at the time on his watch. He'd been surprised at how long the phone call had been going on. "I need to do a few things before I meet up with Kisaki-san to discuss Kuroba-kun's case."

"Ne, Shin-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind going to check on Chiakage-chan for me? I'm sure with her son in this situation, she'd love to have another young boy-" he was not a young boy! And hadn't been for, er, a year! "-to speak with about the case."

"A-ah. Sure."

Shinichi wrote down the address from his mother, making a few mental notes to check on the background of Kuroba Toichi and Kuroba Chiakage. From what Kaitou Kid had implied during the only heist he'd returned items, the Ryouma Treasure case, Kuroba Chiakage was likely the Phantom Lady. Interesting.

"I know you'll clear Kaito-chan's name! Bye, Shin-chan!"

"Bye," Shinichi said as he hung up the phone.

Taking the information his mother had given him, Shinichi went to the upper shelves of the library where his father kept old case material. Instead of pulling out the file on Kaitou Kid, Shinichi pulled out the folder on Kuroba Toichi. Knowing he'd heard/seen the name before, and not just in the catalogue of his father's cases, Shinichi rummaged through the contents with vigor.

The pictures and information from the magician's tragic death had clearly been looked through many times. Shinichi frowned. It definitely seemed like an accident, but with the way it was handled, his father must have felt it had been a murder. Really, there wasn't much to go by to indicate that there was foul play, other than a gut instinct. However, it was clear by the way that the newspaper clippings edges were smudged and softer, wrinkled even, that his father had looked over the details multiple times. The fact that there were notes dating from various years indicated it was a case that his father had revisited multiple times. His father didn't believe that Kuroba Toichi had died due to malfunctioning equipment, but it seemed even his father was unable to find anything to prove otherwise.

Shinichi held up the newspaper clipping of the magician, finding himself wondering why he seemed familiar. Had he gone to the man's shows before? Shinichi felt for sure that he had met this man. There was something strangely familiar, as though the man also reminded him of someone else.

Grabbing the file, Shinichi took it down to the desk in the library. He did a quick YouTube search for any of Kuroba Toichi's magic shows to see if anything sparked in his memory.

The first thing that he noticed was the voice. The haunting, haughty, teasing quality of the voice brought back childhood memories of a night sneaking into a dark library, easy tricks for him to see through, and a riddle for Shinichi to work out. Shinichi could have smacked himself. Of course the reason this man looked familiar was due to the fact that he had met him before. Hadn't he just been thinking to himself that very morning that the current Kid was likely the original Kid's son? Like father, like son.

If that were the case, Kaitou Kid – the former and the younger – wouldn't do things in halves. They both enjoyed having rivals. How could he have forgotten about the case where he'd met the mysterious man in the Teitan Elementary School library? He'd met this man before, and if he was very much mistaken, it was likely Shinichi's father knew that Kaitou Kid and Kuroba Toichi had been one in the same.

Thinking back on it, his father had taken him to see Kuroba Toichi's shows in person before. His father had taken him back to meet him after the performance, and while neither had said much, there had been something challenging in the way the two of them had acted. It seemed that the original Kid also liked having detectives to challenge. After all, Kuroba Toichi had made up such a mysterious ghost story that had enticed his younger self to come to his elementary school in the middle of the night, sparking an intense curiosity in him.

"You're my big brother."

If Kuroba Toichi had called him his big brother, did that mean he was the current Kid's uncle? Shinichi shook his head incredulously at the implications of that thought, thinking of his momentary blunder and another of his favorite Holmes' quotes: "I made a blunder, my dear Watson – which is, I am afraid, a more common occurrence than anyone would think."

Shinichi had known that there was an eight year gap where Kid had stopped stealing. Linking the time the heists had stopped with Kuroba Toichi's death along with Kuroba Kaito becoming old enough to be physically capable of handling the heists, it became all the move obvious that Kuroba Kaito was the current Kaitou Kid while Kuroba Toichi had been the original Kaitou Kid.

Browsing through a few more YouTube videos, he caught sight of an assistant. Shinichi paused the clip, looking at a slightly younger face of the assistant who had been masquerading as Kid the past week. A few simple searches later, he found that the man's name was Konosuke Jii.

Learning that the man owned the billiards hall, "Blue Parrot" somehow seemed fitting. Remembering the strange case he had solved there, it seemed appropriate that Kid would somehow be connected to that particular case.

Smirking to himself, Shinichi found the assistant's address and wrote a quick note to the man, putting down the following:

Will take the case. Following payment required: new tie (silk – any color but pink), two pairs of dress shoes (size 29 – one black, one brown), a pair of slacks (size 73, black), and a dress shirt (size MA, blue).

Really, giving the assistant his dry cleaning bill was too easy – he wanted replacements for what had been ruined. He ought to make him work a little harder for what he'd put Shinichi through at his heists. Writing the address of the Blue Parrot on it, Shinichi sealed the envelope. With that finished, he mentally went over the information he had learned that morning.

As all these pieces linked together, a bubbling excitement built in his chest. The excitement contrasted quite horribly with the subsequent weight that had settled in his stomach as he remembered the reason he had begun looking into Kuroba Kaito in the first place. Shinichi frowned. While something the assistant said made him believe that Kuroba was not responsible for this crime, the thought of actually completely clearing the person who Shinichi was now almost positive was the current Kaitou Kid seemed unlikely.

But Shinichi was never one to back down from a challenge.

Continued in Chapter 4: The Other Side of Things…

The quote I used comes from the Sherlock Holmes' short story Silver Blaze: "Because I made a blunder, my dear Watson – which is, I am afraid, a more common occurrence than anyone would think."

I guesstimated at Shinichi's shoe size based on his height. 29 is the Japanese shoe size for European 45 and U.S. size 10 ½. I found that a person who is 174cm tall (on average) wears a European 44/45 and U.S. size 10/10 ½. Since he was 174cm tall when he was 16-17, I went with the larger size on the basis that he might have grown a little taller as he got older. For his pants and shirt size, I checked with the Japanese Industrial Standards sizes based roughly on his height.

Writing Kisaki and Shinichi's interactions was interesting. In the manga, it seems Shinichi is fearful of Kisaki, yet the live action series and movies have Kisaki actively encouraging Shinichi to confess/spend time/buy girly thing (red panties even!) for Ran. Went more with how the manga portrays their relationship, but I do think Kisaki likes Shinichi in the manga, so it's hard to tell. As an FYI: most of the time Conan refers to Kisaki as Kisaki-san, though he does call her Kisaki-sensei on occasion. I stuck with Kisaki-san as he calls her that more frequently.

For those of you who don't know, the Blue Parrot is the billiards hall that Jii owns. It is mentioned in Magic Kaito Volume 2 Chapter 7 and Detective Conan chapters 853-855.

In Japan, minors are considered people who are nineteen and younger. In some cases, minors' names can be released to the public in situations of murder, but not always depending on the circumstances. On a side note, the legal smoking and drinking age in Japan is twenty. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ~ Jelp