Meitantei

Chapter 11: Museums and Musings

Shinichi would be lying if he said he wasn't flabbergasted with the disappearing act that Kaito was performing. Two glasses of chocolate milk, two large chocolate chip cookies – dipped in chocolate – one chocolate parfait, three pieces of chocolate cake, and a triple scoop chocolate chocolate-chip hot fudge sundae had all disappeared in a matter of minutes – into Kaito's stomach. Shinichi wasn't sure if he should feel disgusted or impressed. He was sure the exuberant level of edacity Kaito was displaying had to do with his time spent in jail, but it was still a bit harrowing nonetheless.

"If you're wondering, no, I can't expand my stomach. I just know how to fill it," Kaito said, grinning at him as he sat back and sighed in contentment. Shinichi wasn't sure he believed him. With the delitescent nature of Kaito's tricks, he was sure that it could extend to his eating habits.

Chikage shook her head in amusement as she looked at her son and gave a half-apologetic half-proud smile to Shinichi as the three of them sat at a little table in Mister Scoops. The name "Mister Scoops" was somewhat misleading as the quaint shop served many more desserts – as Kaito had shown him – than just ice cream.

"You're going to be on a caffeine and sugar rush after this. Not to mention you haven't had so much of this type of food in some time. You're stomach is not going to be happy with you," Shinichi said with trepidation. A hyper Kaitou Kid did not sound like something he wanted to see. Kaito merely grinned widely at him.

Already Shinichi was having regrets springing the infamous Phantom Thief from prison. Even so, Shinichi still had a case to solve.

Shinichi had already finished his (small) piece of lemon pie. They were waiting for Chikage to finish her mint-chocolate parfait.

"How's your investigation going?" Kaito inquired, eyes focused in concentration. Obviously if he still needed to be bailed out of prison, it meant that his name was not yet cleared. It made Kaito's stomach twist in knots thinking about it. Either that, or it really was all the chocolate he'd woofed down. Since admitting that Shinichi was right would prove the later, he decided to blame his growing stomach ache on the former.

"I've figured out the tricks the culprit used to frame you as well as how they killed Motoyama-san. The issue is the proof. Too much time has elapsed, and the culprit has already disposed of the evidence of the trick that resulted in Motoyama-san's death. There's also the issue of the motive. I'm going to go back today to the Bird Sanctuary to do a bit more investigating as Nakahara Tsutomo-san and Ueda Yoshio-san weren't there when I went yesterday as they were obtaining more birds. Both of their testimonies will be key in figuring out how to catch the culprit. Not to mention, I want to see how everyone reacts when they see you out of prison."

"But you know who it was?" Kaito asked, leaning forward.

"I have several theories. None of which I will share until I know for sure."

"Fine, fine. When you do figure it out, let me be there for 'the reveal.' I hate not knowing who set me up," Kaito said, leaning back. Shinichi was somewhat surprised. He had anticipated having to explain that he didn't like to reveal his deductions until he had all the details.

"Even if you can't figure out the motive, as long as we know who did it and what really happened – that will clear Kaito's name and ease his mind," Chikage added.

"'Any truth is better than indefinite doubt,'" Shinichi quoted.

"That's from The Adventure of the Yellow Face," Chikage said, wiping her hands on her napkin. "I liked that Sherlock Holmes story. It's the only story where Holmes gets it wrong. Not that I expect you to be wrong, dear." Chikage reached out to grip Shinichi's arm fondly. "Not to mention, Holmes found out the truth of the matter in the end, after all."

"Holmes got something wrong?" Kaito asked, seemingly surprised.

"He was human, after all," Shinichi muttered.

"I thought he was a fictional character," Kaito mused, grinning at Shinichi's expression.

"He was an extremely well developed character who is still beloved today!"

"There are lots of those characters."

"Boys," Chikage admonished. The no-more-arguing-I-mean-it motherly tone made them both stop. "It's like you're both children again!"

At this admission, Shinichi winced internally. This was nothing like being a child again. Shinichi knew from firsthand experience. Kaito gave him a quick glance, before looking back at his mother.

"I remember meeting Shinichi's mom a couple of times when Tou-san was training her, but I don't really remember playing with Shinichi," Kaito said, looking at Shinichi thoughtfully.

"That's because you only met once. We – that is, Shinichi's parents and Toichi and I – agreed it was better for us not to have you two in the same room. One meeting was plenty to show us that."

"Why not?" Shinichi and Kaito chorused simultaneously. Chikage smiled, her mouth quirking up at one corner.

"You spent the first hour bickering over Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, and finally ended up coming to some sort of strange agreement. We knew something was up when the two of you quieted down. When we couldn't hear you after ten minutes, we went to see what you were doing, only to find that the two of you had left. When we did finally find you, it was with a very irate police officer. You had broken into the holding cell at the Metropolitan Police Department, escaped from said cell, and then managed to solve a murder after being kidnapped."

As soon as she said it, Shinichi could remember the boy who had convinced him that it would be easy to break in, and even easier to break out of the local police department without being caught. Upon accomplishing this feat, the two of them had managed to attract the attention of one of the cellmates who had been released that day. He had kidnapped them in hopes that they would help him with his crimes. In the meantime, they managed to figure out that he was responsible for a murder and had established a fabricated alibi by using two of his friends to give false testimony of his location during the time of the murder. Even though Kaito had managed to get them out of their restraints quickly after the man had left them alone, Shinichi had then convinced Kaito to stay to solve the murder and to bring the man to justice.

"I remember that! We nearly died twice, I think. I had such a blast that day!" Kaito said, his eyes lighting up. Chikage looked at her son with a raised eyebrow.

"And that's exactly why we decided not to let you two play together ever again."

"Good point," Shinichi said, unable to help himself from grinning. Shinichi was quite capable of finding trouble on his own. It seemed that when he had been with Kaito, they had managed to double it. Wistfully, he thought of how he and the shounen-tantei-dan had gone on a lot of adventures that had gotten them into such trouble. Even though the three children of the group tagged along on some murder investigations, it wasn't the same. Plus, Haibara and Agasa-Hakase were off touring the world as they promoted one of his latest inventions. He still kept in touch with both of them, but not seeing them as often left him feeling a bit nostalgic.

Somehow, he felt having had Kaito with him, the two would have had a wonderful time on such adventures.

Shinichi's phone buzzed. "Sorry, I have to take this," Shinichi explained, even as he began walking away to answer the phone and speak privately. Chikage looked at her son and smiled at him, fondly.

"You should call Aoko-chan," Chikage suggested. Kaito nodded, feeling his gut clench just thinking about it. He pulled out his cell phone which amazingly still had some charge. It had been among his personal effects when he had been arrested; the thought still made him cringe. At least they had turned it off: hence how the charge had kept.

Kaito saw that his phone had a plethora of voicemails, texts, and e-mails from friends worried about him. Most were from Aoko. He dialed her number, waiting anxiously to hear her familiar voice.

Instead, the phone kept ringing and eventually went into her voicemail.

"Ah, hi Aoko. Just wanted to let you know that I finally managed to make bail. Ano...when you get the chance, call me."

Kaito hung up his phone, shaking his head as his mother looked at him, bemused.

"I can't recall you ever sounding so unsure of yourself."

"Hakuba's in the hospital because of one of my fans," Kaito said. "Aoko's probably there with him now."

"And you can't help but feel jealous that she's there at his side instead of here by yours?" Chikage wondered, crossing her arms. Kaito blushed at his mother's remark. He could mask his facial expressions all he wanted, but there was nothing he had yet learned to cover the natural physiological response of fighting down a blush unless he was already wearing make-up or latex.

"I'm worried about Hakuba. And maybe Aoko's reaction."

"I suppose it doesn't help that Aoko-chan's already so anti-Kid. The incident against Hakuba won't help her like the moonlit thief any better," Chikage noted thoughtfully. "But just remember, Kaito: you didn't ask that fan to hurt anyone. You would never condone that type of behavior. I'm sure Aoko-chan knows that. Even if she doesn't like Kid, I remember the reports of Nakamori-keibu insisting that the murder that occurred during the four painting incident wasn't Kid's fault. Surely Aoko-chan knows where Kid's heart lies in regards to such violence."

"Yeah."

"You should know that too. It wasn't your fault."

"But if I hadn't been in jail...maybe I could have done something," Kaito said, looking out the window. It was strange being outside again. His incarcerations had lasted for about a month and a half. Yet he felt different from the experience and that years had passed since he'd last been there.

"Even Lupin spent time in jail," Chikage added, looking at her son.

"Lupin wasn't real," Kaito muttered. "Even if Shinichi goes on and on about Holmes, literary characters are nothing more than words on paper."

"Not so," Shinichi said, returning to their table. "Doyle's portrayal of Holmes helped to provide guidance to the men of Scotland Yard, truly helping them become the investigative organization they are known for today. And speaking of investigations, I just finished speaking with Reiko-san. She said that Nakahara Tsutomo-san and Ueda Yoshio-san have returned with the new birds, so we can head back to speak with them. Would you like to join me?"

Kaito thought about it for a moment. Even though he had just been released from prison and would love time to stretch his wings by doing things he enjoyed, he wanted this dark cloud hovering over him to disappear.

"Sounds good," Kaito agreed as he stood and stretched.

"First, I have another few stops I need to make before we head there," Shinichi explained.

"Alright. Let me just grab my to-go order, and we'll be off."

"You ordered more?" Shinichi gaped, incredulous. Kaito beamed at him.

"What are we doing in a museum?" Kaito asked, looking around him. Somehow, he didn't understand how this "stop" had anything to do with the investigation.

"We're being conspicuous," Shinichi said, grabbing Kaito and whirling him behind a pillar. Kaito half stumbled into Shinichi. Before he had time to protest, Shinichi held a finger to his lips and peered out from behind their impromptu hiding spot. Kaito slowly poked his head out too, his eyes darting around, trying to place what Shinichi was looking for.

"I thought you wanted to be seen. You didn't mean inconspicuous, did you?" Kaito whispered.

"Seems clear. Let's go," Shinichi said as he began walking away.

"Hey – wait a second!" Kaito called after Shinichi as he had had no further warning that Shinichi was about to start power walking away. "What's going on?"

"You've probably heard by now that a Kaitou Kid fanatic attacked Nakamori-keibu and Hakuba-kun," Shinichi began.

Kaito nodded. Yes, he'd heard. Speaking of which, Aoko had yet to call him back.

"Are they okay?" Kaito asked, voice weary.

"Nakamori-keibu's fine. Hakuba-kun is in critical condition."

Silence settled over the two as Kaito waited for Shinichi to continue. When he didn't, Kaito asked how it related to what they were doing, his eyes travelling over the exhibits as they went through one area and then backtracked through different displays.

"The culprit has yet to target me despite hinting in the notice any detectives that have gone up against Kid were going to be targeted. It said, 'To all the stupid and incompetent detectives after Kaitou Kid – you are not worthy to capture him!' There could be a number of reasons why I haven't been targeted. The first reason is lack of opportunity. I have been aware of the fact that there is someone out to harm those who have a vendetta against Kid and have been more vigilant in my surroundings. There have also been police officers shadowing me where I go."

"There are? I haven't noticed any. Is that why we're hiding? You're trying to lose your police tail?" Kaito wondered, feeling rather put out. He was usually very good at spotting police officers in disguise.

"Ah, well, not quite." Shinichi scratched his cheek a little sheepishly.

"You already gave them the slip, didn't you?" Kaito asked, strangely pleased that Shinichi had escaped the notice of the police.

"I was on a case last night when I realized that there had been several officers following me around – two mini-patrol officers to be specific. I didn't figure it out until a case that popped up last night, but afterward I realized I'd seen them at my campus, so they had been with me each time I went out. The only time I've been alone since the notice from the Kid fanatic went out was at my house yesterday morning and when I went to the Motoyama Bird Sanctuary. Last night, Satou-keiji and Takagi-keiji were put on duty to "watch me" during the stakeout. Today, only Takagi-keiji was with me. I had him drive the two of us out to lunch at the Cafe Columbo. While I was with them last night, I'd heard that Chiba-keiji and the two mini-patrol officers were going to have lunch at the same place. Yumi-san frequently texts and tweets when she's riding around in the patrol car, so I followed her feed on twitter to see how far away they were from meeting up with Chiba-keiji. I timed it so that Takagi-keiji and I were finishing our lunch just as Chiba-keiji came in. I told Takagi-keiji to head out first since I would be with Chiba-keiji. I didn't tell him that I wouldn't be staying with Chiba-keiji for long."

"Let me guess," Kaito said, grinning, "You only spoke with Chiba for a minute before you said, 'Takagi-keiji's probably waiting in the car,' or something like that while then convincing Takagi that you were going with Chiba?"

"Pretty much," Shinichi confessed. "Once they realized no one was watching me, they tried contacting me. They kept ignoring my texts that I was fine and got Ran to call me. I promised that I would be with someone all the time and that I would meet up with them later and would keep an eye for any suspicious people."

"You said there were a number of reasons why the culprit might not have targeted you yet," Kaito reminded him.

"Yes," Shinichi said, stopping in the midst of an Egyptian exhibit.

Kaito was about to prompt Shinichi again, before his eyes were drawn to an intricately crafted staff with a large emerald set at the top. Seeing that Kaito's eyes had rested on the emerald, Shinichi gave a bit of background history.

"Last week this exhibit opened with recently discovered Egyptian artifacts. There's been a good deal of controversy over the exhibit, and it's likely the museum will close it after only another week of being open. Aizawa Tadahiro, the amateur archeologist who first discovered evidence of Japan being inhabited during the Japanese Paleolithic age, is a very celebrated archeologist at this museum. In 1946, Aizawa found stone axes that dated back before the Jomon period, disproving the archeologists at the time that Japan had been inhabitable during the Paleolithic age. Further investigation found other weapons made from various materials, one of which being obsidian. This museum houses several of these artifacts, including several of the obsidian blades. The archeologist who found these Egyptian artifacts has been quoted as saying, 'These Egyptian obsidian pieces are far more precious than even the obsidian blades found at Iwajuku.'"

"Iwajuku?" Kaito prompted.

"Iwajuku was the dig site where Aizawa discovered the artifacts. The Egyptian archeologist also said, 'The emerald in the staff is going to be worth more than any other in the world.' Naturally both of these claims upset a variety of people. The obsidian comment upset not only the museum, but local archeologists for insulting Aizawa's find. People were also extremely upset that the finder is looking to sell the emerald for the highest amount rather than appreciating its historical value. There are quite a number of protestors demanding that this exhibit be shut down."

"I can see why people would want to shut it down," Kaito remarked. "But how does this lovely little history lesson relate to me?"

Though, of course, Kaito knew where this was going. He just needed Shinichi to say it.

"Many people have been expecting for Kid to target this emerald. He's on limited time if the museum really does intend to close down the display. Back tracking to what you asked earlier about the reasons as to why the culprit may not have tried to target me yet could be due to three other reasons. Besides lack of opportunity, another reason is that he does not see me as a threat," Shinichi explained, switching topics again.

"Not as a threat?"

"For those who look carefully, it's rather obvious that I could have Kid behind bars if I had really wanted to." Kaito felt his fingers twitch as he watched the smug smirk on Shinichi's face. Kaito had to remind himself that the detective had bailed him out of jail. Kaito's face relaxed, thinking on the fact that if Shinichi had truly felt he deserved to be behind bars, he would have left him there. He did his best to keep his face neutral since Shinichi was helping him. He hoped. "In other words, the culprit believes that I will not try to put Kid behind bars, and thus, I do not need to be 'stopped.'"

"Next theory?"

"The culprit could be waiting for a specific opportunity. So far the attacks on Nakamori-keibu have been mild, more a nuisance. Despite Nakamori-keibu's perseverance, the threat he poses to Kid is minimal. Hakuba-kun's attack seems to have been planned, but interrupted. The manner in which Hakuba-kun was attacked means more thought and energy went into planning his assault. Hakuba-kun is known for being more of a real rival than Nakamori-keibu for Kid, meaning the more disruptive a detective is, the more the culprit prepares for the attack. The culprit could be waiting for a specific moment to come after me that would be degrading. The culprit could feel, since I am more of a threat to Kid, my attack needs to be more thought out."

Kaito didn't like this train of thought, but it made the most sense. No one was sure if the culprit had intended to kill Hakuba. Even so, he had hurt him horribly. If the assailant was attacking detectives based on how much of a threat the detective posed to Kid, Shinichi was definitely the greatest threat. If Hakuba's assault was a near death beating…what did that mean for what would be planned for Shinichi?

As their eyes met, Shinichi saw that Kaito had come to this conclusion without prompting.

"The last reason?" Kaito asked, not wanting to dwell on the grim possibility that the perpetrator who attacked Hakuba could be planning to kill Shinichi.

"It could all be a ruse. An attack on me might never occur, or, if it does, will be far less violent. The attacks on Nakamori-keibu could be a way to mask the true aim of the attacker, which was to harm Hakuba-kun," Shinichi explained.

"Meaning someone could be after just him specifically?"

"It's possible," Shinichi explained.

"But you don't think so," Kaito noted, seeing something in Shinichi's face.

"If it were all a ruse, then one attack against Nakamori-keibu would be enough, yet there have been multiple attempts. Also, there would likely have been some attempt against me already to pull attention away from Hakuba-kun being the intended target."

"Unless the culprit doesn't even consider you a worthy opponent," Kaito preened, lifting his hands behind his head hiding his worry, grinning at Shinichi.

"Oi."

"I said the culprit!" Kaito smirked.

"As to why we're here," Shinichi began, his eyes boring into Kaito's, "it's very plausible that Kid would want to steal this jewel. If he does, I need a good idea of the layout of the museum so that way I can know of all the possibilities Kaitou Kid may take when he escapes. Of course, I want to make sure that I know of places where Kid's fanatic might be hiding in case he tries to attack me. There is also the possibility that the fanatic is watching my movements. If I am to determine what the attacker's aim is, I need more data. If I am out in the open, then he has more of an opportunity to attack me."

"But Kid hasn't set out a notice yet," Kaito pointed out. Shinichi waved a hand.

"It's only a matter of time. With the way the archaeologist who obtained these artifacts has been talking, it's only a matter of time before he challenges Kid, especially if it would help to keep the museum exhibit open. Kid is not one to back down from a challenge."

Kaito decided during his next heist, he needed to figure out a way to be more unpredictable. He really wasn't enjoying the way that Shinichi seemed to be able to read through his thought process.

"Why am I here?" Kaito demanded.

"Because you and I both know you're Kid. I need you to make the heist one of your better ones."

"He-hey!" Kaito stammered, looking around to make sure no one heard them. While Shinichi had been hinting that he thought that Kaito was Kid, he hadn't brazenly stated it. "I'm not Kid!"

"Okay, not-Kid. Make sure the heist is one of your better ones. My thought is that the culprit may stop the attacks if Kid isn't as cornered. Mind you, I can't back down either. If I'm seen going all out and Kid still dazzles everyone, then there would be nothing to worry about. Mind you, I'm a pretty sore loser, and not good at faking defeat."

Kaito protested his innocence, but even as he did so, he could feel excitement bubbling inside him. He hated stealing, but there was something extremely invigorating in the thought of performing a heist again, not to mention something to get his brain going. The lack of stimulation had been daunting. Now, with the caffeine and sugar from all the chocolate he had eaten were rushing to his brain, making it whirl with ways to pull of his next heist – and make sure Shinichi would be left in his dust.

As Kaito's indignant grumbles of his innocence died down, Shinichi's thoughts turned inward. There was, of course, another possibility as to why the culprit hadn't gone after him. His stomach clenched at the thought as he looked around the museum, watching the people as they moved through the various exhibits. As he looked back at Kaito, he could only hope his suspicions were wrong.

A shadowy figure watched as Kudou Shinichi and the boy who looked like his twin brother passed into the next exhibit. With a tug to pull the red hat down lower to hide from the security camera, the only thing the camera caught was the backside of a person's broad stature walking up to the Egyptian staff with the large Emerald. It really was a beautiful stone, one that the observer was certain Kid would target.

With Nakamori-keibu frazzled, Hakuba Sagaru hospitalized, it was only a matter of time before Kudou Shinichi's time would come.

And it would come. Soon. Very soon.

Continued in Chapter 12: Hospital Visit…

Hope you're enjoying it so far!

~ Jelp