Chapter Two: The Three Detectives

"There's a Miss Suzuki Sonoko to see you, Saguru-botchama," the Hakuba's housekeeper announced the morning of the KID heist.

The two boys had been preparing for the evening in the mansion's library. The museum KID was targeting happened to be holding a charity ball tonight, the night of the full moon. Saguru suspected that the museum's refusal to cancel or reschedule the function was at least partly motivated by news of the heist drawing additional attention, and in turn donations. For Saguru, this meant a lot of additional paperwork and contingency planning with the Task Force over the phone. For Alex, it was the much more entertaining work of reading up on some of the KID's more spectacular thefts.

"She does know that I have a heist this evening to prepare for right?"

"Yes, but Suzuki-san insists on seeing you. For a case, she said." Baaya paused. "She looked very determined."

Saguru considered it for a moment. "We'll receive her in the living room in a few minutes. Thank you, Baaya." Once she left, he explained to Alex: "The Suzuki's head the very wealthy Suzuki Financial Group. Their youngest daughter is a huge KID fan and rather boy-crazy. I've seen her at a few society functions, but I've never really talked to her before."

"You're done all that paperwork already?"

"I'll do the rest later. I want a break from filling out forms."

Alex grinned, bookmarked his spot in the Kaitou KID dossier he was perusing (recounting how the phantom thief had pretended to be able to teleport in mid-air), and followed Hakuba out of the library. A girl around their age with a heart-shaped face was waiting in front of a full tea set in the living room. Alex took note of her clothes—dark blue camisole under a white vest, white skirt, white bandanna holding back her brown fringe-cut hair—and realized she had coordinated for the heist. A KID fan indeed.

"Suzuki-san, it is nice to meet you," Saguru greeted her politely in Japanese. "This is my associate Alex Rider. Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of him. It would also be greatly appreciated if you can use English whenever possible, but if that is inconvenient I can translate."

"Oh, of course! If I knew English would be useful for talking to cute guys I would have paid way more attention to my lessons," Sonoko said. Her English speech was a bit slow, but it was comprehensible. "Oh, you can use my first name. Sonoko-san, Sonoko-chan, Sonoko-kun, just Sonoko: it's all good!"

"You said you have a case for me?"

"Yes. I want you to find a friend of mine for me. A missing persons case! Well, not really missing. He's said why he's gone, but I don't know if it's the truth, and it's been almost two years, and—"

"Wait," Alex interrupted. "Just who is it you want Hakuba to find?"

"Kudo Shinichi," Sonoko said. "Another teenage detective. You might have met him before?"

Alex had never heard of whoever it was, but the name clearly meant something to Saguru. His polite expression morphed into one of genuine interest. "We've never met, but of course I've heard of him. The Detective of the East. People tried to get him to attend the Sunset Mansion case and the Detective Koushien, but they couldn't contact him. No one has heard anything from him in a long time, but I haven't come across any rumours of foul play. I'd imagine his parents would have raised the alarm instantly if they suspected anything was wrong."

"Oh, I don't know if there's anything criminal to do with Shinichi-kun's disappearance!" Sonoko said, lapsing back into Japanese. "But he hasn't been to school in so long, and…Ran." Her eyes lit up. "That's right, you were at the Sunset Mansion! Do you remember a girl your age who was also there? Mouri Ran—long hair, very pretty, unbelievably good luck at gambling?"

"Sleeping Detective Mouri Kogoro's daughter," Saguru recalled. "Yes, I remember her."

"She's Shinichi-kun's best friend. They were practically joined at the hip when they grew up, and I've always expected them to start dating sooner or later. I mean, they already act like an old married couple. I never thought Shinichi-kun would keep a secret from Ran. But she doesn't know where he is either."

"Kudo-san hasn't told her anything?"

"I think he's said that he's on a case of some sort, and that he couldn't say more. It's all very vague."

"Well then," Saguru said. "If Kudo-san is gone for an investigation it's not prudent to interfere."

"But it's not supposed to be taking him this long!" Sonoko cried. "I don't know much about the detective world, but isn't Shinichi-kun supposed to be one of the best? Hensei Holmes and all that. What could be taking him so long? And making him act so strangely?"

Saguru had a few possibilities in mind, but she barged on. "If he's gone on a case, that's fine, I don't need to know the gory details. But I want to know that it's because of a case like he said, not because he's dead in a ditch or leading a double life in Hawaii or something." She looked at him. "Will you help?"


Alex put away his phone to send Sonoko off. She waved a cheerful goodbye from the window of her chauffeured car. "I'm guessing you accepted her offer," he said to Saguru.

"I'm sorry, we completely neglected to use English after the beginning, didn't we? Yes, she wanted to find someone for her friend. Tracking down errant boyfriends isn't usually my preference for a case, but this happens to be Kudo Shinichi, he's—"

"Another teenage detective. I did catch that part." Alex held up his phone. "I was looking him up while you two were talking. Tons of articles about the Detective of the East and all the cases he's cracked. He's even faced off with Kaitou KID before, apparently, if the translation I read is accurate. But nothing at all about him after the summer more than a year ago. No one's seen hair or hide of him for that long?"

"According to Suzuki-san, he showed up out of the blue for their school play and solved a murder. Left again right away, but not before making sure news of his appearance wouldn't leak out."

"It does sound like he's hiding from something," Alex said. "If he really is on a case, should you really be crashing in on that?"

"I'll just confirm it and leave him alone."

Alex looked at him. "Oh God. You're curious."

"A little," Saguru admitted. Alex sighed. "You're not going to try to persuade me against it?"

"Because that's worked so well before?" Alex said. Privately, he was rather curious himself after learning about Kudo Shinichi's disappearance. "Where do you plan to begin?"

"I'll call his parents, though I doubt they'll be much help if they haven't mentioned anything about this for so long. Suzuki-san also told me she's heard that there are two people who have kept in steady contact with Kudo-san after his disappearance. Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan. We'll be seeing them both at the heist tonight."


The Metropolitan Art Museum that evening was an odd combination of a fancy party and an extremely serious police operation. Laughing guests in formal tuxedos and evening gowns alternated with tense policemen in uniforms. Alex had been surprised to see such festivities in a place where a major burglary was expected to occur, before Saguru explained to him about KID's "no one gets hurt" policy. He noted the extensive security measures, however: every possible entrance was guarded by at least two policemen, everyone entering the museum had their identities checked and were body-searched, and he could even hear the distant buzz of police helicopters, circling in the sky above in case Kaitou KID decided to use his signature hang glider.

"I know KID's supposed to be a master of disguise, but this is a little ridiculous," Alex said, rubbing his left cheek where he had been vigorously pinched by Inspector Nakamori to check that he wasn't, in fact, Kaitou KID wearing a latex face mask. Several of the police officers they passed as Saguru led him to where the heist target was stored also bore bright purple marks of the Inspector's diligence on their faces.

"It's a simple precaution," Saguru said. "It can be difficult to comprehend just how skilled KID is at impersonation until you've see him in action."

They went down below the multiple floors filled up by the gala and into to the second basement level of exhibits, and from there into a small gallery filled with marvels of stained glass done in the Art Nouveau style. Even Alex recognized the artist who created these pieces—lamps made from jewel-toned dragonflies and fields of glowing flowers filling an entire window—without needing to read the exhibit sign. "Tiffany."

Saguru led him to a separate room inside the gallery. Twin rows of empty glass cases ran down its length, and a lone plinth stood at the very end of the room. It was cordoned off, with a tight circle of serious looking officers standing guard about five feet away from it. Saguru stopped and showed the guards their clearances, while Alex stood up higher to see KID's target.

"This brooch satisfies all the clues in the note. The materials, the history of the piece—it's an early Louis Comfort Tiffany original," Saguru said.

Alex appraised the large, bejeweled brooch that was the subject of so much hubbub.

"...It's bloody hideous." Tiny black pieces of mother-of-pearl had been gathered into the shape of what Alex guessed was supposed to be a stylized lizard (or maybe a toad?). It had two giant greenish-yellow garnets for eyes, along with squirming and extremely detailed limbs tipped with seed pearls which were probably supposed to represent suckers. Lush silvery-white moonstones were scattered across its body like boils.

"Very early Tiffany piece," Saguru sighed. "It's supposed to be a salamander. One of his very first works starting out as a jeweler, they say, hence the value."

Alex tilted his head. "Yunno, it kinda looks like an alien head from this angle."

"Kaitou KID usually has better taste," Saguru admitted.

"How did you know that this is the one he wants?" Alex had passed several cases full of exquisite jewelry on their way here. He personally would have gone for something like the intricate opal and turquoise butterfly pin he saw in the outer gallery, and not the ugliest piece in the entire exhibit.

"The heist note. Louis Comfort Tiffany once declared 'The pursuit of beauty' to be his lifelong goal—that's the first line. 'Sand and rust' is a reference to his invention of Favrile glass, which is made from silica and metal oxides. Also note that KID uses the American spelling of 'color', without the 'u'. 'Selene blessed firstborn' means one of his earliest pieces, and likely something with moonstones in it as well. Salamanders are also associated with both fire and water. This brooch is really the only thing that fits."

"I see. And the full moon is tonight, but how did you get that the heist would be held at nine o'clock?"

"There are nine nodes on a Taoist bamboo staff; one 'nod' or 'no-do' for each hour." A new voice spoke in English from the room's entrance, and Saguru's jaw clenched. Alex turned to see a strange pair—a Japanese teenager with dark skin and spiky hair worn under a baseball cap, with a boy of around seven or eight standing next to him.

Hattori Heiji and Edogawa Conan.


"Hattori Heiji-kun, Edogawa Conan-kun," Saguru walked over and greeted them politely. He hadn't known that Hattori's English was that good.

"Hakuba-niichan! Who's he?" Conan stared at Alex through his large square glasses, just over three feet of excitable little boy. Unlike Hattori, he was dressed almost as formally as Hakuba was in a short sleeved dress shirt and grey vest.

Alex bent down with a smile. "You're the boy who's been chasing Kaitou KID, right?" More successfully than the rest of the police force, if the articles he read were to be believed. Alex wouldn't have been surprised—behind the glasses, the look in Conan's eyes was uncannily reminiscent of Ai. "I'm Alex. I'm a friend of Hakuba's." Heiji snorted. "I'm staying with him in Japan."

"But he's letting you help at this heist? Like Dr. Watson? No," the boy said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Then he beamed, all wide-eyed innocence. "You look more like James Bond!"

Saguru sputtered. Alex continued smiling. "I'm more of a Bourne fan." It was a decent response whether Conan had knowingly thrown the dart or not. The boy was apparently a sleuth like Saguru and he reminded Alex of Ai; Alex wasn't ruling anything out.

"I'm surprised you came all the way from Osaka for this," Saguru said to Heiji. The especially if you knew I was coming went unsaid.

"I got a personal invitation, and my exams are over already," Heiji grinned, showing his teeth. Then he reached across and ruffled Conan's hair. "'Sides, how could I pass the chance to go to a KID heist with this little guy?"

Conan huffed in irritation. "How do you think he'll take it?" he asked, looking at the salamander brooch.

"KID will probably sneak in by impersonating one of the guests," Saguru said. "There are too many of them here for the gala, and several are too prominent to suffer the indignities of having their cheeks pinched. I presume you have a strategy already?"

"Keep in constant contact with the other teams, suspect everyone until proven otherwise, and stick close to Conan-kun; he's the only one of us KID can't impersonate," Heiji said. "And play the rest by ear, unless you've a better idea."

"What do you think, Alex-niichan?" Conan asked.

Alex looked around at the setup the police had prepared. He could spot the various cameras around the exhibit, as well as the battery-operated lights that had been brought in so that KID wouldn't be able to use darkness as a cover if he cut the power.

"Hakuba's probably right about KID disguising himself to get into the museum. But getting down to this level would be harder. The elevator's been disabled and all the stairs and escalator are covered. He could try crawling in through one of the vents, I suppose, but then there's still the problem of how he'd get out." They were two levels underground, so no convenient windows to hang glide out of. What would he do if he wanted to steal that brooch? He would probably need some gadgets from Smithers, for starters. "He'd have to fight his way past all those guards—but right, KID doesn't really fight…He could cause a distraction, or release some sort of sleeping gas and knock us all out."

"The officers all carry around gas masks after the last time he pulled that," Saguru said.

"Not bad, though," Conan said. "It's like you've done this before."

"Alex was there for one of my cases in England," Saguru said quickly. Conan did think something was up with Alex, then. It was time to change the topic. "You know, almost every teen detective who has chased KID is here."

"Yeah, we're just missing onna-tantei," Heiji said. At Saguru's look: "Sera Masumi? She was there at the Blush Mermaid heist with Ku-Conan." Conan glared at him, and Heiji looked embarrassed, for some reason.

"I have not had the pleasure of meeting Sera-san," Saguru said. "But I had been thinking of someone else."

"There ain't that many teen detectives who's been at KID heists."

"There is at least one more. Or have you forgotten about Kudo Shinichi?" Hattori nearly choked on whatever he had been about to say. "I thought he was supposed to be your close friend?"

"Ya, what are you trying to say?!" Hattori's temper had not gotten any more manageable since the last time they met, Saguru thought.

"Hattori," Conan hissed. Heiji looked at him, something unreadable passing in the glance between them, and Saguru knew that he wouldn't be able to get anything useful out of Hattori if the Osakan could help it.

"You know him too, don't you Conan-kun?" he said instead, watching everything with sharp eyes.

Conan rubbed the back of his head with his hand and laughed. "Yeah, Shinichi-niichan's a distant cousin of mine! He's taught me a lot about detective work."

"Do you know how we can contact him?" Alex asked. "A concerned friend wants to know."

"Which friend?"

"I am afraid I cannot reveal that," Saguru told Heiji serenely. "Client confidentiality."

Heiji took a rapid stride forward and began to tell Saguru where he could shove his client confidentiality in incredibly vivid Japanese. He stood in between Conan and Saguru, so Alex was the only one who saw the boy's whole body freeze, the reflected glare from his glasses hiding his eyes from sight. A moment later he shifted and the glare vanished, showing the bright blue eyes of a child who was excited for the evening's adventure, and nothing more.

Afraid. They're both afraid, Alex thought as Heiji and Saguru continued arguing. And they're both hiding something about Shinichi Kudo.


Once Saguru and Heiji finally stopped their bickering, the group headed back out into the main Tiffany exhibit. Just then Saguru heard Akako calling their names, and turned to see her sweep into the gallery. His jaw dropped.

Alex couldn't blame him. Akako had never been known for dressing conservatively, but for this special occasion she'd gone all out in a bright scarlet, tightly clinging dress. The comparatively modest skirt swirled from calf to mid-thigh; the top portion, on the other hand, seemed to be composed entirely of strategically placed red bandages. The ensemble was topped off by stiletto heels, elbow length black gloves and a chunky metal choker which looked heavy enough to be used as a weapon in an emergency.

"Akako-san, I didn't know you'd be here," Saguru said. "How did you get down here? This floor is supposed to be off limits to civilians."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Akako said. "I told the nice officer—Ohshima, I think his name was?—that I was here to support my boyfriend."

Saguru frowned. "And he let you through?" (Behind him he could hear Hattori mutter "Hakuba's dating a girl like that?") He would have to reprimand Officer Ohshima. Or better yet, tell Nakamori-keibu and have him do it instead.

Akako shrugged, the movement shifting the strips of her dress, and Saguru abruptly realized that between her magical glamour and her choice of attire, the officer probably hadn't been paying much attention to her words. He groaned. "Please try not to distract the officers, Akako-san, we need them all to be alert tonight—" Then suspicion struck. "Wait, did he not clear you then?"

The girl's dark brown eyes widened. "Oh, so you think I'm KID?" She took two steps forward, and pulled Saguru into an extremely thorough French kiss.

Hattori wolf-whistled in the background. "There's a broom closet down the hallway, you two," Alex said, his eyes on the ceiling. Finally, the two broke apart. "That is an amazing dress, by the way," he added, since Saguru looked to be still a little tongue-tied.

Akako beamed. "Thank you! I borrowed it from an aunt of mine; she's worn it once before to a wedding." While Alex tried to mentally connect his idea of a wedding with what she was wearing, she turned to Saguru. "I don't suppose I can convince you to join me for a dance later?"

"I'm going to be busy with the heist, but I'll see if I can find some time after the main event," he apologized.

"That's fine, I know tonight's going to be eventful." She smiled, but there was something serious behind it. "Good luck, and be careful. There's a crow circling." Conan's expression abruptly slid from indulgence to sharp alertness, but she withdrew without elaborating.

"I thought that Kaito KID doesn't hurt people at his heists," Alex said.

Saguru watched her leave in a swirl of red. "No, but sometimes he's not the only criminal at his heists, and the others may not be so conscientious about collateral damage."


Among the numerous video cameras scattered around the museum there were a handful which did not belong to the museum or the police, even if they looked exactly the same as the others. The feeds from these rogue cameras were currently being viewed on the smart-phone screen of one Kaito Kuroba, aka Kaitou KID, hidden behind a false wall on the floor below the Tiffany exhibit.

Kaito watch with interest as the two (really three) sleuths and one teen spy gathered and immediately start prodding at each other's secrets. He was surprised that Conan and Heiji appeared to if not know, then at least strongly suspect the truth about Alex Rider. Hakuba looking into Kudo Shinichi's whereabouts was less of a surprise—tantei-san may have gotten into the habit of regularly sweeping the mansion for listening devices, but a disguised Kaito had slipped a hidden recorder onto Suzuki Sonoko before she visited with her request.

Still, it was time they focused on the proper star of the evening. Kaito made a final check of his many, many pockets, smoothed out non-existent creases from his spotless white suit, and flipped out his cape. Hakuba and Kudo were formidable rivals individually even before one added the Detective of the West and a surprise teenage spy to their ranks, but a good kaitou kept his plans flexible and made adjustments as necessary. He had several tricks up his sleeves for tonight.

Kaito let his Poker Face click into place; the final and most important piece of his costume. When he grinned, it was all KID.

"Showtime."


A/N: I don't really have a consistent update schedule planned for this, I'm afraid. I like to keep a minimum two chapter buffer, so the plan is to update whenever I complete the next chapter after that. I am slightly ahead right now, but I also still need to plan out the nitty-gritty details of the upcoming murder case, so I'm not expecting the lead to last.

A big thanks to all the lovely readers and reviewers! I was honestly shocked to see how many people checked in for the sequel so long after the previous installment.