Chapter 6: The Case of the Missing Detective

"Well, it looks like Hattori and I will be having that rematch quite soon," Saguru told Alex one afternoon a few days after the KID heist.

"I can't wait," Alex said dryly. "What is it? Who can solve a string of serial murders the fastest, while firing off the best insults?"

"Nothing quite that bloody, I hope. It's an inheritance case: seeing which one of us can figure out who's the beneficiary of a fortune first. I don't know the exact details yet—the client won't tell us without both of us signing a non-disclosure agreement beforehand—but I do know everyone involved will be gathered at a hotel on an island together."

"Really?"

Saguru shrugged. "She's from the Swiss bank which is managing the fortune, apparently. They take both their privacy and customer service very seriously. The island is supposed to be semi-tropical, with some nice beaches, so if nothing else we should be able to spend a few days relaxing and enjoying the scenery."

That sounded pretty nice—if Saguru and Hattori started bickering again Alex could go jump into the waves. Then he remembered:

"Wait. What about Shinichi Kudo? You already signed up to solve the case of the missing teen detective, remember?"

"I can multi-task," Saguru said. "Suzuki-san didn't give a hard deadline, plus the rematch won't be happening until my summer break starts." He grinned. "Also, didn't you say you wanted to acquire some investigative skills? You can help me with Kudo."

"I'll do all the hard work and you'll take all the credit, I see how it is."

"Trust me, I would much rather be out investigating than studying for Physics," Saguru sighed, and went back to his practice questions on gravitational forces and projectiles.

So in the next two week while Saguru, Akako and the others took their exams and finished up the last of their classes before the summer break, Alex split his time between trying to learn Japanese as quickly as possible and looking into the missing Kudo Shinichi. He explored Tokyo using as little English to get by as he could, spent hours poring over vocabulary lists and grammar rules, and practiced conversing with Baaya during the day and with Saguru once he returned from school. It felt like he was trying to free-climb a cliff, but he remembered the chaos of the KID heist and had no desire to spend an entire case with no idea what anyone was saying.

In the breaks between language study he dug up Kudo Shinichi's old cases, talked to Sonoko Suzuki again, and had a frustratingly unproductive phone call with the missing teen's parents. "They definitely know something," he told Saguru that evening. "But Yukiko Kudo keeps chattering on about random gossip and I couldn't even talk to his father because apparently he's hiding from his editors."

"Well, they did leave their son by himself in Japan while they went to live in the States," Saguru said as he read through Alex's notes and their slowly growing case file on Shinichi Kudo—a varied collection of newspaper articles, transcripts, and even a video of one of Kudo's football matches some fan-girl had uploaded to the internet. He paused on a photograph of Kudo as a young child he had managed to find. "Kudo-san looked a lot like Edogawa-kun when he was younger."

Alex looked over. "Huh, you're right. Take the glasses off and they're practically identical. He's Conan's cousin, isn't he?"

"Edogawa-kun said distant cousin, though I would have guessed brother from these pictures. That would better explain their closeness as well. Apparently Kudo-san taught Edogawa-kun everything he knew about being a detective." Riffling through the notes he had taken of Inspector Megure's recollection of the cases Kudo had solved, Saguru had to admit that the Detective of the East had earned his reputation. Still, Saguru personally thought Conan would surpass his mentor once he grew up.

"While we're talking about uncanny similarities—I don't know if you've noticed, Hakuba, but Shinichi Kudo also looks like he could be the twin of your classmate Kuroba, give or take some hair gel."

"Yeah, I've noticed. But I've checked Kuroba's background before, and they're definitely two different people. In case you thought that the teenage detective decided to moonlight as a thief for some reason."

"Bummer."

"Wait." Saguru read through Alex's transcription of his second talk with Sonoko. "So during the time Kudo came back to his school's play to solve a murder, he passed out at one point."

Alex nodded. "I think she said he looked like he was in severe pain for a while, but then it passed and he looked normal again. Hmm. Maybe Kudo's gone away to be treated for some sort of mysterious disease?"

"Why all the secrecy, though?" Japan—like most of Asia—held enough of a stigma against mental illnesses that it could explain the attitudes of Kudo's family and his close friends, but if Kudo Shinichi was being institutionalized somewhere he shouldn't be able to waltz out to solve murders, or go to London on a whim. Saguru sighed in frustration. "There isn't enough data. The one thing I would say for certain is that whatever happened to Kudo, Hattori and Edogawa-kun both know about it."

"Definitely. Heiji Hattori even tried to pass himself off as Kudo at the school play, didn't he?"

Saguru brightened. "Well, I'll be seeing again Hattori for this rematch, and he might even bring Edogawa-kun along with him. I can prod them for information while we're trying to solve this inheritance case."

"Actually," Alex said slowly. "I don't think that's a good idea." Seeing Saguru's questioning expression, he explained further:

"Hattori and Conan are smart, and they both seem dead set on keeping Kudo's secret, whatever the hell it is. I think we might have gone too hard and spooked them at the museum, and now they're wary. They might even be expecting you to try to interrogate them again the next time you see them. So you should do something different. Something less direct."

"You mean…"

"Don't mention anything about Shinichi Kudo while we're on the island with them. Pretend that you've given up on that little mystery, or that you're completely focused on the inheritance business. Keep on observing them in case one of them lets something slip, and we can try to set some sort of trap if the opportunity arises, but give them a chance to let their guards down first."

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "Sneaky."

Alex shrugged. "Sometimes sneaky works better." Saguru was used to interrogating suspects with the force of the law on his side, but in this particular case Alex thought something more in his own line would be more successful. Less direct questioning, and more subterfuge.


"Father?" Saguru paused in the process of taking off his shoes. Akako, who had just stepped into the entryway behind him, looked up as well.

"Saguru!" Superintendent General Hakuba Noriaki halted on his way down the stairs. From the neatened set of his tie and the briefcase he was carrying, his father was probably on his way out for some meeting. "And who is this young lady?"

Akako bowed formally. "Koizumi Akako, sir. I am a classmate of your son's."

His father's smile was genial enough, though Saguru saw him blink in recognition at her name. "Ah, Koizumi-san! No need to be so polite—Saguru's mother has told me all about you." He scanned her more closely, as if a schoolgirl in her uniform wasn't what his wife's talk had led him to expect.

"We both had a good exam day, so Koizumi-kun and I decided to go to the movies after school to celebrate, and then I asked her to join Alex and I for dinner," Saguru said. The movie was laughably terrible, but whispering to each other about how nonsensical its magic system and so called science was had made the time fly.

His father nodded. "Good, you shouldn't spend all your time on cases and schoolwork, Saguru. I am afraid I can't join you tonight—I'm expected elsewhere. But you kids have fun!"

"Well, he seems to like me much better than your mother did," Akako commented after the Superintendent left. "It's probably a good thing I didn't have time to change out of my school uniform before the movie, isn't it?" She looked at him. "Do you wish he'd stayed to eat with us?"

Saguru shrugged. "Yes and no? This is the first time I've seen him this week, but if Father joined us dinner would be a much more…formal affair." He would have had to manage the impression that he made—that he and Akako made—in front of his father.

"Ah, I think I see." Akako's long red hair swung in front of her face as she knelt to switch out her shoes for a pair of spare house slippers. "I don't see much of my mother either, and it's even more awkward whenever I do because of that."

It was the first time Saguru had heard her speak of her immediate family. "Does she live in Japan?"

"No, last I heard she was up in northern Canada, somewhere around Yukon."

"That far?"

"…How should I put this. My mother's clairvoyance is far more powerful than mine. I love her, but living with her was…do you have any idea what it's like for your mother to berate you for something you haven't even considered doing yet?"

"As it happens, yes, though not quite in those circumstances." Neither of his parents was prescient, but the weight of their achievements and expectations were an invisible mantle he could never take off. Nor was detection his way of escape, the way his mother was convinced it was, even if he had to admit it helped.

They moved into the dining room, where Alex was already impatiently waiting so that they could start dinner. As the three of them dug into Baaya's homemade Sunday roast, Akako commented: "This may be the last time you have proper home-cooked British food for a while, Alex. Kagoshima cuisine can get pretty interesting. You know they have raw chicken sashimi over there?" She laughed at the look on Alex's face.

"I'll pass on that."

"Most people do, even other Japanese," Saguru said. "There should be plenty of good cuisine available there though, not to mention the scenery."

"Palm trees and beaches and tonkatsu. I'm a little jealous," Akako sighed after polishing off her piece of Beef Wellington. "I'll be traveling then too, but just to visit some relatives."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, I think so, and most likely some of my aunts as well." She smiled at Saguru. "The time differences are going to be a pain, but I'll do my best to call."

"It's honestly fine," Saguru told her. "I expect we'll be quite busy anyways."

"Yeah, Hakuba's going to have to work hard if he wants to beat Hattori, whatever the case is," Alex grinned.

Akako looked between them. "You still don't know what the case you're competing on is about?"

"We know it's something to do with an inheritance. The client is coming over to tell us the details tomorrow, so we'll know more then."

"Don't forget Hakuba, we should see if we can find out anything more about Shinichi Kudo before we leave," Alex said. "Honestly, I find that to be the more intriguing mystery. Where on earth could he have vanished off to, and why won't anyone say anything about it?"

Akako's cup of tea paused halfway on its journey to her lips. "The Detective of the East you were talking about? Do you want me to help, Saguru-kun?"

Alex didn't know what lay underneath her casual offer, but Saguru did. Akako could probably find out what had happened to Kudo faster than he could. But it felt like cheating, to use magic as a shortcut in place of logic and deduction. Not to mention, it wasn't nearly as enjoyable for him.

"I want the fun of solving this myself, but thank you," he said. Akako accepted it with a smile and wished him luck. Alex blinked in surprise at the exchange, but any puzzlement was soon forgotten as they chatted—about how the Mansfields were doing now, the movie Akako and Saguru had watched, Alex's experience of Japan so far—enjoying the last time the three of them would be together for a while.


On the evening after Saguru's school term finished for the summer, he and Alex finally learned the details of the case he would be competing against Heiji to solve.

Enlightenment came in the form of Valeria Scialdone, a middle-aged black woman in a razor sharp business suit. Mrs. Scialdone raised an eyebrow when Saguru insisted on Alex's inclusion but rallied immediately, laying two bundles of paper in front of them. The forms were printed on creamy-white, heavyweight paper, and they were accompanied by equally luxurious fountain pens. "If you two would sign these, please." There was an Italian lilt to her English.

Once the two had read and signed the non-disclosure agreements under her watchful eyes, she stored the forms away in her leather briefcase and relaxed slightly. "You have to understand, the circumstances for this are slightly unusual. Our bank wants to cover all possible liabilities."

"You're hiring competing teenage detectives to figure out an inheritance case," Alex said. "Is there hidden treasure or something?"

"Nothing so exotic, I'm afraid." Her onyx eyes gleamed. "Just a fund worth slightly under ten million pounds at today's exchange rates, give or take." Alex whistled, and she explained:

"The settlor was one Mr. Terence Delacey, an extremely wealthy widower with a fondness for puzzles. He adopted four children, three of whom are still living. Around twenty-five years ago he put some money into a trust fund managed by us with the intention that the beneficiaries will be one of these adoptees. A month ago Mr. Delacey passed peacefully in his sleep, with the majority of his fortune willed to charity, but his instructions for the trust were more peculiar."

"He didn't tell you who to give the money to," Saguru said flatly.

"No. According to the document which we were instructed to open upon his death, the will for the trust is hidden on Kashikijima, an island here in Japan where Mr. Delacey spent the last months of his life. If one of his children finds the document within a year of his death, they will be rewarded with a portion of the money—approximately one million pounds, with the remainder to be allocated as specified in the will. We were to assist his potential heirs in their search to the best of our ability. If no one finds the will by the year's end, the entire fund goes to charity."

"That's a strange way to will your money," Alex said. "Why not just choose one person, or split the trust fund evenly?"

Mrs. Scialdone coughed slightly. "Apparently Mr. Delacey's relationship with his children were not entirely harmonious. Once they reached adulthood they all struck out on their own and scattered to the winds. One is now a businessman in Hong Kong, another a published author in the United States and the last is in Britain. I understand they didn't keep in contact much, if at all with Mr. Delacey after they left home."

Alex found it slightly sad: the old widower using his millions in a posthumous call for attention from the children who had left him. Saguru had another question in mind: "Why hire teenage detectives?"

"Mr. Delacey forbid the use of adult private investigators in his instructions, but Ms. Suarez—one of his children—pointed out that under his wording, someone like you wouldn't count." The corner of her mouth tilted up. "Once she had the idea, of course, the other two also wanted their own teenage sleuths to help them as well."

"And given that the will is supposedly hidden on a Japanese island, someone who knows the language and customs might have an advantage," Saguru said. "Was Mr. Delacey fluent in Japanese?"

"Not fully fluent, but he knew enough to communicate with the Hirokawas — they run the family hotel he was living in. Kashikijima was bought by one of their wealthier ancestors, and Masako Hirokawa and her daughter-in-law Yukiho have converted the mansion to a hotel for tourists who want a private semi-tropical retreat off the coast of Japan. They've agreed to keep Mr. Delacey's old room untouched, and to host the three heirs and any other parties during their search."

Alex thought that given the backing of Mrs. Scialdone's bank, the Hirokawas could probably expect a nice little income boost from this little endeavour, on top of whatever Delacey had paid to live out his last days on Kashikijima. "Three potential heirs, all trying to find the will first," he said. "Hakuba is representing one, and Heiji Hattori another. Who's representing who? And who's the third detective?" A thought struck him. "Don't tell me it's Conan Edogawa."

Mrs. Scialdone gave him an odd look. "No, but it's strange you should mention that name. Mr. Heiji Hattori agreed to participate on the condition that that boy would be allowed to come to Kashikijima with him. Apparently he's a good luck charm?"

Saguru just barely stopped himself from snorting. "Oh, I'll say." He would have to talk with Hattori once they met on Kashikijima—he'd agreed to a rematch with Hattori, not Hattori and Conan working together.

"As for who's representing whom, you and the heirs can decide that among yourselves after everyone has met on Kashikijima this weekend," Mrs. Scialdone continued. "You, Mr. Heiji Hattori, and Ms. Masumi Sera."


Ai was staring at him with a look of much-tried irritation. Conan kicked his legs back and forth on his chair and tried to appear innocent. "What? I'm just saying you should take a break now and then, Haibara. Ayumi and the others are starting to wonder if you don't want to play with them anymore."

"I'm doing all of this for you, you know, Kudo-kun," she said sweetly, waving a hand across the expanse of her lab table, currently covered with notes, beakers and other biochemical paraphernalia.

"Yes I know, but don't kill yourself doing it. You look like a panda, Haibara—when was the last time you went outside?"

Ai rubbed the circles under her eyes and sighed. "I just feel so close. Simon Perréal's research on enzymes affecting telomerase dovetails almost perfectly into my work on the prototype cure…"

"So you're saying you'll have another test cure for me soon?" He grinned in response to her glare: "If not, a break now won't make much of a difference. Let's go out into the yard, at least. I have some news for you about Alex Rider."

That caught her interest. Ai followed him outside into the walled front yard of Pf. Agasa's house and sat down on a bench there, and watched him kick a soccer ball around while he told her what he and Heiji had discovered about Alex.

"A teenage intelligence agent," she murmured. Conan wondered if she felt some kinship, as someone else who had been forced to work in the world of crime and danger far too young. "And he's looking for you, Kudo-kun."

"I'll be careful, Haibara."

"And the sniper Alex caught at the heist, could he be working for Them?"

"He's still in a coma, so we can't ask him anything." Conan sighed in frustration. "Not who he's working for, or why they'd want to kill KID."

Ai suddenly straightened. "Someone's coming." Two someone's, actually—he could hear two pairs of footsteps as they approached over the gravel, and low voices conversing as one of them pressed the Professor's doorbell.

"Speak of the devil," said Ai. "I do believe that's Alex and Hakuba-kun."


Alex and Saguru had dropped by Professor Agasa's house after school to say hello to Ai. Neither of them had expected to find the other unusually precocious elementary schooler of their acquaintance there as well.

"Oh that's right, Conan's a classmate of yours, isn't he, Ai?" Alex recalled. The two children exchanged sharp glances, and he was once again struck by the wary maturity in both their manners. It was, frankly, more than a little unsettling.

"Yes, he is." Ai blinked, then gave them a small but genuine smile. "Edogawa-kun told me about the heist. I didn't expect you two would come and visit—let me go and tell Hakase you're here."

"Did the police find out anything more about the sniper?" Conan asked Saguru as she went in.

Saguru shook his head. "He's still unconscious."

"This is just a precaution," the boy said. "But did the police give him any guards?"

"In case whoever hired him decides to dispose of any links? Yes, Nakamori-keibu has placed guards around his ward."

"Ah, it's good to see you two again, Hakuba-san and Alex-san! Come in, come in, I have a delicious cake from the new bakery nearby. Ai-kun won't let me eat it all, so you'll have to help." Professor Agasa's rotund figure appeared in the door and waved them into the living room. He carried a familiar pair of children's sneakers in one hand. "Conan-kun, I have your shoes. They're clean now, and I've recharged the skateboard too."

Alex perked up, and not just because of the mouth-watering strawberry shortcake the Professor placed in front of them. "Wait, so Conan got that skateboard from you, Professor? Did you make him that watch which shoots darts as well?"

"Ah, yes, the stun-gun wristwatch!" Professor Agasa said, not seeing how Conan's eyes widened.

"Edogawa-kun runs into trouble a lot, so Hakase made him some toys to help," said Ai, who did see. "He's also made gadgets for our group of friends at school—toy badges that can communicate with each other like walkie-talkies, flashlights in our watches and such. Things for our little adventures." She turned to the professor, who was surreptitiously trying to sneak a second slice of cake onto his plate. "Just one slice! Any more and it's too much sugar. At your age…"

"Ah, I see." From what Alex had seen Conan use at the heist he'd thought that Professor Agasa would be like Smithers, but from what Ai said his gadgets were more useful toys for children than tools for spy-craft. Not that he was a spy anymore, but Smithers' gadgets were one of the few things he missed about his old life. Still…"I don't suppose you have another one of those stun-gun wristwatches lying around?"


"So we were wrong," Saguru said quietly after they left Professor Agasa's house and the two children. Both he and Alex were stuffed full of strawberry shortcake, and though sadly the Professor didn't have a spare dart-watch for Alex he did get one of those spare toy badges Ai had mentioned as a memento.

"Yes, we were. I'm glad. The Professor seems to be a good surrogate father, and Ai practically mothers him. Even so, I'm glad we checked in on her." He would have been uneasy if they hadn't; Alex hadn't forgotten that look of terror on Ai's face in Lymstock.

He walked on, his thoughts on the two young children who seemed far too old for their age. Ai Haibara and Conan Edogawa: grade schoolers who are friends and in the same class. One with highly advanced chemistry knowledge she was desperate to hide, and the other who could not only keep up with, but surpass the police when chasing KID. Both shared that honed intelligence and calmness under pressure he would have expected from a highly trained adult, or maybe an extremely mature teenager. Hakuba had reasoned that they couldn't be agents like him, and Alex agreed, but his instincts still warned him that both Ai and Conan had secrets that were very, very dangerous.

Saguru suddenly stopped in his tracks, throwing Alex out of his reveries. "What is it?"

Saguru pointed to the nameplate of the mansion they were in front of. "It's the Kudo residence."

Alex looked there, and then back where they had come from. "Huh. Professor Agasa and Shinichi Kudo are next door neighbours?" He scanned the house and its surroundings more carefully. "The mailbox is empty, and the grounds have been maintained. Probably by that boarder Kudo's mom was talking about."

"I wonder if the good Professor knows anything about Kudo's disappearance," Saguru mused. Then he caught the way his companion was eyeing the fence. "Alex, you can't break in."

"I know," Alex sighed. He couldn't tell from here whether the Kudos' house-guest was home or not, and it would be ironic if he raised alarm by searching the house after his own words to Saguru about keeping a low profile. "It's a pity. I bet there are clues in there."

"Who was the one saying we should pretend we dropped the Kudo case again?"

"Augh, it's right here." The house with its many gabled roofs and concealing foliage both tempted and taunted him. Then he saw the curtains flutter in one of the front-facing windows. "There's someone inside!"

A brown-haired, bespectacled man in a turtleneck opened the door a moment later. "Are you two looking for something?" he called out in Japanese. He wore an oven mitt on his left hand.

"We heard this is the Kudo residence?" Saguru asked. "Is the family not living here anymore?"

The man approached. His eyes were thin slits behind his glasses, but his smile was quite amiable. "I'm afraid not. Kudo Yusaku-shi and Yukiko-san are in the United States right now. They've kindly agreed to rent their house to me while I complete my graduate studies at Tohto. I'm Subaru Okiya—and you are?" He peered at the two of them, his gaze lingering on Alex.

"Hakuba Saguru." Saguru debated how much he should say. What where the chances that the Kudo's guest would know about their missing son, and what were the chances that Subaru Okiya would warn Conan or Hattori about their search? Pretty low for both, honestly. "My friend and I wanted to speak to Kudo Shinichi. Do you know how we can contact him?"

The man shook his head. "I've never met Kudo Shinichi in person, sorry. I've only talked to his parents." He raised his left hand. "Oh, I just made a big batch of cream stew. Would you two like to try some?"

Saguru politely declined, and he and Alex soon made their goodbyes to the Kudo's boarder. At Okiya's request, Saguru left him their contact information in case the man ever did see or hear about Kudo Shinichi. As they walked away, Saguru translated the bits of conversation Alex hadn't understood. "Another dead end," he sighed.

Alex was briefly silent. Then: "Did you feel that something was off about him? Subaru Okiya, I mean."

"Other than how he was wearing a turtleneck, while cooking, in full summer? I wonder if he has a scar on his neck that he wants to hide. Why, did you notice something?"

"…I could have been imagining it," Alex said slowly. "But while he was talking to you, I had the oddest feeling that he was watching me."


A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone! I...really need to plan out the details before deciding on an extremely ambitious mystery next time. I have the next few chapters and a good portion of the ending written-it's the bits in between that are giving me trouble. I wanted the main case to start in this chapter, but I also wanted more bonding/character interaction, and then the chapter got so long I had to split it into two and push the case to the next one.

I don't think Hakuba's father's first name was ever given, so I've picked Noriaki, with the kanji for law/constitution and bright/light for this series.

As always, thanks for reading and for all the lovely reviews!