The Detective Prince
Chapter 117
Investigation Begins
The sky had gradually darkened from the time they had set out for the location that had been brought to their attention. They arrived to the area a few minutes prior through a cab. They were now on foot, inching in closer to the location with each passing minute.
"Are we moving in the right direction?"
"Undisputedly."
"How can you be certain?"
"Because of the signals strength," Dick replied. "It's only increased in strength since we started along this way, you can have a look for yourself if you'd like."
Without warning the phone was tossed to him. He flipped it to the other side once it was caught to view the contents of what was being displayed.
"You're right, we're getting close," Shinichi said. "Whatever is generating the signal can't be more than 0.1828 kilometers from our current position."
They continued along the sidewalk, watching as the signal only became stronger. This went on for another minute before he spoke again.
"Up ahead."
"What is it?" Dick asked still facing forward as they walked.
"We need to take a right," Shinichi replied. "The signal is coming from that direction."
It took all but another fifteen yards for the two of them to come upon a sign which was imbedded in the grass on the right side which read 'Tallsville'.
"This must be it," Shinichi said being the first of the two to stop. "According to what you were able to pick up the wireless signal came from in this direction."
"It's an apartment duplex." Dick said having a look ahead.
"Why am I not surprised," Shinichi said. "There's a high possibility this guy could be anticipating our visit, so we had better move on with extreme caution."
"I was just fixing to say the same."
"Any ideas on how you'd like to press on from here?"
"By not taking a straight path," Dick replied. "If we can try to pin point the signals resting place without taking a direct approach that would give us the advantage."
"You're right," Shinichi agreed. "After all this guy could be on the lookout."
"Mind if I have another look at the phone?"
"Not at all," Shinichi replied. "Here."
He tossed to him in that instant. A few seconds past as he looked it over for himself.
"You're right, we're close."
"Couldn't be more than a five minute walk from here."
"Now all we need to do is figure out a route that we're going to take in."
With that thought he looked ahead. The first thing that came to his attention was the street lights that shined brightly onto the open space throughout the lot.
"Heading straight is defiantly out of the plan," Dick said. "The street lights will only give us away if someone is in fact expecting us."
"Which means we'll have to stick to the outer perimeter."
"The signal is coming from the right side somewhere."
"Which means we'll start by taking a route to the left," Shinichi said. "We'll gradually make our way to the other side."
"I like that idea," Dick said looking that way. "The other apartments and trees in the general area should make for legitimate cover."
"Now that we've got the location, is there a way of expanding on that?"
"What do you mean?"
"We've got the distance, but what about the position," Shinichi asked. "Is the signal coming from an apartment on the lower levels, or one of the upper floors?"
"I'm glad you brought that up, that's defiantly an important factor."
"Is there any way of finding out the answer to that?"
"We'll first need to get in closer," Dick replied. "Approximately within fifty yards of the signals range."
"That shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish."
"We'll take it slow moving forward, this will assure that we stay hidden from any on goers."
"Once we have the exact location confirmed we'll determine how to move in from there."
"Agreed," Dick said. "Now let's get a move on, the sooner we take care of this the better."
"You lead the way."
"Let's do this."
With that he held the phone up to his eyes, redirecting away from the signal as the two made their way to the left side of the duplex.
After a lengthy time of walking they had finally found their way out of the forest, stepping out onto the sidewalk just in time to see two cars speed by.
"Finally," Kaito said. "This walk seemed longer the second time around."
"How far are we away from the meeting point?"
"Not far at all," Kaito replied. "Come on."
He led them to the right where the street intersection could be found.
"Where will I be during this meeting?"
"Keeping tabs on anything that is said," Kaito replied. "I've already wired myself up so you should be able to hear anything that is said."
He stopped once reaching the street light, removing the bag hanging from his shoulder before kneeling down to zip it open.
"What are you doing?" Konosuke asked.
"You're going to need these."
"What's this?"
His question was answered soon after as he watched him pull a cloth from the depths of the bag.
"Here we are." Kaito said standing back to his feet.
He unwrapped the cloth to reveal what was held in place.
"A ski cap and shades," Konosuke questioned. "What do I need these for?"
"For disguise."
"But you already said it yourself," Konosuke reminded. "I won't be taking part in this meeting of yours."
"That doesn't mean you won't require a disguise," Kaito said. "I'm leaving you the task of monitoring everything that goes on outside, in the case they have someone on the lookout as well they will have no way of identifying you."
"And what if things go wrong from your end?"
"If they do I will be prepared," Kaito assured. "Which is why we came early."
He dropped back down to a knee, opening the bag completely to reveal what was sitting at the bottom of the bag.
"Explosives," Konosuke said in surprise. "When did you get the time to get your hands on all of this?"
"Before I returned to the motel this morning."
"You've really out done yourself."
"We have to be prepared for anything."
"And what exactly do you plan on using these explosives for?"
"Leverage," Kaito replied. "And that's only if it comes to that."
"Let's hope it doesn't."
"Mind helping me set up shop?"
"Not at all," Konosuke replied. "How many are there in all?"
"Five," Kaito replied. "Each with enough power to take out an entire block."
"You're really serious about all of this."
"Things need to appear that way."
"Where do you plan on planting each of these?" Konosuke questioned as he skimmed the area.
"I'll tell you once we cross to the other side." Kaito replied before zipping the bag shut and standing back to his feet.
With that they turned for the road to see that the street light had turned red, allowing for them to head to the opposite side.
"Let's try and have this done within the next twenty minutes."
"That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish." Konosuke said as the two began their journey across the road.
"Once that is completed the only thing that will be left to do is to wait."
They made it to the other side soon after.
"Where to now?"
"The left," Kaito replied. "We're no more than a block or two away from the location now."
"Right after you." Konosuke said letting him take the lead once more.
The two moved on with nothing more needing to be said, ready to prepare themselves for the event that was to unfold in the coming hours.
A sudden light sparked in the near distance, calling for a sudden stop in all movement. The wait began from there, quickly coming to find it was only that of someone switching on their porch light.
"Looks like someone just returned home, we should be ok to continue on."
"What's the signal reading now?"
He stopped after only taking one step.
"We're close," Dick replied. "Very close at that."
"Are you able to tell what level the signal is coming from yet?"
"I'm glad that you asked," Dick said looking back down at the phone. "It would appear we won't have to take the stairs."
"The first floor?"
"That seems to be the case."
"How much further until we're directly across from the location?"
"About 0.018 kilometers, roughly twenty yards."
"That's not far at all."
"Which means moving with extreme caution from here."
Knowing that to be the case the two chose not to say anything further. The area they walked through was darkened, shielded be the trees they found themselves using as they closed in on the signal they had been following for the last hour. He brought the phone to his eyes once more shortly thereafter, holding up his right hand. He stopped at this gesture, knowing they had arrived.
"We're here."
"Now what," Shinichi asked. "How do you propose we move in from here?"
"Before we do that we must determine one thing," Dick said in response. "We need to find out if someone is inside."
"You're right," Shinichi agreed. "And it's not like we can go up and give the door a knock the old fashioned way, who knows how he might react if he comes to find us at his door step."
"That about wraps it up."
"Do you have anything with you we could use in this case?"
"I brought along a pair of binoculars and a bunch of smaller computer gizmos for the task," Dick replied. "I don't think any of that will help much given the situation."
"Darn." Shinichi said.
"We'll just have to think of another approach," Dick said. "One that doesn't require us to move in too much closer than we already are."
"Hold on, I might have just the thing."
"What do you mean?"
He turned back to face him, unsure of what he was up to this time.
"What are you doing?"
"Here we are."
He stood back, watching as he pulled something out that had been stalled away in the upper pocket of his jacket.
"Shades," Dick questioned after laying his eyes onto them. "Is there something unique about it, because I hardly see how this helps in the situation."
"You bet," Shinichi replied. "They have multiple uses."
"Let's hear it."
"Not only can they shield your eyes from sun light, but have the ability of working as a zooming system."
"Like binoculars?"
"No simpler way of putting it," Shinichi confirmed before placing them over his eyes. "But it doesn't stop there, they also have night vision capabilities."
"You don't say."
"And that's not even the height of its flexible nature," Shinichi continued. "You can also pick up heat signatures by switching the lenses to that mode."
"How long have you had these?"
"For months now."
"And how in the world did you get your hands on something like this?"
"It was given to me by Dr. Agasa," Shinichi replied. "It was something he had been working on for a while."
"And you've tested them out already?"
"Of course."
"Then what are we waiting," Dick said turning back for the apartments. "Is there any signs of any activity coming from that area?"
"Give me one second."
He raised his hand to the right side of the shades, pressing down to a small button which activated the night vision. He scoured the area for any ongoing activity.
"What's going on," Dick asked. "Can you see anything, is anyone inside?"
"Nothing yet," Shinichi replied. "Switching to heat tracking now."
He did just that, finding no presence of anyone in the apartment. Wanting to make sure all functions were a go he searched the rest of the area as well.
"So what's the verdict?"
"There's no one home."
"Are you sure?"
"I checked several of the neighboring apartments," Shinichi said. "I picked up heat signatures from most, but none from the apartment."
"Is that right."
"You think we should move in?"
"I don't see the harm in it."
"Are you sure about this?"
"I've been keeping tabs on everything that has been going on around us since arriving at this duplex, I can assure you no one is standing watch from some other location," Dick said. "Well at least from what I've been able to tell."
"Nor did I."
"I also didn't cite any surveillance camera's that might be set in place."
"Maybe he's truly not expecting us."
"Perhaps, but in the case it's not I brought these along."
"Huh?"
He looked over to face him, watching as he lowered the bag from his back to the ground from his back.
"What do you have?"
"These." Dick replied after unzipping the bag.
"Ski masks?"
"That's right," Dick confirmed. "After hearing about the situation I thought these might prove useful."
"I see," Shinichi said catching on. "So even if someone is watching from afar or through some device they won't be able to identify us."
"Exactly."
He removed the shades from his eyes in that instant, feeling there was no further need for them at that given time.
"So what did you have in mind?"
"At this point I don't see why we can't head straight over," Dick replied before handing him a ski mask. "Just make sure the mask is securely in place."
"We better make this quick as possible," Shinichi said wasting no time in following instruction. "If anyone sees us out in the open they might become suspicious of our activities."
"The last thing we need is for the authorities to be called in." Dick said in agreement.
He too took that time to slide a ski mask into placing, slightly sitting up from where he kneeled.
"I have one last question." Shinichi said easing up in his stance as well.
"What is it?"
"Just so we're in sync, how do you propose we move on from here," Shinichi asked. "If we charge straight ahead that's bound to cause for concern if anyone sees us."
"A good point, which is why we'll move casually," Dick said in response. "Think of it as a daily walk through the park."
"I like that idea."
"Good, here's the plan," Dick said facing him. "I'm going to head up to the front door, once I give you the signal you'll follow."
"What's going to be the signal?"
"Something simple as a wave," Dick replied. "You'll know when the time comes."
"Gotcha."
"I'll see you across the way."
"Stay sharp."
With that he stood tall, grabbing hold of the strap of the bag as he stepped from around the tree where they had sat in wait. He watched from his position, checking to see if anyone was in the near distance of where they were. The only thing that came to his view was a pair of birds who glided past from above.
"Looks like we're clear."
He waited for a short time more, watching as he made it to the other side with no distractions what so ever. It didn't take long for him to turn back to face him, giving the thumbs up.
"That's my cue."
He quietly pushed up from his position, looking to both sides of the street before he was to make his move. After finding all to be clear he stepped out from where he hid.
"Here goes nothing."
He dropped his hands into his pocket, keeping his head tilted as he made way to the other side. His eyes continued to survey the surrounding; wanting to be sure they weren't being monitored on his way across the way.
"Looks like we're clear," Shinichi said after reaching him. "What's the strength of the signal?"
"One moment."
He reached for his phone which was now connected to the side of his belt, bringing it to his eyes to get an update.
"That can't be right."
"What is it?"
"According to this we're here," Dick replied. "Not just close, but directly where the signal came from."
"How can that be," Shinichi said taking a look around the porch. "There's no sign of a computer in sight."
"There has to be something," Dick said. "Let's search the area."
"My thoughts exact." Shinichi said turning for the right.
"If you see anything noteworthy don't touch it until informing me."
"You got it."
He turned for the right side, taking a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the darkened area. The first thing that came to his attention was a large book leaned next to the wall, directly below the window. Curious of its content he leaned down to give it a look.
"What's this?"
He brought the book into his hand, using his left sleeve to wipe off the dust to reveal what it was.
"The Final Days of the Trail," Shinichi read. "I don't believe I've ever heard of this story."
He placed it back down to where it had been found before taking a stand back to his feet. In the brink of the moment he took a peak in through the window. The only thing he could see was a batch of dishes sitting on the counter off to the right side along with a newspaper that had fallen to the ground.
"Something's not right."
It was only at that point that the irritation of the ski mask became evident, but regardless of that he knew it was in his best interest to keep it on for just awhile longer. After finishing there he continued further to the right side of the porch. Upon walking past two plant pots he took notice of something else, a box.
"What's this doing here?"
It was located toward the far end of the porch. He stopped once reaching it, turning back to see Dick had pulled out a flash light and was now searching the area where the front door was.
"Hey," Shinichi said grabbing his attention. "I think you had better come over and check this out."
"You find something?"
"Maybe."
Not wanting to be left in the dark he hurried over, coming to his side to see the box sitting on the ground before the.
"What's this?"
"No idea," Shinichi replied. "I haven't looked yet."
"What's that there?"
He aimed the flash light, coming to find something that trailed from out of the back side of the box.
"It looks like a cord," Shinichi said. "I wonder where it leads to."
"Why don't we find out."
He traced the path of the cord all the wall to the where it could be found plugged into an outlet.
"What now?"
"Hold on."
He took his phone, holding it out over the box to receive an enlightening response.
"This is it," Dick said. "Whatever is under this box is what sparked the signal."
"We could remove it," Shinichi said. "But that could come with a risk."
"You're right," Dick agreed. "For all we know this thing could be rigged with something that activates once the box is lifted."
"So what now?"
"We need to find out what's hidden beneath."
"And we can," Shinichi said. "Do you have a knife?"
"What for?"
"We can use it to cut the top portion of the box off, that will allow us to look inside."
"So that's what you were getting at."
With that in mind he reached back for the bag still hanging in place. He zipped the side pocket open, taking only seconds for him to pull out what appeared to be a pocket knife.
"It always helps to pave the way when you're prepared."
He then removed the bag from his shoulder, laying it to the ground a few feet away before turning back for the box.
"You had better stand back," Dick said. "In the case something does go off at least you won't be right at the point in contact."
"If you really feel that way shouldn't we hold off on this until we're certain of the situation?"
"Time might not be on our side," Dick said. "Which is why we can't afford to hold off on this."
"I see."
"Now get back."
"I wouldn't worry about it too much."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think there is anything to be concerned about," Shinichi said. "If you follow everything that's happened up to this point there's one thing that is apparent."
"And what's that?"
"This guy wants something," Shinichi replied. "Why else give us the information on the victims who suffered those heart attacks."
"…"
"Think about it, if this guy wanted us dead wouldn't an attempt have been made before now?"
"You make a point," Dick said. "But still, we need to stick to the edge of safety."
"Alright, if it makes you feel better I'll take a step back."
"Thanks."
The time had now come. He turned back for the box, lightly lowering his hand atop it with little pressure as possible. He then massaged his hand across it to receive nothing in response.
"So far so good."
After finishing his initial inspection he dropped his left hand down to the left corner of the box.
"Here goes nothing."
He took a deep breath, slowly making contact with the side of the box. It penetrated through with ease.
"How's it going over there?" Shinichi asked from where he stood near the front door.
"The only thing left to do is make a full circle around the box."
He refocused himself, making little movement as possible as he began to trace the knife toward the right. Without realizing he was already halfway through soon after, still unable to see what was beneath the box at that point.
"Not too much more to go."
He continued on his path along the top half of the box, moving in sync with the way he had from the beginning. He made his way back to where he had started soon after, moving swiftly with his last move to finish his cut.
"That should about do it."
He remained still for the first moments, slowly standing back to his feet after all seemed to be clear.
"Here goes nothing."
He reached down to grab the right edge of the large box, slowly sliding it off to the side to reveal what was hidden beneath.
"Looks like we have the answer to where he retrieved those files from."
"A computer right?"
"To no surprise." Dick confirmed.
Knowing that all safety risks had been cleared he removed the box completely to where only the computer was sitting before them.
"The screens blank." Shinichi said after reaching him.
"That's probably because no one has messed with it for a while." Dick said reaching forward.
"What are you doing?"
He simply pressed down to the space bar which rid them of the blank screen. What they saw next was a bit of a surprise, unsure of what to think of this.
"A count down."
"Yea, but for what?" Shinichi questioned.
"Only two hours until its reached its end," Dick said. "We better pack this all up and see if we can find out the answer to that before then."
"That's not much time."
Before either could make another move the countdown seen on the screen dropped to zero before shutting down on its own. Neither said a word for the first moments after. What happened, had they set something off. After nearly twenty seconds of silence he reached forward to close the laptop screen.
"What was that about?"
"Only way to find out is to have it examined." Dick replied before closing the screen and then carefully stashing it into his bag.
"What about the cord," Shinichi asked. "Are we taking that as well?"
"Might as well," Dick said standing to his feet. "We might just need it."
He immediately walked toward the outlet, pulling the cord out before laying it into the bag as well.
"Would you mind grabbing the box," Dick asked. "That could prove to hold some importance as well."
"Fine by me."
He reached into the top pocket of his jacket, pulling out a piece of cloth before reaching down to grab hold of the box.
"Our work here is done, let's go."
Dick lead the way as the two made their way back for the other side where they had stood hidden just a few minutes ago.
"So what are you hoping to gain from this box," Shinichi asked following from close behind. "Finger prints?"
"That's one area to check," Dick replied. "We'll also check for anything that might have attached to the box through air particles."
"I see," Shinichi said catching on almost instantly. "Then we'll have an idea where this box has been for the past few days."
"Most importantly, where it was before being brought here."
They made it back to the security of the dark side of the duplex soon after, both immediately removing the ski masks they had used for the occasion.
"That went well," Shinichi said. "Smooth even."
"Just the end to another days work."
"There's something that caught might attention when we were searching the porch."
A look of concern could clearly be seen on his face.
"What," Dick asked. "What did you see?"
"The newspaper," Shinichi replied. "The one that I saw through the window."
"You were able to see into the house?"
"Just barely."
"What was so alarming about this paper?"
"The date," Shinichi replied. "It was dated three weeks back from today."
"You have a good eye," Dick commented. "I couldn't even see into that place when I walked by on my way toward the box."
"That wasn't all," Shinichi said. "There were dishes piled at the sink, from what I could tell I'd say they had been sitting there for a time."
"What lead you to believe that?"
"Flies," Shinichi replied. "As dark is it may have been I could clearly see them occupying the area."
"The more that's learned the more I'm starting to feel this is some kind of set up."
"That makes the two of us."
"We need to be on complete alert from here on out."
"Is there any way we can examine that computer any sooner before returning to Gotham?"
"Not securely," Dick replied. "I didn't bring any equipment that could help us in that regard, which means we have no choice to head back."
"I suspected that much."
"We'll have the computer examined when we get back."
"And when do we plan on taking a train back?"
"We'll head out first thing tomorrow morning," Dick replied. "I say we take it easy for the rest of the night, I think we've had enough action for one day."
"Where to then?"
"There's got to be a hotel somewhere close."
"We could head back to the same one I stayed at last night."
"That'll work if that's what you want to do," Dick said adjusting the strap on his shoulder. "Do you remember where this place is located?"
"Maybe not from here, but if we head back to the library I should be able to find it from there."
"Good, then we'll head back in that direction."
"I think it'd be best if we followed the same path out we used coming in," Shinichi said. "Just to play it safe."
"Agreed," Dick said. "Once we're settled in I want all information you have to share with concerning the heart attacks."
"That's what I had hoped to do."
"Good, then let's go and find this hotel."
With that the two retorted to finding their way out of the duplex, heading into the same direction that had brought them here.
The time that had been scheduled was quickly approaching. He stood in a dark corner of the room, listening to the vibration of the tracks from the sound of a train moving along far down the tunnel. He checked the time on his watch after standing for a marginable amount of time.
"Ten fifty six, not much longer to go."
Just as he pressed his back to the wall he heard a sound, which was followed by another. It took all but a second to realize where it was coming from.
"The stairs," Kaito thought. "They're here."
To Be Continued