The Detective Prince

Chapter 122

A Timely Find

Over an hour of travel had past, finally arriving to their destination. The train came to a complete stop soon after. They were two of the first to find their way to the exit. By the time they walked out the sun was shining bright overhead.

"It's good to finally be back on the move after that lengthy time sitting on the train."

"You could say that again."

"You said there was one stop you needed to make before regrouping with the others," Shinichi said. "Where was it you wanted to go?"

"Any shop centered around electronics."

"Why's that?"

"We're going to need a spare computer." Dick replied.

"What for?"

"It's essential for examining the laptop we uncovered," Dick replied. "We'll extract all data from one computer to the other, if anything goes wrong we'll still have a drive for reference."

"Then we'll meet with the others right?"

"That's the plan." Dick said being the first of the two to begin walking.

"I did some thinking on the ride here." Shinichi said following.

"About what?"

"There must be more to it, not just what we've come to find on the surface."

"What's that?"

"Outside of the information that was left for us to find, shouldn't we be looking for a deeper meaning?"

"I'm not sure where you're coming from."

"Fair enough," Shinichi said. "Let's look at it as a full picture, rather than as separate pieces in one large sequence."

"I'm listening."

"I think it's important that we take all elements into account," Shinichi began. "The first being that of deception, which I think we both would agree has been pretty prominent up to this point."

"Ok."

"Next would be time," Shinichi continued. "Everything that has been set into has all revolved around timing."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, don't you think it was too convenient," Shinichi questioned. "The timing of when I was approached about the files by the man in disguise?"

"What was so convenient about it," Dick asked. "He could have chosen any other time just as much."

"Maybe, but I think there was a reason for it," Shinichi said. "Something I have yet to figure."

"Perhaps, but we have no clear proof of this," Dick said. "And it only complicates things further with his in depth knowledge of you."

"It wasn't just knowledge," Shinichi said. "He engaged me as if we knew each other on a personal level, there wasn't anything he did or said that would have made me become suspicious at the time."

"I was just fixing to pose that very question."

"I have one for you."

"What is it?"

"It's clear the person in disguise knows Bruce on some kind of level," Shinichi said. "Now my question to you, would you have any ideas of who it could be?"

"That's a narrow list, but I'm still uncertain," Dick replied. "Perhaps the content of this computer will sway us in the right direction."

"You really think it'd be that simple?"

"Probably not," Dick said in response. "Nothing has been up till this point."

"That leaves one last area to cover," Shinichi said. "Location, that's been a key factor since the beginning."

"True," Dick agreed. "It started with you being asked to travel to Metropolis."

"Which we still have no clear answer for why," Shinichi said. "The files that were given to me could have easily been brought along."

"Going to Metropolis was obviously part of the plan," Dick said. "After all it led to the discovery of the computer."

"Deception, Timing, and location," Shinichi said. "That's the three phases which could imply a deeper message."

"One which we've yet to unravel if true," Dick said. "Though I must ask, what lead to this thought of yours?"

"A course of trails," Shinichi replied. "Once you've found yourself in a quarrel with someone, you'll find that's one of the biggest ways to understand them."

"That's a strange way of putting it."

"That only gives us a hint at their state of mind, not intent."

"I like the way you think, this analogy of yours could actually prove useful," Dick said. "We'll dive into that further once we've found out what's on this computer."

"Sounds good to me," Shinichi said. "So are you going to make a call, or are we going to catch a cab instead?"

"We'll take my car," Dick said in response. "It's currently sitting in the underground parking lot."

"How far is that from here?"

"No more than a five minute walk from here," Dick replied. "If we continue this way we'll be there in no time."

"That works for me."

They walked on from there, not another word being said as they made their way towards the door.

It was quiet throughout, making it easier to concentrate as he watched the scan progress. It was now twenty minutes in from when it had been launched, nearly complete in its progressions.

"Less than five minutes remain."

Just as he was to sit up in the chair he heard the sound of the doorbell. He chose not to wait for someone else to answer the call, pursuing the situation himself. He left the study, hurrying along toward the front door. Once there he wasted no time in pulling it aside to see the two of them standing before him.

"I didn't expect you'd come this soon."

"Nor did we," Tim said. "Things went by much sooner than I was expecting at the police headquarters."

"We headed straight here after all was done." Heiji added.

"Come, I'd like to hear all about it."

He widened the door, inviting the two of them in.

"I spoke with Alfred before we made the trip here, I was told you were working on the cross examination." Tim said closing the door after entering.

"Yes."

"So, what are we looking at?"

"Give it a couple more minutes, the scan is nearly complete," Bruce replied. "In the mean time I'd like to know the reasoning behind your trip to the headquarters."

"It was actually my decision," Heiji said. "For the most part anyway."

"And for what reason?"

"Salomon Green," Heiji replied. "I want to have another look at the remains."

"There might have been something that was missed." Tim said clarifying their stance.

"I see," Bruce said. "And when do you plan on having this next look?"

"Scheduled for the next day or so," Heiji replied. "I wasn't given an exact time."

"Where's everyone else," Tim asked. "Are you the only one around?"

"They should be upstairs somewhere," Bruce replied. "I didn't hear anyone leave while I was waiting in on the scan."

"What about Dick, have you heard from him at any time today?"

"No, but I'm sure he'll contact me when he's on his way here," Bruce replied before turning for the left side. "We'll continue discussions further once in the study."

"I see no problem in that."

He took no time in turning for the other side with the others following shortly after. They left the door open after entering. He headed straight for the desk, having a seat in front of the computer to check in on the progress.

"Less than three minutes remain until the scan is complete."

"And is that for all the data collected thus far?" Tim asked coming to a stop from across.

"Not quite," Bruce replied. "This will only account for roughly eighty two percent of what we've gathered."

"What about the other eighteen percent?"

"I left Damian to get the rest sorted," Bruce replied. "Once he has, he'll bring it down."

"Allowing you to add it to the rest?"

"Yes."

He looked toward the computer screen once more before turning to face him.

"Besides going in for another look at that body at the station, is there anything else you have to see to in the near future?"

"Funny that you ask," Heiji said. "As soon as tomorrow I'm looking to be assigned to a case which just sprung open shortly before we arrived."

"Is that so?"

"It was pretty obvious something was going on when we got there." Tim informed.

"What happened?"

"A burglary," Tim replied. "They're still gathering more details on the situation as we speak."

"What was the objective?"

"Weapons," Heiji replied. "I was further briefed on the situation after getting the chance to talk with the Commissioner himself."

"Were you told exactly what was taken?"

"No specifics, only that guns and ammunition were the focus of interest."

"That could call for a further disturbance," Bruce said with a pause. "This is something I may have to look into myself."

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Tim said in agreement. "I think I had better do the same."

"Gordon thinks these guys plan on shipping the weapons out to make some quick cash," Heiji informed. "Would you disagree?"

"A high possibility," Bruce said in response. "But either way, we need to find the one behind all of this."

"And hopefully before they get a chance to make another move." Tim added.

"Who's to say they haven't already?" Heiji questioned.

"Doubtful," Tim said. "In most cases like these they'll usually wait it out to see what the police will do first, pending they didn't already account for what to expect beforehand."

"The only way to find out the answer to that is to gain more information on the situation," Bruce said. "Starting with what has already been collected."

"There was security surveillance running at the time," Heiji informed. "What was seen was a group of masked men."

"How many in all?"

"Seven."

"And their means of escape?"

"A van which had been parked outside of the shop they stole the weapons from."

"That's a start," Bruce said. "Anything else?"

"The van that was sighted at the scene was found abandoned about a mile away from where the burglary had taken place."

"Is that so?"

"On the way back we found out how the van was discovered while listening to the radio." Heiji continued.

"How so?"

"According to report a few bystanders about a block away from where the van was found said they heard a sound," Heiji informed. "The sound of vehicles taking off at high speeds."

"Leading them to investigate the situation?"

He nodded his head in confirmation.

"After finding the van and sighting the fleeing cars they alerted the police," Heiji finished. "Suspicions must have been high at that point."

"So it would seem."

With this information gained he turned his attention back to the computer, opening a new window in the process.

"What are you doing?" Tim asked out of curiosity.

"Patching into the network," Bruce replied. "By now I'm sure this story is being covered."

"No doubt," Heiji said. "We could see the news cast driving by just past the road check they had set up on our way back."

"Were you able to see the number for which news cast showed up to cover the story?"

"I saw a nine on the side of the truck, so I'd assume it'd be nine news," Heiji replied. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes," Bruce replied. "It lets me know which stream to enter."

In that instant he brought up another window which had a number of links listed. He scrolled down with the use of the mouse, taking very little time for him to select the one he was looking for.

"Here we are."

A feed of video footage came to the screen almost immediately after, looking on to see a vehicle in the clear a few yards back from the reporter stood.

"There," Heiji pointed. "That must be the van that was used in the escape."

"It would appear so," Bruce agreed. "Let's have a closer look."

"A closer look?"

"You'll see."

What happened next came as a bit of a surprise, watching as he put a pause to the footage which was being broadcasted.

"What gives?" Heiji asked.

"The burglaries abandoned the vehicle that they used in the escape," Bruce said. "We can only assume that they found another means of travel."

"That's a good bet."

"If that is true they must have left in a hurry."

"Gordon and I discussed that very possibility," Heiji said. "Though it's only a hunch, we believe they took off in separate vehicles."

"What lead you to that conclusion?" Tim asked.

"Simple, it lowers the risk of their operation faltering if only one of them is caught," Heiji replied. "This way they'd still have a variety of merchandise left if that were to happen."

"Makes sense."

"That is exactly what I'm checking for." Bruce said redirecting their attention back to the computer.

They leaned in, wanting to get a closer look at what he was getting at. By this point he was zooming in toward the ground past the reporter on screen, closing in to the point where most all was a blur.

"I don't get it, what are we supposed to see?" Tim asked.

He received no response, leaving him to wait for a short time more. After a short wait he could gradually see the change in the clarity of the imagery that was sitting before them.

"Almost done." Bruce stated.

It took no more than a couple seconds for them to clear image, still an uncertainty at what they were supposed to be looking for.

"Did you just zoom in on the street?" Tim asked turning to face him.

"Yes," Bruce confirmed. "About a yard away from where the van was found."

"I don't understand," Tim said looking back at the screen. "What are we supposed to be looking at?"

"Isn't that clear?"

"The marks left behind." Heiji said.

It took all but a few moments for him to notice what the two had found their eyes set to.

"I see… those are tire marks." Tim said after catching sight of them.

"Exactly." Bruce said.

"And you believe these marks were made after the van was ditched?"

"A probability."

"You might be right," Tim said. "But what lead you to check the ground area of the scene so soon."

"It was based from the report we heard," Heiji replied. "The one we listened to on the radio on our way here."

"The one detailing the discovery of the van?"

"That'd be the one," Heiji confirmed before turning back to Bruce. "Am I right?"

"Yes," Bruce replied. "After hearing how the van was found it was only natural for me to get a look at the scenery myself, even if it is from my current position."

"We can't be sure that those skid marks are from the vehicles that they used to escape," Heiji said. "But let's say that they are, what use could these prints possibly serve?"

"I've already captured and saved two separate shot of what you see now," Bruce said. "The next step will be to run the shots through the recognition system, if all goes well we'll know the type of tires that left those marks behind."

"In short leading us a step closer to finding the vehicles used in the escape right?"

"Exactly," Bruce confirmed. "But that's not the only angle we have that we can work."

"What's the other?"

Before an answer could be given a sound ignited from the computer, taking the focus of all who stood in the room.

"It's complete."

"What's that?"

"The cross examination for the profiles that I placed into the database."

"Are the results clear to be viewed at this time?" Tim asked.

"It's initializing now, it should take no more than a couple minutes for this process to be completed." Bruce replied.

"How many profiles were used in this data gathering of yours?" Heiji asked.

"Not enough," Bruce replied. "We're going to need much more to go off of if we're going to get a concrete answer to what has been causing the heart attacks."

"He's right," Tim agreed. "Getting results on a broader scale will prove key to determining an absolute source."

"By broader, do you mean by gathering results on a world wide scale?" Heiji asked.

"It may take some time, but yes," Bruce replied. "That's ultimately what will need to be done."

"Too bad time isn't on our side," Heiji said. "Let's just hope this thing doesn't escalate any further than it already has."

"Something we can't control unfortunately." Tim commented.

The two then turned back to the computer screen, coming to find he was in the middle of doing something to the images that had been collected from the live broadcast.

"What are you doing now?" Heiji asked.

"Removing all background noise," Bruce replied. "All that is needed is the marks left behind by the tires."

"You think you'll end up with a good sample once all is said and done?"

"I'm not quite sure."

"If that's the case I could head to the scene myself," Heiji volunteered. "With the use of my phone I could most certainly get us the shots needed."

"Are you sure they'd let you through," Tim questioned. "You don't exactly have a badge for identification that would allow for you to get clearance."

"Good point, guess I'd have to call in and get the ok from the headquarters."

"We'll hold off on any of that for now," Bruce said. "At least until the others return."

"Speaking of which, have you heard back from either of the two," Heiji asked. "With all that's been going on today I hadn't gotten around to contacting them."

"Not directly, but I did receive a message." Bruce informed.

"What was left in the message?"

"They uncovered a computer."

"A computer?"

"I don't know the details surrounding it," Bruce said in response. "The only thing left on the message was that it was found at a secluded area of an apartment complex."

"And here I thought they were spending their time at some library," Tim said. "Makes you wonder what turned their travels elsewhere."

Before another word could be spoken on the matter yet another beep could be heard from the computer.

"What was that?" Heiji questioned.

"The alarm," Bruce replied. "The results are ready to be viewed."

"Alrighty then, what are we waiting for?"

He did just that, wasting no time in reopening the window that had been sitting at the side in wait. What they came to find brought a sense of relief, a break in the case they had needed. There wasn't one, but three results that had registered to the search.

"Looks like we're finally gaining some ground."

To Be Continued