Case Closed AU
By: FunahoMisaki
(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)
Irene sighed as she followed the Fonke woman who had just appeared at her father's birthday party, only to be angrily rejected by the father. She had been invited to the birthday 'feast' by the father, Oscar-san, after an accident earlier. Irene idly thought about her most recent cases. First was when she had managed to stop the hit singer about to go solo from being killed by the woman he loved simply by singing with him, which caused her to stop her plan or risk hurting Irene. From there she had found the lyrics for his newest song and showed it to the woman, causing her to burst out into tears as she tackled the singer in a hug before giving him a fierce kiss on the lips. Then there was the time when her real parents and Dr. Agate dressed up and pretended to be her aunt and uncle, trying to make her believe that they were from the Black Organization. They had face planted when she correctly stated who they were within minutes of seeing them. They were more than happy to be referred to as Jiji and Baa-chan since they understood her need to stay undercover in order to protect those close to her, so they rather reluctantly left her in Rachel's care.
"You know. Despite how angry you looked earlier…you're rather sad." Irene said watching as Fonke looked out of a window at her own reflection, before looking down at the pendant around her neck.
"I know you. You're that child det-" Fonke began before Irene tackled her to the floor as an explosion went off.
"Keep your head down!" Irene shouted over the noise of the explosion as she shielded her face from the falling glass above her, blinking when the woman held the little girl close and shielded her from the glass.
"A bomb!" Irene said pulling free from the woman and running towards where Oscar had been with the woman right on her heels.
"Someone must have planted a bomb in the room." Richard said frowning as he entered the room along with Irene who had a bit of blood on her face from a small cut on her head.
"T-that's impossible!" One of the sons, Kevin, said moving forward into the room.
"Stay out of this room until the police arrive! No one is to enter it!" Richard said turning and glaring at the two sons who had stepped into the room.
"Who are you to tell us what to do!" Ryan demanded causing Richard and Irene to sigh slightly.
"My name is Richard Moore, the detective." Richard said straightening his tie slightly and causing the four adults in front of him to look shocked.
"Kaa-chan please call Uncle McGuire. No need for an ambulance. It's obvious that he's already dead." Irene said sighing as she stepped closer to the victim, noting his glazed over eyes as she picked up a scorched blanket from nearby and covered him with it.
"What's that little kid doing in there?!" Ryan demanded glaring at Irene whose back was to him as she covered up the body respectfully.
"You mean you really don't recognize her? She's more famous than Detective Moore after all." Fonke said crossing her arms over her chest as she stepped forward slightly.
"Fonkie! You're bleeding." Kevin's wife said looking slightly worried when she saw that Fonke had a few bloodstains on her outfit.
"It's a few minor scratches from some glass that busted when the explosion went off. Most of it is the kids. As I was saying though. She's more famous than detective Moore." Fonke said shrugging off the small scrapes from being tackled and the blown out glass.
"Speaking of you, little one. We need to wrap up that cut on your head. It's bleeding an awful lot." Fonke said looking at Irene who sighed and turned to her, causing the other three adults to gasp shocked.
"The famous child detective. Irene Edogawa-Moore." Kevin muttered to himself as Fonke went and grabbed a first aid kit.
"Come here Irene-chan. Let's get you patched up." Fonke said as she came back with the first aid kit and kneeled down I front of Irene.
"Hai hai." Irene said standing still obediently as Fonke patched up the thin but freely bleeding cut on her head while Rachel and the housekeeper rushed back to the room.
"Inspector McGuire is on the way… he also said something about having a team on standby whenever you go anywhere Irene-chan." Rachel said causing Irene to roll her eyes slightly.
"Yes yes I'm a corpse magnet I get it." Irene said slightly annoyed since the reporters were starting to refer to her as the Shinigami Detective. Always stumbling across the dead or dying no matter where she went.
"Thank you Fonke-san. We can tell that the weapon wasn't dynamite. We'd be able to still smell the gunpowder if it was, and I noticed some glass and wood embedded in the stiff's hand and arm while covering him with the blanket. If I had to guess then I'd say that the bomb was in the whiskey box. When it was opened… boom." Irene said sighing as she reentered the room and pointed at the piece of the whiskey box she had spotted when searching for a blanket.
"Hmm…" Irene hummed to herself as she noticed the dirt on her hand while Fonke bandaged her own minor scratches.
"Um I'm not sure if this is important or not but the phones aren't working. I had to run next door and use their phone." Rachel said causing Irene to sigh as everyone but Ryan, who had disappeared, gathered in the living room.
"What did you find out about the phone lines?" Richard asked looking at the butler who had just entered the room from having checked the lines.
"It looks like the lines were cut with a knife." He said startling the other three in the room, while Irene merely kept a blank face.
"It wasn't Ryan…someone's setting him up." Irene said sighing as she looked at the bag that they had found in Ryan's room, which contained a knife in it.
"If he really did do it, he would have taken the bag and knife with him, not leave it out in the open where anyone can find it." Irene said sighing again as they all went out and checked the cars for Ryan's.
"The best way would be to leave this place by car till the police get here." Richard said as Kevin asked him what they should do.
"Not possible. Someone punctured the tires on all the cars." Irene said sighing as she looked at the flat tires, causing Richard to grit his teeth.
"How long did Inspector McGuire saw it would take for him to get here?" Richard asked turning and looking at Rachel who sighed, there was a riot in town that they still have to calm down, and get some of the damaged cars and phone lines out of the road. They won't be here for a few hours at the earliest, early tomorrow afternoon at the latest." Rachel regretfully informed them, causing Irene to narrow her eyes.
"Since we're all stranded here… that means something else is going to happen." Irene said before Richard ushered everyone back inside. Irene blinked and stopped for a second at the top of the steps as she noticed Fonke's pendant on the ground. Picking it up Irene continued inside.
"Fonke-san." Irene called as she entered Fonke's bedroom, where the woman was tearing it apart desperately searching for something.
"I'm busy!" Fonke said as she looked under her bed.
"Are you looking for this?" Irene asked holding out the pendant and causing Fonke to look up before snatching it out of Irene's hand, checking the inside of it quickly before smiling slightly.
"Thank you. This is my most prized possession." Fonke said softly as she stared at the guy in the picture.
"Your boyfriend?" Irene asked causing Fonke to nod.
"He died…suic- no he would never take his own life. He was murdered… by my retched father." Fonke said narrowing her eyes slightly while Irene was shocked.
"Explains why you hate him." Irene commented causing Fonke to nod again.
"That's why I left home. I could never live with that wretched beast. I'm so foolish… what would a child know of heartbreak? I envy you kid." Fonke said sighing as she smiled slightly at Irene who frowned at this.
"Don't envy me. I might not know the kind of heartbreak you're talking about but I do know heartbreak. My parents, my real ones not my new kaa-chan, were killed right in front of me. I saw them be murdered… and there was nothing I could do about it but point out their killer. But I wasn't famous then, no one would take my word about it seriously so he got off without punishment. I watched my parents killer go free. So believe me…I know some heartbreak… just not that of a lovers." Irene said causing Fonke's eyes to widen as Irene left the room and didn't look back.
The next morning Conan looked around the car that the groundskeeper had 'fixed' and noticed the airbag, narrowing her eyes when he asked her to go fetch Fonke to drive out and try to help the police.
Entering the dining room where all but Fonke had gathered, Irene smirked when she saw the look of surprise on the groundskeepers face when he saw the picture on the dining room table that she had put there.
"Why the look of surprise mister? I found it in your room." Irene said smirking at him as she climbed into a chair and looked at the groundskeeper.
"Without my permission young lady. How dare you?" The groundskeeper demanded in cold silent anger.
"You know that there's a lovely little law that when there's extenuating circumstances a detective is full within his or her rights to investigate a persons rooms or personal belongings without a warrant or permission. Besides it's not the only thing I found in your room. Among other things there was sulfur and a fee other things which when added to chemical fertilizer, was all the ingredients for a homemade bomb, which explains the lack of gunpowder smell and Jiji's theory of dynamite." Irene said causing Kevin and his wife to look shocked.
"Oh yeah and what reason would I have to kill him? He was my employer!" Barnelby said glaring at Irene who merely pointed at the picture.
"That picture shows your reason. A man who committed suicide five years ago after losing a long standing battle with your boss. His name was Jason the second… your son." Irene said causing everyone but the killer himself to look shocked.
"Ryan may have purchased the bottle as a birthday present for his tour-san but you're the one who delivered it, after rigging it to blow of course. It was a concentrated mixture of the chemical fertilizer and other chemicals, and it was set to blow when the top was removed. You rigged up a second trigger as a back up. Killing him in another manner would have been simpler but this left you ensured of his death and free of detection, which left you free to commit your second crime." Irene said causing Barnelby to scowl at her before smirking when Richard and Rachel noticed Fonke driving away in Barnelby's car.
"You caught me… but not in time. My son was a gifted musician, he could play the piano like you couldn't believe. His passion for music was matched only by the love he felt for his girlfriend. He wanted desperately to marry her but he couldn't afford a family. Five years and several awards later his fortunes and records had improved. He was recognized as one of the leading concert pianist." Barnelby paused to smile as he remembered his son.
"With a secure future in his sight, Jason finally proposed. Everyone was delighted." Barnelby said.
"Everyone except the girls father, Oscar Hotta." Irene said causing Rachel to look at Barnelby.
"You mean the girl your son was in love with was Fonke?" Rachel asked causing Barnelby to nod.
"Jason repeatedly tried to reason with Mr. Hotta, but the answer was always the same. After the last time he threatened to kill Jason, and crushed his hands as a warning. What kind of monster would do that? He ruined my boys career for nothing. But what Fonke did was worse! She left him and broke his heart! Everything he lived for, they took away, that's why he committed suicide. When it happened I was out of town in a business trip. No parent should have to receive a call like that." Barnelby said causing Rachel and Richard to look sympathetic.
"I can't imagine receiving a call like that about Irene-chan…she may not be mine by birth but she's still mine…" Rachel said softly, Richard nodding in agreement with his daughter.
"We work so hard to give our children a better future, Jason might have had one… if I had been there for him." Barnelby said looking at the picture.
"And that's why you decided to take revenge." Richard said solemnly.
"That's right. I quit my job, changed my name, and learned everything I could about the Hotta estate. When a position opened up, I took it and waited for my chance to strike. Unfortunately Fonke had already been banished when I joined the staff. It took me two years to track her down." Barnelby admitted.
"You chose Hotta's birthday cause you knew it would give the police a list of suspects and then you sent Fonke a forged invitation." Irene said calmly.
"Justice has finally been served. Now my dear son can finally rest in peace." Barnelby said confusing Rachel while Irene's eyes narrowed.
"But Fonke…she's safe. I saw her drive away." Rachel pointed out.
"The moment she got in that car her fate was sealed. I left her a surprise. I rigged the brake system. Once she applies pressure to the brake pedal for more than three seconds the air bag in her steering column will inflate, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. The mountain side can be very treacherous. With any luck, she's already dead." Barnelby, by said horrifying Rachel.
"You really don't have a clue do you?" Irene asked causing everyone to look at her surprised.
"Why do you think such a beautiful young woman like Fonke-san is still single? If you'd open your eyes you'd see that she still loves your son." Irene said causing Barnelby to look away.
"Hmph. Don't be naïve. If she loved him so much why didn't she stand by him when he needed her the most?!" Barnelby demanded.
"Jason wasn't the only person Fonke-san turned her back on. Mr. Hotta never disowned her, she left him for what he did to your son." Irene said causing Barnelby to look shocked.
"You shut up little girl! That's a lie! She never gave my boy a second thought!" Barnelby shouted before blinking when a pendant landed on the table in front of him.
"What's this?" He asked confused as he approached it, before looking shocked when he saw the picture inside.
"That is Fonke's most cherished possession. Her only link to your sin and the few precious moments she was ever truly happy. She didn't care about his success or how much money he had in the bank. All that mattered was that someone loved her. She worshiped Jason! You really think your son is in peace when you tried to kill off the one person that bought him some joy!?" Irene demanded causing Barnelby to close his eyes and look ready to cry, sinking to his knees as he asked himself what had he done.
Rachel looked ready to join him in crying when. She caught sight of something that made her gasp shocked as someone approached Barnelby from behind, shocking Barnelby when he turned around and looked at who it was.
"Fonke! You survived!" Barnelby said shocked.
"Yes. I know everything. Irene left me a note in the car. In all the time I knew Jason I never met you once." Fonke said softly sadly.
"Fonke I'm sorry." Barnelby said softly as he stared at the floor.
"No you're not. You wanted my father dead… and so did I. Jason is the one that owes me an apology." Fonke said as she walked over to the window and closed her eyes.
"You're a selfish pathetic fool like my father. What Jason and I really wanted were parents that were there for us. The one thing we couldn't have." Fonke said as tears began sliding down her cheeks.
"Did you even know…I was two months pregnant when Jason died… I was pregnant with his children…a set of fraternal twins." Fonke revealed as she held her hands over her stomach, shocking everyone, even Irene.
"I was almost six months along when I got into a car crash. I survived… barely but my unborn son…a little boy I was going to name after his father… he died on impact. The air bag hit my stomach and killed him…a few months later and I went into labor. My daughter… my little Fumiko…she was still born… that pendant… is truly the only thing left of Jason… although I know he's waiting on me in the next life…him and our twins." Fonke said softly as she stared out the window, her tears doubling until she was all out sobbing as she sank to the floor sobbing.
Irene sighed as she walked over and hugged Fonke, trying to sooth the woman as the police finally arrived.