Chapter 47
Curse (Part 1)
"How are you feeling today, Ota-chan?"
Greeting Kazuha's shy but kind-hearted friend, Kasumi Kondo-san, walked in with a practiced smile. It came as a surprise. It would never have occurred to Shinichi that Chiyo Ota would be one of Kondo-san's patients.
After greeting the doctor with friendly smiles, Chiyo and Kazuha became confused when they saw Sera and Shinichi strolling in after her.
"What are you doing here, Conan-kun? Sera-chan?" Kazuha asked matter of factly.
Raised eyebrows met her question. Kondo-san glanced between them and the teens. "Do you guys know each other?"
"Yes, she's…" Shinichi glanced at Kazuha, who folded her arms, "She's my aunty!"
"Oh, but I thought this boy was your nephew?" Kondo asked Sera, who immediately walked up to Kazuha. With a wide grin, she wrung her arms around the ponytailed girl. "Yes, she's my sister."
"You have a sister, Kazuha-chan?" Chiyo asked, and all Kazuha could do was sigh. Seeing Shinichi's and Sera's fake smiles, she relents.
"Yeah, they're my family members," she quipped.
"So, you're a private eye, with…my patient who has relations with your sister?"
Sera nodded, and Kondo-san snorted. "Well, if that's the angle you're going for…"
The doctor was unconvinced. Shinichi couldn't blame her. Their cover story could have been written by a five-year-old high on sugar. Bad ad-libbing skills or not, that didn't matter now.
Two more nurses entered as Kondo-san examined Chiyo-chan's leg. Their job was to assist Kondo-san as personal assistants. With an IV drip in one hand, Ayane Maeda greets the doctor and patient. Only hesitating when she spotted Sera and Shinichi.
Pressing her lips together, she regarded them as pests and moved over to the doctor, who asked for a change in the drip solution.
The second nurse was male and quite tall. He held onto some medicine bottles.
"Ishida-san, I would appreciate it if you prepared the injection," Kondo instructed, and the male nurse nodded. Shinichi watches as the man fills the syringes with transparent liquid. When he was finished, he walked over to Kondo-san and Chiyo-chan. While Ayane was changing the IV drip, Chiyo nervously looked at the large needle in front of her.
"Hey, Masumi-chan, what in heaven's name is going on?" Kazuha grabbed hold of the boyish girl. Sera, who had never experienced the girl's strength before, could only look at her in mild surprise.
"An investigation, Kazuha-nee-chan," Shinichi chirped innocently.
"An investigation?" Kazuha narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me Heiji is involved too?"
"Well…"
Sera, who had to explain herself, was kept busy while Shinichi observed the procession. After finishing her examination, Kondo-san donned surgical gloves. She was inspecting the injection she had received from Ishida-san. Making sure there were no bubbles, she tapped it lightly.
Ayane held on to Chiyo-chan's shoulder. Nervously, the girl stares at the looming needle.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt," Ishida-san assured.
"Yes, it'll be over before you know it," Ayane pipes in.
"Really?" Chiyo murmured.
Shinichi found it amusing that the seventeen-year-old was still afraid of needles. Well, he could not blame her. The needle was large, long, and looked intimidating. He was certain it was the size of a small dagger, and its sharp tip did not help either.
"Ota-san," the doctor said, pressing two fingers against the girl's arm. She smirks devilishly. The sight was unnerving. Shinichi was curious to know if Kondo-san was doing it on purpose or if it was an actual smile.
"It'll feel like an ant bite."
"An ant bite?!"
As she pressed in, the doctor injected the serum. The procedure took only a few seconds. Chiyo's outburst was greeted with stunned silence. The girl was unable to process what had just happened. "It's done," Kondo-san said, passing the needle back to Ishida-san, who shook his head at her methods.
"Wait… that's all?"
"Yes, were you expecting something more?"
"I feel cheated," Chiyo muttered, and Ayane chuckled as she helped the girl back to bed. Kondo-san began writing in the notepad. The procedure was completed, Chiyo was injected with the necessary medications, and Kondo-san was about to leave the room when—
"Ota-san!" Shinichi cried in alarm. She was doubling over. The doctor and nurses talking among themselves noticed Chiyo's changing pallor.
Previously healthy, the patient was now experiencing seizures.
Kazuha rushed forward after witnessing her friend's condition.
"Chiyo-chan? What's wrong, Chiyo-chan?" Kazuha took hold of the girl's shoulder.
The girl appeared to be choking. Shinichi and Sera, along with Kondo-san and her nurses, crowded around the bed. There was a frantic beeping from the life support machines. There was a drop in her heart rate and blood pressure as well.
Chiyo seemed to be struggling to breathe. And Shinichi remembered the symptoms that occurred before the other patient's death.
It was happening in real-time...and—
Shinichi glared at Kondo-san. Her lips parted in shock, and she sprang into action. Using her stethoscope, she examines Chiyo's heartbeat while pushing Kazuha aside.
"Erratic heart rate," Kondo-san informed the equally stunned nurses.
"What is happening?" Kazuha shouted, panicking. As the doctor and nurses continued to work, Sera held her back. Trying to stabilize the girl's breathing, they pushed Shinichi aside.
"Get the defibrillators. We're losing her," Kondo instructed. Despite the escalating situation, the woman kept her cool.
Kondo faced the nurses, who were still unable to comprehend. "Are you deaf?" she chided, "Do you want her to die? I said get the defibrillators!"
"Right," Ayane snapped out of it and ran out of the room.
Ishida-san followed after, lingering for a while. Shinichi notices him looking at Kondo-san with a mixture of fear and apprehension. The situation was surreal. A second ago, Chiyo was just fine—and now she was fighting for her life.
She spasmed violently, tears rolling down her closed eyes as her lips turned blue, as she made deep raspy noises.
Shinichi could hear Kazuha begging Kondo-san to rescue Chiyo, to make things right. The ponytail girl was beside herself. Chaos reigns with the beeping machines and Kondo-san's frantic efforts. In the end, the doctor rips Chiyo's medical blouse open and performs chest compressions on her.
"Come on, come on," she whispered feverishly. "Not again…please, not again."
As Shinichi is about to offer his assistance, the doors burst open. They were startled when Heiji marched in wearing a doctor's lab coat. Shiho followed suit. Both of them were panting as if they had just run a marathon.
"Do a tracheostomy," Shiho instructed, holding her hips to collect herself. Walking over to the stunned medical professionals, Shiho locked eyes with Kondo-san.
"Edrophonium," she declared. "Administer it!"
A mad dash was made. Minutes later, Ishida Satoru and Ayane Maeda rushed in with edrophonium.
An oxygen tube was inserted into Chiyo-chan's mouth to maintain her airway. It took Kondo-san a lot of effort to ventilate and gain control over Chiyo-chan's sudden respiratory issues.
"Kondo-sensei," Ayane handed the doctor a syringe containing the drug.
Kazuha was close to tears. While the girl silently sobbed, Heiji reached forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Kondo-san monitored the girl's condition. Shiho observed closely, hoping that her diagnosis was accurate.
"Edrophonium?" Shinichi raised a brow. As usual, he had noticed something and was in hot pursuit of answers.
"It's an antidote of sorts," she explained, revealing what she had told Heiji minutes earlier. Rushing from that storage room, with pictures of confidential medical records and information about a possible method used to murder people.
"An antidote?" Shinichi begins to form a conclusion.
"A hero complex gone too far?" Shinichi frowned as Shiho muttered her theories. There was a look on his face like he had eaten something too sour. He was contemplating the situation with scrunched brows and lips pressed tightly together.
"Maybe," he muttered, "But—"
"Of course. Why am I not surprised?" Shiho sighed.
"Hey," Shinichi smiled wryly at the developing situation, "There is always something beyond the veil, isn't there."
"So it's just a hunch?"
"A hunch that might lead to something more."
"Have you heard of simple for simplicity's sake?"
"As the great Poirot once said, it is the brain, the little gray cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within—not without." Shinichi grinned.
"You did not just quote Agatha Christie to prove a point."
"The point I'm trying to make is that we're always missing something, and we need to dig deeper. Sure she seems like the obvious answer, but that would just be taking the easy way out."
"So it's just a hunch," Shiho repeated, and he snorted.
"It's not a hunch. It's a gut feeling."
"Since we are quoting Poirot, whatever happened to—my remarks are, as always, apt, sound, and to the point."
"My gut feeling is always right, and I never realized you took up my suggestion to read Agatha Christie."
"First of all, I was simply bored. It had nothing to do with your suggestion," she pointed out, ignoring the smug look on his face. "And second, how can a hunch or gut feeling be logical?"
"Well, to quote Haibara Ai," he grinned as she rolled her eyes, "Hell would freeze over if I'm—"
Having had enough of his drivel, she slaps her hands over his lips. Of course, he was right. There was something strange about the case.
"The patients all died due to suffocation caused by respiratory problems," Shiho murmured, sending Shinichi pictures of the hacked files. Shinichi retrieved his phone to receive the data. "Symptoms include seizures, violent cramps, breathlessness, loss of muscle control, and eventually...death."
Shinichi studies the photos with scrutiny.
"And they've all been meticulously documented. Every detail has been addressed," Shiho continued, examining Kasumi Kondo's scrawled handwriting. "Their deaths—all classified as unnatural."
A familiar smirk dons on Shinichi's lips, and Shiho sighs again.
"Edrophonium is the antidote," Shinichi repeated, and Shiho shrugged.
"There are many...pyridostigmine, neostigmine, physostigmine…Edrophonium. They were the only possibilities I could think of, and…"
She turned back to Chiyo-chan, who was now lying with an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose. Her breathing was now under control, and her vitals were returning to normal. Kondo-san, the reticent woman, carefully monitored her heartbeat. The situation had calmed down significantly, and Kazuha rubbed the back of Chiyo's hands as Heiji supported her.
"It appears to have worked," she continued.
"She looks like she's improving," Ishida-san said. The man wipes his forehead with his hand. "Kondo-sensei, I'm impressed. How did you figure out the—"
He was ignored, and Kasumi Kondo turned around to address Shiho. Green eyes bore deep into her own. "How did you know?" she asked. The doctor marched toward her before squatting. The woman was too close for comfort, and Shinichi instinctively pulled her behind him.
"Her father," he made an excuse, "is a professor."
"A professor? You…what…" the woman was still perplexed. "How did you acquire such knowledge?"
"Yes, that is the question, isn't it?" Sera smirks.
She had almost forgotten about this girl in the chaos. Wary of her presence, she shifted closer to Shinichi, who gave Sera a warning glance.
"Yes, she is a prodigy," Shinichi remarked.
"Prodigy?" Kondo-san frowned.
"Oh, why does that matter!" Kazuha interrupted. While wiping tears from her eyes, the girl smiled gently. "Thank you, Ai-chan," she continued, "You saved Chiyo-chan's life."
"It wasn't anything special," Shiho muttered.
"Well, you still helped," Heiji beamed before facing the doctor and nurses, who flinched.
"What…what was it, though, the cause?" Ayane asked.
"I, too, would like to know," Kondo-san replied, and Shiho studied her closely. It was a simple answer. The medicine turned poison was a staple for most hospitals and easily obtainable. Despite its regulation, anyone with a staff pass and medical expertise could access it.
It was beyond Shiho's comprehension why anyone hadn't noticed the poison sooner.
Even so, it was a terrifying prospect. Something too preposterous to even think about.
"I don't know," Shiho reverts back to childish undertones.
"Why are you ly—" Sera was about to comment, but Heiji stopped her by placing a hand over her lips. Kazuha regarding their behavior with pursed lips.
"You weren't sure, and you suggested it?"
"Hakase always said that Edrophonium might help with convulsions," she replied innocently, and Kondo-san regarded her in shock.
"So you asked us to administer a drug based on your father's assumptions!?" Ayane almost shrieked.
"My lord, if anything went wrong…" Ishida-san muttered.
"But it cured her, didn't it?" Shiho chimed in. Shinichi nodded.
"Yeah, Chiyo-nee-chan is saved, isn't she!" Shinichi said in an equally childish tone.
Their jaws dropped, and Kondo-san stood up and left without further words. She was chased by the nurses, who called out to her. As soon as they left the room, Kazuha gawks at Shiho.
"Ai-chan, please tell me you were joking?!"
"Like I said," Shiho commented, "It worked, didn't it."
She approached Chiyo's bed and examined her vitals before feeling her wrist for a pulse. The beat had stabilized, and her blood pressure had normalized. However, Chiyo's lips were still blue, and she was blissfully unconscious.
"Ai-chan?"
"What are you doing?" Sera asked, having released herself from Heiji and studying her intently. Ignoring the female detective, she shared a look with Shinichi, who gave her an encouraging nod.
"Mivacurium Chloride," Shiho revealed. "When taken in large doses, this anesthetic drug can cause muscle failure and death."
"Mivacu-what?" Kazuha whispered before gasping at the insinuation.
"Wait," Sera muttered, "You don't mean…"
"Most likely," Heiji said, pulling out his phone and displaying the hacked medical documents. It contained the death records of Kasumi Kondo's patients. There was no doubt that the woman was the obvious suspect. Since she was a doctor, she had free reign and access to her patients. Nobody would have questioned her if she had administered poison. Medical and death reports could be fabricated, and she had the authority to do so. Moreover, her past records and work history did not paint her in the best light.
But—
"We need to gather more evidence," Shinichi concluded.
"How?" Kazuha asked.
Heiji smirked and pointed to the CCTV camera at the top left corner. "That would have captured everything. All we need is," he beckoned Shiho to his coat. "A bait and record operation."
"No," Shiho pushed Shinichi forward. "I won't be hiding under your coat again.
"Hiding? Coat?" Kazuha muttered, confused.
"Wait, I'm not doing that either!" Shinichi protested. "Besides, I need to be here—"
In response, she shoves him and Heiji out of the ward.
"Have fun!" she waved them off, sliding the door shut as Shinichi gawked at her. Pleased with herself, she turns, satisfied that she didn't need to hide between Hattori Heiji's long, foul-smelling legs. Rather than experience that again, Shiho would prefer to sit in the professor's burning beetle.
As she turned, the sight of the turtle-tooth detective caused her to pause. The boyish girl faced her with a triumphant glint. And Shiho suddenly understands Shinichi's hesitation to go with Heiji.
Shit.
"So?" Sera started, getting the alone time she'd been seeking all along. She leaned toward Shiho, "Haibara Ai...was it?"
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave little nee-chan with that female detective?" Heiji asked. Shinichi snorted as he walked down the corridors. Having locked the door behind them, Shiho had effectively kicked him and Heiji out of the room. Despite his attempts to explain his reasoning for sending her to Heiji, the stubborn girl refuses to listen.
"I'm not too worried," Shinichi lied. "Besides Toyama-san being there, even Masumi-san can show restraint."
And it would serve, Shinichi scoffed softly, as another one of those "I told you so" lessons.
"I guess," grins Heiji like a cat when it finds its new toy. Shinichi disliked that sly smile. Invading personal space like a leech, Heiji bends forward and wraps an arm around Shinichi.
"So what is your relationship with that little nee-chan? Don't think I haven't noticed your closeness, and Ran-san told me the last time we met that—"
"Nothing is happening. End of the story," Shinichi quipped.
As he sighs, Heiji displays a photo he had saved as his screensaver. It is obvious that the poorly taken picture was an act of espionage. Standing behind a vending machine, obscured from view, Heiji probably held back his excited giggles while he took the photo.
"When did you and little nee-chan get together anyway?"
"What is it to you!" Shinichi snapped, eyebrows twitching in irritation.
Heiji shrugged. "I don't know, maybe because as your bestest friend," he emphasized the term with enthusiasm, "I would like to know perhaps the date of the wedding, and you know, secure my best man status."
Shinichi was very eager to use the tranquilizer dart on the boy.
"All jokes aside," the Osaka detective eyed him thoughtfully, "When did this happen?"
Knowing that he could not wiggle his way out of this, Shinichi relents. "A year ago," Shinichi murmured, and Heiji scowled.
"Why didn't you tell me!"
"Look," Shinichi, annoyed yet again, "I don't wish to force her into anything."
"Wait…" Heiji gawked at him.
"She hasn't really had the best past," he continued, walking on ahead as the Osaka detective struggled to keep up with him, "And I do not wish to pressure her. "This, whatever we have right now," he grimaced, "is enough for me."
"Wait...wait...wait..." Heiji muttered. "You're telling me…that you…the great Kudou Shinichi had confessed, but she hasn't answered?!"
The Osaka idiot was deriving too much pleasure from his plight.
"Is that a problem?" he glared at Heiji, who was unusually solemn.
Squeezing Shinichi, the boy placed a hand over his shoulder.
"You've changed," he started.
"What do you mean?"
"I think the old Kudou Shinichi would have held on so tightly...suffocatingly so," Heiji chuckled.
Shinichi studied the tanned detective carefully. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed his bad habit. There was a childish, almost one-sided feeling to it. Of wanting to protect something he cared about to the point of obsession.
Shiho had told him about it once. Using metaphors, he couldn't quite understand at that time. Something about flowers being fragile and ephemeral. That no matter how much one tried to shield them from the rain or wind—without the sun, they would wither and die.
He couldn't quite recall it then. Shiho mentioned it during one of their reading sessions. A passing remark that he thought held no meaning, just something she read from an old prose. One which she said she held no interest in.
It was never really the case.
Shinichi began to realize it now. The old Kudou Shinichi thought he could save everybody—that it was only fitting, his duty to protect everybody he cherished. Keeping them close and never letting them go. By doing so, he pushed them away, never allowed them to develop, and never trusted them, with issues too big for him to handle.
It was—a recipe that led to disaster.
He, like her, needed help. And going about it alone was never really the solution.
Yes, as much as he'd like to think that she likes him, Shiho had never admitted to it. Her feelings are still suppressed. Shinichi knew she would need time to process. Her nightmares still exist. The trauma often left her in a state of despondency for days. The guilt still ate, and the black organization wasn't finished.
Not yet, at least.
Even though patience hurt like a salted wound, Shinichi knew that forcing an answer would not work. Knowing that it would only lead to disastrous results, he wasn't willing to risk it, and despite it all, he—surprisingly…found that he was ready to wait.
No matter how long it took.
"You are..." Heiji stopped himself, seemingly changing his mind, before slapping Shinichi hard in the back. Shinichi glared at the Osaka detective with a few choice curses, who chuckled.
"Either way," the tanned detective winked at him, "I am happy for you, Kudou."
"Rather than focusing on my love life, why not focus on your own?" Shinichi snorted at the tanned detective.
"Hey, I was being supportive, and I don't want to hear that from someone who hasn't received an answer!"
"At least I confessed!" Shinichi snapped, "unlike an idiot who behaves like an elementary school kid."
"Wh…what? We're not like that!" Heiji stammered, flustered by the change of tides, and Shinichi smirked.
"I'm pretty sure the entire population would agree with you, Hattori."
When Shinichi grinned, the Osaka detective gaped like a goldfish. "We should drop it," he muttered, defeated at his game.
"I didn't start it," Shinichi quipped.
"Fine, truce."
"Truce will be when you delete that photograph, Hattori."
"Nuh-uh, it's my fail-safe, that ringtone is still floating around in the recesses, and we can't have that scenario happening again."
Shinichi sighed, ignoring the Osaka detective and instead studying the information Heiji and Shiho had sent him. The patient's medical records and Kondo-san's work history were displayed.
"She used to be quite the up-and-coming star," Heiji explained when he caught Shinichi looking through the details. "A genius in her own right, she was on her way to becoming one of Japan's best surgeons."
"But she failed," Shinichi scans over the information.
"Yes, an accident roughly five years ago sealed her fate. By making the wrong assessment, she caused the death of one of her patients. A simple death that could have been prevented, which led to a huge PR incident."
"They didn't specify the incident?" Shinichi asked, and Heiji smirked.
"Who do you think I am?"
As soon as the words left his lips, a new message appeared on Shinichi's phone. One contains a report dated five years ago about hospital malpractice and nepotism. Kasumi Kondo, daughter of a CEO of a renowned medical company, has been excused from the mistake she made. Mistaking morphine for another drug, she injected a high dosage into her patient and killed him. It was such a huge mistake that it was nearly impossible to cover up.
"An Aito Hasegawa was the victim, only 50 years old, was a cancer patient that Kondo-san was in charge of."
Taking in the details, Shinichi re-reads Kasumi Kondo's work history. As a result of the incident, she was dismissed from her private practice and transferred to another hospital. There—incidents of deaths started to appear. Everywhere she went, a series of unexplained events would follow, resulting in five hospital transfers. This—being her 5th one.
"That's odd," Shinichi muttered, and Heiji nodded.
"She's like the black death, a plague or something, but you're right. A pattern has formed, and it's not just a coincidence."
"Speculations that need to be addressed," Shinichi added as Heiji walked forward. Upon reaching the security room, they were met with a middle-aged man leaning against the door, taking a coffee break.
"You ready, Kudou?"
Heiji walked forward after Shinichi gave him a thumbs up. With the help of his white coat, Shinichi hides behind, watching the Osaka detective greet him with a cheerful smile.
"How are you doing, Matsu-san!" Heiji noticed the name tag on the guard's chest.
"Do I know you?" The man studied him with a questioning eyebrow.
"No, but I was told to come to you if I needed help with an incident."
"Oh?"
When Heiji continued to distract the guard, Shinichi snuck past them, pushing open the security door and raising his watch in time. Another security guard was seated inside. As the guard scanned the CCTV screens in front, he did not notice him.
"Sorry," Shinichi murmured, shooting the guard with the tranquilizer dart. His body fell limp in his chair. Snoring heavily, Shinichi sat on the guard's lap, looking through the monitors and pressing keys to bring up the clip he wanted. Minutes later, he found the clip. Raising his phone to record and he jumped slightly when the security room doors opened.
"Look, I'm not pulling your leg. There was an incident just a few minutes ago in the lobby," Heiji tried to keep the guard at bay.
"And I'm asking you to step aside so I can check the CCTV cameras before I make a move!" The middle-aged man was clearly irritated, and Heiji was losing to his concocted story.
Shinichi fast-forwards the tape, recording to the last second before leaping away from the chair.
Rushing forward, he sneaked into the tails of Heiji's coat, hiding between his legs. The stench of rotted feet only made them grimace.
What in the world…
"Oh, well, I guess I made a mistake. I'll take my leave," Heiji laughed when he felt Shinichi under his coat. The confused guard was pushed aside, as they continued down the corridor.
Far enough and hidden from view, Shinichi emerged from Heiji's coat, gagging and wanting to vomit.
"Two words," Shinichi insisted, "Foot wash."
Regarding his statement, Heiji shrugged. "Little nee-chan suggested an amputation. I guess I could take your advice instead."
"You know," Shinichi eyed him with tinged mischief, "She has a point."
"Amputation, Kudou," Heiji scowled, "Are you smitten with a psychopath?"
"Maybe, Hattori, you sure you don't want to delete the photo you took?"
"Even more reason to keep it," the Osaka detective snorted as Shinichi chuckled.
"So?" as they sat by the rest corner near the vending machines, "Did you get the footage?"
"Recorded it."
The footage is presented to Heiji by Shinichi, who examines it closely. Chiyo had been fortunate. Shinichi was sure the girl would have died if Shiho had not given the antidote name.
It was a close call, and Shinichi felt sorry for Kazuha, who was probably very worried.
The first person to touch the girl was Kasumi Kondo. Examining her blood pressure and heart rate before prodding her bandaged feet. Later, Ayane Maeda came in with an IV bag, and she changed it. Nothing seemed amiss about the nurse's actions.
She was followed by Ishida-san, the male nurse who filled the syringes with clear painkillers.
"Here," Heiji pointed out. The injection was passed on to Kondo-san by Ishida-san. It is injected into Chiyo by the doctor. A few minutes later, the girl began convulsing and showing violent spasms. As Shinichi rewound the tape, he frowned at the scene.
"Do you think Ishida-san gave her painkillers or something else?" Heiji muttered.
Shinichi was unable to tell. Despite seeming suspicious, it failed to provide sufficient evidence. Additionally, something didn't quite sit right with him.
Yes…something about…
Rewinding the tape, he plays it slowly again.
Kondo-san was injecting Chiyo. Ishida-san was examining the clipboard while the doctor was doing so. Ayane-san was holding onto the girl, assuring her.
"Wait, pause." Heiji started. Shinichi didn't need to be told twice. Stopping the footage, the detectives noticed it simultaneously.
Heart attacks. Respiratory failures. Rumors. Mysterious, unexplained deaths. Hospitals. Doctors. Medical Malpractice. Mivacurium Chloride…and an angel of death.
"Kudou," Heiji smirked, coming to the same conclusion.
"Yes," Shinichi agrees.
"I say a more thorough investigation on Kasumi Kondo is in order," Heji continued.
"We would need," Shinichi looks back at the recording, "Concrete evidence."
Phrase References Used:
The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie
This chapter was originally going to be 10,000 words long XD. But due to some important festival going on right now, I have no time to edit the mammoth. I would, thus, split it into two parts.
Characters might seem a little OOC at some points in this chapter—but it's done intentionally...for character development :D. So pardon the awkwardness.
I have spent hours reviewing papers on the drug mentioned above. And, boy, oh boy, do I have immense respect for medical professionals now. I lack the, as Poirot puts it, "little gray cells" to even process such information. I hope I am accurate in my review—and if I'm not, feel free to tell me XD. Again, thank you for all your feedback and support. I wish you guys a good week ahead.