File One Hundred and Eight: Kogoro's Weird Online Client
"DELETED"
Reading those words felt almost unreal to her, yet there they were ─ flashing behind the screen of her old phone, helping her to come to terms with what she had just done, what she had finally erased after so many years lacking the courage.
Even though her eyes stung with unshed tears, she allowed a bright smile to crawl its way to her face.
Miwako crouched, hand stretching forward. The stone felt cold against her fingertips.
Bye-bye, Matsuda-kun.
With her smile untouched, the woman stood back up to, phone clutched to her chest, contemplate the tombstone once more.
She allowed her eyes to slide close, breathing deeply.
But I'll never forget you.
Contented with the chapter of her life she had finally closed, the woman thought that she should get going. But before she could even move a finger, she heard steps coming closer, followed by the feeling that she wasn't alone anymore. Naturally, Miwako turned to see that there was a young, dark-skinned man with platinum blonde hair standing close, yet not speaking to her.
He kept his blue eyes trained on Matsuda's grave.
"Did you know him?" asked her, unable to hold herself.
His lips quirked upwards, as if he had just thought of a good joke.
"No," he replied. "I just learned about him after the serial bomber from yesterday." Then added with a sheepish grin. "I'm a bit of a nerd for these things, so I looked up the case."
Miwako noticed his eyes had softened, however.
"I learned about what happened three years ago," he said, barely above a whisper. "He was a hero."
Unsure how she was supposed to reply, she nodded and stood there awkwardly for a while. Seeing that the man did not appear to want to engage in a conversation any longer, she nodded politely, then left the place as quietly as humanly possible.
The man watched her leave, and only once she was out of sight, he allowed his eyes to focus back ahead.
Alone with his thoughts and the cold tombstone of his dear friend, his smile turned bitter.
"What? So you already knew my school was targeted?"
"Eh? Ah, yeah. I did."
Conan watched her amazement grow, demonstrating it on her face. The kid glanced back at his phone, apparently looking for something, until he found it and passed it to her, saying, "You can tell it was a school from the code."
Prompted by curiosity, Ran accepted the device, and carefully read the code he was showing her. Before long, however, her forehead scrunched up.
"You can?" she muttered.
Conan nodded. "See how he used the word 'Major leaguer'?" Ran looked back at him, showing that she was listening. "It means that the keyword is in English."
Crossing his arms behind his head, the kid settled his gaze up to the road ahead.
"A good stopper refers to a player with a good 'ERA', then you take 'EXTRA' from 'extra innings'." Conan continued, unaware of the blinking he was receiving from the girl. "Take away the 'useless stopper' ─ or just take 'ERA' from 'EXTRA', and you get…"
"You get 'XT'..." Ran mumbled, focusing on the phone again. "Then, 'turn it around'... Ah!" Her eyes went wide, and Conan smiled. "It becomes the kanji for 'school'!"
"Knowing that, I waited for the hint to pinpoint which school it was," continued the boy. "But when I realized it was spelling 'detective' in English, only backwards, I cut the remaining wires."
"Detective?"
"In Japanese the word is 'tantei'. In reverse, it's 'teitan'," Conan said with a shrug. "There's an elementary, middle, high school and university. Classes at Teitan Elementary School and Teitan Middle School had already ended by that time, and in Teitan University students had the day off because of their foundation day. Therefore, the only one that would have a lot of students there was Teitan High School."
He left her to process what he had just said and venture inside the building, starting up the stairs leading to the agency. She wasn't exactly following, however, so he paused mid-step to realize she was still standing outside.
She beamed, "That was amazing, Conan-kun!" and exclaimed. "You're so good!"
The kid scratched the back of his head, letting out an embarrassed laugh. That sight made Ran giggle ─ something that Conan definitely did not like ─ and begin to climb up the stairs, joining him. Once there, she passed his phone back, and continued going up.
"But still…" The drastic shift in Ran's tone made his smile fade, and his entire body stopped. She didn't. "You shouldn't have done something so risky."
His head rose sharply, feet ready to rush up to her and protest. To tell her that, really, it wasn't like he had another choice, but faltered. Ran had turned to glance back at him, with that tight smile of hers, and it came back to him again ─ her tears, her crushing embrace and her whispers just from yesterday.
So he ducked his head, with a timid nod, and followed her up the stairs.
The reason I understood the hint was the word 'detective' right away wasn't because I'm oh-so-amazing, Ran-neechan. He kept it silent. It was only natural I'd think of it first…
Since I was hoping with all my heart that it wouldn't be there. That I wouldn't lose anyone else.
He held back a humorless chuckle.
Maybe I inadvertently caused it the bomb to be there ─ with my terrible luck, I wouldn't be surprised.
She made her way inside first, and Conan heard her announcing that they were back to her father. But he didn't enter right away, just stood behind, gazing from the doorway as she talked with her father, about something he couldn't bring himself to care much about.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Since she was safe ─ that was enough.
Conan smiled lightly.
If he didn't count Irish sacrifice, it would seem that, despite what he had believed before, nobody had died in that tower ─ not that he wanted to keep pushing his luck, no. He was still staying away from there for the time being.
Yet, seeing Ran and Kogoro there inside the agency had reaffirmed that idea in his mind. There was, too, the fact that KID had finally decided to show his face last night. Not that he would ever admit it out loud ─ he pretty much preferred sky-diving without a parachute than seeing that petty thief's grin if he ever found out ─ but knowing he was still in the land of living had lifted a huge burden from his shoulders.
It would have probably saved me a lot, not avoiding Mom and Dad like I did. That was something he would never admit, either. It had been quite a shock seeing KID's name among the casualties when he had searched the web, but of course, his father already knew it was fake.
"You shouldn't believe everything you see on the internet."
It had been obvious he had been talking about KID's survival, and the aforementioned thief's appearance in his brother's hospital room had basically confirmed it. It's hard not to believe Dad has something to do with faking his death. This time, he didn't hold back and let out a dry laugh. Guess it runs in the family.
The sound of it had alerted Ran enough to stop talking with her father and spot him still standing outside. "Conan-kun, is something wrong?" she called, confused.
That woke up from his stupor. "Ah, no. I was just thinking about something."
She rolled her eyes at that, muttering something like 'always thinking', but the fond smile on her face told him she didn't truly mean it. So, he finally stepped into the room.
At least everyone is alright now. He turned around to close the door. All that is left… is him.
He didn't turn back around, and stayed there for a while ─ face facing the door and hand still resting on the doorknob. His smile became bitter.
What's taking that idiot so long, anyway?
"What you're seeing now is the footage of the three-man bank robber group."
A female voice, which Conan assumed to belong to the TV, greeted his way back to reality. He was right, realized the boy, stealing a glance to the screen ─ the same video that had been circulating for a while now, met his eyes right away. He had seen it that morning, just before leaving for the hospital.
Boredly, he cast a plain stare at the robber pointing a gun at the poor hostage, using their right hand.
Yup. Definitely left-handed. Clearly, since that person had used their left leg to climb up a counter. Good try, though.
"Furthermore, the three robbers are still eluding-"
Kogoro turned it off. "That's been all that's on the news since this morning…"
"It can't be helped. It hasn't even been a week since the incident," commented Ran. "And one of the bank employees was shot and died."
Suppose the Touto Tower's first incident doesn't sell all that much anymore ─ there isn't a sensationalist surveillance camera video like this one, thought Conan, absently. And in the second one, there were no deaths…
Well, it works better for everyone, I guess. It sure did for him.
"If I remember right," said Kogoro. "While trying to be cool, he stood up to the robbers and got himself killed, right?"
"I don't think so," added Conan. "According to the customers that were during the incident, he seemed to be trying to calm them down by raising both hands in the air and saying: 'OK! Please stop already', or something like that."
"Same thing." The man waved the child off with a hand. Conan did not appreciate it. "Since instead he just made them mad and ended up getting shot."
Just as he was about to argue, the boy stopped himself, recognizing that it was actually a good point. That thought brought forward a chill, overcoming him at the realization that he had just agreed with the older man ─ that was disturbing.
"But they won't get away with their crime." When a fourth voice met his ears, Conan barely held back a rather violent flinch. "Most of the 200 million yen that they stole were fresh banknotes that'd just been received from the head office, so their serial numbers were all registered."
Conan immediately twirled around, and could not decide whether to be surprised to see Amuro at their doorstep or not, smiling pleasantly while he held a tray of sandwiches. Ran stood close, meaning that she had probably let him in with none of the others being any wiser.
"Yeah, they got a bunch of money they can't use." It seemed like it would take Kogoro a little longer to notice his presence. "So it's just a matter of time until the robbers get caught… And what are you doing here?!"
Amuro was barely fazed. If anything, his grin had widened before going on explaining he had brought the sandwiches for lunch, which made Conan seriously wonder if it was really okay ─ on top of being charged for, well, nothing, Amuro was also paying up for Kogoro's lunch?
I feel bad for him.
But the sandwiches looked good… It's his own fault, Conan decided, lips sealed shut, eyeing the tray the man was placing on top of the coffee table. He's doing it on his own accord, so it's not a scam… Right?
Silently, he took the seat in front of the older man ─ which was coincidentally also the closest spot to the sandwiches.
"And what kind of case will the client coming today be bringing?" Amure inquired, to Kogoro's surprise.
"How do you know about that?"
"On days off, you're usually clenching a horse-racing newspaper in your hand and lazing about, Sensei," he explained. "But today you shaved your stubble and neatly tied your necktie ─ the marks of someone who's waiting for a visit."
Ran's surprised gasp could be heard from the kitchen. "You're amazing, Amuro-san," she praised, stepping back into the room with some tea. "You don't look like you'd need to be Dad's apprentice."
With that, Conan could full-heartedly agree.
"That's not true. This is merely the result of Mouri-sensei's teachings."
What teachings? The boy raised an eyebrow, internally fighting to keep his comments to himself. Seriously, how can someone be so clever and so stupid at the same time?
The guy was amazing, in his own sort of way, decided the boy.
But you know what else is amazing? Without a doubt, it had to be that one sandwich he had his eye on, slightly bigger than the rest...
"And to add another reason, Okino Yoko's live show is on-air right now." Even if Amuro didn't notice the widening of Kogoro's eyes, Conan certainly did. "Given that you're ignoring it and are still serious, it must be a fairly important case, right-?"
"AH!"
The old man was also amazing, realized Conan with a lazy blinking of his eyes, watching, almost mesmerized as how inhumanly fast the detective had rushed out of the room, had gotten ready to chant non-stop Yoko's name.
Impressive, thought Conan, giving the pink hachimaki that had somehow found itself on the older man's head. He must have reached light speed.
Amuro seemed to also be shocked, judging by his clueless expression. "Seems you still have a lot to learn, Amuro-san," commented the child, smiling. About Occhan, that is.
The man had delayed the meeting time with the client so that he could watch her show live, after all.
So, since Occhan is busy with Okino Yoko-san, he definitely wouldn't care if I…
"Conan-kun." Ran's scolding tone came first, then she gently swatted his hand away from the tray. "You can't do that! It's still early."
He nearly pouted. "But-!" Okay, maybe he did.
Even if he did, she didn't look ready to budge. "You have to wait until lunch," she said, leaning over to pick the tray up and away from his reach.
Amuro laughed good-heartedly. "It's okay, isn't it? It's just one-"
"No, it's not!" She cut him short. "He's going to get his appetite ruined."
Thus, the kid was forced to see her leave, carrying the sandwiches back to the kitchen. He exchanged looks with Amuro, who shrugged as if to say "I tried," then leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest.
He definitely wasn't pouting.
And Amuro definitely wasn't looking at him for it, smiling amusedly.
One gaze at the TV screen had the child hopping back into his feet, eager to leave the room before he could lose his sanity, or rather, what remained of it, no matter how scarce. He could just go read a book ─ it didn't sound that bad, the more he thought about it. When was the last time he had gotten the chance to?
Besides, it was the first day of his summer vacation ─ he deserved to enjoy himself, especially after everything-
He stopped suddenly when a thought struck. How did he… Slowly, his eyes drifted to Amuro. How did he know Occhan is a fan of Okino Yoko?
Looking at the older man, clapping his hands while he chanted the idol's name, made all doubts disappear. Nevermind. A dry chuckle escaped his throat. You don't need to be a detective to figure that out.
Conan was probably a bit paranoid ─ understandably so, he supposed, considering everything. So, he shrugged it off and went up to his room, determined not to return until the show ended.
It was the day after Kaito had finally given signs of life, appearing in her windowsill donning KID's signature attire, only that black. The day after he, in doing so, had allowed her soul to return to her body, after worrying for so long.
With KID officially dead for the rest of the world, and Kaito returning home, Aoko supposed she should feel reassured that nothing was going to happen to his childhood friend…
Then, why was she still standing in front of that door, knocking like she had done so many times before?
The lack of an answer made the girl bring her eyebrows together and try again. This is weird. Why isn't he answering? Her stomach was churning, twisting on itself at the notion that nothing was happening. Come on, Bakaito… Just open the door!
You're home, aren't you? She was banging now. You were here just yesterday!
She knew she hadn't imagined. That warm smile was still too fresh in her memories to be a mere creation of her own imagination. You were! Aoko clenched her teeth. Don't tell me you-?
"Would you cut it off, Ahoko, I'm trying to-"
The fact that the door had opened, and that his voice had just rang in her ears, registered a fraction of a second too late ─ a snarl of pain tore away from the boy's throat. Confused, Aoko stopped, blinking at the sight of his friend, groaning while holding his chest.
A gasp left her lips the moment she realized that was where she accidentally hit him.
"Kaito!" she let out, hands on her mouth. "So you were here!"
"Of course I am. Where else would I be?" he replied, annoyance lacing his voice. "I was just sleeping until I was woken by you trying to take my door down just now."
"Sleeping?" Her head tilted in confusion. "It's, like, one in the afternoon!"
"There's nothing else I can do. I was shot, remember?" he sighed, walking back inside, not explicitly inviting the girl inside, but not closing the door either. "Exactly where you just hit me ─ you were aiming for that spot, weren't you?"
Aoko stared for a moment, until her eyes opened, horrified. "You were shot?!"
Kaito looked at her incredulously. "It was all over the news."
"Yeah, but your death is everywhere too!" she protested. "I thought that had been faked, too…" Aoko made a face that Kaito avoided completely. "Since you seemed to be fine yesterday."
At that, the magician had genuinely nothing to say ─ what could he? He couldn't just tell her it had hurt like hell when she threw herself at him and cried profusely in his chest. If he just said he had been doing his best to maintain his poker face ─ because she had suffered more, was the thought that had encouraged him to keep going ─ she would be upset.
And Kaito did not like that.
But looking at her, he could tell. She already knew.
"Then you shouldn't be up and about, since you were shot." Gently, unlike her demeanor from a moment ago, the girl guided him through his house. "Let's go to your room."
"My room?" Kaito couldn't keep his smug grin from crossing his face. "My, when did you get this bold, Aoko-?"
He knew he had made a mistake when her fingers dug, as if claws, on his shoulders. She didn't take the turn she was supposed to make and pushed him firmly. Whipping her head away with an annoyed 'hmph', she made her way alone to his room, leaving him stamped against the wall.
"Hey!" he yelled after her. "This is how to treat a poor wounded man?!"
"You won't die."
Stupid Bakaito, she thought, pressing her hands against either side of her face ─ her cheeks were burning. Was he thinking about-?
Aoko shook her head, trying to get it out of her mind, and shifted her attention somewhere else. That being the room he was, without really thinking, getting inside of.
But instead of just inviting herself inside, Aoko paused at the doorway, curiously looking around. This is Kaito's room? She couldn't remember the last time she had been there ─ probably when they were still kids. "This is so like Kaito…"
"Huh?" came the boy's question from behind. "How?"
"So messy."
She made a face and promptly ignored the boy's annoyed response to finally step inside. Aoko didn't make it far, before her eyes found themselves posing on that certain, real-size picture of his father the magician kept on his wall, and instantly, her gaze softened.
Kaito said nothing, as she walked closer to it. Her fingers brushed against the picture as she contemplated it.
Kaito must miss his father a lot, she thought, with a frown. After all this time, he still…
Just as she was about to step away, she felt the boy standing right next to her. From the corner of her eye, he saw him giving her a long look before sighing to himself.
So he moved to place his hand on hers. She flinched under the unexpected contact.
"There's something I want to show you, Aoko."
Aoko certainly did not understand, at least until the hand covering hers pushed firmly.
Her eyes widened when it opened, like a door. Startled, she turned her head to Kaito, who nodded with an unusually serene smile, and looked back ahead, peering inside, only to be surprised even further by what her own two eyes were seeing.
"You… You have a secret room?!" she couldn't stop herself from crying out.
To her further bewilderment, he nodded. "I found it two years ago," he explained. "It was Dad's."
"Your dad's?" she repeated, incredulously. "You mean this has been here for so long, and you only noticed it two years ago?"
Aoko did not miss the way he cringed, so she giggled lightly. Her attention was grasped by the door once more. This time, however, what had captivated her the most was the other side of it, the one where Kuroba Toichi still stood, but wearing KID's white attire.
So Kaito's dad used to be KID…
She closed her eyes, trying to process all the information. Kaito's hand clenched over hers, ever so lightly, prompting her to notice that they were still together. Aoko did not brush it away, however.
"I was hidden here the entire time," he explained to her. "My mom made sure to lock this thing, so that nobody would discover it if they searched the place." He finished with a humorless laugh. "Which actually happened, as you might know."
"Then, the woman who disguised as you was actually-?"
She stopped when Kaito shook his head. "They were watching the house. Mom couldn't walk out without them noticing."
"So, who was her?"
"Why, Kudo's mother, of course." She gave him a perplexed look. "I heard his father had already thought of everything. In exchange for her to wipe away all signs of Kudo living here, his mother would pretend to be me in front of them while his father spread the news of KID's death."
"But how did he do that?"
"Beats me," he said with a shrug. "The man has friends everywhere ─ even the Interpol. Something like this is probably nothing."
"Amazing…"
He watched her gape, astonished at what he just said, and couldn't help but laugh lightly, amused by her reaction. "He was friends with dad." His smile dimmed at the thought. "Or, maybe I should say, he is."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rather than responding right away, the boy stepped back, thus retiring his hand from where it had been. She watched in silence as he stuck them inside his pockets, and moved to the closest window, if only to gaze up to the sky, pensive.
Kaito frowned at the sight that his mind provided ─ memories coming from those odd days where everything was fuzzy to tell anything. Him stumbling, grasping his chest, the blood ─ along with the realization that, yeah, he was pretty much dead at that point.
Then, there was a black gloved hand reaching before he could pass out face-first onto the concrete. The black feather crossed his sight before everything faded away…
And the pencil shaped mustache, framing a warm grin he had missed so much.
"No way…" Aoko muttered. "Your dad is alive."
Kaito couldn't help but chuckle ─ or course she had seen through it. "You're terrifyingly sharp when you want to," he said, then teased. "If you plan to become a detective, just tell me so I can flee, please."
She was barely affected by it. "Then, is it true?"
"That's what I believe, at least." Kaito finally looked away from the window and made his way to his bed. "And it's not only me. Kudo thinks the same." Shrugging, the magician sat down. "That guy can be a lot of things, but his intuition is always in the right place."
The girl frowned to herself. "Is that why Hirai-" She shook her head. "Kudo-kun moved here? Because he wanted to look into your dad's death?"
"Partly, yeah. There was also the fact that he needed to hide, and Ekoda is rather close to Beika, where Tantei-kun-" Aoko looked at him weirdly. "Conan-kun, I mean, lives."
Rather than a sigh, Aoko said nothing else, going thoughtfully silent. Kaito could not really blame, since he knew this was a lot to process, even if she somehow had suspected it for who-knows how long. He refrained, however, from telling him anything about Kudo's past identity as Singani, and everything tied to it ─ it was not his place, and that was a line not even Kaito would cross.
Besides, Aoko was stubborn. She was going to make him talk once he recovered and returned to Ekoda ─ the thought of that not happening was inconceivable.
Kudo sure is strong, he thought. But his bond with Tantei-kun is stronger.
And, if there was something in this word, Kaito was certain about, was that Kudo would never, ever, leave his precious little brother alone.
Out of the blue, Aoko's face rose sharply, but she didn't look at him. Kaito was puzzled.
"Why?" was all that left her lips.
"I wouldn't exactly mind a context here, you know…"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Her head whipped back to him, and her intense gaze momentarily left him out of words. "I could tell Dad about this."
Out of all the reactions he could have sported, the girl surely didn't expect the small smile on his lips. "You certainly could," he said. "And I wouldn't blame you if you did."
Her eyebrow rose. "But?" she hissed, waiting for him to continue.
He just stared at her. "There are no buts," he said. "I don't mind if you do ─ I told you because I wanted to, Aoko."
It took her a second for the words to reach her ears, apparently, and even longer for her mind to finally process them. He could easily tell the moment she finally understood what he was saying, because her eyes had widened like two plates, and her mouth opened soundlessly, only to close uselessly shortly afterwards.
Kaito could have laughed at her priceless expression right now. He didn't.
I heard it, you know ─ when I was too weak to move, I heard you knocking on my door all day long.
My mother was sighing, because she couldn't open it, worrying somebody would see her there, even though she wasn't supposed to. You never gave up.
I worried you a lot, didn't I? He smiled affectionately. I'm sorry, Aoko.
Telling you this much… It's only fair.
"So, what are you going to do?" asked Kaito, letting his back rest against the mattress, head cushioned by his arms. "You could try to take me to prison. I'd just break out, but hey, you can still try."
She glowered at him for several seconds before crossing her arms over her chest and looking away. "My dad is not chasing after you anymore, Bakaito," she said. "He's a police inspector, not a Ghostbuster."
Kaito couldn't help himself from chuckling at the mental picture. "Would pay to see that." The tip of Aoko's lips twitched upwards, but still kept herself from smiling. "Thanks, Aoko. Really."
"Don't think this means anything," she said, spinning back on her heels and making a beeline to the door. "If KID is ever brought back to life, I'll let you know I won't be so merciful."
"Yeah, yeah. Scary Aoko."
Shaking her head again, Aoko's hand went to the doorknob to head away from that room, and hopefully call it a day, but halted. Kaito watched her, eyes full of curiosity stuck on her unmoving form, until she decided to glance over her shoulder.
She licked her dry lips, "Say, Kaito," then finally decided to speak.
"What?"
She frowned ─ it made him wonder what she was being so indecisive about.
"What are you going to do when you meet your dad again?"
At first, he stared at her wide-eyed, definitely not expecting such a question, but then he relaxed. His gaze went to the ceiling above, and Aoko was not sure if he was really looking at it, or at something else beyond her reach, that she could not see.
"I'm gonna ask him." The easy-going pitch in his voice was missing ─ and replaced by a bitter, serious tone. "Why he thought that making his son believe he was dead for so long was such a good idea."
Aoko did not have a clue how to respond to that.
By the time the child returned almost an hour and a half later, the show had fortunately ended, yet, sadly enough, the blonde detective-wanna-be had not left. That stole a sigh out of him, internally wondering if that would be a daily thing, all but collapsing on the couch in front of Kogoro.
"So you put your detective agency on the internet?" he heard Amuro say, surprised. "As expected from Mouri-sensei! You even have a website!"
"A website I made…" he mumbled against his own will, though 'grunting' might have applied as well.
"Eh? You did it yourself, Conan-kun?"
Conan twitched, only then realizing he had said it out loud ─ and in front of this guy, nonetheless. Slowly, his gaze slid back to the surprised young man staring at him, and articulated a strangled smile.
"The Professor taught me to," he said, then added when the confusion didn't dispel right away. "Ah, he's a friend of Kogoro-ojisan. He knows a lot of things!"
He had extended his arms at his sides as he said that, hoping that it would help with his 'innocent child' facade. It gained him a doubtful glance from Kogoro, which he pointedly ignored.
The boy had taken the task into his own two hands a few days ago, after Ran complained ─ while she thought he was not listening ─ to her father about him not getting as many clients as he should.
"How are we going to get to the end of the month?!" she had yelled at him too, loudly enough to make him, and the overhearing Conan, shrink in fear.
Granted, it hadn't been easy, but it helped to pass time those nights he couldn't get a wink of sleep because of his many nightmares. A few tutorials then and there, sneaking into the office once, and that was it. Kogoro had woken up one fine morning to find out he had a website.
"This old man is so outdated it's unnerving," he had told Ran when she questioned it. "You can't be a half-a-decent detective without going online nowadays."
"Wha-?"
"Welcome to the 21st century, Ojiisan."
With that, the boy had walked out, leaving Kogoro to growl at him for his rude remarks. They had faded away as soon as he left the room and, soon, comments like "This is actually pretty good," or "Look, Ran, I already have a request from a client!" had filled his ears.
Conan would never admit this, yet it had brought a smile to his face.
It went without saying that this client was the one Kogoro was currently waiting for. He hadn't gotten the details, and he was hoping he would know more by snooping into their conversation today, but he knew it was about a key the client had found in their deceased brother's belongings, and wanted to know what locker it belonged to. Pretty standard if they asked him, Conan thought. Checking the serial number and asking the company should not be that much of a big deal, even if Kogoro had taken the case.
Soon, however, Kogoro's phone buzzed with an incoming message. It was from the client, Kashitsuka Kei, asking if they could move the meeting to Columbo Restaurant instead. Conan found it weird ─ like, what was even the difference if the restaurant was close to the agency? ─ but gave it little thought ─ people were just weird sometimes.
They had asked, too, for a confirmation and Kogoro was more than eager to just turn them down. Luckily, Ran was quick to stop him from doing so, suggesting that they could just have lunch there.
"Eh?" Conan couldn't stop himself. "But I want sandwiches!"
Ran paused completely when he heard her, and only then did he realize his filter must be malfunctioning or something ─ really, what was with him, acting like that? Later, he realized he didn't actually care. He had a right to act like a proper child sometime, you know.
As he thought over his previous actions, he barely noticed Amuro crouching down next to him.
"Say, Conan-kun," he whispered to his ear, even though Conan knew it was loud enough for the other two to hear. "If you behave today, I'll bring some more tomorrow."
Conan looked interested. Amuro pulled away and grinned. "Do we have a deal?"
Seeing the child nodding with such a tiny smile on his face made Ran realize she wouldn't mind if she wound up eating sandwiches for a week.
Kogoro's future did not look as bright, on the other hand. As the older man complained about it, he accidentally dropped cigarette ash all over the coffee table. Conan shook his head at that, disapprovingly.
Thus, the sandwiches were put in the fridge, and the four departed for Columbo.
The client never showed up, even though Kogoro had replied, stating that it was okay to meet there. When he pulled out his phone to check, hours later, he realized that the number from the message last night and this morning were different ─ probably a friend's, Ran supposed.
Meaning that they might be still waiting at the agency, after receiving no confirmation from Kogoro's end. When that realization had crossed his mind, Conan had sighed, absolutely exhausted even if he had not gotten to hear about the case yet.
Maybe he should just leave it to Kogoro and go do something else ─ he deserved to enjoy his summer vacation, after all.
But, to his further annoyance, there was no one in the agency either. Conan froze in his spot beside the doorway, blinking owlishly several times, before he groaned.
"Forget it," he declared. "I'm going to my room to read."
"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Kogoro, dismissively. "Do me a favor and take your time."
Conan merely scoffed at the man walking right past him, and was about to spin around to do something else when his eyes, without fully meaning to, widened slightly, falling at the coffee table in the middle of the agency.
The cigarette ashes Kogoro had not bothered to wipe before were not there.
Maybe his books could wait a little longer.
Neither Ran nor Kogoro had noticed a thing yet ─ he could not say the same for Amuro, since he was still standing behind, silent for a change. The child uttered no word, following the figure of the older detective with his eyes as he declared he needed to go to the bathroom.
And so he did, with Conan trailing right behind him. Noticing something, the child peered around the man's legs, and held his breath at the sight of some strange marks all over the floor ─ something had been dragged to the bathroom.
Inside the same bathroom Kogoro was about to walk into. Conan's mouth opened.
But closed when Kogoro stopped to bring his phone out of his coat.
"The client just replied," he said, to Conan's surprise. "They say: 'I just got to Columbo, please come'."
Conan flashed a glare at the bathroom door. "Then, we should get going," he said then.
Kogoro jumped and lowered his gaze to the little boy, blinking in confusion. "Weren't you-?"
"But first, I really need to use the toilet."
The older man's confusion only grew exponentially. But then his attention shifted back to his phone. "Another text from the client," he said. "It says: 'Hurry up and come all together'."
He didn't get to see the kid's eyes narrowing in response. Smooth, he thought.
"Do they mean us?" asked Ran, unable to understand it either.
"Is there anyone else here?" questioned Kogoro.
Of course, he didn't get it. That's the whole point, Conan internally remarked. How does this person know we're here?
And even if he were to assume this client was innocent, he could not see a single reason why this client would want anyone else there besides Kogoro. Predictably, the aforementioned older man saw no wrong in that, but to the child, that alone was horribly suspicious.
"Then let's go to Columbo all together again," said Amuro, cheerfully.
But Kogoro wasn't nearly as cheerful as his student was. "What a pain…" he muttered.
"Don't complain, and just move," said Conan, rushing to the door with a grin. "The client is waiting!"
"But didn't you, just a second ago-?" He stood there for a second, eyed the bathroom door for another, then rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
So, in a matter of seconds, the four had stepped outside, but had yet to make their way down the stairs. That was because Amuro had stopped, a finger in front of his lips hiding quite the confident smirk.
"Everyone, please be quiet," he whispered. "This is probably what's going on."
What came next hardly came as a surprise to Conan who, unlike the other two, had already seen this coming. There was somebody who did not want the client to meet with Mouri, driving him away using a fake email to move the meeting. So that he could meet the client at the empty agency acting as a part of its staff.
Whoever that is, the culprit had it easy, thought Conan. To believe that someone like Occhan, who accepts a case once in a blue moon, could actually hire someone else…
As proof of that, Amuro had explained then, the keyhole had traces of having been picked open, and there was also a slightly wet tea cup in the cupboard when he went to retrieve one ─ something that would most definitely never happen with Ran there.
"Not to mention..." All the attention shifted back to Conan when he spoke. He turned to Kogoro. "You never got to wipe off the cigarette ash you dropped, did you?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Then that settles it," said the boy with a grin that definitely did not match the conversation topic. "Someone must have wiped it while we were out. Right, Amuro-san?"
Amuro nodded at him. "So basically, this means someone invited the client while Sensei was out, wiped off the table, and welcomed him by serving tea," he said. "And since he put the teacup back on the cupboard without drying it properly, it was still wet."
"But why would someone do that?!" Ran couldn't think of a single reason. "He just came here to ask Dad to find a coin-operated locker."
"Maybe there's something really important in that locker?" questioned Kogoro.
"Who knows…" Amuro said with a confident smirk, pushing the door back open, all but shouting inside. "Shall we ask that person directly?"
Far too shocked about the turn of events developing all around them, neither Ran nor Kogoro gave a step, leaving Conan to take their place, sneaking inside behind Amuro, whose sharp gaze traveled around the ominously silent agency, scanning each spot and cranny with that smirk he had seen in many before ─ himself included, he had to admit.
He stopped right in the middle, glancing over his shoulder to explain the rest of the situation to the other two. As he did that, Conan could not help himself and frowned profusely.
This guy is sharp, he observed. He doesn't need Occhan to teach him anything ─ and there's no way he doesn't know that.
Giving him another long look, the boy finally turned away.
Until I can say for sure what his intentions were, I should stay low.
That being said, he could not stop his gaze from drifting to the toilet door.
The first reply came when Occhan tried to go into the toilet, and the second one when I tried to go, too. That, and the marks in front of it, made it obvious ─ the criminal was still hiding in there.
He breathed deeply and took a step forward, closer to the door.
When a bang silenced it all.
As the surprised gasps began to surface, Conan's feet moved all the faster. Don't tell me! With that thought in mind, he slammed the door open and ventured himself inside. And stopped in his tracks.
There was a woman in there, crying her eyes out, all tied up. Right next to her was a man with a large complexion, sitting on the toilet bowl, a gun in his hands, and a load of blood flowing out of his mouth.
He stared at the scene, then stared some more.
The woman watched in utter confusion as the boy just sighed, as if thoroughly exhausted, and lazily made his way back outside, not even bothering to help her out of her bindings.
Passing by Amuro's side, he earned himself a puzzled look.
"I'm going to call the police," he said nonchalantly, replying to his unasked question. "A murder."
Amuro could have sworn he heard him muttering something like 'again', but he couldn't be sure.
First body of my summer vacation, thought Conan, rolling his eyes. And so many more yet to come. Yay.
It was almost impressive how the world kept on improving itself to make his life as complicated as possible.
He poked his head in the toilet's direction, where the police were conducting an investigation of a crime scene. Any other day, he would have probably gone there to see if he could get another hint, but he had already investigated the scene to his heart's content.
The perks of having the murder scene in the comfort of your own home.
Another sigh left him. Haven't I gotten enough with the bombing case yesterday-?
He was knocked out of his own thoughts when something ran right into him, sending him stumbling forward. Conan turned around, ready to vocally express his displeasure, but halted.
"A-Ah, sorry, Conan-kun! I didn't see you there..."
Speaking of which… Conan almost sighed, spotting none other than Takagi standing right beside him. The boy didn't bother with anything but a nod, to tell him it was alright, and fully expected him to walk past him, to do his job as he was supposed to.
But the police detective didn't leave and continued to look at him long enough to be rather uncomfortable. Without fully being aware of it, his feet were slowly, yet steadily, moving him back and hopefully away.
"So…" His entire body halted when Takagi spoke again. "Your father is actually-"
"Ah!" he let out, louder than intended, suddenly aware of Amuro's presence not that far away from where they stood.
Flinching, his head snapped in his direction, and immediately relaxed when he saw him talking with Ran.
"Please, keep it down," he said next, much calmer. "It'd be a bother if everyone knew."
"Then," Takagi said in a much lower voice, in defense of the child's wishes. "Is it true?"
Conan's gaze shifted to Takagi. He didn't know why, but it made him wince ─ not that the kid exactly minded, as he continued to observe him, with an expression the man couldn't read, which made everything even more disturbing.
With a bated breath, Takagi awaited his answer.
Conan opened his mouth.
"No."
Takagi blinked stupidly. "No?"
"No," repeated the kid with a shake of his head. "I often call him that because he took me into his family, but he's not…" He averted his gaze, frowning as if in pain. "He'll never be my dad."
A sigh later, the kid wondered if he wasn't being overdramatic. "You know, my dad and Yusaku-san used to be distant relatives and close friends…" But continued regardless, using the story Yusaku had once fabricated to hide his true identity many years ago. "My… My parents… They died in a car accident a few years ago. Kudo Yusaku-san's youngest son had died recently, so he took me in."
Saying no further word, the child reached over to his own forearm, and squeezed his sleeve, hoping that it would keep Takagi from asking any further questions ─ but of course, he did not get the hint, and remained standing there, staring at the boy.
Conan barely stopped his eyebrow from twitching. Breaking character was a massive no-no ─ not only could he not risk having Takagi be 'in the known', but also his mother would scold him if she found out. And knowing her, she would.
"I… I don't enjoy talking about it," he whispered, sounding as afflicted as possible. "So, Detective Takagi, if you would please…"
"A-Ah, yeah!" That seemed to do the trick ─ Conan mentally grinned in silent victory. "I'm sorry, Conan-kun…"
"No… No harm done."
And only when the detective brushed past him did Conan raise his head, watching him go to Inspector Megure, ready to do his job as it was required. The child did not move right away, and saw Takagi nodding at the inspector before disappearing through the front door ─ from his spot, he could hear that Megure had told him to go find the locker the key in Kogoro's client's possession belonged to.
After a second of making sure that the detective wouldn't return, Conan allowed his shoulders to drop. That was close, he thought, wiping the sweat that had collected on his brow. Sometimes, I forget Detective Takagi is much sharper than people give him credit for. Me included.
But at least, I think I made quite a convincing act… Or, at least, he hoped he had.
Little did he know that Takagi had paused mid-way through the stairs, to give the closed door he had just walked out a long stare.
What he knew, however, was that the young lady sitting on the agency's couch was lying ─ that woman being the one he had found crying next to the body earlier.
Her name was Kashitsuka Kei, or at least that was what she had claimed it to be. She had supposedly come to Kogoro to investigate a coin-operated locker's key, but was met by the man instead, under the pretense of being his assistant. Had been knocked out with a stun gun and woken up in the same predicament Conan had found her at ─ with the sole and glaring difference that the man was still breathing.
Boots had been taken off and laces removed so that she wouldn't run away, and the man had asked, repeatedly, what locker her key was for. That was, until Kogoro and the rest had returned, much earlier than expected. He panicked, put the gun into his own mouth and… Well, self-explanatory from there.
There was no gunshot residue in her, so Conan guessed it should have been enough to consider this a suicide… Only that it didn't add up.
"By the way, how did your brother pass away?" Amuro, standing at her right, had finally decided to say something. But the woman didn't seem to notice she was being addressed. "What did your brother die of?" he repeated, louder this time, and got Kei to turn her head to him, blinking in surprise. "What did your brother die of?"
He repeated that question three times. Conan observed. This guy's patience is fascinating.
"Oh, yes. He died in an accident four days ago." She momentarily turned her attention to her phone ─ quite the scratched and battered one, Conan noted in disbelief ─ and showed it to Amuro. "This is my brother."
"Eh~? You've made him your wallpaper."
Of course, Conan took a glance at the picture in question as well ─ it was quite the ordinary one, though, with her and a young man smiling at the camera.
Wait a minute. He stared, confused. Have I seen this guy before?
"Speaking of mobile phones, this one, belonging to the man who committed suicide, is strange…" said Megure suddenly, gathering everyone's attention. "The email he sent Mouri-kun while acting as Kashitsuka-san about wanting to move the meeting is in the sent history, but there are no other emails whatsoever."
That was strange indeed, Conan had to admit. Kei immediately interjected, claiming that he had sent them from her own phone, but it didn't make things any clearer. The deceased guy's phone definitely did not look like a new model, but there was only that one email there.
"Maybe he bought an old model for a cheap price?" suggested Kogoro. "It's in good condition."
But, by far, the weirdest was what they found in the man's pockets. Among the stun gun, the key stolen from Kei, cigarettes and a lighter, there was money. That wouldn't be strange, per se, if it wasn't that the change alone added up to around 5,000 yen. Furthermore, there were two 10,000 yen bills, five 5,000 yen bills in his wallet and there were forty-seven 1,000 yen bills.
That… was a bit too much to be carrying in his pockets, decided Conan, eyes scanning one and each of his belongings, spread all over Kogoro's table for them to see.
"Come to think of it." He did look away when Megure spoke again. "Kashitsuka-san…"
"Yes?"
"One of the two towels that fell by the body's feet in the toilet was damp on one side. Do you know why?"
"I'm not sure. I was scared and had my head down the whole time."
Conan gave her a blank stare. Yeah, right. But went completely unnoticed.
"Also, underneath those towers, there was a knot on the end of your boot laces and they were caught on your boots."
"Oh, that's a habit from when I was a child. My brother always said when you wash fabric sneakers or the like, it's easier to hang them when the laces get like that." Once more, tears collected in her eyes, threatening to spill. "Like you'd expect, I don't wash my boots, but the habit just struck with me. But… But… My brother isn't here anymore."
As her sobs began to fill the air, Conan wondered if his heart shouldn't have ached for her. She was distressed, not only for what had occurred a while ago, but losing her dear brother recently. Conan guessed that, considering he had gone through that himself ─ even though it didn't last over a few minutes, at most ─ he should be able to empathize with that poor soul in front of him…
But no, he couldn't.
It only made his gaze narrow even further.
For Kogoro, however, it was widely different. He watched her for a while, and something akin to compassion danced behind his eyes, prompting him to turn to the inspector and ask him if it wouldn't be all right to call it a day. She had gone through a lot, Kogoro had said.
Conan strongly disagreed. Inside his mind, that was.
He barely voiced it, however, when she said she didn't have any identification with her. That she would bring it with her tomorrow, since she would have to go to the police station to be questioned.
Amuro seized the opportunity and suggested driving her home. He claimed he was merely worried an accomplice might ambush her near her home. Conan was not convinced those were his true intentions.
He ended up tagging along. And for a change, it wasn't his doing ─ Kogoro was fussing over Kei because she was beautiful, and Ran was scared to be left alone with a child in a place where someone had died. It worked better for him, either way.
There were much more efficient ways to sneak inside somebody else's house.
Surely there were, but they simply had not occurred to him. He wished they had, so that he would be saved from further embarrassment coming from Kogoro's raised eyebrow, and his own sense of self.
And so that he didn't have to loudly declare that he needed to use the toilet as soon as possible.
That was uncomfortable, thought Conan, opening Kei's toilet door just enough to see everyone had gathered in the kitchen. But at least I got myself inside.
Thus, there was nobody there to see him stepping out into the hallway.
The putrid stench that had met his nose upon entering the house was becoming stronger with every step. Conan believed that the sensible thing was to spin around and leave the place right away, but clearly he did not act on it.
He needed to know what she was hiding ─ his detective heart was aching for an answer.
That, and the others were there, too. He could scream pretty loudly if needed.
Besides, if his deduction was correct, the woman did not have an accomplice ─ provided she was the murderer, evidently.
That stench… It's coming this way.
He was definitely right, lamented the boy, the moment he creaked the door open. All but coughing at the nausea that suddenly struck him, the boy covered his nose and, against his better judgment, stepped inside ─ making sure to close the door before turning the light on.
It was her bedroom, realized Conan right away. How does she even sleep in such a place?! He cried inside his mind, eyes analyzing every corner, hoping ─ or, rather, hoping not ─ to find something that could prove his theory.
Unfortunately, it only took a glance under the bed to spot the large suitcase hidden from plain view, where that putrid smell was especially prominent. It's coming from over there. He frowned at the notion. This should be it.
If the horrible stench wasn't enough, Conan figured that the fact that it was heavy must be all he needed to conclude what he had been suspecting. Despite all that, the kid didn't give up, and groaned as he tried, with all strength his little body could manage to drag it out.
He wanted to sigh, absolutely exhausted, when he succeeded, but that would mean he would need to breathe in such an unpleasant odor, so he decided not to. Instead, he pinched his nose, mentally prepared himself for what he was going to see next.
The body of a man met his eyes the moment he opened the suitcase, and had almost gagged at the smell ─ it went without saying that this one had possibly died over a day ago. Conan hurried to survey the body with his eyes ─ a small complexion, a nasty wound on his temple… and what was a listening device doing in there? ─ so that he could close it as fast as possible.
It appears you can't judge a book by its cover, he thought, pushing the suitcase back to his original location. Even Kei-san has skeletons inside her closet…
Or, rather, a body in her suitcase.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Conan all but sighed in relief at seeing everything was back in place again. But this doesn't add up at all. Eager for some fresh air, the kid scrambled back to the door, and slid back into the hallway, undertaking his way back to the kitchen. She has killed two people already. Two. But everything is… so messy.
What kind of plan does she even have?
Wait. He halted, gaze fixed straight ahead. The woman in question was there, at the other end of the corridor, yet hadn't seemed to have noticed him there yet. Maybe she actually did not elaborate on a plan to escape.
Conan noted the way Kei looked over her shoulder, anxiously. She is planning something, however… She frowned to herself, and quietly made her way to the front door. And that something is…
He did not ponder over it, not even for a second, and approached her.
"Where are you going, oneesan?" he asked, smiling innocently up to her.
The way she jumped, spooked at his mere presence, spoke a lot of her intentions, noted Conan. She managed a smile.
"I'm out of tea leaves, so I'm going to buy some from a convenience store."
That was clearly a lie.
"Then I'll come with you." Conan pretended not to notice the panic that crossed Kei's face. "There's something I'd like to buy…" He turned to look over his shoulder at the door, leading to the room where all others were. "Should we call Ran-neechan too?"
"It's fine." Her response had come far too quickly. "Let's just go, the two of us."
Conan nodded, putting on the brightest smile he could manage. Kei did the same, and opened the door for him to skip through, like an obliviously happy child. As if he was an innocent little boy that was in the dark of what hid behind her gentle smile.
She's going to kidnap me. And while that thought made his hair to an end, he sealed it deeply inside, seeking comfort in the thought that this was not like any other time.
Yet, as if trying to reassure himself it was still there, his hand still made its way to his glasses. It will be okay this time, he told himself, putting on his shoes. If anything goes wrong, they know where to find me.
Kei waited with a strained smile, hoping that he would follow with little of a struggle. He wondered if she ever noticed him turning around, for less than a second, to gaze back at her apartment door ─ as if he wanted to run back there, slam it open and scream.
Yet, since neither Kei nor he said anything at all, it was silent. If he strained his ears, he could almost hear Ran's voice, talking with his father, and it inevitably brought forward the mental image of her weeping, holding onto him tightly enough to hurt.
He didn't want to do this to her ─ not again.
But he spun back on his heels, rushing to the elevator like any ordinary, easily excited child.
"Seeing that I got an email from you, I take it you found the body?
Although I plan on giving the boy back when the day breaks, if you try to report this to the police or get in the way of my escape, then I can't guarantee his safety."
And if the text her father had received hadn't been unsettling enough, the photo attached definitely won out. Conan-kun was there, slumped against a car window, sleeping peacefully ─ blissfully unaware of the dangers he was tangled in.
She exchanged a quick look with her dad ─ he was pallid, like she most certainly was at the moment.
"It seems like Kei-san really did kill this person," Amuro, visibly much calmer than any other in the room, said, casting a glance at the body they had just discovered inside a suitcase. "What if she was the one who actually killed the guy who supposedly committed suicide by shooting himself?"
Ran's eyes widened in horror. "No way…"
Conan-kun was kidnapped by a murderer. Ran's hands went to her mouth, petrified at the realization.
"But we're really at a loss here... To think we found yet another body, and the killer took Conan-kun, yet we can't make a move until morning..."
Until morning?! Ran all but screamed in her mind ─ there was no way she could make Conan-kun wait until morning! There was no telling what could happen on that time.
We need to do something now.
But it was impossible, Ran reminded herself, lowering her gaze to the ground. Without knowing where Conan was, they were mostly empty-handed…
Her face lit up. Unless…
"Conan-kun's badge!" Both his father and Amuro looked at her, disconcerted by her sudden actions. "Professor Agasa might know where he is!"
"Ah!" Kogoro's eyes opened in realization. "I completely forgot." Then, noticing that the blonde detective beside him was not understanding, he explained. "He made some weird gadgets for the brat. One of them is a detective badge with a transmitter on it."
Ran never got to see the impressed smile that had crossed Amuro's face, because her back was already turned, phone in hand and quickly typing away.
She had a few calls yet to make.
Yusaku raised an eyebrow, closing the toilet's door behind him and moving closer to his son's bed, not letting his gaze drift away from the doctor at the doorway. He was confused, Yusaku could clearly see that.
"What do you mean, my wife wants to talk to me?" So was Yusaku, truthfully.
"Yeah, she just called…" He nodded jerkily. "She said she needed to talk to you. That it is important."
Yusaku's forehead scrunched up. "Did she say anything else?"
"Well, uh…" He struggled to find his own words. "Something about your… son?" The doctor sent a quick glance towards Shinichi and looked even more lost than before. "And a kidnapping, I think-?"
"Kidnapping?!" The doctor seriously did not expect such a powerful reaction. "Are you sure?"
"I… think so-"
He blinked, stupidly, when he felt himself being pushed backwards, and even more when he saw the man rushing into the hallway.
Not this again… The doctor mentally complained. He's going to ask me-
"Look after him until I return."
That. Of course. He took a few steps ahead, away from the slightly open door and further into the hallway. "But sir, my shift just started!" He tried to reason. "If I disappear again, my coworkers will get mad at me!"
When the man turned around, the doctor almost thought he had seen reason and was going back to apologize. But his severe expression soon convinced him otherwise.
"If anything happens to my son, I promise I will have a delightful conversation with your boss."
Adding nothing else, Yusaku turned around, not casting another glance at the doctor who stood there, frozen for a second, until he saw the man disappear inside the elevator. And even then, he did not move ─ contemplating for who-knows how long his previous life choices were , wondering what he had been thinking about when he accepted this task.
There was nothing else he could do but succumb to his fate. Eventually, he sighed, exhausted and reluctant, moaning to himself all the while, and made his way back to the room he was apparently going to watch over. What was he even going to say tomorrow? He had already been getting unfriendly looks ever since the beginning of the week ─ and his senpai was going to yell at him, no questions asked. He wasn't looking forward to it.
He slammed the door open and cast a dull stare all over the place. And froze there, blinking.
The room was deserted.
I'm fired, aren't I?
A/N:
AkihisaKaito: That was Ran, just like in canon.
F.C. Meyer: I haven't gotten the chance to see it yet. I'll definitely watch it as soon as I can!