Chapter 3: The Invisible Shot

The walk to the high school was a quiet one. Ran kept her hands in her pockets and her gaze on the ground in front of her. Her lips were pressed together in a tight line, concentrating on the task at hand. Shinichi felt slightly guilty for snapping at her, but reasoned it was the only way to get her out of the house. He glanced up at her. A part of him reminisced at walking to school together, but the unfortunate circumstances kept him from enjoying it.

Relief swept over both of them when they finally arrived at the building. Break was still in session, so the only people inside were staff trying to complete tasks before their deadlines. Shinichi turned to Ran.

"Do you remember what you did here?" he asked. She took a moment to collect herself before looking around the outside of the school.

"I was talking to Sonoko…" she started, looking from the doors to the sidewalk. She started slowly following the sidewalk as she continued. "I wanted to try out a new recipe one of the teachers gave me…" She stopped after a few yards and turned to the street. "Sonoko had to leave, and her car was waiting there…" As she trailed off, she began walking again in the opposite direction of her house. Shinichi recognized it as the route she liked to take to get to the supermarket. She suddenly stopped in front of an alley, and Shinichi almost fell over to keep from bumping into her. Straightening his shirt, he stared into the alley and then up at her.

"Did you go in there?" A nod. "Why? You've never gone that way before."

"I thought I would try a shortcut," came the reply in a whisper. Her face had gone white, eyes wide with terror. She pointed to the far side of the small street. "There was a van there," she whispered. Shinichi slowly followed her in.

"What kind of van?" he asked.

"I-I don't know… a red one?" was her unsure reply. They were halfway in, and she looked panicked now. She was hyperventilating. Shinichi didn't notice right away because he was looking to where she pointed.

"Was it a company van?" he asked, attempting to narrow down the possibilities. He walked over to see if he could spot any tire tracks. Ran remained rooted in place, trembling.

"N-no. It was a mini van," she whispered. Hearing how shaky her voice was, Shinichi turned around to find her clutching her head. Her muscles stiff, she slowly crouched into a ball as Shinichi bolted towards her, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he pressed, peering into her face. She was terrified. "What happened?" he demanded, trying to sound as soft as possible. Though his face was right in front of hers, she didn't see him. She was reliving her abduction. "Tell me what happened," he repeated.

"He came out of the car," she whispered. "H-h-he… he had a gun… I tried to run…" She gasped loudly and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body trembling. Shinichi's body froze, eyes widening.

"What?!" He shook her shoulder a few times. Were you shot?!" he asked frantically, but she wouldn't answer. "Oi, Ran, try to remember! Did he shoot you? Where? What did he look like? C'mon, answer me!" He waited for her to respond, but she couldn't say any more. Shinichi's grip on her shoulder slipped when he realized he wouldn't get anything more from her, but this new information was certainly enough for the moment.

So she was shot, he inferred, looking around the alley. He quietly left Ran's side when he spotted a dark stain on the concrete. If she was shot, then it would explain why a karate champion couldn't fight back… he thought to himself. But… a gunshot wouldn't wouldn't heal in two weeks, and Ran doesn't seem to have any severe injuries. He looked back at her, still cowering near the wall, eyes still closed. Turning back to the stain, he pulled a small flask of water and his handkerchief out of his pocket, and proceeded to wet the stain, kneeling down to mop some of it up with the handkerchief. When he was finished, he hurried back to Ran. She was standing back up now, taking in big, shaky breaths. Her eyes were still closed, but it looked like she was starting to calm down.

"Ran-neechan," he said softly, placing a hand on her arm. She stirred a little, opening her red, swollen eyes, still breathing hard. "I'm sorry. You don't have to remember anymore; let's just go back to Hakase's okay?" Ran nodded and wiped her eyes. Taking care not to look at the scene, she followed closely behind Shinichi, trying to compose herself.

She straightened up as they exited the alley. Her breathing was still shaky but it wasn't as heavy as before. Suddenly, Shinichi stopped and whirled around to look up at her.

"Hey, Ran-neechan? Do you think you would remember the van if you saw it again?" he asked excitedly. She blinked, a little surprised at the sudden question, then slowly nodded.

"Y… yes… yes, I think I would," she replied. "But how are you going to find it?" Running to the corner, he pointed to something across the street. There, facing the alley, almost hidden from view, was a small traffic camera. Grinning for the first time in two weeks, Shinichi excitedly bounded back to her side.

"There's one on both ends!" he exclaimed happily. Ran whipped around to view the other end of the alley. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank god," she breathed. Looking down at Shinichi, she asked, "How will we get the footage, though?"

"We'll send an anonymous tip to the police, and they'll show us the footage when they find it," he replied as he grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the house.

"Huh? Why will they show us the footage?" she asked, stumbling to keep up.

"Assuming you were taped on that camera, it should be a key clue to the case. Naturally, the police will show it to your dad and ask a bunch of standard questions."

"Heeeeh… You sure know a lot about this kind of stuff," she commented thoughtfully.

"It's because I watch so many crime shows," he nervously stammered. He surmised she was too distracted to notice, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"More importantly," Ran began again, "how are we going to tell Inspector Megure? What did you mean by 'an anonymous tip'?"

"Oh, that. Well, the police aren't likely to listen to a child- especially one who's been pestering them so much since you disappeared," he said a little sheepishly.

"Not even you? They've never had an issue before," she commented thoughtfully. Then she blinked a few times. "Wait, you were pestering them?!"

"What was I supposed to do? You were missing for two weeks! Your dad was pestering them as well—" He stopped when he saw the look on her face. "Ran-neechan…?" She shook her head.

"Sorry, it's nothing. Not important right now," she replied almost bitterly. "What is important is notifying the police. You said anonymous, but won't they be more likely to ignore a suspicious tip like that?" They continued walking.

"Ah… you're probably right. I could call Shinichi-niichan and—" Shinichi's arm was yanked back as Ran swung him around to face her.

"You absolutely can NOT tell Shinichi!" she hissed.

"But—"

"No buts! If you tell him there's a clue here, he'll come back straight away!" She was visibly upset by the thought.

I'm here now, Shinichi thought with some annoyance.

"You could tell them," he offered. Ran's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You could pretend to be Shinichi-niichan," he elaborated.

"T-there's no way," she stammered. She seemed even more upset by this idea.

"Well, we have to tell them somehow. They won't even pick up the phone for me anymore." Ran stared down at the small detective. Just how many times had he called them?

"What about Agasa Hakase?" she offered. Shinichi shook his head, and let out a nervous laugh.

"They won't answer his number, either. I, uh, I might've started using his phone when they stopped answering mine," he guiltily mumbled. He glanced up at her. She was giving him a hard blank stare. He could tell she was trying to decide whether or not she should be angry at this news. Finally she let out an irritated sigh.

"Let's just get back to Agasa's, and we can decide what to do from there," she said moodily, and the two once again resumed walking.

"Ne, Conan-kun?" she started after a few minutes of walking in silence. "How is he?" Shinichi looked up at her. "My father?" she asked quietly. Shinichi looked back at the ground.

"Very worried about you," he replied in an equally soft tone. She lowered her head, and they both walked the remainder of the way in silence.

As they reached Shinichi's street, the detective sighed and pulled out his phone.

"I guess I'll have to call Takagi-keiji— if he'll answer," he said. Ran frowned.

"Doesn't Takagi-keiji work in the Criminal Investigations division?"

"Ahh… Yeah it's true he isn't involved directly with missing persons, but he's the only one who's likely to answer the phone for me. He'll do just about anything you ask, too, so…"

"Is that so?" Ran said, giving Shinichi a disapproving stare.

"Ahaha… Well this is important, so…" He took out his phone and quickly dialed the number, turning away from her gaze. Takagi picked up after several rings.

"Didn't I ask you to stop calling me, Conan-kun?" came the policeman's agitated voice. "I already said I'd call back if I got any new information!"

"Ahh— actually, I might have found some new info."

"Really? What is it?"

"You'll need to check some traffic footage."

"Is that true Shinichi?!" exclaimed Agasa Hakase. Shinichi shushed him while glancing into the next room. Ran had resumed sitting on the couch and was fidgeting in her seat. It looked like she didn't hear them, so they continued talking.

"Based on what Ran told me, there's a high chance the culprit's van was recorded leaving the scene. If the cameras were working that day, then it should be enough evidence for the Criminal Investigation Division to take over the search." Agasa frowned at those words.

"But isn't Ran-kun a karate champion? Shouldn't she have been able to get away from them?"

"About that— I think they may have shot her. She wouldn't say much, but based on her reaction and the stain I found on the concrete," he said as he took out the handkerchief, "I'd say it's highly likely." He handed the small piece of evidence to the professor. "If we test that against her hair, we'll know for certain."

"That's impossible— she's not in any kind of pain… Well, physical pain, anyway," said the professor looking towards Ran. "Gunshot wounds don't just disappear."

"Now that she's calmed down a bit, I can ask her about it properly," said Shinichi as he also looked towards her. "Anyway, get that sample to Haibara and see if she can match it. There might be some contamination, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't rained at all…" The professor nodded and began to head down to the lab while Shinichi made his way back to the once teen-aged girl. A light pink dusted her cheeks, but he didn't notice this at first.

"Ne, Ran-neechan," he started. Ran's head snapped up. Her brow was slightly bent like she was worried about something, but Shinichi dismissed this as residue from the day's events. "Can you remember it properly now?" he asked. "Of what happened that day?"

Ran slowly nodded, but didn't volunteer any information. She seemed to be slightly distracted, but Shinichi pressed forward anyway.

"You were shot at?" he prompted.

"… Yes…" She sounded a bit unsure. "I… I was definitely shot, but…"

"Where?" he asked. She pointed to the right side of her stomach just as the professor reentered the room.

"I-it was here," she said quietly. "It definitely happened, but… I don't… feel anything now…" she trailed off. She couldn't have dreamt it, right? The professor cleared his throat.

"Would you mind if I took a look at the area?" he asked, stepping forward. She bit her lip, nodded, and then reached for the hem of her shirt. She hesitated, took a deep breath, and slowly lifted the edge up to reveal a small portion of her stomach, her face turning several shades of pink as she did so. Curious, Shinichi leaned forward with the professor to view the spot in question. Agasa frowned, probing the skin slightly.

"Are you sure it was here?" he asked, maneuvering to see her back as well. Ran looked down, a surprised look on her face.

"No way!" she said, craning her neck to look at her back. "I was definitely… it… it went right through! How?!" Indeed, the skin on her stomach was as smooth and clean as if she had just been born. While her shirt was raised, Shinichi snuck a look at the other side of her stomach. There was nothing there, either. He absently placed a hand over his own scar, lost in thought.

I guess scars don't transfer, huh? Makes sense, he thought to himself. But where did hers go…? He frowned as he stared at her scar-less stomach. His eyes moved up slightly to look at her shirt, and his frown deepened. He glanced at her pants, too.

Those aren't her clothes… Naturally, Ran's clothes would be too small on a male body, but they didn't look like any Shinichi owned, either. Which meant the culprit bought them.

"Ahh! Conan-kun, what—?!" exclaimed Ran when Shinichi jumped onto the couch and grabbed the back of her shirt collar.

"Hanes…" he murmured, looking at the label. Admittedly, he knew nothing about clothes, so he asked, "Ran-neechan, do you know this brand? Hanes?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because it looks like the culprit may have dressed you. I thought maybe we could create a suspect list based on this…" Immediately, Ran looked down at her clothes. She hadn't realized she wasn't wearing her clothes. They all had taken it for granted until now, and the clothing was so inconspicuous that even Shinichi hadn't noticed it at first.

"Mmmm… I'm afraid your suspect list will be very long," she said after a moment. "This is just a regular cotton shirt. You can buy this brand almost anywhere." Shinichi let out a dejected sigh.

No good, huh? The jeans are probably the same… he thought. So our only clue is the red minivan. He blinked. Why is it a minivan? There are many more capable vehicles, so why bother with a minivan? He glanced back at Ran's attire. So they won't stand out, maybe?

While Shinichi was lost in his thoughts, Agasa made one last examination of the spot in question, shook his head, and took a few notes before leaving the room again. Shinichi absently looked up to watch the professor leave before turning his attention back to Ran. She had that worried expression again, and her face was flushed. She'd begun to rock back and forth slightly. Shinichi blinked a few times.

"Ran-neechan?" Ran's head snapped in his direction. She almost looked scared.

"C-Conan-kun… I-I don't think I can hold it much longer, but I don't know what I should do~" she stammered.

"What's wrong?" he asked, apprehension rising. Her face turned beet red.

"I-I… really have to use the restroom."