Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.
Lure
Chapter 37 - Weeds and Whispers
"Okay. This is getting seriously ridiculous."
Shinichi scrolled down the pages upon pages online that had sprung up from that ridiculous Guessing Game article. Though he would on occasion dip into the fetid wells of social media gossip when a case demanded it, he had never seen the appeal in following trends, especially trends built up by whoever managed to shout the most shocking, meanest, or craziest opinion loudest. Which, he noted as he scrolled yet further down the page, seemed to be all this online buzz was about.
It didn't help that, in this digital environment, anyone could say anything they wanted to, no matter how awful, and never have to take responsibility for it. Lies were easily divorced from their sources and set free to roam like dangerous beasts to serve whoever fed them. Of course, that wasn't to say that there weren't a few voices of reason, but there were simply too many people who preferred sensation to reason or even common sense.
The hot topic today was corrupt police officers.
Apparently the magazine's suggestion that KID was a member of law enforcement had caught the fancy of the populace. Now every officer in Division Two was under scrutiny, and there were dozens of forums arguing for or against each of them like they were the candidates for a role in a movie.
There was even one particularly preposterous theory that claimed that the entirety of the KID Task Force were the thief's assistants. Shinichi didn't think anyone was crazy enough to believe that, but that didn't stop people from discussing it like it was a possibility, whether for fun or just to see if they could spin it in a way that would convince some fool out there.
Shaking his head, Shinichi shut off the computer and pushed his chair back from the table. He stood and stretched—then nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke up from right behind him.
"You look like you've just swallowed something bitter."
"I might as well have," Shinichi muttered then leveled his visitor—Kaito, naturally—with an irritated look. "And stop sneaking up on me! You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Sorry about that," said the magician, not sounding very sorry at all. "Frankly, I would have thought you'd be used to it by now."
"I suppose the moment I do get used to it, you'll knock just to shock me again," the detective replied dryly. But then he sighed and relaxed. "I wasn't expecting you today. What happened to keeping a low profile."
"No one saw me coming," Kaito promised. His tone was jovial, but his eyes were serious. "And no one will see me going. Promise. I just wanted to see you."
Shinichi's stomach did a little flip at that. "Well, since you're here, would you like to join me for dinner?"
"It would be my pleasure. I brought dessert."
Shinichi snorted and stepped past him, heading out of the room and towards the kitchen. "I knew it. You planned to be invited to dinner all along."
The thief only laughed.
"So what had you looking all grim earlier?" Kaito asked as Shinichi dished them out each a serving of teriyaki chicken and rice.
Shinichi grimaced. "Oh that. I was just checking in on the latest reactions to that ridiculous Guessing Game article. It's getting more out of control by the day."
It was Kaito's turn to grimace. "It certainly is. Aoko's been in a dreadful temper about it. This old lady actually stopped her and her dad at a restaurant to tell them off. She told Nakamori-keibu how he should be ashamed for not taking his job seriously especially since he's being paid by the country. She went so far as to say that the police department should fire him and find someone to take over who actually cares about stopping crime. Aoko's been raging about how unfair it all is ever since."
Shinichi's lips thinned. He could totally understand Aoko's anger and frustration. After all, while it was true that Nakamori-keibu hadn't been able to catch KID, it was most definitely not because the man didn't try. He was, hands down, the hardest working member of his entire task force. And, if his efforts hadn't led to Kaitou KID's arrest, he had uncovered other crimes and caught other criminals who were frankly a lot more harmful if considerably less famous.
"I wish there was something we could do about it," the detective muttered unhappily. "The problem is that anything anyone says at this point just fuels the fire."
"That's the thing about internet gossip," Kaito replied, tone dry. "Anyone with a brain knows to take everything they see online with a grain of salt, especially on social media. The rest will believe whatever idea they like best no matter how little sense it makes and ignore everything else."
"Which is why we decided to ignore them and let them gossip themselves out," Shinichi agreed then sighed. "I just never expected it to get so crazy. And it's starting to affect real people's lives. I mean, did you hear about Officer Mikishiba?"
Kaito snorted. "I heard he was leading the polls in people suspected to be me. Which is pretty preposterous considering he's about to get married to his college sweetheart. But I assume that's not what you were talking about."
"Yes and no actually," said Shinichi.
The officer in question had been voted the most likely to be KID on several online polls as Kaito had said. The man was in his late twenties, tall, handsome, inclined to cracking jokes, and very athletic—all of which had made him very 'suspicious'. He had also been engaged, as Kaito had said, to his college sweetheart, who also happened to be the heiress of a wealthy family and a friend to Sonoko's older sister. Thanks to that last bit, Shinichi had heard through Sonoko that the girl's parents, who had never liked the idea of her marrying a police officer anyway and only grudgingly agreed because she'd insisted, had latched onto the latest gossip to try and call off the marriage. After all, they argued, if this Mikishiba fellow was actually Kaitou KID then obviously he was only marrying their daughter for her fortune (since everyone knew by now that KID was pursuing Shinichi). Even if he wasn't KID himself, they'd gone on to say, he could still be a KID accomplice coming after their family treasures. And they simply refused to let their daughter marry a criminal, let alone one bound to break her heart and more than likely leave the whole family destitute.
"And what did Mikishiba's fiancé have to say about all that?" asked Kaito.
"She told her parents that they're being ridiculous, but they insist they're just thinking about her wellbeing. Last I heard, they said they'd only let the marriage go on if Mikishiba proves to them that he's not KID or a KID accomplice."
"And how do they expect him to do that?"
"No one knows. They just said it was Mikishiba's responsibility to figure it out. Until then, they're postponing the wedding."
"I'd offer to help, but I assume anything I did would just exacerbate the problem."
"Probably. I told Sonoko I'd look into it though. So if you think of any information you think might help, you can let me know."
"Of course. Just let me know what you need," Kaito said before his serious expression gave way to one of amusement. "So you and Suzuki-san are talking again, are you?"
Shinichi grimaced. "For better or worse. She keeps hounding me for information about you. She even demanded that I get your autograph for her."
Kaito laughed. "That can be easily arranged."
"What? No!" The detective looked horrified at the very idea. "Don't encourage her. Who knows what else she'd ask for?"
"Alright, alright, I won't encourage her," the thief said soothingly. "But you know, it may be helpful to be on her good side."
Shinichi wasn't sure whether it was worse to be on Sonoko's good side or her bad side. She seemed equally capable of making him suffer in either state of mind. He generally preferred when her attention was not on him at all, and he said as much. This only made Kaito laugh again.
Their conversation shifted to lighter things as they finished their meal. They were enjoying cups of hot chocolate and sharing funny anecdotes when Kaito suddenly held up his hand.
"Do you hear that?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper and indigo eyes narrowed with intent.
Shinichi listened hard, and then he heard it too. There were noises coming from outside like a scrapping and bumping but very quiet and erratic.
"It's the wind," he said. "The bushes and trees around the back of the house can end up battering up against it when it's windy. And the wind was pretty strong today."
"True," Kaito said slowly. "But that was earlier. It died down a lot late in the evening. It was picking up again by the time I got here, but it was blowing from a different direction. From the front of your house. It shouldn't change any time soon."
Shinichi blinked and considered asking if Kaito was sure, but he reasoned that someone who regularly traveled by glider probably kept a much closer eye on the weather than he did. But if it wasn't the wind then what—
The thought came to him immediately.
"What?" Kaito asked, noticing Shinichi's sudden shift in mood.
Scowling, Shinichi stood up. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
He checked that he had his resized soccer ball dispensing belt with him then headed for the back door.
"If you think there's trouble, I expect you to tell me," Kaito said sharply, rising to follow him.
"Nothing like that," Shinichi said distractedly. "Stay out of sight, would you?"
Kaito frowned, but he did as he'd been asked, slipping into a shadow near the back door where he knew he'd be invisible to anyone looking in from outside. He also checked that his card gun was ready to hand.
Shinichi threw open the door then. "Hey!"
There was an instant reaction.
A figure that had been creeping about just outside spun and broke into a run. Shinichi activated his belt and sent a soccer ball spinning after the fleeing spy. The ball caught the spy in the back of the shoulder, and he tumbled forward with a yell. But he was up again before Shinichi could approach him. He snatched something off the ground and, in moments, he had gone. Both detective and thief got a surprisingly good look at him as he pelted through the yellow pool of a street lamp.
Sighing, Shinichi firmly shut and locked the door. His lips were pressed into a thin, disapproving line.
"I take it you recognized him too?" he asked Kaito.
Kaito nodded, mirroring Shinichi's frown. "That photographer that works with Tomoyama. I didn't realize they'd started coming right up to your house to try to get their pictures."
"Today was the second time," Shinichi replied grimly. "I think it's because I've been keeping my curtains closed."
"This is getting rather out of hand, isn't it?"
"It is. And I'm sick of it. I think it's time we put a stop to it."
The grin that spread across Kaito's face was positively evil. "I couldn't agree more."
-To be Continued-
Note: Happy new year!