SailorStar9: With Chapter 32 uploaded, this is Chapter 33 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Pairings: Furuya Rei (Amuro Tooru)/Mizuno Ami
Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and pairing.
Chapter 33: Detective Boys' Locked Room Mystery Battle
Time passes...
"The professor is surprisingly dependable." Genta noted, bouncing a soccer ball on his head.
"I agree." Mitsuhiko concurred. "I had no idea he had such a rich friend. I was surprised."
"Apparently, the professor saved their company with one of his inventions." Conan explained. "That's why they did him this favor."
"Didn't you say the place is the site of a demolished mansion?" Fumio inquired. "Won't it be hard to practice if the ground's uneven? Not to mention," he looked at the water puddles on the ground. "There was a thunderstorm last night, too."
"Don't worry." Conan assured. "We'll be fine even after it rained. Aside from the pool the ground has been leveled. The drainage is good, too."
"Spoke too soon, Conan." Fumio remarked, seeing Inspector Megure's team gathered at the demolished site.
"Professor." Ayumi voiced, the group hurrying up to Professor Agasa.
"Professor, what happened?" Haibara asked.
"A man was found dead in the pool of this empty lot." Professor Agasa whispered. "Earlier, I came to unlock this place so you kids could get inside. There was a man floating in the pool."
"Does that make you the first discoverer, Professor?" Genta inquired.
"I suppose it does." Professor Agasa admitted. "We shouldn't get in their way. Let's talk over there." he pulled the children off to the side.
"Was it an accident or a murder?" Haibara went straight to the point in the equipment shed.
"Was there water in the pool?" Mitsuhiko asked.
"Yes, but it's shallow." Professor Agasa replied. "It's from last night rain."
"How big is the pool?" Genta inquired.
"It's for a family, so it think it's about ten meters." Professor Agasa guessed. "It's two courses wide."
"And this gate is the only way to get to the pool?" Conan asked.
"Yeah." Professor Agasa nodded. "But when I got here, the gate was locked up tight."
"Who has the keys?" Haibara inquired.
"According to my friend who lent us this place, this is the only key." Professor Agasa showed the key.
"Then how did the dead person get in?" Ayumi wondered.
"Inspector Megure is very troubled with that very question." Professor Agasa stated.
"If it was a murder, then we don't know how the culprit escaped." Mitsuhiko pointed out. "That means, this empty lot is a locked room without a roof."
"But if this is a crime scene, we can't use it to practice soccer." Conan reminded.
"But he died in the pool, right?" Genta was confused. "We're not going to use the pool."
"Do you think the police will see it that way?" Conan questioned.
"Conan-kun is right." Inspector Megure agreed. "Bot he culprit and the victim had to pass through this lot to get to the crime scene. Until the case is solved, it's closed to the public. Though, it's a different story if you Detective Boys solved the case."
"Then, let's solve the case." Ayumi declared after Inspector Megure walked off. "If we can figure out how the victim got here, the Inspector will consider it."
"Here's a plan of the place I got from my friend." Professor Agasa handed Fumio a blueprint of the area. "Will it help?"
"This gate was locked, right?" Mitsuhiko pointed to the map.
"It looks like there is a road on the other side of the fence behind the pool." Ayumi noted.
"There's an eight story building right there." Genta added.
"No, there's a narrow road running between them." Mitsuhiko corrected. "It's not wide enough for a car, though."
"What if you climbed the fence from that road and entered the lot?" Ayumi suggested.
"That's impossible." Haibara expressed. "There's embedded glass and barbed wire on top of the fence."
"Hold on." Mitsuhiko looked out of the shed window. "I see a crane over there. What if you used the crane instead? You could hold onto the end and go over the wall."
"That's not possible." Professor Agasa shot his theory down. "The crane arrived this morning."
"The pool must have a drain, right?" Ayumi reminded. "You could sneak in through there."
"It wasn't huge enough for a human." Professor Agasa stated.
"And it's covered, too." Conan added.
"On top of that, it was covered in garbage." Professor Agasa remarked. "That's why the rainwater built up inside."
"Then, he must have come from the sky." Genta put in his theory. "If you flew here on a helicopter and climbed down..."
"Fly a helicopter at night?" Conan deathpanned. "They're really loud."
"And super expensive." Fumio added.
"Hang gliders don't make any noise." Genta proposed.
"You wouldn't be able to land in such a small space." Haibara shot the idea down.
"What about RC helicopters?" Mitsuhiko suggested. "About ten should do."
"Is it possible to fly that many RC copters?" Haibara asked.
"Wouldn't a hot-air balloon work?" Ayumi suggested.
"Hot air balloons float using air heated by the burners." Conan pointed out.
"Not to mention, not only was it pouring last night, there was also lightning." Fumio reminded. "All in all, not very conductive weather for hot air balloons."
"Then, use an airship." Ayumi guessed.
"Aren't you forgetting something important?" Conan sighed.
"Why did he go through so much trouble to sneak into the pool?" Haibara finally questioned the victim's motives.
"Wait, maybe we're doing this the wrong way." Fumio mused. "What if, instead of entering the empty lot, the victim was trying to sneak into somewhere else?"
"That's it." Mitsuhiko realized what Fumio meant. "There was never a murderer."
"He wasn't hit." Genta came to the same conclusion. "He fell from the neighboring building and hit his head on the bottom of the pool. Let's tell Inspector Megure to investigate the neighboring building."
"Unfortunately, Detective Boys, we reached the same conclusion as well." Inspector Megure cut in.
"You already investigated the building?" Ayumi asked.
"We did." Inspector Megure confirmed. "There's no mistaking we did, but..."
"Through the seventh floor, all the windows were fixed shut." Chiba supplied.
"There's a bay window on the eight floor." Genta pointed out.
"He fell from the window." Mitsuhiko added.
"But that widow doesn't open, either." Inspector Megure informed.
"We found that out during our canvassing." Chiba added, recalling their conversation with Awaji Tomoe.
"Then, where did the person fall from?" Ayumi wondered.
"What about the roof?" Haibara inquired.
"That's not it, either." Inspector Megure stated. "There's a high fence surrounding the roof, and it's made so no one can enter."
"Hold on." Conan voiced. "Were the disquieting rumors the old woman heard...?"
"Oh, that?" Professor Agasa realized what Conan was hinting. "It was on the news. There's a robber breaking into buildings."
"They call him the Gecko, right?" Genta cut in.
"If the man who fell was the Gecko, then he fell not from a window, but from the building wall." Conan declared.
"We determined the identity of the man." Inspector Megure confirmed. "He was the Gecko. According to our investigation, the Gecko made money working as a street artist. The Gecko's trick was crossing from one building to another on a tightrope. But while crossing between two buildings on either side of a river, he made a terrible mistake." he explained the accident that caused Gecko to slip from the rope and fall head-first into one of the protruding rocks in the gushing river. "After that, he was possessed by fear and was unable to perform the same trick again."
"Unable to earn money, the Gecko returned home and used his ability to break into buildings." Chiba took over.
"But even if he could climb the walls, he couldn't break into the buildings, right?" Haibara noted.
"That's it." Inspector Megure realized. "He must not have known the window had been remodeled. He must have intended to enter through the bay window."
"But if it was a veteran thief, wouldn't he have done his research?" Conan wondered.
"I'm sure he did, but the window was remodeled yesterday." Chiba explained.
"It doesn't make sense to us, either." Inspector Megure admitted. "If we could explain that one thing, the case would be solved."
"Were there any witnesses?" Conan asked Professor Agasa once Inspector Megure and Chiba were out of earshot.
"Unfortunately, the power was out in this area at that time." Professor Agasa replied.
"The substation malfunctioned because of the lightning." Mitsuhiko guessed.
"That must be why." Ayumi declared. "The Gecko was struck by lightning and fell."
"That doesn't make sense." Genta objected. "The lightning would have struck the top of the building."
"That." Mitsuhiko pointed to the lightning rod on the top of the water pipe. "There's a lightning rod right there. There should be a ground wire running from the lightning rod to the ground. And the Gecko..." he visualized the Gecko holding onto the pip and getting electrocuted.
"But all three lightning strikes struck the substation." Professor Agasa supplied.
"How about this?" Genta suggested. "The Gecko reached the eighth floor. Then, he looked through the window. The old woman was there. And when she turned around..." he envisioned Awaji making a scary face and causing Gecko to fall.
"I've known her for a while." Professor Agasa stated. "But she's a kind, quiet woman. Her legs were weak, so she uses a cane and wheelchair to get around. But she like to tidy, so she's always doing the laundry when she's got time."
"And the power is out." Haibara reminded. "He wouldn't be able to see inside."
"Professor, you've been to the old woman's room, right?" Conan inquired.
"I'm the one who introduced Inspector Megure to her." Professor Agasa confirmed.
Everything by the bat window was wet? Conan gasped, hearing Professor Agasa's recount of Awaji's testimony. "But if the power was out, he wouldn't have been able to see inside."
"But if lightning struck, he'll be able to see." Fumio reminded.
"That's it." Conan realized what had happened. "I got it." pulling Professor Agasa by the hand, he led the group out of the shed, with Inspector Megure and Chiba following suit.
"Excuse the intrusion, Awaji-san." Professor Agasa apologized, gasping for air. "Sorry about the sudden visit. As you know, this morning, the body of a thief, known as the Gecko, was found in the pool of the demolished mansion next door." using his voice-changing bow-tie, Conan took over the case's resolution using Professor Agasa's voice.." At first, we thought it was a murder, but we determined he died when something caused him to fall while climbing this building to sneak in and hit his head on the floor of the pool. So why did the Gecko fall? True to his name, the Gecko committed several of his thefts by climbing the wall and breaking in through windows. It's hard to imagine the Gecko falling over a mere slip. Last night's lightning must have been quiet shocking. You may not have been struck, but the noise must have been loud."
"Yes, I was just starting to do my laundry." Awaji admitted.
"Then, the power went out, and you started to return to the living room." Conan continued his explanation. "That's when the lightning struck. When you looked out of the window, you saw a man struck to your window. You reflexively sprayed the man with your hose. The window doesn't open, so there's no way the things outside would get wet."
"I'm sorry." Awaji fell to her knees. "I didn't mean to do it."
"I know." Inspector Megure assured. "You're not responsible for anything that happened. But until we know what happened, we can't close the case. That's all. You don't need to worry."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.