Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lure

Chapter 51 - Too Many, Too Few

"Ya know, I think this might be the biggest basement I've ever seen attached to a single family home," Hattori remarked as he and Shinichi followed the Ichimiyas through said basement. "You said it actually has more than one level?"

"It has two," Yuu confirmed. "We were surprised too. It's difficult to be sure because the space is chopped up into so many pieces, but I think there's actually more of the house underground than there is above it. Large portions of the basement extends under areas of the garden."

"Do you guys have a copy of the floor plan?" asked Shinichi.

Asami shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. We did ask, but no one could find one. Dojima-san started to draw one up for us, but he, well, you know. He didn't finish."

"He ran off you mean," her husband muttered gruffly.

"Now Yuu, that isn't fair," his wife admonished. "Just because you don't believe in monsters doesn't mean other people can't. And if they're scared then they're scared."

"I know, I know," he sighed. "I just expect people in this day and age to have more sense."

"This place really is like a maze, isn't it?" Shinichi remarked, hoping to distract the man from his irritation at the situation and direct everyone's attention back to more relevant issues. "Does anyone know what Takuya-san and his wife used this space for?"

"That's a good question," Yuu said, grimacing. "The largest space is directly below the kitchen area and served as a wine cellar. That was the only basement area in nearly pristine condition. It was well stocked too, so all we really did there was some light dusting. The area right below that's got things like the generator in it. As for the rest, I'd guess storage from how much stuff was, well, stuffed in the place."

"All in disarray and super dirty with cobwebs everywhere," his wife added, shuddering. "We started out trying to sort through it, but we gave up pretty quickly. That's why we chose to sell the whole lot the way we did even though our lawyers recommended against it."

"Why were they against it?" asked Shinichi.

"Oh, the usual," Asami said dismissively. "Wealthy eccentric people with packrat tendencies often end up with quite valuable things squirreled away like antiques and artwork. But really, I never expected to inherit anything from my aunt and uncle. Losing some money I never expected to have is a small price to pay for not having to waste months of time and effort rooting through heaps of dusty old odds and ends."

Shinichi nodded his understanding. It was a refreshingly practical point of view. Not many people would be so level-headed about unexpected windfalls and the promise of hidden treasures. He approved. At the same time though, it brought up yet another possibility regarding potential motives for why someone might want to harass the Ichimiya couple.

Hattori must have had the same thought because he asked, "Do you guys happen ta have access to any of Takuya-san's books or records? Like of his estate and finances and stuff."

"The lawyers provided us with information on the assets and titles I was inheriting," Asami replied. "Is that what you mean?"

"Not quite, though that might help too. I was askin' more about business transactions, expenses, major purchases—that sort of thing."

"I…don't know. It didn't occur to me to look for such things."

"If he did keep records like that in actual, literal books, then there's a chance we might have some," Yuu said. "One of the rooms whose contents we didn't sell was the library. Since we both like to read, we decided to have everything in that room boxed until we're done with the renovations. Then we plan to have our own library, and we wanted to sort through Takuya's collection to see which books we'd want to keep."

Shinichi perked up visibly at both the mention of a library and the possibility of the aforementioned books of records. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could we get a look through those books?"

"There are a lot of them," Yuu warned him. "But sure. The library room is actually one of the ones in the main house that we're done furnishing. If you're all right with lending us a hand with the sorting, we could fill out our library and look for those records at the same time."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," Asami agreed, brightening. "I've been itching to get started on that room! We can start tomorrow morning."

"I thought we'd start after dinner," her husband replied with his own laugh. "Seeing as how our detective friends are so eager."

"I'd love to get started as soon as possible," Shinichi agreed. "But I still have to agree with Asami-san. It may be better to start fresh tomorrow morning. For tonight, I'd like to take a closer look at the security around your various entry and exit points. I think we'll sleep better at night once we have a better understanding of how the vandals might be getting in and out."

Yuu sobered immediately. "You're right. And that makes sense. I don't like imagining it's one of our men using the time he's working here to cause damage instead. But I like even less the idea that some total stranger is sneaking in here while we're not looking to smash up everyone's hard work behind our backs."

It was in a much more somber mood that Yuu finally stopped in the middle of a long, plain corridor lined with two doors on either side. The hall itself T-ed at the far end.

"This is the place," Yuu announced, gesturing down the hall to the shadowy T-shaped intersection of mottled and scarred walls.

"There were two other areas that I thought could have been the location of his encounter too, but since he said he saw the monster come around the corner towards him as he was going up a corridor, well, this was one of the most suitable spots. As you can see, the lights in the perpendicular hall aren't working, so it's dark over there. He said he was walking down this hall, checking what was in each of the rooms that open off it, when he heard a low growling sound. He said it sounded like a dog's growl but deeper and much, much louder. As though the animal making the sound was the size of a bear."

Yuu took a few more steps forward and pointed towards the T intersection. "He said he heard it coming from that direction, so he looked, and he saw the shadows shift. Then he saw a long, hairy snout ooze into view around the right hand corner. It was dark and definitely canine in shape, or so he said. And it was dripping shadows and flame like saliva and had eyes that burned like coals." As he talked, Yuu pitched his voice in emulation of dramatic, theatrical declarations a storyteller might use on stage.

"He said the beast saw him and turned, and he was frozen where he stood, petrified by terror and the knowledge that it hated him. It wanted him out of its house. Its home. This was its place and not his. And it was going to make him pay for daring to set foot on cursed grounds."

"The guy said all that?"

"Yep. And more. He was quite the poet about the whole experience. And about how he knew he had to flee or become the fodder that would fuel the hunger of the beast—devoured body and soul to sustain its perverted existence."

Hattori grimaced. "Sounds like the guy should've gone into the entertainment business."

Yuu gave a crooked smile. "I may have had similar thoughts. But there was one point in favor of his story that made everyone who was here that day most uneasy. It's also why I think this is the right area. Let me show you."

The man led the way to the intersection to point out what he meant. Both detectives saw it before he spoke though.

There were huge, dark scorch marks on the floor.

Hattori whistled.

"As you can see," said Yuu. "This basement needs a lot of cleaning up, and I can't guarantee that these marks weren't here before. That's why I hesitate to call this proof of any sort. But this is the only place where we've found such marks, and the more fanciful have attributed it to the hellfire of the beasts."

"Were there other reported encounters?" asked Shinichi.

"None like this one. And none that left marks like these."

"Did all the encounter stories place the sightings here?" asked Heiji.

Yuu snorted. "No, unfortunately. Would you like to see those sites too? Most of them were also in the basement, though there were also a few in the west wing."

"Yeah."

"We're supposed to be going to dinner," Asami reminded them.

"We'll make it quick and keep to the basement," her husband said. "There's even less to see in those places anyway."

-0-

With the scorch marks and the surrounding area duly documented and a handful of other supposed encounter sites surveyed (as promised, those sites were pretty unremarkable barring a few more sets of scratch marks), the two detectives and their hosts returned to the dining room in anticipation of dinner. After the drab, scarred basement with its eerie atmosphere, the bright cheeriness of the fully refurbished main sections of the house were a shock to the system. It was like crossing between time periods from the old and badly kept to the new and, most importantly, lived in.

The alive and the dead, Shinichi mused, in more ways than one. It was a strangely unsettling thought.

Even without the vandalism issues and the unpleasant history of an occult double suicide on the premises, this was not a house where Shinichi would want to live if he had any choice in the matter.

"I invited the contractors to dine with us," Asami told them. "I was hoping that you might be able to learn something from meeting them, but they all declined my invitation. I don't think any of them wanted to risk being stuck here overnight."

"That's reasonable," said Shinichi.

"Though I can't help but wonder if they just didn't want to risk giving themselves away in front of two detectives," Yuu said dryly.

"Now, Yuu, they can't all be in on it," Asami chided.

Her husband pursed his lips. "You sure? It just occurred to me that it would explain a lot if they were. Like why none of them has ever seen anything useful."

"This isn't a school children prank, Dear," Asami said, looking more amused than alarmed. "Perhaps we should ask Hattori-san and Kudo-san what they think."

"Oh, right." The man flashed his wife a rueful smile then turned to the boys. "I understand we've only been able to give you a summary of the facts and you've barely had any time to study things, but we would appreciate any thoughts you might have."

The two detectives traded looks.

"The bad news is that pretty much anyone who's been around could have done the vandalism," Heiji said apologetically. "There are a lot of ways in and out of this house. With all the construction and yard work that's been going on, anyone around would also have access to their choice of tools. So in terms of means and opportunity, we can't really narrow your suspects down beyond the people who've been here recently."

"Which we already guessed," Yuu sighed. "Is there any good news?"

"I'd say there's some," said Shinichi. "We've identified a few possible motives for the vandalism. If we can figure out which one is most likely and who they would be attached to then we'd have a good chance of finding your culprit."

"Motives, huh?" The older man considered that then nodded sharply. "Right. It would make the most sense to start there, wouldn't it?"

"So what are the motives you identified?" asked Asami. "I assume one is that someone wants our land?"

"Yes, that would be one. It could also be personal, so someone with a grudge against one or both of you who just wants to make your lives difficult. Another possibility is that someone believes there's something hidden in this house that they want."

"…Are you seriously suggesting there's hidden treasure?" Yuu asked, incredulous.

"Or that someone thinks there is," Shinichi corrected him.

"There's one more thing," Heiji added before either Ichimiya could respond to that. "While the vandalism could've been done by pretty much anyone, the monster encounters are different. If it's not nerves running away with people then that sort of trick would take more planning and preparation. But we'll need to learn more before that's useful. Do ya have the contact information for the people who had encounters with the beasts?"

-0-

"Hey there. So how's the weekend mountain retreat been treating you? Off to a good start, I hope?"

Shinichi chuckled, curling up on his side on the guest bed with his phone cradled close. "I'm not here on vacation, you know."

"I know," Kaito replied, and Shinichi could hear the smile in his voice. "But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself—especially when you're getting a free stay in a fancy house surrounded by the beauty of nature."

"The beauty of nature might be stretching it a little," Shinichi replied. "The yard's more than a little bit of a mess, and the walls were definitely not designed to be aesthetically pleasing. They're also so tall that you can't avoid looking at them."

"Sounds like a unique place," the magician observed.

"That's just the beginning," Shinichi assured him. "Just wait until you hear about the history."

"I am intrigued," Kaito declared. "Do share."

Shinichi did so.

When he finished, Kaito let out a low whistle. "That totally sounds like the premise for a horror movie."

"I guess it does," the detective admitted. "Hattori certainly agrees with you. But this is real life."

"Indeed. Did you get the chance to talk to the people who saw the beast?"

"Some of them. The guy who saw it first and gave the most, er, dramatic account didn't answer his phone, so we left him a message. We plan to try calling him again tomorrow. We did manage to get a hold of a few of the others though. Half of them just went on and on about how this place is cursed and how they don't want anything to do with it anymore, thank you very much."

"If the experience was that frightening, you can't really blame them."

"I know. And I don't. But it's a little frustrating."

Kaito laughed. "I can imagine. You said only half of them were like that though. Did the other half have more to say?"

Shinichi snorted. "That's an understatement. The other half were the people who were really eager to share all about their real life encounters with monsters from the abyss. It's hard to say how much—if any—of it can be taken seriously."

Kaito hummed thoughtfully. "I can see how that'd be a problem. You didn't learn anything interesting at all?"

"Maybe one thing," the detective decided after some thought. "A couple of them mentioned a strange smell."

"What sort of smell?"

"Most of them said it smelled like something burning."

"You mean like sulfur and brimstone?" the magician guessed, tone wry.

Shinichi grimaced. "Something like that. Still, it's something to think about."

"I suppose it is. Really though, it sounds to me like the truth behind the monster sightings may not be all that important. You've got plenty of other things to look into."

"Well, you're not wrong," Shinichi admitted grudgingly. "But I'd still like to know."

Kaito snickered. "Of course you would. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, I'd like to know more about the workmen," Shinichi admitted. "I'd have asked the police if there weren't so many of them and so little proof pointing at any one in particular."

"Send me what you know then."

Shinichi fiddled with his phone for a minute. "I just did. I'm actually a little surprised that their reception is so good, but I guess that's probably one of the first things a tech company founder would want from a new home."

"For good reason. And I've got it." There was a brief silence filled with the faint rustling of movement before Kaito sighed. "I wish I could've gone with you."

Shinichi smiled softly, a faint blush rising in his cheeks. "Me too. I—"

He was about to say more, but his ears caught some distant disturbance. He frowned and sat up.

"Tantei-kun?" Kaito asked, abruptly alert. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I thought I heard something. Hold on. I'm going to go look." Swinging his feet over the side of the bed, Shinichi got up and padded to the door. He cracked it open and listened.

At first, all he heard was silence. But then there was that odd sound again—a sort of scratching like something hard and pointy being scraped over uneven wood.

Heiji's head popped out of the neighboring door. "Did ya hear something?"

"I did," Shinichi answered, gaze turning in the direction of the sound as his heart rate sped up. "It's coming from the end of the hall."

No sooner had he spoke then there was a thump, and the sealed door at said end of the hall rattled.

Heiji gaped. "What the… Someone's gotta be behind there."

"We can get into the west wing through the ground floor," said Shinichi. "If we hurry—"

"Shinichi," Kaito said sharply in his ear. "Don't be reckless."

"What are we waiting for?" asked Heiji, emerging from his room, hands fumbling with a flashlight and eyes alight with anticipation. "Let's go."

"I'll call you back," Shinichi whispered hastily into his phone then hung up, shoved his feet into his shoes (kept by the door since being around construction meant wandering the house barefoot was a very bad idea) and raced after his friend.

Elsewhere in Japan, a certain master thief cursed so vehemently that his mother poked her head into his room.

"Kaito!" she said reprovingly. "Language."

"Sorry Mom." He hesitated for the briefest of instants then hopped off his bed. "I'm going out for a bit."

Chikage glanced at the clock on her son's desk, eyebrows rising. "Now?"

"Yeah. Don't wait up. I may be a few days."

She studied him for a moment then nodded. "Be careful."

Kaito flashed her a razor edged grin before starting to collect the tools he thought he might need. "I always am."

That said, he made a beeline for his father's portrait and the Kaitou KID lair beyond. This was, he mused, exactly why he'd chosen to live at home instead of moving into the dorms or finding an apartment near campus when he'd started university. Easy access to his KID gear, especially in an emergency, was totally worth the longer commute.

-To Be Continued-