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It was early in the morning of a late October Sunday when Conan heard the phone ring. That wasn’t really unusual at the little detective agency, so Conan had no reason to suspect the call was going to lead to the rather strange case that followed.
“Hello, Mouri Detective Agency,” Conan said. “How can I help you?”
“It really is called the Mouri Detective Agency?” the oddly accented voice on the other end asked.
“Uh, yes?” Conan replied. “Run by one Mouri Kogoro.”
“Haha, that’s definitely a good omen,” the man said, laughing a bit to himself.
“Did you need anything?” Conan asked, finding his patience starting to wear thin.
“Oh! Oh yes! Sorry. My name is Eto Mouri, I’m an author. I normally write romances, but I’m giving mystery writing a try for once. My friend, Kudo-san, was supposed to help me proofread my novel. Checking that my foreshadowing is balanced and whatnot, but... he’s not answering his phone,” the man said, growing a bit depressed towards the end. “But! He gave me the phone number for this detective agency in case I couldn’t contact him.”
“What sort of mystery novel? Is it a detective novel?” Conan asked, getting a bit excited by the idea that he might get an early preview himself.
“Yes, yes. I... are you Kogoro then?” the man replied. “I expected a deeper voice.”
Conan grimaced briefly. “No, no. I’ll go get Uncle Kogoro. Give me one minute.”
Conan put the phone down and hurried upstairs, where he found Kogoro sleeping in. A mischievous smile spread across his face as he realised he could enjoy one of the benefits of this second childhood.
“Uncle Kogoro!” Conan shouted as he ran over and flopped onto the snoring man.
Kogoro let out a pained gasp has he was forced into the waking world. “Kami! Brat, there’s better ways to wake a man up.”
“I guess. There’s someone on the phone for you, uncle.”
“Who calls at 8am on a Sunday,” Kogoro grumbled as he got to his feet.
“He’s an author,” Conan replied.
“Ah, that explains it. They never know what time it is,” the detective said, heading off down the stairs.
Conan followed him, feeling excited. Finding a new author to read was such an excellent thing.
“Mouri Kogoro, how can I help you? A book review? I’m not really sure that’s my thing... you’re willing to pay my usual rates? Hm... I should have the day off, so I suppose I can head over today. Where are you? Ah, that’s a bit of a drive, we’ll try to be there for around noon? Sounds good. Goodbye.”
Conan was grinning from ear to ear. He was going to have a new novel to read.
* *
Kogoro pulled up to the end of the driveway that matched the address he’d been given. The property was quite generously sized... especially for being part of greater Tokyo. The whole neighbourhood of Yamate felt quite unlike Tokyo in fact, with the architecture of most of the houses around being rather Western looking. Conan didn’t think the contrast from hopping over to Yokohama would be so stark, and found himself wanting to look up the history of the area a bit.
What also struck the shrunken detective was the nameplate at the entrance. 江藤, for Eto. So similar to his own (real) surname’s writing of 工藤.
“It looks like a haunted mansion,” Ran said nervously as she leaned over to look at the place.
Conan tried not to laugh, remember when the Detective Boys had assumed the same about his own home... and had even misread Kudo as Eto.
“Well, it’s the right address,” Kogoro muttered, double checking what he’d written down. “I guess authors are just overly fond of creepy big houses.”
Conan stared at the back of the detective’s head with narrow eyes.
“We just had to visit in October,” Ran half whispered as they drove up the lane to the house.
Kogoro brought the car to a stop at the front door of the old house. The three of them filed out and Ran hurried ahead to push the doorbell. They sat quietly for a moment before the door creaked open, revealing a brown haired girl with flat bangs who looked to be 14 or 15. Conan also noticed her nose was a little red, making him suspect she was in the early part of a cold.
“Hello? Can I help you?” the girl asked.
“This is the Eto residence, right?” Kogoro replied.
“Yes?”
“Well, I’m Detective Mouri Kogoro, your father called me over to help him with his new novel.”
“Oh! Right, I heard him and mom... discussing that a little earlier. Sorry, I was, uh, working on homework and didn’t really pay attention,” the girl explained, though the light blush on her cheeks made Conan suspect she’d been focusing on something else. The girl shook her head to clear it and gave a quick bow. “Right, I should introduce myself! Eto Ranze, at your service!”
“Ranze? What a coincidence, my name’s Ran,” the martial artist girl replied.
“Are you here to read dad’s novel too?” Ranze asked.
“No, no. I’m here to keep the peace between dad and Conan, since Conan really wanted to read your father’s writing,” Ran replied.
“Where’s your father anyhow?” Kogoro asked.
“Ah, he should be up in his study. I’ll go check if he’s napping or not... he’s a bit of a, uh, a night owl,” Ranze replied. “If you’d like to wait here, the living room is just over here.”
Kogoro nodded and the girl ran off. The trio removed their shoes, the Mouris heading over to sit on the comfortable antique-looking couches. Conan, for his part, started examining the various nicknacks and books on display. A lot of the books were in foreign languages: some were in English, others in European languages Conan couldn’t read. A few even seemed to be in alphabets he didn’t recognise in the slightest, which he found intriguing.
“Oy, brat, don’t touch anything,” Kogoro barked as the shrunken teen in question was about to pick up an odd little statuette.
Conan crossed his arms and pouted, heading over to lean on a wall when he spotted a lad about his height wandering into the living room. The boy saw him and lit up, hurrying over.
“Hi there, my name’s Eto Rinze,” the boy announced with a quick bow.
“Uh, Edogawa Conan.”
“Conan? That’s a neat name,” Rinze said. “Are you in school?”
“Yes?” Conan replied, finding the question odd.
“Cool! I’m home schooled, but big sister gets to go to a middle school. I’ll bet you have loads of friends!” the boy asked excitedly.
Conan grimaced. He wanted to read, not deal with a clingy sheltered seven year old. Or maybe the kid was a bit younger, it wasn’t always the easiest to tell.
“Ah, Mouri-san, you got here early,” a male voice said from behind Conan.
Turning, he was greeted by the sight of a pale man with grey hair in an old-fashioned waist jacket and dress shirt. The cravat around his neck seemed a touch too far in Conan’s opinion.
“Well, I try to arrive as early as I can for paying customers,” Kogoro replied with an oversized grin as he stood up. “So, where’s the manuscript?”
“Ah, it’s just up in my study, if you’d like to follow me,” Eto-san said. “I’m sure that Ranze and Rinze can keep your children entertained while you read.”
“My... Conan’s not my kid. He’s a freeloader we’re left looking after,” Kogoro muttered.
“And I want to read the book too!” Conan added, his youthful grin completely genuine.
“You do?” the grey-haired author said, turning and crouching beside Conan (up close Conan was struck by how translucent the man’s skin looked). “The book is meant for grown ups, you might get a little lost.”
“I read all sorts of mystery novels. Sherlock Holmes is my favourite,” Conan replied with a grin. “And I’ve learned all sorts of things from the stories my cousin Shinichi tells me. He’s a detective like uncle Kogoro.”
“Oh, huh,” Eto said, his mouth hanging open a bit as he thought the matter over (Conan noticed then that he had some rather prominent fangs, and unusual trait... maybe he was a distant relation of Sera’s?). “Well, I suppose more feedback can only be a positive. Let’s go!”
With that, the pale man hopped back upright and waved both of them upstairs. It amazed Conan how energetic the man could be, considering how sickly he looked.
The walk up to the study took them past a number of paintings and suits of armour. The whole place felt a little gothic. Actually reaching the study, the impression was only strengthened. It was probably better to consider it a library, and the floor to ceiling bookshelves were filled with ancient books that could one smell as soon as they entered. Conan briefly felt like he’d never want to leave.
“So, here’s the manuscript,” Eto said, leading them to a desk with a thick paper manuscript sitting in the middle.
“Ah, there’s just the one?” Kogoro asked.
“Well, my editor has a copy as well. He complains that I stick to a typewriter and have to fax him, but... I’m a bit old fashioned,” Eto replied.
“I’m a quick reader, so I’ll read it before uncle,” Conan said, before turning to Kogoro with a grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything.”
Kogoro rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Is it alright if I find something else to read here while I wait?”
“Sure, I’ve got some more recent books over near the window,” Eto said with a slight smile that struck Conan and being on the edge of menacing.
* *
Ran found herself alone in the living room of the creepy home, and didn’t know what to do with herself. Sure, everyone seemed nice, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the house was unnatural. And she was sure someone was watching her...
“Lonely girl. Lonely girl.”
Ran hoped to her feet, spinning into a defensive stance to face whoever had snuck up on her.
Only to find it had been a parrot, perched on the branch of a potted tree.
“Karate girl! Karate girl!” the parrot squawked, sounding so much less human than it had before. (Had it been her imagination that had led her to miss the parrot-y squawking of its voice before?)
Feeling more than a little embarrassed, Ran shifted into a more casual stance and smiled at the parrot. “Talkative little guy, aren’t you?”
“Peck, what are you—oh, Ran-san,” the brunette from before said. “I thought you were going to be up with your family talking about dad’s novel too. Sorry.”
“Ah, no, no. I get more than enough mysteries in my life with dad’s work,” Ran said.
“Hm... we’ve got a tv in a side room, if you wanted to watch some?” Ranze offered. “Or I’ve got some magazines up in my room?”
“Oh, um, if it’s not too intrusive, then the magazines sound good?” Ran replied.
“Alright, let’s go! I’ve got some homework to deal with, but if you need anything, just let me know,” Ranze said as she led Ran upstairs.
Even though she’d seen how large the house was from outside, it still impressed Ran how long of a walk it was to Ranze’s room. And how large the girl’s room was. The magazines were mostly aimed for girls a bit younger than Ran, but that was no surprise. She managed to find one that looked interesting enough, however, and hoped it would fill a decent amount of time.
* *
Conan was nearing the end of the book, starting to get excited for his conviction of who the thief was to be proven. An almost animalistic screech made the shrunken detective jump.
“You invite people here without giving me notice, which is already risky, and now you want me to cook a complicated meal for them!?” a woman shouted from somewhere downstairs. “I don’t even have half the ingredients for it!”
There was a brief pause, and then a sound like furniture being thrown. Slightly nervous, Conan and Kogoro poked their heads out the library door, listening for the argument raging downstairs. Another crash made them both wince.
“I’m sorry, Sheila! I just got excited about my book!” Eto protested.
“And I had to spend the morning running around cleaning up because of that! If you want a big dinner for everyone you invited then make it yourself or order in!” Sheila shouted back.
There was another bang.
A few seconds later, a rather frazzled looked Eto scrambled up the stairs. When he noticed Kogoro and Conan watching him he gave a weak smile.
“Sorry about all that. Book deadlines have had us all pretty stressed out... would you, uh, prefer Chinese, sushi, or... maybe pizza?” the pale man asked.
“Um... sushi?” Kogoro answered.
Conan quietly wondered if a divorce was in the making.
* *
It hadn’t been quite as loud in Ranze’s room, but Ran was still a little spooked by the
muffled shouting and crashing she’d heard. Ranze looked up from her homework and offered a shrug.
“That’s pretty normal for mom and dad. Don't worry," the girl said with a slightly strained smile.
Ran found herself briefly distracted by the other girl's rather prominent canines. Masumi would be envious, she was sure.
"Does your mom do martial arts? That sounded like some pretty heavy stuff crashing about," Ran asked. She felt it wasn't really her place to poke too much at the issue of dysfunctional families, so wanted to change the subject quickly.
"Oh no. Mom's just... naturally strong," Ranze replied.
Ran nodded, not sure what to say to that. She went back to her reading, trying to ignore the unease she currently felt. There was something strange going on... at least Ranze's room seemed normal.
A few minutes later, however, she was left unable to ignore that she needed to leave the room.
"Um, Ranze-chan... Which way is the washroom?"
"Third door on the left," Ranze replied, before quickly returning to her assignment and muttering something about her history assignment.
Ran stepped out onto the hallway and felt a shiver as she did so. That must have been a draft... it was a big old house after all. Ran walked down the hallway, on high alert despite herself. Shaking her head she silently chastised herself. What would Shinichi think of her, being so afraid of nothing.
A quick, slightly forced, laugh later she was walking ahead again. She then turned and opened the door in front of her. And found herself staring at a coffin. Not just a plain wooden one either. It had a plush interior and an ornate exterior, looking for all the world like something Dracula would sleep in.
Ran decided the best option was to slowly close that door. She’d just pretend she hadn’t seen that... and so stepped back to recount the doors. It turned out she’d missed the bathroom door, as it was blended with the hallway walls a bit. Easy to miss with how spooked she was.
Well, nothing to do now but use the washroom and ignore that the room beside it had a coffin sitting there.
* *
Conan had finished reading the manuscript, and wanted to talk about it with Eto. He had... comments. Some of the clues that proved red herrings seemed a bit contrived when they were shown to be false leads.
Meanwhile, Kogoro wanted a smoke before he started, and so wanted to check if he was allowed to smoke inside (not wanting to risk the wrath of the lady of the house). As such, the pair headed to go find Eto. After knocking on a few doors (and finding Ran and Ranze in the latter’s room), they’d had no luck finding Eto-san on the top floor. So, using their expert detective skills, they headed downstairs.
As they were passing by the genkan, there was a knocking on the front door. Conan and Kogoro turned to one another, then over to the door, and then back at one another.
“Should we answer that?” Conan asked.
“Uh... I guess?” Kogoro replied, stepping forward stiffly and sliding the door open.
The pair were greeted by a lad about Ranze’s age, his medium length dark hair a little messy adding to the casual look his red sweatshirt gave. “Uh... are you relatives of Eto’s?”
“Guests,” Kogoro replied. “And you?”
“I’m Makabe Shun, one of Eto-er, specifically Ranze’s classmates. I came to check on her part of our group project,” the boy replied. “She’s not always the best at focusing... thought I’d check on her progress.”
“Well, let me go get Eto-san,” Kogoro said, “Not really my place to let you in.”
“Uh, okay. It’s a nice day, I can wait,” Makabe replied with a casual shrug.
Kogoro and Conan hurried off, now having twice the reason to find Eto. They tried the drawing room, finding the room dark with the curtains drawn. Kogoro flipped the lightswitch on to check and... technically, Eto Mouri was in the room.
Just, well, he was sprawled across the floor, with a red liquid splashed across him. After taking a moment to register, Kogoro and Conan hurried ahead, Kogoro bending over to check him for a pulse.
There was none.
Standing back up, he took in the crime scene. The telephone was sitting on the table, various menus sitting spread over the table. A shattered wine glass was on the floor beside Eto’s body. Bending over again, it was clear the red liquid was blood. Just what had happened?
“Huh, isn’t that odd. There’s blood everywhere, but uncle Eto’s clothes aren’t damaged at all,” Conan said.
“I noticed that, thank you very much,” Kogoro snapped. “I... hmm, I should check if there’s another phone. Touching this one might be contaminating the crime scene a bit.”
“I’ll go ask auntie Eto,” Conan said, before turning to run and find her.
Sure, it was a little dangerous with her being the prime suspect (after that fight earlier), but... he could probably escape if she turned violent against him. After a few moments, he found her in the tv room, glaring angrily at a cooking show of some sort.
“Um... is there a second telephone?” Conan asked.
The woman turned to him, eyes a bit cold. “There’s one in the drawing room and one in the kitchen. Why?”
“Uh... well,” Conan paused. How could he say this gently? “There’s... been an incident in the drawing room. I’m going to go phone the police.”
Conan turned to run off, only to find himself being lifted by the collar. Apparently Eto Sheila was an amazing sprinter, as well as an impressive furniture tosser. She turned the shrunken boy towards her, a strained smile on her face. Her teeth seemed ever sharper than her husbands.
“I’m sure there’s no reason to involve the police, little boy,” Sheila said, her tone sickly sweet. “The police are very busy, and shouldn’t be phoned for little things.”
“U-uncle Kogoro says that your husband isn’t breathing,” Conan replied with his most innocent voice. “That’s serious enough to phone the police, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t breathing? Bah... the idiot’s probably just sleeping,” the blonde woman muttered, dropping Conan and storming off towards the drawing room.
Conan took the chance to run towards the kitchen and find the phone.
* *
Kogoro was trying to figure out the blood splatter. Conan had been correct that the blood didn’t seem to be coming from any wounds on Eto, but it left the question of where it had come from. The spray angle seemed to indicate it had spilled out of the glass beside Eto’s body, but... why would there be blood in that glass?
His train of thought was interrupted by a blonde woman stomping into the room.
“He’s probably just sleeping, the idiot,” Eto Sheila declared, moving towards the body. “Just let me shake him a little. He’ll wake right up.”
Kogoro slid between her and the body. Clearly she wasn’t taking the news of her husband’s death well. Denial was a powerful thing.
“I can’t allow you to disturb the body.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Have you tried shaking him? How do you know he’s not just asleep?”
“He doesn’t seem to be breathing and there’s no heartbeat,” Kogoro replied simply.
The woman’s eye twitched and her face scrunched up in thought. “He’s... he’s got a weak heart. The doctors often have trouble finding it.”
“He seemed very energetic for a man with a bad heart. And surely throwing furniture at him would have been a bad idea?” Kogoro asked, leaning in accusatively.
“I... he... his heart is healthy! Just weak!” Sheila blurted.
For a moment Kogoro swore he saw cat-like ears pop out of her large and messy hair, though the woman rushed out of the room before he could get a proper look. He needed a cigarette. Smoking at the crime scene might not be the best though. He should probably go out to the front door for a quick smoke. He could see the door to the drawing room from the front... and there weren’t any other doors to the room. Confident that he could watch the crime scene if he stayed at the door, Kogoro headed over, pulling out a pack of cigarettes as he walked over to the front door.
Opening the door, he was briefly confused by the boy standing there, before he remembered that the lad was there to work on a school assignment. The poor kid’s day had just gotten a lot more complicated.
“It was Makabe-kun, right?” Kogoro asked.
The boy nodded. “Yes?”
“Can you go in and gather everyone up in the living room? Oh, and stay out of the drawing room,” Kogoro explained.
“Uh... I guess? Why though?” Makabe asked.
“There’s, well, there’s been a murder,” Kogoro replied.
Makabe’s grey-blue eyes went wide. “A... a murder?”
Kogoro nodded. “Pretty well everyone in the house is a suspect, so I need them gathered up.”
“R-right. Sure thing,” Makabe muttered, before hurrying off.
* *
The Yokohama police had shown up quickly, to the infuriation of Sheila. Conan had pointed the police to the murder scene, where the clean cut local inspector quickly noticed the lack of wounds on Eto. Like Conan and Kogoro, he mentioned how strange it was that the blood seemed to have simply been splashed over the body.
“Well, we’ll have a better idea of what did him in once the ambulance gets here,” the inspector muttered. “A very unusual situation.”
Conan nodded, before following the inspector towards the living room.
“So, who are you, precisely?” Kogoro was asking as they approached.
“G-George,” a male voice replied.
“And what are you doing here?” Kogoro asked.
“I help Rinze with his homeschooling sometimes,” the tired man answered. “Especially when Mouri-san is busy with deadlines.”
“So you mean to say that you come to visit when the victim is especially busy?” Kogoro asked, his tone rather harsh.
As Conan stepped into the room, he noticed that the young man was reasonably handsome. No doubt Kogoro was thinking there was an affair going on between this man and Sheila. Conan was less sure, but had to admit it wasn’t implausible.
Then the man’s eyes landed on Conan as the shrunken detective stepped forward, and his stare sent a shiver down Conan’s back. This ‘George’ had an aura of death about him.
“Have we met?” the man asked, leaning towards Conan. “You look very familiar.”
“I, uh... m-maybe? I meet lots of grown ups,” Conan replied, trying not to feel so nervous under this man’s gaze.
And yet, for all the death about him, the man did not seem cruel, which confused Conan.
“I don’t like the accusation that I’m having an affair based simply off having a house guest who’s a man,” Sheila protested, shaking Conan’s focus. She seemed annoyed with the whole investigation, rather than upset about her husband’s death.
Conan took in the rest of the group: Makabe looked deeply uncomfortable, likely unsure if he was allowed to leave; Rinze seemed surprisingly unpreterbed, perhaps the young boy was too sheltered to properly understand what was happening; Ranze furthered the confusion for the shrunken detective, however, as she looked more embarrassed than in mourning... was she really so distant from her father? The girl sneezed, as if on cue from Conan thinking about her.
“Um, I... I’m feeling a little overwhelmed, with being sick to start with and... all that. Could I go lay down?" Ranze asked.
"We can't have suspects wandering all over the house," the local inspector replied sharply.
"I was with her pretty much the whole time," Ran said. "I think that gives her a fairly good alibi?"
"Pretty well the whole time?" Kogoro asked.
"I-well, I went to the washroom at one point, but her room is so far from the drawing room she'd have had to sprint to get there and back again," Ran replied, blushing a little.
"Ah, I guess that's true," her father admitted.
"Okay, you can go lay down, miss," the inspector said.
Ranze lit up with a smile. "I, could I tell detective Kogoro-san something in private too?"
"Fine, sure. I trust him to share anything pertinent," the inspector said with a quick nod to Kogoro.
Kogoro headed off with Ranze, Conan unsure what to make of the girl's smile. Why did no one in this family seem to care that Eto Mouri was dead? He couldn't actually be alive, surely? Conan and the police had both confirmed the man's lack of a heartbeat.
And then there was that George fellow. Conan wasn’t what to make of him, but found the man unsettling. Still, one couldn’t make a deduction based only on a gut feeling. If only he knew more about what poison was used on Eto-san.
Looking around, he realised no one was paying him much attention and slipped off towards the kitchen. It seemed as good a place as any to check for any bottles of poison or the like.
* *
Ran felt a bit guilty at how bored she was right now. A man was dead, but... she’d been around so many police investigations by this point that they felt rather routine.
Conan had run off at some point, leaving her with no one to really talk to. That Makabe lad was the only one about her age, but it was an awkward context to introduce yourself in. And what if he turned out to be the murderer? Sure, he was only 15 or so, which made that unlikely, but... it wasn’t impossible.
And then there was that vampiric coffin. Ran wasn’t sure if it was relevant to anything. There was talk about blood in a glass... maybe that was why no one was worried? What if Eto Mouri was a vampire, and so never had a pulse?
Ran shook her head. She was jumping to the weirdest conclusions right now, wasn’t she? Did her imagination really feel the need to spice up murders with theories of the supernatural?
Finally, Ran’s boredom was improved a little by her father returning. If nothing else, he was more dramatic than this Yokohama investigator, so things might get interesting.
“What did Ranze have to say?” the inspector asked Kogoro.
“Oh, uh, nothing too much. Mostly she was just worried about our, uh, line of... questioning being too intense for Rinze. She thought we should separate him out,” Kogoro replied. (Ran swore something seemed odd about him, but... maybe he just hadn’t had a proper cigarette in a bit?)
“Mhm, I suppose that’s fair. Subaru, you’re good with kids. Can you keep the boy company?” the inspector said, turning to a young female officer.
“Um, sure thing, sir,” the young woman replied.
A few moments later the young boy was led off, leaving only Sheila, George, and Makabe. Ran noticed her father was continuing to seem oddly fidgety.
“Ranze also repeated the position that her father had a weak heartbeat. She said he’s... anemic? Something along those lines,” Kogoro explained, once Rinze had been lead out.
“That’s what I’ve said! The idiot’s just passed out. He hasn’t slept more than five hours in the last four days!” Sheila shouted, her teeth looking inhumanely sharp even from where Ran was seated. “Everyone’s massively overreacting.”
“There’s a difference between no heartbeat and a weak heartbeat,” the inspector said. “Your husband also wasn’t breathing. Now, either we accept the basic fact that he’s dead or we’re going to struggle to find his murderer. Your uncooperative position certainly has you near the top of the list. Along with George... who still refuses to show any ID-”
“I told you, I left my wallet at home,” the foreign lookimg man protested.
“Mhm... and Makabe-”
“How can you suspect Makabe-kun?” Kogoro asked suddenly, with a passion that confused Ran.
“I don’t really have a reason to remove him from the suspects list? He’s not at the top, but he’s still a suspect,” the inspector replied, seeming as confused as Ran was.
“He’s a good boy, you shouldn’t suspect him,” Kogoro protested further.
“How do you know that, Uncle?” Conan asked, having slipped back into the room under the radar. It still unnerved Ran a little how easy it was for him to do that.
“I... my intuition as a detective of course!” Kogoro replied.
“Well... we need more than intuition,” the inspector countered flatly.
“I found something weird in the kitchen,” Conan said. “There were some potatoes out on the counter near the window. Don’t potatoes turn poisonous if you leave them in the sun too much?”
The local inspector’s eye twitched, no doubt unused to such strange trivia coming from the mouth of a seven year old. He turned to Kogoro. “Is that true?”
“Uh... m-maybe?” he replied, having been scratching at his moustache and looking annoyed by it.
“Someone call a toxicologist,” the inspector shouted out at one of the officers in the hallway.
“Sure thing, sir!”
“I eat those potatoes all the time, and I’m fine,” Sheila protested. “They’ve got more kick to them if they’re a little green.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve heard about them being poisonous when they’re green too?” Ran offered.
“Has anyone tried moving d-Eto-san yet?” Kogoro asked, almost seeming like he wanted to distract everyone with a new topic.
“No, since the case is high profile, and a little perplexing with that blood splatter, we’re waiting for one of our more experienced photographers to record the scene before moving him,” the inspector replied.
“Maybe we could try shaking Eto-san a bit, just to prove if he’s dead or sleeping for good?” Kogoro offered.
“What? You’ve checked him yourself. There’s no heartbeat,” the inspector replied.
“Uh, well... the Etos just seem so certain, I want to make sure?”
“Doesn’t uncle trust his ability to read a pulse?” Conan asked, sounding almost smug.
“I... it just seems good to be absolutely cer-cer-” Kogoro began to inhale, as if he had to sneeze, and suddenly made a beeline out of the room.
The inspector turned to Ran, as if to ask if that was normal behaviour for her father, while Conan noticed Eto Sheila’s eyes seemed to light up with some sort of realisation. Combining that with how odd the ‘sleeping detective’ was acting and Conan had a sudden realisation: that hadn’t been Kogoro. Someone had replaced him, and... maybe their mask wouldn’t hold in place for the rapid acceleration of a sneeze? It made a bit of sense. He’d never seen Kid sneeze in a mask.
But who could it be? Impersonating Mouri Kogoro’s voice and appearance so perfectly surely took a disguise master, but the impression of his mannerisms had been so sloppy. Kid sometimes was lazy with his acting, but... what connection would he have to the Etos? And... it seemed like a poor impersonation of Kogoro’s behaviour, even for Kid’s off days. So it had to be someone else, but who?
The main thing sticking out to Conan was how defensive ‘Kogoro’ had been of that Makabe boy. It... surely that Ranze girl couldn’t be managing this disguise? She was much shorter than Kogoro. On the other hand, she’d made sure to pull him away especially.
Conan knew he had to try the lead at least. Nothing else in this case made sense. Slipping away while the others were distracted, Conan hurried upstairs. The easiest place for Ranze to have hidden Kogoro was in her room. No one would go in to disturb a resting sick girl. Reaching her door a few moments later, Conan slowly opened the door, finding the room quite empty looking. Slipping in, he walked over to make sure the bed was empty, just as he’d though.
Pausing to look around, he could tell he was hearing snoring from somewhere nearby. Closing his eyes, he realised it was coming from the closet and Conan hurried over. Popping it open, he found Kogoro passed out, drooling a little. Conan poked the sleeping detective, but to no avail. After a couple more pokes failed to wake Kogoro, he tried shaking him.
“Uncle! Wake up!” Conan shouted.
Kogoro remained out cold. What had they used to drug him? Maybe some cold water would help?
Lost in thought, he nearly missed the sound of the bedroom door opening. Turning, he was left looking up at whoever was disguised as Ran’s father. Conan’s eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?” he asked, his tone serious.
“I... listen, I know this looks bad, but I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just trying to help clean up a big mess, okay little boy?” the not Kogoro replied.
“You’re covering up a murder. I won’t let you get away with that,” Conan countered.
“There’s not been any murder. Don’t worry,” the fake Kogoro replied with an attempt at a reassuring tone and a strained smile.
“I have no reason to trust you, Eto Ranze, and I’m going to let the police know about your little disguise right now!” Conan said, before making a break for the door. If she tried anything, well, he could scream pretty good, the police would hear... Or he could kick her.
* *
Mouri Kogoro felt himself thrust into consciousness, blurting out the only thought on his brain.
“Did I solve it!?”
Blinking, he slowly oriented himself. He was in a girl’s bedroom. Right, the room of Eto Ranze. She’d asked him to follow her and... and his mind was a bit of a confused mess after that. And why was he sitting in the girl’s closet?
Standing up and looking around a little, he was surprised to find he wasn’t alone in the room. He was also surprised at just who was in the room with him: Kudo Shinichi, holding a sleeping Conan in his arms.
“Are you here to steal the credit for this case, Kudo?” Kogoro asked the teenaged detective.
The boy blinked, glancing over to a mirror. Kogoro’s best guess was Shinichi had just realised he and Conan had worn matching outfits. It really reinforced how alike those (second-and-a-half-or-whatever) cousins looked.
“Right, the handsome detect... but that’s strange,” Shinichi muttered cryptically.
“Why’s the brat passed out?” Kogoro asked, not sure what to make of Shinichi’s odd mutterings.
“Uh... right! Yes! You mentioned it while you were asleep,” Shinichi said, his eyes sparkling with joy. “You said there was a... a gas leak! I’d suspected the same from what Conan had told me on... uh the phone? When he stopped responding I rushed over. ‘Cause, uh, luckily I was in the area.”
“A gas leak... yeah, I think I remember thinking something like that,” Kogoro muttered. It would make sense to explain his headache, even if he had no real memory of discovering one.
“An old house like this, things build up... Eto Mouri, with his weak heart, passed out first? Crack open a few windows and everyone should be safe though, no?” Shinichi replied, sounding a bit uncertain to Kogoro, but the man’s head hurt to much to read more into it.
“Mhm, sounds about right,” Kogoro said, nodding confidently. “Probably has to do with the deep basement western style houses like this tend to have. Argon or whatever from the bedrock.”
“Yeah!” Shinich replied. “So... a strong smell should wake da-Eto-san right up! I think garlic would be a good choice.”
* *
Ran watched in surprise as Eto Mouri shot upright as the garlic was brought near his nose by Shinichi. She only half listened as her father proudly explained his theory about gas leaks and drafts in the old house. She was busy with a mixture of processing that everyone had been wrong about a man being dead and... Shinichi, standing there in an outfit that matched Conan’s so well. They must have planned it, right? Why, she couldn’t guess, but it was a cute idea.
Listening to a drowsy Eto explain the blood was part of his anemia treatment, Ran couldn’t help having her eyes drawn to his fanged grin. And how he’d been woken up with garlic. She couldn’t shake her suspicion that this man was, somehow, a vampire. Maybe she could get Shinichi to believe her.
Where had Shinichi come from, anyhow? She wasn’t sure that mattered, but what did matter was that she wanted to get somewhere away from her father. And all these police. She had so few opportunities to talk to him, afterall. She’d ask about him first, then discuss her suspicions, hoping she wouldn’t sound too foolish to him. Adjusting a sleeping Conan in her one arm, she slipped over and grabbed Shinichi by the wrist.
“Let’s get away from the activity a little,” she whispered, her cheeks a little hot at acting so bold. Still, Sonoko had pointed out many times that she had to act in those rare times she got the opportunity to.
“Uh, sure?” Shinichi replied, his usual confusion about romance shining through.
She pulled him along to the now deserted living room, placing Conan on the couch before turning back to him. “You could have told me you were coming.”
“S-sorry? It, uh, it was a bit of a surprise for me too?”
“If you’d let me know you were in the area, I would have made sure to go visit you,” Ran replied, crossing her arms. She had to pout at least a little. Shinichi needed to know there were limits to her patience.
“I-I didn’t know you’d be in Yokohama?” Shinichi offered.
Ran turned, taking his hands in hers. It was strange, she almost felt like she was taking the lead with another girl... what had Shinichi so demure right now?
“Well, I’d like if you could stay around a little bit today,” Ran said, looking up into his soft blue eyes.
“I-well, I should-y’know-go and-” Shinichi muttered, Ran pinching his cheek to get him to stop.
Shinichi stared at her, confusion dominating any other emotion in his eyes. Ran leaned forward and kissed him. She could hear excuses afterwards, right now she just needed a reminder that they were really dating.
Instead, she was left with confusion as he didn’t return the kiss. What was going on?
“Hey, have—Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt!” a male voice blurted.
Breaking the kiss, Ran turned to see that Makabe boy turning away from her and Shinichi.
“M-Makabe!?” Shinichi exclaimed, sounding strangely horrified.
“I... do you know him?” Ran asked. Why was Shinichi blushing so much? And looking at Makabe-kun like... like the boy was the most important person in the room?
“Uh... I... uh... I have to go!” Shinichi yelped, pulling out of Ran’s grip and scrambling out the doorway leading towards the kitchen, away from both Ran and Makabe.
“Did I do something wrong?” Ran asked, mostly to the empty air where Shinichi had been.
“I can tell you that I don’t know him, if that helps?” Makabe offered. “I just wanted to know if anyone had seen Eto-chan. I was going to head off and wanted to say bye.”
“Isn’t... isn’t she in her room resting?” Ran asked, trying to ignore the uncertainty about Shinichi bubbling in her gut. Today was confusing, and she needed time to process.
“No, her door was open, but she wasn’t there,” Makabe replied. “I hope the dork isn’t doing anything to make herself more sick. She’s not the best at self preservation sometimes.”
“Worried about her, are you?” Ran asked. It was nice to see a boy being more reliable than Shinichi. He was going to get quite the talking to when she phoned him later...
“Mostly worried about our group assignment on Tuesday,” the boy replied, laughing a little. “But, yeah. She’s a friend. I don’t want her to be sick.”
* *
Ran was riding with her father and a still sleeping Conan on the way back to Tokyo. Her mind was still swirling with suspicions about Shinichi. Was he cheating on her? Was that why he’d pulled away from her kiss? And why had he looked at that Makabe boy like he had? Makabe hadn’t seemed upset about the kiss, so... either the boy was an excellent actor or the theory in Ran’s mind that Shinichi had ‘switched teams’ was a dead end.
“Huh? Where am I?” Conan asked, sounding drowsy, but also a little scared. His voice was in that deeper tone he sometimes did, especially when waking up.
Ran turned to the small boy and gave him a gentle smile. “We’re driving home. You fell asleep.”
“I... I don’t remember falling asleep?” Conan asked, returning to his more cute tone.
“Dad and Shinichi said there was a gas leak. You passed out because of it, but the paramedics said you were fine, just sleeping,” Ran said.
“Sh-Shinichi nii-chan was there?” Conan asked, his eyes going large with fear.
“Yes? Why?” Ran asked.
“He said you phoned him about the case,” Kogoro added.
“I never phoned him!” Conan protested. “I don’t think that was really cousin Shinichi!”
“Wasn’t Shinichi?” Ran muttered. “But... but... that definitely wasn’t Kid. Kaitou Kid isn’t so shy... who did I kiss?”
Suddenly the car screeched to a halt.
“What do you mean ‘who did you kiss’?” Kogoro shouted.
“Dad! You can’t just slam on the breaks in the middle of the road!” Ran yelled back, too embarrassed to focus on the topic at hand.
“It’s a quiet side street! I’m not that reckless of a driver! Now, what were you doing kissing that wannabe detective!?” her father demanded.
“Isn’t the problem more that he wasn’t Shinichi?” Conan added sharply.
“It’s a problem either way,” Kogoro said, pouting a bit.
“Wait, I pinched his cheek though, because he was rambling. That wasn’t a mask... and it wasn’t Kid, so... it must have been Shinichi? Maybe you’re just misremembering, Conan? The gas had dad a little of it too.”
The small boy opened his mouth to protest, but apparently he thought better of whatever he was going to say. “I just... I don’t think it was cousin Shinichi.”
Ran didn’t know what to say. She also didn’t know if she wanted him to be right or not. If it wasn’t Shinichi, well, then the odd reaction was less of a thing to worry about, but... it also meant she’d kissed a stranger who was impersonating him. She didn’t like the idea of having kissed some strange guy...
Throw in her suspicions about vampires and other supernatural things and... where did she even start?
“Do vampires have the power to copy people’s appearances?” Ran asked as her father started driving again.
“Vampires aren’t real,” Conan muttered, sounding rather grumpy.
“W-well, in stories about them?” Ran offered.
“I don’t read vampire stories, so I don’t know,” Conan grumbled.
“Not really my thing either,” Kogoro added with a shrug.
* *
It was now Sunday afternoon, and Sheila was growing rather annoyed with Ranze’s refusal to leave her room.
“You had better come down and eat your dinner, young lady, or else... or else... you don’t want to know what I’ll do!” Sheila shouted at her daughter’s door.
“Whatever it is, it can’t be as embarrassing as being kissed by another girl in front of Makabe-kun!” Ranze shouted back.
“Kissed be another... what are you talking about?” Sheila asked. “And what have I told you about keeping up your infatuation with that human boy?”
“Ugh! Mom! You never understand!”
Sheila let out a tired sigh. Her daughter was impossible sometimes. The daughter of a vampire and a werewolf chasing after some mortal. It was embarrassing.
Suddenly Ranze’s door burst open, the girl glaring up at her mother. “It was my first kiss too! Dad owes me big time!”