The Detective Prince
Chapter 64
Two Sided
They drove along side the walkway, coming to a stop after reaching a street light at the end of the block.
"I've been keeping tabs on that episode that occurred in Japan a couple months ago, the one that involved those murdered officers," Bruce began. "I haven't seen anything related to the matter in the recent police reports."
"And you're wondering if I've heard anything since then, right?"
"Have you?"
"Sorry, but no," Conan replied with the shake of his head. "After that last incident that occurred at the warehouse, there have been no more deaths in relation to that note leaving killer."
"Which raises the question why," Bruce said. "Why did they choose to end their spree when they did?"
"Now that you mention it, it does seem rather strange," Conan said. "What prompted them to stop, it's not like the police were closing in on them."
"What about the blade that was used to cut the bodies," Bruce asked. "Do you know exactly what was used?"
"It's been documented as a sword."
"What kind of sword?"
"Don't know to tell you the truth," Conan replied. "Does it really matter?"
"In a case like this, everything matters," Bruce stated. "Finding out the type of the sword used might point to a deeper meaning."
"You mean like a hidden clue?"
"Potentially," Bruce said as the light turned green. "I'll try and have the answer by tomorrow morning."
They moved on from there, taking a right at the intersection. He looked out the window as they drove by, not recognizing anything in the surrounding area.
"Where are we going?" Conan asked while turning in his seat.
"Short cut."
They drove through a dark tunnel, which took under a minute for them to make it out to the other side. Minutes passed as they continued on, making their way to the road leading up the hill side. They arrived at Wayne Manor after several minutes, bringing the car to a halt after passing by the gate. The two of them stepped, heading up the fleet of stairs toward the front door.
"So tell me," Bruce said as they walked. "Would you be interested in a tour of the city tonight?"
"How can I say no to that," Conan replied. "What time are we talking?"
"Anytime after six I suppose," Bruce said giving it some thought. "I'll give Dick a call, he shouldn't be too busy tonight."
"What about you," Conan asked. "Aren't you going to come along?"
"I would, but I have enough on my agenda as it is."
They walked past the front door, closing it once in.
"It's quiet in here," Conan said looking around. "Where is everyone?"
"They're around somewhere," Bruce said walking forward. "Things are usually like this around mid day from time to time."
"Where are you going?"
"To the study," Bruce replied. "If you need me, I'll be in there."
"Thanks for the heads up."
He watched him walk through the door to the study, looking down at his watch to check the time.
"Have awhile until six, and it's still too early to call her," Conan thought. "That just leaves some extra time in between."
He headed to the left as well, making his way into the large book room. Where to begin became the question. He made his way down the first row, not finding something of interest until reaching the far side.
"A book on the cities architectural features," Conan said bringing it into hand. "Maybe I could learn a thing or two."
He made his way toward the large desk to the right side of the room. Once there he stepped around the desk, taking a seat into the soft cushioned chair before opening the book. He sat there for a time to come, flipping through one page to the next. This lasted for a time to come. It wasn't until the sound of someone entering the room that he finally looked up from the book.
"He said I might find you in here," Damian said from the side of the door. "So is this what you do during your spare time?"
"Sometimes," Conan answered. "I try to get in a good read every so often."
"Why am I not surprised."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He brushed off his remark, sitting up from where he leaned.
"Why are you here anyway?"
"My father wishes to speak with you."
"About what?" Conan asked setting the book aside.
"To let you know Grayson will be here soon," Damian replied. "Supposedly he's taking you out on a tour of the city."
"That's right," Conan said dropping down from the chair. "Is he already on his way?"
"Don't know, but I'd get ready," Damian replied before reopening the door. "He should be here any minute now."
"Where's Bruce?" Conan asked stepping forward.
"In the study."
With that he made his way out, letting the door slide shut from behind. He checked the time on his watch to find that it was nearly six thirty, feeling a little surprised that he had been in the book room for that long. He left the room as well, heading straight for the study once out. He gave the door a few knocks, not receiving a response in return.
"I thought Damian said he was in here."
He knocked two additional times only to receive the same results. He quietly pushed the door aside from there, walking in in to find no one in sight.
"Looks like I may have just missed him," Conan said turning back for the door. "Maybe he's up stairs."
He made his way out, coming to a stop after reaching the bottom of the stairs. The sound of a car parking from outside could be heard, immediately grabbing his attention. He walked up to the front door, pulling it to the side to see him step out of the car.
"I see they notified you I'd be coming," Dick said heading his way. "You about ready to go?"
"Of course," Conan said in response. "Since that ride earlier I've been easing it back here for most of the day."
"Then I guess this makes for perfect timing," Dick said. "But before we go I'd like to talk to you about something."
"It's about earlier isn't it, Tim told you what happened didn't he?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dick said. "Is it something I should know, if so fill free to share."
"You first."
"Have it your way," Dick said stepping past him. "Why don't we head inside, this will only take a minute."
He followed him back into the house, the two of them walking past the door to the right of the kitchen which lead into the dinning room. Conan was the first to take a seat around the large table, watching as Dick placed a folder in front of him.
"What's this?"
"Some much needed headway," Dick informed. "Why don't you take a look inside."
He did as suggested, pushing the top of the folder to the side to lay his eyes upon several different test results.
"What's all this?"
"That's what was gained after running tests on several of the victims who died from those heart attacks," Dick informed. "High amounts of zinc, copper, ore, and galena were found in each of their bodies."
"All components consistent within metallic lead," Conan said. "Is that what you were getting at?"
"You catch on fast," Dick commented having a seat in the chair next to him. "I'm impressed."
"That's one step taken, but we still need to find out what caused their conditions."
"Don't have a straight answer as of now," Dick said. "But what I can say is that it didn't have anything to do with inhaling."
"Their lungs were checked?"
"That's right," Dick replied with a nod. "All their lungs checked out clean for the most part, except for those few smokers of course."
"That just makes things that much more complex," Conan said stacking the sheets of paper back into place. "Besides inhaling, there's not too many other ways you can get lead poisoning of this magnitude into your body."
"True, but we still don't know if that's the main cause of death," Dick stated. "We have yet to discover what ultimately triggered those heart attacks."
"True."
"So what is it that happened earlier," Dick asked. "I'm curious to know."
"Where to begin," Conan said sorting everything through his mind. "It started after you drove off after dropping me at the corner."
"Did someone try attacking you?"
"Not exactly," Conan replied. "Some woman actually used me to get past security, with the use of that card you gave me of course."
"How did she know you had one?"
"Your guess is as good as the next, I still don't know the answer to that."
"So why did she follow you in?"
"Turns out she was there to meet someone," Conan informed. "Some weird guy who was wearing an eye patch over the side of his eye."
"Do you have any idea what they were meeting about?"
He shook his head in response.
"Couldn't get in close enough without looking suspicious," Conan replied. "But that's not even the top of the story."
"Can't wait to hear this." Dick said sitting up.
"That same man she was talking with ended up dead just minutes later after encountering her," Conan informed. "And to twist things up even further, there was a sniper on a building nearby."
"Was the sniper the one who killed him?"
"No, but the gunman could no longer be seen after our eye patched friend fell over," Conan replied. "The cause of death is still unknown at this point."
"What about the woman who was with him?"
"She took off sometime after I went to go alert others about the gunman," Conan replied. "Whether she had anything to do with his death is still a mystery at this point."
"Does Bruce know about this?" Dick asked.
"No, but Tim's already looking into a potential lead."
"That's a start." Dick said as his phone rang from inside his pocket.
He stood up from the chair as he pulled out the phone to see who it was, turning for the door.
"I'll be just a minute," Dick said walking forward. "Gotta take this call."
He left from there, letting the door slide shut from behind. Conan sat there for the next few minutes, tapping his finger to the top of the table. A dragging five minutes soon turned into ten. He wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not, dropping down from the chair in the seconds that passed.
"I wonder what the hold up is."
He made his way toward the door, the sound of his voice echoing through the wall, becoming more and more clear with each step. He pulled the door aside once reaching it, walking out to hear the last words of his conversation.
"I'm glad I was able to get ahold of you, if there are any problems remember to have have your mother call me," Dick said. "I'll make sure everything is cleared by tonight, hope to see you soon."
He hung up from there, looking down at Conan who stood at his side.
"Who was that?" Conan asked
"A good friend," Dick smilingly replied before dropping the phone into his pocket. "How about holding off on that tour until tomorrow some time, I have to go check on a couple flight times."
"I'm ok with that."
"That's good to hear," Dick said pushing away from the wall. "Then I'll see you then."
He followed him all the way to the front door, watching as he made his way out to the car.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"What's up?" Dick said turning back to face him after taking a few steps down the stairs.
"What made you make up your mind," Conan asked. "About bringing me here?"
"That was something I had already intended to do, it was only a matter of time," Dick replied. "It was actually a couple pictures that were taken of you and Tim that were laying across the table the other day that promoted me to do it now."
"Pictures," Conan thought. "I don't recall taking any pictures."
"Well I better get going," Dick said heading down the stairs once again. "See you tomorrow."
He waited for him to get into the car, watching as he drove off before walking back into the house. He headed to the book room from there, taking a seat behind the desk like he previously had. He stayed there for the next few hours, looking down at his watch as it ticked just past ten thirty.
"Not too much longer until eleven, which would make it around noon in Tokyo," Conan said pulling out his phone. "No better time than now."
He hit the speed dial button before laying back, listening to the sound of the ring as he waited.
"I was expecting you'd call sooner."
"Glad to hear you're in a better mood this time around Haibara," Conan teasingly said. "How has everyone else been doing?"
"I haven't seen any of them since the last time you were over," Ai replied. "But they're supposed to be over here in the next hour or so, would you like me to call back when they arrive?"
"I'll probably be asleep by then, but be sure to tell them I said hi," Conan said in response. "So what about the names, did anything out of the ordinary show up after running the search?"
"All were clean but one," Ai informed. "That one person being Frank Bennet, he was charged with robbery with the possession of a gun a few years back."
"Is he the man we saw at Space Inc?"
"They look nothing alike," Ai replied. "Whoever that guy was must have some how gotten in without having his name on the guest list."
"That puts us back at square one."
"What do you want me to do now?"
"There's not much we can do at this point, but if you happen to learn anything new be sure to let me know."
"When should I expect to hear from you again?"
"It really depends, but if you need to talk to me you're free to call me," Conan said. "Even if you don't think I'm awake."
"I see you've become flexible with your hours."
"You could say that, but only for this special occasion," Conan said. "I'm goanna let you go, but I'll talk to you later."
"I'll be here."
With that he hung up, lowering the phone from his ear before shutting it off.
"Now to get some rest."
He headed toward the door, switching off the light on his way out. The rest of the house was nearly pitch dark by this time, only the moon from outside the left window providing a clear path to the stairs.
"Has everyone already gone to bed," Conan thought. "It almost feels like I'm the only one here."
He made his way up the stairs after reaching them, heading straight to his after making it to the top.
Things remained relatively quiet throughout the night. The next morning was an early start for him, heading out of the room after getting dressed. He came across Alfred who just happened to be passing by.
"I didn't get the chance to see you before you went to bed last night," Alfred said stopping in his path. "Where were you for most of the night?"
"In the book room," Conan replied. "I guess I got caught up in what I was doing."
"That's fine, I'll just be sure to check there the next time I'm looking for you."
"Do you know where Bruce is by any chance," Conan asked. "There's something I wanted to talk to him about."
"Down in the study," Alfred informed. "He and Damian were looking over something last I checked."
"Thanks for letting me know," Conan said before walking that way. "If you need me that's where I'll be."
He checked the time on his watch after making his way past the first door.
"Ten forty eight," Conan thought. "Looks like I'm finally adjusting to the time change."
He made his way to the bottom of the stairs a short time later, heading straight into the study to find the two of them looking over something on the computer that sat upon the desk.
"Well look who it is." Damian said being the first to see him enter. "Did you have a nice sleep?"
"Not a single twitch," Conan replied before looking elsewhere. "Bruce, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"If it's about what happened yesterday then there's no need," Bruce said. "Tim told me all about it last night."
"Guess he beat me to the punch," Conan said moving in. "So what is it the two of you of are looking over?"
"Something you wouldn't begin to be able to apprehend."
"That will be enough Damian," Bruce said shooting in. "That's no way to talk to our guests."
He muttered something before stepping off to the side.
"You can have a look if you'd like," Bruce said. "We were just going over some photos that were taken by a surveillance camera I had set up."
"What were you taking pictures of?" Conan asked stepping around the desk.
"Like I told you before," Bruce began. "I've been trying to track down the person whose been hosting the upbringing of this current weapons transport."
"Let me guess," Conan said. "You have a lead."
"Not just that, but a face to go with it."
"So who's the lucky guy?"
"It's actually a woman," Bruce said turning the screen his way. "Why don't you have a look."
He pushed up from where he stood, leaning up against the side of the desk to get a better view of the three pictures across the screen. It didn't take long for him to notice after giving the night club pictures a look, almost immediately recognizing who it was.
"You can't really see her face with that hood over her head, but that's defiantly her," Conan said. "That's the same woman who I encountered yesterday."
"Are you positive?" Bruce asked.
"Certain."
"Looks like we'll get some answers from both ends."
"What do you mean?" Conan asked.
"She's helping with the weapons import and she was also there when that man dropped dead yesterday," Bruce said. "If all goes right, we'll have some answers from both sides."
"But how," Conan questioned. "We don't even know where she is."
"Don't get so far ahead of yourself Shinichi," Bruce said standing up from the chair. "There's always that chance that I know where she'll be tonight."
To Be Continued
