Detective Kudo's (Case Closed/Detective Conan Fanfic)

The Shooter!

"Are you still looking at those numbers?" I stared at my brother with a raised eyebrow. I was seated next to Richard in the small sitting area in his office, Rachel and my brother across from us.

He came home and told us about something he saw while he was out and about with the brats.

Apparently there was an incident by the river they were at. A toy speed boat with a balloon tied to it was going along the curve of the river and a man had shot it. According to Jimmy; with his binoculars he saw the man with the rifle and he had a gun pointed at him.

It's pretty sketch, but there's not a lot to go on other than a calculator that he had found.

He gave it to Meguire when he told him about it, but because of lack of evidence he can't really do anything about it. Of course this has the Dweeb all bothered and he's been fiddling with the numbers all day.

It seems a little out there, but the kids got great instincts. If he thinks something is fishy then it is.

But what can be done? All he's got are those numbers and numbers aren't really my strong suit.

If he does crack it though, I'll help. I gotta stay on the downlow tonight, pissed off a lot of people the past week and it's best if I lay low.

Richard clicked his tongue. "The Hei Sei Express. A trip of romance and dreams awaits you. For only fifteen bucks each, somehow I doubt that." I didn't pay attention to Richard who read aloud from his magazine. Its become the norm.

I stared at my brother who rubbed his head furiously. "Ugh! Why can't I figure this out?!" He shouted in frustration.

A drop of sweat fell from my brow. Yeah, no, he's losing it.

"Because it doesn't mean anything. It's just a calculator someone dropped on their way home from work or something." Richard said without missing a beat, tossing the magazine aside and drinking from his beer.

I rolled my eyes at him, but I do understand where he's coming from.

As much as I trust my brother there's not a lot to work with here.

"And you bothered Inspector Meguire with this nonsense on a holiday weekend even." He continued, glaring at the small boy.

Of course Rachel returned it with as much ferocity. "That's enough dad! Just try to clear your head and focus on your ideas. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one. Any thoughts about what the message might be?" She asked.

You go way too easy on him, Rach. But it's probably what he needs the most right now. "He's trying to tell me something I know it. Maybe a location or a time?" He said.

Rachel placed her hand thoughtfully on her chin. "Or it could be that he's trying to tell you where he's being held hostage. So now we just have to find some way to break the code." She offered some insight, going along with him.

Richard gave her a flat look. "Maybe the code is trying to tell us the location of a buried treasure. Or the secrets of the Egyptian pyramid. Or maybe it's just the recipe for the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies. OW!" I smacked Richard so hard upside his head that he fell from the couch.

"You're such an ass Richard. Okay, it's probably not where he's being held hostage. There are too many places, especially since you don't know him. He had a rifle, right? They were practicing? What if it's the location of where the real thing is going down?" I asked, leaning back in my seat.

Dad taught us how to shoot a while back, but it was something he and I did a lot more together.

The family therapist recommended we do it together to help work through our issues.