Accomplice__ Kudo Shinichi x Kaitou Kid, Kaito Kid x Kudo Shinichi

Part 15:Knock on the door

Hattori Heiji intercepted the hurried Kudo Shinichi, who was acting very unusually today.

"Kudo! What happened yesterday? I heard even the FBI fired shots."

Kudo flagged down a taxi, preparing to head to the police headquarters. "Kaito Kid took the Dionysus Staff gem yesterday, and Gin went after him."

"When I went to find my father at the police headquarters last night, Aoko Nakamori told me what happened afterward, and Kuroba-kun he..."

"Don't mention him. He's not Kaito Kid." Kudo Shinichi's tone turned cold instantly, startling Hattori. He had never seen Kudo Shinichi like this.

"I... of course, I know he's not Kaito Kid. When Kaito Kid appeared yesterday, he was right next to me. That expression and shock were definitely not faked. What... what happened to you?"

Realizing his loss of composure, Kudo took a deep breath to calm down. "I just feel like everything's back to square one."

"You mean... Kaito Kid?"

A silver car approached, and the driver spoke with the taxi driver. Kudo called out to the driver. "Amuro Tooru?"

"Kudo, get in. We need to go to the police headquarters. Hattori, your father called, saying he'll pick you up at Beika Town Post Office in twenty minutes. Kudo and I will go ahead."

As they drove, Amuro Tooru explained how Junji Hirano's wife was brutally murdered at home. He stopped at a fast-food place to get three burger meals. "Eat something. This case might not be as simple as it seems. Even the FBI doesn't think Junji Hirano's death is straightforward."

"Mrs. Hirano is dead?" Kudo asked as Amuro closed the window. "Yes. It was Chianti."

"Chianti?"

"Mrs. Hirano was shot dead by Chianti at the beginning. The one who answered the door was Vermouth in disguise." As they arrived at the police headquarters, they went to the tenth-floor meeting room, where several familiar FBI agents had also arrived.

"No casualties on our side yesterday. The captured organization members are all low-level." Akai Shuichi said, "But Junji's defense lawyer is here today. Let's see what he has to say."

Suppressing his inner doubts, Kudo Shinichi followed them to the interrogation room. Usually, after hiring a lawyer, suspects become harder to interrogate, but Hirano Junji seemed eager to clear his name.

"Kotaro Higashino." Hirano's lawyer.

Seeing Akai Shuichi and the others enter, Kotaro Higashino, Hirano Junji's defense lawyer, stood up and shook Akai's hand. Hirano Junji looked worse than yesterday, his face long and sour, clearly annoyed by his lawyer.

"Did you hire Kotaro Higashino as your lawyer?" Kudo asked Hirano Junji, who shook his head. "My old hag did."

Old hag? Kudo then realized Hirano meant his deceased wife.

"She actually called her old classmate on her phone. That old hag can't remember anything about us but everything about other men." With Junji's complaining, Kudo sensed the suppressed grief in the man. His hoarse voice, heavy breathing, had aged him several years.

"Hmph—I thought she wanted me to join her in heaven." Junji said.

"Don't say that. Respect the dead," Amuro Tooru said.

"When people are gone, you can finally say what you want about them." Junji said. "My big brother was very proud and face saving. If he heard this, he'd be sulking. Haha... my brother, once angry, would sulk for a month. Crazy... all of them... are crazy."