Chapter Ten

Chapter 10

Ghosts?

Heiji's POV

I motioned for Mouri to follow me to the police car that had been waiting outside of the funeral home. She was crying; it had been her best friend's funeral after all. Kazuha was trying to comfort her as best as she could, but it wasn't working all that well. I opened up the car door for them, and then I climbed into the front next to the policeman Takagi.

"Mouri remembered something important," I explained. "Bring us to Inspector Megure, please." He nodded, and the car zoomed off.

I looked back, concerned about Mouri's state. Surprisingly, she had already stopped crying, and it seemed as if she was whispering to someone, someone just outside the car window. But there wasn't anything, and no sound came from her mouth. She looked like she was smiling, as if someone or something had comforted her. Strange, very, very, strange.

"Would it be okay for me to ask what she remembered?" Takagi asked.

I shook my head. "I want it to wait until we get to Inspector Megure. Then, hopefully Mouri will be able to say it herself, I wouldn't want to mess up her story."

"There isn't actually much to tell," Mouri said suddenly. "I only know the faces, and nothing else." Her face looked guilty, as if she was hiding something. "I could have stopped him, if only I knew those would be the last words he would say to me alive…"

What strange phrasing. "Last words he would say to me alive…" It suggested that he had talked to her in death. But that was impossible, there was no such thing as ghosts. No such thing.

Mouri's tears started again, and Kazuha hugged her. She hugged her back, and I knew I shouldn't watch anymore. Didn't want to intrude on a girl to girl moment.

I wished I had gotten to know Kudo. From what I had heard, he'd had the same interests as me, thought like me, lived like me. Both of us had a girl we liked by the looks of it. Best friends such childhood, but not enough courage to admit our truest feelings. But that's where his story ended, cut down by death. I wondered if I should confess to Kazuha, because a detective never knows when his own death will come…

The car jerked to a stop, and I flew forward, taken by surprise. "Hattori-kun," Takagi said, scanning me worriedly. "We're here. Are you okay?"

"I'm absolutely fine." I fixed my baseball cap which had gotten lopsided when the car stopped. "Just taken by surprise is all!"

"Jeez, Heiji," Kazuha sighed. "Always so darn clumsy." Would confessing to such a person really end up in success. I would delay it a little longer.

When I got off, I was surprised to see the police headquarters instead of the amusement park. "Why are we here?"

"Oh right, Hattori-kun!" Takagi exclaimed. "There seems to be no more information that we can derive from the crime scene, so we're discussing everything at the headquarters."

In about ten minutes, we were at a meeting further discussing Kudo's death. "Mouri has information on who she believes are primary suspects. She thinks this was not a premeditated murder, as she had never seen the suspects nor did Kudo show any sign of recognition. Mouri, would you please begin."

"Thank you, Hattori-kun," she started. "When Shinichi and I were at the roller coaster murder case, there were two men who had the look of criminals about them. One of them was tall, and had long blonde hair. The other was slightly shorter, and both of them were dressed in completely black. The reason I mention them, is because right before Shinichi ran into the alleyway, I caught sight of the shorter man heading into the same alleyway. He must have followed the man, and was killed when he witnessed suspicious dealings!"

"Two men in black you say?" commented Inspector Megure. Then his face lit up in realization. "Those two! I had thought they seemed suspicious at the previous murder! But Kudo declared them innocent then, so I didn't really look too far into that. Good job, Ran-kun, now we have suspects. And even if they are innocent here, they might have witnessed something."

"Mmm…" Mouri nodded, and looked like she was listening intently to something.

"Everyone, see if you can find anyone with a description like that. The taller blonde hair man should be easier to find, it's hard to forget seeing someone with such long hair. Shiratori-kun." Inspector Megure turned to the policeman. "Help me look through files of known organizations. As we stated before, the suspects are most likely part of a mafia group!"

"Excuse me," I interrupted. "Are we needed?"

"No, it's fine, Hattori-kun. You're allowed to go." He waved us goodbye.

"I'm not really needed right now either." Takagi walked up to us. "Would you like me to take you somewhere?"

"It's about lunchtime." Kazuha stared at her watch. "Heiji, can you take us out for some gyoza? I'm hungry!"

"Then would you like to join us, Mouri?" I asked her.

"That sounds good. I know some good gyoza restaurants in town, would you like me to show you?" she offered.

"Just tell us your favorite, Ran-chan!" Kazuha said. "That'll be good enough for us!"

"There was this one near my house that Shinichi and I used to go to a lot. It's in Beika fifth district. Takagi-san, could you take us to my house? We can walk from there."

"Okay." He answered. We were at the police car now. "Hop in!"

There was something strange about Mouri. Sometimes mentioning Kudo's name, she'd break out into tears. And other times, she'd act like it was perfectly normal. The last words he said to me alive. Did a ghost exist? I had no idea, but I was going to find out, or else I wouldn't be Hattori Heiji, famous detective of the west!