Behind the Scope

Chapter 12: SLLS

Things were progressing. Conan's theories were proven one by one. It was a good thing Kid decided to delay his Bellatrix heist. The police could solely focus on the sniper case, resulting in a rapid progress in the investigation. The more the police investigated Arata, the more they found out the fraudster's crimes, the more they found out evidence to his crime, and the more they found out his accomplices. Arata was indeed the one who hired a sniper to kill Yusaku Kudo and Victor Wood, as stated by his accomplices. They knew that Arata had a secret sniper, but they never saw this sniper. They did not know anything about the sniper. Meanwhile, Arata's motive of killing was still unclear. Some of his accomplices said that Arata was afraid of Yusaku and Victor and considered them as a threat to his life. The others said that Arata had a grudge against them because of something that had happened in the past.

Arata's connection to a prisoner was proven by a statement of his other accomplice. Arata's dark business had led him to many criminals and some of them were in prison right now. It was unclear who were the prisoners that related to Arata because Arata used many names, many identities when he made deals with criminals. They did not know him, but he knew them. The accomplices appeared to not have any knowledge about Arata's false identities. They said that Arata was very cautious when it came to business with criminals. Some of his accomplices also told the police that Arata was often accompanied by his butler, Takenaka. That man was also his trusted assistant and often acted as a mediator between Arata and his business partners. This statement seemed true since Arata's legal business partners also said the same about the butler when the police asked them.

Interpol played a big role in tightening the prisoners security. The prisoners on the list were guarded tighter than before after the authorities had found out that the sniper might want to kill those prisoners. There was no doubt Arata had had some connections with some prisoners and if the sniper had killed Arata, there was a possibility that the sniper would kill the prisoners too to ensure his or her safety.

The police continued their investigation about Arata. It had not finished yet. There were still some unsolved mysteries. They still did not know who the sniper was. They did not find Arata's rifle among his employees. They still did not know who Arata's prisoners were, and they had not found Takenaka. The butler was nowhere to be seen, vanished without a trace. The only clue was Arata's mansion camera footage that showed him running out of the mansion at night. Even the traffic cameras did not record him. The butler remained a mystery along with the sniper and the prisoners.

Day by day passed, but the mysteries still remained unsolved. Conan did everything he could, but he still could not figure out anything about the remaining mysteries.

"Hmm... seems our detective is cornered," Ai teased the shrunken detective who was sighing in despair. Hearing that, Conan glanced at her in annoyance.

"Why don't you help me instead of teasing me?" he grumbled. The boy leaned back on the sofa, ignoring the latest newspaper which he had been reading before.

"Oh, but what can I do for you, Tantei-san? I'm not a detective," Ai responded lightly. She stirred a spoon in her cup of tea, mixing the sugar in it.

"How about making me a cup of coffee?" Conan asked.

"Tsk, I'm not your servant, Kudo-kun."

"No, but you're my friend and you just offered me your help."

"Who said that? I was merely asking you what I could do."

"That's all the same, Haibara."

"No. I have no intention to help you."

"Come on, just a cup of coffee."

"Coffee isn't for children, Edogawa-kun."

"Haibara!"