Chapter Text
Another day in the life of Mouri Kogoro, another “wonderful” opportunity to pay overdue bills.
The radio buzzed a low, pointless drone throughout the office, trying to keep the mustached detective from focusing too heavily on the stack of bills he was sifting through, and the amount of money he was signing on the cheques.
To say that he, and by extension, his business, was in a desperate financial state would have been a severe understatement. He had not had a case in a good six months now, with the police, going exclusively to that brat Kudo, while regular people just didn’t bother with his services too often these days. There wasn’t even a cheating husband to tail.
Taking another drag from his cigarette, before stubbing it out in the overflowing ashtray, Kogoro signed the check he was going to send to the electrical company. Hopefully, that would satisfy those leeches for a while, while he tried to get some money scraped together. The only reason he was doing it now, was because he managed to get lucky with his bets on the races yesterday, and his daughter, Ran, had nagged him into taking care of the bills while they still could.
Kogoro shook his head. That girl was going to get gray hairs before he did at this rate. He really wished that she stopped worrying about stuff like that; it was his job to worry about their finances, not hers. True, he wasn’t very good at it on most days, especially after four in the afternoon, but still.
Just as he was about to start writing another cheque, the phone rang, piercing through the stillness of the office, almost causing Mouri to jump from his chair, dropping the pen, and hitting his shin on the desk. Grumbling from the pain, Kogoro picked up the phone briefly, before slamming it back down.
“Serves them right, the damn telemarketers,” Kogoro grumbled in annoyance as he tried to sit down, but the phone started ringing again, seemingly more insistent than before. Realizing he could take out his frustrations by shouting at someone, Kogoro picked up the phone and brought it to his ear.
“Now listen here, you dumb piece of-” his rant, however, was quickly interrupted by a calm, and collected voice.
“Really, anata, is this how you greet potential clients?” Kisaki Eri, Kogoro’s estranged wife asked, her tone teasing. Taking a moment to collect himself, Kogoro tamped down on his anger, instead switching it for feigned disinterest.
“Why are you calling me, obasan? I’ve got work to do,” he lied through his teeth, which caused Eri to immediately snap from the other end of the line.
“Oh, please! Ran has told me you haven’t had a case in six months,”
“Damn busybody,” Kogoro muttered under his breath, low enough to not be heard, before turning back to his wife. “I choose my work!” he proclaimed loudly to his wife, only for her to laugh at his assertation.
“Yes, it must be so hard to choose between nothing and nothing all day,”
“I don’t see what that has to do with you, so if you’ll excuse me…”
“I have a case for you,” Eri said immediately, causing Kogoro to pause.
“I don’t need charity, woman,” he tried to protest angrily, but Eri’s voice easily matched his;
“I don’t care what you need, you mustached old man! This is for Ran’s sake!” Eri protested, her voice brokering no argument. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t even bother sending my friend to a washed-up, skirt-chasing, old, boozehound, idiot detective like you!”
“We’re the same age, you damn woman!” Kogoro reminded her with a shout, that could probably be heard from across the street.
“That’s not the point! So, listen closely; my friend will be coming to your miserable little office tomorrow! You will clean up, you will be polite, and you will help her because she is willing to pay you way more than you’re worth!”
“At least someone realizes what I’m worth around here!” Kogoro shouted, before slamming the phone back down, cutting off the call from that damned woman. Implying he can’t get work on his own… Still…
Kogoro’s eyes lingered on the stack of bills that were still left to pay, before picking up the half-empty pack of cigarettes from his desk. He supposed agreeing to one case that his wife sent his way couldn’t hurt.
-DoDo-
“So, Fujimura-san, how can I help you?” Kogoro asked, reclining back in his couch, studying his potential client. Fujimura Naomi was a woman in her late thirties, with a refined air to her, and well off financially, if her clothing and brand-new watch were anything to go by. Her hair was pitch black and tied in a traditional Japanese style, indicating to Kogoro that she was probably a housewife.
“How much has Eri-chan told you about my situation, Mouri-san?” the woman inquired, eyes fixated on the cup of tea that he had given her. It always sucked when he had clients on days Ran had school, but at least he could make a cup of tea without burning the kitchen down.
“My wife was… Not forthcoming with the details,” Kogoro lied quickly, not wanting to reveal that he had simply forgotten to ask anything in order to finish the call faster. Masking his discomfort with a quick cough he continued; “And even then, it’s best to hear the client’s own words, to make sure that nothing is a miss, of course.”
“Ah, yes, naturally,” Fujimura-san agreed readily before taking a deep breath and fished out a photograph from her purse. “This is me, and my husband, Eisei.”
Picking up the photograph, Kogoro raised his eyebrows, looking at the picture of Fujimura-san and her husband, clearly taken not too long ago. His client was clearly the one that aged gracefully between the two since Mister Fujimura was a man of little hair, and plenty of padding all over his body, with small beady eyes, that reminded Kogoro of a mouse.
“And what does your husband do, Fujimura-san?” Kogoro asked, pulling out a pen, to write down the notes.
“He owns a shipping business that operates from downtown Tokyo,” Fujimura-san explained. “The business is moderately successful, and he’s thinking of expanding it soon.”
“And is there trouble with the business?”
“No, Mouri-san,” she shook her head, taking a sip of tea before continuing. “Lately, my husband has been… Nervous? Erratic perhaps is the better word. He also often disappears for periods of time. No longer than a couple of hours, admittedly, but it’s becoming more and more frequent.”
“Can you describe these… Disappearances?”
“The most recent one, the one from last Friday,” Fujimura-san began recounting. “He told me that he was going to the office that day. I wished him a pleasant day and then went about the household, helping the housekeeper with some chores, when I received a call from my husband’s secretary. She inquired if Eisei could come to the phone since he called in with a cold, but she needed his permission for something. She appeared quite confused when I informed her that he had left for the office earlier.”
“And did you ask your husband about this when he came home, Fujimura-san?”
“He claimed that he was there and that his secretary simply could not find him,” the woman shook her head.
“I see,” Kogoro sighed, interlacing his fingers. “You fear that your husband is cheating on you, correct, Fujimura-san?”
“Yes. Though… I suppose I would prefer reassurance that he isn’t,” the woman admitted the statement causing Kogoro to feel pity for the woman. Nobody would ever want the bad news after all.
“And do these disappearances always happen on Friday?” Kogoro asked, picking up the pen again, and scribbled down the timeline.
“Yes, for the last few months,” she confirmed. “At the start it was once a month, but now it’s practically every week.”
“And does your husband smell different when he gets home, or perhaps appear drunk?” Kogoro pressed gently. “Anything that could indicate it isn’t just him taking a few hours to destress?”
“No alcohol, or perfumes that I can recall, no,” Fujimura-san admitted, but quickly added; “Though he does routinely look even more stressed on days where he’s disappeared, so I don’t think he‘s just trying to blow off steam.” Kogoro nodded solemnly at the woman’s words, an idea that was already there, seemingly reinforced now.
“I do not wish to be the one to give you bad news, Fujimura-san, but you do realize that with what you’ve told me, there is every possibility your husband is merely being incredibly careful while cheating,” Kogoro concluded, and his client nodded, bitterly.
“If that is indeed the case, Mouri-san, I would like you to procure proof for me,” Fujimura-san instructed, as she pulled out a thick envelope from her bag. “This is our address, along with 200,000 Yen,” she clarified to Kogoro, who tried his best not to simply snatch the money from her hand, instead taking the envelope slowly and professionally. “Eisei leaves for “work” on Friday around nine in the morning. If you can give me a definitive answer one way or another, I can promise you another 800,000 Yen, along with all the expenses for your investigation,” the woman explained. Trying his best to keep the giddiness out of his voice, for Fujimura-san’s sake, Kogoro coughed a few times, before glancing over at the calendar.
“Given that tomorrow is Friday, I should be able to confirm what your husband is doing by the end of the day, Fujimura-san,” he assured her, placing the envelope on the table, before standing up. “Please, allow me to escort you out,” he offered with a polite bow.
“Thank you, Mouri-san,” the woman smiled at his politeness and stood up to leave, Kogoro holding the door open for her.
As soon as the door closed and Kogoro counted down from ten, to make sure that his client would be outside the building, before diving for the envelope that was sitting on the table and ripping it apart, extracting the crisp Yen bills from it. He quickly started counting the bills, a part of him thinking that maybe Eri sending him clients every once in a while, wasn’t a bad thing.
“Hahahaha!!! Mouri Kogoro is back in business!!!” he shouted loudly to himself, throwing the money in the air like an overly-excited salaryman… Just in time to hear the door open, causing him to freeze in terror that his client had come back. Slowly turning around though, he relaxed, as it was only his daughter, standing at the door, looking disapprovingly.
“Otou-san!” Ran intoned, putting her hands on her hips in a way that was scarily similar to Eri. “Don’t do that! What if a client sees you?!”
“Eh, the lady left already!” Kogoro waved her off. “Anyway, don’t bother cooking anything for me tomorrow, I’ll be out on a case.”
“Oh, that works out perfectly then!” Ran said excitedly, causing Kogoro to immediately grow suspicious.
“The Suzuki girl dragging you somewhere again? It better not be to another college party!”
“No, I’m going out with Shinichi to Tropical Land,” Ran declared cheerfully, as she placed her school bag down on the floor. As soon as Ran said that, Kogoro could feel what little remained of his good mood disappear.
“Oi! Tell that brat not to try and do anything funny to you, if he knows what’s good for him!” he threatened, causing Ran to glare at him.
“Oh please, Shinichi wouldn’t do anything like that,” she said, before starting to gather the money from the floor. “Now come on and help me get all this cash before we step on them, or God forbid another client comes by.”
“Doubt it,” Kogoro rolled his eyes, but obliged his daughter anyway, picking up the scattered bills.
“Don’t be like that, Otou-san,” Ran encouraged him, as she placed a stack of Yen on the table. “You know what they say; ‘If you can find one client, you can find a million!’ Who knows? Maybe your luck is finally changing?”
“Ah, maybe you’re right Ran,” Kogoro concluded, before an idea struck him. “Actually, come on! Let’s go out to eat tonight!”
“But I don’t mind cooking-” Ran tried to protest, but Kogoro interrupted her.
“Nonsense! Think of it as a treat for winning the karate championship last month,” he encouraged her. “I never did give you a present for that, so how about it?”
Ran nodded excitedly.
-DoDo-
The buzzing of her alarm clock roused Ran from sleep and she rolled over in her bed to turn off the noise. Last night was definitely fun, with her Dad being in a good mood for the first time in seemingly forever. She would have preferred if he didn’t drink so much, or if her shoelaces didn’t snap in two, though.
Sighing, Ran picked up her phone and dialed the one person who’d have what she needed this early in the morning. It took almost two whole minutes, but finally, someone picked up from the other end.
“Raaaaaan!” a whiny, tired voice sounded in Ran’s ears, signaling that she had indeed woken up her best friend. “It’s too early!”
“Sonoko, it’s already 6:30,” Ran chided, as she sat up in her bed. “If you don’t get up soon, you’ll be late for school. You don’t want the teacher to berate you again, do you?” the question was met with more groaning and dark muttering from Sonoko.
“Still doesn’t explain why you woke me up before seven you know,” Sonoko pointed out groggily, but Ran could hear sounds of Sonoko getting up in the background.
“I need a favor,” Ran admitted. “You see-”
“Ah, I see,” Sonoko interrupted Ran immediately, adopting a sweet, dream-like voice; “You want me to doll you up for your date with your precious Shinichi-kun, so you can snag him for good this time! Is that right?”
“Wha- No, Sonoko, it’s not that!” Ran immediately sputtered at her friend’s insinuations, feeling her face heat up. “And it’s not a date, Shinichi is just taking me to Tropical Land to celebrate my win at the tournament,” Ran assured Sonoko, though judging by her friend’s voice, it didn’t work.
At least she’s awake now and stopped complaining, Ran thought morosely.
“Yeah, yeah! Whatever you want to call it, Ran,” Sonoko quickly waved away Ran’s protests. “So, what exactly do you need then?”
“Well, my shoelaces tore yesterday and I won’t have time to go grab replacements today,” Ran explained, as she started making her bed. “Can you bring me a pair of sneakers to wear today?”
“I don’t have sneakers,” Sonoko said, causing Ran to raise a skeptical eyebrow, even if her friend couldn’t see it.
“Sonoko, I’ve seen you buy them,” Ran corrected her friend, but Sonoko kept protesting.
“Those are not sneakers, they are fashionable running shoes,” Ran’s friend insisted, her tone sounding smug. “You need to learn the difference, Ran!”
“Just bring me a pair, whatever they’re called,” Ran insisted, burying her face in her free hand.
“Sure, I’ll swing by in an hour or so,” Sonoko promised through a yawn. “And you better fill me in on what happens on your date, Ran!” Sonoko demanded in a sing-song voice, before hanging up.
“I told you it’s… Urgh, that Sonoko,” Ran pouted as she put her phone on her desk. There, a picture of her and Shinichi from middle school caught her eye. They were smiling broadly in the picture, with the mystery geek, in particular, looking like he was on top of the world, a mischievous smile on his lips. The picture caused Ran to smile, her irritation immediately forgotten.
Maybe this could be a date after all?
“RAN!!!” her dad’s loud voice cut through Ran’s little moment of peace. “WHERE ARE THE KEYS FOR THE RENTAL CAR?”
She couldn’t wait to graduate and move out.