Shinishi stayed up late that night. The strange suggestion of Kaito Kids made him curious. He kept going over the meeting in his mind. Only in retrospect did he realize that the master thief had been somehow different than usual. Normally his eyes were sparkling with joy to measure himself against his opponents, but this time he had been rather calm and serious. Obviously, the injury had bothered him more than he wanted to admit. But that wouldn't take forever. He would soon transform back into the well-known, dazzling Kaito Kid. At some point he, Shinichi Kudo, would manage to arrest him, but now he would first solve the murder of the wizard. Somewhere it made him proud that the master thief rated him the best detective he knew.
He decided to drive to the address given on the slip of paper the very next afternoon and begin his research as soon as possible.***

He hadn't told anyone about the strange assignment. Well! Ran would have accepted it, but there would have been problems with her father. After all, he was, at least officially, the owner and chief investigator of the Mori-Kudo detective agency, and Shinichi was his employee. He would have insisted on coming along, but especially here, with the assignment he had received from the Kaito Kid, he didn't want that. After all, the master thief knew only too well that it was actually he who had made Kogoro Mori famous. In addition, he had refused payment from the thief and thus saw the matter as a private investigation on his part.
When he stood in front of the Kuroba family home, he hesitated for a moment. It was unclear to him how to act. After all, he didn't know whether the residents had any idea that he would appear here to solve the murder that had taken place several years ago. Kaito Kid was anything but an ordinary client and he couldn't really say that he was acting on his behalf.It would sound too funny when all of Japan knew that he was dying to arrest him.
But since he couldn't stand idly in front of the front door, he finally rang the doorbell. He just had to let it happen and if they wouldn't let him in, he just couldn't do his job. It took a while for the door to open. Shinishi registered with astonishment that he was not asked through an intercom who he was and what he was doing here.
In the doorway stood a youth about his own age. He was a bit as tall as himself, slim, had brown, tousled hair and bright blue eyes that laughed at him happily.
"Let me guess!" he said in his expressive voice. "You are Mr. Kudo, who was announced to us by this message." He held out a piece of paper to the detective. That he suddenly held in his right hand as if by magic.Shinishi smiled as he read it. Apparently, the Kaito Kid had taken precautions so that he wouldn't just be thrown from the door.
"Dear Kuroba family!" It read. "Today in the course of the day the well-known young detective Shinishi Kudo will appear to investigate the murder of the famous magician Toichi Kuroba. I ask you to support his efforts and I am sure that he will observe the utmost discretion. Kaito Kid."
Under the message, the Shinishi praised the only too well-known mark of the master thief. A stick figure head with a cylinder.
"Yes!" he nodded to his counterpart. "I am Shinishi Kudo!"
The youth smiled and released the door. "Come in Kudo. I'm Toichi's son, by the way. My name is Kaito!"
Shinishi paused briefly when mentioning the rather strange name.
Kaito laughed when he noticed this. "My parents were big fans of the Kaito Kid and when I was born they only got that name!" he explained."Aha!" Shinishi mused. "That's probably why he was interested in the case!"
Kaito led him up the stairs to his room. Something irritated the detective, but couldn't tell what it was.
"Unfortunately, my mother is not here at the moment. She had to go shopping. But she will probably be back soon!" explained the son of the dead wizard and opened the door of his room.
As Shinishi entered, he looked around with interest. The room reminded him more of a magician's chamber than a youth room. On the wall was a life-size portrait of Toichi Kuroba, playing cards, books on magic, a magic wand and several other magic utensils lay on the desk. The detective smiled. "Obviously you come after your father and you want to become a famous magician too!"
Kaito laughed in amusement. "That was probably not difficult to conclude. Yes! Of course! I couldn't imagine anything else. Magic runs in my blood!" He pointed to a chair."Have a seat, Kudo!"
He nodded and sat down, but he couldn't switch off his peculiarities. Interested but as inconspicuously as possible, he continued to examine the room. His eyes glided over the walls, which were full of magicians' posters, glided over the shelves, reading titles like "The Alpha and Omega" or "How do I deceive my viewers?" As he did suddenly winced. Irritated, he got up and went to the bookshelf. Other books were completely out of place among all the magical books. Books he knew. He pulled one out and looked at the cover. At the same moment he also knew what had irritated him earlier.
"Kaito Kid!" he stammered, turning around, holding out the book called "Arsene Lupine, the gentleman thief" to the other. "You are the Kaito Kid. And you limped a little while up the stairs. I noticed that without really understanding it!"His counterpart, whose eyes had been watching him knowingly, nodded, little surprised that he had been seen through. "I've been wondering how long it will be before you know the truth. After all, I put the books on this shelf on purpose, Shinishi!"
That amazed him even more. "You wanted me to recognize you?" he marveled. "Why that?"
Kaito shrugged. "I actually thought about hiding it from you for a long time, but that would be pretty nonsensical. After all, I want you to solve the murder of my father. But without knowing the truth, you wouldn't have a chance!"
Shinishi's thoughts turned, put the puzzle pieces together and suddenly saw clearly what that had to mean. "Your father was the Kaito Kid who disappeared about 10 years ago. Hence the confusing ages!" locksmith.
"Yes!" Kaito nodded. "I also thought for a long time that my father had an accident.Of course, my mother had kept the truth from me. She didn't want it to become common knowledge that my father was a thief and that I had to grow up under these conditions. That's why the thing got through all the newspapers as an accident! "He went to Toichi Kuroba's man-sized poster and touched it at a very specific point. In front of Shinishi's surprised eyes, the wall slid aside and revealed a small chamber behind it." But then I discovered this room and recognized it what my mother had always kept from me! "
Shinishi went to him and looked curiously into the chamber. There were pictures of the Kaito Kid on the walls and on this side of the secret entrance was a head-high portrait of him. The detective was of course no longer at all surprised that the room was also full of white suits and white cylinders lying around everywhere.
"So that's it!" he muttered to himself. "You believe that it was not the wizard Toichi Kuroba that was killed, but that the victim was actually the Kaito Kid?"Kaito nodded. "Yes! The clues my father's assistant collected point to it!"
Shinishi left the chamber, went back to his chair and first sank down on it. Too much had rushed at him in the last few minutes that he had to deal with first. After all, he could not have expected that the Kaito Kid would reveal his true identity to him so easily and thus completely surrender himself to him.
He looked at him with a sad smile. He could guess what was going through the other's head. "Well!" he finally said after a few minutes in which both were pondering their thoughts. "Find my father's murderer and you have defeated the Kaito Kid because all these years I have not been able to bring her to justice!"
Shinishi pressed his lips together briefly. "But you already know that then I will put you in prison and that will be the end of your dreams of becoming a famous wizard!"
"This is my payment to you!" muttered the master thief."It was from the beginning. I never had any money to offer you before. I only became the Kaito Kid for one reason. Jii found out that my father was involved with an organization shortly before his death. They are looking for someone special Gemstone. A stone with a second stone hidden inside. But you can only recognize it if you hold it up to the moonlight! "
At that moment Shinishi understood everything. "Therefore your thefts!" he exclaimed. "You never wanted to enrich yourself. That's why you always brought your stolen property back. You just wanted to find this very specific stone to get to your father's murderer!"
The master thief nodded slightly. "That's right! But I also know that this does not change the illegality of my actions!"
"Shinishi waved him off." Let's leave that aside for now. Let's focus on solving the murder. What to do with you, I'll decide when I've found the killer. Until then, you will be safe from me unless you commit another theft now! "Kaito shook her head. “After that, I don't feel like it at the moment, although part of me will miss the excitement!” My eyes flashed a little at these words as they did before.
His visitor did not respond, he asked Kaito to show him everything he knew about his father's murderer! "

***

Hours had passed in which Shinishi went through everything over and over again. Meanwhile, Kaito's mother, Hibarue Kuroba, had come home. She only greeted the detective briefly and then made her quickly disappear again.
"Don't you like me?" Shinishi smiled, who of course had noticed her reticent behavior.
Kaito laughed out loud. "That doesn't really surprise you. She sees you as the one who will put her son in prison. She will never forgive you for that, but that shouldn't affect you!"
The detective grimaced