Late at night, I parked my car at Fumio Kijimaâs house, where I could see his front door, and staked out the house.
Instead of a normal dinner, I had some bean buns and milk. This is what I always have on stakeout. If you aspire to this job because you are fascinated by detective dramas, there is no other choice.
Actual detectives donât howl at the sun,and the cross isnât just for me,a complete stranger, Itâs not that Iâm emotional or anything, itâs all paperwork, but thatâs just a matter of âŠâŠ feeling.
Anyway, if Misuzu Kurosawa is still alive and Kijima is holding her captive somewhere, this home with his parents is impossible.
If he is going to make a move, it will probably be after his parents have gone to bed.
It is also hard to imagineâŠ.that he has any collaborators.
We interviewed his homeroom teacher about him and found that he has no close friends.
Strangely, however, he suddenly started dating a female student called Mai Fujiwara today.
Mai Fujiwara was interviewed once. My impression is that she is just a normal youth. We heard that she was good friends with Misuzu Kurosawa, who disappeared.
For example, assuming that Mai Fujiwara had a grudge against Misuzu Kurosawa, he asked Kijima to kidnap her. If we assume that, as a reward, he dangled the bait of a relationship with himself, it is a story that makes sense. It seems unrealistic, though.
But in any case, if he had a collaborator, it would be her, but if not, it is hard to imagine that he would keep someone confined and not have any contact with her for three days. People need to eat to survive.
Therefore, if Kijima did not move during the three-day stakeout, I was going to admit that I was honestly mistaken.
The fact that Kijima is suspicious is mostly on the level of intuition, and the stakeout is just my selfishness, but tomorrow, Inomoto-senpai will be in charge. Iâm very grateful. I really respect him.
âFuwaaaaaâŠ..â
Leaning against the steering wheel, I let out a big yawn, and at about the same time, there was a sudden movement on Kijima.
I looked down at my watch and saw that it was a little after 1am.
He came out of the front door, dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, looked cautiously to the left and right, pulled out a bicycle from the garage and straddled it.
Iâm sure he didnât go to the convenience storeâŠ.. because of hungry.
The nearest convenience store is less than two minutesâ walk away.
He left the residential area and headed straight down the national road along the railway line north. He had been cycling for more than 30 minutes since I started tracking him.
He does not seem to have as much stamina as he looks, and he keeps speeding up and then slowing down.
While following him at the very edge of his visual range, I check the direction he is heading in by using my car navigation system.
If we continue straight ahead on the national road, there is a residential area ahead, including the home of Misuzu Kurosawa. Speaking of other things related to Kijima, a female student called Haneda must have been in the same residential area, and I remember that writing a love letter to her was the reason Kijima was bullied.
However, it is hard to imagine breaking into Haneda house. If he were to visit Kurosawa house, it would be more likely to be to mail in a threatening letter.
âIâm pretty sure itâs definitely Kurosawa. Letâs just report it to my senior.â
I put my hand into the inside pocket of my jacket. But I canât find my phone, which should be there.
âAree?â
As soon as I tried to turn my attention to the passenger seat to see if Iâd thrown it thereââ
âAre you looking for this one?â
âHii!â
Suddenly, a womanâs voice came from the back seat and I jumped involuntarily.
It felt as if ice had been thrown down my spine. The car body sagged and I desperately clung to the steering wheel to get it in control.
In a panic, I looked at the rearview mirror and saw the silhouette of a woman in the back seat. The light from a passing street lamp flickers on her face.
A foreign woman with silver hair. She was holding my phone in her hand and smiling quietly.
âWâwhat! Whatâs going on!!!â
Impossible. How could anyone suddenly appear in a car, a car that is running, in the middle of the road? Could they have entered the car while it was stationary and hidden?
It was late at night on a country road and there were no other vehicles in front or behind.
I brought the car to a sudden stop, unbuckled my seatbelt and rolled out.
âWho are you!?â
I pulled my pistol from its holster and held it in both hands.
If I fired, there would be a stack of clean-up papers waiting for me. But I canât afford to worry about that.
The backseat door opened and a woman came out.
She has a well-groomed face and silver hair, and is probably in her 20s. She is dressed in a maidâs uniform with a long skirt, as if she were in a film.
âState your name and raise your hands! Quickly!â
Then she smiled kindly.
âYou donât need to be so frightened. I am a maid in the service of a nobleman. My name is Freesia.â
âA nobleman? What are you talking aboutâŠ..? You can play your games somewhere else.â
âYou yourself donât seem to think itâs a game at all, though, do you?â
Facts. This situation is too abnormal to be dismissed as a playground game.
âDamn it!â
As soon as I meditated to focus on the maid again, her figure disappeared from my sight.
âNah!â
Immediately after I let out a gasp of surprise, I heard the womanâs whisper in my ear.
âYou are a lovely person, so frightenedâ
âNnnm!!â
As I tried to turn around in a hurry, the maid suddenly kissed me on the lips from behind.
Instantly, my consciousness was swallowed into darkness.
ĂĂĂ
âAhaha! Looks like Freesia got rid of the Featherbugs, Devi.â
âFeatherbugs?â
âThe Detective woman Devi, looks like youâve been followed.â
Lili nodded as she flew alongside me on my bicycle.
Itâs probably that wavy-haired female detective.
The fact that I was being followed means that there was an element of suspicion on me.
âThatâs not goodâŠâŠâ
âWhatâs wrong?ăThereâs nothing to worry about, Devi.â
âI can trust your word, canât I?â
âOf course, Devi. Then letâs get started, Devi.â
âAaa.â
I park my bicycle at the back of Masakiâs house and quietly enter the garden.
Itâs not a particularly rich house, just an ordinary family. Security is limited to the fact that the lock and shutters are closed.
When I followed Masaki-chan before, I saw which roomâs lights were on and located her room. Itâs on the second floor, directly in front of the front door.
I ăpass throughă and enter the house. I stand in front of her room, about to put my finger on the rather pretty covered doorknob, when I stop moving.
âDonât panic, me. I have to be carefulâŠ..â
I shouldnât do anything that would leave fingerprints and I donât want to make a sound of the door opening.
I used the ăpass throughă and stepped into the room.
The room, about six tatami mats in size, is lit by a pale orange nightlight. Maybe she is afraid of total darkness.
Her room was very girly.
Looking around, the bed was full of stuffed animals. On the corkboard by the desk, there were many photos of her with her friends pinned up. In particular, there seemed to be many two-shot photos of Kurosawa-san.
The futon was properly raised for one person. Peering into the face of the sleeping figure, I nodded to Lili. It is indeed Masaki.
âWell, I will pin her soul, Devi..â
When Lili touched her forehead, the faint sound of her sleeping stopped.
âNow, she wonât wake up, Devi.â
âUnn, thanks.â
When I pulled off the blanket, Masaki was wearing slightly larger pink pyjamas. She was curled up like a foetus. I look into her face, there are marks around her eyes as if she had been crying and swollen.
Did Kasuyaâkun reject her?ăWell, it no longer matters.
Masaki-chanâŠ.. No, I want Masaki to experience the feeling of being betrayed by someone she loves.
With the strength I have now, there was no way I could lift her by myself, so I asked Lili to hold her legs and carry her into the room in question, carefully retracing the route we had taken in.
Then I escaped from her house and hurried home on my bicycle again.