Feeling the intense gazes of the only two living people in the House, Borse tilted her head slightly and reached into her bosom to take out a Beretta M92F. After casually spinning the black handgun in her hand, Borse held the gun in her left hand and casually tapped the body of the gun with her index finger.
“It seems you have already recognized it,” Borse said nonchalantly. “This is the one who forced you back then—no need to doubt, I found him even faster than you did.”
Mrs. Aida's breathing had still not returned to normal; the other person's action was like a bomb thrown onto the calm lake surface, bringing a massive shock to her: ".."
I have never been one to waste my efforts.
His black eyes were deep and hollow, showing not a single glimmer of light even under the light; Mrs. Aida took a step back, vaguely feeling as if she had just seen a leopard staring at its prey.
"Ding-dong—ding-dong—" The doorbell rang from outside the door.
Mrs. Aida frowned, then hurried to the Entrance and saw the visitor clearly through the Peephole.
It was the police.
The Woman's heart skipped a beat, a wave of dizziness washed over her brain, but she quickly regained her composure and turned decisively toward the Living room.
As expected, Borse was nowhere to be seen.
Mrs. Aida did not hesitate—nor did she have the time to hesitate. The woman took off her shoes and ran to the living room in a few quick steps—taking care to control the sound of her footsteps in the process. Then, Mrs. Aida casually flipped through a few channels, only after confirming everything was in order, did she press the power button on the remote control.
After doing all this, Mrs. Aida closed her eyes tightly, struggling to calm her panic. She raised her hands and rubbed her eyes and face vigorously; the moment she opened her eyes, the woman's expression had changed, looking as if she had just been startled awake from a dream, lost in confusion.
She had been crying frequently these past few days, so the exhaustion from her lack of sleep was easily visible on her face.
She slowly walked toward the Entrance once more, putting on her house slippers—which she had taken off to minimize the sound of her footsteps—without changing her expression. She peered through the peephole with an air of pretense, only opening the door while feigning confusion and bewilderment.
Excuse me.. is there something else?
Byrrh gave a gentle and puzzled smile.
..
At the same time, this gunshot piercing the sky and the subsequent Report also drew the attention of another Red side force.
Akai Shuichi looked at the man in the photo with a solemn expression.
A single shot, clean and efficient." Judy sat beside Akai Shuichi, his gaze drifting unintentionally toward the silent man beside him. "This shot went straight through the heart. If the perpetrator wasn't exceptionally lucky, then he is quite familiar with firearms.
Very familiar," another experienced Agent corrected. "Although there isn't much foot traffic at the crime scene, some people still passed by. The Killer committed the crime before late at night, there were several people near the Deceased, which is why the one-hit kill caused such a sensation and the media arrived at the crime scene before the Police.
He paused, then added, "But even so, no one saw the Killer—or rather, no one realized who the Killer was."
"Even with bystanders present, he could act without hesitation; a single shot from his handgun would be fatal; and he could escape calmly without being caught after the fact.." Judy muttered.
“Calm and decisive, cold-hearted, superb marksmanship, at least possessing some anti-tracking skills..” At this moment, Akai Shuichi, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke: "The Killer this time is no ordinary person."
"Yeah," James sighed helplessly.
Judy took out another stack of photos and the information they had found within the limited time, distributed them one by one to the colleagues present, continued the discussion.
However, just as everyone was analyzing seriously and increasing their vigilance, Akai Shuichi, who had indeed offered many suggestions, could not help but feel a sense of doubt amidst his serious analysis.
Although he knew the scope of potential suspects was vast, he still had a faint feeling.. that this matter was related to the Organization.
There was no evidence, nor any logical reasoning.. It was simply based on his own intuition.
—In fact, he didn't even know why, but if it weren't for the fact that the Deceased's identity seemed so ordinary that person wouldn't have personally taken action, if it weren't for the fact that the Deceased was shot in the heart rather than receiving a one-shot headshot, he would have almost suspected that Gin was the one who did it.
"How strange.." Akai Shuichi thought.
And—
When will I be able to face you in battle again?
My lover who dumped me.. my Nemesis! (1)
-----------------------
Author's Note: (1) In the anime, Akai Shuichi once said: "Yes, I will definitely make his regret it. He dumped me back then, so she must pay the price."
This probably refers to someone.
Emmm.. you guys should feel it for yourselves.
..
Chapter 139 Chapter 123 Also the only one who wasn't..
For Mrs. Aida, the shooting incident brought by the Police was undoubtedly good news—though she could not show it.
However, for the detectives involved in the matter, this murder case made things even more complicated.
First, although another person has died, whether the cause of the Deceased's death is related to the previous Serial murder case remains an unknown—after all, there were no words carved on the Victim's face.
Thus, whether this was another case committed by that mysterious serial killer, or another case completely unrelated to the 'Seven Deadly Sins' murder cases that just happened to occur around the same time, remained an unknown.
Since the time and location of the Victim's death occurred in a public setting, even if not directly in front of everyone's eyes, combined with media reports, the pressure on the Police to solve the case rose sharply.
Under the pressure, they quickly identified the Victim's identity.
Yoshino Saburo.
He was a staff member in hotel management, roughly in his mid-forties, with outstanding professional abilities and a long history of being diligent and conscientious. Not only that, but his family life was also very happy, he had a wonderful relationship with his wife—it was just a pity that the two of them had no child.
Yoshino Saburo's life had always been predictable; the only thing that was puzzling was that he had suddenly resigned from her previous job at the Hotel ten days ago.
As the Police investigation revealed, he actually had a connection to the previous Victim—he was once a Colleague of Mrs. Aida, who resigned from his former company sixteen years ago and only found Work a year later—and his Work was even introduced by Mrs. Aida.
This immediately made the three detectives think of the information they had previously learned from Mr. Aida's assistant, Ms. Matsumoto.
Sixteen years ago, after Mr. Aida's partner resigned, Ms. Matsumoto began working with Mr. Aida, that partner was none other than Yoshino Saburo.
This connection made the case even more complex.
Whether Yoshino Saburo's death is or is not a Serial murder case, both conclusions are possible, both have aspects that warrant suspicion.
If so, the method of the shooting proves that the killer is an experienced person with excellent marksmanship. This clearly contradicts their previous judgment—in fact, if the killer truly possessed such great ability, the traces left in the previous murder cases would have been quite different.
Not to mention, given the coldness and decisiveness shown by the killer in the shooting incident, if he were truly the mastermind behind the serial murder case, he would have no need to use such troublesome methods (such as sleeping pills or ropes) to achieve his target.
And, unlike other methods of committing a crime, there were no letters carved into the Deceased.
But if it wasn't, the coincidence between his death and Mr. Aida was far too great—given Yoshino Saburo's lifestyle, what ability could he, as an ordinary person, have to provoke a professional assassination—especially a shooting?
Nana, who had been restless through the middle of the night, felt a splitting headache, her ears were ringing. A faint pain in her right ear caused her to let out a sigh.
The black-haired detective closed her eyes, clearly lacking energy.
Kinda Ichichi also understood Nana's situation. He reached out and ruffled the girl's black hair, laughing heartily at his sudden wide-eyed stare and the faint dissatisfaction in his green eyes. "If you're tired, go back and sleep. Your health isn't great either; I'll notify you about anything tomorrow."
Nana shook her head slightly to indicate she was still fine; however, as soon as she stood up, her head felt a sudden wave of turbidity, leaving her so dizzy and lightheaded that her entire body swayed.
Nanase Miyuki looked at her with concern from the side, then found a glass and poured her a cup of hot tea.
Nana blinked, upon sensing her discomfort, she took a sip of the hot tea and smiled at Miyuki. Deciding not to push herself, she simply nodded, "Alright, I'll head back first."
Thinking that Yaji was already asleep, Nana sent a tentative SMS to Kimie and received a response shortly after.
So twenty minutes later, a silver-white Toyota sedan came to a steady halt at the gates of Nanase's home, Nana waved goodbye to everyone.
Watching the Black-haired girl's silhouette gradually disappear, Miyuki snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her Childhood friend with annoyance, "Do you need me to make you some late-night snacks?"
"Then thanks a lot!" Kinda Ichichi said, not being polite at all.
I don't know if he truly failed to understand the teasing and sarcasm in his childhood friend's words, or if he was simply pretending to be ignorant.
..
Unexpectedly, Mr. Yoshino's wife soon suggested that she hoped to meet Mrs. Aida.
Mrs. Yoshino was a soft and kind woman, so kind that she almost lacked a temper. Yoshino Saburo was her second husband, while her first husband was a drunkard and a gambler. Because of her weak nature, she had suffered a great deal; eventually, her Parents could no longer stand it and urged their Daughter to divorce. Afterward, she met Mr. Yoshino through an arranged blind date and they were married soon after.
She and her husband had a very good relationship; logically speaking, the death of Mr. Yoshino should have left her extremely heartbroken. However, although Mrs. Yoshino was sad, she did not appear to be in much pain, even three days after her husband's death, she requested a meeting with Mrs. Aida.
At first, the Officer even suspected whether Mrs. Yoshino might believe that the relationship between her husband and Mr. Aida's former colleague had caused the fatal accident, leading her to take her anger out on Mrs. Aida, she had even subtly tried to advise Mrs. Yoshino.
At the same time, they also told Mrs. Aida that she could refuse if she was unwilling.
But when Mrs. Aida heard this news, she was momentarily stunned, even appearing somewhat dazed, before she finally agreed with determination.
However, unexpectedly, as soon as she saw Mrs. Aida, Mrs. Yoshino burst into tears on the spot and remained silent thereafter, until Mrs. Aida asked Mrs. Yoshino with a smile if she wanted something to drink.
Before parting, she bowed deeply to Mrs. Aida. As the sun set, the afterglow of the sunset spilled over the two of them. Mrs. Yoshino had a sorrowful expression and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I am very sorry."
Mrs. Aida did not answer.
Under the setting sun, the expression on her face remained indistinct.
..
“What do you need me to do?” The woman tilted her head slightly, looking at the black-haired youth before her.
The black-haired youth gave her a brief glance.
Mrs. Aida smiled softly, "There is no need to doubt; no matter what kind of terms you wish to propose, as long as they are not excessive, I am willing to accept them."
After all, she.. had almost nothing left to lose.
Then—" the youth's voice rang out in the quiet tatami room, sounding somewhat dry and hoarse, "I want everything you have on hand, all the research materials you've taken from the Black Organization.
The Youth's voice was very low, with a slight metallic texture in the subtle nuances—a texture easily overlooked, yet Mrs. Aida, with her keen hearing, captured it.
But thinking about it, what did it have to do with him?
And the Solution.
The youth slowly uttered the last few syllables.
The woman's eyes suddenly widened.
Her once calm expression suddenly rippled, her eyes shimmering with emotion. After a deep breath, she let out a slow sigh. "How.. how did you know?"
The Black-haired youth did not speak.
He just looked at her quietly.
Mrs. Aida—a former Organization Cadre known as Byrrh—silently closed her eyes, understanding the unspoken meaning in the eyes of the person opposite her.
The Woman let out a soft sigh, then relaxed her shoulders, revealing a smile that was somewhat sorrowful yet somewhat Shiran: "I will tell you everything—but please, do not mock me."
She would explain everything clearly.
Borse did not answer, merely watching her quietly.