Chapter 32
Kurosawa Shiran threw away the crowbar in her hand, looking innocent and helpless again: "Sister, I was threatened by her."
Lina choked on a mouthful of blood, but her face remained expressionless.
She glanced at her watch, then straightened her clothes without saying a word.
In this situation, she didn't really want to talk.
"Rina! Control your people, they're so rude!" Sakurai Yui stared at her intently for a full half minute before finally losing her temper. "These flowers are my life's work, and they've ruined them all!"
Rina remained silent. She turned to Arisu Kazumi and asked, "Is there anything you want to say?"
Arisu Kazumi stopped what she was doing, sniffed, and said, "I think the smell here is strange."
It smelled like a rotting corpse.
Upon hearing this, Yui Sakurai couldn't help but scoff and questioned, "You suspect I'm a murderer?"
Arisu Kazumi, realizing she'd been hit where it hurt, guiltily averted her gaze, a hint of unease on her face. "Ms. Yui, that's not what I meant..."
Her retreat fueled Yui Sakurai's anger: "Is this what you mean? You destroyed my greenhouse without permission and even suspect me of being the culprit. I even made you desserts, and this is how you treat me?"
Kazumi Arisu frankly stated, "I'm sorry, Ms. Yui, but you are highly suspicious."
That fake secret room wasn't perfect.
She was certain that Yui Sakurai hadn't gone out the door, but that didn't mean she hadn't left the room.
She had checked the bedroom window; although it was broken, Yui Sakurai had locked it from the outside.
She explained that it was to prevent the wind from blowing it open, which would make it impossible for her to open it from the inside, thus creating a sealed room.
Kazumi Arisu whispered in defense, "The window frame was movable, and there are traces of repeated disassembly on the wall."
Sakurai Yui looked at her reproachfully and loudly argued, "Nonsense! You're concluding I'm the murderer based on just that one trace? The murderer has already been caught."
Rina nodded: "That's true."
His voice was devoid of emotion, as if he genuinely approved of the matter.
Sakurai Yui turned her head and glared at her fiercely, "Are you just trying to fool me?"
“You’re being too sensitive,” Rina said. “Hoshino, why don’t you go to the living room and have Mrs. Kimura pour you a glass of water?”
Kurosawa Shiran frowned slightly without making a sound, and stood behind Rina without moving.
“No need,” Yui Sakurai chuckled mischievously. “Don’t think that I’ll forgive you just because of this.”
Rina played along with her performance: "I've always believed you're innocent."
Sakurai Yui emphasized again: "The culprit has been taken away. It's Masako, that vicious woman Masako."
As they were speaking, the sound of police sirens suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
Sakurai Yui reacted for a moment, her expression immediately becoming somewhat flustered: "What exactly did you do?"
Lina remained calm. "Don't get agitated. It was your dear husband who called the police himself."
"You did this on purpose!" Yui Sakurai's face turned ugly, her gaze darting around. After thinking for a while, she added, "Do you know how pitiful he is? Why did you hurt him?"
Rina smiled faintly, but her eyes turned cold. "He insists on saying he's the murderer, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Even if he wasn't an accomplice, he would be safer at the police station than here.
Sakurai Yui could no longer be as at ease as before, and the expression on her face became increasingly stiff. "He couldn't possibly have killed that idiot Ryoko."
Arisu Kazumi asked, "Do you know the deceased?"
Yui Sakurai denied the allegations, saying, "I have no contact with her whatsoever."
Arisu Kazumi: "It sounds like you have a lot of opinions about her."
Sakurai Yui retorted, "She shamelessly seduced my husband, and you expect me to have a high opinion of him?"
Rina's eyebrows curved into a smile as she scrutinized her expression, her gaze growing increasingly serious and critical. "I will compensate for these flowers. You two... are both immature children, so please be more tolerant of them."
Sakurai Yui sneered, unconvinced. "You're just as annoying as before. Everyone in the class hates you, and you still do. Masako doesn't consider you a friend at all. Your existence is nothing but a tragedy."
After saying that, she went into the yard and stopped the police.
Rina turned around, looked the two of them up and down, and sighed, "Let's go, you two troublemakers."
Kurosawa Shiran looked at her with her clear blue eyes, "Sister, that woman is an eyesore, isn't she?"
Rina sensed the murderous intent in his words. She patted his shoulder and brushed the dust off his clothes. "Behave yourself."
“Sister,” Kurosawa Shiran moved closer to her and asked in a low voice, “What did you and Kimura talk about alone in the house?”
“He said he was the murderer of Ishikawa Ryoko.” Rina started to walk out, and when she saw Sato coming over, she deliberately quickened her pace. “Perhaps the police questioning will yield some results.”
"Rina!" Just then, Sato, with a briefcase tucked under his left arm, strode toward her.
"......."
How can I stop hearing this disgusting name?
Rina stopped and adjusted her expression.
Sato leaned against the doorway, struck a pose, and blocked her way. "Masako is not the murderer. She can't explain the crime at all, and she doesn't even know that the victim died from a severe blow to the back of the head."
“You could have Masako talk to Kimura; they get along quite well.” Rina paused for a moment. “What made me interested in this case was her.”
Sato raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Rina: "I didn't have anyone to talk to in high school, let alone friends. The idea of being a bridesmaid was too unrealistic."
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.
Sato met her gaze, pouted, and said, "Then you are really lucky to have met such a warm-hearted older brother like me."
“Ha,” Rina narrowed her eyes, “The curfew is 11:30 p.m., and you explained to Yukiho that you knocked on the door for half an hour past midnight.”
Sato immediately sat up straight. "This kind of thing can't be told to anyone!"
Rina: "Yukiho-nee must love you too much to believe such nonsense."
“Of course, she understands my work,” Sato raised an eyebrow at her and said, “Would you like to come back to the police station with us as an inspector?”
"No need, I have other things to do." Rina looked around, feeling like someone was watching her from the shadows.
She glanced uncertainly at Kurosawa Shiran, but he didn't react at all.
Is it just my imagination?
When Rina saw Naoki Kimura being led out by the police, she suddenly said, "Akari is a very good person. She wouldn't abandon herself for love and kill Ryoko Ishikawa."
Naoki Kimura's voice was hoarse, as if it were covered with a layer of sand, "What did you say?"
“There’s a book that Akari really likes. It’s about how I’ve been rude to people I’ve loved, and how I’ve learned to forgive people who only live for themselves, even though I no longer like them,” Rina said. “It’s a line from Tsvetaeva’s poem ‘No One Can Take Anything Away.’ She was able to accept her mistakes and start a new life. Maybe she shared this book with you, but you didn’t notice.”
"Don't talk nonsense, my husband doesn't know any Akari at all!" Sakurai Yui excitedly tried to rush forward, but was stopped by the police officers.
Naoki Kimura said in a trembling voice, "But that bracelet, and the place where Ryoko died, both belong to Akari..."
Rina: "Akari really likes that abandoned port."
Naoki Kimura explained, "She goes there when she's in a bad mood..."
Sakurai Yui went from anger to despair, shouting, "I am your wife!"
Naoki Kimura lowered his head, concealing the tears welling in his eyes. "Yui, our relationship is fraught with too many arguments and deceptions..."
"Are you blaming me?" Yui Sakurai wiped away her tears and scolded.
“It’s all my fault from beginning to end. I’m the root of everything. Go back now.” With that, Naoki Kimura got into the police car.
Rina probably anticipated that she would take all the blame upon herself.
After the police car left, Arisu Kazumi frowned. "If I remember correctly, that Kirihara Nobunaga can testify that he didn't leave the gallery at all when the incident occurred."
Rina: "Yes."
Nevertheless, Masako's suspicion could not be cleared; she was simply another suspect.
Akari Yamamoto disappeared two weeks ago and her whereabouts are still unknown, so we can prepare for the worst.
Sakurai Yui's eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at Rina, her face contorted in pain, and whispered, "You ruined my life."
Rina pretended not to see it, took Kurosawa Shiran's arm, and said calmly, "Perhaps we can have lunch together."
Those who are observant can easily discern the ambiguity in this scene.
Kurosawa Shiran's heart was pounding with her words. After a moment's thought, she asked, "Really? My sister accepted my marriage proposal?"
Rina: "......"
She really had a hard time keeping up with his thought process.
Arisu Kazumi gave a cold snort from her nose, "Hey!"
How did things develop so fast? That bastard doesn't look like a good person at all.
Kurosawa Shiran shifted her body, pressing herself against her shoulder, and gently curled the corners of her lips: "And then? And what are your plans, sister?"
Rina sat in the passenger seat, looking quite pleased. "I'll listen to you, get in the car first."
Kurosawa Shiran's dark blue eyes narrowed slightly. After following them, he secretly leaned closer and swallowed his saliva almost imperceptibly.
His hormonal aura permeated his skin almost imperceptibly.
Rina avoided his gaze.
Outside the car, Arisu Kazumi tried to pull on the door, but it wouldn't open, and then she heard the engine start.
Sure enough, that bastard had ill intentions and wanted to abandon her!
Thinking of this, she didn't hesitate to grab her schoolbag and smash it against the car door, making a dent with a loud bang.
Rina glanced at the driver's seat, and the car door opened quickly.
After getting into the car, Arisu Kazumi said angrily, "What do you mean by closing the car door?"
Kurosawa Shiran: "What are you doing here during a couple's private time?"
Arisu Kazumi frowned, her gaze fixed on Rina, her reminder quite deliberate: "You have ulterior motives and are plotting something sinister."
What exactly is their relationship? Why do they seem so familiar? The questions in her mind are now snowballing.
However, Rina didn't react. She looked out the window at the crowd, with heavy dark circles under her eyes, and looked very tired.
Kurosawa Shiran shut his mouth and drove quietly.
As they approached the outskirts, Rina suddenly said, "Just drop me off at the next intersection."
Kurosawa Shiran's lips slowly curled up, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
There were hardly any people in this place, and the nearby buildings were all dilapidated, with moss already sprouting from the cracks in the walls.
She suddenly remembered that when Sakurai Yui drove to the old house that day, there was this plant in the trunk.
At first, I didn't pay much attention. After all, Yui Sakurai likes to tinker with plants, and there are such plants next to the greenhouse, so it's not surprising that they appeared in the trunk.
But the housefleur on that car now seems to be a different variety than the one at home.
Rina put on gloves and picked the flower stem from the wall.
Arisu Kazumi leaned closer and observed carefully, but couldn't figure it out: "What did you discover?"
Rina explained, "The leaves of the small 'Orostachys' rosette are densely packed, and the bracts are oblong-lanceolate with purple spots. Their shape is roughly oblong-lanceolate to spoon-shaped. The leaves of the tower 'Orostachys' rosette are linear, and the leaves on the flower stem are linear and upright. The bracts are attached to the middle of the flower stalk, and the petals are white. These are all covered in high school textbooks."
Arisu Kazumi blinked, believing it: "Really?"
“You don’t need to know, you don’t want to learn anyway.” Rina calmly put her phone into her pocket, her eyes quickly scanning the surroundings. “There’s a second victim in this case.”
"There's one more?" Arisu Kazumi turned around and glanced at him, her heart skipping a beat. "Where's that bastard?"
Rina's expression had turned cold as she instructed, "Let's split up."
Arisu Kazumi: "Can you do it?"
Rina nodded, and soon the two went their separate ways, one to the abandoned school and the other to the dojo.
Sakurai Yui parked her car at a corner not far away, gritted her teeth, and her eyes could practically tear someone apart. Once the other person went into the yard, she immediately followed.
As darkness fell, Rina picked up a wooden stick in the courtyard of the martial arts school and used it to brush away the cobwebs on the door.
The door panel was covered with long marks of varying depths, likely from being carelessly slashed by a knife.
Rina arrived at an abandoned training room. Several beams on the roof were broken and could collapse at any moment.
As if sensing something, she left the house and went to the backyard, where the musty smell and the nauseating stench of corpses gradually grew stronger.
At that moment, Yui Sakurai stood at the entrance to the backyard, pointing a gun at Shiranui Kurosawa, seemingly waiting for her arrival.
She saw Rina walk out of the dojo, a strange smile creeping onto her lips. "Killing him, will it make you regret it for the rest of your life? Natsume Rina."
Rina's pupils contracted slightly, and her eyelids twitched. "What do you think?"
Sakurai Yui's hand holding the gun trembled slightly, but her index finger was already on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment. "I see you two get along quite well."
"Do you need me to praise you?" Rina moved her feet slightly and walked down the steps.
Looking at her unmoved expression, Yui Sakurai squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, "Shouldn't you be kneeling on the ground crying and begging me right now?"
Rina: "You think everyone is as stupid as you?"
By the end, her tone was laced with undisguised mockery.
Sakurai Yui suddenly realized how abrupt her action of taking her arm around this man had been.
Lina didn't care about this man at all. "You dare to play me?"
Her breathing was heavy, like that of an enraged beast. She instantly turned her gun on him, shouting, "You treat everyone around you like pawns! You're a heartless bastard!"
Kurosawa Shiran turned slightly to the side, his forehead faintly showing lines, his cold gaze fixed on her.
He suddenly chuckled softly, "Although I knew it would turn out this way, I'm still heartbroken when the result comes out."
In an instant, two piercing gazes seemed to gather around Rina, and a strange chill ran down her spine.
Perhaps the most dangerous person right now isn't Sakurai Yui with the gun.
It was that unarmed boy.
Those azure eyes were filled with a violent killing intent, which was absolutely terrifying, making you feel like they were about to skin her alive and rip out her heart at any moment.
“She’s always been like this,” Yui Sakurai said, completely oblivious to the change in the other person’s mood. Her attention was entirely on Rina. “People who deceive others’ feelings should have paid the price long ago. Go to hell!”
Before he could finish speaking, the gun went off.
She fired a shot into the sky without thinking.
Kurosawa Shiran suddenly raised his right hand and chopped at her neck, taking the gun from her hand.
Sakurai Yui immediately lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"I almost forgot that I came here to kill you."
The gun was pointed at Rina again, without even giving her a chance to speak.
The gun fired again.
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