Chapter 67
Fujiwara Yukino sat in her office making call after call, but to no avail. She could only ask Hanazawa Yu, "Did Lina receive a reply?"
Hanazawa Yu glanced down at her phone and shook her head.
Fujiwara Yukino stood up, her initial agitation turning into anger. "I've really spoiled her. Once this is over, I'm going to teach her a lesson!"
Nobuyuki Mochida closed his eyes, put down his phone, and said, "Is it possible that Lina and Qiangzi conspired to lie to us?"
Hanazawa Yu sighed, "Lina is a sensible girl. Boss, the reporters are already waiting outside. The speech will begin in fifteen minutes."
As she finished speaking, Fujiwara Yukino's voice changed slightly. She turned to look at Mochida Masanobu, "Call the police, and then contact that woman named Natsume. Ask her to find Nozomi. We'll agree to whatever price you ask."
Masanobu Mochida stood there for a moment, hesitated, then left the office without saying anything more.
For these arrogant members of high society, discussing family matters with others is simply against the natural order. Even if it's a matter of life and death, their mouths are as hard as steel.
After closing the door, Fujiwara Yukino asked, "How did that matter go?"
Hanazawa Yu methodically organized the documents at hand and replied, "The news has already been released, and we'll have results soon."
Crystal chandeliers hung from the dome of the auditorium, casting warm yellow light onto the dark red velvet seats, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
Fujiwara Yukino, dressed in a dark gray suit, stepped onto the stage and delivered a speech entirely without notes, showcasing her exceptional talent to the fullest.
Rina stood in the last row, listening to the continuous applause and cheers, when suddenly a feeling of unease, like a dark cloud pressing down on her, descended upon her.
Like standing in that grove of reeds, lost and disoriented, one's blood seems to dry up.
How exactly should one atone for their sins?
Those eyes inadvertently revealed a deep, lingering heartache from the past, intertwined with a barely suppressed restlessness. Kurosawa Akira noticed her unusual expression and her throat bobbed slightly. "Is your sister feeling unwell?"
Rina slowly shook her head, turned around and followed the staff into the building, whispering, "If Sato finds out that his police ID is missing again, he'll probably go crazy again."
Kurosawa Shiran replied in a very soft voice, "Is that so? I think he should reflect on himself."
Rina chuckled and chatted with him for a few more minutes, trying to disguise her current state, but Kurosawa Shiran was in low spirits, probably having already noticed that something was wrong with her.
When under extreme stress and pressure, Rina experiences hallucinations, especially after regaining her memories, she feels like she lives in hallucinations most of the time.
This condition cannot be controlled or alleviated even with medication.
Under a gray sky, she stood alone among the reeds by the lake, swaying in the wind, but she could hear nothing. She felt sluggish and unreal, as if she were a puppet on a string, her soul detached from her body, living in a world that did not belong to her.
Sometimes, surviving is more cruel than dying.
Aside from that period of being lovey-dovey, Rina is mostly in this state.
With heavy footsteps, the curtains of the waiting room were drawn back, and the reflected light stung my eyes.
Rina looked at the woman in front of her, her eyes filled with a delayed, lingering feeling.
Hanazawa Yu looked amused: "I don't think you're here to apply for a job."
Rina: "Just came to take a look around."
Hanazawa Yu, of course, didn't believe such nonsense and asked, "Aren't you going to introduce the person next to you?"
Rina said calmly, "He's my new boyfriend."
Hanazawa Yu carefully considered the meaning behind those words. "It looks pretty good."
Rina nodded. "After all, I raised him."
Kurosawa Shiran was taken aback, his pupils trembled slightly, and a slightly sickly look appeared in his eyes.
Hanazawa Yu's lips also stiffened as he stared at her. "What do you mean?"
Rina said casually, "Bringing a homeless child back and teaching him to read, write, and compose music is a very fulfilling thing. You should be able to understand that, right?"
Hanazawa Yu was an orphan that Professor Petsey adopted from an orphanage. Kurosawa Shiran realized this and thought that he must make his sister hold his hand and play the violin someday.
Hanazawa Yu smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to have this kind of quirk."
Rina: "I really like this relationship for now."
Temporarily? Kurosawa Shiran's eyes widened again.
Hanazawa Yu was no longer willing to continue the topic. After a moment, she said in a low voice, "Fujiwara no Kiko has disappeared."
Rina picked up a part from a model airplane on the cabinet and looked at it for a while, then said seemingly unconcernedly, "It should be dead."
Hanazawa Yu frowned, looking puzzled: "Not kidnapped?"
“After witnessing the Red Lady committing the crime, it’s unlikely you’d want to live,” Rina said.
Hanazawa Yu asked incredulously, "What?"
Rina continued staring at the various models on the bookshelf: "Don't you know? There's been a series of murders in Yokohama recently."
After thinking for a while, Hanazawa Yu said regretfully, "I've been following this case, but how could it be related to Qiangzi's disappearance?"
Rina: "Qiangzi has been harassing Munakata, sending him messages and making phone calls even though she knows he has a girlfriend."
"Really?" Hanazawa Yu said somewhat uneasily, "Munakata is one of the victims?"
“Munekata was planning to marry his girlfriend this year,” Rina said. “It’s such a shame.”
"Is it a pity?" Hanazawa Yu paused for a moment, her voice tinged with sarcasm. "The newspaper said that this man got into a woman's car in the middle of the night. If he could have controlled himself, perhaps this wouldn't have happened."
Rina picked up a cup of hot cocoa and took a small sip: "Of course things aren't that simple. We can't verify whether Munakata cheated on his wife, but the fact that he rode in a woman's car while intoxicated suggests that there's at least some kind of relationship between them."
“Just like the newspapers said, a romantic relationship.” Hanazawa Yu slowly shifted her gaze to Kurosawa Shiran, her eyes holding a deeper meaning. “Men cheating isn’t unusual, is it?”
Kurosawa Shiran said obediently, "If I cheat on my husband, my sister will definitely break my legs."
In every respect, Rina was satisfied with the answer. "For that murderer, anyone who desecrates love deserves to die. It's just a pity that Munakata doesn't have a lover. He only has a crazy woman who threatens him every day with various reasons. Fujiwara no Kiko is rich and famous, and she has the capital to threaten people."
Hanazawa Yu: "These are all your guesses."
Indeed, the police have not yet found Munakata's cell phone or briefcase. Rina guessed that the murderer had already burned them. "Don't worry about it, I'm just making a casual remark. After all, Munakata is completely different from the previous eight victims. Killing him and throwing him into that lake is not only an insult to him."
Red marks appeared in Hanazawa Yu's eyes. "I don't understand what you mean."
"The Phantom gave Christine a gold ring during her last performance of 'Faust,' and that ring later reappeared at Christine's grave, next to a red rose tied with a black ribbon. Munakata, like the Phantom, still deeply loved Christine even after her death." Rina continued softly, seeing the expression on her face. "And Qiangzi was a villain. She not only ruined a beautiful love story with the murderer, but also turned him from a sacred judge into a despicable bastard."
Hanazawa Yu's smile twisted instantly, and he subconsciously muttered to himself, "Qiangzi is lying..."
Then, as if realizing something, she regained her composure and changed the subject, "Qiangzi might really be lying to me; she didn't go on vacation abroad."
Hanazawa Yu looked into Rina's eyes with a worried expression. "You can find her, right? Ms. Fujiwara will pay you a generous reward."
Rina looked at her with a questioning gaze.
Hanazawa Yu looked anxious and asked, "What's wrong?"
Before Rina could speak, Fujiwara Yukino pushed open the door and came in. "Any news about Qiangzi?"
“There’s no news yet,” Rina said, her head starting to ache again. She put down her teacup, stood up, and said, “I need to go to Fujiwara no Kōko’s place.”
Fujiwara Yukino: "I will send someone to accompany you there."
Rina took out a notebook from her pocket, wrote down a number, and handed it to her, saying, "Call me if you remember anything."
Fujiwara Yukino's expression was somewhat strange, and she glanced at Hanazawa Yu out of the corner of her eye.
Immediately afterwards, two phone calls rang in the room, which was quite a coincidence.
As Rina took out her phone, she silently observed Hanazawa Yu's expression as he answered the call.
It looks terrible; it must mean they've encountered something very difficult.
Rina silently retreated behind Kurosawa Shiran and answered the phone.
Sato asked anxiously, "Is it convenient to talk?"
Over the phone, you could tell he was driving. Rina said calmly, "Go ahead."
Sato said, "I don't know who started leaking the information, but now a large number of media reporters are spreading the word that the real culprit behind this case is Hideo Kawashima!"
Rina sensed unease. "What's going on?"
“The legal representative of the entertainment company where Munakata works is Kawashima Kazuyo. We checked, but didn’t get any information. Now we have news that she’s Kawashima Hideo’s sister.” Sato honked the car horn. “In short, this matter has completely spiraled out of control!”
Kawashima Kazuha is Yuriko, but would she have the time to run these things? Or is it a company registered in her name by Kawashima Hideo?
A thought flashed through Rina's mind. She hung up the phone, and Hanazawa Yu began reporting the matter to Fujiwara Yukino. However, Fujiwara Yukino's expression remained unchanged, still showing concern and anxiety for her daughter. "I'm leaving my daughter's matter to you."
After leaving the building, Kurosawa Shiran asked, "Does your sister think Qiangzi is still alive?"
“The murderer is an absolute and extreme egoist. She will not allow her own interests to be harmed, much less allow herself to be threatened.” Rina paused, then sent the message to Sato. “We just haven’t found her yet.”
Her body was not found.
Kurosawa Shiran said in a low voice, "We have no evidence to accuse Hanazawa Yu, so my sister came here to try and trick her."
Rina said helplessly, "You've seen the result too."
“Not a single detail is overlooked, just as meticulous as she was in handling the body,” Kurosawa Shiran thought for a moment, staring at her intently. “If you find this difficult, I do have a solution.”
Rina slightly raised her chin, a faint smile curving her lips, her pupils filled with shimmering light. Kurosawa Shiranui's breath hitched a beat. "Sister?"
“To her, this world is rotten. She wants to punish men who have desecrated love, but due to an accident, her crime was witnessed, leaving her with no choice but to kill another woman. But if she did that, it would expose too many flaws, so she found the red wig on Fujiwara no Kijima and put it in Munakata's mouth to distract the police investigation,” Rina lifted the fallen leaf off Kurosawa Shiro's shoulder and pushed him into the car. “This is her last crime. If we can't catch her, we may never have another chance. Let's hurry.”
For cases like this, they must have enough evidence to convince the jury.
"Who told you I had no evidence?"
Kurosawa Shiran's eyes deepened, and he quickly lowered his head to kiss Rina: "There's a reservoir about thirty kilometers from Lover's Lake. It's a good place to dump a body. Is that where you're going?"
The probability is high, but the probability of finding a body in such a place is extremely low, or even impossible.
Rina had no hope for that place at all. She forced a smile and said, "I've already sent a message to Sato and asked him to send someone. We're going to—"
After that, the person involved called back.
As soon as the notification tone stopped, Sato started typing into the phone: "The car that Hideo Kawashima was in was hit by a truck and overturned. He has been taken to the hospital!"
This case always has so many unexpected twists. Rina frowned and said, "An unexpected twist?"
Sato: "According to the surveillance footage, the truck suddenly changed lanes, and the driver was Munakata's father."
As Rina listened to the voice on the phone, she looked up at the upper floors of the building and gritted her teeth, saying, "These people deserve to die."
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