Symbiosis 22
Kenji Hagiwara got out of the car first and opened the door at the back seat, while Jinpei Matsuda then opened the trunk and took out the wheelchair.
"I'm sorry," said an old lady who was helped out of the car by Kenji Hagiwara. Her short hair looked like it was covered with a layer of frost, her eye sockets were sunken, and the back of her hand resting on the long-haired police officer's forearm was covered with veins that looked like earthworms. She looked a little out of spirit, and her face was a little pale. "Officer Hagiwara... I specifically troubled you to pick me up..."
"It's okay," Hagiwara Kenji waited patiently for the old woman to finish her words before speaking, and carefully placed her on the wheelchair pushed by Matsuda Jinpei. Perhaps because of her age, the old woman always spoke slowly, "After all, we were the ones who contacted you first. It's really a shame for you to come here in person in your physical condition..."
The sound of a wheelchair was heard in the corridor. The road leading to the morgue was long and empty. Even though the air conditioner was functioning normally, one could feel a chill running through one's bones as soon as one walked in. The atmosphere among the three of them suddenly fell silent. Kenji Hagiwara, who was usually responsible for livening up the atmosphere, was in a trance at this moment, and missed the opportunity to continue the topic.
"...That can't be my grandson," the old woman half-closed her eyes and looked drowsy. If they were not close enough, Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei might not be able to hear her dream-like murmurs. Her sudden confession even made the two police officers pause. "Ikki died in an accident 20 years ago." It was so long ago that even the sadness in her words was faint. "His death destroyed my daughter's health and my son-in-law's spirit. Yamato... He always believed that Ikki's death was his responsibility. After my daughter left, especially... After Ikki took my daughter away, he seemed to have joined some group, saying that he would find his home and then he disappeared..."
"Then why did you make a special trip?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned, "You could have explained it clearly when you called me before..."
"I heard that he is 29 years old this year," the old woman did not answer directly. She just raised her head and her eyes stayed on the faces of Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei for a moment, like a dragonfly skimming the water, "If Ikki was still alive..."
"It's about this big now."
The psychological distance is no match for the real distance. The sharp-eyed Jinpei Matsuda was the first to see a policeman standing at the door of the morgue, who was opening the door to let a woman in. From the vague sight of the blonde curly-haired officer at the corner, he could guess that the policeman was his subordinate of the same period. At this moment, the old woman gently pushed Hagiwara Kenji's hand away, and pushed the wheelchair with difficulty to ask to enter.
"Who is that...?" Taking advantage of the opportunity when the old woman was talking to the police, Hagiwara Kenji quietly moved to the side of Furuya Rei, which was a blind spot. He raised his chin and gestured to the woman who entered first, "...Is it his?"
"The DNA matches." Furiya Rei's scarf not only kept him warm but also covered most of his face. His purple-gray eyes showed no joy or sadness. "Ichinose Saku," he calmly said his classmate's real name. "The one who came is Ichinose Misako's sister, Matsusaka Michiko, who is also his aunt."
"His grandparents have passed away, but luckily his aunt still has some impression of his mother. After receiving the call, she strongly requested to come and identify the body." Furuya Rei adjusted the phone in his pocket, and Morobushi Kagemitsu listened quietly on the other end of the phone. "Saku... I'm really not used to pronouncing this name. It seems that Ms. Michiko changed her surname back to Matsusaka after the divorce. Although we are nephews whom we have never met, Saku is actually one year younger than us..." As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt that he was talking incoherently. Furuya Rei rubbed his brows, feeling more tired than working four jobs a day. "Anyway, it's always-"
A burst of intermittent crying interrupted the conversation of several people. The woman who had entered earlier stumbled out and bumped into the police officer guarding the door. Then she collapsed on the ground in an ungraceful manner. Big tears rolled down from between the fingers that covered her face. The sobbing sounded like a drizzle, carrying a diffuse dampness.
Behind her, the sound of a wheelchair was heard again. The old woman pushed the wheelchair hard to come to her side. Listening to the woman's suppressed crying, she sighed, stretched out her hands, and hugged her in her arms like a mother, letting her face rest on her knees.
Kenji Hagiwara had his mouth drooping, his shoulder feeling the warmth from Jinpei Matsuda's palm, Furiya Rei's shoulder was against his other side, and the blond young man's right hand was still holding his cell phone in his pocket.
.
"I can only accompany you here, Date-kun, and this little detective," Chie Kurokawa paused and bowed deeply to the two people in front of her, "Granny Ono still saw it, I must hurry back..."
"After that, I'll leave it to you."
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