Chapter 140: Whitechapel Serial Murders You scared my sister...
The man held out his hand in front of her.
Lin Xi looked at his bony hand, blinked, and shook it.
"Hello, Mr. Akai."
"My sister is a little shy, sorry."
Shuichi Akai stared at the brown-haired hair showing from under the hood and the white cat nestled in the little girl's arms. He frowned deeply when he recalled the girl's face he had just seen.
They are so similar.
No, it cannot be said to be similar, it should be exactly the same.
She looked exactly like the little girl he had seen at Akemi Miyano's house four years ago.
That was Mingmei's sister, he remembered her name was... Miyano Shiho?
The white cat in her arms was also an animal he was very familiar with - Punch would always take this cat with him wherever he went, but...
"Come and buy cat food for Coconut?"
Judy Stelling called out the cat's name and said with a smile, "Mr. Gaunt gave it to Miss Lin to keep temporarily, right?"
——Even the names are exactly the same.
So, could this girl with a white cat and a little girl be...
The long-lost... Punch?
While the former undercover agent of the organization was making some suspicious associations, Ai Huihara, who was hiding behind Lin Xi, was also full of thoughts.
When Shuichi Akai saw her, she also saw Shuichi Akai's face clearly.
Her first thought:
Oops, what a coincidence.
Second thought:
Don't find her, don't find her, don't find her...
The third thought:
I've been discovered. It's over. It's over. It's over.
Would the FBI investigate me and Sister Lin and affect this trip?
Fourth thought:
She really hated the FBI the most.
Lin Xi patted Huiyuan Ai's head soothingly and answered Judy's question: "Yes, Mr. Gaunt left the coconut with me."
"By the way, this Mr. Akai... is he also Japanese? Or is this just Mr. Akai's Japanese name?"
“There are so many Japanese in the United States.”
Lin Xi sighed sincerely.
Maybe it's because the plot is set in a scientific world, so everything unfolds according to the scientific worldview?
Most of the people she met these days were Japanese.
Judy laughed: "No, Shuichi is mixed-race, but he's an American citizen."
"I just took my father's last name."
However, Akai Shuichi was not distracted by Lin Xi's suggestion.
He walked to the side of Lin Xi, squatted down, looked at the hooded little girl at eye level, and said calmly:
"You look like someone I know."
The little girl's hand that was holding Lin Xi's clothes was pale, but the slight trembling had stopped.
What should I do now?
The worst thing that Huiyuan Ai had expected happened:
When she was with Sister Lin, she was recognized by a member of the organization who had seen her as a child.
The only thing that wasn't too bad was that, as far as she knew, Shuichi Akai had defected a long time ago, so he should be considered a former member of the organization now.
But the FBI is not a good thing either.
Ai Haibara always blamed her ex-boyfriend partly for her sister's death.
If it weren't for him, my sister wouldn't be suspected of defection... and she wouldn't have died in the end.
Now, will her shameful past be exposed because of this guy's appearance?
Is her current life, the peaceful life she has finally gained and cherishes so much, going to be taken away again?
Fear, sadness, anxiety and resentment emerged in my heart at the same time.
She raised her head and was about to tell him to go away in a fierce but cowardly tone, but a shadow enveloped her, making her swallow the words she hadn't said.
It was Lin Xi who blocked her.
At this moment, her expression was no longer as friendly as when Judy saw her during the day. Instead, her thorns were slightly exposed, showing some aggression -
"Mr. Akai, you scared my sister."
His words were no longer as gentle and cheerful as they were during the day, but had become colder, with a hint of anger at being offended.
At this point, it would be rude to stare at her sister anymore.
However, Shuichi Akai perfectly portrayed the image of an "impolite and annoying stranger". He had no intention of stepping back and apologizing. He just stood up, let the little girl go, and moved closer to her sister.
"Maybe I'm mistaken." Akai Shuichi said, "But Miss Lin also reminds me of someone I've met."
"There was once someone who gave me the same feeling as Miss Lin. Whenever I faced Miss Lin, it was like seeing an old friend right before my eyes."
Akai Shuichi stared into Lin Xi's eyes.
If she were Punch, she would at least give him some reaction.
Ever since...that incident, Shuichi Akai has never seen her again.
Moreover, after his investigation, he was surprised to find a fact -
He was actually the last person to see Punch before he disappeared.
But he was disappointed. The girl's expression was flawless.
Like everyone who is offended by a stranger's unbridled behavior, the girl almost laughed out loud:
"Of all the pickup methods I've encountered, yours is the worst and most unsuccessful."
She seemed unwilling to pay any more attention to him. She held her sister's hand, said sorry briefly to Judy Stelling, pushed her shopping cart, and was about to take Haibara Ai away.
Then, before she could take a step, a scream pierced the harmonious atmosphere in the supermarket, freezing Lin Xi's steps.
At the same time, the cold voice of the man in the knitted hat came from behind: "It seems that you can't leave for the time being, Miss Lin."
"As you can see, it's FBI business hours."
.
The screams came from the supermarket staff.
He was wearing work clothes and a hat, and was trembling, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying and was so shocked that his legs went weak and he could hardly stand.
Lin Xi knew why he became like this.
Next to him, outside the supermarket window, there was a strange and terrifying scene.
On a statue of a saint hung a female corpse with only skin left.
She was placed in the same posture as the statue of the saint, with her arms hanging on the arms of the statue and her head tilted in the crook of the statue's neck. The statue was not made in a one-to-one ratio with the human body, but was slightly larger, about the size of an adult man, and the base was about half a meter high, so even if the female corpse was leaning against the statue in a twisted and stretched posture, she still looked very small.
If this were a living girl, posing in this position on the female saint statue, the picture would probably be very beautiful.
However, this was a female corpse, and one with its chest and stomach ripped open, so the picture was not so beautiful.
The white statue was stained red with blood, and the entrails were neatly arranged at the statue's feet and on its pedestal, attracting the living scavengers of American cities.
Several crows landed on the statue and tentatively tried to take away the blood clots and internal organs, but were roughly driven away by law enforcement officers.
Lin Xi sighed.
Stupid murderer, couldn't you choose another place?
What if it's put here so openly and scares the children?
She couldn't always stand in front of Haibara Ai and block her view.
Even though the child had dissected frogs, rabbits, and mice in a tissue laboratory, and perhaps even had a cadaver teacher (Note 1), how could she explain to the child that a body maliciously killed, disemboweled, and hung on an icon was different from the animals placed on the laboratory table awaiting dissection?
When Shuichi Akai asked her to follow, she refused in her heart.
"I can cooperate with your investigation, but I can't go to the crime scene with you," she said coldly. "I still have to take care of my sister."
She turned to Judy Stelling and said, "Ms. Judy, my sister and I will not disturb your FBI work."
Lin Xi originally thought that Judy would say something, but when she met his angry eyes, she just smiled awkwardly and fell silent, not intending to refute the decision made by her companion.
The man in the knitted hat smiled.
He did not say anything about "the FBI is using its power to bully others", although with his current position in the FBI, it would be very easy for him to detain two tourists who came to the United States from Japan and did not have special status.
He simply turned his gaze away from the girl's face and looked at the little girl she was holding.
"The murderer might be nearby. It's safer to stay with me."
"Besides, I believe your sister is different from ordinary children. She will act like a little adult and won't let you worry about her."
The former undercover agent deliberately added emphasis to the words "ordinary children" and "little adults."
Lin Xi sneered and was about to speak when he felt his sleeve being pulled.
She turned around and looked at the little girl.
Huiyuan Ai shook her head at her: "Sister Lin, I'm not afraid, I want to go with you."
Sister Lin must never be allowed to know her past.
So, we have to follow what that guy says first.
Then find an opportunity to meet with him alone to negotiate.
Lin Xi: ...
She said again that she really hated the FBI.
At this moment, she felt the same way as Gin, who was on the other side of the continent.
She touched Huibara Ai's head, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Don't be afraid."
Then she stood up and said to the man in the knitted hat with a smile: "...Then please come in, Mr. Akai."
Akai Shuichi looked at her.
Until this moment, her temperament was close to the eccentric former boss he remembered.
He slowly shifted his eyes away, his gaze wandering for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking about.
.
"The deceased has been identified." The police officer, who had just finished his call, rushed over and reported to Judy, "Her name is Jane Athena, a Japanese student studying in the United States. She's been missing for two days, and her classmates and teachers have reported the case to the police. Her relatives have also arrived in the United States."
"Sir, should we inform her family...?"
"Not yet." Judy rubbed her brows with a headache.
Why does this serial killer always add extra trouble to their work?
Japanese students studying abroad, ah, another difficult case involving diplomacy and national image...
"Should we block the news?" the police officer asked solemnly.
"...No, it's pointless," Judy said. "Even though it's late and the supermarket isn't crowded, some passersby still saw it. It's better to ease it than to block it. Instead of letting those unscrupulous media outlets report distorted gossip, it's better to have the final say as an official. Is Jin here?"
"Mr. Jin has been notified. He said he'll be here soon... Ah, here he is."
Kim Bonnar was still wearing the gray windbreaker he wore during the day, which looked a little thin in the night and cold wind.
Judy always felt that he seemed more tired than when they parted during the day.
The dark circles are also heavier.
He didn't seem surprised to see Lin Xi and Huihara Ai here, and walked towards the FBI.
————
(Note 1: A respectful title for body donors.)
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