The air was filled with the musty smell of damp cardboard boxes. A thin young man was curled up and shivering on a sofa that had faded so much that his color could no longer be seen. His cold made his whole body shiver, and he could only roll up the blanket as much as possible to preserve the residual warmth from the quilt he had just gotten out of.
His name is Katsuya Yamazaki, he is 25 years old this year. He is not a vagrant, but a deliveryman who works diligently and hard.
He doesn't have a good reputation on the street because he has a not-so-glorious past - he was anxious to raise money for his mother's medical treatment, and after being arrested for robbery and imprisoned, he didn't even get to see his mother for the last time. He also carried the title of "having a criminal record" and couldn't get rid of it no matter what he did.
Katsuya Yamazaki groped around in a daze and finally found the old flip phone with a broken screen. Seeing the time displayed on it, he ignored his physical discomfort and hurriedly put on slippers and a blanket to look for the express box that was specially placed in the bedroom.
It contained the ballet costume that Tomomi Matsushima had been longing for. He was also looking forward to the ballet performance at the weekend. He planned to use his two months' savings to buy a decent set of clothes and dress up to watch her first performance.
But just as he moved the express box to the door and was about to squat down to change his shoes, he heard the sound of sirens coming from far away and finally stopped not far ahead.
This made Katsuya Yamazaki a little uncontrollable. He knew what was not far in front of his house. Realizing something was wrong, he ran out in his slippers, completely disregarding his image and wanting to see what was going on.
When he saw the police car with flashing lights parked in front of Matsushima's house, he felt fear in his heart.
Katsuya Yamazaki stared blankly at the Matsushima house, which was surrounded by a yellow cordon. He raised his flip phone with trembling hands and tried to dial Matsushima Tomomi's number.
Surprisingly, the call was connected.
"Tomi? Are you okay? That's great!" Yamazaki Katsuya didn't notice that there was no sound from the other side. After his excitement, he quickly calmed down. While calming his fluctuating emotions, he asked, "Did something happen at your house?"
The voice that answered him was not Tomomi Matsushima's, but a male voice that was deliberately pinched, and it was disgustingly sharp.
"You, guess, ah~"
A voice I've never heard before, who is he? Why is he using Pengmei's phone?
"All--"
Before Katsuya Yamazaki could react, the call was hung up. After the busy tone, he realized that something was wrong, but his legs were shaking constantly at this moment.
He was afraid, afraid that what he thought in his heart was the truth, afraid to face the reality that he didn't want to accept.
——"Oh my god, I just saw blood all the way inside the door. The little girl must have died a horrible death."
——"Is this true? Did the little girl from the Matsushima family die? How pitiful."
But often at times like this, people passing by will tell you that this is the truth, what you think is true, and it has already happened and cannot be undone.
Masaru Yamazaki didn't know how he got back home. He looked at the express box placed at the entrance in a daze. Thinking of the agreed delivery time, he squatted down and hit his head with the already worn-out flip phone, trying to numb himself with the pain.
Can I win her back by not oversleeping? Damn it, I'm such a loser, I can't do anything right.
My mother is like this, and even Peng Mei is...
Damn it.
Katsuya Yamazaki sat at the door of his house. He didn't have the courage to go to Matsushima's house. He couldn't face Mrs. Matsushima who had lost her beloved daughter.
"It seems like something happened to the Matsushima family? Oh, I knew something was bound to happen to their family. Peng Mei keeps associating with that unlucky person, so it's only a matter of time before something bad happens!"
Hearing someone outside the door deliberately talking about this matter loudly, Katsuya Yamazaki buried his head in his knees. He even began to doubt whether he was really unlucky and that was why he killed Tomomi.
"People's brains are not for show. We need to learn to think from other people's perspectives. Ask yourselves how much harm you just said would cause to Ms. Matsushima if she heard it."
Katsuya Yamazaki slowly raised his head and looked at the closed door of his house. He gradually realized that this was not the time to regret and blame himself. He should find a way to help the police arrest the guy who killed Tomomi.
Thinking of this, he stood up, opened the door, and looked at the purple-haired police officer who was standing outside and raised his hand to ring the doorbell.
Anyone who says such words will surely catch the murderer.
After inviting the purple-haired police officer and Tomomi's friends into the house, Katsuya Yamazaki felt a little nervous. He was worried that someone would look at him with tinted glasses. After realizing that his house was very messy, he hurriedly began to tidy it up, trying to make room for the three of them to sit.
"I have a few questions for you. Could you tell me your name?"
Hearing the purple-haired officer's question, Katsuya Yamazaki stopped what he was doing, turned around and straightened his messy hair. His voice was a little hoarse due to illness:
"My name is Katsuya Yamazaki, and I belong to Tomomi... I'm the delivery man who's going to deliver a package to Tomomi."
Was he planning to say he was Pengmei's friend? Was he suddenly changing his tune because he was worried his reputation in the community would affect the police's judgment of the case? Sure enough, he was able to open the door so quickly because he overheard their conversation.
Fujiwara Yuu thought of this and changed his usual way of asking questions. He spoke in a gentler tone and slower pace:
"If you're sick, just sit on the sofa and talk. Don't be nervous. I came here to ask, do you and Pengmei have an appointment to receive the package at a certain time?"
"Six o'clock. We had agreed to sign for the express at six o'clock, but I... overslept." Katsuya Yamazaki sat on the sofa with his head drooping. He tightly grasped the flip phone in his hand, wishing he hadn't overslept.
Hattori Heiji rubbed his chin in thought. He had originally thought the delivery driver was the most likely killer, but considering the current situation, that wasn't necessarily the case. Furthermore, Yamazaki Katsuya looked like he had a bad cold. Could he really have subdued the victim on his own?
“That’s right!”
Yamazaki Katsuya, who was originally listless, suddenly remembered something important, but he started coughing violently due to his excitement. Seeing this, Toyama Kazuha took out the honey-flavored throat lozenges she carried with her from her pocket, stuffed them into Yamazaki's hand, and instructed:
"Take a lozenge first, there's no rush."
"Ahem...thank you."
The honey-flavored throat lozenges gradually calmed Yamazaki Katsuya down. After two dry coughs, he slowly said:
"Actually, after I heard the sirens, I called Pengmei to check on her safety. Ahem... but the person who answered the phone was a man who had deliberately changed his voice!"
"Really? Show me your phone!
!”
Katsuya Yamazaki didn't expect that the person who was so emotional was this big dark-skinned boy. He held his mobile phone and looked at the purple-haired police officer, his eyes seemed to be asking: Should I give it to you or to him?
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