Chapter 43 Three Presidents
Sayuri Suzumura received an anonymous letter two months ago. The envelope contained a strange photo of a man floating in the air.
At first, Sayuri Suzumura thought it was just a prank, until the next day, which was the weekend, when she was packing up at home and knocked over a photo album, she realized that the man with a blurred face in the photo seemed to be her father.
As far as she could remember, her parents divorced when she was young, and she lived with her grandparents in the countryside. In addition, she had not been in contact with her parents for a long time and did not know which city they lived in now. Even her living expenses were usually sent to her grandparents in the countryside, and then sent to her by them.
So, Sayuri Suzumura initially thought that the sender was probably her father, and did not take the strange photo seriously.
From that day on, she would find an envelope with photos in it every three days, and the floating subjects in the photos gradually changed from her father to her mother, stepfather and stepmother.
From that time on, Sayuri Suzumura gradually realized that something was wrong.
The poses of the 'models' in the photos are all different. The father at the beginning is facing the camera with his limbs spread out, the mother is curled up with only her side face showing, and the stepmother and stepfather have their limbs twisted to varying degrees against their chests, with distorted faces.
Even Sayuri Suzumura, who had no feelings for the parents of the previous generation, was genuinely shocked.
However, she later called the number she got from her grandmother, but still couldn't contact them. The mysterious person who sent the letter never appeared again after delivering the four photos, as if he or she just wanted Sayuri Suzumura to see the photos.
In fact, there was nothing she could do.
Not only was it impossible to file a police report based on a few ambiguous photos, but it was also unclear what the sender was trying to do. Suzumura Sayuri didn't want to involve her grandparents who were living in the countryside.
So she decided to find a detective who could solve the case.
On the sofa, Chi Jiang Na Yue was flipping through the photos in the paper bag while listening to the client's nervous description of the details of the commission.
After she finished speaking, he skillfully showed a gentle smile that was only used during working hours. With a flip of his wrist, four photos were displayed in a fan shape in front of Suzumura Sayuri, blocking the lower half of Akae Natsuki's face.
"During the next investigation, the photo will be temporarily kept by us as an important clue." The detective calmed the client's nervous mood, "Don't worry, I roughly know what the situation is."
Suzumura Sayuri was shocked by his speed, and then nodded quickly in admiration: "As expected of Officer Akae... No, President Akae!"
Chi Jiang Na Yue changed the subject and tilted her eyes in a friendly manner: "However, your case will be fully taken over by the Detective Agency. You only need to come back in three days to get the result."
"Some things require on-site investigation..." He thought for a moment, and considering the client's age, he slightly modified his words, "Maybe it's not suitable for minors to watch."
When seeing the photo, Akae Nazuki once again confirmed that Sayuri Suzumura was being used by the person behind the scenes to confront her, and that the photo sent to the child was not for her to see, and that the sender's target had been her from the beginning.
A few photos with inexplicable contents and ordinary appearances may seem normal to ordinary people, but even without her supernatural powers, Chijiang Nayue was once an experienced and skilled killer... cough, detective.
Even though the photos were taken at night, he was able to see a lot of information. The most important point, and the one he couldn't tell Suzumura Sayuri right now, was -
All the people in the photos were already dead when they were taken.
Chi Jiang Na Yue lowered her eyelids and looked at the paper bag, not wanting the client beside her to see the cold murderous intent gradually rising in the eyes of the 'reliable and bright police officer Chi Jiang' in her heart.
There is a price to pay for killing in his city.
—
Zhu Fu Jingguang raised his hand and gently knocked on the brown-red wooden door in front of him. After waiting for three seconds, he pressed the door handle and pushed the door open.
The first thing he saw after entering the room was a desk covered with letters and papers placed in the corner by the window. The ochre-haired man behind the desk had his hair pinned up with a hairpin. He looked up at the voice, revealing a face full of sleepiness.
"Mr. Oda, a new client has arrived." Morofushi Kagemitsu closed the door as usual, walked to the table and helped Oda Sakunosuke sort out the letters that had already been replied to, "This is..."
The words on one of the sheets made Morofushi Jingguang pause involuntarily.
Oda Sakunosuke put down his pen, glanced sideways, and revealed a dull expression in his recollection: "Ah."
"I clearly promised Na Yue to keep it a secret from you for now, but you still saw it." As he said this, he couldn't help but press his temples, and felt a rare headache. "When did it get into the letter..."
Morofushi Kagemitsu pulled out the piece of paper and put it aside without any abnormality. He sorted out the letters again. He considerately did not continue the embarrassing topic, but turned around and asked, "Mr. Oda looks very sleepy. Do you need my help with the rest?"
"Well, it's okay." Oda Sakunosuke hesitated for a few seconds and said frankly, "I was working on my manuscript last night and slept a little late, but there aren't that many letters, so I can do it myself, thank you."
"Is that so? You must have worked so hard." Morofushi Jingguang smiled.
The first time he met Oda Sakunosuke was in the infirmary of the Armed Detective Agency in Yokohama. At that time, Morobushi Kagemitsu was so exhausted from fighting with Akae Nazuki that he didn't have any deep impression of this taciturn man.
It was not until he joined the detective agency two months ago that Morobushi Kagemitsu renewed his understanding of Oda Sakunosuke and developed great respect for him.
After all, this was a man who was a few years younger than him but had adopted eighteen children.
Is it time to open a kindergarten? He couldn't help thinking.
Not to mention that Oda Sakunosuke not only works in the detective agency, but also won the Newcomer Award of one of the most influential awards in the literary world last year, becoming a rising star in the literary world.
In short, he is a magical man who makes people calm down involuntarily when they are with him.
Morofushi Kagemitsu secretly glanced at Oda Sakunosuke again and added something in his mind.
What is particularly amazing is the other person's natural ability to occasionally say something surprising.
Even though he looks like he doesn't care about anything, he actually has very sharp observation and emotional perception, and sometimes Morobushi Kagemitsu himself is a step behind him.
It is precisely because of this outstanding perception that the duo of Oda Sakunosuke and Dazai Osamu are the one that actually completes the most commissions in the detective agency - the others are all more or less busy, and the president, Akae Nazuki, is extremely picky about the cases, so naturally they get to do more work.
Of course, the one who worked hard was only Oda Sakunosuke, a mature adult with many children to raise, while Dazai Osamu was only responsible for making plans and slacking off.
Thinking of Dazai Osamu, Morobushi Kagemitsu's head began to ache.
The man who had a dangerous aura and always gave Morobushi Kagemitsu the creeps at certain moments, and was said to be the leader of the port mafia, was actually his friend's teacher and guardian... How should I put it? He was not surprised at all now.
There are these two super-sized naughty kids in the detective agency, and it's really tiring for those of them who have to clean up the mess.
Actually, this office is the president's office, and the place where Oda Sakunosuke is sitting now is a place specially set aside to help with office work.
Akae Nazuki didn't care as they sat at their seats and dealt with the letters that he found boring and was too lazy to reply to, but Oda Sakunosuke still moved a new table over, so he let them do what they wanted.
"Then let me handle the client's business." Morobushi Kagemitsu thought for a moment, "Oda-san should take a rest after you finish your work. I remember Aka said we have a dinner party at his house tonight."
"Well, please." Oda Sakunosuke nodded and then shook his head, "But I won't go tonight. Kosuke and the others are on holiday, and I promised to take them out to eat with Dazai."
...You have so skillfully put Mr. Dazai and the ten or so children you raised together, Mr. Oda!
The corners of Zhufu Jingguang's mouth twitched, and he tried to calm down and said, "Then I'll tell Aka later."
Regarding addressing, the other people in the detective agency had discussed it before Morobushi Jingguang came. They still called him the president in front of clients and in other formal occasions, and privately they still kept the most accustomed addresses, such as Na Yue, aka, Xiao Hong and Na Yue Ge.
So, sometimes Chijiang Nayue would complain about why he had so many nicknames.
There's nothing we can do about it; they've long been accustomed to calling him that.
After coming out of the president's office, Morobushi Jingguang returned to the reception room to find the client.
However, when he opened the door, he saw not only Sayuri Suzumura, but also his good friend who Dazai Osamu said was away due to something.
The two people's eyes met in mid-air for a few seconds.
"Please take Miss Sayuri down, Hiro-kun." The president raised his eyebrows and smiled brilliantly at him from behind where Sayuri Suzumura couldn't see, but his voice was still slow.
As soon as Morofushi Kagemitsu arrived at the detective agency this morning, he stayed in the file room on the second floor to organize documents, so when he was instructed to go downstairs to pick someone up and bring him back to the office on the third floor, he asked Dazai Osamu about the whereabouts of Oda Sakunosuke, the person in charge of the case.
But if Aka is here, why does Dazai say he is not here? What kind of consensus did this master and disciple reach? It gives me a headache.
Zhu Fu Jingguang temporarily hid his doubts, his expression was unperturbed, he turned aside to make way for the door as he was told, and said to the client in a gentle voice, "Then let's go."
As soon as the door of the reception room was closed, the smile on Chijiang Nayue's face disappeared and he returned to his expressionless and energy-saving state.
He remembered a document he had placed in the president's office, and also remembered why his best friend from the same period, who was supposed to return to the Metropolitan Police Department and work as a public security officer after completing his undercover work, joined the detective agency two months ago.