Tokyo, Toriya-cho 5-chome 37, in front of the door of an ordinary one-family house with a courtyard, a man who pressed the doorbell several times in succession was holding a gift, frowning slightly, and started knocking on the door repeatedly.
The right hand holding the gift box couldn't help but tighten the rope.
"Young man, don't disturb the people in the early morning. This family hasn't been back for almost three months. Even if you knock on the door, no one will answer you."
Suddenly, the elder sister in the next building impatiently opened the window, stuck her head out of the window, looked down from the second floor, and stared unkindly at the young man who was disturbing his dream.
"...I'm sorry, sister, I haven't contacted them for a long time, so I disturbed you." Uehara Katsumi turned his head, a hint of apology appeared on his face at the right moment, and he said with a hint of hope in his heart: "Have they moved?
"
"?"
The expressionless Katsuki Uehara kept accelerating, but was still unable to find an answer that could convince him. The clothes of a family hanging on the balcony completely shattered the last trace of fantasy in his heart.
"You know, I have attended many funerals of individuals, and they are all people who had a great influence on me when I was growing up." Miwako Sato, who placed two bottles of wine on the ground, ignored his low mood:
"Of course, you almost did too."
"You killed your sister's family."
The tip of his tongue licked his wet lips. After a while, Katsuki Uehara, who tightened the lid, said another sentence. At the same time, he lowered his head and glanced at the water bottle in his hand: "Damn it, I bought another bottle of fake wine, you idiot."
"...I can provide the address if you need it."
Obviously, this house has not been lived in for a long time, but he did not find a reminder for the utility bill in the mailbox at the door, which means -
"idiot."
"Yeah, I understand."
"You're welcome, Mr. Uehara, please pay attention to the precautions I mentioned before when sweeping the grave."
After being guided by the staff to the six tombstones, Katsuki Uehara politely thanked him.
Sitting slumped on the dusty sofa, Katsumi Uehara's dull eyes stared at the family photos placed beside the TV cabinet, speechless for a long time.
"Won't."
"Um."
In this regard, Odagiri Toshiro's tone was very indifferent: "When have I ever been afraid of this?"
"He knows?"
Miwako Sato, who was carrying a plastic bag, was not wearing a professional suit today, but a simple white shirt and jeans, with a pair of white shoes at her feet: "Didn't you guess this result a long time ago, but you just never wanted to
I have to face it, so I don’t even have the courage to contact and confirm.”
"His choice to serve you was the second wrong decision he made in his life."
"Unfortunately, before we received any news from Oikawa and realized something was wrong, all his family members were killed."
"Uehara Police Department, I... I'm sorry."
The silent fallen leaves quietly drifted to his feet in the wind. After saying these words, Uehara fell into a deathly silence.
"Squeak~"
After landing, he walked through the courtyard and found a key in the secret compartment under the flower bed. Katsuki Uehara walked to the brown-red door and opened it without any hesitation——
"Of course, according to your logic, I should also be involved."
"Uehara Police Department."
The disgusting smell continued to flow into Uehara Katsuki's nasal cavity along the path of the refrigerator door. The latter raised his left hand to cover his nose with the back of his hand, and carefully looked through the contents inside with his right hand, but found nothing much.
"Check them all, I want to arrest all the people involved in Uno Tadayoshi's channel. After all, you have been in a coma for so long. Although there are people in the police who support you, you cannot take Uno Tadayoshi's position.
"..."
Beside him, Toshiro Odagiri, who was still sorting out the transcripts of the first interrogation after staying up all night, glanced at him, his serious and unsmiling face showing a hint of fatigue.
"I gave you the mobile phone, what do you think?"
boom!
Under the horrified gaze of the woman, Uehara Katsuki casually threw the gift box on the ground. After sizing up the surrounding walls and iron gates, he flipped it in. His skillful movements made it difficult not to make people doubt him.
Is a habitual offender.
Suddenly, a rapid ringing sound came from the corner of the living room. Uehara Katsumi's eyes lit up when he was awakened. He hurriedly got up and picked up the phone's receiver: "This is Oikawa——"
"Do you know who I am and you are monitoring this place?"
Perhaps the sound of "Sister" cheered her up. The eldest sister, who was waving a paper fan, suddenly became much kinder in tone: "I don't know, I haven't seen any moving vehicles coming. My child, are you here?"
Looking for a relative?"
Perhaps because he was tired from standing, Uehara Katsumi stamped his feet, then sat on the floor with his knees bent, unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle, raised his head and took a sip.
……………………………………………………
Katsuki Uehara closed his eyes, raised his head and blew directly into the bottle——
"No, I'm just delivering something to someone. I'm sorry to disturb you, sister." Uehara Katsumi's smile obviously stopped and he clenched his right fist tighter -
Uehara Katsumi casually touched it on the cabinet, and his fingers were immediately stained by thick filth.
Miwako Sato opened the lid, smiled and raised her hand to close the loose hair on her forehead: "So when I asked for leave for you, I also asked for a leave for myself."
"Wada is dead. I plan to support Matsumoto Kiyonaga in his position as section chief. Have you ever thought about returning to your job to help me?"
"Ring ring ring!"
Living room, bedroom.
"..."
After the staff left, Katsuki Uehara turned his eyes to the six tombstones in front of him, and took a deep breath between bared teeth.
Until, the last tombstone.
Uehara Katsumi was obviously not surprised at all when he heard the voice, and he didn't even bother to turn his head: "Have you known about this for a long time, Sato?"
Kuroda Biewei put down his cell phone with a rare look of melancholy on his face, and silently shook his head.
On the other end of the phone, a slightly hoarse voice shattered his joy: "I am Oikawa's boss."
Katsumi Uehara, who stared at the tombstone for a long time, rubbed his slightly sore eyes and placed the flowers in front of the tomb, said softly.
"If you want to drink real wine, I have it here, but I don't know if you can drink it."
The sound of the wooden door turning was particularly harsh in the man's ears. There was no sign of mess in the entrance hall, and the living room and dining room gradually came into view as he entered. There was dust visible to the naked eye everywhere.
Putting down the ballpoint pen in his hand, Odagiri Toshiro turned around in his chair, looked at his old friend, and said, "It just so happens that you also need an identity that can be seen on the surface."
Familiar names appeared before his eyes one by one, accompanied by the voices, faces, and smiles of his lifetime, from adults to children.
Pushing up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, Kuroda Hei closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He immediately put aside the negative emotions in his mind and turned back into a cold policeman: "What else can you do to call me over?"
Is it something, Odagiri?"
"I am parachuted into the position of Section 1 manager? Aren't you afraid that others will say you are a solitary eater?" Kuroda Hei was obviously a little surprised.
"The first lesson is different. After Matsumoto Kiyonaga took over as the section chief, the position of the first lesson manager became vacant."
Facing the woman who walked up to him and sat on the floor with her knees bent, Uehara Katsumi smiled to himself: "Really? I'm sorry to disappoint you."
Cemetery.
"Who do you want to check?"
Katsuki Uehara strolled into the kitchen and opened the door of the refrigerator. There were several plates of fish and pork that were obviously stinky inside the machine that was still running.
"Can you drink?" Katsuki Uehara's eyes fell on the bottle in front of him, and he started to drink without politeness.
Metropolitan Police Department, Office of the Chief of the Criminal Division.
"explain."
"Cough cough cough cough!!!"
The sudden heavy drinking undoubtedly caused him to cough violently, causing tears to flow from the corners of his eyes: "What kind of wine did you buy? Why does it taste so spicy? It makes my throat uncomfortable."
"You drank so hard. Of course you will feel uncomfortable if you drink so much. You will choke on your tears."
Miwako took out a pack of tissues from her pocket and handed it to the man and said softly: "It won't happen if you slow down..."