"Speaking of which," Kogoro said, "Mayor Kameyama died two years ago, didn't he?"
Narumi nodded.
"That's right. I heard he'd had heart problems for quite some time. The official cause of death was a heart attack."
After putting away his phone, Ritsu picked up his cup of roasted brown rice tea and took a sip.
'Still not a fan of this flavor. Come to think of it, I haven't had Calpis in a while. Maybe I should take advantage of this disposable face and secretly satisfy my craving.'
"There's one strange thing, though," Narumi added.
"The expression on his face was terrifying. It looked as though he'd seen something absolutely horrifying before he died."
"D-Don't tell me..." Ran nervously hugged Conan beside her. "He saw Keiji Aso's ghost?"
Kogoro looked at her in exasperation.
"There are no such things as ghosts."
He thought for a moment before continuing,
"He probably saw what the killer looked like... and then suffered a heart attack before the murderer even had the chance to kill him."
As unreliable as it sounded, it was actually a perfectly reasonable deduction.
Ritsu shot Narumi a glance. It was obvious she was trying to steer everyone's thoughts toward the idea of a vengeful spirit.
Ironically, doing so only made it more apparent that there was something suspicious about Keiji Aso's death.
'Kudo should've noticed it by now. As long as I... huh?'
Ritsu narrowed his eyes speechlessly.
Ran was hugging Conan so tightly that the boy wore an utterly blissful expression. It was obvious Conan wasn't doing any thinking whatsoever.
'Gin really was right about one thing... Love really does make people stupid.'
Noticing how frightened his daughter was, Kogoro took a sip of hot tea before deliberately changing the subject.
"Anyway, I'll keep watch tonight. The rest of you should hurry up and get your bedding ready."
"Okay!"
Ritsu stood up to help spread out the futons. Since Conan was so small, three sets were enough.
He noticed Ran intending to sleep beside Narumi and suggested,
"It's pretty cold in here. Why don't you let the little one sleep in the middle? That way if he kicks off the blanket during the night, he won't catch a cold."
"You're so thoughtful, Wada-san."
Ran smiled as she patted the spot between herself and Narumi.
"Conan, come sleep over here."
Conan stared suspiciously at Wada, who clearly seemed to have ulterior motives. Only after seeing that Wada chose to lie down beside Narumi instead did he finally relax.
Ritsu quietly slipped beneath the blanket and closed his eyes. He already had trouble sleeping under normal circumstances.
Tonight, he was sleeping right beside the murderer.
Naturally, sleep wouldn't come easily.
Not to mention, there was also a thoroughly unreliable night watchman.
Within half an hour, everyone around him had fallen asleep.
'Looks like the killer really doesn't intend to make another move tonight.'
An hour later, as drowsiness finally began to overtake him, snoring echoed through the room. Ritsu slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.
His sleepiness vanished instantly.
'Kogoro's snoring actually has rhythm... Add a trumpet and a saxophone, and it'd sound like a full-blown symphony.'
Carefully climbing out of his bedding without disturbing anyone, Ritsu quietly opened the door leading to the beach.
He sat down on the steps, struck a match, and lit a cigarette.
Before him stretched the pitch-black sea. Even at night, the winter ocean appeared unusually restless beneath the icy wind.
Exhaling a slow ring of smoke, Ritsu checked his phone.
There were still no emails from Rei.
'I wonder how things are going on his end.'
...
At that moment, Rei was leaving Kuroiwa's residence alone.
In his hand was a heavy metal briefcase. Inside were gold bars worth a fortune.
Originally, he'd planned to contact Kazami and have him come to the island the following morning so they could arrest every criminal involved in one sweep.
But after remembering Augier's presence, he abandoned the idea.
"I'll just use his method. It'll make a fine gift for the Metropolitan Police."
Taking out his phone, he sent a report.
[Bourbon: Gold secured. The stash is hidden inside Mayor Kuroiwa's residence. Whoever becomes mayor simply uses the mayor's house as the storage location. I've left the evidence at the inn's front desk. To avoid being identified, I'm returning to Tokyo first.]
Reading the message, Ritsu raised an eyebrow before quickly typing a reply.
The response irritated Rei so much that he nearly ground his teeth.
"...That bastard. Just like him... unbelievably annoying."
[Augier: Swimming back to Tokyo? Impressive stamina.]
A large imaginary anger mark practically appeared on Rei's forehead.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he pulled out a specialized detection device to ensure his phone wasn't being monitored before placing a call.
...
Inside an office at the National Police Agency in Tokyo,
Hiro sat with his head lowered, reviewing documents.
The beginning and end of every year were always the busiest times for him. Yet he welcomed the workload.
Only by burying himself in work ...could he forget that a certain date was drawing near.
His grayish-blue phoenix eyes lowered to a surname written in one of the files.
Sasajima.
'Heh... I really can't escape it. I'd almost forgotten there are other people in this world named Sasajima.'
Hiro leaned back in his office chair and raised his right arm to shield his eyes from the ceiling light.
Nearly two years had passed.
Yet the piercing ache remained.
He could no longer clearly remember the day he first learned the news.
But his body still remembered the crushing tightness in his chest, the suffocating pain that made it impossible to breathe.
'He left too early... Too suddenly. Even now... I still can't accept his death.'
Hiro sat upright again and opened a drawer.
Inside was almost empty.
There was only a stack of photographs.
Pictures of Ritsu secretly taken during high school club activities.
Pictures of Ritsu smiling with satisfaction after eating Hiro's cooking.
Pictures of Ritsu standing proudly in first place during practical training at the Police Academy.
Pictures of Ritsu wearing his formal graduation uniform.
Those photographs... should have been destroyed. But Hiro could never bring himself to throw them away.
Now...
He was grateful that he hadn't.
Only by keeping them could he pretend that Ritsu was still by his side. Selfishly preserving him in his own way.
The phone on his desk suddenly vibrated.
Seeing the caller ID, Hiro answered immediately. After all, Zero hadn't voluntarily called him in quite some time.
"Hiro, I'm sending you a list. Back it up after you receive it, then delete the original."
Although he recognized Rei's voice, Hiro didn't lower his guard.
"Understood, Bourbon."
Voices were easy to imitate.
That was why, during phone calls, they almost always addressed each other by their Organization codenames.
After all, the Organization had experts capable of disguise and voice imitation.
After hanging up, Hiro opened the file Rei had sent. It contained a list of individuals suspected of involvement in drug trafficking.
At the very end was an additional note.
[The Organization has another codename member skilled in disguise. It's the one I mentioned before—Augier.
Avoid unnecessary contact with him for the time being. He's not someone to underestimate.]
'Augier...'
Hiromitsu frowned.
'This is getting troublesome. Our enemies just keep multiplying.'
That enormous Organization...
Just how many members did it truly have?
Even now, no one knew.
"Ritsu... If only you were still here. But don't worry, we'll uncover the truth."
"...And avenge you."