Chapter 25 now 12

The phone was supposed to ring while I was sleeping. —I even feel that way.If I could grant a wish at this very moment, I would undoubtedly ask that the phone stop ringing. I reached out from under the quilt and grabbed the receiver, prepared in my heart that it might be my mother calling, but it turned out not to be. "sleeping?" Hearing that tone of voice without emotion, I quickly knew that the other party was Miss Reiko. "You sound like you're tired." Still sleepy, unable to put on a show or put on airs, I replied honestly, "My head is in a mess." I opened my eyelids as if trying to crack open a clam, and looked at the clock next to my pillow.Ten p.m.By the way, the call the day before yesterday was also made at this time.

"You know he's not Kawasaki?" "Yeah." Knowing that the other party couldn't see my movements, I still nodded, "I totally understand. He is from Bhutan, and his name is...uh..." "Doji." "Yes. Dorji." There is no sense of reality, "Also, I heard that Kawasaki is dead." I felt like a prisoner who volunteered before being questioned.I straightened up from the bed.I don't seem to have changed my clothes, I fell asleep in my jeans. "Did he go out tonight, too?" I was about to ask "what do you mean", when I thought, I told Miss Reiko about Kawasaki's consecutive outings yesterday and the day before yesterday, "Did you say Kawasaki?"

"For you, he is not Dorji, but still Kawasaki?" "Well, yes." It's strange to change the address until now. "Where is your apartment?" "what?" "After Dorji goes out, it will be too late for me to go there, right? I'll go to your side now." Her tone was very flat, which made me feel that resistance was useless. "Miss Lizi, don't you know where this apartment is?" I tried to imagine how close their relationship with Miss Reiko was two years ago. "I'm not interested in where other people are living what kind of life."

"But, that girl named Qinmei is a clerk in your shop, right?" "Is there a law that stipulates that the store manager will be punished if he doesn't know the address of the clerk's home?" It may be available soon. —I was about to say that, but I gave up, and instead I gave the address of the apartment.First tell her the name of the nearest bus stop, and then explain the detailed route from the station to the apartment. Well, I probably know the area. ——Miss Lizi said quietly: "My car will be parked at a nearby convenience store." "Do you want to come over?"

"Go follow Dorji." She said lightly. The name Dorje feels very foreign to me. "Okay, I see." I replied. Miss Reiko read out a string of phone numbers, and I wrote them down on the pizza advertisement that I threw aside.Miss Reiko's tone of voice sounded as if a machine was reciting the listed numbers. I hung up the phone and sighed.I couldn't think of what to do or what kind of preparations I needed, so I was in a daze. I smoothed my sleepy hair in front of the mirror and checked my clothes and appearance.I admit, my heart skipped a beat. Not going on a date. —I warned myself.I looked down at Ms. Reiko's phone number written next to the new pizza product, thinking that if Sato and Yamada saw this, they would definitely accuse me like a felon.

I don't know how to pass the time.Since I have to wait for the sound of Kawasaki leaving the room, the TV and stereo cannot be turned on, and the most I can do is to read a book, so I picked up the library book on the table.The 20-year-old character is convinced that he alone will meet a unique fate.I read the story and thought I don't need a different life.I felt deeply that a life of leisure and simplicity, free from bookstore robbers or suicide—such as the life of a shoe store owner—was more suitable for me. Then I heard voices, and the door of Kawasaki's room opened and closed.I reach for the phone.

"What happened two years ago?" I looked at Miss Lizi in the driver's seat. Not too long ago I was talking to the driver from the passenger seat like this, when was that?I immediately remembered the time when I was robbing the bookstore with Kawasaki. I couldn't help but wonder, just as the person I was talking to at that time was actually a Bhutanese, the beauty holding the steering wheel beside me now might be a computer-generated image, her flawless white skin has no three-dimensional effect. "Two years ago," she said, mechanically searching for information, "I had a girl named Kotomi in my shop."

Miss Reiko stared straight ahead.Kawasaki's car was about fifteen meters ahead, and our car was lighting up his car. There was only one time when I came to an intersection on the way, a white SUV cut in, but it drove away quickly, and I was relieved. The car sneaked into the underground passage, passed through the east side of the station, and went straight forward.When crossing the national highway, there are fewer vehicles driving around, fewer street lights, and no signs. In addition, there are only old folk houses left around, and I have a feeling that my surroundings are gradually being swallowed by the night.

Our car moved forward bravely as if we were trying to escape the darkness that enveloped us.Although the headlights were on, it was unnerving as if you were only holding a flashlight forward.Miss Reiko's face was illuminated by the headlights of cars passing by on the opposite lane. Whenever that happened, her whiteness always surprised me. "Miss Kotomi..." I said the name, while being careful not to speak too intimately, "Is she... uh, is the real Mr. Kawasaki's girlfriend?" "No." Miss Lizi denied, "It's Dorje. She lives with Dorji." Miss Reiko glanced at me sideways.It's closer to say stare at me, and it's more correct to say warning.

There was a sharpness in her eyes, as if if I said something like "It's so strange that a Japanese is in love with a Bhutanese", I would be severely punished immediately. But, should I say happy?I have too little experience to talk about love, and I don't have any philosophy or adherence to the standard form of love, so I don't think it's too strange for a Bhutanese man to live with a Japanese woman.I just thought "Oh?" "Oh? Guardrail?" "Oh? Crossroads?" "Oh? Cohabitation?" That's all. "What's wrong with that Miss Qinmei now?"

Miss Reiko was silent for a moment.I don't know if it's superfluous, but I think the speed of the car has also slowed down. Unknowingly, both sides of the road became a paddy field.At night, the rice fields before planting are reminiscent of the breath-holding water, and there is an illusion that we are driving on the sea. "Two years ago, many cats and dogs were killed in the city." Miss Lizi began to talk, and I thought she would never speak again. "Dogs and cats?" "It's too messy to talk about animal cruelty. There are several murderers. They stole pets, which is often heard about killing cats, but for them, it should be called a kind of entertainment. " "Well, that kind of thing seems to have happened." Although I have never actually witnessed it, I recalled a case where a rich man who held a cat killing show in the form of membership was arrested before. "Does this happen a lot?" "The murderer is a man and woman in their twenties. Out of fun, he killed many pets." "Oh." I couldn't figure out how this matter would be related to Miss Qinmei. "Qinmei can't forgive those people." No one can forgive this, right? ——I murmured inwardly.Because facing the scene of the animals we want to eat being killed, no one will look away. We are so "loving animals". "Qinmei found the real murderer." "Huh? Because she's a clerk in a pet shop?" "I think it was by chance." Miss Lizi seemed to be recalling her memory, "But I only heard about it after the fact." Miss Reiko stepped on the gas pedal to speed up.Unknowingly, the distance between us and the car has widened.When passing under the viaduct, the scenery outside the window disappears briefly, and then there is a stretch of pastoral scenery again. "After discussing with the police, it seems that Qinmei and Duoji went to the fast food restaurant together." "Of course it's not going to eat, is it?" It might be impolite to ask, but I really can't see the whole picture of the incident, so I can only ask gropingly. "The murderer is in the store." Miss Lizi's voice was filled with displeasure.Then she stepped on the brakes suddenly, and the car came to a sudden stop. "What's wrong?" I asked aloud while being restrained by the seat belt. Miss Reiko silently pointed her index finger forward to the left. I saw Kawasaki's car driving to the left. Like driving on the surface of water, it left us and gradually became smaller.That's not an asphalt road, it must be a farm road. "If we pursue that road, our stalking will definitely be exposed." Miss Lizi complained: "It's completely exposed." Miss Reiko was right.That's not a road that ordinary cars would drive into. If we followed into the farm road, Kawasaki might start to doubt our car too. "Have we been dumped?" "have no idea." About three minutes later, Miss Lizi started the car and drove into the same farm road, but I didn't think I could catch up. Ms. Lizi's hand holding the steering wheel seemed to have lost its heat, and there was a smell of death.And I, too, let out a sigh and my shoulders slumped.As a result, we drove out on the asphalt road and parked the car by the edge of the woods.It was probably a pine forest, covering a considerable area eeriely.After turning off the headlights, the surroundings became pitch black. I opened the window and pricked up my ears to search for the sound of the car, but I heard the sound of the waves. There was a treacherous sound like a huge monster snoring in the depths of the darkness. "Is this area near the sea?" "Yes, the other side of this forest is the sea." "Kawazaki isn't here to swim, is he?" Ms. Reiko looked forward with an expression of not intending to answer the stupid question. No way, go back. ——Miss Reiko restarted the engine and turned on the headlights.When she put down the handbrake, I remembered, "By the way, half of what I just said..." "Halfway?" "What happened to Miss Qinmei? After they went to the fast food restaurant." "Oh, halfway through." Miss Lizi's lips moved up and down gracefully in the dark, the bright red lips pursed and retracted, more fascinating than sexy.I could see it with fascination, as if I was about to be sucked in. "The murderers escaped through the back door of the fast food restaurant." "Back door?" These two words reminded me of the back door of the bookstore where I was guarding with a model gun. "They drove out suddenly. Because Qin Mei and the others called the police, the murderers were anxious to escape." "And then?" I urged her to continue. "Then, Kotomi..." "Ok?" "He was hit by that car." Suddenly, I lost my voice. "Oh, that's it." I tried my best to mobilize my imagination, and offered my sincerest sympathy to the strange woman as much as I could, but it was just such a reaction.