Chapter 41 Section 1

On the Wednesday after returning from the beach for a week, I went to Fuyuko's house to help her tidy up. Although it was very early for me, when I arrived, her sister and brother-in-law were already at home, turning on the vacuum cleaner and starting to clean.I spoke to this couple once at the funeral.Both of them tilted their heads sadly, wondering why such an accident happened to Dongzi.Needless to say, I couldn't explain it to them myself. "If you have anything you want, please say it's okay." Dongzi's sister said while putting the tableware into the cardboard box.I've heard lines very similar to this one before - when cleaning Kawazu Masayuki's room.At that time, I took his worn-out itinerary home, and then I found the name Shansen there, and I started a series of investigations.

"It seems that there are a lot of books. Is there anything you need in it?" Fuyuko's brother-in-law said to me, who was tidying up the bookshelves.His figure is slightly fat, and he has a pair of very gentle eyes, which reminds me of the elephant in the picture book. "No, it's okay. I have already borrowed all the books I want from her." "Is that so?" The brother-in-law restarted the work of packing the books. Although I said this to this couple, it doesn't mean that I am completely uninterested in Fuyuko's stuff.It would not be an exaggeration to say that the purpose of my coming here today is to confirm her belongings.I came here to find a certain object, an important "key" to unlock the mystery of the incident.

However, this is not something that can be shared with the two people in front of them.Anyway, I'm not sure if that object is really in this home. While Fuyuko's older sister was arranging the dishes and her brother-in-law was arranging the books, I was arranging the closet.She is very suitable for suits, and the number of clothes she owns is really staggering. When the tidying up on my side came to an end, we took a short break.Dongzi's sister made black tea for everyone. "You and Dongzi seem to rarely see each other." I asked them both. "Well, because my sister seems to be always busy." Dongzi's sister replied.

"Then when was the last time we met?" "Well... it's New Year's time this year! She just came to show her face to greet everyone." "Is it like this every year?" "Well, it's been like this recently." "My parents are gone, so people in the family don't really care about such things!" Dongzi's brother-in-law said with a hint of self-justification. "How is the relationship between Dongzi and relatives? At the funeral, I seemed to see some people from relatives." "It's not very good." Dongzi's sister said: "It should be said that there is almost no intersection! When Dongzi started working, they always talked to her about blind dates very frequently. Because the child hates this, it seems I will no longer attend occasions where relatives gather."

"Does Dongzi have a boyfriend?" "I don't know! Is there..." She and her husband looked at each other and shook their heads, "When she refused the blind date, the reason she used was 'now I'm addicted to work'! We still want to ask you! Does that kid act like 'I've got a nice guy around me'?" Have it?She looks at me.I smiled politely and shook my head slightly. "Absolutely not." Fuyuko's older sister nodded with a look of "as expected". Then we chatted here and there for a while, and then started tidying up again.Since the closet has already been sorted out, I started to organize the closet.Closets store heating equipment and winter clothes, tennis rackets, and ski boots.After taking out the small electric heater, I found that there was also a small box in it-a wooden jewelry box.But for the collection of real jewelry, this box seems too childish.It seems that when she was in junior high school or high school, Dongzi carved a substitute with a carving knife in school art class.

After I reached for the box, I tried to open the lid.But I don't know if it's because the mainspring is not wound, or the equipment is rusted, but the movement that should be embedded inside does not produce music. What caught my attention instead was a wad of paper inside.There is no jewelry at all in the jewelry box, only this paper ball that is completely close to the size of the jewelry box. I have a hunch. "Hey, what is that?" It happened to be Dongzi's sister who came to me at this time.She looks at my hands. "Looks like oil-absorbing tissue! What is it wrapped so airtight?"

"I don't know..." While suppressing my anxiety, I slowly opened the ball of paper.What emerged from the wad of paper was exactly what I was looking for. "Wow, that child is so precious!" Dongzi's sister said calmly. I also pretended to be calm on the surface, but in my heart it was the complete opposite. "Excuse me, can this be given to me?" Fuyuko's sister was a little surprised by my request. "This? You can take whatever you want anyway, why not pick something better?" "No, this is fine. Can you give it to me?" "Okay! It's okay. But why do you want this kind of thing..."

"That's fine." I replied, "Dongzi probably hoped that I could take this thing away."