Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

Akio sighed, walked away from the curtain, and sat down on the sofa. "How is it?" asked Yaeko who was sitting at the table. "Without the police, it doesn't look like they're watching us." "That means they're not just coming to our family?" "Probably, but it's hard to say." Yaeko rubbed her temples with both hands. She said that she had a headache from just now, probably caused by lack of sleep. "But since they took the grass sample, we have no choice, right?" "Yes, scientific criminal investigation is very powerful, and it may be possible to identify that grass as our family."

"When will it be?" "what do you mean?" "I mean, the next time the police come to our house, will that kind of test be done soon?" "I don't know, but I can't think of two or three days." "It will be tonight if it is soon?" "Maybe." "I don't know if I can succeed..." Akio, who was reaching for a cigarette, smacked his lips impatiently. "It's come this far and you still say these things." "But……" "Didn't you say that as long as Naomi is not arrested, you can do anything? That's why I came up with this idea. Don't you want to do it? Then let's take Naomi to surrender?"

Akio's tone was full of irritability. For him, this decision was made after a lot of distress, so hearing discouraged words at this moment made him even more annoyed. Yaeko shook her head hastily. "That's not what I meant. I didn't change my mind. I just hoped that the plan would be foolproof, so I wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with it." There was a hint of cover-up in her tone, it seemed that she felt that she could not provoke Akio in a hurry. The other party smoked fiercely, and quickly wiped out the one in his hand. "Didn't the two of us review the whole plan several times from the beginning to the end? On this basis, we came to the conclusion that it can be implemented smoothly, and then we can only resign ourselves to fate. I have already risked it, so don't worry about it in your heart." Up and down."

"I said that I didn't have any ups and downs in my heart. I just wanted to confirm whether there was any ill-considered place. I was also mentally prepared. Didn't the play just now go well? How did the policemen react? ?” Akio recalled for a moment. "It's hard to say, I think they didn't realize that your voice was acting, but I don't know how deep the impression was." "Really?" Yaeko looked a little disappointed. "I think they'd be shocked if they saw the old lady throw a fit, but that's not going to happen—well, what about the old lady?"

"I don't know, probably sleeping in the house." "Oh—what is Naomi doing?" Yaeko didn't answer Akio's question right away, but frowned and thought about something. "What? Are you playing games again?" "No, I told him about the whole plan. I think he was thinking about it. He was also hurt a lot." "What's the use of a little introspection? Anyway, go and call him first." "What do you want to do? You're just scolding him now—" "I won't. In order for this plan to go smoothly, we must tell a perfect lie together. Even if there is a little bit of incongruity, the police will keep an eye on it, so we have to rehearse it in advance."

"Practice in advance?" "The police will also ask Naomi questions? If there are confusion and contradictions in his answers, it will be difficult to handle. We need to talk to each other before we can get through the interrogation, so I want to help him practice the questioning in advance. process." "That's what happened..." Yaeko lowered her head, as if she was thinking about something. "What's the matter? Go and call him here." "I understand what you mean, but it doesn't seem to work now. I think it's better to wait a little later."

"Why can't it work? What do you mean?" "He was devastated by killing the girl and was always depressed. Although I told him the plan, I felt that it would be impossible for him to act in front of the police. I said, can we just tell the police that the child Not at home?" "not at home?" "Just declare that the child was not at home when the crime happened, so the police won't ask him anything, right?" After listening to Yaeko's proposal, Akio looked up at the ceiling, his whole body seemed to be paralyzed due to weakness. "Is that what he said?"

"what?" "Did Naomi say that? He wanted us to say he wasn't home." "It's not what he said, but I think it's better to do so." "He must have said that he didn't want to talk to the police, am I right?" "But you can't blame him. After all, he is only a junior high school student. He will be afraid when he sees the police, and don't you think he can't do it?" Akio shook his head. He understood what Yaeko was talking about. The impatient, willful and overbearing Naomi would probably not be able to deal with the policemen who would insist on asking repeated questions persistently. He would probably confess his crime midway out of boredom.But whose fault is this?For whom were his parents going through all this pain?Even in the current situation, Naomi still has to push all the responsibilities to his parents, which makes Akio feel ashamed of him.

"Lies beget new lies," he said. "If we said Naomi wasn't there, they'd ask him where he was. Even if we told a lie, the police would have to check it out, and it would be revealed. He was going to meet the police anyway, so one less lie would be less dangerous." "That's what it says..." Just as Yaeko remained silent, the intercom rang again. The Maeda couple looked at each other. "Could it be the police again?" Yaeko's face was shrouded in a cloud of timidity, "Could it be the result of the grass test?" "No way, it shouldn't be so fast." Akio licked his dry lips, picked up the walkie-talkie and responded briefly.

"Brother, it's me." Akio let out a long sigh, and Harumi's voice came next to his ear.Although the fact that the visitor was not a policeman made him feel a little relieved, Akio still looked embarrassed because he hadn't considered how to deal with his sister. "Why, come so early today? Rest in the store?" He asked in a casual tone. "No, I'm just passing by." "That's it." Akio hung up the walkie-talkie, glanced at Yaeko, "It's difficult, it's Harumi." "Then what to do?" "I'm trying to get her back."

Akio went to the entrance and opened the door, and Chunmei had already walked inside the door.For her, this is also her mother's home, so there is no need to be courteous. "Sorry, Chunmei, let's forget about today." Zhaofu said. "What do you mean by forget it?" "Mom, let us take care of it. In fact, something is going on at home." Zhao Fu put on a distressed expression. "What's wrong?" Chunmei frowned, "Is it because of some conflict with mom?" "No, no, it has nothing to do with Mom...it's Naomi's business." "Naomi-kun?" "He had a dispute with Yaeko about going to school." "Huh?" Chunmei looked surprised. "Mom is staying in the house quietly, and there is nothing wrong with her body. I can do it just to take care of her, so you can go back today." "Oh? If you think it's okay, it's okay for me to go back." "I'm sorry you came here on purpose." "It's okay, then you give this to her." Chunmei said and handed him the supermarket shopping bag she was carrying. Akio glanced at what was inside, it was a sandwich and a box of milk. "Just let her eat this?" Akio asked. "Mom's been into sandwiches lately, and it makes her feel like she's at a picnic or something." "Oh?" It was the first time Zhaofu had heard of this. "Just put them in the alcove and she'll eat them herself." "Why an alcove?" "I don't know, Mom has a set of rules, just like children." Although this is difficult to understand, Akio can only accept the reality. "What about tomorrow?" "Well, I'll call you if necessary, and you won't use it if you don't receive my call." "Huh? Really?" Chunmei's eyes widened. "Mom's physical condition has been good for the past two or three days, and I'm at home on weekends, so there will always be a solution. I'm sorry to bother you all the time." "Sister-in-law has no objection? Isn't she making a fuss?" "As I said, she was arguing about Naomi's future development direction. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with it. You don't have to worry about the mother's business." "Really? That's good. But don't be careless, she will suddenly make some strange moves from time to time, it's better for you to hide sister-in-law's cosmetics or something." "cosmetic?" "Mom seems to be interested in makeup recently, but it's not the normal makeup of adult women, um... little girls sometimes imitate their mother and play around with lipstick? Like that." "She still makes such a fuss?" Akio thought of his father, and Zhang Yilang also did such things.That's what Zhenghui told him, and she herself is repeating the same behavior now. "So don't just put your cosmetics where you can see them." "Understood, I will also tell Yaeko." "Then I'll leave it to you, call me if you need anything." "it is good." Akio stood at the entrance and watched Chunmei leave. Thinking of what they were going to do next, his heart ached with guilt.