Chapter 89
The hospital room was frighteningly quiet, the only sound the rustling of medical records being flipped through.
The girl was focused, her eyes lowered to the medical chart, not even sparing a glance for Furuya Rei, who was lying in the hospital bed.
Furuya seemed to be alive, but in reality, he had been gone for a while.
Hiromitsu’s desertion had left him betrayed and alone. Now, even the doctors and nurses were unwilling to enter this room. They all had the sense to stay far away.
“An’an,” the blond young man tried to communicate with his silent girlfriend. “It only looks serious. It’s really a minor injury. I can be discharged tomorrow.”
His attempt to downplay it was met with a cold sneer from An’an.
She threw down the medical chart, pinched Furuya’s chin with her fingertips, and turned his face from side to side.
The slight burns from the explosion and the scrapes from falling on the gravel were clearly reflected in the girl’s ink-black pupils.
The blond young man looked extremely pathetic.
The soft pad of her finger brushed against the scratch at the corner of Furuya’s eye. The dark-haired girl withdrew her hand and turned to leave.
“An’an!” Furuya, without thinking, pulled her back. The movement tugged on his IV tube, and the IV bag hanging above shook violently.
Impulsive, but effective. The girl, who had been about to leave, had to quickly turn back to steady the IV bag, push the rising Furuya back onto the hospital bed, and check his left hand, where the IV was inserted, for any bleeding.
It was fine. An’an breathed a sigh of relief. But why was this hand with the IV so cold?
The dark-haired girl frowned, took Furuya’s IV hand in both of hers, and warmed it with her palms.
“I’ll go buy a hot water bottle,” An’an said. “Can the air conditioner be turned up two more degrees?”
“No,” Furuya said, hooking his pinky around hers, not letting her go. “It’ll be warm if you hold it a little longer.”
The girl shot him a grumpy look. “I was originally going to settle the score with you later… are you that eager?”
A dangerous, life-or-death question. Furuya tried to change the subject. “Why was An’an about to leave as soon as she came?”
“Weren’t you putting on a brave face and saying you were fine?” the girl smiled. “Then why should I stay in the hospital to accompany you?”
“My time is very precious. It should be spent on more meaningful things,” she said, her fingertips gently touching the bandage on the blond young man’s arm, her voice soft and low. “For example… preparing the tools.”
Her beloved boning knife hadn’t seen blood in a long time. It needed to be sharpened with a whetstone, sharp and keen.
The second-hand suitcase had been put on a high shelf, and it was finally time to use it again. Not too big, not too small, just right to fit an adult corpse.
The supply of luminol in the storage cabinet was sufficient. The popular body-dumping spots in Beika were memorized. Many of her own relatives had successively moved into the crime city. Accomplices were readily available.
Everything was ready. On a dark and windy night, a time for murder and arson.
“I was originally going to ask Rei what kind of death he would prefer, but unfortunately, a person who lies to his girlfriend has no right to speak,” An’an said lightly.
“I’ve decided to do it according to my own preferences. First, scald and remove the hair with boiling water, then peel the skin, pull out the tendons, then cut the meat, bleed it, and braise it in a pot.”
Furuya felt a phantom pain all over his body.
Although he knew that An’an’s target was not him, but the culprit who had hurt him, just listening to it was very terrifying, especially the familiarity and calmness in her tone, as if she were just doing a small job.
The skilled worker Miss An, who had been butchering pigs for many years at the slaughterhouse: It’s a very ordinary job 🙂
“Unforgivable,” the dark-haired girl murmured to herself. “Both you and the culprit.”
Seeing his girlfriend about to jump into the abyss of crime, countless backup plans flashed through Furuya’s mind. He instinctively chose the one with the highest success rate.
“The wound hurts a lot,” the blond young man said pitifully. “It hurts everywhere.”
He guided An’an’s fingertips to touch the scattered wounds on his body. Some of the less serious wounds were not bandaged. The scabs that were about to heal, on the contrary, made the injuries look more serious visually.
Besides the scars, there were also bruises. To make it easier to change the dressing, Furuya had taken off his shirt.
“This is what you call a minor injury?” An’an’s thumb pressed against a small bruise, applying threatening pressure.
Furuya sucked in a sharp breath, his muscles tensing under the girl’s fingertips.
In his concept, it was indeed a minor injury…
The wounds Plamya had given him would disappear in a few days. Furuya Rei was confident of this. A body trained in actual combat has a superior recovery ability.
The wounds that could linger on him for a long time were few, and more than half of them came from the girl before him.
She was very strong and bit very hard, always just on the verge of breaking the skin.
She loved to bite and scratch, with no sense of proportion. It was only after the fact, when they were washing up, that she would belatedly come over to blow on it, her fingertips stroking it, saying that she would reluctantly let him bite her back once.
Furuya never did that. Making An’an feel guilty was most beneficial to him. At times like these, there was a high probability that an excessive request would be granted.
He enjoyed it. In the morning, he would look at the marks on his neck in the mirror and deliberately show them to his girlfriend, who was still lazing in bed, watching her sit up in a panic and rummage for concealer.
However, due to the difference in color and skin tone, it had no concealing effect and was, on the contrary, even more obvious.
“You don’t look like you’re reflecting at all,” An’an said, poking the muscle under her fingertip with force. Why does this person have a reminiscent expression?
Furuya immediately corrected his attitude and apologized in a repentant tone.
He shouldn’t have lied to An’an and said he was fine. He certainly shouldn’t have sent a message to Conan and asked the elementary school student to help him lie. He really knew he was wrong.
“You’re just a hypocrite,” An’an said unhappily. “Last time I sprained my ankle while filming, I just forgot to tell you, and you made me drink pig’s trotter soup for half a month.”
Nominally, it was to “treat like with like,” but in reality, An’an had always suspected that he was maliciously mocking her.
It was clearly a simple accident. It wasn’t that she was clumsy. And she could barely walk after spraining her ankle. It really didn’t hurt that much.
Furuya, who had come to pick her up after filming, had originally had a smile on his face. An’an had slowly walked towards him. After just two steps, the blond Public Security officer had noticed something was wrong, and the corners of his lips had immediately fallen.
Furuya had squatted down and held her ankle, examining it for a long time. The girl had obediently been carried into the passenger seat of the Mazda. He had silently fastened her seatbelt and had sped back to the apartment.
Poor An’an’s foot had been wrapped up like a zongzi. Hiromitsu, who had come to visit her, had been startled and had almost thought there had been a car accident.
(T/N: “Zongzi” are glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves.)
“The tables have turned,” the dark-haired girl hummed. “When it’s your turn, you have a different face.”
The blond young man kissed her fingertips ingratiatingly and observed An’an’s expression. “Not angry anymore?”
“I’m still very angry, but not at you,” An’an’s killing intent did not diminish. “Who is the culprit who hurt you? What did Public Security find out?”
Don’t you dare try to fool me with the principle of secrecy. She emphasized again: Hiromitsu is my loyal subject.
“Plamya,” An’an chewed on this name. She had remembered it.
The girl’s murderous look was very scary. The Public Security officer’s DNA was triggered again and again. Furuya brought up another matter. “How was the wedding of Officer Sato and Officer Takagi?”
He knew An’an had received an invitation and had even specially prepared a gift for the newlyweds.
An’an thought for a moment and said truthfully, “It was very exciting. I was almost arrested on the spot.”
Furuya: “???”
Are these two sentences related?
An’an described it this way and that. “…In the end, Inspector Megure decided to rearrange the security work, add a guest security check, and prohibit the carrying of controlled knives, fireworks, and flammable materials into the wedding venue.”
“But the most coincidental thing was that the fiancée of the former Superintendent Muranaka Tsutomu, Ms. Christine Richard, was the lucky netizen who won my retweet lottery,” she said in amazement. “What a coincidence.”
…
“Such a coincidence?”
In the café, the former Superintendent Muranaka Tsutomu and his fiancée looked at each other, then took the suitcase that Inspector Megure had handed over with both surprise and joy.
The complete set of the “Beika Town Murderers’ Collaborative Publication” series, which everyone wanted and even the red-side moles couldn’t resist, was neatly arranged in the suitcase. Next to it was a set of sharp Damascus steel knives.
The former Superintendent Muranaka: “As expected of Teacher An’an. What a unique wedding gift.”
Although he had retired, Suspect An’s reputation at the Metropolitan Police Department was known to all. If someone else had done it, it would have been like provoking the police. But when she did it, it was self-expression and personality.
The former Superintendent Muranaka was worried that his fiancée would misunderstand and quickly explained for a long time. He didn’t notice that a different light was shining in Christine’s eyes.
“I like it very much,” Christine said gently. “Teacher An’an’s gift has completely won my heart.”
Edogawa Conan choked on his coffee. “Cough, cough, cough!”
There’s no need to be so polite… eh? Does Miss Christine really like it?
Such an extraordinary taste?
“Thank you all for your hard work for my wedding,” the former Superintendent Muranaka said, embarrassed. “After all, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime wedding. It would be a real shame if it were ruined. Christine personally chose the wedding venue and is very much looking forward to the ceremony.”
A wedding held on the top floor of the Shibuya Hikarie building, overlooking the entire night view of Shibuya. And the wedding was on Halloween. The pumpkin lantern decorations on the street would light up like an elven forest, beautiful and dreamlike.
“Don’t worry. The First Division will definitely do its best to make the wedding go smoothly,” Inspector Megure said, patting his chest. “And we will definitely catch the culprit who sent the threatening letter.”
“That’s great. With the police here, it will definitely go smoothly,” Christine said with full trust.
She tidied her hair, a little embarrassed. “Um, I have another impertinent request.”
Inspector Megure said with understanding, “I heard from Muranaka that you two are both fans of Sleeping Kogoro and hope that your idol can give a speech at the wedding. No problem at all. My old friend Mouri has readily agreed. He will definitely be there on time.”
“Really? Thank you, Mr. Mouri,” Christine said happily. “But I wanted to ask for something else.”
“Actually, the choice of the bridesmaid and best man has not yet been decided.”
Christine said hesitantly, “I was thinking of asking Officer Sato and Officer Takagi, but they are also part of the on-site security. I would prefer the bridesmaid and best man to be people who can enjoy the wedding with us.”
Of course, the bride’s wishes had to be considered when arranging the wedding. The former Superintendent Muranaka immediately said, “Christine, is there someone you want to invite?”
“If it’s possible, would Teacher An’an be willing to be my bridesmaid?” Christine asked expectantly. “She has already made her relationship public, hasn’t she?”
“I would like to invite her and her lover to be the bridesmaid and best man at the wedding,” a brilliant smile appeared on the bride’s lips.
“Please believe me. Halloween will be an unforgettable day for everyone.”