Avis de décès 2 Destinée

Chapitre 2

"Hmm. What's wrong? Didn't you go to school today?"

"It's Sunday."

Oh, right. I became homeless after a fire broke out on Saturday night.

"Breakfast is ready. Here are my clothes, put them on."

"Thank you. I'm sorry to have troubled you." Yuriko nodded.

"What? This doesn't sound like something Yuriko would say."

Atsuko is a rather cute girl, but Yuriko, who is also a girl, has an even more charming cuteness. As someone who is not only cute but also a beauty, Yuriko is somewhat arrogant, and her feisty and strong personality is a slight flaw.

Atsuko's clothes fit Yuriko perfectly, but unfortunately, their tastes are different. Atsuko prefers formal attire, dressing as if she's going to a banquet even at home. Yuriko, on the other hand, mostly wears T-shirts and jeans.

Yuriko is temporarily staying in the room that Atsuko's brother used before his marriage. Her older sister Ayako and younger sister Tamami are staying at Mr. Ando's house. Although Yuriko was also invited to stay with them, considering that it wouldn't be appropriate for the three sisters to disturb Mr. Ando's residence together, she decided to stay at the Katase family's house, which was nearby. Since she had stayed at the Katase family's house before, Yuriko felt very comfortable and at ease. After washing her face in the washroom, she went into the dining room.

"Oh, Yuriko, how are you?" Atsuko's mother greeted her dramatically. She looked incredibly young, as if Atsuko had been blown up by her. Atsuko's mother was the kind, warm, and hospitable type. "Please sit down. Are you hungry? Bacon and eggs or ham and eggs?"

"Smoked meat will do."

"Are the eggs poached? Right? Okay, almost done. Atsuko, take the coffee out. —Oh dear, what a misfortune. I also experienced a fire at my brother's place, and everything was burned except for the clothes I was wearing. Fortunately, no one was injured, and my brother's shop has been doing well ever since. People, it's hard to distinguish between fortune and misfortune. So, you mustn't be discouraged."

"Mom, please stop talking. Yuriko is tired," Atsuko couldn't help but say.

"What are you talking about, Yuriko? I heard your father went on a business trip?"

"Oh, yes."

"Oh dear. They're all children, we need to help them out."

"Have you made contact?" Atsuko asked.

"Not yet—it's Sunday, so there's no one at the office. What should we do?"

"They'll come back once they see the news or the newspaper, right?"

"That would be good, but..."

Just as they finished a late breakfast, the doorbell rang. Atsuko's mother hurriedly came out of the dining room.

Atsuko, where is your father?

"He went to play golf and left early this morning. He said there was a fire nearby."

"There's nothing we can do about it," Yuriko said with a smile.

"—Yuriko. I don't know what it is, but someone wants to see you," Atsuko's mother said upon returning.

"Will you see me?"

"They're police officers."

“Police? — Right. An investigation after a fire, that’s to be expected,” Yuriko thought.

As soon as Yuriko entered the living room, she saw two men sitting on the sofa. One was a young man in a dark blue suit, with a neatly parted hairstyle. While not particularly elegant, he was still a likable young man. The other was a short man in his fifties, whose suit was worn out in contrast to the young man's, and...

"Hello, I'm Yuriko Sasamoto," Yuriko introduced herself.

The young man, looking slightly flustered, nudged the seemingly asleep man next to him and said, "Ah, I'm Guoyou from the M Department..."

"Huh? Ah—my apologies. You, are you Miss Yuriko?" The man's eyes widened as soon as he saw Yuriko.

"yes."

"Oh dear... I thought it must be your mother."

“My mother passed away five years ago.”

"Yes. — I am Misaki. This is Kunitomo."

"So, is it about the fire?"

"Well, sigh... what a misfortune."

"Thanks."

“Actually, we went to the residence of a Mr. Anton first. There was a Miss Ayako there—” the young police officer Kunimitsu said.

“She’s the older sister. I’m the second oldest, and my younger sister’s name is Zhu Mei.”

“Is that so? Ah, it was Ms. Ayako who sent us to ask Ms. Yuriko here.”

“Because of her low blood pressure, my sister was quite weak this morning. Also, I think what's different about her than me is that she's more sensitive, so she probably hasn't recovered from the shock of the fire yet,” Yuriko explained.

“I see.” Officer Misaki suppressed the urge to yawn and said, “Well then, may I ask you a few questions? — What are your thoughts on the cause of the fire?”

"Although I've thought about this, I really don't know. I always check for fire sources and close doors and windows before going to bed, and I checked all of that carefully last night as well."

Are you sure about that?

Yes, I'm absolutely certain.

“I suppose…” Officer Misaki said, rubbing his chin, “that means we can consider arson as the cause.”

"Arson? Who could it be?"

"Well, we don't know yet—" Misaki interrupted himself, changing the subject, "Could you describe what happened from when the fire was discovered until we escaped?"

Then, Yuriko recounted in detail what happened from the moment she was awakened by the smoke to her escape through the broken window.

"So, you escaped directly from the dormitory to outside?"

"Yes, that's right."

"So, you didn't see where the fire started?"

"yes."

"Could you draw us a rough sketch of your house? Just a basic one will do."

"OK."

Kuniyoshi tore a piece of paper from his notebook and handed it to her along with a pencil. Yuriko began to draw from memory, but surprisingly, she couldn't remember it clearly. Nevertheless, she painstakingly drew it. "I think it looks like this," she said, handing the drawing to Misaki.

Misaki looked at the picture for a while, put it on the table, and used his pencil to make an "X" mark on the corner of his father's room window.

"What is this room for?"

"It's my father's room."

"It seems like the fire started right here."

"But... there's no fire source. And Father is away on a business trip."

Misaki and Kuniyoshi exchanged a brief glance.

"That's why it's strange. No matter how you look at it, it can only be considered arson."

Yuriko was speechless with shock. They set my house on fire! To do such a cruel thing…

"There is another serious matter."

: 2005-3-14 13:33:00

Officer Guoyou said apologetically.

What is it?

Misaki drew the shape of a person on the wall cabinet in his father's room with a pencil.

Yuriko looked at Misaki's face in confusion.

“A woman’s body was found near this closet,” Misaki explained.

"It's a lie, isn't it?" Zhu Mei said.

"Do you think I came here to joke with you?!" Yuriko slammed her hand on the table.

"Sister, this isn't our house."

"Ah, I'm sorry." Yuriko stuck out her tongue—this was Professor Anton's house.

"The tea is about to overflow, drink it quickly," said Anton's wife, Qizi. Qizi is also a school teacher. It's quite rare for a husband to teach in junior high and a wife in high school.

“It’s quite a strange thing, isn’t it?” Anton said, plopping down on his chair. He was a tall, robust man with a tanned complexion that gave him a healthy appearance and made a very good impression. In fact, he was one of the most popular teachers among the students at Zhumei’s school.

"Really? Is that really true?" Qi Zi said as she poured herself a cup of black tea. She was a stark contrast to her husband; she was a slender, fair-skinned beauty who looked very young, probably because she had never had children.

"What kind of woman is she?" Ayako asked.

"I don't know. Because they were burned to death."

"Ah, is that so?" Ayako seemed still a little uneasy. She was tall and slender, with a full face and a composed demeanor; she was an absolute beauty. A kimono suited her better than any fashionable clothing.

“But when did that woman enter our house? We didn’t even notice,” Zhu Mei said.

"Of course. If I knew, I wouldn't forget. — I can't stand it anymore, why isn't Daddy back yet?"

"Was the woman found in your father's room?" Qi Zi asked.

"It seems so. But I don't know if that's right—because I rarely go into Dad's room, I think if that woman was in the closet, we wouldn't have found her at all."

"Even so..." Zhu Mei looked like she wanted to vent her anger everywhere. Perhaps because she was the youngest child in the family, she couldn't stand the slightest grievance.

"Have you still not been able to contact your father?" Anton asked.

“I know my dad went to Sapporo, but I can’t find where he lives. Also, his company’s phone number and notebooks have all been burned.”

"Use the phone book to look it up."

"It's Sunday today, honey."

"By the way, does any of you know the phone number of Father's colleague?" The three sisters looked at each other and shook their heads.

"When are you estimated to be returning?"

"They said Monday..."

"Isn't it Tuesday?"

“I heard it was Monday,” Yuriko said.

"In any case, we can only wait until tomorrow," Anton said with a troubled expression.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Perhaps thinking that nothing she said would make a difference, Ayako lowered her head.

"No, please don't say that anymore. But, should we contact relatives or someone else first?"