—Thud.
I closed the black notebook.
I had read enough of Dolores’s recollections.
‘In the end, everything went exactly as Dolores intended.’
With a complicated gaze, I looked at the black shadow lying on the bed.
The bloodstains scattered on the rail had dried to a dark reddish-brown, but the bloodstains that soaked the head of the bed were still damp, almost seeming to radiate warmth.
‘He died just moments ago.’
The noise I heard from Adriel’s room earlier.
Its true nature was the sound of the culprit, locked in the room, shooting himself in the temple.
During the three days leading up to his decision to take his own life, the culprit must have felt immense terror and despair.
Just as Dolores had wished.
‘If I had been just a little faster, he might still be alive.’
By a hair’s breadth, he died.
But why?
I didn’t feel any regret.
I didn’t know how to accept his death.
Or what emotion I should feel.
What was certain was that I had no thought of removing the culprit’s shadow.
‘That appearance seems to suit you.’
Leaving the black form trapped in the sins it had committed, I left the room.
Then I called Claire and the Inspector and explained everything I had discovered.
“That’s… Adriel, Dolores…!”
Unable to bear the shock, Claire slumped down.
“Is that really true? Mr. Washers was the culprit?”
Inspector Serret twitched his eyebrows as if displeased, but the evidence was overwhelmingly clear.
Even in this situation, he couldn’t insist that the wrong person was the culprit.
“Good for you. You’ve won.”
Inspector Serret spat out the words sullenly.
“You succeeded in protecting your client and catching the culprit, and I’m left in the ridiculous position of having to handcuff a corpse.”
“Is that your take on this case, Inspector?”
Victory? Defeat?
What is this, a game? Is that kind of thing really important?
“That’s right. To put it in your terms, Inspector, I won. But it’s not because I was superior; it’s because this world doesn’t operate according to your assumptions.”
Adriel wasn’t a devil. That child was someone worth risking one’s life for.
Dolores wasn’t an ungrateful, thieving maid; she was family to this house.
Claire never harmed her friend.
“Aren’t you ashamed of hurting people with your prejudice?”
I hoped the Inspector would feel some shame.
But the Inspector just snorted.
“Hmph! This was an exception. Most cases are crimes committed by similar people for similar reasons. I made judgments based on experience. Innocent people get caught? That’s just an unavoidable sacrifice for solving cases.”
He glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“You wouldn’t understand. You, the great Detective Baron, who catches the culprit in a day and lectures the police. But not everyone can be as capable as you. In that case, arresting the most likely human-shaped suspect is the best option. Better than leaving a case unsolved for years to rot.”
From the Inspector’s eyes, I felt a sharp, piercing hostility, but its target wasn’t me.
“Someday you’ll understand too, oh great Detective Baron.”
Inspector Serret spoke roughly and left.
—Flicker, flicker.
A dying incandescent bulb cast a precarious light on the Inspector’s retreating back.
‘…What on earth happened between Detective Baron and the Inspector?’
But whatever the story was, I don’t think I could ever understand that Inspector.
Swallowing a sigh, I turned my gaze.
“Dolly…, how could such a thing….”
Claire still seemed unable to escape the shock.
Still slumped in the same position, her unfocused eyes wandered through the past.
Glancing outside, the sun had completely set and it was pitch dark.
It was really time to go.
‘It’s best to leave Claire be and slip away quietly.’
If I said I was leaving, we’d just waste time unnecessarily.
Claire would have to struggle to compose herself and express her gratitude to me.
I didn’t want that.
I quietly left the room and opened the front door.
“Wow. You finally came out.”
Unexpectedly, Toby was standing there.
“What? Why are you still here?”
Did I not pay him for the errand? No, I did, didn’t I?
“It’s cold, why were you standing out here? That must have been hard.”
“I thought you might need my help again.”
Toby said, unnecessarily raising his chin.
“And you said I’m your assistant for the day, right? An assistant is the detective’s subordinate, isn’t it? Subordinates are supposed to wait for their boss, then run off when told to do something, run back, you know, that sort of thing.”
“Is that so?”
I hadn’t realized he thought of it that way.
I had already gotten quite a bit of help from him today.
And now he was even trying to fulfill his responsibilities to the end.
I felt I should pay more attention to him, if only out of gratitude.
“And waiting wasn’t that hard. It wasn’t very cold, and I had someone to play with.”
“Someone to play with?”
But at that moment, the sound of running footsteps was heard.
“Boss!”
Adriel brushed past me and ran outside.
“Boss! Adriel brought something to eat. The something to eat is cookies, cookies are tasty. Adriel likes cookies with blueberries the best.”
“Oh, nice.”
Toby grabbed the cookie Adriel brought and started munching on it.
“It’s really good. Is this blueberry?”
“It’s really tasty. This isn’t blueberry.”
“Then what is it?”
“Then what it is, it’s a cookie! It’s a cookie with elderberries!”
“What berry? Anyway, it’s good. Next time, bring one with blueberries.”
Adriel nodded vigorously.
“Toby. When did you and Adriel get… um… close?”
To be honest, I wanted to ask when he made her his subordinate.
Surely he’s not making Adriel his lackey and using her as a snack fetcher?
Tell me he’s not.
“Just a little while ago. She was just standing here in front, so I got bored and started talking with her.”
“In front, you mean here in front of the front door?”
“Yeah. Her way of talking is a bit funny, but as we talked, she seemed like a surprisingly good kid. She smiles a lot, doesn’t make fun of me for being a beggar or having one less finger, and listens well.”
He said it nonchalantly, but I could feel he was secretly pleased.
“I’m too busy to play with kids, but I guess it’s okay to play with her sometimes. Adriel decided to be my subordinate starting today. A boss has to take responsibility for his subordinates.”
“Adriel is the first mate.”
“You dummy. Not first mate, it’s vice-captain! You’re my first subordinate, so I’m specially making you the vice-captain.”
“Not a dummy. Adriel likes first mate. Specially wants to be first mate.”
“Fine. Then on water, I’m the captain, you’re the first mate. Right now we’re on land, so I’m the boss, you’re the vice-captain. Got it?”
Adriel nodded with a blank face.
Thankfully, the relationship between the two didn’t seem bad.
‘Come to think of it, Toby was kicked out of his original gang.’
Pickpocket kids have no choice but to rely on each other.
Because few parents want their children playing with street kids.
The gang is that important, and since Toby was kicked out of his, he must have been terribly lonely.
Moreover, it seems Toby wasn’t very comfortable even within the gang.
It seemed like he suffered under a big boss, and there were probably kids who teased him for being short or didn’t treat him properly as an older brother.
So having Adriel, who obediently listens and calls him boss, probably isn’t so bad for him.
It wasn’t a bad thing for Adriel to have a suitable peer as an older brother either.
Toby seemed like the type who would grumble but still take good care of Adriel.
However, there was one thing that worried me…
“Adriel. Why were you outside the front door?”
I carefully placed my hand on the child’s cheek.
Sure enough, her rosy cheeks were cold to the touch.
Even though she had just brought cookies from inside the house, if they were this cold, she must have been standing outside the front door for quite a while before that.
“If you ask why Adriel was outside the front door, it was to wait.”
“To wait?”
Adriel nodded.
“For who?”
“For who, for Dolores.”
“…….”
“Adriel waits for Dolores.”
The child rambled on, doing her best to explain with the words she had.
“Adriel keeps promises well. Stop! Wait! If you don’t know what face to make, smile! So I wait. Keep waiting and waiting. Have to keep promises well.”
“You promised… to wait for Dolores?”
The child shook her head side to side.
“Adriel didn’t promise. Dolores promised.”
“What did she promise?”
“What she promised was—.”
Suddenly, the monotonous tone of her voice changed.
“‘Even if you hear any noise from downstairs, just wait quietly. Then everything will be okay. You won’t hurt anymore.’“
“…….”
“‘So if you wait, I’ll come back. I promised Adriel.’“
When mimicking Dolores’s words, Adriel’s tone was completely different from usual.
A soft, feathery tone that could only be described as filled with affection.
For a child who doesn’t know what tone to use in conversation to mimic that tone exactly means she must have repeated those words in her head over and over.
“She said if you wait, it’ll be okay, you won’t hurt anymore….”
Nod.
“So, if you wait, Dolores will come back….”
Nod.
I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Dolores.
You foolish person.
Didn’t you know?
That the child you raised with love would also care for you.
Did you really not know?
“Adriel.”
Toby, who had seen the blood-stained room, asked in an uneasy voice.
“What if… the person you wait for and wait for never comes?”
“…….”
“What if… you have to wait too long….”
To Toby, who couldn’t bring himself to finish, Adriel answered.
“If I have to wait too long, Adriel will look at the clock.”
“The clock?”
“Clocks are good. No matter how long I have to wait, if I watch the clock move while waiting, I can meet them soon. When the little hand is on 7, Mom comes. Adriel can wait until 12.”
But the clock’s little hand will never move again.
The clock, soaked in brine, has stopped working forever.
“Adriel will wait while looking at the clock.”
“I see.”
Toby nodded quietly.
“Then. Sometimes, I’ll wait with you too.”
Adriel smiled.
A stiff, but lovely smile.
“Okay.”
The child no longer waits for the shadow of the clock hands to return.
The child waits for you to return.
Until the child understands what farewell means, this waiting will not stop.
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