image [https://i.imgur.com/MEUYhrx.jpg]
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Deshya stares angrily at the scene before her. While the ride on this bus had been lulled into a restful tranquility, she now had a vision of horror in front of her. After the scream that rang out from the man's dying throat, Deshya ran to see what was going on, while the driver soon parked opposite the bus stop, where two women waited wondering what was going on, the doors not opening. The bus passengers wanted to know what was going on, but Deshya yelled not to approach. The little girl in front of her continues to cry, waiting for an answer from the teenager in the cute sweater. Deshya bites her lower lip so hard she hurts herself. The little girl smiles.
- I was sure of it.
- ?!
Deshya is stunned by the little girl's smile, and she hugs the man in front of her, always crying.
- Why…
And there...
- Why…
Her cries began to flow faster and more abundantly, a Deshya unable to speak or move in front of her.
A true vision of horror.
CHAPTER 14
⎾Pure Snow * Double Murder In the 38 ; Suspects⏌
- C-Call an ambulance!
The driver shouts this as he takes a step back, but Deshya responds directly:
- No need.
Without speaking loudly, without shouting or screaming, she lets out these words. She looks at the little girl sadly, the marks of her teeth still visible on her lower lip. Deshya takes out her phone and quickly dials a number before sighing. The person on the other end of the line picks up quickly and his voice echoes. Deshya closes her eyes and turns her gaze to the left, then to the right. The look of sadness on her face, the passengers' anxiety, the horror in the driver's eyes and the little girl's cries... The whole atmosphere inside the bus has changed in less than a minute. Deshya sighs and opens her mouth:
- Papa…
The little girl continues to hug the man, crying, repeating the word 'Why' over and over. Deshya closes her eyes again, her fox tail touching the ground energetically.
- Two people died. On the bus.
It doesn't even take ten minutes for the police to arrive. Deshya has managed to keep everyone inside the bus, and the driver has only opened a window or two at the front without letting the doors open. The two women waiting at the stop were told that the bus couldn't get back on the road, and they left grumbling, a Chihuahua barking from one of their bags. Three police cars pull up, and one of them pulls out a silhouette of a woman. Deshya knows it well. The driver finally opens the doors and the man flashes his police badge. He is let through and the passengers wait in their seats, talking amongst
themselves, all anxious. The policeman arrives in front of Deshya and the two observe each other for a few moments before the girl sighs.
- I—
- Deshya.
She looks up and gazes into her father's eyes: they're so serious, yet full of compassion.
- I know you solved a murder case. I know you helped catch a criminal on the train and saved people alongside your friend, but…
- If it's too much for me, I can just get some fresh air, right?
- I’m serious about it.
Deshya clenches a fist and lowers her head.
- I'm serious too. What makes me like this is…
She sighs and tells him to follow her, which Gatito does. His daughter's fox tail doesn't move much behind her back, which doesn't reassure the policeman. Behind him, a woman arrives.
- Gatito!
- Oh, Annie.
Deshya turns and greets Annie in turn.
- First the train, now a bus? You're not spoiled!" admits Annie.
- I'm off to a great start in September!" jokes Deshya.
Gatito is surprised to see her smile like that, but he doesn't mention it. If she can still joke in this kind of situation, it means she's not fooled by the gruesome atmosphere of a murder scene. He doesn't know if this is reassuring or rather worrying... Deshya stops in front of the body of the elderly man and woman, both with mouths and eyes wide open. Annie has already put on special gloves and tells them to stand back before analyzing the body. While waiting for her to say what happened, Gatito turns to Deshya.
- Do you want to tell me the situation?" he asks.
- Okay, but first…
Deshya turns her face and her father follows her gaze… only to come across a little girl talking with a woman, snow-white hair streaming from her skull. Gatito looks at her for a few moments before speaking to Deshya.
- Is that their granddaughter?
- She says they're her parents... but…
Deshya's ears droop beneath her hood.
- All she did was cry, and the woman was kind enough to take care of her in the meantime.
- Who is she?
- ‘Orianne Nuame’ is her identity from what she told me, but I didn't interview anyone.
- ...I see. And this girl...?
Deshya puts her hands in the pockets of her sweater.
- I think it would be better if she got some fresh air. Staying on the same bus where her parents were killed…
- I couldn't agree more. Sammy!
Gatito calls out the name of someone Deshya recognizes and the police detective re-enters the bus, leaving the conversation with the driver to his partner. Sammy climbs the steps and nods. Gatito asks him to keep the girl out of the bus for the time being and try to question her about what she saw later. Sammy nods, but before calling the little girl, says hello to Deshya. Deshya says hello with a wave of her hand, a very faint smile on her face. Sammy gets off the bus with her, asking how she is and what her name is. Deshya and Gatito watch them for a few moments, and when they're both outside, she turns her gaze to her father's face.
- Basically, I was sitting there, thinking about nothing.
She points to the seat she's been sitting in for the whole journey, and Gatito looks at it. It's at the front of the bus, the seat behind the bus driver's cab, on the left-hand side of the vehicle. Gatito turns around and looks at the two elderly people who are the victims of this case. They too are on the left-hand side of the vehicle, two seats behind the middle of the bus, where the 'accordion' is. Behind them is a man who must be in his early twenties, violently chewing a piece of waffle with a helmet around his neck.
- This man was behind the couple, all alone. I don't think anyone has been there before or after and he was there when I got on the bus," Deshya tells him.
- When did you go upstairs?" her father asked.
- 6:21pm.
- And they died at 6:54pm, right?
Deshya nodded. That's when she yelled at the man screaming, but he fell silent right after. What it means is that he died at that precise hour. Deshya wonders why the woman didn't scream, since she seems to have died in the same way. Her face shows less pain than her husband's, however... Deshya turns her face to the left.
- This woman named Orianne has always been sitting there, even before I got on the bus," Deshya continues.
Gatito squints and Orianne nods.
- I got on the bus at the stop just before this girl," she says.
- How do you know?
- Well, someone in a fox sweater like that, I couldn't miss it…
- I see…
Deshya isn't surprised that she's quickly being noticed, especially as she's already been approached several times on the bus or in the street by different people who ask her why she's dressed like that. Sammy returns to Gatito's side and Deshya looks a little further along the bus. When she sees the figure she's been looking for, she points at him.
- This man.
Gatito and Sammy both turn towards the person Deshya is pointing at. A man slightly younger than the victims, with gray hair that doesn't cover his entire head and wrinkles on his face, sits alone in his seat, waiting patiently without doing anything. Sammy turns to Deshya, questioning him with his eyes.
- What's up?
- When he got on the bus, Orianne caught him up when he fell and he chatted with the couple for a few moments.
- I can confirm that," says the woman.
The woman nods and Sammy blinks.
- She hears everything we say, you know…
Deshya shrugs.
- Doesn’t matter, everyone knows there's a murder scene.
- But she's one of the culprits, isn't she?
Sammy crosses his arms and Gatito does the same.
- Do you know what time the man you showed us went upstairs?
- I heard his first name: Ginner. Otherwise, he went up around .... 6:48pm. The stop just before this one.
Sammy squints and walks over to the bodies of the dead couple.
- Anyway, Orianne is next to them. This man is behind and Ginner has approached them... Someone else...?
Deshya begins to think and climbs onto the seat in front of the couple. She puts her knees on the seats and supports herself with her arms, which touch the metal bars.
- A little after I got on, the little girl went to get a newspaper and a pencil to do, I suppose, some crosswords. She did them with her parents for most of the trip. When this man, Ginner, got on, he stumbled and was helped by Orianne. He then chatted with the couple for a few moments before sitting down in his current position. Orianne then picked up the pencil and newspaper when the driver seemed to ask her to, and it was three minutes later that the man screamed in pain," explains Deshya.
- Seems to have asked her, you say...?" asks Sammy.
Deshya nods.
- That's what she told me, but I didn't see her pick up her phone to see a message from the driver. Especially since he could have just asked her by shouting on the bus, but he didn't. I wonder why he didn't.
Sammy squints and turns back to the woman. This time, she didn't hear them, since Deshya spoke less loudly: only Gatito, Annie and Sammy heard her, as well as the other police doctor accompanying the woman. Sammy looks at Orianne with interest.
- In short, the suspects are Orianne, who approached the couple three minutes before their deaths, the man behind them, who could have done something unnoticed, and Ginner, who approached the couple two to three minutes before Orianne. No, this person too... but…
Sammy thinks of another culprit, but he finds it hard to believe, so he prefers to stick with the lead he's got now. In any case, as long as they don't know how they died, it's going to be difficult to get any clues as to who might have done it. Deshya thinks of the little girl with the long white hair and looks at her through the bus window: she's talking to a man, a sad look on her face. She must have seen both her parents die in front of her, and that can't have been easy…
- Why did she say 'I was sure of it', though...?
Deshya thinks it's a strange way for a girl like her to talk, but her thoughts are interrupted when Sammy approaches Orianne.
- Excuse me, I'd like to ask you a quick question," he says.
The woman rubs her gloves together and turns her attention to him.
- Yes ?
- This girl says you took back the newspaper and pencil from this couple at the driver's request, but she doesn't seem to have heard him shouting at you.
Deshya is intrigued about this, so she can't wait for the answer. There's the possibility that she used this excuse to kill the couple by approaching them without appearing suspicious: if she doesn't have a good excuse to give, then Deshya already knows who the culprit is...!
However.
- Oh, this? I see you don't know much about this bus.
Deshya and Sammy squint.
- What does she mean...?" wondered Deshya, surprised by the woman's confident reply.
- What do you mean?" asks Sammy.
- Mathieu!
She shouts the name of a man they don't know, but they soon realize that this person is—
- What is it, Orianne?
— the bus driver. Gatito turns back to them, having finished talking to Annie: they now know how the couple died. However, before discussing it with Sammy and his daughter, he looks at the man who has just arrived.
- He asked me why I'd been looking for the newspaper and pencil," Orianne told him.
- Oh, this?
The man bows gently to the police detective.
- I'm the driver of this bus. My name is 'Mathieu Desudo', nice to meet you.
- Pleased to meet you. Sammy Graton, police detective.
Deshya squinted as she watched them. Not only had Orianne and Mathieu not been talking together at the very moment the woman stood up, she didn't remember hearing them talk about it before either. If the driver had mentioned it to the little girl when she asked for the newspaper, she would surely have heard him, even if she wasn't paying full attention... Moreover, Deshya wonders why it was Orianne who brought him back and not the little white-haired girl. It seems strange…
- In fact, I know Roger and Maurine quite well.
- ?!
Deshya opens her eyes wide and Annie stands up, having finished checking the state of the two corpses. Mathieu scratches his hair.
- With their daughter, they come every Friday on my bus, at the same stop, to go home," explains the bus driver. I know them well, and to pass the time, the little girl likes to do crosswords with both her parents.
- So it's a crossword puzzle..." thinks Deshya.
- Orianne gets home from work at about the same time as Roger and Maurine come in with their daughter, so they're used to it. They often sit in the same place, and I know Orianne outside work, so I asked her if she could bring me my newspaper and pencil around 6.50pm so that I could read the paper a little on my side, since that's the stop they normally get off at.
The driver looks at the couple's body with sadness.
- This must be the third time we've done this..." he confesses. Orianne brings me my own newspaper because I don't want the little one to stumble and she can stay with both her parents.
- Hmm, I see..." mumbles Sammy.
- …
Deshya remains silent. Orianne picks up her book and opens it.
- See? That's why," she explains.
Sammy thanks the driver and he returns to a policeman outside. Gatito touches his shoulder and Annie removes one of her gloves. She approaches them both, but makes sure Deshya can hear.
- They died of cyanide indigestion," she told them.
- C-Cyanide...
Sammy suspected this from the state of the corpses; the same goes for Gatito and Deshya. Now, however, they know for sure. Sammy writes it down in his detective diary and the other doctor approaches them.
- We also found... chips on them.
Gatito looks at him angrily.
- Chips...?
He nods.
- I guess it's the little girl's," said the doctor.
- I see.
Deshya smiles at the look on her father's face: he doesn't like it when people talk about trivial details at a crime scene. Nevertheless, Deshya finds it important. She doesn't remember hearing the little girl eating chips, nor opening a packet, so... maybe... Deshya stands up and pats her knees. Sammy looks at her.
- Are you leaving?" he asks.
- Were the chips eaten by the little girl or by the couple? Do you know?" she asks.
Sammy smiled.
- Do you think cyanide is in potato chips?
- Exac—
- No.
- —tly…
Deshya stops in her tracks and turns to Annie. She removes her other glove and puts it away while talking to Deshya, without even looking at her.
- I thought so too, but there was no trace of cyanide on them. What's more, it was the little girl who ate them, since she had an empty packet in her pocket.
- A-Ah…
Deshya hadn't even noticed the package on the granddaughter. She scratches her cheek, a little embarrassed: she mustn't forget that these adults come from the police, they're far from idiots. She thinks of something and asks Annie without delay.
- However, does having the packet of potato chips in her pocket mean she was the one who ate them?
Annie smiles and Sammy turns around.
- You can ask her if you like, but if she's the one with the packet in her pocket, I assume she's eaten them too. Besides, whatever happens, there's no trace of cyanide on the chips, so that's irrelevant to the case.
- ...you're right.
- I'm always right.
Annie winks before stepping out of the bus. Deshya lets out a little laugh and looks to see where her father is. She notices that he, too, is outside, while Sammy is talking to the man behind the slain couple. Deshya prefers not to bother him and touches her chin with her hand.
- Anyway, someone managed to give them cyanide... I thought it was in the potato chips, but if that's the case, then why would the little one still be alive and kicking? So how did the culprit do it?
Deshya looks out the window again and notices that the granddaughter is still chatting with one of the policemen, looking a little more smiling this time. Her cheeks are still wet, but she doesn't look as sad as before. This reassures Deshya, even if a certain detail about the granddaughter bothers her. She can't see the packet of chips from here, but she totally believes Annie…
- Sammy! Gatito!
While she's deep in thought, the woman doctor calls out to them. Deshya turns towards them, squinting, and approaches in his turn. The police detective stops chatting with the man in the back and stops in front of Annie. Deshya stands on the seats and looks at what Annie has found. What she shows—
- !!!
Taken out of the man and woman's bag, what Annie is holding surprises everyone, but now they know how the murder was committed.
- ... A hole in both, isn't it?" asks Sammy.
Annie nods. Deshya grits her teeth as she watches what Annie is showing them.
Cartons of strawberry juice, both empty.
Annie asks the doctor next door if he can analyze them and check for fingerprints, saliva on the straws and any traces of poison inside. He takes it with his gloved hands and nods. Sammy turns to Deshya.
- In short, someone poisoned their drinks. When they drank, they drank the cyanide inside, injected with a syringe..." he says.
Deshya nods and looks at the man behind the couple, finishing his waffle. She then looks at the man even further back, named Ginner, and finally at Orianne. She frowns.
- Who could have done this...? Was it the old man talking to them? That would have been too obvious. Or Orianne when she talked to them about taking over the newspaper...? Would she have had the time and opportunity to do so without being noticed? And the man behind the couple? Could he have done it from underneath...? Is this really possible...?
Deshya doesn't know who could have done it…
- The murder could have been committed earlier, so..." says Sammy.
- What?
Deshya turns her gaze to him and he nods, bringing his head close to hers, making sure no one can hear her.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
- Someone could have poisoned their cartons before they got on the bus and simply waited for them to drink them," he explains.
She hadn't thought of that, but he's right. Sammy turns to Gatito and asks if they can check when his juice cartons were purchased. He nods and Deshya squints at someone. Could she find out who did it? Sammy talks to Gatito and asks him to look for the syringe on the road or on the street.
- If not, do a body search," says Gatito, speaking to another policeman.
He nods and Deshya gets off the bus without telling her father. She approaches this person, hands in her pockets, as she chats with someone. The policeman notices the teenager approaching and doesn't finish his sentence before turning to her.
- Oh, isn't that Gatito's daughter?!" he said with a smile.
The person who had been chatting with him turns her face towards her in turn. She looks at her for a long time with wide eyes, but Deshya doesn't immediately take notice. She nods at the policeman's words and smiles at him.
- That's me, all right. Can I have a little chat with her?
Deshya finally looks at the person beside her: the little girl with long white hair, pure as snow. The man turns his face towards her and nods.
- We were talking quietly about our day, but you can talk to her without any problem," admits the policeman.
He gets up and tells Deshya he's going to see if Gatito needs help. Before entering the bus, he whispers the following to Deshya:
- Don't ask her too much about the case. She may be smiling, but she still feels terrible.
- Of course," replies Deshya.
The policeman is satisfied with Deshya's answer and gets on the bus. Still with her hands in her pockets, Deshya approaches the little girl before sitting down on the bench where she is.
- Hello again," Deshya said gently.
- Helloooooo…
- I don't want to bother you for long, I'd just like to ask you something first, if you don't mind.
- What is it?
The little girl has an innocent, puzzled expression, one that strangely comforts Deshya. She's seen both her parents die, but she seems to be able to keep a smile on her face... Of course, she's well aware that she probably wants to cry, but knowing that she's not bursting into tears in front of her allows her to take a breath. When she saw him on her father, understanding that he had died at his wife's side... She doesn't even want to think about it anymore.
- Have you been eating chips?" asks Deshya.
The granddaughter nods and points to something behind her. Deshya turns around and notices that she's pointing at... a garbage can.
- I always eat chips on the bus!!!" she confesses. I threw the packet away as I got off the bus because I'm a big girl!
She strikes a proud pose and a small 'Hihi' comes from her mouth, her white teeth reflecting the few rays of sunlight. Deshya squints and turns back to the girl, an idea having crossed her mind. As the policemen begin to search for the syringe, one of them moves towards the police and she waits patiently. The little girl looks at her quizzically, but finally claps her little fist into her other hand. This intrigues Deshya.
- Would the syringe have been disposed of in the trash? asks the little girl.
Deshya frowns.
- What...?
Both of the girl's legs start to sway and she looks at the bus in front of her.
- When I was talking to the policeman, I noticed he was pointing at things. Since she looked in mama and papa's bag, I assume it was their juice box. They like to buy it for themselves, while I have my chips and sometimes milk!
The little girl smiled as she looked at Deshya.
- From their lips and expressions, I quickly realized that they died from cyanide! So I guess if it's by drinking from their beverage, then the only way to put it in would be with a syringe. However, I don't think that's possible.
She touches her lips with her index finger, while the teenager beside him watches with wide eyes.
- It's true that mama finished her drink just after Miss Orianne came to fetch the driver's crossword and pencil, but Dad had already finished it before. If that's how they really died, then I wonder why Dad didn't die then…
Deshya couldn't say anything. Watching the little girl with a gaping mouth, she couldn't believe what she'd just said. An innocent look on her face, a childlike voice and cute eyes, yet…
- …
She finally closes her mouth, but the voice of a policeman wakes her from her immobility.
- Inspector Gatito!
Deshya turns around and the little girl beside her bends her head to see what's going on. The policeman, Deshya's father, hurries out of the bus and arrives in front of him. Grabbed by gloved hands, two things can be seen: the packet of chips thrown by the little girl... and a syringe. Deshya stands up and asks her to wait, and she nods, continuing to swing her legs.
- The syringe was inside this packet of potato chips, Inspector!" said the policeman.
Gatito rubs his chin and looks at the syringe. He turns his attention to the packet of potato chips and squints.
- Isn't that so—
- Yes.
He blinks and looks at the girl who has appeared out of nowhere. She turns around for a moment and the little girl nods again. Deshya clasps her hands and then looks at her father.
- It's the bag of potato chips the little girl threw away," confirms Deshya.
- Hm...
Gatito calls Annie, who arrives without delay. He asks her to analyze this syringe and she puts it in a plastic bag and asks them to wait. She runs, but before leaving, she stops and turns around.
- Also!
- Yes ?
- There are traces of cyanide in both juice cartons.
- !!
Annie bows politely and continues her run. Deshya places a hand on the right side of her head and grits her teeth.
- But…
- Looks like I was wrong.
- W-Wa?!
Deshya almost flinches when she sees the little girl arrive. She looks at the cute gloves on her hands and sighs.
- I wonder how Dad died so late…
The little girl sighs and returns to sit on the bench. Gatito approaches Deshya and tilts her head gently.
- What did she mean by that...?" he asks.
Deshya puts her hands in the pockets of her sweater and keeps her gaze fixed on the girl's white hair.
- She told me that her mother finished her drink a little before she died, but her father had finished it long before," she explains.
- Strange, then.
Deshya really jumps this time and turns around. Sammy blinks and waves his hands gently in front of him.
- S-Sorry, nya!
- N-N-Nya...?
Deshya questions him with her eyes and Sammy blocks his mouth with both gloves. Without moving her head, she looks at Gatito, who sighs.
- He tends to say 'Nya' sometimes. Don't listen to him…
Deshya freezes for a moment before laughing. The three policemen look at each other, wondering what's so funny, but decide not to waste time and Gatito speaks first.
- If the syringe turns out to be the murder weapon, all that's left is to find out who did it…
- No fingerprints were found on any of the boxes except the couple's," Sammy tells them.
- No wonder..." admits Deshya.
- You never know.
Deshya nods at Sammy's words and turns back to the girl. Although the case intrigues her, something else is drawing her attention even more. It seems that the murder was simply committed by a passenger on the bus who managed to insert cyanide into the drinks of the two elderly people, but it's not true. Deshya wasn't entirely convinced... Who could have done it? Besides, what that little girl said... Deshya walks over to her and sits down next to her again.
- I didn't ask for your first name," Deshya admits.
The little girl looks at her with her big eyes before smiling. Gently tossing her white hair, she pronounces it:
- Korone! My name is Korone!
In a cute, childlike voice, she lets Deshya learn her name. The teenager smiles back.
- It's a lovely name.
- What about youuuuuu?
- My name is Deshya.
- Oh, so cute!
Her legs sway a little faster and Deshya scratches her cheek, blushing softly.
- Thank you, thank you…
However, she soon regains her seriousness: she's at a crime scene and the culprit has yet to be found. Unlike yesterday's train case, the passengers aren't going to be forced to stay there all evening, so they have limited time... Deshya could let Sammy, her father and the other policemen do the work, but she doesn't want to sit there and do nothing. She got on the same bus as a murderer who killed elderly people, this in front of a small child who appears to be their daughter: this is unforgivable. Whoever did this deserves to be imprisoned for life, and Deshya doesn't accept anyone contradicting her. She grits her teeth and Korone bows her head.
- You get upset over people you don't even know…
- E-Eh?
Deshya blinks and looks at her. The little girl has a sad smile on her face, watching her feet as they sway more gently.
- Dad... Mom... They didn't deserve to die. But you didn't know them, so why get upset?
- Korone…
- You look so angry and sad. Thank you. I'm sure mom and dad would be happy to know that people who don't even know them are working so hard to find the culprit. I'm so happy!
Korone raises her arms, but quickly lowers them.
- They didn't deserve... to die…
Her eyelids droop, while her air becomes even more saddened. Deshya doesn't quite understand what Korone is saying, but despite her incomprehension, she can't help stroking his hair with a soft, friendly smile. Korone blinks, forcing the beginnings of new tears to leave, and turns her face to Deshya. Her kind expression, the sunlight on her face and her beautiful eyes.
- We'll find whoever killed your parents. I promise, Korone.
The little girl remains silent in front of Deshya. The light continues to illuminate her face, and her beautiful expression. Korone grabs the teenager's hand in front of her and smiles back.
-Yey!
She closes her eyes and flashes her teeth in an even bigger, more beautiful, more hopeful smile. Deshya looks at her with a small smile of her own, promising herself to catch this criminal. She crosses her legs and, still with her hand in Korone's, asks for his version of events.
- Do you want to know what I saw to see if I have any clues for this investigation?" asks Korone.
Deshya nods, a small drop of sweat dripping from her forehead. Korone sometimes speaks oddly for a little girl like her... She still doesn't know her age, but Deshya continues to assume she's just under ten. Korone stops holding Deshya's hand and puts hers under her chin, starting to think.
- Hmmm, okiiiie.
Korone closes her eyes as she speaks.
- Before getting on the bus, mama and papa and I went shopping, as we do every Friday. If you look in Dad's bag, you'll see two shopping bags. That's also where we bought my bag of chips and the juice for mama and papa.
- Is it impossible for anyone to have touched the juices before getting on the bus?" asks Deshya.
- Mom and dad buy different juices every time, even though they really like raspberries, but I don't see how anyone could have touched the juices, since they were in mom and dad's bag.
Deshya squints and puts a hand under her chin, too.
- Anyway, it was someone on the bus who used that syringe... It's not surprising, given that it ended up in the garbage can, but it's certain now," she thinks.
- Afterwards, we waited for the bus as we always do and got into the place we always go.
- And during the trip?
- Dad chatted a bit with Miss Orianne and mom grumbled a bit about the man in the back making too much noise. I went to get the crossword as I always do, and the driver gave me a pencil too, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to write.
Deshya remembers it well, as she was already on the bus at the time. It was also when she ran down the bus corridor that she noticed his beautiful white hair, pure as snow.
- The man in the back was a little annoying and moved around a lot, but he didn't make too much noise, so mom didn't say anything, but you could tell she wasn't happy.
- What was the man doing?" asks Deshya.
- I don't know, but he bumped into our seat once and mom almost yelled at him.
Deshya looks at the bus and squints, but Korone keeps talking and prevents her from thinking any further.
- Then Miss Orianne took the pencil and crosswords and handed them back to the driver. I waited on daddy's lap and started to read their book, but…
- But...?
Korone looks down.
- Mom started to hold her throat and seemed to be in pain... and then Dad started to scream.
Deshya squinted and turned her gaze towards the bus. She hadn't learned much more except that the man in the back seemed to be moving around a lot... Could this be considered a lead, though? Could he have slipped cyanide into their drinks from his seat and done so without being noticed? Even with everything Korone tells her, she can't acquire a single clue in this case. She sighs and the little girl tugs at her sleeve.
- What's wrong?" asks Deshya.
- I wonder why mom and dad were killed..." Korone admits.
Deshya opened her mouth... but was unable to answer his question. She thinks long and hard about what she might say, especially as the little girl seems to be looking sadder and sadder, tears beginning to form again. Deshya finally puts her hand on Korone's head and stares angrily at the bus.
- I don't know who did it, or why, but it doesn't matter.
- H-Huh?
Korone blinks and looks up to see the teenager's face. Deshya grits her teeth.
- I don't care what drives someone to kill another. These are feelings I never want to understand, forbidden feelings.
Real boredom, real anger and another emotion incomprehensible to Korone's ears came out of Deshya's voice. She starts rubbing the little girl's hair before standing up. Her fox tail catches Korone's eye, and he asks her why she has such a thing on her back. Deshya turns around and her serious expression changes to one of embarrassment.
- A-Aaaah, you see, I think it's very cute..." explains Deshya with an embarrassed smile.
- It's true that you're very cute like that!" said Korone, swinging her legs.
Her fox tail starts wagging from left to right, Deshya happy to hear this. Korone giggles, hands in front of her mouth
- She starts swinging like my legs, hihi!
- Hm!
Deshya nods, blushing softly, but her attention is drawn to the hand touching her shoulder. She turns around and notices that it's... Sammy, the police detective.
- Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asks.
Deshya nods again and looks at Korone.
- I need to have a little chat with him, don't do anything stupid,” said Deshya.
- I'm not moving from this bench!" replies Korone.
Sammy tells Deshya that Annie will come and see how she's doing as long as she has nothing to do, which reassures Deshya. The detective starts walking down the sidewalk, with the teenager at his side.
- What do you want to talk about?" asks Deshya, hands in her pockets.
He takes out his notebook, but doesn't even look at it.
- I chatted to 'Thomas Gibonn', the man behind the slain couple. He told me that he moved several times during the trip because he doesn't feel well on bus trips and had drunk too much coffee, so he felt compelled to move. Whether it's an excuse or not, Orianne also admitted to me that she didn't see him approach them or even do anything suspicious," explains Sammy.
- I had a little chat with Korone and she told me that her mother yelled at him and got angry every time he got agitated," Deshya told him.
Sammy stops by the garbage can, where no one can really hear them. He remains silent for a few moments before sitting down on the metal seat of the bus stop.
- Deshya.
- Yes ?
He sighs and rubs the back of his head before looking up at the teenager.
- I'll be honest with you.
- ...?
Deshya watches him carefully, not understanding Sammy's expression. The detective crosses his hands in front of her, a serious look on his face. He stares at Deshya, taking his time to tell her what's on his mind.
Seeing that the teenager was staring at him, perplexed, he decided to speak directly.
- Thomas couldn't have committed the crime unseen, Orianne didn't have time to do anything about it and even after talking to Ginner for a while, I don't see how he could have done it. No one's been near them and the syringe shows signs of cyanide, still a few milligrams inside. Like me, you know how the murder was committed... but no fingerprints were found inside.
Deshya listens attentively, even though she knows everything that's being said at the moment.
- Even if the person who used the syringe wasn't wearing gloves, he or she could easily have wiped away the marks without anyone noticing.
Sammy sighs.
- Deshya, after analysis, there is only one person who could really have committed this murder.
- ...!!
She doesn't directly understand what he means, but by following Sammy's gaze, she now knows what he's thinking. She shakes her head violently.
- Seriously?!" she asks.
- Seriously.
- S-She couldn't have done it!
Sammy squints.
- She was with both her parents along the way. She didn't eat a single potato chip, she didn't have a drink and she threw away the syringe along with her packet of potato chips. She was the only one who could have committed the crime, and being a little girl, no one would think she could do it.
Deshya grits her teeth.
- Korone is just a little girl, of course—
- Deshya.
- !!
She gets cut in her sentence and Sammy gives her a... different look. Even more serious. One that asks her to be quiet.
- We've already had cases of child criminals. All the clues point to her. What's more, she's wearing gloves while it's still quite warm.
- O-Orianne too!
- How could she have poisoned their drinks?
- ... She... I…
- Deshya.
The teenager clenched both fists and turned to the little girl with long white hair. So pure. Her face so innocent. Her big eyes full of love... Deshya turns to Sammy and, in turn, offers him a serious look.
- I'm going to find them.
- ?
Sammy questions her with his eyes. Deshya frowns.
- The real culprit. I'm going to find them! And prove that Korone isn't the one who killed them!