image [https://i.imgur.com/VZTB3pQ.jpg]
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It's Friday, September 02, the last day of classes in the first week of the 2022 school year. Deshya and her best friend, Amora Takt, have both gone to drink tea at a fairly new salon, and after spending some time there, Deshya has taken the bus home. However, when she is going to arrive at her destination—
— A man dies screaming in agony.
She calls the police and makes sure no one gets off the bus, checking that everyone is feeling well. When the police arrive, it's soon discovered that the slain couple had been poisoned with cyanide: moreover, syringe holes are found in the juice cartons in both the man's and the woman's bags. After discussions with Sammy, one of Tetazo's police detectives, and the adopted daughter of the murdered couple, he says to Deshya that he concludes that it was probably Korone who killed them, since no one else could have done it. However, Deshya refuses to believe such a thing and searches the bus, talks to one person or another and thinks hard. It's only after talking to Ginner, a friend of the couple and one of the suspects, that she finally understands. When a woman on the bus laughs at Deshya with her friend, a certain word she uses makes her eyes open wide: she finally imagines what method was used to kill the couple...!
- Return...!!
Deshya runs to talk it over with Sammy and, after checking something with Korone, is convinced of her theory. Sammy thinks about it for a few moments before admitting he finds it plausible.
- So the culprit can only be this person..." he thinks aloud, looking in the direction of the bus.
Deshya nods and smiles, looking at Korone. If she is indeed right, then the little girl will be proven innocent...! Then they'll catch the real culprit...! Sammy turns his gaze to the teenager.
- Do you want the honor of telling everyone about it?" he asks.
Deshya places her hands behind her head and looks at the detective.
- You're the detective, though.
- Eh. When you realized the truth behind Mirio Blushark's murder, you really wanted to confess in front of everyone…
- I don't want to ruin your reputation.
This remark makes Sammy laugh, and he takes a while to calm down, but finally sighs with a smile.
- You know, when I was your age, I was almost like you.
- Ah?
Deshya stares at Sammy with intrigue. He pulls out his detective notebook, watching her intently, unable to help but smile as he looks at her.
- An excited little boy who couldn't stop solving everything and anything. I'd look at unsolved cases in the papers and go to crime scenes as a detective, but I was often quickly grabbed by the collar and forbidden to touch anything, even if I had my gloves on…
He opens his notebook and leafs through it, without necessarily reading what's written in it.
- When I found the culprit in a certain case, the police took me a little more seriously, but I was just a teenager poking his nose into everything. Maybe that's why I'm so keen to let you reveal everything by yourself," he admits.
He tucks his notebook away in his pocket and now looks at Deshya, a beautiful smile on his face.
- You're the one who came up with this theory, without my help. I can't steal your thunder.
- Sammy…
- Well, I'm still a real detective and you're just a teenage daddy's girl, but I can't deny you've got a brain that works better than I do!
He rises from the metal seat and quickly strokes her head before moving towards Korone, not uttering another word. Deshya looks at him with a smile and finally nods.
- Eh, thanks.
She turns to the bus and shows it her teeth, ready to solve the mystery of the couple's death.
- Let me tell them the truth, then.
CHAPTER 16
⎾Pure Snow * Double Murder In the 38 ; Resolution⏌
Sammy asks Annie to check something for him, and when she does, he discusses it with Deshya. Now both convinced that her theory is right, the teenager asks everyone to get on the bus and listen to her deduction… thus pointing out who is the real culprit behind the death of Roger and Maurine, little Korone's adoptive parents.
- Everyone's here, perfect!
Deshya stands beside Sammy, Annie and Gatito in the seats just to their right. The policemen and passengers face them, with the driver sitting next to Orianne, who has put her book away. Thomas raises his head a little and squints.
- Are you going to be quick or not?!" he shouts. I've got a show to watch in an hour, me!!!
- We'll be done before then, I promise," Sammy replies gently.
Some of the people at the back of the bus approach, remaining in the accordion section of the vehicle. The two corpses have been taken elsewhere, and little Korone sits right next to Deshya, watching her with puzzled eyes. She thinks she's understood how her parents were killed, but wonders if that's really what happened... However, if it is, then Korone wonders:
- Why did they kill my parents...?
She has no idea what the answer is, but hopes to have it after Deshya has explained to the passengers and the police. The teenager cracks the back of her neck on both sides before taking a deep breath of air and stares at the people in front of her. Even though she's convinced that no one else could have done it, and even has the evidence, she wonders why Korone's parents were murdered, especially as they seemed to be well-loved people…
- Here's my deduction for what really happened," begins Deshya.
She doesn't hesitate to look at the people in front of her without flinching. Even if a feeling of stress settles in her chest, she doesn't lower her gaze and proves to the culprit that she's understood their trap. Exactly. The reason they couldn't figure out who could have killed the couple except Korone was because they'd been tricked. If Deshya hadn't figured it out in time and the police had let the bus go, then... they could never have caught the real culprit.
- As some of you may have heard, the man named 'Roger Taketa' and his wife, 'Maurine Kissana' died of cyanide poisoning. They got it in their mouths and died quickly afterwards.
Deshya crosses her arms as she explains.
- Very fine holes, almost invisible to the naked eye, were found in the juice cartons as well as in the bags, proving that someone had stuck a syringe in them while knowing where Roger and Maurine's drinks were," she continues.
- Does that mean the little one did it...?" asks one of the passengers.
- The little girl who kills her parents...? I don't believe it!" replies her friend.
- How can you be sure it's a syringe?!" asks one woman.
Sammy raises his hand, holding a clear plastic bag with something inside.
- The syringe was found in the garbage can at the bus stop, in the packet of potato chips thrown away by Korone," he explains.
- So it really was Korone who killed them...?" Orianne asks.
Deshya turns her gaze towards her.
- It would seem logical. She knows her parents and their habits well, she should know where the juice cartons are, she can hide the syringe in the packet and throw it away without being noticed and just like you, she has gloves on her hands.
Orianne looks at her gloves and squeezes them, but says nothing. Mathieu, the bus driver, watches her for a few moments before Deshya continues to speak.
- Even though I didn't pay attention for a few moments and anyone could have poisoned the juice cartons during that time, it was after they were dead, so it wouldn't make any sense.
- In short, Korone did it?!" asks Mathieu, surprised.
Deshya uncrosses her arms and puts her hands in the pockets of her sweater with a small smile on her face.
- Everything points to her as the person who committed the murders.
- I don't believe it…
Ginner is still sitting in the same place, listening to what the teenager is saying. He can't accept that she'd say such things, since he's sure she'd never hurt her adoptive parents, but he can't accept that she'd say such things, since he's sure she'd never hurt her adoptive parents, but he can't accept that she'd say such things. Before he can even raise his voice, Deshya frowns and says this:
- That's what they'd have us believe, anyway!
She shouts it, which surprises Korone, the little girl next to her. It's not what's said, but how she says it. Ginner keeps his head raised towards her, while Orianne squints.
- What do you mean...?" she asks, surprised.
Deshya smiles, closing her eyes.
- There's every reason to believe that Korone is the one who committed her parents' murder, since with this method, no one else could have pierced the juice cartons with the syringe without making a mistake and going unnoticed. In short, Korone seems to be the only suspect in this case... but there's something else we can't forget.
- Something else, you say?
Deshya nods and her fox tail swings gently behind her back. Korone notices and silently admires her, while Deshya takes a hand out of her sweater pocket.
- Korone can be the only one who committed the crime…
Deshya smiles broadly.
- If this is really how the murder was committed.
- ?!
- What do you mean by that, little one?!
- Do you mean…
Deshya nods.
- The murder was committed in a different way.
Mathieu looks at Orianne before turning his attention to Deshya, even more surprised than before.
- How were Roger and Maurine killed, then...?" he asks.
Deshya rests her back against the yellow metal bar of the bus, looking at the driver without smiling. She's about to speak when she jumps up, a frightened expression on her face. The passengers stare at her, not understanding her reaction, while Sammy asks her if she's all right. Annie herself tilts her head towards her, wondering. Deshya stammers an apology and turns back to Korone.
- Hoy!
- Hmmm?
The long, white-haired girl questioned her with her eyes, stroking her fox tail. Deshya's right eye spasms faintly as she looks at her with some anger, albeit not very intense.
- Don't touch my fox tail like that!" she whispers to her.
- She's so soft, hihi!
Korone rubs her face against the tail and Deshya is about to order her to stop immediately when the bus driver starts talking.
- Tell us how they were killed!
Deshya blinks and turns her attention back to the people in front of her before sighing: she's going to have to try not to think about the little one playing with her fox tail, right behind her. For Korone, it's a fake, so there's no problem, but for Deshya, it's a completely different story... She's quite sensitive and although it can be comfortable, she's not comfortable when it's in public, either for herself or the person touching her fox tail.
- Everything made it look like the murder was committed when they drank their drinks and died a few moments later, but talking to Korone, I realized that something wasn't right," Deshya continues
- By talking to me?
Deshya nods.
- Maurine finished her drink a few seconds before she died, but Roger had already finished it. I thought it was pretty strange, but given all the leads, I figured he was just tougher than his wife, but…
- It sounds a bit far-fetched," admits Sammy.
Both hands in his trouser pockets, he speaks in turn.
- It's clear that they died from cyanide in their mouths, but after a bit more research, we found the real cause of death. Eh, it's almost silly, honestly," admits Sammy.
- Silly...?
The man nods, but lets Deshya do the talking. The teenager takes something out of her pocket and shows it to everyone. Orianne, the driver and Korone immediately recognize the object, while Ginner has trouble seeing that far, but notices that it has a rectangular shape... The little girl smiles.
- So I was right... If I'm not dead, it's thanks to you, eh?
She looks down at her hands, smiling. She can't believe she almost died, just like her parents whom she loves so much. She wants to laugh as much as cry, but she remains silent. Deshya, with one hand in her pocket and the other holding the object, flashes a victorious smile: for the expression the culprit has just shown proves her deduction right. So, without hesitation, she says:
- The key to this murder is that book, the one Maurine was reading. And of course…
She reaches out with her other hand, now raising another book.
- The one her husband Roger also read.
She holds them with her bare hands, since they've already been analyzed and, except for the couple's fingerprints, none have been found: so even if she puts her own on them, it makes absolutely no difference. Orianne frowns.
- What do their books have to do with murder?!" she asks, screaming.
Ginner is as astonished as the driver, although their expressions are different. Deshya hands the books to his father, who takes them with gloved hands, while Deshya tucks his hands into the pockets of his sweater. Thomas, the man behind the couple along the way, gets up from his seat.
- Are you kidding us?! You are mocking us right—
- Not at all.
- !!
He knocks on the file in front of him and grits his teeth.
- So why do these books have anything to do with murder?!
Deshya doesn't respond directly, which angers Thomas even more. He grips the seat tightly and his anger is more intense, wrinkling his face even more.
- Explain!! We're not going to stay here for years!
- Eh.
Deshya smiles and scratches the back of her head.
- I was so happy to have understood everything that I wanted to take my time, but it's true that it would be better if I explained without beating around the bush." she says.
Sammy gives her an amused smile, seeing as he understands her: sometimes he himself beats around the bush when offering his deductions to several people at once. Deshya clears her throat and turns her face to a certain person.
- The murder was indeed committed with cyanide, but contrary to what we initially thought, the drinks were just a diversion," explains Deshya.
- What do you mean?" asks Orianne, noticing that the teenager's gaze is fixed on her.
- It's simple. In the few minutes I was distracted after the murder, the real culprit approached the bodies using the excuse of comforting Korone or simply seeing the state of the corpses, for whatever reason. After quickly checking where the juice cartons were in the couple's bags, the culprit simply used the syringe they'd kept on them and inserted some cyanide into the drinks, making us believe that's how they were killed... when it's just a diversion to lead us down the wrong path.
The passengers start looking at each other, wondering if this is really what happened. Orianne clenches her fists in annoyance, but refrains from shouting for the moment.
- What if you'd turned around and seen him? What if someone had noticed?!" she asks.
Deshya shrugs.
- Maybe it was a bet the culprit made themself?
- Huh?
- If I'd been smarter and stayed close to the bodies, maybe they had another plan. Perhaps they had intended to approach the bodies and ask if all was well, not thinking that someone like me would be on the bus.
Deshya continued to stare in Orianne's direction, which irritated her even more.
- No fingerprints were found on the syringe, and it was discarded along with Korone's potato chip packet, which leaves only two options: either the culprit placed it there afterwards, or…
- He hid the syringe in the packet of potato chips without Korone noticing," says Annie.
Deshya nods at the woman's words without moving her body.
- I wasn't paying attention, I don't know..." admits the little girl, no longer rubbing the teenager's fox tail.
- Well, it doesn't matter," admits Deshya. Because I already know who did it.
She shows her teeth and Orianne stands up, furious. She couldn't stand being watched any longer, she yelled at the girl in the fox sweater.
- Why would it be me, huh?!! Just because I wear gloves?!!! Is that it?!!! Because I was next to Roger and Maurine, because I was with Korone the whole time, it would be me?!!! What proof do you have ?!!!
Deshya watches her for a few moments before she stops smiling. She looks down and sighs.
- Orianne.
- What?!
- When I heard the word 'return' from one of the idiots at the back, I understood.
Deshya smiles and opens her eyes, shaking her head and flashing her fiery gaze. Pulling a hand out of her sweater, she points to the person guilty of this affair. With a brilliant, victorious smile, she doesn't hesitate to show everyone who killed Korone's adoptive parents.
- I figured out how you killed him!!!
Orianne falls back on the back of her seat, surprised and frightened. Everyone turns to her—
- You, the driver of this bus, Mathieu!!!
— but she's not the one being pointed at. Nor is she the one Deshya was staring at, but the man sitting next to her. He opens his eyes wide, dumbstruck but speechless. Orianne stares at him in amazement, unable to believe what she has just heard. The passengers make astonished noises, some of them fidgeting, while Korone smiles.
- So that's what I thought..." she thought, looking at Mathieu.
Deshya starts walking slowly from left to right, unable to stay still.
- Honestly, right from the start, I had my doubts about him, but unfortunately, there's no way he could have poisoned the drinks while driving the bus, so I figured I was on the wrong track... but it looks like my instincts didn't fail me," she admits.
- Why should you have any doubts about him?!" shouts Thomas from his seat.
- T-That’s true! I didn't do it! It wasn't me!!!" yells Mathieu.
Deshya smiles.
- When I learned that he wanted to pick up the pencil and newspaper a little before the bus stop, I thought something was wrong. Besides, why ask Orianne to pick them up when Korone could just as easily return them when the bus is at the stop? If it's simply because she's afraid of being pushed around by passengers, that's a completely ridiculous excuse in my book.
- When I asked him why I couldn't return them myself, he said he didn't want to bother me and that Madame Orianne had agreed," says Korone.
Deshya turns her gaze to her, still smiling. The bus driver shakes his head.
- S-Simply because of that, you're going to say it's my fault?!
- No.
Deshya replies curtly, looking at him angrily.
- When you ran out to see what was going on, I wondered about it too. I understand wanting to learn more, but you're the driver: asking from your cab is much simpler. You ran to get close to them and fabricate your alibi by poisoning the drinks, didn't you?
Deshya suddenly stops and squints.
- Your plan had been in your head for some time, but you didn't expect someone like me to be on that bus, did you?!
- Y-You're just talking nonsense! It doesn't mean a thing!!!" shouts Mathieu, held back by Orianne who prevents him from charging at the teenager.
Gatito looks at his daughter with folded arms, not knowing whether to be proud of her or worried. He understands why she thinks this and analyzes people on their behavior, but he's afraid that one day, this will become a weakness in her... Because relying on other people's reactions and emotions can be the worst mistake a detective can make. Sammy feels the same way.
- You've been planning this for a while, getting Orianne to give you back your stuff a little before two or three weeks, just to make it seem like a normal thing for all of you to do. Now that it's become almost a habit, you've decided to kill them off by creating an alibi with the holes in the bags.
- T-That’s dumb!
This time, it's the woman next to him, Orianne, who screams.
- What if you'd stayed close to the bodies the whole time?! How would he have done it?!" she asks, anger crossing her face.
- No idea.
- What?!!
Deshya crosses her arms.
- Maybe he had another plan, or maybe he'd hoped the police wouldn't figure it out in time: either way, I don't know what he was planning to do if I hadn't made the mistake of diverting my attention for a few minutes. In a way, it was good for him, I suppose.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Mathieu grits his teeth and frowns, his right eye twitching with emotion. His heart is beating so fast and so hard that Orianne can almost hear it pounding in his chest. A man in the passengers moves his body forward a little to be seen by Deshya before asking the following question:
- And how did he manage to kill them? He was in the cabin the whole time!
Sammy turns his gaze to him before slowly lowering his head. He'd love to explain what really happened, especially as the police now have enough evidence to arrest Mathieu Desudo, the driver of the 38 bus, but he has to accept that Deshya figured it out before he did. In fact, he wonders whether he would have been able to figure out the trick... In the murder of Miro Blushark, he'd been fooled too, although he's sure he could have figured it out with a little time. Nevertheless, Deshya had been the quickest and if it hadn't been for her, they wouldn't have had proof of the wire Koinu had retrieved. He can't deny it: this teenager has a certain talent for research and detective work. Despite all this, Sammy isn't sure she can become one at such a young age, or with the mentality she possesses...
- Three elements.
She raises her index finger.
- One, the books Roger and Maurine have read.
Then she raises her middle finger.
- Two, their habits Mathieu knew.
And finally, the thumb is one who raises itself.
- Third, crossword puzzles.
- Whaaat?!
The passengers didn't understand the connection between the three, even though Korone had already guessed everything. When Deshya asked her if she'd put on her gloves after Orianne returned the pencil and newspaper, she'd guessed Mathieu's plan. A clever one. Deshya looks at Mathieu and sees that his face is ruled by fear, which amuses her: she wants to see him fall to his knees, his head drooping and his gaze blank as he realizes he can't escape prison. She wants to understand why he killed Roger and Maurine, as well as why he tried—
- Not only did you kill Maurine and Roger, but you tried to take Korone's life at the same time !
She points a finger at him again, her eyes filled with rage. Mathieu flinches and Orianne hits the back of the seat behind her.
- How dare you say that!!!" she screams.
Deshya smiles at her, even though no trace of amusement can be found on her face.
- Cyanide is highly toxic, and it doesn't take much to kill a person. Simply putting a little on a lollipop, even a milligram, can kill a man! With that in mind, there's no need to put it in a drink and hope the victim drinks it all, or even put it in food.
Deshya does a head gesture and Sammy agrees. He hands something to Deshya, who shows it to everyone. In one plastic bag... is the newspaper and in another, which she holds in the same hand, the pencil offered by the driver.
- Korone and Orianne. Both have gloves on their hands, and that's important in this case. In fact, they're not the only ones…
Deshya makes an elegant gesture with her head to put her bangs back on properly, staring into Mathieu's eyes.
- It's just a detail that popped into my head, given that a couple had just died on the bus, but you had them too, Mr. Driver.
- ?!!
- Is this true?!
- Do bus drivers need gloves...?
- It's not compulsory, stupid!
- Is she telling the truth...?
A background noise builds up in the bus and Gatito asks them to calm down, but Deshya doesn't wait for the silence to return before continuing to talk.
- When you ran to me after the man's painful scream, you had your gloves on. In fact, I bet you had them on when I got on that bus. I don't know where you hid them, but there's a very specific reason you put them on your hands.
Deshya clutches the two plastic bags in her hands.
- Because you didn't want a trace of cyanide on your hands when you gave Korone the pencil and newspaper, did you?!
- !!!
- Oh, so...?
- Does she mean that...?
Some of the passengers now understand how the murder was committed, and Deshya nods with a smile.
- Exactly. When Korone told me about her parents' habit of drinking juice on the way from your bus, her habit of eating potato chips or even their habit of reading a book after doing a crossword puzzle, I understood. After analyzing this diary and the pencil, traces of cyanide were found on it. You don't even have the excuse that it was the hands of the couple and the little girl that were already poisoned before, since it's in the drink that the cyanide should be.
Deshya shrugs, while Orianne watches the man next to her with fright. His head is bowed, teeth gritted and pupils contracted. Ginner has his eyes closed, listening to the story from his seat, his heart beating in sadness. Deshya gently shakes the two plastic bags in her hands.
- After putting cyanide on the pencil and a few pages of the newspaper, you gave them to Korone, who took them to her parents. Since you knew that they liked to do this, and that all three of them were touching the newspaper and the pencil, you were sure you'd done the right thing.
- I see! I see! All three have cyanide on their hands next!
Deshya nods as a woman shouts these words.
- I don't know if it's a coincidence or because Orianne wears gloves, but you decided to commit murder today, because when she came to return the goods, she'd only have cyanide on her gloves, not her hands. No one would lick her gloves, and I suppose you were confident that she wouldn't poison herself. Maybe it is out of affection for her, or maybe it's because if she were to die too, your plan would quickly be discovered and you wouldn't be able to get out of it.
- T-That’s false!" shouts Mathieu.
- In any case, you retrieved the newspaper and pencil. Then you put them in the small space in your cabin, hiding them from the police without looking suspicious. Of course, you kept your gloves on right up to the moment of the murder, since that way your fingerprints wouldn't be on the syringe when you used it.
- I-It's…
- You probably even grabbed the pencil by the tip and newspaper it in a certain place so there's no trace, so you can rest easy if your gloves are found. What's more, there'd be no trace of it anywhere, like the syringe or the steering wheel, so that's all there is to it," cuts in Deshya.
Mathieu is trembling and all attention is focused on him. He doesn't even try to defend himself, doesn't offer the slightest resistance. Shuddering like defenseless prey in the face of a bloodthirsty predator, his gaze doesn't dare challenge Deshya's burning one.
- But how were they poisoned, then?" asks Thomas.
Sammy turns his gaze to him and Thomas rubs his cheek, looking at the roof of the bus.
- After all, even if it's on their hands, they shouldn't die..." he says.
- It's quite simple. As I said, the key to this case is actually the books read by the victims.
Deshya crosses her arms.
- Because Mathieu knows their habits, in one way or another, he knew very well that they'd get their books out by the end of the trip, that’s probably even why he picked up the pencil and paper a few minutes early," she explains.
- That doesn't really answer my question..." he says, staring at Deshya.
- So ask yourself this: how would you hold a pencil to write?
- How did...?
Even if he doesn't understand the link between this gesture and the crime, he does it anyway, observing his hand.
- With my forefinger, middle finger and thumb, I'll say... ?
Deshya nods and bares her teeth.
- And when someone reads a book, sometimes they go...?
- ... Ah!
Thomas blinks and finally shakes his head.
- Y-You can't say…
Deshya turns her face towards Mathieu, staring at him intently, as if trying to crush him with her lonely gaze.
- Korone admitted it to me.
The little girl crosses her arms in turn, unable to believe that such a reflex would kill her parents. She doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
- They lick their thumbs to pass the pages.
- I-It can’t be?!
- I was right, hihi!
- Do you think she's right...?
- Whaaat?!
The background noise caused by the passengers returns, but even louder. Orianne shakes in her seat, looking at Mathieu with a gaping mouth.
- I-It's true that they always... always do this, when they pass... pages..." she said with difficulty.
Mathieu grits his teeth before raising his head, finally daring to challenge the teenager's gaze.
- So you mean they poisoned themselves while reading, when they licked their thumb?!
Deshya nods.
- That's what makes the most sense. The reason Korone is still alive…
The little girl rises from her seat and cuts Deshya off, showing both her hands.
- When I finished doing the crossword with mama and papa, I put on gloves because I was cold. I'm sure mister Mathieu wanted me to die too when I ate my chips, but bad luck for him, the bad not good poison he put on me is on my hands, not my gloves!
She giggles before sitting back down on the seat, disappearing from everyone's view. Mathieu strikes the metal bar in front of him, almost destroying the 'STOP' button.
- It's not me!!! These are just theories you come up with from your overactive imagination!!!!
- Hmmm, is that so? So, what are the cyanide traces on the newspaper and pencil for?" asks Deshya, squinting.
- I don't know, but it's not me!!! It's not me!!!!
- Why did you take off your gloves?
- I always wear them when I drive, that's all!!!!
- And if we check them, there will be no trace of cyanide?
He takes them out of his pocket and throws them at them, now smiling like a sick man.
- Check it out if you like, check it out, go for it!!!! Ahah!!!
He rises from his seat and points at Deshya, seeking to reverse the roles. Gatito rises from his seat, ready to pounce on the suspect at the slightest strange gesture.
- Y-You have no evidence against me!!! I didn't do anything !!!! This is all your imagination !!!
He gives a good laugh before flashing an enraged look at the teenager.
- I never poisoned their strawberry drinks!!! I've never touched the pencil or newspaper!!! I've never done anything like this !!!!!
- Ah?
Deshya bends a finger under her lower lip, looking at Mathieu with surprise.
- I'm astonished.
- Ahahah, you see! You see, she didn't—
- When did I mention that the drinks were strawberry?
- —......
Mathieu remains motionless, as if frozen in time. Sammy picks up the gloves the man has thrown away, his hands protected, and puts them in a plastic bag that Annie takes. Deshya bobs her head from side to side, waiting for a response from the driver, but the silence doesn't stop. As the atmosphere becomes increasingly unbearable for Orianne, she finally explodes.
- Answer something, Mathieu!!!
- ... I-It's just that they're... used to... having strawberry drinks…
Korone rises from her seat again and smiles at the driver.
- But, but, but, mister Mathieu the driveeeeeeer.
She tilts her head, giggling.
- Papa and mama prefer banana flavor, you know!
- I-I—
- Plus, you said it with such confidence. Did you look in our bags? Bad driver!
- …
- I guess that's when you knew where to pierce mom and dad's bags with the syringe!!! Ooooh, soooooo clever, hihi! But Deshya's smarter than you, I guess!
Korone hopped up on her chair and Deshya looked at her with a tired smile.
- Oi, you're overdoing it…
Gatito takes a step forward and frowns.
- So, what do you have to say in your defense, Mathieu Desudo?
The man retreats, but falls on his buttocks when he persecutes one of the seats. Gatito approaches him, like a predator coming to finish off its prey once and for all. The man starts to cry and shakes his head.
- P-Please, d-don’... I didn't mean to... P-Please, I have to... I have to...!!!!
Gatito forces him to his feet and handcuffs him without the slightest sign of hesitation.
- You can explain all this back at the station.
- P-Please!!! N-No, l-listen to me!!!
Gatito forces him forward and tells Sammy to follow. He nods and Korone jumps into Deshya's arms without warning, which takes her by surprise and her back hits the metal bar of the bus.
- Hihi, you're tooooo smart, Deshyaaaa!
- A-Ah, Korone!
- Well done.
The teenager's hair is stroked violently and she pulls her hood up tightly as she watches her father exit the bus. She smiles and pats the little girl's back with her long white hair. Seeing this unnatural color, Deshya tilts her head.
- I wanted to ask you a question, Korone.
The little girl continues to embrace the teenager and looks up.
- What is it?
- Why is your hair as white as snow?
Korone stares wide-eyed at Deshya, no answer coming from her already open mouth. Their eyes meet, but there is complete silence between them. As the passengers exit the bus in turn, some congratulating Deshya and others grumbling about how long it's taken, Gatito is on his way to the police car. Mathieu struggles, but Annie and Deshya's father make sure he can't get away.
escape.
- FOR PITY'S SAKE!!! I DON'T WANT TO!!! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME!!!
- Raaah, stop shouting!!!" yells Gatito.
- I WAS FORCED!!! FORCED!!!
- Forced...?
Gatito squints and Mathieu turns around, struggling in all directions.
- IF I DON'T KILL THIS LITTLE GIRL, THEN... THEN!!!
Gatito holds him back, preventing him from escaping.
- Then what...?!
The policeman asks this question with a touch of boredom and anger, but unfortunately, no answer is forthcoming.
Because just as he's asking his question, a bullet goes through Mathieu's skull.
No sound. The gun that was fired didn't make a sound. Gatito opens his eyes wide as he sees the culprit fall to the ground, lifeless, and forces Annie to lie down on the floor.
- TAKE COVER!!!!
He screams at the top of his voice and hides behind the bus with Annie, while most of the passengers who have just exited the vehicle freeze, not understanding what has just happened. Gatito opens his mouth wide.
- I SAID TAKE COVER !!!!
And then panic sets in. Men and women are either on the ground or running around, while Deshya and Korone look out, not knowing what has just happened.
- TAKE COVER, DESHYA!!!!
She opened her eyes wide and Korone pushed her violently, falling with her…
And a bullet misses them by a centimeter, passing through strands of Korone's hair.
They fall to the floor of the bus, and Gatito looks eagle eyed over the roofs of the surrounding houses, but sees nothing.
- Tsk.
Noticing that he had just missed the little girl's head, the man clicked his tongue and stood up before reloading his sniper. Realizing that he won't be able to kill this little girl, he throws away the earpiece that allowed him to listen to the words of 'Mathieu Desudo' and crushes it with his foot before taking out a small bottle from the inside pocket of his jacket. He drips the liquid from the bottle and throws it away before lighting a match with a sharp strike, throwing it on the kerosene. The remains of the transmitter burn away as the man puts the sniper behind his back and runs to the roof where he had landed. He climbs down the ladder and, when he lands on solid ground, pulls out a fairly new telephone and dials a number. He puts it next to his ear and continues running between the houses, careful not to be seen by anyone. With a large hat on his head and a dark jacket over his body, as well as square glasses in front of his eyes, it would be difficult to know what he looks like without getting very close: and even then, his physique is well hidden behind his many clothes. A few seconds later, the phone finally picks up.
- Hello? Yes, it's me. Mathieu managed to kill her parents, but our target is still alive," said the man, stopping in front of an alley.
- How is this possible?! Did he get caught?
- It's just bad luck that Korone wore gloves today because of her illness.
- I don't believe it, what is this shit?!
- He was stopped by the police and I had to shoot him in the head, but I missed the bullet into the girl’s head.
- WHAT?!!! Why did you shoot her?!!!! I already told you—
- I know, I know. I arrived late and got carried away. Besides, I don't see why we're obliged not to act ourselves…
The man on the other side of the line answers nothing. The one with the sniper sighs and moves slowly down the alley, having made sure no one is there.
- In any case, we'll have to find someone else to eliminate this little one. I'll go back to HQ and we'll see what we can do.
Noticing that the person on the other side of the line is still not answering, the man gets angry.
- Oi, can you hear me?!
- He can't hear you, sorry.
The man stops and squints at the person approaching him. With his head slightly lowered and a long, torn jacket over his body, he approaches with a confident stride. The man slowly lowers the phone.
- What do you mean?
The other man stops and raises his head, showing his gentle glance, yet one who makes the sniper take a step back. Just as he's about to touch the weapon in his back, a noise rings out in the phone.
- I'm done here. I'll leave you to deal with him.
The sniper-guy frowns, but this brief moment of concentration is all the other man needs. Running at full speed towards the man in front of him, he pulls a pocketknife from his pocket while staring at his target. The man throws down his phone and aims the sniper at him, but his shot is easily dodged and the man leaps over the other. With a sharp, precise jab, he slices through his target's carotid artery, landing on the ground before snatching the phone out of the air. Without even checking that the man is dead, he places the phone next to his ear.
- Yooo, ‘Bura’ talkiiiiiing!
- It's me, ‘Titi’.
- Hihi, helloooooo!
- Be serious.
- We're just being serious these days…
The man takes a step forward, avoiding the sniper's body, which falls to the ground, his eyes blank and his breathing non-existent. His life has been taken in one swift stroke, with a simple slice from a worn penknife. The man begins to walk quietly down the alley, hiding his head with a... rather special hood.
- Mission accomplished, then?" he asks.
- I think they've all been eliminated. Let's not tell anyone.
- Even to her, right...?
- Exactly. With the exception of you-know-who, we're probably the only two in—
- I know, I know. Lips sealed, if I snitch, it’s a knife in my ass. I know, I know.
He plays with the phone and smiles.
- Well, see you soon!
- Don't do anything stupid.
- I return the compliment.
He cuts off the call and violently throws the phone against the wall before crushing it with his right foot, yet keeping a fairly calm look on his face. He looks left, then right, before stepping out of the alleyway as he hops along. He then starts to run, getting as far away as possible from the corpse he's left behind. Careful that his hood doesn't fall from his head, he jumps over a fence and continues his run with a smile, paying no attention to the few stares he receives. In any case, he couldn't care less: even if someone claims to have seen him running away from the scene of the crime, he knows full well he'll never be caught.
Then the man runs off smiling, having accomplished his mission without the slightest difficulty.
That man in the eagle hood.