5
The revolving lights of the ambulance disappeared into the night as it carried
Lee away. Gazing at the bright glow spilling over the snowy field, Echika blew
out a wisp from her electronic cigarette. The temperature had dropped even
further, and by now, the air wasn’t so much cold as it was painful.
Based on the diagnosis AI the rescue team brought, Lee had gone unconscious
when her hypothermia symptoms worsened, and she couldn’t keep driving. She
apparently hit her head hard when she fell, and there was chance of a
contusion. Thankfully, her condition wasn’t life-threatening, but since she was
infected, they couldn’t use her Your Forma to treat it.
Echika could only hope she’d recover somehow. But more importantly, she’d
found a lead.
“There might be a common denominator between the index cases. They were
both in a tour of Rig City,” Echika said, white vapor streaming out of her lips.
“Ogier in Paris was a science student, but he was interested in technology, so it
didn’t come as a surprise. But Lee’s a ballerina-in-training, so I doubt this is a
coincidence.”
“Yes,” Harold replied dispassionately. “I contacted the Washington branch to
check if the index case there went to a tour of Rig City, too.”
He’d been down since earlier and was leaning against the jeep in a depressed
manner. The coat and scarf in his arms were wet with Lee’s blood. Apparently,
this Amicus saw human injury as more important than the investigation. The
very image of Echikal behavior. It pissed her off.
Anyway…
“How did you know all that just by looking at her?” Echika asked him.
Harold turned a dejected gaze toward her and answered:
“Once, I was guided by a skilled detective. That’s it.”
If a bit of guidance really would be enough to make one develop such keen
observation skills, all the Amicus in the world would be geniuses by now. Totoki
had called Harold “special,” though, likely because of this.
“You were like a modern Sherlock Holmes.”
“‘You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear,’”
Harold quoted
without so much as a smile and moved away from the jeep. “Do you like
reading, Investigator Hieda?”
“I’ve read enough to mistake you for R. Daneel when we first met.”
“Asimov, eh? Well, unlike R. Daneel, I don’t hail from Spacetown.”
“I see you still want to chat with me.” She couldn’t stop herself from saying
that. “I thought what happened might have muddied the waters and made you
realize we can’t get along. But being estranged would be better for both of us.
You’ll understand that eventually.”
She’d thought this would convince Harold, but he simply sighed at her. She
didn’t get it. Noticing that she’d turned off her electronic cigarette, he opened
the door of the jeep for her. His attempts at gentlemanly politeness ticked her
off. Hadn’t he learned his lesson yet?
“Aide Lucraft, I told you that acting like this is unnecessary—”
“Why do you try to present yourself as cold and unfeeling?”
His gaze practically stabbed into her.
“What are you talking about?” Echika glared back at him.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Harold insisted, his face expressionless.
“You were desperate to jack into Lee for some reason, but though you may not
have noticed, you looked like you were holding back tears of remorse. Why are
you trying so hard to bury your emotions?”
“Did the cold screw up your visual system?” Echika spat over her shoulder as
she turned to the jeep. “Let’s go back to Bigga’s place. I’ll drive.”
“No. I can’t let you be behind the wheel right now.”
What’s his problem?!
This feeling that he could read right into her heart annoyed her to no end.
What did he know?
“Listen to me. I don’t feel anything about this. You’re reading this all wrong, understood?”
Ignoring Harold’s attempts at kindness, she forced her body into the driver’s
seat. He seemed intent on saying something but, in the end, relented and took
the passenger seat. Now that they were both in the car, the inside felt even
more frigid than the outside.
I’m not trying to pass myself off as cold. I’m just doing my job.
And I don’t want this stupid machine creeping into my heart.
[ If you liked the chapter and want to read more, feel free to join my PATREON page and find more chapters]
READ MORE CHAPTERS ON MY PATREON:
.png)
