The Locket and the Culprit
5.
After the conversation, I went straight to the room where Sugo was. As I reached for the door and opened it, Inside he was sitting there, who seemed lost in thought, perhaps still processing the load of notes he had taken.
He glanced at me as I approached, an unspoken question in his eyes.
"We need to talk to the oldest sister," I said as I continued,
"Airi mentioned something."
He nodded. "Let's go."
We made our way through the house, the smell, that nostalgic scent, filled the air again. I couldn't place it, but it was growing stronger each time I passed through. Past the old woman who had guided me before.
"Excuse me," Sugo called out to the old woman. She turned to us with a warm smile.
"Yes, detective?"
"We'd like to speak to the oldest sister. Could you tell us where she might be?" Sugo asked, as if he already knew something I didn't.
The old woman sighed softly. "Ah, if you are referring to Mayumi, she's not home at the moment. She went on a trip this morning. It'll be a while before she returns."
"Thank you," Sugo replied, turning back towards the door. "We'll come back later."
She left this morning? I guess it's going to take a while before I get my pay. As we left a thunderstorm had approached and we had to run, we part ways and by the time I had reach home I was soaked.
2.
Days had flown by since our last visit, we had agreed to visit on sunday, which is the day Mayumi was supposed to return, I still hadn't gotten my pay, he was smart, he knew if he had paid me, I wouldn't have agreed to go today. It was 12:30PM, I wore a grey jacket and a woolen track pant which had a thick layer as it was 25th of December, Christmas day, the temperature in Tokyo was hitting 13 degree Celcius. It was snowing this time, when I opened the door to the outside, for a moment I felt like going back as it was too cold but remembered that six thoulsand yen was on the line.
After walking in the cold for quite a while, I finally reached my destination. I reached for the doorbell and pressed it, waiting for a response. Ten seconds had gone by and there was no response, as I pressed on it again, the door opened, and the sound of the doorbell rang was loud and clear from the outside. A figure appeared in the doorway, and the figure greeting me was Haruka, as I entered the house the nostalgic scent was back, she guided me into the room where previously the locket was stolen, inside was Sugo sitting on the cushions drinking green tea, where he had his notepad and pen intact, he was questioning a woman... perhaps it was Mayumi? Sugo noticed my presence and glanced at me with a smile.
Now, what is this guy up to? I sat besides him on a cushion he said to Mayumi,
"So, that means you were present during the time the locket was stolen."
Strange, didn't Airi said that she didn't saw her? It might be possible if,
"Did you see Airi during the day?" I interupped Sugo's questioning.
"No, I didn't go to her room. I thought it was better to let her rest." She replied.
"Did you happen to notice anyone else that day?" I asked.
"Yes. My cousin was also here. He's just a little boy, though," she replied, smiling slightly.
"He was playing around the house, as usual."
Airi, told me the same thing, that means they both aren't lying about the cousin being present. Airi hadn't seen her own sister, but the boy did? 'He was playing around the house, as usual' which left too much room for things to go wrong.
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