Tokyo Mystery Writers

Chapter 28 Want to see a doctor? Just get sick.

Jiang Liu Meili covered her burning cheeks with a piece of paper, revealing only her almond-shaped eyes, which were like lake water. Like Suzue hiding behind the curtain, she secretly looked at Maishiro Kyosuke in front of her.

Seeing that Maijo Kyosuke was earnestly massaging the injured part of her foot, Jiang Liumei's heart was filled with ripples.

It's unclear whether it was the liniment that worked or the gentle warmth of Maijo Kyosuke that comforted her.

Jiang Liumei felt her soles getting hot, which actually diluted the sorrowful story of "A Bellflower" quite a bit.

Looking at the last page of the manuscript in her hand, Jiang Liumei once again entered the story of "A Bellflower".

The night after I left "Shofukan", Suzue hanged herself with a paper door frame.

A police officer removed Suzue's body, and both Detective Hishida and I were taken aback.

Suzue was tightly clutching a bellflower in her hand!

Suzue didn't leave a suicide note. I only found 500 yen worth of pine needles in a withered bellflower pot on the balcony.

In this way, the case is considered closed.

The conclusion is that Suzue wanted the 500 yen, which is why she killed Fukumura.

Although many questions remain about the case, such as why Suzue killed Fukumura and what the bellflower represents.

How could Suzue, who is so weak, kill Fukumura, a grown man?

I went to Detective Hishida with my questions in mind.

According to Detective Hishida's speculation, Fukumura may have had suicidal thoughts, but he felt lonely dying alone, so he wanted Suzue to keep him company.

So he killed Ichimatsu and stole 500 yen, hoping to rescue Suzue.

Fukumura had caused a terrible disaster because of Suzue, so he had no choice but to die.

But thinking is one thing, doing is another, and Fukumura could only pray that Suzue would kill him.

"Why did Suzue do that? Was her death also because of Fukumura?"

"And what about the bellflowers they're holding? What are they for?"

I still can't quite accept that Suzue killed Fukumura and then committed suicide, so I asked Detective Hishida.

Detective Hishida speculated that Suzue was tormented by her conscience after killing Fukumura, and that she probably still had some feelings for him.

So after Suzue killed Fukumura, she made Fukumura hold a bellflower in his hand, and she also took one when she died.

Just so that the two people who died at different times wouldn't get lost on the road at dusk.

And that bellflower is the rope that connects the two of them.

As for why Ichikensho had a bellflower on his hand, it was obviously because when Ichikensho and Fukumura were fighting, Fukumura had a flower on his body, which Ichikensho accidentally grabbed.

The truth of the case came to light, but my expression was rather grim.

I don't know if Detective Hishida's guess was right or wrong, but in any case, a girl who didn't even know what happiness was withered away just like that bellflower.

I couldn't help but take off my glasses, pretending my eyes hurt to hide my tears.

Detective Hishida stared at me with a strange expression and asked if I had fallen in love with Suzue.

I vehemently denied it, and I didn't feel like I was lying, because I always believed that I was just projecting Sachiko onto Suzue.

It's just a pity that I failed last time, and it's the same this time.

After the case was closed, Detective Hishida was transferred.

Three months later, I suddenly received a letter from Detective Hishida.

Besides the simple greetings, the letter also contained what Detective Hishida really wanted to say to me:

I recently saw a play called "The Seventh Sister of the Eight Hundred Houses".

The story is very simple: a girl set fire to a house just to see the man she loved, and was ultimately burned at the stake!

Fukumura is a puppeteer who sometimes performs puppet shows for Suzue, so Suzue must know this story.

Well then, regarding Suzue, I'm sorry, I guessed wrong.

Let's take a closer look at the whole case.

Not far from the Linghui Tower, a man named Yiqiansong died in the ditch, clutching a bellflower in his hand.

This was not a coincidence, but something that happened because a man named Fukumura tried to save Suzue.

But after this incident, another man came to Suzue's room.

Although she spent very little time with the man, Suzue developed feelings for him.

Because that man was different from the other guests in both appearance and character.

The man didn't treat her roughly; he was gentle and considerate.

Although such gentleness and thoughtfulness are nothing special to ordinary people.

But for Suzue, it was undoubtedly the brightest light in her bleak life!

However, Suzue was a prostitute, and the man's profession was completely different from hers.

Suzue harbors feelings of love, but is unable to express them.

As they parted, Suzue called out to the man, presumably hoping he would come back.

Then came a month of anxious waiting.

Suzue couldn't see the man, and her longing burned even more intensely.

When she thought she might never see him again, she came up with the most childish idea.

Yu Qi needs a big fire to get to the temple, and Ling Hui needs another murder case to see him.

If you want to see a doctor, just get sick.

If you want to see that person, just commit a crime.

This is Suzue's real motive for killing Fukumura!

In short, Fukumura already had suicidal thoughts, and he did not resist when Suzue strangled him.

As for the bellflower, it's because when the pine tree died, she happened to be holding one in her hand.

In order to link Fukumura's death with Ichisenmatsu's death and get that man to come see her, Suzue had no choice but to slip a bellflower into Fukumura's hand as well.

In the play, Yu Qi was burned at the stake for arson.

Off-screen, Suzue was hung on a paper door because of her love for fire.

Because she committed the same crime as Yu Qi, she must receive the same punishment!

As for the last thing, why did Suzue throw the bellflower at that man?

Was it to pique his curiosity?

Although this method does indeed lure him over.

But in reality, that was just the best trick a naive young girl could come up with.

She just wanted to see the man's face.

I remember you were always insecure about your appearance, but on the day Suzue died, after you took off your glasses, you seemed like a completely different person.

It was a handsome face that could make any girl feel a slight attraction.

Add to that the gentleness and thoughtfulness that no other man possesses, and that's enough to make a girl in hell fall in love!

Suzue's thoughts are simple, yet also complex.

In a hopeless hell where the future is nowhere in sight, just to see you one more time, she chose the most naive way.

But for her, she's willing to bear any consequences just to see you.

She is like a bellflower, silent and unassuming, leaving her pure white beauty in your heart.

Then came the end of a short life that seemed to have only lasted a few days.

Tears streamed down Jiang Liu's beautiful cheeks, falling like crystals onto the manuscript paper.

Thus, the pile of manuscript paper was stained with the tears of two young girls, Jiang Liu Meili and Ming Shen Qingyin.

Miss Suzue, who lives in Kikyo Inn, can you feel someone shedding tears for you?