Wilted Flower ~ Chuuya x Reader

Chapter 18

Mushitaro POV:
"—So, where did the perpetrator get the envelope and the manuscript? The answer's simple. He killed and stole it..." Ranpo explains.

"From the author himself," L/n finishes, causing me to tense up even more than before, sweat dripping down my face.

"The evidence destroyer and the murderer are the same person? Don't you think that's a stretch? The manuscript could have been obtained by someone other than the murderer," I explain, trying to steer their investigation towards a different path.

"I have evidence," Ranpo says as he pulls out a folded up piece of paper. "This manuscript."

'Why does he have the manuscript?'

"Look like you recognize it, huh? It was folded up like this and hidden away, at the gift shop on the second floor of the observation deck. I checked inside the envelope as soon as I got it. And for some reason, just the last page was a photocopy. Was it so they could keep the original? No, in that case, they would have copied all the pages. That's when I realized... Maybe they printed it out in a hurry, right before it was handed off. So I checked a stationery shop nearby. And just as I expected, it was the same paper. In other words, the attacker was in a hurry to swap out the original with the copy. Why? If the content was an issue, they could have just thrown out that page. They didn't do that because there was a specific reason for handing over all the pages. If that's the case, the last page of the manuscript wouldn't have been thrown out. But they couldn't risk being searched, so they hid it somewhere," Ranpo explains.

"And so you found the hidden manuscript?" I ask.

"As soon as I found it, I became certain that the same person was behind both incidents. By the way... What's your name?" Ranpo says, later asking for my name.

"Oguri Mushitaro," I answered skeptically.

"Thanks. Now I have all the information I need. You're the one behind both of the incidents, Oguri Mushitaro-kun," Ranpo says, the driver immediately stopping the car right after.

Y/n POV:
"Well, well," Ranpo says as the driver turns and points a gun at his head, neither of us reacting much to the sudden turn of events.

"There are three types of cargo that I hate: cargo that talks too much, cargo that brings trouble, and cargo that doesn't pay. Anything to say for yourself?" the driver says.

"You know, referring to us as 'cargo' is very dehumanizing," I say.

"I've got nothing to say. He does, though," Ranpo says, pointing towards Mushitaro.

"Put the gun away, getaway driver. Don't give the detectives any excuses. There is no direct evidence that will lead to our impeachment. They never stood a chance to begin with. Unless you threaten them in plain sight, that is," Mushitaro explains.

"They have no use for excuses when they've got a gun pointed at their heads," the driver explains.

"Well, technically, you're pointing it at him, not me," I say.

"Well, then I can point it at you after I'm done with him. How about that?" the driver says.

"I mean, that would make your previous statement make more sense. But you pointing a gun at either of us won't do anything for you," I explain, shrugging off his lowly threat.

"Guns are fascinating, aren't they? For some reason, the moment you have one, you turn into an idiot. Sorry, but this situation was what I was going for all along," Ranpo says as a bunch of police officers surround the car.

One of the policemen shouts, "Drop the gun!"

"Ranpo-kun! Y/n-chan!" I hear Poe shouting while he holds his phone to his ear, waving his arm at us.