𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐒

file 015 | secrets unveiled

episode 129 — the girl from the black organization and the university professor murder case

A few days passed since the death of Hirota Masami and Suzume was just trudging along as the days went by. She hadn't known the woman that well, but this was the first time she had someone die in her arms and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

She tuned out the lessons taught by the teachers and distanced herself from anyone who tried to talk to her, including Ran and Sonoko. She just focused on the case in London she was consulting on and sending over her theories and deductions. The teachers didn't speak up about this because they knew she liked to work on cases when she understood the lessons easily.

Today was different from her schedule for the last couple of days. She was picking up the Detective Boys, which consisted of the three kids she babysat on occasion: Yoshida Ayumi, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, and Kojima Genta. She figured it might do her some good to be around the kids.

Thinking back to when she made the call to the police after Masami's death, they had ruled it as a suicide because it was only her fingerprints on her gun. She didn't argue against their reasoning for once and just left it at that, but did commission a grave for the woman in a private lot. When she finds Shiho, she wants her to have a place to grieve Masami's death.

"Suzume-san!" She heard Ayumi's excited yell and smiled at the three—wait, five—children who were waiting outside the school for her. She raised an eyebrow at the extra children.

"Hey, guys," Suzume said, crouching down to their height and looking over at the two new faces. "Never seen you two before."

"Ah, this is Haibara Ai-san," Mitsuhiko said, introducing the young girl with them. "She just transferred. Do you know her?"

Suzume blinked. "Know her?"

"She said she lives in Beika 2-22, which is near your home, right?" Ayumi asked.

Suzume hummed. There aren't any apartment buildings or the like near my home...and I don't remember anyone by the name of Haibara moving in recently. "It seems we just have never run into each other," she said as an excuse for not knowing the girl. "It's nice to meet you, Haibara-san."

The girl said nothing, only staring at Suzume.

"And this is Toshiya-kun!" Ayumi said, pointing at the boy with them. "He put in a request to help find his missing brother!"

"Oh?" Suzume raised an eyebrow and got to her feet. "Then what are we standing around for? Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Haibara just continued to stare at Suzume, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

~ — — — ~

They went to Toshiya's house which had a police car parked outside. The Detective Boys, sans Haibara, ran towards it in awe and started looking inside. Suzume just sighed as she looked towards the front door of the house.

"All right, if something comes up, please contact the station," one of the officers says to the woman.

"Thank you."

The officers walked through the gate and held it open for Suzume and the children. "Thanks," she said to them as she walked inside the gate.

"My, Toshiya," the boy's mother said. "Are they your friends?"

"Yes."

"Hello!" the other kids, sans Haibara, said.

"Come on in," Nakata-san said, letting them into the house. "Toshiya, would you like me to make you something?"