Xiaoqing's mother was killed, her eyes were gouged out, and her death was extremely cruel.
After hearing the news from the old housekeeper, Keiko Hatoyama felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her mind went blank. She staggered back two steps and leaned against the shoji door.
"Miss?!"
On the walkway outside the room, the old housekeeper saw this and quickly wanted to help her, but Hatoyama Keiko raised her hand to stop her.
"Have you told grandpa about this?" She took a deep breath to calm down and asked.
Hatoyama Keiko's eyes did not look at the old housekeeper, but looked down at the ground, with panic that was difficult to dispel.
Many times, suffering is like this. It will suddenly happen to someone at any time. This bad news is so sudden that even as smart as she is, she is at a loss at this time and her mind is in chaos.
"Not yet, the head of the family is still discussing important matters with the head of the Karasuma family..." the old housekeeper replied in a low voice.
"...Sister Keiko?"
At this moment, the little sister of the Karasuma family who had been watching the two of them in the room suddenly shouted.
It seemed that it was her shout that brought back Hatoyama Keiko's chaotic thoughts. She suddenly came back to her senses, turned her head and looked at the worried-looking Karasuma, with a forced smile on her face.
"I'm sorry, Karasuma-chan, I have something to do and I have to go out for a while. You just stay in the room for now, okay?"
After saying that, Hatoyama Keiko didn't wait for Karasuma to reply to her, and left quickly along the corridor with the old housekeeper.
"Have everyone from the Metropolitan Police Department rushed over?" Keiko Hatoyama asked, having gradually recovered from the panic and trotting quickly along the aisle.
"Yes, I heard it was reported by a neighbor nearby."
"Where's Xiao Qing? Is he there?"
"Well... when I received the news, the people from the Metropolitan Police Department did not mention that there were relevant family members at the scene. I think Mr. Baihe has not returned home yet, and he doesn't know the news..."
The old housekeeper's answer was within Hatoyama Keiko's prediction.
At this point in time, although it is almost time for school to end, since he entered middle school, the boy has started to work in a nearby detective agency to support his family.
Therefore, the boy would not go home directly after school every day. Instead, he would go to the detective agency where he worked, and wait there until it got late before going back.
Now, maybe it's not too late...
"Let's go to the scene and let them collect Mrs. Shirakawa's body first."
Keiko Hatoyama said as her mind gradually calmed down.
Visual feedback can often have the greatest impact on people.
Keiko Hatoyama knew very well how much the boy valued his mother, and it was impossible to hide the death of this mother. The matter was a foregone conclusion. Keiko Hatoyama was thinking about how to deal with this matter. The shock caused by the boy was minimized.
At least, don't let the boy see the first scene of his mother being brutally murdered...
"Boom!"
Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps behind the two of them.
Hatoyama Keiko looked back, and it was the little Karasuma who she asked to wait for her in the room, and somehow he followed her.
"Sister Keiko, I want to help too!"
Facing her doubtful gaze, Karasuma ran to her side and mustered up the courage to say so.
[What a naive and innocent child...]
Even though I didn’t know anything clearly, I actually opened my mouth and said something like this...
Hatoyama Keiko looked at her helplessly. She wanted to stop him, but she also knew that since the child mustered up the courage to say such things, she probably couldn't persuade him to go back with just a few words.
What's more, she can't waste any more time here now.
Thinking of this, Hatoyama Keiko finally said nothing, acquiescing to Karasumaru's choice.
[I just hope you won’t be scared to tears in the future...]
So, the three of them left Hatoyama's house.
It was still snowing at that time, but fortunately the snow on the roadside had been cleared long ago, so it did not hinder the three people's progress.
The old housekeeper held a large umbrella and followed closely behind the two young girls.
It's very close from Hatoyama's house to Baihe's house, with only a few hundred meters in between. Instead of preparing a car, it might be faster to go there on foot.
But Hatoyama Keiko's physical strength was very poor. She had just run out of Hatoyama's house when she started panting violently. White mist kept coming out of her mouth, and her chest was heaving violently.
Xiao Karasuma on the side looked worried, but Hatoyama Keiko still gritted her teeth and persisted, not letting her pace slow down at all.
However, the distance of a few hundred meters seemed to have exhausted all her strength.
When she could see the old house with several police cars parked at the door, Hatoyama Keiko finally slowed down.
She took a deep breath, tried to calm her breathing as much as possible, covered up the strange color in her eyes, and walked calmly towards the old house.
"M-Miss!"
In front of the door, there were two detectives who were talking in a low voice. They obviously knew Hatoyama Keiko, and they straightened their bodies as soon as they saw her.
"Um……"
Just responding to them softly, Hatoyama Keiko walked straight to the door. For some reason, when she actually got here, she suddenly felt a little scared and didn't dare to go in.
Her mind suddenly flashed back to the scene a few years ago when she "shamelessly" followed the boy into the house for the first time.
At that time, Hatoyama Keiko never thought that one day in the future, she would be afraid of walking into this home...
So much so that she actually stood at the door and stared blankly for a while.
Then, she finally tremblingly raised her hands, which were already red from the cold, and opened the door.
The two detectives on the side now knew the situation in the house at this moment. They wanted to stop him, but when they saw the old housekeeper behind Hatoyama Keiko, they kept their mouths shut.
The door opened, and there were muddy footprints stained with snow and water all over the entrance and corridor.
Walking along the corridor along these footprints, Hatoyama Keiko prayed repeatedly in her heart.
[Come back later, you must come back later...]
However, God did not answer her prayers, but instead played the worst joke on her.
That day, the detective agency where the boy worked gave the boy a day off by coincidence.
Therefore, the boy did not actually go to the detective agency after school that day as usual, but went home directly.
According to Hatoyama Keiko's subsequent inquiries, it seemed that the boy returned home shortly after the old housekeeper learned the news of Mrs. Shirakawa's murder.
In the end, it turned out to be the worst scene Keiko Hatoyama had ever seen.
In the dark bedroom, surrounded by several criminal policemen, the boy squatted quietly next to his mother's body.
The look on his face was incredibly calm.
∠( ∠)＿
(End of chapter)
