"Thank you. Thanks to you, everything has gone according to my plan so far."
"Now get some rest."
"No, that's not necessary."
"Precisely because I have other plans, I need you to kill those two."
"Do you want to disappoint my expectations?"
Outside the Kindaichi Detective Agency, Hayashi Yoshiki sat in his car, talking on the phone.
Hearing this, Seiran Hoshi's response immediately became somewhat panicked, repeatedly explaining that it wasn't like that.
A woman without self-control indeed can only focus all her thoughts on herself...
Listening to her nervous reply, Hayashi Yoshiki kept a calm expression and thought quietly.
But he didn't intend to reprimand Seiran Hoshi, so his voice softened:
"I know you only want to do more for me, but you've already done more than enough... Everything has gone this smoothly only because of you."
"By the way, do you remember that shop we went to last time?"
"Go back and pick out a few more things, alright? Show me when you wear them."
There was a hint of a smile in his quiet voice.
For both Seiran Hoshi and Reiko Shimizu, that sounded like a honeyed trap.
A moment later, Hayashi Yoshiki hung up.
Now the police had confirmed Bill Murphy's death.
They were also certain the killer and Hunt were accomplices—explaining why, despite the killer being only 150 meters away when shooting Hunt, the bullet had ricocheted and left a hole inside the room.
Probably because the killer hesitated when killing Hunter.
Also, the killer who always used the MK-11 sniper rifle with large-caliber bullets had used a lighter bullet from another gun to kill Hunter, which could mean he wanted to keep Hunter's body as intact as possible.
But with Kevin Yoshino and Scott Green ruled out, the police were completely in the dark about who the killer really was.
Now, all that remained was to wait until tonight.
As he got out of the car and walked, Kevin Yoshino tought:
Damn it!
Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!
Burning emotions boiled in his chest, veins bulging on his forehead as Kevin Yoshino angrily slammed his fists on the punching bag, the heavy thuds echoing.
"MA... DA..."
Still pounding the bag, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
Everything was ruined.
First, Hitoshi Moriyama, then Bill Murphy—this unknown sniper not only knew their whole plan but had also recklessly interfered.
In a way, the other side had avenged Hunter, but Kevin refused to accept it.
If that were true, then what was the point of him killing Hunter with his own hands!?
No matter what, these people must be killed by him! It was their pact—Hunter's revenge!
Kevin's eyes were blood-red.
The last target was Jack Walz, the criminal Hunter most wanted revenge on...
No matter what, at least this one must be killed by his own hand!
Now, consumed by rage, Kevin no longer cared about anything else.
Luckily, the police had turned their suspicions away from him because of Murphy's death, so now he could act without restraint...
He would kill Jack Walz as originally planned, and if anyone got in his way, he'd kill them too!
After quickly packing up and gathering his gear, Kevin grimly pulled out his phone and made a call.
The contact was Jack Walz.
He was going to lure that guy into the trap he had set up earlier.
The next night, 7:00 p.m.
The area around the Suzuki Tower observation deck was deserted.
A tall woman dressed all in black, carrying a long backpack, arrived. Seeing the brightly lit, bustling nightlife outside the tower, she whistled happily.
"Whoosh~! Not bad at all! This is a gorgeous place for me to kill someone!"
Chianti happily took off her backpack.
Then, she took out an MK-11 sniper rifle from it and set it up at the predetermined sniper spot.
"But why did I have to swap guns? It's not unusable, but this thing just doesn't feel right in my hands!"
Her chirping voice was transmitted through the earpiece to the other side.
Gin paid no attention to her.
On a nearby street not far from Suzuki Tower, a black Porsche 356A was parked.
The man in the driver's seat had silver hair shining brightly. He glanced at Vodka beside him and said:
"Do it. Detonate the bomb now."
"Roger, boss."
Vodka immediately pressed the Enter key on the computer.
After a one-second delay,
The base of the neon-lit Suzuki Tower suddenly exploded with a loud "BOOM!"
The more than 400-meter-tall building itself was barely affected—at least Chianti, waiting near the observation deck, didn't feel any shaking—but the elevators inside the tower were completely destroyed and disabled by the blast.
"All done, boss."
"Hm."
Gin replied in a calm, indifferent tone.
Then he pulled out his phone and sent a message.
Gin: "The elevator in Suzuki Tower is destroyed, and Chianti is in position."
Cointreau: "OK."
Looking at the immediate reply, Gin's face showed no change.
He still hadn't figured out what Hayashi Yoshiki was really up to—only knew that the mission he'd entrusted to Chianti was to snipe a target in a building visible from Suzuki Tower, and that before the operation, the elevators had to be blown up.
This murder-loving guy actually entrusted someone else to kill?
What special purpose did he have?
Gin thought for a while but couldn't make sense of it, so he decided not to dwell on it and just wait—the answer would come once everything unfolded.
Meanwhile, Kevin was speeding toward Suzuki Tower on his motorcycle.
His plan was to kill Jack Walz, whom he had lured into the trap, from a high point on the tower at 8:00 p.m...
This time, there absolutely could be no mistakes!
The boiling rage and anxiety fueled his throttle grip.
As the motorcycle roared closer to Suzuki Tower, Kevin saw thick smoke rising from the tower's base.
In the distance, sirens from fire trucks and police cars grew louder.
This sight made his eyes bloodshot with fury.
He slammed on the brakes and glared fiercely at the top of the Suzuki Tower.
After a long moment...
He twisted the throttle sharply, turned the motorcycle around, and sped off in another direction.