Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru - Volume 8 - Chapter 1.1

 Lost memory of Christmas Eve

The party went on for a while after that, and it was after nine thirty when we finally split up.

As everyone except Saikawa headed home, I grabbed a taxi and stopped by a Western sweets shop that wasn’t quite closed yet to pick up a strawberry shortcake and a Mont Blanc. Then I got back into my waiting taxi and headed for a certain destination.

“I must look like I’ve got the worst sweet tooth ever.”

Remembering the sugary cake I’d been eating just a little while ago, I smiled wryly. But this was for someone else, and I absolutely had to deliver it.

Ten minutes later, I reached my destination and got special permission to enter the building.

After taking the elevator up to the third floor, I walked down a gloomy, familiar hallway until I reached the door at the very end. I knocked three times. Nobody answered, but let no one say I don’t mind my manners. After all, the person on the other side of that door might get mad at me if I didn’t observe that basic rule.

I slid open the door and stepped into the hospital room where she slept.

In a private room lit only by pale moonlight, Sleeping Beauty lay on the bed. Turning on the room lights didn’t feel right somehow, so I turned on the lamp instead.

“Is that too bright, Siesta?”

Siesta, the previous Ace Detective. Once, death had firmly separated us. Thanks to Natsunagi’s desperate gamble, my former partner had awakened for a few weeks, but then she’d fallen asleep again. In order to keep the “seed” buried in her heart from going out of control, Siesta had chosen to rest, believing we’d find a way to save her someday. She’d been in this hospital room for three months already.

“Which do you want, strawberry or chestnut?” I set the cakes I’d brought on the bedside table.

Today was Christmas Eve. Seasonal events had always been of the utmost importance to her. At the very least, she needed cake.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to have both again. Save some for me.”

There was no answer. She just kept breathing peacefully. Geez. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone sleep this happily.

When I looked at the cupboard by her pillow, the flowers on it seemed brand-new. Noches must have come by to visit today and changed them. We’d invited her to Saikawa’s party, too, of course, but she’d said she had a previous engagement. Apparently, that keeping Siesta company.

She’d gotten the jump on me. Siesta wouldn’t have been lonely anyway, would she?

“Well, Siesta? What about it?”

As usual, there was no answer. I didn’t know what she was thinking right now. Even so, coming here today was a necessity.

As for why, the answer was in a memory from a long-ago Christmas.

“Welcome home, Assistant.”

Christmas Eve, several years back.

That night, when I got back to the hotel we were basing ourselves out of, the room was inexplicably decorated for Christmas. On top of that…

“You’re late, though. I’ve already eaten half of it.”

…Siesta, who’d been working her way through a whole cake, was wearing a triangular red hat.

“Uh, I was out on a job you asked me to take over for you, remember?”

And it wasn’t a half that was gone; it was more like two thirds. I sighed.

“Here you go,” Siesta said. She held out a wrapped package that turned out to be handkerchiefs. Apparently, it was my Christmas present.

“I didn’t get you anything.”

“I don’t expect these things from you,” Siesta bluntly replied.

She was being tough on me, but that was normal. She didn’t seem angry or anything.

“Here we’ve got this cake, but it’s late, and caffeine’s probably not a great idea. Want some cola instead?”

“…Hmm. Sure, why not?”

Just then, though, I noticed something. Since we were together all the time, I noticed. Although the Ace Detective was always calm and collected, she was pouting very slightly. She wasn’t mad that I hadn’t bought her a present… She was disappointed.

“Want me to go buy you something now?”

“All the stores are closed.”

“Want to go somewhere tomorrow, then?”

“They say a hurricane is going to hit this whole area.”

“This knack for attracting trouble is getting out of hand. …In that case.”

“There’s another option?” Siesta glanced up at me.

“Tomorrow’s Christmas. For just one day, I’ll do whatever you want.”

To give a cute example, I was thinking of something along the lines of those coupons for back rubs or helping out that little kids give their moms. However, as far as I was concerned, it was unprecedented carte blanche: For one day only, I’d do anything Siesta said. That was all I could think of when I hadn’t gotten her a wrappable gift.

But when she heard my idea, Siesta blinked at me, then giggled.

“Did you seriously just say, Your Christmas present is me?”

How had I responded to that?

Had I told her to shut up, or had I gotten sort of flustered?

The one thing I was sure of was that Siesta had been smiling then. On that Christmas Eve, she’d been there with me, and she’d been smiling.

“The cake will be in the fridge, okay?”

As I put my memories back in their box, I opened the little fridge.

It was completely packed with fruit and European sweets. I hadn’t been the only one visiting her.

“You’re as popular as ever, huh.”

I managed to clear enough space for the cake in there. Somebody would probably eat them sooner or later.

Sitting down on the stool beside the bed, I took another look at Siesta.

Did she know I was here as she slept peacefully in the moonlight? Or was she dreaming about something more fun?

“Just once, couldn’t you answer me?”

It had been three months. Nobody would punish her for breaking the silence for a minute. I could deal with a little rudeness or a cutting remark. She could even ask me if I was stupid. …So how about it?

“Heh. Kidding.”

Siesta smiled at my witty joke.

Hm? That smile was there the whole time? Well, that’s because I said something funny in her dream. Yeah.

“Oh. Is it really that late already?”

It was eleven PM. I got to my feet just a little reluctantly and said “I’ll come again” instead of Merry Christmas.

Someday, I’d wake Siesta from her long sleep.

That was my only wish, and this story’s final destination.