Following the Art Student's Train of Thought...

"All right, what do you want to ask?" Though she still sounded impatient on the surface, Akiba was also puzzled about why Shiraishi had sought her out. Moreover, it was obvious that Shiraishi seemed to be deliberately avoiding Officer Megure and the others.

"It's about the curse letter—before you wrote my name that day, you were going to write Liancheng's name, weren't you?" Shiraishi asked bluntly.

Akiba froze, then smiled in realization. "What, so that curse letter ended up in your hands after all—I thought it would be thrown away once everything was over."

"So—you wanted to write his name because you hated Liancheng?" Shiraishi stared at Akiba as he asked.

Akiba thought for a while, then let out a long breath. "Sorry, I don't really want to talk about this. Or rather—I can't answer you.

"But I can tell you clearly that Liancheng's death had nothing to do with me. I know you may find me suspicious, but—starting with me would just be a waste of time."

"It wouldn't exactly be a waste of time, would it? You may very well have been one of the killer's intended targets." Shiraishi said it as though it were only natural.

"You don't think I'm the killer?" Akiba asked in return.

"After all, the last name you wrote was Shiraishi Kuro." Shiraishi shrugged.

Akiba couldn't help but chuckle. Then she said, "Sorry—anyway, thank you very much for not telling anyone about this. If the case still hasn't been solved after the performance, I can submit to formal questioning. But—I truly don't know any clues."

After thanking Shiraishi with a nod, Akiba headed back into the apartment building.

Seeing that Shiraishi had somehow managed to make the icy-faced diva laugh so brightly after speaking with her, Inspector Megure began to doubt his entire