"Then you'll have to talk to the child and try to persuade her."
The veteran officer wasn't optimistic about this visit.
He had more or less already expected that they would return empty-handed.
"Mm."
The White-collar Woman nodded. "I know."
"I'll talk to her properly."
Maybe it was simply too soon. Given more time, she would be all right.
Besides, Child's Dad was already looking for a similar parrot.
With a new pet, perhaps the child could move on more quickly from the sadness of losing the last one.
The little girl led the way with practiced familiarity.
After all, she had been here many times.
"It's just—"
The little girl's voice abruptly cut off.
The female officer and the others soon understood why she had suddenly fallen silent.
Someone was standing in front of the door the little girl was looking at.
A young man, around twenty-five or twenty-six.
At first, the young man hadn't paid attention to the footsteps, but then he noticed something was off.
The footsteps had stopped.
There were no other sounds, either.
Had the people across the hall come back?
The young man wondered.
For some reason, though, he started to feel uneasy.
He turned around.
The next second, he found himself facing a whole lot of eyes.
He jumped.
His right foot even took an involuntary step backward.
Then he came to his senses. Had he overreacted?
His face burned with embarrassment.
Had he made a fool of himself?
Still, anyone would be startled to turn around and suddenly see so many people, right?
Was his face red now?
He hoped they hadn't noticed how awkward he felt.
"Hello."
The female officer spoke with a smile.
The young man jumped again.
Police?
His gaze moved between the female officer