The things her sister had left behind were certainly important, but if they contained crucial information that would bring catastrophe the moment she learned it... Haibara Ai did not necessarily want to open them and drag everyone into mutual destruction.
With that in mind, she locked the door, dragged a Small Stool over to the window, opened it, and quietly climbed out using the stool.
After landing, Haibara Ai picked up the cassette tapes from the windowsill, slipped skillfully through a gap in the Courtyard Wall, and entered Jiang Xia's home.
As soon as she pushed open the door, Jiang Xia was trimming flower branches on the living room balcony.
Haibara Ai glanced at the Potted Plants that looked somewhat like tobacco, then at the scissors in Jiang Xia's hand. "I brought what I found."
"Is that so?" Jiang Xia set the scissors on the balcony, wiped his hands, and walked over.
Haibara Ai held out both hands, cradling the cassette tapes, which were a little too wide for her small hands, and offered the Tarpaulin-wrapped bundle to Jiang Xia.
Looking up at him, she suddenly felt as though she were facing a stern mentor as a child—suffocating, with an indescribable sense of pressure, yet not quite so dangerous that she might be killed at any moment.
As her thoughts ran wild, Jiang Xia lowered his head to inspect the bundle of plastic sheeting that had soaked in toilet water for who knew how long. He did not reach out to take it, merely nodding. "It's good that you found it."
Haibara Ai waited a little longer. Seeing that he still was not taking it, she hesitantly lowered her hands and asked, "This... can I listen to it?"
*There won't suddenly be a gas explosion right after I listen