Vermouth rubbed her fingertips against her chin and keenly noticed that the woman beside Mouri Kogoro seemed somewhat distracted. Though she appeared to be chatting with Mouri Kogoro, he did most of the talking. The woman, meanwhile, kept a close eye on the time, her gaze wandering. She clearly was not focused on enjoying the scenery.
With that in mind, Uzo's purpose in parking here was obvious.
—He definitely had not come to see Toto Beach Bridge.
He had come to admire the case that might unfold beside Mouri Kogoro.
At that moment, as an audience member who had willingly presented herself before Uzo, Vermouth made no effort to hide her scrutiny of Mouri Kogoro.
She observed him for a while as if naturally, then turned to Jiang Xia and struck first. "That mustache again—you seem very concerned about him?"
"I just thought his arrival was timely. He's a surprising little accident in this case, so I brought you over to take a look." Jiang Xia sat in the car, one elbow resting against the window frame, leisurely watching the two people talking outside.
Then he suddenly turned toward Vermouth.
"You were right about one thing just now—just watching a show really is boring."
"So why don't we make a bet?"
"—Let's bet on whether he can survive the night."
He lifted his chin and pointed in Mouri Kogoro's direction.
Vermouth's eyes shifted, and her heart silently tightened.
She did not answer immediately. Instead, she flicked a long, slender ladies' cigarette from her case, lit it, and slowly took a drag, adding a touch of carefree amusement to her voice. "Oh? What are we betting?"
Come to think of it, Vermouth realized half a beat late, when had she ever said something like "watching a show is boring"?
After