He put on a face mask and sunglasses, made sure almost his entire face was covered, then left and took a ride to Ward 20.
He hadn't been able to reach Hideyoshi Nagachika's cell phone from a public phone, and he couldn't keep hanging around the phone booth.
He wasn't sure whether someone near Nagachika was listening in, so the best approach was to go straight to his home. Even if he was discovered, he would probably be able to escape.
Besides, they really did need to exchange information. There was only so much they could discuss over the phone.
At around eight that evening, a man stood outside Nagachika's door with his eyes and mouth covered. Despite it being nighttime, he was wearing an enormous pair of sunglasses, as though he was afraid he might see the road too clearly.
There was no one around.
Louis paused at the scraps in the keyhole. This was a common trick for checking whether anyone had entered your home while you were out.
Nagachika... was this cautious even about leaving the house.
The door was locked, and Nagachika clearly wasn't home, but that posed no challenge to Louis.
A small piece of blue-white crystal appeared in Louis's hand. The instant he placed it in the keyhole, it changed shape. Using its cold to easily determine the shape of the keyhole, the ice crystal shifted, instantly forming a key inside the lock.
Click-
The lock cylinder turned, and the lock clicked open. Louis turned the handle and easily opened the door.
One of Crystallization's handy uses. He'd used this trick to pry things open plenty of times before.
He pulled out the ice-crystal key and carefully put the scraps of paper back where they had been. Only then did he slowly enter