One night later, Miss Tyah came again.
Still in that black robe, completely wrapped, limping. Her exposed eyes were swollen like a dehydrated frog, and she knocked on the door cautiously.
Mori Tsukisa yawned as she opened the door for Tyah, but the woman lingered at the entrance for a long time, unwilling to come in. Then, she handed Mori Tsukisa a small box and stumbled away into the night.
The box looked many years old, its edges heavily worn. Shaking it gently by her ear, she could faintly hear the rustling sound of sand.
"I'm giving this to you. When you leave, please take it back to your country."
"And... thank you."
"Goodbye."
Since then, Mori Tsukisa never saw Miss Tyah again.
Later, the Police arrived... Bang, bang, bang!
Bang!
"Is anyone home?"
The shouting reached her ears.
Mori Tsukisa looked up. From here, she could see a bit of the museum's main entrance through the garden.
Three men dressed in black were standing grimly at the main entrance, surveying the surroundings while cautiously pressing their ears against the door to listen for movement inside.
"Open the door!"
"Police!"
Bang, bang, bang!
They were pounding on the door with great force.
Mori Tsukisa put down her paintbrush, grabbed her skirt, and ran out.
"Tylens!"
The girl happened to meet the curator, who had just come down from the second floor.
"Someone is knocking."
"Yes, yes, I heard it. I'm not deaf."
Bang, bang, bang!
"Open the door!!"
Tylens glared, his aged voice full of annoyance: "You have to wait for someone to walk over, don't you? This is a museum, gentlemen!"
The shouting brought silence to the entrance.
"Honestly... Ever since the war ended, strange people have been showing up every day... Fortunately, my heart is still relatively healthy..."
Wearing a black, semi-tall round hat, Tylens strode to the door and unlocked it.
"We are closed today, you—"
A black identification card was practically shoved into the old man's face.
"Police."
Mori Tsukisa leaned against the Silver Knight's armor with her hands behind her back, flicking the small metal pieces on the bottom edge of the armor, causing them to clatter.
"Po..."
"Police!"
The three men swarmed forward. The leader restrained Tylens, while the remaining two clutched their waists and began assessing the situation in the hall—they quickly spotted Mori Tsukisa, who was idly watching the commotion.
"I am the curator! I am the curator of this museum!" Tylens waved his arms, trying to emphasize his authority: "You can't just barge in like this!"
"In fact, we can." The leading Police officer had a long nose with a large bump on the tip, brown skin, and thick, black eyebrows.
When the man looked at Tylens and Mori Tsukisa, he had a condescending, predatory look, like a hawk spotting prey.
He was observing.
"Name?"
"Tylens."
"And yours?"
"Mori Tsukisa."
After the Police chief put away his ID, he took a piece of paper from his waist and held it up facing forward so both the old man and the girl could see it clearly.
"Have you seen this person?"
Tylens and Mori Tsukisa looked utterly confused.
"Her name is Tyah. We found her body yesterday on Fourth Hanmutuo Street."
Mori Tsukisa shrugged, and under the watchful eyes of the two Police chief deputies, she ostentatiously reached toward her waist—and pulled out a tightly wrapped small milk candy.
A small yellow flower was printed on the ivory-colored wrapper.
She tore it open and popped it into her mouth.
Cheeks puffed out, the girl spoke softly: "A body? What does that have to do with us?"
Years of Police work had given the chief extensive experience. He seemed to confirm something, his chest rose and fell significantly, and he exhaled, folded the paper in his hand, and tucked it back into his belt pouch.
"Because the deceased's cause of death has not yet been determined, so..." The light-brown-skinned Police chief's expression was poor. He stared at Tylens for a moment, noticing that the elderly curator, aside from tending to his abundant beard, showed no particular nervousness and kept his eyes fixed on him.
Then, he shifted his gaze to Mori Tsukisa—and moved it away two seconds later.
This was a noble young lady, an underage noble young lady. There was no need to waste time.
The Police chief brushed his cuffs and then demonstratively patted the gun holster at his waist, producing the metallic rattle of leather against metal.
"According to our investigation, Tyah frequently visited your museum before her death?"
Tylens instinctively looked at Mori Tsukisa.
He knew that Evelyn and Mori Tsukisa had always been responsible for matters concerning the large bookshelf. He was too old, and he wasn't as smart or as sharp-memoried as those two girls. He hadn't expected such an incident to involve Little Forest.
Mori Tsukisa stood with her hands behind her back, the Silver Knight's armor clattering.
"That's right."
Mori Tsukisa nodded openly.
"That's right, Eve and I are usually responsible for matters concerning the books."
"Eve?"
The Police chief's thick eyebrows knitted together. "Where is she?"
Mori Tsukisa shrugged and swayed her skirt a few times: "She went shopping, Officer."
The Police chief's large nose twitched a few times. The smell of mildew entered his nostrils, making him sneeze.
"Pah, this place is full of... damn it, what is that smell?"
Tylens stroked his beard, wearing an expression of 'you are uncultured' disdain: "That is the scent of history."
"I'm not joking with you, old man." The Police chief's short, thick eyebrows furrowed: "Mr. Sheikh suspects the deceased was robbed before she died. You understand what that means, right?"
Mori Tsukisa tapped the tip of her small leather shoe, making a crisp 'da-da' sound: "Mr. Sheikh... who is that?"
The Police chief turned his head: "The deceased's husband."
Oh... Mori Tsukisa looked up, made a thoughtful gesture with a calm expression, and then tapped her chin: "So, suspicion? Were there any injuries on the body?"
The big-nosed Police chief stared at Mori Tsukisa with an unfriendly expression.
"Miss Tyah was a very gentle lady, even though I only spoke a few words with her..." Making a sad expression, Mori Tsukisa said, "If possible, I would like to see Mrs. Tyah's body."
The brown-skinned Police chief's knitted brows relaxed slightly: "It was burned. All we found was a charred corpse. It was already disposed of this morning."
I see.
Mori Tsukisa didn't ask what 'disposed of' meant. In this country ruled by religion, the status of women was already low. For the body of a well-known wealthy man's wife to be casually 'disposed of,' one could easily imagine the stories behind it.
The Police chief quickly took two steps, bypassed Tylens who tried to stop him, and stood right in front of Mori Tsukisa.
The girl tilted her head back, her cute, large eyes only able to see the man's chin.
"Tell me exactly the times she came here and left, and what books she looked at."
While he was asking, Evelyn happened to push the door open, carrying large and small bags, accompanied by her brother. The two were probably discussing something interesting; Jonathan was making faces next to his sister, and Evelyn was shaking with laughter.
The three Police officers turned around with wooden faces and saw this scene.
Seeing the Police, Jonathan subconsciously straightened his back, his palms pressed tightly against the seams of his trousers as he stood erect.
He stood tall like a Soldier meeting a superior officer.
Evelyn ignored her brother. She put down the bags in her hands, looked at the Police chief with confusion, and then at Tylens, who was winking frantically.
"Excuse me...?"
So the procedure was repeated.
Showing the ID, looking at the deceased's photo, and asking the same questions.
Evelyn couldn't quite recall. Mori Tsukisa had always been the one responsible for receiving visitors—the young girl seemed to enjoy communicating with people, sitting quietly on the small sofa near the entrance, observing those who came to read.
As for herself, she usually buried herself in various documents and historical records, trying to find certain possibilities of existence between the lines.
Therefore, it was inevitable that she overlooked some things.
Following Evelyn's gaze, the Police chief refocused his attention on Mori Tsukisa.
"Oh, Evelyn isn't responsible for this part. I can tell you about Tyah, though."
Hearing Tyah's name, Evelyn suddenly realized the gravity of the situation and was about to speak, but Mori Tsukisa interrupted her.
"Miss Tyah started coming to the library about a week ago. She would usually wait at the door before opening hours—sometimes she would bring two flatbreads, a small jar of sugar or honey. Last time, I even ate sweet sauce chicken nuggets she made herself; they were incredibly delicious..."
This middle-aged Police chief did not want to hear Mori Tsukisa talk about what she ate, but seeing the girl stare at him with dewy eyes, chatting while placing her index finger near the corner of her mouth... Fine, if it wasn't too much, he would let her finish.
"She came before opening and left after closing. That was the schedule. It lasted for a week, until you and your colleagues arrived... which is today."
Mori Tsukisa touched the corner of her lips, her finger tracing the upward curve, pushing her upper lip slightly, and her eyes darted around.
"As for the books... mostly geography."
"Geography?"
The Police chief's thick, black eyebrows knitted together again.
"Are you sure it was geography?"
"Yes." Mori Tsukisa nodded affirmatively, started moving her feet, and led the group toward the library.
"Come and see, Officer. I think you need this 'evidence,' right?" Mori Tsukisa took out a key and, with a 'click,' opened the thick, wooden, domed door.
A faint smell of mildew accompanied the extremely quiet space. Sunlight streamed down from the high, circular glass window, illuminating floating dust motes.
This was an ordinary library, except that some of the books inside were slightly valuable and quite old. Tall bookshelves were neatly arranged, surrounding the room.
"Geography... geography..."
Mori Tsukisa pulled the book from the lowest spot on the second shelf: "I didn't put it back after she finished reading it last time. I thought Miss Tyah would come back to look at it today."
The Police chief took the handed book with a meaningful look: "We need to search the premises."
"Oh." Mori Tsukisa nodded vaguely. Curator Tylens huddled to the side, looking as innocent as Jonathan did whenever Mori Tsukisa caught him stealing.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
In the quiet space, there was only the sound of breathing and the friction of paper as pages were turned.
At least half an hour later, the Police chief finally closed the thick book, and his subordinates returned from other parts of the museum.
They subtly shook their heads at the chief.
"Mr. Tylens, and this... young lady."
Mori Tsukisa was staring blankly at a bookshelf when the Police chief's grim voice suddenly interrupted her.
"What?"
"I want to know if Tyah gave you... anything."
"What kind of thing?"
The Inspector pressed his hands together, forming a circle: "A box, a box."
A sharp gaze swept across the two of them.
"Nothing else. I remember she just asked me, 'Do you have any geography books?' Unfortunately, we only have this one on modern geography."
Mori Tsukisa picked at her small green-painted fingernails, her head lowered. "For anything else, you'd have to look at the history section. You understand, Inspector? Earth's geography changes along with World history..."
The other party didn't want to hear any more nonsense from this noble young lady, who was far more voluptuous than her age suggested. With a stiff face, he nodded to Terence, stepped back a few paces, and addressed all four of them together:
"We may call you to the police station to make a statement soon. Please do not leave Cairo."
Terence nodded quickly. "No problem, Inspector. You know I was born here; I'm a local. Look, my museum has been open for so many years."
"We have nowhere else to go, and we certainly won't leave this city. Rest assured. Look at this girl; she knows nothing. In a year or two, she'll even have to go back to school for further studies. You know that one in the West—"
The Inspector suddenly realized who Mori Tsukisa's chatterbox nature came from—or rather, who Terence's chatterbox nature came from.
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