Chapter 15
<15>
After finishing the receipt sorting and organizing the mail that came in today, a pink envelope with a heart drawn on it caught my eye. I chuckled.
'He's also handsome enough for fan letters to pour into the Police Bureau.'
In this era, photos are only in black and white. In other words, Hunt is someone whose good looks pierce through even low-quality black and white images.
'He must have very few photos taken while avoiding cameras, as if he has an allergy to the media.'
Fans went wild even over a few out-of-focus photos taken from afar.
'Then, with that handsome face, he could easily make a living as a movie actor. Why did he go through the trouble of becoming a police officer and chase me day and night?'
Of course, the focus of my grumbling isn't Hunt's hardship, but the fact that he chases me day and night.
It's not unreasonable for him to be obsessed with me, the first person to bring him frustration after his unbroken string of successes...
'He must be living his life thinking only of me, 24/7.'
There was a rumor for a while that he only talked about me even when he went to a blind date personally arranged by the Police Bureau chief who offered to introduce him to women.
'A man who only talks about other women on a blind date. The worst.'
Anyway, whether it's a result of living his life thinking only of me, Hunt's deductions seem to be getting more accurate, so I considered lying low for a while...
"They say the date on the Thieving Crow's new notice is today, right?"
I couldn't. I had already accepted the mission before that! Once I decide to do a mission, I have to finish it within the deadline. If I don't want my points deducted again.
"Like a slave."
A slave to the system.
"The more I think about it, the creepier it gets?"
What's more, he figured out my economic and social standing from the notice's speech patterns.
'Right, I don't really know the speech patterns of the upper class here.'
I thought about modifying it to make it harder to predict when writing this notice, but I stopped.
'What if he figures out I'm an insider?'
For a sharp man like Hunt, it's entirely possible. So, I sent it as usual.
The reason the Eden City Police Department Special Investigation Unit headquarters is empty today is because of my notice. The D-day written there is today.
I looked up, and the clock on the wall showed five o'clock in the afternoon.
'Isn't it about time for the phone to ring?'
...As soon as I thought that, the phone rang.
Ring ring!
"Yes, this is Claire Kent from the Eden City Police Department Special Investigation Unit."
- Claire!
As expected, the person who called was Sergeant Smith.
- I completely forgot and left the essential equipment for the scene at the office. I'm really sorry, but could you bring it to me?
"Oh, of course. You don't need to be sorry."
Because I hid it, so he "forgot" to bring it.
This time, I planned to use the excuse of bringing it to enter the crime scene in advance.
"I'll be right there."
As soon as I hung up, I grabbed the bag I had hidden and went outside.
'I'll take a taxi.'
With taxpayer money. I'm a taxpayer too, so it's my money.
As I was passing through the plaza in front of the Police Bureau to go to the taxi stand, I heard a scream like a death rattle.
"No! Give me back my cats!"
I turned my head and saw the famous Cat Grandma in this plaza.
"Stop it right now!"
Grandma was hitting men in black uniforms with her bent umbrella.
'Are those men from the animal shelter?'
While a hulking man blocked Grandma, the others were throwing cats from Grandma's stroller into the trunk of a car.
'Isn't that abuse?'
Seeing them scooping them up one by one with something like a butterfly net made me frown.
"You scoundrels!"
"Grandma, this is all for these cats. So please stop."
"If only I could get my hands on that damned ruby, all of you..."
"Excuse me."
I approached the man blocking Grandma and asked,
"These aren't stray cats without owners, so why are you taking someone else's cats?"
"A report was filed."
"So, if a report is filed, the city can just steal cats that have owners?"
"Steal? We are simply taking measures to help the cats escape from the homeless, crazy Grandma and find good owners to live happily."
I bristled at the words "homeless, crazy" implying they weren't good owners.
'But Ruby said the life she had with a poor person like me was the happiest.'
The cats struggling to get out of the cages now would be no different.
"You are the villains!"
As Grandma swung her umbrella, the man stepped back and warned in an annoyed tone.
"If you interfere one more time, I'll call the police for obstruction of official duties. The same applies to you."
What did I do? I'm just getting started.
I crossed my arms and faced the man.
"Everything you just said is wrong."
"What?"
"First, the cats look happy already."
The Siamese cat wrapped around Grandma's neck like a scarf was as white as freshly fallen snow.
It wasn't just this cat. The other cats' fur was glossy and they were plump.
"Doesn't it clearly show they've been cared for and loved? I'm a witness, as I see Grandma's cats every single day of the week."
"No..."
The man scratched his head, as if he had nothing to say about that point.
"And second. Crazy? Do you think a crazy person can perfectly take care of cats?"
"That's right! The ones who are crazy are you, daring to pick a fight with me!"
Grandma's eyes glinted fiercely. Far from being mentally ill or senile, she looked incredibly healthy.
"Third, Grandma is not a homeless person."
She walks the cats in her stroller in the plaza during the day and begs, but I've seen her go somewhere at night.
Although Grandma's hair was messy like a bird's nest and her clothes were worn, they weren't dirty and were neat, which meant she had a home.
'I think I saw a story on the internet in my past life about a begging grandma who drove a Mercedes on her way home.'
You can't judge solely by appearance.
"Fourth, begging isn't illegal, is it?"
This is knowledge I gained working at the police station. It only becomes a crime if someone forces others to beg or causes illegal harm to others while begging.
Grandma did neither.
"And fifth, can you guarantee the future happiness of these cats?"
The shelter was misnamed. Cats taken there often received no protection and died in cages.
The man, who had been sputtering, frowned in difficulty at my rebuttal.
"But a resident reported it, so we can't help it."
"You know better than anyone that you can't take animals with owners based solely on a report."
Besides, I had frequent disputes with shelter staff to prevent them from taking the cats in my neighborhood, so I was more knowledgeable in this area than they were.
"You need the owner's consent or an administrative order from the city government."
After reciting the regulations, I asked the dumbfounded man,
"Do you have one?"
"..."
"You don't, do you?"
As the man scratched the back of his head again with a defeated look, I confidently demanded,
"Give them back. Nicely. Like you're escorting a princess."
"Sigh..."
The men reluctantly put the cats back into the stroller. But it wasn't over.
"And apologize for calling her a crazy beggar and homeless."
"..."
"Or I'll file a complaint."
Public officials know the weaknesses of public officials.
"I apologize."
The man, who had been sullen, suddenly apologized politely to Grandma and left.
Watching the retreating rear of the shelter van, I relaxed my stiff expression.
"Phew, that was close."
They probably won't get an administrative order.
Let's make no big trouble and live long and prosper!
...Public officials who live by that motto won't bother with tedious paperwork and trips to city hall for just a few cats.
'But just in case...'
I cautioned Grandma, who was cursing the shelter staff with unique wording like "scoundrels" and "beggars."
