[Toru Amuro] Those years when I worked at Poirot

The summer in Chicago is very short, and the autumn and winter are long. Due to the influence of Lake Michigan, the temperature difference is huge. In just a few minutes, the temperature can suddenly change several degrees.

Erica only came here when she was very young, it was summer, the wind was strong but the sun was abundant, she left a warm impression of this place like spring, but this time she came to Chicago in early April for a mission , On the first day of arrival, I deeply experienced the "two heavens of ice and fire".

Rubbing her hands together in the low twilight, she hurried into a nearby bar and ordered a Ginger Coke.

Seeing that she was a newcomer and she was pretty, some of the regular customers in the bar started to move around.Two or three came over to strike up a conversation first, but after being politely rejected, they still waited for the opportunity without giving up.

Erica refilled another glass and planned to leave quickly after drinking.Men everywhere are the same, staring drunkenly at her ass like she's stuck a hundred-dollar bill there.

"Isn't Miss a local?" The blond-haired, brown-eyed bartender asked casually while wiping the glasses.

Erica smiled lightly, her tone raised slightly: "Why, is my accent obvious?"

The bartender shook his head with a gentle tone: "No, your accent is very standard, it's your clothes. Now the sun is about to set, and the cold wind will soon be howling. You must not be able to wear only a light jacket. Chicago girls are at night They'll all be wrapped in a coat."

"I see." She really didn't expect Chicago to be so cold.

"Are you a white-collar worker here for a meeting, or a temporary tourist?" The bartender put down the wiped wine glass, pressed his forearms on the table, and asked with a smile on his face.

He is about 25 or [-] years old, with a handsome face, a strand of curly bangs hangs next to his right eye, and the rest is fixed on the top of his head with high-grade hair gel, revealing a white and smooth forehead, and the whole person looks elegant and suave.

"Oh, I'm an asset appraiser sent by the company to attend the product planning meeting." She lied skillfully, and then pretended to look around casually, "There are not many guests here, is it because of the location? It's a pity that it's so beautiful Sophisticated decor."

And such a handsome waiter, she added silently in her heart.

The bartender spread his hands mischievously: "It doesn't matter, whoever made our BOSS rich, with assets all over the world, doesn't care about the profit and loss of this small shop at all."

Erica dangled with only one Coke left at the bottom of the cup. Looking at the translucent and clear liquid shining brightly under the colorful lights, she smiled a little jokingly: "The so-called shop is only for fun, the rich Willfulness is always unconstrained, investing in chain stores on a whim, raising votes to support Mars tourism, and clamoring to freeze your own cells so that you can be reborn in a hundred years. I really dare not do it, only dare to think about it, and almost turn back time.”

The bartender froze for a second suddenly, when he heard the phrase "back in time".But he quickly recovered his smiling face, "Who knows, what is impossible in this world?"

Erica didn't notice the loss and confusion that flashed in his eyes. She drank the last sip of Ginger Coke and wiped her bare lips with a tissue.

At this time, the bartender pushed a glass of prepared blue-green liquid in front of her: "French vermouth, I'll treat you. Don't worry, it's made with soda water and lemon juice, the alcohol content is very low. And——"

He stopped and looked out the window: "The driver who came to pick you up is already waiting outside the door, um, he is dressed quite thickly, and he even wears a knitted hat." After that, he giggled.

Erica quickly cast a glance out the window, saw the familiar silhouette in the red Chevrolet, and quickly drank the free absinthe in two or three sips.Although a lot of soda was added, the absinthe was a strong drink after all, and after drinking it in a hurry, it was very refreshing. For Erica who rarely drank, it was a bit rushed.When she stood up, she wobbled twice before she was able to stabilize herself.

"Thank you... for the hospitality." She turned her head to thank the bartender, and was about to leave when one arm was gently grabbed.

She came back to her senses in a little surprise, and saw the bartender smilingly stretching out his other hand, his slender fingers gently caressing her delicate lips.

"It's okay for a girl not to take good care of herself. Your lips are finely lined, and occasionally you use some lip balm. Oh, Givenchy's new orange color is very suitable for you, dear."

His fingers brushed Erica's cheeks with a smell of wine, and returned to the bar.Erica was a little surprised by his sudden action and suggestion, blushed for a long time, muttered "thank you", and stumbled away.

The bartender hummed a cheerful song in a good mood. In the drawer under the bar, lay a gun and a bunch of bloody keys.

"I'm sorry, but I asked you to pick me up. My side has already transferred to Kram's corruption evidence. Is it going well on your side?" Erica asked, putting on her seat belt.

"There is no problem. I will probably be able to return to New York tomorrow morning." Akai replied confidently, starting the car.

Erica patted her face, which was slightly hot from alcohol, and suddenly turned her head to look back in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Seeing her turning her head frequently, Akai asked, and followed her gaze into the bar.

Erica touched her lips: "That bartender, it feels a little strange."

"Strange people are everywhere in Chicago." Akai hooked the corner of his mouth, "Are you going back to the hotel? I'll take you back first."

The car had already driven a hundred meters away, but Erica was still thinking about it, her body shrunk into a ball in the passenger seat. Suddenly, she turned her face to Akai, and the sudden movement scared him Almost rear-ended.

"Hey, Mr. Akai, who do you think is more...feminine between me and Judy?"

It took Akai a full half a minute to recover from the surprise caused by this question.

"...Why did you suddenly ask this kind of question?" He thought how to answer this question was the number one problem he encountered this year.

"Please don't evade, and answer with your first instinct." Erica leaned closer to the driver again, with a serious expression.

"Um……"

"..."

"..."

"Okay, I know the answer." Erica curled her lips, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hey, can you stop at the entrance of the store in front, wait for me for 10 minutes." She suddenly pointed to a Macy's chain store on the side of the road and shouted.

Although he didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in her gourd, Akai parked the car at the door silently.

One of the two rushed into the store impatiently, the other leaned against the car door to light a cigarette, staring at the inexplicable back of his companion thoughtfully.

What happened to her today...?He really couldn't figure it out.

Several beautiful girls in mink fur coats passed by and cast provocative glances at him. Akai shook his head helplessly, but the corners of his mouth still raised slightly imperceptibly.

Fifteen minutes later, Erica ran out bouncing around, holding a delicate little paper bag in her hand.He just finished one of his cigarettes, it seems that she is doing business on the spot.

However, she seems to be a little different.

The original light pink lips were covered with a layer of very bright and vibrant orange red lipstick.

Only then did he understand the reason for Erica's abnormality, and he was a little dumbfounded.But cosmetics are really amazing, they can make a woman look radiant in an instant.

Of course, she was originally a beautiful beauty with a distinctive appearance.

"Mr. Akai, where are you going next? Can I go with you?" She was a little drunk, but she was a little excited, waving the shopping bag in her hand as if she was performing acrobatics.

"I don't have any special plans." Akai steadily threw the stubbed cigarette butt into the trash can not far away, "I just want to go around the city, or go to the bar for a few drinks, anyway, I don't want to go back so soon, I always It's a night sleeper."

"Then... let's go to the movies!" Erica pulled out two movie tickets from the paper bag containing lipstick as if by magic, and handed them to Akai, "I guess you will definitely like it."

Akai accepted the movie ticket suspiciously.He also goes to the movies occasionally, but more of the smaller types of movies.

"The night when the comet came." Akai read, as if he had heard it somewhere.

"It's a brain-burning movie with a good reputation recently. It's full of details. It's about parallel time and space." Erica said expectantly.

So half an hour later, they were already sitting in the movie theater, and the movie was about to start.

Half of the seats in the theater were empty, firstly because the movie was about to be released, and secondly because the content of the movie was not a hit, and the audience was already quite large.

Erica swayed from side to side in her seat like she was on a stimulant. Akai guessed that someone in the bar must have fed her a high-alcohol fake wine just now.

But the movie is really very good-looking, it is too much for his taste, he is very absorbed in watching it, silently memorizing every detail in his heart, reasoning while following the plot, his mind is spinning non-stop, he didn't even notice Erica, who had urged him to come and see, had dozed off.

"Hello... Erica?" After the movie ended, she still didn't wake up, or she slept more soundly, curled up on the seat self-sufficiently, like a kitten hiding from the rain.

"..." Akai hesitated for a long time, considered countless plans, and finally decided to pick her up, carried her to the car, covered her with his coat, and carried her back to her own room in the hotel.

He just needs to make his actions look like a murderer who is in a hurry to dispose of the body. This is America, and no one cares how men and women are entangled.

"Do you believe that there are parallel...worlds?" When she was put on the bed, she suddenly opened her eyes and asked mutteringly, not knowing whether she was awake or in a daze.

"I... believe it." He replied coaxing a child.

Erica arched on the bed and mumbled a series of words, and suddenly her voice became clear again, "You said, what are you and I doing in countless other parallel worlds? Will it be suddenly replaced by someone else and no one will notice?"

Akai sighed, although she fell asleep for most of the time, she didn't miss the content of the movie at all.

"Don't worry, if you are not you, I will notice it immediately." He smiled, with a hint of coaxing.

Erica burst into a sly and ambiguous sweet smile that she would never show when she was awake, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Looking at her sleeping face, Akai didn't know which nerve was wrong, he raised his hand to brush her long hair covering her face, and suddenly his hand stopped in mid-air.

It was the first time for him to brush his hair for the opposite sex, and being in the same room with her gave him an inexplicable sense of home, and he didn't know or understand where this feeling came from.

Maybe it was the sweet childish smile just now, or maybe it was the close relationship in the past year that made the two of them develop a relationship like a family?

He didn't know, and didn't think much about it, after all, he had more important things to deal with.

He walked to the window and looked at the night view of Chicago, wondering if in other parallel time and space—if there was, would the two be a family, brother and sister, father and daughter, or husband and wife?

He couldn't help laughing.

The TV in the downstairs hall was broadcasting a news that the body of a 25-year-old Caucasian male was found in a trash can in the east of the city.