【T.C.】【The Case Files of Hiroki Karasuda】【Interlude】

Hiroki Karasuda.
Deputy Chief of the Public Security Cyber Countermeasures Division.
Codename: Karasu—the Crow.

A morning like any other.
Karasu drank his homemade apple smoothie.
He placed another glass beside it.

“…That kid hates vegetables,” he muttered, and left his apartment.

Just then, he noticed an old wristwatch lying in front of his home.
Its hands had stopped.
Not quartz—mechanical.
Heavy when he picked it up.
He was in a rush, so after hesitating, he slipped it into his suit pocket.

Late that night, he returned home.
Suzume was already asleep.
Under the fluorescent light, he examined the watch again.

On the dial:

“Patek Philippe.”

…What? What is this?

It might not be as famous as Rolex.
But this watch—
Isn’t this worth millions?
If it’s real…

In the world of watches, Patek Philippe sits at the very top.
Far above Rolex.

Karasu frowned.

“Why would something like this be in front of my house?”

He began to solve the mystery behind the incident.
He felt strangely motivated.
Karasu liked mysteries—especially Ayatsuji Yukito and Hase Seishū.
Well, that didn’t matter now.

He reasoned:
Why would a Patek be lying in front of his home?
Could it be stolen goods?

Possible—but unlikely.

He paced around his room like Columbo.
No hints surfaced.

The next morning—
He noticed something odd about Suzume.
She was fidgety.
He called out to her.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

She jolted.
“Eh? Just… stuff.”

Suspicious.

“Looking for something? Don’t tell me you’re—”
“W–What? Cigarettes? I told you I don’t smoke!”

“No… never mind that.”
He held up the Patek.
“This watch.”

“Aaah, that! Yes, that!” Suzume said, smiling innocently.

“Where did you get this?”
“From the old man next door—the one with the pear orchard. He gave it to me as thanks for helping out.”

Karasu was speechless.
Suzume had no idea what the watch was worth.
And why would the old orchard owner have it?

He squeezed out only one line:

“…Return it.”

The next day—
Karasu and Suzume visited the elderly gentleman’s pear orchard.

A vast orchard.
The old man welcomed them and served tea.

Little by little, he began to talk.

“Back in the bubble era, I did well for myself, you know. So I bought things like this. Land, brand goods… all sorts of foolish things.”

“It’s just an old broken watch, right?” Suzume said, carefree.

“Idiot,” Karasu snapped.
“No, no… it’s fine,” the old man chuckled softly.

“This girl treats me normally. Me holding onto something like this means nothing. I’d rather she have it.”

“Still…” Karasu protested.

“It’s fine, just take it,” Suzume said lightly.

She never thinks ahead—

Suzume retrieved a pear and offered it to the old man.
He smiled gently.

“See?” he said quietly.

“No, even so…” Karasu tried again.

“Think of it as God’s whim.”

“I’ll come pick pears again!” Suzume chirped, bouncing away.

“You understand, don’t you?” the old man said.

“…Still,” Karasu murmured.

He thought:

What the hell. This isn’t even a case…

As for what happened to the stopped watch afterward—
That is another story.