In a villa on the outskirts of San Francisco, John flipped through the thick sheets of information that he had been here all day. He searched for a great deal of information about Raman Whitney, the man who called himself "V." If you can find him and explain the secrets of his body, you may be able to help Dio deal with the abnormalities of his body.

Raman Whitney, the powerful member of the Skull and Bones Society, was pulled down from the throne of the Skull and Bones Society in just one month, and his whereabouts are unknown. Ability is regeneration, or maybe it's not ability either, and there's no clue to everything about him. The name of Rahman Whitney is not on the list of Wound Valley massacres, the Marines who are still serving, or those who are scheduled to join the Navy SEALs.

Maybe he secretly disposed of his information when he became the president of the Skull and Bones Guild - that's what John originally thought.

But when he searched for Raman's name in the Skull and Bones Society's roster, he found something he couldn't believe.

On the page of Rahman Whitney in the book, the paper was marked with a "V" with a horizontal line in the middle.

「V」。

No way. After Rahman's stronghold in England was destroyed by Dior, he never returned to the United States, let alone contacted other members of the Skull and Bones, and everything about him should be under his watch. After that, V never returned to the United States, and he couldn't have had any chance to tamper with the roster. If the name book had been tampered with before that, it would mean... The whole situation was in his expectation?

No way... Unless, in addition to the Skull and Bones Society, he secretly formed another organization, and even the Skull and Bones Society did not have a record.

This can explain why he was able to easily find Dior under the surveillance of "D-10" and infiltrate the Ming Empire. Even, it was not Raman Whitney himself who crashed with the plane in which Dior was riding.

Why did I only notice now...

John's brow furrowed, this incident did not have much impact on the current situation. But if "V" is not just one person, but a whole organization, as he thinks, there may be people in the United States who also have their manpower, but at this juncture, that guy ran to play some 'game' with Sherlock, then the fact that Dior is not dead will soon be exposed.

The most terrible organization is never the most well-known.

John immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Saria, I have something to ask you. Lead the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) and 'them' to investigate the organization related to "V", and the only clue is 'Raman Whitney'. The other side may still have people within us, so be careful. Also, if allowed, pay attention to Dior's position, the other party's purpose is clearly related to her. If allowed, inform Dior about it without being detected, above. ”

Hanging up, John pulled open the drawer of his fir desk, which contained a gun and a box of ammunition. It was the same model as the gun he gave Dior, the Smith & Wesson M500.

After a moment's thought, he closed the drawer.

Now is not the time for him to do it, these things can be solved by Dior himself.

The most important thing is that the enemy is in the dark, and you must have some hole cards on your side.

————

Sherlock ran to the city's mountaineering supply store, and with the help of police officers, she ran almost all over San Francisco, and finally finally locked on her target. Dior's signal sticks were purchased at the boarding supply store next to Chinatown near the opera house.

"Is it okay to disturb?"

With a cane in hand, Sherlock showed his boss his temporary police ID.

"Ha, officer, what's the matter?" the burly boss rubbed his shoulders and looked tired.

"That's right, we are investigating the culprit of a malicious incident, the suspect is a blonde girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, British, do you have any impression?"

"British?" the boss touched his chin, "you want to speak blonde man with a British accent, there was indeed a young woman with a British accent who came the night before." But you're going to say sixteen or seventeen... I don't think she's more. ”

"Did she buy a flare stick?"

"yes, some nylon ropes and padlocks, oh yes, she also asked where there was a pharmacy nearby, and I didn't know much about it, so I said I didn't know. ”

Sherlock doesn't think the average pharmacy sells contraband.

"Other than that? Any detail will do. ”

"Oh, she's got a little girl of a few years old, silver-haired, and the lady says it's her daughter," the boss replied, after a moment's thought, "and she's wearing a very strange dress, that's... In the Samurai films of the Ming Empire that are sometimes shown in TV dramas, the kind worn by the women. ”

"Well, that's a film of the island nation next to the Ming Empire. Sherlock interjected.

"Oh yes, I remember," the boss clapped his hands, "because I'm pretty girl, I looked at it twice, and then walked out of the store and stood outside for a while." I saw her leave with a silver-haired girl of sixteen or seventeen, who was a few years old and might be her sister? It should be nothing. ”

Silver... Sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl, Sherlock remembers being one of the scheduled members of "D-10", and Sherlock and Dio have seen those materials in her house, so she must be right. And the little girl who is a few years old is a little girl named Sakuya, and Dio said that it is a little girl who is his daughter... Blood-related.

But in the eyes of outsiders, she and Sixteen Nights are sisters? Dio doesn't lie, if that's the case...

Could it be... After careful consideration, there was nothing strange about Dior's behavior at that time, if this was the case, as she had guessed at the beginning, everything was set against her, including the farce at the opera house. Bringing her over to participate in the opera house's case, and then proposing a 'game' to her, none of this is a whim.

That's right, the people of Xichang, Ruoyuebai is also her subordinate, and she already knows about her coming to the United States, so it's not surprising that she can do this. The reason for rejecting this conjecture at first was only because Dio had no reason to do so. But if, only if... If Dior had a reason to do so, and it was enough for her to waste so much time dealing with herself, the 'web' she had woven would have allowed her to sink into it long ago. And maybe I have a purpose attached to it... No... It doesn't make sense either.

“... Official... Officer?"

The boss's voice pulled her back to reality, she nodded as if she had just woken up from a dream, and said to the boss:

"Thank you for your information, we will definitely bring the real culprits to justice as soon as possible. ”

With that, Sherlock returned to the police car with his crutches.

Why... Yes, why? There are so many illogic aspects of her actions.

“「V」...”

Dio said, the man who slipped into her plane and tried to sink her into the Pacific Ocean. At that time, Dior also said to himself...

'Who is V playing for now, why did he sneak into my plane and try to bury me in the Pacific Ocean, if you have investigated clearly, remember to write me back, and accordingly, I will tell you what you want to know, how about it?'

Which side is your desire?

Wait a minute...

Think carefully about the timing of those two people's appearance. The Phantom that appeared at the Opera House, Cristina, Dior... and the Sixteen Nights Moon. In retrospect, Sherlock, Dio really wants you to do what you want, the malice of that guy with a disdainful face and acting only for himself.

Where was Dior when Cristina appeared? There was no reason why she was such a conspicuous person at the opera house that she should not be discovered, when Sherlock looked around the crowd and did not see anyone in that dress. The key is that if according to her previous conjecture, there is no need for Dior to disguise at all, there is a huge gap between her current appearance and before, and ordinary people can recognize it. So why did she go to the trouble of that disguise? and... The difference between the 'two people'...

Christina, and the real Dior.

No, Dio wouldn't say that, and Dio wouldn't have counted her own life in the plan, she would have spared her life more than anyone else. And those drugs... At first, I thought she was designing it to get away with it, but why did she have other drugs? That's not necessary, that is... It's that 'Dior' who really needs those drugs, the real guise, the drugs for mental illness.

“... No wonder—" Sherlock muttered to himself.

Sherlock reached for the vial in her arms, and she narrowed her eyes and opened it. She hadn't checked the substances, but she had handed them over to the police before that. The script on the stage at that time was the same, and she didn't even have a look at it, so it was recycled. If these are not coincidences, but someone deliberately made it impossible for them to see these things, and the real body of those information is what they need to confirm...

What is the news that I missed twice?

"Hey, detective, I think you need this. The policewoman sitting in the cab took a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Sherlock.

“... Thanks a lot. ”

Sherlock paused and took the cigarette case, but when she got it, she frowned, opened the cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and then put the cigarette case into her arms.

"No thanks, there are still a long days ahead. The policewoman smiled slightly, and lifted her silver hair from her sideburns.