Page 68 of Sixty Meters Under

Lennart stopped in front of him at a comfortable distance. “Mr. Kato, I know you’re supposed to close, but I need to talk to you.”

“About what?” Ryosuke replied and crossed his arms, trying to look irritated.

A small smirk formed on Lennart’s lips, but his face became more serious when he added, “I came to ask you if you remembered anything related to the case.”And to test something,but he didn’t voice this part out loud.

I knew he came to ask me something like this.Ryosuke looked up and locked eyes with him, “No. I didn’t remember anything. I told you everything I know.” He continued to stare, his jaw clenching.

Lennart closed the distance between them. Ryosuke’s eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat when Lennart rested his arm on one of the shelves above his shoulder. Lennart towered over him still looking straight into his eyes, the distance between them almost nonexistent at that point.

What does this guy think he’s doing?Ryosuke panicked. He looked like a doe in the headlights with eyes still wide and frozen in place.

“Are you sure? I thought you had enough time to think the whole thing through,” Lennart added in such a manner that sent shivers down Ryosuke’s spine.

Ryosuke gasped, unnerved by the man’s proximity. Lennart’s cologne flooded his nostrils making his head spin, and as if that wasn’t enough, his gaze was drawn to man’s lips, wondering what they would taste like in that moment.This… this must be some trick of his to scare me and make me talk.Ryosuke tried to make sense out of this situation. His heart threatened to jump out of his chest and his face flushed a bit, but he wanted to play it off as being highly annoyed.

Ryosuke frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Landberg! I think there’s no need for you to get in my face like this and invade my personal space.” He could see a hint of confusion on Lennart’s features as Lennart pulled away.

Lennart crossed his arms but stayed close.It didn’t work? Hmm. He didn’t even flinch and behaved appropriately. Maybe Scarlett indeed did something to him to make him hit her head.Lennart tried to read him as he added, “My apologies. I guess I got carried away.”

By you.

Carried away with what?

Ryosuke looked at him perplexed. While he was still staring, Lennart added, “I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“I have nothing to add. I told you everything I knew the first time we spoke.”

“So, you can’t even confirm to me that you saw Richard hit her?”

Ryosuke began to sweat. If he said he saw it, it would be a lie, and he wouldn’t want to bear false witness against anyone. But still, if he said no, it would be as if he pointed the finger at himself.

“I’m waiting, Mr. Kato.”

What should I do?

Ryosuke took a deep breath and noticed his heart beating even faster. He looked away, he couldn’t bear it to look the man straight in the eye. “I…” He started and his arms began to tremble. He took another breath. “No. I don’t remember seeing that.” He then glanced up at the man and saw his blank face. Lennart only sighed and seemed to get lost in his thoughts.

Lennart crossed his arms, and added, “You know, we found the object that Scarlett was hit with.”

Ryosuke didn’t say anything, he just looked at the detective in dreadful anticipation. For some reason unknown to him he was almost certain what the answer would be.

Lennart put his hands at his sides and tucked them into his pockets without taking his eyes off him. Since Ryosuke didn’t say anything, he proceeded, “She was hit with a liquid soap dispenser. Discovering that item wasn’t much of a puzzle, but who did it… We still need to prove that.”

Ryosuke watched him with horror in his eyes.

Lennart leaned closer all of a sudden and spoke into his ear. “That was the real reason why I came to speak to you again. And also, to tell you to come tomorrow into the investigating room after breakfast.”

Ryosuke was speechless. A million emotions crossed his face, but he didn’t manage to utter a word. And on top of that he suddenly remembered the disturbing dream he’d had at the edge of the morning.

“Have a good night,” Lennart added, pulled away and left.

Ryosuke didn’t have the strength to move; he only leaned his back against the shelves and remained like that for a moment longer.

Chapter 20

After Ryosuke locked the library, he went to his private room. His mind was distracted; he had trouble finding his keycard and unlocking the door.

“Hey, honey!” Ayame greeted him with a smile that faded when her eyes landed on him. “What’s the matter?”