INM 3 Part 4

“This is a very private matter about Alan, so I hesitated to mention it… but when we were in high school, I saw some small wounds on his body.” 

Chloe’s look mixed with confusion at Kasim’s words, and Victor’s face turned serious. 

“Those wounds were clearly inflicted by someone else, so I wanted to make sure Alan wasn’t still… or hadn’t been hurt by anyone, which is why I came to ask you two.” 

“I see, that’s what this is about.” Chloe murmured with a sigh. 

“Let me ask you again, have you noticed if Alan has ever been hurt by anyone?” 

In response to Kasim’s question, Chloe and Victor exchanged glances. Victor spoke first. 

“Your story reminded me of something.”

The young man continued with a serious expression, wiping away his usual sarcastic smile. 

“It was when I first started hanging around Alan… one time I patted him lightly on the back. Just a light tap, like a greeting.”

As he explained, Victor mimicked the action in the air, a very light tap that barely moved his fingers.

“Even with that light touch, Alan was in great pain. He tensed up, turned pale, and broke out in a cold sweat. Even I thought something was wrong.” 

“When was that?” Kasim asked, almost groaning.

“Two years ago. Since then I have tried not to touch Alan, so I don’t know if he still has any injuries.” 

“His clothes…”

Chloe hesitantly interrupted Victor’s words.

“His clothes have changed. Around last summer, Alan always wore shirts with sleeves that came up to here.”

As she spoke, Chloe pointed to just past her elbow. That would be three-quarter sleeves. In a subtropical city where many people wear short sleeves even in winter, wearing three-quarter sleeves in summer must have been quite noticeable. 

“I thought he might be cold because he’s thin, but he started wearing shorter sleeves more often. Lately he always wears T-shirts. I haven’t seen him layering clothes either.”

“Yeah. The Alan I know always wears a short-sleeved shirt.”

Chloe nodded at my words and turned her eyes to Kasim.

“This may not address all of your concerns, but it should alleviate some of them…” I trailed off, lowering my gaze. “I understand how you feel. Everyone in this room probably feels the same way.” 

Victor tapped his fingers on the table as a signal, then pointed alternately at himself and Kasim, raising his eyebrows. He seemed to ask, “Does “everyone” include me?” I nodded quickly and gestured frantically for Victor to put his hand down. 

After a moment of reflection, Kasim smiled at Chloe and Victor. Though it was tinged with sadness, it was still a charming smile. 

“Thank you. I’m really glad I got to hear your stories.” 

“It wasn’t much.” Chloe replied. 

“No… I realized that starting university might have ended the violence against him. Thank you. We’re not here to delve into the reasons for his death. I just…” 

“Yes, I understand.” Chloe’s nod signaled the end of our interrogation-like conversation. The four of us stood up separately and headed for the elevator. 

The idea that the sender of those murderous letters was someone Alan knew might have been too easy. 

As I replayed the conversation in my mind, I sighed softly. The seven anonymous letters, with holes pierced by the pressure of the pen, carried intense hatred… yet I couldn’t imagine Alan’s three friends or the aforementioned Tony harboring such raw emotions towards me. Realizing this was a bit of a relief. The possibility that Alan’s wounds had healed also gave me considerable comfort. 

I started to think about stopping at New Farm for some bread after our talk with Ethan. At that moment, Victor caught up to me with long strides. Surprised, I looked at him. Although he was taller than me, he was probably about the same height. 

“I forgot to ask earlier, Luke.” Victor began, still looking straight ahead with his bright green eyes. Startled by the red-haired young man’s sudden speech, I listened as he continued. 

“Have you been targeted recently?”

My mouth formed a perfect “O” on its own, and in response I heard youthful laughter from afar. Beyond the window of the sterile, ordinary hallway, the familiar world of peaceful students spread out. The serene scene of students drinking smoothies with books in hand contrasted sharply with the words I had just heard, making me dizzy. 

With my mouth still wide open, I managed to squeeze out a voice from the bottom of my stomach.

“Say what?”

Gasping, I saw Kasim and Chloe, who were walking ahead of me, turn to see what was going on. I smiled and shook my head, “It’s nothing”, and turned my eyes back to the young man beside me. 

“Did you just say “targeted”? Do I look like a lone assassin to you?”

The young man shrugged at my whispered exclamation.

“Well, I’m not used to this sort of thing, so I apologize if I’m off the mark.”

With that preface, Victor narrowed his eyes with an annoyingly calm demeanor.

“You are looking for someone who thought you were Alan’s lover. Why? Because something has happened to you. Probably something unpleasant, and you think it has to do with Alan…”

“Wait, wait, wait, that’s confusing.”

Victor, slightly offended by my words, rephrased his statement. 

“You experienced something unpleasant and you think the perpetrator is connected to Alan.”

Finally, the murderous anonymous letters and Victor’s question connected in my mind. I was at a loss for words for a moment, then sighed in admiration.

“Targeted is an exaggeration, but… you’re surprisingly sharp.”

“I just thought it through, despite my inexperience… Actually, this is Chloe’s specialty. She would have figured it out quickly. Your interrogation is terrible. You give us more information than you get.”

“All right, all right, sorry.”

Strangely, I couldn’t get angry and just twisted my mouth on purpose. 

Then silence quickly fell between us again. Just a few more steps and we would reach the elevator. Once there, we would separate from the two physics students for the time being. 

“Hey.” Victor, who had been watching me, said in a confused voice. “Why don’t you say anything?”

“Say what?”

“About that unpleasant incident that happened to you.”

For what felt like the umpteenth time today, I was taken aback by the young man’s unexpected words. 

“I am surprised. Do you want to hear about it?”

“Not really. Frankly, I’m not very interested.” Victor replied without missing a beat. “But isn’t this the part where you, impressed by my accurate insight, start spilling details about what happened to you?”

“Have you been reading too many detective stories?”

“Not really, but if I had to choose, I’d say my favorite is Poirot.”

“I see…”

“So how about you tell me what happened?” 

I considered his suggestion for a moment. It wasn’t something I had to keep secret, but I didn’t feel comfortable talking about this rather shocking incident in a casual way. Besides, something about Victor’s words kept catching my attention. 

As I struggled with these thoughts, the four of us finished our short journey and arrived at the elevator. They say that time solves most problems, and it seemed to be true. 

“Unfortunately, Victor, time is up. We’ll continue this conversation another time.”

Chloe, who had been taken aback, turned to look at me with wide eyes.

“I’m surprised. You seem to enjoy your time with Vic… That’s quite unusual. Should we take the stairs?”

“Is that okay? I’d like that very much.” Kasim said with a happy laugh, and Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

“No problem. I’ll also take you to the cafe where you’ll meet Ethan.” 

“Thanks, Chloe. Luke and I would probably get lost otherwise.” 

Before I could argue that we should use the convenience of the elevator, they returned to their conversation. 

Victor raised his eyebrows dramatically. Unable to withstand his gaze, I spoke reluctantly. 

“Well, um, I got a letter.” 

“Hmm, a letter. You posted your email address and phone number online, didn’t you?” 

“No, no.” I quickly corrected him. “I mean a literal letter delivered to my mailbox.”

“What?”

Victor exclaimed in shock. As far as I knew, it was the first time he had ever raised his voice like that. Chloe also looked confused and looked back. Kasim, who also turned around, smiled warmly at me for some reason.

Not understanding, I smiled back. Victor muttered next to me. 

“Is the sender a caveman?” 

“Hey…” 

“What did they bother to tell you?” 

“Not much, really.” I remembered the string of angry words and sighed. “Just that they can’t stand me.” 

“When did you get it?” 

“The next morning after you arrived. Of course, the sender was unknown.” 

“If I remember correctly, mailed letters have a postmark with the date on it?”

“There was no postmark because it was delivered directly.”

“Was the name addressed to you correct?”

“Yes, my name was written on it, but…”

“Were the letters of your name spelled correctly?”

His question surprised me and I fell silent. I pictured the pale blue envelope in my mind. It was indeed written in messy letters as LUKE POTTER.

The unpleasant memory made me frown slightly and I continued.

“The handwriting was messy, but it spelled Luke Potter correctly. However, most letters address me as “Lucas”, so seeing “Luke” immediately gave me a bad feeling.”

Victor listened to my words, his green eyes wandering as if deep in thought. A slight furrow appeared between his eyebrows.

“Didn’t the receptionist at your apartment see who delivered it?”

“The mail can be delivered from outside the building, which is why we often get unnecessary flyers.”

Victor nodded, seemingly intrigued.

“I see, so it’s me?”

“What?”

“The prime suspect for the sender of the letter.”

“Huh?”

This time it was my turn to answer with a confused voice. 

“The only problem is that it’s not true.”

“This theory is completely unexpected.”

“Well, considering the timing and the fact that I didn’t know your real name, I should be considered a suspect.” 

“Even I wouldn’t waste time and effort like that.” I muttered to myself and continued to speak.

“Not to sound rude, but all four of you meet those two conditions, right?” 

“The other three must have seen your name when they looked up your address.” 

“Hmm?” 

Personally, I thought a nickname heard repeatedly would stick more than a real name seen only once. 

“A letter with murderous intent, huh… Makes your theory that Alan’s death wasn’t a suicide seem less far-fetched.” the young man continued. 

His words made me almost miss a step on the stairs. Already exhausted from the constant surprises, I managed to continue the conversation while holding my dizzy head. 

“Did I tell you that I thought he might not have committed suicide?” 

“No, but Chloe said that you didn’t seem to consider the possibility of suicide at all, so I figured.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Because of that, I first thought you were the culprit, but Chloe said that was impossible, so I believe her.” 

“Wow… She’s really sharp.” 

“This ability has its drawbacks. It’s too concerned with appearances.” 

I pondered his words for a moment, then motioned for the sulky young man to slow down. 

“What is it?” 

“Well, does it have to do with her fashion and hair choices?” 

Raising his eyebrows at my words, Victor moved to walk beside me, distancing us from the other two in front of us. 

“Yeah, that’s part of it. She dresses to avoid being underestimated and to ward off unwanted attention.” 

“The former may work, but the latter seems counterproductive.” 

“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”

“Ah, so it’s backfiring, huh.”

Whispering to each other, I remembered the shock of meeting Chloe for the first time. Dressed all in black, she exuded a “stay away” aura that glowed when she smiled. Even though my romantic interest is in men, I felt a flutter of excitement at that moment.