Epilogue

Years later, Mamoru was still unable to explain the motivation behind the murder of Minako Aino, his wife, Ami Mizuno and Makoto Kino.

Noboru disappeared, one day simply no longer there. When Mamoru broke into his flat after three days of worry, he found everything in place, from the dirty laundry on the bathroom floor to the dried ficus in the corner.

Noboru's body was found weeks later, washed ashore on the banks of the Edo. There was a suicide note in his pockets, his messy handwriting in waterproof pen on laminated paper.

Mamoru,

sorry to leave you behind just now, but it had to be done. There is no other way, I thought about it, but there isn't.

You are more than a friend to me, and if I could save you from what is still to come, I would, mate, I would. But there is nothing I can do other than making it worse, making it quicker. I would lead her to you, and she is more dangerous than the Hino girl ever was. So I leave, and I can't take you with me. That night on the bridge so long ago... you made the right decision. A small part of you didn't want to jump, wanted to live, and I hope you still do. It's just that I don't.

Take my advice and run, run fast, run hard, and don't look back.

One day, we will meet again.

N.

It was Katsurou Mamoru wanted to turn to for help in this darkest hour, not able to carry this burden alone, needing someone with a cold and analytical mind to make sense of it all, but when he stepped down into the pathology for the first time since the missing heart killings, he was met by a new face. Katsurou Hanzo had resigned and moved away, carefully destroying all records that could lead to his whereabouts. Mamoru hoped that the odd but kind man was in a small house somewhere in the wilderness, carving wood and designing desks with the small secret drawers he liked so much. Deep down, Mamoru feared that this was too good to be true.

Kaitou Ace was found with a bullet in his head, one perfect shot right through his left eye. The police suspected suicide. There was no evidence to the contrary, but it was the neatest suicide Mamoru had ever seen.

Mamoru met Setsuna Meioh one more time before they parted ways for good and she left Tokyo for L.A., where she worked as a manager for a Japanese-American actress on the rise to stardom.

Only Jirou Koutani remained in the same place. Mamoru went to visit him often, confiding in him more than once. He wasn't sure if the man was taking in a word he said, but in a sick and twisted way, it was comforting to know that there was one person that would always be there.

In a padded cell in the asylum, Jirou Koutani forever waited for the girl with the violet eyes to return to him.

THE END