Chapter 86 - C and K, J and Z

After several shouts from inside, Jett came out.

He was frowning deeply as if he had heard something he shouldn't have.

At this, I immediately asked Jett, "Sheriff, what did the detective say? Who does she say is Zodiac?"

"...There's nothing to know. Just because it's Pinkerton doesn't mean they can always find the culprit easily. The claim Sophia just made was too absurd."

Swish.

At that moment, Sophia also came out of the sheriff's office.

Her expression was also crumpled as if she had bitten into a bug.

She seemed angry that Jett hadn't listened to her.

Sophia spoke to Jett as if giving a final warning with a displeased face, but...

"Sheriff. Zodiac won't stop. If we don't catch him right now, there will be another victim. No matter how deep your affection is..."

"Be quiet! Didn't I clearly say that's not it!"

Jett only dismissed her opinion with a loud shout.

"...Fine, then I'll handle it my own way."

Perhaps upset by Jett's behavior, Sophia briefly looked over me and Emma before riding her horse and leaving somewhere.

Whoosh.

Her retreating figure seemed to contain certainty.

She definitely knows who Zodiac is.

Now she would soon catch Zodiac.

But I couldn't wait until she caught Zodiac.

In the meantime, Zodiac would try to kill Emma as he had predicted in his letter earlier...

[Next I will kill the most beautiful woman in this town.]

It would be troublesome if Zodiac killed Emma.

It would also be troublesome if Sophia caught Zodiac first and took the bounty...

So I...

Grip.

At that moment, Emma grabbed my sleeve and asked, "...Boss. What are you going to do now?"

To Emma's question, I smiled slightly and answered, "...We have to catch Zodiac."

Yes, I was planning to catch Zodiac.

Right now, my head was full of fog.

Just looking at the first and second murders, it was absolutely impossible to know who Zodiac was.

But from the third...

Zodiac's silhouette began to appear in the fog in my mind.

A very familiar silhouette...

"...Boss. Actually, there are some suspicious circumstances."

And it seemed the same for Emma as she hesitantly said, "Zodiac is..."

"Wait."

I briefly stopped Emma's words and spoke first, "Let's talk somewhere safe, not here."

"Somewhere safe? Ah, yes."

Anyway, Sophia had left and everyone seemed to be leaving.

"Sheriff. We'll be going too."

"...Ah, alright. Kid. You'll be with Miss Emma, right?"

"Of course."

"I'm relieved if it's you… I hope we can meet smiling next time."

Jett said that, but in reality, the chances of us meeting with smiles next time were low.

I didn't bother telling Jett that and just waved with a bitter smile.

And...

I got on No Name with Emma and headed to a safe place.

***

When we arrived at the safe place I mentioned, Emma asked a bit incredulously, "...Is this the safe place you mentioned, Boss?"

"It's a very safe place."

The place I headed to was the Deaf Man's Bar.

Creak.

"Oh my, Kid and Emma. What brings you here at this time?"

Since it was close to noon, Bob wasn't inside, but Bob's wife Mary, daughter Daisy, and Liese were there.

"..."

Liese looked at me with cold, sunken eyes as soon as I entered.

She seemed curious about my intentions for coming here voluntarily even knowing her identity.

I gave a brief eye greeting to Liese too and sat down.

"Emma, you haven't eaten. Let's have a meal here first."

"I understand that, but... I don't understand why this is a safe place."

"Zodiac has always thoroughly hidden his identity until now. The Deaf Man's Bar is always full of people. If we just stay here, that Zodiac bastard won't be able to approach easily."

"I see… Well. It does seem safer to be here than in the isolated office."

At that moment, Mary brought us food and we started our late breakfast.

But Emma pretended to eat while secretly asking me again, "...But Boss. Didn't you say you were going to catch Zodiac?"

"..."

"If we just stay here, we definitely won't be able to catch Zodiac."

As expected, Emma was sharp.

If we just sit here in the Deaf Man's Bar, we definitely wouldn't be able to catch Zodiac.

But I had thought about that too.

"Joe will come here soon with an important clue. I told him in advance."

"...Mr. Joe?"

"Yeah, so let's wait for now."

After Joe's sister fell victim last time, I assigned the role of finding clues about Zodiac to him, who was filled with resentment.

I told him to meet at the Deaf Man's Bar two days after finishing the investigation, so Joe would definitely come here.

I was planning to catch Zodiac then.

But at the words that I planned to catch Zodiac with Joe, Emma's face hardened for a moment and she said, "Boss, wasn't there something I was about to say earlier? That..."

"Oh, I think I know what you were going to say. But it's okay, Emma."

"But..."

"It's okay."

"..."

At my assertion, Emma didn't say the same thing to me anymore.

After that, we finished our meal and had other everyday conversations while drinking.

It was a bit burdensome that Liese kept staring at me in the middle, but there wasn't anything particularly problematic.

Emma and I spent time pleasantly there until Bob, who had been resting briefly, came back to work as the bar filled with drinking customers when the sun set.

And...

Thud.

Just when the moon seemed to have risen quite high, the door opened roughly and Joe came in.

"..."

"..."

The townspeople who usually treated the good-natured Joe casually clicked their tongues and averted their eyes when he entered this time.

It was because everyone knew that Joe hadn't gone to work and had been roaming the town since his sister was killed the day before yesterday.

And it was I, who had ordered Joe to roam the town.

Because only Joe could find clues about Zodiac.

Step, step.

Joe seemed to have found out everything I told him to, as he came right up to me and whispered, "...Mr. Noah. I found the person you mentioned."

"...Really?"

Hearing Joe's words, I immediately gathered my gun and got up from my seat.

Seeing me like that, Emma grabbed me tightly and asked, "...Boss, where are you going?"

"To catch Zodiac."

"Then I'll..."

"No, you just stay here."

When Emma tried to get up at the words that I was going to catch Zodiac, I sat her back down.

Actually, the safest place in Justice Town wasn't the Deaf Man's Bar, but by my side.

But today, I had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.

"Let's go, Mr. Noah."

"I'll be back soon, wait."

I told Emma not to worry as I followed behind Joe, who was leading the way with eyes full of vengeance.

And...

"..."

"..."

I approached Liese, who was still working even though it was well past closing time, and whispered.

"...!"

Liese flinched for a moment when she heard my whisper, then nodded.

"I will... follow your order."

Liese's appearance as she answered like that was stiff like a robot.

I clicked my tongue seeing that appearance and said one last thing to Liese, "...I'll be back after finishing this soon, so you wait too. Let's settle everything tonight."

"..."

Anyway, Liese would soon attempt to take my life.

If that was the case, wasn't it better for both of us to just do it quickly?

Zodiac too... Liese too...

I was planning to deal with everything tonight.

Looks like it's going to be a damn tiring night.

I set out looking at the full moon that was unusually large today.

***

Jo brought his carriage as usual.

I rode No Name and followed beside Joe, asking:

"So did you find the person I told you to find well?"

"Yes, it's certain. There was only one person among the immigrants who spoke Spanish."

<Catch the Outlaws> Chapter 8 [Zodiac Serial Killings].

It was a tricky episode where even veterans had to find Zodiac anew just like newbies because Zodiac and the case clues changed every time you played.

But perhaps anticipating players' complaints, the game company of <Catch the Outlaws> added one clue to find Zodiac.

That was Spanish.

Everything changed every time one played [Zodiac Serial Killings].

But just one thing.

The clue that Zodiac was fluent in Spanish was always the same.

So I ordered Joe, the only Mexican in Justice Town, to find another Spanish speaker.

"His name is Gregory. They say he came to America from Mexico a few years ago. He has no family and lives alone on the outskirts over there. His log cabin should appear soon."

"Good job finding him."

"But Mr. Noah. Is that guy really Zodiac?"

"If he's the only one in town who speaks Spanish, probably?"

"If you say it's right, then it must be… Bastard. I'll definitely kill him myself."

Crunch.

Thinking of his dead sister Laura, Joe gritted his teeth and gripped the reins tightly.

There were tears in Joe's eyes, and as if preparing for a fight, there was a Remington revolver in his holster.

Clop clop, clop clop.

Riding like this with Joe carrying guns through the field somehow reminded me of old times, so I casually said, "...This reminds me of when we wiped out the Red Beard Gang."

"I benefited a lot from you then, Mr. Noah."

It had been over 8 months now, hadn't it?

I had wiped out the bank robber gang Red Beard Gang together with Joe before.

"Remember, Joe? You detonated dynamite in the Red Beard Gang and I shot and killed all those outlaw bastards with my gun."

At my words, Jo finally smiled slightly and answered, "It's an unforgettable memory, it still vividly comes to mind."

"Yeah, I vividly remember too."

Red Beard, Red Beard's daughter, the blood that day, the acrid gunpowder smell after detonating dynamite that day.

It remained so vividly in my memory.

Was that why?

"It's so vivid that I feel like I can still smell that dynamite gunpowder."

"..."

"From the luggage compartment behind your carriage, Joe."

Clop clop, clop clop.

Joe and I were now going to a dark and secluded place.

Does this person called Gregory really exist?

I wasn’t sure, but there was no log cabin like Joe mentioned around here for now.

Someone who could travel all over Utah by carriage, knew there were plenty of weapons in my warehouse after raiding the Red Beard Gang with me, was fluent in Spanish and was the first discoverer of the second murder case.

Such a person was beside me right now.

At that moment, I suddenly recalled an unforgettable past incident.

— How about TKK for our organization name? The last K is for Klan!

— ...You silly sister. The spelling for Clan isn't Klan, it's Clan.

Why am I suddenly remembering that unrelated incident?

I let out a hollow laugh and said to Joe, "...You stupid bastard, wake up. You're J, not Z."

At my words, Joe also smiled back at me.

Seeing Joe's smile, it overlapped with when I first met him in this town 4 years ago.

— Welcome to Justice Town. I'm Joe, working as a coachman in this town. Nice to meet you!

Our friendly neighbor Joe, Joe who never lost his smile, Joe who worked harder than anyone for his beloved family.

That Joe wasn't here.

"This is why I hate sharp brats."

There was only the serial killer Zodiac, chosen by the system.

Bang—!

Soon Joe jumped out of the carriage and the carriage, reeking of gunpowder, exploded with a loud noise.

As I fell from No Name's back from the explosion's impact, I thought:

I really can't give my affection to this damn world after all.