Chapter 9

After leaving the police station, I went to the hospital to see Quint.

He was conscious, but had become a human wreck. When he saw me, he writhed violently like a maggot.

I smiled at him.

"Live well, Professor. You will forever dwell in the depths of hell, eternally tormented."

Holt was dead. I watched him slit his own throat right in front of me.

"Darling, I love you, and I love Delia. This was my mission, and now I've completed it."

With those words and a gentle smile, he unhesitatingly plunged the knife into his neck.

His body was cremated by the authorities.

I carried the urns containing Holt's and my sister's ashes to the seaside.

The azure ocean, how beautiful it was. Since childhood, Delia had always loved the sea. She used to say that when she grew up, she'd make sure I took her to the beach to play in the sand and catch crabs.

"Sister, you didn't lie. It really does feel nice to walk barefoot on the sand."