“…”
After a brief hesitation, I forced myself to promptly answer him.
“I collect them out in the country.”
There was no point in lying. It would not make things better. There wasn’t much of a bridge left to burn.
The inspector simply nodded again. “I haven’t stepped out there in a while. Easy to forget how beautiful the world is, isn’t it?”
“… Yes.” His response puzzled me.
“Where are the best sights, do you think?”
“Uh… Well…” I thought carefully. “The wilder ones are further out, beyond the city and in the forest, where less people are. However, it’s more dangerous out there.”
He let out a breath in humour. “A bit of excitement is all right. Is the wild really as dangerous as people put it to be?”
“… Not really.”
“How often do you see bears?”
“Bears? I… don’t recall the last time I saw one.”
“Ah. Are there just… not that many anymore?”
“I wouldn’t know the answer to that.”
“Fair enough.”
Another lull. Outside, I heard some loud voices, but it looked like it was just two men greeting each other. I gladly pretended to look interested in what was going on with the two. This man really was a strange one, wasn’t he? I struggled to figure out what he was doing.
“What’s more dangerous about it?”
“Well…” I hesitated. My heart sank. I didn’t want to participate in this conversation any longer. “It’s not like the city, you know…”
“… Sorry?”
“Uh…” I didn’t look over, pretending I was really distracted by the men who were loudly blathering away outside the shop door. My botched reply only confused him. But I couldn’t leave him hanging. There was no going back. I was slowly cornering myself. Hastily, I made up. “Not as safe, you know. But not too dangerous, if you know your way around, you know? Around the forest.”
“Well, that’s the same with the city, isn’t it?” He spoke in a quiet mumble, with just enough volume and enunciation to interpret. There was a genuine tint of candidness to his tone. “Just with people, you know. You know, streets to avoid. Riff-raff. All the sort. I mean, we’ve got our own problems as well.”
“…”
“Do you live in town?” With a brief pause, he added, “If you don’t mind.”
“No. Out in the country.”
“Ah. Right. I don’t think you realise how many people get into vehicle accidents. Or street scuffles. A whole street that’s notorious for those. Stabbings are quite popular.”
“…” I stared at him. Stupefied by his answer. His attention was elsewhere.
“Different sets of problems. You’ve got your wildlife and we’ve got our more different wild lives.”
“… I suppose.”
“Whereabouts did you collect these?” He looked up, his gaze immediately crossing with mine. His dark blue eyes peered deep into mine. Again, I had to stifle a jump, a chill running down my spine this time. Even if his soft expression was not menacing, there was something eerie about how he repeatedly caught my gaze. It took me a moment to focus on where he was beckoning. His fingers were tucked under a few petals of blue flowers.
“Those ones?”
He smiled sincerely, giving me a bit of a chuckle. “Or is that a trade secret you can’t tell me?”
Unwittingly, a little smile broke across my face, letting go of my breath. “No, no. Happy to share with an honest admirer.” I pulled in my elbows and straightened a little. “Though, it’s hard to give directions in a forest. There aren’t exactly street signs you can follow.”
The man laughed some more. “Quite all right, then. All right.” Retracting his hand, his eyes scanned the island table, packed with vases of flowers. “Maybe I’ll settle with a stroll elsewhere. Somewhere a little bit harder to get lost in. Know of any locations that would fit the bill?”