Chapter 3 second quarter

When Yoshishiki Takefumi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Section homicide investigation team arrived at Ueno Station, "Crested Ibis No. 418" and "Yamabi No. 194" had already left platforms 19 and 20, because there were still trains arriving behind. , the platform must be vacated.However, the scene of the No. 7 first-class carriage of the two Shinkansen trains was well preserved. Yoshishiki Takeshi first came to the first-class compartment of "Yamabiko No. 194" that had entered platform 20.At the end of the compartment, in front of seat D in the thirteenth row, a man curled up and collapsed on the floor.

There are many flowers scattered on the seats, including white cosmos and lavender bellflowers.Jifu Takeshi thought: It was probably a bouquet when it was brought into the carriage, and it was scattered on the seats.If it is suicide, are these flowers used to comfort my lonely soul?Or is it used for funerals? The man lying on the floor had a lot of gray hair. Judging from the skin on his cheeks, he was at least in his fifties and didn't wear glasses. The right half of the deceased's cheek was pressed against the ground, and Takeshi Yoshifu, who was standing in the aisle, could see his left half of the cheek.Yoshifu Takeshi knelt down to examine the corpse.Perhaps it was due to the heavy fog, but the partner in charge of the on-site appraisal hadn't arrived yet.

The body is not stiff yet.Yoshishiki Takeshi sniffed the lips of the corpse, and smelled a sweet fragrance similar to buckwheat flowers. The corpse of a man in his fifties, with a tired facial expression.Looks like a mental worker, not a manual worker. He has a high nose bridge, thick eyebrows, slightly thick lips, and a short stature, about 1.65 meters. He is a small man among men. He was wearing a white half-sleeved shirt and a purple tie neatly tied on.He was wearing a pair of gray trousers, and a top of the same color and texture fell on the floor beside him.On her feet were a pair of dark brown leather shoes, as shiny as if they had just been polished.

Yoshishiki Takeshi stood up and saw a beer can on the windowsill.He took out his handkerchief to wrap his fingers, picked up the beer can and looked at it, there was still a little beer in it. There was a brown handbag on the luggage rack, a thick old book on the seat, and a magazine next to the old book. Just to be cautious, Yoshifu Takeshi wrapped his fingers in a handkerchief again, and picked up the thick old book.It was a hardcover book with a dark brown leather spine.The book is indeed very old, and there are cracks at the joint between the spine and the front and back covers.On the spine of the book are gold letters: Imperial Bunko (9) The Complete Works of Kinmatsu Seihua Joruri.

When I opened the cover, I saw the words "Shengzhong Library Collection" printed on the title page.Randomly flipping through a few pages, the yellowed pages were printed with ancient Chinese characters and prose.Yoshifu Takeshi tried to read a few lines, but he didn't understand anything.Most people don't take this kind of book with them when they travel. Yoshifu Takeshi handed the book to his partner, Kotani, and asked a group of flight attendants standing in the aisle, "Who was the first to find the body?" "Me!" A flight attendant raised his right hand and took a step forward.

Jifu Takeshi opened the notepad: "What's your last name?" "Kimura." "Are you the crew member of this car, 'Yamabiko 194'?" "No. I belong to 'Crested Ibis 418'." "From 'Crested Ibis 418'?" Yoshishiki Takeshi looked at the old flight attendant named Kimura suspiciously, "The flight attendant of 'Crested Ibis 418' was the first to discover the corpse on 'Yamabiko 194', isn't that true?" "Yes. I saw it from the window." "Saw it from the window?" "Yes. At that time, there was a woman who committed suicide in the first-class car of our 'Crested Ibis No. 418'. I was in the first-class car over there and watched as 'Yamayan No. 194' entered platform 20 .”

"Is this the train?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked. "Yes. The first-class compartment of 'Yamabi No. 194' is facing the first-class compartment of our 'Crested Ibis No. 418'. I saw this man's head leaning against the window motionless. I suspected that he was dead, so I ran over to make sure... " "That is to say, 'Yamabiko No. 194' and 'Crested Ibis No. 418' are parked on both sides of the platform?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked again. "right." "What is the difference between the vehicle composition of 'Yamabi No. 194' and 'Crested Ibis No. 418'?"

"Basically the same." "Basically the same? That is not exactly the same?" "Yes, but it is possible to say that they are identical. They are all twelve cars, numbered from one to twelve, and number seven is first class." "So that's why. So the first-class carriages are parked side by side on both sides of the platform, and the distance is very close." "Yes. You can clearly see the situation here." "Just now you said that they are basically the same, so what is the difference?" "The difference is in the fifth car. The fifth car of 'Yamako No. 194' has reserved seats, but the fifth car of 'Crested Ibis No. 418' has no reserved seats. The only difference is this, and everything else is exactly the same."

"Understood. Excuse me, what time does 'Crested Ibis No. 418' depart from Niigata?" "Twenty past six." "What about 'Yamabiko 194'? What time does the train leave from Morioka?" "Nineteen o'clock sharp," replied the other steward. "The departure time is different, but the time to arrive at Ueno Station is about the same, and they stop on both sides of the same platform, right?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked in great detail. At this time, the partner in charge of on-site identification, Funada Forensic Doctor, arrived.

"Hey! Takeshi Yoshishiki, are you here early?" Forensic doctor Funada said hello to Takeshi Yoshishiki, and squatted down next to the corpse.He leaned close to the lips of the deceased, sniffed it with his nose, and immediately said: "Cyanic acid poison! The effect is quick, but the poisoner is very painful. Are there few passengers in this carriage?" "Yes, there are very few passengers in the first-class carriage." "Oh, is that right... and the body temperature, it's been more than an hour since I died." Takefumi Yoshishiki picked up the jacket of the deceased who had fallen on the floor, and looked into his inner pocket.From the left inner pocket, he took out a blue teacher's certificate.Looking at the certificate, it reads:

Morioka No. 1 Middle School, class teacher of the second class of the second grade, Ze Shigeru Obuchi. It appears that the deceased was a secondary school teacher. Next, take out a wallet from the inside pocket on the right, which contains 110,000 yen.No suicide note or anything like that was found. "Is it suicide?" asked the old flight attendant Kimura. "It can't be determined yet." Yoshishiki Takeshi replied. Funada picked up the beer can on the window sill and sniffed it: "I must have died after drinking this." "Poison in the beer?" "It may also be to smear the poison on the mouth of the can. This kind of soda can has a specific position where it touches the mouth when drinking. However, if it is suicide, there is no need to do that. Put the poison in your mouth and wash it with beer Just go down." "I think that if it's suicide, the most common thing is to mix poison in beer or cola." Yoshishiki Takeshi said. "I think so too." Xiao Gu interjected. Funada carefully put the beer can into the plastic bag. Yoshishiki Takeshi said to Funada: "If there is nothing else going on here, let's go and see the female corpse in the first-class compartment of 'Crested Ibis No. 418'." "That's right, there's another one!" Funada said and stood up. "Crested Ibis No. 418" was parked nearby, and the female corpse in the first-class carriage was still sitting there upright.The flight attendants followed the police. "Who was the first to discover the body?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked. "Me too!" Kimura replied raising his right hand. Yoshifu Takeshi stared at the dead man's face for a long time.The dead man's hair was neatly combed, his makeup was meticulously applied, and thick mascara was applied to his eyelashes.It can't be said to be ugly, but it can't be said to be very beautiful.About forty years old.From expression to makeup to clothing, there is a bit of bar girl's coquettishness. Funada leaned close to the lips of the female corpse and sniffed: "This is also cyanic acid poison!" There was also a beer can on the small table in front of the seats.Yoshishiki Takeshi noticed that this can of beer was of the same brand as the can of beer he saw on "Yamabiko 194". "Mr. Kimura, didn't you notice that this woman was dead before arriving at Ueno Station?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked. Kimura felt that he was being blamed by the police, so he couldn't help lowering his head: "I'm sorry, I passed by her several times and didn't notice that she was dead. I thought she was asleep." "There are very few first-class passengers, are there?" "Very few. There are quite a lot of people in other cars, and most of the seats here are empty." "Where did this woman get into the car, do you remember?" "I remember. I got on the train in Niigata. I started to check the ticket after the train departed, so I remember it clearly." "Was she well then?" "Ah, it's okay." "Does the mood seem a little depressed?" "I didn't see this, it's normal." "Has this can of beer been kept here?" "Is this... I can't remember clearly. It seems to be kept here all the time." "Understood. Now, let me ask the flight attendant of 'Yamabiko 194' the same questions. Where did the man get on?" "Morioka." "Well, both of them got on the train at the departure station... Where is the beer? Did you put it on the window sill when Morioka departed?" The flight attendant thought for a while before saying, "I can't remember." "Is it also to check the ticket immediately after the train departs?" "yes." "Is there anything wrong with him then?" "No. Nothing unusual about him." "Oh." Next, Yoshishiki Takeshi opened the bag that the woman was carrying.No suicide note or anything like that was found, but her driver's license was found among a lot of cosmetics. From the photo, it can be concluded that it is the dead woman. The name on the driver's license is Iwata Fumiko, born on October 26, Showa 18 (1943), and my address is No. 9, Sanchome 11th, Nakanobashi Street, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. "Morioka?" Yoshishiki Takeshi couldn't help muttering in a low voice, then turned around and asked the flight attendant, "Is this 'Crested Ibis No. 418'?" The flight attendants nodded in unison. "It started from Niigata, and came from the Joetsu Shinkansen, right?" The flight attendants nodded in unison. "Huh?" Yoshishiki Takeshi fell into deep thought.So, the woman on "Crested Ibis No. 418" and the man who is a middle school teacher on "Yamabiko No. 194" are both from Morioka City. Why does one of them take the Joetsu Shinkansen departing from Niigata? ? "The woman here also died after drinking beer, there is no doubt about it." Funada said while carefully putting the beer can into a plastic bag.Another police officer in charge of scene identification immediately put a label on the plastic bag. "The detailed results will be identified soon. Anyway, let this man and woman go to our Sugamo Forensic Hospital affectionately first?" Funada said witty words with ease. The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was interested. Yoshishiki Takeshi was touched by Funada's witty words: "Kiss...kiss..." Yoshishiki whispered. "That's it." Said Funada, about to get out of the car. At this time, the person named Kimura said: "I'm sorry, I..." Yoshifu Takeshi hurriedly interrupted his meditation and turned his face to Kimura. "It's not a big deal..." Kimura looked a little embarrassed. "Is there anything else you want to say? Did you notice anything else?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked. "I heard that when solving a case, no matter how small things may become important clues." Kimura said. "You are so right. No matter how small things are important, sometimes they become unexpected evidence. Please speak up." "Understood. I found this woman sitting here motionless, shaking her shoulders..." "Shaking like this?" Yoshifu Takeshi asked, shaking the shoulder of the female corpse. "Yes, that's right. I shook her and she didn't move, but a butterfly flew out from behind her shoulder." "Butterfly?" Yoshifu Takeshi couldn't help calling out. Seeing that the police paid so much attention to such trivial matters, the flight attendants were all surprised, and all smiled unconsciously.Kimura's words and Yoshishiki Takeshi's reaction caused a commotion. "I'm sorry, maybe I..." Kimura felt even more embarrassed, and his voice was so low that he could hardly hear him. Jifu Takeshi smiled wryly, and continued to ask: "Please continue, that butterfly... what happened next?" "Ah, that butterfly is still there!" Suddenly, Kimura blushed with shame and said, pointing to a corner of the carriage. There was another commotion in the carriage. In the corner of the compartment behind the seats, a small butterfly was sitting.The wings are dark brown, and at first Takeshi Yoshishiki thought it was a moth. "Isn't it just a butterfly, is it worth the fuss?" A flight attendant mocked Kimura. "But, no matter how small it is..." "Hey! Can everyone catch it for us?" Yoshiki Takeshi said loudly. "Ah?" The flight attendants all turned to Takeshi Yoshishiki, thinking that the police were joking. "Are there any insect nets and small boxes for butterflies?" Yoshishiki Takeshi asked seriously. Seeing Yoshifu Takeshi being so serious, everyone knew that the police were not joking, and you came up with ideas one by one. "I don't have a bug net, but I have a katydid cage, is that all right?" "Ok, Ok." "Hurry up and bring it here!" The flight attendant who spoke first ran out to get the grasshopper cage. "Let's use the hat as an insect trap!" Kimura took off his hat as he said, "Close the car door quickly, don't let it run away!" After Kimura finished speaking, he tiptoedly approached the butterfly and snapped it off with his hat. Unexpectedly, the butterfly was quite clever, and it spread its wings and flew up.The little butterfly is golden yellow after flying, like a ball of flame jumping. The flight attendants took off their hats to catch butterflies.The first-class compartment instantly became an insect collection site.

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