Chapter 6 third chapter

The same is the matter of listening to others. At that time, the Tokuichiro Yamashita Police Department was very violent. Among the criminal policemen of the National Police Kanagawa Prefecture Headquarters Investigation Section 1, which has a reputation as a collection of masters, Yamashita Ichibubu is also regarded as a young dark horse with a particularly famous name, but he encounters setbacks in trivial matters. Everything he did failed, as if he had been abandoned by Lady Luck. The trivial matter that became the beginning of his setbacks was the "Musashino serial dismemberment murder case" that shocked society last summer.This case eventually developed into a major incident spanning one capital and three counties. In the initial stage, it was none other than the Yamashita Police Department who served as the director of the search.

The superior Ishii Police Department who was supposed to direct the search happened to be in charge of other cases, so Yamashita had the opportunity to take on this important task. Yamashita admires Ishii, an elite bureaucrat, and Ishii also takes special care of Yamashita who has the same qualifications.Therefore, Yamashita always pays attention to currying favor with Ishii, and his hard work has paid off, and he has been promoted this time. Impeccable site inspection, a model flawless initial search. Yamashita was confident in his command. However, the result was a complete failure.The search hit the rocks, and not only developed into a humiliating joint search, but the suspect was finally locked down by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.In other words, Yamashita failed to make any contribution.Not only that, Ishii made mistakes in other incidents and lost power, and Yamashita, who was Ishii's confidant, was implicated, and his position in the class plummeted.

Back to the end. Yamashita sees police agencies as a kind of business. He regards law as the terms that must be known to do business, and ethics and justice as the business ethics that underpin it.Although such a determination will leave huge doubts, it is true that no matter what kind of business is based on agreements, and these agreements are supported by the moral concept of business ethics, just like businessmen who violate business ethics will be cast aside as Like profiteers, police officers whose words and deeds violate ethics and justice will not be tolerated.If you think about it that way, you won't be too far off.

Even so, as long as you have this kind of thought in your heart, you will never have a sincere feeling that no matter who solves the crime, as long as the incident is solved, or as long as crimes decrease and a society where citizens can live and work in peace is established, then it will be fine. feel contented. Whether it is other people making contributions, or the performance of other deployments improving, let alone being robbed of business by other companies, it will only make people feel remorseful, and it will not make people happy at all. Everyone has something like a sense of competition, so we can't generalize it to correct this kind of consciousness.That being said, Yamashita's sense of competition is somewhat anomalous.

The reason why Yamashita has been in close contact with the Ishii police department since he was assigned to the first section is also because he has a sensitive smell of prosperity.For Yamashita, Ishii was his gateway to success and success.But at this stage, Yamashita's evaluation of Ishii has changed.On the one hand, of course, it was the personal grievances caused by the chain deterioration of his treatment in the agency, but more precisely, it was Yamashita who felt desperate for Ishii's future.He saw Ishii's foolishness and realized that he had the ability to surpass this idiot.

Ishii lost his qualification as a doorway and became a competitor. However, although Ishii had almost lost his position, he has regained his disadvantage now. There are even rumors that he will be promoted to the chief of a certain police department in the spring. Yamashita, on the other hand, showed no signs of promotion. A few days ago, the National and Local Police Headquarters has internally formulated the outline for the correction of the police law, and may reorganize the organization in the near future. Gotta figure it out before then... While this is unlikely to change the situation, Yamashita is nonchalantly restless.

At this time, there was a report of a murder. Since police agencies are like companies, for Yamashita, incidents are like a commodity in business. He rushed to the scene quickly. However, when he saw the scene, Yamashita was disappointed. ——What kind of outrageous situation is this? The near-retired police officer, wearing glasses like the bottom of a milk bottle, was terrified and chattering like a cannonball, and with a strange accent, Yamashita couldn't understand what he was saying.Every criminal policeman in the jurisdiction is vulgar and rude, feeling extremely stupid.It is not even possible to tell whether they are hooligans or criminal police from their appearance.

As for those who didn't know whether they were witnesses or related people, they all looked dull.The maids would just chatter like a flock of sparrows, and the shopkeeper had a face that looked like a sea bream from the front, and it was doubtful whether he could understand human speech or not. The man who claimed to be an antique dealer had a strange and slack appearance that was born from the mating of a horse and a mouse, and the old man who said he was a surgeon was as red as a drunk, even though he hadn't been drinking. The only ones who seem to be able to communicate are two women who are said to be employees of the Tokyo Publishing House, but one of them fainted, and the other has been watching from the sidelines, and even the interrogation cannot proceed smoothly.

What disappointed Yamashita the most was the corpse sitting in the courtyard. —sitting corpse. That alone is ridiculous, it's outrageous. And also a monk.Sitting cross-legged in an ugly posture - that's called Zen meditation - and there is snow on the head. —Is it frozen to death? It really sucks.But both the police officer and the people in the hotel seem to believe that this is not the case, but Yamashita can't understand it anyway. "Well, Mr. Police Department..." "It's from the police department." "Well, can you give me some instructions?"

"What instruction?" "Uh, that..." "Oh, the body. Check it out and get rid of it. Why hesitate? Is there anything wrong?" "Uh, it is said to keep the scene..." "What's the point? If you don't go there to confirm the body, you won't even know if it's a murder, right? Why don't you even ask for support without doing this first? Are you an idiot?" "Uh, this..." The old police officer immediately fell into a panic. The bald doctor interjected in an unusually high-pitched voice: "Mr. Police Department? Let me presume to say something, this is murder. I am a surgeon. I can tell it from here. How about letting me do the autopsy?"

"Civilians shut up and go. Speaking of which, how can you judge anything from such a far away place? The light is dim, the corpse is still head down, and you can't even recognize the face. If you don't go down to check, even the person Or even a puppet can’t tell?” "It was still bright before you arrived. I couldn't see it from this hall, but I saw it when I helped the fainted lady to the annex on the left that protruded from the left—that is, where the lady is resting now. From there A corridor just enough to see the side of the body. The neck bone is bent at such an unnatural angle, it's broken." --So what? "It may also be broken by accident, not necessarily murder." "That was beaten to death." "Really? Then you are the one who did it, right?" "Why me?" "It must be. If you are not a murderer, you are an accomplice. Let me say, will the person who was beaten to death sit in meditation after death? If what you said is correct, then the monk was either killed in that posture, or was killed There is no other way to pose in that pose after being beaten to death. Then you are the only murderers left? If you are not the murderers, no matter whether it is the murder scene or the meaningless post-processing, you have never seen it. That's weird. So you're an accomplice." The bald doctor's face became even redder: "The police are always talking bullshit! Do you only have that kind of arrogant, sloppy thinking?" "What! How dare you say such insults to the national police, I can't spare you! What is rash? Take it back!" "Who wants to take it back? What, you want to arrest me and sentence me? Try it if you can. I'm used to it. I can't understand how abnormal the situation is. You have a brain problem. Let me open it for you Skull, brain removal surgery is ready!" "Sir, that's too much." The antique dealer stopped the doctor's insults, then turned his slack face down the hill, and said in a sticky tone: "The reason why the police officer did not go down to the courtyard immediately was because there were no footprints in the courtyard. We have explained that." Many times." "footprint?" "We want the detectives who came here to confirm the situation, that's all." "So what if there are no footprints?" "This is a homicide under impossible circumstances." "Impossible situation?" "That's all." Yamashita finally understood. "Oh, I see. So that's what happened, but how could it be..." Yamashita fell into chaos, and tried to suppress the chaos with common sense, but it became even more chaotic.Each of these witnesses was indeed suspicious. "Mr. Yamashita, the forensics personnel have arrived." Masuda—the subordinate Yamashita brought from the headquarters—reported the arrival of the forensic personnel.Yamashita felt relieved as if he had seen a human being among the monkeys. "Oh, take, take a picture. Listen, don't go down to the courtyard, just take a picture on it. Oh, thank you for your hard work. If the picture is taken, put the corpse away. Don't let anyone go down Take a photo in front of the courtyard. Sigh... you, from the Hakone prefecture, you gather your related people in another room and call them over one by one. Sigh... just borrow the next room." Thirty minutes after arriving, Yamashita finally started to move. "How many people came to the jurisdiction in total? It's useless to have a large number of people." "There are four detectives, and there are...five police officers. There is no way around this." "Hmph, it will only get in the way..." Yamashita dispatched the criminal police in the jurisdiction, and two people, Masuda, started the investigation.He randomly assigned seemingly decent jobs to the police officers in the jurisdiction, so there were no disputes.It was said that there was a monastery nearby, so two men were sent there, and the rest were told to investigate around the building.In this way, the normal pace of investigation should be somewhat restored. However, during the interrogation process, Yamashita discovered a major negligence by the police.It was heard that one of the people involved disappeared from the scene.Yamashita hugged his head. "Mr. Yamashita, this is too bad..." "I know, I know. Uh... what's the name of that old, stupid policeman?" "Abe inspects." "Yes, call him here!" Masuda didn't even respond casually, and left the room, Yamashita's restlessness infected him.Yamashita's thinking couldn't be integrated, and he fell into anxiety again.He figured he'd probably growl on the spot if he saw the cowering bottle-bottomed guy. The paper door opened, and the bottom of the bottle poked into his face. "Hey! What the hell are you doing!" "Ugh?" As expected, Yamashita roared out. "I heard that a related person has disappeared! You are clearly at the scene, how can you tell me this kind of trick! What if that guy is the murderer! You bastard!" "Huh? Is that so?" "What's the matter! The lady who said she was a magazine reporter said that he will be back soon, don't worry, but what should I do if he destroys the evidence?" "Destroy evidence? Why? How to destroy it?" "Ah, don't be so long-winded! Find it for me!" Yamashita knocked over the ashtray.The old and confused inspector was terrified, and disappeared in a blink of an eye like Fei Ye. —Anyway, he must be unable to do anything. The initial search was a complete failure. Except for the woman who was bedridden, all members completed the interrogation at around 22:00.At this time, the body was finally moved out of the courtyard, but a problem occurred at this time. That is, how to move the remains.The road leading to this fairy stone building is narrow and not wide enough for cars to pass.The searchers all came on foot. "Ask for support. Let's move tomorrow. There is no need to worry about rotting in this weather. In short, we can only borrow a room and let the deceased lie down." The forensic officer said dissatisfiedly, "I can't lie down." "Why? Oh, stiff after death?" "No. Frozen, in that shape." "Frozen? It's procrastinating, so it's frozen?" "No, the freezing was earlier, but it must have been frozen after death. It can't be determined without a forensic autopsy, but the cause of death is the back of the head...or the neck is more correct? There was a beating there that caused a fracture of the cervical spine .” The opinion of the physician—Kuenji was correct, and Yamashita felt a little reconciled. The forensic officer went on to say: "It's not very clear, but the police department said that the deceased did not show any signs of resistance. So when he was dozing off with his legs crossed like that, or something, someone used a stick or an iron bar from behind. As soon as the thing was hit, it died like that, was left unattended, and then froze. It can only be speculated." Masuda said: "But Mr. Yamashita, this is completely inconsistent with what the people here say. If you believe what the people here say, the deceased came from nowhere between two and three in the afternoon, and then there Died without anyone knowing." "I know that, what about the estimated time of death?" "have no idea." "Don't know? Don't you know at all?" "That's why I said it was frozen. It didn't rot at all, and it was always in a frozen state. Just considering the temperature today, even if it was placed outside the house, I don't think it died during--two to three o'clock?--During this time It is impossible to judge anything without dissecting and examining the food in the stomach. By the way, can we evacuate, please?" The forensic personnel stared down the mountain. They were extremely reluctant to go down the dangerous mountain road at this time.Moreover, it was nearly an hour away from the town, so it was no wonder that he was dissatisfied, but it was the incident that happened in such a remote place that should be blamed, and it was not Yamashita's responsibility. Yamashita allowed the evacuation with a deep sigh. "It feels like every guy here is lying, the guests and the staff must have a statement." "But if you're lying, why create an impossible situation? Just say you saw the murderer." "There must be something inside that prevents them from doing this. What's going on? This..." It was a fictional situation—— Yamashita wanted to say so.It seemed that his own common sense could not be used universally, and he was haunted by the impatience of a scholar meeting a soldier.The inability to communicate smoothly gave him the illusion that he was incompetent.If this continues, he may even feel a sense of inferiority towards the people here, as if he was facing an occupying army.Thinking of this, Yamashita trembled all over. "No, I absolutely want to expose it." So he ended up like this bravely. "However, the lady named Chuzenji doesn't seem like she's lying. And the others don't seem like the kind of people who have the guts to deceive the detective." "Masuda, you can't judge things by feeling or intuition. What we need is evidence and testimony, that is, a confession. What the criminal police must think about is how to reproduce the criminal situation in an integrated way and convincing criminal motives .” "Oh……" "That guy looks like a criminal, so he's guilty. This guy looks like a good guy, so he's innocent—this way he can't be investigated. Is it possible to search only by imitation? This is not a long house flower viewing." "What? Mr. Yamashita will also go to the Yosei to listen to rakugo?" "Whispering." It just happened to come to mind, and it didn't have any particularly deep meaning. "What happened to the passed out woman?" "How—shall I go and see what's going on?" "Go, hurry up." Yamashita said on his own, but even Masuda showed a resentful expression. Masuda came back soon.He said that although the woman was awake, she still couldn't seem to get up, and Yamashita had no choice but to go to the annex where the woman was resting. The hallway has the impression of a samurai residence, an anachronistic stage set.Yamashita felt like an actor who came to play a period drama movie without reading the script.Through the corridor, there is a circular entrance that looks like a tea room—although Yamashita doesn't quite understand what a tea room looks like.Masuda opened the paper door. A large quilt was laid out in the center, on which lay a petite woman.Sitting next to the pillow was the young lady surnamed Chuzenji just now.Yamashita whispered to Masuda, telling him to ask the lady to stay away.Even if it is a relatively normal one, this lady is also an accomplice of this group of people.Yamashita was reluctant to speak to her directly.Because maybe I can't communicate with her smoothly.At times like this, Masuda is like an interpreter. Chuzenji said "I understand" and left the room. Yamashita took her place by the pillow. "can you talk?" The woman nodded, this woman was too pale. Yamashita asked her name, and she said her surname was Fanwa. "I heard that you have been resting in bed since this morning. Are you feeling unwell?" "Ok." The voice is very thin. "Do you have a cold?" "no……" Masuda bent his body and asked, "Is it not convenient to tell us?" "Shut up, I'm the one asking the question. You've been sleeping in the morning, and then woke up in the afternoon, and there seems to be some noise outside, right?" "There are... there are monks..." "Dead in the garden, right?" "There is a monk floating in mid-air." "Ah?" Yamashita suspected that he had heard it wrong, "What did you say?" "Monk, there is a window on the second floor of the monk..." — This woman also has poor communication. Yamashita was speechless. "What do you think happened to the monk?" Masuda asked instead of Yamashita. "It happened in the middle of the night last night. I wanted to go to the bathroom, but I saw a monk in the corridor window on the second floor... Monk..." "Second floor? Remember that you slept last night... on the second floor of the building opposite. Did it happen there?" "I was taken aback..." "What the hell is wrong with the monk!" Shan Shita asked sharply, and the woman let out a "Yi". Masuda stretched out his hand to stop Yamashita, possibly meaning to leave it to him.Although the development of things is not as expected, but this situation is also a last resort.Yamashita obeyed. "You said the windows on the second floor, which side of the windows are they?" The woman was silent for a long while, and then she started to speak in a mosquito-like voice: "I can see the other side of the vestibule, I was very scared, and hurried back to the room, but there was a sound on the ceiling all night, I couldn't sleep, and then arrived Morning……" Having said that, the woman's voice began to tremble, and the volume became slightly louder.His gaze, which had been staring dimly at the electric light on the ceiling or somewhere, suddenly turned down the mountain.Her pupils were moist, her eyebrows were delicate, her face was small, and her facial features were very beautiful.Yamashita remembered the illustrations in girls' magazines. "result……" "Wait a minute, can you tell me a little more about that monk? Is that monk outside the window? What does it look like?" Masuda asked in a soothing tone. Yamashita just listened. The woman nodded. "That monk... looked to me like he was stuck on the window. No, he was stuck on the window. As soon as I found out, the monk ran up and fled." "Up? On the roof?" The woman nodded again. "So you felt scared and went back to your room, right? Your room... what is it called?" "The farthest corner can also be seen from this courtyard. I remember it is... yes, it is between hunting cattle." "Cowhunting? Oh, well, I get it. So you can't sleep anymore, can you?" "There's a sound—I think the monk is on the roof, I don't think it's possible, but there's a rattling sound." "Didn't you tell the people at the hotel?" "I dare not go into the corridor." "Oh." At this time Masuda looked down at Yamashita, Yamashita sensed it sensitively, but ignored him.Masuda's mouth twisted subtly, and the tails of his eyebrows drooped, and then he continued to ask: "And then? In the morning, how is it?" "Ok……" It felt like the woman was gradually regaining her composure. If that's the case, although it's hard to get angry, it's all thanks to Masuda. "Morning……" Masuda asked what time it was, and the woman frankly replied that it was about six o'clock. "Before I knew it, the sound also stopped, so I... felt like I had a dream." "Is it... a dream?" "No," said the woman, "it's not a dream, I know that better than anyone else. I did see and hear it, but the strange thing is that once it's over, I also feel as if I made a mistake." —or, I hope, I'm mistaken—was the desire to deny it clouding the memory?" "This is a common occurrence." Masuda responded in agreement. Yamashita hadn't noticed it before, and this subordinate was surprisingly good at coping. "Anyway, I've calmed down a bit, and it's getting brighter outside, and the snow seems to have stopped, so I open the sash and peek in. Seeing the bright morning scene, I really feel like I've been doing something stupid all night .” "So, I can understand. Then?" "I want to breathe the air outside. I open the window and go out. There is a platform outside. I walk there. My room is in the corner, and the platform surrounds the side of the building. When I walk there, I can see the side of the... that courtyard. I casually looked at that courtyard, and it turned out..." "result?" Masuda tilted his head to ask, but Yamashita didn't really want to hear it.Anyway, the woman would say something that Yamashita couldn't understand. "I looked at this courtyard, and it turned out..." "Saw a monk floating in the air." "Ah..." Yamashita let out a sigh that couldn't be louder. At this moment, the paper door opened suddenly, and the face of the bottom of the bottle came in. "That, I'm sorry. People are back." "Who? Who? Oh, the escapee!" "No, he came back obediently by himself, and did not escape." "Ah, it's long-winded! Get out of the way!" Yamashita pushed aside the inspection and came to the corridor. There were two men standing in the doorway. "Why are there two! Did you run away with two people!" At this time, Yamashita completely lost his self-control. I arrived at Xianshilou at about ten forty. I packed my bags and was about to leave Fujimi House when my wife and the others came back.I explained the matter clumsily, and it turned out that it was past seven-thirty by the time I set off.Also because of the late departure, it still took three hours on the road.I feel like I've tried my best to get on my way, but I'm still nowhere near the scud. As usual, I couldn't briefly explain the reason to my wife and the others. But both of them are used to it, and they seem to understand what I want to say. The wife only said: "Don't get involved too deeply." The journey was much harder than imagined. Of course there were no streetlights, and it was a dark, moonless night. If it hadn't been for Toriguchi, I would have been killed.There is no time to worry about Kyogokudo at all. After going through a lot of hardships and finally passing through the tunnel of the dark night... In the darkness of night there are even darker night clumps. That is the fairy stone building. The shape and size of the night mass were unknown, and not only that, but it was wriggling noisily, as if it were a living thing, not a building at all.Buildings don't squirm.Maybe it's because the giant tree that Toriguchi mentioned grows on top of the roof.The boundary between buildings and trees is ambiguous.Whenever the trees shake, it looks like the whole building is squirming. An inspector was wearing black-framed round glasses that seemed to have very deep prescriptions, standing slightly bent at the door.The inspector found us, put his hand on the glasses frame, stared at us for a while, then seemed to remember something, took a few steps unsteadily on the spot, and hurried inside. "Ah, Toriguchi, you seem to be a suspect already." "Well, it seems to have been exposed, boss." "Who is the boss? Having said that, think about it carefully, what should I say to prove my identity? Also, can I stay here today?" "The mountain tram is out of service. If you walk all the way back there, it will already be daylight. You will die. It's fine to spend the night here, it doesn't matter. It's stupid, deeper than the sea." Toriguchi was saying something inexplicable again. There was a commotion inside.There are several men in the entrance.Judging from their clothing, they seem to be forensics.They may be about to evacuate.We waited for them to go out the door, and only after the last one had left, did we go inside.Once inside, several men stomped the hallway loudly and appeared. "Why are there two! Did you run away with two people?" A man with loose hair in threes and sevens shouted.About thirty years old, with rather nervous eyes, a pointed nose, and a delicate face like a kabuki actor. The inspector just now spoke, and his accent was accented. "I haven't seen this one over here." "Can your memory be trusted? Hey, you two!" The man pointed at us hysterically. "You bastard, you bastard, how are you going to be responsible?" He was in a state of confusion.In this case, the person who gets confused first wins first, and most of the rest will calm down.Of course, I calmed down quickly, but the man was too excited, and my heartbeat also accelerated. "Oh, I'm sorry to sneak out and make you worry. I'm going to pick up this gentleman. This gentleman is a serious road idiot. If you leave him alone, a good adult may just get lost like this... ..." Toriguchi made a far-fetched excuse.The so-called serious road idiot refers to me, of course.This excuse seems to be thought of by him on the road, but to me, who is used to hearing Kyogokudo's sophistry, it is full of flaws.I was on tenterhooks, worried that the lie would be exposed at any moment. "Who is this guy?" "I..." I stammered. "This... this is Mr. Sekiguchi Tatsumi, the writer who will be staying here tonight. We commissioned him to write the report for this interview. Teacher, you have worked so hard to make this trip late at night." It's Chuzenji Atsuko, the savior of the world. "The writer? This guy? Ha!" The man gave him a blatantly contemptuous look. "My, my surname is Guankou." "I am Yamashita from the First Search Section of the Kanagawa Prefecture Headquarters of the National Police. You should have heard that a strangely dead body was found here today, and the police are currently searching. I am in charge of commanding the scene, that is, the search director. In short, this The hotel is now a temporary search headquarters. I don’t know if you are a writer or who, anyway, don’t hinder my search. Hey, you guy, I have so many questions to ask you, hurry up... what?" The search director Yamashita pointed at the toriguchi and said a few words, then stared at my face and tilted his head about ten degrees. "Writer pass?" The young detective on the side whispered something to Yamashita. "Ah! That gate!" Yamashita whispered reflexively, and glared at me viciously. "Both, anyway, you are not allowed to get in the way. Hey, that man over there, come here quickly." Toriguchi turned to me with a face full of embarrassment, and then disappeared inside with the tyrannical detective.As for me, I can only stand around like an idiot in this situation.I didn't even take off my shoes, and stood at the entrance, so Atsuko reached out to take my luggage. "I thought it was my brother who would come. I'm sorry, Sekiguchi-sensei, I've already explained to the hotel, of course Xi Tanshe will bear the expenses..." "It doesn't matter...Xiao Dun, that detective just now..." "Oh, that person is a subordinate of the Ishii Police Department, so he must have heard about Sensei. Among the police officers in the Kanagawa area recently, Tatsumi Sekiguchi is quite famous." The incidents in which I was involved from the fall of last year to the end of the year all occurred within the jurisdiction of the Kanagawa headquarters.Ishii was the police department I knew at that time. At this moment the maid came over and led me to the room first. I heard that Detective Enokizu hasn't shown up yet. I walked through a labyrinth of corridors and climbed strange stairs. Because it is completely impossible to grasp the appearance, the structure inside the house is more like a maze.Among the slender and elongated gates, the fourth one from the left side of the front is my room. It was very warm in the room.Don't worry, the accommodation seems to be fully arranged.As soon as I took off my coat, the maid immediately took it off.The treatment is really different from Fujimi House, and Mr. Xiong is not so careful. "I always feel that it has turned into a terrible event. This is the first time I have encountered such a thing in my life. The murder is really terrifying..." The maid showed a weeping expression. "Under such circumstances, I'm really sorry that I can't be considerate. The shopkeeper will come to say hello later..." "Ah, there's no need to say hello. Can I have tea or water?" A guest like me is not qualified to bother the hotel staff to say hello.The maid said "I'll bring it right away" and knelt down to salute me.Then she raised her head halfway, looked up at me and said, "Excuse me, what will happen to Xianshilou?" "What is it called?" "Punishments such as being closed or ordered to close down..." "It won't be like this." Generally speaking, there is no such thing, but I have no solid basis for my statement. Even so, the maid seemed relieved and left after saying "please wait a moment". I stretched out my legs, propped my hands behind my back, and leaned back.The tatami is cold and cold.I saw the cushion, dragged it over, folded it in half, stuffed it under the back of my head as a pillow, and lay down. In the alcove hung a scroll. There was a picture of a black cow jumping on it. The rein extending from the nose of the black bull is held in the hands of a figure who looks like a Chinese child.He also looks like he's jumping, expressionless. Because I lay down and looked at it, the painting certainly looked horizontal. For a while, I concentrated on that painting. The sound of da da, da da sounded. Could it be the expressionless Chinese running around there? Or... a mouse. The outer door "cracked" open. Then the paper door opened, and Atsuko's face came in through the gap. I hurriedly jumped up and sat upright. "Teacher, I brought tea and asked the hotel to make rice balls. You must be hungry." There was a mountain of onigiri on the tray, and Toriguchi might have been there too. "Oh, so I haven't eaten yet. Thanks..." Behind Atsuko was the face of the old man Kuonji. "Ku-Kuenji...doctor." "Ah, long time no see, really long time no see, Sekiguchi. Hey, I didn't expect you to come too. Thank you. I didn't expect me to be involved in such a strange thing again. It seems that I am too evil on weekdays." .” Kuonji said cheerfully, but the eyes sunk in the cheeks looked a bit lonely. "You, hello, it was really..." What a trite pleasantries. last summer. It's like a week with a high fever that doesn't go away. I received a huge—too huge shock that seemed to negate all of my past life.On this point, this old man should be the same.I should have an indescribably complex emotion towards the old man Kuonji, and the old man Kuonji towards me. Yet all I could think of was the ridiculous greeting as if meeting relatives whom I hadn't seen for a year. There is no special emotion. Sentimental emotions passing through my chest slightly, is it a sense of loneliness that arises because of no emotion?Or is it a sense of loss from a past that can no longer be retrieved? —Maybe that's it. Just like Chinese New Year.There was no sense of excitement before the arrival, but when the day actually arrived, there was nothing special about it.Because I couldn't get the feeling I expected, and hoped that that feeling would visit sooner or later, I was so old that I procrastinated and didn't want to end the Chinese New Year.But that feeling may only visit in a certain period of time, suddenly in a very short period of time.After that period, everything is just fantasy. The joyous Chinese New Year as a child, the excitement of traveling as a young man, and that incident, all will never come back to me. Although that event did happen in reality, and I did experience it... Suddenly, I felt very lonely. "What's the matter? Pass?" "No, that..." --That's it. No, it has to be like this. With a feeling of loneliness or loss that I can't tell, I gradually regained my calm. "Let me introduce, this is the antique dealer Mr. Imagawa." An unbelievable-looking man followed in. "My surname is Imagawa, nice to meet you." "My surname is Guankou." We sat down around a low table. Imagawa has large eyes and nose, thick eyebrows and beard, and thick lips.Especially the big and well-developed nose, and that happy face made me feel very close. "The situation seems serious. By the way, is Toriguchi still under interrogation?" "Unfortunately, he seems to have been given a good reprimand. He was treated as a suspect." Atsuko stuck out his tongue like a mischievous child.It was Atsuko who helped Tiaokou slip out of the scene. "It's good for that guy to be taught a lesson." "But Sekiguchi-sensei will be caught and taught a lesson if you don't do it well. It's not good if you cause trouble, please cooperate with our words. Even if you don't tell us about the hotel where you stayed in Yumoto, you will be arrested immediately. It will be exposed, and if there is a contradiction between the investigation and the confession afterwards, it will cause a lot of trouble, so basically, please tell the truth. It’s just about work, just say that you have received our commission beforehand.” Dunzi warned earnestly say. Then Atsuko explained the situation to me in more detail than Toriguchi. No matter how many times I listen to it, I can't figure it out. "But will the detective really come?" I asked. "He said he was coming. Isn't that right, Doctor Kuonji?" "Yeah, he's still the same. I don't know what he's talking about. I wonder if he still remembers me. But he readily agreed." At this time, Imagawa spoke: "From what you said, that detective seems to be a very extraordinary figure, but is he really that terrible?" "It's really horrible. That detective is unspeakably bad. As far as I know, he is the worst detective in the history of detectives. Isn't he?" 我征求敦子的同意。久远寺老人既然都主动把他请来了，肯定是完全误会了那个侦探。可是敦子说出令人意外的话：“嗯……可是对于这类事件，他的能力或许可以发挥效果。” “你说榎木津吗？” 我面露难色，不知为何今川有了反应：“榎木津？那位侦探姓榎木津吗？梗木再加上津津有味的津？” “今川先生，你认识他吗？” “呃，或许是我认识的人的亲戚，不过这个姓很少见，或许就是我认识的那个人。不，如果说他是个怪人的话，很有可能就是同一个人。” “今川，你说的那个认识的人，跟你是什么关系？” “哦，是我军旅时代的长官。” “你是陆军吗？” “不，我是海军。” “关口老师，那……” “嗯，那应该是榎木津本人吧。我记得他哥哥是陆军……” 榎木津这种珍奇的姓不是到处都有的。 仔细询问之下——或者说越听越觉得今川的长官、一个怪人青年将校，绝对就是榎木津礼二郎其人。名字姑且不论，那么奇怪的人不是随随便便就有的。 我们面面相觑，然后同声叹了一口气。 既然今川认识榎木津，那也不必说明了。这是失望的叹息。 “那个人的家世应该相当显赫，然而现在却在当侦探吗？我完全无法想像。说到侦探，我一直以为是头上戴着鸭舌帽的那种人呢。” “不知道榎木津侦探阁下这次又会以什么样的打扮登场……” 我想他会这么晚还没有到，一定是因为在挑选衣服吧。 反正他一定会以光怪陆离到极点的装扮登场。 这么一想，我更加消沉了。 短暂的沉默。 纸门冷不防地打开，一个不同于刚才的女佣探进头来。“恕我失礼，医生，还有客人……” 她的表情有些紧迫。 “噢，阿鹭，怎么啦？” “那个，去了明慧寺的刑警先生，带了一个和尚回来了。” "Oh? And then?" “听说和刑警先生一起回来的和尚叫做和田慈行师父，而过世的那位则是叫……小坂了稔师父。就是……” “咦？”今川大声说，“那，我已经见到我在等的人了吗？！” 我们在阿鹭的带领下急忙下楼。 我完全搞不清楚在哪个地方转弯，哪个房间又是和哪里相通。我只是没头没脑地跟在后面，在众人引导下抵达了该房间。 打开纸门一看，方才的刑警们和鸟口在里面。刑警的人数似乎增加了。山下一看到我们，立刻露出厉鬼般的表情怒吼：“干吗！滚出去！” 敦子说：“我们听说有明慧寺的师父前来，我刚才也说过，我们是来这里采访的，但是看这情形，似乎也无法按计划进行采访，所以想向那位师父……” “啊，受不了。那种事怎么样都……啊，喂，你。你叫今川是吧？你来得正好，过来一下。” 山下面露青筋，一走过来，就抓住了今川的肩膀。 鸟口随即出声：“那我可以走了吗？” “不行，你太可疑了！” 山下吼也似的说道，半强迫地拖着今川，消失到隔壁房间去了。隔壁房间只能瞄到一点，似乎是一间佛堂。我听见高声说话的声音，却听不清楚是在说些什么。 我正迷糊究竟发生了什么事，一个年轻的刑警偷偷摸摸地靠了过来。 “你是关口老师？” “咦？嗯。” “敝姓益田。听说你在逗子的'金色骷髅事件'当中大显身手。我是从石井警部那里听说的。” “咦？没……没那回事……” “你不记得我了吗？之前横滨发生绑架事件的时候，向老师问话的……就是我呀。” “啊？是这样的吗？” 好像记得又好像不记得……不，我不可能记得。即使没做任何亏心事，我依然经常是个行迹鬼祟的人。在警察盘问或侦讯这种状况下，我绝对身陷极度紧张的状态，所以完全不会留下任何客观的记忆。 益田这个刑警虽然有点嬉皮笑脸的，却不像是个坏人。 “喏，我就说老师很有名吧。” “世界真小呢，警察满世间。” 敦子与鸟口一个接一个说。 其他凶悍的刑警瞪了过来，益田略微耸了耸肩，离开我身边。 “关口，看样子你也是作恶多端哪。”久远寺老人悄声说。 三分钟过去，纸门粗暴地打开，伴随着骂声，山下与今川在险恶的气氛中走了出来。 “啊！我什么事没见过，我无法信服！你刚才不是说你谈生意的对象是小坂了稔吗？这种事一查就知道了！现在就给我招！” “我已经说过很多次了，我与那位和尚只有书信往来而已。真的如此罢了。” "That's all?" “如此罢了。” “什么叫如此罢了！扯谎！嗯？你们干什么像个白痴似的杵在那里！喂，把老百姓给我赶出去！听不懂吗！” “嗯，老百姓可以回去了是吗？” “你不行！喂，益田，给我赶出去！” “可是山下先生……” “肃静，这可是在佛祖面前。” 沉着、充满威严的声音。 音量不大，却在一瞬间慑住了房间里的一切事物。 山下也突然静下来了，所有人同时望向声音传来的方向。 纸门的另一侧，是一幅被切割下来的景色。 完全打开的纸门后，佛坛前，有一团像黑色破布的东西，是尸体。 旁边站着一名僧侣。 盘踞在这一侧的喧嚣与执念等猥琐的事物，隔着一道门槛，完全消失得一干二净。就连空气看起来也是清澈的，仿佛连时间都停止了。这当然是错觉。 僧人朝着破布——尸体行了一礼，以庄严的动作进入俗世——这边的房间。 然后他静静地背对我们，再度合掌行礼后，无声无息地关上纸门。 他端正姿势，再次转向我们。 缁衣的衣袖因风吹而鼓胀，随即萎缩下去。灰色的朴素袈裟称为缁衣，是僧侣常见的穿着。However…… ——这个人是尼僧吗？ 不，刚才的声音是男的。 but…… 僧侣的长相甚至令人错认为是尼僧…… 俊美极了。 眼睛细长，睫毛浓密，脸庞小巧而端正。 他的举手投足与外貌仪容，没有一丝可挑剔之处。 个子虽小，但姿势端庄，整个人看起来身形庞大了两倍左右。 美僧看见我们，上身没有半点晃动，静静地走过来，在敦子面前停步，然后开口了：“敢问是稀谭舍的人员？” "Ah, yes." “请问是饭洼小姐吗？” “饭、饭洼她身体不适，正在休息。我是《稀谭月报》的编辑，敝姓中禅寺。” “贫僧已经听说了。贫僧是明慧寺的僧侣，名唤和田慈行。虽然遭逢如斯不测……采访一事该如何处置？” 敦子难得地穷于回答，面露狼狈地望向我。然后她又看看山下，这么说道：“虽、虽然敝社非常希望能够进行采访，但是警方……还有贵寺也……” “本寺可以接受采访，全无问题。” “可是，那个……过世的是……” “您是指……被害人吗？确实，邻室那具怪异的尸骸是本寺云水了稔和尚。不过据闻遗体将送交司法解剖，因此亦无法为他举行葬仪。听说贵社想要采访的是寺院的修行，那么无论发生任何不测之事，吾等每日之修行亦不会有任何改变。” 山下紧握双拳，插了进来：“那个……喂，和田先生。包括这个小姐在内，这里的人全都是嫌疑犯，而且他们的嫌疑是杀害你们寺院的和尚。” "so?" 慈行和尚转向山下。 “什么所以……” “贫僧是问，所以那又如何呢？” “所以说嫌疑犯……” “嫌疑犯将被警方限制行动，无法自由外出——如果您是这个意思，那么也无可奈何。这几位在真正的凶手被逮捕之前，都会被监禁在这里吗？” “不，这……” 警方应该没有权限把一般人的行动限制到这个地步。 “况且，难道凶手不可能是这几位以外的人吗？了稔师父早在四日之前，便行踪不明。” “也、也是有这个可能，可是……” “例如说，或许我就是凶手。” 慈行和尚笑了——看起来。 “据闻了稔师父与世俗多所牵涉。即便遭逢如斯末路，亦是其身之不德所招致。” “但是也没这样就活该被杀的道理啊！” “所言甚是。本寺也会不遗余力，协助搜查。盼警方能够尽速逮捕凶嫌。只是……” "only?" “请警方不要妨碍本寺修行。” "Uh?" “贫僧的意思是，希望警方切勿做出搅乱寺院宁静的无礼之举。如此一来，本寺三十五名云水，将悉数协助警方办案。另外，贫僧凡事最重秩序。出版社的各位，请依照当初的预定，在明日午后二时进行采访。中禅寺小姐，可以吗？” 山下哑然失声。接着敦子开口了：“请问……” "what?" “贵寺没有女人禁制吗？” “那类古老因习早已抛却。请勿担心。” 慈行和尚说完之后，瞥了我一眼。 正看得出神的我倒吸了一口气。 “恕我就此告退。” 慈行穿过我们，来到面对走廊的纸门前，重新转向这里，深深行礼。他抬头的同时，背后的纸门无声无息地左右开启。 那里站着两名年轻的僧侣。慈行走到走廊，在两人中央停步，回过头来，隔着肩膀望向我们。 两名年轻的僧侣深深行礼之后，关上了纸门。 “什、什么跟什么啊，喂。”山下发出错愕的声音。 “山下先生，你要怀疑我们也好，可是寺院那些人看起来也很可疑呢。” 鸟口亲昵地说。益田跟着说：“得扩大搜查的范围才行，还得检讨鉴识的分析，还有辖区的报告……” “闭嘴！不许指使我，给我安静一点。” 山下失去了霸气。 “请问……”敦子提心吊胆地开口。 “关于明天的事……” “我知道，采访是吧？唔，也不能把你们全部逮捕……不过你们得把具体安排交代清楚。呃……” 山下像要掩饰错乱似的按住了脸，说他明天再决定。 日期过了一天。鸟口也暂时获得释放，我们回到各自的房间。 可能是因为敦子去了女同事身边，没了听他抱怨的对象，鸟口跟着我过来。 “太过分了，这是越权行为，是国家权力的滥用。” 鸟口频频嘟哝，抒发不平。 一问之下，他拍摄的底片似乎被当成证物给没收了。 “这有什么办法？就当做国家警察免费帮你冲洗照片，该心存感激才对。” “我只拍了三张而已，根本是损失了。而且那是艺术作品，冲洗的技巧很重要的，门外汉才没办法胜任。那是我的自信之作，标题就叫……对，'老人与梅'……” “你之前不是说那是柏树吗？真是随便。而且冲洗的人又不是门外汉，应该会洗得比你好。对了，有饭团，你要吃吗？” “当然了。饿肚子不能编蔺草。” 这次的口误感觉像是故意的。 鸟口的特色是浑然天成的迷糊，若是故意的就不好笑了。这样的搞笑会流于技巧。 鸟口一直叨念个没完，但是他一看到我房间里的饭团，食欲便似乎胜过了愤懑，吃着吃着人就温顺下来了。接着他说：“那个警部补不行，木场先生比他优秀多了。” 木场指的是东京警视厅搜查一课的刑警，是我的老熟人了。 鸟口吃了六个之多的饭团。 大胃王青年编辑还一副意犹未尽的表情，但是房间里已经没有粮食了。 “咦？是连续的吗？” 鸟口打量我的房间似的四处张望，看到壁龛的挂轴，这么呢喃。I don't understand what he's talking about. 此时女佣过来铺床了。 以此为契机，鸟口返回房间，而我更换衣服，独自躺上床去。 ——京极堂今天会回来吗？ 我不在的日子，至少也该回来啊。 我想着这种事，不知不觉间睡着了。 连做梦的工夫都没有。 “老师、老师……” 鸟口“啪哒啪哒”地踩出脚步声过来，吵醒了我的安眠。不过我与其说是睡着，感觉更像是意识断绝，昨天的疲劳感依旧残留着。看样子已经到了早上，但是昨晚历经长途跋涉，而且过了一点钟才睡，我依然困极了。 “干吗？为什么你老是要妨碍我的安眠？” “那是因为老师老是在睡觉啊。像我，吃得太胀，连觉也没睡呢。” “谁叫你那么贪吃，到底是怎么了？” 现在才六点。 “先别管那么多，快过来吧。” 我一起身，鸟口就说我的浴衣穿得很奇怪，大笑不止。 “带子绑得太高啦，简直就像蒙古的民族服装嘛，啊哈哈。” “你真是够失礼的。这有什么关系？到底要干吗啊？” “现在正在搬出遗体。好像困难重重，值得一看哟。” “困难重重？什么东西困难重重？” “喏，披件棉袍吧。如果要更衣的话请决点。” 我被鸟口拉着手拖出房间，恰好今川也正走出房间。今川好像住在最右边的房间。 走廊上的搜查员比昨天更多，搜查已经开始了，支援人员可能一大早就赶到了。 我们在走廊上走了不一会儿，便遇到了久远寺老人。 “噢，真早呢。快看，他们竟然搬出那种玩意儿来，这简直是庆典了嘛。” 几名男子搬来了一样奇异的东西。 像是暖桌的木框……不，比较接近担架。两根长棒子之间设置了笼子，笼子像椅子般附有靠背。总之是个很不可思议的东西。 "what is that?" “担椅吧，是明治时代的交通工具。客人坐在轿子的部分，由四个男人担着棒子，还真是原始哪。箱根这里因为道路险恶，人力车不好上来，而且也不像江户时代有轿夫，所以这玩意儿好像便流行起来了。据说外国人特别喜欢。喏，在印度还是非洲，人不是都会骑在大象身上吗？感觉可能就像那样，让他们格外中意吧。也就是把日本人贬低为未开化人民，当成大象对待。” "Oh……" 前天京极堂还生气地说不可以用博物学的角度看待日本文化，不过对于当时的外国观光客而言，日本人除了博物学的对象以外，真的什么也不是吧。 担椅被搬进大厅里。 “据说这座仙石楼以前的客人有五成都是外国人，所以还保留着自家用的担椅。” “有那么多外国人吗？” “很多啊。外国人以前不能够在日本国内自由迁徙，只有箱根这里是特别休养地，允许外国人滞留，是不折不扣的外国人休养地。哦，放上去了。这景象真是滑稽哪。” 久远寺老人扬扬下巴。 我和鸟口以及今川站在走廊角落，偷看这幅景象。 大厅里，数名不知是警官还是鉴识人员正把昨天那团破布放上担椅。在早晨的阳光下一看，那只是个坐着的和尚。看起来就像即身佛或蜡像一般，一点都不像尸体。 山下警部补揉着困倦的红眼，正尖声怪叫着。 “已经叫车到山脚下了吧？拜托千万别给我这么怪模怪样地在街上游行啊。要是被拍照，登上报纸可就惨了。” 众搜查员齐瞪向山下，仿佛在说“我们又不是喜欢才做的”。当然没有半个人搭理他，山下这个人惹来了所有人的反感。 遗体被盖上一块布。 众人也没把担椅扛在肩上，而是像抬桶棺般，浑身无力、一脸阴沉地出发了。 尸体移开后，敦子和一名有如大病初愈的女子出现了。 女子之所以看起来如此，主要还是因为她的嘴唇完全失去了血色。她就是饭洼女士。 敦子介绍饭洼之后，凑近我身边，悄声说：“老师，在空中浮游的僧侣——这是妖魔鬼怪之类的吗？” “不晓得呢，我不是京极堂，所以不知道，不过应该也有这种妖怪吧？据说天狗原本也是和尚嘛。我听令兄说过，天狗是过于自大而堕入魔道的修佛者。若是风风光光地变成了天狗的和尚，应该也能够飞天吧。” 因为都有变成老鼠的和尚了。 可是敦子说“这不是在开玩笑哟”，接着她告诉我饭洼女士的体验。 我来到箱根之后，听到的净是些怪谈。 今川和久远寺老人也一脸纳闷。 蓦地，四周吵闹起来。掌柜与女佣约摸三人一脸阴郁地从柜台那里跑了过来。 后面跟着一名像厨师的男子，可能是通勤的厨子吧。 大厅传来争论的声音。 “老师，警察好像起内讧了呢。”鸟口不愉快地说。是辖区和本部的意见相左了吗？ I prick up my ears. “啊，那个小伙子遭到围攻了。那种尖酸刻薄的家伙就会遭人厌恶，不会出人头地的。” 就像久远寺老人说的，因为受不了山下的搜查方针——或者说山下本人——辖区的人似乎群起反抗了。 当我回过神时，益田刑警正站在我背后。 “啊，终于爆发了哪。”年轻刑警苦笑着，“虽然山下先生也不是个坏人啦……真伤脑筋