Chapter 2 Chapter One

Nagato bowed his head fifty times, folded his palms together and worshiped for quite a while, then murmured like a scripture, straightened his body backwards, and then squatted beside him to examine the distorted face of Kuniji exposed. Lying long and horizontal on the ground was a female corpse.From the unnaturally twisted posture and the scattered bedding, it can be clearly seen that she had resisted fiercely when she was killed. The state of death was appalling. The long crimson undergarment was rolled up to the waist, and the two long white legs that lost their elasticity stretched out on the tatami.The toes were curled up as if they were bound, and only the right thumb was turned up strangely.

It feels very gorgeous, as if only that part is a pasted pattern, which is incompatible with the surrounding scenery.Kiba Shutaro thought: Why don't you help her close the skirt? The victim was definitely not a woman from a good family.Judging from the situation at the scene and their attire, they should be prostitutes.Even if not, since he was killed in Maichun's box, there must be something ulterior.Kiba thought about these things, and the result was that his fair pair looked even more dazzling, probably because of the darkness in the room. Having said that, Kinoshita and the forensics staff did not seem to be pulling up the skirt for the deceased at all.Kiba muttered to himself half-defensively, "The photos are all taken, so it should be fine." He approached the corpse and pulled up the hem of his skirt.Kinoshita watched Kiba's movements, his light black face like a raccoon twitched, and said in a criminal police tone: "Senior, this must be the crime committed by that guy again, how pitiful." When Kiba knelt down, Nagato just stood up. When he heard Kinoshita's words, he turned his head slowly and said in the same slow tone: "Ah Guo, before the autopsy is completed, you can't talk nonsense. No, no, no, we are solving the case. Before, I didn't know who the murderer was, so I couldn't jump to conclusions."

Kinoshita didn't reply, and turned to Kiba, with a more tangled expression.He wanted to consult Kiba's opinion.But Kiba ignored him, looking again at the corpse's toes. Nagato, a criminal police officer, has always acted steadily and steadily, and sometimes even overcautiously, Kiba has always been very clear about this.But this time alone, Nagato's serious speech sounded like a joke.Indeed, this may be a crime committed by others imitating the methods of the predecessors. Of course, it may also be a coincidence, so it cannot be determined at this stage.Having said that... ——It must be that guy.

Kiba thought so too. — exactly the same. Kiba's gaze slowly moved up from the corpse's toes.From the waist to the chest, to the neck, to the face.In the loosely opened mouth, small teeth were exposed.A well-shaped nose, and... eyes. The victim's eyes - smashed. There were two holes where the eyeballs were originally.The skin discolored, shrunk and bulged, and the blood clotted black and smeared around.Can't see the original appearance.Although it can only be confirmed by dissection, the murder weapon is likely to be a pointed awl used in gold carving. ——It was that guy's murder weapon.

That guy—Yukichi Hirano, who was wanted for serial murders. The method is 80% the same. ——This is the fourth one. Kiba lazily stood up.The remains appear to be moving out.The criminal police in the jurisdiction approached, stared wide-eyed and said, "Is this the work of the beholder?" "The beholder" was the nickname given to Hirano by the newspapers. Kiba glanced sideways at Nagato, and said pointedly: "I don't know, I don't know unless I do an autopsy. But fingerprints and other clues are left everywhere, so this case shouldn't be difficult. Right, uncle?"

"Ashiu, the case cannot be judged by the standard of difficulty or simplicity..." Nagato replied in his usual slow tone, "...Moreover, this case is obviously different from the previous three cases, right? If Hirano did this, then besides Hirano, there should be someone else at the scene, or else..." "Hey, how do you know?" "Ah Xiu, you should have noticed it too, right?" The old criminal policeman said, turning his listless face, "The victim has signs of sexual intercourse, didn't you see it just now?" "Oh……" Kiba just helped the dead man straighten his skirt.

"Here, the toilet paper was also picked up by the forensic personnel. The victim was killed after having sex. Hirano has never abused the victim, but this time he made an exception, which is puzzling." ——This old man, he has seen everything he should see. Kiba admired, this is the so-called ginger is old and spicy. "Unfortunately, I don't have the hobby of peeking at the scenery under the skirt of the deceased. I didn't even take a look at that kind of place, how could I notice it?" Kiba cursed, and Nagato seemed to take it as a joke, saying: "Women's white and long legs are a bit exciting to bachelors." To Kiba, this was half true.

At this time, Aoki Bunzo came back. "Ah, it looks like the eyewitness testimony has been asked." "What is appearance?" "Oh, the old lady here has night blindness and can barely see at night. But she barely remembers." "Obviously I can't see it, but what the hell do you still remember?" "Physique. Here, the old woman recognizes people by their shadows. But, she said that the man who came with the victim was tall and scary, and he was bald." "Bald? Is it an old man?" "No, I heard it's a young man. If the old woman's testimony is true, then it's a giant bald man over six feet tall. Is it a monk?"

"This is not Hakone," Kiba said. Aoki said worriedly: "Oh, I don't know what's going on over there now." At present, the continuous murder of monks in Hakone is making a lot of noise.Beginning in the first ten days of February, monks were killed one after another. The poet discussed whether the murderer was also a monk, but there was no sign of solving the case.According to rumors, Kiba's friends and acquaintances seem to have been involved in this incident, too. Because it is under the jurisdiction of Kanagawa, Kiba, who belongs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, can't intervene, but he still misses it.

Aoki remained silent.Kinoshita said anxiously: "But Brother Wen, if the testimony is true, then it's not Hirano. Regardless of the hairstyle, Hirano is very small, at most five feet two inches. Right, senior." "You are very noisy. Is that so? However, nothing can be determined until further investigations and searches. You have to ask the minister for his judgment." — Big bald head. Kiba felt a little displeased.Among his friends, there happened to be a man who looked like this.He thought it couldn't possibly matter, but he also thought that giant men over six feet tall with shaved heads were uncommon.

After the bodies were removed, the interior looked even more cluttered. Because someone pulled the curtains back.Dirty walls, cheap mirrors, clothes belts hanging randomly on hangers and screens, scattered straw paper beside pillows—under the vulgar warm-colored lighting of bulbs, these things can still bring out obscene fantasies, but once exposed to Under the sun, it was as if the magic had been lifted, and it became dirty and unclean.Kiba couldn't bear the putrid smell of damp dust and opened the window. The glass of the wooden framed windows was broken, and it was only patched with newspapers, so it was difficult to open at once.After finally breaking it apart, the opposite side is just the wall of the neighbor's house. ——Even a person can’t squeeze in. Kiba stared at the gray-brown wooden wall of the neighbor's house. The police determined that the serial killings committed by Yukichi Hirano occurred from early summer to the end of last year, and as many as three cases have been confirmed.When the first incident happened, Kiba had just been assigned to the office's first search section, and he didn't even know the situation, so he didn't know the details of the case.Everything he heard after the fact. The first victim was the daughter of a landowner in Shinnon Town. The victim's name was Taeko Yano, who was nineteen years old. Taeko has a good character, and her neighbors think of her very well. She is a girl who looks the same. —It's suspicious. Generally speaking, the victim will become one of the good guys or bad guys.The same is true for the perpetrator, either rated as "how could such a good person do such a thing", or "that guy's words could indeed kill people", either the former or the latter.While there are rarely enough good and bad guys in reality, it always seems to be the case when murders are involved. so…… No one knew who the girl named Taeko actually was, but she really didn't seem to have a bad reputation.But even without a bad name, he still suffered misfortune. Ten o'clock in the morning on May 2nd, Showa 27 (1952)—Because her daughter returned home late, Taeko's mother went out to look for it worriedly, but she found it at the entrance of the home of Yukichi Hirano, a gold carving craftsman diagonally opposite her house. Taeko's body is found. The remains showed no signs of abuse, however, both eyes had been pierced by cone-shaped objects. The police immediately concluded that Hirano was the murderer. Because that morning, Taeko said she was going to check on Hirano and went out, and at the same time, more than one or two people witnessed Hirano walking on the road in a daze holding a blood-stained chisel. Hirano Yukichi was thirty-six years old at the time. His wife died in Showa 23, and he lived alone after that.In the spring of Showa 26, he rented a house in Shinnon Town, the scene of the crime, and the landlord was Yano Taizo, Taeko's father. According to the report, Hirano seemed to be in a state of mental exhaustion at the time, which was also confirmed by his friends and doctors.In fact, Taeko went to visit Hirano's house early in the morning because she saw Hirano returning home with a pale face and an unusual appearance the day before——the family said so. Taeko seems to be enthusiastic and helpful by nature. For Hirano, a widower, she usually cares about his life and takes care of him everywhere.In this murder case, it can be said that her zeal to help others, which is generally regarded as a virtue, caused her death. Hirano was not arrested. Five months later, after mid-October, there was a second victim.It is a thirty-five-year-old prodigal woman named Kawano Yuyaka, located in Xingrui Town, Chiba Prefecture. The victim's eyes were also smashed.Just because the locations are far away, it was initially regarded as a simple murder case that had nothing to do with Hirano.Because Kawano Yuyei is different from Yano Taeko, she is a woman who has constant disputes between men and women and is willing to degenerate, living a life that is completely incompatible with the words "parallel and correct". Gong Rong's lover seems to know three or four people, and almost all of them have had money disputes with Gong Rong.I heard that the suspect locked up in the initial search phase was also Hirano.How the two cases were later connected, Kiba didn't know.Because at that time, Kiba was running around in order to clean up the troubles that happened to Xia Tian.Could it be because the fingerprints were found? Then, towards the end of December, there was a third victim. At this time, the media sensationally reported the terrifying title of "Eye Demon Hirano". The crime took place in Katsuura Town, also in Chiba Prefecture.The third victim was Junko Yamamoto, a 30-year-old female school teacher.Both eyes were also smashed, showing no signs of abuse. However, there were several witnesses to the murder, and the age and appearance of the murderer described in their testimony was exactly the same as Hirano.In addition, it was inferred from the shape of the wound that the murder weapon was the same, and a large number of fingerprints suspected to be Hirano were detected, so the title of "Continuous Eye Destroyer Yukichi Hirano" shocked the society at once. Speaking of December, Kiba was also engrossed in a rather difficult case, and of course it was impossible to know the details of this murder that happened far away. Then…… After the new year, Hirano has not yet been arrested. I don't know if it's flying into the sky or escaping to the ground, but the Eye Crashing Demon has disappeared without a trace, and I can't even find out its whereabouts.Newspapers regularly come to mind and criticize the police for incompetence. Just after January, rumors began to circulate that Hirano was lurking in Tokyo.For a while, someone saw a sneaky man in Yodoqiao with an awl in his arms, and for a while, a man in Shenyuezaka murmured "I want eyeballs" and ran after him.Rumors and suspicious information are rampant.What's even more exaggerated is that even the ridiculous rumors that a man suspected of Hirano used bowls to pretend to be human eyes in the abandoned temple in Chofu and ate them with relish have been spread with seriousness. As a result, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department can no longer sit idly by.At the end of January, the Metropolitan Police Department summoned officials from the National Police Headquarters in Chiba Prefecture and Shinanomachi to listen to the situation. Although it was too late, they finally set up a search headquarters. —It's really too late. It is only now that they want to adopt the crowd tactics, and they have no way to start.It has been so long since the incident, as long as the murderer wants to escape, he can go anywhere, whether it is Hokkaido or Kumamoto. So Kiba really couldn't get any more motivation.He fumbled through the data, thinking: What else can I do?There is no way to start. Even so, he thought about it a little. ——Why did you kill these people? Nineteen-year-old girl with good character. Thirty-five-year-old prostitute who is willing to degenerate. Thirty-year-old serious female teacher. The victims had nothing in common.Every eye has been smashed out, so this must be what's commonly known as a bizarre murder, but then again, it's too clueless.Kiba also looked at the victim's photos and other materials, but they couldn't find anything in common in appearance. Taeko Yano is an iconic girl with delicate features, who seems to be called Komachi Bijin in the local area.On the other hand, Kawano Yuei has a pair of charming red phoenix eyes, and is a mature woman with a good posture.As for Junko Yamamoto, she fully showed her intellectual class consciousness, she didn't wear makeup, and even her age and gender couldn't be seen from her appearance, which was the type that Kiba avoided most. ——I can't tell anything just from the photos. Apart from the fact that they are all women, they really can't find anything else in common.If the murderer was a pervert who attacked the same type of women one after another, it was barely understandable.But as long as it is a woman, anyone is fine, it is a bit puzzling.There may be such absurd people among shameless sex monsters and rapists, but Hirano did not violate the victim.He just killed them, and... —and smashed the eyes. Is there any reason? Is this really serial killing? No one among the searchers doubted that.Not because the evidence of the situation is so realistic.It's because the peculiar act of smashing the eyes naturally endows these individual events with a sense of unity. And the murder weapon is a special tool. Motive tends to be viewed as secondary in such cases.Most of the investigators believed that it was a mistake to look for human motives and logical rationality in madmen like the "Eyebreaker".So they don't think it's weird. But Kiba felt something was wrong.This should be the case committed by Hirano, but it must be... --have what. woman.Killed because she was a woman.This little common ground may be true. woman…… Then, as if laughing at the criminal police running around, now another woman was killed. Ranch intuitively thought: This must have been done by Hirano as well.The victim is still the same - a woman. Stupid. ——This is not even a basis. Just as Kiba was looking into the air, trying to close the hard-to-close windows, he saw the spider webs wet with morning dew glistening. In the middle is a huge queen spider. "Senior, what should I do?" Aoki called out to Kiba. "Aoki, what kind of immature tone is that? Can you think of a way to change it? Big dumb, what should I do?" "Oh, this is the one from Chiba County Headquarters..." "I'm Tsushima from Chiba Headquarters. What happened to the conductor here?" A fierce-looking man interrupted haughtily. "Then what's the matter?" "It's very troublesome for us to mess around like this and steal everything away. We also have to worry about our position in Chiba. The Metropolitan Police Department is not in charge of the initiative." "It's not necessarily Hirano's doing, is it?" "What are you talking about? The corpse—that is, I almost couldn't even see the corpse—isn't it clear just by looking at the corpse? You actually acted first." "Whispering! You slow men, you procrastinate until this time, why are you talking about being the first to be the first? Don't you say that you don't know if it's a serial killing incident? Don't jump to conclusions. Besides, here But Tokyo, and Yotsuya moreover, is under the jurisdiction of the Yotsuya Department." "Then what are you doing here?" "You are really nagging. Of course, we came here because someone asked for help. Speaking of which, even if it was the work of the eye-breaker, it is because you let the murderer go unpunished. You know Measure it." "What I want to say is all because of Xinnong Town..." "Oh, oh, it's really hard work." At this time, Nagato stepped in. In this case, I'd better leave it to Mr. Good. In short, Kiba hated this kind of troublesome sense of turf war the most.So he quietly left the room with Aoki. The hallway was dark and damp. "Sure enough, it's the feeling of selling spring accommodation." Aoki said with wide-eyed eyes.Kiba hates his student-like tone of voice. Aoki is a young man who is very loyal and admirable, but Muchang just can't understand his serious style. "Hey, you didn't threaten that old woman, did you?" "Threat? Threat of what?" "That is to say, this place is illegal, not a legal accommodation facility. As long as you investigate, there will be many questions. If you ask directly, the old woman will close her mouth after she finally opened it." "I didn't do that kind of thing." Aoki said.But Ranch understands that if a person has some hidden secrets, then Aoki's awe-inspiring attitude is itself a threat.And the signboard of the police is likely to bring great pressure to that type of people.Ranch said: "Anyway, I'm going to see the old woman." He didn't listen to Aoki's dissuasion, and suddenly opened the door of the room that looked like a counter. In the center of the room with four and a half tatami mats, there is a low stove table full of patches, or the whole room is a low stove table. In the scene full of patches, sits an old woman in the same full dress. It is a padded jacket of the patch. The old woman looked up, her face wrinkled as if she had eaten two or three sour plums, and she looked up at the pasture suspiciously. "What are you doing? Is there anything else?" "excuse me." "Really disturbing." "Grandma, don't say that." "I have a name, Tada Maki." "Oh, Grandma Maki. My name is Kiba." "Strange name, what's the matter? If you want to ask about what happened last night, I'll tell that little brother who looks like a small mustard puppet." "Just to ask about that." Kiba signaled Aoki to close the door with his eyes, and sat down at the low table in Nuanlu wearing his coat. "Did you call the police?" "Yeah, the guest got up too late, and I wanted to charge an extension fee, but I didn't expect people to become so virtuous. Fortunately, the money has been collected first, otherwise I would have been living for nothing. I don't want to be involved in trouble That’s why I dared to call the police quickly. Can’t I?” "No. Speaking of which, is that woman a regular customer?" "It's my first time here. It's definitely not a good thing to accept such a one-time guest." "Don't you know me at all?" "You're annoying. If you haven't seen it, you haven't seen it. Are you trying to say that I'm old-fashioned? A woman who wears that expensive yuzen" won't come to me. "Expensive? Is the kimono she's wearing expensive?" "It's very expensive." The old woman said coldly, and then asked Kiba for cigarettes.Kiba gave him a paper cigarette, but the old woman accepted it with a straight face and smoked it with relish. "Tell you, it's the wife of a certain family having an affair with someone else. Although she looks like a prostitute, it's just pretending." "It's a good thing you can see it. Isn't grandma suffering from night blindness?" "I told you that my name is Tada Maki. Even if I can't see it, I can recognize it. It smells like cheap powder. No matter how she pretends to be, I can see her inside. I can It’s not for nothing that you’ve been in this business for thirty years. Look at your face in clogs, don’t make others look down on you like this.” Maki Tada took a puff of smoke towards Kiba. The air smelled of a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes, and camphor. ——It turns out that she is not a prostitute. Then it may take a lot of time to find out the identity. "Where is the woman's companion? How is it?" "What is it? I said it just now. I don't have the time to say the same thing twice." "You said that man..." ——Kawashima Shinzo. Friends of Kiba. During the war, Kawashima was very active as Masahiko Amakasu's right-hand man, and now runs a small film production company.He was a tall man with a head shaved for some reason.Kiba is very concerned about this matter. "...a giant bald man. I want to ask others." "Other? What else? There's nothing else. Let's see...by the way, he's wearing dark glasses." "sunglasses?" Kawashima also wears sunglasses. "How do you know? Aren't you invisible at night? Can you smell it through sunglasses?" "What an idiot you are, he said it himself. I said, 'It's dark in there, be careful.' And he said, 'Oh, it's dangerous to wear dark glasses at night.' And he took them off." "Where are the clothes?" Kawashima still likes to wear military uniforms. "How would I know? My mother has night blindness." The old woman said that the suspicious couple came after midnight.She usually doesn't accept strangers, but last night there wasn't even a pair of guests, and they paid the bill generously in advance, so Tada Maki took the two to the room.The one who pays is said to be the woman. "And then until morning, I stayed here. Didn't hear anything." "But the man is gone?" "I don't know when he left. If you procrastinate and don't leave, it's just causing trouble. It doesn't matter if you leave early. Maybe he went back while the old lady was sleeping. After killing that woman." "Where's the lock on the entrance?" "Nothing like that. Even if you want to steal it, there is nothing valuable here. Guests will lock the door of the room by themselves, it doesn't matter." "Guests...will lock themselves?" That being said, the paper door seems to have a small door lock with a hook attached to it. "and then?" "You're really nagging. So, I went to check in the morning, and the door was still locked. I yelled at them that it was almost time to get up and go, but no one came out, so I kicked the paper door down. ..." "Ah, grandma, wait a minute." "My name is Maki Tada." "That room can only be locked from the inside, right?" "Is not this nonsensical?" "Is that room locked?" "That's what I told you." —A chamber of secrets? Kiba hated the nonsense of chamber of secrets the most. and…… Such a place is at odds with that pedantic vocabulary.First of all, there must be exaggerated stage equipment, so that this kind of vocabulary can realize its value as a vocabulary.An ancient mansion, an ancient mansion where karma is entangled, or a fortified fortress - only the unrealistic events that occur in such places are suitable for the word "secret room".It is not at all suitable for the desolate scenery of buying a spring house in the suburbs.And it was just a secret room where the old woman would disappear when she kicked the paper door, so Kiba didn't want to call it a secret room. even so…… "Hey, grandma, how did the murderer leave?" "Just ask the murderer about such an insignificant matter. Ah, just seeing your square face makes me feel overwhelmed. Get out quickly." Yes, it really doesn't matter. This has nothing to do with the nature of time. This wasn't a homicide disguised as a suicide, or an elaborate case of alibis.The murderer has almost been identified.Even if the suspect is not the real murderer, this is not a case that can be portrayed as an impossible crime. Really a meaningless chamber of secrets. After Kiba said "Excuse me", he stood up weakly, threw the whole pack of cigarettes on the low table by the stove, and said goodbye.Tada Maki said coldly with a wrinkled face, "Thank you." Kiba walked out of the room, Aoki and Kinoshita were waiting for him. Seems to be closing down.The subordinates asked if they had gained anything, and Kiba said: "Oh, I heard that the secret room was locked from the inside when I heard the murder scene." The two young detectives laughed at the same time: "Senior is talking nonsense again." Kiba asked the two to wait, and went to the secret room again. He wanted to check the door lock.There were still several district police officers in the box. Kiba arched his shoulders and entered the room menacingly.Kiba is well aware of the intimidating effect his brave appearance can have on people.Among the fierce generals who searched the first class in this hall, Kiba is also one of the best when it comes to the fierce appearance.And now he is getting more and more angry, even if his actions are suspicious, no one dares to stop him. As expected, no one stopped him. There is only one paper door at the entrance. A metal rod hangs from the center of the wooden frame on the side of the paper door with a hook-like front end.The post has a metal ring embedded in it to which a hook can be hung.It is a common simple lock. It's so shabby and pretty old, it feels like it's going to fall down at any moment.Maybe it was because Tada Maki tried to open the door from the outside and shook it hard.Even if the hook is hooked, as long as the paper door is removed, it can still be opened.The paper door was also rather worn and askew and seemed to be easily removable. Kiba gave an arrogant "Hello" and called one of the police officers, who was looking suspiciously from a distance. "Hey, is this lock fingerprinted?" "Oh, it seems to have already been picked. I was ordered just now, saying that I can investigate as I like." "understood." Kiba ordered the officer to lock the door while he walked slowly into the hallway. As soon as the paper door was closed, there was a silly sound from inside: "It's locked." Kiba shook the paper door a few times to check the situation.It really couldn't be opened, but it also made a considerable gap.Looking from the gap, the door lock can be seen lying there like a matchstick.As long as you insert a slender object and then pull it up, this kind of lock can be opened in two or three clicks. —the old woman said she kicked the door open. Look at the upper frame, it's not very tight.Kiba inserted his finger into the gap and lifted it up slightly, then pushed it lightly, and the paper door was detached from the lower frame and tilted down toward the room. "Wow!" The police officer inside yelled and caught the paper door. The door lock is still hooked, it's really simple. —It's almost the same as unlocking it. But... think about it carefully, even if you know it, it's not always the case.Although this lock is simple, it also plays a full role.If it can only be locked from the inside, since it is locked, it means that there are people inside.Unless the person inside is asleep and unconscious, as long as the door is kicked down or removed.will definitely be discovered.In addition, if there is no one in the room, the room has no value. In other words, there is no need to lock it from the outside. And this room is so simple.Even if the door lock is high-end and strong, the situation will not make a difference. — This is not a chamber of secrets. Kiba tried to put the door back on, but couldn't.Because the door lock is still hooked, it is difficult to move, and he can only hold one side of the paper door. For some reason, Kiba was a little flustered. ——It’s faster to go in and install it. So Kiba tried to enter the room.But the paper door hooked by the door lock was more difficult than expected, and I couldn't get in no matter what.Leaving aside the small Maki Tada, the big Kiba may break through the paper door if he is not careful.The police officer inside was also in a dilemma as he pressed the paper door.Kiba and the police officer were busy pushing and pushing the paper door between them.The police officer was completely confused about the situation, and Kiba didn't say anything about it, so it was no wonder. Kiba had no choice but to let go of the paper door, loudly ordered the police officer inside to put the paper door back on, and then shouted: "Open the lock when the paper door is installed!" --Wait a moment. At this time, Kiba found out. Remove the paper door in the locked state, and there is no problem here.Or rather, that's the state of affairs right now, so it's actually doable.If it can be done from the corridor, it should also be possible from the interior.Whether it is from the inside or the outside, it is feasible. But to put the paper door back from its current state—the state where the lock was removed from the door frame—and put it back as it was, can only be done from inside, isn’t it? — Or can a more dexterous person do it? Kiba grabbed the paper door again, but stopped.impossible. Even if there is a gap, it can only fit into the fingertips.Unless the grip strength is superior, it is impossible to grasp the paper door from one side and lift it vertically parallel to the door frame.Not even the brute force Kiba could do it. ——Can it be done with tools? It shouldn't be impossible, but it's hard.No, there's no point in doing that. Absolutely not. If the door is really locked, the crude and easy way of removing the paper door, however easy, is not a suitable method of escape in this case.It should be ruled out. So, can you open the paper door as usual, go to the corridor, and lock it from the outside? Indeed, as long as you use silk thread and the like, with a little thought, you may be able to do it.No, it must be possible.But that's also pointless.If you have time to play that kind of trick, it's better to be a quick mob. —This is no place for trickery. Kiba thought to himself: Sure enough, this was not a problem from the beginning.No, it shouldn't be a problem at all. if that is the case. Indeed, the lock of this paper door is very easy to open.In other words, it is also possible to break into locked rooms.It may be difficult to sneak in without being noticed, but if you don't care about being discovered by the people inside, it's very easy to break in ostentatiously.No gimmicks needed. However, the reverse will not work. This means that it is impossible to escape the locked room without some tricks. —That’s right, it’s impossible. So... if there was a lock in the first place, then the person who locked it escaped through something other than the paper door, such as a window.This is a natural conclusion.But if Kiba's space feels right, he doesn't think humans can climb out of the window he saw just now.There can be no secret passages or secret doors here either.Did I miss it, or... —Is the old woman lying? So why is she lying?Did the old woman have any reason to have to perjure herself?Even if there was, she couldn't figure out what was the point of her purposely making the room a secret room. ——In short, let’s take a look at what the old woman says first. Kiba thought about it.Then, he found that there was only one solution left in the end. ——Was the murderer still indoors when it was discovered? At this point, the police officer finally put the paper door back on. It might take a lot of effort to put the locked paper door back on.It really didn't work. The police officer opened his eyes wide, and asked in great surprise: "Mr. Interpol, what's going on? Is it an experiment?" Kiba glanced at him, and said in a low voice: "Don't ask so many questions, just shut up for me." mouth." The police officer replied "Yes", made the most salute, and closed his mouth. Kiba pushed him away and was finally able to enter the room.He scanned the room.The blood-stained quilt seemed to have been removed together with the body, and it no longer felt cramped, but rather empty. The room is about four and a half tatami mats.Some places were uneven, and what must have been closets were covered with tatami mats.In order to increase the number of rooms, the house should have been remodeled. Probably because of this, there were no openings other than hastily made windows, and no ceiling cupboards.The only furniture is a mirror table, a hanger screen and a wooden trash can.Although there were ashtrays and a small stove, there was no such thing as a low table.I remember that there was a kettle and two teacups with gaps on the tatami just now, but they seemed to have been taken away by the forensic personnel, so I don’t see them now.Anyway... There are no secret passages, and no places where one can hide. --what happened? If so, who locked it?Could it be the lock on the corpse?Since the door is locked, the person who locked it must be inside, or the guy must have left elsewhere. Kiba looked up at the ceiling. The murderer quietly descended from the ceiling and killed the woman... Quietly retracting the ceiling. — and not a spider. "Hey, have you checked the ceiling?" "Huh? The ceiling?" The officer stammered, and another officer inside replied: "There should be no investigation on the ceiling!" "I see, I think so too." Kiba murmured as if reciting sutras, looking down.window. Kiba decided to check around the window as well.Just now, I didn't consider whether the window could be used as an escape route at all, so I didn't confirm it at all. Anyway, just in case. In the end, it was useless to look at it.In fact, the distance between the neighbors is three or four inches, and even a person cannot fit in. Kiba looked around and saw that the open space between the neighbors was covered with piles of garbage.Broken teacups, broken chopsticks and confetti, and rags.It was all covered with a layer of dust, almost weathered.Each one fades to the same color, melts into the same texture... --what There is a foreign object between the broken teacup and the confetti. —It’s dark glasses. Kiba leaned out, his face was almost touching the wall of the neighbor's house, he stretched out his hand as much as possible, and finally picked it up.The shape was the same as Kiba's impression, and he had a strong feeling that it was the same style as Kawashima's sunglasses. so…… Kiba secretly confiscated the sunglasses while avoiding the police officer's sight. Kiba's heart throbbed, not like him at all. Looking up, the girl spider is staring at herself. At two o'clock in the afternoon, he came to the Yotsuya Department. Everyone in the search meeting was exhausted. Kiba had always hated meetings. This time too, although there were many participants, it was actually a waste of time. 大家已经有了默契，认定凶手就是平野，根本无人对此存疑，可是没有任何确证，也不可能出现任何有建设性的积极意见，只有辖区及千叶县本部提出的不同看法，打乱了这群废物的团结。 木场姑且将多田麻纪的证词报告上去。 他特意不使用密室这种说法，只说“证人说纸门原本上了锁”。密室之中词汇，在警察当中是不通用的。 不出所料，甚至没人注意到从里面上了锁的状态就叫做密室，木场得到的只有“那又怎样”的疲弱反应而已。这个时候，木场的心已经死了一大半，所以完全没有说出他针对纸门做了实验。 结果，最后的结论是：在指纹的核对结果以及司法解剖的报告出来之前，现阶段要将“左门町妇女溃眼杀人事件”视为一连串溃眼命案的凶手所为，似乎太过武断。和长门那令人不耐烦的见解没什么两样。 在会议作出这个毫无意义的结论之前，牧场一直在思考着装在内袋里的墨镜。 这是证物，当然应该提交上去。 但就算要提交上去，到底该用什么样的说明提交、什么时候提交才好呢？ 这原本不是什么应该犹豫的问题，也不需要说明，只要说自己发现这个东西就行了。而且刑警原本就没有不交出证物这样的选项，意图隐瞒从现场扣押的遗留物，是决不允许的事。所以这连想都不必想。 但是牧场犹豫了。 为什么犹豫？他自己也没有明确的答案。 ——川岛。 的确，他很担心川岛，但是木场并不真的认为川岛与这次事件有关。即使内袋里的墨镜式样与川岛所戴的相同。 ——款式相同又怎么样？ 同款的墨镜到处都有。就算川岛与事件有某种形式上的关联，他也不太可能会是凶手。而且就算川岛是凶手，木场和他之前也完全没有非包庇他不可的情义。川岛只是朋友，又不是木场的救命恩人。but…… 木场细小的眼睛仔细观察周围。 没有一个搜查人员知道木场捡了墨镜。即使就这么三缄其口，这里也没有半个人会怀疑木场，没必要担心。可是，他无论如何就是心神不宁，内心七上八下。当时，警官应该压根儿没注意到才对，没有任何人看到…… ——但是蜘蛛看到了。 “解散。”部长的话声响起。 就在木场沉思之际，会议结束了。 他终究没有从口袋里拿出墨镜。 木场完全错失了时机。 这……这不是故意隐瞒，木场在心中为自己辩解。 这几乎是情势使然。一开始，木场想要在报告多田麻纪的证词时，顺便将墨镜作为证物提交出来——顺理成章地交出来——他原本是这么打算的。 但是没有人对木场的报告感兴趣。所以，他只是错过了机会罢了。而且会议本身是浪费时间，只是场徒有虚名的会议，所以，所以…… ——不对，这只是托词。 自己骗自己也没用——木场心想。 的确，他曾经有过提交证物的念头。但自己不是打从一开始就打算隐匿，才把他给捡起来的吗？ 木场回想起来，他根本是避着警官的耳目建起墨镜来的。 那种罪恶感，就是最好的证据。 刑警们三三两两地站起来，木场完全没有听到人员如何配置，以及决定了哪些事项，慌忙叫住长门。 “大叔，你要去哪里？” “什么？阿修，你振作一点啊。你和我要去平野以前住的信农町啊。” “等一下，这还不一定是平野干的吧？” “哦，是还没确定啊。阿修，你都没在听吗？听说里村医师核对伤口后，断定了凶器的形状相同。唔，几乎确定是平野干的了。只是里村医师的意思是凶器的形状相同，他可没说凶器是同一把。而且还有你说的那个老妇人的证词，那边也得调查一下。” “那边？你说的那边，是说秃头男……” 木场按住内袋。 “对，巨汉那边，阿文和阿国跟四谷署的人一起……你根本没在听吗？” “我们不能去那边吗？” “都说你跟我去信农町了啊。” 长门缓缓地移动起来。 “喂，大叔，事到如今再去信农町又能怎样？平野逃亡都已经过了半年以上。那里什么都没有了吧。” “你真的完全没在听呢。我们要去见平野的朋友，我记得姓川岛……” “川……岛？” “对啊。数据上也有写啊，他是平野为数不多的朋友之一。” “那……那个姓川岛的是……” “是个印刷工人。” ? ——是别人啊。 长门边走边翻文件，把那一部分指给长门看。 “你真的一点干劲也没有呢。资料至少也该看一下吧，这里。” 数据上写着川岛喜市这个名字。 二十九岁，任职于酒井印刷厂，和木场认识的川岛不是同一个人。平野因职业之故，朋友不多，据说他在犯罪之前，与这个川岛交情一直不错。 ——是巧合吗？ 除了巧合之外，没有其他可能了吧。 “据说这个人看到平野精神耗弱，非常担心，才介绍精神神经科医师给他的。” “那个医生是……” “”呃，这么说来，数据上没写那个医生的名字呢。 “医生比较重要吧？” “辖区正在调查吧。” 长门一副悠然自得的模样。 木场仍无法释怀。 信农町的查访徒劳一场。 川岛喜市在一个月前辞掉了印刷厂的工作。 他似乎也搬家了，之后行踪不明。印刷厂老板说，川岛喜市是个开朗的男子，虽然人有点轻浮，但工作很认真。他辞职非常突然，也完全没有说明理由。“是发生了什么事吗？还是因为女人？”老板事不关己地说着。木场从他的态度，敏感地察觉他想要撇清关系。 为了慎重起见，木场询问川岛这名青年的身家数据，但老板说不记得了。 ——川岛喜市会是川岛新造的亲戚吗？ 也不是不可能。 but…… ——如果是又怎么样？ 每件事都教人无法释然。木场还不了解该循那条线索追查下去，才能够有所发现。 回到刑警办公室一看，青木和木下正在喝茶。 一旁还有四谷署的刑警。 青木说“前辈，辛苦了”，让出座位。木场礼让长门，但老人往较远的椅子走去，木场不得已，只好坐了下来。 木下开口道：“被害人的身份终于查出来了。” “真快哪。” 木场原本以为，如果那个女人就像多田麻纪所推测的，不是个风尘女子，那么应该得花上不少时间才能查明身份。因为如果是良家妇女，当然是掩人耳目出门的。 “不仅如此，还问到了重要的证词。” “真是太快了。然后呢？” “哦，叫人不敢置信的是，被害人是一家大商号的媳妇呢。” 被害人名叫前岛八千代，二十八岁，嫁到日本桥一家老字号绸缎庄已有三年。 “真亏你们查得到哪。可是，那么就是红杏出墙喽？”木场望向木下问道。 木下说“这个嘛”，望着青木。青木苦笑说：“前辈，好像不是红杏出墙。” "why?" “唔，证人是死者的丈夫，应该还在署里吧。那家伙真的非常下流……” 早先青木等人回到现场一看，有个行踪诡异的男子正在门口附近徘徊。他一下子窥看屋里，一下子绕到后面，形迹相当可疑。青木等人把他抓起来盘问，才知道是八千代的丈夫——前岛贞辅。 “听说那家伙从半夜起就一直在那里盯梢，是跟踪老婆过来的。” “盯梢？在这种大寒天里一直盯着吗？” “是啊。他死缠烂打地，打算坚持到老婆出来的样子。结果没想到警察蜂拥而至，害他想回也回不去，又不能询问发生了什么事，进退两难。他一厢情愿地以为屋里铁定出了什么事，所以老婆出不来，却万万没想到盖着草席、被担架抬出来的尸体就是自己的老婆，之后还呆呆地继续守在那里。” 男子对警方的盘问一头雾水，青木察觉有异，硬是要他确认遗体，前岛才总算清楚了状况。 “那……你说不是红杏出墙是……” “如果完全听信那个废人老公的说法，好像是老婆偷偷在卖淫。” “卖淫？良家妇女吗？” “女人是无法理解的啊，木场前辈。” 木下说的一副他对女人了如指掌的模样。 据说，事情的开端要回溯到一个月以前。 结婚之后，前岛夫妇相敬如宾。八千代人长得娇美，照顾老公无微不至，对待用人、业者相当和善，与客人应对也十分得体，还会算账，怎么看都是个无可挑剔的绸缎庄少奶奶。相反的，贞辅不晓得是绸缎庄第五代还是第六代当家，是个不知世事的大少爷，打从骨子里什么都不会。唯一的优点只有胆小谨慎，是个街坊公认的脓包大少爷。每个人都说，八千代嫁给那个痨病鬼真是太可惜了。青木说，这部分已经迅速查证过了。 贞辅本人似乎也经常向周围的人炫耀，说这么好的妻子就算打着灯笼都没处找。 贞辅平素不畅接听电话，唯独那一次却不知为何亲自接了电话。对方似乎也完全没想到会是店老板接听，一个陌生的男声以傲慢的口气问道：“府上的老板娘是叫八千代这个名字吗？” 贞辅不高兴的应道：“是。” “娘家姓是金井吗？”男人又问。 贞辅心想“这家伙真无理”，却也忍不住好奇起来，装成用人的口气回答：“是的，太太的娘家的确是姓金井。”男声应道：“这样，那么……”接着说，“那么你转告他，'屋后的太郎稻荷神社里，香油钱箱旁有一封书简，若不想让夫婿知道你过去的恶行，务必过来取信。'” “贞辅问他名字，那男人说了声'这个嘛'，想了一下，答道：'就说我是蜘蛛的使者吧。'” “蜘蛛？这家伙开什么玩笑啊？而且将电话的口气怎么那么像古装剧？那，老公跑去找那封信了吗？” “倒也没有。碰到这种情况，一般人会怎么做呢？换作是我，也不晓得会怎么做呢。总之，老公吩咐小伙计把这段话转告老婆，自己偷偷摸摸地监视起老婆的行动。那个叫前岛的家伙，本性似乎就是这么阴险。” 八千代显然大为震惊。 然后似乎立即前往稻荷神社，贞辅偷偷跟在后头。八千代四处张望了好一阵，才穿过鸟居，拿起信之后，陷入茫然。贞辅说他躲在社殿后面偷看八千代，感觉到气氛非比寻常。 八千代立即把信揉成一团，扔掉了。贞辅把它捡起来。 “贞辅说，信上写了五六个男人的名字，底下则写着'知汝隐情，盼复'。第二张纸上应该写了联络方式，但被老婆拿走了，老公手中没有。” “简直像古装剧里跑出来的家伙哪。可是光靠这些，根本不晓得是在说些什么呀？” “贞辅绞尽脑汁，想出了一个结论：上面的名字是与妻子有过一腿的男人的名字——妻子是个娼妇。” “这也太突兀了吧？” “我也这么认为。”青木说。 关于这件事，贞辅既没有责备妻子，也没有盘问她。后来他尽可能佯装无事，但严密监视妻子的行动。原本就派不上用场的老板就算完全不工作，对家业也毫无影响。贞辅把全副心思都用在观察妻子上头了。八千代表面上和平常无异，但曾经好几次在半夜拨打可疑的电话。 在寂静中讲电话，音量当然压得极小，不可能内容都听得一清二楚，但是八千代偶尔会厉声大吼起来，贞辅只听到一部分。“你到底要我怎么样？”“要多少你才答应？”八千代似乎这么说。 “被勒索了吗？”木场问，目下摇头说不是。 “前岛坚称那不是勒索。对吧，文兄？” “是啊，事实上，八千代也没有拿钱出去的迹象。不过这些都是糊里糊涂的老公说的，值不值得相信，实在很难说。根据老公的说法，老婆是在交涉自己的价码，是在争论她不能卖的太便宜。” “蠢透了，又不是花魁。” “就是啊，全都是老公的一厢情愿，听起来很像是他胡诌出来的，连我都忍不住想叫他多少该相信自己的老婆，可是啊……” 贞辅的老婆——实际上就是像娼妓般被杀害了。 大前天晚上，八千代一样偷偷地打电话。贞辅远远地仔细观察，看到妻子从香囊里取出折叠起来的纸张，边看边讲电话。 那天的电话讲得特别久，八千代的样子比以往更可疑，侧耳偷听的贞辅自然也十分聚精会神。没多久，只听见八千代有些激动地说：“我明白了。一次，就这么一次。” 接着八千代在纸上写了字，粗鲁地放下话筒。贞辅说，他从没见过妻子如此粗鲁的模样。他完全没办法相信眼前的女人就是平常那楚楚可怜的妻子。 贞辅就此确信了。 ——妻子有着不为人知的另一面，她是个卖淫的妓女。 木场心想：多么自私的判断啊。任谁都会有烦躁不安的时候，不可能总是保持同一个样子。 贞辅装作若无其事，走到妻子面前。 木场觉得他的行动真是阴险到了极点。 八千代显得有些慌张，但随即佯作无事，匆匆地离开了。那种铁定心里有鬼的态度，让贞辅更加确信了自己的判断。 “然后老公趁着那天晚上，像个贼似的偷了老婆的香袋，抄下上面写的内容。所以才知道对方的联络方式以及昨晚密会的场所。” 会合的地点是四谷暗坂，时间是晚上十点三十分。 贞辅按捺着迫不及待的心情，尽可能不与八千代碰头，等待时机。过了晚上八点，他谎称要去棋会所而离开店里。当然，这是为了方便八千代出门。 “真搞不懂。姑且不论是不是卖春，自己的老婆要去跟其他男人密会啊，阻止的话我还可以理解，但是为什么要方便她出门？” 木场这么说，木下便说：“男女感情不是那么容易说得清的，前辈难道不了解这种心情吗？我倒是可以了解啦。”青木用一种斥责木下的语气说：“他是想捉奸在床啦。” 青木应该是以木场也听得懂的说法在为他说明，但是听在木场耳里，感觉根本是被瞧不起了。反正迟钝的木场就是不了解男女之间的细微感情。青木察觉木场不太高兴，赶忙说下去：“那个老公不辞劳苦，竟然躲在店铺前的电线杆后面，等待老婆出门。天气这么冷，他也真是不达目的不罢休哪。忍耐了半个小时之后，老婆走了出来……” 八千代围着披肩，把脸遮住。尽管如此，远远地还是看得出她化了浓妆，贞辅保持一段距离，尾随在后。不接男女之情的木场觉得这种行为真是阴险极了。 暗坂的入口处站着一名巨汉，相貌非常奇特。 “他说那是个怎样的男人？” “哦，就像那个老婆婆说的，是个身高超过六尺的彪形大汉，秃头——应该是剃光头吧，而且三更半夜的却带着墨镜……” 木场双手抓住外套，拉紧衣襟。 那就是现在藏在自己怀里的证物。 “……而且都这种时代了，还穿着脏兮兮的军服。” “等一下，你说军服？” 是川岛。不会错，是川岛新造。 木场感觉到一股不可思议的激动。那是一种罪恶感，难以承受之重、惭愧、焦躁以及想要自保的本能恰到好处的糅合在一起的奇妙感觉。这个时候的牧场，一定像个顺手牵羊的小鬼头般，一脸不知该如何是好的表情。他想要蒙混过去似地说：“那一定很醒目吧。”木下说：“是啊，是很醒目啊，只要看过一次就忘不掉。” “那应该很容易找到吧。” 用不着木场拿出证物，川岛应该不用多久就会被当做关系人拘捕了。 青木开口了：“前辈，根本不必找啊，前岛抄下了联络方式。” “对呀，那……” “是啊，凶手——姑且不论他是不是凶手——总之昨晚和被害人在一起的客人究竟是谁，不用多久就可以查出来了。现在四谷署的人正在调查，应该很快就会有结果了。” “那个客人就是凶手嘛。”木下揶揄青木那慎重其事的发言似的，用一种大舌头且不可一世的口吻说。 “怎么，木下，你的意思是这不是平野干的吗？” 木下说客人——川岛就是凶手。 这个断定不能够置若罔闻。木下故意要挑起木场的忧虑似的说：“没错，秃头巨汉就是凶手。”木场问他根据在哪里，青木便接着回答：“那个老公——前岛贞辅站在外面监视，出入那间屋子的，似乎只有那个巨汉而已。” "Oh." 八千代和秃头男谈了一阵后，两人生硬地依偎在一起，走到四谷三丁目的十字路口。接着……他们竟胆大包天地经过四谷署前面，往信农町方向前进，然后忽然拐进小巷子里。贞辅跟在一大段距离后，两人暂时从他的视线中消失了。贞辅慌忙奔过去，但是当他抵达小巷时，两人已经消失无踪了。胆小而阴险的跟踪者，他会保持那么远的距离跟踪，是因为秃头男看起来很可怕。 小巷子直通到底，没有岔路。 他们离开视线的时间，不足以让他们穿过巷子，所以贞辅认为他们一定是走进路边某一栋建筑物里了，而且还不是太里面的。所以他一家一家仔细查看，却没有看见类似的地方，也没看见供人休息的旅馆招牌。这也难怪，非法的卖春宿是不会设招牌的。多田麻纪的屋子外观也只是普通的民宅。 “那里发生过火灾，房子都很旧了。这一带除了市谷的前陆军省和内藤町——也就是御苑，除了这些地方以外，全部烧光了，烧得一干二净。只剩下那一带幸运地留了下来。”四谷署的刑警说道。 青木问：“那一家在做那样的生意，四谷署那里……” “哎，知道是知道啦，近在眼前嘛。” “那么你们没有查报……” 四谷的刑警略微苦笑，有点客气地回答：“哎，那个老太婆战前好像做了很多有的没的坏事，不过现在倒是很老实。她过得很低调也很朴素，我们想说不需要盯得那么紧……” 此时木下又嚣张地插口道：“你们对她睁一只眼闭一只眼吗？这可是个大问题。看那种设备，也不可能拿得到小房间式的简易住宿设施许可吧。如果是茶室的话，就不可能住宿警察不可以容忍那种卖春旅馆般的不良场所存在。” 皮肤质感粗糙的有点像蝾螺的刑警瞥了