Chapter 15 Chapter 07 Declaration of Loss of Parental Rights

"By the way, there is one thing that I have always been very concerned about, and it is very strange. That was when I was in elementary school, probably when I was in the first or second grade." The first to provide the topic is Xiaoxi. At first, because the kaiseki bento (even if you didn't hear the value of this bento, you can tell just by looking at it) looked very high-end, so it was rare for everyone to sit down and eat.But when drinking started, as usual, the atmosphere gradually increased.No, this should be due to the reaction of the rain after all the troubles have been swept away. Everyone's interest is much higher than usual.Of course, there are a total of eight people drinking together, even if everyone wants to restrain themselves, they will unconsciously become noisy.Even in the library with soundproof equipment, there was a moment when the noise was so loud that everyone suddenly fell silent.

The fancy cakes they bought were eaten up by everyone in an instant, and then they officially entered the reception. They even forgot the name of Xiao Ru's birthday party, and it was no different from the usual drinking party.Forget it, anyway, it was expected that things would unfold like this, and after that kind of thing happened, the atmosphere can be restored to such a lively level, which is what we wish for. Senior Piao Piao also took advantage of the wine, and while eating the chicken salad made by Gao Qian, he said, "Hey, it's not bad. However, it's still not as good as Jiang Zai's craftsmanship." He would say This kind of annoying words that you don't usually hear.

"Ah, I'm really sorry for you." Of course, Gao Qian also replied in a confrontational manner, "I'm angry. I will never cook anything for Xiao Piao in the future. If you want to eat, let Jiang Zai go." do it." "—Although it seems a bit strange to say that," Xiao Ru shyly moved her body towards Gao Qian, "but I always think this is a very incredible thing." Just this one sentence made everyone's already high-spirited conversations stop suddenly, and everyone's eyes were all focused on Xiao Ru.It seemed that everyone was concerned that she had recovered from the blow.

"That, that..." Xiao Ru originally wanted to whisper to Gao Qian, but she didn't expect to attract everyone's attention. Feeling a little embarrassed, she clasped her hands together and said to the senior, "I'm sorry, please don't be angry." "I'm going to be angry? How?" "That... that is to say... How can someone like Takase-san have such a good relationship with Hisami-senpai? I've always found this very incredible." "What, so that's what happened. Of course it's because I'm a man who is in the wind."

Even Gaoqian can't resist my charm, right, right?As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and put it on Gao Qian's shoulder. Gao Qian smiled and patted his hand. "No, even if we have been doing activities together all the time, it doesn't mean that the relationship between the two of us is very good." Puchi, Xiao Ru laughed, "But... I finally understood today. Although Senior Bian Jian seems unreliable—it seems very impolite to say this—he is actually a very reliable person." Kanon and Ru-chan probably felt the same, and nodded vigorously.Probably because I remembered what happened to Yanzhu-kun the night before yesterday.Or maybe it has nothing to do with Senpai, just because Xiaoru has been able to mention the things about K that she doesn't want to think about like this, and she is happy for her recovery.

"I think so too. It's only natural to have Ms. Takase's trust." Being praised by such cute girls as Xiaoru and Hanon, the senpai looked so complacent, like a frog with a bulging belly.The whole person who laughed fell back.Hey, don't be so funny.He pointed at Gao Qian with his chin facing the air, and then because he tilted his head back, the whole person fell backwards and fell to the ground.Then he immediately stood up and stood up again, the senior's abdominal muscles were really strong. I think Xiaoru and Hanyin also misunderstood the relationship between the senior and Gaoqian just like Xiaoxi just now, but let’s leave it at that——I probably have cheered up and can face this matter calmly .

Everyone is very happy about the relaxed smile on Xiao Ru's face after finally getting rid of her long-standing troubles.So the content of everyone's discussion has developed into a model in which someone first raises a question that he has had for a long time, and then everyone discusses the solution together.Huayin, Xiaoru, and Xiaoxi, after the day before yesterday and yesterday, have become accustomed to the "after-hours" programs of our few dinners and drinks, and the three of them probably have the qualifications in this regard.In addition, everyone may be thinking in their hearts: Now is the time to let assumptions and reasoning collide with each other, and completely eliminate the poisonous gas caused by the incident just now.Because the results of everyone's assumptions and assumptions until now have all caused very heavy and painful situations, so it is only at this time that this reverse therapy is adopted to eliminate disasters.Xiaoxi was the first to raise his hand and mention what happened to him when he was in elementary school.

"—In the neighborhood of my hometown, there have been serial abductions." Huh?Hello, the abduction incident?Why did you bring up such a heavy topic all of a sudden?Can this really eliminate disasters? "Ah, although it's an abduction incident—" I probably realized everyone's ambiguity, "But it's not a very serious incident." Xiaoxi explained while smiling and shaking his hands, "It's just a very strange incident. That's all." "However, the so-called abduction incident—" Even a frivolous person like the senior showed a vigilant look about such a topic that is difficult to create a heated atmosphere, "Is it because someone was abducted by others?"

"yes." "Besides, it's still a series of abduction incidents," Professor Shirai also showed a serious expression, "This is not a very appropriate topic." "While it was a series of children being abducted one after another, no one was harmed and certainly no one died. There was not even a ransom demanded - and, instead, every child got a gift. " "Gift?" "Every child who was abducted came home with a gift from the prisoner. Moreover, these gifts were very cute animal dolls." A kidnapper who gives gifts to the children he abducts and then puts them all back—very strange indeed.At least it doesn't sound like a bloody topic.Everyone felt that if this was the case, then there would be no harm in listening to the details, no one said anything, silently urging Xiaoxi to speak quickly.

"That—after all, it happened a long time ago. I can't remember exactly which year and month each incident happened. I'm just talking about the main point. The abducted children all have the same name." "Same name?" "Yes, everyone's name is KEIKO—" Huh?Everyone's hands reaching for wine glasses and snacks stopped in surprise. "Ah, ah, although this is the case, I was not abducted, so don't worry. Of course, because the names of the children who were abducted were all the same, my family was also worried at the time. Fortunately, I was not abducted in the end. was abducted, but grew up happily like now."

Everyone was amused by her, and their movements returned to nature. "Since the names of the abducted children are all KEIKO, does it mean that the abducted children are all little girls?" "Yes. I remember, like, a total of four little girls were abducted. Or were there five? My memory is a little fuzzy about the exact number. In short, all the abducted were elementary school girls. Since at that time I It’s only about the first grade of elementary school, so I don’t know how the names of those little girls are written in Chinese characters. I guess they are very common, such as Keiko of the son of Enhui, Qingzi of the son of celebration, etc. .” Of course it is.Generally, the first Chinese characters that come to mind when hearing the name KEIKO are "Keiko", "Qingzi", or "Keiko", "Keiko" and the like.Even if you make a mistake, you can't think of the name "Xihu" of Xiaoxi.The same is KEIKO, but Xiaoxi’s name is different. The reason why she didn’t become the target of the kidnappers may be because the kidnappers didn’t know that her name is also pronounced as KEIKO, so let’s exclude her from the kidnapping targets——I think Taking a short errand, I thought of these things. "No matter which KEIKO was abducted on the way to or from school, and then returned to his parents safely at night that night. I don't remember very clearly, it seems that there are still people in the dark He returned home in time. Of course, he was completely unharmed." "It was the day he was abducted." The senior seemed to be really interested in this incident, "There is really no time for the prisoner to do anything, and he probably didn't even have time to get the ransom." "This kidnapper seems to have indeed called every family and said that your daughter will be placed with me first. But he didn't make any specific requests. Although he said that I will contact you again, such established lines, But that night, the key KEIKO was released home. Then the kidnappers went on to abduct the next target, and this time the abduction is over." "Then there is no news about the kidnapper again?" "Didn't you think about tracing the source of the phone call?" Everyone's curiosity was aroused, and they rushed to ask various questions, "It's really strange." "I I don't think this is even a case." "What the hell is that guy thinking?" "You said that the kidnapper just finished one kidnapping and went on to kidnap the next target, so how often does this 'serial KEIKO kidnapping incident' happen? For example, does it happen every few weeks or months? Is it in Occurs on definite days of the week? Is there such regularity?" "I can't remember exactly about this. Well, it seems to happen once a month. Or is the interval longer? Anyway, I don't remember it happening on a regular basis, nor on a fixed day of the week or a few days. Numbers and other regularities. If there is such a regularity, I think I should remember it.” "In addition, one thing we are very concerned about is——" It was unexpectedly Professor Shirai who asked Xiaoxi on behalf of all of us, "The little girls who returned home safely all brought gifts. What is going on? ?” "As I said just now, every KEIKO brings dolls with them when they come home. Of course, these dolls are not something that these little girls themselves bring. When parents feel suspicious about what is going on with them, everyone They all gave the same answer, saying that they were given by my uncle when they were sent home." "Everyone was released that day, with presents..." I don't know what the professor is thinking, talking to himself alone, looking very troubled, folded his hands, looking at the sky with his eyes, looking hesitant.In this way, everyone was silent for a while.I don't know why, everyone seemed to be waiting for something, the professor moved, and with his coughing, everyone finally recovered. "So, the uncle who gave the doll to the little girl is the kidnapper?" "It looks like that." "and then?" "What then?" The glass of whiskey-and-water that Xiaoxi brought to his mouth stopped in mid-air, blinking, "There is no more. That, that's it, this matter is over." Huh——everyone made unanimous voices of dissatisfaction.Everyone is looking forward to getting to the point from now on.Me too, this is not a joyous thing. "It can't just end like this." "It's really just like this. At that time, it was rumored that a little girl named Keiko was being targeted, so for a long time, I was picked up by my parents or teachers when I went to and from school. I saw uniformed police officers on patrol. However, after the last KEIKO got home safely, this incident suddenly stopped happening. Then as the years passed, I don’t know when, Lian’continuous The KEIKO abduction incident' itself has been erased from the memory of the residents, and that's about it." If this is the only point, I always feel that there is not enough information. It is better to change the topic.In such an atmosphere, it was strange that Professor Shirai was the one who was very concerned about the "serial KEIKO abduction incident". "When Hasegawa-san was in the first and second grades of elementary school—that is, fourteen or five years ago, right?" "About that time." "So have there been any similar incidents in the same area since then?" "Similar incidents? Is it the abduction incident?" "No. Well—in short, it's a similar incident. Whether it's an item or a person, it's an incident in which you lose it all at once and then return safely. And it's not just getting it back, it's something attached Finding them together—that’s the kind of incident. It’s not so much an incident as it is a simple thing.” The professor seemed to be more and more confused as he talked about it.Could it be that he has thought of something that only he himself knows—finally, I thought of this possibility. "I don't know, but I don't think so. If such an interesting—maybe it's a bit wrong to say this—event happened, I think I should have heard of it. Although my hometown It belongs to the Tokyo metropolitan area, how should I put it, the surrounding area is considered to be a very quiet neighborhood, but the horizontal communication among the residents is surprisingly close. This is true in both good and bad ways. So Even if it is not a vicious incident such as abduction or murder, as long as it is unreasonable, it will immediately spread among the residents." "Then on the other hand, before that, that is to say, before Hasegawa-san went to elementary school, did any similar incidents happen?" "If you are asking me when I was in kindergarten or before I was born, of course it is impossible for me to know the exact situation, but I think it should have never happened. I just said that the horizontal connection between residents is very close. Actually The vertical connection is also very close in this sense. Sometimes when family members or people living around get together to chat, no matter how long ago it is, I think it will always be mentioned in some form Pass." "So, in other words, around the neighborhood where Hasegawa-san's hometown is, this kind of strange incident only happened at that time?" "I think so." I think, in the end, this topic will be ended in such a suspicious way.However, the professor still seems unwilling to give up, and is still thinking about whether there is a breakthrough to solve this mystery. "By the way, what kind of doll is that doll as a gift?" "What kind of dolls? Ordinary dolls. Little bears, pandas, etc. Maybe there are giraffes, anyway, these are the common ones." "Are all the abducted KEIKOs returning home with dolls without exception? If this is really an abduction incident, the result of returning home with gifts is a bit too disobedient." "Yes, indeed, without exception." "So, how did this doll come to them?" "Huh? How did you hand it over to them? What do you mean?" "In other words, maybe I didn't catch it clearly for a while, the prisoner handed it to each KEIKO with his own hands, and then told them, here, this is a gift. Is that so?" "I don't know. How did I hand it over to them? I wasn't at the scene of the abduction, so I couldn't say anything—ah, that's right. Speaking of it, it seems that I heard that they were the ones who chose it." "Huh... let them choose by themselves?" "I don't know where there must be several dolls in the prisoner's lair, lined up like this. Then the prisoner said to Keiko who was kidnapped, choose one you like and take it home, so—" "Wait a minute," the senior's curiosity seemed to be aroused again, and he suddenly interjected, "That is to say, the Keikos have seen the prisoner's face?" "I should have seen it. But it seems that he is wearing sunglasses and a mask, so he can't make a portrait... Ah, that's right. Right, right, I remembered, there are four people." "Four—does that mean the number of KEIKOs who were abducted?" "Yes, I finally remembered it now. Of course, this is what I found out later. The first KEIKO who was abducted saw a total of five dolls in the prisoner's lair." "Five..." "Although I don't know which doll the first KEIKO chose, in short, she chose one first, then there were four dolls when the second KEIKO chose, three dolls when the third KEIKO chose, and then the fourth When Keiko was around, there were only two dolls left." "That is to say, every time a KEIKO takes home a doll, the number of dolls will decrease by one." "yes." "If there were four KEIKOs who were abducted, there would be only one doll left by the prisoner." "Yes. So, I heard later that the police are also on alert, wondering if another KEIKO will be abducted." Of course, there was no information about the doll made public at the time.Since this is an important clue that can identify the suspect, it is not disclosed as a confidential matter.Therefore, everything that Xiaoxi said now was what she heard recently from acquaintances who knew the inside story of the matter. "Although the previous four Keikos have returned safely, there is no guarantee that the fifth Keiko will also return safely." "That's right. Maybe a ransom request will be made this time. So, at that time, the police were really busy for a while. Families with a little girl named KEIKO at home, as well as around elementary and middle schools set up The police stationed in charge of security work." This is a matter of course.Although it is not certain that the fifth kidnapping incident will occur, if the worst incident does not happen when the vigilance is slightly relaxed, it is useless to justify it.Having said that, there is a limit to the practical implementation of taking full precautionary measures against events that have not yet occurred.It must be a very exhausting job. "—Could it be that," Huayin peeled off the shell of the pistachio and handed the kernels inside to Xiao Ru, "could it be that this is actually the purpose of the prisoner?" "What's the meaning?" "The prisoner actually just had a grudge against the police. So there was no intention of asking for a ransom from the beginning." "Having a grudge against the police. Like, what kind of resentment?" "I don't know about that. In short, the serial abduction incidents aimed at little girls with the same pronunciation is to emphasize that this is all done by the same prisoner. The dolls are also given to KEIKO because he sees through This behavior will definitely be treated as a confidential matter. In a sense, it is indeed different from other people’s free-riding crimes. However, the biggest purpose of the criminal is to let the KEIKOs remember the number of dolls unintentionally. The fact that there will be five crimes in total is conveyed to the police tactfully. But the prisoner is not prepared to commit the fifth crime from the very beginning." "However, the police will be tense to deal with it in order to prevent the fifth crime, as long as this goal is achieved-what do you mean?" "Yes, in this case, the series of strange behaviors of casting the abducted little girls immediately and giving them gifts can be explained smoothly." It turns out that this hypothesis is very interesting.I feel a little admiration. "I don't really agree with this kind of statement." But the senior tilted his head and said, "So that's it, I understand the purpose of the prisoner. From the perspective of motivation, he is basically a kind of happy criminal. But, if it is true If this is the case, shouldn't the number of crimes be reduced?" "Again, less?" "Well, for example, a total of two crimes or something. Or, two times are too much." "Twice? Is this too little?" "Because, Huayin, you see, abduction is a felony. Of course, in this case, the purpose of the criminal is not money. To be more precise, it cannot be called abduction, but it should be said that it is a crime of kidnapping a minor. In short, the felony It will not change. The more times the crime is repeated, the greater the risk for the prisoner. Although this does not happen in practice, but in case he is caught when he is under house arrest for a certain KEIKO If the time comes, then he will say—no, no, I will send her home safely, and I will give her a cute doll as a gift—this kind of excuse will not work." "However, if his purpose is really that, if he doesn't repeat the crime a certain number of times, there may be a next time - there is no way to impose this sense of crisis on the police." "No, that's not the case. Only one crime is enough. For example, when abducting the first KEIKO, first make a threatening phone call to the other party's home, and then release him immediately." "But, if that's the only way..." "Afterwards, make a threatening phone call to another Keiko's family—although I abducted the wrong person before and caught someone else named Keiko, but this time, I will definitely catch your daughter—that's it." "Huh? How could it be like this. If there is an announcement, the family will definitely be on guard, and they will definitely notify the police. Is there no way to do it soon?" "That's right. Because if what Kanon said just now is really the purpose of the criminal, there is no need to carry out the actual abduction at all. As long as this is the case, the police can play around. Stand on the side that received the notice. Think about it, although it is really unnatural to make a warning call before the abduction is carried out, and the police must know this. However, there is indeed a little girl named KEIKO who has been abducted, although she has returned home safely , but since the incident has already happened once, the police have to take action. Not necessarily, even if the police cannot carry out organizational activities due to formalities, the police are also human, and the information about abduction will always exist in the There's no way the cops can't let it go, with the ghosts in their heads. Can they?" It turns out that the act of pretending to abduct the wrong person first and abducting a KEIKO has become a very effective foreshadowing.If you directly make a threatening phone call to a certain family and say that you want to abduct the other party's child without making any preparations, the police will have to ask how serious such a thing is.But if a child with the same name has been abducted before, the police have to take some measures even if they think the possibility of a prank is very high.At least, the police couldn't have completely ignored the matter.If the prisoner is a happy prisoner who wants to play tricks on the police, doing this level of foreshadowing work will help him achieve his goal to a certain extent. "However, if this is the case, this can only cause a short-term temporary effect. I always feel that this effect is really enough for the prisoners? Maybe it is not appropriate to say this, although I do not understand the internal affairs of the police. I'm not very clear, but I think even if you are a policeman, you won't feel nervous about this matter for a long time. I think if you want to do it, if you don't do something big, you can't turn the police around. .” "If this is the case, I think there are many, many other ways to keep yourself in a safe position. As I said just now, if only for this purpose, to commit incomplete child abduction crimes, the danger is too great. Even if you use sunglasses and masks to disguise yourself, it is difficult to avoid showing your appearance in front of the victim. You must be aware that your true identity may be exposed. And a total of four or five children were abducted, even elementary school students. Maybe there are children who feel very good inside and will find out the identity of the prisoner. Since the prisoner is going to abduct the child, he should make preparations in advance around the target's home or on the way to and from school. No, because the victim The names are all KEIKO, so the criminal must have made a careful criminal plan. In the process of planning a crime, the possibility of being seen by a child for his true face cannot be ruled out. Maybe he will be recognized by one of the KEIKOs, Tell me that you have seen this person at home or around the school. At least, if you think about it from the perspective of a prisoner, you will obviously find that this danger will be with you from beginning to end." "Well...that's what I said, that's right." "That is to say, on the other hand," Gao Qian has been stirring the watered whiskey with a stirring stick this evening, but in fact he has no intention of drinking it at all, "the purpose of the prisoner is to have something worthy of him It’s worth the risk.” "Yes, that's not wrong at all. Even if he didn't do everything, he can still be regarded as an authentic kidnapper. There must be some reason for him to think that he has to do it even if it is risky--it is more appropriate to think so. " "If that's the case, the last remaining doll is the one that people care about." "right." "Since there is only one doll left, it is not surprising that there will be another KEIKO abduction incident. However, after the fourth KEIKO, this incident suddenly came to an end-I always feel that it leaves people with a kind of suffering without achieving their goals. The impression of giving up halfway in setbacks." "Ah!" Xiaoxi suddenly let out a surprised voice, and spilled the ice cubes that were going to be put into the big glass outside, "By the way, speaking of it... I remembered another thing, at that time at my house Someone in the surrounding community is suspected to be the prisoner. Just one person." "Male? Female?" "It's a man. He was about twenty-five years old at that time. He had no occupation and wandered around during the day when he had nothing to do. Later, I heard that he used to work in the district government, but he resigned because he couldn't handle interpersonal relationships. It is said A guy who whines at every turn that he graduated from some top-notch university, there's no way he's going to be stuck in a place like that." "You have a lot of self-esteem." "It looks like this. He has gone on blind dates several times, but he couldn't get married because of his excess self-esteem. I also heard that he is not the only one with high self-esteem in their family. His father, it seems to be He works for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and his mother seems to work for a provincial government, plus his sister works for the Internal Revenue Service. Ah, maybe I may have misremembered the combination of his family and work location, anyway , that is, the whole family is a family of civil servants.” "Why would such a person be suspected?" "How should I put it. Well, that is, he seems to have a special interest in young girls, the so-called lolicon. I didn't know at the time that he had sneaked into my elementary school and was arrested on the spot. Catch. It is said that he once stole gymnastics shorts and school swimsuits from little girls..." Vomit... The girls all made sounds as if they were about to vomit, and shrank back together. "It is said that there are more than that. He will also stare at the little girl in the physical education class outside the school, hide in the shadow on the way to and from school, spy on the little girl, and follow behind. In the eyes of parents and teachers In my eyes, he's been a problem character since a long time ago." It seems to me that this topic is becoming more and more annoying.I'm not the only one who thinks so.If I had known that the direction of this topic would become so annoying, I should have ended this topic earlier.Although I have this kind of thought, because I have already gone too deep into this topic, both the speaker and the listener feel that this topic cannot be ended like this.Even if it is clear that women occupy the absolute majority in this occasion, women should be very disgusted with this kind of topic.I can't help but think that the atmosphere that has formed on the scene and cannot stop the topic from continuing is really terrifying. "However, if such an obvious pervert really abducted the little girl, it would be too strange to put the little girl back without doing anything—" the senior frowned and said hesitantly, "But... ...didn't do anything?" "Yes, it should be. Although the possibility of the victim's family deliberately concealing it cannot be completely ruled out, the more you try to conceal it, the easier it becomes a rumor. Moreover, I also heard that the Keikos who returned home None of them were mentally unstable, not to mention mentally unstable, almost everyone smiled and showed the dolls they got to their parents, and they didn't show any strange appearance at all. Besides, everyone was being It might be strange to say that he was released on the day he was abducted, but he really didn’t have time to do something even if he wanted to. It’s probably because these things can’t be explained clearly that this incident has become an unsolvable mystery event." "In this case, isn't it strange to suspect the man who used to work in the district government? Of course, the fact that he is a pervert has not changed. At least the police and the surrounding residents look at him in this way. He is a pervert. This kind of impression has been deeply imprinted in people's minds. In this case, I don't think he is suitable for abducting KEIKOs temporarily, giving them dolls as gifts, and then letting them go home. Generally, people think so , why do you suspect him?" "There is a reason for this. This is actually related to the last doll I just mentioned. Ms. Takase said just now that it gives people the impression that they will suffer setbacks and give up halfway if they fail to achieve their goals. In fact, they may not be wrong. If , if the plan of the 'continuous KEIKO abduction incident' was frustrated, what would be the reason? For example, the prisoner suddenly felt scared during the implementation of the plan, and after much deliberation, he gave up and continued to implement it. It’s also possible, but the reason that’s most likely to come to mind is probably that the prisoner himself couldn’t continue to carry out the plan even if he wanted to.” "Even if you want to continue, there is no way to continue..." "The prisoner's body became unable to carry out the plan, that is to say, he himself died—" "Then, could it be that this man who used to work in the district government...?" "Dead. And not long after the fourth Keiko was cast." That's the way it is, it's no wonder that they doubt him.It's ironic and strange that he doubted him just because he died. "I see. However, isn't it easy to tell whether this man is a prisoner or not? If he is really a prisoner, then his home should be his lair, and there should be a doll left there. Just go to his home Just make sure it's okay..." "This can't be done." Gao Qian continued what the senior said, "It's just that he is a bit suspicious, which is not enough to get a search warrant to search the house. Not to mention that after the death of the other party, if he was very suspicious during his lifetime If you enter the house and search it, it will become a human rights violation.” "Yes, Ms. Takase is right. However, after this incident, this man's family seems to be really suffering. Being hit by the loss of the most precious relative is already a lot of pressure. There are also irresponsible rumors that the prisoner in the recent serial abduction incidents is the son of this family. Although the police have classified the doll as a confidential matter, after all, the mouth is on someone else's face, and it is hard to guard against it , I don’t know when, almost all the residents around knew about the doll. Some people made wild claims, saying that they would break into the deceased’s house, question the family members, and asked to investigate the room of their perverted son to see if there was any doll." Really, there are often such people.This kind of person likes to confuse their lack of common sense with their so-called sense of justice, and they really don't know who is the pervert. "Their family has been treated very badly in the surrounding community. Although there is no evidence to prove that the person is a prisoner, and there are rumors later that he may not be a prisoner, but due to his perverted behavior before his death, plus Because of their family’s elite consciousness, or it can be said that their family’s attitude of always standing on a high place and looking down on the crowd, their family has been criticized constantly, and their family has suffered unprecedented strong criticism. Because of this, originally His sister's wedding that had already been booked was cancelled, and finally they couldn't stand this kind of treatment anymore, and their father, on a certain day—" The atmosphere at the scene—maybe this is like a bicycle that loses control on a slope and rolls down the slope.The brakes are of course fine, and there is nothing else wrong with the bike itself, and if you apply the brakes it should work.但是，就是在那个瞬间忘记了该做些什么，又或者说是不自觉地让自己的身子跟着往下翻的气势一起翻滚而下。 “闯入某次居委会的集会，当着所有居民的面，把自己的喉咙……” 好像是终于意识到自己在说什么了，小溪的声音突然停了下来，不用再继续说下去，也能想象得到那个男人的父亲当众自杀的企图。不过到底是自杀未遂还是自杀成功就不知道了。 “……不好意思，”把自己的身子沉到座位里，比谁都要更像刚从痛苦中振作起来的就是小溪了，“——一开始我只是想说些有趣的话题，所以才会轻轻松松地提起这件事的。” “确实，那个连续诱拐事件本身，该怎么说呢，确实有点脱线，还算比较有趣，”学长马上出声帮腔，“问题就出在这个衍生出来的分支剧情呢。” “……这些事情，其实我早就已经忘得干干净净了，”小溪自己也感到有点不可思议吧，“真的非常不可思议，就跟昨天漂学长的时候一样，说着说着就一点点全都想起来了。” “关于这个分支剧情，真的只是分支剧情吗？” 在稍微犹豫了一会儿之后，学长继续说到。他应该是在短时间内判断，就算现在换个话题，时机也不太好吧。我也无法说他的这个判断到底是对还是错，总之，现在只能期待学长那“铁腕”诡辩的发挥了。 “虽然刚才我说过从印象上来看这个男人不太像是犯人。不过并没法完全否认他就是真的犯人的可能性。只是，既然他已经死了——不对，等一下，这个男人，他是怎么死的？” “听说是因为交通事故。正在转弯的卡车，没有注意到他从横向骑着自行车过来，于是就把他卷到了车轮底下。我记得好像是这样。” “那么，就是单纯的交通事故了。” “我想是的。至少，关于这起事故，从来没有听说过有什么传言说另有内情。” “假设这个男人真是犯人的话——” 插嘴说话的又是白井教授。看起来对于这个话题教授真的非常感兴趣。难道说，学长其实是因为顾虑到教授的，所以才继续这个话题的吗？ “那么，是不是有可能是出于这种动机，也就是说，他的目的是为了达成所谓'狼来了'的效果。” “这是指？” “犯人没有伤害一开始的四个KEIKO就把她们释放了。假设第五期诱拐事件如果真的发生的话，警方和周围居民的反应会怎么样呢？当然，担心是不可避免的，不过说到底，他们心里大概会抱有这种期待吧——这一次说不定也马上就会安全回家了。与其说是大概会抱有，不如说抱有这种期待才是人之常情吧。犯人的目的说不定就在这里。就像伊索寓言里狼来了的故事中那个因为不断地说谎最终得不到任何人信任的小男孩一样。第五次是真的狼来了。具体来说，不管是不是要求赎金，总之就是像这样在警察和居民们放松警惕再给他们一个冲击——他的目的会不会就是这样？” “这应该不太可能吧。”学长代替大家发言，“就算对于还没发生的事件行动会有所迟缓，但是既然已经发生过四次真实存在的事件了，警方没有理由会放松警惕。而实际上确实是这样，刚才小溪也说过了，警方的戒严状态持续了很长一段时间——” “当然这也是有可能的。但是，在这里假设一下，假如只有第五个被诱拐的小女孩没有安全回家的话。虽然这么说非常，该怎么说呢，非常地不合适，假如只有第五个小女孩被杀死了的话——” 教授大概是在小心自己说的话不要产生是在暗示这第五个小女孩说不定不是别人正是小溪这个不合时宜到极点的可能性吧，所以说到一半，突然改变了语气。要比平时讲课时候的语气还要慎重。 “假设发生了这最坏的事情，那么社会上会出现什么样的反应呢？也就是说，社会上对于警方的所作所为会出现什么样的反应。至今为止的前四个人都安全回来了，只有第五个发生了这种不幸，这是不是因为警方的处理不当所造成的。媒体和居民间出现这种批判的声音也一点也不奇怪吧。” “啊，原来如此。也就是说，这就是他的目的。这也算是刚才花音所说的对警方怀有怨恨的说法的一种变种吧。” “只是，仅仅为了这种理由就去杀人，这有点太说不过去了吧。所以，所谓杀死第五个小女孩仅仅只是假设而已。只要第五个被害者受到了明显的伤害，其结果就会变成警方办事不利，给人造成丢人现眼的印象，说不定这就是犯人的目的。如果这么考虑的话，这也算是一种'狼来了'的效果吧。” “——但是，”小瑠一边手法娴熟地剥开作为甜点的小夏橙的皮，把瓤漂亮地放到盘子里，一边说道，“虽然这些刚才边见学长已经说过了，不过我还是觉得如果只是要降低警察在公众眼里的印象的话还是有其他更加安全的方法的。果然诱拐这种事还是风险太大了。” “恩，这么说确实也有可能。” 大概是因为对象是小瑠吧，教授非常爽快地就承认了。其实他对自己的这种说法本来就不是非常有自信吧，只是因为话题胶着不前所以想打开个突破口才会提出这种意见的吧。 “……但是但是，宁愿冒这么大的风险也要实施这个计划的话，那么与此相对犯人能得到的好处又能是什么呢？” “比如说——”花音从小瑠手上接过一个刚刚剥好皮的小夏橙，“陷害那个原本在区政府工作的男人，这样解释怎么样？” “陷害？” “实际上，那个男人确实被怀疑了吧，虽然是在出事故死了之后。” “啊，我忘记说明了，”小溪把放在大盘子里的小夏橙分装到小盆子里递给高千，“这个男人，有确实的不在场证明。就像刚才所说的，虽然没有进行入室调查，不过由于是可疑人物，警方对他还是经过一番调查的。结果就是，在这四起案件中，其中有两件他有确定的不在场证明。所以，这些案件并不是他所犯下的罪行这一点是得到证明的。” 就算是这样，社会上对于这一家人的诽谤中伤还是连绵不绝，这世间的不公平实在是让人无法忍受。 “原来如此，原来是这样。不过，在被证实是无辜的之前他还是被怀疑过吧，所以犯人的目的说不定就是这个。本来就是萝莉控，风评不好的他，人们很自然地就把怀疑的眼光放在了他的身上——” 学长大概是觉得这个假设有讨论的价值吧，稍微考虑了一下后说到，“——为了什么？” "I don't know." “动机就先放到一边不提，我们来讨论一下犯人到底认真的什么地步——或者说，犯人是想把他陷害到什么程度。既然警方经过调查以后，证明了这些并不是他的罪行，也就是说，犯人并没有事先做一些事，使得他的不在场证明无法证实。” “犯人的目的并不需要他在实质上被逮捕，只要在他的周围制造出可疑的气氛就够了吧。就算警方证明了他是无辜的，但是只要他活着，周围的居民都会一直用有色眼镜来看待他，关于这一点刚才长谷川同学的话已经证明了。” “也就是说，只要给他的精神上造成痛苦就行了。” “又或者是，为了达成让他的家庭忍受不了周围的迫害，而被迫搬家的目的。也就是说，为了把他们一家人全都赶出附近的住宅区。” “如果真是这样的话，那么犯人对这个男人，或者说是对这个男人的全家，抱有非常深的怨恨啊。” “肯定就是这样的。听了刚才的话，就觉得他们一家都是比较会惹人讨厌的类型。” “这样啊。不过，或许也能反过来想一想。” 匠仔的这一句话，让学长、小溪和我都不自觉地对望了一眼。只有高千，还是一幅满不在乎，事不关己的样子。不知道什么时候，在她的面前已经一字排开了威士忌的酒瓶和冰桶，以及预备的大玻璃杯。由于担任了给大家调威士忌的任务，所以她很顺利地让自己处于能够滴酒不沾的状态。受到她的影响，我也故意控制着自己的酒量。 “反过来想一想，是什么意思？” “真正的犯人——一直这么称呼太麻烦了，以后就称呼他为X吧。然后原本在区政府工作的那个男人就叫Y。” 或许是因为曾经在政府里工作，所以才叫Y的吧。 “X的目的是为了陷害Y，或者说是Y的家庭。X利用了Y对幼女的特殊爱好而布下了一个陷阱。这个陷阱就这桩奇怪的'连续KEIKO诱拐事件'。也就是说，X预计到了人们会怀疑这会不会是Y的所作所为这一发展。不过，也有可能经过警方的调查后证实Y是无辜的。不对，不如说警方必须要证明Y是无辜的——说不定X其实是这么设想的。也就是说，X之所以连续犯下四起案件，就是为了让警方和事件相关人员有充分的时间来得出Y并不是犯人的结论。” “咦？你说什、什么？”其他人都被匠仔的一席话说的一愣一愣的，只有学长瞪大了眼睛开口说到，“匠仔，你这么说，不全都反了吗？因为既然证明了Y是无辜的，不就没办法陷害Y了吗？” “所以我不是说了要反过来想一想嘛。X的目的并不是为了让Y被怀疑，而是为了让Y产生某种想法。所以他调整了Y周围的环境，才会犯下连续KEIKO诱拐事件。” “为了让Y产生某种想法？什么想法？” “站在Y的角度考虑一下，周围连续发生了四起奇怪的诱拐事件。而且被害者全都是小学女生，名字都叫KEIKO，虽然不知道这是谁干的，但是这对自己来说是一个机会——说不定他会这么想。” “机会？……居然说是机会？” “如果在这个时候自己去诱拐另一个叫KEIKO的小女孩的话，结果会怎么样呢？警察和社会上其他人都会顺其自然地认为这是那个连续诱拐事件的犯人的罪行，自己处于安全地带的可能性非常高——说不定Y突然奇想地就会想到这点。说不定这才是X的目的吧？” 除了平时早就已经习惯了匠仔跳跃性思维的学长和我，以及高千以外，其他几个人都惊呆了。与其说是在佩服，还不如说是在怀疑匠仔已经喝醉了。 “Y突然之间鬼迷心窍——这种展开才是X的目的，所以他布下这个陷阱。” “但是，这种事情能够预想的到吗？”已经习惯了匠仔跳跃性思维的学长冷静地开始反驳，“Y肯定会产生这种想法能够事先预想的到吗？” “是不是肯定会产生这种想法谁也不知道，不过我觉得还是能预计到有很大的几率Y会产生这种想法。” “为什么你能这么确定有很大几率？” “这就跟为什么X专门诱拐名字叫KEIKO的女孩有关。专门找同一个名字的女孩为目标这个行为本身说不定就是为了强调这一系列的案件是同一个犯人所为。但是，为什么是KEIKO呢？如果是其他的名字，比如MIYUKI、KAZUMI之类的就不行吗？当然也有可能选择KEIKO这个名字是真的没有任何其他意义的偶然的行为，但是，如果不是这样的话——” “如果不是这样的话就怎么样了呢？” “为什么目标的名字都是叫KEIKO呢？——这个问题就浮上来水面。” 我看到高千一边把调好的威士忌递给众人，一边把手搭在小溪的肩膀上。就像要紧紧抱住她一样，小溪把整个身子全都靠在高千身上。大概是隐隐的感觉到匠仔的这个推论会得出非常不稳定的结果吧，她微微笑着的脸上，露出了明显的害怕的表情。 “虽然我并不知道Y那种特殊的性癖具体是怎样的，不过，就算是萝莉控，我也不觉得这就意味着只要是幼女，谁都可以引起他的兴趣。他应该是有他所喜欢的特殊类型的吧。如果是这样的话，在他偷偷潜入然后被现场抓住的小学的女生里就有他喜好的小女孩，他潜入小学里找到自己喜好的类型，然后开始把所有的注意力都集中在这个小女孩身上就一点也不奇怪了。” “你是说，这就是……KEIKO。” “说不定，假如X，不管他用什么办法，知道了Y对于这个特定的KEIKO非常执着。于是X就把这个特定的KEIKO排除在外，而连续诱拐了另外四个KEIKO。这个事件当然会传到Y的耳里。造成的结果就是他会想到可以利用这个情况，最终鬼迷心窍，做出了跟内衣小偷之类的罪行相差悬殊的重大罪案——对于X来说，暗地里希望事情会有这种发展也不是完全不可能的。” “也就是说，匠仔，你的意思是X之所以犯下四起幼女诱拐事件，目的是为了让Y能够把那个特定的KEIKO给拐走，你是这个意思吧。” 这个特定的KEIKO，很有可能不是别人，正是小溪——匠仔好像直到现在才终于意识到有这种可能性，非常笨拙地，偷看了紧紧抱着高千的手臂的小溪一眼。 “恩，就是……这么回事吧。” “但是，为什么他要做这种事呢？让Y犯下重罪，对X来说又有什么好处呢？” “这就是刚才学长所说的了，说不定Y，以及他的家庭被别人深深地怨恨着。布下陷阱，让Y自发地染指犯罪行为，结果就给Y的一生烙下了最坏的烙印。说不定这样就能从社会上抹杀掉Y的存在。” “原来如此，我知道你的意思了。但是，匠仔，你的这个假设有一个决定性的弱点。” “对。”被这么指出后，匠仔反而非常高兴的样子，“说的没错，就是这样。” “你做这番假设是建立在Y必定会失败的前提下的——也就是有可能他诱拐这个特定的KIEKO的行动失败，也有可能在诱拐成功后马上就暴露罪行而被警察逮捕。是这样吧？但是，这是不可能的。诚然，就像刚才所说的，如果做好一切事前准备工作的话，要推测出Y有非常大的几率会染指犯罪也并非不可能。但是，要预测出他一定会被抓住这是绝对不可能的。” “……为什么呢？”如此反问的不是别人，居然正是小溪，“这不是很简单就能预测到吗？说起来，X根本不需要做这种预测，只要去向警察告密说Y非常可疑就行了——” “长谷川同学，你忘了最重要的一点了。还记得匠仔刚才说的话吗？X已经连续犯下了四起案件，就是为了让警察有充分的时间能够证明这些并不是Y所犯下的罪行。他就是这么说的。这是为了让Y心生邪念所埋下的伏线。也就是说，Y是在确定警察已经认定这些罪行并不是自己犯下的前提之下，才会把目标锁定到第五个KEIKO身上的。X是在这种预测之下实行他的计划的。至少匠仔是这么认为的。” “就是这样，没错。” “这样的话，就算他去告密，警方也不可能会再度怀疑已经洗清嫌疑的Y的。” “但是，如果有人告密的话，警方总会把Y再度列入视线内吧。而且，说不定X在告密的时候会加上一句，说前面四起案件跟这起是不同人物的犯案之类的。” “问题并不在这里，如果不站在X的立场考虑是不会明白的。从结果来说，这与警方到底会不会把怀疑的眼光移回到Y身上其实并没有关系。对于目的是Y成为第五起案件的犯人的X来说，他是不可能准确预测到Y是否肯定会被逮捕的。这才是最重要的。” “这真的非常重要吗？” “当然非常重要。我都不知道刚才已经重复过多少次了，重点就在于诱拐是重罪。如果X的目的是陷害Y的话，如果无法准确预测到Y一定会被逮捕的话，从心理上来说根本没有必要犯下诱拐这种重罪。诚然，不知道这是个陷阱的Y确实有可能会产生邪念而诱拐了第五个KEIKO，甚至有可能在诱拐后再杀掉KEIKO。但是，这么说或许不太好，不过Y有可能就这么逃脱法律的惩罚，这是一个很现实的问题，对吧。如果这样的话，那么对于X来说，不就变成了吃力不讨好了嘛。不可能会有这么愚蠢的事情吧。而且这已经不单单是愚蠢的问题了，而是危险到了极点。如果是别的什么轻度的犯罪的话那还有可能，但是就为了这么没有把握的事而染指诱拐这种重罪实在是不太可能，至少，我觉得是不可能的。” “那么，难道说X——” 这大概也是受“现场的气氛”影响吧，我把突然之间想到的事情就这么直接说了出来，又或者是因为小溪身边有高千在，所以才会一时大意吧，“难道说X觉得Y到底是被逮捕归案还是逃脱法律的制裁都没有所谓吧。” "what……?" “也就是说，X真正的目的是为了不弄脏自己的手，而是假借他人之手——比如说Y，把第五个KEIKO置于死地。” 小溪的脸上果然露出了有点不高兴的表情，不过大概是因为高千一直握着她的手，所以有一种安心感吧，最终还是她的好奇心稍微占了上风。 “偶然知道了Y对这个KEIKO非常执着的X，利用了Y的特殊的性癖，是这个意思吗？” “但是啊，小兔，先不管这第五个KEIKO到底是谁，肯定也是某个小学生吧。至少从目前的情报来看，只能这么推测。那么对象是这么幼小的一个小女孩，X又有什么动机要费那么大的周章来杀掉她呢？” “或许不是对这个小女孩本人，而是对她的家庭有什么怨恨吧。回过头来再想想，就算Y诱拐了KEIKO也不一定会杀了她吧。至少X没办法预测到Y到底会不会下杀手。但是，女儿被别人拐走了，只需要这一点，从结果上来说，就能很明显地对小女孩本人以及她的父母造成非常深的伤害，说不定X觉得这样他对KEIKO一家的怨恨就能得到雪除。” “不弄脏自己的手，而是操纵Y于鼓掌之上，这样啊。” “但是在施放了第四个KEIKO之后，本应成为自己的傀儡的Y却因为事故死掉了，所以X的计划也就自然消亡了。如果这么想的话，也就明白了最后剩下的那一个玩偶最终没有用武之地的原因了。” “等一下，说起来，这些玩偶到底有什么用？在这种假设下，刚才花音所说的给警方传达婉转的信息这一说法就不成立了。难道只是为了强调这一系列案件是同一个犯人所为吗？又或者是给无辜被牵连进来的小女孩的道歉礼物？难道真的就只有这么简单吗？” “虽然有可能就是这么简单——不过具体到底是怎么样的呢就难说了。假如Y真的就像X希望的那样，诱拐了特定的KEIKO，那么在这之后，他又会怎么处理玩偶的事情呢？” “什么怎么处理？” “也就是说，在他释放第五个KEIKO的时候，就模仿X也送给她一个玩偶呢，还是说不送呢？我在意的就是这个问题——” “如果Y真的实行了诱拐的话了，我不觉得这个KEIKO会安全回家。至少这个可能性非常低。”小溪已经平静了下来，站在客观的立场上开始了发言，“因为，虽然这么说不太好，不过有这种嗜好的人对幼女的执着的理由，只有那一个吧。为了这个目的而实施的诱拐，到底会不会把对象安全送回家呢？虽然刚才小由说了他不一定会下杀手，不过我觉得，为了隐藏自己的罪行，他很有可能走极端，觉得干脆把对方杀掉算了。而且我觉得这种可能性非常高。” “这样的话，Y要怎么处理KEIKO的尸体呢？他一定会找个地方，比如说哪块空地遗弃尸体吧，在这个时候，他是不是有可能在KEIKO的尸体旁边放上一个玩偶呢——我在意的是这个问题。” “也就是说，先不管Y被前面的四件诱拐事件利用这件事，而是他准备怎么利用玩偶这个情报——”不愧为学长，马上就察觉到了我的意图，“小兔在意的，就是这一点。” “实际上，就像刚才小溪所说的那样，当时玩偶的传言流传的很广，那么，Y肯定也会知道这个情报。那么，假设真的发生了第五起事件的话，为了让这一连串的事件有个统一性，那么很有可能他会在尸体的旁边放上一个玩偶。但是，关于玩偶的事情，警方是作为机密事项处理的，也就是说——” “X到底有没有可能会预测到这种情况的问题了。” “对。因此，我觉得玩偶的意义会随着这种情况的改变而改变。另外还有个问题就是，就算Y知道被释放的KEIKO都会带着一个玩偶，但是对于他来说，要知道最后剩下的那个玩偶是什么动物是非常困难的。” “没错。比如说最后剩下的玩偶是小熊的话，警方通过第四个KEIKO的证言非常简单地就能知道这个情报。但是，如果在第五个KEIKO的尸体旁发现的，比如说是长颈鹿的玩偶的话——” “不是同一个犯人，警方马上就会知道这点。当然，站在警方的立场上来看，为了让犯人觉得误以为安全而故意假装认为这一系列案件都是同一个犯人的可能性也不得不列入考虑范围。总之，我非常在意的一点就是，X到底是希望Y沿袭这个玩偶的法则犯案，还是不希望他沿袭呢——他到底希不希望呢？” “随便他是不是沿袭都无所谓吧。”小溪用冷静的口气断言道，“因为我越听小由的说法，越觉得，对X来说，关于玩偶的事情他是不可能正确预测到发展方向的。就是这样吧。总之，并没有保证在居民中肯定会有关于玩偶的流言在流传。而且，就算有流言出现，也根本没办法预测这个留言会正确到什么地步，事情就是这样吧。” 原来如此，说的没错。 “而且，刚才小由不是也说过了嘛，对于X来说，Y到底会不会被逮捕没有任何关系。只要让KEIKO和她的家庭遭受到决定性的不幸就行了。那么，同样的，Y到底会不会沿袭玩偶的规则来犯案对X来说不也是没有任何关系的嘛——事情就变成了这样吧？” 让KEIKO和她的家庭遭受到决定性的不幸…… 决定性的不幸——这个短语在我脑子里挥之不去。 也就是说……也就是说，如果小溪真的是这个第五个被害者的话，而且还被杀害的话，长谷川家又会变得怎么样呢？不用说，自然是遭受到了决定性的不幸，然后…… 然后，小溪的母亲就会因为自己遭受到了决定性的不幸而有了否定上帝存在的理由。事情就会变成这样。自己的独生女已经惨遭杀害了，自己为什么还要相信这个世界上有上帝的存在——她就会产生这种想法。 妄想。 是的，这一切都是我的妄想。but. 妄想不断膨胀，无法阻止。难道说，这就是“连续KEIKO诱拐事件”的动机吗？假借他人之手使自己遭受到痛失爱女的决定性的不幸，以此得到否定上帝存在的理由。so-- 不对，等一下。 X是男人，这一点是非常明显的。而且小溪的母亲开始感叹自己缺少否定上帝存在的理由是最近才有的事，而“连续KEIKO诱拐事件”是小溪小学的时候发生的事情，也就是说，难道，X是小溪的父亲不成？because…… 刚才小溪说了什么来着？在她出生后十年左右，她的母亲为了蹂躏她父亲的尊严经常在晚上外出找男人，生活非常混乱。她刚才确实是这么说的吧？自己的妻子做出这种事，小溪的父亲到底是怎么样的心情呢？明目张胆地把不认识的男人带到自己家里，他不可能会平静地接受这一切。事情会变成这样，是因为自己强迫自己的妻子信教的缘故，他是不是会这么后悔呢？但是又不能离婚，也不能自杀，小溪的父亲就算想抛弃自己的信仰也无法说服自己。 想要抛弃信仰……难道小溪的父亲曾经这么期望过。当然，信仰是不可能简简单单就能抛弃的。要问为什么的话，是因为自己从小就受到自己父亲