Chapter 7 Chapter Seven: The Secret of the Past

In the Chofu Police Station, a search headquarters has been established.However, there was a growing discontent among the criminal police because the hostage-taking incident had to be concealed while the search was being carried out. "It's really hard to work." Totsukawa said to Kamei. "The Shizuoka Prefectural Police Station, they will also find it difficult to use it." Kamei is still worried about his colleagues in the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Station. "We must keep in touch with the other party frequently when conducting searches. But the hostage-taking incident cannot be made public, so on the surface it is impossible to jointly establish a search headquarters."

"This Nishio Ichiro, what are you doing now?" "It is said that a meeting will be held at the Ministry of Transport today to discuss the reform plan with the president of the National Railways." "Is this meeting going to continue until tomorrow?" "Yes. That's why it is said that the hostage-taking incident will last for 48 hours." "Too bad." "It's a bit boring to say, but I still feel that the hostage-taking incident happened very strangely. Shall we re-examine the clues related to the incident?" Totsukawa suggested, and put the existing materials on the desk.

1. The audio tape of the conversation between the kidnapper and Ichiro Nishio (this was copied and sent by the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Station). 2. Simulated image of the suspect. 3. In one hand, Qingliuyuan held a photograph (copy) from the 11th Evening News. 4. The evening paper found at the scene. 5. ROPE FOUND AT THE SITE. 6. A letter from the kidnappers that Nishio received in the dining car of the train "Mum Spirit" (copy). These six pieces of evidence are all arranged on the table. First, listen to the tape again. "There is nothing strange about it." Kamei said, "The kidnapper instructed Nishio to prepare 100 million yen, put the money in a Boston handbag with a diameter of no more than 60 centimeters, and take the bus departing from Mishima at 3:47 p.m. The 'Spirit' train. As a kidnapping, this is very common, nothing particularly unusual."

"Secondly, there is nothing special about the simulated portrait, and it may be somewhat different from the real portrait, but this is also very common." "Next, there is this photo." Kamei picked up Aoyagi Genichi's photo, "Look carefully, the background is a room in that empty commercial house, there is nothing wrong with that." "Here is the evening paper." Totsukawa picked up the "Maincho Shimbun" evening paper that had been dropped at the scene.The first edition bore a large headline: — Demonstrations against nuclear war took place again in Europe.

Below are photos of the crowd marching with placards aloft. Genichi Aoyagi on the first shot also took this first version with the camera. "There seems to be nothing suspicious..." Totsukawa murmured, flipping through the evening paper. Suddenly, he screamed "Yeah". "What's wrong?" Kamei watched Totsukawa's expression. "Kamei, take a good look at this newspaper." "I read it just now, and there's nothing special about it..." Kamei said, taking over the evening paper and flipping through it, "That's right, this is the evening paper for the 11th."

"I know that. The problem is the advertisement in this paper." "What's wrong with the advertisement?" Kamei showed a strange expression. "For example, on the lower part of the third page, there is an advertisement for a department store, take a look!" "Oh, is that it? It's M's. It says 'Spring Sale.' What's the matter?" "Look carefully at the M department store." "There is nothing to doubt..." Kamei was about to say this, when he suddenly exclaimed "Yeah", "It's the Shizuoka branch of M Department Store. This..."

"That's right. The advertisements for magazines and books are the same as those in Tokyo, but the advertisements for apartments are all from Shizuoka City or Shizuoka Prefecture." "That's right. The advertisements posted here are all very cheap. They are advertisements for apartments in Shizuoka prefecture, so this "Maincho Shimbun" is the Shizuoka edition, right?" "yes." "Police, why is there a Shizuoka version of the newspaper in the shops and residences in Tokyo?" "The murderer must have been careless." Totsukawa smiled.

"In other words, the murderer is from Shizuoka Prefecture." "That's right. That person is from Tokyo. In the commercial housing in Chofu, Gen Aoyagi, who was under house arrest, took a photo with the evening paper of the 11th in one hand. If he had planned well, he would have bought the evening paper in Tokyo, but he But I was negligent, I bought a newspaper in Shizuoka Prefecture and brought it here. Other than that, I can’t make any other speculations.” "However, it's hard for me to think that the kidnappers are from Shizuoka Prefecture. The hostages were placed under house arrest in Chofu, Tokyo, and the train 'Kidou' came from Tokyo instead of Mishima. The clerk in the dining car of the train said that when the person handed him the letter, he told him to give it to Nishio after the train left Tokyo."

"Yeah, so this person is not the one on the mock image." "You mean there is an accomplice?" "No." Totsukawa shook his head, "I'm not talking about accomplices in that sense. Even if there are accomplices, the Shizuoka edition of the newspaper shouldn't be left at the scene." "According to what you say, what's going on?" "When I mention Shizuoka Prefecture, I instinctively realize Ichiro Nishio's villa in Shuzenji." "Of course, so do I. But Nishio is not the kidnapper, but the victim who paid a ransom of 100 million yen."

"That's true. I'm thinking about the secretary named 'Jimi Island'. We monitored the villa all night on March 11, and Jundao drove out at 4 p.m. and didn't come back until evening. He Where did we go? We don’t know. Could it be Tokyo? I drove to Mishima and took the Shinkansen from Mishima to Tokyo. It only takes one hour and five minutes from Mishima to Tokyo. Even considering Chofu , It can be reached in two hours. If you leave the villa at 4 o'clock, you can arrive after 6 o'clock." "The estimated time of Aoyagi Genichi's death is between 6 and 7 pm on the 11th."

"That's right. Assuming Kimijima is the murderer, the time coincides. Kimishima took the Shinkansen from Mishima with an imaging camera. That's when I bought the evening paper. After arriving in Tokyo, he carelessly let the Qing Liuyuan took a photo of him with the evening paper of "Maincho Shimbun", then beat him to death, and then returned to the villa in Shuzenji. Even so, Jundao's actions are still flawless." "But, Police Department, if you assume that, then Kimishima is the kidnapper, right?" Kamei asked, but his expression still seemed incomprehensible. Totsukawa shook his hand. "No. It wasn't Kimishima who called Nishio, but someone else." "Then, Kimishima won't kill Aoyagi Genichi." "How about speculating like this? Someone blackmailed Ichiro Nishio. He didn't take Genichi Aoyagi as a hostage to blackmail, but threatened to get hold of Nishio." "The police once suspected that Yuki Sasaki, who was killed, would hold the secret of Ichiro Nishio, using this as a threat to force him to buy a high-end apartment for her and give her pocket money every month." "Because there was no sign of sex between Ichiro Nishio and Yuki Sasaki. What's more, after listening to the testimony of the female lawyer Yuki Takako, the feeling was even deeper. The murderer who killed her on the 'Sakura' express train Kusaka said it was a man, and that man never wanted to kill Yuki Sasaki from the beginning. Didn’t he?” "What is your basis for saying that?" "There is no one who has the motive to kill Sasaki Yuki, except for Nishio. That is to say, if Nishio is not the murderer, the murderer wants to get the handle from Sasaki Yuki to blackmail Nishio. Isn't it?" Sakura While the No. 1 train was moving, he tried to take her outside to question her. He wanted to knock her out first and then take her away, but he beat her unluckily and killed her. When he was about to go to the toilet, he was seen by the policeman Kusaka." "That makes sense." "Now the murderer was worried, so he also knocked Rixia unconscious, and sent the body out of the car while Rixia was in a coma. But this trick, we don't know him now? How did it change? The murderer transported the corpse To Tokyo, pretending to commit suicide. Then, the murderer tried his best to find Nishio's secret. He went to Sasaki Yuki's apartment, but couldn't find it, so he went to her former residence, and finally found Nishio's secret. , and use this as a threat to blackmail Xiwei." "However, how does this connect with Kimishima's reasoning of killing Aoyagi Genichi?" "Nishio and Aoyagi Genichi were both born in Hakata. At first they worked together in Hakata, but the work did not go well, so they came to Tokyo. According to Aoyagi Genichi's wife, after coming to Tokyo, Aoyagi Genichi never returned. I lived in my hometown, but I fanatically collected handicrafts with the atmosphere of my hometown.” "What did you do in your hometown of Hakata, you don't have the face to go back?" Kamei said thoughtfully. "It's probably like that. Not only is it unbearable for Aoyagi Genichi, but it may also be dark for Nishio." "You mean those dark past events, which were blackmailed after being caught and used as a handle?" "Maybe the two have done some unforgivable bad things? After receiving the blackmail call on March 10, Nishio thought that maybe as long as he paid the other party, the matter could be resolved. But as long as Qingliuyuan is alive, maybe sometime he will die again." You will be blackmailed. Thinking of this, Nishio suddenly thought of ordering his secretary Kimijima to do this." "Something like that." "Listen to the conversation between the kidnapper and Nishio again?" Totsukawa turned on the automatic mechanism of the tape recorder again. "Did you find anything?" Totsukawa asked Kamei after listening to it twice. "Yes. Nishio has said the phrase 'return the hostages' to the kidnappers several times. He didn't mention the name 'Genichi Aoyagi' and the word 'Vice President'. Since the establishment of the Central Loan Company , Qingliu Yuanyi has shared weal and woe with him, and he finds it strange that such a population keeps calling him a 'hostage'." "Assuming that the kidnappers didn't take Genichi Aoyagi as a hostage, but threatened Nishio with a letter or a photo or a tape with Nishio's secret written on it, even if Nishio would say 'return the hostage to me', naturally he would not say 'take the hostage back to me' Genichi Aoyagi, give it back to me' Ah. The kidnapper probably stole Nishio’s secret from Yuki Sasaki’s house, and he wants to blackmail Nishio, but there’s no need to take Genichi Aoyagi as a hostage.” "If you speculate like this, there will be a lot of questions." Kamei said. "Tell me about it. If I can answer your questions clearly, then my reasoning will be correct." Totsukawa said as he rubbed out the cigarette butt. "First of all, it's a matter of time. If the reasoning of the police department is correct, then Nishio saw himself being blackmailed by the kidnappers as an opportunity to pretend to be a hostage-taking incident and kill Aoyagi who knew about his past. However, The threatening phone call to the office of the Deputy Minister of Transport was March 10, but Genichi Aoyagi disappeared on the night of March 9. Shouldn’t the two times be reversed?” Kamei said without hesitation. Totsukawa listened and nodded repeatedly. "This question, I speculate in this way, what do you think? According to Genichi Aoyagi's wife, Genichi Aoyagi said when he went to work on the 9th that Nishio asked him to do a very special job. If it is in the company There is no need to specifically mention that matter. It can be considered that the work he mentioned is something of a secret nature. Because Sasaki Yuki was killed, Nishio was afraid that she would hand over the secrets she held about him to other people , and ordered Qingliu Yuan to find out the secret evidence. As Qingliuyuan said, because the matter was related to himself, he searched desperately since the 9th, and did not even return home. However, he always Reported the search to Nishio, so Nishio knew where he was. On the 10th, Nishio was threatened by a man to blackmail him with his secret. He became angry and felt that Genichi Aoyagi hadn't played a role, and considered killing him Is it. Isn't it?" "May I ask another question?" "Go ahead." "On the 12th, according to the instructions of the kidnappers, Nishio boarded the "Mu Ling" train from Mishima. After the announcement sounded in the car, Nishio went to the dining car and received a letter from the kidnappers. There were photos and a note in the envelope, He was ordered to throw the handbag containing the ransom money from the window of the crew lounge to the riverside of the Oi River.  …” "Nishio took that photo away and quickly stuffed it into the envelope." "So, what's in the envelope?" "In addition to the note with instructions, I think it contains something that prompted Nishio to pay 100 million yen. That thing may be Nishio's secret." "Are you referring to blackmailing him?" "yes." "However, if you put the important evidence in an envelope and hand it over to him, wouldn't Nishio not have to pay the ransom?" "Of course it's impossible to reveal all of it. For example, if he wrote his secret in a letter, the kidnapper only wrote half of it in the letter. Nishio quickly replaced the half secret with a photo of Genichi Aoyagi." "The other half will be mailed to Nishio after receiving 100 million yen?" "So Nishio wants to stop us, saying that the public investigation will be stopped within 48 hours, and the national railway reform meeting will be held under the pretext. If the criminal gets the 100 million yen and wants to give him the other half of the information, we will make it public. What will happen if we investigate? The murderer just used Nishio's secrets as an excuse to blackmail him, but he was unknowingly regarded as a criminal in the kidnapping incident and killed the hostages. If this is the case, the murderer will fly into a rage, The other half is kept secret, so it won't be sent. Nishio is afraid of this, so he asked to stop the public investigation within 48 hours." "If there are two days, it can be delivered by mail." "It should be delivered." "What is Nishio's secret? Yuki Sasaki is an ordinary actor, how can she grasp his secret?" "That's a good question." Totsukawa agreed, and continued, "It is said that Yuki Sasaki is a reporter for a TV station. She should have been to Hakata for an interview. At that time, she accidentally discovered Nishio's secret. Couldn't it be?" "Go to the TV station to investigate." Kamei said. "Yuki Sasaki suddenly moved into a high-end apartment a year and a half ago. It is estimated that Yuki Sasaki caught Nishio's secret at that time." Totsukawa added. "I understand. I will investigate with Kusaka-kun." After Kamei and Kusaka left the search headquarters, Totsukawa pondered silently.He has formed a reasoning.However, it is not yet known whether such reasoning is correct.There are still many issues that must be considered. How did the murderer and the corpse disappear from the "Sakura" express train?This mystery has not yet been solved. Also, it was the man on the mock image.When the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Station telexed the mock-up, Totsukawa felt as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he never remembered it. Most likely a detail is wrong.If the eyebrows or eyes are drawn a little out of the way, he may suddenly think of someone. Two hours later, Kamei called. "Now I'm on STB TV." "Have you discovered anything new?" "I found a very interesting thing. A year and a half ago, Sasaki Yuki went to Hakata for an interview as a reporter for a certain program." "Go on." "The topic of the interview arranged for her was very interesting. At that time, Nishio Ichiro had just become the Minister of State. Although Nishio was born in Hakata, it is also a suburb of the city, and he lived there. After Nishio became successful, he donated a piano to the local elementary school every year. Waiting for items, and sending money to build a park, and build a public hall for citizens to relax. Hey, it is to please people in the hometown. Sasaki Yuki was going to interview Ichiro Nishio at that time. " "It is said that she is very smart and courageous, so I also inquired about other things about Nishio in Hakata, and maybe she caught something about Nishio?" "I thought so too, but the TV station didn't know why he was caught." "What kind of reports did Yuki Sasaki publish at the time?" "I asked the TV station to show us the video at that time, and she made a general report." "Kamei. You and Kusaka-kun will go to Hakata right away. Go to the place where Nishio Ichiro and Aoyanagi Genichi were born, and investigate thoroughly. Kusaka-kun's brother runs a small newspaper in Hakata. I heard that his brother After his death, his sister-in-law inherited the newspaper office, so if you go there, his sister-in-law may be able to help." "I understand." Kameiguchi agreed, and then added, "Actually, I'm also wondering if I can go to Hakata." The two detectives, Kamei and Kusaka, took an All Nippon Airways flight from Haneda to Fukuoka. When we arrived in Fukuoka, the sun had already set. In the place where Ichiro Nishio and Genichi Aoyagi were born, it takes about 20 minutes to change trains from National Railway Hakata Station, and there is a special railway line for coal transportation nearby. Since the coal industry went into decline, the number of freight trains running on this freight line has plummeted and seems to have lost its vitality.However, what surprised Kamei and the others was that despite the gloomy atmosphere in the town, brand-new and luxurious elementary school buildings and public halls stood in disorder. "All of these were built with donations from Nishio." Kamei sighed with a shocked expression. On the outer wall of the building, the name of Ichiro Nishio is also engraved. "Isn't there still a bronze statue of Xiwei inside?" Sun Xia mocked. "Is your hometown near here?" "Twelve or thirteen minutes by car." "What's the name of the newspaper your brother runs?" "Hakata Shinpo, now my sister-in-law, continues to run the newspaper." "Will they also report on Ichiro Nishio's charitable deeds? Such a subject can become a good story, and it can also be well received by readers." "Yes. I'll go to my sister-in-law to investigate after the end." "You should go there once. Let's go to the nearby police station and find out about Ichiro Nishio and Genichi Aoyagi, shall we?" Kamei said. Near the clinic named after Nishio, the local police station was found. There were two police officers in their forties in the local police station. Kamei told them that they were from Tokyo. The two police officers were taken aback and immediately welcomed them inside and served them with tea. "We want to inquire about the situation of Ichiro Nishio and Genichi Aoyagi." Kamei took out cigarettes and distributed them to the two police officers. "Mr. Nishio is a great celebrity here," praised an officer. "yes?" "There's a movement here to build a bronze statue of Mr. Nishio. All the powerful people in this town are members of that foundation." "Then, if you speak disrespectfully to Mr. Nishio here, you will immediately be attacked by everyone, right?" "Yes. Mr. Nishio is not just a donation. It turns out that there is no decent business in this town, and the local people are still worried about it. Later, the factories here were established with the help of Mr. Nishio. Hey, this is also a It is a great achievement, worthy of praise. Moreover, all the young people in this town, who go to Tokyo, have all been taken care of by Mr. Nishio, and some of them are even Mr. Nishio's personal secretary." "You're talking about a man named 'Jimi Island'." "You know so much." The police officer's eyes widened in surprise. "We've seen him before." "Everyone is envious of Mr. Kimijima. Mr. Nishio is so great, he is working as a secretary for a big man! Everyone thinks he will have a future." The police officer's expression was also full of envy. "I heard that a person named 'Aoyagi Genichi' was born in this town like Mr. Nishio, and the two of them also worked in this town together." "Oh, are you talking about Genichi Aoyagi?" The police officer suddenly looked alert. "We know, it is said that he went to Tokyo with Mr. Nishio. Hey, follow Mr. Nishio, and be inseparable from him." "On the 11th, he was killed in Tokyo." "yes?" "You don't seem to be surprised?" "Hey, because he doesn't have much to do with this town. If something happens to Mr. Nishio, there will really be an earthquake here." "A year and a half ago, a female reporter from a TV station came here and interviewed Mr. Nishio." "I remember, that female reporter is very beautiful. We also watched that program. The street residents' association also posted a notice, so everyone here should watch it." "You know who she interviewed, right?" "What happened?" "That reporter was killed on March 5. Two people related to Mr. Nishio were killed one after another." "Has the murderer been found yet?" "We thought maybe we could learn something by coming here." "why?" "We feel that Mr. Nishio's past seems to be related to the incident." "That's not the case. He's so great, and now he's a political undersecretary. Nothing to do with crime is out of the question." Both police officers scowled. Seeing them so serious, Kamei was surprised. "I'm not saying that Mr. Nishio has anything to do with the crime. Mr. Nishio went to Tokyo from this town, 20 years ago, right?" "I heard it was August 10, Showa 35 (1960)." "Do you know the details?" "The Nishio Ichiro Foundation in this town has published a book called "The Biography of Mr. Nishio Ichiro", which contains records." "I want to read that biography." "Yes." The police officer turned around and took out a book from the box behind him, "Here, read it slowly." This is a very luxurious hardcover book with "Biography of Mr. Ichiro Nishio" stamped in gold letters. On this day, Kamei and Kusaka stayed overnight in a nearby hotel. The next morning, while eating breakfast, Kamei said to Kusaka, "Let's go to the headquarters of the prefectural police station after dinner." "Go there to investigate what?" "Yesterday I read this biography. The story of Ichiro Nishio is written in great detail. From elementary school, to middle school, high school and Kyushu University, he graduated with honors, and he went to Tokyo to succeed. However, There was no mention of the year he went to Tokyo. Generally speaking, it was a turning point in life, and it should be written in detail, but there is only one line in it, which is: August 1935 On the 10th, I went to Tokyo with ideals.” "You mean, something might have happened? And it was embarrassing for Ichiro Nishio." "So I want to go to the headquarters of the county police station to investigate." Kamei said. After breakfast, the two went to the headquarters of the county police station to investigate the previous incidents. "On August 9 or 10, Showa 35, did anything happen in this town?" Kamei asked the clerk in the reference room. "Is it in Showa 35?" The clerk flipped through the documents at that time, "Yes. On the night of August 9th, there was a robbery and murder here. In the end, the murderer was not found, so it can only be regarded as an unsolved case." "Is it the night of August 9th?" "Yes. Discovered next morning on the 10th." "What kind of event?" "A 60-year-old widow was murdered and robbed of five million yen." "Was five million yen stolen at that time?" "Yes. The widow lives alone, her name is 'Takiguchi Fumi', and she inherited her husband's property, but she keeps cash at home and doesn't like to deposit it in the bank. I guess that's why she was targeted." "Are there any suspects?" "Yes. It is recorded in the data that hundreds of suspects have been investigated." "Are there the names of Ichiro Nishio and Genichi Aoyagi?" Kamei asked. "I heard that there seems to be such a thing. How is it? Those two people..." "At that time, the two partnered as an electrical business, but the business was not good, and the day after the incident, they suddenly closed and went to Tokyo. Therefore, they would naturally be targeted by the police." "The murdered woman Takiguchi Fumi, did you know the two of them?" "They helped her buy a TV, so they knew her very well, and of course they knew that she was rich. At that time, they were desperate, but when they went to Tokyo, they paid back all the money. Now it seems that it is Mr. Nishio." "In the end, didn't you find evidence that they were the murderers?" "Who found the body?" "According to the records, it is a woman named Fumyo Shimazaki, 35 years old." "What kind of woman is that?" "It's a housekeeper. Before Fumi Takiguchi was killed, she was commissioned to cook and clean the house. On the morning of the 10th, she found the body when she came to do housework." "Do you know where this woman lives now?" "Maybe he still lives in the town." The clerk said, suddenly remembered, "So, about a month ago, a reporter came here to investigate this incident." "Is it a newspaper reporter?" "I also gave me a business card..." The clerk fumbled in his pocket, "Yes, it's this business card. The man's name is 'Masayuki Kusaka', and he belongs to Hakata Shinpo." "It's my brother!" Sun Xia couldn't help but exclaimed in shock. ——Could it be that my brother's death is also related to this incident?