Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Western Course

November 1 is the day when the third game of the Japanese Professional Baseball League begins. From morning to eight or nine o'clock, the sky is always gloomy, and people are generally worried that it will rain. Unexpectedly, from 10 o'clock, the clouds suddenly opened and the sun rose, and the sun was shining brightly.The weather forecast at noon said today would be a fine day with cloudy to sunny days. Daisuke Kaji rubbed his sleepy eyes and read the morning newspaper delivered in the morning. Reading newspapers was a habit he had developed in the past.In addition to general newspapers, Daisuke Kaji also subscribed to several sports newspapers.

According to the rules of the game, after the Tokyo Elephants achieved a record of one win and one tie, the third game today will be held at the Tigers' home court, the Western Stadium. The Western Course was purpose-built for the nascent East Japan Tigers. With its complete facilities and luxurious decoration, it is one of the best courses in modern Japan. Today, most newspapers commented on the game: Although the Tokyo Elephants won a game, the final result was a 5:5 draw between the two sides. Daisuke Kaji thought a lot about Higashida's black ball last night, so he read the newspaper very seriously this time. He thought that Higashida's story would not be published in today's newspaper, but the Tokyo Shimbun still published an article News about Toda.

The headline of the news read: East Field Pitcher Flirty, Hirota Leader Furious. The general idea is that Higashida, who missed the shot in the first game, had no intention of introspection. Instead, he was interested in having fun with the Ginza nightclub and the waitresses at night. Hirota's team leader couldn't help being furious when he heard the rumors, etc. When Daisuke Kaji saw the news, he thought that the guy who secretly took photos in the nightclub last night might be the photojournalist of Tokyo Shimbun.He flipped through the newspaper repeatedly, but did not see the photo.He looked carefully at several other sports newspapers, but there was no picture of Dongtian.The "Western Sports" newspaper, which has the background of the East Japan Tigers, published a news article about Hiratsuka, a player of the Tokyo Elephants. The headline is:

Where did Hiratsuka go? The content is that since the start of the Japanese professional baseball league, the players of the Tokyo Elephants, whether married or not, have all concentrated in the "Tokyo Grand Hotel" near the Korakuen Stadium.Almost all the players obeyed the regulations and stayed behind closed doors in the hotel, but Hiratsuka went out alone after dinner, and did not return to the "Tokyo Grand Hotel" until nearly twelve o'clock in the evening. Daisuke Kaji knew that Hiratsuka was also a guy who was unwilling to be lonely when it came to women. As far as he knew, there were two or three women who were closely related to Hiratsuka.

The news published by "Western Sports" clearly implied that Hiratsuka had a tryst with a woman.When Daisuke Kaji read this news, he couldn't help laughing. It seems that the newspapers of the two teams are attacking each other, and the war of words is quite fierce. At around 12:00 noon, Hashimoto called and said: "At 10:00 this morning, the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Station searched the 'Women's Training Institute' in Hakone." "Really?" Daisuke Kaji asked excitedly. "Ok." "Did you ask the police station there to do it?"

"Well, I helped a little. But they mainly acted at the request of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department." "Did you find Sachiko?" Daisuke Kaji's tone became more urgent. "Unfortunately, no. The police went to search with Sachiko's photo. They searched the whole place, but they still couldn't find Sachiko's whereabouts." "They must have moved Sachiko away." "Probably so. But now the police have a clue." "What clue?" "At about 2 o'clock in the morning today, a car came to the institute and drove away quickly."

"What kind of car is that?" "According to eyewitnesses it was a sleeper car." "What sleeper car?" "It's a car that allows patients to lie down." "Isn't that an ambulance?" "No, it is a civilian vehicle, not specifically for first aid. Sometimes it can be used to transport patients to the hospital, and sometimes it can transport the elderly who cannot walk to travel. I think Sachiko was taken away in this sleeper car." "Do you know where to take it?" "According to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Department's investigation, there are many sleeper cars of this kind in the prefecture, so we don't have a clue yet, and we are currently actively looking for them."

"Do you need my help now?" "No, you'd better go to the Western Stadium to watch the game and inquire about the players of the two teams. The information I got is that the Tigers won by two points in today's game." "Two points for the Tigers?" "Yes. Whether this information is correct or not, you will know when you go to the stadium and watch it." "You mean there were also black balls in the third match?" "It's not clear yet, I've only just heard the rumors." "Okay, I understand. I'm going to watch the game at the Western Stadium, and I'll leave Natsuko to watch the nightclub here alone. If you know the latest news about Sachiko, please call her directly and tell her."

Daisuke Kaji hung up the phone, left the nightclub, and went directly to the Western Course. The game between the Bengals and the Tokyo Elephants has always been a hot spot in professional baseball.Both teams think they have the qualifications to rule the roost, and the game is often a life-and-death battle.Therefore, some people joked that the game between the two teams was also a game of luck between the leaders of the two teams. When Daisuke Kaji came to the ticket office of the stadium, there was already a long queue there.When he was worried that he could not buy a ticket, a reporter he knew happened to pass by.

Kaji Daisuke told reporters his worries, hoping he could help.The reporter said that it was no problem to get tickets, but as a condition, Daisuke Kaji must write an article about the professional baseball league for his newspaper. Kaji Daisuke had no choice but to agree.He scratched his scalp and asked a little embarrassedly: "Are you really going to publish my stupid article?" "As long as you speak, readers will be interested." The two finally reached an agreement through private transactions.Kaji Daisuke finally got an internal ticket for the guest seat through the reporter, so he was naturally overjoyed.

Today, the first player of the Tokyo Elephants team is the young Makita.Maybe the Elephant team had a leading advantage, so they boldly used 20-year-old young players. For the East Japan Tigers, it was Sugino, a left-handed player. Both are rising stars with rising reputations. As we all know, the "Ace of Hearts" of the Tokyo Elephants is Edo, and the "Ace of Hearts" of the Tigers is Higashida.In the current professional baseball league, it is not enough to rely on an "Ace of Hearts", but also to have key excellent pitchers. Makita and Sugino are shouldering such a major mission. On the practice field in front of the players' bench, Makita practiced repeated pitches aiming for a catch, and every time he threw a fastball, the Elephants fans applauded enthusiastically. "Oh, amazing, only 20 years old." Daisuke Kaji looked at Makita's pitch and thought enviously. Kaji Daisuke also had a golden age of 20 years old, but there was no ball speed measuring machine at that time.In order to reach the fastball standard of nearly 150 kilograms, he can only rely on his youth and strength to practice desperately. Sugino of the Bengals seems to be in stark contrast to Makita. He is slowing down his pitching practice, sometimes throwing a powerful curveball that catches the opponent off guard. He is a technical player who never conquers opponents with his fastball. At 1:00 p.m., the game officially started, and the players of both sides immediately entered into a tense battle. The fans applauded their teams' wonderful performances from time to time.At the beginning of the game, the Tokyo Elephants took advantage of the prestige of the previous victory and scored two points cleanly.Daisuke Kaji saw it, and remembered Hashimoto's rumor that the Tigers would win the game by two points, and was even more puzzled. "Did Hashimoto hear it the wrong way?" Daisuke Kaji secretly groaned in his heart. Makita was exceptional on the pitch, and his nearly 150-kilogram fastball made the Tigers unrivaled.Sugino is not afraid to face a strong opponent. Although he defuses the opponent's offensive twice, but the third time due to careless pitching, he hit the opponent's Harada with a home run. The score on the field appeared 3:0, and the Tigers fell behind. three points.In the opening six innings, there was a 3:0 disparity in the score, and the atmosphere in the field was particularly dignified.In order to relieve the pressure in his heart, Daisuke Kaji decided to leave his seat temporarily and call the nightclub Natsuko to inquire about the situation.Xia Zi told him that Hashimoto hadn't called yet.Daisuke Kaji returned to his seat and saw that the Tokyo Elephants' offensive in the seventh inning had started again.The Tigers players put up a desperate resistance. Afterwards, the Tigers launched a strong counterattack from No. 4 player Tabata.The Tigers fans roared wildly, but Tabata's 149-kilogram fastball was doggedly blocked by the opponent, resulting in invalid fly-outs. Makita, who was standing on the pitcher's pedal, was full of confidence at this time, and he was dealing with No. 8 player Osawa of the Tigers.Osawa's skills are mediocre, so Makita feels that victory is within his grasp. Makita's first pitch was an outside corner fastball, which was hit by the opponent's bat and flew towards the stands on the first base side.The second ball was still an outside corner fastball, and Osawa hit back with the bat in hand.Makita was a little annoyed, except that the third ball was a low flat ball, and the fourth ball was an outside corner fast ball.Osawa gradually got used to Makita's pitching. He hit the fourth pitch with his bat. The ball turned into a grounder and flew out. Tokyo Elephants' second baseman Hiratsuka briskly went to chase the ball. Suddenly someone shouted from the stands: "Hiratsuka! Keiko is crying!" The voice quickly spread throughout the stadium through the microphone.At this very moment, Osawa's ground ball skilfully passed under Hiratsuka's crotch who was chasing the ball, and Matsushita, who was standing in the center of the court, rushed to catch the ball.At this time, the second base runner ran back to home plate, and the first base runner Hanaki reached third base. At this moment, Daisuke Kaji raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of Hiratsuka, and saw Hiratsuka beating his gloves fiercely with his hands, as if he was blaming the leather gloves for not being suitable. Daisuke Kaji seemed to feel that there was always something wrong with this Hiratsuka. In all fairness, Makita is the first to blame for this ball error.However, Makita was indifferent and did not raise his hand to admit his mistake to the fans. Daisuke Kaji recalled the cry of the person in the stands just now, and he also felt that this cry was a bit strange, whether it implied that Hiratsuka made a mistake on purpose, or whether Hiratsuka really made a mistake, it was difficult to distinguish for a while. At this time, the situation on the stadium changed subtly. The Tigers leader Hirota replaced the No. 9 pitcher and replaced outside hitter Katagiri. Makita of the Tokyo Elephants may have been affected by Hiratsuka's mistake just now, so he was very uncomfortable for a while, and made mistakes in both pitches. Fujimori, the leader of the Tokyo Elephants, urgently called a timeout. He quickly walked from the coach's bench to the pitcher's pedal, repeatedly told Makita something, and then returned to the coach's bench. Makita continued to pitch. At this time, Kawasaki, the No. 1 player of the Tigers, entered the hitting zone. This is a veteran player with 17 years of experience. Makita collected himself and threw three consecutive balls at the opponent.Due to his emotional stability, he played well, and two of the three balls were strikes in the middle. At this time, Daisuke Kaji heard another man screaming from the infield stands: "Keiko is crying, Keiko is crying!" The nearby audience followed the sound and looked at the man in unison. Kawasaki happened to be playing at this time, and he hit a right shot that he was best at, and the ball flew horizontally toward Hiratsuka with a straight ball curve.Under normal circumstances, Hiratsuka would definitely be able to catch the ball by running a few steps sideways.However, for some unknown reason, Hiratsuka stood still and watched the ball fly sideways.Thomson, standing on the right, was too far away from the ball, watching the ball bounce off the outfield fence and land in reverse on the outfield.Thomson ran after the ball, panting.Kawasaki, who hit the ball, reached third base. The scene just now was a nightmare for the Tokyo Elephants. In fact, Kawasaki's hit was a hit that was nothing new.Hiratsuka would be able to catch the ball as long as he ran a few steps sideways.But, thanks to Hiratsuka's incredible moves, he didn't even touch the edge of the ball. The score on the court changed dramatically.The 3:0 advantage of the Tokyo Elephants just now disappeared in an instant.The current score is 3:4, and the Tokyo Elephants lost by one point instead. When the Tokyo Elephants had a 3-0 advantage and Makita's skills were on full display, Daisuke Kaji thought Hashimoto's rumors were pure nonsense.But judging from the current 3:4 reversal situation, the Tigers' claim of winning by two points is by no means groundless. The seventh inning ended with the Tigers winning by four points. The Tigers seized this rare opportunity and immediately sent Lin, the top player on the bench, to play. Lin played a fastball with excellent control, and he came in with the intention of completely suppressing the Tokyo Elephants' line.Although Makita tried his best to recover from the eighth inning and fought hard, Lin took a one-point advantage, so his confidence was doubled and his momentum was like a rainbow.From the eighth to the ninth inning, they suppressed each other, and finally the Tigers ended the game with a one-point victory. In the stands, the Tigers fans cheered thunderously. The cry of "Long live the Tigers" resounded through the sky. Kawasaki of the Tigers was standing next to the athlete's bench and was happily accepting live interviews from TV reporters, while Hiratsuka of the Tokyo Elephants, who made mistakes repeatedly, had long since disappeared. Kaji Daisuke slowly stood up from his seat, he was dumbfounded by this incredible ending. If it weren't for that guy's sudden strange cry, Hiratsuka might not have made a mistake, and the Tokyo Elephants might have a winning streak. Daisuke Kaji went to the public phone booth near the stadium and called the nightclub again.Xia Zi hurriedly told him that Hashimoto had called, but did not tell him the content, but asked Kaji Daisuke to call back at the phone number provided by Hashimoto. After Kaji Daisuke memorized the phone number that Natsuko told him, he immediately understood Hashimoto's intention.Someone had installed a bug on the phone of the Shinjuku Nightclub. For safety reasons, Hashimoto would not disclose the content on that phone.So Daisuke Kaji put a few more coins into the payphone and called Hashimoto. The other party called back with a woman's voice: "This is the 'New Moon' Hotel." "Is there a man named Hashimoto in your place?" After five or six minutes of silence, Hashimoto's voice came from the phone: "The sleeper car has been found, and I saw the driver. At first he refused to speak, but later I threatened him with kidnapping if he did not speak." Sue him, so he had to tell the truth. According to the driver, his car transported a woman from the Hakone Training Institute to K Hospital in Shin-Yokohama, and the woman was in a coma at the time." "Is that woman Sachiko?" "I think so." "Then let's go and see together." "Okay, please take the Shinkansen train to Yokohama, I will wait for you at the ticket gate." "Understood." After Kaji Daisuke hung up the phone, he immediately asked for a taxi and went straight to Tokyo Railway Station. Kaji Daisuke took the Shinkansen "Echo" train to Yokohama quickly, and met Hashimoto who was waiting for him at the ticket gate. Hashimoto asked, "Should I go to K Hospital right away?" "Of course, let's go right away." The two asked for a taxi in front of the station and drove away. "It only takes fifteen or sixteen minutes to get there by car." Hashimoto said. Daisuke Kaji didn't pick up his words, but hurriedly told Hashimoto: "The Tigers won the third game by one point." "Ah, it's not two points, it's one point. What a wonderful game." Hashimoto didn't seem surprised. Then, Daisuke Kaji told Hashimoto about the strange cry he heard on the field just now.He analyzed: "This kind of thing has happened in the past, but I always feel that the strange noises in the arena this time are somewhat different from what happened in the past." "Are you saying that this weird cry is mocking Hiratsuka for making a mistake?" "Maybe there is such a meaning. But it is also possible that it is not ridicule, but to use this strange cry to give Hiratsuka a sudden stimulus, prompting him to make a mistake." Hashimoto asked, "Do you think any of the Tokyo Elephants players played black this time?" Daisuke Kaji was silent for a while, and said: "I think it seems that someone hinted that the player played a black ball. At least this strange cry obviously shook Hiratsuka." "However, as far as I know, Hiratsuka is a playboy. He usually has a thick skin, and his nerves are not so fragile." "The reasoning is correct, but Hiratsuka is no different than in the past. I heard that he is worrying about a woman, so the Keiko mentioned in that man's strange cry may have other intentions." Hashimoto changed the subject: "I will investigate this matter later. Let me talk about the situation of the East Japan Tigers Higashida first." Daisuke Kaji reported confidently: "Last night, Higashida went to a nightclub in Ginza to hang out with Masako Asano, a tertiary movie star, in a tavern one after another, and that tavern was opened by the wife of Tokyo Elephants coach Nakai." Hashimoto smiled and said, "It's really interesting. This guy Dongtian is indeed a bit unrestrained." Daisuke Kaji added: "The problem now is that when they were drinking and having fun, a man broke in and took a photo secretly. Who is this man?" "Isn't it the photojournalist of the entertainment magazine? These people just like to collect the scandal evidence of those celebrities." "But I read a lot of newspapers this morning, and I didn't see that photo on the sports and entertainment pages." "Oh, that's weird too. I think Tokyo Shinbo, who is backstage for the Tokyo Elephants, will be very happy to know about it." "Tokyo Shimbun didn't publish that photo either." "Really? Then it may be that the people from the violent group Xilonghui are putting pressure on Dongtian." The taxi pulls into the compound of Shin-Yokohama K Hospital.It was a large hospital with a five-story fan-shaped building, and there was a signboard with the words "Foundation Freshman Association" hanging at the door. Hashimoto handed the doorman a business card and asked, "A sleeper car brought a female patient to your hospital at around 3 am today. Can we meet her?" The guard replied indifferently: "We cannot answer the patient's secrets." Hashimoto said: "We don't want to know the patient's secret, but just want to know the patient's name. It shouldn't matter, right?" "I can't tell." The other party still refused. "Why?" Daisuke Kaji couldn't help interjecting angrily. "No comment to unrelated persons." "Who said it's okay? I'm a friend of the patient, and my name is Daisuke Kaji. Just ask the patient and you'll know." "The patient who came in this morning didn't hear that she has friends." The doorman was still as cold as ice, with a look of rejecting people thousands of miles away. Daisuke Kaji was flushed with anger, and he shouted to the guard: "Is that patient's name called Sachiko Imai? You can go and tell her that Daisuke Kaji saw her coming." The guard frowned: "The female patient who came this morning is not called Imai Sachiko, but Ota Tomiko." Hashimoto asked, "Where did she send it?" "It was sent from Yokohama City." "You are lying!" Hashimoto was also a little impatient, "We already know that the female patient was sent from the training center in Hakone in a sleeper car, and the driver also confirmed this. Isn't her name called Imai Sachiko? ?" "No, it's Tomiko Ota." Kaji Daisuke said: "Then, please let us meet her once. Once we meet, everything will be clear." "Patients need to be absolutely quiet now, and seeing each other is absolutely impossible." Kaji Daisuke couldn't help being furious when he heard this, and he threatened loudly: "I tell you the truth, Imai Sachiko was kidnapped, if you hide her, I will sue the court, saying that you are the kidnapper's accomplices. " The guard still didn't budge after hearing this, "I haven't heard what you said. Anyway, I can't see the patient now, so go back." Daisuke Kaji and Hashimoto had nothing to do, so they had to withdraw angrily. "When Sachiko entered this hospital, maybe she used a pseudonym, the Ota Tomiko that the guard said?" After hearing this, Hashimoto said calmly: "Let's investigate the matter of the name later." The two slipped into the hospital building while talking, and suddenly saw a nurse rushing towards them.Hashimoto had an idea, and asked carefully: "We want to visit Tomiko Ota, what ward are we in?" The nurse glanced at Hashimoto, and replied straightforwardly: "It's in Ward 501 on the fifth floor, but the patient needs to be absolutely quiet now." When the two heard this, they were overjoyed, and immediately went straight up the stairs to the fifth floor.The third to fifth floors of the hospital are ward areas.After reaching the fifth floor, they followed the corridor to find the door of Ward 501.That ward is a single ward, and there is indeed a nameplate of "Ota Tomiko" hanging on the door.After the two confirmed it, they opened the door carefully. There was a nurse sitting at the entrance. When she saw someone coming, she immediately asked angrily, "Who are you?" Kaji Daisuke tried his best to conceal his inner excitement, and said in a kind tone: "We are here to visit the patient." "She should have no family." "Who said that? She has a family." "Anyway, you can't visit now. There are notices written on the door, haven't you seen it?" "I didn't see it." Daisuke Kaji said, while pushing away the nurse's hand, he walked towards the hospital bed. The nurse shouted angrily: "You don't listen to the advice, I'm going to call someone?" Hashimoto hastily covered her mouth with his hands, and said quietly, "Don't shout, the patient is not in danger, we just need to see each other." The nurse took Hashimoto's hand off and continued to yell, "I'm going to call the police." Hashimoto sneered: "It's okay. If we find out that the patient was kidnapped, the people in your hospital are the kidnappers' accomplices." When the nurse heard Hashimoto's tough tone, she finally bowed her head and remained silent.When the nurse was about to go out to contact the doctor, she suddenly heard Daisuke Kaji's excited voice: "It really is her!" Upon hearing the sound, Hashimoto immediately walked to the hospital bed, only to see a lifeless woman sleeping on the bed, her face was pale without a trace of blood. "Is it really Sachiko?" "That's right, it's her, she's much thinner than before." As he said, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the nurse who was about to leave, pulled her to the bedside, and asked sharply, "Tell me, what's wrong with her? " The nurse was trembling with fright: "I don't know anything, just ask the doctor." Daisuke Kaji tightly held the nurse's wrist, shaking her body desperately, showing a fierce look: "Did the patient arrive in the early morning? Were you there at that time?" The nurse held back the pain in her wrist, gasped and denied, "I don't know anything." "When the patient comes, the doctor should check the body. Tell me, what is wrong with the patient?" "I don't know, you should ask the doctor." "Where's the doctor? What's his name?" "It's Doctor Kikuchi." "Where is he now?" "The consulting room of internal medicine." "Okay, I'll go find him now!" Daisuke Kaji said loudly to Hashimoto.