Chapter 20 third quarter

It has been four days since Qing Jiang was killed. The investigators searched the area around the scene thoroughly, but it seems that they haven't found any clues yet.The walking path is located in the miscellaneous forest, there are no residential houses nearby, and there will be no witnesses or people who heard the sound. The Yamagishi detective still insists on visiting Takemiya's house every day, and he still seems to insist that this incident is related to the killing of Zonghiko.According to his reasoning, Qing Jiang was silenced by the murderer after he discovered some clue about the Zhugong family's murder.

"What did Mr. Qingjiang know? How did he know? What evidence does he hold? If this is physical evidence, where is it hidden?" Yamagishi, who was sitting opposite Mizuho and Kaori, clenched his fists and listed the questions in his mind.Veins floating around his temples are clearly visible. "The investigation is centered around these questions." he concluded feebly. "However, you haven't found any clues until now?" Kaori's tone was cold. "This battle has just begun." Yamagishi said calmly. "Mr. Police, you seem to very much hope that the prisoner comes from our family."

"I'm really doubting you, I can't deny this, I'm really sorry." "Has Qingjiang's money been stolen? Isn't it obvious that it was done by robbers?" "We don't rule out this possibility, and investigations in this direction are actually going on." Yamagishi put his fingers into his ears and scratched them, blowing the dirt off his fingertips. "What happened to the clown doll? Did the police find anything?" Mizuho asked.Yamagishi frowned for a moment. "We have searched with all our strength, but there is still no trace of connection. The only connection is that this puppet appeared at the scene where Zong Yan and his wife were killed. We only got some strange things from the puppeteer named Wu Jing." Reliable nonsense."

In Shuisui's mind, this realist's helpless expression when faced with Wujing's supernatural theory appeared in his mind. "Who the hell is that person?" Kaori's question seemed to be addressed to Mizuho, ​​but Yamagishi answered. "After our investigation, he seems to be a well-known puppeteer, and he seems to have run a shop with his cousin. Don't look at that weird character, he is an elite of the science department of a first-class university." "Faculty of Science?" Mizuho was really taken aback. "But he dropped out of school three years ago. What an out-and-out weirdo. Talking about the curse of the doll all the time, not exactly nonsense, but he has been involved in incidents many times. I doubt it He is the God of Plague."

After speaking, Yamagishi burst out laughing. Shui Sui is looking forward to the next meeting with Wu Jing.She wanted to sneak the puzzle book to him.Maybe he could see where he was interested in the book. "Is that person also one of the suspects?" Kaori asked. "It can only be regarded as an existence that people care about, but after our investigation, there is no handover between him and Mr. Qing Jiang, and it should not be related to the incident. Moreover, he had been with Miss Shui Sui at that time and had no time to commit the crime. " Later, Yamagishi told the two that the clown doll and part of Qingjiang's belongings can be returned within today.

"That gentleman has nothing to do with the incident, that is to say, Sister Mizuho has nothing to do with the incident, right? Mr. Police, am I right?" Kaori's tone was a little excited. "It can be said that, after all, they all have alibi." "In the future, my suspicions should also be cleared, right? I'm disabled, and I can't kill people with this body." Being stared at by Kaori, Yamagishi didn't know how to answer, so he coughed twice. "It can only be said that it is difficult for you to kill people, but it cannot be said that you are not suspected. But people with disabilities like you usually have their own methods to commit crimes."

Kaori turned to Mizuho with a happy expression that hadn't been seen in a long time. "Sister Mizuho, ​​did you hear that? This policeman can talk unexpectedly. Everyone I've met so far thinks that I can't do anything with my body. And this policeman agrees with my ability." "Although my state of mind is a bit delicate, I am honored to be boasted by you." Yamagishi scratched the back of his head. "You are quite right. People like us have our own way, and we can do it more cleverly than people with free feet. But unfortunately I am not the murderer, because I also have an alibi. At 2:30, I was with Mr. Yongdao. It is impossible for me to kill Qing Jiang and return to the room at 2:30, right?"

"It is indeed difficult. The presumed time of Mr. Qing Jiang's death is between 2:20 when he left the house and 2:30 when the body was found." "It's possible if the engine is in the wheelchair." After finishing speaking, Kaori smiled mischievously.Mizuho felt that she was in a cheerful mood at this moment. After Yamagishi returned, Mizuho took Kaori back to her room and went to visit Shizuka alone.Shizuka's physical condition has fallen sharply recently, and her thin jaw seems to be telling her dwindling appetite.Mizuho arrives at Shizuka's room, just in time to meet Suzue coming to pack the tableware.

"Mr. Police seems to have gone back." Shizuka said in a voice like a mosquito. "Yes. He doesn't seem to be doing anything important this time." "Did you get any clues about Qingjiang's case?" "Who knows... Maybe they found some clues, but they just refused to reveal it to us." "But you seem to have been chatting for a long time." Suzue said after finishing packing the tableware.When Mizuho was talking to Yamagishi, she seemed to be in the next kitchen. "There is nothing special to talk about. Officer Yamagishi just told us the police's investigation ideas." Mizuho replied casually.

"Does that policeman still think that the murderer who killed Qingjiang is a member of this family?" Shizuka whispered melancholy: "Who knows..." Just when Mizuho was ambiguous, "So stupid!" Suzue's tone was a little fierce. "I was downstairs that day. No one knew better than me. It is impossible for anyone in the family to be suspicious." "Really?" Mizuho asked in surprise. Suzue nodded heavily. "Before Miss Hehanako left, Mr. Qingjiang was still in the living room. After Mr. Qingjiang left, no one left the mansion except Miss Hehanako. Only Miss Mizuho went out of the gate to chase Mr. Qingjiang."

"In that case, the police must think that Auntie Suzuki missed it, right?" "But, it's true that everyone stayed in the mansion and didn't go out." Seeing Suzue's assertion to this point, Mizuho couldn't refute anymore. "That's enough, Suzue. Go and call Kazukako." "Should I call Ms. Kawako? Okay, I'll go right away." Suzue followed Shizuka's order to make a phone call. "What do you want to do with Aunt Hanako?" Mizuho asked. "It's just some trivial matters." Shizuka's tone seemed a little vague. After a while, a young searcher returned some Qingjiang relics and clown dolls.It seems that the police did not get any important clues from it. Shizuka thinks this doll is evil, so she tells Shui Sui to call Wu Jing to take it away as soon as possible.Shui Sui called Wu Jing's hotel and informed him that he could come and pick it up at any time.Wu Jing signaled that he would go to the mansion immediately. "It doesn't seem to be going very well." Wu Jing said as soon as he entered the entrance, and he seemed to be referring to the police's search work. "I heard that all those involved have an alibi like an iron wall." "You understand it quite clearly." "I got close to the searcher who was in charge of investigating the doll, and heard about the search from him during the chat." "I want to know too, can you tell me?" Mizuho glanced around and said in a low voice. "I don't know what kind of alibi everyone has. But I can't ask you indiscriminately." "That's right—is there a convenient place to talk?" "Come to my room." After bringing Wujing into her room, Mizuho secretly made sure that no one saw her and closed the door. She always felt that her behavior had betrayed Kaori and the others.A burst of classical music came from Kaori's room, and she was probably listening to the radio again. "By the way, did you see anything in the puzzle book handed over the other day?" Mizuho dragged out the chair and asked the question that lingered in her mind. "Oh, that book?" Wujing sat down. "I haven't seen anything... By the way, that book was originally owned by Ms. Kaori, right? She wanted to lend you the book at first, but Mr. Qing Jiang who was present took it to read first, right? ?” "Yes, what's the problem?" "No, no, I just want to make sure. ——Then, let's talk about everyone's alibi." Wu Jing took out a small notebook.According to Mizuho's inquiry, he always carries this notebook with him so that he can do some simple sketches at any time.But today, he recorded the alibi of the person related to the case in it. "First of all, the old lady." His alibi report begins with Shizuka, "She seems to have stayed in the room all afternoon, and Mr. Nagashima came to the room at 1:30 to trim her hair. During this period, the maid came to the room once." "When will the trimming end?" "According to the testimony of the old lady, it probably ended at around 2:25. She seemed to have glanced at the clock when Mr. Yongdao left. From then on, until the riot broke out, she was alone in the room .” "What did Mr. Nagashima say?" "Let me see." Wu Jing looked at the note, "He admitted that he did stay in the old lady's room, but he couldn't remember the exact time. After leaving the old lady's room, he went to the bathroom and went to Miss Jiazhi's room .” "What time was it then?" "Two thirty." Wu Jing replied immediately. "But this time seems to be provided by Ms. Kaori. Mr. Yongshima doesn't remember the exact time. He seems to have said the same a few days ago." What Kaori said that day emerged in Mizuho's mind - it is impossible for anyone to live without paying attention to the details of life. "But why does Kaori remember so clearly?" "She seemed to be listening to the radio at the time. When Mr. Yongdao came to visit, the host on the radio happened to be broadcasting the time. She even clearly remembered the titles of the songs that were played later, and the police confirmed them one by one. It should be correct." "And then? Was Kaori always with Mr. Nagashima after that?" "Yes." Wu Jing nodded. "What does uncle's alibi look like? Although I already know it in general." "Kondo Katsuyuki went to the company in the morning and left at one in the afternoon. Arrived at the mansion at 2:15, and left with Miss Kazuko at 20:00. Arrived home at 3:00. ——The nearby housewives can prove this for him point." "What about Auntie's actions?" "She appears to have stayed in the room changing and putting on makeup until Kondo came to pick her up." There is no difference between the above testimony and what Mizuho learned before. "Next is Aunt Suzueda's testimony, right?" "Yes, after arranging Miss Suzueda's testimony, it is as follows." Having said that, Wu Jing took a deep breath. "Ms. Suzueda basically stayed on the first floor. However, when it was close to two o'clock, she seemed to have something to go to the old lady's room. On this point, the testimony of the old lady and Mr. Nagashima was consistent. After two o'clock, Mr. Aoe went downstairs and started to prepare for the university. After Mr. Aoe made a phone call somewhere, Ms. Suzueda saw him stuffing the clown doll into his backpack. Around 2:15, Katsunoshi came , he parked the car outside and waited in the car for his wife to come out." "That is to say, uncle didn't come into the mansion?" "Yes, he seems to have used the doorbell to instruct Ms. Suzuki to go upstairs to inform Mrs. Hanako. The lady left the mansion after drinking a glass of water in the kitchen, and Qing Jiang seemed to have left a little while ago. Katsuyuki who was waiting in the car Mrs. Qing Jiang saw Mr. Qing Jiang walking towards the sidewalk, and then drove his wife home." "It was about twenty past two, wasn't it?" "Yes, Miss Suzue said that the two of us showed up immediately after that, probably between 2:25 and 26." "Then until the riot happened, did Auntie Suzue never see anyone?" "No, not long after we left, she also greeted Mr. Nagashima who came out of the bathroom just now. After that, Mr. Nagashima went to Kaori's room." "That's it..." Indeed, Mizuho could only understand that all members had sufficient alibi.Calculating the distance between the scene where Qing Jiang was killed and the mansion, and taking into account the estimated time of the crime, the murderer had to leave the mansion for at least 20 minutes.But so far, it seems that no one in the mansion meets this condition. "Could it be that Qingjiang was really attacked by bandits?" Mizuho suppressed the anticipation in his heart and asked.She really didn't want to doubt the people around her. "That's right. If there is no way to overturn these alibi, the police will have to come to this conclusion." "How to overthrow it?" This statement made Mizuho feel a little uncomfortable.Wu Jing closed the notebook and tapped his fingertips on the table. "Actually, there's one thing that really bothers me." He said as if he had made up his mind. "As I said just now, the alibi of all the staff is established. However, this is established on the basis of a very delicate timing, just like a carefully woven spider web, There are extremely fine numbers in the testimony of everyone, but as long as there is a ambiguity in it, the whole spider web will fall apart." "To put it simply," Mizuho licked his dry lips, "is everyone lying?" "Not necessarily everyone." Wu Jing shook his head. "Perhaps, only the murderer and one of them are lying." "One of them... is it an accomplice?" "It's uncertain for the time being. Maybe this person is only covering up the murderer for some reason. If the murderer is really his own, he has enough reasons to cover up." Mizuho fell silent, she didn't know how to refute. "Did Officer Yamagishi say anything about the clown doll?" As the topic changed, Wu Jing's tone also changed to cheerful. "The police didn't seem to find any clues from the doll." Mizuho replied. "So, they've returned the doll." "I see.—Then, take me to get it." Although Shizuka said that she didn't care about how much money it was, and only hoped that Wujing would take the doll away as soon as possible, Wujing still carefully investigated the price when the Zhugong family bought the doll. Brought in an envelope. "This is a deal, and it must be done step by step." Here's what he said. After Wu Jing got the doll, starting from the front, he checked every corner one by one.Finally, he turned his gaze to the front again and nodded in satisfaction. "You seem to be relieved." "Yeah, the big stone in my heart has finally landed. I don't have to worry about curses anymore." "I never believed in superstition, but the curse of this doll really scared me. From Aunt Laizi to Qingjiang, unfortunate incidents happened again and again." "Ominous puppet." After finishing speaking, Wu Jing had a gloomy expression on his face, and once again turned his attention to the puppet. "There is another point that I don't understand. Why did my uncle take out the clown dolls and decorate them on the shelf on that day. Before that day, it seemed that they were all decorated with 'Horse and Boy' dolls as they are now." After hearing Shui Sui's words, Wu Jing's gaze wandered for a while, and then returned to her face. "I don't know very well," he said, "but, personally, I think the Joker is more appropriate in that place than 'The Horse and the Boy'." "Perhaps you're right. He was an eccentric man himself. He had a portrait of his grandfather adorning the hallway." "Hey..." Suddenly, Wu Jing's gaze froze in mid-air. "What's wrong?" Shui Sui called out to him, but he didn't give any response.After a few seconds, he stared at the clown, his pupils dilated instantly. "What happened?" Mizuho called again, this time he raised his head. "Is the old lady there?" He asked, his tone was steady but extremely heavy. "Well, in the room..." "Then let's go say hello to her old man. It's really rude to just take the doll away without making a sound." Wu Jing stood up holding the doll, and Shui Sui also wanted to go with him, but he stopped him with his hand. "Don't bother you to follow, I just went to say hello and come back." "Is that so..." Mizuho just walked up the stairs as soon as he answered. (clown perspective) Wu Jing took me up the stairs with one hand, put me on the shelf next to "The Horse and the Boy", then walked cautiously to the balcony on the south side, and looked at me from that position. He stayed where he was for a while, then walked back to the central part of the corridor—the intersection of the two corridors.I saw him squatting down, I really didn't understand what he was doing. After a while, he stood up with a very ugly expression.Then, leaving me alone on the shelf, he knocked on the door of the old woman's room and entered the room after receiving a response. What did he think of?Could it be that there is some secret hidden in the suicide of the woman in white pajamas?Moreover, what the girl named Shui Sui said just now seemed to have shocked him quite a bit? Leaving aside these questions for now, why did Wujing put me here?Even if you put me in this place again, it won't help, right? Or, does he have any special intentions? I really don't understand this man. But then again, this family is really as weird as this mansion.Any of their actions made me feel incomprehensible.I'm afraid it's not just me, but anyone else can't understand it. Wu Jing walked out of the room, his forehead was slightly rosier than before.His brow always flushed red when a certain problem was running violently in his mind. Wu Jing first stood there and glanced at me, then took a few steps forward to the intersection of the corridor, and then returned to me. "So that's what happened..." He sighed deeply, whispering. Such a thing?What is going on?For what purpose did Wujing put me on this shelf? But my question could not reach his ears.He nodded slowly and took me in his hands again. I could feel the unusual heat in his palm.