Chapter 18 Section VI

After observing the scene, the two policemen walked out of the greenhouse to escape the sweltering heat, and once again shrank in the shadow of the huge lucky cat at the exit.Taking a closer look, there are more people watching the excitement outside the wire fence than before.Since the fence was taller than normal people, they seemed to Shiki like animals in a cage, and the crowd must have seen them both in the same way. Shiki asked the Sunagawa police department about the next approach to the case. "What should we do next? Interrogate the relevant personnel first?" "Well, that's it. I really want to ask Gotokuji Maki, who was tied up at the scene of the crime, first... No, let's ask those people before that."

The "group of people" that the Sunagawa Police Department gestured with their jaws were the crowd of onlookers sticking to the fence to observe the situation. "Police, what do you want to ask them?" "Of course I'm asking about the beckoning cat. Don't you want to know when this beckoning cat will appear here?" "Ah, that's it." Shiki was indeed interested in this question as well.After all, such a conspicuous decoration must have been witnessed by someone. The detectives left the greenhouse and walked towards the fence, but it was not convenient to talk through the fence.When I moved my eyes a little, there was an iron mesh door next to it, and the door was unlocked.In other words, open and free passage between farmland and roads.

"And this door is very big, about one meter wide and 180 centimeters high. Since it is so big, it is possible that the adult lucky cat could easily enter through here." "I see, so the beckoning cat was moved here from the front of the main entrance along the road, and passed through this door and placed in front of the greenhouse?" "Hey, wait a minute. I'm just saying that it's possible. The beckoning cat may have moved from the mansion." The two opened the door and came to the road.The onlookers, who cast curious gazes across the fence, took a step back as a whole, mostly because they were afraid that the two criminal policemen would suddenly approach.

"Ah, everyone, don't be afraid. I don't welcome onlookers, but I don't want to drive people away. I just want to inquire about something." The Shachuan police department said this to the crowd watching the excitement as if they were gossiping. "I wanted to ask about the adult lucky cat. Does anyone here know when that thing was there?" Everyone reacted at the same time.Because it was too simultaneous, it was impossible to hear who said what. Zhimu felt as if he saw a group of uneducated monkeys: his mood became melancholy. "Uh, what? What time in the morning? What are you talking about? I can't hear you! What time? Hey!"

The Sunagawa Police Department put their palms to their ears and tried desperately to listen, but to no avail. "Really! I can't stand this group of guys. Damn, since this is the case..." In order to grasp some truth in the torrent of intelligence, the Shachuan Police Department is determined to take action.He climbed up the fence at once, and became a posture overlooking the spectators. To put it bluntly, he wanted to make himself the monkey king who ruled over the uneducated monkey army.In fact, he also possessed a demeanor similar to that of the Monkey King, so the crowd immediately fell silent.

The Sunagawa police department spoke to everyone almost as if ordering in a tough tone that could not be explained. "Listen up, everyone! The maneki-neko must have been right in front of the greenhouse in the mid-9:40s because I witnessed it firsthand. How about eight? How about seven? Is there? Okay, Hands up. Okay, what about six o'clock? Did anyone see that lucky cat at six o'clock in the morning?" "I saw it at six o'clock," said a woman with a dog. "When I took Xiaozheng for a walk and passed by here, I did see that lucky cat. It was six o'clock in the morning."

"Oh, good." Police Department Sunagawa nodded on the fence. "And five o'clock? Did anyone see it at five o'clock in the morning?" "I saw it at five o'clock in the morning." A middle-aged man in sportswear said. "I did see the maneki-neko when I was jogging past here, it must have been around five in the morning." "So that's what it is, that's how it is." The Shachuan Police Department nodded in response. "And what about four in the morning? Is there anything at four in the morning?" "I saw it at four o'clock in the morning." Said a young man who straddled a light motorcycle. "I saw it on the way to deliver the newspaper. I usually pass here at four o'clock in the morning."

"Yeah, this is valuable information." The Sunagawa police department smiled. "So what about three in the morning? Is there three in the morning?" I originally thought that at three o'clock in the morning, no one would raise their hands after all... "I, I saw it at three o'clock in the morning." However, a young man with suspicious behavior spoke. "That... I saw it when I was walking late at night, remember, I remember it was past three o'clock in the morning." "Hmm..." After all, the Sunagawa Police Department couldn't simply nod in response to this information, and he looked at the young man with an appraising gaze. "By the way, why are you taking a walk at this time? Are you an examinee?"

"No, that... I, I'm a mystery writer." "So you're a reasoning writer, no wonder you take a walk late at night." The Shachuan Police Department showed an expression of approval. "Okay. So is there two o'clock in the morning? Two o'clock in the morning!" This time is the same as three o'clock in the morning. It is impossible to expect anyone to pass by here, and no one in the crowd raises their hands. "How, no? How, no? No two in the morning? No two in the morning? Again, any hands up?" how is thisShiki, who wrote the testimony of everyone in the manual in order, was puzzled.This is simply a bidding market, just like deciding the time of the murder by bidding.Is this the Kuzuigawa Municipal Fish Market?

At this time, both hands were raised at the same time as if lured by the heroic voice. "Well, I saw it at two o'clock in the morning." The pink collar said shyly. "I saw it on the way back from a date. My boyfriend was with me too, so it must be true that Lucky Cat was there at two o'clock in the morning." "Very good, thank you for your assistance." Sunagawa Police Department nodded in response. "Then, please tell the other one too." "Hmm... wait, that, this..." The man with the crew cut put his raised hand on his head, and twisted his body in confusion. "I'll just skip it. Boss, forget about my raised hand just now, and I'll cancel it, heh heh."

"Oh, you actually want me to forget, you're amazing, it's suspicious. Who are you?" On the fence, the police cast a questioning look at the crew-haired man. "Don't do that, please don't say that. I'm a cheap cook who works in a nearby restaurant. There's nothing suspicious about it." "If you don't want to feel guilty, just tell the truth, what time did you see last night?" "Well, that... I was going home from closing time at two o'clock in the morning, and it was exactly two-thirty in the morning when I got here." "What, half past two. So what did you see?" "No, boss, I actually didn't see anything, hehe." "Hmm... what do you mean 'didn't see'?" "That is to say, when I passed here at 2:30 in the morning, there was no such lucky cat, so I want to say that I didn't see anything..." "Impossible." The pink collar who spoke just now, questioned as if he couldn't pretend he didn't hear. "So what? Uncle, you mean I lied? I saw it with my boyfriend. At two o'clock in the morning, there was indeed a lucky cat here. I definitely didn't lie or read it wrong." "Miss, don't be angry, calm down." The Sunagawa Police Department comforted the agitated fan-collars, and turned to the chef, "But what she said was very to the point. The beckoning cat that was placed here at two o'clock in the morning disappeared at half past two. , This situation is incomprehensible. In fact, according to the testimony so far, the lucky cat has been here from three o'clock in the morning until this morning." "Yeah, I find it weird too." "Could it be that you read it wrong? In other words, the beckoning cat is actually here, but you didn't see this beckoning cat because of your thoughts or other reasons, or you saw it but immediately forgot." "Boss, there is no such thing. Is this a matter of course? Such a big beckoning cat is placed in such an obvious place, even if you don't want to, you can see it on the road, and after seeing it, you can't forget it. ?” The chef was right.Shiki, who was taking notes, had no choice but to add the chef's testimony between the testimony of the reasoning writer at three o'clock in the morning and the testimony of the pink-collar family at two o'clock in the morning.Although the content is contradictory, it must be in this order. The Shachuan Police Department put doubts aside for the first time, and continued to ask the masses for news by going back in time. "I saw it at one o'clock in the morning." Said the middle-aged man who blushed like a hangover. "I saw it when I came home from a drink at an izakaya. I was drunk, but I'm sure it was one o'clock in the morning." Immediately after... "I saw it at midnight." Said the boy who looked like a student. "I saw it when I came home from work. Da Xiong, did you see it too?" "No, Bo Shi, I didn't see it." The student named Daxiong said so. "When I went out to work and passed this road, I didn't see this kind of decoration." "What time was it?" The Shachuan Police Department asked this question, and the young man named Daxiong answered after thinking for a while: "It's almost midnight." "I'm here at this time." "I've been there too." "Me too." Several people indicated that they passed this road around midnight, including white-collar workers returning home from get off work, laborers on night shifts, housewives taking out garbage late at night, and so on.Among them, people who passed by after midnight confirmed that they saw a beckoning cat, and those who passed by before midnight confirmed that they did not see a beckoning cat. The time was pushed back to eleven o'clock and ten o'clock in the evening, and it was the same. No one confirmed seeing the lucky cat during this time. "Well, it seems that it is certain that midnight is the watershed." The Sunagawa Police Department climbed down the fence and wrote down the names and addresses of the people who provided testimony, ending the investigation of the simulated auction market. "Really, but after asking, I seem to understand half-understand, and I am even more confused." "Exactly." Shiki could only respond with his arms crossed. As far as Shiki saw, the testifying crowd didn't have the unnatural reaction to telling a lie, but it would be completely unnatural if their testimony were taken seriously. The adult lucky cat in question should have moved to the entrance of the greenhouse in a short period of five to ten minutes around midnight last night.It seems that no one accurately witnessed the moment when the beckoning cat appeared. In short, it is almost certain that the beckoning cat appeared around midnight.Later, the lucky cat was there until 2:00 am, but disappeared for a while at 2:30 am.That is if the chef's testimony is to be believed. At 3 o'clock in the morning, the beckoning cat reappeared in the same place as if nothing had happened, and it was left there until 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, and 6 o'clock in the morning... At 9:30 o'clock in the morning, the Hotokuji family members headed by Changdai also witnessed the lucky cat Cat. Just having an adult tall beckoning cat appear in front of the greenhouse is quite unreasonable, and it is unbelievable that the beckoning cat once disappeared and reappeared.However, this does not seem to be a completely meaningless phenomenon, and there must be a mystery in it. "I don't understand." Sunagawa Police Department whispered displeased. "Appeared at the murder scene, disappeared, and then reappeared. What is this cat? Is it a demon cat?" No, not a demon cat. It must be a lucky cat.