Chapter 10 Chapter Ten Again

The plane took off from Athens and arrived in Rome two hours later.The airport is located about forty kilometers southwest of downtown Rome.It's summer in Rome.The airport is more lively than Istanbul and Athens, and the customs agents are cheerful and friendly.When she came to Italy, Yukiko felt very comfortable. The tour group travels from the airport to the city.The flat expressway stretches straight ahead in the quiet pastoral scenery.In Japan, on the way from Haneda Airport to the urban area, there are rows of buildings, in the eyes of Japanese who are used to seeing this scene.The outskirts of the capital are full of such refreshing pastoral scenery, which is really exotic.

There are not many vehicles on the highway, and the cars are speeding at a speed of 120 to 30 kilometers per hour.Because the road is flat and comfortable, people don't feel the speed is so fast. In the distance of the rolling green hills, the steeple of the church can be seen.The sky is blue, as if you can dye your fingers blue by reaching out. After a while, neatly arranged modern buildings appeared outside the right car window.Shiozawa told everyone that this is New Rome "Ewell", a street built by Mussolini for the Rome International Exposition in 1942.Government agencies are concentrated here.The most modern conference halls, government office buildings, sports palaces and other buildings are magnificent and splendid; individual and modern apartment groups stand in the unique and beautiful natural beauty.

The car drove through Ewell Avenue and entered the downtown area of ​​Rome.From the quiet suburbs and the natural park-like Aiweier to the urban area, it is like changing the TV channel. The number of vehicles has increased sharply, and pedestrians are crowding each other.The road is crowded with cars, and pedestrians swim skillfully among the vehicles.The traffic order is chaotic, and the signal lights are empty.Some people ignored the red lights and crossed the road, and the cars did not slow down when they approached the crosswalk.However, in such a poor traffic order, traffic accidents rarely occur, which is really impressive.

"This road technique is too clever!" Nozawa Hiroko exclaimed. "If we were in it, we would be too scared to move." Yu Xizi also stared blankly at those pedestrians crossing the road who were not afraid of death. "Hey, Miss Hozumi!" Hiroko yelled.Yukiko sensed something in her tone of voice, so she turned her gaze to Hiroko. "How about going on an adventure with me tonight?" Hiroko's eyes flashed with a strange light. "adventure?!" "Yes! I know, you came to travel to say goodbye to something in the past." Hiroko looked at Yukiko provocatively.

The tour group stayed at the Imperial Hotel.The hotel is located near Piazza Barberini.Here is the gate into Rome by land.This area concentrates the first-class hotels in Rome, and the Imperial Hotel is one of the most luxurious hotels.Looking out from the window of the room, you can see the Bauer Genzi Park. After lunch, Hiroko gave Yukiko a meaningful look, asking her to go on an adventure. ——The purpose of my trip this time is to take a risk and take revenge on the man who betrayed me. Hiroko's words in the car echoed in Yukiko's ears again. "Hey, are you going with me?" Hiroko asked Yukiko when she walked out of the restaurant.

"It's not in my mind at all. I don't want to make myself so miserable." "Miss Hozumi has no courage!" "That's possible too." "No! You are still haunted by the phantom of your former lover. You must get rid of it as soon as possible. And the best way to get rid of it is to take risks." "Replacing old love with pleasure-seeking?" "Yes. I have resolved to take risks instead of suicide." "Lie!" Yukiko raised her voice. "How is it a lie?" "You're lying to yourself! Even if you do that, you won't be able to erase the memory of the past, it will only bring pain. You are just trying to escape reality by taking risks. The result will only make you old wounds unhealed. New marks."

"Nothing like that. I'm looking for a new love." "Is that considered love? How can you spoil your body casually?" Yukiko felt that her words were a bit sharp, but she was determined to speak out. "What? Trash yourself? You're talking too seriously!" As expected, Hiroko was really angry. "I'm sorry, I apologize if I upset you. However, I can't bear to see you humiliate yourself like this." "I didn't insult myself at all. Speaking of it, I seem a bit stupid. We just met by chance and lived in the same room by chance. How could I invite you to find a man? It's my fault. However, I feel that you and I Same, did you invite you because your heart was traumatized?" Hiroko said calmly.

"Okay, you'd better not go to places that are too dangerous. I heard that there are many pickpockets in Italy." "That's all right. It's said that there are very few serious criminals here, and most of them are playboys, and that's what I need." The tour group is scheduled to stay in Rome for three days.Free activities on the day of arrival, tour the city on the second day, and free activities on the last day or go to Naples to watch the night view. On that day, Shiozawa led everyone from Venus Avenue to Sistine Avenue, watching the shop window display along the way.

Rome is known as "window display viewing paradise".All the shops are gorgeously decorated, colorful and dazzling.The windows display all kinds of fashionable goods: silk brocades, leather goods, glassware, ceramic curios, pearl agate, tortoiseshell amber and embroidery, gloves, Panama hats, etc., are too beautiful to behold. "There are so many good things, my wallet is almost gone!" the women praised, while greedily looking for desirable items.Hiroko also forgot to take risks and concentrated on picking things. At a craft store near Plaza de España, Shiozawa bought a colorful amber stone carved with a cherub in flight.

"What a beautiful amber stone!" Yukiko exclaimed. "Do you like it too? My sister asked me to buy it for her a long time ago, but she never came to Rome. This time I finally lived up to her promise." "Mr. Shiozawa has a younger sister?" "Well, if you are still alive, you should be about the same age as you!" "What, is it dead?!" "Dead for almost a year." Shiozawa's bright smile was suddenly covered with a haze.Yukiko couldn't help being startled, feeling that she had asked something she shouldn't have asked. "Sorry, I shouldn't be asking these questions."

"It's okay. I'm going to enshrine this amber stone on the Buddhist altar during the Obon Festival. Ah, please forgive me for saying such an unlucky thing while you are happily shopping." Instead, Shiozawa felt sorry and quickly apologized. Crossing the Sistine Avenue, a group of people came to the Torimint De Monte Church.Standing here, across the Plaza de España, you can see the business district in the lower city of Rome. There are one hundred and seventy-three steps in the Spanish Square, connecting the hills up and down.Go down the stone steps to Plaza de España.The square was crowded with young hippies and tourists from all over the world, some were playing guitar, some were talking, and some young men and women were hugging and kissing. On the stone steps, hippies are selling handicrafts to tourists. This scene is very similar to the Shinjuku area in Tokyo, Japan. Hiroko Nozawa slipped away at some point.It may be that I bought enough things and left everyone to seek adventure. Yukiko walks with Daisuke Shiozawa unknowingly.Others were attracted by a female hippie and were scrambling to take pictures of her. "Last time I wanted to ask you something, but because someone intervened, I couldn't ask you." "What's up?" "Do you know an employee named Hibino from Nisshin Motor Company?" "When you mentioned it, I remembered it. You asked me about it." "Do you know what's going on in Hibino?" "Maybe it's the person who often came to the company during my tenure in the company. He seems to be a salesman of Rijin Motor Company. I remember that he used to buy new cars for our company, and he often came to the section chief." "That person is probably Hibino." "What's wrong with Hibino?" "I heard he was killed in Tokyo." "Killed? Oops!" Hearing this suddenly, Yukiko was taken aback, but calmed down immediately. "But what does that person have to do with me?" It's not a big deal for a person who has nothing to do with him to be killed, but why Yanze only asks himself as if he is afraid that the people around him will hear it?Yukiko felt uneasy. "Just make sure you don't know this Hibino!" "I am troubled by your hesitation." "It's like this..." Just as Shiozawa was about to say something, someone ran down the stairs in a panic. "Yozawa-kun, it's really great that you are here!" Shi Cang came running panting. "What happened?" "Mr. Yamura was attacked by hippies and injured." "what did you say?" Yanze and the tour group were all shocked. "Kun Kitaoka is still in Plaza España, I came here to tell you." "Is the injury serious?" "I don't know, it was Kitaoka-kun who asked me to call you." "Where is it? Please take us there." When everyone rushed to the Plaza de España, Ota was alone there. "Where are Mr. Yamura and Kitaoka-kun?" "Mr. Yamura was sent to the hospital in an ambulance, accompanied by Kitaoka-kun and Mrs. Yamura. The rest of the people went back to the hotel. I will stay here and wait for you." According to Ota, Yamura was walking when suddenly several thugs rushed over and dragged him into a small alley.Yamura resisted desperately, and was hit on the head by the thug with something, it is unclear how the injury was. I don't know which hospital Yamura was sent to, so everyone had to go back to the hotel first. In this way, Yukiko lost the opportunity to find out the situation of Hibino. Kitaoka quickly called from the hospital.The hospital is on Dalkers Street not far from the hotel.Fortunately, Yamura was not seriously injured, but his head was swollen by something like a soda bottle. It was the first time since I went abroad that I was attacked by robbers, which gave everyone a huge mental shock. After a while, Yamura, with gauze wrapped around his head, returned to the hotel accompanied by his wife and Kitaoka.Everyone quickly surrounded them, and Yamura looked a little embarrassed. Yamura described the situation at that time.He and a few traveling companions lingered in a craft store for a while, and when they walked out of the store, they found that everyone had gone away.They hurried forward along the street, trying to catch up with everyone.At this time, three men suddenly sprang out from a small alley and dragged Yamura to the back of the building.Yamura resisted desperately, and was hit hard on the head by something like a bottle.Mrs. Yamura, who was chasing her, yelled loudly, and the mob fled immediately. "What kind of people are these thugs?" "It happened so suddenly that I didn't see it clearly, but one of them seemed to be Japanese." "Japanese?!" "However, this is a matter of a moment, and it is uncertain whether it is really Japanese." "Didn't they ask you for money or anything of value?" "No. They rushed up suddenly, and I don't know what they want to do." "I didn't expect Rome to have such a terrifying place!" "I have never heard of robbers in Rome, but Japanese tourists are often deceived. A bottle of fake champagne can be defrauded of hundreds of dollars. Kitaoka-san, have you reported to the police?" Shiozawa Ask Kitaoka. "When I was dressing up in the hospital, the police came to understand the situation. When I told him that one of the mob seemed to be a Japanese, he frowned and said: Recently, there are people who are penniless and roam the streets of Rome like homeless people." There are more and more young people in Japan. I think they want money." "But they didn't ask for money or valuables at all! Why do these guys-" Shiozawa suddenly stopped talking here, with an expression on his face as if he remembered something.He probably connected this incident with what happened frequently around the Yamura couple since the trip. Yukiko also had the same association.Since she heard from Hiroko that Mrs. Yamura's lover followed her, her association was more specific and in-depth than Shiozawa's. Could it be that the mob attack was orchestrated by Mrs. Yamura's former lover out of resentment, as Hiroko speculated?The presence of a Japanese in the mob further fueled her suspicions.Suppose the former lover paid a Japanese homeless man to assassinate Yamura.It is not difficult to understand why the thugs did not rob money but just beat Yamura. Perhaps their purpose was to hurt Yamura from the beginning. Hiroko once said that Mrs. Yamura's former lover was very similar to Kazama.Did Kazama really do such a despicable thing? The tour group was finally relieved when they learned that Yamura was not seriously injured.This is not so much concerned about Yamura's physical condition, as it is worried about affecting his travel. Yamura took an X-ray and had an EEG, but found no abnormalities.However, for the sake of prudence, Yamura decided to stay in the hotel to rest during his stay in Rome. The next day, the tour group took a car to visit the Vatican Palace, the Colosseum, the Cagal Baths, the Public Assembly Square, the Tolebi Fountain and other places of interest in the urban area. The entire city of Rome is a huge cultural heritage.No matter where you look, there are world-famous historical relics; no matter where you go, you will always hear the sound of rough waves rolling up in the vast sea like history. Three periods in the history of Rome, namely, the legendary reign period from 753 BC to 510 AD, the republic period from 510 BC to 27 AD, and the empire period from 27 BC to AD 470. The "Three Romes" of the period seemed to have emerged from the tunnel of time and suddenly appeared in the window of the sightseeing car. Like hundreds of rivers converging into the sea, the historical ocean of Rome, which gathers the cultures of Eastern countries and Greek culture, set off waves one after another as the wheels rolled. Turning an intersection, it is ancient Rome; driving down a hill, it is Christian Rome.Like the tides of the ocean, Rome has experienced several major historical changes. It is, as it is often said, "a concentration of mausoleums and monasteries"; it gathers Italians from all over Italy and tourists from all over the world.Rome is a bewildering mix of millennia-old weather and modern hustle and bustle. What impressed Yukiko the most was the Vatican.Located in the urban area of ​​Rome, the Vatican is the smallest independent country in the world and the leading center of the Catholic mission in the world.In this pocket country with an area of ​​only 0.44 square kilometers and a population of about 1,000, it has its own newspapers, post offices, stamps, radio stations, currency, railways, stations, factories, power plants, etc.All this has aroused great interest.The most fascinating is the art gallery of the Vatican Museum, which houses Byzantine, medieval and modern religious paintings.The works of genius masters such as Giotto, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci are brilliant, dizzying and unforgettable. The paintings on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel deep in the palace are even more breathtaking.This is not drawn for gentlemen and ladies in well-bred social salons, but a painting that is vivid, touching, and full of power, so that ordinary people can understand it at a glance.Especially wonderful are the Michelangelo paintings on the ceiling based on the works of the Old Testament.Its gorgeous colors and vivid composition make the viewers admire it.Even Ishikura and Ota, who have no interest in art works, stared intently and were fascinated. "No, I'm already dizzy." Shi Cang said. "I'm so intoxicated by these paintings!" Ota exclaimed. Yukiko was also overwhelmed by the momentum of these paintings.When she walked out of the Sistina Chapel, she suddenly felt weak and tired, full of a feeling of being fascinated by paintings. Yukiko thought to herself: It was right for the Yamura couple not to come.The wounded Yamura might make something wrong in the group of these colorful and emotional paintings. What Yukiko feels particularly strongly is the mural of "killing babies". The content shows that the king of Judea heard the rumor that the savior will come to the world and ordered to kill all babies.On the screen, the mother uses her body to protect the child who is about to be killed by the soldiers, expressing the desperation and resistance of the weak people to the power holders.This cruel scene in history has been vividly reproduced through the hands of genius masters.The author's realistic creative technique makes the audience feel the blood splashed down from the slaughtered babies. ——This kind of painting will definitely give Yamura, who has been plotted against several times, an unbearable strong stimulation. Yukiko who thought of this by accident found that her eyes were involuntarily looking for Kazama. "What's wrong with me! How can I treat Kazama as a prisoner?" When she saw Kazama in the crowd, she told herself to herself. "What are you thinking?" Hiroko came to Yukiko's side at some point.She returned to the hotel very late last night, Yu Xizi pretended not to notice, but a strong smell of alcohol wafted to her pillow.Yu Xizi already felt that Hiroko was heading towards the abyss of danger step by step, but she was powerless to help her, so she could only worry secretly. "Nothing, just a little absent-minded. Let's talk about your business. How was the adventure last night?" Yukiko seized the opportunity of Hiroko to talk, trying to untie the knot that had arisen between the two since last night. "Very pleasant. But, to tell you the truth, when it came to the crisis, I couldn't spare it. Something bad happened to me last night." "What bad luck?" "On the hills of Ganikoro, a crazy Japanese tourist stalked me. It was easy to get rid of him and fled back to the hotel. I was exhausted. I was so angry that I drank in the hotel bar for a long time liquor." "Oh?!" "It's not as easy as it sounds to take risks! Well, I saw something unexpected last night." "What's up?" There was a mysterious light in Hiroko's eyes, which aroused Yukiko's interest. "When I was going back to my room drinking late at night in the bar, I suddenly saw a person slipping into Zhongpu's room." "Nakaura? Is that the one who runs the mountain hotel?" "Yes. He has several villas in Yatsugatake and Kirigamine. This time he joined the tour group just to visit the mountain hotel in Switzerland. Now it seems that he has other plans!" "Nakaura Xiang lives in a single room." Group travel is in principle two people sharing a room.If you give enough money, you can live alone.Who the hell sneaked into Nakaura's single room in the middle of the night? "It was about two o'clock in the morning. Guess who?" "How would I guess?" "It's Masomi Kurimoto!" "Kurimoto?" Yukiko thought of Kurimoto Masuki's flirtatious face.With heavy makeup and fancy dress, she was the most eye-catching woman in the tour group. "She slipped into Zhongpu's room and didn't realize I was in the corridor." "Maybe there is something wrong." "After two o'clock in the middle of the night, a woman ran into a room where a man slept alone. What could happen? The two of them hooked up before they knew it!" "I didn't expect that it's only been a few days since I left Japan!" "As long as both parties are interested, there is enough time. I'm afraid they got mixed up in Istanbul." "Too surprising!" "It's nothing to be surprised about. It's what happens between men and women, and Masami Kurimoto seems to be good at it." "Is she a waitress?" "Maybe she joined the tour group just to seduce men!" "No way." "She might be prostitution!" "Don't be so mean!" "To be honest, I still envy her a little bit! She is a person who dares to act as she pleases. Am I also determined to become a prostitute?" "Hiroko, what nonsense are you talking about!" "Don't worry, I'm not there yet. But I understand a little bit now." "Understand what?" "I understand the feelings of the person who plotted against Yamura." "What's the relationship between Kurimoto and Yamura?" "I came here for revenge. But he didn't respond to my adventures or prostitution, and it was only me who suffered. I didn't realize this on your advice, but I suddenly realized it when I saw Kurimoto last night. If it is not for the pursuit of happiness, the adventure is meaningless. The person who assassinated Yamura is much more straightforward than me. He wants to get rid of the person who took his lover away. If this is revenge on a lover who betrayed him, then this kind of revenge is the most effective. Instead of escaping on a trip like me, he confronts the object of his hatred head-on." "I'm afraid I can't be sure that's the case." "It's no coincidence that Yamura has been assassinated one after another. The criminal must be hiding in our tour group." "Will something happen in the future?" "This is for sure! I want to help secretly." Yu Xizi was "fascinated" by those paintings, and it seemed that Hiroko was also highly excited by something. ——Probably the picture of "Killing Babies". It was this mural that caused Hiroko's dark psychology and nervous excitement.At this time, Yu Xizi also felt the deep hatred for the person who betrayed her. Doesn't Hiroko's "escape" also fit Yukiko's situation?In order to forget the past love, want to seek new things in the travel, isn't this the escape? ——I should not escape, I should collide with him face to face!After being ruthlessly played with by him, my youth was thrown away like an old rag. Intense hatred surged in Yu Xizi's already dried-up heart, and this hatred made her blood boil, like a jet of water from a high-pressure water dragon, shooting towards the person who betrayed her. ——After returning to Japan, I will take revenge on him, and before that, I will also provide "assistance" to "him". Yukiko cast her fiery gaze on Kazama. Shiozawa called everyone to gather.It's time to get in the car. In the early morning of the next day, the tour group drove to Naples.It was originally planned that everyone would go, but since the Yamura couple and a few people did not go, the car seemed empty. Tokihiko Yamura was injured, and it was a last resort for him and his wife not to participate.Kurimoto Masami, Muto Junko, Itsuru and his wife, and Nakaura Takaji did not participate, so it seemed a little deserted. "I expected that Kurimoto and Nakaura would not participate." Yukiko knew the meaning behind Hiroko's words. There were few vehicles on the expressway, and the car in the tour group was speeding at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.The scenery along the way is full of poetic and picturesque, with rolling hills and green plains alternately displayed; villages are located on the hills, built like ancient castles.If there were no highways, this scenery would make people feel as if they had suddenly entered the Middle Ages. "Hi! I'm a little worried." Hiroko said to Yukiko who was fascinated by the scenery outside the car window, as if suddenly remembering something. "worry about what?" "Is Yamura alright?" "Didn't you say it doesn't matter?" "Yamura stays in the hotel, isn't this the opportunity that the prisoner wishes for?" "How could this be..." Yukiko turned her gaze to Kazama.Hiroko suspected that Kazama was plotting against Yamura, but didn't he also come to Naples today? "Even if I'm not on the scene, I can commit the crime. It's not enough to hire someone to do it like yesterday." "Are you saying that the criminal is going to murder Yamura again?" "Isn't this a great opportunity? Most of the people have come to Naples, and Nakaura and Kurimoto who stayed in the hotel are busy with their own fun and don't have to worry about being noticed." "You think too much." "Maybe the attack on Yamura yesterday was carefully planned to separate Yamura from everyone today." "Are you saying that the prisoner deliberately prevented Yamura from participating in today's tour?" "How else to explain it?" "In that case, we should return as soon as possible." "Hmph, let it be. It's none of our business anyway." Hiroko's words made Yukiko regain the determination she had made in the Vatican yesterday.Didn't I just make up my mind to help criminals? Deep down in Yukiko's heart, she couldn't believe that Kazama would hire gangsters to attack Yamura as Hiroko said.But if Kazama wasn't a criminal, who could it be? Tokyo.The crime-solving headquarters conducted a thorough investigation of the situation of Daisuke Shiozawa and Mamoru Kitaoka.The two of them had been to Los Angeles in March.This situation must not be let lightly. "I figured out an important situation." When the Hexi criminal police came back from the investigation, they looked happy, as if they had caught an important prey. "What's going on?" Everyone looked at Hexi expectantly. "Yozawa once had a younger sister." "What's the matter with his sister?" "His sister's name is Xuezi." "You mean her name is 'ゅきこ'?" "Yes. She has the same name as the person on the letter handed over by the paper changer." "What did you say?" Everyone remembered the letter to Hibino.That is not so much a love letter as a breakup of friendship.It was that letter that involved Yukiko Hozumi. "Shiozawa's younger sister's name is Uyuki no Yuki. If written in pseudonyms, Yukiko and Yukiko are both 'ゅきこ'." "Even if Shiozawa's younger sister is called Yukiko, what does that have to do with Hibino?" Nasu urged Kasai to continue. "It's a big relationship! She has a relationship with Hibino that is unknown to outsiders. They have kept a secret relationship for several years, and Yukiko has had three abortions." "Really?" Nasu was taken aback.The investigation of Hibino so far has not found the woman Yukiko Shiozawa. "I started investigating from Hibino's side, but found nothing. When I heard that Shiozawa had a younger sister, I tracked down from her side, and finally found out that she had been to a doctor designated by the Eugenics Protection Act in Shibuya three times. .At the doctor's place, Hibino showed up. To have an abortion, the man's consent is required. This guy Hibino signed the consent form." "Ah, that's right! But you just said that Shiozawa had a younger sister. What does that mean?" "She died of massive bleeding during her third abortion." "When did this happen?" "end of last year." "Of course Daisuke Shiozawa hates Hibino!" "It's not just Daisuke Shiozawa." "What's the meaning?" "Shiozawa didn't know about the relationship between her younger sister and Hibino, so she introduced her to Kitaoka Mamoru. Kitaoka was very fond of her and proposed to her. At this time, Yukiko no longer had any expectations for Hibino, and decided to break up with him and rearrange her own life. Therefore, she accepted Kitaoka's marriage proposal. In order to completely sever all ties with Hibino in the past, she decided to abort the grown fetus. During the abortion operation, she suffered a hemorrhage and died." Hexi's discovery gave great encouragement to all the staff of the investigation headquarters.The case-solving work that has not been able to grasp the clues has caught two major suspects in one fell swoop. "But what does the guy who pretended to be Yukiko's name at the hotel in Los Angeles have anything to do with it?" "It is not yet clear what relationship Hozumi Yukiko had with Hibino, Shiozawa, and Kitaoka before the incident. I think someone who knew Yukiko faked her name." "Can it be considered that Shiozawa or Kitaoka stole her name?" "I didn't find that Yukiko had any relationship with them before this trip to Europe. Yukiko participated in this trip purely by chance, and Shiozawa and Kitaoka also temporarily changed their positions as tour guides for this tour group." "However, we can't follow them to Europe!" The crossing policeman sighed.At this stage, there is no reason to believe that Shiozawa or Kitaoka are criminals, they are nothing more than "motives".At the same time, the cost of going to Europe for investigation is very high, and it is difficult to pay from the only little detection fee.Even if the murderer is confirmed, the Japanese police do not have the right to search abroad, and can only rely on the cooperation of the police in the country where the criminal has fled to request extradition. "It seems that we can only talk about it after they return to China." The appearance of Shiozawa and Kitaoka correspondingly eased the suspicion of Anezaki.Judging from the current situation, there is no reason to arrest him.