Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Four Keys

After 7 a.m. on July 22, Ayako Yoshino, the foreman on the thirty-fourth floor of the Moat Hotel, delivered the morning newspaper and coffee to room 3401 as the first thing in the morning after the night shift. This is the most important task in the morning undertaken by the foreman on the thirty-fourth floor.In short, this "morning service" is slightly deviated, and you will feel restless if you stay for a whole day.For the foreman, this is the most common service, but also the most disturbing task.It's a job that's impeccable enough to free you from long, grueling night shifts.

Standing in front of the gold-plated steel door of Room 3401, Ayako Yoshino took a few deep breaths to ease her nervousness, and then lightly rang the electric bell.An elegant "dinglingling" electric bell sounded in the room, but there was no movement.The highest floor is all VIP rooms, and the morning is as quiet as in the depths of the sea. Wenzi felt a little puzzled.Because in normal times, Jiu Zhu would open the door as quickly as if waiting for the doorbell to ring, with a cheerful expression after a good night's sleep. Wenzi rang the doorbell again with a little force and listened attentively, but there was still no movement in the house.

--what happened? —— For a while, Wenzi was at a loss with a puzzled expression. Maybe I was too tired from the meeting or banquet yesterday and overslept today.Such a thing had never happened before, so she was helpless for a while, not knowing how to deal with it.I want to ask my superiors for instructions, but no one has come to work at this time.At this moment, Wenzi is the top person in charge of the thirty-fourth floor. Waiting here for a long time to wake up?Or use the waiter's special key to open the door to provide morning service? When he hesitated like this, at least another ten minutes passed.Wenzi answered the doorbell three or four times, but there was still no movement in the room.Don't dawdle anymore, otherwise the insulation effect of the coffee pot will gradually lose.Wenzi remembered the displeased face of Jujiu when he arrived late for the "early service". The morning was a little unsatisfactory, and all employees in the society had to spend the whole day in anxiety.

Wenzi made his own claim according to his own authority.In short, at best, just deliver coffee and newspapers.You shouldn't be blamed for putting things in the room before the other party wakes up.I delivered it on time strictly according to the stipulated time, but he was still fast asleep. Wenzi used the special key for the room attendant to open the door and walked into the house in fear.The entrance is the living room (room corridor), and the bedroom is separated by a partition wall on the left.The two chambers are connected by an inner door.This is a so-called traditional room, and the inner door is closed.Wenzi walked into the corridor of the room and put coffee and newspapers on the black sandalwood coffee table in the right corner.Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly noticed something and stopped.I hate the doorbell for a long time, so I specially removed the doorbell device in this ensuite bedroom.In other words, the inner door was closed, and Jiuzhu was fast asleep in the bedroom, so he couldn't hear Wenzi's doorbell.

If this is the case, Wenzi has not fulfilled his responsibility by just delivering coffee and newspapers to the living room.Juju didn't get up even though he rang the doorbell, and he didn't hear the doorbell at all. The two are completely different.What's more, as a veteran foreman, Wenzi knew that there was no doorbell installed in the bedroom where he lived for a long time.At least, people thought she should know. Wenzi approached the inner room door and knocked lightly, but there was no movement. Now there is only one door separated, and it can be more clearly felt that there is no movement in the room.According to business common sense, Wenzi is very clear about how much knocking can usually wake up the guests.Although her knock on the door was quiet, it was enough to wake up the guests.At this time, she felt another strange atmosphere.

There was timidity on Wenzi's face. It's strange to think about it, so I can't hear the doorbell after staying for a long time.Jiuzhu is an old man with good hearing and eyesight. Even though yesterday's fatigue has not been eliminated, he has no response to the doorbell when it is time to wake up. This is abnormal.If the old man really slept so soundly, that kind of sound sleep itself is not normal. Wen Zi was always in awe of the "President", but at this moment, that awe turned into confusion.She inserted the special key into the keyhole of the inner door and quietly opened the door.The curtains in the room were not fully closed, and the summer morning light shone in through the gaps in the curtains.The bright and dappled sunlight creates a sharp contrast between light and dark in the room.Moreover, Kuzumi was lying on his back on the bed, his chest was in the light.

Jiuzhu's face was just in the shade, so he couldn't see his expression clearly.He lay quietly, with only his head exposed outside the quilt, in the sleeping posture unique to an old man, peaceful and serene.Fumiko, however, saw something that fundamentally overturned that calm. Kuzumi's chest, which was shining in the light, was stained with an ominous color.The white blanket covering Jiuzhu's body oozes deep red mucus like tomato sauce, and under the strong light of Zhao Xu, it pierces Wenzi's eyelids. "Ah! Ah——" Wenzi screamed unconsciously and stood there dumbly, as if his body was numb, and he couldn't even move his feet. He stared blankly at this tragic scene and couldn't move away.

As soon as Takaaki Hiraga, a young detective from the Murakawa Division of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division, went to work, the drowsiness left in his mind suddenly disappeared in the face of the tense atmosphere that shrouded the entire class. Hiraga immediately cheered up like an alert police officer. "problem occurs!" The hoarse voice of Kamiyama on duty shot towards Hiraga like a machine gun. "Hiraga, I just called your contact point. There was a murder case at the Moat Hotel, and I have ordered the criminal squad to rush there from their homes. You should go too!"

The No. 1 and No. 1 Mob Search Units of the No. 1 Search Division are responsible for solving cases related to homicide, injury, and personal safety.The so-called "criminal case squad" refers to the criminal case investigation squad, which is composed of nine groups in the No. 1 and No. 2 Mob Search Units in turn. Any crimes that occur during the duty period are mainly responsible for the detection of crimes by the on-duty team.In order to deal with emergencies, the team members whose turn is on duty must explain their whereabouts even if they are not on duty.This week's criminal case team is in charge of the Murakawa group.

"The Moat Hotel?" Hiraga raised his eyes in surprise.The Shenshan Police Department took this as a professional reaction and urged him to leave quickly in an indisputable tone. "Stop rambling, let's go! I also want to ask the site survey team in charge of the survey to dispatch immediately." For the police, the scene is better than any commentary.Hiraga didn't need to ask too much. Room 3401 of the Moat Hotel was packed with police officers.The advance search team and the on-site investigation team are conducting on-site investigation and evidence collection in an orderly manner according to their respective responsibilities.

As the saying goes, the scene is a treasure trove of investigation data.The closer the investigation data is to the crime, the more valuable it is.Rushing to the scene against time is the best way to hunt down the murderer, but there is no guarantee that the "original state" of the scene will not be deformed or disappeared during the investigation, so the investigators on the scene are required to be very vigilant. When Hiraga rushed to the scene, several team members had already arrived, probably from home, and it seemed that they had not been caught by the newspaper reporters yet. "Hey! You've worked hard!" Hiraga's immediate boss, Chief Criminal Police Chief Uchida, has arrived first.He twisted his thick neck like a wild boar to meet him.He is a veteran criminal policeman, and young people call him "Old Criminal Policeman" behind his back.Strangely, he and Hiraga are particularly speculative.Ever since Pinghe was assigned to the First Investigation Section, he always took special care of Pinghe.Uchida is a typical veteran criminal policeman who feels powerless in chasing criminals. Because of this, his sense is particularly keen. "Hiraga, a great person has been punished! The victim is the owner of this hotel." Hiraga also knew Kuzu's name, and had seen his photo in a weekly magazine.From the furnishings and utensils in the room, it is not difficult to infer that the victim was a rather large person, but Hiraga did not expect this person to be so prominent. "Let me see the dead first." Uchida took Hiraga from the living room into the bedroom further back.Hiraga once heard from a friend that this type of room was called a "suite". The bedroom is the same as a standard double room, but the facilities and appliances are very high-end. Walking in through the inner door, Masanosuke Kusumi was killed like a bug on the left bed. It seems that Jiu Zhu was stabbed to death with a very sharp knife from top to bottom through a thin blanket while he was asleep. Blood seeped out from under the blanket and stained the blanket red. Uchida lifted up the blanket like peeling off the wrapping paper of something. "Just stabbed in the heart. The incision was more than 2 centimeters, probably died on the spot. The knife pierced the ventricle at a right angle, so there was a lot of bleeding. The blood seeped into the bed, so it didn't look like much bleeding, but in fact it was a lot of bleeding, even if it wasn't on the spot Death, even with so much blood. What a hard job!" Detective Uchida had been expressionless, but at this moment his face twitched.If it was deliberately stabbed from the blanket, it shows the murderer's scheming.If it hits the heart, the murderer can hardly escape the blood sprayed from the victim. However, when he was stabbed under a blanket, all the blood spattered from the wound was covered by the blanket.What's more, if you are covered with a blanket, you don't have to be afraid of waking the victim.A layer or two of thin blankets will not provide any buffer against the impact of a sharp instrument. Perhaps it was the murderer's exhaustive scheming that made Uchida's expression twitch slightly. The victim naturally lay on his back with his feet straight in the center of the bed.Maybe he died before he could feel the pain. His expression was relatively serene, which was not commensurate with the horrific appearance of the corpse.He was naked in terry cloth pajamas with the name of the hotel on it, but not too messy.The right hand is slightly bent below the buttocks, and the left hand is stretched out slightly obliquely to the outside of the body, with nothing on it. If there is no bleeding in the chest, it can be regarded as a peaceful sleeping position.The incision is slightly deviated to the left from the midline of the body, and it is pierced roughly at right angles to the body as the axis at the gap between the fourth ribs.This may be to allow the weapon to be accurately inserted deep into the heart without being caught by the ribs.This is the only wound.It can be seen that the murderer's judgment is accurate and extremely confident, and he can kill his opponent with a single knife. The blood was almost absorbed by the bed, and there was no trace of dripping on the carpet.Judging from the color and coagulation of the blood, it was not long before the crime was committed. The head of the bed was leaning against the wall, and there was a gap between the bed on the left (the one where the victim was lying on his back) and a person barely able to squeeze through.The house is very tidy.There is a sofa and coffee table on the left side of the bed (the right side when you walk in from the living room), and there is a desk and chair on the partition wall next to the living room, and a luggage rack next to it.Even the wastebaskets and ashtrays were placed in a fixed position in an orderly manner without being touched.The wastebasket was spotless, and the ashtray was also clean, as if it had been cleaned by the waiter. On the bedside table next to the pillow, there is an indoor phone, the key to room 3401, watches and glasses that are estimated to be belongings of the victim, and small medicine bottles containing commonly used medicines, about a quarter of which are used.A little further away from these small items, there are duckbill jugs and glasses on the bedside table.There is about a centimeter of water left at the bottom of the cup. "The victim was right-handed." Detective Uchida said. "How do you know?" Pinghe asked. "Because he sleeps in bed, the bedside table is leaning against the right side of the bed when he is lying on his back." Indeed, if there is no habit of sleeping on the stomach, for right-handers, it may be more convenient for the bedside table to lean against the right side of the pillow (when lying on the back), which is the side of the victim’s bed, but judging by this is right-handed. premature.Anyway, this will be clear in a moment. The lower part of the bedside table has a radio and an alarm clock, and the hour hand is reading 8:45.Seeing that the alarm clock is pointing to 7 o'clock, maybe at 7 o'clock, it has been in vain for the owner who will never wake up again. The alarm needle and the watch time are exactly the same.The two clocks remained faithful to their duties even after the death of the owner. Hiraga stared at the medicine bottle. "He's taking sleeping pills!" He looked at the label "Amobarbital preparation" on the bottle and muttered, it was hard to tell whether the quarter of the medicine used was taken at one time before going to bed or divided into several doses. In short, the fact that sleeping pills were placed next to the deceased's pillow proves that there are other possibilities for the cause of death. On the coffee table next to the bed was the long pajamas that had just been delivered from the washing department. They were ironed very flat and looked eye-catching.I'm afraid it was delivered last night, and the owner encountered an accident before touching it. "Is the approximate time of death known?" "It can only be determined after an autopsy. After the on-site investigation, judging from the stiffness of the corpse, it is estimated that it was last night... No! It was between 1:00 and 2:00 this morning." "1am to 2am?!" Hiraga's voice trembled suddenly, but he immediately suppressed it and asked, "Where's the murder weapon?" "The advance searchers searched desperately but couldn't find it. Maybe the murderer took it away. This can only be clarified by dissection, but judging from the wound, the width of the knife is about two centimeters, probably for making sashimi. a thin, sharp-edged knife." The words of Uchida Interpol dispelled the suspicion that Ping He was silted up in his heart and suspected that it was suicide. The room keys and sleeping pills on the bedside table are strong evidence to tilt the cause of death to suicide, but if the whereabouts of the murder weapon is unknown, the tilt will suddenly rebound to homicide. Some suicides are very timid, taking sleeping pills and then self-injury, in order to alleviate the horror and pain of death, such examples are not uncommon.However, if no murder weapon is found around the body, it can only be considered that the murderer took it away. "How did the murderer get into the room?" Hiraga glanced sideways at the key on the cabinet and asked again. "I used a spare key to get in. I heard that all hotel rooms have spare keys." Uchida said absently. "So, it's an internal crime?" "...I can't say for sure right now!" Uchida didn't confirm it, but his expression clearly agreed with the "inside crime". Moreover, if it is not someone inside, it is impossible to enter the locked and fully enclosed room. At this moment, all the detectives from the Murakawa group arrived.Centering on the advance search team and the protected scene, the real investigation began. Ayako Yoshino is the discoverer of the case.Pinghe first met with Yoshino Fumiko together with the squad leader Murakawa Police Department and Uchida Criminal Police Chief.Based on the summary of the case given by the advance search team, they will conduct in-depth investigations with relevant personnel to reveal the truth. In a small room in the hotel—it was thanks to the kindness of the hotel, or rather because the hotel did not want the criminal police to wander around in the hotel—Wenzi walked in with a nervous expression.The nearly thirty-year-old head waiter seemed to have not shaken off the horror he had witnessed an hour or two ago, shaking with fright. "Hotel work is fun, isn't it?" The seasoned detective Uchida began to say in a nonchalant tone as if he was doing something routine: "It's a decent job. You can meet high-class guests and eat delicious food every day." "Nothing!" Facing Uchida's teasing tone, Yoshino Fumiko raised her voice. "It's true that we can see high-class customers every day, but we are a service job, and it is by no means as interesting as people see. It is our responsibility to satisfy customers to the greatest extent, so we are physically and mentally exhausted. Delicious food, Only the guests can enjoy it." "Hey! That's it. In our opinion, there is no more decent and cleaner job than this. Hey... It probably depends on how hard it is for people to take on the burden." Uchida nodded seriously.Ayako Yoshino didn't realize that he had inadvertently fallen into Uchida's trap. "However, this morning was too frightening, and you were frightened, too." "Yes! And I haven't had breakfast yet, and I don't want any." "We want to ask you about this matter. When you came to the president's room, was the door really locked?" Uchida nonchalantly asked about the key to the incident. "That's absolutely true, because the door is tightly closed, and even if it is not locked, it will be reported when it is found." "What does 'room patrol' mean?" Originally, he was very unfamiliar with English, but when he saw the other party blurting out English, Detective Uchida was stunned.Such hotels often use English, and the old criminal police feel helpless. "Some of the guests came back drunk and lay down to sleep without closing the door. Anyway, the safety of the guests in the hotel comes first, so the security personnel will check the entire hotel every three hours. Once found If there is a room with an unlocked door, lock the door and report to the foreman on each floor. From last night to this morning, there is no such report on the thirty-fourth floor.” "It's really hard work. The accommodation fee is not too expensive. So, is there a rule for the inspection time?" "Yes. 10 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 4 o'clock, three times." The three investigators thought about the time of the victim's death at the same time.After investigation, it is tentatively presumed that the victim died between 1 am and 2 am. If it wasn't by chance, then the murderer was able to skillfully use the gap in the inspection time, which shows that this person is very familiar with the situation inside the hotel. Ayako Yoshino seemed unable to bear the pressure from the brief silence of the policemen, so she took the initiative to speak: "I'm sure you all know that the locks in our hotel are fully automatic, as long as the door is closed, the lock will automatically hit, so there are often guests who are not used to it and go out without the key, only to be locked out and make a lot of noise. " "It's fully automatic. It's too convenient but inconvenient!" "Once the door is locked, it cannot be opened from the outside, but it can be opened by twisting the handle from the inside, so it is very convenient once you get used to it." "However, there is also a door between the bedroom and the living room in room 3401. Is that also fully automatic?" "No. It would be inconvenient if the doors in the suite had automatic locks, so yes." "'semi-auto'?" Uchida remained silent because of the constant occurrence of English. "There is a button on the door handle, press the button and close it, and it is in the same state as an automatic door." "Hey! That is to say, after pressing the button and closing the door, it can be opened from the bedroom side, but it cannot be opened from the living room without the key." "yes." "That's called the inner door, is it really closed?" "It's closed. You need to use our dedicated floor key to open it and get in." "The door of the room, that is, the door outside the living room, and the door of the inner room, can the same key be used to open it?" "It can be opened. You can say that." Wenzi had always answered articulately, but now he was a little vague. "you could put it that way?" Uchida's eyes lit up. "This is because although the inner door is opened with the same key, the key rotation method is different. After the ordinary key is inserted into the keyhole, it turns to the right, but the inner door turns to the left. After turning to the end, it turns slightly to the left. Push it in, then turn it to the right to open it." "Hey! Is there another way to open the lock? Are all the locks on the inner room door like this?" "The people who live in the suite are all important guests...of course all the guests are very important...especially those who come here are some important guests, so all the inner doors of the suite are like this. But few guests lock the inner door Yes, only the outer door is important." "The president is a very cautious person, right?" "Yes, very cautiously. Always lock the inner door before going to bed." "Really? Do you tell the guests how to turn the key?" "No. Some guests are very careful, as long as they lock it when they sleep, there is no inconvenience. It is rare for guests to forget the key in the bedroom and then close the door by mistake from the living room and then cannot enter the bedroom. If this happens, we will It is opened with the help of the common key on the floor, so there is no special inconvenience.” The guest is not familiar with how to use the inner door, which further proves that the murderer is someone who is familiar with the internal situation.The three investigators couldn't help but glanced at each other. "Understood. So, Yoshino-kun, before you find out that the president was killed, you have to open the inner room door and the room door, right?" Wenzi nodded with a trembling mouth.This question may have reminded her of that terrifying moment. "So, besides you, who else has a spare key to this room?" "Are you asking?" People who work in hotels often use English in their words, which is intimidating, but perhaps because people in the service industry are particularly clever, or because the advance search team has already conducted an investigation, Wenzi answered quite well. Essentials. "The sparekry of each room is kept at the main service desk. In addition, there is a master key that can open all the doors of the entire hotel, which is kept by the general manager. There is also a common key for the floor. In the hands of our foreman, it can only be opened. A room on the specified floor." "So, there are four keys that can open each room. In addition to the special key (room key) given to the guests, there is one for the front desk, one for the general manager, and one for the foreman on each floor?" Yoshino Fumiko nodded vigorously. "Are there absolutely no other keys?" "As far as I know, there aren't any." Wenzi's tone is affirmative. "Then, who kept the common floor key you are holding last night?" "When I was on the night shift at 6 o'clock last night, after the foreman of the night shift handed it over to me, I hung it around my neck all the time." Wenzi gestured to the common floor key that hung around his neck like a necklace and was tied with a thick silver chain. "Didn't your subordinates borrow from you?" "The foreman must be present when the common key for the floor is used. Although some foremen are irresponsible and will lend the key to their subordinates, I will never lend it to others." Wenzi puffed out her chest and said proudly. "Because you are such a caring person, you can feel at ease living in a hotel! But, don't you feel drowsy when you work the night shift?" "Two or three hours of dozing off after work is allowed." "Where do you sleep?" "The waiter's rest area on each floor is equipped with a bed for duty." "You also dozed off for a while last night, didn't you?" "Yes. Woke up around 3am and slept up to two hours because work ended early last night." Wenzi blurted out, but then realized the true meaning of Uchida's question, so he changed his tone slightly. "However, I never leave the key when I sleep. I said I was sleeping, but I just dozed off at work for a while, and my nerves were very nervous. If there is any movement, I will know immediately. And none of the waiters in our hotel is the kind who wants to steal the floor. Common Key miscreants, at least on our thirty-fourth floor." Wenzi's tone was gradually filled with resistance.Uchida smiled wryly and coaxed: "That's not what I asked." In the future, I will find Wenzi to learn more about the situation, and it will be difficult to annoy her. "I'm sorry to disturb you before you rested. By the way, I would like to ask you another question. Did you see anyone go to the president's room before you went to bed at 3 o'clock?" Police Department Murakawa interrupted.Hiraga took the initiative to take on the role of recording. "I didn't see it. I don't think anyone will go!" "most?" "The service desks on all floors are next to the elevator. Room 3401 is in the corridor of Building A. Room 3401 cannot be seen from the position of the service desk." The structure of the moat hotel is very unique. With the elevator as the center, three corridors A, B, and C extend in three directions like three arrows, so that all the rooms face the outside. Police Department Murakawa nodded in understanding.He had seen the sketch beforehand and knew the structure of the hotel.According to the sketch, only corridor C can be seen from the service desk on the floor, and the two corridors A and B are in the dead corner of sight. "However, can you see the guest coming out of the elevator?" "It can be seen, but apart from Corridor C, the number of rooms the guests enter is unknown. Anyway, there are more than 70 guest rooms on the 34th floor, and the keys are collected at the main service desk." Fumiko looked at Murakawa with wandering eyes, her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and she looked extremely tired due to the tension caused by the night shift and the incident.Can't keep her for too long. "And..." the waitress said suddenly as if remembering. "The president has to take sleeping pills before going to bed, so he won't see guests at night." This question that will be mentioned sooner or later was blurted out by her, and Murakawa couldn't help but feel happy. "Is the president not sleeping well?" "Once I fell asleep, I slept very deeply, but it was difficult to fall asleep at first." "Do you know what time he took his medicine last night?" "Don't know. I didn't see him take his medication. But he always goes to bed around 9, so it's going to be around 8:30?" Amobarbital is an amothalate-like sleeping pill.Although I don't know how much medicine Jiuzhu took, but if I take the medicine around 8:30, then 1:00 am to 2:00 am is probably the time when I sleep the most. "Do you remember who was the last person to enter the president's room? I mean when the president was alive." "This... probably is me!" Wen Zi hesitated a little and said. "It's you?" "It was around 7:40. I went to room 3401 to ask for service. Because things in the president's room can't be sloppy, the foreman will do everything himself." "A request for service? Is it the president of Jiuzhu who asked you?" "No. The secretary, Toko Arisaka, called me and asked for grape juice." No one in the room noticed that Hiraga's eyebrows trembled at this time. "Is the president drinking?" "No! Secretary Arisaka wants to drink." "So, after you left, didn't Secretary Arisaka keep it?" "No. Arisaka-kun said that he would save me from making another trip to get the cup. After drinking it on the spot, he left the room with me." "Hey! You also left together. Well, to be precise, the last people the president came into contact with while he was alive were you and Secretary Arisaka!" "Yes. Provided no one goes in after us." Murakawa resisted not saying "the person who comes in in the future will be the murderer" and continued: "Do you remember when you left the room with Secretary Arisaka?" "7:50." Wenzi replied without thinking. "Why do you remember it so clearly?" "Arisaka-kun's watch stopped, she asked me the time." "Ask your time..." Murakawa hesitated for a moment. "Is your watch accurate?" "Accurate. In the morning, we need to provide service to the president's room. I checked it at 7 o'clock, and it's only 30 seconds faster." "No wonder!" Murakawa nodded. "I'm so sorry that you haven't rested yet. I also want to ask, did Secretary Arisaka take the key to Room 3401 when you left the room?" The investigators present all stared at Ayako Yoshino's face.This question is very critical.If Arisaka had taken the key, she herself would be suspected of being the murderer or an accomplice. Arisaka Toko herself or the murderer got the key to Room 3401 from her and sneaked into the room. After the murder, she left the key in the house and fled. The door is fully automatic, so a fully enclosed space is formed. "The key was not taken away." Unexpectedly, Wenzi even denied it somewhat cruelly. "The key was indeed left in the room, on the coffee table in the living room. I remember very clearly that when Ms. Arisaka asked me to put the soda on the coffee table, she happened to point at the key." "Is that really the key to Room 3401?" The key cards in the hotel are all unified, so there is a possibility of misreading. "It's definitely in room 3401, I saw it with my own eyes!" Wenzi's tone is full of confidence. "But the key should be kept by the pillow in the bedroom!" "The president has a strange habit. All belongings must be placed in a fixed position in order to sleep peacefully. Not to mention the furniture and equipment in the room, even personal items such as watches and glasses are placed in fixed positions. Yes. The keys are fixed on the bedside table, so I figured he'd take it there himself before bed." "Hey! Still have that habit? But, you were the first to discover the case, are those things in a fixed position?" "Yes. The first policeman who arrived asked me to see it, and I confirmed it. Everything I know is in a fixed position." "Is there nothing missing?" "I didn't pay special attention." "Secretary Arisaka is already at work." Police Department Murakawa glanced at his watch.It was just after 9:30 am. "When we left the president's room together last night, Arisaka-kun was very happy and said that he hadn't rested for a long time, and that he could take a day off today." "On vacation? What a coincidence, do you know where she lives?" "I'm not sure. I remember she said it was in the Nerima area. You can go to the personnel department and ask." "Uchida-kun, look up Secretary Arisaka's address and go there right away. Yamada-kun will go too." The Murakawa Police Department had an unusual tone.Yamada is also a member of the Murakami group.Detective Hiraga wanted to say something with trembling lips, but he pressed it down again.After the Interpol Chief Uchida left, Murakawa turned to Ayako Yoshino. "When you left Room 3401 with Arisaka-kun, who closed the door?" "It's Arisaka-kun." "Is the door locked?" This question is also important.Because if the door is only closed but not locked, then the murderer can easily break into the room without a key. "Of course it's locked! You can tell if it's locked or not by listening to the sound. I did hear the sound of automatic locking, that's right." The waitress' denial once again erased the suspicion of Dongzi.No matter how suspicious Dongzi was, he didn't dare to take the risk of being seen through by others at a glance. The police department changed the subject. "I ask a strange question, which hand does the president like to use?" "what?" "That is to say, which hand is he dexterous with, is he right-handed or left-handed?" "I didn't pay special attention. I remembered that I was right-handed. That's right! It was indeed right-handed. I remember once when the fingers of his right hand were injured, he said that it was embarrassing that his good hand was broken." This confirmed Uchida's speculation was correct. "Who worked the night shift with you last night?" "Three room attendants." "Is there a waitress?" "According to regulations, except for cadres, waitresses are not allowed to work night shifts." "Have the waiters gone home?" "No. After this incident, the general manager said that no one should leave the company without permission." "Then, next, please go and say hello, you can go back. I'm sorry you left you until now before you rested. I hope to get your assistance in the future." Wenzi bowed and walked out of the room.After confirming that she was gone, Murakawa said: "The waiter's words seem to be trustworthy." Hiraga nodded.Thus, the possibility of the murderer using the room key and the common floor key to commit the crime was eliminated. "It now appears that the murderer used the master key in the hands of the general manager or the spare key at the main service desk." "You mean there are no other spare keys." The Murakawa Police Department is very cautious. "The murderer will use one of the spare keys to make a model out of wax or rubber. Isn't that possible?" Hiraga spoke out the thoughts that suddenly popped into his mind. "It's possible. Now Sang Tian and the others are looking for the general manager, and it will become clear sooner or later." Murakawa said.At this time, the doorbell rang.It is estimated that the male waiters came. The general manager's office is located behind the general service desk.Pushing open the iron door with "" written in English is the office.Many male and female employees are busy working inside.The ringing of telephones one after another, the light and crisp metal sounds from typewriters and computers, and the messy voices of speech, rushed towards the visitors like a sudden surge of dust. There are not a single window in the stark white walls.The orderly iron tables and iron cabinets indicate that the emphasis here is on efficiency rather than human feelings.Compared with the elegant atmosphere in the lobby and corridors, this place is quite ugly, and it is almost doubtful that it can be in the same hotel.Moreover, it has a completely different atmosphere from the messy atmosphere of newspaper editorial offices and criminal police offices that the police are most familiar with. When they found a random employee to report to the general manager, the two detectives, Kuwata and Kobayashi from the Murakawa team, felt that there was a suffocating dullness there.This dull feeling is not only caused by the environment of a fully enclosed room without windows, but also by the attitude of the staff who often worry about other people's eyes when they are working. This is just an inn that regards "customer satisfaction" as its main commodity. Soon, a young woman with the appearance of a secretary appeared, leading two criminal policemen to the depths of the office. When following the young woman into the iron door with the signboard that also says "" in English, the same elegant atmosphere as the living room reappeared. "You have worked hard." The general manager handed over the business card with "Michitaro Iguchi" and the society logo printed in hot stamping, and asked the two criminal policemen to sit down on the chairs with the trained smiling faces unique to the old mages in the service industry. He was a tall man of about fifty years of age.In his calm attitude, in addition to the unique hypocrisy of the service industry, one can feel the self-confidence of hard work, but at the same time, it also shows the posture of fighting back.Detective Kuwata simply expressed his condolences for the unexpected change of President Jiuzhu, and then went straight to the point without any hesitation. "Excuse me, does the general manager have a spare key for the entire hotel?" The problem is that finding the person who broke into the room is followed by apprehending the murderer.At the same time, the investigation always starts with the focus of the other party's easy conversation. "The key is kept by me during the day and by the chief on duty at night." "What is the exact division of time?" "The working hours of the night shift are from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next morning, so I take the key every morning when I go to work, and I have to listen to his business report, and then send the key over when I get off work at night." "What time was the handover last night?" “昨天我下班得比较早。对了，记得是6点半左右。” “很抱歉，我们是例行公事，昨夜你是怎么过的？” “哈哈！是现场不在证明吧？嘿！我是万能钥匙的保管者之一，这也是不得已的。我下班后直接回家，洗澡、吃饭，看书看到11点后就睡了。对了！我读的是的密室故事。” 总经理井口露出挪揄的笑容。 “那个总值班叫什么名字？” “有两个人，昨天晚上的叫大仓。” “我们谈完以后，你能把他找来吧。” 与事件有关的人员自然全都被先遣搜查班留下了。 “客房钥匙，旁人能做模型后再配一把备用吗？” “只要在我们旅馆里，那是绝对不可能的。我们的锁是美国制造的哥伦比圆筒销子锁，每把高达七万日元，制作精良。备用钥匙只能让制造商来配，而且必须要有销子锁的正当所有人提出的申请，不是旁人能配的那种劣质锁。” “那么，制作商那里有钥匙购买者的名单吗？” “有的。钥匙上都标有号码，号码和购买者的名字都要登录。” “以前3401号房间有没有客人将钥匙带走的？” “客人中有的人很好奇，专门收集旅馆的钥匙，但唯独3401号房间不用为此担心，因为那套房间自旅馆开业时起，就一直是社长专用房间，不向外借宿。” 桑田刑警一停止问话，一直在边上记录着总经理谈话要点的小林刑警抬起头来。 “我问一句不太妥当的话，总经理有没有感觉到有人对久住社长怀有怨恨呢？” “这……管理的家业好歹也这么大，因此所处的人际关系也非常复杂，我们无法猜度。但是，那毕竟都是业务往来，我想其性质还不至于导致凶残的犯罪。” 井口的回答小心翼翼，滴水不漏。但是，业务上的纠葛完全可以引发杀人的动机，何况久住作为实业界的大人物，生活在争权夺利的漩涡之中。不难推测，他的存在，会关系到许多人的利益。恨得想将久住杀死的决不在少数。眼下井口自己兴许也是其中一人。他的答话肯定也充分地计算了自己的处境。 “社长的变故会影响到与科林顿的业务合作吗？” 小林刑警触及到目前久住牵头的最大的业务问题。 “也许不会马上反映出来，但董事中持反对意见的也很多。” “你是说，现在还无法预测？” "This……" 井口突然含混其辞起来。 “总经理自己对这次合作有什么看法？” 刚才接到过井口的名片。小林刑警侧目朝名片上“董事”的头衔瞥了一眼，问道。 “社长生前的想法，我是赞成的，但我这样的人无足轻重……” 井口的回答仍然吞吞吐吐。 “倘若这次合作事项不成功的话，谁能获利？” “倘若那样，京滨地区同行业的人都会大大地松了一口气。” “这么说，业界是反对的啰？” “在经营政策上来说，这是私事，所以没有公开反对，但内心里都很惶然。” 从井口身上不会有再多的线索。两人接着又见了夜间总值班大仓，但只是证实万能钥匙是由他亲自送到日本银行的金库里保管起来的。于是，利用万能钥匙作案的可能性也被否定了。 在总服务台钥匙柜的背后，村川组的荒井和内藤两名刑警，见到了昨晚总服务台的夜班负责人，叫梅村的领班。正值早晨出门时间，总服务台里因旅馆查账的机械金属声、客房通知出发的内部电话铃声等一片喧哗。这也许是旅馆里最忙碌的时间。 社长去世的消息除了有关者之外还没有公开。看到这个应该称之为“服务批发工场”的大型宾馆清晨忙碌得如此井井有条，好像无论多么大的人物，充其量只是一个人的死，这类事变对一个组织的生存毛发无损。组织既是人创造的，又超越人。 如今，这家巨型宾馆虽然失去了主人，但它的脉搏跳动得与主人活着时一样，甚至比那时更有生气。 两名刑警感到自己接触到了组织无情的一面。但是，现在不是追怀那种伤感的时候。他们必须追查那个比组织更残忍的凶手。荒井先发制人道： “事件的大致情况，你已经知道了吧，所以我就直言不讳了。听说客房的备用钥匙都保管在总服务台，3401室的钥匙在吗？” “在。在这里。” 梅村看来对此有所准备，指了指数字式锁柜。 “钥匙箱里的，是要交给住宿客人的房间钥匙，备用钥匙统一保管在这个锁柜里。” 梅村一边说着，一边转动着数字打开锁柜。里面有两千套客房的备用钥匙，按各个楼面区分井然有序地悬挂着。梅村手指的那一把，正是3401号房间的钥匙。 “这个锁柜的密码还有谁知道？” “主任以上的干部，昨夜只有会计主任和我两个人。” “锁柜里面只放钥匙？” “还放着平时用的二十万元会计备用金。” 梅村指了指钥匙箱上层架子里的手提保险箱。 “在昨天晚上到今天早晨这段时间里，这锁柜打开过吗？” “没有。平时夜里总要打开两三次，昨夜没有人丢钥匙，会计手上还有备用金，所以一次也没有打开过。” “可是，你不在时，会不会有人去打开？” “即便有人打开过，必须来向我报告。钥匙关系到客人生命财产的安全，所以本旅馆对钥匙的保管倍加小心。” “会不会有人有机会知道了密码，等大家熟睡后偷偷打开？” “昨夜值班的人都留下了，所以你们去调查一下就会清楚。在我们这样大的宾馆里，总服务台整个晚上都不断人。总服务台和收款处，男服务员都轮流不睡觉，所以要将备用钥匙偷走，以后再悄悄地放回原处，这是绝对不可能的。而且昨天晚上轮到我不睡觉，我几乎没有离开过锁柜。” 梅村眨巴着布满血丝的眼睛，看来他是一个忠于职守的人。也许他真的始终没睡，一直坚守着自己的岗位。 “尤其是今天凌晨1点到2点的情况怎么样？” “这段时间，对总服务台值夜班的人来说，只是天刚黑呀！倘若是客房数不到四五百套的中小型旅馆，则是另外一回事，但客房数高达两千套，工作决不可能在凌晨4点之前结束的。大家都没有打瞌睡。而且值得庆幸的是，最近尽管是淡季，客人也不见少，总服务台每天都忙不得暇。” 梅村流露出一流宾馆服务员的自豪和对高强度工作的畏惧。的确，倘若提到具有两千套客房的巨型宾馆，用通常中小型旅馆的概念是行不通的。尤其是最近兴起的旅游热潮，以前被称为“二、八月份淡季”这一城市旅馆冬夏闲季的概念渐渐淡化，京滨地区的旅馆保持着常年超过90％住房率的世界最高记录。 说90％，这家宾馆就是有一千八百套客房订出。从人数来讲到底是多少？总服务台每天要接送这么多客人，工作量的确非同一般。 荒井刑警亲眼目睹此刻旅馆出发高峰时总服务台的繁忙景象，所以才能够切身地体会到梅村说话的含义。四周服务员接待客人时的言行举止仿佛都受过严格的训练，有一定的规范。故且不论这样做是否妥当，但大型宾馆无一例外都要采用这样的接客方式。 荒井克制着对这陌生领域的无限感慨，继续问道： “那么，昨天晚上到今天早晨，有客人拜访3401号房间吗？” “这我无法作肯定回答。我这么说，是因为有的来访者不通过服务台直接到房间里去的。至少总服务台没有接待过找社长的客人。” “进房间可以不通过总服务台吗？” “原则上要通过我们，但来访者随便走进房间，我们防不胜防。总之，客人进进出出很多，所以无法分清是住宿客人还是来访者。” “打电话呢？” “电话不作记录，所以很难查清。这事你们接着可以找总机问一下，也许会有人记得。总服务台没有接到过任何打给社长的电话。客房要打电话都可以直接拨号，电话计数器会记录通话次数，昨夜社长房间的次数是零。” 昨夜上夜班的人都还没有回家。与梅村结束谈话以后，两名刑警又依次向昨夜值班的人进行了解，但全都是证实梅村的话，没有出现新的线索。打了总机，结果亦然。为了谨慎，还见了昨夜到今晨担任房间检查的警卫人员，据说也没有任何异常。于是，对大堂备用钥匙的怀疑也消失了。

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Notes: . ——译者注