Chapter 17 first quarter

The hot spring area in Kamisuwa is far from the lakeside.The lake cannot be seen from the hotel in the hot spring area.Opening the window of the "Kogetsu" where Tashiro Risuke stayed, he could only glimpse the roofs of densely packed residential buildings. "It's a shame!" Tashiro was very dissatisfied. Because the receptionist forced him to come here, he asked the waitress: "Is there no better room?" "Sorry, only this one is vacant, the other rooms are full." The maid said expressionlessly. Tashiro was not in the mood to find another hotel, so he had to settle down.

Due to the fatigue of the journey, he slept soundly all night.When he woke up in the morning, Hexi's sunlight had already shone on the paper window. Tashiro called the maid and said: "I'll take a shower first, please prepare breakfast." After finishing speaking, he took a towel and walked out of the room.The waitress nodded coldly and walked away. Maybe he slept well last night, Tashiro soaked in the steaming hot spring water, and the fatigue of the past few days seemed to be washed away.He felt courage and vitality in him.Sunlight streamed in through the windows, and the bathwater was glowing white.

Tashiro soaked his whole body in hot water, and while washing, he secretly decided to go to Shimo-Suwa, Okaya, and Chino stations to investigate today.He knew it would be too troublesome to do so, but if he just went back to Tokyo, it would be impossible to make a special investigation.Maybe the investigation won't yield any results, but you can always get rid of a piece of your heart disease. Tashiro felt that he might be too stubborn. After taking a shower and returning to the guest room, breakfast is already on the table. "You're back." The waitress greeted him unnaturally, "Let me serve you a meal?"

"No need." Tian Xie said desperately, "I can eat whatever I want." He thought it would be more convenient for him to be alone than to be accompanied by such a maid. The newspaper of the day was placed on the dining table. Before eating, Tashiro picked up the newspaper and read it casually. Suddenly, he was attracted by a line of eye-catching headlines: "Ryohei Yamakawa disappeared ten days ago" It turned out that the news broadcast he heard while half asleep on the train was exactly this. Ryohei Yamakawa is missing—— It was such a sensational piece of news that it was no wonder the radio stations were the first to report it.Ryohei Yamakawa is a real power faction in the political circle.His actions, good or bad, have immediate political and financial repercussions.

Now that this big man suddenly "disappears", of course the press must take it very seriously. Tashiro read the news carefully: "...It is reported that Mr. Yamakawa Ryohei, a powerful figure in the political circle, has disappeared suddenly for ten days... On March 24, Mr. Yamakawa visited the president of the ruling party who was recuperating in Zushi and had a meeting. He returned to Tokyo around 7 o'clock that night, After T Hotel invited an entrepreneur to dinner, he took a private car to the 'Silver Nightclub'. At that time, Mr. Shanchuan told the accompanying car driver K that he would go back by another car and there was no need to wait, so the driver was ordered to leave.

"It has been proven that Shanchuan stayed at the 'Silver Nightclub' until about nine o'clock. He had been talking at the table with a gentleman who was a stranger and was visiting the nightclub for the first time. It is also known that someone called the nightclub at that time Look for Mr. Shanchuan, after the waiter conveyed it, Mr. Shanchuan left his seat to answer the phone, and promised the person on the phone to go right away, according to the waiter’s report, it was a woman who heard the voice on the phone.” Soon after Shanchuan answered the phone, he walked out of the nightclub with the gentleman, took a taxi in front of the door and left, and never contacted his family and friends again.

The reason why the news has not been announced is that the Shanchuan family has several mistresses. When they are tired from work, they often go to the mistress's place to relax, sometimes staying for three days in a row, and usually do not contact others.On the third night after his disappearance, because there was something urgent to tell him, Shanchuan's family members called him to ask where he might go, and finally found that he did not go to his mistress's place, and he was nowhere to be found.So on the morning of the 27th, he formally reported the case to the police and requested a search.Considering Shanchuan's social status, the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a secret search, but found no clues, and finally announced the news of Shanchuan's disappearance at 10:00 a.m. today, April 2nd.

At present, the Metropolitan Police Department has not yet expressed its opinion on the issue of Shanchuan's life and death. " The lower column of this news also published the conversations of several relevant people: "Minister Ihara of the Metropolitan Police Department said: ...The disappearance of Ryohei Yamakawa on the night of March 24 was reported by his family members on the morning of the 27th. It is reported that because of the special living habits of Yamakawa, it was not reported at that time. The family did not worry, so they did not report the case for two and a half days after the disappearance, which made the search difficult to some extent. Regarding the situation of the gentleman who was with Shan Chuan in the nightclub and the woman who called Shan Chuan Clues have not yet been obtained. Although the Shanchuan family has an important position in the political circle, the disappearance seems to have no political color. As for the life and death of the Shanchuan family, it is difficult to express an opinion recently. Because the situation is really unpredictable."

"Mr. A, the waiter at the Silver Nightclub, said:...Mr. Shanchuan often visits this club, and I know him very well. That time, it seemed that his guest had arrived one step ahead. After he was seated, he came forward to say hello, and then the two had an intimate conversation. The waitress was not required to be present at the time. The guest was a strange gentleman of thirty-five or six years old, who was here for the first time." "Nightclub hostess B said:... I answered the phone at that time, and a lady's voice on the phone asked if Mr. Shanchuan was there. I asked who she was, and she said that Mr. Shanchuan would understand when he answered the phone. I I reported her words to Mr. Shanchuan truthfully, and the husband said: "Understood." Then he explained to the guests sitting on the side, and went to the phone and said a few words to the lady on the phone. At that time, in order to avoid Far away, I didn’t hear clearly, only heard the last loud sentence from Mr. “Okay, I’ll go to your place right away.” Listening to the voice, the lady on the phone does not look like a young woman, but a woman in her thirties.”

"Mrs. Shanchuan said: ...My husband is usually not vigilant enough, he goes everywhere by himself. But he always asks the accompanying driver to wait outside. I don't know anything about my husband's whereabouts." "A cadre of the Conservative Party said:... The news of Mr. Shanchuan's disappearance is very unexpected. The current political situation is stable, and Mrs. Shanchuan should live in peace. Some people say that he was kidnapped. I don't think we can jump to conclusions so rashly. In short, I hope to find him as soon as possible. .” Because the missing person was Ryohei Yamakawa, a power figure in the political circle, the newspapers also concentrated their efforts on reporting.

Although the Metropolitan Police Department said that it was too late for the family members to report the crime, it also pointed out that this was caused by Mr. Shanchuan's special living habits.In particular, the facts were announced to the press three days after the start of the search, presumably because of Shanchuan's status and influence. In any event, this unusual event has already hit the press. However, Tashiro was not interested in this matter. Ryohei Yamakawa has long been heard of through newspapers and magazines, and his image has also been seen in photos.Tashiro just faintly felt that another major event had occurred in Japan. Because he has no direct relationship with himself, he is indifferent to this matter. After Tashiro read the newspaper and finished his breakfast, the waitress came in with a straight face to clear away the dishes. "Hey, I'm leaving now, please pay the bill. Also, please call a taxi immediately." "understood." The waitress saluted perfunctorily and left.This hotel is really unpleasant. After Tashiro got into the taxi, he felt happy. "Where are you going?" asked the driver. "Go to Shimo-Suwa Station." The car crossed Hotel Street onto the highway, heading north.Lake Suwa gradually appeared in the far left front, getting closer. The surface of the lake is still chilly, and the town of Okayu on the other side is shrouded in a light morning mist.A white yacht splits the lake water and sails away in a hurry. The car runs on an ancient road called "Zhongxian Road".On the right is a hilly slope with cherry and peach trees remaining on the slope.An oncoming large bus slowed down and passed by. Although a big incident happened in Tokyo, it is still a breezy and idyllic scene, full of spring everywhere. Thirty minutes later, the taxi arrived at Shimosuwa Station. Tashiro immediately went to the baggage handling area of ​​the station.The things he inquired about were the same as the previous few times, so he blurted out almost the same words. "Oh, I can't find the result just by what you said." The answer of the station staff had already been expected. "Please go to the warehouse in front of the station and inquire about it." The staff at this station seem to be more enthusiastic than other places. At the warehouse, the clerk checked the account and said that the goods had not been accepted.Tashiro plucked up his last courage and came to Okaya Station with only a glimmer of hope in his heart. He first went into the warehouse in front of Okaya Station to inquire, but still found nothing. When he came to the window of the freight office of the station, it was actually hopeless. After Tashiro repeated the same question as the previous few times, the station staff thought about it and asked! : "Is it a wooden box packed with cattails?" The staff member was a young man of about twenty-two or three years old, and Tashiro seemed to feel some hope from his thoughtful demeanor. "Where is the delivery station?" The staff took the account and began to search. "Shinjuku." The staff pointed to a place on the account and asked, "Who is the consignor?" It seemed that the goods he was looking for must have arrived, Tashiro was at a loss for a moment, he didn't know whether to answer "Kawai" or "Arakawa". "It's Kawagoro." Tashiro resolutely chose the former and replied. "The goods have arrived." The staff told Tashiro clearly. "Oh, has the goods really arrived?" Tashiro couldn't help asking.His heart was pounding.The long-awaited "goods" finally appeared. "It's here, but it has been taken away by the consignee." The staff member said. "What day did you take it?" "Four days ago." Tashiro did a quick mental calculation and found that four days ago was the day he left Tokyo.From this point of view, "Kawaai Goro" came to Okaya Station on the shore of Lake Suwa to pick up goods the day before he went to Lake Aoki.From the perspective of geographical location and ride sequence, this is also reasonable. "How much does that item weigh?" Tashiro asked. "What's your relationship with that item?" The staff looked at Tashiro and asked, which was reasonable. "To tell you the truth, the real owner of that item is me, and shipping the item in the name of the buyer is just a stopgap measure." Tashiro said with an excuse, "But now, because of the contents of that item, I have a dispute with the other party. If you know the weight, you can roughly distinguish who is right..." After listening to Tashiro's words, the young staff seemed to dispel their doubts: "It weighs 13.5 kilograms, is 50 centimeters long, and 52 centimeters wide. It is approximately square in shape and 20 centimeters high." Tashiro wrote these figures down in his notebook. "How is it? Is it the same as yours?" The staff asked seriously. "That's right." Tadaro Toshisuke replied excitedly. "What is the name of the product?" Tashiro asked again. "Soap ingredients." The staff looked at Dilian and said. This item is exactly the same as the one at Haikou Station. "That's weird! There is no soap factory in this area, so what are you doing transporting soap raw materials?" The young staff looked at Tashiro in puzzlement. These words made sense, and Tashiro had already felt this.He began to guess in his mind that the contents of the goods were not soap ingredients. "No, these soap raw materials are used in other industrial sectors." Tashiro knew that since he claimed to be the owner of the goods, he couldn't hide it without lying. "Really?" The staff looked at Tashiro and said in a warning tone: "Since you are the owner of the goods, let me tell you the truth. The goods should be packed with stronger materials, otherwise they will be easily damaged." "Did it cause you trouble during transportation?" Tashiro asked with an apologetic expression. "The wooden box was bumped in one place, revealing the contents inside." "Uh?" Tashiro was a little surprised, but at the same time a burst of joy welled up in his heart, and he swallowed involuntarily. "A corner of the wooden box was damaged, and the cattail bag was worn through. The railway transportation will inevitably collide, and the porters will use too much force when loading and unloading, so please pack it more firmly in the future." The staff advised. "Is the stuff inside really exposed?" Tashiro wanted to know about this. "Yes, the wooden box is broken, and something is exposed through the gap." "What is it?" Tashiro forgot his identity as a "consignor" for a moment. Sure enough, the staff showed a strange expression. He seemed to want to ask Tashiro, as the owner of the goods, why he didn't know what was in the goods, but then he thought again, probably thinking that Tashiro asked such a question because of a dispute during the delivery of the goods. Come. "It's indeed bile soap." The staff member replied. "Soap?" "Smooth white soap. Seems to be in one piece instead of lots of little bars." "what?" The situation was beyond Tashiro's expectations. Tashiro originally thought that "soap raw material" was just a fake name, and the goods must contain something else. Although he couldn't guess what it was, at least he was sure it was not soap raw material. However, he didn't know that the staff told him that it contained real soap.Tashiro's conjecture was completely in vain. "Is what you saw really soap?" Tashiro asked again, still not giving up. "Yes, you can't be wrong, it is indeed milky white, hard, smooth soap." The staff replied. Tashiro left the station and walked towards the lake.As he walked, he thought, since "Chuanhe" took the goods here, they must have thrown them into the lake. This was done in Lake Aoki and Lake Kizaki, and Lake Suwa was no exception. There are many silk reeling factories in Okaya Town.There are many chimneys of empty silk reeling factories in the town, but none of them smoke. Before the war, Okaya was a famous silk reeling industrial area.In recent years, industries such as precision instruments, clocks and photographic equipment have developed rapidly, quickly replacing the declining silk reeling industry and bringing prosperity to the town. However, Tashiro did not come to visit the streets and factories. He planned to find a few fishermen by the lake to learn about the situation. Suwa Lake is very large, and the shore of the lake has gentle shoals like the sea. Because the lake water on the shore is too shallow, if you want to throw things into the lake, you have to go to the center of the lake by boat. Tashiro Toshisuke wanted to find out from the fishermen whether the pudgy man had ever borrowed a boat. Facing the drying nets, Tashiro quickly found the fishermen's residential area.Carp, crucian carp, eel and egret are abundant here.An old fisherman is sitting in the sunny place mending his nets. "Excuse me." Tashiro stepped forward to salute. "Ah?" The old man raised his head. Tashiro asked the old fisherman if a chunky man had borrowed a boat four days ago. "It's hard to say." The old fisherman turned his head, "I haven't been to my house, and I don't know if I have been to other people's houses. Let me ask you." The old fisherman was a warm-hearted person, so he stood up and went to various houses to inquire. After waiting for a long time, no one came back.Tashiro reckoned that the enthusiastic old man must have gone to the homes of all the fishermen he knew, and was not hesitating to ask questions. Toshisuke Tashiro looked towards the lake, and Shimosuwa Town happened to be on the other side. The houses located on the gentle slope looked small and chic, and the white bungalows and red roofs were faintly discernible.The yacht sails across the lake, and music and the voice of the commentator are broadcast from the loudspeaker on the boat. There are several fishing boats floating on the lake.There is also a device like a drilling platform erected on the lake, probably in order to use the hot springs gushing from the bottom of the lake, and exploration is underway. Tashiro turned around and looked towards the shore. There was a winding road on the hill, and the white bus was slowly crawling up like a bug.This hill is called Shiojiri Ridge. Over the hill is the Pine Basin, and a few white clouds float over the hill. Tashiro was attracted by the scenery of the lake and mountains for a moment.After about a few cigarettes, there were footsteps behind him. Looking back, I saw the old man leading a young man over just now. The young man has a strong physique and a dark face. He is also a fisherman at a glance.Tashiro took the finished cigarette from his mouth and threw it away. "I'm sorry, but I still haven't clarified what you inquired about." The old man said, "Some people are not at home now. I don't know if they have seen them. Only this young man said that he had seen a person who was very similar to what you said, so I sent him Brought it." "Thank you very much." Toshisuke Tashiro bowed and said, "I have caused you trouble during my busy schedule." "That's all right. I don't know if I can be of any help to you yet. Let him tell the story, then." Under the urging of the old man, the young fisherman took a few steps forward and started talking to Tashiro. "I heard that you asked about the situation four days ago, so I remembered something." "Oh? What's the matter?" Tashiro shifted his gaze to the young man. "Four nights ago, I rowed to that area..." The young man pointed to a forest on the right side of the lake, "I wanted to catch some eels, when an unknown boat came and stopped nearby. Because There was no moon that night, and there was a light hanging on the bow of the boat, so I couldn't see the people on the boat clearly. When I was concentrating on fishing, there was a sudden sound of water, and the boat shook accordingly. I scolded him, 'Bastard!', look It looked like a big stone was thrown into the lake, which caused strong water waves, which affected my fishing. That boat is really ugly, it doesn't look like a local fisherman..." Tashiro Risuke boarded the train to Chino at Okaya Station. Chino stands on the central line, and it is convenient to go back to Tokyo just passing by. On the way, the train passed Kami-Suwa Station again, and tourists who came to the hot springs swarmed into the train, and several geisha-like women stood on the platform to see them off. Thirty minutes later, the train pulled into Chino Station.Chino is a small town on the plateau, and it is also well-known as an agar producing area. As soon as he got out of the station, Tashiro saw many ancient buildings. There are several buses parked in the square in front of the station, with signs such as "Go to Kamisuwa", "Go to Ryoko" and "Go to Shirakaba Lake". Although Tashiro's target was Shirakaba Lake and Tateshina Lake, he still went to the luggage freight office and the warehouse to check first. "We have not received the goods you mentioned." "We generally know the goods that come here, but we have no memory of the goods you mentioned." Both the station and the warehouse denied that they had received such goods. Tashiro asked again if he had seen a chunky man come to pick up the goods. "I've never seen it. The people who come here to pick up the goods are probably locals, and they are very familiar. If there are strangers who come to pick up the goods, they will definitely leave an impression." This explanation makes sense, Tashiro thought, Lake Shirakaba and Tateshina Lake are small artificial lakes, the lake water is not deep, and the environment is not secluded enough, so "Kawaai Goro" probably has not been here. Tashiro took the next train out of Chino.Strangely, he didn't even have any interest in going to Baihua Lake and Liaoke Lake for photography. It seems that the dumpy man did not throw "goods" into these two lakes.It is estimated that he first went to Lake Suwa, and then went to Lake Kizaki and Lake Aoki. What was in those wooden boxes? According to the staff at Okaya Station, what was exposed after the wooden box was smashed was indeed soap.But why was the soap raw material transported here from Tokyo on purpose and then sank to the bottom of the lake? Of course, whether it was those "goods" that were thrown into the lake has not yet been ascertained, this is only Tashiro's imagination.However, he believes that his judgment will not be overwhelmed. Tashiro wasted a lot of time on this trip to the lake, and he was exhausted.The original plan was to go to several lakes in the Northeast, so I had no choice but to stop there. Regarding the complicated issues encountered in the past few days, Tashiro decided to think slowly after returning to Tokyo.Now, he wants to sleep well. It was evening when the train passed Kofu Station.Tashiro bought an evening paper on the platform and read it. "Shanchuan Liangping's whereabouts are still unknown", a line of headlines caught his eyes again. Tashiro was not interested in this, nor did he read what it was about, so he put down the newspaper and went to sleep.