Chapter 51 first quarter

The clerk fiddled with the summons desperately. In order to calm his excitement, Tashiro took out his cigarette and smoked it in big gulps. After a while, the clerk stopped fiddling and stared at a summons. "Yes, yes." The clerk turned and said to Tashiro. "Huh? It really does exist!" Tashiro couldn't help shouting. "Please let me have a look!" The clerk got up from his desk and went to the counter.In order for Tashiro to see clearly, he specially turned the subpoena upside down to show him. This is a consignment note. "Is it this one?" The clerk pressed the summons with his fingers, and it read:

"Item——Planing knife for mechanical planing, one set. Sender: XX Sawmill, destination—Tachikawa Station on the Central Line." Looking at the date, it was sent away ten days ago.Tashiro wrote it down in his notebook immediately. "thanks." Tashiro was satisfied.He bowed respectfully to the clerk. As he walked on the road, he thought, when he set off from Tokyo, he had estimated this way, and the result was completely expected. After the sawmill had chipped away the "paraffin bag" of the human body, it was bound to get grease on the planers of the mechanical planers.Besides, after cutting various parts of the human body, there will definitely be a lot of grease.

A few days ago, when he was visiting the Supervising Hospital, he heard from the chief of the medical department that any blade would go bad immediately after cutting the paraffin-sealed organs. Tashiro was aware of this, and he deduced: If the small sawmill in Kashiwahara Town was supposed to be a corpse disposal site, then after cutting the corpses, the planers they used must be brought to the repair shop to be sharpened. A layman would not know how to sharpen this kind of planer, and it is impossible for a small town like Kashiwahara to have such equipment, so Tashiro estimated that the sawmill must send the planer to a factory with this equipment for processing.

If this is true, then prove your inference is correct.So he deliberately came to Kashiwa from Tokyo to confirm this. From the very beginning, he was suspicious of the sawmill.But he never imagined that he would put the paraffin-sealed body together with the wooden box on a mechanical planer for cutting, so as to eliminate the evidence. What a cruel and ingenious way to deal with it! He strolled towards the sawmill, thinking that he could hear the roar of mechanical saws and machine guns from a long distance away.However, there was no sound, and occasionally someone's baby was heard crying.

"Strange!"—thought he. "Is it a strike again today?" Tashiro hastily turned the corner and walked towards the sawmill.He was tongue-tied and couldn't help being stunned. It turned out that the sawmill was gone. You are right!The mountains, rivers and villages here remain the same.Only the little sawmill was leveled. Tashiro even doubted his eyesight, could it be that he saw a ghost during the day? However, this is no phantom, and the sawmill is surrounded by signs of demolition. Tashiro stood on the ruins and looked around. The equipment here was indeed very simple. The house didn't even have a foundation.

The lumber which had been removed from the shed was tied up with ropes and laid aside in bundles, but no other decent lumber was found which could be used as a commodity. Tashiro stood there bewildered for a while, then a thought flashed in his mind, the gang from the sawmill must have escaped, and the true colors of this gang have long been exposed.When they all denied in front of the police department that they had seen Tashiro, Tashiro knew it already. A crow flew across the sky and made a "quack" on Tashiro's head, as if mocking him. Tashiro suddenly felt that his legs were heavy and he couldn't walk.He strode listlessly towards the nearby farmhouse with heavy steps.A housewife in her fifties came out in sandals.

"Let me inquire, where did the sawmill here move?" Tashiro asked. "Ah—" the housewife replied blankly. "When was this sawmill dismantled?" "Three days ago." After hearing it three days ago, Tashiro was at a loss.That said, the sawmill moved shortly after he left Kashiwahara and returned to Tokyo.It must be that they noticed Tashiro's intentions and hurriedly destroyed the silver wood factory. "Do you know where you moved to?" Tashiro asked. "This—" the aunt replied with no expression on her face, "I don't know, they didn't say anything."

"Then the people at this sawmill aren't local!" The peasant woman shook her head. "No, they are all foreigners, and I have never seen them before." "What started this sawmill?" "Hmm..." The peasant woman thought for a moment, then tilted her head. "It seems like two months ago!" "two months" Two months, this time is too short, is this sawmill built to dispose of corpses? "What kind of man is the owner of the sawmill?" "Didn't I just say that? I have never had contact with them, they are complete strangers."

"Anyone around here who knows about this sawmill?" "I'm afraid not! They never speak to anyone around them." In this way, all clues are broken. Tashiro remembered that the last time he came here, he had personally seen a mechanical saw sawing lumber. Although the quantity was not much, the sawed lumber was piled up in front of the hut. In other words, this sawmill must accept external orders for processing!However, it is too troublesome to find the main customer who ordered the order, and it would be easier to find a colleague who saws wood. "Are there other sawmills on this street?" Tashiro asked.

"Yes, there is. There is a sawmill called Marui in the first mile of the station. It is an old mill." "In the inner side of the station?" Tashiro wrote it down in his notebook immediately. "Thank you, sorry for your trouble." Tashiro turned around and said goodbye, walked towards the inner head of the station, and immediately found the Marui Sawmill. Tashiro asked the person in charge of the Marui Sawmill, and the person in charge replied: "That sawmill The wood factory is not our partner. We don't know each other, it's too inexplicable."

"Too inexplicable, what does this mean?" "They are all outsiders. My impression is that outsiders are eager to do business in this business. In our industry, the horizon is not very wide. The outsider can tell the insider at a glance. The sawmill made it clearer, it was' Black households'." The tone of the person in charge of Marui's speech has a taste of "peering against each other", but his words are too harsh. "What does 'black house' mean?" "They don't join our guild, and they don't deal with their peers. This kind of people are called 'black households'. We all have regular customers in our industry and understand the needs of customers. And that sawmill has no regular customers at all. They The only way is to bargain, the wages are low, and some customers just give them the work because of the low processing fee." The person in charge licked his tongue and continued: "But looking at their work is really bad. To put it bluntly, it is a mess. Some customers are greedy for cheap, but after seeing their work, they will never patronize again. Such people still want to do business. It is predicted, and it will collapse in a short time, as expected, you see!" After that, he was a little complacent. "So you don't know anyone from that sawmill!" "Yes, we don't know each other. There are not many people in our business. Who is there? What is it doing? Just ask. But that sawmill is a layman and a fake.!" "thanks." Marui is responsible for getting angry with them, which is understandable.These words provided a reference for Tashiro.In short, the people in this sawmill did not do this business, but for another purpose. In other words, this sawmill was a corpse disposal site. Tashiro wandered around Kashiwahara Street without a clue. He is thinking about the question: This crime involves many people. The first thing he thought of was Tochigi Village: At that time, there were at least four or five people besieging him. The second is the sawmill. In addition to the worker who tricked him to go to Tochigi Village, there are seven or eight people.It can be concluded that all the workers of this disguised sawmill are accomplices. If all the workers in this sawmill are related to the cutting of "paraffin-wrapped corpses", then they are accomplices. Tashiro was besieged in Tochigi Village. Could it be that those people were all workers in the sawmill?No wonder the voices heard in the dark seem to have been heard somewhere.It turned out that I heard it at the sawmill, and it was not bad at all. By the way, the sawmill shuts down for the night.It was extremely natural for them to go to Tochigi Village to besiege Tashiro together. So, where have they all moved at this moment? In order to dispose of the corpses, they built a camouflaged sawmill in this town of Baiyuan. Now that the task is completed, the sawmill is no longer needed, and they declared "closed."No, not "out of business", but in order to eliminate the evidence of disposing of the corpse. Their purpose has been achieved. Thinking of this, Tashiro thought about another fact, and suddenly changed his face.Now that the fake sawmill has done its job, there is no need to repair the planer blades of the mechanical planers.But they did take it for repairs, and it was clearly written on the consignment note at the station. So why would they bother repairing the planer?There can only be one explanation here, they are still planning to kill the third person!And do the same. Tashiro couldn't help feeling horrified. Now that they have gone to repair the planer, maybe they are still building a fake sawmill elsewhere. Who is the third murder target they have set their sights on? Tashiro thought of himself. Because I have been involved in this incident quite deeply, the possibility that they did not kill myself cannot be ruled out.What's more, he has received several "warnings" so far. In Tochigi Village, fortunately, he was rescued by the "Woman in the Mist". So where did the gang move to? Tashiro continued to walk on the streets of Kashiwahara. At this moment, he had forgotten the time of the train back to Tokyo. As he walked, his mind was filled with various questions. ——Are the workers at the sawmill the same group as the besiegers in Tochigi Village? They are a group, and the group commits crimes in partnership, which is the characteristic of this case. The taxi driver said that he saw three men in another car besides "Elm" and "Madam Boss" in the open space of Setagaya, as well as the workers of the disguised soap factory built on the open space. a group. Where did the fake sawmill go after they dismantled it?It is very likely that the original team moved to another place. In short, they did not act separately, but the whole group moved to another place. However, they act collectively and easily attract attention.The safest way is for everyone to act separately, but judging from past signs, it is more likely that they will adopt a group approach. So where did they set up a new sawmill?Judging from the fact that they repaired mechanical planers, rebuilding the sawmill was quite possible. In other words, if they were to do the same with the body of the "third" victim, the sawmill would have to be rebuilt. While walking, Tashiro thought, and unknowingly came to a familiar street. He remembered that the house with "Hejing Wenzuo" hanging on the door was in this alley. The last time I was here, the house was empty.Now that I have come here, let me take a look, how is the current situation? He stood in front of the empty house, the door was still tightly closed, strange!There are generally no vacancies in houses in the countryside.Look carefully, there is still no nameplate at the door.he asked the people nearby. The answer was: "Yes! This house has been vacant until now. Someone came to see the house a few days ago, but they couldn't negotiate." "Why can't we talk about it?" "I'm not sure about that." The old man replied, "It's said that this house is eerie, which doesn't match." The word "gloomy" made Tashiro's heart tremble involuntarily.He remembered that when he came last time, he walked into the garden to look at the layout of the house. At that time, he felt that the surrounding atmosphere was indeed gloomy, as if a ladle of cold water had been poured on his head. It seems that this is not only my own feeling, but other people also feel this way. "Why do you say it is eerie?" Tashiro asked intentionally. "I don't know much about this." The old man replied, "I heard that people who liked this house at first felt gloomy and uncomfortable when they entered this house, so the negotiation failed. This house has been vacant until now. " "I heard that the man surnamed He Jing lived here for a year, didn't he?" "Yes, almost a year." "Then Kawai-kun didn't say that this house is eerie?" "Yes, I haven't heard him say that. So the tenant before Hejing moved here has lived there for a long time." "Who is the landlord of this house?" "It's not far from here, about a road away. It's a seed shop." "thanks." Tashiro said goodbye to the old man. Tashiro followed the path pointed out by the old man, and after a while, he found a seed shop with boxes of seeds and seedlings at the door, which is often seen in rural towns. "Excuse me!" Tashiro greeted the boss standing in front of the store, "I want to inquire about the house you rented out." When the boss heard that someone was renting his house, he smiled kindly and said, "Please, please come in!" He immediately called Tashiro into the house. "I have a cousin who wants to move to Baiyuan, but he can't find a house everywhere. I heard that your family has a vacant house for rent. I think it's suitable. What do you think?" "That's great!" "Has your house not been rented yet?" "Not yet. You can go and have a look if you think it suits you." "Well, I'm just going to see the inside of the house. Who can show me there?" "Okay, I'll send a clerk to show you there with a key." The owner of the seed shop sent a young clerk to lead Tashiro to look at the house. When they came to the gate, the clerk unlocked it and bent slightly. "Please!" The clerk hurriedly opened the casement window to let the sunlight in, so that Tashiro could see clearly. This is a typical country house, the living room is very spacious, as big as eight mats, and there is a hearth in the center. Perhaps because of preconceived psychological effects, Tashiro felt eerie when he entered the room. The ceiling was blackened by soot, and the tatami mats and partitions were dilapidated. Tashiro stood in the center of the room, and he could see the rustling garden just by raising his eyelids. His vision during the day should be different from that at night, but the impression Tashiro got was the same as at night. Tashiro lifted up the tatami mats to have a look, because he was under the banner of "renting a house", so such an action did not seem unnatural.He found nothing unusual. He opened the partition again and looked at the closet, which was empty.He looked up at the ceiling again.Because the floor furnace was burning in the house, soot smoked the ceiling black, and he was embarrassed to poke the ceiling with a stick. "How many people are there in the tenant's family?" Tashiro asked. "Two people, Fumisaku Kawai and his sister." "Sister? How old is she?" "Twenty-one or two years old, she looks pretty." Tashiro pretended not to hear this sentence as if nothing had happened, and asked again: "What is Fumisaku Kawai's occupation?" "This... I don't know very well. It seems that I have a certain property in the country, and rely on this income to live comfortably. Occasionally, when I am happy, I row a boat to fish in Lake Nojiri. His sister sometimes borrows a boat to go to the lake. fishing." "His sister also went fishing in the lake? Really?" Tashiro suddenly became excited. "Yes, I see her often." Tashiro remembered that the last time he returned to the hotel from the lakeside village of Nojiri, he happened to catch a glimpse of a fisherman coming ashore from a boat. The proprietress of the teahouse also said: "She is from Baiyuan Town, and she often fishes here." Tashiro grabbed the clerk's shoulder and asked eagerly, "What does his sister's face look like?" The clerk was momentarily speechless. Tashiro took the night train back to Tokyo, and took a nap on the train. This case was like entering a long tunnel. At this moment, a needle-like light was found in front of Tongyuan. This light was gradually expanding and would soon reach the exit of the tunnel. Tashiro felt the same at this moment. However, there are still many things that have not been clarified. Where did this criminal group, including the fisherman's daughter, escape to? Tashiro thought it was impossible for them to disband and go their separate ways. Judging from the current situation, they still hugged and moved elsewhere. He thought indifferently: the group's destination was Tokyo, and they were planning the third murder. The question is, can such a large group go unnoticed wherever they go? They can't stay in one place for a long time, anyway, they often have to move. Is their old nest in Tokyo?Because the disguised soap factory was built in Tokyo, but Kashiwahara, which is far away from Tokyo, was chosen to dispose of the corpse. This may be out of a criminal psychology that confuses the police. Besides, Ryohei Yamakawa was kidnapped in Tokyo. They have completed their "mission", and of course they have to return to their old nest - Tokyo. However, where are they in the huge Tokyo? Yesterday's trip to Kashiwahara was not in vain.Holding this little "effect", Tashiro boarded the train back to Tokyo. He leaned against the back of the chair and finally fell asleep hazily.When he woke up, it was already dawn, and the train was driving on the outskirts of Tokyo. He looked out of the car window, and the people who went to work hurriedly left the house with their purses, and the housewives watched them go away. On the road parallel to the railway, passengers wait anxiously at the bus station for the long-overdue bus. What a peaceful scene! However, behind this peaceful scenery, a big conspiracy is going on that is difficult for the kind-hearted common people to know.Ordinary people are unimaginable. The train arrives at Shinjuku Station. Tashiro stepped out of the car door with his suitcase, and as soon as he stepped onto the platform, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. This idea is nothing else, but the whereabouts of the criminal group that he has been thinking about these days suddenly has a clue.It may not be appropriate to say "clues". In short, he got a "revelation". Of course, this "revelation" has yet to be proved by the facts in the future. Tashiro returned to the apartment.Because he didn't sleep well last night, he threw himself on the bed and fell asleep. It was already before noon when the aunt who took care of him woke him up. The aunt sat next to his pillow with a smile on her face. "I'm not at home, I'm fine!" "Well, no," said the aunt. "Yes, a man came to visit you, and when he heard that you were not in, he left without a word." "What kind of person is it?" "It's the first time I've seen him. He's about thirty years old." "What is your name?" "He didn't say anything. He said he would come to see you, so he left in a hurry." Tashiro tilted his head—who is this person? "Didn't he ask anything?" "He asked Mr. Tashiro where he was? I said he was on a business trip! He kept asking where did he go? Where did he go?" "Didn't you tell him?" "The other party didn't announce the name, so I didn't tell him. I just said, I don't know too well. He said, is it? Then I will come back later, thank you and leave." Tashiro thought: Auntie's handling was very appropriate. He felt an invisible black hand reaching out to him, and suddenly became nervous. After eating the toast made by his aunt, he packed his things and went to his studio. The assistant Kisaki saw him and said affectionately: "You are back!" Kisaki reports to him on his work during his business trip. "Is there anything special?" Tashiro asked. "Only two or three people called you." "Who?" Tashiro immediately remembered the person Auntie mentioned. "A man named Guanwei." "Official tail?" This name has never been heard. "What are you talking about?" "He asked: When did you come back? Where did you go? He said he was an acquaintance of yours." "Did you tell him?" "No, because you told me before you left." "That's good." Who is this?I went to the apartment to inquire, and then called the studio to inquire. Tashiro felt an invisible hand reaching out to his side. "I'm going out for a while, and I won't be here today." Tashiro said to Kisaki, "I will call you, and if there is anything, you can report to me." "I see." Tashiro explained the work procedure to Kisaki and left the studio.He took a taxi to go to the newspaper office, not the R newspaper office, but another newspaper office. The newspaper has his acquaintances and often deals with him for photography. "A rare guest!" The man called out affectionately when he came to the reception room to meet Tashiro. "There is one thing I don't ask of you today." "What's up?" "I want to find some books from the investigation department." The man replied: "Outsiders are prohibited from entering and leaving the investigation department. Tell me the title of the book, and I will borrow it for you. What kind of situation do you want to know, and I can find some suitable information for you." "It's a book about that." Tashiro wrote some book titles in pencil in the note pad in the reception room. The friend from the newspaper office read it for a long time and smiled. "A book that has nothing to do with photography!" Tashiro got on the elevator under the guidance of his friend. He waited at the entrance of the investigation department. After a while, the friend came out and said: "They said they don't quite understand, please go in and find out for yourself. Since the people from the investigation department have spoken, you can go in, it's okay." "Really? Thank you so much." Tashiro entered the investigation department under the guidance of his friends, and saw that it was like a small library, with shelves full of books. Tashiro stood in front of the bookshelf. The staff of the investigation department each had their own work and had no time to look after Tashiro.Besides, the staff of our agency introduced people, and they also gave them a certain amount of convenience. Tashiro found thick volumes of "Records of Gentlemen" and "Company Register" from the bookshelf and read them intently.He turned for a long, long time, the lights in the room were all on, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened. One or two of the staff members of the investigation department went back, and finally only one female staff member remained.She is cutting the photos with scissors and storing them in envelopes. Tashiro took a book and started to read, the girl quietly walked to him and said politely: "We are going to get off work here." Only then did Tashiro realize that he had been sitting for too long. "I'm sorry." After saying that, he closed the book. It was already dark outside the window, and there was no sound in the investigation department, leaving only this girl. He walked out of the investigation department and thought: Today is still very rewarding, and my doubts have been resolved to a certain extent. called a kind of knowledge. Tashiro took the elevator to the downstairs of the newspaper office. He wanted to say goodbye to his friends and thank him. Thinking that it was working hours and he might be too busy, he hesitated and walked out of the newspaper office. There happened to be a telephone booth at the gate, so he went in and hung up on Mu Qi: "It's me! Is it Mu Qi-kun?" Kisaki replied that he was fine.When he got out of the phone booth, he suddenly felt a chill on his cheeks. When he looked up, under the reflection of the neon lights, the dark clouds hung low, and it turned out to be raining. Tashiro was soaking in the rain. He considered the knowledge he had obtained from the investigation department, analyzed it, and decided on future policies. "Tashiro-kun!" Someone in the crowd called him.Tashiro turned around and saw that it was Kuno. "What's going on? What are you thinking alone in the rain?" Kuno said with a smile, "I called you twice, but you didn't hear me." "I'm sorry." Tashiro defended, "I'm thinking about another question." "How about it? Let's have a cup of tea!" Kuno seemed to be mentally prepared for the rain. He was wearing a raincoat, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier. "Okay! Find a place to rest!" The two walked side by side and walked into a nearby cafe. "How is it? You seem to have given up work completely recently, don't you?" Kuno asked with a smile. "Yeah! Somehow I'm not in a good mood." Tashiro felt a little uncomfortable when Kuno said this. "Lie!" Kuno said, "I know you are still investigating that case. A few days ago, I called and said that you had gone to Xinzhou." "What? Did you call?" Tashiro was surprised. "Yes, I did." Kuno replied casually, a little confused. "Really? But the family didn't say anything!" "Maybe I forgot." Kuno called, but Kisaki didn't say anything, neither did the aunt in the apartment, maybe both of them forgot. "How? Did you go to Shinshu because of that case?" Kuno said, watching Tashiro's face. "Yes! Let's put it that way!" "You are so enthusiastic!" Kuno praised him: "You have a lot of tenacity!" "Didn't you do the same? Didn't you search everywhere with the same zeal when Mrs. 'Elm' went missing?" "Yeah! But I'm too busy with work now, and I don't have the enthusiasm I had back then! Although I'm also interested in this, I won't be as active as you anyway, and I'm so busy with work recently. When Kuno said this, he changed the subject. "How was your trip to Xinzhou this time? Can you talk to me about it. How many times have you been there this time? You have traveled a lot! There must be many interesting things, right?" "there is nothing." Tashiro is reluctant to disclose his feelings to others, even close friends.It's not that he doesn't want to say it, but that he wants to clear up the issues he has considered.The knowledge he had just obtained from the investigation department of the newspaper added new content to his thinking. Kuno looked at Tashiro's face.Suddenly said: "I have something urgent to do, so goodbye!" "What? Are you leaving?" Tashiro picked up the bill and asked. "Okay, I'll go too, I don't know what will happen in the future." At this moment, Tashiro and Kuno were thinking about their own things.No matter how close friends are, they will occasionally disagree.This is how Tashiro feels right now.In short, no matter who you meet tonight, you can't talk with them from the bottom of your heart. Kuno said that there was something urgent, and stood up from the chair, maybe he already felt that something was wrong with Tashiro tonight. After leaving the cafe, the streets of Ginza were bustling with people. "goodbye!" Kuno waved him goodbye and went into the crowd. Tashiro alone had no place in his mind, and didn't know where to go.He wanted to think of a good idea, but he couldn't come up with a good one, so he was depressed and annoyed, which showed on his face.It was also for this reason that he and Kuno broke up just now. Tashiro was walking alone on the bustling Ginza Main Street, but his mood was like walking on an empty country road, as if there was no one around but himself. Unknowingly, he turned into a relatively quiet alley, where there were few pedestrians, and only then did he seriously consider it. Thinking, thinking, he couldn't help feeling lonely and lonely. The headlights of the car passed him brightly, but it seemed to him that it was driving in another world. He was almost at Tokyo Station, and he had somehow come here from Ginza. He went in through the ticket gate of the station, it was always busy all year round, people were busy here and there before leaving, and the atmosphere was tense. Tashiro stood aside in a daze.

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Notes: