Chapter 15 Section Fourteen
After returning to the room and taking a shower, I put on a white shirt and lay down on the bed, fatigue suddenly poured out of my head.But the nerves became tense instead, and what happened after this morning played repeatedly in his mind like a marquee.
Even if Xin Dao said so, Onigan firmly believed that the murderer was Naomi, but he did not waver at all.He stared at the ceiling of the room, looking for loopholes in Naomi's alibi, thinking and examining all aspects.
But, as he did so, it was effortless to resolve the doubt that had just arisen.That is to say, the real significance of Naomi taking a chartered car to Yatsushiro on November 4th after the case happened. Could it be a plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain in order to attract the attention of the police?If so, the reason why Naomi deliberately distracted the police is because her alibi has other deficiencies, in order to avoid being exposed and confuse the public.So, what is missing?
Onigan thinks that the lack is at Kumamoto Station.She must have played some trick at Kumamoto Station.In order to expose her trick, Onika decided to thoroughly investigate Naomi's actions after passing through the ticket gate at Kumamoto Station on the day of the incident tomorrow.
The next day, Guiguan went to Xin Dao to explain the plan early in the morning, and after getting Xin Dao's consent, he sent criminal police to visit various places.Some people went to visit the driver of the No. 135 train, some people went to ask the station attendant at Kumamoto Station, and some people went to investigate her account in order to confirm whether the sales director of the White Taxi Company was bribed.Then detective to Kumamoto Station had return.
The respondent was a porter in his thirties with a strong physique. He said the following to the visiting ghosts and Xindao:
The so-called bellman has to have a very good memory.Try to imagine that you have to collect the luggage of passengers you have never seen before, and then return it to yourself without error after shuttling through the chaotic crowd. If you don't have a good memory, you won't be able to do it.Moreover, porters and hotel managers remember customers' faces as naturally as breathing, and do not need to make special efforts to memorize them.Therefore, being seen by the porter is definitely the biggest failure of Liu Naomi's life, but it is natural that there will be a porter at the station, and it is very reasonable to be seen.
The bellman was very busy that day, going to and from platforms 2 and 3 and the ticket gates several times from the flyover.Just as he was walking up the stairs, he saw Naomi standing there as if nothing had happened.Here's what the porter said about her appearance at the time:
"Because the No. 135 train just came, so we were very busy. And then on the top of the stairs, this beautiful beauty is standing there. Our eyes are always on the beauty, hahahaha."
"Then that lady got on the No. 135 train. Did you see her get on the train?" Gui Guan asked immediately.
"It's okay, she didn't come up." The bellman had a "what are you talking about" expression.
"What? You said she didn't catch the No. 135 train?"
"Yes, we are also in charge of the luggage of the urgent passengers after get off work. I remember it by going back and forth to the platform several times. After the No. 135 train left, we saw that she was still there."
This is really strange... Guiguan murmured in his heart.Xin Dao had a demented expression on his face, but he still did not forget to twirl his beard under his nose.
Although it is very verbose, I still want to tell you that if Naomi wants to arrive at Hitoyoshi Station at the time of the crime, she will not be able to catch the No. 135 train she mentioned.So this is the assumption so far: She claimed to take the No. 135 train, but got off on the way, and took a chartered car all the way to Yatsushiro.If it is true that she took the No. 135 train to Yashiro, she can only affirm Naomi's alibi; and now it is said that she did not take the No. 135 train, then her suspicion is even smaller.
The question now is whether the porter's words can be trusted.Even if he knew that he didn't lie on purpose, maybe he remembered it wrong.Even if he pointed to Naomi's photo in front of Onikan and said, "That's the lady," but maybe he didn't have a deep impression.
Looking back later, on the surface, Onitsuke seems to have completely fallen into the trap set by Naomi, and he is simply helpless; but in order to solve this blind man's situation, he still continues to move forward, never stagnates or retreats.
Soon another train was coming to the station, and the question-and-answer session with the porter ended. Xin Dao said that he was going to listen to the investigation report on Naomi's account, and left by himself.Ghost, who remained on the spot, stood with his feet spread, staring at the glass timetable hanging above the ticket gate.If what the porter said just now is true, how did Naomi, who didn't get on the No. 135 train, catch the No. 817 train departing from Yatsushiro at 12:50?From yesterday's investigation, it has been learned that she did not take an ordinary car from Kumamoto to Yatsushiro.If there was an express train behind the No. 135 train that would have chased it, maybe she was on that train; but as Xin Dao said yesterday, there was no such express train.
Suddenly, someone patted Guiguan on the back.Looking back, Quantong's deputy station master smiled at him kindly.
"You really worked hard." This greeting was somewhat ironic in Guiguan's ears.
"Hi, thank you so much before." When Guiguan replied, he felt a bit lonely in his heart.The more the other party smiles, the more Gui Guan can't bear it.He specially ran to the south, and was played by a young girl in the palm of his hand. His ugly appearance was magnified and close-up in his heart.Shouldn't it be better to let it go and escape from here?If he hadn't come so shamelessly, the case would have ended with Yokota committing suicide.
Thinking about it this way, Guiguan, who takes the ultimate justice as his creed, also began to think that he should withdraw as soon as possible.He realized that he was carelessly perfunctory the other party, so he blushed and bid farewell to the Deputy Station Master Inutong.When the deputy station master waved his hand gently, the white bandage on his hand left an impression on his eyes.
Xin Dao, who went back to the police station first, asked Gui Guan to sit next to him with an unhappy expression, and told him that the amount in Naomi's account hadn't changed much, only 2,000 yen was withdrawn, and the money should be for a chartered car The fare, so the reasoning that she bought the driver of the White taxi company is difficult to establish.
"They were bought by Naomi, so I thought about the nonsense about the date, and it seems that I guessed wrong." Looking at this old friend whose shoulders drooped weakly, it was difficult for Guiguan to say that he had made up his mind to leave Kumamoto up.
"Oh, don't be so depressed, you can definitely find a loophole somewhere, let's re-discuss first." Gui Guan patted his hand as if wanting to encourage him.Be sure to find clues here, he wants to make Xin Dao happy.He rested his elbows on the table, his palms against his chin, and when he was about to concentrate on thinking, he noticed that Police Officer Xin Dao had a white bandage wrapped around his wrist.
"Did something happen?"
"What? I've hit a nail. It's really unlucky." Xin Dao said in a very indifferent tone.Oni Kan looked at the white bandage, and naturally thought of Inudo's deputy station chief's hand, and then, just as naturally, remembered the reason for the deputy station chief's injury.It was in the early morning of November 1st that a drunk man came to the station to greet the guests and got mad because the train recorded in the new timetable did not arrive at the station.But what is entrenched in Guiguan's mind now is why the train written on the timetable did not arrive.
This problem can happen if the drunk doesn't know that the timetable has been revised, but the deputy station master said it was indeed the new timetable.So, why did the train that said it would arrive on the timetable not arrive?Maybe there was an accident on the way, so it was delayed.But judging from the tone of the deputy station master's speech, it seemed that this was not the case.The deputy station master said that the incident was very inexplicable, maybe he didn’t mean that it was a very inexplicable incident, did he mean that the man came to the station to wait for a train that didn’t arrive, this behavior was “inexplicable”? ?Guiguan thinks that the subtle words of the deputy station master can also be explained in this way.If it was really what he thought, then the deputy station master Inutong took it for granted that the train didn't arrive at the station, and it seemed that the drunk was confused.In this way, the trains recorded in the new timetable did not run, is it a reasonable thing to happen?Even from the perspective of common sense, it should not be the case.But as long as one thinks that the words of the deputy station master seem to imply that "this kind of thing happened as a matter of course", the idea from the perspective of common sense is denied.
Onimuki took out the timetable from his pocket and tried to find the train that arrived at Kumamoto Station late at night.For example, there is a No. 926 train departing from Kagoshima at 22:00 to Moji Port.It was a quasi-express train. When it arrived at Kumamoto Station, it was 2:31, and the train departed on the 38th.The drunk man went to the station to meet the passengers on this train, but why didn't the train arrive at the station?Ghost Guan thought about this question over and over again.
Whilst wrestling with this problem, he realized that this little incident had occurred in the early hours of November 1st.What role does the date November 1 play in this question?Speaking of November 1st, the day when the new timetable was changed, is that why this kind of problem occurs?
Thinking of this, he found a wonderful fact, a blind spot for non-railway people; Nothing could be more natural than that.
"Xin Island."
"Huh?" Gui Guan suddenly called out to him, and the policeman accidentally dropped the cigarette ash on his knee.
"Just now, I noticed a small thing. Then I thought, maybe this can break Naomi's alibi. Anyway, listen to me first." He spread the timetable on the table, and put one hand on the flip On the opened page, he said unhurriedly: "The deputy stationmaster Quantong said that a drunk man went to pick up a friend in the early morning of November 1st, but the train listed on the timetable did not arrive, so he got mad on the spot. Assuming He is waiting for this quasi-express train to Moji Port. If he was going to pick up his wife who took the train at 2:31 on November 1st, but waited and waited, the train would They didn't come, what do you think?"
"What's the matter, maybe something happened and the order was delayed, let's wait and see."
"But, what if you wait until dawn and don't come?"
"What should I do? Since it's written on the timetable, it's impossible not to come, right? I'm not Shigeru Yoshida, so I can't answer hypothetical questions. Really."
"However, in reality, this kind of thing can happen. If on a cold autumn night, no matter how much you wait for the train to come, you will jump in a hurry, whining and complaining to yourself, while Go bargain with a taxi and drive home. Unexpectedly, when you get home and turn on the light, you will find that your wife has already arrived. 'They have sent you a telegram, but you didn't even come to pick me up. It’s too ruthless’, your wife scolded you like that, but you as a husband can’t figure it out. It’s true that your wife took the No. 926 train, and that train arrived long before you arrived at Kumamoto Station. Even if it wasn't for that drunk man, he would have wanted to chop off the head of the Minister of Railways."
"Then you sat on the floor in a daze, and waited until the next day, you slapped your knees and said, haha, I see, that's how it is."
"You say 'that's how it is', but I still don't get it at all."
"Let me explain it to you. In other words, the time when my wife arrives at the station is the time on the old timetable."
"Huh? Didn't you say that the new timetable is being used? How come there are trains arriving at the time of the old timetable?"
"There are many. You think about it first, this is the key. The new timetable will be changed from November 1st, so the bookstore sells the revised timetable, the timetable on the big glass plate at Kumamoto Station I also re-wrote it. So it is no wonder that the drunk gentleman ran to the station in the middle of the night. Although it is no wonder, as long as you use your brains, you should know immediately that the train will not be on the eleventh. In the early hours of January 1st. Do you understand? Listen carefully. The so-called switching to a new timetable means that not all trains will operate according to the new timetable on that day."
"It's messy, I've been listening to you since just now, and my ears are getting callused. Please get to the point quickly."
"By switching to the new timetable, I mean that all trains departing that day will be on the new timetable. It's common sense, I don't need to tell you. For example, ah, do you have the old timetable? Before the revision Yes." Xin Dao nodded lightly, pulled out the drawer to look inside, and took out an old timetable without a cover.
"Ah, thank you." Oni Kan turned to the page of the Kagoshima Main Line, "Let me look at the old timetable for train No. 926... Ah, here it is. Well, take a look. Your wife's boarding The bus schedule is written here, how about it, the time of arrival in Kumamoto is 1:10, and it will leave after a seven-minute stop, so even if you go out at 2:30 with sleepy eyes, it is impossible to meet that bus. Okay Now, back to the topic, if all the trains have to switch to the new timetable from the moment they switch to the new timetable, something terrible will happen. Take this 926 For the No. 1 train, it was written on the old timetable that it would go to the Yatsushiro area at 11:59 p.m. on October 31, but it would have to go to the Izumi area the next minute. At that moment, you have to travel 60 kilometers. Therefore, in order to prevent such nonsensical things from happening, the trains that departed according to the old timetable will continue to run according to the old timetable even on November 1st. This is of course. None of these trains will be subject to the new timetable until the end."
"Well, that's what it is. So, November 1st, the day when the new timetable was changed, was actually a mix of trains on the old timetable and the new timetable?"
"Exactly. All the trains departing after 0:00 am on Saturn 1st follow the new timetable, but the trains departing before that all follow the old timetable."
"Is that so. You take it for granted when you say it, but you ignore it if you don't pay attention."
"That's right. Although I'm also a traveler, I haven't taken a ride on the day of the timetable change before, so I didn't notice it until now." The previous smile finally appeared on Gui Guan's face.
"But what does this have to do with Naomi's alibi? If she committed the crime on November 1st, I can understand it, but the case happened on the second day."
"Well, wait a minute, I'm not sure yet. I'm going to check the timetable later, but before that I'll give you my reasoning. As I said, in October There is no problem with the trains running in 31 days, whether they are short distances or medium distances. The No. 926 train I just mentioned is because it arrived at the terminal on the next day, November 1st. .So it’s the long-distance trains that can’t be easily overlooked.”
"Ok."
"Assuming that there is a train departing from Tokyo to Kagoshima late at night on the last day of October, the train departs from Kumamoto at around noon on November 1, and arrives at Kagoshima Station in the evening of the same day. If there were trains like this, she would be able to take advantage of them and make impossible crimes possible."
"When you say that, do you mean that such a train really exists?"
"If not, wouldn't she not be able to commit crimes? I'm sure there are such trains. Let's take a look at this old timetable first." Gui Guan's gaze was projected on the pages of this old timetable going south, Suddenly let out a cheer, and slapped Xin Dao on the shoulder. "Look, it's exactly what I thought. There is an express train departing from Tokyo to Kagoshima. The departure time from Tokyo is 23:50. Therefore, this train departs on October 30th. The train departing from Tokyo at 23:50 will pass through Kyoto at 8:10 am on November 1st, and arrive at Kumamoto Station at 11:15. Understand? This is where her trick lies. She did say she was going to take the 135 train at 11:10 and went through the ticket gates at 11:7 and 8. But she didn't actually take that train, that's what the porter saw What she wants to take is a train that enters the station five minutes after that, stops five minutes later and departs according to the old timetable. It takes more than an hour for ordinary trains to go from Kumamoto to Yatsushiro. It only takes 40 minutes to stop. That is to say, it surpasses No. 135 train on the way and arrives at Yatsushiro Station at 12:00. However, the Hisatsu Line starting from Yatsushiro is of course according to the new timetable. The train No. 817 departed at 12:50, and she took advantage of the express train to fully catch up with this No. 817 train. You see, there is a five-minute transfer time. At Yatsushiro Station , the Kagoshima Main Line going south and the Hisa Line going north are on the left and right sides of the same platform, so it only takes one minute to change trains. The next train No. 817 arrives at Hitoyoshi Station in two At one o'clock, it was 2:20 when Yokota was killed, and her alibi, which made us want to break our heads, has finally been cracked here." Xin Dao looked at the new time table and the old time interactively without saying a word Then he sighed deeply, and murmured at the same time: "That's right, oh, Guiguan, thank you so much. In this way, I finally let go of my heart."
Not only Xin Dao was happy, but Gui Guan was also very happy.Naomi's alibi made them helpless at the first moment, but when they reached a dead end, the matter took a turn for the worse and was resolved, which really made people break out in a cold sweat.After solving this problem, there is nothing left to keep him in Kumamoto now.After a period of silence, Guiguan changed his tone and said: "Xin Dao, my vacation is not long, I want to go to Saga halfway and then go back. If I leave now, I should arrive in the evening. You take your leave and go back to the hotel to get your luggage."
"What's the matter, it's so sudden. I wanted to have a drink with you tonight, what are you doing in Saga?" Xin Dao looked like a child about to cry.
"I want to meet with the Mancheng Police Department."
"Ah, that chubby police officer who smokes a BBB pipe all year round. Although you are a man who speaks his words and is hard to catch, how about we just talk about him all night and start tomorrow? I hope You can apply for an arrest warrant to arrest Naomi earlier."
"Hahaha, I'm really as stubborn as you said. Even if I know it myself, the country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. In short, I want to set off immediately. If it gets dark when I arrive in Saga, it will not be so good. "
Guiguan fooled it with a smiling face and stood up.But in fact, he didn't want to see that innocent murderer who lost his fiancé and massacred three friends with his hands tied.Then, he secretly laughed at himself in his heart, this youthful self who was not yet free from sentimentality.
"Do as you like!" Xin Dao said angrily.
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