Chapter 44 Chapter VII

6 p.m. Murase's car was heading from Fukami-cho 3-chome to 1-chome.He had just been to Kumejima's house in 3-chome.Middle school teacher Kumejima is not at home, and went to G county to participate in the staff volleyball match held today and tomorrow. "Mitani, stop!" Murase looked away from the map on his lap, and gave the order to stop to Mitani, the third-class criminal policeman who was driving. After getting out of the car, Murase confirmed the sign on the doorpost.The words "Mochida Eiji" are written on the sign. Outside the fence of Mochida's house, parked is a very old white Nissan Skyline sedan.After ringing the doorbell for a while, a small woman opened the door.She looks like a very powerful woman, probably Mochida Eiji's wife.

"Is Mr. Mochida at home?" "What are you doing?" "Ah, we are the police. Isn't there a murder case? Let's go to each household to find out the situation." When talking about "every household", Murase emphasized it. Mochida's wife went back into the room, and after a while, a man with an upside-down triangular face came out with his hair dyed silver, frowning.The man's cheeks were flushed, and he must have drunk it. "Is your name Mochida Eiji?" "Yeah, what's the matter?" Mochida seemed to feel a little strange, but his expression didn't change much.

"Have you heard about the Yumioka family?" "Oh, I heard. Really, no one expected such a thing to happen." Murase pretended to look at the notepad: "Isn't that right. You and Yoko are classmates?" "Yeah, what's wrong?" Mochida was a little annoyed. "Did Yoko call you the night before yesterday?" Murase asked as if nothing happened. Mochida's face suddenly changed. While Mochida was in a daze, Murase and Mitani put away their umbrellas and walked into the gate of Mochida's house. Mochida's face showed a timid expression for a moment, he looked at Murase, then at Mitani: "That kid Kumejima told you all?"

Murase pouted inward, "Let's talk slowly at home." Mochida turned his head to look inside, and said in embarrassment: "The house is too messy." "We don't care." "I don't want my wife to hear." Mochida whispered wryly. Murase smiled secretly, and asked, "Why?" Mochida's black eyes rolled around in their sockets: "Because... because Yoko called me to get the interest." Murase pretended not to understand what Mochida meant: "What? Where did the interest come from?" "Anyway, you already know. I lent money to Yoko behind my wife's back, so..."

Murase laughed heartily, and then asked, "Oh, we all know about you lending money to Yoko?" "Don't think in a wrong way. Yoko's husband is idle and has no money to support the family. Yoko found me and cried and said that he had no money to eat. I had no choice but to lend it to her." "How much did you lend her?" "Can you promise not to tell my wife?" "Do you want to pull the hook?" "I know, I know. I said... there are probably more than 300,000." Murase tilted her neck back and said sarcastically, "You are generous enough!"

"Borrowed little by little, don't think in the wrong direction, many classmates have lent her money." "Did Kumejima-sensei lend her money too?" "Of course! That kid on Kumejima lent her the most, probably 500,000." Murase turned her neck, looked into Mochida's eyes and asked, "In short, you and Kumejima-sensei lent Yoko the most money, didn't you?" "Ah...you can put it this way." Mochida said while looking behind him from time to time. Murase seized his weakness and continued to attack: "Yoko is pretty, isn't she?"

"You... why are you talking like that? Yoko and I are just classmates, there is no..." Based on his own speculation, Murase decided to give Mochida another blow. "Have you had many disputes about Yoko? I mean you and Kumejima-sensei." "No, no. But, I don't need to talk about the past. Ever since Yoko married Yumioka, I haven't missed her. But Kumejima, I still don't give up. I'm different from him. Give up." Mochida blushed, probably not entirely because of the alcohol. "Then let's go back to the topic just now. Yoko called you the night before yesterday, did she mean to give you interest?"

"Not that much, she just said she was going to send me some tulip bulbs." When Murase heard this, she was quite surprised: "Yoko's house does have a lot of tulip bulbs, and she uses that as interest?" Mochida suddenly became calm: "Yoko borrowed money, and she took it very seriously. She earned money from part-time jobs, and sometimes she would pay back the 12,000. Tulips are just a little of her heart. Haven't you already looked for Kumejima Did he tell you too? Yoko said on the phone that this is all she can do now." "Have you gone to get it?"

"Go. However, Yoko was not at home when I went. Her husband's car was parked outside the door, but I rang the doorbell several times but no one answered." "What time was it then?" "Well... it's about two o'clock in the afternoon. The 'Xiao Ai on-demand program time' on the radio is over." It was a very popular show.The very old white Nissan Skyline at the door appeared in Murase's mind.Mochida probably drove that car to Yoko Yumioka's house, listening to the radio while driving. Murase fixed Mochida's eyes firmly.It was two o'clock in the afternoon, within the time of the murder.

"You said you rang the doorbell several times but no one answered. What happened next?" "I just brought back the tulip bulbs. Yoko said on the phone that if no one is home, you can just pick up the good ones. So I picked 10 big and heavy ones and brought them back." "What about later?" "After I got it back, I planted them in the flower bed in the front yard. I'm afraid that next spring Yoko won't see tulips in my flower bed, and she will be paranoid." Murase fixed Mochida's eyes again. Murase couldn't feel anything about the man in front of her...

"excuse me." Murase turned and walked out, just took a step and then stood down, turned to Mochida and said, "You don't want to be asked the same question over and over again by the police, do you?" "What? Ah... of course." "If a policeman comes to your house again, you can tell him like this: 'I have told a policeman surnamed Murase everything I need to say, you can ask Murase!'"