Chapter 18 Chapter Seventeen

At nine o'clock the next morning, before checking out, I read three newspapers in the hotel's small lobby with only two sofas.The front page is that the House of Lords of the United States overwhelmingly passed the approval plan of "Complete Abolition of the INF Treaty", and also published the Prime Minister's opinion at the press conference that "the introduction of the new indirect tax violates the resolution of the 54-year Congress."The sports edition is Murayama Hanshin's six-game winning streak, Japan's Ujun's most popular horse race is Soccer Boy, and the "Mexico GP" in the fourth round of F-1 was won by McLaren Honda's Ayrton Senna. The Go page of "Mainichi Shimbun" began to publish the "Honinbo Battle" game record of Takemiya vs. Otake. Today is the six-movement chess record of Honinbo's three-star Otake Chinese style.But the report I was looking for was not published in any newspaper or on any page.

After checking out, I headed for the hotel entrance, then, after a second thought, went back to the phone in the corner of the lobby, picked up the handset, and dialed the number for the voice mail service. "Hello! This is TAS, the telephone message service system." Among the four or five service girls, only this one with a hoarse voice is particularly easy to distinguish. "I'm Sawazaki from Watanabe Detective Agency... It's been a long time. How is your husband's liver?" "Gee! Nothing good or bad. Several important phone calls since last night! It's nothing like that since the incident two or three years ago."

"Can you read your name to me first? I will ask you again if the message and time are necessary." "Understood. Mr. Kai Masaki, Mr. Osako from Mejiro Station, and then Seihe and the person who would be called a monster. The other party said that you can tell if it is a monster." I replied, "Got it. Is there any message other than 'please call back'?" "The last call from the monster said: 'Mr. Hashizume is hospitalized in Ward 307 of the Department of Welfare and Pension Daiichi Hospital in Shinjuku.' It was at 8:40 this morning. , his voice was quite excited, a little scary. This is the only one with messages."

"Understood. Then I have to leave first—" I cut off the phone, checked the client's phone number in my notebook, and dialed.At the reception desk, there was a hangover office worker who seemed to be unable to go home because he drank too much, and for some reason, the money in his wallet became less, and he checked out while staring there blankly.All this time I have been listening to the phone ringing and no one answering.Professor Kai and his wife must have gone to Makabe's house!I cut off the phone and dialed another number. "Shinjuku Bureau, this is the Search Division." It was Nishikori's voice.

"I'm Sawazaki." "Where are you?" "The telephone booth in the lobby of the Shinjuku Hotel. No, there is no booth to be exact." "Why did you say my name?" "Is it about Akutsu? Because he intends to surrender himself, I told him that there is a criminal policeman who is the best man in Japan in the Shinjuku station. But... he was arrested by the guys from the Mejiro station, wasn't he?" "Yeah! Because he insisted not to confess to anyone but me, I was woken up at four o'clock in the morning and went to the Mejiro Department—this Sunday is obviously not my rotation."

Nishikori's tone was not as angry as he said. "You said on the phone yesterday that an unidentified man asked you to meet at the Huishouyuan Nursing Home. What happened to that incident?" "The man on the phone didn't show up. But Akutsu, me, and the patrolling police all gathered there, as if there was a dance party." "Hmph! Is there such a thing? Detective, listen carefully. If the man has any contact next time, you must immediately report to us unconditionally." "What you call 'we', is it your priority or the Mejiro Agency's priority?"

"Nah! It doesn't matter which one comes first." "That's right! Has the autopsy of Qingxiang Mabe's body been completed?" "What? How did you know about this—" "Quickly stop your bad words that don't change every time. Listen carefully, I have something to do with Qingxiang Mabe's death! If you know when that child was killed, don't say nonsense, Answer me quickly." Nishikori smiled briefly. "It's not like you! It seems that only this time caused you to have a particularly violent reaction? Dive into this incident like a detective."

"It was the kidnapper, the victim's father, and the Mejiro Bureau who pulled me into this incident. Don't forget this." Nishikori was silent for about ten seconds, and then began to say in a heavy tone: "I understand what you want to know. Was Qingxiang Mabe killed the day after she was kidnapped; or when you were in the parking lot After being knocked unconscious and turned into a large font, the kidnapper called to say that the negotiation was terminated because he did not get the ransom, that is, he was killed after 0:18 am ten days ago—this is what you want to know A little bit!"

I remained silent, waiting for Nishikori to finish speaking. "The judgment is affected by the poor preservation of the remains. It has been at least eight to nine days since the remains were placed in the place where they were found, and there have been three heavy rains during this period. According to the medical evidence, the victim's death The estimated time is from about 5:00 p.m. on the day of the kidnapping on the 18th of this month to about 1:00 a.m. on the 20th. Between many hours. This is all I know at this stage. Next, I will compare the results of the analysis of the contents of the stomach and the digested matter, the items left behind in the place of detention, and the detailed reports on the victim’s diet provided by the victim’s family. Slightly shorten the time frame."

"Is it twenty minutes after the phone call from the kidnapper?" I suddenly felt slightly dizzy—probably due to lack of sleep.After regaining his composure, he asked, "So..." "So what?" "Has the child been brutalized?" "As you can see. You should have carefully observed the corpses floating in the gutter last night!" "What I'm asking is... the atrocities that you can't know right away just by looking at them." "Sexual violence... Hmph! That's how it is. If the reason for the girl's murder shows signs of a sexual crime, your mistakes won't be a problem!"

I suppressed the rising anger. "Who said that?" "Calm down, Sawazaki! The victim did not show any signs of sexual violence. After forensics, the victim should have been strangled and thrown down the window of the management office into the drain. The head fell and hit the sewer Before the concrete floor, the body was hit by the protruding part of the outer wall in the middle, and there were scars everywhere. Because the corpse was abandoned in a place that was very humid and covered with moss all year round, and because of the rain, the corpse appeared One of the worst conditions. Detailed examination has not yet been completed, but the cause of death is believed to be a skull depression caused by a violent impact on the head... Are you listening, detective?" I made a sound like I just wanted to listen to someone else, to show that I was really listening. "Listen up, Sawazaki. As soon as you walk out of that hotel, go to the Mejiro Office. They want you to quickly identify Akutsu Takao and Hosono Shino." "Maybe! But it's not the only thing! They are now suspecting that the phone call that called Ajiujin and me may have been fabricated by us, and that we may have joined forces to snatch the ransom, or that we just Kidnappers, and this chain of events may all be part of our ingenious and complex plan." "Don't underestimate those policemen too much. They should not make that kind of unfounded speculation. It is the job of the police not to ignore any one in a thousand possibilities. If you feel that you are suspected, then go The Mejiro Agency submitted evidence to the contrary." Just to be cautious, I asked, "In Akutsu and Hosono's residence, and Otsuki Moliko's apartment, have you found the 60 million, or what seems to be part of that money?" "Not found. Neither in your apartment nor in your office." I smiled wryly, and threw another ten-yuan coin into the phone. "Why didn't the newspaper report the incident?" "I heard that the search headquarters has extended the previously issued control order prohibiting reporting for 24 hours, so the incident may be made public tomorrow morning! But since the hostages have been killed, they should make up their minds as soon as possible to launch a public search is the right choice. ...Hmph! I don't understand their intentions about what the Mejiro Bureau did. Maybe they want to follow the clue of Akutsu to hunt down the kidnapper, which may help the investigation of the case." "Among the 'Sunny Side' staff, don't you remember the person who paid 10,000 yen in advance for Akutsu's food expenses?" "No. The envelope containing 10,000 yen was originally placed in the lost and found office next to the cash register, and then a man who confirmed that he was the owner of the envelope called and said: 'Please hand over the envelope to the meeting at nine o'clock. Around Zhong went into the store, and there was a customer named Akutsu. "The search headquarters also intends to find the customer who left the envelope, but it is said that it is quite difficult to investigate because it is all mixed with the video tape from ten days ago." Nishikori said almost exactly what came to my mind. "The target person is a very cautious person." A professional woman in her forties came out of the service desk after finishing her work. After finding the receiver in my hand, she leaned over like a bird of prey staring at the target prey.There was only one phone in the hall. "Has Qingxiang Zhenka's body been sent back to Zhenka's family?" I asked. Nishikori didn't answer right away. "Detective, what do you want to know about the victim's funeral? Are you planning to go to burn incense? Don't go!" The professional woman took out a small phone book from her handbag, coughed slightly, looked at her watch, and patted her fingernails with the phone book two or three times. , hair like old wool, and knocking on the floor with the heel of a high-heeled shoe, and then coughing dryly again.A series of movements like flowing water, it seems that they are accumulated and practiced every time they wait in line for a public phone. "You probably have a tendency to be masochistic. At this time, let me give you a piece of advice—" "Advice? Thank you. When is the funeral?" I smiled at the woman who was waiting for the call.The other party hesitated a little because of my smile and the word "funeral", but she repeated the series of actions just now. "What an idiot!" Nishikori said, "I heard that a vigil will be held tonight and a funeral will be held tomorrow. Because the body is already in that state, it is imperative to rush so urgently." "I will definitely surrender to the Mejiro Office today! I have no intention of running away or hiding. Please pass it on to the Police Department." I smiled again at the woman who was waiting on the phone. She seemed surprised to hear what I said, "Give yourself to the Mejirobu Bureau."She re-examined my dirty, wrinkled, and sweat-smelling clothes that I hadn't changed since yesterday, and quickly turned her back on me and left directly through the hotel door. "Detective, what are you investigating?" Nishikori's voice became sharper. "That's the client's secret, I can't answer you." "What client? Don't talk nonsense. Who would entrust this case to the detective—" Nishikori fell silent suddenly, as if thinking about something. I ask other questions. "Have you heard about the 'Qinghehui' Bridgezume?" "What's up?" "About Hashizume. Didn't you hear anything from Lesson Four?" Nishikori said in an unhappy voice: "That idiot was shot by a gun when he came out of the nightclub run by 'Kambara Kogyo' in Shinjuku late last night. He took two bullets and seems to be still in danger. " "Who beat him?" "I don't know, it's just an ordinary brawl anyway. It is said that they were negotiating a deal at the time. Maybe the brawl broke out because they couldn't understand the arrogant attitude of 'Kanyuan Xingye'!" "I see...you got me a lot of references!" I was about to hang up. "Wait a minute, Sawazaki." Nishikori shouted, "Keep in touch." I hung up the receiver and walked towards the hotel entrance.

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