Chapter 10 Section VIII

The heater fan that had just been turned on made a rumbling sound and began to send out warm air. "long time no see." Mikami declined the seat cushion, put his hands on the tatami, kept his head down, and pushed out the pancake box at the same time. Yoshio Amamiya just nodded slightly. Mikami was taken to the living room. Although the walls seemed a little dark and faded, the furniture and arrangement were all as they were fourteen years ago.However, Amamiya's appearance has undergone drastic changes over the past fourteen years, and she doesn't look like she is only fifty-four years old at all.Wanton white hair, khaki dull face, sickly sunken cheeks, forehead and eye corners are covered with countless wrinkles that seem to be carved with sharp knives.His face was full of sorrow and distress.This is the face of a father whose daughter was brutally murdered, and there is no other better adjective.

Next door is the Buddhist hall.The paper door was open, and the majestic Buddhist altar in front of it made it impossible to avoid sight.There are photos on it, of the victim, Xiangzi, and Amamiya's wife... When did Toshiko Amamiya die?He doesn't know. I'm here to offer incense... Mikami couldn't find the time to say those words.Amamiya, who was sitting across from the low table, looked devastated. Although his eyes fell on Mikami's chest area, his sunken eyeballs seemed to be staring at something else, which seemed very unsteady. Unable to bear the suffocating silence any longer, Mikami took out his business card.He once pictured the reunion in a corner of his mind, expecting Amamiya to take the initiative to call his name, expecting Amamiya to show a nostalgic expression.At the same time, he was also a little shy, he was no longer a criminal policeman but a publicity officer, and the guilt of letting Amamiya know about this matter was also brewing in his heart, so that he missed the opportunity to hand out his business card.

"I haven't reported to you yet, I'm in this unit now." Get no response at all. Amamiya's right hand was placed on the low table, the back of the dry hand and fingers were covered with wrinkles.The tip of the fingernail of the index finger has been split, and the whole skin including the skin has turned black, like a big blood bubble, and the fingertip is still trembling like a spasm, and in the end, he still fails to pick up the business card that Mikami put on the low table . Loss of social skills, disillusioned.Amamiya seems to have gotten into this kind of field, maybe not working anymore.After hearing about the incident, he handed over the management of Amamiya Zukemono entirely to his cousin.

"Mr. Amamiya." There is one thing that must be asked. "When did Madam...?" Yugong looked blankly at the Buddhist altar, stared at it for a long time, and then slowly turned his face back, there was a small cluster of faint light in his eyes. "...collapsed from a stroke six years ago...finally last year..." "That's it..." The long-frozen feelings finally began to melt.Despite being aware of this, Mikami's brain still couldn't switch to working mode. "You're still so young..." "That's right... and I haven't figured out anything yet..."

He died before seeing the face of the kidnapper... Maybe because he thought of his wife's regret again, Amamiya blinked his dazed eyes. heartache.Of course, Mikami alone can't change anything, and he can only participate in the initial investigation, which is not the case if he is deeply involved in the case. What is owed.As long as it is a member of the D county police, no one does not think so. "Xiangzi's Little Sister Kidnap and Torn Ticket Incident", every time I heard the name of this incident, I would feel a sense of guilt in my heart. On January 5, Showa 64...

"I'm going to ask for New Year's money." After noon, Shoko Amamiya, who left the house after leaving these words, suddenly disappeared on the way to a nearby relative's house.Two hours later, a threatening phone call demanding a ransom came to Yugong's home.It was the voice of a man in his thirties to forties with no special accent, and a little hoarse.The content is the usual language of kidnapping for ransom: "Your daughter is in my hands. Prepare 20 million cash in cash before noon tomorrow. If you call the police, your daughter will die." The call was answered by Yu Gong, although he pleaded The other party: "Let me hear my daughter's voice!" But the call was hung up by the other party.

After hesitating again and again, Amamiya called the police at six o'clock in the evening.Then forty-five minutes later, four "self-house squads" from the first search section of the headquarters sneaked into Yugong's house.Almost at the same time, a report came from NTT's D branch, saying that it had already arranged personnel responsible for reverse detection.However, it was only one step away, and the kidnapper made a second phone call before that: "Exchange all the money into old banknotes, put them in the largest suitcase sold in Marukoshi Department Store, and take them to the designated place tomorrow alone." If the voice of the kidnapper could be recorded at that time, if the reverse detection was possible... These are the words that all the people who have participated in the investigation have sighed.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the D Central Bureau set up a special search headquarters, and another 30 minutes later, Mikami was named as the deputy squad leader of the "short-range tail-chasing squad". He also entered the rain in order to discuss the details of the ransom payment the next day. Palace family.At that time, the members of the private house class were asking the Yugong and his wife some questions: "Have you heard the voice of the kidnapper?" "Has anything suspicious happened recently?" "Has anyone resented you?" Difficulties in the world?" The couple's terrified faces were bloodless, and they just kept shaking their heads.

Then it was a very long night.No one closed their eyes, everyone was staring at the phone.Yugong always maintained a posture of sitting upright.However, the third call did not ring until it was dark.Toshiko was making rice balls in the kitchen. She had already made too many rice balls to eat, but she continued to cook and continue to make rice balls in a daze. It seemed like a ritual of prayer.However…… Heaven did not hear her prayer. It happened in the sixty-fourth year of the Showa era, and the year came to an end in just seven days.Although this year was upstaged by the Heisei chorus, it did exist.The kidnappers kidnapped and killed a seven-year-old girl in the last year of the Showa era, and then disappeared into the Heisei era. "64" is the code of oath. This case is not a case in the first year of Heisei. The kidnapper must be dragged back to the time and space of Showa sixty-four years...

Mikami looked down at the Buddhist altar secretly. In the photo, Toshiko was smiling, so young that it was unbelievable.It should have been taken when I was living a peaceful day and never dreamed that there would be a kidnapping case!That kind of carefree smile is absolutely impossible to appear on the face of a mother whose only child was taken away. Amamiya never said a word, and didn't even ask Mikami's reason for visiting.The emotion revealed in the eyes is getting thinner and thinner, and the heart is obviously not here... Sanshang cleared his throat, and now that things had come to an end, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.It is impossible for Yu Gong to retreat back into his own world without expressing his intention of coming.

"Mr. Amamiya...I'm here today to inform you about something." I want to ask you—that should be the way to say it, right?Sensing the change in Amamiya's expression, Mikami hastily continued. "Actually, next week, the top cadre of our police wants to visit the house. It is the chief of the police department, named Otsuka. Although a long time has passed since the incident, from the standpoint of the police, I always want to To solve the case. Therefore, in order to improve the morale of the investigators, the chief decided to personally inspect the scene, and after the end, he wanted to come here to burn incense for little sister Xiangzi..." Almost can't breathe.Every time I uttered a word, there would be more suffocation in my chest. Yu Gong lowered his eyes, his disappointment was beyond words.It's no wonder that now, fourteen years have passed since the time of the crime, which family members would really believe it when they heard the chief's vow to solve the case.That's the police's own problem, it's a show.Maybe Amameiya has already seen through the police's intentions. But Mikami could only continue to bite the bullet and say: "It is undeniable that this case has been suspended for a long time, and it is for this reason that this inspection is conducted. As long as this inspection by the chief executive can be written up as a report on a large scale, it is possible to dig out new clues." After a while, Yu Gong bowed his head deeply. "Thank you for your kindness." The tone was very calm. Mikami breathed a sigh of relief, the reassurance of letting go of the big stone in his heart and the guilt of enveloping Amamiya were equally divided.As a result, the family members were still at the mercy of the police.For the family members, unless the police bring the culprits to justice, there is no way to dispel their grievances.Now Mikami can feel this feeling too.It was also because he met his daughter who ran away from home that he made him talk nonsense about the process of arranging the police propaganda. Mikami took out his notepad and turned to the page where he wrote down important points in the minister's office. "The inspection is scheduled for the twelfth, which is next Thursday..." In the middle of Sanshang's speech, Amamiya's unclear voice came from next to his ear. Mikami tilted his head in bewilderment. But I refuse... that's what Amamiya seems to say. "Mr. Amamiya...?" "Thank you for your kindness, but please forgive me for refusing this matter. There is no need for the big man to make a special trip." No need...? The officer's inspection was rejected, and Mikami was a little dumbfounded.Although Yu Gong seemed to be out of his mind, his tone was very firm. "Mr. Amamiya, why?" "No particular reason." Mikami swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his intuition told him that there must be something wrong here. "Is there something inconsiderate in our attitude?" "no……" "Then why?" Yugong was silent, not even looking at Mikami. "As I reported to you earlier, maybe new clues can be dug out." "..." "Speaking of our chief, the supreme commander of the police force, I think the media will definitely cover it extensively, and the TV station will also make it into news, so that more people can see it." "Thank you for your kindness..." "But Mr. Yugong, do you want to watch the opportunity to get clues slip away..." Mikami noticed that his voice was getting louder, so he couldn't help but shut his mouth.This kind of thing cannot be forced. Since the family members have said no, they can only let it go, can't they?Just excluding family members from the inspection route will not detract from the significance of the inspection itself.Maybe the publicity effect will be a little bit worse, but as long as the chief visits the scene and the dedicated squad, it's still the same thing both externally and internally, except... Akama's face flashed in his mind.If you told him that the condolences were rejected, what kind of reaction would that man have? The temple felt the beating of the blood, like a second hand, marking the passage of time in this silent blank. "I will come to bother you again." Amamiya didn't say anything, just stood up with his hands on the tatami, nodded slightly and walked into the room. ——Why should you refuse? Mikami glanced at the business card and presents that were still on the table, forced his legs that were numb from sitting up, got up and left.

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