Chapter 16 Section Fourteen

After nightfall it was bone-chillingly cold. It was already past eight o'clock in the evening when I got home.Mikami looked around outside the entrance, but he didn't see the empty bowl of Sogetsuan.Even if you ask, you will only get the excuse of "because there is only one bowl, and the other party will not give it away". Dinner was tofu and potato stew.It's delicious!I didn't expect homemade ingredients to make such delicious dishes.what!It's because of your good seasoning... Recently, such words have been blurted out like pouring water.Mikami never dreamed that he could say such words in such a tone.If you can quantify the enthusiasm and time you put into it, it goes without saying when you were a criminal police officer. Even after being transferred to the advertising office, "home" is just an accessory of his police life.

"The bath water is ready." "okay." Mikami secretly looked at the profile of Minako who was packing the tableware.It's calm and looks perfectly normal.However, it was only yesterday, so she should not have forgotten the appearance of the dead girl.Just like what Mikami did, Minako tried her best to pretend to be normal in order not to worry her husband. "Today, I went to meet Xiangzi's little sister's father." Mikami said to the back of Minako who was washing the dishes. "……Eh?" Minako turned off the faucet and turned her head with a surprised expression.

"You went to see Mr. Amamiya? Why?" "Because the big man in the police department said he wanted to condolences to him, I had no choice but to ask him." Mikami would never do this before, but now, in order to fill up the silent time, he would start telling Minako some work matters.What's more, for Minako, 64 is not just a case printed or passed on by word of mouth.She once played the role of the wife in "Two Groups B", and was in charge of surveillance in "Aoi Coffee", and witnessed Yoshio Amamiya rushing in. No sound came from the kitchen.Minako untied her apron and went back to the living room, putting her feet in the quilt table.

"Her parents, how are you doing now?" "Mrs. Amamiya passed away last year." "Is it... how pitiful..." "Really! I don't even know who the murderer is!" We're okay.Such thoughts came to mind. "Mr. Yugong must be very sad!" Perhaps recalling the expression on Amamiya's face that day, Mina murmured with eyes looking into the distance. "It's really old." "I think so." "That's right!" "Is it possible that the murderer will never be caught again?" Jingmei asked seriously, and Mikami muttered.Mochizuki's words still echoed in his ears.

"The investigation appears to have descended into a bottomless swamp." Minako bit her lower lip lightly. "But, the kidnapper is from this county, right?" "I think so." Mikami nodded incessantly. Not only the scene of the crime, but also the nine stores designated by the kidnappers, the place where the ransom was thrown, and the scene where the corpse was abandoned, were all in County D.Moreover, the kidnappers are very familiar with the store name, location and route, and have a strong geographical relationship.This made the argument that the kidnappers lived in the county unbreakable.

"There should be more than one prisoner, right?" "Well, if you think about it from a normal perspective." Because mobile phones were not popular at that time, the kidnappers finally designated the "Diaoyu Yixiu" where Amamiya was going to be located in the deep mountains. "Throw it down, and then snatch the ransom at the "Dragon's Lair" downstream.Qinping Bridge is only 300 meters away from the Dragon’s Cave. Assuming that the kidnappers moved to the Dragon’s Cave to wait within a few minutes after calling “Fishing Place Yixiu”. There are no residential houses or public telephones nearby. In addition to the people in the palace, there must be an accomplice who is responsible for stealing the ransom—this is the unanimous opinion of the special search headquarters.Although the general direction is correct, the degree of acceptance of the statement that "more than one prisoner" equals "equal accomplice relationship" varies from person to person.If it is an adult kidnapping adult case, there is still something to say, but if you imagine that the kidnapping and ticket tearing case targeting a seven-year-old girl was carried out under the circumstances of "conspiracy", even Mikami, who has been a criminal policeman for so many years, will feel chills all over his body Upside down.If there is more than one prisoner, it should be the relationship between the mastermind and the accomplice.And the mastermind also has overwhelming power to control the accomplices.

"Maybe it's better to think about it from the perspective of committing crimes alone." "How to say?" "Because the thinking logic of the criminal police is like this. There will only be one animal, and it is difficult to imagine the situation of more than one animal." Minako thought about it seriously. Regardless of whether the crime was committed alone or by more than one person, the crime was carried out under an extremely meticulous plan, and the method was extremely cruel, worse than an animal... Minako asked another question: "The murderer even knew about the rocks and caves in the river... Has the investigation of canoes and whitewater rafting not progressed?"

"The investigation in that area is still going on now! But do you remember? Many people actually know about that cave!" This is something I only found out later.It turned out that half a month before this incident, the casual edition of D Daily had done a large-scale special report on the theme. "But……" Minako seemed very excited. "Even if I saw the local newspaper and came up with that method, it's still the work of the people in this county, right? I've already investigated it so carefully, but I still can't find the real culprit?" "It's easy to say..."

580,000 households, 1.82 million people.The numbers I saw in the morning paper today are still seared in my mind.The inflow of population from the city can exactly offset the outflow of population from the mountains. This is a characteristic of this land, so the population of 14 years ago is not much different from the present.Even if the target of the survey is "men in their thirties to forties", the number will not be less than 300,000! On the contrary, there are very few clues related to the suspect.If Amamiya Kenji is really innocent, then Amamiya Shoko was arrested on the road from her home to Xian'er's home.However, the "carpet search squad" has repeated countless carpet searches, but still cannot find any sighting information of suspicious persons or vehicles.As you can see in the daytime, that area is an idyllic area dotted with houses, and few people would pass by it, and on January 5th, men from non-professional farmers have already returned to their jobs in companies or farmers associations. On the day, they began to return to normal life, and the women were all cleaning up the aftermath after the New Year at home, so this date also increased the difficulty of investigation.

Only three items remained at the scene of the crime.One is the plastic rope wrapped around the "Qin Pingqiao" mercury lamp, the other is the sealing tape on Xiangzi's face, and the third is the clothesline used to tie her hands.These three things are all daily necessities that can be bought all over the country, and it is impossible to investigate upwards by going back to the sales channel.In addition, the vicinity of the "Dragon's Cave" is full of bare rock plates, and the surrounding mountains are covered with dead beech leaves. Even the footprints that were originally expected to be surveyed were not collected.

All that remains is "the voice of the kidnapper".The problem is, because the threatening phone calls were not recorded, you can only rely on the ear memory of the person who answered the kidnapper's phone call.These people included Yoshio Amamiya, Motoko Yoshida in the office, and the boss and employees who answered the phone to Amamiya in various stores during the movement of paying the ransom.None of the policemen had heard the voice of the kidnappers, not even the members of the "Self-Residence Squad".The second threatening call was not ready yet, and the third threatening call was made to an unsuspecting office, and Suzi received it.As for the phone numbers of the stores that the kidnappers used, there was no time to respond.Among the nine stores, only "Kwai Coffee" where Minako goes has time to make arrangements, but even so, there is no time to fiddle with the phone.Moreover, acting rashly when there may be an accomplice in the store will only scare the snake. It is said that in about two years after the incident, Amamiya and other eleven people were often gathered together, and they were frequently asked to "recognize the voice" instead of "recognize the person".People with bad character, people who owe a lot of debt, people with criminal records, people who love canoeing, people from Osato Village, former employees of Amemiya Sumono, and even Shoko's Morikawa Nishi Elementary School. Related persons, business owners and regular customers who had contacts with those nine stores, people who were reported as "suspicious" by the public, etc.First, each search team eliminated the "unsuspected" people, and then recorded the voices of the rest of the people on the phone, and then played it repeatedly for the eleven people to identify.Most of the recordings were made with the premise of obtaining the consent of the individual, but it seems that a small number of them recorded the voices on the phone by means that are no different from wiretapping. No special accent, slightly hoarse, a man in his thirties to forties.It is said that Amamiya once said categorically that if he heard the same voice, he would know it.Suzi and others have also confidently said that they must be able to hear it.However, fourteen years have passed, and the special search headquarters has never heard the good news of "the murderer has been found!" "If you can't even count on the sound of the phone, it will be really difficult." As soon as the words came out, Mikami screamed in his heart that something was wrong. "Telephone" is the most taboo term in their family.As soon as the atmosphere in the room changed, Minazi replied "I hope the real culprit can be caught..." and then turned to look at the phone on the coffee table. The phone still didn't ring tonight. After Minako went to bed, the room was unusually quiet.Mikami buried everything down to his chest under the quilt table, sighed deeply, and turned on the TV.When he was with Minako, he couldn't watch TV with peace of mind.He was deeply afraid that words such as running away from home, missing, silent phone calls, suicide... these words would appear on TV at some point, breaking Minazi's heart. Perhaps Ayumi is also a victim of television.He sometimes thinks so.Variety shows, talk shows, commercials...all consistently emphasize the importance of appearance.They think that nothing is important in this era, as long as they are beautiful, there are many benefits, such as being loved by the opposite sex, having a bright future, and being able to live happily without reason... It is true. Mikami couldn't help but want to blame the TV.Ayumi was brainwashed by that false world, confused by the vague and vulgar information, and lost herself... When I was in elementary school, I used to be such a lively kid. He was good at running and swimming, and his reading grades were not bad, and he was very clingy.Maybe it was Minazi's usual indoctrination.She always looks respectfully at her father, who is a detective. Everything began to change after entering junior high school.No, there were already signs in the sixth grade.Ayumi began to hate taking pictures, would throw the notice of the education visit day into the trash can of the convenience store, refused to go out with Mikami, and refused to sit with Minako.He thought it was Ayumi who was sensitive to what the people around her wanted to say but didn't say, or someone actually said it. You look exactly like your dad!If only I could look like your mother. Ayumi was absent on the day of the junior high school yearbook photo shoot.Later, I pasted the headshot of Ayumi alone outside the frame of the cute class photo.Ayumi pursed her lips tightly and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, I'm already talking badly, but she just refuses to raise her head." Mikami also received a call from the teacher at the level who knew it was an excuse. Admission to high school is by selection.At this time, Mikami was still very optimistic, thinking that as long as he went to high school, he would get better and Ayumi would become sensible.On the other hand, at the time when he received an internal transfer like a bolt from the blue, he really didn't have the energy to pay attention to his daughter's growth. About half a month after Ayumi entered high school, she started not going to school or going out, and locked herself in a room on the second floor all day long.She didn't tell me the reason. If she was forced to go to school, she would cry like a child.Lying in bed during the day, burying your head in the quilt, not sleeping at all in the middle of the night, and not going to bed until the sky began to turn white, living a day and night life upside down.I was locked in the room to eat alone, and I also had derailed behaviors.Even if she goes downstairs occasionally, she refuses to let her parents see her face.Appears always facing the wall, turns its neck to the right no further, and walks slowly along the corridors and the edges of the living room.After a while, he realized that it was because Ayumi always felt that the right side of her face was particularly ugly. Mina was terribly worried.At first, she was able to hide her uneasy expression and face Ayumi as calmly as possible, but when Ayumi started to stay behind closed doors, she couldn't hold it anymore.He coaxed Ayumi out of the house and drove her to the city's education counseling center.She also bought a mask for Ayumi who was afraid to face the outside world, let her sleep in the back seat, and then drove another hour to visit the counselor introduced by the counseling center. When the counseling session reached the sixth time, Ayumi finally broke the silence, crying loudly while expressing her pain.He was ridiculed by everyone because he was ugly; he didn't dare to go to school because he felt too shameful;She wants to destroy this face, lose this face.During the conversation, Ayumi became more and more agitated, beating her chest and pounding her fists on the table. Body Dysmorphic Disorders... Mikami couldn't accept this abnormal-sounding diagnosis at all.When he saw the video tape of the consultation process, although he also felt creepy, he was still unwilling to accept that Ayumi's mental state was due to "heart disease".Everyone has worried about their appearance during adolescence, Ayumi just reacted a little bit stronger!Indeed, after all, she inherited the third chromosome, so she doesn't have a cute face to be praised by the people around her, but she is definitely not "ugly".Anyone with eyes can see this, Ayumi's face is very ordinary, she is an ordinary girl that can be seen everywhere. The counselor said that it was because of this that she was said to be suffering from heart disease, and repeatedly emphasized that the key point is acceptance and affirmation, asking them to accept their daughter as she is and affirming that she is an independent individual.Is not this nonsensical?Mikami was so angry that he couldn't listen to what the counselor said.He was also furious at the daughter who had used all the vicious words to criticize her father's appearance in front of a counselor who was not a relative.Feelings of frustration and unhappiness increased day by day, and he didn't want to talk to Ayumi anymore. On the other hand, Ayumi, who only opened her heart to the counselor, also expressed her jealousy and hostility towards Minako without any concealment.Perhaps because she felt that there was no need to hide her feelings anymore, Ayumi's last words to Minako were "Don't look at me with that expression".Since then, Ayumi has never spoken to Minako again, occasionally looking at Minako with hatred in her eyes.Minako felt overwhelmed and easily offended.The way she knocked on the door of Ayumi's room with a plate in her hand looked really pitiful.Mikami even saw her sitting in front of the mirror in a daze, not putting on makeup, but cursing her own face.Mikami was furious, if the counselor hadn't said that Ayumi was sick, he wouldn't have let her go for so long. Then came that day, the last week of August. Ayumi, who had been shutting herself in her room all this time, suddenly appeared in the living room.They also said to the wall: "I'm going to have plastic surgery, help me get all the New Year's money I saved. Because my parents need to agree, so please stamp it for me." Mikami asked her: "Where are you going to get it done?" Knowing that his voice was trembling.Ayumi replied flatly: "All of them. I'm going to cut my double eyelids, make my nose smaller, and shave my cheeks and jaw bones..." To Sanshang's ears, it meant that she no longer planned to be her own daughter.Mikami slammed away Minako who was tightly holding onto his arm, and slapped Ayumi across the face.Ayumi yelled at the wall, it was a woman's cry that he had never heard before. You are fine!It doesn't matter how ugly a man is! Mikami was so angry that he forgot about Ayumi's illness and beat her with his fist instead.Ayumi rushed upstairs, fled back to her room, and locked the door from the inside. "Leave her alone!" Mikami stood on the first floor and yelled at Mina who was chasing after her.A few minutes later, there was a loud stomping sound directly above, followed by the sound of something breaking.Because the sounds were unusual, Mikami rushed up to the second floor, kicked open the door, and rushed into Ayumi's room.Unexpectedly, there was a sharp pain in the soles of the feet, and the shattered mirror fragments were scattered all over the ground.Ayumi was squatting in the corner of the dark room, beating and scratching her face with her fist.Hate!Hate, hate!I don't want this face!I want to die!I'd rather die!It's better to die! Mikami didn't dare to approach her, and didn't dare to call her, fearing that if she did something, Ayumi would shatter into pieces like a mirror. He spent the whole night discussing with Minako.For Ayumi now, both parents are enemies.Mikami also seriously considered whether to send her to the hospital.With no other option but to seek help from a counselor, I called the counselor. "I'll be there tomorrow, let her be alone until then..." On the evening of the counselor's home visit, Ayumi disappeared from the house.Nothing was said, not a single note was left. "She has calmed down, let's observe it silently for a while before talking." Maybe it is the dawn of salvation from the expert's mouth!Mina, who hadn't closed her eyes the night before, was dozing off in the living room, and Ayumi took the opportunity to run out.There are still empty bags of masks that have just been opened in the trash can in the room.She took only a duffel bag with her, and the only money she had on her was the 10,000-yen bills and small change that had been in the music box.The bicycle was found four days later on the side of the road near D station. Although the public transport network is not complete yet, Station D is the largest station in the county after all.In addition to JR, there are two private railway lines that stop here, and there are also six-way route buses departing from the bus terminal in front of the station.Having said that, it was not the summer cold season, so the girl wearing a mask should be very eye-catching.Maybe someone will see it, at least the station staff should have an impression.But to their disappointment, as long as you try to blend into the station during peak hours, you will know that the speed of the crowd passing through the automatic ticket gate is so fast that it is too late to react, and most people waiting for the tram or bus have their eyes on hand magazine or mobile phone.Ayumi avoided everyone's sight, and did not exist in the memory of the police officers on duty at the police station in front of the station.It's possible that she just left her bicycle on the side of the road and disappeared without even entering the station. Mikami asked the counselor: "Why do you say that Ayumi has calmed down?" He couldn't control his emotions.The reason why he left Ayumi and Minako and went back to work at the police station in the afternoon was because he listened to the counselor's advice: "Try to be as usual, so as not to irritate her." Listen to the counselor's words and let the house be empty The result is this.Not only did the counselor not show the slightest apology, but he also analyzed it to them: "Because Ayumi said that she would not worry her parents anymore, I think there is no problem. But that is actually a hint that she plans to run away from home!" Mikami didn't think that was just a hint of simply running away from home.Several different explanations flashed through my mind.It was intentional to make adults lose their guard, it was a farewell to their parents, and it was a hint of suicide.No, it is impossible for Ayumi to commit suicide, it should be just to make adults lose their guard.She thought that as long as she said she would not worry her parents anymore, the surveillance on her would be relaxed.Ayumi didn't rush out of the house temporarily, but thought about it calmly.She also took away the change of clothes and wallet, which is the best evidence. However…… I want to die!I'd rather die!It's better to die! Special Missing Persons.Akama's "special search" refers to this kind of person.There is a high chance of being involved in an event or accident, or of a self-destructive, suicidal person.He had no objection to seeing Ayumi as such.Because he knows that even if it is a "child of his own family", once the possibility of suicide is completely ruled out, the search is only in name.Now all the local jurisdictions are working tirelessly to help with the search, not only the police station, but also the criminal department and life safety department have allocated manpower to help.Still, no strong leads have been obtained.After about a month, it was suggested that he should simply go public with the search.But he declined.Because he thinks that for Ayumi, there is nothing more terrifying and hell-like than exposing his mugshot to the eyes of passers-by on the road. The joy on the TV screen stung his eyes. Five or six girls about Ayumi's age, in clothes that you don't wear, are singing and dancing.Every girl wants to highlight herself, all staring at the camera, hoping that the audience only sees herself. If you just simply run away from home... If you can be sure that she is only clamoring for plastic surgery because she wants to attract men's attention, and if she is opposed by her parents, she will scold her and rush out of the door, but she will not commit suicide no matter what, it is considered adolescence My daughter should be more angry than worried.Even if he is immature at the age of sixteen, he is no longer a child. How could he trample on the dignity of his parents like this.My daughter will leave home one day. There are so many parent-child relationships in this world. I don’t even want to see the cases of killing parents or killing children... Mikami can only use this kind of entrainment With angry words, he deceived himself and Minazi. What was Mina thinking?What do you think of Mikami who is unwilling to face up to his daughter's illness? What do you think of this husband who can only surrender to his precious daughter who is in the abyss of pain? Minako didn't blame the counselor, nor herself who accidentally fell asleep, she just searched for Ayumi as if possessed by something.Minako, who used to discuss everything with Mikami before making a decision, changed at that moment.Even if you talk to her, she won't go along with it; she talks face to face, but her eyes are deliberately avoided.It was as if she was the only one looking for Ayumi.Finding that the train stations and friendships were hopeless, he bought a large number of women's magazines, and then started calling the plastic surgery and beauty clinics advertised in the magazines one by one. "Has there been a girl wearing a mask and carrying a red travel bag? If so, please contact me." If she couldn't speak clearly on the phone, she would come to the door directly to ask.Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba... Minako travels almost every day.If she hadn't received that silent phone call, maybe even a secret doctor without a license would have become the object of her pleading. In fact, you can also ask Akama.A mere 10,000 yuan can't do much. Without the consent of her parents, Ayumi would not be able to enter the door of plastic surgery.Still, it's one of those few leads.Instead of using tooth patterns or fingerprints to find the corpse, it is better to start with the line of cosmetic surgery, which may be the most suitable means to find the living Ayumi.But Mikami didn't do that.The daughter hates the face her parents gave her.Only this matter, he didn't want anyone to know.Once it is known by others, it will make people feel that this family is too pitiful.He also wanted to protect his daughter's dignity, so he swore secretly that no matter whether it was Ayumi's heart disease or the words that Ayumi said because of his heart disease, he would never leave the family.but…… What was Mina thinking? There is a sense of simmering tension between the couple.While caring about the other party, he pretended to turn a blind eye.After losing it, I discovered that the existence of Ayumi filled the ambiguous part of the relationship between the couple, and turned it into a solid bridge to maintain the relationship between the couple, giving them the same purpose, making them considerate to each other, and trying their best to avoid the relationship Cracks appear. But how long can that last? Twelve midnight.Mikami turned off the TV with the remote control and climbed out from the futon table.He grabbed the handset of the phone, turned off the lights in the room, and walked in the dark corridor Amamiya Yoshio's wrinkled face... Amamiya Shoko's innocent face with a headband... It was originally just one of the cases that I encountered by chance as a detective.Until Ayumi ran away from home, he had never seriously imagined how a father who lost his child felt. Mikami tiptoed into the room.Put the handset next to the pillow and get under the covers.Fumble with your toes for a small electric heater, then hook it up to your calf. Mina turned around. Mikami glanced at the bed next to him, where another puzzle he couldn't solve lay there.Whenever he thinks of Ayumi who hates the appearance of his parents, he can't help but think about the question that probably everyone would have in his mind before. Why did Minako choose Mikami? He thought he knew the answer, but now he's not sure.Mikami stared into the darkness, listening to the sound of the second hand, while exploring the starting point of the couple.

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