Chapter 7 Chapter Seven Confused

"Is this plausible? Two men have already died... No, three people! If Akutsu Kenzo is included, Shin Kyougo is the third man who has suffered a tragic accident. What are you hiding? If this continues, When will these murder cases be solved?" Asuka Zhongxi's indifferent attitude irritated police officer Hibino, causing him to lose his usual calm, and his tone of speech became very fierce. Police officer Hibino grew up in a poor family. He finished his studies at the National University through part-time work and study, and successfully passed the third-class national civil service examination. He became a police officer at a young age.However, some things must be accumulated based on experience. When he directs his colleagues as the chief investigator, he must bear the critical eyes of the old criminal police; therefore, when investigating major cases, he naturally bears a lot of pressure.

"So, it seems that the deaths of those people are all related to me?" The more agitated Police Officer Hibino was, the calmer Feng Chiyoko became. Kazuko Kaneda looked at Chiyoko Hōchiyoko, who was sitting lightly on a Karuizawa carved chair with both hands on the armrests, and was deeply attracted by her graceful temperament. Asuka Tadashi turned his back to Fuchiyoko, looking out from the window at the back of the hall, he could see the studio behind and the fallen magnolia tree.The police who arrived with the ambulance just now were hoisting Li Yishu with a crane so that the car under the tree could be dragged out.

At this time, the fallen magnolia tree has been almost dealt with, and it is only necessary to drag the car out again. This should be Shen Gongwu's living room, study and bedroom. It is a very simple wooden building like the studio behind it.Kosuke Kindaichi was sitting on an old wicker chair in a corner of the hall, watching Officer Hibino and Hoganyoko confront each other with slightly opened eyes. Except for the windows, the surrounding walls where Asuka Zhongxi stood were covered with bookshelves. There were no books on the bookshelves, but they were filled with teapots, plates and other porcelain.There were only about twenty books on the shelf, and they were all stacked on the bottom shelf.

"That's not what I mean, I just hope you can be more frank and provide us the police with what you know as much as possible for reference." Police officer Hibino did not dare to face Chiyoko Kazeko, which made him even more impetuous. "I answer all questions from the police, and since you say so, I can answer them again." As he spoke, he glanced at Kindaichi Kosuke. "I haven't seen Shen Gongwu for a long time, even when Di Xiaolu Taijiu was killed last year, I didn't see him; we divorced in the spring of Showa 31, we have been strangers since then, naturally there is no need to meet .”

Feng Chiyoko said these words on purpose to help Kaneda Kazuko. "Officer Hibino, you know that I just came here not long ago, because the work came to an end, I just wanted to take a break, so I thought of what Asuka Tadashi once said to me: 'When you want to rest, why not consider Karui Ze this place?'" This sentence is also for the purpose of helping Jin Tianyi to listen.The reason why she didn't say "Mr. Asuka" but called "Asuka Zhongxi" was mainly to attract the attention of Kosuke Kindaichi. Kosuke Kindaichi glanced at Asuka Tadashi, he was still standing in front of the bookshelf, took out a book from the bookshelf, and flipped through it with a calm expression.

"In this case, why don't you live in Yingze's villa? Your daughter is in Yingze, and she stayed at home alone last night." "Officer Hibino, Misa and I live a completely different life. I have given her to Fute Koji Yasuhisa's mother to take care of her, and I just stand at a distance to guard her. If something important happens, my mother-in-law will definitely find me. Discuss; as for daily trivial matters, I will leave it to my mother-in-law to handle it. What's more, if a woman like me who is often married and divorced, if I keep my daughter by my side, I'm afraid it will not be good for her!"

Feng Chiyoko said this, and turned to look at Asuka Zhongxi.Since Police Officer Hibino was walking up and down the room impatiently, he didn't notice that Fuchiyoko's cheeks were slightly flushed. "Officer Hibino, you just said that Misa was at home alone last night. How could I know about this? I didn't contact Futekoji's family when I left Tokyo." "Did you not leave the hotel at all last night?" "Yes, yesterday at about ten past five, I called Asuka Zhongxi from the hotel. Asuka Zhongxi came to the hotel at six o'clock, and we went to the restaurant for dinner. We stayed in the restaurant for an hour and a half, and then went to Chatting in the lobby, at that time there was a sudden power outage, so Asuka Zhongxi had to go back first, this was the only thing that happened last night."

"What did you do after Mr. Asuka went back?" "I'm going to sleep! Since there's a power outage, I can only sleep, right?" When Feng Chiyoko said this, she showed a faint smile. "Before I went to bed, the hotel waiter lit a candle for me, so I lay on the bed and read a book. Later, my eyes felt very uncomfortable, so I blew out the candle and prepared to go to bed, but the wind outside was getting stronger and stronger, and the distance There was the Obon Odori festival again, and the dance music was so loud I couldn't sleep at all." "Haven't you thought about calling your daughter during this period?"

"I haven't thought about it. To be honest, I've completely forgotten about her." Police officer Hibino couldn't help looking at Feng Chiyoko in surprise when he heard this sentence. "Let's go back to last year's incident!" "Okay! I'm fine with that." Feng Chiyoko still put her hands on the armrests of the chair, and didn't even move her eyebrows. "Do you remember what happened last year?" "I should still remember that if the murder hadn't happened, maybe I wouldn't remember Di Xiaolu Taijiu for a long time."

Police officer Hibino looked at Chiyoko Fuze again in astonishment. "You came to the Plateau Hotel on the evening of August 13th last year!" "yes." "The next day - on the evening of the 14th, Taijiu Dixiaolu also appeared here. We wonder if he came here because of you." "I already said this at the time, even if he came here because of me, I don't know why!" "Did you pay his bail?" "Yes, that's what Dixiaolu's mother asked me to do." "So... Di Xiaolu came here to look for you because he wanted to say thank you in person?"

"Perhaps! If that's the case, then he is being too polite. The reason why I did this is mainly for Meisha's sake." "You haven't met?" "yes." "But you guys mentioned meeting on the phone!" "Yeah, twice. He called me a couple of times and I wasn't home, so we only really talked about it on the phone twice." "Are those two times the night of the 14th and the day of his tragic death on the 15th?" "Yes, there was a banquet in the hotel that night, and Asuka Zhongxi also attended it. After eight o'clock, Dixiaolu called. By the way, Asuka Zhongxi..." "Ok?" Asuka Tadashi held the book in his hand, and looked back at Fuchiyoko in surprise. "Since Mr. Kindaichi is here, let me tell Mr. Kindaichi by the way, okay?" "Just do what you want!" Asuka Zhongxi didn't seem to care much about this matter, so he added in a gentle tone: "Then Mr. Kindaichi, please listen to me!" "I will listen carefully to Ms. Feng's narrative." Hochiyoko raised her eyebrows. After thinking for a while, she turned her gaze to Kosuke Kindaichi and Police Officer Hibino again and said: "When the murder of Yasuhisa Fuekoji happened last year, I didn't take it seriously, so I didn't tell Police Officer Hibino about it. But this time, Shin Kyogo was killed again. I wonder if this is of any significance? Just now I also exchanged some opinions with Chung Hee on this part." "Is there something you're hiding from us?" Police officer Hibino asked with a red face. "Hiding it to you? That's right! I think it's better to keep concealing it. Anyway, Zhongxi doesn't think it's necessary to say it." "what do you want to say in the end?" "At that time, I was attending a banquet in the restaurant of the Highland Hotel. At this time, the waiter came to tell me... Di Xiaolu called me. We had talked on the phone before, but I refused to meet him. I came back from outside that evening. , he kept calling me, so..." Kosuke Kindaichi interrupted Feng Chiyoko and said: "Ah! Please wait a moment, where did you go that day?" "That day there was a golf match hosted by Zhongxi that was not open to the public. It started at about ten o'clock in the morning. Zhongxi and I went to the golf course to play golf together. We ate at the restaurant in the club and continued to play golf after dinner, so It was already 4:30 in the afternoon when Zhongxi sent me back to the hotel. After Zhongxi went back, he came back to the hotel around 7 o’clock. Called and I was in the shower so I refused to meet him." "So when you were at the banquet, he called you again, and you answered the phone?" "yes." "What time was it then?" "About half past eight." "Okay, please continue." "During our first conversation, Di Xiaolu was still sober. I told him directly that there was no need to meet again. If it was for bail, he didn't have to take it to heart, because I did it entirely for Misa. If there are other things, just ask his mother to tell me directly." "Is this what happened on the night of the 14th? That is, the night when Di Xiaolu arrived here." "yes." "Why does Di Xiaolu insist on meeting you? Is it really just for the bail and wants to thank you in person?" Feng Chiyoko hesitated for a while before saying: "He mentioned it inadvertently. He was a very cautious person when he was sober, so I directly refused his request." "You mean he was already very drunk when he called again at around 8:30 p.m. on the 15th?" "Yes, but I still refused to meet him, and he laughed bitterly and said, 'You must meet me, because today I met Shinji Tsumura and heard something from him.'" "Di Xiaolu said that he met Tsumura Shinji and heard something?" Police officer Hibino looked Fu Chiyoko up and down, his eyes were full of red silk. "What did he hear?" "I still don't know yet!" Feng Chiyoko's eyes were very clear, and there was no false expression on her face. "what's next?" "He's not good at drinking, it's been like this since the past, and it's because of this reason that he can't eat well in the film industry. Di Xiaolu's mother said that since he lived a corrupt life, his drinking has become worse, so I really want to hang up the phone He kept repeating from the beginning to the end: 'I met Shinji Tsumura and heard something.' I was very angry and told him to hang up, so he said: 'Then I can meet Asuka Chung Hee?' I answered him: 'As you please!' Then I hung up the phone." "Did Di Xiaolu call Mr. Asuka afterwards?" Officer Hibino still had an angry expression on his face. "Yeah, there is." "Did Mr. Asuka get a call?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked. "Mr. Kindaichi, I didn't think it was necessary to answer the phone at the time. But in retrospect, if I answered the phone, I might have heard something." "Feng Nutu, did you not tell the police about this... I mean, Di Koji heard something from Tsumura Shinji, and wanted to meet you?" "Ok" "At that time, I thought that the police would investigate Tsumura and should learn about these things from him, so I asked Feng Chiyoko not to tell this matter." "Did Tsumura say anything about this?" Kosuke Kindaichi looked back at Police Officer Hibino and asked. "I don't know, this is the first time I've heard of it." Officer Hibino's tone became more and more excited. "Did Fuekoji meet Tsumura that day?" "Yes, I heard that around one o'clock in the afternoon he visited Tsumura at Asama's villa." "Tsumura's villa is located in Asama Gakushi?" Although it is located in Asama Yin, it is actually near Sakurazawa. Kosuke Kindaichi only knew about it after hearing Takuzo Akiyama just now. "It was just a rental villa, and Tsumura also rented the same rental villa last year." "What did Tsumura say about Fuekoji's visit?" "He said that Dikoji had been complaining to him, saying how unfortunate his experience was... Later, Tsumura said that there was a music festival at Hoshino Onsen, and the students were coming to pick him up, so he said goodbye to Dikoji, but he gave it to him. A bottle of 'John Walks'. Last year at this time, Hoshino Onsen did have a music festival." "Is the wine bottle in his hand the night that Dixiaolu was killed the 'John Walking'?" "yes." "How long did Dikoji stay at Tsumura's villa?" "I heard it lasted twenty to thirty minutes." "Twenty to thirty minutes...you can really talk about something." Kindaichi Kosuke muttered to himself, turned to look at Kaze Chiyoko and said: "Flute Koji met Tsumura that day, and heard some things about you from Tsumura, and these things might not be very pleasant to Mr. Asuka's ears, so I asked you to meet him, right?" "I thought about it later, and it seems that this is the only way to explain it. But... I don't think there is anything I can't tell Zhongxi. If something really happens, it will definitely attract the attention of the media immediately, there is no way for us to have a secret, is there?" Asuka Tadashi leaned on the bookshelf with one hand, and stood leaning against the bookshelf. He looked at Fuchiyoko with tender eyes. "Did you ever want to ask Tsumura about it?" Feng Chiyoko answered bluntly: "No. Tsumura... Forget it, don't criticize others. Anyway, Tsumura came to Karuizawa this year, so you might as well ask him about it directly." "Of course we will ask him. But because you concealed this matter, our police investigation of this murder case was delayed for a whole year." Police officer Hibino said to the two of them with a look of resentment. "Do you know where Di Xiaolu called Ms. Feng from?" Kosuke Kindaichi turned to look at Officer Hibino. "Well. Before eight o'clock that night, Di Xiaolu was at 'White Pine Camp'. He drank whiskey alone. Later, he took the bottle and staggered into a coffee shop called 'Mimosa' near the old road. From there When I called the restaurant, because he mentioned Feng Chiyoko, a well-known star, all the guests in Mimosa remembered Di Xiaolu. Di Xiaolu had been sitting in Mimosa drinking black tea and whiskey; nine After one o'clock, after he staggered out of the 'Mimosa', the guests inside began to talk about who Di Xiaolu was." "After that, will Di Xiaoji walk in the direction of Sakurazawa Villa?" "Yes. I heard that he showed up at Sakurazawa's villa at around 9:30. It happened that his mother went to Tokyo and was not at the villa. Misa saw him so drunk and wanted to keep him in the villa for one night, but Fuekoji wouldn't listen. He insisted on going back after Misha’s persuasion, but unfortunately he was killed on the way back when he was staggering.” Police officer Hibino looked at Chiyoko Fuze and Tadashi Asuka with an excited expression. Kindaichi Kosuke was silent for a while and said: "What time does the banquet end that day?" Feng Chiyoko replied as if waking up from a dream: "This... it will end after nine o'clock." "After the banquet, what did you two do?" "Zhongxi left the hotel at 9:30, and I sent him to the entrance of the hotel lobby. I still remember that there was a thick fog outside... After that, I took a shower and went to bed." By the way, the Bon Odori Festival was held outside that night , the sound coming from the speakers was so loud I could hardly sleep. After Feng Chiyoko finished speaking, she shrank her shoulders, trembling involuntarily, her cheeks suddenly turned pale as white wax. "Did Mr. Asuka go back to the villa immediately?" "yes." "Do you drive?" "No, I walk, because the distance is very short." "Does anyone remember when you returned to the villa?" "Well... If I knew that kind of thing would happen, I would definitely call attention to the time when I returned to the villa. Unfortunately, there was no one in the living room at that time, so I went into the study and looked at some archaeological works that I haven't seen for a long time. After studying books, I got a little sleepy, and when I was about to go to bed, Doki...my housekeeper, Doki, came and said to me: 'Master, you are back!'" "What time was that?" "Around ten-thirty." "So, no one knows the real time when you returned to the villa?" "you could put it that way." Asuka Tadashi looked straight at Kindaichi Kosuke from the front, and when he stared intently at a certain point, the two rays of light shot out of his eyes seemed fatal, and Kindaichi Kosuke couldn't help shivering. At this time, Police Officer Hibino said: "The time when Di Xiaolu fell into the water was between ten and eleven o'clock in the evening. Neither of you could provide a favorable alibi during this time, and Di Xiaolu had sex with a woman a few hours before falling into the water. , I really want to know who that woman is." "That's odd. I don't believe that." "You said the same thing at the time, don't you believe in modern medical technology?" "Officer Hibino, if you say that that woman is me, will it satisfy you? I'm sorry, I won't have any emotional disputes with people who have already broken up; besides, I'm not a nineteen or twenty-year-old kid." Girl, will you succumb to that man's violence?" "What if Fuekoji uses what he heard from Tsumura to threaten you?" "That's why I ask you to ask Tsumura directly!" Feng Chiyoko was already a little hysterical, so Police Officer Hibino had no choice but to calm down and say: "Of course I will ask Tsumura directly, and I will also ask him about other related matters. This time I will definitely ask him to tell the truth." Then, Kindaichi Kosuke said: "Officer Hibino, do you have any clues about the woman who was with Futekoji?" "No. At that time, there was no woman in Karuizawa who had anything to do with Dikoji, and no other woman followed Dikoji to Karuizawa, except Ms. Feng." Police Officer Hibino's voice was very high-pitched, and the whole room fell into a solemn atmosphere. I saw Fuchiyoko holding the armrest of the chair with a bloodless face, like an angry queen; Asuka Tadashi was still standing by the bookshelf, looking like he had nothing to do with himself. After a suffocating silence, Kosuke Kindaichi said: "Mr. Bird, after you broke up with Ms. Feng last night, did you go back by car or on foot?" "I walked back, but when I left the hotel, it was dark outside because of a power outage. I was walking in the dark and got lost, so it was half past nine when I got home." "Nine-thirty? You mean you've been lost for more than an hour?" It's no wonder that Police Officer Hibino looked puzzled, because the time of Shin Kyogo's death was between nine and half past nine. Asuka Zhongxi revealed a bitter smile and said: "Yes, because I was in the mood of excitement at the time." "Excited... what are you excited about?" "While I was talking to Hochiyoko in the lobby of the hotel, the whole hotel was dark due to a power outage, and at the moment of the power outage... I hugged her and kissed her." "oops!" Feng Chiyoko blushed instantly. Asuka Zhongxi looked at the shy Feng Chiyoko with tender eyes and said: "I'm sorry, I revealed a secret that only belongs to the two of us, haha... I have been dating Chiyoko for a year, and it was the first time I kissed her yesterday, so I am as excited as a young boy." Police officer Hibino looked suspiciously at Tadashi Asuka and asked: "It took you over an hour to get home, did you meet anyone on the way?" "Maybe I met someone once, but I was too happy at the time, so I didn't remember it." (If this is true, why does Asuka Zhongxi insist on telling everyone about it here?) Not only Kosuke Kindaichi was puzzled, but even Feng Chiyoko looked at Asuka Tadashi suspiciously.But Asuka Zhongxi showed a happy look again, and Feng Chiyoko's cheeks couldn't help but become more and more rosy. "By the way, when I was lost, I only remembered one thing." "What's up?" "I wanted to smoke on the way home, so I took out a lighter and lit it, but because the wind was too strong to light it, I had to give up the idea of ​​smoking. After a while, I wanted to smoke again, so I reached into my pants pocket to look for the lighter , but I can't find it; probably I accidentally dropped it when I put the lighter in my pocket earlier. My lighter has a pyramid pattern on it, so it shouldn't be difficult to recognize. If you find my lighter, you will know what happened to me last night. Where did you go?" The suspicion in the eyes of Police Officer Hibino became more and more intense, and at this moment, Detective Furukawa walked in. "Director, I'm sorry, I have something to report to you." "What's up?" "This thing was found in the pocket of the victim's coat. According to the woman in charge of cleaning, the victim was wearing this coat when she went out during the day yesterday." What Shinkyogo took out from the pocket of his coat was a crumpled printed matter, and Police Officer Hibino frowned when he opened it to read it.That is the program list of the contemporary music festival currently being held in Karuizawa. This year is the presentation of Shinji Tsumura's works, and Shinji Tsumura will conduct it himself. "So, Shin Kyogo attended Shinji Tsumura's concert yesterday?" "Perhaps he will meet Shinji Tsumura at the venue." "Ok……" Police officer Hibino looked back at Feng Chiyoko and was about to speak when Detective Kondo walked in quickly. "Director, there is something..." "What's up?" "We dragged the car out from under the tree. There is something strange in the car. I want to ask the director to come and take a look." Kosuke Kaneda saw Detective Kondo, Detective Hibino, and Detective Furukawa go out, then stood up from his chair, turned to Chiyoko Kaze and said: "Ms. Feng, there is something I want to ask you." "OK." "I think you have probably heard from Mr. Asuka that there are matchstick puzzles lined up next to Shen Gongwu's body. What do you think about this matter?" "Well, I saw those matchsticks just now, and I just thought that arrangement was a bit strange." Feng Chiyoko trembled slightly as if she was uncomfortable. "You mean... you don't feel anything special about these matches?" "Well, not at all." "Have you looked carefully at the arrangement of the match sticks?" "No, I don't have that much courage yet." "If that's the case...Mr. Asuka has already copied down the arrangement of those match sticks. You might as well take a closer look later. If you find anything, please let me know." "Mr. Kindaichi, do you mean that the arrangement of the matches has a special meaning?" "I can only think so, because the original arrangement of the matches has been messed up." "I have tomorrow. Zhongxi..." "Okay, I'll show it to you later." Asuka Zhongxi replied with a serious face. Feng Chiyoko looked at Kindaichi Kosuke and said: "Mr. Kindaichi, I swear that I will keep my promise. If I knew the arrangement of those matches had any special significance, I would tell you." Kindaichi Kosuke bowed lightly and said: "Thank you so much. But I want to ask you one more thing." "Please say." "According to Mitsuko Nemoto, the woman in charge of cleaning, she said that whenever Mr. Shen is free or bored, he will arrange matchsticks to pass the time... Does he have a hobby of using matchsticks to guess riddles and puzzles?" Feng Chiyoko slightly raised her eyebrows and said: "No, it's the first time I've heard such a statement. At least when we were still married, he didn't have this hobby." "Is he a good-natured, easy-going guy? Or an irritable, difficult guy?" "I think he's an easy guy to get along with, he can be boring at times, but generally he has a nice personality." "I'm really sorry to ask you about these personal matters. Ah! I seem to have found something outside. I'll go and have a look. You can go back later." After Kosuke Kindaichi bowed to the two of them, he walked out of the villa and walked around to the back.At this time, the magnolia tree had been hoisted up, and the deformed car under the tree was finally freed. Officer Hibino stood beside the car with a puzzled expression on his face. "Did you find anything?" "Well, it's that..." Kosuke Kindaichi looked in the direction of Detective Kondo's finger. The old seat cushion on the front seat of the car had been cracked, and there was a bunch of keys under the seat cushion. It is probably because the magnolia tree was towed and vibrated to the vehicle body, and the seat cushion deviated from its original position, so the key chain hidden under the seat cushion was discovered. "It's the key!" The on-site personnel finally opened the deformed car door.The car door was not locked, and the car key was inserted in the keyhole. Officer Hibino squeezed in through the crack of the crooked car door, and reached for the key chain under the seat cushion.When he picked up the keychain, the keys made a crisp metal clang. Several keys are strung together on a metal key chain, and these keys represent all of Shin Kyogo's belongings. Detective Kondo rudely snatched the keychain from Officer Hibino and ran to the villa immediately. He came running back a short time later and handed one of the keys in the keychain to Officer Hibino. "Here is the key to the front door." Officer Hibino asked suspiciously: "Since the key to the villa is here, why did Shen Gongwu go into the studio?" Kosuke Kindaichi walked around to the back of the car and opened the lid of the trunk as if nothing had happened. The trunk was unlocked and contained a spare wheel and some tools. Suddenly, Kindaichi Kosuke widened his eyes and said: "Officer Hibino, please come and take a look." "what?" "Come here and have a look, this thing is quite interesting!" So Police Officer Hibino, Detective Kondo, and Detective Furukawa looked at each other, and then looked into the suitcase. Soon the three of them frowned. There was a large squashed brown moth on the black spare wheel, like a family crest deliberately painted with silver powder.