Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Mysterious Musician

When Kosuke Kindaichi and Police Officer Hibino arrived at the venue of the Hoshino Onsen Music Festival, a symposium was being held at the scene.Although it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was still very bright. There was a piano on the stage, and three lecturers sat on the stage, having lively discussions with young music lovers in the audience.The audience seats here are folding chairs made of metal tubes placed on tatami mats, and there are about thirty or forty spectators at the scene. Officer Hibino glanced at the stage and said: "I didn't see anyone..."

"Is Shinji Tsumura here?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked in a low voice, because he hadn't met Tsumura Shinji yet. "It doesn't seem to be there." Police officer Hibino tried to find Tsumura Shinji in the auditorium, but he was not found. In order not to hinder the symposium, Police Officer Hibino found a student sitting in the last row and asked softly: "May I ask where Mr. Shinji Tsumura is?" The students looked at Officer Hibino and Kosuke Kindaichi in surprise. "I heard that Mr. Shinji Tsumura is absent today." "absent?" Officer Hibino glanced at Kosuke Kindaichi, and then whispered in the student's ear:

"So... who is the organizer? I am a police investigator." The student looked at Officer Hibino and Kosuke Kindaichi, and whispered to another student to his right.Then, the young student stood up immediately, and while sizing up the two uninvited guests, he ran around the auditorium and ran forward. At this moment, all the young men and women around were staring at Police Officer Hibino and Kosuke Kindaichi curiously. A table was set up opposite the auditorium, and a man in his forties was sitting there, and the young student who ran past just now was whispering in his ear.The man listened to the message the students told him while looking behind the auditorium.Before long, he got up and walked towards Officer Hibino and Kosuke Kindaichi.

"I am one of the organizers, what can I do?" Although his tone was not very friendly, there was a little uneasiness on his face. Officer Hibino showed his ID and said: "I'm a policeman, and I want to ask about Mr. Shinji Tsumura." "That's right! Then please come to the coffee shop." After finishing speaking, he walked ahead to lead the way, and turned back to the student just now and said: "Go and tell Tachibana to come to the coffee shop." There were four or five guests in the cafe, and the host led Kosuke Kindaichi and Police Officer Hibino to a table in the far corner.

"this is my name card." When Kindaichi Kosuke handed a business card to the organizer, he immediately returned a business card to Kindaichi Kosuke, and saw "Katsumi Shinohara, director of the New Contemporary Music Association" printed on the business card. When Katsuya Shinohara saw the business card of Kosuke Kindaichi, he couldn't help but let out a low cry, and then said softly: "I have admired your name for a long time, and I have long hoped to have the opportunity to meet you. I wonder what the two of you are doing today?" Officer Hibino replied:

"We just want to know about Mr. Tsumura. I heard that he is absent today?" Katsumi Shinohara said with embarrassment: "Tsumura didn't contact me. When Tachibana comes, you might as well ask him about Tsumura. Tachibana said that Tsumura didn't know where to go because he lost the key." "Lost the key?" Officer Hibino immediately exchanged glances with Kosuke Kindaichi. (Keys again!) "What do you mean you lost the key?" "It's the key to his villa." "The key to his villa? Where is Tsumura's villa?" "I heard that Kakushi Asama... ah! Tachibana is here."

I saw a well-educated young man from a rich family come to their table. After Katsushiro Shinohara introduced Police Officer Hibino and Kosuke Kindaichi to Tachibana, Tachibana also took out his business card, which read "Art University Music Department of composer Ke Lihua Maoshu". "Ah! Are you a student of composition at the Art University?" "yes." Shigeki Tachibana sat down with an unnatural expression, and the waiter came to the table immediately. "Mr. Kindaichi, what would you like to drink?" "I'd like a glass of iced lemon tea."

"Where's Mr. Hibino?" "me too." "Tachibana, what about you?" "me too." "Then, give us four iced lemon teas, please." After Katsushiro Shinohara had explained to the waiter, he whispered in Shigeki Tachibana's ear. In an instant, Shigeki Tachibana looked at Kosuke Kindaichi with a surprised expression.Since Kindaichi Kosuke did not have any title printed on his business card, the young man seemed to have never heard of Kindaichi Kosuke's name. "Tachibana, Mr. Kindaichi and Police Officer Hibino want to ask you something about Tsumura. We don't know where he is yet."

Shigeru Tachibana smiled and said: "Oh, I don't know which cloud pile he hid in." "Hiding in the clouds?" Police officer Hibino showed a puzzled look. "Yeah! I went to his Asama Yin's villa just now, but the door was locked and the curtains were not opened. I tried to call the teacher's name a few times, but no one answered the door. The teacher is a very fickle person , Has he already escaped from Karuizawa?" Tachibana Shigeki smiled nonchalantly, but Police Officer Hibino couldn't laugh. "What reason does Mr. Tsumura have for fleeing Karuizawa?"

"It's nothing, it's because the teacher's personality is fickle. As long as it's something he doesn't like, even if he has already made an appointment with someone else, he will still break the appointment. However, he has improved a lot recently." After Tachibana Shigeki said this, Shinohara Katsuya said with a confused face: "That's right! Tsumura seems to have changed this year. Tachibana, weren't you talking about the big pipe just now? Tell these two gentlemen about it!" "Okay. When I went to the villa to find the teacher, I found a corner of the curtain rolled up, so I looked into the room through that gap, and saw the teacher's favorite pipe on the table. He was still using that pipe here yesterday. Smoking! I thought he should have returned to the villa last night, so I tried to call out a few times, but no one answered no matter how I called, I felt a little strange."

"What makes you feel weird?" "Because the front and back doors of that villa are locked, the teacher actually put his favorite pipe in the villa, so how on earth does he deal with the keys?" Shigeki Tachibana spoke very briefly, making it difficult for people to figure out what he wanted to say. Officer Hibino coughed lightly, and Kazuko Kaneda listened, and immediately knew what to do. "Tachibana, you said Mr. Tsumura lost his key, what's going on?" "I thought Mr. Tsumura might not be able to enter the villa, and he was wandering somewhere at the moment, so I rushed to pick him up, only to find the teacher's favorite pipe on the table. From this point of view, the key should be found That's right." "You said Tsumura's key was lost. What's the matter? I think Mr. Hibino would like to hear about it too." Tachibana Shigeki showed a weird smile again and said: "That thing... Yesterday there was also a symposium during the day, and the evening concert was a presentation of Mr. Tsumura's work, which was conducted by the teacher himself. But the weather last night was weird, and there was a power outage around 7:30! It was about to return to normal, but the scene seemed a little flustered, so the concert was suspended; on the other hand... it was also because there were very few guests. Mr. Shinohara, it was you who decided to suspend it!" "Yes, because after the power outage, the atmosphere at the scene was a little flustered..." As he spoke, he looked cautiously at Kosuke Kindaichi and Officer Hibino. "It was about 7:40. I sent the teachers one by one... There were five teachers including Teacher Tsumura. I drove three of them back according to the distance. At that time, Teacher Tsumura said that his villa The key is missing, and everyone has been tossing about it for a while." "Where did Mr. Tsumura keep the key?" "He said it was in his coat pocket." "Is it really gone?" "Yes, the teacher rummaged through all the pockets on his body, and opened the leather music folder to check. There was nothing in it, but... Judging from the pipe on the table, the teacher probably forgot the key in the keyhole , Tsumura-sensei is someone who can do this kind of thing.” "If Tsumura-san didn't leave the key on the keyhole, but dropped it in his coat pocket, when did he lose it?" "It should be daytime!" "why?" "Because the evening recital was conducted by the teacher himself, he was still wearing that coat when the power went out for the first time." "Did he take off his coat during the day?" "As long as you have watched today's symposium, it is not difficult to know that the teachers on the stage are all wearing light clothes. Even in the evening recital, some teachers are not too particular about their clothes. But Mr. Tsumura has become a little nervous recently. When he is on stage to conduct, he will wear a black suit with a bow on the neckline." "You said that Mr. Tsumura's personality has changed a lot recently. I'll ask you about this part later. According to what you just said, Mr. Tsumura only wears shirts during the daytime symposium!" Kosuke Kindaichi particularly emphasized this issue. "Yeah! After the symposium, the teacher met a man who was also wearing a shirt." "Meet who?" Officer Hibino asked the question. "I was following the teacher at the time, so I knew that person was Mr. Shen Gongwu." Tachibana Shigeki hesitated for a while before continuing: "I heard that person is Feng Chiyoko's third husband?" "Well, was Mr. Shen Gongwu the only one at that time?" "There is also a girl named Meisha who seems to be about sixteen or seventeen years old." Officer Hibino looked at Kosuke Kindaichi. (Sure enough, the two men came to look for Shinji Tsumura.) "Where did Mr. Tsumura keep his coat?" Just when Shigeki Tachibana tilted his head to think about it, Katsuya Shinohara said: "I remember this incident. I was also in the cafe at the time. I was sitting on the side, and Tsumura was sitting at the table next to us. He hung his coat on the back of the chair. Why did I have this impression? That’s because Tsumura was moving his hands behind his back while talking to customers. I was curious about what he was doing, and I couldn’t help laughing when I saw him take a cigarette out of his coat pocket. Tsumura It's just so funny, he just takes out the cigarette case, or he just stands up to get the cigarette, but he's doing it in such a weird way, so I'm impressed by that." "Tsumura-sensei is really interesting. He is very rigorous, but in the eyes of us onlookers, he is a person who often does some disgusting things..." At this time, Police Officer Hibino interrupted Shigeki Tachibana and asked: "Didn't you just say that Mr. Tsumura likes to smoke with a pipe?" "Ah! I'm sorry, the teacher likes to smoke with a pipe, but he also likes to smoke straight. He likes 'Hope' cigarettes, and is an old smoker, and he always smokes." "Does Mr. Tsumura have two pipes?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked. "He usually used the same pipe, and unless that one broke, he wouldn't just swap it out for a new one. It's not a small instrument, it's an obsession with things." "When did Mr. Tsumura meet Mr. Shin Kyogo and Miss Misa here?" "It was after the noon symposium... so it should be after five o'clock. The daytime symposium runs from three o'clock to five o'clock, and the evening concert runs from seven o'clock to nine o'clock." Katsushiro Shinohara had already answered that. "When I got a call looking for a teacher at 5:30, he was still with the client." Officer Hibino then asked: "Who is calling?" It was only then that Tachibana Shigeki noticed that the expression on Police Officer Hibino's face was unusual. "Xiaoyuan, what's wrong with Tsumura-sensei?" Katsumi Shinohara didn't answer, just looked at Kosuke Kindaichi and police officer Hibino. "I'll talk about that part later. Who was the person who called Tsumura around 5:30? Was it a man or a woman?" "It's a woman. Tsumura-sensei has many admirers of women." "What about the name? The other party should report their own name, right?" "The woman didn't say her name, she just said that if you ask Mr. Tsumura to answer the phone, he will know who I am." "So you didn't ask the other person's name again?" The tone of Police Officer Hibino was rather disappointed. Tachibana Shigeki blushed suddenly and said: "I'm just going to tell the teacher that I have his phone number. As for whether the teacher wants to answer the phone, that's his business." "Did Tsumura-san answer the phone?" "Of course there is." When Police Officer Hibino was about to continue, Kosuke Kindaichi interrupted and asked: "When you went to answer the phone, was Mr. Tsumura still with Mr. Shin Kyogo and Misa?" "Well, they're still sitting at the table next to us." "What was Mr. Tsumura's reaction? Does he know who called?" "Ms. Tsumura didn't seem to want to answer the phone. He was a little concerned about Mr. Shen and the girl named Misa, and he didn't stand up to answer the phone for a long time. I saw the teacher's appearance and said: 'I'm going to tell the other teacher that I have something to do now.' But the teacher said : 'No, I'm going to answer the phone.' Then he stood up..." "So, Mr. Tsumura knows who the other party is?" Inspector Hibino interjected with such a question. "The teacher seems to have been waiting for this call. As soon as I said that a woman called you, he immediately stood up, but because he was concerned about the two guests, he sat down again." "It seems that the woman who called may be someone Mr. Shen Gongwu or Meisha knows?" "I don't know that." "Is it a young woman?" "It could also be the old lady. She spoke as if she was afraid of being recognized." At 5:30, Chiyoko Kaze was also in Karuizawa, but Kosuke Kindaichi was obviously more interested in the key, so he brought the topic back to the key again. "It was about half past five, when Tsumura-san's coat..." "I don't remember if it was on the back of the chair, but when the teacher got up to answer the phone, he was wearing only a shirt with a bow tie and no coat, and the teacher looked at the pipe sticking out of the shirt pocket. " "Mr. Shinohara, what do you think of Mr. Tsumura's coat?" "By the time he answered the phone, I had already left the coffee shop..." "In other words, only Shin Kyougo and Misa are left at the scene?" "yes." "When did the two of them leave?" Shigeki Tachibana replied: "I left one step earlier than Teacher Tsumura, and I didn't see when they left here." "Mr. Shinohara, are you the same?" "Yes, I too..." Officer Hibino felt a little impatient about this. "Tachibana, you're a student of composition at the University of the Arts...so do you know Tashiro Nobuyoshi?" "He and I are both composition students, and I saw him here yesterday." "Did Nobukichi Tashiro drop out of school?" "He didn't drop out of school, but suspended school. Tashiro Shinkichi is a very good student, and his excellent aptitude makes me jealous. But he has a strong sense of inferiority, and he always keeps a distance from us. Unexpectedly, what happened last year... After that , he started to avoid reality, and he didn’t even go to school. I saw him here yesterday, and asked him if he wanted to go back to school, but he was very disgusted by the question. Do people become stupid after doing something stupid? Is it hopeless?" For Shigeki Tachibana, a well-born young man, it seems difficult to understand the troubles of people like Shinkichi Tashiro.But when he said about Tashiro Nobukichi, he didn't mean to be contemptuous, but with a sympathetic tone. "Nobukichi Tashiro, did the student talk to Mr. Tsumura?" Police officer Hibino asked. Upon hearing the word "problem student", Shigeki Tachibana expressed displeasure and said: "Before the symposium started, they talked for a while in the corner of the hall. It was a conversation between the teacher and the students. Later, I heard Mr. Tsumura say that Nobuyoshi Tashiro expressed his dissatisfaction with the teacher's recent participation in some activities as a composer. He Already a sensitive guy, he's been very vitriolic since that happened." "How long will he be here?" "It seems to be halfway through the symposium, and I don't know when he will leave. It's a pity, I want to have a good talk with him..." "Do you know where he lives?" "I don't know, I didn't ask him, could it be the camping area where he lived last year?" "What clothes is he wearing?" "It seems to be... a yellow Hong Kong shirt and a light brown jacket, with gray trousers and basketball shoes. He also carried a green backpack on his shoulders. I remember he was standing and talking to Mr. Tsumura, with disheveled hair He looked very tired." "How tall is Tashiro Nobukichi?" "It's about the same size as me, about one hundred and sixty-six or seven centimeters. When I saw him yesterday, I felt his cheeks were thin and his eyes were aggressive...May I ask if something happened to Tashiro?" "It's nothing. You said you drove the three teachers back yesterday..." Kosuke Kindaichi changed the subject and asked: "Officer Hibino, shall we ask Tachibana to tell us about Mr. Tsumura's recent changes and understand what kind of changes he has had recently?" Officer Hibino seemed a little unhappy because his questioning was interrupted. "Leave this issue to Mr. Kindaichi at his disposal, please." "Before that, I would like to ask Director Shinohara, what kind of changes has Mr. Tsumura made recently?" Shinohara Katsuya touched his bald forehead and said with a puzzled expression: "If I say too many things I shouldn't say now, and Tsumura blames me for talking too much afterwards, then I will be really hard to be a man! People are fickle, and Tsumura has always been very good to people, but recently he has begun to hate himself for being rigid He hates his own nervousness, so he deliberately breaks appointments and misses everyone's practice, but afterwards he regrets his behavior. I often say to him: "Don't use this to hide your weakness." The result He answered me: 'If you spend a lot of time with a bad guy, eventually you get used to the bad guy.'” "Does Mr. Tsumura have a habit of drinking alcohol?" "By the way... Tsumura didn't drink at all before, but in the past year, he can't get away from alcohol. I often exchange opinions with him about this matter." The bottle of "John Walks" that Taiku Dikoji held in his hand before his death was given to him by Shinji Tsumura. "Since when did Mr. Tsumura have such a change?" Shinohara Katsuki hesitated for a while before saying: "Isn't it just because you divorced Ms. Feng?" "Divorce does affect a person, but what is his specific motivation for drinking?" "As far as I am concerned... I don't think Tsumura has any specific motives. He and Ms. Feng are art workers. They both have endless work and are chased by schedules all day long. Naturally, such a work situation cannot Live a normal married life, not to mention that Ms. Feng is a woman with rich divorce experience. Model couples like Tachibana's parents are rare now." "I'm sorry. Xiaoyuan is a matter, and my parents sometimes disagree." "Yeah! Because you are 'Crystal Kid'!" "Why do you say Tachibana is 'Crystal Kid'?" Kosuke Kindaichi made Shigeki Tachibana and Katsuhiro Hihara laugh out loud at this question. "Mr. Kindaichi, do you know Mr. Tachibana Goro?" When Kosuke Kindaichi heard the name, he immediately looked at Shigeki Tachibana and said: "So, this one belongs to Mr. Tachibana Goro..." "only son." "It's also the pianist Fumiko Sawamura's..." "It's her son. We often say that a child is the 'crystal of love' between parents, so we call Tachibana the 'crystal boy', haha..." The "Sakura Orchestra" founded by Tachibana Goro is the best orchestra in Japan. He is the conductor of the orchestra and the best contemporary composer. Many outstanding musicians are his students; and Fumiko Sawamura is The first female pianist of modern times. "I see." Kazuko Kaneda thought of the sharp contrast between Shigeki Tachibana and Nobukichi Tashiro, one is a disillusioned young man, the other is a gifted and blessed man... He scratched his head involuntarily. Kosuke Kindaichi looked at the flushed Shigeru Tachibana and said: "So, between Mr. Tsumura and Ms. Feng, the 'Crystal Boy' is missing?" "No, even if there is a crystallization of love between husband and wife, it is still possible to part ways." Officer Hibino was referring to Misa, and the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became very dull. Mr. Xiaoyuan is indeed a person with rich experience, he immediately went on to say: "Mr. Tachibana was against this marriage from the very beginning, saying that the two of them would not be able to stay together forever." "Mr. Tsumura belongs to Mr. Tachibana Goro..." "Student, and Shigeki Tachibana is Tsumura's most beloved disciple." (Then, Nobukichi Tashiro is also a student of Shinji Tsumura...) "Didn't the two of them agree to divorce? I didn't expect Tsumura to be hit hard... Alas! Humans are really incomprehensible animals." "In short, after the divorce, Tsumura became suspicious and did not trust others easily." Kindaichi Kosuke asked in response to this point: "Don't trust others? Are you saying that Ms. Feng deceived Mr. Tsumura or betrayed him?" "No, I mean Tsumura no longer believes in marriage because of this unhappy marriage." Shigeki Tachibana spoke aside and said: "Mr. Kindaichi, you don't need to take Mr. Tsumura's personality change so seriously. Even if he changes into a different person, he is still an outstanding talent in the music industry! Although the teacher deliberately made himself a strange person, but after all Hide the original kindness and kindness in your heart." "Is he acting weird?" "Yes! For example, the teacher has been fond of wearing a peaked cap lately. It is not an ordinary peaked cap, but a very noble all-black fedora like Sherlock Holmes; besides, he is all black from head to toe. The scarf and gloves are also black, and a pair of dragonfly-shaped sunglasses hangs on his face. "I once said to the teacher: 'Teacher, please don't be mischievous. You really look like a killer in a gang of robbers.' When the teacher heard me say this, instead of being angry, he said happily: 'Yes, yes. Ah! I just want to make people think I'm a killer.' I don't know if the teacher is joking or serious, but when I heard him say that, I almost laughed out loud; although Mr. Tsumura has changed a lot recently, But still very innocent and cute." "So... when he came home last night, was he also dressed as a killer?" "Well, the teacher was yelling because he couldn't find the key, so I hurried to help the teacher find the key and joked to him: 'Look! It's because you're dressed as a killer, so now even the key is gone.' Who knew that the teacher would be angry because of this, haha..." Police officer Hibino then leaned forward and said: "I want to ask you about last night. You said that Mr. Tsumura yelled that the key was missing when you were taking the three teachers home at about 7:40?" "Yes, later the teacher said that the key probably fell somewhere else, so he got into the car. Haha!" "Since the key is gone, why is he planning to go back to the villa?" "This... If you go to Asama Yin, you will understand. The villa rented by Mr. Tsumura is very simple, there is no awning, and there is only a curtain on the glass window. You only need to break a small piece of glass and reach out Go in and open the door to enter the house! But..." Shigeru Tachibana tilted his head and said: "I checked the glass windows and glass door, and there was no sign of damage, so I thought the teacher must have forgotten to take the key out of the keyhole. The landlord lives next door to the teacher. Maybe the teacher will go to the landlord to borrow the key. .” "So you send the other teachers home in order?" Police officer Hibino didn't want to get too far into the topic, so he hurriedly asked. "Ok." "Are you driving?" "Yes, because it's my car." "Tachibana, do you have a villa here?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked. "Yes, my villa is in Nanqiu." "I see. In what order did you send them home?" "Mr. Tsumura was the last one, but the car just arrived at the entrance of the old road, and Mr. Tsumura suddenly asked to get off there; the wind outside was getting stronger and stronger, I thought it was a bit strange, but I thought the teacher probably wanted to buy something! When I started from six When I turned back, there happened to be a power outage, and I thought that the teacher was in trouble. Then I realized that there was a store selling flashlights there, and I had to rush back here to deal with the aftermath, so I drove away." "Just now you said that Mr. Tsumura's pipe was on the table, but you didn't see him?" Kosuke Kindaichi asked seriously. "yes." "And you say all the glass windows are intact and the doors are locked?" "The front and back doors are locked, so the key must have been lost somewhere." "Will Mr. Tsumura sleep in the house?" Police officer Hibino asked this sentence just to comfort himself. "Ah! Wait a minute..." Shigeki Tachibana opened his mouth halfway, and after a while he said: "Tsumura-sensei hates moths very much! If a moth flies into his room, he will scream like a child; whenever Tsumura-sensei will be on stage to conduct in person, we have to pay close attention to the screens." "So what? What happened to the moth?" Police officer Hibino was already a little impatient. "When I went to Asama Gin just now, I found that the glass windows were covered with moths, as if they were printed on them." Kosuke Kindaichi and Police Officer Hibino couldn't help standing up from their chairs at the same time. "Tachibana, I'm sorry, please take us to Mr. Tsumura's villa." "Mr. Kindaichi, what happened?" Katsushiro Shinohara sat in his seat and looked at Kosuke Kindaichi and police officer Hibino in puzzlement. "Officer Hibino, ask him to take us there!" Under the reminder of Kosuke Kindaichi, Police Officer Hibino looked at Shigeki Tachibana and Katsumi Shinohara, and said word for word: "Mr. Shinohara, Tachibana, please listen to me. The police need your assistance in handling the case. Shin Kyogo, who was talking to Mr. Tsumura here yesterday, was found dead in his studio last night...no, this morning. Tachibana, let's go..."