Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The Cross of Sin

"Mr. Kindaichi, do you have any impression of this lighter?" Xizi took out something from the handkerchief directly in front of Kosuke Kanedaichi. It was a lighter with a gold shell and a pyramid relief on the surface. After Kosuke Kindaichi took the lighter, he couldn't help looking at Police Officer Hibino. "This should be your father's lighter." "Has my father expressed any opinion on this matter? Although he can't speak too much at the moment, he shows with his eyes that he seems to want to tell you about this lighter... What did my father tell you?" ?”

Xizi's tone of voice seemed to be accusing the teacher of guilt, a provocative smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and an unfriendly look appeared in her eyes. "My father said that he lost this lighter in the fog the night before yesterday." "Lost? This is my father's most precious lighter. Besides, my father is not a careless person...Did he say under what circumstances he lost this lighter?" "This, this... The night before yesterday, your father went to the Gaoyuan Hotel at around eight o'clock, and then there was a power outage. At that time, your father and Ms. Feng were in the lobby of the hotel. Because of the sudden power outage, so... I don't know who hugged it first. The other party kissed, and to put it plainly, it was a kiss, then, next..."

"What happened to my father next?" Officer Hibino went on to say: "Ms. Sakurai, please tell us first, where did you find this lighter?" Xizi ignored Officer Hibino's question and continued to ask: "What happened to my father?" Officer Hibino's face was flushed, and he wanted to speak out, but was stopped by Officer Yamashita's eyes. Police officer Waitoli still held a chess piece in his hand, his eyes were fixed on the chessboard, and he was caught in a difficult chess game; while Kosuke Kindaichi faced the fierce Teruko, he could only shyly scratch his head.

"This, this... The thing, the thing is like this, haha... Your father left the hotel next time. Because of the power outage, it was pitch black outside, and you couldn't tell the difference between the south, the east, and the north. Your father said that he was very excited at the time, and he didn't remember himself. I went somewhere, and when I got home, it was already half past nine... almost ten o'clock. In other words, my father was immersed in the feeling of happiness, walking around the old Karuizawa area for one and a half to two hours, and remembering I don’t know where I went, and I didn’t say who I met on the way, the general situation is like this.”

"Did my father mention anything about lighters?" "Okay, about the lighter..." Kosuke Kindaichi started stuttering again.Police officer Hibino was unconvinced and wanted to answer this question on behalf of Kosuke Kindaichi, but officer Yamashita tried his best to stop police officer Hibino from acting rashly. The police officer Waiting Li still played Go calmly, and started smoking as soon as the pieces were set. Kosuke Kindaichi had no choice but to scratch his head desperately when he had nowhere to turn for help. "My father said that he suddenly wanted to smoke while walking in the dark, so he stopped, took out his lighter and prepared to light a cigarette, but the wind was too strong that night, he lit it several times but was blown out by the strong wind, and finally had to give up the idea of ​​smoking. No After a while he wanted to smoke again, so he reached into his pocket to get the lighter, but he couldn't find it. He said that the lighter probably fell out accidentally when he put it in his pocket just now; he also told us what kind of pattern was on the lighter, if When we found the lighter, we knew where he was going."

"That's the worst lie ever!" "As you say, it is a very poor lie indeed." "Mr. Kindaichi, what do you think about this matter?" "I find it very strange that when Mr. Shin Kyogo took potassium cyanate, your father did not have a definite alibi. When your father was walking excitedly in the dark, could he go to Yazaki and let Mr. Shin take the cyanide?" What about potassium acid? Later we found out that the murder scene was hidden in Asama, so the time he needed was even shorter, so..." "Why did my father kill Mr. Shen?" "This is a question of possessiveness. Your father's possessiveness is stronger than ordinary people. He wants to completely possess Ms. Feng, so any man who has ever been with her will naturally become a thorn in your father's side..."

"Heh! And what about the potassium cyanate part? Where did my father get the potassium cyanate?" "Mrs. Sakurai, let alone a ton or two tons of potassium cyanate for someone like your father, he can get a truck or two of potassium cyanate." Kindaichi Kosuke said sleepily. "How is this possible! Mr. Kindaichi, how could you have such an outrageous idea?" Xizi's voice was so low that she could hardly hear it, which showed that her heart had already begun to waver. "Ms. Sakurai, as a detective, you always think about outrageous things. You can even infer whether a person is a good detective by whether he has weird thoughts. Just take the person sitting here and wait As far as the police officer is concerned, he is always bound by some worldly concepts. In his concept, how could Mr. Asuka do such a thing? This is why he has been a police officer for ten years. And Officer Yamashita is very conservative in his remarks, as for Kosuke Kindaichi's words... oops! Now is not the time to talk about my own opinions, let's talk about where this lighter was found!"

"Just put it on the handrail of the corridor of my villa." Xizi may have been intimidated by Kosuke Kindaichi's aura, and the arrogance at the beginning disappeared. "You said the lighter is on the armrest..." When the restless police officer Hibino wanted to continue, Kosuke Kindaichi stretched out his hand to stop him. "It was given to me by the staff of 'Shenmen Land' after they discovered it." "When did this happen?" "At noon yesterday, the man told me that the lighter was placed on the armrest in good order." "So, after your father left the Plateau Hotel the night before yesterday, he went to your villa!"

"I think it's the same. Just to be on the safe side, I asked Aunt Feng to look at the lighter in the hospital just now. She said that when Dad went to the restaurant to see her the night before, he really had it with him." "But why didn't your father mention this matter? Why didn't he say that he had been to your house, but left the lighter on the handrail in the corridor of your villa?" Xizi's eyes were full of ferociousness again, and an unfriendly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. "I don't know what happened. I didn't know that my father had visited my house the night before before the staff of 'Shenmen Land' gave me the lighter."

"Is it possible that your father didn't call you for some reason after he arrived at the house, so he left the lighter there?" "I think you probably already know why!" In the case of Xizi being aggressive, Kindaichi Kosuke still looked like he was just waking up from a dream. Kosuke Kindaichi was silent for a while, then sighed softly and said: "Ms. Sakurai, you're such a bad person." "I'm Tadashi Asuka's daughter. If you want to get potassium cyanate, you can easily get one or two tons, right? Mr. Kindaichi, what are you trying to say?"

"I mean, you want someone else to speak for you that you can't say for yourself. Well! I'm notoriously cranky anyway, so I'll say it." Kindaichi Kosuke didn't scratch his head this time, he looked at Xizi sadly and said: "My father kissed Ms. Feng. This is a way of proposing marriage, and Ms. Feng readily accepted it, which means that the two of them have agreed to step on the red carpet. Your father may be too excited to tell you this right away. Or I want to get your understanding; on the other hand, your father knew that Mr. Sakurai would not come back the night before, and the surroundings were dark after the power outage. He was worried that you would be afraid if you were alone at home, so he specially went to your villa to see, this is The so-called fatherly love." "Please don't mention anything about fatherly love or not. I am no longer a child." "That's why...you date other men behind your husband's back." Xizi stood up from the chair with a murderous look, his face flushed with anger. Officer Hibino also stood up after hearing the words, while Officer Yamashita and Officer Waitori still looked at the two men calmly. Xizi looked away from Kindaichi Kosuke, when she saw Kindaichi Kosuke's sad expression, her eyes gradually filled with a soft light.Soon he sank into a chair and said with a groan: "Mr. Kindaichi, I seem to have misjudged you." "How to say?" "My father trusted you so much that I thought you were a very considerate person." Kindaichi Kosuke nodded slightly to Xizi. "I'm sorry, you came here just to explain everything. If that's the case, I shouldn't pour cold water on you. But I want to ask you, do you dislike your father?" "How is this possible! I respect my father... No, it should be said that I like my father more than I respect him. Such a good father is rare in this world, so I am angry at myself. I shouldn't let my father worry about me so much .” "What kind of scene do you think your father might see?" "No, it was too dark to see. I think Dad must have heard something." "What do you think your father heard?" "The sound of a piano." "The piano... who is playing the piano?" "Of course Mr. Tsumura." "Mr. Tsumura is going to play the piano at your house?" "It was so dark at the time, what else could we do besides playing the piano?" Hearing the resentful Xiezi's words, Kindaichi Kosuke couldn't help laughing. After a while, the corners of the mouths of Officer Waitori and Officer Yamashita raised smiles, and the tense muscles on their faces relaxed. Only Officer Hibino still had a look of "Don't kill sheep". "Xizi..." After Kindaichi Kosuke called the other party's name, he scratched his head in embarrassment and said: "I'm sorry, please allow me to ask you to take a picture!" "I don't mind, you can call me Xizi! This is more natural." "Thank you. Then I want to ask you, should you seduce Mr. Tsumura first?" Xizi looked at Kosuke Kindaichi silently, and soon she said shyly: "When things have come to this point, I'll tell you the truth. When I called Hoshino Onsen at around 5:30 on Saturday evening, I really wanted to do this...I didn't do it on purpose, because Tetsuo called back after noon that day, and he He said that he couldn't leave because of something, so he couldn't come back that night. On the previous Saturday, he also promised to come back, but later he broke the appointment, but at that time he seemed to have something to do, because Dad was also very busy at that time... But the night before yesterday It's overdone! I'm sorry, I was too excited. You know about Tetsuo's drinking and drinking outside!" "Well, I heard that the police officer Waiting Power mentioned this, but Mr. Sakurai loves you very much, doesn't he?" "You mean he's obsessed with me? It's my fault. I was pregnant but didn't take good care of myself, which resulted in a traffic accident and a miscarriage. As a result, I couldn't have another child. Tiexiong also started spending time outside at that time. " "You can't have children?" Seeing Kindaichi Kosuke's surprised expression, Xizi couldn't help laughing. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help laughing because I saw you worrying so much. However, this is really strange... After the traffic accident, the doctor said that I have a 90% chance of infertility, so Tie Xiong I started messing around outside; then I gradually regained my health, the doctor said I had a 50% chance of conceiving, but Tiexiong didn't know about it." "You didn't tell him about it?" "It's not that I didn't tell him. I told him that the doctor said that I still have a 50% chance of getting pregnant. I hope he can treat me wholeheartedly and stop spending time outside; but we have worked hard for half a year and still have nothing. As a result, I really didn't have confidence now, so I had no choice but to turn a blind eye to his fickleness. I did this just to make him happy, because Tie Xiong really likes children very much, but we Not even a shred of hope." "Does Mr. Asuka know about this? I mean you have a 50% chance of conceiving." "Father doesn't know, that's why he is particularly worried about the relationship between our husband and wife." "You can't go on like this. You should tell Mr. Asuka clearly about this matter, let him reprimand your husband well, and let him turn around..." "Then please tell my father, Mr. Jin Tianyi, to ask him to go to the obstetrician and gynecologist of K University Hospital——Dr. Yoshimura." "Okay, the obstetrician and gynecologist at K University Hospital——Dr. Yoshimura, right..." Seeing Kosuke Kindaichi write down his name in his notebook, Police Officer Hibino couldn't help showing a surprised expression.After Waitori and Yamashita looked at each other seriously, the two police officers looked at Kosuke Kindaichi and Xizi again. "So, it's impossible for you to have sex with other men, because you still have a 50% chance of getting pregnant?" "Around 5:30, I called Hoshino Onsen to seduce Mr. Tsumura. Whenever Tetsuo was eating wild food outside, he always said some irrelevant things, so I could detect it immediately. When he called back at noon on Saturday That’s how it was, so I made up my mind at that time—you live your life, I live mine, and we owe nothing to each other.” "May I ask when you started dating Mr. Tsumura?" "This... Didn't Tie Xiong talk about it last night? I met him at an art exhibition last fall, and we drank tea and chatted with friends. After that meeting, one day we met at an art exhibition We met on the Internet, went to drink tea and chat together; from then on, either he called me or I called him, and we always made appointments to meet in coffee shops, galleries or department stores." "You didn't tell Mr. Sakurai about these things!" "I don't feel guilty at all, but I don't like people thinking that I'm a restless woman, and Mr. Tsumura thinks so, so we didn't tell anyone." "In other words, you don't hide it because you feel guilty, you feel more and more guilty after you hide it." Xizi strengthened his tone and said: "Mr. Kindaichi, what you said is absolutely correct." "Now please explain what happened the night before yesterday." Xizi nodded slightly, and then said: "When I called Mr. Tsumura at about 5:30 the night before yesterday, I really felt very guilty. I told Mr. Tsumura that my husband would not be coming back tonight and that the maid was going to the Obon dance festival. About ten I won’t be back until around one o’clock. I’m very lonely at home alone. I hope you can come to my house to accompany me. I was very nervous when I said these words, and the other party hesitated for a while before saying: “Then I’ll rush over after the concert is over.” He also said that he would come to my house after 8:30, and he had some things to do later. But his voice sounded like he was trembling, and he was worried that others would hear our conversation...Maybe I was thinking too much, but said Maybe he also likes this way of meeting." "what's next?" "We spent about an hour together, and I planned to make good use of this time, so I was mentally prepared. I was indeed a pretty evil woman at the time, and I kept shouting in my heart: 'Tiexiong, please remember me, Tetsuo...I'm really happy right now.'” "So you still love your husband dearly?" Xizi said with a heavy heart: "Mr. Kindaichi, this incident makes me very sad, so I will only give the general outline of the incident. Around seven o'clock, the maid of Fuekoji's house - Rieda came to my house to find Eiko to watch the dance festival together, by the way, Yulan The pot party was held not far from my house, so just hearing the loudspeaker sounded safe because the two of them would never be back before the dance festival was over." "Wait a minute, can you hear the loudspeaker during a power outage?" "Ah! This..." Xizi smiled and said: "Afterwards, I asked Rongzi, and she told me that one of the people who organized this event was the son of an electrical company. I heard that he prepared a storage battery. Although the power was cut off, it did not affect the progress of the event. The police officer knows too." "I also thought it was weird at first, because the battery doesn't need wires... When the power went out, I took the time to go to the event site to have a look. There were three metal trash cans in the park, and everyone lit a fire in the trash cans. , dancing in a circle. At that time I was still yelling: 'Isn't this too dangerous?' They said: 'Don't worry! We have called the firefighters.' After that, they continued dancing." Officer Hibino put away his sharp words and replaced them with a helpless wry smile. "I see. It seems that everyone is very happy and forgets themselves." "Because it's an annual event, and the owner of the electrical shop is very fond of it, he stood in front and led everyone to dance. I just said 'be careful with the candles', and then went back." "Can even Asama Yin hear the loudspeaker?" When everyone heard this, they all turned to Kosuke Kindaichi who asked the question in surprise. "I can hear that the terrain in that area is relatively high, and the terrain there is open to us, but it is better to ask the local residents. Is there any problem?" Upon hearing this new clue, Inspector Hibino immediately said: "Yes, I will definitely ask the local residents about this matter, please continue." Xizi's heart began to waver, she tried her best to suppress the uneasiness in her heart, and continued: "Just now I said that Eiko and Riede went out around seven o'clock. After a while, I heard music coming from the loudspeaker. After that, I also started to play the piano. Although I know that Mr. Tsumura will not be able to do it until after eight thirty at the earliest. When I arrived at my house, I still couldn't hold back my emotions... Then the power went out, and I lit candles right away..." Officer Hibino interrupted: "By the way, it is said that the owner of the electrical shop became active because of the power outage. At that time, he immediately called the power company to check whether the power outage was real. The time of the power outage was 8:02, and the loudspeaker was operated by the battery. The time was around 8:15, and I went to see how the event was going at 8:30." "After the power outage, I felt very troubled, because in this way, wouldn't the dance festival end soon? And I don't know what's going on at the recital. In this case, I don't know what to do That's good, and then...Mr. Tsumura came." "Did Tsumura-san bring a flashlight?" "Yes, he bought it at the old road shop. What I'm going to say here is that I didn't even notice that Mr. Tsumura was dressed as a killer last night until I listened to everyone's conversation." "Is Mr. Tsumura wearing a pair of dragonfly sunglasses?" "No, he didn't wear anything like that." (Perhaps Tsumura himself felt embarrassed, so he took off his glasses on the way to Xizi's house.) "And then? What happened again?" "Nothing special." "You two talked a lot, but there was no hug. Kiss thing?" "After all, this is the first time the two of us have been alone together..." "The blackout made the two of you at a loss. This is the performance of two people who are not good at talking about love!" "Mr. Tsumura won't use his talent in art to deceive women, and I don't have the ability to influence him. Then I said: 'Mr. Tsumura is really good at playing the piano, can you please play me a piece of music? ' Mr. Tsumura played a moonlight serenade." "Mr. Tsumura likes Beethoven's music?" "Yes, he played this piece by candlelight, and we were both intoxicated by the atmosphere at that time. Mr. Tsumura finished the Moonlight Serenade in one breath... By the way, when he started playing the piano, I heard the amplification There is a sound coming from the speaker." "How long will it take to finish playing the Moonlight Serenade?" "Twenty minutes, because there were three movements in total. Later I asked Mr. Tsumura to play other pieces, so he played three pieces of Chopin's Fantasia. During the playing, the wind became stronger and stronger; next, He played Chopin etudes again - 'Deadwood' and 'Revolution'." "What kind of tunes are these?" "They are all very passionate pieces. In the end, Mr. Tsumura played Liszt's 'Dream of Love'. Mr. Tsumura played the piano for about an hour." "Then you don't have much time to talk?" "We still talked between changing the music, but it was not a conversation between lovers. We talked about some music topics. It was half past nine when we were talking... Mr. Tsumura said: 'Your family Your servant will be back soon!' I replied: 'Yes!' He said: 'Then I should leave too.' So Mr. Tsumura went back." "Nine thirty? Is this time correct?" In order to be cautious, Police Officer Hibino confirmed it again. "It's not wrong, because he asked me what time it was, so I looked down at my watch, and the correct time should be 9:25. After hearing this, Mr. Tsumura said he was going to leave, and I said: 'Excuse me. , Mr. Tsumura came to my house specially, but he didn't treat you well. 'My husband drinks whiskey, so I prepared some side dishes and whiskey in advance, but I forgot to take them out." "So Mr. Tsumura played for an hour without eating or drinking?" "Yes. Mr. Tsumura also thanked me. He said that the atmosphere that night was so good that he was able to play one after another, so he thanked me very much; I said: 'I also feel the same, I hope Next time there is a chance, my husband will also have this opportunity to listen to Mr. Tsumura’s performance. He will be very happy.” Mr. Tsumura said: “I really envy him that he can have you as a good wife.” "After Mr. Tsumura started playing the piano, you were intoxicated by the beautiful melody until the end of the song?" "Mr. Kindaichi, you are right." "Did Mr. Tsumura mention that there was someone waiting for him at Yin Asama?" Officer Hibino asked the question. "No. When I walked him to the porch, he just said: 'When I go back, you're alone again.' I replied: 'It's nothing, I'm used to it.'" "You said just now that you looked down at your watch at nine thirty-five, and then you sent Mr. Tsumura to the entrance and said some polite words, so it's almost nine forty!" "Yes. But then there was another little episode." "The 'episode' you speak of is..." "Mr. Tsumura is a big and easy-going person. I heard you say that about him last night. He is really easy to lose everything... After he left, I cleaned up the living room and found that his piano score was still in my house. on the piano, so I hurried to chase him until I was about to turn to the corner of Asama Yin, and suddenly I saw a figure in front of me. I thought it was Mr. Tsumura, so I called out "Mr. Tsumura", and the man was in the dark. Looking back, I ran into the Gaoyuan Hotel in a hurry. Although the power was out at the time, the surrounding area was not so dark, and I could see the silhouette of that person. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. Looking back now, that person was My father..." When Xizi said this, he burst into tears immediately. After a while of silence, Kindaichi Kosuke asked: "My father chased after me to confirm who that person is..." "I don't know when Dad came, but he has very good hearing, so he must know who is playing the piano; and the house is not big, so Dad must have heard the conversation between me and Mr. Tsumura. Mr. Kindaichi, the darkness is real is the root of all evil." "How to say?" "Mr. Tsumura and I only talked about Chopin, Liszt and other topics, but both of us are afraid of being heard by the people around us. No wonder Dad is worried about me." "This is probably the so-called parental heart in the world! Your father wants you to reflect on yourself, so put the lighter on the handrail in the corridor of your house, and then follow Mr. Tsumura to find out." "It should be. When I thought the person in front of me was Mr. Tsumura and called his name, Dad ran away in a hurry." "Are you going to catch up with Mr. Tsumura after a while?" "Yes, I was catching up with him around the corner towards Asama. Mr. Tsumura looked quite disturbed. He was walking very slowly with a handbag in his hand. When I saw his back... Actually, I used to be like this I feel that Mr. Tsumura seems to be carrying a sinful cross." "The sinful cross?" Kindaichi Kosuke asked in surprise: "And what does that mean?" "I think he has a heavy burden in his heart. I think... probably because meeting me made his conscience severely punished!" Kosuke Kindaichi and Officer Hibino glanced at each other. (Could it be that the secret that Yasuhisa Fuekoji has is a heavy burden on the shoulders of Shinji Tsumura? Will the cross on his shoulders get heavier and heavier when he meets people who are related to Hochiyoko? ) "How long will it take Mr. Tsumura to walk back to Asama Yin's villa?" "I don't know where his villa is." "Officer Hibino, do you know how long it will take?" "It depends on how fast each person walks, but I think that no matter how slow you are, it will only take twenty minutes, or a little more." "It seems that Mr. Tsumura returned home at about ten o'clock, and the murder has already happened." "By the way, next is what Dad told me." "What's the matter?" "About the person who shot and wounded my father today, my father said that he saw that person clearly, but it was not Mr. Tsumura." "Who will that person be?" Police officer Hibino asked in a low voice. "Father doesn't know either, he doesn't know that person, it's just that that person is wearing exactly the same clothes as Mr. Tsumura." Xizi showed a look of fear, and his whole body became very stiff. "Is the police still looking for the whereabouts of that one?" "I don't know yet." Kosuke Kindaichi looked at Officer Yamashita and Officer Toroli, then turned his gaze to Officer Hibino, and said in a hoarse voice: "Does Mr. Tsumura have a gun?" "How is this possible! Aunt Feng emphasized that no matter how many Mr. Tsumura becomes, it is absolutely impossible for him to hold a gun."