Chapter 2 Chapter 1 Double Bass
On October 20th, big disaster.For me, Kyozo Tsuchiya, today is the most unlucky day in fifty years.
Open the morning newspapers in Osaka today, and all of them reported Hara Sakura's death with eye-catching headlines such as "World-Class Soprano", "World-Famous Madame Butterfly", "National Treasure of Japan".
I've known that woman since she was young.Being too close, I really don't think she's as great as the papers make it out to be, and I don't think her murder would have done such a great loss to the music scene.
However, now that woman is dead, where will I go?How will my future life be?To me, she was not only a domineering host, a volatile financier, but also a loving employer.How can a woman with such an unpredictable temperament be able to accomplish anything.But then again, she was nice to me.For a man like me who makes mistakes all the time, not only did she not fire me, but she kept hiring me as an agent.
That woman has a kind of vanity that likes to show off the prestige of the big sister. As long as she grasps her psychology and begs her hard, she will turn a blind eye to most of the mistakes.In this music world full of veterans, besides her, who else would be fooled by such a three-year-old kid?
Without this protector, how am I going to make a living in the future?Counting my age, I am also fifty years old, how can I be the manager of that kind of fledgling rookie singer again?Even if I could swallow this futility, who would hire a stupid agent like me who has nothing to do?Before she was alive, I always exposed her scars in private. Now that I think about it, this woman, Yuan Ying, actually took good care of me.
It's fierce, it's fierce!From now on I should...
Forget it, I can't finish writing such depressing words.Tsuchiya Kyouzo, calm down!Calm down and take a good look at the whole story of this incident.
That's what I said, but I really don't understand why things have come to this point.Where exactly was Hara Sakura killed?And why would it be packed into that kind of thing?It's really puzzling.All I know is that this is no ordinary murder.Such an insidious and ingenious murder plan was definitely carefully planned by the murderer. How could someone with a muddled head like me think of it?
It is for this reason that it is imperative for me to record the incident in detail.As long as I accumulate what I have seen and know, I may be able to see through the tip of the iceberg of the murderer's plan.In this way, maybe a simple-minded person like me can find out the fox's tail of the prisoner, so I wrote this notebook.
However, when I really want to write, my mind is in a mess again, and I don't know where to start.In the final analysis, the beginning of the incident was because Kawada's double bass was not delivered to the venue, which caused this uproar...But if we start from here, things will only get more and more messy. It seems that we have to start from this Osaka performance.
Hara Sakura Opera Troupe's three-day Tokyo performance came to an end on the evening of October 18.The drama launched has won a bright box office that exceeded expectations.Regarding this, Hara Sakura conceited that it was due to her popularity, but I don't think so.To put it bluntly, the main reason is that opera has recently begun to be accepted by the Japanese public, which I had anticipated when it was launched last fall②.From the perspective of popularity, Hara Sakura's disciple, the young and beautiful mezzo-soprano Chieko Sagara is more popular than her.And this time Pinkerton is played by Ono Tatsuhiko. Although Ono Tatsuhiko's singing skills are not yet perfect, the troupe claims that he is a rare handsome man with a beautiful singing voice in the world.Taking it for granted, the popularity naturally gathered on these two people.
However, this kind of thing is irrelevant.According to the plan, after the Tokyo performance ended, we had to go to the Nakanoshima Public Hall in Osaka to perform immediately.
The performance in Osaka is on October 20th and 21st, just one day after the Tokyo performance, so of course my manager is very busy.On the last day of the Tokyo performance, before the curtain ended, I took a train that night and traveled from Tokyo to Kansai with Shiga flute master who played the role of Marquis Yamatori in Madama Butterfly.This man said that he had to go to Kobe for something, so he decided to leave with me earlier than the troupe.
According to the original plan, the members who finished the Tokyo performance should take the night bus departing from Tokyo the next day, that is, on the night of the 19th.But Hara Sakura decided that she would take the bus that departed at 10 am on the 19th, because she would not be able to sleep if she took the night bus, and if she didn't sleep well, it would have an impact on her performance on the 20th.At that time, if Hara Sakura was riding with other people, such a tragedy would not have happened...
However, Hara Sakura was not alone in the car at the time. Her husband, Mr. Hara Satoshiro, and his disciple Sagara Chieko were also scheduled to accompany her.As I left Tokyo a day earlier than them, I thought the three of them would arrive in Osaka together, and I had already booked a room for them at the D Building Hotel.But... oh, let me keep this matter a secret for now.
Then turn the subject back to me.
Yesterday, the morning of the 19th, I had a busy day after I parted ways with the Shiga flute master who was heading straight to Kobe Sannomiya.I first rushed to the D building hotel to confirm the room where the Hara Sakura couple will stay.Anyway, Ms. Sakura is so irritable, if there is a mistake that makes her unhappy, then I can't finish eating and walk away.
Then I went to the N Hotel, where the rest of the troupe will be staying.I booked rooms in both hotels by phone first, and after confirming that they were correct, the pre-work was done.Now that the group's lodging has been settled, the rest is the venue, the newspaper office, the radio station, and the most important sponsor of Hara Sakura.On that day, I traveled all over Osaka, and good news came from all the ticket offices. It is said that the advance tickets for these two days have been sold out.The Hara Sakura Opera Troupe was well received, and the venue was filled with wreaths presented by A Chamber of Commerce and B Store. It was a joy to see such a scene.
Whenever I am intoxicated with happiness, when I am in a good mood, there must be a big bad thing falling from the sky.This kind of major disaster seems to be used by the heavens to offset my ecstasy, and after the blessings and misfortunes are balanced, there must be some bad parts left.There is an old proverb that says, "Fortune and misfortune are intertwined like a rope." This sentence really summed up my fifty years of life.What's more, compared to the great disaster, there is only such a small amount of blessing, which is really enough.So recently I always remind myself, don’t be so happy because of a little good thing that happened by accident, but yesterday I was negligent and negligent. If the retribution is not good, I will suffer the bitter fruit now.So let me talk about what happened yesterday that made me get carried away.
After finishing my work at the place where I should say hello and show up, I met up with my old friend S who works at Xifang Newspaper.In the past, S and I were good friends who wore the same pair of trousers, but this kid jumped to a newspaper office in Osaka halfway, and now he is very prestigious.
"Long time no see, how about a drink?"
I followed S to Beixindi. S seems to be very popular in this area. As soon as he entered the store, five or six young and beautiful geisha came over chatteringly.Men are all the same, no matter how old they live, there is no reason not to love women.Of course, I am also obsessed with loving women, and I have suffered countless defeats in terms of relationships so far.It is especially worth mentioning that last night I was stuck with a very pleasing Osaka geisha.I was already in a good mood, but when I heard her call me "Little Sansan", I was even more elated.Just such a carelessness, I forgot to go to the station to meet Ms. Sakura, and I made a big mistake.
Ms. Sakura is scheduled to arrive at Osaka Station at eight o'clock in the evening.As an agent, I have to go to the station to greet him in person no matter what, and report the local situation in detail.
However, when I came back to my senses, my God, it was already past 8:30.
I rushed into the telephone room in a panic, dialed the number to the hotel in Building D, and the counter staff said: "Ms. Hara Ying has arrived just now, and seems to be resting in the room at present."
This is bad!I didn't go to greet her. I think that guy Hara Sakura must be very angry now, and he must vent his anger on her husband.I suddenly felt hairy on the soles of my feet and looked embarrassed. "S, I will take my leave first."
After I threw such a sentence at S, I immediately pushed away the geisha beside me and rushed out.Seeing my face change drastically, that stinky boy S said with a sneer: "It's really hard for you to serve the nobleman."
What a joke!How can my pain be described in the mere words "serve the nobleman", not to mention that the other party is a tigress who can change face faster than the sky.
When I rushed to the D building restaurant, Hara Sakura was not there.The counter foreman greeted me: "Ms. Hara Sakura just left the house. She left the key here at the counter and didn't say where she was going."
"Didn't you tell her I called just now?" I blamed displeased.The foreman timidly replied: "No, I did. I told Mr. Hara Sakura that a gentleman named Tsuchiya is coming soon..."
Knowing that I was coming soon, Hara Ying still went out, her fury is not hard to imagine.Thinking of this makes me so worried that my stomach hurts.My only hope is that her husband Satoshiro Hara is by her side.Although Mr. Yuan lives a dissolute life, he is a prudent person. He always sympathizes with my situation on weekdays. Not only that, he is also familiar with the art of controlling Yuan Ying.Judging from what the foreman said, Hara Sakura seemed to be going out alone. I thought that Mr. Hara was staying in the hotel alone, so I told the foreman that I wanted to meet Mr. Hara, but I didn't expect that Mr. Satoshiro didn't go with Hara Sakura.
"Ms. Hara Sakura came here by car from Osaka Station by herself. The teacher said that her husband suddenly had an urgent matter to stay in Tokyo, and she will arrive with others early tomorrow morning."
I felt like I had been punched hard in the head.Since her husband is not with her, it seems that it is more difficult to calm down her anger in a short time.
However, Hara Sakura came to the restaurant by herself, which is really unbelievable.Even if her husband has important business to stay in Tokyo, Chieko Sagara, as a disciple, should accompany her until the hotel.However, in fact, Sagara will not live in this hotel.She was born in Osaka. In my impression, her hometown seems to be Tenka Chaya or Hagi no Chaya, so she will go back to her hometown for the night this time.
But no matter what, Sagara should send Hara Sakura to the hotel before returning to his hometown.What's more, Mr. Satoshiro stayed in Tokyo, and Hara Sakura needed her company even more by herself.It's not Sagara's style to carelessly ignore this.
I always felt that something was wrong, so I wanted to call Sagara and ask how Hara Sakura was doing.Unfortunately, I forgot to ask for the phone number of Sagara's hometown.
I waited in the lobby of the hotel for about half an hour, but not only was Hara Sakura nowhere to be seen, I didn't even get a call.While waiting, I suddenly remembered that Hara Sakura had a powerful sponsor living in Kitahama.According to the foreman at the counter, Hara Sakura didn't call for a taxi when she left the house. I thought she must have gone to Kitahama, so I rushed out of the hotel to Kitahama.When I got there, the other party said that Hara Sakura hadn't come. Disappointed, I had to rush from the shipyard to Shimanouchi and visit other sponsors one by one.
To be honest, there is nothing to worry about at all. Hara Sakura is not a three-year-old child anymore. I know that I am not worried about her getting lost at all, but this is the first tip of the woman's manager: in this Always pretend to be poor and run around looking for her nervously, so that you can please her after you find her.
I usually say to her like this:
"Teacher, it's too much. You ran out without making a sound. You don't know how worried I am. Last night, I was looking for you everywhere..."
Hearing what I said, Hara Sakura would definitely answer like this:
"You're so stupid. I'm not a three-year-old anymore. It's very pitiful for you to wake up others so late. Are you really worried about me? I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
In this way, the world will be at peace.
It was one o'clock in the morning when I got back to the hotel that night.Everything is in place, there is nothing to worry about.I can sit back and relax and forget all about Hara Sakura, but I still made a formal call to the D building restaurant.
"Ms. Hara Sakura hasn't come back yet, who are you?"
Oh shit!Where did that tigress go?
In a blink of an eye, today is the twentieth day.
The first thing I did when I woke up was to make another call to the D building restaurant.Of course, I didn't expect to hear the woman's voice at all.She must have many friends in Osaka, some of whom I don't know.According to my guess, she probably spent the night at a friend's house.She is always like this, she likes to play this kind of hide-and-seek game, which makes me anxious like an ant on a hot pot, and she didn't show up leisurely until the last second.
So I don't take this one seriously either.In retrospect, my guess was only half right.Sure enough, the woman showed up at the last second, but what appeared was...
It is too early to write the results now.Before that, I think it is necessary for me to explain the big and small things that happened on this day.
Speaking of how busy today is, it is worse than yesterday.
A group of Hara Sakura Opera Troupe took the train departing from Tokyo at 10:15 last night and are scheduled to arrive at Osaka Station at 8:7 this morning.In view of the mistakes made last night, today I will meet them no matter what.What's more, Hara Sakura's husband, Mr. Satoshiro, is also included in the group, which is even more unbearable.In any case, I have to see Mr. Satoshiro first, and ask him to appease Hara Sakura on my behalf.
On the way to Osaka Station, I went to the D Building Hotel first.Sure enough, Yuan Ying still had no news.Oh shit!Do as you please!
When I hurried to meet him at Osaka Station, the scene was already crowded with a large number of newspaper reporters, venue representatives and opera fans.In addition, there are many young and beautiful ladies who seem to be members of the regiment.One pass ten, ten pass one hundred, people who love to join in the fun flocked one after another.
However, the most important protagonists Hara Sakura and Sagara Chieko have not yet appeared.I was afraid that the people at the scene would get impatient, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and come out to say a few words to everyone.
"Ms. Hara Sakura is shy by nature and doesn't like extravagant scenes..."
I heard a girl in the distance say: "Master Hara Sakura is putting on a show." This child is really honest and smart!
Anyway, for these girls, it doesn't matter whether Hara Sakura and Sagara come or not, the tenor Tatsuhiko Ono is the key point.When he stepped off the sleeper train, he was immediately surrounded by these little girls, and the scene was really lively.
Now, if the entire Japanese entertainment industry were to hold a poll for the most popular male artist, Tatsuhiko Ono would surely be able to squeeze into the top five. The promotional title of "the most beautiful man in the world" may not add points to him, but the exhaustion of traveling and traveling has added a bit of melancholy to him. In the eyes of the little girl, he is undoubtedly more attractive.They kept yelling Mrs. Ono, Mrs. Ono, which made my ears almost deaf.
In my eyes, everyone in the music world is selfish, but I only have a good impression of Ono.He is obviously a 100% beautiful man, but he is unaware of his appearance, which is the most innocent.Underneath the dignified body of five feet seven inches, there is a pure heart like a fifteen or six-year-old boy.This may be due to the shallowness of his joining the troupe, or it may be due to his good financial background.He is the second son of a well-known old shop in Nihonbashi, the Red House Kimono Shop.Yuan Ying recently told this man..., oh, it was so dangerous, I almost slipped my mouth.
By the way, where is Mr. Satoshiro?When I looked left and right to find his figure, I was patted by him on the shoulder.
"It's been hard work. Are you tired?"
This person always greets people with a smile, and seems to know nothing about worry.Usually he is always calm, smiling.I think, if he wasn't a son of a prominent family in the financial and economic circles, a smart and talented student in the eyes of the world, if he had never experienced a big storm in his life, his style of acting would probably not be so leisurely.My personality and his are like yin and yang, forming a strong contrast.But it's amazing that I don't even feel disgusted with him.Even Hara Sakura is obedient to him, always acting like a baby "dear, dear".Anyone can tell that he also loves Hara Sakura very much, but I really can't figure out what this couple is thinking in their hearts.
"How? Is Hara Sakura in a good mood?"
I briefly explained to him what had happened from last night until now.Mr. Satoshiro kept smiling all the time, and when I finished speaking, he even laughed loudly:
"Hahaha, she has committed her old problem again. There is nothing to worry about, she will show up when the time is up. You are too timid to be played by her in the palm of your hand."
After finishing speaking, he muttered to himself: "I'm so sleepy, I'm so sleepy, I really want to sleep." Then he walked out of the platform quickly and left.
Well, the pre-work to appease Hara Sakura is finally complete.For a careful person like Mr. Satoshiro, as long as I remind him like this, he will definitely help me comfort Hara Sakura into obedience.Now I finally let go of a big stone in my heart, and then I gathered the troupe and asked them to take a bus to N Hotel.
Said it was a group of people, but in fact there were not many.After all, things like opera are very labor-intensive. If the original crew of the Tokyo performance were really moved to Osaka, the funding would soon bottom out.Therefore, we decided to invite people from the Osaka Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Association to serve as the orchestra and choir.
But I still found the conductor Kenzo Makino during the Tokyo performance.Makino and Hara Sakura would bicker as soon as they met. Both of them were arrogant and stubborn.
As soon as the last performance ended, Makino announced that he would no longer be the conductor of Hara Sakura's opera.It was not until before the performance of "Madame Butterfly" that Hara Sakura was willing to put down her figure and beg Makino in a low voice.Although Makino pretended to be reluctant on the surface, he finally agreed.After all, when it comes to decent opera in Japan, who else is better than the Hara Sakura Opera Troupe?And when it comes to first-class conductors, if Makino humbles himself as the second, who would dare to call himself the first?Therefore, even if the two have incompatible personalities, they still cannot clearly distinguish the boundaries between each other.On the same day, Makino came with two disciples, a trombone player and a double bass player. Unexpectedly, something happened to the double bass later.
After escorting the group on the train to the hotel, I went to collect the luggage with my assistant, Amamiya, who came with me on this train.This young man, Amamiya, is a distant relative of Mr. Satoichiro, who has recently become my assistant, and his work is very unreliable.As far as the job of a manager is concerned, I'm already clumsy, but I didn't expect Amemiya to be even better than me.No matter how big or small, he made mistakes in everything, and he was a reckless, bad guy.When it comes to his strengths, except that he won't get angry no matter how harshly I criticize him, he has nothing at all.
Ever since I handed over the aftermath of the Tokyo performance to this unreliable assistant, my heart has been hanging in the air.Fortunately, he didn't seem to have made any mistakes so far. Not only did most of the clothes arrive yesterday, but the rest were handed over to the consignor at Tokyo Station before departure last night.
When we went to claim our luggage, it hadn't arrived yet.It is said that this batch of luggage is on the next bus and will arrive at Osaka Station at 10:30.I think we have been waiting at the station dry is not an option.
"Let's go back to the hotel first. After noon, you will pick up your luggage by yourself. The rehearsal will start at two o'clock. You'd better bring your luggage directly to the venue."
As soon as we got back to Hotel N, I immediately called and went to Hotel D, but the staff at the counter said that Hara Sakura was still missing.Mr. Soichiro just arrived, but seems to have fallen asleep, the door of the room is locked, and the phone is not answered.In this case, I have nothing special to look for him anyway, so I asked the counter staff not to disturb his rest and hung up the phone.
Nothing happened between the time I hung up the phone and two o'clock in the afternoon.I told Amamiya what I was doing, left the hotel and went to various newspaper offices and radio stations, and it was around 1:30 when I returned to the venue.At this time, the singers also came from the N Hotel one after another. People from the Osaka Symphony Orchestra and the chorus had already arrived, and the scene was very lively.
Amamiya arrived earlier than me.I asked him how things were going with the luggage, and I was finally relieved to hear that he had brought everything.
But what happened to Hara Sakura?It's time to show up.No, not only Hara Sakura, but also Ono, Sagara, and the baritone Shiga flute.
Fifty past one.
The rehearsal was scheduled to start at two o'clock sharp, and the symphony orchestra had already taken their seats.Commander Makino held the baton, looking restless.
At this moment, the roar of double bass player Kawada came to his ears.
"Hey! Amamiya, where did you get my double bass?"
Yugong was speechless for a moment.His complexion changed drastically, and he stuttered in panic.
"Double bass... double bass...? But I brought all the luggage here according to the luggage ticket. There is no double bass..."
"Asshole! How could such a thing happen? You should have seen that I checked in my double bass at Tokyo Station yesterday. When other people handed over their luggage to you, didn't I just give you the luggage ticket?" ? Could it be that you lost the luggage ticket?"
"That's not the case. It's absolutely impossible for that to happen. I clamped your luggage ticket with someone else's... How could this be? When I was picking up my luggage at Osaka Station just now, I carefully Checked the number of luggage and baggage checks....It was my fault that I accidentally left out your double bass, but..."
"Now that I know I'm wrong, I'll see what you do! Do you want me to play empty-handed? If my double bass is lost like this, I'll see how you will compensate me!"
"I'm really sorry. I'll go to Osaka Station to check."
Yugong's face was livid, holding back tears.Just when he was about to rush out of the venue in a panic, three people, Ono, Sagara and Shiga Diren, walked into the backstage almost at the same time.
"Mr. Kawada, what are you getting mad at? There are double basses and double basses, and there is a double bass that was thrown out of the backstage door. Isn't that yours?"
"Miss Sagara, low, low, is the double bass outside the backstage door?" Amamiya was so frightened that he stuttered when he spoke.
"Yeah, it's right next to the door. Go and bring it to Kawata."
Yugong had just left the backstage in a panic when the phone rang.It's Mr. Hara Satoshiro calling from the D Grand Hotel.
"Tsuchiya? Is Hara Sakura here?"
"Well..., not... not yet."
"Not yet? Has the rehearsal started? That's strange. Anyway, I'll go and have a look first."
As soon as I hung up the phone, I saw Amamiya coming in carrying a huge piano case.However, there was an unspeakable weirdness in that scene.The small and thin Amamiya seemed about to be crushed by the piano box, his face was flushed, and he was panting like a cow and moaning.Seeing his appearance, Chieko Sagara was the first to laugh.
"Mr. Amamiya, why are you so stupid? Is the double bass so heavy?"
"Miss Sagara, you don't know something, this violin is really heavy! Mr. Kawada, what is it inside of you?"
"That goes without saying, of course it's the double bass. Give it to me."
When Kawada wanted to take over the huge piano case from Amamiya's back, he was staggered by the unexpected weight.Under the panic of the two, the piano case slipped from Yugong's back and fell to the ground with a bump.Looking down, not only the lock has come off, but the cover is slightly loose, and two or three withered rose petals are falling from the gap of the cover.
Kawata's face changed drastically, and he reached into his pocket to look for the key.But when he found that the lock was broken and the key was no longer needed, he immediately opened the lid of the box.
Speaking of Hara Sakura, her daily life itself is like a drama, no matter what the circumstances, she will never miss the best time to make an appearance.However, for all her prowess, she has never appeared in such a dramatic way until now.
What is contained in the piano box is not a double bass, but Hara Sakura's body.Covered in rose petals, the body of the soprano of the world looks like a mummy dug out of an Egyptian tomb.
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