Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven She and Five Men

"This is amazing." "Ok." "Has the murder scene returned to Tokyo?" "No, rather than returning to Tokyo, it's better to say that this murder spanned both Tokyo and Osaka. Mitsuki, didn't I say today that this is a murder carefully planned by the murderer? It seems that I His premonition was right. The prisoner used his demonic wisdom to plan this murder, and he must have risked it all." It is now 9:38 in the evening, and Master Yuri and I are sitting on the train from Osaka to Tokyo.Besides us, we were also accompanied by Detective Kimura and the key suitcase.

Master Yuli decided to go to Tokyo to investigate after the police found the suitcase.The Asahara Police Department had to determine when the consignor at Tokyo Station accepted the suitcase, so he sent his subordinate Kimura Criminal Police to take it to Tokyo. Master Yuri and I will split up our work and meet up on the platform of Osaka Station.Before leaving, I went to the branch office in Sakurabashi to discuss carefully with Shimadzu how to deal with the future development.During this time, Master Yuli and the police department went to N Hotel with their suitcases.Master Yuli told me about the situation they investigated at that time after getting on the train.

"It is said that the suitcase is the property of the Hara Sakura Opera Troupe. During the Tokyo performance, the suitcase was always in the backstage, and even Tsuchiya's manager and assistant Amamiya didn't know when it disappeared. During the performance , all the costumes and props are missing, it can be seen that someone put the clothes in that suitcase into another suitcase, and then took out the empty suitcase, and used it in this murder case." "The police probably don't know who took that suitcase out, right? Although the addressee says Kyouzo Tsuchiya, Tsuchiya will definitely say that he didn't know?"

"Well, Tsuchiya said that when he left Tokyo on the night of the 18th, the suitcase was indeed still in the venue in Tokyo. Before leaving, Tsuchiya explained a lot of aftermath to his assistant Amamiya. He said that the suitcase at the scene was still there. There were eight. But when Amamiya was packing, there were only seven suitcases left. But when he checked the costumes and props, he found that all the things were packed in seven suitcases, and one was a lot. He thought it was Mr. Tsuchiya I made a mistake about the number of suitcases before, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, until just now I found out that one piece of suitcase was really missing.”

"It seems that Amamiya is really a careless person. Not only the suitcase, but also the double bass..." "That's right. Basically, either Yu Gong was pretending to be stupid, or the criminals took advantage of his lack of wits to make the whole murder case so seamless." "You, what did you say?" I looked at Master Yuri in surprise.Master Yuri looked directly into my eyes with deep meaning and said. "Mitsuki, to be honest, I feel like I'm in a fog right now. The murderer is a very cunning and shrewd person. I clearly know that this is a murder plan he has worked hard to come up with, but I have no way of judging the direction of development of this plan. The clues we know so far are quite chaotic, but among these chaotic clues, there is only one that reminds me, and that is Amamiya. No matter what role Yugong played in this murder case, I am sure that he is absolutely The people who started this tragedy."

After Master Yuri sighed desolately, he stopped talking.At this time, I know very well that no matter how much I ask, the master will not say another word.The rest is up to me to figure it out. Why is it said that Yugong is the important person who started this tragedy?Yu Gong felt like a child who hadn't grown up yet, and people couldn't figure out whether he was a fool or a smart pretender.But in any case, I don't think he will be the cause of this tragedy.Could he be the criminal...?This idea is impossible to establish, and even makes people feel a little ridiculous.As a result, what Master Yuli said still baffled me.

The more I think about it, the more entangled my thoughts become, so I feel a little bored.I tried to drive the figure of Amamiya out of my mind, and turned to another person—Shiga Pito.Shiga's surprise when he was reading the evening paper in the lobby of the hotel just now was unusual. What made him so surprised?Did he already know about the suitcase? So, I pretended to mention this to Master Yuri casually, and the master looked at me in surprise. "Shiga...? He read the evening paper...?" "Well, the master was answering the phone at that time. Shiga seemed to be taken aback. He looked as if he had aged five or even ten years in an instant."

"From what you said, he really looked listless just now. Do you have the evening paper with you?" "Yes, here, but the newspaper didn't mention anything special except the suitcase." I handed the evening newspaper to the master, and he read the contents of the newspaper intently. "Sure enough, apart from the suitcase, there was nothing reported that could surprise him." "That's right. And if he knows something about the suitcase, he should hide his surprise. Huh, what's wrong?" Master Yuri's eyes suddenly locked on a point on the newspaper.

"It's nothing, the Western painter Junkichi Saeki committed suicide on the cruise ship to Europe. This incident has nothing to do with the murder, but..." "Oh, that's the thing. I was taken aback when I found out. He's a good painter. It's a pity." The source of the report about the suicide of western painter Junkichi Saeki was a telegram sent from Shanghai, which was published just below the report on the suitcase I wrote. died.This incident happened shortly after the cruise ship left Japan. When the cruise ship entered Shanghai Port, it was discovered by the waiter, which caused a commotion.No documents suspected of being a suicide note were found at the scene, but according to other passengers who knew Saeki, after boarding the ship, Saeki once wrote words such as "I suffer from depression, and I may not want to take poison for a while to commit suicide."In addition, another report written after the reporter interviewed Saeki's friends mentioned that the reason why Saeki Junkichi has remained celibate in his fifties is because he has an unrequited love for a well-known woman.The reason why Saeki suddenly decided to go to France this time was precisely because the relationship between him and the woman was deteriorating day by day.Before departing from Tokyo, he had confided to friends that he had decided not to return to Japan.From this point of view, he may have made up his mind to commit suicide at that time.

"After reading this report, I was taken aback. Saeki died by suicide. This world is really a coincidence, and their situations are so similar." "The situation is similar...?" "Yes. In fact, Shiga's position is the same as Saeki's. This matter was told to me by an inquirer who is very familiar with the theater world. I can't tell if it's true or not. It is said that Shiga has been single until now. , also because of a broken relationship. As for who is Shiga’s broken love, I don’t need to say more, you should know it too, right? It’s Hara Sakura.”

"Oh……" Master Yuri suddenly opened his eyes wide. "So, the relationship between Hara Sakura and Shiga is not as simple as members of the same opera troupe?" "No, their recent relationship does stop there, at least on the surface. But everyone thinks that Shiga's love for Hara Sakura is growing day by day. Of course Hara Sakura knows about this, but she But don’t tell the truth. After all, if a woman like Hara Sakura has no one around to praise and flatter her at all times, she will feel something is wrong.” "There are always women like this in the world.... This kind of ambiguous relationship makes Shiga's unrequited love for her unstoppable for a long time. However, these ambiguous affairs all happened before Hara Sakura got married." "That's right. It was the time when the artistic performance of opera was sprouting in the Imperial Theater. Hara Sakura was a famous figure at that time. In addition to the Shiga flute master, there were also conductor Makino and manager Tsuchiya who fell in love with her. It’s like big wild wolves coveting Hara Sakura. But after Hara Sakura was chased by Mr. Hara Satoshiro, Makino and Tsuchiya stopped clinging to Hara Sakura and got married. It can be seen that their love for Hara Sakura The feelings are not as innocent as Shiga's." "Well, from what you said, the Hara Sakura Opera Troupe can be said to be composed of Hara Sakura's old lovers?" "Hahaha, it's almost there. However, the members of the Hara Sakura Opera Troupe are not limited to her old lovers, but also include her current lover. Recently, the relationship between Ono and Hara Sakura has been made public." "Oh, so, Shiga plus Makino, Tsuchiya, Ono, and Hara Sakura's old and new lovers make a total of four? No, there are more than four. Naturally, her husband Hara Satoshiro will also be included, so there are five in total. a man surrounded by her?" When the master said this sentence, his tone was relaxed, with a touch of ridicule, but there was a hopelessly gloomy look on his face.I think Mr. Hara Satoshiro must be the figure that came to the master's mind at this time.I don't know exactly what kind of friendship Master Yuri and Mr. Satoshiro Hara have, but judging from the fact that Mr. Satoshiro begged Master to come out, they are probably old friends.From the standpoint of a friend, master must not be able to listen to the scandal that Hara Sakura gradually surfaced. We were silent for a long time, our bodies swaying with the train.Suddenly I thought of something to ask the master. "By the way, did the master ask about Ono's incident? It was the incident on the morning of the 20th, when Ono received the code score..." "Well, I asked him. But Ono didn't seem to have made up his mind yet, so I told him to think it over before I came back from Tokyo..." "Ono must know something hidden, that's why his face was so ugly when the master mentioned that matter." "Well, he must know something, and so does Sagara. No, not only Ono and Sagara, but also Tsuchiya, Shiga, and Makino, everyone must know something." "So her husband is the only one who doesn't know?" "No, he knows best." "what?" Master Yuri's tone of voice had a special power that made me unconsciously look back at him.The master's face was already gloomy, and it became even more gloomy at this time. "'Only her husband doesn't know' doesn't apply to Mr. Satoshi Hara, no, it can't possibly apply to him. I've known him a long time ago, and he's a smart, witty man No matter how Hara Sakura deals with many men, it is impossible for him not to know." "Does this mean...? Master, did he turn a blind eye to his wife's stealing behind his back?" "I don't know whether to turn a blind eye or whether he absolutely trusts his wife." I don't think the latter is very likely.A woman like Hara Sakura who is always surrounded by men and cannot live without a man flattering her, even if Mr. Satoshiro is such a good person, it is impossible for her to trust her absolutely and let her go Chaos outside.On the contrary, I think "Mr. Big Heart" is more suitable to describe Mr. Soichiro's character.But no matter how generous a person's heart is, there is a limit. If Hara Sakura overestimated that range and accidentally exceeded it, Mr. Satoshiro couldn't bear it...? Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shudder.Master Yuli just took out a notebook at this time. "Where is that notebook?" "A memo written by Tsuchiya." "Oh, this is..." "Before I left, I borrowed it from Tsuchiya. The guy looked like the boss didn't want to, but I told him that I would never mention this to anyone, so I insisted. Just now I was in Osaka. I have roughly read it on the bus at the station, and the content is quite straightforward." The notes we read at this time are the part quoted at the beginning of the story, and most of the content is the facts we already know before reading the notes.But as I said before, Master Yuli discovered the hidden cause of this murder from this notebook. However, I didn't realize the significance of this notebook at the time, so I looked at it with the master, and soon I felt sleepy, until I was about to arrive in Yokohama, and the master woke me up. Can't sleep well. The train arrived at Tokyo Station at half past seven.The Metropolitan Police Department's Waiting Force Police Department may have been notified by the Osaka Police, and they have been waiting for us at the station.In the previous cases, the Waiting Force Police Department has acted with us many times, so it is an old face.After Detective Kimura came over with the suitcase, I introduced him to the Waiting Force Police Department, and then the four of us went to the luggage check-in counter.The Osaka police seemed to have greeted here, and the staff on duty on the night of the 19th had already been waiting here for a long time.The man checked the suitcase and said immediately: "I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's the suitcase. After receiving a call from Osaka last night, I found out after some investigation that there were many pieces of luggage sent to Osaka on the night of the 19th. Received by Mr. Kyozo Tsuchiya. Most of them were checked in just before the departure of the train to Kobe at 10:15 in the evening, so it was too late to catch the train, and the next one was delivered. But there is a piece of luggage It was consigned earlier, that is, this one, so it can catch the 10:15 bus. Do you ask the time of acceptance? The account book says 9:45..." Master Yuri and I couldn't help but glanced at each other. If this suitcase was brought here at 9:45pm on the 19th, then Kyouzo Tsuchiya in Osaka and Futeto Shiga in Kobe that night would be the same. It is equivalent to completely eliminating suspicion. "Do you still have an impression of the character who brought this suitcase?" The man seemed to be waiting for this question from Master Yuri. "That's where the problem lies. I tried to recall it, but there are so many people in places like the station... I only remember that it was a tall and burly man, and I don't remember anything else." There was a little regret on the man's face, but Master Yuri didn't seem to expect him to remember, and he didn't show any disappointment.Then the master suddenly thought of something and asked: "It doesn't matter, it's only natural that you can't remember. But even if you don't remember his appearance, do you think he has cross-dressed? Or, although it's not to the extent of cross-dressing, he used things to cover his face in order to hide the eyes and ears... ..." "Well, I can't remember. If it was what you said, I should have thought that person was strange and left an impression... But I really don't remember." All in all, we have only one clue from the consignor at Tokyo Station, that is, the suitcase was accepted at 9:45 p.m. on the 19th, and nothing else was found. "It's okay, sorry to trouble you. The things you said have great reference value." Then we went to the station restaurant under the leadership of the Waiting Force Police Department, where we had a simple breakfast.The murder scene returned to Tokyo from Osaka all of a sudden, and the police department of the Waiting Force also seemed emotional. "...Yesterday we received a report from the Osaka police, so our police conducted a carpet search of the apartment in the Atago Shimo area. This morning, we finally confirmed something we suspected before. Is Hara Sakura's real name? Called Qingzi?" "That's right, that's right. Kiyoko Eguchi was her name before she got married." "That's right. Atago has an apartment called Qingfengzhuang. The design of that apartment is ingenious and Western-style. Someone rented a suite there under the name of Hara Kiyoko, but the administrator said that the name Someone named Kiyoko Hara doesn’t seem to live there. How should I put it, the place feels like it’s rented for a tryst, as if a man and a woman often meet there and leave after an hour.” "So, the apartment manager still doesn't know that the woman is Hara Sakura?" "It seems so. I just listened to the report on the phone, and I don't know the details. But I heard that when the woman goes, she always wears a veil on her face." "Then you haven't been to the scene to see it?" "Yes. When I arrived at the station, the police officers who had just been dispatched to Atago made a phone call, so I wanted to ask Master to go and have a look together. We have already sent someone to monitor the scene and not let anyone in. .” "Okay! Then let's go there quickly." Before leaving, I borrowed a phone from the restaurant to call the agency, but the editor-in-chief Tanabe hadn’t come to work yet, so someone else answered the phone.It is said that the head office received a report from Shimadzu from Osaka today, and has found Seifuzhuang in the morning. Currently, another reporter, Goi, is on his way to Seifuzhuang.Thinking of the clues to this murder case, my mood also became joyful. If Hara Sakura really had a tryst with a certain man there, maybe the mystery of the murder case could be solved.At that time, I thought things very simply, thinking that most of the murder case had been solved.Unexpectedly, Hara Sakura's bizarre rendezvous behavior added an even more bizarre color to the murder case.

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