When Wada was about to go out, the phone rang. After a moment's hesitation, he returned to the living room and picked up the receiver. "Hi, is this Mr. Wada?" It was a young woman's voice. Wada smiled wryly at the other party calling himself "Sir", then nodded, "Yes." Since Wada quit his job as a police officer, he has been busy writing books and lecturing, and since then the chances of being called "Mr." have increased.For this he often feels embarrassed. This is because Hotan still maintains the habit he developed while searching the No. 1 police department.

"I want you to save me." The woman spoke again.Wada heard her voice tremble a little. Hotan looked at his watch. At one o'clock, he was going to meet a Ming friend. It seemed that the other party could not finish talking on the phone in two or three minutes. "What the hell is going on?" "Someone threatened me," she said. This time the trembling was more pronounced. "Then you might as well call the police instead of calling me. I'm no longer a policeman." "But I don't think the police will take it." "why?" "Although someone threatened me, there is no evidence that the police refused to accept it, right?"

"Oh, that's true. But what kind of threat?" "Threatening phone calls, and when I was walking at night, a car suddenly wanted to hit me." "Who did you tell this to?" "To relatives." "and after?" "They all said I was crazy. But I really didn't lie!" "Ok." He Tian looked at his watch again, he must finish this call as soon as possible if he wants to see his friend.But you can't just hang up the phone. This is not the first time such a call has been made.He had encountered several times when he was a policeman, but most of them were mentally ill people-delusion of persecution.Such people think that everyone around them hates them or wants to rob them of their property, and most of them are women.

Maybe this is the same person on this call today.But maybe it was really threatened. "Then what do you want me to do?" "I want to meet and talk, okay?" "Can't you talk on the phone?" "Yes, perhaps someone will overhear." "Eavesdropping? Has it ever happened?" "I've told my relatives before, but the next day they called and threatened me not to tell anyone. So..." "It was a man who threatened you?" "right." "Do you want money?" "Anyway, let's talk about it when we meet. I'm too scared, but there's nothing I can do. Please! I'll tell you everything when we meet."

The woman's voice was still tense and trembling.It's too late to meet up with friends.Wada thought, apologize tomorrow. "Where do we meet?" "You agree?" "Yes. But maybe I can't help you with anything. Because I'm a retreat from the front line." "Just listen to it anyway, please. Because I want courage. Does sir have a car?" "some." "That's good. I'll wait for you at the opposite entrance of the Central Expressway." "What time?" "How about four o'clock?" "Well, the time is just right, ah, I haven't asked your name yet!"

"My name is Katagiri Xuezhi." Hotan couldn't figure out how to write these words for a while. "What mark do you have?" "I'm wearing a white hat and a white suit." she said on the phone. Hotan drove in the opposite direction. Although he has quit the police force, he still can't get rid of the mentality of being a policeman whenever there is a situation.Although it was just a phone call, when he thought that it might really be a case of intimidation, he suddenly regained his energy. At exactly four o'clock, he came to the blurred entrance and exit of the Central Expressway.Since his days as a policeman, he has developed a meticulous style of keeping time.

In the early summer season, green is very pleasing to the eye.This area is all green in patches. Near the lake, a young woman in a white hat and suit was standing with her back to Hotan.To be precise, Wada still can't tell whether it is the nuance of ivory white or silver gray. Anyway, in this piece of green, this white looks so bright and eye-catching. He Tian stopped the car, got out of the car, and walked towards the woman. The woman seemed to have heard the footsteps, so she suddenly turned around and looked at Hotan.She was very pale. "Are you the caller?" Wada asked.

After the woman gave a "hmm", she nodded slightly. This is a woman in her twenties and twenties with fair skin and smooth skin.Her face is well-defined, and a hat that recalls the old-fashioned cowboy style of the American West suits her expression well. "My friend is a particularly good police officer. May I introduce you to him?" After hearing this, the woman agreed, nodded, and then glanced around. So Hotan asked, "Is someone watching us?" "No." She shook her head slightly. At this moment, there was a sudden gunshot, which startled Hotan.The woman standing in front of her suddenly fell down.She didn't even have time to shout, her eyes widened, and she fell at Hetian's feet.

Under the glare of the setting sun, Hotan also suddenly fell on the woman's body as if in a daydream. But no second shot was fired.Blood flowed from the woman's body.It seemed to hit her midsection.The white suit was soon dyed red. Wada stood up immediately, ran towards a nearby phone booth, and called for an ambulance. The woman died in the ambulance. The Kanagawa prefectural police immediately launched an investigation.The person in charge of the case is Kawamura Police Department Sui, who knows Wada. "You left the police force, but you got involved in another murder case. It seems that you are related to the case!" The young Kawamura and Wada joked, "Tell me about your relationship with the deceased."

So Wada talked about the phone call again. "At first I thought it was a crazy woman. I used to meet people like this. But I thought if it was true, I agreed to see it. Just like that, a shot was fired. I'm afraid the murderer has already Just wanted to kill her." "It seems that the phone call is real." "I think so too." "At that time she said that the phone might be eavesdropped, so she didn't say anything on the phone. She just said on the phone that it was true, but it was the same as not saying anything." He Tian said cautiously.He smiled wryly halfway through his speech, which was also a habit left over from that year.

The gun that killed the woman is believed to be a .22 caliber rifle.The bullet penetrated her body. It was the first time in his life that Hotan stood here for interrogation.He used to sit behind a desk and interrogate people.At this time, he painfully felt that his life had changed.Since he quit the police force, he has only written books on search and told about his experience as a policeman, and he still thinks he is a police officer in his bones.But today, when I got involved in this murder case, I felt like I woke up from a dream, and felt that I was just a powerless ordinary citizen. "It's not wrong that she said her name is Piantong Xuezhi?" Hecun asked again. Wada is Kawamura's senior, so he tried to use respectful language, but it was still the relationship between interrogation and being interrogated. "That's what she said on the phone. I don't think it's wrong." "She doesn't have any certificates on her body, but I found a car that she is believed to have been in when she came here. The vehicle inspection certificate on the car proves that her name is Chieko Shinohara." "Oh?" He Tian widened his eyes.He thought again of the time the woman had called.When she asked her name, she paused before saying it.When she stopped at that time, Wada thought she was very cautious and hesitated, but now it seems that she was thinking of a fake name. "I see." He Tian nodded. "The next step is to investigate the matter of Chieko Shinohara, right?" "The vehicle inspection certificate shows that she lives in Nakano, Tokyo." "Let me do it with you too. Because after all, I caused it." Hotan begged. After thinking for a while, Kawamura agreed, "Okay, don't mess around." He Tian smiled wryly again. In front of Guodian's Nakano Station, there is a newly built fifteen-story apartment building, which is very majestic.The eighth floor is Chieko Shinohara's room. Kawamura and his party asked the administrator to fetch the key and went to Chieko Shinohara's room. Wada asked the middle-aged administrator, "How is Chieko Shinohara?" The administrator thought that Hotan was also a policeman, so he was very nervous and answered palely.And it proved that this woman's real name was Chieko Shinohara. "Then do you know the name 'Piantong Xuezhi'?" Wada asked again. If you want to use a pseudonym, you won't find a relationship that you can't get along with.Sure enough, Wada guessed right. "There is a person named Piantong Xuezhi living on the seventh floor." The administrator replied. "Are the two of them on good terms?" "Ah, they all work in the same shop." "Same shop?" "Yes, it's the 'Knight' club in Ginza. I was also invited by them. It's a high-end club, and people of our status are only worthy of seeing it." The administrator shrugged.He Tian glanced at his watch, it was nine o'clock at night, and Katagiri Xuezhi was probably in the store. Wada reached into his coat pocket, where he still had some lecture fees left; but there was nothing else.Back then, the notebook was a powerful tool for searching, but now it is too inconvenient. Wada asked the administrator to tell Kawamura, and he left the apartment first.My car was still parked at the entrance and exit of the expressway, so I had no choice but to take a taxi to Ginza. The "Knight" store is very close to Shimbashi. He Tian went into the shop, ordered a glass of brandy and called Katagiri Xuezhi over. Compared with Chieko Shinohara, she was a small woman and looked five or six years older. "I heard that you and Chieko Shinohara are on good terms?" Katagiri Xuezhi nodded after taking a sip of wine, "Yeah. What's wrong with her?" "Why do you think so?" "She asked for leave today, and she has always said that she is very scared these days." "Are you really afraid?" "No. She says she gets suspicious calls a lot." "A threatening call?" "Looks like. It's a man's voice saying 'I'm going to kill you' or something." "Any clues about the man?" "It's a middle-aged man's voice. But I don't know who it is. It's just scary to hear." "What else is there besides the phone?" "Ah, also, when she walks alone at night, there are often cars coming from behind trying to hit her." "Would she tell you if she has something to say?" "Ok." "Then what did you say to her?" "I said you should go to the police! But she said the police were unreliable, and said they would do nothing without evidence. So she was very distressed about this." "What else?" "I don't remember anything else." When Katagiri Xuezhi said that, Kawamura came in from the outside. "It's not good for you to come first." Kawamura said to Wada after sitting down.Although he said it with a smile, there was obvious displeasure on his face. "I already asked the administrator to tell you." After Wada finished speaking, he introduced Katagiri Xuezhi. Kawamura also asked the same question, and Katagiri Yukie gave the same answer. Then she stood up and left here. "Have you found any clues about the man who threatened her?" Wada asked. Kawamura shook his head, "I found nothing, and there is no trace of eavesdropping on her phone." "Where's the letter?" "Nothing. Just a few nasty love letters from her boyfriend, so it seems that I can only rely on your testimony in the future." "But I've told you everything I know!" Wada argued.He recalled the phone call several times, and couldn't remember missing anything important.Chieko Shinohara, who was killed, did not say anything important on the phone. Kawamura took out a book and put it in front of Wada.This is a book written by Wada.The title of the book is "The Men Who Investigate the Murder Case", and it is a book that expresses the hard work of the policemen as a literary work. "I found this book in her room, and marked the author's information on the back cover. It seems that I called you according to this clue." Kawamura said. Sure enough, the address and phone number of Hotan were marked with a red pen. "Can you know something?" Wada asked. After lighting a cigarette, Kawamura replied, "I couldn't find any clues, only her passbook." "Do you often withdraw money?" "No. Not a single point has been taken in the past two years." "So the threat actor's goal is money?" "Yes. I want to find out the reason for intimidating her from this clue." "Yeah. Check it out and let me know. Because I'm involved too." "Well. Of course, I will tell you, and you have to be more careful." "why?" "Maybe the murderer's next target is you." "Why? The murderer's goal of killing Chieko Shinohara has been achieved." "Yes, but the murderer will think she said something to you. In order to silence her, he may attack you. Anyway, you'd better be more careful." "Understood, I will be careful." Wada smiled bitterly and stood up. Kawamura asked again: "Why do you want to leave the police?" At that time, the reasons for his request to resign were generally known within the Metropolitan Police Department, but the prefectural police did not know. "For personal reasons." That's all Wada said. The next evening, Kawamura came to see Hotan. Kawamura looked sad. "So sad!" He looked at Hetian and said, "There is no clue about the murderer at all. So I want to listen to the phone call between you and the deceased again." "I said everything I had to say!" "Small places are fine. Maybe it's the key to solving the problem!" "Has the investigation of Chieko Shinohara been completed?" "Everything that can be investigated has been investigated." "Don't understand anything?" "That's right." Kawamura sighed, "No matter how hard we search, we can't find any clues about the murderer." "What kind of woman is she?" "Age 21 years old, born in Shitamachi, Tokyo, without any criminal record in the past, except for a traffic accident." "Didn't find any specific clues to intimidate her?" "No." "What about the relationship with the man?" "Had three boyfriends, but none of them were too deep. And they didn't know anything." "What else?" "After checking and checking, even I think that what she said about threatening her is really her hallucination?" "Illusion?" "That's right! It's neurosis." "But simple neurosis can lead to murder?" "That's why I'm so worried!" "Where are her parents?" "Long dead. She lives with her uncle." "Has there been any investigation into her uncle's house?" "Of course they did. But they don't even know she's been threatened or anything." "have no idea?" "Yes?" "really do not know?" "did you mean……" "I think it's necessary to see her uncle again." He Tian stood up after speaking. Kawamura tilted his head and thought for a while, "Why? I can't see that her uncle and his wife are lying!" "If that's the case, I might be overthinking. At least that's what Chieko Shinohara said on the phone. She said that she had talked about such things with her relatives. I won't say whether there is something wrong with her, but her uncle said it was not at all. You know, isn't this suspicious?" "Yes!" Kawamura finally nodded. So the two of them got into Wada's car and went to a pastry shop near Sumida Park-Uncle Chieko Shinohara's house. It was already night when we arrived at Sumida Park. Due to pollution, the Sumida River has been emitting a stench for many years, but the pollution level on the river cannot be seen at night.The lights on both sides of the river reflect on the river surface, but it gives people a different style. The pastry shop is not far from the river.Wada parked the car near the park, and walked into the pastry shop with Kawamura. There are four chairs in the shop.There they met the master.Chieko Shinohara's uncle was just in his early forties. He answered Wada's question like this: "I have told this police officer." He looked at Kawamura while speaking, "I have never heard Chieko tell about her being intimidated." "Does she have any other relatives?" Wada asked. "In Tokyo, the only relative I have is me." "Has Miss Chieko visited your house recently?" "Ah, I came here once last week. I stayed one night and then went back." "At that time, she said she didn't say anything she was afraid of?" "No. She's always so optimistic and happy. When we advised her to think about getting married, quit her job in the club, etc., she always laughed it off. Anyway, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to do it in the club if you want to get married." Saying so, the shop owner sighed. For the sake of caution, Wada asked his wife again, but the content of the answer was the same. The two left the pastry shop in confusion. "I don't think they are lying." Kawamura said as he walked, and looked at Hotan. "I think so too." "Could it be that Chieko Shinohara lied to you? It seems that there is nothing to threaten her, right?" "Maybe, but the voice on the phone was visibly trembling, as if very frightened. And when I saw her in the blur, her face was pale and she was paying attention to her surroundings." "What exactly is going on?" "I don't understand either. I think this is a mystery of this incident." The two came to the car while talking.The Sumida Park in front of me turned into a dark and small forest under the night.In summer, couples enjoying the cool air, homeless people, etc. all come here, but now it is quiet for some reason. He Tian opened the car door, and the headlights turned on, shining around the two of them. At this moment, a gunshot came from the dark forest. With a shrill sound, the front glass of the car was shattered. "Get down!" Hotan yelled, and fell to the ground himself. Kawamura took out his gun, lowered his body, and groped towards the dark part of the park. Seeing this scene, the scene when Chieko Shinohara was killed appeared in Wada's mind again, and he said quickly: "Come back! It's too dangerous!" Maybe he shouldn't be called. "what?" As he spoke, Kawamura turned his head to look at Wada, and stood up naturally. Suddenly there was a second gunshot, and with the sound of bullets passing by, Kawamura shook from side to side and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Kawamura Police Department only injured his thigh. The bullet was the same as the one that killed Chieko Shinohara in a blur, it was a .22 caliber rifle bullet. Wada went to the hospital to visit Kawamura the next day, but unexpectedly he was very energetic. "It's all because I hurt you, I'm really sorry." After hearing this, Kawamura smiled, "It seems that the target was aimed at you, but it hit me unexpectedly. The doctor said that I will be able to walk in a week. I said that the murderer aimed at you, and I already have clues." "Ah, do you have a clue?" "Yes. People from the Asakusa Police Station came just now, and they found two empty shell casings in Sumida Park. And they are consistent with the ones that were found vaguely." "It seems that the murderer aimed at us with the headlights of the car. The blurring also happened next to the car." "What else?" "I can't think of anything else for the time being, but I thought of such a thing on the way here." "What's up?" Kawamura Police Department lay on the bed and stared at Wada. He Tian approached the bed, pulled up a chair and sat beside Kawamura. "The words of the murdered Chieko Shinohara and her uncle are different, but I don't think her uncle lied; it seems that Chieko's statement that she talked to her relatives about threats is false." "But didn't she think she was shaking when she called you?" "yes." "I don't understand, you can go on." "It's contradictory. I think that after she was threatened, she should talk to her relatives about it instead of looking for me first. But when she went to her uncle's house last week, she didn't say anything. She only talked about the marriage. " "Have you not been threatened in the last week?" "Maybe. But when she called, she said she'd been intimidated for days. That's why she wanted to see me." Kawamura looked at Wada in puzzlement. Wada lowered his head and thought for a while, and suddenly his eyes lit up, "I think there are two suspicious things about the Sagami Lake incident." "Tell me." "First, she is wearing a white suit and a white hat. Against the green background, the contrast is very obvious. How can someone who is scared wear such conspicuous clothes?" "Isn't that just for you to identify?" "Then you can use other methods! For example, go to a snack bar to find a seat." "What about the second?" "Why did the murderer suddenly shoot at that time?" "There's nothing strange about that." "When I came down from the entrance, she was already standing there. And she was so obviously standing in the green. Why didn't the murderer shoot when I got closer? Was it aimed at me?" "You mean you're the one who's going to kill you?" "Yes. Why did the murderer know about Shimo Keiko Shinohara calling me, because the investigation found no signs of wiretapping. And even if she knew that it was her who called me, she was the one who wanted to kill, of course it should be aimed at hers." "That's true." "So I think those two points should be reconsidered." "How do you think about it?" "It's not Chieko Shinohara who is going to be killed, maybe it's me." "Really?" Kawamura's eyes widened in surprise, "Why do you think so?" "Because as I said just now, I was shot after I approached Chieko Shinohara. And she was wearing a very conspicuous outfit to target the murderer. Doesn't this mean that the murderer was targeting me?" "What clue do you have about that?" "Only a little." "what?" "You asked me why I resigned from the Metropolitan Police Department. That was three years ago. When I arrested two key members of the K-group, they resisted arrest, which led to a shootout." "I know about that. They started looting and stray bullets killed a civilian by mistake." "Yes. But then I checked the police gun and it was mine." "real?" "Ah, it's true. At that time, the police adopted secrecy measures, and they still said to the outside world that it was shot by a gang. The man was drunk at the time, and his life was bad. But I resigned because of my inner condemnation." "What's the name of the dead man?" "His name is Kusakabe, and he is a company employee in his fifties." "Did this matter get out later?" "Yes, it's just that the reporter from the newspaper office sniffed out something and wrote it down and reported it." "Do you think this shooting is related to that incident?" "It's very likely if I'm the target of a shooting." "In this way, the murderer has a clue?" "right." "who is it?" "At that time, Chieko Shinohara was really scared when she called, so I think the murderer was around her and threatened her." "For her to tell you she's been threatened?" "If the target is me, she should have said so." "In this way, the murderer used her to trick you out?" "right." "What about the murderer?" "It should be that person." "Which person?" Kawamura Police Department raised his head, looked at the ceiling and thought for a while, then nodded with an "ah". "Yes, it's that person!" He Tian waited for the murderer's arrival in the dark room. Footsteps came from the corridor.The footsteps stopped in front of the door.After a while, there was the sound of "crash clatter" unlocking the door. The door opened, and the light from the hallway shone in through the half-open door. A figure walked in.He looked a little drunk and staggered.The figure reached out and turned on the light in the room. "Hey." Wada sat on the chair and made a sound. "..." The other party was startled and stared at Hetian closely. "Piantong Xuezhi, are you still chasing me?" Hotan smiled at the man, who suddenly turned pale. "Why are you here?" Katagiri Xuezhi asked in a low voice. "A key from the administrator." "..." "Why are you unhappy? Aren't you going to kill me? I'm here to save you trouble. " "..." "You have one failure. I asked you when I went to the 'Knight' club, and you said that you heard Chieko Shinohara say that she was threatened by someone, and it was exactly the same as what I heard her say on the phone. This is not suspicious. ?" "..." "And I checked your real name. Kusakabe Yukie is your real name. I think it's all clear now." "You killed my father!" "Maybe. But if we argue in court, we can prove that Mr. Kusakabe was too drunk at the time, and he didn't listen to the police's dissuasion, and rushed into the scene of the shootout, which was unavoidable." "But my father did die." "You wanted to kill me, but you killed Chieko Shinohara. You made her wear white clothes, and she became my reference." Katagiri Xuezhi remained silent. Wada stood up, went to the closet, and took out a rifle from it. "I can't arrest you because I'm not a policeman anymore. Let's go to the police together. If you turn yourself in, I can be your witness and I'll testify in your favour. If you ask me to."