Chapter 2 eighth deceased

At the moment of receiving the notification, the criminal policeman Kijima Tatsu couldn't help thinking: Is it another dead person?In the past two or three months, several such incidents have occurred one after another. Putting down the phone, Kijima reported to the director, "Another person has been killed." "Another one, is he also a hooligan?" Director Matsuda asked with a troubled expression. "Yes. It is the backbone member of the 'Namiki Group', named Makino Kenzo. His body was found in an alley in Shinjuku." "Makino? The name looks familiar!"

"The one just released from prison a month ago." "Well, I remembered." The director nodded, "It's a crime of extortion. It's been published in the newspapers for a while!" "This is the fifth one." Kijima said to the director. Among the key members of the violent group, four people have been killed, and today is the fifth. Kijima Tatsu went to the scene immediately. It's already ten o'clock at night, and the bustling street is still full of people coming and going, very lively.Under the colorful neon lights, drunk people staggered along.But there was no one in the alley.

The dead Makino Kenzo lay on the cold ground as if asleep.He is 1.8 meters tall and is a strong man.He was shot in the back with a pistol. "It's the same as the first four dead," said the director. "If the result of the appraisal is the same type of pistol as the first four people, it can be determined that it was done by one person." Kijima also agreed with the director. Sure enough, the two of them guessed right.According to the identification results of the bullets taken from the body of the deceased, they were all shot by the same pistol as the first four deceased.The report said: This pistol looks like a modified iron toy pistol.However, what kind of pistol the criminal used is not the key point. What is important is that there have been five such incidents in a row without any clues about the criminal.

Things start three months ago.At that time, a key member of the "Honta-gumi", a very powerful gang in Asakusa, got drunk at night and was shot and killed in the back when he walked to Sumida Park. When the investigation headquarters was formed for this matter, the detectives were optimistic.Because everyone thinks that this is nothing more than killing each other between violent organizations. If we continue to investigate from this clue, we will soon find the murderer. As a result, the police conducted an investigation targeting the "Ito-gumi", the sworn enemy of the "Honta-gumi".But nothing.

They thoroughly investigated those who had a personal vendetta against the deceased, but none of them were actually involved in the murder, meaning they all had “alibis.” Just when the police were at a loss, the second homicide happened again like adding fuel to the fire. The deceased this time was a key member of the "Inoki-gumi", a violent group entrenched in the Shibuya area, and a "bully" with eleven criminal records. He was 42 years old this year.He was shot in the back while walking on the street that night. At first, the police believed that these were two different cases and opened two search headquarters.Later, after the appraisal report came out, it was found that both incidents were caused by a pistol, so the two cases were combined for consideration, and the additional search headquarters was withdrawn.

Even in this case, the police continued to investigate, focusing on violent groups.But like last time, there was no clue. Then, there was a third deceased. In Banqiao, a man nicknamed "Lonely Wolf" was shot to death by a pistol. On the surface, this man operated real estate, but in fact he specialized in extortion and extortion.Of course, he also has a criminal record and is a well-known villain in the local area. This man was also killed by a bullet in the back.And the police never looked at the matter independently again.Although the identification proved that the murder weapon and the murderer were the same person, and the investigation result was the same as last time, there was still no trace of the murderer.

With no progress in the investigation, just like mocking the incompetence of the police, the fourth victim appeared again. Like the first three, he was also a member of a violent gang.And this time Makino Kenzo is the fifth. Although it was a homicide case, those who died were black sheep in society.However, the failure to catch the murderer really caused headaches for the police.Because after all, it is about the image and reputation of the police in public opinion. The search meeting was held from daytime until late at night, but no clue was found. "The violent groups in the city seem to be in a panic."

A criminal policeman introduced what he had learned. "From the backbone to the leader, they are worried about whether the next target will be me. When they go out, they let the guards dress up. They usually bring two or three personal bodyguards." The other detectives smiled wryly and said, "But many people are applauding this series of events!" "Perhaps a chivalrous man who upholds justice has appeared, and wants to eliminate these social dregs one by one?" As the director, he dare not agree with his subordinates' opinion, "Killing is killing after all!"

"Let's catch the murderer as soon as possible!" "However, no matter how hard we investigate, we can't find any clues to the murderer. How can this be explained? There are no clues, so we can only explain it with 'Xia Ke said'." "How can a criminal policeman talk like this!" The director was a little annoyed, "Is there such a 'knight' in reality? If he is upholding justice, he should not shoot from behind, but should kill the opponent from the front! " "But the murderer did this, maybe out of some kind of helplessness?"

"This is hard to handle. Even the police seem to be on the murderer's side..." the director said in a slightly reproachful tone. "Let's first analyze what kind of person the murderer is in general! So far, the conclusion of the investigation from the violent gang can be stopped. Maybe the murderer is an 'honest man'! Because the pistol he used is not a real weapon. See, the possibility isn't out of the question." "But why would a serious person kill the members of the gang one by one?" Kijima asked rhetorically. "It is true that many people have suffered from violent gangs, but how do you understand killing people with a toy pistol? Isn't this a bit of a joke?"

"That's the problem." The director said with his hands tightly twisted together. "From the perspective of common sense, this is not something ordinary people do. But in reality, there are such people who do things without routine and do not follow the rules." Common sense. Therefore, I still tend to be ordinary people." "However, five people were killed! Could it be that a gentle and gentle gentleman would..." "That's true. However, war can test people and make people brave. He must not be a hooligan! Maybe a farmer, maybe a company employee, maybe an ordinary husband, maybe an ordinary father. Anyway, he came out of some For this reason, he became a brave soldier, as if rushing into the enemy's line with explosives. Otherwise, he would not have such great courage to kill so many gangsters. There are many such situations. For example, there are often such Situation: Suddenly one day a certain person can't stand the ugly behavior of the gang and will stand up desperately." "However, this matter..." Mujima suddenly felt a chill behind his back. Tokyo has a population of 10 million, including 2 to 3 million adults.Among them are students, employees, and ordinary people such as husbands and fathers.The director believes that among the many people, one will suddenly come forward and declare war on the gang, then the murderer must exist among the three million.Then this person is not a criminal, maybe a gentle and gentle company employee? Maybe the director was right. Kijima thought: If this incident was one of the angered citizens, then he would never stop killing these five people.And, it's a person.If all the people stand up to punish the violent gangs, what will happen? !There are 200,000 violent gang members in the whole country, won't they be wiped out overnight?They really should let them know how powerful the people are! Still no harvest the next day. Kijima trudged back to the search headquarters.He happened to pass a man coming out of headquarters.This is a familiar person, although he can't remember the name, but Kijima knows that he is a key member of the gang. "What information did he bring?" Kijima asked the director. The director smiled wryly and shook his head, "It's not intelligence, it's here to make trouble. He said that the police and the murderer were in collusion." "The violent group demanded to catch the murderer as soon as possible, which is unheard of before!" "These guys are scared too." The director's smile disappeared, and he said seriously: "They finally know how to be afraid. They are afraid that it will be their turn next, so they come here to call the police. Although this is what they deserve, we still have to catch the murderer as soon as possible. It’s best to take advantage of this incident not being publicized by the newspapers. Otherwise, once the news of ‘violent gangs requesting the police to arrest the murderer as soon as possible’ spreads, our faces will not look good!” But it's too late.The news was published in the morning paper the next day.The reporter did not inquire about it, but the members of the violent group announced it to the press. Apparently to put pressure on the police. In the evening of that day, the search headquarters received a letter signed by "a citizen": "This series of incidents is too happy. To be precise, this is a crime, but righteous people cannot but hold an attitude of affirmation and approval of the increasingly rampant criminal activities of violent gangs. It is only natural that the police should protect this just fighter .” "It's going to be difficult now," said the director. "This letter of submission is easy to say. If the majority of the citizens have become this kind of 'justice fighters', the whole country will not be in chaos?! Wouldn't it be a riot? ! Even adding two people is enough trouble! I still can’t catch this one!” Just as the director finished speaking, the phone rang.After hearing a few words, his face couldn't help but change drastically, "It's the sixth person!" Putting down the phone, the director said to Kijima: "The Eki Tatsuya who warned us here yesterday was killed in Ikebukuro. He was shot twice in the back." "It's the same method!" "Yes? But who did this?!" "Maybe this person wants to kill all the violent gangs in Tokyo one by one." The detectives in the house chattered, quickly tidied up and rushed to Ikebukuro. Starting from Ikebukuro, walking about 500 meters in the direction of "Sunrise Street" is the scene of the crime.In this area, there are few shops, not many neon lights, and even less pedestrians.Although there are few bars and taverns with dancing bars here, there are some small noodle shops.Therefore, calcium carbide lamp lights like will-o'-the-wisps flickered everywhere. Jiang Muda also died when he was shot in the back with a pistol while eating noodles in a small shop. Jiang Mu was shot twice, and blood flowed all over the ground.It seemed that he was struggling to escape, his right hand was desperately stretching towards the road beside the road.From his cuffs, you can clearly see the usual tattoos of hooligans and hooligans. A bowl of noodles was all buckled next to the corpse, and a lot of dirt was mixed on it. Die badly!Kijima looked away from the corpse and looked around. About twenty spectators automatically formed a semicircle and surrounded the scene.This kind of situation is common.If this kind of thing happens in a bustling area, there will be more people watching the excitement, and sometimes the police will focus on diverting the onlookers. And today people's expressions are different from usual.Kijima didn't understand at first, but then he understood right away.In the expressions of these people, there is a common emotion, which is "happy face". It is not surprising that the spectators who watched the murder scene were obviously curious.And often, in addition to curiosity, there is often an expression of sympathy for the deceased's misfortune.But Kijima had never seen the look of "deserving it" gloating in his eyes. Are these spectators on the same side as the murderer who killed Jiang Mu Tatsuya? No, not only the onlookers, but also many people who saw TV and newspapers would definitely express their solidarity with this "murderer".Kijima felt shivering.As the director said, the murderer must be caught as soon as possible.This is to eliminate the misunderstanding of the concept of "murderer" by the society and onlookers, and it is also for the "murderer" itself. Kijima came to this noodle restaurant and asked the boss about the situation at that time. The boss looks like a man in his forties, with a thin face. "I don't know anything." He said with a pale face. "This guest fell to the ground suddenly while eating. That's all." "Where's the gunshot? Did you hear the gunshot?" "Yeah. I did, but at first I thought it was a tire blown on the car! Because I hear tires blown all the time." "Have you not found the murderer?" "No. Because this area is relatively dark, isn't it a matter of course that you can't see?" "Do you know that the deceased is Jiang Mu Tatsuya?" "have no idea." "Don't tell lies! Jiang Mu is a key member of the Hejin Group. Isn't the Hejin Group always coming to you to find trouble and blackmail?" "..." "Ah, well, if you remember anything, let us know immediately." Kijima stopped asking any more questions as long as he talked.But to his surprise, the boss's gaze showed the same expression as the other onlookers.Mujima immediately understood: this boss, like other onlookers, must know that the deceased was Jiang Mu Tatsuya.However, even if he knew something, he would never tell the police. "It's not just the owner of the noodle restaurant," Director Matsuda, who listened to Kijima's report, said with a wry smile. "During this series of incidents, it's not uncommon to have no support from the public? Not a single letter came." They blamed the murderer, and the only letter that came was to defend and understand the murderer's actions!" "The onlookers at the scene also clearly expressed their affection for the murderer. But now, the murderer is about to become a hero!" "No, I have become a hero. I think so too. Ordinary people hate gangsters very much. Aren't we also fantasizing that one day we will become a sword and wipe out these gangsters one by one? ? And there is such a person who suddenly turned the hope of us and the people into action. I think the murderer is such a person." "Hope is hope after all. No matter who it is, it's impossible to go on like this endlessly, right? I can't think that a policeman will become a killer to kill the members of the gang one by one. Because it takes a lot case!" "Yes. The murderer should be limited. I think the murderer is a man. How about that?" "Well, I think it's a man too." "If it is a man, it should be considered that he does not have a wife. Because he has a family, he will be greatly dragged down when he fights against violent groups." "Maybe his wife was killed by members of the violent gang! But he has no evidence of who killed it. So he decided, no matter which violent gang it is, he will kill the other—" "Perhaps this is the case. However, judging from what we have so far, this man is a very ordinary employee. Therefore, it is unclear how he found the whereabouts of the deceased." "why?" "We have checked the materials related to the violent group, but we did not find any clues about the murderer. From this point of view, this person has nothing to do with the violent group so far. But how did such a person choose Did the six key elements be killed one by one? I think this is incredible. Moreover, all the key elements were killed. These people are different from ordinary hooligans and hooligans. It was shot from behind, it seems that he should know about the leaders and core members of the gang.” "That said, I'm also a little suspicious." Kijima also nodded.The six people who were killed did not die in one place.Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Asakusa, and Itabashi, and there is no sense of "serial" murders. If it wasn't for the people inside the violent group, ordinary people would not be so familiar with these people.Of course, the director's suspicion is justified. "Can you find clues from TV and newspapers?" Kijima said suddenly. The director thought for a while, then nodded, "Well, it makes sense. Recently, when a gang incident happened, there was a lot of noise in the newspapers. The name of this gang, the place where it is entrenched, its age, etc., are also accompanied by photos. Maybe the murderer The assassination target was selected based on these circumstances. Are there any other clues?" "Yes! This Jiang Mu Tatsuya was also published in the newspaper just now." "Yes, that's right! Just to be on the safe side, let's get acquainted with the other five and see which ones have been in the latest papers." "If you say that..." Kijima's eyes rolled quickly, "The murderer's next target will be the person who was disclosed in the newspaper in the last two or three days!" "Yes. Of course. If he is in prison, the murderer can't kill him if he wants to. But if he is released from prison soon, he may become a target again." "Then, if you monitor this guy, you can catch the murderer." "Yes, it looks like this!" The director smiled and nodded. For three days, the newspapers have not published the notes or photos that the criminal police were looking forward to. It seems to be against them. There are usually too many people to overwhelm, and when they want to see, there is nothing. But the detectives were not limited to reading newspapers. They wandered around Tokyo, earnestly looking for clues about the murderer.But no one could be found.The criminal police who returned to search the headquarters all looked tired. Not only has there been no violent gang incident, but the murderer seems to have stopped acting. The murderer is a calm and calm person, not a man who acts recklessly! Except for the sixth Jiang Mu Tatsuya, the other five were all killed by one shot.Not so much an excellent shooter as it is due to his composure.Moreover, judging from the shooting distance so close, this is a very ordinary person.If he is a reckless person who will keep showing off his masterpieces to people, then the police will collect this "information" from various channels anyway. The murderer is not a very capable person! Maybe he fought against the gang out of a sense of justice.These dead people were all shot in the back. If this person was quite capable, he would kill these people from the front in a dignified way, just like heroes in ancient times fought in battle. A murderer is not an idler with no regular job.Maybe it's an ordinary company employee! All six were killed during the night.Easy to stab at night.From this point of view, the murderer is inconvenient to act at will during the day, that is to say, he is a time-limited employee.But it is absolutely impossible to be the section chief, minister or something.Because people have money and status, they are unwilling to do such risky things.It must be a very ordinary, inconspicuous employee or small cadre.Therefore, the police could not catch any clues even with such a large force. The murderer was a lonely man without a wife. This reason has been mentioned above. He has a proficient knowledge of pistols. The murder weapon was a pistol. Although it was not automatic, judging from the fact that all five people were killed with one shot, the structure and accuracy of this pistol were extremely high.It would be impossible if the killer didn't have a wealth of crafting knowledge. The murderer must have had a very ordinary face. In all six incidents, there were no witnesses.Although it can be considered that this was due to people protecting the murderer as a hero, it is also rare in history that there is not even a single witness.This can only show that the murderer is a very ordinary and very inconspicuous person.It can even be said that he is not tall, about the same as the average Japanese height of about 1.6 meters, with an ordinary appearance and extremely ordinary clothes.Therefore, based on this alone, once he blended into the crowd, it would be extremely difficult to spot him. Therefore, these conditions formed the image of the murderer in the minds of the criminal police.But of course that alone won't catch the murderer.So the director planned to set up a trap. Moreover, on the fourth day, the opportunity to set up a trap came. A small incident happened in Asakusa. After the serial killings, there was a sense of turmoil and uneasiness among the members of the various violent groups. This is a terrifying emotion.Walking on the street, they worry about when a bullet will suddenly appear from somewhere and hit them.Therefore, there is a feeling of invincibility.Even feel that everyone around is suspicious. They have reached the point where everything is like a weapon. In the "Kondo Group" of the violent group, there is a man named Goro Shimada who is also a key member.He often boasted that he had worked in special forces in the past and looked down on others.Once, when he was wandering in a bustling street, he brutally beat up a young man who accidentally touched him. He was an employee of the company. The police arrested Hiroshima, and he explained to the police why he beat people. "That guy has a gun!" Hooligans beat people up and make excuses.He found this trouble because the villain first filed a complaint. But this time he hit a snag.After investigation by the police, the young man was not carrying any guns. "Why on earth did you beat him?!" the policeman asked suspiciously. Shimada replied that this person seemed to be a serial killer. "For some reason, that kid was always staring at my face very disgustingly! As if he was going to kill me. So I hit him. That's 'justifiable self-defense'!" Hearing the word "justifiable self-defense" come out of Shimada's mouth, the policeman in charge almost couldn't laugh out loud.But he immediately realized that maybe Shimada wasn't joking, maybe this young man really wanted to kill him. To be on the safe side, the police checked the young man carefully again, and of course there was no murder weapon such as a pistol at all. "Now you're screwed! You hit someone suddenly for no reason. Take a good look, this man didn't carry the pistol you mentioned at all!" When the young man was about to be sent back, he smiled and said to the police: "This guy beat me because he said he was afraid of me. I'm really happy. Hooligans are afraid of the people, because this is a just society, and today's society should be like this." !" This incident was published in newspapers, and some newspapers used the eye-catching "Members of the Violent Gang of the Shocked Bird" as the headline to describe this incident and published letters from readers.Of course, Shimada Goro's photo was also published in the newspaper. So Matsuda and Kijima, who searched the headquarters, learned about it from the newspaper. Kijima immediately rushed to the Asakusa Police Station where the incident occurred. If the director's judgment is correct, then the next target is Goro Shimada. Shimada Goro was arrested for "violent crimes".In legal terms, it is called "crime of injury". Although he beat someone, the victim was not seriously injured and recovered within a month.In fact, Shimada was also too nervous at the time, because he was afraid that this young man was the murderer and would assassinate him, so he wanted to preemptively strike. As a result of the court's judgment, Shimada Goro was ordered to pay a fine. Goro Shimada was released.That day, Kijima and two other policemen followed him secretly.They intend to follow until the murderer shows up. As a detective, Kijima is a veteran.But this time tracking was difficult.Because they do not have a specific prevention target, and what they are tracking is not a real "target". The so-called "average clerk" is nothing but imagination.Therefore, Kijima felt that the crowd flowing in front of him was similar to this murderer. In addition, tracking a gangster like Goro Shimada is not an easy task.If it is an ordinary person, there are normal action rules and life routes every day, so it is easier to track them.But this Shimada Goro does not have a fixed job, and often acts as he pleases without a fixed place, which is quite troublesome to track. At the end of the day, the three of them were exhausted, with red eyes and dizziness. On the third day, Kijima handed over the matter to a new criminal policeman, and returned to the headquarters by himself. He usually complained to the director: "This job is really difficult! I Seeing everyone around is dressed like that murderer. What a headache!" "Isn't Shimada just like that? That's why he beat that young man!" "Maybe Shimada found out that we were following him. This bastard! Let us stare at the murderer. This is too difficult! It seems that Shimada Goro is also in a state of anxiety, and he doesn't have the same style at all!" "Since this series of incidents took place, the leaders and backbone members of the violent gang have been very careful to see if there is anyone following them when they go out. And we are often followed by five or six guards." The director said with a wry smile. Kijima said, "This brings another meaning, which is to say: since the murderer's target is the top figure of the gang, then someone is protecting him, which means he is the 'target'; but if there is no protection, he will lose There was a brawl between hooligans at the Shibuya Police Station yesterday, which was also due to a dispute over identity." "Was the murderer involved?" "Smell! We went to investigate. It is said that no one heard the gunshots, and found no bullet marks. Maybe it was a 'side effect' of this series of events! Now these rogues are really scared." To this day, there is still no clue of the murderer. On the third day, it was Kijima's turn to follow Shimada again. It was a cold day, and while rubbing his almost frozen hands, Kijima followed closely behind Shimada.At night, the weather is even colder.There are still many people on the bustling streets, and it is more difficult to track them. It seemed that Shimada was still in a state of panic.As he was walking, he suddenly got into a small alley.Afraid of losing his footing, Kijima hurriedly followed in, but he froze for a moment: it turned out that Shimada was smiling at him standing in the shadows! "Please don't do this with me, Mr. Police!" Shimada said to Kijima, "I haven't done anything bad!" "I know that." "Then why do you always follow behind me, can you stop following me? Then I can't do anything." "I'm not talking to you at all!" "But won't you keep following me?" "I'm protecting you!" "What?! This flatters me!" "I'm not joking! So far, the murderer who has killed six people is targeting you tonight! So I'm protecting you!" "Don't be nervous." "It's not neurotic. You must be the next target." "real?" Shimada's face gradually turned ugly, as if Kijima had sentenced him to death. "You have to be 'stronger'!" Kijima looked at him and said with a smile, "How? Do you believe it or not?" "Does Mr. Police know?" "what?" "We are scared! The murderer is also a member of a violent group, but no one knows him. They want to fight him face to face, but they can't find him. I think everyone around is the murderer. If you know who he is, Just tell me!" "This is the retribution for your evil deeds!" Kijima said coldly. "You just watch me being killed?" "I'm not protecting you?!" "But am I not a bait? Why haven't the murderer been caught?" "Why are you talking about this kind of work to the police? Let me tell you, that Jiang Mu Tatsuya was shot in the back by the murderer and died the next day after it was published in the newspaper." "..." Shimada stared at Kijima with a pale face, and Kijima could even see that he was trembling slightly. "Also, he was shot twice in the back." "do not talk!" Shimada looked behind Kijima, and suddenly rushed out.Kijima also hurriedly chased after him. Shimada slipped into another, darker alley.Maybe he thinks the darker the safer! So, he quickly disappeared from Kijima's sight.The other two detectives couldn't find Shimada either, and they all came to Mujima's side. "Find him quickly!" Before Kijima could speak, a gunshot sounded nearby.The three of Kijima were taken aback and looked at each other. When Mujima and the others arrived in search of sound, Shimada Goro was already dead. This is an alley leading to Qianshu Street. There are no street lights inside, and the light is very dim.Like the first six, Shimada was shot in the back. "Oops!" Kijima said regretfully. The police immediately set up a cordon around the area.But no trace of the murderer was found, and he might have disappeared into the crowd long ago. Matsuda, who rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the report, also had a very ugly expression. The next morning, a report of the incident was sent to search headquarters. According to the report, only a homemade pistol was found in the trail 100 meters below the scene.The appraisal report was delivered to Mujima in the afternoon. "It looks like the pistol used by the murderer!" The director looked at the report and said to Kijima, "After testing, it can penetrate a four-centimeter-thick wooden wrench at a distance of 20 meters, but can this gun also kill people? " "Looks like it was done by a guy who knows a lot about guns." "Yes, but recently, children are playing with this kind of gun everywhere, and there are many manuals about this kind of pistol published. Ordinary people, as long as they have tools, can understand it. The question is, is the murderer the last time to kill? Or make another pistol and keep going? If only he could be caught before he made a new pistol." But it seems that the director has no confidence at all. For three days nothing came of it.Probably the murderer was waiting for another member of the gang to show up.Or had he had enough of the game?Kijima couldn't figure it out either, but what he knew in his heart was that if the murderer stopped here, the chain of events would remain a mystery forever.As a police officer in charge of solving the case, this cannot but make him feel uneasy about his dereliction of duty. Just a small clue will do! Kijima groaned secretly in his heart.Under no circumstances should the murderer be allowed to go unpunished.After all he killed seven people!If the murderer cannot be caught again, the prestige of the police will be completely defeated! On the fourth day after Shimada Goro was killed, the search headquarters got a clue.But it was unclear at the time whether it had anything to do with the case. That was the day of the case.At about eleven o'clock that night, the criminal police on patrol found a suspicious-looking man near Yotsuya 3-chome, and went forward to question him.But because nothing particularly suspicious was found, I asked his address and name and let him go. The problem was when the man met the police.Shimada Goro was killed in Asakusa at 10:50. If the murderer escaped from the scene, it would be around 11:00 at Yotsuya 3-chome. But just this coincidence, the search headquarters did not pay attention.Moreover, the criminal police who questioned the man at that time did not pay attention.According to the criminal police, at that time the man was still holding a movie ticket with the side coupon torn off, and the name of a movie theater in Asakusa was printed on it.A few days later, the criminal policeman remembered the incident for some reason and reported it to the search headquarters. "Well, this is a clue." The director had a smile on his face. "Maybe it's a waste of time, anyway, let me find out." After speaking, Kijima rushed to Yotsuya 3-chome, and met the criminal police who reported the matter. This is a young detective.He seemed a little nervous when he saw the criminal police from the superior department coming to look for him. "You said that man acted suspiciously. How suspicious? Can you be more specific?" "He's washing his hands!" "handwashing?" "Yes. In a small park not far from here. I thought he was drinking water. When I got closer, he was washing his hands. He washed his hands in the park at eleven o'clock at night, so I went up to ask. Because At that time, I came up with a thought: Could it be the blood stains on the body of the murderer. But I checked carefully, and there was no blood stains anywhere." "..." Kijima was thinking about something else. If this man was the murderer of Shimada Goro, then what he washed was not blood, but the smell of gunpowder smoke left on his hands. "This man looks like a company employee?" "Yes. He even gave me a business card!" With that said, the detective took out a brand new business card from his pocket and handed it to Kijima. The address of the company written above is near Nihonbashi. "He said he lived in the nearby 'Hepingzhuang' apartment." The policeman added, "He looks like a weak man, he doesn't seem to be able to kill." "I'm going to find out." Kijima said to him. Of course he didn't know if this man was a serial murderer, but it was extremely necessary to investigate. Kijima checked his watch, it was already ten o'clock.I'm afraid this Ichiro Watanabe has already arrived at the company.Kijima decided to go to the Mita Sangyo company in Nihombashi. This is a fairly large company.After Kijima came, he first met with the head of the personnel department. "Watanabe-kun has been working in our company for seven years." said the chief of the personnel department. "He is a very special person. I have never seen him yelling loudly. He is definitely not a troublemaker. I can guarantee this !" "Have you ever had a fight with someone else?" "Nothing. Seems like he wasn't born to shout. Introverted, quiet, maybe he doesn't have that 'hobby', or lacks motor skills?" "Married?" “没有。半年前我给他介绍了一个。开始他好像挺喜欢那个姑娘，可不久马上就和人家分手了。现在还一个人独身呢！今年都二十九岁了，可是个大龄靑年了。” “他喜欢不喜欢摆弄手枪？” “手枪？”科长歪着头想了想，“没有，没听说过。” “听说过他与什么流氓或暴力团有什么瓜葛的事吗？” “没有。这个人办事非常谨慎、小心，不会和那种人扯在一起的。” 科长尤其强调渡边一郎绝不会与暴力团的人有任何关系，说他是个极少与外人交往的人。但仅凭这一点，还不能断定渡边是清白无罪的。没有力气？扣动板机的力气总还是有的吧！ 木岛告别了人事科长，又回到四谷。他要到渡边住的公寓去了解一下情况。 “和平庄”三个字映入了木岛的眼帘。如果渡边是个凶手，住在这个公寓里恐怕是个莫大的讽刺吧。 木岛先找到了管理员。管理员对渡边一郎的评价也是不错的。 “这个人很安静呢！”这个中年的管理员说道，“他从不拖欠房租什么的。” “最近有什么反常的变化吗？” “噢，没有。只是……” "Just what?" “只是从三个月前开始，他开始注意看报纸了。” “'开始'？在这之前他不看报吗？” “不，也就只看一种吧。但现在无论什么报纸都看。可报纸这东西内容不也大同小异嘛！” “从三个月前？” 木岛不禁瞪大眼睛。三个月前，正是这一连串的杀人事件开始的时候。也许与此有什么关系吧！ 应当看一下渡边一郎的房间，或许能有什么线索。但这个阶段还不能这样做。于是木岛便来到外边的公用电话亭，把这一发现报告搜查总部，然后到附近的枪支店转了转。如果渡边是凶手，他应当经常光顾这种地方。但结果令人失望。 不过，如果他有朋友在火药厂工作，弄点火药并不困难。 于是木岛再次返回公寓，想找一下渡边的邻居问一问。正好一位主妇在家。 “我从未和渡边先生说过话。”这位新婚不久的主妇对木岛说道，“这个人特别安稳。” “注意没注意过他有什么反常吗？” “反常？” “半夜里有什么声响没有？比方说，叮叮当当、敲打铁器的声音？” “……”这个主妇在思考着，“嗯，有这样的声音……”这个主妇答道，“大概是两个多月前吧，一天半夜里我们听到渡边先生的房间里传出过一声'咚'的响声，好像什么爆炸了似的。我们耽心出了什么事，还去问过。” "How about it?" “渡边先生笑着说没什么事，但我清楚地记得当时我闻到他的房间里有一股什么臭味。” “记不记得准确的日子？” “啊，让我想想。” 这名主妇歪着头想了一会儿，却什么也记不清了。不过，这对木岛来说已经是很大的收获了。也许当时渡边正在调合火药，意外地发生了事故呢！ 木岛的报告使搜查总部的人紧张起来了。 “跟踪渡边一郎！”主任果断地下达了命令。 对渡边一郎的监视开始了。 但对他的评价是：行踪正常，并无可疑之处。 大体上他在六点钟起床，洗完脸，吃过早饭后，便乘地铁到达日本桥的公司上班。下午五点钟下班后，马上就回公寓。吃罢晚饭，就去附近的浴池洗澡，有时也去附近的游艺室打激光枪，但枪法并不好。 就这样日复一日，完全不像是个凶手的日常生活。难道这样的男人会一连杀死七名暴力团骨干分子吗？如果是他，那么动机又是什么？ 监视他的刑警们，所得到的就是这个疑问。 然而，他迅速与介绍的对象分手，肯定是有什么原因的。比方说，他发现对方与暴力团有什么关系啦等等。但调查的结果却不是这样。这个姑娘未婚，而且对渡边也没有什么不好的印象，也不是第三者插足导致的两人分手。 从女方那里没得到任何线索。 对渡边的朋友关系也进行了秘密调查，公司的同事们一致反映他是个安分守己的人，根本没人相信他会去杀人。只是在扩大调查范围中，找到了一个他中学的同学，也正好是在一家火药厂工作的人。并从中了解道，渡边一郎确实向他要过火药，说是要打猎用。 “打猎？也许是打人吧！”主任阴沉地说道。 弄清事实真相，是在跟踪渡边的第六天。 “索性把渡边叫来问一问吧！”主任下达了命令。 木岛马上去了日本桥的三田产业公司。 “渡边不在。”人事科长答道。 “他今天早上出门了，可他应当来上班呀！” “是的，他今天早上来了，但来后突然提出想辞职不干。还送了一份辞呈。我问他为什么，他死活也不说。” "when?" “上午吧。” 木岛懊悔地咬着嘴唇，就这一步之差！也许渡边察觉到有人在跟踪他，先行一步逃之夭夭了！ 科长后来又说，也许渡边一郎还要来取一次退职金，但木岛一句也没有听进去。如果渡边要逃跑，他是绝不会第二次再来的。 木岛一边咬着牙，一边朝四谷三丁目的“和平庄”公寓赶去。 他找到管理员后，马上进了渡边一郎的房间。当然，这儿也没有他的行踪。但桌了上放着一个信封，信封的上面有一行小字： 写不写这封信，我考虑了许久。如果写了，就好像是在为自己辩护一样。但我最终还是认为不写不好，于是便写下这封信。如果看到了，就请快点看完。 杀死那伙歹徒的是我。我坦率地承认这一点，而且至今也不后悔。 我之所以写下这封信，就是要把我为什么杀死这些人的理由说明一下。但我的意思并不是想为自己开脱什么。就像我在前面写的那样，我始终不对杀死那伙歹徒感到后悔。 我是个普普通通的人。关于这一点，我想在你们的多方调查中已经都知道了。 普通的公司职员，这就是我，但也不是我。应当可以这么说吧。因为现在的我毕竟是杀死了七个人的凶恶罪犯！ 六个月以前的我，如同前面所讲的那样，在各方面都没有什么专长，也无出人头地的愿望。但是，我已经十分满足了，一心只想找个普通的姑娘，结婚、育儿、工作到退休。这样倒也不坏。因此，当人事科长为我撮合时，我非常高兴地答应了对方（我想警察们己经找过她了吧）。她虽然长相并不出众，但我觉得她人还老实，和我这么个小人物倒也般配。因此我就暗自答应了这门亲事。为慎重起见，我还去医院进行了健康检查。我这样做，完全是出于对姑娘的负责。 但不幸，我知道自己得了癌症。当然，医生并没有对我讲，只是在一次交谈中偶然听说的。而且病情已到晚期。最多还能活上一年。 当时，我惟一的感觉就是绝望。当然也就决定拒绝这门亲事。由于我没有说明理由，人事科长十分不满。 三个月就在我神志恍惚中过去了。虽然工作没有受到影响，但我的心里却感到非常空虚。 我自暴自弃，借酒浇愁，想一死了之。当我百无聊赖地走在繁华大街上时，我看到了在大街上横冲直撞的流氓和阿飞们。我过去只是在电影中和电车上见过他们，还有报纸，不知为什么这会儿对他们特别注意了。 我是意志不坚强的胆小鬼，是个不引人注目的男人。但这并不等于我就缺乏正义感。许多公司职员看上去都是文文静静的，但不能因此就认为他们没有正义感。也许老实人之所以老实，就是因为他们把平常的力气埋藏起来了吧。至少当时我是那样的。 当我想到自己的生命即将要结束的时候，这种正义感便开始显露出来了。 我决心要让他们知道被他们随意欺辱的老百姓的力量。 我开始收集有关枪械方面的书籍，制作手枪由于我毕业于理工科，所以干这种事易如反掌。火药是从朋友那儿要来的（但我要声明，此事与他绝无关系）。我从报纸上的报道中寻找枪杀的对象。为此，我订阅了许多报纸，专找那些登了照片的家伙，他们无论哪个人都不是初犯。因此，杀死他们，我心中一点犯罪感都没有。 靠近他们非常容易。因为他们根本不会把一个普通得再也不能普通的人放在眼里。我绕到他们的背后，扣动板机，事情就完了。一点儿困难也没有。 我杀了这七个人后，知道他们陷入了极度的恐怖之中，他们也应当尝尝这个味道了。他们应当知道民众对他们的恐惧心理是什么样的。他们应当知道，无论怎样软弱的人，只要扣动了扳机，他的力量也并不比他们差多少。 我知道我达到了自己的愿望。 大概没有再杀他们的必要了。如果他们再猖狂一世、作威作福，肯定还会再出现第二个我的。 我就要去了。因为我不希望被你们抓住。最近，我常常感到体内一阵阵地剧痛，我知道离死期不远了。医生说我还可以活一年，但看来只有半年了，也许你们已向全国发布通缉令了吧，但这已经没有用了。我得了绝症，我打算自己结束自己的生命。就像我反复写过的那样，我对自己的所作所为并不后悔，只是让你们进了迷宫，感到实在对不起。 渡边一郎的通缉令已经没有用了。但警方不能按他所写的那样，撤消这个全国通缉令。 他的照片连同这份通缉令，已经向全国发出了。 当天夜里。 一份关于在伊豆的西海岸发现一具像渡边一郎的投海自杀的男人尸体的报告，送到搜查总部。 第二天一早，松田主任便带着木岛迅速向伊豆赶去。 死者肯定是渡边一郎。他按着自己的计划实行了，确实没有再通缉的必要了。 他为什么要死在伊豆，木岛一直弄不明白。 大概对他来说，这是一处有着美好记忆的地方吧。 冬季的大海，像睡眠中一样，异常的平静。 木岛一边眺望着大海，一边向主任问道：“这个人是英雄吧？” “不。”主任用坚定的口吻答道，“这个人不是英雄。如同他自己所说的那样，他是个普通的人。因此，他才格外令人害怕。”