Chapter 3 Beyond Fantasy and Death

For me, Shinshu is my hometown with two meanings.I was born in Komoro in 1929, which is the literal "hometown". After graduating from a university in Tokyo, I worked as a company employee.But I was born to like to travel, and it can bring practical benefits, so I wanted to make travel a career. I wrote a manuscript about my trip to Lake Nojiri in Shinshu and sent it to a travel magazine for an award.Fortunately, I got my wish, and have since started my full-time writing career as a "travel writer".In other words, Shinshu is the hometown that raised me. Therefore, I have an inseparable relationship with Shinshu. However, deep in my heart, there is also a deep hatred for Shinshu.No, rather than Shinshu, I hate Komoro who raised me.

Since I was dubbed a "travel writer", I have been traveling all over Japan, including Shinshu a few times, but Komoro has never been there. I want to write about this reason.No, I don't think I want to, but I must write it out! Because I want to write out this heavy past before starting my new life. I am the second son of the owner of a hotel called "Morning" in Komoro City.Just like the name of the hotel opened by my family, the mountains of Asama can be seen clearly from here.The morning scenery there is especially wonderful, so there are also a lot of tourists who come to stay there every year.

My brother, Ryutaro, the eldest son of the family, is ten years older than me, so as far as I can remember, there has never been an argument between brothers, let alone a fight or something like that.My parents also had a clear preference for my gentle, intelligent older brother.In these parts, however, I was notoriously a naughty one, so I often gave my father a lot of trouble.In addition, my brother and I are ten years apart, so I didn't feel jealous of my brother. When I was in the local high school, my brother had already graduated from college.He succeeded his father, who died two years ago, as the owner of the "Morning" Hotel.Therefore, during the three years in college, I have been supported by my brother, and I have never worried about money.

These three years have been ordinary and boring three years.Except for a few small adventures, there is no "performance" worth talking about in my memory.I just remember that the last day of my three years in high school was a very cold day. It's March, but there's still snow on the surrounding hilltops, and the ponds are still frozen in the early morning. There are also fewer tourists.Only when it was very late three days ago did a pair of traveling companions who were in a hurry come.It was written in the accommodation register that they were a couple named K from Tokyo.But I don't see them as a "couple".The man is forty-five or sixteen years old, and the woman is only twenty-seven or eight years old. They look like a couple hiding out to have an affair.

Of course, our family owned a hotel, and only I was interested in seeing what the relationship was like between them, while my brother and mother never cared about the personal affairs of their guests. They spend money like water.At that time, there was no second guest in the hotel, so they booked all four rooms on the second floor at once, and they also said that they wanted to eat the brandy melons grown in the greenhouse in the middle of winter.Talking about throwing out 10,000 yen casually, I thought to myself, maybe the two of them are the gangsters who robbed the bank!And I also imagined that the travel bags they kept in the safe room must be full of bundles of banknotes.

I told my brother Ryutaro about this idea and asked him if he wanted to call the police.But my brother just laughed it off.When there are few customers in winter, it is really rare to meet such generous guests. That afternoon, another young woman came to the hotel.She is in her mid-twenties and looks very pretty, like a popular S.E actress nowadays.Since all the rooms on the second floor were occupied by the couple, she had to live on the first floor.However, her beauty unfortunately led to a tragedy. The man who lived on the second floor had nothing to do with the later female guest and pestered her endlessly.Sometimes the elder brother really couldn't stand it and would come forward to help the female guest and dissuade the man.At that time, my brother was still single, and he also took a fancy to the female guest.

Because the elder brother protected the female guest on the first floor, the man dissatisfied and even beat him.The woman he was with was also in a hysterical fit, making a scene and causing chaos.The sickly mother was trembling with fright. I saw that my brother was no match for that man, so I advised him not to mind this kind of business.But the gentle and refined man had no fear at that time, and he yelled at the man, which surprised me a lot.Thinking about it now, my brother may have lost his mind at the time.In the middle of the night that day, tragedy happened suddenly. I think it was three o'clock in the morning.I had already fallen asleep, but a sudden burst of "split, blah, blah" woke me up.When I opened my eyes, the room was filled with thick smoke.I hurriedly jumped out of the window in my pajamas, but the entire hotel was in flames.

And there is almost no smoke, and all you see is flames. Soon two fire trucks arrived and started fighting the fire.But at this point the fire was gaining momentum, and fire trucks were doing little to help. It was not until dawn that the fire was gradually extinguished, and three bodies were found from the ruins.It was impossible to recognize who it was because it was burnt.But judging from where they were found, the three bodies were my mother, brother and the female guest who lived on the first floor.But the man and woman did not know where they fled.Perhaps the woman was jealous of her accomplice getting close to the new female guest, so she set it on purpose; the man had to take her away when he saw this.

My mother and brother died, and I was an orphan.I sold my hotel homestead and decided to go to Tokyo.Since then, I have never been in the mood to go back to Xiaozhuo. Fortunately, the money from selling the homestead was enough to last me until I graduated from college. When my family's hotel burned down, five other hotels and shops connected to my house were also engulfed in the fire.There have been many gossips about this.The most serious thing is that my brother wanted to get his hands on the female guest on the first floor, and when he refused, he set fire to retaliate.Anyway, it was these rumors that kept me far away from Xiaomoro.It's been eleven years since then.The only thing I can do is to forget this nightmare as completely as possible.I never went back to Xiaomoro, nor did I write about that incident.The reason why I want to write this time is that ten years have passed since the incident, and I can calm down and recall the pain.

How many years later will I not return to Xiaomoro?I kept asking myself in my heart. One night in early October, a woman visited the home of the Totsugawa Police Department of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Section. This is a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties.As soon as she saw Totsukawa, she said eagerly, "I must find you!" Totsukawa pointed to the tea brought by his wife and said, "Please use it." Then he asked again: "What do you want from me?" "Ah, yes. Please look at this first." As she spoke, she handed over a magazine that was published three months ago.The title of the book is "The Way of Japan".On the page marked in advance, under the title "My Big Event", the long article just now written by the travel writer Kojiro Kawauchi was published.

Totsukawa quickly scanned the essay. "The woman in the article is my sister!" said the visitor. "The lady guest who was burned?" "Yes. Her name is Kakizawa Kyoko. I'm her younger sister, Midori." "Do you have evidence?" Totsukawa asked. "She was twenty-five or six years old at the time, and the actress named S.E mentioned in the article was Edogawa Dongko. My sister looks very similar to her." "Your sister went to Xiaozhu at that time?" "She ran away from home at the time, and we did not find her whereabouts." "Didn't you ask the author, Mr. Kawauchi Kojiro? Ask about the female guest who was burned to death?" "Ah, I called yesterday." "The results of it?" "He said he couldn't remember clearly." Midori Kakizawa said regretfully. "He can't remember what?" "That female guest registered with my name! So he said he couldn't tell if it was my sister." "Eleven years ago, Mr. Kawauchi was still a college student, so there's nothing he can do if he can't remember clearly." "That's what he said, but what he wrote is true, right? And my sister lived there at that time, and was killed by that gangster. I hope the police will investigate! Please!" "Did Mr. Kawauchi say something about the couple?" "He said he couldn't remember either." "So he can't remember anyone?" "That's not true. However, my sister must have been killed by those two people eleven years ago!" Midori said firmly. "However, it would be nice to have proof that your sister must have lived there then." "I think it's enough to say that she has the same looks and age as actress Edogawa Takako." "It's enough for you, but it's not acceptable from a third party. You just said that she ran away from home eleven years ago?" "Yes. My sister was a company employee at the time and lived in an apartment alone. She told the company that she took three days off to travel, but she didn't say where she was going. Just like that, she disappeared. My parents searched desperately, but they couldn't find it... ..." "What about you then?" "I'm still a middle school student! Now I'm exactly my sister's age." "Didn't you ask the police in Xiaozhu about the situation?" "Just called this morning." "What do they say?" "They said that the hotel was on fire and the passengers were burned to death. It is true, but if there is no evidence that it is a homicide, the investigation cannot be filed. And it happened eleven years ago. It would be very difficult to investigate." Midori said dejectedly . "Hmm..." Totsukawa also felt very embarrassed. After all, it was eleven years ago, and it was under the jurisdiction of Nagano Prefecture. "Please! We must catch the murderer who killed my sister! I think there is no statute of limitations for murder!" Midori said anxiously. "Yeah, you have to help her!" Totsukawa's wife Naoko also interjected. "But things are not that simple. There is no evidence to prove that her sister was among the dead; and the place is under the jurisdiction of the Nagano Prefectural Police Department." Totsukawa said cautiously. But Midori kept bowing her head and saluting, "Please." "Okay, then I'll give it a try!" Totsukawa finally agreed. As soon as Totsukawa went to work, he immediately called Kawauchi Kojiro. Kawauchi is not at home, but works in a K publishing house. As soon as Totsukawa mentioned Kakizawa Midoriko's name, Kawauchi immediately replied: "This matter is too difficult. Let me go to your place and talk about it." After speaking, he hung up the phone. During the lunch break that day, Kawauchi came to the Metropolitan Police Department.He was tall and a handsome young man. What a beautiful young man!Totsukawa smiled, and took Kawauchi to the tea shop opened in the hall. After ordering coffee, Totsukawa asked again about the essay published in the magazine. "Actually, I made it up." Kawauchi scratched his head with his hands and said. "fake?" Totsukawa was taken aback, and looked at Chuuchi again. "Of course it's not all made up. But someone didn't 'set the fire'. The fire department's investigation said that the fire was caused by an electrical leakage." "Is the matter of the deceased also made up?" "No, brother, mother, and a resident. But the pretty female resident and the fight over her is something I made up." "The thing about the couple is also made up?" "Yes, there was only one female guest staying at the time." "Why did you make up those things?" Totsukawa asked suppressing his anger. Kawauchi scratched his head again and said: "The editor-in-chief of the magazine asked me to write some interesting essays, but just electric leakage, fire and three people being burned to death are not that interesting, so I added a plot of a man and a woman having an affair out of thin air. It's been a year. I don't think there's anything wrong with making up a little plot." "Then, is it possible that the female guest who died was Miss Kakizawa Midori's older sister?" Totsukawa asked. "I don't know, probably not." "Why? Didn't you say she looks like actress Edogawa Takako?" "I wrote it that way." "Is that also made up?" "I wanted a beauty to appear in the essay. At that time, I suddenly thought of Edogawa Dongko, because she is a well-known beautiful actress!" "Does that look like Edogawa Takako?" Totsukawa asked angrily. "It's kind of like it. But it's not that beautiful." Kawauchi shrugged and said. "Have you met Ms. Kakizawa Midori?" "I've seen it." "Like the lady guest who died eleven years ago?" "After all, it's been eleven years. I can't remember." "Have you contacted the registered address eleven years ago?" "Well... I sent a telegram after the accident, but the address was fake. I didn't know anything about it," Kawauchi replied. After Kawauchi left, Totsukawa called the Komoro Police Station of the Nagano Prefectural Police Department. When he asked about the fire in the "Chen" hotel eleven years ago, a criminal policeman named A Lin immediately came to answer. "The wind was very strong that day, and the fire broke out in the middle of the night. Six shops and hotels were all on fire. The source of the fire was the 'Chen' Hotel. Three bodies were found. The reason was an electrical leakage. The dead were the eldest son, his wife and one female guest." "Is there any suspicion of arson or homicide?" When Tenjinchuan asked, Alin detective replied: "If that's the case, the matter won't be a big deal?" "Has the identity of the female guest been found out?" "No. Because her ID card and driver's license were all burned; and the registered address and name were all false, so no clues were found." "How did you register?" "I don't know, because the registration book was also burned. Kawauchi Kojiro, who escaped from death, contacted me from memory afterwards." "He remembered the address and name?" Totsukawa asked. A Lin said quickly: "Please wait a moment. Ah, it's the address in Nakano District, Tokyo, and its name is Moriguchi Yuko." "There were no other guests at the 'Morning' hotel that day?" "It seems not. Mr. Kawauchi Kojiro said so." Allin replied. After thanking Totsukawa, he hung up the phone.At this time, Kamei came over and asked what the case was. So Totsukawa told what happened last night and showed the essay to Kamei. Kamei glanced at it and said angrily: "It's really hateful! Just making up things to attract readers!" "But a young girl believed it." "Is it possible that it's Kakizawa Midori's sister?" Kamei asked. "I'm afraid not." "But in fact, a female resident was burned to death eleven years ago!" "Yes, but the Nagano Police Department did not treat this incident as a homicide, so there was no further investigation, and the identity of the deceased is not known yet." "It's a sin to talk nonsense about looking like Edogawa Takako! Otherwise, why would Kakizawa Midori insist that it was her older sister who died!" "That's what you said. If I were Midoriko Kakizawa, I would have to slap Kawauchi a few times!" "The police also beat people?" Kamei asked with a smile. "It's a sin to give hope to a desperate man, because that hope is an illusion," said Totsukawa. That night, Kakizawa Midori called Totsukawa's house again. Totsukawa sadly told her about the investigation. Sure enough, when Totsukawa told about meeting and talking with Kawauchi, Midori fell silent for a moment. "He's talking nonsense!!" Midori suddenly shouted. "I can understand your feelings. It's really infuriating that Kawauchi made up things to please the editor-in-chief, but the deceased is really not your sister! Regarding this point, we have no evidence that he lied." "Did you also ask Xiaomoro's police?" "I've asked. In the fire eleven years ago, they didn't think there was any possibility of arson or murder. The cause of the fire was an electrical leakage." Totsukawa said honestly. "But anyway, I think it was my sister who died eleven years ago!" Midori cried. "But you don't have any evidence that she went to Xiaomoro at that time!" Totsukawa said patiently. "She's gone on a trip." "That's useless, and there was no investigation to confirm it later." Totsukawa wanted to end the call as soon as possible, but he had to explain to her patiently and gently. "Is there any dental record for the deceased eleven years ago? If there is, I think we can find out if it is my sister by comparing it." Midori said unwillingly. "If it is a homicide, the police will definitely investigate desperately, and the dental case will also be archived. But if it is not a homicide, there will be no such detailed investigation, so there will be no dental records." Kazuto Tsukawa One explained. "Then there's no way to confirm if it's my sister?" "Yes. And I also asked Kawauchi, the deceased is not your sister." Midori finally hung up the phone silently. Two days later on October 7th. The "Morning No. 3" express train bound for Nagano departed from platform 15 of Ueno Station at 8:00 a.m. as usual.It consists of eleven carriages.One of them is a green soft-seat carriage with a direct-dial telephone. Since this day is not a rest day, there is no crowd in the car. Seventeen or eighteen minutes after the train passed through Karuizawa, a man sitting in the green soft-seat carriage suddenly stood up and walked towards the telephone. He took off the receiver with difficulty, and when he was about to dial the number, he suddenly let out a painful groan, and fell to the ground with the receiver in his hand. The passenger next to him was taken aback and asked loudly, "Are you okay?" The man just desperately stroked his neck with his hands, and his whole body began to twitch. "Flight attendant!" Another passenger yelled hastily. The flight attendant at the foot of the mountain ran over immediately when he heard the shout, but at this time the man had already vomited blood and remained motionless. "What's going on?! Sir!" Yamashita yelled several times, but there was no response. Just then, the train arrived at Komoro Station. As soon as the door opened, Yamashita rushed to the platform and asked the station staff for help. Two staff members quickly came to the carriage, lifted the motionless man to the platform, and immediately went to call an ambulance. Yamashita contacted other flight attendants and decided to stay in Komoro by himself. The "Morning No. 3" express train continued towards Nagano. Yamashita explained the situation to the station master on the platform, but he only knew that this person fell to the ground when he was about to make a phone call. An ambulance arrived and immediately took the man to a nearby hospital, and Yamashita went with the same car. When we arrived at the hospital, the doctor quickly checked and said regretfully: "It's too late, he's dead! He died of poisoning, probably potassium cyanide poisoning." As soon as the ambulance personnel heard it, they immediately called the police. After a while, the patrol car arrived at a fast speed. Two criminal police officers from the Komoro Police Station of the Nagano Prefectural Police Department listened to the doctor's explanation, asked Yamashita again, and then began to confirm the identity of the deceased. He had a driver's license in his suit pocket, which was immediately obvious. This is the identity of the deceased. At the same time, business cards were also found. There were twelve business cards with "Kojiro Kawauchi" written on them, and the title was "Travel Writer". There are 160,000 yen in the wallet. There are also other belongings: The body was immediately subjected to a forensic autopsy.Because the Nagano Prefectural Police Department believed that the death of Kawauchi Kojiro was murder. Before the results of the autopsy came out, the Komoro Police Department established a search headquarters and determined that the Miura Police Department was in charge. Miura immediately set out to investigate two things. One is to immediately get in touch with the "Morning No. 3" train arriving in Nagano and listen to the introduction of other flight attendants. Another point is to entrust the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to investigate the situation of the deceased who lived in Tokyo. After contacting, Miura ordered the two criminal policemen Nakamura and Asen to rush to Nagano to listen to the testimony of a flight attendant named Aoki. It was Totsukawa who answered the call from the Metropolitan Police Department, and he was startled when he heard the name of the deceased. "Kousujiro Kawauchi is dead? Really?!" "It is very likely that he killed him." "Is it 'travel writer' Kawauchi Kojiro?" Totsukawa confirmed again. "Yes. You know him?" Miura asked. "I've heard of this person, he was from Xiaozhu earlier!" "A person from Xiaomoro?" Miura had a question this time. "Yes. Eight years ago, a hotel in Komoro City caught fire and killed three people. He is the second son of the hotel owner." Totsukawa said. "He still has the ticket to Xiaozhu!" "Maybe it has something to do with the fire case eight years ago!" said Totsukawa. Then he told Miura how Kawauchi Kojiro wrote an essay and how he attracted Kakizawa Midori. "Can you bring Ms. Kakizawa Midori to Komoro?" Miura asked. The autopsy results came out that evening, and the cause of death was potassium cyanide poisoning. A time estimate of death also comes out, but it doesn't make much sense.Because the testimony of the train crew has been very clear. Nakamura and Asen soon returned from Nagano. "The testimony of the Aoki flight attendant was retrieved." Nakamura reported to Miura, "Because Aoki was in charge of the ticketing of the soft-seat carriage, he remembered the deceased. He said that when the train left Ueno Station to check the ticket for the first time, the deceased must have Still, because he also asked about the time to arrive at Xiaozhu." "Any companions?" Miura asked. "He said he only saw the dead man at that time as a single person." "'Back then'? Besides 'then'?" Miura asked again. "Later he saw that the deceased seemed to be talking to a beautiful woman. The woman was in her thirties and had very fair skin, so she was very impressed." "Is it his companion?" "We also asked, but Aoki couldn't be sure, saying that maybe we met in the car by chance." "Where did the woman get in the car from?" "Aoki said that the ticket in her hand was to Nagano, but he was not sure." "If it came to Nagano, then maybe it really has nothing to do with the deceased," Miura said. "Anyway, I thought that woman might know something, so I drew a portrait as described by Aoki." As he spoke, Asen opened a portrait and placed it in front of Miura. Miura took a look and said, "Why can't you see your face clearly with a pair of such big sunglasses on?" "Aoki said that this woman wears sunglasses all the time." "Is it intentional?" Miura said to himself. Subsequently, he decided to investigate from the fire incident that Totsukawa said eleven years ago. Since the fire incident occurred in Xiaozhuguan, it didn't take much trouble. He immediately transferred the Allin detective who was in charge of the fire case eleven years ago.Alin said with a smile: "The Totsugawa Police Department of the Metropolitan Police Department asked about this the day before yesterday." "Three people died in that fire?" "Yes. The owner of the hotel, Kawauchi Ryutaro, his mother, Fumiko, and a female guest. Ryutaro's younger brother, Kojiro, escaped by luck." Alin said. "At that time he was in the third year of high school?" "yes." "The identity of the female guest who was burned to death has never been clarified?" "yes." "The face is all burned?" "Yes. I only know that she is 1.63 meters tall and weighs 55 kilograms. I don't know what she looks like. Maybe the owner of the hotel or Fumiko who entertains the guests may remember, but Koujiro helps out occasionally and goes to school, so he is very concerned about her. That female guest is not very impressive." Alin said. "Have you talked to that Kawauchi Kojiro?" "Yes, eleven years ago." "What about that guy?" Miura asked. Allin recalled while talking: "Because he lost his mother and brother in an instant, he looked very miserable, but not very sad. When talking about the fire incident, he seemed to be talking about other people's affairs." "He didn't have a good relationship with his dead brother?" Miura asked. "There is a big age difference between him and his elder brother Ryutaro. I heard that they seldom quarrel, but maybe he can't fight if he wants to." "What about his relationship with his mother?" "I heard that the parents of this family dote on the eldest son Ryutaro too much, so I thought this might be the reason why he didn't feel particularly sad about his brother's death." Alin said. "Do you remember other things in Kawauchi?" Miura asked again. "I investigated his college classmates and childhood events. He was a very docile child and nothing serious happened to him," Alin said. Miura did not think that the fire that happened eleven years ago had anything to do with this murder case. If the fire eleven years ago was a homicide, then instead of eleven years later, there would have been many homicides related to this case. Therefore, Miura firmly believes that this incident is an independent incident. The next day, Totsugawa Police Department and Kamei Detective of the Metropolitan Police Department brought Kakizawa Midori to Komoro. After Totsukawa introduced Midori to Miura, he showed him the essay written by Kojiro Kawauchi.This is material copied from a magazine. "The murdered Kawauchi said that the important plot was made up." Totsukawa said to Miura. After reading the copy, Miura said, "Indeed, three people died in the fire eleven years ago." "That's right. Kawauchi said that the pair of lovers and the beautiful woman who was burnt to death like Edogawa Takako were made up. He said that he wrote it in order to make this essay attractive to readers." Totsukawa said. "That's right! Yes, without these plots, this essay would not be very interesting. Three people died at once, this story is so attractive." Miura nodded and said. "On this point, I believe what Kawauchi said. Because writers always have to fabricate some plots to make the work interesting. Things in reality are not so vivid. However, it is a bit puzzling to connect with Kawauchi's murder." Totsukawa said. "Then you think this essay is true?" Miura asked. "I don't know which places are true, but I don't think they are all false." Totsukawa said cautiously. "However, it is also possible that the murderer killed Kawauchi in a fit of rage because he wrote a false plot. It is somewhat incomprehensible that the person who wrote the book was killed because he wrote a true plot." When Miura said this, Kakizawa Midori, who had been silent all the time, said loudly: "Because it says my sister!" Miura glanced at her and said, "You think the female guest who was burned to death was your sister?" "Ok." "And it was the lovers who set fire to your sister?" "Yes, definitely." "There is no evidence! First of all, Mr. Totsukawa is not sure about the authenticity of this essay, and it is also uncertain whether the existence of the lovers is fictional or not!" Miura also became very cautious. "But my sister..." Midori yelled angrily. Miura hurriedly comforted loudly: "I understand, you think that female guest is your sister. Although she was burned to death, it is better than never being traced. But the only 'witness' of this incident, Kawauchi Kojiro was killed. Responsible for the incident eleven years ago The investigating detective Alin confirmed that three people were burned to death, a man and a woman, but there was no other confirmation. The woman who was burned to death could not even see her face clearly. It was only recorded that her height was 1.63 meters and her weight was 5. Fifteen kilograms." "That's my sister!" "But it's not uncommon to be 1.63 meters tall and weigh 55 kilograms. Based on this alone, you can conclude that she is your older sister?" Miura asked. In the end, Totsukawa and the others put aside arguing about this for the time being, and stayed in a hotel arranged by the Komoro Police Department. Dinner is eaten in the fast food restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. "I just think that the female guest who was burned to death eleven years ago was my sister." At dinner, Midori expressed her views on Totsukawa again. "Is it because Kawauchi Kojiro said that the female guest looks like Edogawa Dongko?" Kamei asked from the side. "And my sister liked Shinshu and Komoro at that time," Midori said. "But it's not uncommon for young girls to like Shinshu, especially Komoro," Kamei said. Hearing this, Midori suddenly became angry. "You said she is not my sister?!" "No, that's not what I meant. I just said don't rush to this conclusion. We still need to find evidence. The current situation is that the details of the lovers and the arson were fabricated out of thin air?" Kamei said. "So you don't want to help me?" "No. We're here with you because we want to get to the bottom of it. We're looking for evidence." Kamei quickly explained. "Can you find it?" Midori asked, looking at Totsukawa dubiously. "After all, it was a murder. We can catch the murderer, and the police here will help us. If the murderer killed him because of this essay written by Kawauchi, then he at least knew the truth about the fire eleven years ago . And in that way, fiction becomes reality. That's exactly what we expected." Totsukawa said.Then he said to Kamei: "I'm sorry, you should go back to Tokyo." "Have you found out about Kawauchi's friendships in Tokyo?" "Nishimoto and the others are investigating this, but I'm more interested in Kawauchi's relationship with women." Totsukawa said. "Especially the woman wearing sunglasses that the Miura Police Department said?" "Yes, it would be best to find out the identity of the woman. I don't think they met on the train by chance," Totsukawa said. "Okay, I'll go back to Tokyo tomorrow morning." Kamei said. The next day, Kamei returned to Tokyo with the portrait described according to the testimony of the flight attendant Aoki. Totsukawa said to Midori after breakfast, "Shall we take a walk on Komoro Street?" "This time?" "Don't you want to take a look at the burned hotel?" Totsukawa asked. "Then let's go." Midori agreed. Compared with Tokyo, the weather in Komoro at this time is a bit cold, which makes people feel that autumn is coming. If you are visiting, you usually go through the underground passage to the "Kaikoen" on the opposite side, and then take a walk by the riverside of Chikuma River, but today Totsu River really does not have this time. They walked through the square in front of the station and the commercial street, heading towards the former site of the "Chen" Hotel. An apartment building has already been built in this place.It only takes two hours by express train from Komoro to Ueno, so this area has become an ideal place for office workers to live. Midori walked around the apartment and said to Totsukawa: "The hotel was so small back then!" "I heard that it is an old-fashioned two-story hotel. Usually, only their family members and a servant work there, and they quit the servant when they are free. The servant was not there because there were few customers on the day of the fire." Totsukawa said. . The two went to a nearby police station. Fortunately, a police officer in his forties remembered the fire. "At that time, there were no buildings in this area, and it was quite desolate!" the police officer said with emotion. "Do you remember about the fire?" "I remember. I wasn't in class that day, but I was there when the fire caught fire. It was too big to get through." "Is there really only one resident?" Totsukawa asked. "That's what they say, and it's published in the newspapers." "Does that hotel make money?" "Ah, I don't know. It's a small hotel. Later, several restaurants were built here. Anyway, it's not easy to run!" said the police officer. "Is there any legend after the fire? For example, someone set it on fire?" When Totsukawa asked, the police officer nodded and said, "Yes! Because there has never been a fire in this area. But the police found nothing." Next, Totsukawa and Midori went to the cooperative credit unions in the area. They inquired about the economics of the "Morning" Hotel eleven years ago. The director looked through the account books at that time and said: "At that time, the hotel had a loan of 10 million yen, and when the fire broke out, it still owed 6 million yen!" "Have you paid it back?" "At that time, their second son sold the land, plus the fire insurance money, and returned everything; but I heard that besides our cooperative credit union, there are still many debts!" Totsukawa investigated the neighborhood again, and sure enough, the hotel seemed to have a lot of debts. At that time, many people nearby had been borrowed tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yen by them. So at that time, it was said that they used the method of setting fire because they could not pay off their debts.But later this legend died down quickly, because the hotel's insurance amount was very small at that time, so many debts were not paid, and the creditors, the owner of the hotel and his mother, all died in the fire. Totsukawa brought Midori to a local tea shop. Midori was very depressed because she didn't hear the proof of the intentional arson and the fact that there was such a strange lover at that time. Midori stared blankly at the coffee in front of her and said, "It's a pity, no evidence was found to see if the dead person was my sister." "Don't be discouraged, there will always be some clues." Totsukawa said encouragingly. At this time, Totsukawa was thinking about other issues. Kawauchi Kojiro wrote in his essay: He used the money from selling the hotel land to go to Tokyo to finish university. But judging from the current investigation, in order to pay off the debt, it seems that there is no money left from the sale of the land. Did he write that out of vanity? "Mr. Police Department." Midori said to Totsukawa, and Totsukawa woke up from his contemplation with an "ah" and looked at Midori. "I think my sister must have visited the scenic spots here when she lived in Komoro. I want to see them too," Midori said. "Okay! Maybe you can find someone who remembered your sister eleven years ago!" "That's what I mean too." So the two went out of the tea shop, and first went to the "Huaigu Garden". They walked through the underground passage and came to the entrance of Huaigu Garden - Sanyuan Gate. Huaigu Garden is a park characterized by the historic sites of Komoro Castle, and the main scenery is only the ancient stone walls. Due to the cold weather, there were hardly any people.十津川不由得立起了大衣的衣领。 绿子的心思似乎全用在了寻找姐姐当年可能留下的痕迹中去了。但十一年前的痕迹是不应留下什么的。 十津川不可思议地看着绿子。她今年二十五岁。 正好和十一年前失踪的姐姐京子同岁。 “十一年前你十四岁？”十津川问道。 "what." “那时你对你姐姐有什么样的印象？她是个什么样的人？” “很漂亮，又聪明，而且很自信。”绿子说道。 “那一定有男朋友了吧？” “可那时我还是个孩子，我不知道。” “你姐姐很温柔吗？” "of course." 大概她在极力美化失踪于十一年前的姐姐在她心中的形象吧。 "how about you?" "I?" “对呀，你当然也应当有恋人了吧？你漂亮，又都二十五岁了。”十津川认真地说道。 “恋人嘛，有的。不过我现在只想姐姐的事情。”绿子说道。 “为什么你姐姐十一年前一个人旅行，而且要来小诸？她喜欢一个人旅行？” “她喜欢旅行。” “常常是一个人？” "I don't know..." 绿子耸了耸肩说道。 回到东京的龟井和西木两个人继续调查川内功次郎的身边情况。 他们首先会见了那本杂志的总编。 总编叫田村，他说他和川内已有几年的交情。 “那时他才是个公司职员。他不想当一辈子职员，对我说想写旅行中的事件生活。所以他的稿件写得很用心，经常被刊登。” “您是他上大学的前辈？” “是的，我比他大三年哪！” “川内先生在大学时怎么样？” “经常参加旅行俱乐部的活动。人不错，挺大方的。” “挺大方？” “是的。他从来不因为钱而发过愁。” “为什么？他的母亲和哥哥不是因火灾去世了吗？” “可他说他有卖了土地的钱呀！听说他家在小诸开了一家旅馆，火灾后卖掉了，弄了一笔钱嘛。” “是这样啊。那么他有恋人吗？” “有吧，不过他没向我介绍过。”田村说道。 “您看完了那篇随笔后有什么感想？”龟井问道。 “坦率地说，当时我吃了一惊。我听说过十一年前的那场火灾，但还是很惊奇。” “那件事是真的吗？他会不会为了招徕读者编的呢？” “编？” "right." “这我可不能说。十一年过去了，他编这个干嘛？”田村不解地说道。 “川内先生在开往小诸的列车中被人毒死了，您知道他去小诸吗？” “不，我不知道。那天他的计划是去采访。应当下午三点回来。我等了半天，不知道他为什么没有回来。听说他死亡的消息后，我还真吓了一跳。”田村说道。 “平时他经常不守时吗？” “不，从不。” “可那天他偏偏去了小诸。” “是啊！所以我有点不明白。”田村歪着头说道。 龟井又和西木去了川内住的公寓。 这是一栋位于中野区的两居室住宅。 他们请管理员打开了川内的房间。 “这是租的吗？”龟井一边朝里走一边问道。 "yes." “月租金多少钱？” “三十万……”管理员爽快地答道。 龟井和西木相互看了一眼。 “我可付不起。” 西木咋了一下舌头。 "me too." “川内要转租吗？” “啊，这个我不知道。”龟井说道。 他们开始搜查这套房间。川内一个人住在这里，但日用品还真不少；这套房子的起居室很小，但还设有一个吧台，里面还有不少价格不菲的进口酒。 龟井拉开卧室里西服柜子的抽屉，发现一本存款的折子。 上面记着稿费收入和扣税的情况。 其中记了几个数字。 平均每月存入三十万日元，但存入方不是出版社。 龟井让西木看了看。 "what you think?" “是不是有人资助他？” “是个女人？” "right." “我看不出。” “每个月给他存入三十万哪！” “可从今年七月就没有存了。” “可不是，突然断了。” “从什么地方可以查一下？”龟井问道。 他们决定去存折的签发银行——位于四谷三丁目的M银行分行。 龟井让分行行长看了自己的警察身份证后开门见山地问分行长。 分行长连忙叫来具体的工作人员查了一下。 “都是从我们同一个银行的新宿分行存入的。存款人名字叫山田路子。” “是位女性？” “是的。而且好像每次都是用现金存入的。”分行长答道。 于是龟井和西木立刻又赶往新宿分行。 虽然已经都下午三点多了，但由于事先已经联系过，银行方面的人早已等在门口，并将龟井他们带了进去。 银行的经办人员对龟井作了说明：“是一名三十多岁的女性存入的。而且常常戴着一副大的太阳镜来办理手续。” “戴太阳镜？” 龟井反问了一句，然后连忙拿出那幅画像让对方看了看。 “像不像她？” “啊，很像！”这名职员瞪大了眼睛说道。 “我看一下她填写的存单。”龟井说道。 于是这名职员很快找出了一份六月一日她存款时填写的存单。 名字果然是“山田路子”。 “我要借用一下。”龟井说道。 西木在一旁又问了一句：“存款是从什么时候开始的？” “啊——我们这个分行是四年前开设的。我记得从那时起她就来存过款。” “四年前开设的？” "right." 这么说，极有可能在此之前这个“山田路子”还在别的银行存过钱。 “这个女性有没有和同伴一起来过？”龟井又问道。 “让我想想……有一次一个男人和她一起来过。” "what kind of person?" “中年男人。个子有一米七五、七六的样子，其他的特点就记不太清了，因为只来过一次。”这名职员有些抱歉地说道。 这也是非常大的收获了！ 当天夜里，龟井便用电话向小诸的十津川报告了这一发现。 “我认为肯定是和川内一块儿乘车的那个女人！”龟井说道。 “也不能排除是偶然相遇的嘛。” "Yep." “但是我们知道了，至少从四年前开始这个女人就每个月为川内存入三十万日元。” “是啊，也许更早。” “会不会是从十一年前呢？”十津川在电话中问道。 “从那次火灾之后？” “对。你们的调查不是证明'晨'旅馆在当时有许多欠债吗？还说后来卖了地全还了嘛！” “我们认为川内说靠那笔卖地的钱完成学业是胡编的。” "right." “这样一来，川内上大学花的钱……？” “有人供他上完大学！” “是每月给他存入三十万日元的那个女人！” “对。是不是从十一年前就每月存三十万我们不知道，恐怕是不断增加的。”十津川说道。 “是遗产？”龟井突然问了一句。 "right!" “那时川内是高校三年级的学生，他也有权继承遗产的。” “如果是高校三年级的学生，那也是个大小伙子了！”十津川说道。 “如果川内得到的是遗产，那十一年前的火灾原因可就有琢磨了。”龟井问道。 “川内写的随笔也许是真的？”十津川说道。 “可他不是说是他编的吗？” “是的。可火灾死了三个人哪！仅仅这一点，他能继承什么财产的呢？” "That's true." “还有，火灾时那对奇异的情人消失了。”十津川接着说下去，“他是这样写的：那是一对不正当同居的男女，从什么地方窃取了一大笔不义之财逃到了这里。重点是'一大笔钱'。也许一亿、两亿，或更多。两个人从东京逃到小诸，躲在了'晨'旅馆里。偶尔又住进了一名长得像电影明星江户川冻子的漂亮女人。这个男人又盯上了她。于是引起了同来的那个女人的嫉妒，她便放了一把火。那个女人被烧死了，川内的母亲和哥哥也被烧死了。每月给川内钱的就应当是那对男女！” “这么说，被烧死的是柿泽绿子的姐姐了？” "I guess so." “可为什么川内功次郎突然写这篇随笔？这样一来不是给那对男女带来麻烦了吗？” “所以他才写的嘛！你不记的了，每月那三十万日元的存入款，在七月就断了嘛！” “原来这样。” “也就是说，履行被继承权的一方终于忍无可忍了，于是停止了支付，而川内以威胁为目的写了这篇随笔。这就暗示，如果对方还不继续付款，他还会更加明确地公开那一事件真相。”十津川说道。 “于是对方连忙给了川内一百万？” “对，是一百万。” “啊，就是川内身上带的那一百万日元？” “对。”十津川点了点头。 “可川内干嘛要去小诸？”龟井问道。 “川内从未对警方和消防局说明十一年前发生火灾时的那对男女的事情。因为说了他就无法得到'继承'的财产了。但他偏偏又在十一年后写出了真相。如果小诸的警方看到了这篇随笔，连想起十一年前的火灾，再重新调查，事情可就大了，我认为他是去看看究竟会出现什么结果。”十津川分析道。 “于是那对男女在火车上毒死了川内？” “对。因为从那对男女看来，川内活着毕竟是个威胁，无论是每月的三十万日元还是事实真相，不如灭口省心。而且川内一下拿到了一百万，肯定放心了。于是骗他喝了加了氰化钾的咖啡什么的杀死了他。”十津川说道。 “他站起来打电话时马上死了。” “是的。”十津川说道。 “查一下十一年前火灾时的那对男女吧！”龟井说道。 第二天，龟井和西木两个人便来到了国立图书馆，查阅了十一年前的缩印报刊。 但他们没有找到那一类的记载。 他们不甘心，又一天天地向后翻找。 终于在六个月后的拫纸上找到了一则消息。 Y银行新宿分店信贷科女科员盗窃三亿日元被解雇。该科员叫仁村良子（二十八岁），目前已经下落不明。根据分行行长介绍，由于该科员连续多日无故缺勤，随即检查其分管的账目，方才发现她已盗窃了三亿日元。Y银行在宣布解雇该科员的同时向警方报警。 银行方面整整推迟了六个月方对外公布，是他们心虚的表现。 报纸上刊登了仁村良子的照片。那是一张极普通的日本女性的脸。 龟井和西木又继续查找。 在又过了一个月的报纸上刊登了这么一条消息。 在这三天后，龟井又找到了一篇有关的记载。 在这几篇消息之后，再也没有关于这两个人的任何消息了。好像警方、银行方面也都死了心，不再追查这两个人了。 由于不是杀人案，银行认为也是自己管理的疏忽造成的失误，肯定不愿意再追究下去；当然也不可能将此与发生在小诸的火灾联系在一起。特别是作为那场火灾见证人的川内功次郎对那对奇异的男女同伴一事又保持了沉默。 龟井再一次给小诸的十津川打了电话，向他说明了这几篇记事的内容。 “果然呀！三亿日元，四十五岁和二十八岁的男女同伴。”龟井惊叹道。 “我想看一下这两个人的照片。”十津川说道。 “我马上传真过去。不过都是十一年前的了。” “那也行！”十津川急切地说道。 “柿泽绿子太可怜了。”过了一会儿龟井说道。 "why?" “川内的随笔有可能是真的呀！” "right." “这样一来，十一年前死于火灾的女客人极有可能是她的姐蛆。其实，还不如一直下落不明好呢。”龟井说道。 “是啊，我也这么认为。”十津川遗憾地说道。 小诸警署很快收到了十一年前盗窃了三亿日元公款的仁村良子和她的恋人吉田的照片。 十津川和小诸警署的三浦警部一块儿看着这两张照片。 “男的四十五岁，女的二十八岁。” 三浦说道。 “过了十一年了，男的应当五十六岁，女的也三十九岁了。”十津川在一旁说道。 “这个女的长相一般，男的有特别的特征。可过了十一年了，不会那么好找了。” “我也觉得困难。而且当时那些消息很快就不登了，银行、警方也不认真去查了。那对男女也一定改变了形象生活着哪！”十津川说道。 “十一年里，川内功次郎一直接受着他们的'赠款'？”三浦感慨地说道。 “我认为他一次也没有提出过过份的要求。如果川内提过要求那三亿的一半的话，恐怕他早就被杀了！十一年前，我认为是一个月五万日元，当然也一点点涨过，所以才坚持了十一年呢！” “随物价上涨而长'工资'。” “对，是'工资'。”十津川也笑了。 “可为什么川内突然被杀了？”三浦问道。 “这一点我是这样看的。”十津川顿了顿后说下去，“十年里，川内没有向对方提出过过份的要求。从十一年前他上高校三年级算起，我认为当初他们讲好是要供川内大学毕业的。但十年后对方没有停止，川内也没有主动让他们停止，对方火了，于是便停止了支付。川内便威胁对方，于是写了那篇随笔。” “随后他即被杀……” “是的。”十津川点了点头。 “是那个女人杀死了川内？”三浦问道，并重新看了一遍仁村良子的照片。 他又在这张传真的照片上用钢笔添了一副太阳镜。然后和那幅画像比较了一下。 “不那么像嘛！”三浦唠叨了一句。 “都过了十一年了嘛，而且也许还整了容了呢！她为防备追捕，当然要改变形象的。”十津川解释道。 “逮捕了这对男女，这次的事件就解决了。”三浦说道。 “现在龟井他们正在追查呢。”十津川说道。 的确，如果逮捕了仁村良子和吉田彻，这次的事件就解决了。 就算是仁村良子否认毒死了川内功次郎，但有那两名乘务员的指认，是仍然可以起诉她的。 而且在那天“晨三号”的垃圾中也找到了具有氰化钾反应的那只咖啡罐。 从罐子上没有查出指纹，肯定是凶手擦去了自己的指纹后扔掉的。 从川内功次郎的解剖来看，他胃内的氰化钾反应和咖啡罐的反应是一致的。 凶手在车厢内让川内功次郎喝了搀有氰化钾的咖啡。 而且凶手肯定是在上下乘客多的小诸站下了车。因为到达终点站长野再下车危险大一些。杀死了川内后，凶手一定想尽快离开。 “逮捕这两个人时，我也希望在场。”三浦说道。 “这是当然的了，因为这次的事件在长野县警局的辖区内嘛！”十津川笑了笑说道。 随后，他又见了一下柿泽绿子。 他们在站前的吃茶店里见面，十津川为她要了红茶和点心。 十津川把目前掌握的情況对她说明了一下。 “事件很快就能解决了。仁村良子和吉田彻也会被逮捕的。” 绿子吃了一口点心后问道：“我姐姐的事情呢？” “如果那两个人坦白了十一年前的纵火后，就会清楚了。”十津川说道。 绿子又吃了一块点心，一边喝着红茶，一边思考着什么。 “川内先生这十一年来一直得到了那笔钱？” "yes." “可吉田彻和仁村良子用那三亿元干点儿什么事也早就成功了吧？” “我们也这样认为。” “可他们什么也没有做，太奇怪了。”绿子说道。 "What's strange?" “昨天我又重新看了一遍川内先生的随笔，如果他写的是真实的话，那么十一年前住在'晨'旅馆的那对男女当时是挥金如土的。” “大概是因为他们的钱来得不正当、太容易了吧。”十津川说道。 “这我明白，不过在那之后他们不会马上进行事业投资吗？应当是那样的吧？”绿子说道。 “人有时也是非常奇怪的。”十