Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven ABCs of Deformed Children

Yamazaki Masako was arrested. Tajima wrote the report.Since he was a reporter for the Ministry of Social Affairs, he had to write such reports.Tajima wrote more detailed reports than any other newspaper.Because the arrested criminal was his lover, he wrote a lot of little-known things. When Tajima handed over the manuscript to the editor-in-chief, he said: "Can I rest for two or three days?" He was devastated. "Okay!" said the editor-in-chief: "You get some rest. Forget about that!" If he could forget it, of course he would.But people's hearts and feelings are not what they want to be.

He got three days off. How can I spend these three days?If it is a mild pain, drinking alcohol can probably rule it out.But such deep wounds cannot be healed with alcohol. Tajima wanted to travel and spend three days in a distant place. Tajima withdrew 60,000 yuan in deposits from the bank.He doesn't like deposits.The reason why he saved a little money in the bank was because he wanted to marry Masako.However, now that Changzi has gone to a place where he can't set foot, what's the point of saving money? Tajima wanted to go to Hokkaido, the farthest place from Tokyo, so he bought a plane ticket to Sapporo at 18:05.

The jet took Tajima to Sapporo in just one hour. Sapporo is covered with snow.After getting out of the airport and taking a taxi, Tajima said to the driver: "Take it to a quiet place without people!" But the driver sent him to Jozankei Hot Spring.Tajima wanted to go to a remote place with neither TV nor newspapers, but the driver let him off in front of a hotel.He had no intention of looking for the place he wanted to go. This is a very large hotel.The waitress who took Tajima to the room told him proudly that there were televisions and stereos in every room.But Tajima, on the contrary, was disappointed to live in such a tacky hotel.

After the waitress went out, Tajima immediately put the TV cover on the TV. After taking a bath, Tajima immediately went to bed.The body is very tired, but I can't fall asleep. The past came one after another, appearing in Tajima's mind. He remembered the first time he hugged Masako.At that time, she said: "I am very afraid of losing you." Did Changzi think that he would be arrested at that time? Tajima didn't hate Masako at all.Even now, he still has deep affection for Masako.It's just that his spirit is too painful. Tajima couldn't sleep all the time, and he didn't know how many cigarettes he smoked in bed.

The morning light from the window entered the room.The snow is still falling, and a new day has begun. Tajima heard a sound at the door.It turned out that the waitress had brought the newspapers.Although Tajima didn't want to read the news, he still went to get the newspaper reflexively as usual. The news of Masako's arrest should have been published in yesterday's evening paper.That report was written by Tajima.Why did Masako have to kill Hisamatsumi and Tian Kumakin?The police have remained silent on this. Changzi probably confessed something? Tajima stood and opened the newspaper.The newspaper was a little wet, which may have been the reason it had been delivered in the snow.This is the Nitto News Hokkaido edition.

The title of the social edition "Masako Yamazaki Confesses Motive for Murder" first caught Tajima's eyes.Tajima was stunned for a moment. Tajima was determined to read the message.No matter what kind of content appears, never be surprised. But he turned pale as soon as he read the text. "I was attracted by Hisamatsumi's looks and his playboy charm, and I had a physical relationship with him. I always thought he would marry me, but he didn't think so. I couldn't make up my mind to break up with him. I continued to maintain a relationship with him in a daze. Later, a young man appeared in front of me. I wanted to marry that young man, but I was worried that he would know my relationship with Jiu Song. Therefore, I gave Jiu Song 200,000 yuan and begged him Keep it a secret. But Hisamatsu didn't want it. In this way, it would be difficult for me to marry that young man. So I decided to kill Hisamatsu. I killed the apartment manager because she saw me when I went to the apartment."

This is Changzi's confession.The speech of the Chief of the Investigation Section 1 was also published in the newspaper: "This is a typical crime of infatuation. Yamazaki Masako had a casual physical relationship with a man she met by chance, and at the same time she was looking for a new lover. She tried to gag the previous man with money, but failed. So she Killed the previous man. How ruthless! There is no sympathy for this kind of woman! In short, this is a love murder." What nonsense! Tajima thought.It's all lies.Changzi's confession does not match the facts.Either the police induced a confession, or it was a lie fabricated by Changzi.

Masako's confession was false.Tajima knows this best.That night, when Masako and Tajima made love for the first time, everything about Masako showed that she was a virgin who had never slept with a man.Not only did blood stain the sheets, but she trembled with shame. No matter what kind of relationship Masako and Hisamatsu had, Tajima would never be surprised.Even if she got drugs from Hisamatsu, Tajima would not be surprised.However, he absolutely does not believe that Masako and Hisamatsu had sex. Tajima said to the waitress delivering breakfast, "Please call a taxi immediately."

"If you go to Lake Toya, you may not be able to go today. Because the traffic is blocked by heavy snow." The waitress said. Tajima said loudly: "No, I'm going back to Tokyo. Is there a flight leaving at 9:40?" "Yes. But . . . " said the waitress, perplexed. Tajima didn't have time to eat breakfast, so he hurriedly prepared to return to Tokyo. The snow is still drifting. On the plane, Tajima fell asleep.He had a terrible dream: Masako was sucked away by a black demon, and Tajima was chasing after him.But I don't know who grabbed the shoulder, and I can't move.When he opened his eyes, it turned out that the stewardess's slender fingers touched his shoulder.The stewardess smiled and said to him:

"Are you awake? The plane is about to land, please fasten your seat belt!" Tajima fastened the belt. The plane starts to land.The weather in Tokyo is very sunny. Tajima went directly to the Metropolitan Police Department from the airport.He wants to meet with the Chief of the First Investigation Section and ask about Changzi's situation. The section chief is not in the tail.There is only one assistant from the Nakamura police department in the first investigation department. "Didn't you go on vacation?" Nakamura looked at Tajima suspiciously and said: "I think it's time for you to rest!"

"I got a vacation, it's a fact. Yesterday, I flew to Sapporo." "In that case, why not rest comfortably in Hokkaido for two days before coming back?" "I can't rest. Is Changzi's motive for committing the crime true?" "Really! Her confession is the same as our guess, and we are very satisfied. We didn't induce a confession, she told it on her own initiative." "Did she also say that she had a physical relationship with Jiu Song?" "Yes. This may be a shock to you. However, I think Masako Yamazaki's statement is credible. Because we found no other motives for her. I went to Iwate Prefecture to investigate. Hisamatsu did not go there. Because Both the village government and the police station said that they did not know about Hisamatsu. This means that the person responsible for the extortion was not in Iwate Prefecture. If he was not in Iwate Prefecture, he should be in Tokyo. Caused by Hisamatsu and Masako's mutual intimidation. Simply put, it's a tragedy of a woman wanting to end a triangle relationship!" "wrong!" "Why not?" "It's a complete lie to say that Masako and Hisamatsu have a physical relationship!" "I can understand your mood." "No. I know they have no physical relationship." "Know?" Nakamura police assistant tilted his head and thought for a while and said: "what do you know?" "I know." Tajima repeated. "Masako lied. She has other motives." "She said it herself. We also think her statement is reasonable." "She's not that kind of woman. Doesn't that make her a down-to-earth bad woman? There must be another reason. Please investigate." "Please don't make unreasonable demands!" Nakamura police assistant shrugged and said: "We cannot reopen the investigation at your personal request. The case is closed. We are handing it over to the prosecution." "However, there was a mistake in the case. Moreover, the case has not been fully resolved. Have you found out the relationship between Masako and the angel?" "She doesn't know about angels. I think Masako Yamazaki might be an angel for Hisamatsu. I think we've given it enough thought." "..." At this time, Tajima suddenly remembered Tian Xiongjin's words.She said that a young girl had visited Hisamatsu.And she once advised Jiusong: "Don't bully a girl like an angel!" The girl Tian Xiongjin saw at that time was probably Changzi.If Masako is an angel in Tian Xiongjin's eyes, then he is also an angel in Jiu Song's eyes!The words of Assistant Nakamura Police Department may have a point.Tajima was a little timid. "But what happened to that sky-blue envelope? Who is the woman on the film? Have you found out?" Tajima asked. "I didn't find out. No matter what kind of case, there will always be some unsolvable problems. Those unsolvable problems may have nothing to do with the case. I think the same is true for film?" "Has it been proven that it has nothing to do with the case?" "Can't say it's proven yet. But the real culprit has been apprehended. The film thing doesn't matter." "Can you lend me that photo?" "What are you going to do?" "I want to investigate. Investigate why Masako lied." "Yes. But I can't lend you the negative..." Nakamura police assistant took out the four-inch photo from the drawer and put it in front of Tajima. "I don't know what you plan to do. I think it's a waste of effort." The assistant of the Nakamura Police Department said as a warning: "Even if the motives are different, the fact that Yamazaki Masako killed Hisamatsumi and Tian Kuumin cannot be overturned!" "I understand!" Tajima said dryly: "I understand, but I have to convince myself." Tajima felt dizzy as soon as he walked out of the section chief's office.Probably because I didn't sleep last night.Tajima rubbed his eyes vigorously, lit a cigarette, and walked out of the gate. The air outside is dry and sunny.Tired Tajima was dazzled. Tajima stopped by the moat.He didn't know where to go.How does he want to find out the truth of the incident? He wanted to ask Changzi directly why he lied?However, the judiciary will not let them meet now, and even if they could meet, Masako would not tell the truth. Tajima took out the photo.The picture is difficult to see due to sunlight reflection. Tajima walked into a cafe near the Nitto Newspaper office.The cafe is full of guests in the evening, but now there are only a few customers.After taking his seat, Tajima ordered a cup of black coffee, took out the photos and looked at them carefully. There is no evidence that this photo has anything to do with the case.I don't know if it has anything to do with Changzi. The photo shows a door and the back of a woman walking through the door.What does this photo show?No matter how you look at it, there is nothing famous. The police believe that the woman in the photo is neither Yukiko Kataoka, who is dead, nor Fumyo Kinukawa, the proprietress of the bar.Of course not Masako.It was a woman Tajima didn't know. Tajima turns his attention to the buildings that make up the background. Looking at the building, the photo appears to have been taken in the outskirts.But I don't know where.It could be the outskirts of Tokyo, or it could be somewhere else. The building itself resembles both a hospital and a school.It's a pretty big building.The writing on the doorpost was too blurry to read. There is a silhouette of a mountain at the right end of the photo.This is a low mountain range, but I don't know where it is.If there's anything suggestive about the photo, it's the mountain. If someone who loves to climb mountains has a look, they may know which mountain it is. Tajima borrowed the phone from the cafe to call his colleague Tachibana. "What's the matter with you?" As soon as Tachibana picked up the phone receiver, she said: "I thought you were relaxing at a hot spring! Why are you in Tokyo?" "Something happened. Please don't tell the editor!" "Understood. What's the matter?" "I need help with something. I'm at the coffee shop nearby. Can you come?" "Come right now!" Tachibana said. Five minutes later, Tachibana came.He is short in stature, but strong and strong.Maybe it's because I participated in the mountaineering team when I was a student? Tajima showed Tachibana the photo and said: "Where is this mountain? Do you know?" "Well, this mountain..." Tachibana looked at the photo and said: "It's not a high mountain. It's a mountain five or six hundred meters high. Where is it? I don't know. Because there are such mountains everywhere." "Don't you, a mountaineering expert, know?" Tajima said disappointedly. "I'm not an expert." Tachibana smiled and said: "I'll ask a real expert to take a look and maybe find out." "Are you from the Mountain Association?" "No, although those people know the Alps and the Himalayas in detail, they don't necessarily know this kind of hills. Instead of looking for them, it's better to go to Yuichi Uemura." "Who is Yuichi Uemura?" "He's a famous photographer. He only shoots mountains and plateaus. Maybe he knows." "What about the address?" "Near Hiratsuka Station in Kanagawa Prefecture. When you walk out of the station, it is his home. He lives in a round house with a strange appearance, so you can tell it at a glance. Want to try it?" "Go!" Tajima nodded. Walking out of Hiratsuka Station, Tajima asked for Yuichi Uemura's address at a cigarette shop in front of the station.The shopkeeper immediately pointed it out to him.Yuichi Uemura seems to be a little famous in this area. As Tachibana said, Yuichi Uemura lived in a circular building. Uemura happened to be at home.He has white hair and a smile on his face.Tajima was ushered into his studio.There are pictures of snow-capped Mt. Fuji under the glass plate. It is really a studio for mountain photographers. Uemura said: "I look at Mount Fuji every day." According to Uemura, Mount Fuji has different expressions every day. Tajima took out the photo he had brought. Uemura squinted his eyes at the photo and said: "It's a low mountain." "Where is the mountain, do you know?" "Let me think about it slowly!" Uemura said with a smile.He looked away from the picture, took up his pipe, and lit it.He often looks at the mountains and plateaus, so he has a cheerful personality. "It seems to be a mountain in the suburbs of Tokyo." Uemura said after a while: "I used to live in Tokyo. I used to go to Musashino to take pictures. I think the mountain in the photo looks familiar." "Musashino..." Tajima secretly thought: Isn't the Sanjiao Mountain where Hisamatsu was brutally killed also within the range of Musashino? Uemura took out a few albums from the back room.He took out an album with "Musashino" written on it in white paint. "Please look at this photo!" Uemura said to Tajima. This is a photo of the grassland taken against the light.The black, blurred mountain in the background is very similar to the mountain in the photo Tajima brought. "I'm afraid it's the same mountain." Uemura said. "Where did you shoot it?" Tajima asked. Uemura looked at the back of the photo. On the back of the photo is written in fountain pen: "Taken near Baicao Garden". "I think the photo you brought was also taken near Baicao Garden." Uemura said gently. "Baicaoyuan?" Tajima looked extremely nervous. Because the next stop of the Holy Relic Sakura Hill is Baicao Garden. This photo may have something to do with the murder! The next day, Tajima took another bus to Triangle Mountain.Inside the Triangle Mountain is the Baicao Garden.Maybe you can see the buildings in the photo when you climb to the top of the mountain. Tajima came to Triangle Mountain for the third time.He failed to reach the summit the first two times.Every time he went to the place where Jiusong fell and returned. Tajima followed the old road to the top of the mountain. The sky was cloudy and visibility was poor.The nearby mountains also appear gray.Although the outline resembles the mountains in the photo, it is not exactly the same.Maybe the angle is different. Tajima shifted his gaze from far to near. The newly built residential roofs are colorful in blue and green. Dry fields, dense miscellaneous forests and gardens of Herb Garden come into view one by one.However, the location of the building on the photo is still unknown. Tajima walked down the hill in the direction of Baicao Garden. After wading through the small river, a miscellaneous forest appeared in front of my eyes, and a reddish-red path stretched westward through the forest.After walking for a while, Tian Dao saw a sign standing beside the road, which read "Pomelo Tree Village". Walk along the road for about ten minutes, and you will see a school in front of you on the right.On the door: "Youshu Middle School" is written. "Maybe it's this door?" Tajima took out the photos and compared them, but the shape of the door was different. There was a village government nearby, and Tajima walked towards it.The government of Youshu Village is located in a newly built two-story building.Tajima showed a female employee the photo. The girl looked at the photo for a while, then whispered: "Probably Tama Therapeutic Garden." "Tama Therapeutic Garden?" "It's a nearby hospital." Perhaps not very sure, she asked the young man next to her: "Where do you see this place?" The young man with the abacus stood up slowly, looked at the photo and said: "This is Tama Therapeutic Park. I pass by there every day, so I can't be wrong." "Where is it?" Tajima asked. The young man looked at Tajima and said: "Follow the small road in front of the village government and walk forward for ten minutes." After walking for a while, Tajima saw a wall in the front left. He walked along the wall to the door. The door is exactly as in the photos.In the distance there is a mountain with the same outline as in the photo.The map shows that there are mountains such as Seongsan, Takao, and Xiaobutsu in this area, with an altitude of 500 meters. The sign hanging on the door is outdated, and the words on it can't be seen clearly unless you get close.The sign says "Tama Therapy Garden". Tajima thought it might be a sanatorium for tuberculosis.Since it is a nursing home, there must be "angels in white". Tajima walked through the door. The yard is very spacious.There are several flower beds, but due to the winter, not a single flower can be seen.The empty yard is somewhat desolate. There was no one in the spacious courtyard.The cold wind kept blowing from the mountains.Probably because of the cold, both the patient and the nurse hid in the ward. Tajima stood in the yard for a while, feeling like he was going to freeze.He exhaled whitely and walked towards the window that said "send and receive".He knocked on the glass, and the young man who was sitting by the fire handcuffing the fire stood up, opened the small window and asked: "What's up?" Tajima handed over a business card and said, "I want to meet the person in charge." The young man looked at the business card, raised his head and asked: "Interview?" "No, for personal matters, I want to see the person in charge." The young man looked at Tajima and said: "I don't think it's useful. But you see the director!" "It's useless, what do you mean?" "Because there are no vacant beds..." said the young man.He misunderstood Tajima's intentions.Tajima said it was a personal matter, so he thought that Tajima came to ask the principal for the hospitalization of his family members.Tajima didn't want to correct it. Young people lead the way.They entered another building, and at the end of the corridor on the second floor, there was a door marked "Director's Room." The young man went in first, and came out after a while and said to Tian Dao, "The principal wants to see you." The director's room is about 12 square meters.A man sat on a swivel chair, nodded to Tajima who came in, and asked Tajima to sit on the chair next to him. He was wearing a suit and a white coat over the suit. He was not tall and had an ordinary appearance. "My name is Murakami, the person in charge of the nursery school." He said.A pair of small eyes behind the glasses smiled. "What's the matter with you?" "I want you to take a look at this photo." Tajima took out the photo and put it in front of the principal. Holding it in his hand, Murakami looked at it from a distance and said: "This is the gate of our nursery," he said with certainty. "Did you take this?" "No, I didn't take it. What I want to ask is, is the woman in the photo a staff member of yours?" "staff member?" "Yes. How many nurses do you have here?" "Well, there are twenty in total!" "Is she one of the nurses?" Director Murakami tilted his head and thought for a while and said: "It's hard to tell just by looking at the back!" "Can't you recognize it?" "Do you have to recognize it?" "Please! Because this is very important." "Perhaps the matron will recognize it. Call her and ask." After Mr. Murakami finished speaking, he called the head nurse. The head nurse has a slender face and a serious expression. She is about forty years old.After she came in, she stood up and asked the director: "Is there a problem?" Director Murakami asked the head nurse after showing the photo: "Is the person in the photo a nurse from our nursing home?" "..." The head nurse didn't answer immediately, but after watching silently for a while, said: "Not our nurse." "How do you know it's not just from the back?" Tajima asked. The head nurse glanced at Tajima and said: "If I don't even know this little thing, what kind of head nurse is I? Obviously, the person in the photo has his hair up. None of the nurses here has his hair up like this. That's all. something?" "That's all." said the headmaster. The head nurse nodded to both of them and walked out of the room. Tajima didn't know whether the head nurse was telling the truth or a lie.Maybe it was a lie, but Tajima didn't offer to see every nurse because of it. If what the head nurse said is true, then it can only be assumed that the woman in the photo is a family member visiting the patient.But in that case, the relationship with the "angel" was broken again. "Families of tuberculosis patients, are you allowed to visit freely?" Director Murakami was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then asked: "What tuberculosis?" This time it was Tajima's turn to panic.He thought the nursery was a tuberculosis sanatorium.But wrong. "You thought this was a tuberculosis sanatorium, so you came here to find out what happened?" Director Murakami said with his eyes wide open. "Is it wrong?" Tajima asked. "Wrong. The patients admitted here are all children with disabilities." "Are they all children?" "Yes. We only treat preschool children." "I have a disability, that is, my hands and feet are inconvenient..." "Yes. The polio kid, C.P., and we've got six kids who've been crippled by Aves." "Ellison sleeping pills?" It's that sleeping pill!Tajima remembered. The sleeping pill that Tian Xiongquan used when he was killed was Ai's sleeping pill. "I heard that pregnant women who take that medicine will give birth to deformed children..." "But the child's psychology and spirit are not deformed." The principal said loudly: "The problem is the hands. The minds and spirits of these children are normal. Even their hands, I believe in the power of medicine can also be cured." "About the deformed child crippled by Ambien..." "I don't want people to use the word deformity." Director Murakami protested calmly: "We all thought those kids were sent to us by God. They were the children of angels, Angel, Babe." "Angel!" Tajima shouted involuntarily. "Do you think it's inappropriate?" The director looked at Tajima reproachfully and said: "You want to say: Are those children the devil's children?" "No." Tajima hastily argued: "I'm surprised by something else! Actually, I'm investigating one thing, and the word angel has something to do with it." "What kind of event?" "A homicide." "Then it has nothing to do with these kids. These kids are real angels." "I didn't say it was related." Tajima said this verbally, but he was thinking the opposite thing in his heart. Tajima remembered the English alphabet written in red pencil on the sky blue envelope.He now understood the meaning of the three letters: A=Angel B=Baby.And the last C is probably the child's name, right? "What kind of life do these children lead?" "Is that a question you ask as a journalist?" "No, this is just a question I personally want to ask. Of course, it will not be included in the report." "If you can write accurately, I hope you can write a report." The director said: "There are too many things we can't do with our strength alone. Thinking about the future of these children is really restless! These children are already four years old. They are growing every day. They will grow into adults soon. When they grow up As an adult, how society will accept them makes us very disturbed. An American once said: Any kind of person can become president, even a shoe-shine child should not be underestimated. I hope we A good society values ​​these children and prepares them to be prime ministers or company managers when they grow up." "Your garden admitted six children, right?" "yes." "Can you tell me the names of those children?" "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you." "But……" "It would be great if our society was a society that could speak the names of these children openly. The parents of these children want to keep their names anonymous, so I can't tell you." The headmaster said in a low voice. Tajima got up to say goodbye.As soon as he stepped into the corridor, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind. He wanted to check whether the C at the end of the English alphabet was the first letter of the child's name. He walked in the opposite direction from the gate. Voices came from another room.Tajima approached the house quietly.This is a small room with a whole piece of glass.There was a fire in the corner of the room. Inside were six children and three nurses.The children are eating.Before I knew it, it was time to eat. Tajima stood in the corridor and watched. For the first time he saw a child crippled by Aedrin.They are all lovely children.No different from ordinary children.There are naughty boys with big eyes and smart girls. But there is also a difference, that is the hand. Every child has their sleeves rolled up high.Otherwise, their short hands cannot stick out of the cuffs.Perhaps to protect their short hands, they walk more clumsily than ordinary children. "Kikala!" The nurse ran over while calling, and picked up the child named "Qikala".These nurses seem more like nannies. The nurse found Tajima standing in the corridor, glared at him sharply, then opened the glass window and asked: "Who are you?" Tajima stared blankly at the child in the nurse's hand, not hearing her question at all. The child's eyes are round and big, and he looks very intelligent.What made Tajima dazed was that the child's face was very similar to Masako's.