Chapter 13 sad trip

After typhoon No. 15 passed fiercely through the Kii Peninsula, the coast of Shirahama suddenly took on the appearance of late summer. At this time, there were few people on the coastline, and the laughter of children playing in the water could not be heard.Of course, this is also because the children's summer vacation is over. Due to the strong reflection of sunlight on the sea surface at noon, the contrast with the sudden drop in temperature after sunset, and the cold wind blowing from the sea surface at night, people feel the breath of autumn more deeply. The peaceful beach has been restored, and there are many people who like fishing and other interests in the sea, but one of the men came here for a completely different purpose.

September 11. At 11:40, the YS flight from Tokyo arrived at Nanki Shirahama Airport.The person mentioned just now came to Nanji on this flight. His name is Toyo Hashimoto, and he is 36 years old. He used to be a criminal police officer in the First Investigation Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He quit the police due to a certain mistake in his work. Now he has established a private detective in Tokyo with only one employee, which is himself. society. Yesterday, a 27-year-old lady came to commission the investigation, her name is Miyako Ogata. Her single sister, a company employee, asked for leave from the company on September 5th to spend a pleasant end of summer in Nanki Shirahama.She was supposed to return to Tokyo on the 8th, but there has been no news.What is particularly worrying is that on the 10th, Typhoon No. 15 hit Nanji.News reports said that there were no deaths from the typhoon, but Miyako did not dispel her anxiety, so she hoped that Hashimoto would investigate anyway.

Her younger sister is Yumi Inobe.The surnames of the two sisters are different. This is because the older sister, Miyako, is married and took her husband's surname. "I wanted to go to Shirahama to find my sister, but unfortunately my husband had a heart attack and was admitted to the hospital, so he couldn't leave Tokyo for a while." Miyako said to Hashimoto Yutaka. She has only one younger sister, and the two sisters have always depended on each other for life. Recently, my younger sister Yumi published a "Photobook".Probably because they are two sisters, their hobbies are very similar.The younger sister, Yumi, is more beautiful than her elder sister, and her hair style is shorter, making her look youthful and attractive.

"What hotel does she live in Shirahama?" Hashimoto asked. "It's the S Hotel near the beach, but she is no longer there. I called to ask about it on September 7, and the front desk said she had already checked out the room." "Then I can only start there first." After Hashimoto finished speaking, he packed up and left Tokyo. Due to the short runway of Nanki Shirahama Airport, only YS type aircraft can take off and land.It takes two hours to get here from Tokyo, but because the typhoon has just passed, the speed of the plane is still relatively slow and cautious.

After getting off the plane, Hashimoto asked for directions at a fast food restaurant near the airport, and then went straight to S Hotel. Due to the typhoon, there are still many thick trunks and fallen leaves scattered on the road at this moment.With cars driving on it, it feels like summer is gone forever. It was his first time to Shirahama.But he went to the sea in southern Shonan and the sea in Izu several times, also at the end of summer, and they all give people a feeling of emptiness and loneliness.Shirahama at this time also made people feel the same. The car came to the beach along the winding ramp, and this area was indeed more "desolate", and only a few young people rowing boats could be seen on the sea.

Hotel S is built on a piece of land protruding from the sea.The lobby of the hotel, which was very crowded a week or two ago, was very quiet at this moment. Hashimoto showed the photo of Inobe Yumi to the staff at the main service desk and said her name. The young waiter flipped through the accommodation registration and said: "She did stay here on September 5th, and the check-out time is 10 am on the 7th." "Is she alone?" "Yes, one person." "Are there many young girls traveling alone in summer?" When Hashimoto asked, the waiter said with some confusion, "No, very few. But after September, the number of customers gradually decreased, and single women like to come here at that time."

"What does she do every day?" "Swim in the hotel pool, take a walk or something." "Does she look happy?" When Hashimoto asked, the waiter said with a bit of embarrassment: "Sometimes her expression is not very good, and we are also a little worried. There is a place called 'San Duan Bi' in this area, where people often commit suicide. But she 7 We haven’t heard of any young girls committing suicide since we checked out on Sunday.” "Didn't you ask her why she was upset?" "No. Because it's impolite to ask." "Perhaps the room attendant asked?"

"I don't know about that." "Can I see the room attendant?" After Hashimoto finished speaking, the waiter called a housemaid who was in charge of cleaning Yumi's room. She is in her forties and is a native of Shirahama.The man is chatty and has answers to Hashimoto's questions. "I was really worried about her appearance at the time! I asked her why. We are uneducated, but I have seen all kinds of guests, and it is still possible to chat and relieve boredom." "What did she say?" "She works as an employee in a big company in Tokyo, and she met a man of the same age at a disco, but they broke up later. So why come to Shirahama to 'hurt...'?"

"'Sad Tour'?" "Ah! Yes! Look, I can't even learn it!" "Then how did you persuade her?" Hashimoto asked. "I said it's nothing to lose love once or twice in your life! My husband and I have divorced several times! But aren't we living well now?" "What did she say?" "She just kept thanking me. I saw that she broke up with a man she liked, and she couldn't turn around for a while." "She lived here until the night of the 7th?" "Yes!" "Didn't you say you're going back to Tokyo right away?"

"I've said it before, but..." the waitress tilted her head and thought for a while. Hashimoto followed her words and asked, "'But' what?" "Because I was worried about what would happen to her when she went back like this, I told her not to go back to Tokyo right away. She agreed, and then she sighed again. I thought that because Tokyo had a broken-up lover, she didn't want to go back Well. Why, she really didn't go back?" This time it was the waitress who asked Hashimoto back. "She didn't go back to Tokyo immediately after checking out on the 7th, but went somewhere. Is there any place in Shirahama that young girls like to go to?"

"Let me think about it." She said after a short pause, "Some like to go to Nara and Kyoto; others like to go in the opposite direction, to Ishima!" "Oh." Hashimoto quickly memorized these place names. "What is there to do in Shirahama?" "Wow! The watchtower in the sea, the thousand seats, the three walls, Hongjue Temple, Kinkakuji Temple, Yuanyue Island, Adventure World..." After she finished speaking, she quickly explained, "But the guest stayed on the 5th and left on the 7th, maybe he has been there before!" "Then I'm going to have a look too!" Hashimoto said.