Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

The next day, the 20th, in the early morning, Totsukawa was awakened by the ringing of the phone. It's Christina. "Mr. Shirai is dead." She said in a sobbing voice. "What nonsense are you talking about? How did he die—" Totsukawa scolded angrily. "I'll pick you up right away." Christina said. About 20 minutes later, she arrived in a small police car. "Hurry up and get in the car." Christina said palely. "Shirai is really dead?" "Ok." Christina nodded and started the car. "where to?" Totsukawa asked.

As if she didn't hear, she didn't say a word and just drove. Christina took them to the Seine River, near the Shirai Hotel. Only then did they notice that there were already three police cars parked there side by side. Totsukawa and the others jumped out of the car and ran towards the river along the stone steps. A trail is built at the lowest point along the river, which is where lovers stroll along the river.It was still early and there was no sign of anyone, but the police officers gathered in a bunch. Among the crowd, Shirai was lying on his back, dripping wet. Amongst the detectives was Sergeant Pierre. When he saw Totsukawa, he asked in English, "Is this your subordinate?"

Totsukawa nodded silently, staring at Shirai intently. It was clearly a stab wound to the chest.After stabbing him, the murderer pushed him into the Seine. "Who did it? For what?" Totsukawa muttered in Japanese, and hurriedly spoke to Pierre in English. "The purse and watch are missing. On the surface, it appears to be a crime of robbery. Recently, several tourists have been attacked in this area. The perpetrators are probably Roma or Algerians." "Have all those people been killed?" "No. This is the first time someone has been killed. Tourists were threatened with knives, and there were also Japanese among the tourists."

Pierre said. Christina has been standing motionless next to Shirai's body. "Unbelievable. How could this be..." Kamei muttered. Totsukawa had also heard that Japanese tourists were often attacked by thieves and highwaymen in Paris. But no matter what, Bai Jing never thought that Bai Jing would be killed. Christina was talking to Pierre.Maybe it's about the relationship between himself and Shirai?While they were watching, Pierre walked up to Totsukawa. "Is what she said true? What did he say he was going to drive?" "I suppose it's true." "Why do you need a car?"

When he asked this question, Totsukawa couldn't answer.he mused. "I think he either wants to go far, or he needs a car because he wants to follow someone." "Follow? Who are you going to follow?" "have no idea." Totsukawa said frankly. "It has something to do with the murder that happened on TGV." "Probably so. I can't say anything specific. Even if it is tracking, there is no evidence at all." "I'm sorry. Mr. Totsukawa, regarding the TGV murder case, can you imagine who the killer is?" asked Pierre. "No, I don't know."

"How about Mr. Shirai?" "I want to be like me." "That is to say, the reasoning that a car is needed for tracking is still untenable." Pierre said. Totsukawa has no proof either.First of all, since it was impossible to deduce whom he was following, it was impossible to refute Pierre's words. After Shirai's body was taken away by the car, Totsukawa and Kamei stayed at the scene. Pierre invited them to go with them, but they declined, saying they had something to think about. Totsukawa and Kamei stared at the misty Seine River for a long time. Shirai's sudden death was unacceptable to them anyway.It wasn't until I saw the drenched corpse that I realized that it was a real reality.

"Let's walk for a while." Totsukawa said.So, the two walked on Shi Che's trail. Today, the weather is gloomy and the air is clammy and cold. "How far is it from here to the hotel where he lives?" Kamei asked as he walked. "Let's go and see, how is it?" "Okay! That's it." Kamei agreed. The two walked towards the hotel along the Seine. It took about 30 minutes to arrive at the hotel. "Last night, Bai Jing went there and was killed, right?" Kamei said. "It's just, did you just walk there casually, or did you go to meet someone?"

"It is absolutely impossible to say that the robbers killed Shirai." "So, who did Shirai follow and who killed him?" "Ah, this is the most likely thing. But who the other party is, but there is no clue." A look of despair appeared on Totsukawa's face. If he was in Japan, he could have urged his subordinates to conduct multiple investigations, and he would have found out what Shirai did last night.But this is Paris, and there's no way it can be done. In order to sort out some clues, the two walked slowly on the banks of the Seine again. "Can we imagine that Bai Jing followed someone, arrived at the scene, and was assassinated by his opponent?"

Totsukawa said. "That is to say, I don't know who the opponent is. Shirai called Christina at 9:30 p.m. and asked her to prepare the car. But at this moment, the follower was discovered." Kamei said. As I was walking, I saw someone selling fried chestnuts on the bridge, so I bought two bags because they ran out without breakfast. The two of them ate and walked. "Shirai didn't even have time to say hello to us, so he followed that person desperately. Apart from this person being related to the TGV murder case, it's hard to imagine any other possibility!"

Totsukawa said. "Yes. He accidentally discovered the suspect in the murder case, so he followed him away. This possibility cannot be completely ruled out, but it is not too big. If this is the case, why would he ask Christina for help?" Kamei said. "Even if he went to track down the suspicious person related to the TGV incident, why didn't he get in touch with us? Why did he act alone without authorization?" "Are you not confident?" Kamei said. "confidence?" "Yes. Last night, Shirai discovered the person involved in the incident. There must be something suspicious about that person. However, Shirai is not confident enough to judge his suspicions. If he tells us, he is afraid that we will make fun of him He. Because of this unnecessary worry, I thought to myself, I should follow up first and report the results after I have it."

"indeed so." "He also thought that a car would be needed for the follow-up, so he called Christina. I said irresponsibly, Shirai still wanted to act with her. We are both young people with similar interests." Kamei said. "That's what happened. But before they were ready, the other party made a move. Shirai also followed behind alone." "Then, he was killed by the opponent!" "Speaking of the people involved in the TGV incident, the range is wide enough, including the Daigoshi couple, secretary Miura, two young Japanese, other passengers sitting in carriage 3 at the time of the incident, and carriages 2 and 1. passengers." Totsukawa said. "Are there any of these people who are still detained in the Paris police station? They have all been released without showing a smoke reaction. As for the passengers in the No. May commit a crime." "Could it be possible for all of them?" Totsukawa sighed softly. "How about limiting it to the Japanese?" Kamei asked. "yes." Totsukawa nodded vaguely. As the sun rises, the temperature rises slightly.The two put the empty chestnut shells in bags and threw them into the trash can. Sitting on a long chair, gazing at the sparkling Seine, Totsukawa lit a cigarette. In France, as in many other countries, no-smoking signs are ubiquitous.Of the 8 carriages of the TGV from Grenoble, 5 are non-smoking cars. At the same time, there are quite a few Parisian children smoking cigarettes carelessly while walking on the street. What is especially surprising is the scene of those young Parisian girls or women walking down the street chicly and elegantly with cigarettes in their mouths.For Totsukawa, who is quite addicted to cigarettes, these phenomena are like ducks in water. "If Shirai was killed by someone related to the TGV incident he was following, then that person was either the murderer who shot Ms. Yuki Matsuno, or he had some kind of close relationship with the murderer." Totsukawa said. "Shirai was assassinated from the front. He must have been unprepared. Therefore, maybe he didn't expect that person to be the murderer of the TGV incident, but followed him out of strangeness or curiosity." "Then the other party is still Japanese!" "All the people will be returning to Japan soon. It seems that the Paris police have tried hard and failed to find conclusive evidence of the murderer." "Yes. Inspector Pierre is also feeling troubled." Totsukawa said.