Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

Pierre from the Paris Police Department and Bart from the New York Police Department made long-distance calls one after another. The gist of Pierre's call was that there had been little significant progress in the investigation of the case so far.But Bart's call was interesting. "When I got back to New York, I kept thinking, who stole my pistol somewhere?" Bart still had that loud voice. "So, what did you come up with?" "Although it is not very clear, my intuition tells me that the murderer is a woman." Bart said. "A woman?" "Yes. In that car, I was mentally more relaxed because the conference was over. As soon as the train left Grenoble, I went straight to the bar and had a drink. About that time later, the gun was stolen. Gone. Just when I was drunk, I seemed to smell a faint fragrance, which I thought was perfume. That is to say, there was a woman beside me."

"You mean that woman stole your Colt?" "Yes. I can't think of anyone else." "Did you also talk to Officer Pierre of the Paris Police Department about what you said just now?" "Well, I just called." "How did he say?" "He said that he had already counted the list of passengers on that train. Several women were screened out from it, and he was going to re-investigate it." "Then, let's do the same survey. Only two women, though." Totsukawa said. After putting down the phone, Totsukawa relayed Bart's words to Kamei.

"Is it a woman?" He was puzzled. "That's what Bart said." "Probably because he felt it was a woman, he let down his guard and dropped the gun." "It would be better to say that he was a big drunk, and the gun was stolen when he was very drunk." Totsukawa said. "But, I still remember the smell of perfume." "That's what he said." "If the murderer is Japanese, there will be only Yayoi Shimazaki." "yes." "If she stole the pistol, it would make sense. After the shooting, she threw the pistol on the rack in car 2 and fled to car 1. That's consistent with what happened at the scene."

Kamei said. "If she is the murderer, what is the motive? Is Ugaki who is traveling with her an accomplice? In addition, the most important thing is that she did not show a gunpowder reaction. The Paris police said that she was checked, but she was not found .” "Did she wash her hands vigorously after the shooting?" Kamei said. "It was washed in the toilet on the train. With that little water, it is impossible to completely remove the smoke reaction." Totsukawa said. "The question is motive." It was young Nishimoto who said this. "Is there any connection between her and the Dayue couple?"

"I'll check." Nishimoto said. The investigation begins. First of all, I checked Yayoi Shimazaki's experience.Then, based on her experience, she followed the clues to investigate. Check her student period and work separately. However, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find any connection between her and the Dayue couple. The university she graduated from is not the same as that of Dai Viet, and the company she works for has nothing to do with Dai Viet Group. "It's difficult now. Not only can there be no evidence that Yayoi Shimazaki hates the Daigoshi couple, but even the slightest connection can't be found."

Nishimoto reported this to Totsukawa. "Maybe it's Ugaki's side." Totsukawa said. "how?" "That is to say, Ugaki hated the Ogoshi couple and asked his lover Shimazaki Yayoi to steal the pistol. Then he shot and killed Ogoshi in the TGV car, but he missed and killed the female secretary Matsuno Yuki. My idea is Such." "There is such a possibility." Nishimoto said. "Then, let's look it up in this way." Kusaka said. However, Totsukawa did not hold out much hope. Because Yu Yuan also underwent a smoke reaction test at the Paris Police Station, but no results were found.

Surprisingly, the Nishimoto investigation came back and reported: "I discovered the connection between Ugaki and Dai Yue." "Really?" "What's the matter with them?" Totsukawa and Kamei asked one after another. "Ugaki likes to travel, and has joined a group called the Tourism Research Association. The members of this group are all writers for a travel magazine, and there are currently about 50 members." "What does the Tourism Research Association have to do with Dai Viet? Did Dai Viet join?" Totsukawa asked. "It's not just joining, it's also the honorary president."

"Oh, but why?" "In this research association, there is a university alumnus of Da Viet who graduated a few years later than Da Viet. When the funds for the activity were insufficient, he went to Da Viet for help. At that time, Da Viet sponsored 1 million, so he became the honorary president." Kusaka said. "Have Dai Yue and Ugaki met or talked?" "Ugaki is one of the three directors of this research association. When Dai Yuet donated 1 million yuan, they even made a special trip to express their thanks," Kusaka said. "Indeed, they met."

Kamei nodded. "In that case, Ugaki shouldn't hold grudges against Dai Yue and his wife! Dai Yue is a great sponsor of the Tourism Research Association, so he should thank them." Totsukawa said. "I don't know the details. In short, I know that they are acquaintances. Perhaps for some reason, gratitude has turned to hatred." Kusaka said. "You and Nishimoto-kun will investigate the Tourism Research Association. Kamei and I will investigate Oetsu." Totsukawa said. Totsukawa and Kamei visited the Ogoshi Mansion. After returning from Paris, this was the first time meeting Dai Viet.

Secretary Miura led the two of them into the living room, from which they could see the back of the yard. Dai Yue walked into the living room in a kimono. He smiled at Totsukawa and said; "Given you a lot of trouble in France." "After that, did you receive another threatening letter?" Totsukawa asked. "So far, it doesn't seem to be there. Such an incident happened over there, and the murderer must be cautious." Da Yue frowned and said. "Mr. Ogoshi is the honorary president of the Tourism Research Association, right?" "Tourism Research Association? What kind of group is it?"

Dai Yue asked back. Totsukawa said with a wry smile: "It's a club organized by a group of people who like to travel. There are also people who went to the same university as you, the guy who asked for your sponsorship. Didn't you become the honorary president after sponsoring 1 million." Da Yue said "Ah—" and nodded vigorously. "I remembered, there is such a thing. It's just that there are too many titles such as honorary president, and they are too numerous to count." "So many!" "Miura-kun!" Dai Viet called the secretary. "How many groups am I the honorary president of now?" "A total of 63 groups." Miura looked at the notebook and said. "As you all know, there are requests for sponsorship every day, so there will naturally be more titles. Miura-kun, there are also requests for sponsorship today, right?" "Today, there are three cases: the rugby team of S University is going on an expedition to Australia, and the senior president is asking for proper sponsorship; the second is a request for sponsorship from the K Shrine; the second is the request for sponsorship from the Society for the Protection of the Earth." "The Society for the Protection of the Earth? What kind of group is it?" Da Viet asked. "It is said that their purpose is to protect our earth from pollution by appealing to the governments of various countries. It says to hire the top figures in the financial world as directors." "Check to see if it is true. If it is, sponsor 1 million and sponsor the college football team 2 million. K Shrine will sponsor 500,000." After Dai Yue gave the instructions readily, he turned to Totsukawa and said with a smile: "If this continues, the number of honorary president titles will have to increase." "So, don't you remember the Tourism Research Association?" "Sorry, can't remember. But, if a later alumnus at the university asks for a sponsorship, I'm usually obliged." "When the accident happened on the TGV, there was a pair of young Japanese travelers who were on the same train and were checked by the police over there. Do you know this?" "Oh, I do. But don't remember the names of either of them. I just feel that they've been involved, and it's sympathetic." "The man in this pair is surnamed Yuyuan, and he has joined the Tourism Research Association I just mentioned." Totsukawa said. "yes?" Da Yue said without expression. "After you sponsored them 1 million yuan, Yu Yuan, as one of the directors of the research association, came to the house to thank you. That is to say, he met you once before the TGV incident." "yes?" Da Viet said another indifferent sentence. "Do you still remember Ugaki who came to thank you?" After Totsukawa asked such a question, Da Yue seemed a little embarrassed. "I have to meet people every day. If it's not someone who is quite confident, I can't remember it at all. If it's someone who is very famous... You are talking about Uno-kun—" "No, it's Yu Yuan, his name is U Yuan Gen, and he's an employee of the company." "What's up with him?" "Maybe he is the murderer of the TGV incident." When Totsukawa said this, Ogoshi showed a confused expression. "I sponsored 1 million for their Tourism Research Association, so I became the honorary president, right?" "yes." "Although 1 million is not a great amount, you will still be thanked. Does that member have any reason to kill me and my wife? Isn't it a bit strange?" "Strange is strange—" "That statement is simply false." Dai Viet said. "Is this idea untenable?" Kamei interrupted. "Supposing Ugaki was troubled by money, he would think, you gave 1 million to the Tourism Research Institute so easily, so it would not be a problem to borrow several million from you. So he borrowed money from you, but he was met with When he got the extremely cold rejection. He became angry from embarrassment, just as the saying goes, 'The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred', the previous respect turned into intense hatred." "Wait a minute, please. You can't imagine like this." Da Yue interjected. "Hasn't Ugaki come to borrow money?" "As far as I know, no. Even if I refuse someone else's loan, I will refuse in a mean way, and I won't make him hate me." "Maybe I didn't come to ask you directly, but the secretary I was looking for." Totsukawa said. "Do you remember?" Ogoshi looked at Miura. "no impression." Miura said. "Any other secretaries?" "Besides the dead Matsuno, there are three other people." "Maybe I asked them or wrote a letter. It is very possible to write a letter. Even if it is a letter to President Ogoshi, the secretary will deal with it after reading it. Is this the case?" Totsukawa asked. Miura replied: "It can be said that there are more cases like this. If you show all the letters to the president, the number is quite large, and the president will have to read the letters all day long." "Then, the possibility of borrowing money by letter is quite high. His letter was processed by you in your hands, and no reply was received. It is precisely because he has great hopes that he received such a cold reception, which aroused his resentment." "But I don't know." "Yes. Although you don't know anything, you are actually being held hostage." "Anyway, let them look it up. It's unacceptable to be assassinated for something like this." Dai Viet said. After Totsukawa and Kamei bid farewell from Ogoshi, they decided to call Ugaki, the key figure. According to the original plan, he should have returned yesterday. Called three times in a row, but no one answered. (Aren't you back yet?) The original plan is often disrupted, but no matter what, Yu Yuan is a company employee and has a job.Will you not return home on time? After returning to the Metropolitan Police Department, I called again.This time the result was the same, no sign of anyone in the family. Totsukawa called Yayoi Shimazaki again.Immediately this time, a woman's voice was heard. "Didn't Yuyuan agree to return to China yesterday? Hasn't he come back yet?" Totsukawa asked. "He said he would postpone his return to China for two more days." Yayoi said. "When did you say that?" "Yesterday morning. He said that he wanted to stay in Thailand for another day anyway. So he postponed his return to China for two days." "Why the two-day extension? Did he give a reason?" "He said that there are still some places that must be seen, so he stayed for another two days. He is the kind of person who loves to be fascinated, and it is common to extend the travel period." Yayoi said. "So, when is he coming back?" "He said he would be back tomorrow morning." Yayoi said. "He's calling from Bangkok, isn't he?" Totsukawa asked a question. "Yep." "What's the name of the restaurant?" Totsukawa asked. "He said he was leaving for Chiang Mai soon, but I didn't ask which hotel it was. Isn't this normal? Even if he found out the name of the hotel, he was leaving soon, and he couldn't be contacted." Yaya said angrily. Maybe Totsukawa pushed too hard and she got angry. "I know." Totsukawa said in a sympathetic tone. "Do you know about Ugaki joining the Tourism Research Association?" "Well, yes. But I didn't join. So what?" "The honorary president of the Tourism Research Association is Mr. Ogoshi." "Really?" "Yes. They asked someone to sponsor 1 million yuan, and they rewarded an honorary president. It seems to be the case. But the president of Dayue said that he doesn't remember being the honorary president at all." When Totsukawa said this, Yayoi went on to say: "What do you mean? I don't quite understand." "That is to say, Ugaki knew Mr. Ogoshi before." "You say such things, as if he is the murderer. Let me tell you, Yu Yuan is definitely not a murderer. We have been together in the TGV train. He has no murderous actions." Yayoi flatly denied Totsukawa's idea. "Really? When Yu Yuan returns to China, we want to hear what he has to say." That's all Totsukawa said. However, on the second day, Zigaki still had not returned from Thailand.