Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Anonymous Calls

The "White Swan" express train suddenly slowed down. Totsukawa glanced out the window, it didn't look like a station here. The train has been running on the Baixin Line since it departed from Xinga Station. It should be some time before the next stop, Xinfatian. The total length of Baixin Line is 27.3 kilometers.Newly built apartments and houses can be seen from the windows, which look like the residences of employees commuting to and from Xinhai. The train continued to decelerate and finally came to a complete stop. The time now is a little past 5:30 p.m. "What's wrong?" Sunset asked worriedly.

"Maybe there was an accident?" Kusaka stood up and said that he would go to the conductor to inquire about it. After five or six minutes he came back and said: "According to the conductor, he didn't know what was going on. Now he only knows that the red signal was given before stopping." The passengers still stayed in the car calmly, without panic or anxiety.These passengers who take long-distance buses have long been used to the situation of temporary parking. The passengers who boarded the train from Osaka and Tokyo were already tired by this time, and fell asleep leisurely with their eyes closed.

However, Totsukawa did not see parking as simple as that. If it is only due to an accident, it doesn't matter how long you wait, anyway, sooner or later you will reach the finish line in Aomori. The question is whether this parking was deliberately done by the murderer for some purpose? Two people who attacked Kamei have been arrested.However, the bounty hunter has not been caught yet, and their whereabouts are not even known. I am afraid that they are more formidable enemies than Goto and Hara Katsuichi who have been arrested. What if they were juggling signals to stop the train? "I'll go out and have a look. I'll leave Kamei to you."

Totsukawa said to Kusaka, got up and walked to the front compartment. Outside the window, the sky has darkened. Walking on the aisle, I saw that almost all the passengers were resting with their eyes closed. Totsukawa walked into the front locomotive and boarded the driver's seat after getting permission. The driver's seat is quite high and the field of view is very wide.The signal ahead has turned red, which is very eye-catching. The headlights of the train were shining ahead, but I didn't expect that it only illuminated a small area nearby, probably just for the convenience of driving.

"Did an accident happen?" Totsukawa asked the driver who was looking ahead. The driver, who seemed to be in his forties or thirties, rubbed his face with his hands and replied, "I don't know. The train conductor may check it now." While talking, the phone in the driver's seat rang. The driver picked up the microphone, talked briefly and then put it down. "It is said that there was an accident at Shibata Station. I don't know exactly what happened, but I think I will drive soon." "That's right." "do not worry." The driver thought Totsukawa was disturbed by the accident, so he said with a smile as if to reassure him.

Totsukawa stared at the front in silence.The place where the headlight reaches is bright, but the place beyond that is still a dark night. No one will attack the train that is in a parked state.If someone did this, the train would look like a lone, unguarded covered carriage in the wilderness. Although the driver said that he would leave soon, the train did not move. Totsukawa left the driver's seat and returned to his seat. "There seems to be an accident at Shibata Station." Totsukawa told Kusaka like this, and also told Kamei. After stopping for 20 minutes, the train restarted.

The train arrived at Shibata Station at 18:09, 20 minutes late. Although he stopped here for only a minute, Totsukawa asked the train conductor to find out about the accident. The conductor jumped off the train and talked to the assistant stationmaster on the platform, and then hurried back on the train.He immediately said to Totsukawa: "It's a very strange thing." "Isn't it just an accident?" "It wasn't an accident, it was a prank call, saying that a bomb was planted in Shibata Station. The station also thought it might be a prank, but if the bomb exploded when the train entered the station, it would be a big mess. So let the up and down The trains were stopped on the spot to detect explosives."

"It turned out that no explosives were found?" "yes." "Is the voice on the phone a man or a woman?" "It is said to be a man's voice." "What about age?" "Because the car was only parked for one minute, I didn't have time to inquire." "I'm sorry, it's my fault for making you understand the situation in such a hurry." Totsukawa thanked the train conductor.He also knew that the newspapers often reported such pranks, and the calls were made by the so-called "happy offenders" who took pleasure in causing riots.

Is it the same this time?Not right. With Shibata Station as the target, could it be related to Kamei? There is some kind of intention to delay the train for 20 minutes before Shibata Station. "How do you think about it?" Totsukawa asked Kusaka. "Does the police think the prank call was from the attacker?" "If that is the case, what is it for?" "Could it be to buy time?" "Ok!" "For example, the 'White Swan' train is running normally, and some people can't catch up with this train. Are you trying to delay the train here so that someone can get on the train at a certain station before Aomori?"

"That makes sense." "That was done after calculations based on the timetable." "Is the criminal just content to get the 20 minutes?" "That depends on where the criminal is now." "You're right, but what if 20 minutes isn't enough?" "If this is the case, steps will be taken again to stop the train." This assumption really seemed like the pure reasoning of the young detective. Totsukawa turned to Kamei and asked him to share his opinion. "He's right," Kamei said. "Is this stop the purpose of the prank call?"

"Generally speaking, as Kusaka-kun said, if the criminal is running out of time, he will try to delay the train." "However, the driver will speed up to regain time." "Is it the use of such unreliable calculations for the purpose of prank calls?" Totsukawa frowned and pondered. "Although I can't explain this clearly, I can't think of any other reason." At this time, Totsukawa couldn't think of any other reason.A prank call is the easiest way to stall a train.However, the lag time cannot be accurately calculated by this means. How does the criminal think about this? "That's right! It's fine if you get on the train at Shibata Station." "You mean..." "The criminals called Shibata Station and said that a bomb was planted in the station, which stopped the 'White Swan' train that was about to come to this station, so that the time needed for the planned reservation could be bought at Shibata Station. .” "So, is there any suspicious person among the passengers who got on the train at Shibata Station?" "Are there any passengers entering compartment 2?" Totsukawa looked around in the car, and Kamei and Kusaka also quickly glanced inside the car. Kusaka whispered to Totsukawa: "The two young men by the door are passengers coming from Shibata Station." The "White Swan" express train operates on various lines, so it is responsible for the tasks of commuting and schooling.Therefore, compared with ordinary express buses, the number of passengers is frequent, and the occupancy rate is also high. There are almost no empty seats in the car now. The two young men by the door sat down side by side. Totsukawa watched them intently. They were all in their mid-twenties, and although they were all wearing suits and ties neatly, they didn't look like company employees, because their eyes had a different look. Their hair is cropped short, and what is most striking is their aggressive demeanor. They were also looking around inside the car, and when they met Totsukawa's eyes, they immediately looked away. "These two people are really worrying." Kusaka whispered to Totsukawa. "Not a kind person." "Perhaps a rogue." While Kusaka was talking, Wakabayashi came to sit next to Totsukawa from the 3rd car and said: "A suspicious person has been found." "It's the two by the door." "They got on the train at Xinfatian." "When they were walking around in other cars just now, they seemed to be looking for someone." "They came to the No. 2 car and sat down because they found what they were looking for, right?" Suddenly, one of them stood up and walked towards Totsukawa and the others. Totsukawa and the others couldn't help showing nervous expressions. The man walked past Totsukawa and the others and walked towards the No. 1 car. "He didn't hide a pistol," Kamei said. If you have a pistol in your pocket, you walk differently. "yes." Totsukawa agreed with Kamei's opinion, because he was also observing. The person who stayed in the No. 2 car glanced at Totsukawa and the others from time to time, and whenever his eyes met, he immediately turned his eyes away. "Very unpleasant," Kusaka said wearily. Although they were related to the attack on Kamei, there was no reason to drive them out of the train. After five or six minutes, the person who had just gone to compartment 1 returned and sat side by side with the person on the seat next to the door again. They were talking, but of course Totsukawa couldn't hear the conversation. "Ask the train conductor to conduct a ticket inspection, and they will find out where they bought the ticket." Kusaka said to Totsukawa. "OK." "Then I'll go to the conductor." Ruobin stood up, at this time, the train had already slowly entered the next stop. This stop is the intersection station of the Mifan Line - Sakamachi Station. "Wait a minute, those two are going to get out of the car." Totsukawa stopped Wakabayashi.The two stood up and walked out of the car door. "I'm going to see if they actually get off." Said Hsakata and Ruobin walked over. The train stopped.It was 18:22 at this time, 16 minutes late.Park here for 2 minutes. Totsukawa also quickly descended to the platform.He saw the two men walking on the platform with their backs to the train, and had climbed the stairs of the overpass. Totsukawa returned to the carriage. The doors closed and the train started moving again. "Did you really get out of the car?" Kusaka asked as if worried and somewhat disappointed. "That's right." Ten Jinchuan felt strange in his heart. Did you see the wrong person? Night is coming, and the "White Swan" express train is speeding up.All was well and without incident. "Let's go to the carriage again." Kusaka said and stood up with Ruobin. Ten minutes later, the train arrived at Murakami Station.There are famous hot springs here, and the car starts immediately after stopping for 30 seconds. Suddenly, all the lights in the car went out. In an instant, Totsukawa immediately made contingency preparations.However.The lights came on again. "This is the section without electricity." Kamei said. The transition place where the train runs from the DC area to the AC area is the non-electric area. This is because the different currents cannot be directly converted at the junction of the two sections, so this kind of no-electric section is set up. Here, the train needs to use a switch to switch the power supply. Although it is only a moment, all the lights in the car must be extinguished. "Kamei, you know the situation very well." "When I made up my mind to take the 'White Swan', I did some research on all aspects of the situation. This is probably out of self-defense." "That said, I'm relieved." "why?" "Kamei is well prepared." Kusaka and Wakabayashi returned to the carriage, and they reported to Totsukawa: "We've even seen the dining car, and neither Natsuko Kuhara nor Keigo Koda is in the car." "Then it means that we can temporarily rest assured during the 40 minutes before the train arrives at the next station, Atsumi Onsen." Natsuko Kuhara and Keigo Koda, who are considered to be the funders of the 10 million yen reward, should be active under the current circumstances. There are still 9 stops to Qinglin, and there are still 5 hours and 30 minutes in terms of time.Are they going to get on the train at one of the next 9 stations to attack Kamei? This trip is related to the life and death of Kamei, and the Katayama policewoman has already sacrificed. Twenty-five or six minutes later, Nishimoto and Shimizu returned from the dining car. All is well.The train continued to run forward, maybe it could regain the time it was delayed. "After Akita, the outcome is still undecided." When Kamei was speaking, the train suddenly slowed down with a bang.Totsukawa and Kamei couldn't help but look at each other. The train stopped in the dark.After explaining to Nishimoto and the others, Totsukawa went to see the train conductor. "Did something happen?" Totsukawa asked. "It's a red signal." "An accident? Or a prank call like just now." "Yeah, I don't know, let's check." The train conductor picked up the wireless phone as he spoke.Totsukawa also leaned out and looked out the window.It was pitch black around the train, and the train seemed to stop near the station.There seems to be a road here, and the lights of cars appear suddenly from time to time, and then disappear immediately, it seems that this place is quite far from the road. "Is it a prank call?" "There is a call saying that a bomb has been planted in Atsumi Onsen Station, and it will explode soon." "The purpose is undoubtedly to delay the operation of the train." "I don't know if this is the reason. Human life is at stake and the train has to be stopped for investigation." While the call was likely another hoax, it was still necessary to stop nearby trains and inspect the interior of the station. Totsukawa returned to the No. 2 car. "Is it another prank call making trouble?" Kamei asked dully. "In this way, we have to analyze the opponent's activities." Totsukawa said, "Maybe the first stop did not buy time, and the criminal wanted to use the same method to stop the train again." "I can't think of any other ideas. The criminals boarded the train at a certain station with the intention of delaying the train. They thought it would be eye-catching when they got on the train at a small station, and they probably boarded the train at Ketian." "So why make prank calls with the same content?" "This is the easiest way. This method can stop the train for a few minutes. It is said that a bomb has been planted in the station, so the railway has to stop the train, especially the train approaching the station. measure." "It is necessary to check every corner of the station. Even a small station should take twenty or thirty minutes." Totsukawa lit a cigarette.When it was almost 20 minutes, the announcement in the car said: "I kept you waiting for a long time, and the train will start soon." With that said, the train started slowly.Five or six minutes later, the train arrived at Atsumi Onsen Station. Atsumi Onsen Station is a quiet station with the sea on one side and the mountain on the other side. Totsukawa stared intently at the platform. Five or six passengers got off the train, but none got on.It seems that the criminal did not arrange the boarding location here.Due to the two stops, the train was finally delayed by 38 minutes.After the car stopped for 30 seconds, the train departed from Atsumi Onsen Station.As before, the train was still rushing along the Sea of ​​Japan, the road and the railway stretched in parallel, and the headlights of cars came into view from time to time. "Nothing happened." Kusaka said after returning from the dining car. "But it was tense enough." They experienced a stop caused by two prank calls.It seems that the criminal planned to board this train before Aomori. Natsuko Kuhara and Keigo Koda are also bound to board this train. The train arrived at Hegang.This is the gate to Mount Dewa.In the past, it was the residence of princes.Later, it gradually developed into a city centered on it.Because of this, there are spectacular station buildings and long platforms, and the nearly 300-meter-long platform is impressive enough.Totsukawa suddenly thought, would the criminals plan to board the car here?But before he could figure it out, the train started again. Totsukawa suddenly remembered the two who boarded the train at Shibata. Although I also thought that those two people got off at the next stop at Xinfatian, and it had nothing to do with this parking, but I still lingered in my heart and felt worried.I always feel that these two people are members of the underworld.When I think of Koda Keigo, the two of them seem to be ordered to do something.But after they got on the bus, they got off after only one stop.Moreover, if he wanted to kill Kamei, it seemed that he would not deliberately go to the No. 2 car to attract the attention of the police. Are you overthinking it? ——Totsukawa pondered. Kamei said: "The police department, if those two people tried to kill me, they wouldn't just get off the bus after just one stop. It wouldn't be that we saw them get off the bus, and then boarded the bus again just before driving." Come on." "They must have gotten out of the car." "If they are criminals, what is their purpose? What is their intention to just sit down?" "That's the problem." Totsukawa stood up and walked to the door of carriage No. 2 alone. He lit a cigarette and leaned against the door wall to meditate.Intuitively, the two of them had some sort of conspiracy.After they got on the train from Shinbata Station, they entered the No. 2 car and sat down near the door. One of them walked from the passage to the No. 1 car alone, and then returned.When he walked by Kamei, it was not without intention.Did the murder attempt fail?It seems that this is not the case, he should know that there will be strict protection around Kamei.They are very sensitive about this.They don't do things they're not sure of, and they don't act aimlessly.They got on the train at Shibata, so of course they should know that the train was delayed by 20 minutes, and they should also know that Kamei was in the No. 2 car.If they had some kind of intention, then they must have achieved their goal, so they got off at the next stop. What is the purpose?Not understanding, Totsukawa shook his head.Although he didn't know, Totsukawa felt that this situation might be a major problem, and he was very restless because of this. Totsukawa decided to try walking around like the two had done.He walked into the aisle from the door, slowly passed Kamei and his seats, walked to the No. 1 car and returned. Kusaka and the others stared at Totsukawa with incomprehensible eyes. Maybe walking down the aisle means something?Yes, that's the crux of the matter.This is because the only activity they have done in the car, are they going to plant a time bomb on the luggage rack near Kamei?There was no sign of such action, and the man was empty-handed, holding nothing. Then, another prank call prompted the train to stop.However, this time they did not send anyone to the car.So why is no one in the car? A ball of anger gradually rose in his heart, and Totsukawa hated why his mind was so slow. Suddenly it occurred to him that he had made a mistake in the premise of this question?It may be wrong to think that the purpose of the criminal is to board the train at a certain station, and it is always a premise that the criminal cannot catch up with the train and its operation must be delayed. Kamei's trip on the "White Swan" train was not a temporary decision.That was a ride after it was pre-announced.This is done to attract the opponent to attack. Moreover, the running time of the "White Swan" train is clearly written on the timetable. If Natsuko Kuhara and Keigo Koda wanted to attack Kamei, they would calmly make a plan in advance.Would he make a hasty prank call to delay the train? If the prank call isn't for lagging trains, what is its purpose? For example, as far as the purpose of causing a stop is concerned, the threatening effect of saying that a bomb has been planted on the train will be far greater than that of planting a bomb at a station.Like this, just must make train stop on the spot, carry out inspection from No. 1 compartment to No. 12 compartment, will waste time of course like this.But why don't those guys do it? If the train is under the threat of a bomb explosion, as a precaution, all passengers may be allowed to get off the train and then inspected. If such countermeasures are taken, their plans will encounter difficulties.When Totsukawa thought of this situation, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and his blood surged. He blurted out: "I'm so stupid!" "Kamei!" Totsukawa yelled as he returned to the No. 2 carriage. "Stop the train immediately and transfer the passengers in carriage 2 to other carriages immediately." "What happened?" Kamei asked loudly. The sleeping passengers all opened their eyes and looked at Totsukawa and Kamei. "I'm afraid this carriage has been planted with explosives." Totsukawa said loudly again. "where is it?" "It's probably under the floor. It's up to you to move the passengers." After Totsukawa finished speaking, he turned and ran towards the soft-seat carriage.As soon as he arrived at the cabin of the soft-seat carriage, he said to the conductor: "Please stop the car immediately!" "What's wrong? Why?" "Because an explosive was planted under the floor." "But……" "I'm Totsukawa from the Metropolitan Police Department." "I know." "Stop the car, then. Please. The explosives must be under the floor of car number two." Under the threat of Totsukawa's momentum, the conductor panicked and picked up the phone in the car to contact the driver. The train took emergency action, the "White Swan" train "bang", and the speed dropped. Totsukawa returned to the No. 2 car.Kamei, Kusaka and the others are trying their best to transfer the passengers to other compartments. Passengers grumbled incessantly. The black police ID and the bomb notice finally got the passengers into action. Car No. 2 is now empty. "What's the next step?" Kamei asked Totsukawa. "Come under the floor of the vehicle with me and have a look." Totsukawa borrowed a flashlight from the train conductor and jumped off the train, followed by Kamei.The train conductor and Kusaka also got off the train. "Don't leave the car! Passengers are absolutely not allowed to get off the car." Totsukawa shouted. Kamei asked Totsukawa nervously: "Where do you think it could be placed?" "Just under the seats you and I are sitting on." "But……" "Is there a group of two people on the train at Shinbata Station? The two of them came to determine the location of our seats, and one of them was walking on the aisle, that is, measuring the distance from the door to the seat, using the number of steps. It can be calculated. The first prank call stopped the train for 20 minutes, they should know. It is estimated that the second call will stop the train for about 20 minutes. Explosives were placed under the floor." "Then the purpose of the criminals taking this train is to plant explosives." "Yes. The criminal may have traveled by car. The road follows the railway line." The two of them got under the floor of the No. 2 car.Totsukawa shone his flashlight everywhere. "Yes!" Kamei shouted. In front of them, a brand new square box was fixed to the greasy train parts. Totsukawa was covered in cold sweat. "Does the police department know how to remove the timing device?" "I don't understand." "Then what should we do?" "It's got to be taken off and thrown away anyway, and there's no other way. It's probably magnetically attached to the mechanism." "Won't it explode when you get it down?" "I do not know then." "Go away, police department. If you want to die, let me die alone." "That can't be done. If you want to go on an adventure alone, I can do it by myself." "The police department is also stubborn enough!" Kamei laughed softly.He stretched out his hand to touch the explosive fixed on the mechanism, and grabbed it cruelly and pulled it off.At this time, the only sound that could be heard was the breathing of the two of them.Just as Totsukawa thought, the explosives were attracted to the mechanism by magnets.The small square box fell off and fell into Kamei's hands. "Did you find anything?" As Kusaka said, he was about to approach Totsugawa. "Back back." Totsukawa shouted loudly. "Let's run." "Okay! Let's run." The two got out of the car floor and ran to the coast immediately.They ran down the embankment and toward the road, beyond which the sea lay.As they crossed the road, they felt a great pain in the chest. Before their eyes was the sea of ​​Japan in the dark night, and the sea water spread into the distance in pitch blackness. Kamei stood on the cliff and decisively threw the heavy box into the sea. At the same time as the explosive was shot, a sense of exhaustion hit him, and he sat down limply.Totsukawa silently held Kamei's shoulders, panting heavily.Strangely, the explosives did not explode. "This is strange." Totsukawa said: "It must have been fitted with a timer." On the road behind the two of them, a car stopped.A couple who didn't understand the situation approached here nonchalantly.The man quietly asked: "Did something happen?" "Stupid! Go back quickly." Kamei shouted loudly, but he still came.Totsukawa immediately knocked him to the ground. "What are you going to do?" The man was shouting when the explosives went off.It exploded in the water under the cliff, and the splashed water splashed all the way to Totsukawa and others. The young man was so frightened that he couldn't straighten up, he still sat there motionless. They ran over under the sun, "It's okay." "The passengers can go back to the No. 2 car." Totsukawa said wearily. The "White Swan" express train started again. If you let the explosives stay where they are, what will happen once they explode. If it exploded, the bomb would have blown a big hole in the floor, and the blast would have blown Kamei away.In this way, not only Kamei was killed, but Totsukawa and other passengers nearby would also be killed.It may even overturn the vehicle, causing a catastrophe. "The one who can do such a barbaric thing must be Koda Keigo." Totsukawa said to Kamei. "Yes, this is not something that woman Natsuko Kuhara can think of." "Will they strike again?" "Things that have failed once will not be repeated. Their self-esteem does not allow this. So I think that next time they will definitely kill Kamei personally." "Are you coming by this train?" "It's not clear yet." "Regarding the situation of Natsuko Kuhara, haven't you figured it out yet?" "I can't think of it. I've seen her picture many times, but I just can't remember what happened to her." "What about the name Isomi Kuroki?" "I don't know this person at all. I have a relatively good memory, but I just can't remember." "I will understand when I think of Aomori." "I think Natsuko Kuhara will show up too." "I think so too. If everything fails, she will definitely come and kill me herself." The train drove quickly as if nothing had happened, crossed the Kamigawa Iron Bridge, and when it arrived at Sakata Station, the train was nearly an hour and a half late. The train conductor went down to the platform and reported the explosive incident to the assistant station master. Totsukawa watched the conductor return to the train from the window.The train left after stopping for 2 minutes. Kusaka and Nishimoto, who went down to the platform, returned to their seats and reported: "Natsuko Kuhara and Keigo Koda were not found." "I think if they get on the bus, they have to get on the bus near Aomori." "I thought so too," Kamei said. The train picked up speed and sped forward.Acceleration forward wants to fight back the nearly 1 hour late time. The train arrived at Ugo Honjo Station, 45 minutes late according to the punctual time.At this station, there were no signs of Kuhara Natsuko and Koda Keiyoshi boarding the train. To be cautious, Nishimoto and the others patrolled the car.Came back to report that neither of them got in the car. There are only a handful of stations in Aomori.There are also five stops in Akita, Higashinoshiro, Eagle's Nest, Odate and Hirosaki, followed by the Aomori terminal. The train crossed the Omonogawa Iron Bridge and arrived at Akita Station. The arrival time was 21:55, 40 minutes late. Two detectives from the Akita Prefectural Police Department boarded the car, and they sent Totsukawa the telex records of the Metropolitan Police Department.The content of the record is a summary of the murder case and traffic accident that happened in Chengcheng two years ago, so Totsukawa and Kamei immediately recalled the murder case that happened in Chengcheng.Those two cases left a strong impression on them. But I can't remember the case of traffic accident.But the two cases happened on the same day in the same Chengcheng area, as if there is some kind of connection.