Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Ending

The Tsugaru Plain was shrouded in pitch black night. The "White Swan" express train is rushing like a beam of light. "It's snowing again." Kamei said, looking out the window. In the darkness, white snow was falling one after another.The train running along the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan often encounters flying snow.Indeed, it is very harmonious with the name of the train - "White Swan".At the same moment, the platform of Aomori Station, the final station, was probably also decorated with white snow. "When I arrive in Aomori, I want to drink a few glasses of local wine. Isn't the fish there delicious?"

Sunaka asked Kamei. "Yes, whether it's fish or wine, they're all delicious!" Kamei said with nostalgia. Totsukawa stood up and walked towards the door pedal. He thought the trip would be over soon.Before arriving in Aomori, he felt that there were several questions to consider that must be answered. ——Why do you want to snipe Kamei? ——Where is Natsuko Kuhara?What do you want to do? Totsukawa lit a cigarette, thinking over and over what Natsuko would do alone. I don't know how much I have smoked, but the bitter taste of the smoke gradually rises.Totsukawa looked out the window, the snow kept falling, and it was getting bigger and bigger.

"We'll be in Aomori soon." The train conductor who passed by said. The lights outside the window gradually increased, and the train entered the urban area.Totsukawa returned to the carriage, and the train began to slow down.There was a commotion in the car, and the passengers took their luggage from the luggage rack and got ready to get off. The train slowly enters platform 5.Totsukawa looked out of the window. Although the sky was covered with snow, it was surprising that the platform was full of people.Several cameras of the TV station are juxtaposed there, and there are many journalists.

"Who are these people going to welcome?" Sun Xia smiled. Women holding flowers stand side by side on the platform. "Why such a grand welcome?" Kamei shook his head puzzled. "Probably someone has informed you." "This is really unexpected." As soon as the train came to a stop, the station master of Aomori Station came to the door of the No. 2 carriage and shouted loudly: "Gentlemen of the Metropolitan Police Department, welcome." Totsukawa came out and asked, "What's the matter?" "Are you the Totsugawa Police Department?"

"yes." "Is Mr. Kamei here too?" "Yes, I'm here." "Please come to the platform, we will hold a welcome ceremony for your presence." "No need." "No. It's not easy to do otherwise. People are waiting here to welcome you. The mayor has come to the platform. The news reporters and the TV station have also arrived." While the station master was speaking, the photographers had already arrived in front of the No. 2 carriage, their cameras were aimed at Totsugawa and Kamei, and the flashlights began to flicker fiercely. Under the guidance of the station master, Totsukawa and Kamei stepped off the platform.The cold wind blows the snow all over the sky.However, the dazzling flashing lights and the heat of the people gathered here made Totsugawa no longer feel the chill.

The station master began to give a welcome speech. ——The detectives, regardless of danger, rescued the passengers from the soft-seat carriages at Hirosaki Station, and none of the passengers were injured.For this, on behalf of the state-owned railway, I would like to express my solemn thanks to all of you. The mayor of Aomori City also came to deliver a speech.Mayoral elections were approaching, and perhaps that was why the mayor's speech was a thoroughly oratorical one. The third was a speech from the chief of the Aomori Police Station, who paid tribute to those who defend and enhance the prestige of the police.

"The flowers will be presented now, please stand in a row." Young women in kimonos gave each one a bouquet of bouquets. The other passengers on the platform sensed the activity here, and they all came this way. Totsukawa held a bunch of flowers and said: "No more interruptions, what has happened is that we have caused trouble for National Railways and passengers. For this, we apologize." "Meet the reporter, please." A reporter yelled.Everyone responded in a loud voice as if premeditated, and rushed towards Totsukawa and the others. "Which one is Detective Kamei?"

Two or three reporters shouted loudly. "it's me." As soon as Kamei finished speaking, the reporters rushed to surround him. At this time, the television cameras also squeezed in, and Kamei was surrounded by one question after another. ——Your life was offered a bounty of 10 million yen, how do you feel about it? What is your reason for taking the "White Swan" express train? Have you thought that you can reach Aomori safely? A young policewoman was killed, what is your take on this issue? Kamei answered each of these series of questions seriously as usual. On the platform, there was an atmosphere that the attack on Kamei had ended.

However, Totsukawa was still checking the crowd on the platform, looking for the trace of Natsuko Kuhara. —she should have been there. While Totsukawa was thinking this way, suddenly, with a muffled sound, someone among the reporters surrounding Kamei screamed. Totsukawa was taken aback. He saw Kamei fall down as if slipping on the snow-covered platform. Kamei pressed his left wrist with his right hand, and red blood flowed from his left wrist. A small man wearing a newspaper armband, with a dagger in his right hand, jumped up to Kamei who was lying on the ground. Kamei parried the opponent's dagger with his left hand, and blood spattered continuously.

"Kamei!" Totsukawa rushed towards the man quickly. Other journalists and photographers watched the development with stunned mouths. Kusaka and Nishimoto also ran over in a panic. Totsukawa pushed the man to the ground, and the man cursed loudly: "brute!" Although the voice was hoarse, it was a woman's accent. The station immediately transported Kamei to the hospital by ambulance for surgery.He was stabbed in two places on his left wrist and his nerves were severed. If it was more than 10 years ago, the function of the left wrist may not be restored for life.The doctor who performed the operation said to Totsukawa.

"Are you ok?" "No problem, the function will be fully restored. But it will be inflexible for the time being." "That's good." Totsukawa's eyes were red. The next morning, Kamei woke up from the bed in good spirits.It's just that the left wrist can't move yet. "I'm sorry I surprised you last time," Kamei said to Totsukawa. "It can't be helped. Who would have thought she would dress up as a journalist?" "Is it really Natsuko Kuhara?" "Yes, she cut her hair short and put on men's clothing to wait for an opportunity. She followed Koda's plan exactly." "Why does she hate me so much? Has she confessed?" "Well...she has been silent. So I want to try another interrogation at the Aomori Police Station." "I really want to know the reason for attacking me as soon as possible." "I see. The doctor said she didn't pounce on her when she showed the dagger, otherwise, your chest and abdomen would be pierced by now." Kamei said with a grin: "Actually, I was still a bit stupefied when I was young. As soon as I saw her showing her dagger, I jumped at her. However, it was nearly midnight, the temperature dropped, and the snow on the ground froze, and the platform became turbulent. It's like an ice skating rink." "So you slipped and fell?" "Yeah, I just got a stab in the wrist thanks to the frozen platform." "You really survived a catastrophe..." At the Aomori Police Station, Totsukawa interrogated Kuhara Natsuko a second time. She remained silent. "I visited Kamei detective just now." Totsukawa said first, "You may feel sorry, and he will be discharged from the hospital in another week. Kamei told me that he really wanted to know why you hate me so much. He. He is a serious and gentle man who doesn't know your name and doesn't remember hurting you. Let's say your resentment stems from the fact that your son was hit by a car three years ago and was hospitalized for a year. death, and your husband's death as a result. Although we believe that your resentment is likely to be caused by these problems, what responsibility does Detective Kamei have for these? If he inadvertently caused you to suffer Hurt, he wants to apologize to you." "Detective Kamei is not responsible." "What did you say? Said he was not responsible?" Totsukawa couldn't help raising his voice. "Yes! What's the fuss? He just has no responsibility." "That's unreasonable! So you don't have any grudges against Kamei?" "Yes, I don't hate him." "Then why did you take out 10 million yen to kill him?" "Don't you understand?" Natsuko stared at Totsukawa with numb eyes. Natsuko suddenly became eloquent, and she said one sentence after another: "As you said, the incident three years ago is the cause of this. Three years ago, Isomi and I got married and had a child. Very happy. That day a car ran over my son..." "It was the reckless driving boy who hit your son, not Kamei!" "I know that. So, didn't I say that I don't have any grudges against Detective Kamei?" "In the future..." "My husband has talked about the circumstances of the accident many times. ... At that time, a police car came speeding up with its siren blaring. My husband thought that if the police car took his son to the hospital, it might save his life. So my husband I waved my hands desperately on the street, but the police car just didn’t stop. When the ambulance came to the scene, it was seven or eight minutes after the police car left. If the police car stopped and sent away at that time, would my son’s life be saved? , Of course there is no way to know, but that would give up. But the police car did not stop, and the child became a vegetable and died. The doctor who performed the operation said that if he had been brought in for the operation a little earlier, he might have been saved." "At that time, there was a serial murder case in Chengcheng. I think the police car your husband saw was chasing the criminal, so it couldn't stop." "For our feelings, we only hoped that the police car would stop quickly. You probably have investigated what happened later, and it should be very clear. My husband committed suicide, and I was left alone I ran out of money, started a small shop, but couldn't manage it, and started a customer service for the first time in my life. After that, the manager of 'Pinocchi' became my sponsor, even though I was living well. Yes, but the past three years ago is hard to forget." "I'm the one directing the detection of that serial murder case." "Yes. Although I don't know who drove the police car, I know that the Totsugawa Police Department of the First Investigation Section is directing the investigation of the case. So I made up my mind to take revenge on this person at that time." "If that's the case, why don't you come and attack me? Why don't you offer a reward of 10 million yen for my life?" "At first I thought that too. But... I have lost my dearest husband and children, and I have been suffering from it. I want you to taste the same pain. If you have children, then I must take the children Kill it, it’s a pity that you don’t have any children, I also thought about killing your wife, but then I thought we are all women, so we can’t do that. Therefore, I’m considering finding someone who is closest to Totsukawa other than your wife.” "Then you consider Kamei?" "Yes, you and Kamei are a famous pair. If detective Kamei dies, you will definitely be very painful. And, once you know that Kamei was killed because of you, you will suffer for the rest of your life .” "This……" Totsukawa stared at Natsuko silently. No wonder Kamei couldn't remember who they were when he saw the photo of Kuroki Isomi and Natsuko. "So you offered a reward of 10 million yen for Kamei's life?" "yes." "Are you expecting those money-obsessed guys to kill Kamei?" Xia Zi laughed when he heard that, "No." "Then why are you offering a reward?" "That's to make you suffer with worry! Once news of the reward spreads, you must try your best to protect Kamei. In this state, those guys who work alone will never want to kill Kamei. However, every attack will make Kamei Your worries increase, which is why I let those lone wolves strike first." "The purpose was achieved. But I should have noticed it." "What does it mean?" "When the 'White Swan' express train arrived at Higashi-Sanjo Station, the station staff handed me a letter, saying that it was delivered by a middle-aged woman. The letter said, 'Before arriving at Aomori Station , Be sure to kill your subordinate Kamei.' This letter was sent to me as Kamei's boss, and I should have sensed your intentions at that time." "I thought you might notice." "However, I didn't realize it. Did you arrive in Aomori first after handing over the letter to the conductor at Higashi-Sanjo Station?" "Yes, Koda planned to delay the train so that I could reach Aomori first." "Cut your hair short and dress up like a man and wait for us?" "yes." "Didn't you think that Koda would kill Kamei before Aomori? Koda planted a time bomb under the floor of the train. If it exploded at that time, Kamei would definitely be killed." "Yes, we think the probability is 50-50. That's a good way to be surprised and use your wisdom to bet on Kamei's life and death. If you are an excellent detective like the rumors, you may be able to find There is a time bomb, but you will break out in a cold sweat to deal with it. It will make you panic and uneasy, and make you think hard about the reason why your subordinates were attacked..." "Is it because of this purpose that you didn't let Koda kill Kamei?" "I wanted him to only threaten Kamei, not kill him. Koda did as I wished." "Does Koda Keigo like you?" Xia Zi smiled and answered irrelevantly: "Anyway, he helped me. He acted according to my instructions. Maybe he can get a lighter sentence." "How should I put it, do you know what crime you committed? The 10 million yen reward you put forward has caused several deaths. Our young policewoman was killed, and the male waiter was also killed. Do you know all this? ?” "When my son and husband died, my life was over. Now I have nothing to fear." After saying this, Xia Zi remained silent and did not say a word. Totsukawa did not tell him Natsuko's confession until Kamei was fully recovered and discharged from the hospital. If Kamei heard about Natsuko's motive for committing the crime, what would he think? A week later, Kamei was discharged from the hospital. Totsukawa, who has already returned to Tokyo, called and told Kamei that he could rest in his hometown in Aomori for four or five days, and that he should not return in a hurry.But Kamei, who followed the rules, returned to Tokyo immediately. "The function of the hand has been restored, and there is no problem." While talking, Kamei kept turning his left wrist to show Totsukawa. "Let's go for a walk around the palace." Totsukawa suggested. In late spring, the weeds on the moat began to sprout. The two walked side by side, and Totsukawa told Kamei about Kuhara Natsuko's self-confession. "You were hated by Xia Zi because you were involved with me. I'm really sorry." As soon as Totsukawa finished speaking, Kamei said "Is that so?" and then walked in silence.After a while, he continued: "I have something to tell you too." "whats the matter?" "I only remembered that incident when I repeatedly recalled the case three years ago. At that time, a middle-aged man waved his hand at the police car I was driving. Because I was chasing the criminal, I hurriedly ignored him Now that I think about it, it was Isomi, so I was the one she was going to kill as a matter of course." "what?!" Totsukawa stopped involuntarily, but Kamei strode forward, and he stretched vigorously. What Kamei said was probably a lie. Could it be that he was lying to make me feel better. It would be foolish to ask him that.It is better to accept the friend's kindness silently.Totsukawa thought. "Kamei!" Totsukawa called out to him.When catching up with him, Totsukawa said to Kamei: "I want to congratulate you on your recovery tonight."