Chapter 7 Section VII

The next day, on May 11, Investigator Yano of the Kagoshima Prefectural Police made an appointment with lawyer Masaharu Naka. Yano was received at home at his law office.His office is in Motomachi, Kobe. He is tall and tall at home, with a gentle and sensible expression, which probably has something to do with his occupation.His family has been working as a lawyer since his ancestors. "I want to know about the last voyage of the Sea Ridge..." The Ridge was the family's large yacht, fifty feet in length, equipped with propulsion and equipment for life at sea, and distinguished from other ships by more than size.

The scale of the Hailing owned by the family can be regarded as upper-middle class in Japan.The maximum yacht length is seventy feet.Even mid-level yachts do not have cabins, canteens, toilets, etc. The home port of the Sea Ridge is Nishinomiya City. Before Yano visited the house, he had already briefly explained the situation to the family on the phone. "It is true that I went to Iki. After you mentioned the situation on the phone, I recalled it again. Anyway, that was sixteen years ago." The family chatted happily. Lawyers and investigators have historically had a bad relationship.Lawyers tend to treat investigators coldly.Lawyers have always had a stubborn notion that the prisoner was a fabrication.Even if he didn't think so, he often had conflicts with the police in order to protect the interests of the accused.And investigators often slander lawyers, such as covering up suspects, giving bad ideas to prisoners, and so on.This is a fact.

Since their responsibilities are different, and their goals seem to be tit for tat, there is no way that the relationship is not good. Yano, who was just in his early thirties, thought that he would be coldly received by his family, but after seeing his family, he felt that such worries were unnecessary. "Did you say that the time sixteen years ago was accurate?" "I remember this most clearly." The family nodded and said, "However, can you tell me that the killing of the two prosecutors, Shimada and Hiraizumi, has anything to do with the voyage of my yacht sixteen years ago?"

"I don't know about this either. I'm here to investigate under the order of my superior." "Who is your boss?" "County Police Criminal Bureau Chief Qingcun Police is watching." "Oh, yes." The family nodded and lit a cigarette. "Can you tell us about the situation at that time?" "Although it happened 16 years ago, it is still fresh in my memory. It was in August or September. Six people including Shimada and Hiraizumi who were killed were with me. I probably went where I should go. As for what I caught, how many days I went there, how many days I returned to Kobe, etc., I don’t remember clearly. That’s all I can think of.”

"Is there any record of entering and leaving the home port?" "No. When leaving the port, just report to the yacht port office. If you want to enter the port somewhere, if there is a county port office, maritime bureau office, and maritime security department in the local area, you must report the name of the ship and the location of the ship to these agencies. cargo loading, port of destination, etc. But no one will pursue it if they don’t declare it. In particular, the management of twin speedboats and yachts is looser. The Sea Ridge probably didn’t stop at any port to and from Iki. The reason is that the passengers are very busy and the time is too tight. Can go straight back.”

"Are there any other crew members on the Sea Ridge?" "There's a signalman and a helmsman. I'm the captain because I have a Class B navigator's license." The family smiled. "Are those two working as crew members now?" "No," the family shook his head and said, "Both are dead." His expression was a little heavy. "Dead? Both are dead?" "Yes, one because of an accident and one because of a fight." The voices in the house became stiff. The cabin hand was Takashi Hirota, twenty-six years old, and the signalman was Sanne Yosuke, forty-two years old.

Signalman Yosuke Sanne died at the end of the year when he returned from his voyage to Iki. Sangen lives in Nishinomiya and has family members.He was hit and killed by a car on his way home after drinking one night.The perpetrator fled.County police searched for the car involved, but failed to locate it. Takashi Hirota died in May of the following year.One morning, he was found dead in the water below the cliff in his home port.An autopsy revealed that he had been drinking heavily.He was struck with a blunt instrument to the back of the head and suffered a severe fracture of the skull. Someone judged that he fell into the sea at his home port after getting into a fight with someone drunk.

Hirota lives in his home port and lives a single life. The police also investigated the Hirota case, but found nothing.I only know that he ate and drank in a restaurant until after ten o'clock before coming out, and I don't know what happened after that. The helmsman and signalman died one after another not long after, which made the family panic.At that time, the Sea Ridge was owned by the father of the family, who was persuaded by the family to sell it.He felt that although the two men did not die on the ship, the two crew members died one after another in a short period of time, which was an ominous omen.

So a sign was put up to sell the Sea Ridge. But it didn't sell.Whether it is a house or a boat, no one will care if the owner sells it because of a bad accident. Helpless, the family had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​selling, so the Hailing is still owned by their family. The two dead crew members are now forgotten in the family. "Two people died one after the other, it really makes people feel gloomy. If there is a second time, there will be a third time. I always feel that the third person who will die may be me, the captain, right? Of course, this is a kind of unscientific fear. .”

After speaking, the heavy expression in the family disappeared. "Do you know the survivors of these two men?" "Investigate and maybe find it. Is it necessary for people who have been dead for fifteen or six years to understand this?" The words stopped here, and the family stared at Yano intently.His earthy expression seemed to suddenly become serious, and he regained the sombreness typical of lawyers. "I'm just asking casually." "I don't care about the reason. The reason why I answered your question is because I am friends with Shimada and Hiraizumi, so I am willing to do my best to assist the police. But I always feel that your question is a bit strange."

"..." "Are you still playing with me? Do you think that Shimada and Hiraizumi were killed on the voyage sixteen years ago?" "It doesn't mean that." "Then why are you so persistently asking about what happened sixteen years ago?" "..." "Is it an order from your superior?" "If you think so..." "Go back and talk to your boss, stop your wrong investigation. I don't know where Sanne and Hirota's survivors live. You go to the government hall to say hello!" "okay then." Yano stood up. Why did the mood at home suddenly turn sour?No way of knowing.Was it because he lost his temper because he suspected that he was a suspect?Or it was because he didn't want to mention the past voyage sixteen years ago. Yano walked out the door and shook his head. He found a public phone and reported the situation to Qingcun police. "Immediately search for the survivors of Sangen and Hirota, and I will come to you right away." "understood." Yano hung up the phone. Did the fear at home come from the deaths of Sangen and Hirota? Yano looked up at the overcast sky. On the morning of May 12, Kiyomura Kazushou came to the Hyogo Prefectural Police and met with the Minister of Criminal Affairs Hiroji Takahashi. "No trace of Morimoto was found." Takahashi raised this primary question as soon as he saw Qingcun. "Strange, he has been missing for three days, but the local prosecutor and his family have not asked to find him yet." Takahashi was bloated, with a pair of thick eyebrows tightly knit together on his sun-tanned face. "Is it……" Qingcun nodded. "This is the relevant material." Takahashi handed over two thick investigative records.This is the investigation record of the murders of Yosuke Sanne and Takashi Hirota. "Last year and this year, the legal validity period of these two cases has ended. I read the investigation records, but could not find any clues related to the killing of Shimada and Hiraizumi, and the disappearance of Morimoto. Hirota died in a drunken fight, and Sangen died. I also asked the investigators at the time about the situation, but there was nothing new in what they talked about. What does it mean that the prosecutor is being killed this time?" "I don't know." Qingcun shook his head, glanced at Takahashi, and continued, "But there must be something special hidden in it." "That's that. The one who killed the two prosecutors will not be a knight or a drunk. But why is the Hyogo District Prosecutor's Office keeping silent? And the Supreme Prosecutor's Office is also like this. Why didn't they come out and report it internally? It seems There must be privacy. They won’t be ignorant of this case, right? A system with such a strict upper and lower level organization will definitely not be ignorant.” "They will not disclose it internally. According to my speculation, the head of the prosecution may also have discovered the relationship between the killed Shimada, Hiraizumi, the missing Morimoto, and the other two prosecutors and lawyers. But The investigation cannot be carried out. They know that there are demons watching from the sidelines. Once the door is opened, I don’t know how many people have to be killed or disappeared. This will not end, because the propaganda and reporting agencies will not be silent. In fact, apart from keeping silent There is no other way." "Yes." Takahashi nodded and said, "By the way, how are the prosecutors of Hokkaido and Hokuriku looking?" "Same as before, still go to work normally." "Is it?" "The problem is Morimoto's whereabouts. Suicide is more likely. If he is protected before committing suicide, it may help solve the case..." Qingcun's expression was heavy. "The Hyogo District Prosecutor's Office remained silent. No, the excessive silence of the Public Prosecutor's Office may be due to the fact that Morimoto has already been contacted." Takahashi lowered his voice. "Hard to say." Maybe, maybe not.But Qing Cun believes that the prosecutor's office will not do that kind of stupid thing, and it will not do that kind of self-destructive thing.The current state of the prosecution is the wait-and-see attitude due to bewilderment. "So, what are you going to do?" "Meet with the subordinates, understand the investigation situation, and then go to Iki to have a look." "Iki? Do you want to track down what happened sixteen years ago?" "From the current situation, it can only be so. I always feel that the reason why the inspector is being killed is buried in that voyage." Qingcun has heard the roaring tsunami. It's a gloomy and dreary tsunami.In the black waves that emptied out, the angry roar of the murderer could be heard. "Sixteen years ago..." Takahashi said to himself in surprise. "I need your help with something." "Okay, go ahead. This is the face of the police." Takahashi looked at Qingcun.The distress of the Kagoshima prefectural police appeared in Kiyomura's eyes.So much so that even the criminal chief had to come to the front line of the investigation in person. "Want to monitor the actions of the lawyer at home." "obey orders." Takahashi replied bluntly.