Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen Where the Nightmare Goes

Upon hearing the news of Mamiko Nagai's confession, Semura immediately contacted Yuko Sundaihashi.The two met at a coffee shop they frequented. "It appears that the information we provided played a role." "Don't blame us, it's your reasoning and the information you collected that played a role." "Thanks to your idea of ​​changing the way of thinking, it opened up a new situation." "Anyway, the criminal who killed your brother-in-law was caught, that's great." "Things are actually not fully resolved yet." "Not completely resolved? Could it be that there are other prisoners?" Shimura explored what Yuko's words contained.

"It's Kosaka Shinya's suicide." "Looks like suicide." "I think it was a disguised suicide." "But the suspicion of the Yamahara couple has been cleared." The illegal behavior was not done by Yamahara alone, even if Takasaka was killed, it would not make much sense. "It's not the Yamahara couple." "Who is that?" "There is another important person." "There is another important person..." "not understand?" "not understand." "Let me tell you." "Say it."

"My sister." "You... sister!" "It's not surprising to say that my sister killed Kosaka. My sister had an extramarital affair with Kosaka. At the beginning, I had the mentality of an adult love game, but gradually the true feelings came into being. I think Kosaka's death may be a forced death of love designed by my sister." "No way. There's your brother-in-law here, but it's unbelievable that you force an affair partner to die in love." "It's possible according to my sister's personality. My sister doesn't love her brother-in-law. Aren't you the same? I started with the mentality of playing games, but after the subject was killed, I followed the criminal all the way to the present."

"But, but I didn't die for love." "It's more practical than dying in love. Tracking down the prisoner for the murdered cheating partner." "Is there any evidence about your sister's death in love with Kosaka?" "No evidence. Just speculation on my part. But the photo is a clue. My sister may be hinting at it." "Speaking of photos, it reminds me of the one I took from Takasaka Tatsuya." "Is that a group photo of Masako Takasaka, Tomoko Yamahara, and that little hooligan named Kasutani who was killed?" "That's right. It was Masako who was implying that the prisoner who killed her was the same person who killed Kasutani."

"But Mamiko Nagai isn't in there." "So there is something else in the picture." "what does it mean?" "Masako wanted to break up with Kasutani at the time, and said that she was grateful to the prisoner who killed Kasutani." "seems like it." "Who said that?" "Who said that? Masako, of course." "Didn't hear it with your own ears. In fact, it was Tomoko Yamahara who confessed to the Nasu Police Department." "seems like it." "This kind of thing often happens. Put your own affairs on your friends, and say it is someone else's experience or something."

"Are you saying that the one who wants to break up with Kasuya is not Masako Kosaka but Tomoko Yamahara... In other words, the one who wants to break up with Kasuya is not Masako Kosaka but Tomoko?" "It's not surprising to think so. Tomoko also said that she was grateful to the prisoner when she found Masako's body. The words are the same. I don't think Masako is the one who is grateful to the prisoner. It might be Tomoko." "So when Kasutani was hit and killed, it wasn't Masako who was there, but Tomoko?" "It's possible." "Then, isn't it pointless just to kill Masako?"

"Although Tomoko saw the prisoner, she probably pretended not to see it. Or Tomoko just saw Kasutani being hit and didn't do anything after that. I don't remember the prisoner's appearance. I didn't notice anything when I met the prisoner again at Kanzanji Temple. And Changzi didn't say anything. Later, at the company's party, Changzi kept silent in order to blackmail the other party alone." "When you said that, Changzi was at the scene again when he was hit." "Just like the three of them were together in the disco, it is very possible that all three of them were there when the accident happened. It's just that Changzi claimed that he was the only witness."

"Maybe Tomoko Yamahara knows everything." Yuko looked into the sky. "what do you mean?" When she showed such an expression, it was when her reasoning became clear. "She knows who the culprit is. In terms of time, Mamiko Nagai and Tomoko Yamahara arrived at the scene one after the other. It is very likely that Tomoko saw the scene where Mamiko ran away after killing someone." "Then why didn't she speak out?" "Because I thank the prisoner." "No matter how much I thank the prisoner, I am under suspicion after all." "When I met Zhizi, she said that there was nothing she could do if she was suspected. Because she really wanted to kill Changzi. She also said that seeing Changzi foaming at the mouth and lying there, she felt a kind of pleasure in her heart." .Even grateful to the prisoner. It shows that she hates Masako very much."

"In this way, the suspicion of Zhizi is even stronger." "If Kasuya is related to Tomoko instead of Masako, Nagai Mamiko is the benefactor who removed two stumbling blocks for her." "That's why she kept silent." "It's not just for these." Yuko said meaningfully. "What's the meaning?" "Nagai Mamiko said that when she bumped into someone, 'a drunk figure flew out of nowhere'. How could a drunk Kasuya fly?" Yuko looked at Secun. "You..." Semura was so shocked by Yuko's bold idea that he couldn't speak.

"It's conceivable the pain of being entangled by bad-behaviored hooligans. Going on like this will affect your education and marriage. I don't know if it's a long-term plan or the sudden murderous intent when I saw a speeding car on the quiet street late at night. Anyway, the possibility of pushing the drunken hooligan out is very high. If this is not a simple hit-and-run, but an intentional homicide, and Tomoko is the culprit, then the truth of the matter is completely different. "Mamiko just helped Tomoko to kill. And she also identified herself as a criminal. The only one who knew the truth was Masako who was present. Masako used this as material to blackmail Tomoko. Tomoko would have nothing to say. Said that her husband's suicide was caused by Yamabara, no The evidence is that it was a fake suicide, which is always a lie. Even if Kosaka's suicide triggered Masako's blackmail, the reason is Zhizi's previous 'murder' incident."

"It means Masako used the same trick to blackmail Tomoko and Mamiko." Shimura said in surprise.The photo sent by Masako Tochen also has a double meaning as a message implying the truth of the incident. "Mamiko didn't know this, and probably Tomoko didn't know that Masako was blackmailing Mamiko at the same time. So Tomoko kept silent when she learned that the prisoner who killed Masago was Mamiko. Mamiko played the role of prisoner for Tomoko twice." "But Tomoko didn't mean to cover her up to the end." "However, she was very reluctant to name the prisoner by herself. So she handed the suit and handkerchief to her brother-in-law and promised to meet me, implying that the real prisoner was someone else. She also called the police very cautiously, explaining that the real prisoner was someone else. There are people." "She's not afraid of you." "Scared in a way. She came to meet me to find out how much I knew." "Wouldn't it be bad if the past was revealed in front of the police?" "The killing of Kasuya is just my speculation, there is no evidence. And it was twelve years ago, and the dead can't speak." "Anyway, the criminal who killed Kosaka Masako and your brother-in-law was caught, and the matter finally came to an end. After that, I have no excuse to see you." Secun said with a very lonely look.Yuko said: "Huh? Why? Don't you need as many excuses as you want?" "Can you make an excuse?" "Please make excuses." "A man who is involved in an extramarital affair and has lost his family and job, will you still be willing to see him after this?" "Aren't ordinary people like this? Unlucky people always account for the majority. In the clubs in Ginza, most of the people who appear to be easygoing on the surface actually have some problems." Semura thought of the night he met Yuko for the first time at Cape Irago, and he thought about it in his room as he was thinking wildly. Random unlucky men are considered "ordinary people" in Yuko's eyes.Shicun suddenly rose to remarry Yuko, adopted Kosaka Tatsuya as an adopted son, and shook his head hastily at the thought of forming a new family. "What's wrong?" Yuko wondered, looking at Shicun. "Oh, I was a useless person, but something unusual happened." "It's not your problem. It just happened to be involved. I'm very optimistic about you." "Do you like me?" "Although you said that you have the mentality of an adult love game, but you followed the prisoner all the way here for the partner of the game. I am optimistic about your honesty." "That's because of you." In fact, it's because you can become a fellow with Yuko by following the criminal. "It's because of your character. But I forbid you to play love games with other women." "You mean... that is... you" "Fool. So dull." Yuko turned around and wanted to hit Semura.At this time, Shicun finally understood Yuko's true psychology of quitting the pursuit of the right halfway. Tomoko Yamahara calmly heard the news that Nagai Mamiko confessed to the crime.Mamiko is the "benefactor" who removes two major obstacles in life for Tomoko.Tomoko hopes she can escape the law if possible.But when the flames burned to my feet, I couldn't cover it to the end.Not saying her name personally is the best cover up Zhizi can do. And Masako were good friends until her husband committed suicide.Not only friends who have played since childhood, but when Tomoko was troubled by her relationship with Kasuya, Masako was really worried about her. Originally, they started dating out of curiosity and fun, but they became pregnant. Because of ignorance, it was time to find out that they couldn't get rid of it.Just at a loss, the child died.Before telling Bai Gu, no one noticed that Zhizi was pregnant because of the small change in body shape.Masako was also the one who helped Zhizi throw away the fetus. After the child was stillborn, Kasutani became even more brutal. "You must have killed the child. Don't forget, if I say a word, you will be taken to the police station." Kasuya said to get rid of it, but when he got rid of the dead baby, he threatened himself like this. If it goes on like this, Kasuya will definitely haunt him for the rest of his life.Discussed with Chang Zi, Chang Zi also said that it would be better to kill him altogether. But for a high school student who was only seventeen years old at the time, how could he come up with any specific murder plan?That night, the three of them went home after drinking at a bar in Shibuya.Kasutani tugged on Masako and Tomoko from left to right, getting carried away with complacency.He was so drunk that he couldn't stand still. He was still muttering that the three of them must go to his apartment to sleep together tonight.When he came to the back street near his apartment, there happened to be a car speeding towards him.Although it is a back street, as a shortcut, many cars pass here.At night, the car seems to want to release the feeling of depression during the traffic jam during the day, and it drives like lightning. Kasutani stumbled in front of the car, at this time it seemed that a vicious eagle whispered in Tomoko's ear, "Now is the opportunity".Before rationality came out to stop him, Zhizi had pushed Baigu out with all his strength.The car is too close.With no time to slow down, Kasutani's body hit the engine cover and fell hard to the ground.The moment he hadn't clearly realized the killing intent, he had already shot.Looking at Kasutani who died as she wished, Tomoko stood there blankly. A woman got out of the car, looked at Kasuya's appearance, returned to the car, and drove away at a faster speed than before. "Leave it all to me. I won't let Zhizi take the blame." Changzi encouraged Zhizi who stood there blankly, not knowing what he had done. Finding the police and dealing with the aftermath were all done by Changzi himself.Masako simply said that she was the only one present.Zhizi is at the mercy of Changzi.In this way, the murder of Kasuya was concealed, and the responsibility was all placed on the driver who caused the accident. Four years later, she met the driver at Kanzan Temple, but Tomoko didn't notice.Tomoko didn't see the driver who killed Kasuya.She couldn't see anything but Kasuya at that time. In the restaurant of the hotel, when she was sitting next to Nagai Mamiko, Masako let out a cry.When I asked her, she didn't say anything, and later told Zhizi that it was the person who killed Kasutani.Tomoko was shocked by this adventure, not wanting to see Nagai Mamiko for the third time at the company's party a few years later. Mamiko Nagai had no intention of blackmailing her.Masako turned into a brutal blackmailer after her husband committed suicide.Changzi decomposed the compound incident of crash and escape and murder into two materials, and blackmailed them at the same time.If you add Yamahara, there should be three people, but Yamahara didn't realize that he was being blackmailed. After her husband committed suicide, Changzi seemed to be a different person.Although after losing her husband, she had a man again, but it didn't seem to fill the emptiness after losing her husband. In fact, she did not love her husband to this extent.It's just that her husband's death became an opportunity to feel the pleasure of blackmail itself.Changzi once said to Zhizi: "Have you ever seen an osprey? It is very famous in Nagara River. The osprey breeder makes the osprey spit out the sweetfish contained in its mouth. The osprey has a rope around its neck, and the osprey breeder controls it by controlling the rope. The tightness prevents the osprey from swallowing what is in its mouth. You are my osprey. You must try to get as big a prey as possible for me." Talking and laughing.Probably said the same thing to Mamiko Nagai. Blackmailed to the limit.I told Zhizi to spit out bigger prey, but she didn't spare even small and medium prey, and let her spit them out.If Mamiko hadn't killed her, Tomoko would have done it.That night, I actually went there with this idea in mind.By mistake, Mamiko took the lead again.When Tomoko arrives at the scene, she happens to see Mamiko's back fleeing towards the emergency exit.Tomoko recognized Mamiko right away. The reason why he didn't stop her was because he didn't want anyone to know about his coming here. At that time, Mamiko hadn't thought that Masako had killed Masako.I only thought that she might have come here for some secret matter.Standing at the door of room 1043, I rang the bell but no one answered, only to find that the door was not locked properly, leaving a small gap.After opening the door, Masako was found dead. At that moment, he realized that the murderer was Mamiko.The motive now that I think about it is that I can't bear the extortion. Tomoko realizes that she has been spared another murder.Although the situation is different, I think of a similar scene twelve years ago.It was the same prisoner who saved her then.Twice the would-be murderer herself survived because the same person had taken her place.It was a total crime without premeditation.Tomoko's gratitude to the prisoner doubled again. At that time, a suit handkerchief dropped under the bed was found.It has the initials of MN on it, which is obviously Mamiko Nagai's stuff. Tomoko picked it up to protect Mamiko and to use it as counter-evidence in case she doubted herself. Just as the alarm clock rang when he walked out of the room, he was taken aback and ran away before closing the door.The door didn't seem to work very well.Masako set the alarm clock because she has a date with Tomoko. Fortunately, I was not seen by anyone, and I got out of the room smoothly. I used the phone in the hotel to call IN THE MOOD restaurant to cancel the seat.She hated being questioned by the police for being Masako's "Last Supper" companion. Nasty Masako is dead.The person who threatened him no longer exists.Yamahara was finally prosecuted for dereliction of duty and corruption. Now Tomoko is not so much relieved that she survived the crime as she is trapped in a deep void. It seems that the sense of guilt that the murderer should bear and the tension of fighting the pursuit of the judiciary have been snatched away by someone. To use an analogy, it’s like deciding what to buy, saving money diligently for it, and when you go to buy something with the money you have saved, you are only a little bit short of that item being bought by other customers who came first Gone in general. Recently every night, Tomoko would have the same dream.In a slimy, stinking river that flows through the middle of the city, fetuses that are beginning to rot are drifting in it.When I chased after her, it was Kasuya's face when she died, suddenly smiled and said to her, "I'll wait for you". When I woke up screaming, my whole body was covered in sweat. Zhizi realized that the series of events happening around her was the messenger of the nightmare that started with the fetus. (full text)