Chapter 10 Chapter Ten The Keyhole Three Years Ago

The rainy season is over, and the sky in Tokyo is showing a strong autumn color.But the search is still at a stalemate.During this period, the search headquarters established in various police stations also lost contact, and the police in the search headquarters of the Shibuya Bureau and the Shinjuku Bureau gradually lost contact. In mid-October, the long-lost vacation of the University of Shinjuku Bureau was approved.This is because there is no need to stay here if there is no progress in the investigation work.But this is different from the vacation after the case is solved, so although people are on vacation, they are not as relaxed mentally.

After idling all day watching TV and writing a few letters that should have been answered long ago, such precious vacation time passed. Since Da Shang was not in the mood to read newspapers and weekly magazines, his wife cut out and collected news that she thought would be useful for Da Shang's work.Dashang just browses these clippings every day while watching TV. Unexpectedly, there were really interesting reports among them. The news of "haunted houses in and around Tokyo" caught his attention.This is a series of reports. It is a "root-seeking" report in which reporters search for old buildings and paved houses left over from ancient times in the Tokyo area, and then trace the source and introduce the sources of these buildings.Among them, these buildings date from Wenjiu to the Qingying period (equivalent to 1863-1865 AD), and there are still stone carvings recording people's life at that time in some houses.

Later, when these houses were being repaired due to disrepair, bones were discovered at the construction site.It was suspected to be a homicide for a while.After forensic identification, it was proved that this was a human skeleton that had experienced more than a hundred years. These bones that have been buried for more than a hundred years have become materials of archaeological value, not criminological data. Da Shang was very interested in such reports.But these reports only have 5 issues, and there will be no more after that. "Hey, isn't this a continuous report? Why is it gone so soon?" Dashang immediately asked his wife.

"Hey, I don't specialize in editing haunted houses." The wife replied. "But aren't these related to my investigative work?" "That's right, you're looking at the back of the news I edited. Who told you to read these reports of haunted houses?" There was an unhappy expression on the wife's face. "What, I'm looking at the back?" "Yeah, look at the back of the news about the haunted house." Sure enough, on the back of the news about the haunted house series, there was news about missing people and running away from home on the social edition.

50% of those who ran away from home did not come back for more than three days, while the remaining 50% were people who had completely cut off news.Among them are the murders in which the victims were thrown away, some were buried in the mountains, some were sunk into the sea, and some went to other places and started a new life. These are the newspaper series about the continuing wishes of the families of those involved. "Oh, I'm sorry, I read it wrong. But these reports are also very interesting, and may be useful for investigations!" Oshang said to his wife. Indeed, this is what the Master said.So I decided to go to the reference room of the bureau to continue to learn about the report about the haunted house as soon as I go to work tomorrow.

Because at this moment a thought suddenly flashed into his mind: "If that's the case, is it possible that what Tarumi noticed was also the back of the newspaper clipping about the gathering of wild cats in Nagata Kazukan's garden?" There is no report on the Nagata family's wild cat in the wife's clipping report. "What are you nagging about?" My wife couldn't help asking when she saw Da Shang talking to herself. Asai was released on bail pending trial.Dashang, who went to work the next day, kept thinking about his thoughts on the newspaper clipping yesterday.

So he pulled out a notebook of newspaper clippings he found at Tarumi's house. On the back of this report about the Nagata wildcats is an interview with a very popular star.The general content is this. A very shocking character appeared!There is no enthusiasm without shock!Xiang Xixian, who is like a comet that suddenly rises, half of his life experience is like a mystery! Is he a bike gang?Is he a freelancer?Or is he a truck driver?Has he ever been a bartender who only picks up ladies?All kinds of speculations are flying in the sky.He said he was 21 years old, but no one knew his exact age.Some people say that his hometown is Nagano Prefecture, Japan, while others say that he is Korean.His mother is said to be Korean.He has no fixed place to live, and he is under the control of the producer to accept news interviews, and he is not free.But it's much more interesting to be interviewed like this.

His interview time is "limited to 10 minutes" for anyone.Although 10 minutes is too demanding, we still want to ask about his enigmatic half-life experience. "Do you want to know my past? Do you want to know my future?" he asked rhetorically. - Your "fans" want to know. "I have no past. I don't know my tomorrow." ——Your "fans" want to know about your tomorrow. "I don't have 'fans'. It's just me here. I'm only responsible to myself. If I have 'fans' I'd be upset. They can't bet on my life."

——What is your life? "Fight. And it's only worth winning." ——Are you victorious now? "I'm still alive today. That is to say, I'm still alive after fighting today, but I don't know if I'm still alive tomorrow." ——You are a typical momentary hedonist. "I only believe in reality. No matter how beautiful the language is to describe tomorrow, the real tomorrow may be swept away by the strong wind." — Do you have a lover? "It's not like there are no friends who are just in the relationship between men and women." —What is love to you?

"It's something that burns completely during dating time. There is no eternal love between a man and a woman. If one party cools off, the love is gone." ——We would like to hear what your ambitions for the future are if you don’t believe in tomorrow? "I want to go as far as possible." ——What do you think of Japanese politics? "I believe in Japan, but the politicians have no credibility, they just tell lies. What they said before they were elected is completely different from what they did after they were elected. The last thing I want to be is a politician."

——Why do you believe in Japan? “A country cannot survive without believing in itself.” —So you are a patriot? "That depends on how you understand it. Anyway, I don't hate Japan, at least I don't want to escape the country like Vietnamese refugees." — Finally, please talk about yourself. "I'm a sparrow. When the feathers are all gone, I fall. But even then I want to fly." The 10 minutes passed quickly, and his radical remarks were very eye-catching. He did not answer the interview with prepared official articles at all, and the language he used was also his usual habit. Xiangxi, who said that she still wants to fly with bones left, is full of confidence in her "flying" in the future. The name Xiang Xixian was only recently heard by the university.He had a mysterious first half of his life. He had a very sharp-edged face that was different from the Japanese, as if giving people a mask of nothingness. He was very elegant and good at acting. He was a star who had just become popular recently. His debut was when a major TV station held a large-scale youth drama audition to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its founding. He was a character who stood out from 50,000 applicants from all over Japan. He has good singing potential, and his unique style of ambiguous lyrics but slightly bass has made him famous in one fell swoop.Coupled with his enigmatic first half of his life, he has become a "high-quality stock" in the entertainment industry. This memorandum introducing him happened to be two articles on the front and back of a cut-out newspaper, along with the story about the cat in Nagata’s house. But it seems that Tarumi has no connection with Kosai Ken, or is Tarumi a "fan" of Kosai Ken?Da Shang went to ask Tarumi's wife. "This Xiangxixian, once before my husband accidentally said that the TV series he acted in was very good, and asked his name." "yes?" "Yeah, once I was watching a TV series he acted inadvertently, and my husband came home. He also told me that this TV series is very interesting. Because my husband doesn't like youth TV series, he said that he felt uncomfortable after watching it." "But he asked what his name was?" "Yeah, that time when I was about to turn off the TV, my husband said not to turn it off, and asked me the name of the heroine of the TV series." "and after?" "I told him that this person is Xiang Xixian, who has become very popular recently." "Your husband doesn't like youth TV dramas, and you asked his name?" "Yeah, I find it weird too. My husband not only doesn't like teen dramas, but he also said he hated the shape of his face. He also said where he had seen him before." "He said he'd seen him before?" "yes!" "Then what did your husband say afterwards?" "He never said anything about the man after that." "Does your husband have a favorite singer or celebrity?" "No wow! He is blind to entertainment. He can't even tell the stars that ordinary people know. He always wears a crown. There is no favorite star at all." "But he used to work as a secretary, so he should have dealt with many celebrities!" "Hey, he is a financial secretary, so he doesn't have much contact with people in the entertainment industry, right? Only a secretary who specializes in collecting political information will have such an opportunity!" "Afterwards, your husband never mentioned about Xiangxixian again?" "Yeah, he never mentioned him again after that." "Xiang Xixian is acting in a serial drama, your husband hasn't watched it consecutively?" "Then I don't know, because there is a TV in his study, maybe he will watch it there alone?" "Haven't you seen it with your wife?" "Anyway, we didn't watch it together afterwards." "Is there a VCR in his room?" "some." "Let's borrow his videotape." So Ogami borrowed the videotape kept by Tarumi from Tarumi's wife. Ogami finds out that Tarumi recorded the youth drama starring Kenishi Ken.Tarumi is very concerned about Konishi Ken being cleared! "Your husband keeps the newspaper clippings about Hyangseo-hyun, and is there any other material about Hyangseo-hyun?" "Sorry, I didn't notice." Da Shang told Niu Wei about his discovery. "Tarumi and Kasei Ken? What an interesting couple!" Ushio was also very interested. "There must be a reason for this." "However, in Nagata Kazukan's memorabilia, things about Konishi Ken happen occasionally! Maybe Tarumi is only interested in one of them?" "Tarumi, who knows nothing about entertainment, is so interested in Kosai. His wife confirmed it. It seems that she also heard that they met somewhere. The date of the newspaper clipping is the time after Kosai's series aired." "If Tarumi really met Kosai somewhere, it wouldn't be surprising that Tarumi is interested in him." "Yeah. But why did Tarumi cut the things about Xiangxi? It seems that he is secretly keeping his information. If he is really interested in him, or likes him, he should be with his wife in the future Watch his TV series! And in his study, you can also find the video tapes of Xiangxi's TV series, but he keeps it secretly, and he may be watching it alone. Why do you have to keep it secret from his wife? Is there any ulterior secret between him and Xiangxi?" "Yes, it seems that there is a lot to be said here!" Oxtail's eyes flashed with excitement. "Yeah, there must be something hidden between Tarumi and Kosai. Maybe it has something to do with Tarumi being killed!" "But we can't call a search meeting on the basis of this information alone." "Understood, we have to find out what's behind them!" "Then what about the relationship with Shimazaki Kiyoko?" "Shimazaki Kiyoko?" Dashang's eyes suddenly lit up, and his expression became agitated. "If there is a relationship between Kansai and Shimazaki, wouldn't it be more interesting?" Ushio's words implied a major inspiration. "what do you mean……" Dashang looked at Oxtail in astonishment, and Oxtail nodded: "Yeah, if there is a relationship between them, put the two of them in the position of robbing a taxi?" "Ushio-kun, this is impossible. Think about it, if Kosai had a relationship with Shimazaki three years ago, why would Shimazaki and Tarumi be killed three years after killing Kawagishi?" Dashang became excited, so he called Qingliu and Lianzuka. Three years ago, the still unknown Kosai and Shimazaki robbed the taxi together. The reason why Kosai did it was that he saw the huge sum of money that Tarumi left in the car. Three years later, Xiangxi became famous, and Tarumi followed him.This is Uxo's explanation of the relationship between the above three people. "Jianjian chased after Xiangxi, but how did he know Xiangxi?" Lianzuo asked a question. "I've been asked about this before. Tarumi probably recognized him as the passenger who got off and got on the bus with me back then. Passengers in the front get off and passengers in the back get on the bus. Such a scene is common. Well. Tarumi might have met Kosai at this time. But after he got out of the car, he realized that he forgot his money in the car. Later, the taxi driver who pulled him died, so Tarumi would of course think that this should be Xiangxi's hand, so of course it is impossible to get back the black money." "In other words, in front of the already famous Kosai, there appeared Tarumi who caught him three years ago? But to Kosai, he and Tarumi were just passengers who only met once in the night three years ago. , so the possibility of being remembered is not very high! At that time, he didn't have any special characteristics, so it doesn't make sense?" Lianzuka said. "There is Kiyoko Shimazaki! Wasn't she also killed? If it proves that there is a relationship between Kosai and her, isn't it very important to Kosai?" After a little flick of the oxtail, Lianzuo also became enlightened. At present, Xiangxi is the darling who has just come to the fore in the entertainment industry.The mere rumor that he may be involved in the murder will greatly affect his popularity.And there are still marks of the murderer on Qingzi's neck! "It is entirely possible that Tarumi saw Shimazaki who was with Kosai. Maybe Kosai also realized the reason why Shimazaki was killed. If Kosai has evil intentions, then Tarumi has actually become a triple threat." The triple threat mentioned here, of course, refers to the killing of Kawagishi and Shimazaki and the "accident" death of Ryoko Kirihara.It's just about Kirihara's incident, it's not clear whether Tarumi knew that this was also Konishi's work. "Before finding out the suspects who were killed by Kawagishi, Shimazaki, and Tarumi, we must first find out the relationship between Konishi and Shimazaki, so that we can go to the search meeting." Aoyagi said. "Yes, it may be possible to pass in this way." Ushio's proposal, which focused on Ogami's point of view, inspired the search of the headquarters. "This Xiang Xixian is a very popular star recently! It's not surprising that Tarumi is his underground 'fan'. However, he may feel embarrassed to follow stars like this at his age, so he hides it from his wife Right?" Some people explained it like this. "It doesn't make sense that Tarumi, who knows nothing about entertainment, would become Kosai's 'fan'? Didn't Tarumi tell his wife where he saw Kosai? Whether it's newspaper clippings or videotapes, it seems that there are so few materials. Still can't prove that he is Xiangxi's fan?" Uxo retorted. The plan of targeting Kosai as a key target is indeed a solution, but only by finding evidence that can prove the relationship between Kosai and Shimazaki can a new investigation situation be opened. However, there is no Kosai around Shimazaki at present. shadow. If the relationship between the two was deliberately concealed, then when Shimazaki died suspiciously, Kosai would act as if nothing had happened.So the search headquarters decided to conduct a secret reconnaissance on Xiangxi. First from his hand shape human hand.The police used his fans to ask for his hand to make souvenirs.Sure enough, his hand shape was as thick and powerful as a strong man, and it was exactly in line with the pinch mark left on Shimazaki's neck. And a scientific analysis of the distance between the index finger and other fingers in the pinch marks on Shimazaki's neck determined that the murderer's body height was also similar to Kosai's.So the doubts about Xiangxi intensified. During the random search phase, it is not yet possible to startle the snake.Just in time for Xiangxi to record a song.With the permission of the organizer, the police put forward the information about Xiangxi’s identity under the guise of the fans’ request. gave an ambiguous answer.As a result, the police failed to achieve their intended purpose. "Shimazaki and Setada Junichi changed their address and work place after they met. It must be related to the decision to break up with Kosai. In this way, her original address will definitely leave traces of Kosai. We should conduct another rigorous investigation. Investigate." Uxo said. No new clues were found in the previous investigation, that is, no new suspicious persons appeared.But this time it was an investigation that directly targeted Xiangxi alone.Because of his popularity, it's easy to find pictures of him.So the scout took his photo to investigate Shimazaki's former residence and workplace again. "Is it Xiang Xixian?" The administrator of Uehara's apartment responded immediately. "Do you have any clues?" Da Shang also leaned over excitedly and asked. "Half a month ago, I met the president of our industry association, Takeuchi Machiuchi. He said that he saw Mr. Kosai in the window of this apartment three years ago!" "Really? Which window is it?" Oxtail who came with him also asked very excitedly. "He said it was the window at the end of the fourth floor. Because the mayor of the town is very interested in observing wild birds, he often set up a telescope at home to observe the changes of birds in the city, and it happened to be when spring was coming. With the improvement of the environment, there are more rare birds. When the chairman was observing by chance, he said that he found Xiangxi's face in the window of our apartment." "Please tell us the address of the president." Uxo and the others decided to rush to the president's house as soon as possible.Because if this discovery is true, then Kanishi Ken lived in this Uehara apartment, and that room happened to be the room where Kiyoko Shimazaki lived.So the link between the two finally had a clue. The house of the town president is very close to here. It is a very old building. There are many wooden boxes of bird's nests hanging on the trees in the small courtyard. The town president was taken aback by the sudden visit of the police.When he knew that the purpose of the police was to ask him about seeing Xiang Xixian in the window, he said very proudly: "Yeah, the face I remember is indeed Xiang Xixian! Because he didn't have a name three or four years ago, but he has already started to appear on TV. My daughter is a fan of him, so I asked her about this in the TV show. She told me that he was a very popular star, and then I thought I should go to him and ask for his autographed photo for my daughter! It must be him!" The president of the town is very proud of this discovery now. "You saw him once three or four years ago!" "His face shape is very characteristic! Because he looks like a European and American, with a very angular face." "Which window of Uehara's apartment is the room he is in?" "That's the window!" The president pointed to the window on the far side of the fourth floor, which was the room where Kiyoko Shimazaki lived. "Did you see him just once at this window?" "I really paid attention to it later, but it was just that one time." "Do you remember the exact time?" "I can't remember the exact time, but it must have been the fall of three years ago, around the beginning of November? Because at that time there were shrikes on the iron fence of the Uehara apartment. I was watching the shrike I saw Mr. Xiang Xixian by chance. He was not famous at that time, so I thought he was living alone at that time. A few days ago we met and talked about this topic, and then we mentioned that he lived there alone. No one came to visit anyway." "At that time there was a Shrike?" Oxtail asked in surprise. "That's right! Because that's the time when there are few prey. It usually eats insects, frogs, lizards, etc." Based on this discovery, the Shibuya and Shinjuku police stations decided to study whether to conduct a forensic investigation against Kasei Ken. At the same time, it was also decided to merge the search headquarters of the two police stations, with the senior Nasu as the person in charge. Although only one person saw Xiang Xixian three years ago, it would be risky to investigate him with such clues, but I decided to ask him directly. Because he is currently a popular star, contacting him in the name of deliberate murder will definitely have a bad impact on his popularity. In order to maintain his reputation, he finally felt that he was summoned secretly.Calling him to the police station was too obvious, so it was decided to send him to a restaurant for a meeting. On November 13, with the consent of the entertainment company that Xiang Xixian belongs to, the police met with him. The entertainment company was very surprised at the beginning, but the police told them that if they refused, it would incur greater risks, so they had no choice but to agree.Xiangxi also agreed to the police's request. On this day, accompanied by her manager, Kosai arrived at a hotel room in Shinjuku that had been prepared in advance.Reporters in the literary and art circles seem to have not discovered Xiangxi's whereabouts. The police asked the manager to wait in the lobby. The police were opposite Nasu and Xiangxi, and Ushio and Osami assisted in the investigation.The police officers were all in civilian clothes. Xiangxi, who has just made her debut and became popular, exudes arrogance all over her body.Moreover, the police deliberately did not explain to him in advance that it was about the investigation of the murder. "I'm sorry to bother you to have a meeting today in the midst of your busy schedule." Nasu greeted him politely first. "It doesn't matter, as long as I pass my agent. Recently, the TV station, photography agency, newspaper agency, weekly magazine that asked me to meet, invited me to speak, etc., have a lot of things, and they all have schedules. Is it also arranged this time?" Shanxi shrugged his shoulders and replied.He thought it was a routine interview with a certain TV station. "It was a great honor to arrange our meeting. Since sir is very busy, we will cut to the chase. Do you know Kiyoko Shimazaki?" Nasu got straight to the point, and the other policemen were watching Kansi's facial expressions closely. "Shimazaki Kiyoko...ah, I have a lot of female friends, but I can't remember them all of a sudden." "Not your current friend, at least a female friend for more than three years." "More than three years? Then I don't remember clearly." Xiangxi was a little confused. "It's Miss Shimazaki Kiyoko who lives in Room 406 of Uehara Apartment in Yoyogi, in early November three years ago." "Gee, I really don't remember." Shanxi's face was expressionless. "I don't remember? Have you been there?" "No, I haven't been to any apartment in Uehara." "Someone saw you at Kiyoko Shimazaki's house in Uehara's apartment." Nasu followed closely. "Is that person wrong? I haven't been there at all." "Then let's put this question aside, do you know Tarumi Ryokatsu?" Nasu changed the subject. "No, I don't know." "Where's Kazuyoshi Kawagishi?" "I don't know either." "And what about Ryoko Kirihara?" "I've never heard of this name." Xiangxi replied firmly. "Where do you live now?" "It was arranged by the company. I live in Yuan Azabu's apartment." "What about three years ago?" "Three years ago..." Xiangxi paused. "I moved back and forth, sometimes staying at a friend's house, and sometimes sleeping in a park. At that time, I didn't have a fixed place to live." "Do you have no fixed place? Just move around at a friend's house?" "Hey, I went everywhere at that time, and sometimes I just stayed at a friend's house for a night or two, so I can't remember where I stayed on a particular day. They were friends, and some of them were just acquainted for a few days." "So have you been to Nishi-Shinjuku and Nakatsu Valley?" "Nishishinjuku and Nakatsu Valley? What's going on here?" Xiangxi's expression didn't change at all, and his indifference made people feel that he was pretending deliberately. "Let's ask another question, where were you on the night of September 18 three years ago, and on the nights of March 16 and June 17 this year?" "September 18 three years ago... It's been too long, I really can't remember it." "So March 16th and June 17th are not far away this year, remember?" "I'm a puppet controlled by the company! Just ask my agent." As a result, there was no progress in this forensics.This is what the police did not expect. But the first contact with Kosai made Nasu's suspicion of him even firmer. "We asked the names of Shimazaki, Tarumi, Kawagishi, and Kirihara, but he replied that he didn't know any of them, and he didn't ask who they were. Generally speaking, when he was asked about people he didn't know, I must ask what kind of relationship these people have with me. The same is true about Nishi-Shinjuku and Nakatsu Valley. Shinjuku doesn’t matter if you don’t ask, because people who have lived in Tokyo for a long time are very familiar there, but Nakatsu Valley doesn’t go there often. Yes! It seems that he must know where the Nakatsu Valley is." Uxo said. "His answer is also subtle. At the beginning, he said that he knew a lot of women, but when he said he couldn't remember, it seemed too sudden when he didn't have any clues. For example, Shimazaki, Xiangxi was not Shimazaki is famous, so Shimazaki should be one of the few women he knows, but he has denied all of them. So, if he admits knowing Shimazaki, he must think that it will have a bad influence on him." Ogami went on to say the same Said. "The problem is the bunch of keys." As Nasu said, he took out the bunch of keys that Setada and the others provided.But this time the police did not show Xiangxi the bunch of keys. "Three years ago, Kansai said that his address was not fixed. Then one of the keys belonged to Shimazaki's previous residence. If we find out from him that the other key is related to him, we will win." He said In those days, I lived casually at a friend’s house and in a park, but it must have something to do with where he lived at the time. Judging from the fact that this one belongs to Shimazaki, the other one must have something to do with where he lived!” "We must find out where he lived three years ago!" Ushio and the others understood Nasu's intentions. But Shanxi's first half of his life is a mystery to many people, and his company can't tell. Can the police find out where he lived three years ago under such circumstances?The investigative work is again facing a thick wall.