Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The Invited Clue

Late at night on December 17 near the end of the year, a car was parked in a small alley in Kita-Shinjuku 2-chome, and it had not moved. Because of the secret activities of the land developers nearby, the idle land seems to have been gnawed by insects, forming shadows under the super high-rise buildings. The car was parked next to a clearing surrounded by a makeshift wall.After the car stopped there, several pedestrians walked by.But they were all on their way in such a hurry that they didn't have time to observe the situation in the car.There were no other unauthorized vehicles on the side of the road.There were no lovers in the car, and there were no drunks peeking into the car nearby.

Around 3:00 in the morning, there were almost no pedestrians on the street.At this time, a figure appeared.Unlike the hasty pace of the previous pedestrians, this person staggered staggeringly, like a tramp.Most of the homeless who make their nest in Shinjuku are concentrated in the Kabukicho area and the West Exit ticket gate to the new downtown underground sidewalk.It's really rare to see around here.Probably new homeless people stumbled here by mistake. He approached the car parked at the edge of the clearing and looked in through the car window, as if looking for something.His eyes were attracted by a person lying across the driver's seat.He fixedly stared at the sleeping driver in the car, he was observing the driver's appearance.With the faint light in the distance, he could see that what flowed from the driver's head and flowed from the seat to the floor, solidified into a sticky pool of liquid.At this moment, he was stunned.Then, he ran away in shock, and a pedestrian walked over at this time.

"No... It's terrible! The car inside the person is dead!" He panicked and spoke incoherently.Pedestrians looked in through the windows to confirm that the person lying in the driver's seat was dead. After 3 o'clock in the morning on December 17, Ushio Zheng of the Shinjuku Bureau's Criminal Section 1, who was on duty in the department, reported directly that a man's body was found in a car parked on Kita Shinjuku 2-chome Road, and rushed to the scene.The discoverers were a homeless man who happened to pass by and a company employee who lived in a nearby apartment.

The site is located in Kita Shinjuku, which echoes the super high-rise buildings of Nishi Shinjuku across Ome Street.Just across the street, on the opposite side is a completely different world of low-rise dwellings and a borough mood.Old wooden apartments and public canteens still linger among the buildings.But those are dying days too, and soon they will be squeezed out by land developers, bulldozed, and the streets will be as worm-eaten as they are worm-eaten. The car where the body was located was a 2000GT from N Company, and the deceased was a 25-year-old man.The back of the head seemed to have been hit with a blunt instrument, and the skull had collapsed scars.The doors were unlocked.The appearance of the deceased seemed to have been killed not long ago, and the blood in the pool formed between the seat and the floor had not yet completely solidified; and it was confirmed that there were rope marks (marks of rope strangling) on ​​the neck of the deceased.At that time, the murderer should have used a blunt instrument to knock the deceased unconscious, and then wrapped a rope around the neck of the deceased to suffocate him.According to the driver's license and vehicle inspection certificate in the car, the name of the deceased was Yasushi Masukawa, 25 years old.There was about 200,000 yen in cash in the arms of the deceased, which was not snatched by the murderer.It appears that the motive for the crime was not robbery of valuables.

"It was shot from behind." After observing the corpse, Uxtail said. "Are you saying that the murderer sat in the back seat and then attacked the deceased from behind?" Partner Aoyagi added to Ushio's words. "From the location of the wound, it probably looks like this. If you're sitting in the passenger seat, you won't be able to raise the murder weapon suddenly. And if you're sitting in the passenger seat, the location of the wound will be different." "However, the murderer can also take advantage of the opportunity when the deceased looks to the right, and swing the murder weapon at the back of the deceased's head from the passenger seat."

"There's that possibility too, but it's quite difficult to find an opportunity to strike while sitting in the passenger seat with a murder weapon in your hand. Usually it will be discovered." "If you sit in the back seat, it's really easier to do it." "Depending on the situation, the victim should be hit with a blunt instrument first to make him lose his resistance, and then slowly strangle him by the neck." There was no sign of a fight in or near the taxi.Super high-rise buildings can be seen from the scene of the accident.There are also lighted windows in the building, and those high-altitude windows look down at a scene of human tragedy with expressionless faces.This is a crime staged in the narrow gaps of the city.

"There's something here." Qing Liu picked up something from under the driver's seat.It was a piece of paper the size of a business card, with a woman drawn on it, with eyes as exaggerated as the eyes of women in cartoons.The caption reads "Beauty delivered home, any woman you like will come to the restaurant or your home".There is also a phone number printed on the side. "Is it the business card (advertising leaflet) of the prostitution hotel?" Oxtail said to himself. "This victim may be the driver of a black car dedicated to prostitution hotels." Qingliu said.

"Quickly check the situation of the prostitution hotel on that business card." The kind of prostitution hotels that send women to hotels and residences generally have their own dedicated taxis without driver's licenses.Without a driver, there is no way to deliver a woman to a requesting client.At the same time, the driver can also act as a bodyguard in case of disputes between guests and women.The prostitution hotel was shocked to hear the news.Ushio and the others thought that the prostitution hotel would pretend to be confused and not admit it, but they didn't expect the hotel to quickly admit that Sheng Chuan was the exclusive driver of the hotel to pick up and drop off women.Originally, the business card of the prostitution hotel was found in Shengchuan's car, which did not necessarily prove that Shengchuan was the black car driver who belonged to the prostitution hotel.However, the owner of the prostitution hotel confirmed that the victim was Seung Chuan.According to the hotel operator, contact was lost after Sheng Chuan sent the woman to a super high-rise hotel at the west exit of Shinjuku around 1:00 a.m. that day.And when the woman arrived at the summoned man's room, she found it empty.Around that time, the victim confronted the killer after dropping the woman off at a restaurant.Then, at 3 a.m., the victim's body was found on Kita Shinjuku Road under the hotel building.

In order to find witnesses, the police spread a wide net around the scene of the search.Because the site is close to the super high-rise street in the new city center and the Kabuki street in the night city at the east exit, there should be pedestrians passing by at that time.The bodies were found by homeless people and company employees passing by the scene.The male homeless man came to Tokyo from other places to work, because he couldn't find a job, and he ran out of money. While wandering around Shinjuku, he inadvertently turned to the scene and found the body. In the afternoon, the body underwent an autopsy.The cause of death was suffocation caused by wire rope (rope) binding the neck and compressing the neck.In other words, the deceased was judged to have been strangled.The collision injury caused by the blunt force blow to the back of the deceased's head was not fatal.According to the police, the murderer first hit the victim with a blunt instrument to make him faint, and then tightened the rope around his neck, resulting in his death.No injuries, such as trauma and struggle, were found on other parts of the body.The estimated time of death, if calculated backwards from the time of autopsy, is about 10 to 12 hours, that is to say, the estimated time of death is between 1:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on December 17.If the fact of the crime had occurred at the minimum estimated time of death, the body would have been discovered immediately after the crime had ended.For this crime committed in the cracks of the city, the murderer also took a great risk. On December 18, the search headquarters was established at the Shinjuku Bureau.

Hearing the news that Yasushi Masukawa was killed on TV, Ochiai was deeply shocked. After Gu Ze, Sheng Chuan was killed again, and the two were killed only about half a month apart.Guests attending the Ochiai wedding were killed one after another after the wedding.And Zhu Shi showed an abnormal look of terror to the two people sitting at the same table in the wedding.Now it can be determined that there must be some relationship between Zhu Shi and the two of them.However, Zhu Shi was indeed at home on the day of the crime, and Ochiai could be her alibi witness.Zhu Shi could not be the murderer.But even if Zhu Shi is not the murderer, there is no doubt that he must have some connection with this crime.

"Did you know that Shengchuan was killed!" Ochiai examined his wife's reaction. "Shengchuan? Who is it?" There was no reaction on Zhu Shi's face, the same as when he heard that Gu Ze was killed.But this time, no matter how Ochiai looked at his wife's face, he used his willpower to control his fake expression. "He came to our wedding with Gu Ze. One of the two people you said you hate." "Oh, that junior of yours..." Finally, Zhu Shi's expression fluctuated a little. "We haven't been married for three months, and two people who attended our wedding were killed one after another. Isn't it unusual? You fainted when you saw those two people, it must have been a big blow, right? You must be with What happened between them. No matter what happened, I won’t blame you, you tell me what happened. Husband and wife are partners who talk to each other when they have troubles.” Ochiai tried to persuade his wife to tell the truth . "I'm sorry for worrying you. But I really don't have anything to worry about. I saw those two people for the first time at the wedding. I had nothing to do with those two people being killed. I think it was just a coincidence. .” "I don't think so. The person you saw in your nightmare appeared in reality, and Mu Jiu was killed after we got married. This is by no means accidental. I don't want to ask about your past. I'm just worried about your safety." "My safety...why?" Zhu Shi felt a little inconceivable. "Both Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan were killed one after another. The murderer may regard you as the next target." "Why would I become the murderer's target after Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan were killed? I have nothing to do with those two people, and those two people are not necessarily killed by the same murderer." After Zhu Shi said this, Ochiai suddenly woke up.Because Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan were killed one after another, he believed that the two crimes were committed by the same murderer.But it cannot be concluded that it is a serial murder case committed by the same murderer.Gu Ze's murder and Sheng Chuan's murder belonged to different police jurisdictions, and the police also launched investigations as independent crimes.And Ochiai just because the two people who attended his wedding were killed one after another in a short period of time, it was inferred that this was a serial murder case in which the two were killed by the same murderer.It is also possible that they were killed by different killers with different motives. However, the police do not know that Zhu Shi is very afraid of those two people, and that they both attended Ochiai's wedding and sat at the same table.Had the police known these things, they might have considered the two crimes in connection. "I'm really worried about your safety. As a husband, I have the responsibility to protect my wife." Just as Zhu Shi sensed the danger from Furusawa and Shengchuan, Ochiai also sensed a certain dangerous atmosphere wafting around Zhu Shi.However, it is unclear whether this dangerous aura came quietly from the outside world, or whether it was emitted by Zhu Shi himself. "You worry too much. It is impossible for anyone to have plans for me. You are protecting me as your wife with great care, so there is no danger around me. " Zhu Shi smiled softly.Her face was that of a wife who trusts in her husband's love, blissfully immersed in honeymoon bliss.Looking at his wife's smiling face, Ochiai thought, maybe I'm really suspicious. However, what if Zhu Shi was involved with Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan, as Ochiai was worried about?If Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan were killed by the same murderer with the same criminal motive, would the murderer's next target be Zhu Shi?So far, Ochiai has always put his wife in the opposite position to Furusawa and Masukawa, that is, the position of the murderer.But now Ochiai even has an ominous premonition: Could it be that Zhu Shi, who is afraid of these two people, instigated the murderer to kill them?However, it is also possible that the wife and the victim are on the same page. The murderer's motivation for killing those two people may also apply to Zhu Shi.If this is the case, then his next target is Zhu Shi.But these are just Ochiai's wild conjectures.Just like what Zhu Shi said just now, maybe the killing of the two happened independently of each other, so the incident has nothing to do with her.Those are just my own paranoia, and I really shouldn't let my wife worry about it.Ochiai was so reluctant to convince himself. The Shinjuku Bureau held the first search meeting, at which the initial search policy was decided. 1. Seek witnesses. 2. Find the murder weapon. 3. Investigate the whereabouts of the victim before his death. 4. Investigate the victim's previous interpersonal relationship. 5. Investigate the motive for the murder. 6. Search the prostitution hotel where the victim belongs, and ask the residents near the residence. The victim started working as a black car driver about two months ago, and had been working for a transportation company in the city center before.According to the investigation, the victim was very serious when working in the transportation company.However, his drinking ethics is very poor, and he will become emotional and violent when he is drunk, so he is very cautious about drinking.I once quarreled with my colleagues two or three times because of drinking, but under the persuasion of the people around me, nothing major happened.The victim graduated from a private university in the city center. After graduating, he had nothing to do for a period of time. Soon after, he joined a transportation company and resigned as a black car driver two months ago.It was also not found that he had any close relationship with women when he was working in the transportation company and when he was a black car driver.The women in the prostitution hotel are just picking up and dropping off, and there is no special relationship. The police did not find any clues to connect with the murderer from Shengchuan's residence.Ushio's partner Qingliu finds an invitation card for a wedding banquet in the old letters sent to the victim.The names of the bride and groom are Shigeru Ochiai and Atsushi Nakahashi.The date is October 4th.It was just an ordinary wedding invitation. "I was killed two and a half months after going to the wedding banquet." Qingliu muttered to herself. "Did you find anything?" Oxtail stared at the thing in Qingliu's hand. "Found this." "Oh, a wedding invitation? I seem to have heard the name of the matchmaker Ginjiro Tsuruoka somewhere." Ushio's gaze stayed on the name of the matchmaker. "Ginjiro Tsuruoka? Is it Tsuru-Gin?" Qing Liu unconsciously said the abbreviation of the matchmaker's name. "Crane Yin? Yes, it is Crane Silver. This person has retired now. Could it be that this matchmaker is the leader of the economic world after World War II, the so-called prime minister of the economic world, Tsuruoka Ginjiro?" "Oh, that Tsuruoka Ginjiro?! Isn't it two people with the same name and surname?" "I think it's that person. If Heyin is the matchmaker in person, it would be really amazing. This restaurant is also first-class, it seems that Heyin is right." "That means the victim was invited to the wedding where Heyin was the matchmaker?" "It is impossible for the victim to know Heyin, it should be the relationship between the parents, or know one of the groom or the bride." "Then, from this clue, we may be able to find out the victim's interpersonal relationship." This wedding invitation card is very likely to be a powerful clue to clarify the victim's interpersonal relationship.