Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen The Unknown Witness

Ochiai was stunned by the image of himself illuminated by the flash of inspiration.As if the lightning in the dark night illuminated something hidden in the darkness in an instant, he pursued the specific image of the illuminated person.The image that had been hidden in the dark until now was clearly brought out.Rather than saying that this image is hidden, it is better to say that it is like the man in black in Kabuki, which has always existed on this stage. When Ochiai talked with Iakata Ayuko, they speculated that there might be a fourth murderer besides Sayama, Guzawa, and Shengchuan. the presence of witnesses.

However, both of these speculations have increased the number of characters in the incident, and the scene has become too lively.Moreover, if a new witness is added, it cannot be explained that this person must know the fact that the criminal gang also saw him.Of course, it can be considered that this person is an eyewitness who appeared after Jai Kayata and Zhu Shi.But maybe he is not a new character added, but has been on the scene as a party to the incident from the very beginning.Maybe his presence was just unnoticed. Ochiai thought of this possibility from the fact that he hitchhiked home from the hotel with his companions.When Teruko Izumi drove home from work, she wasn't necessarily alone.Just because her body was found alone in the car that sank in the pond, police concluded she was alone.But maybe her companions, no, maybe her hitchhikers.And when the hitchhiker saw her in danger, he abandoned her and ran away.

Ochiai remembered that when he and Ayuko were talking about the third witness, he had said to Ayuko: "For example, if a police officer or firefighter witnesses a crime but does not help, if it becomes public, then he is not eligible to be a police officer or firefighter." Assume that the person riding with Teruko Igaro is a police officer or firefighter, and because he saw a three-to-one unfavorable situation, he gave up fighting the murderer, abandoned her and ran away.He should never let others know about such a thing. Because this is not only a matter of professional ethics, but also something that a man will feel guilty about all his life.

Coincidentally, the newspaper also reported that the fifty-year-old Keifu Nono was arrested for the attempted murder of Hidemo Sayama and confessed to killing Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan.Fifty Gongye's criminal motive is to avenge his murdered daughter.Fifty public confessions said that an anonymous woman secretly informed him of the murderer's name and identity, and this anonymous woman should be Zhu Shi.All this verified Ayuko's reasoning.While Zhu Shi witnessed the crime of the three people, it is very likely that he also saw the person who was riding with Teruko.Therefore, Zhu Shi disappeared.If Caizi extends her reasoning, it is very possible to guess who the murderer is in the end, and Caizi's own personal safety is also in danger.

Ochiai wanted to tell Ayuko what he thought.However, Ayuko happened to be away from home, so she couldn't get in touch.Ochiai reckoned that it might be late that Ayuko should have gone home, so he called later, but still no one answered the phone.Ochiai became a little uneasy, and began to make wild guesses in his heart.Could it be that she found a new job after her husband disappeared and came home late because of work?Or is she also a woman who can't stand loneliness, can't stay alone in the empty room, and went out to spend the night with her new lover?Ochiai waited all night, and on the morning of April 6, he called Ayuko's house again, but there was still no answer.Ochiai was visibly upset now.This anxiety is similar to the anxiety when Zhu Shi disappeared.Maybe the reason for the disappearance of Aizi is similar to that of Jiaxing and Zhu Shi, and she was also threatened by the murderer? , if such an assumption is true, then the murderer may be the man in the fifty-kilometer car.Ochiai heard Ayuko tell her the address of her home, and after getting up, he decided to visit her home.

The apartment where Ayuko lives is at Akatsu 4-chome near Matsubara Station on the Setagaya Line.She lives in a small second-floor apartment facing the fields that is rarely seen in today's cities.There are two families living on the first and second floors of the apartment, and Ayuko's house is the one on the left on the first floor. Ochiai stood at the door and rang the bell, at which time the door to the room on the right opened.A man in his mid-thirties came out and seemed to be going to work. "Ms. Kagata doesn't seem to be at home." The neighbor accosted Ochiai who rang the doorbell meaninglessly.Behind him, a woman who seemed to be his wife was looking towards Ochiai.The two appear to be newlyweds as well.Judging from the newness of the apartment, it seems that it is a honeymoon apartment specially prepared for newly married families.

"Mrs. Kagata left yesterday morning." The woman inside told Ochiai over her husband's shoulder.She looked at Ochiai curiously. "Did she say where she was going?" "Nothing. But it looks like he's going on a trip." "Traveling?" "I don't know. I think so." "What time was that yesterday?" "I think it was about seven o'clock." From this point of view, Ochiai contacted Ayuko after she went out.The earliest report that Keifu Nono confessed to killing Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan came out yesterday morning.Maybe Ayuko didn't see that report, and Ochiai immediately felt an ominous premonition.

This time, Ochiai didn't hide his premonition in his heart.He got in touch with the Shinjuku criminal he met last time when he came to investigate.At this time, Sayama had already confessed to his crime, but in order to search for evidence, the police concealed the progress of the incident from the news media.Upon hearing Ochiai's report, Ushio and Aoyanagi came over immediately.Their response was very fast.But their quick reaction made Ochiai even more uneasy.Could it be that the police had some clues, so they reacted so quickly?Ochiai told Ushio and Aoyagi about his speculation.In this regard, the two seem to have shown great interest.

"You mean there's someone else in the same car as Teruko Isukone? The person in the car abandoned Teruko, and he's the reason why your wife and Mr. Kagata disappeared?" "Yes. And the whereabouts of Igata Ayuko was also unknown yesterday." "I just didn't know where I went for a day, so don't worry too much." "If nothing happened, of course it would be best. However, even with the confessions of the two murderers, Mrs. Kagata's husband and my wife are still missing. Before the two murderers confessed, we suspected that the disappearance of the two of them was the murder of a woman." The clerk and the killers of Furusawa and Masukawa. But now I understand that's not the case, and the suspect has disappeared. So she may be getting closer to the truth. If she thinks like me There was a passenger at the time, and if the passenger also realized that he had been spotted by her, then she would be very dangerous."

"Are you saying that Ayuko Igata has clues about the passenger?" "Maybe she will. She may hear about it from her husband." "If Igata Ayuko has heard about that passenger from her husband, she will be aware of that person's existence." "I don't think it's a question of whether the passenger exists, but Mr. Kagata may know the identity of the passenger." "That means the passenger and Mr. Kagata know each other?" "yes." "Therefore, when Kagata witnessed the crime, he should also have recognized the passenger."

"This is the same as my wife's situation. She didn't know the murderer at the scene of the crime. It may be that after the case happened, she met the passenger again by chance. When they met again, Jiaxing I remembered that the other party was the passenger, and his reaction at that time might have been seen by Ayuko. This is similar to how I saw my wife’s fear of Furusawa and Masukawa at the wedding.” "That makes sense. So you think Ayuko Iakata was taken somewhere by that passenger." "I think so." "She noticed that there was a passenger when Ishikono Teruko was killed. If the passenger knew about it, her life would be in danger." Ushio was gradually attracted by Ochiai's reasoning. "Mr. Ochiai, did you say you saw Ayuko Iagata after she disappeared?" "I've seen it twice. One time, she came to see me. During the discussion, she speculated that her husband and Zhu Shi were both witnesses to the murder scene of Teruko Ishikono." "Did she say at that time that she had been contacted by anyone after her husband disappeared?" "I haven't heard her say that." "Do you think that if the person who took the 50-kilometer car was related to the disappearance of your wife and Iagata Ayuko's husband, he would have noticed Iagata Ayuko later? That is to say, your concern stems from Igata Ayuko. Ayuko's husband may tell Ayuko that this passenger exists." "That's right. The passenger may subtly approach Ayuko Iakata, before she notices that she is the passenger, and become the object of discussion after her husband disappears." "If she goes out with this person, what will happen?" Ochiai and Ushio asked each other's eyes. "Could she have gone to the home of Shigongye Keefe? If she doesn't know that Shigongye has confessed to her crime, she will most likely go to Shigongye's house." "If she went to the home of Fifty Gongye, she might be silenced by passengers who already knew the facts of the report." "Contact the Kumagai Department immediately, and we will go to Kumagai City immediately." "Can I go too?" Ochiai asked.Oxtail agreed to his request.At the same time, Fukuyama is also responsible for sending Sayama to Kumagai Office today. When talking with Ushio, Ochiai confirmed his uneasiness even more.If his reasoning is correct, then the passenger should have noticed Ayuko's movements.In order to hide the fact that the suspect fled the scene, he had already killed two people to silence him.Then he should kill the third person without hesitation.Ochiai felt this certain uneasiness clogged in his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. Okamoto drove his own car and picked up Ayuko at the agreed place.Then, the two drove north along the Kan-Etsu Expressway from Higashimatsuyama to Kumagaya City.The home of Fifty Kilometers is just on the way.It is the season of cherry blossoms, and the road is full of gorgeous and open cherry trees, swaying its petals in the spring breeze.The field is full of spring, as if to release the vitality that has been suppressed all winter.The flying petals flew in from the open car window from time to time, and Ayuko couldn't help sighing softly. "What's wrong?" Okamoto asked Ayuko from the driver's seat. "The petals of the cherry blossoms flew in." "It's spring before you know it." Okamoto said as if he had just noticed. "You are so busy studying every day, and you are called out. I am really embarrassed." "It's a day off anyway, so I have nothing to do at home. I'm glad I can help you." According to Okamoto, he will go to the Judicial Training Institute from April to July, and then go to the local government until November next year. Okamoto is currently training as a lawyer at a law firm in Tokyo. Okamoto looked at Ayuko with scorching eyes, but Ayuko interpreted this as the light shining.It's not that she doesn't know Okamoto's intentions.But now her husband still doesn't know where she is, and she can't sort out her mood. After turning from the Higashi Matsuyama IC (exit of the expressway) to the local road in the direction of Kumagai City, the spring feeling is getting stronger and stronger.From here, you can already see the water surface of Onuma. There are wild cherry trees growing beside this mud pond. It seems that waste oil is floating on the water surface. It has fully absorbed the spring light today, so it seems that there is no smell of corruption. They came to the door of Shifu Gongye's house.The eaves are crooked, and the courtyard is deserted. It is obvious that no one lives there.Asked about the neighbor, the neighbor said: "Mr. Wu Gongye was arrested by the police. Didn't you read the newspaper?" Ayuko was surprised to hear the news.In order to go out early this morning, she didn't read the newspaper or watch TV.Okamoto seems to have just heard of it. "I'm sorry. I came from Tokyo very early today, so I didn't have time to read the newspaper. I'm very sorry. If you have a newspaper, can you lend it to us?" The newspaper borrowed from the neighbors contained a news report that Shikono confessed that he had killed Gu Ze and Sheng Chuan, and this report occupied a large section of the society page. "The murderer is Fifty Gongye?" Ayuko could hardly calm herself down. "The report in the newspaper did not elaborate on the situation, but the police will certainly start from the fact that Isakino was arrested when he attacked Sayama in order to avenge his daughter, and even made Sayama the suspected murderer of Isakino Teruko." "So, maybe Sayama hid my husband and Ochiai-san's wife?" "possible." "But what motive did he have for doing this?" "As you say, because they witnessed his crime." "However, I still don't think Sayama has anything to do with the disappearance of my husband and Mrs. Ochiai." "why?" "I also told Mr. Ochiai that if Sayama wants to silence the witnesses, he must know the fact that his crime was witnessed. Moreover, if he knew this fact, he would do it on the spot. If he is later and witnesses If the victim only realizes the fact of being witnessed when they meet again, he will think that since the witness who witnessed the crime did not report the crime because of fear at the time, even if he later found out the identity of the murderer, he would not have revealed it. How? Look, I don't think the two disappearances have anything to do with Sayama." "If it has nothing to do with Sayama, then who is hiding your husband and Ochiai Atsushi?" "Senior and I came to see Fifty Kono together, and I suddenly thought of one thing, did Igaro Teruko also have companions at that time?" "Fifty Kono Teruko has a companion?" "That's right. Because Miss Fifty Kono was sunk into the pond alone, the general view is that she was alone when the incident happened. But there is no evidence that she was alone at the time. Just like me now It’s the same as riding in the senior’s car, maybe someone was in the same car with her at that time.” "If there is a passenger, then that person will protect her against the mob. Even if she does not resist, she should report to the police afterwards." "But that person didn't do that. I also think it was a man who was in the victim's car." "However, no intimate men were found around the victim." "Even if the relationship is not that close, if you go in the same direction, it is possible to give that person a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker saw that Miss Teruko was in danger, abandoned her because of fear, and ran away by himself. He made such a He will be condemned by his own conscience, and he dare not say his name afterwards." "If you are condemned by your conscience, shouldn't you report the crime?" "Kagata gave up his ambition to be a lawyer for some reason. He said that he was not qualified to be a lawyer, maybe because he witnessed the scene where Ms. Teruko was killed, but did not lend a helping hand. Therefore, psychological guilt made him give up. The idea of ​​being a lawyer. Similarly, the person who hitches a ride with Ms. Teruko is also someone related to the judiciary, or someone with the same ambition, or maybe a policeman, so he must not reveal his name." "Interesting speculation. But do young women give a lift at night to a man they don't know or someone passing by?" "Maybe the other party was kind, and maybe the other party's career seemed reliable, so I let him take a ride. There have been cases of young women being killed by uniformed police officers before. It was because the young woman believed in the police officer who visited at night, so that he He was killed when he entered the house. In short, everyone believes in uniforms." "Do hitchhikers also wear uniforms that young women can trust?" "We should consider that possibility. The idea that the victim was the only one at the time of the incident is a preconceived notion." "If this reasoning is true, then why did the hitchhiker hide your husband and Atsushi Ochiai after three years?" "I don't know yet." "Then what do we do next?" The fifty people who were supposed to visit had already been detained by the police, so their visit was meaningless. "Shall we go to the Kumagai City Police Station?" "To the Kumagai City Police Station?" "I want to meet the criminal police in charge of this case and ask about the situation in detail." "Will the police tell us?" "My husband may have disappeared in connection with the events that took place here." "Okay. Since we're here, let's go to Kumagaya City." Okamoto didn't seem too enthusiastic.They drove from Shishigongye's house to Kumagai City.When I visited the Kumagai Bureau, Fukuyama, the detective in charge of the case, was on a business trip to Tokyo and said he would not be back until tomorrow. "Since I finally came here, I will stay in Kumagai City tonight, and I will go back when I meet the Fukuyama detective tomorrow." "If you live here, I'll live with you. I can't leave you here alone." "However, senior, you still have further study." "It's okay to take another day off. This is also learning." Okamoto said with a smile.When Okamoto said to Ayuko that you can't leave you here alone, in Ayuko's voice, he seemed to be saying that he was not the passenger who abandoned Teruko Kono and escaped. When Fukuyama contacted the Kumagai Department, he learned that a woman named Iakata Ayuko came to the Kumagai Department yesterday to see him.When she heard that Fukuyama was not there, she said she would come back today, and then she seemed to have gone to another place.There was a man with her at the time. "That man is not the same as the person who hitchhiked Fifty Kinno Teruko, right?" Ochiai's words contained strong anxiety. "I heard from the commissioner that those two people seem to be coming today, and I have told the commissioner to keep them." Fukuyama said so, and then he escorted Sayama to Kumagaya City.Ushio and Ochiai also followed Fukuyama's car and drove towards Kumagai City. It was already afternoon when we arrived in Kumagai City, but Ayuko Iakata and the man who was walking with her hadn't appeared yet.Ochiai had an ominous premonition.If Ayuko speculates like herself, then she will notice the existence of that passenger, if this passenger is walking with her now... "I also met Mr. Kagata's wife once. She is very smart. If she knew the existence of that passenger and knew that that person was her fellow traveler, she would not let him find out." Oxtail seemed to comfort Said like Ochiai. "If my guess is correct, the passenger is a clear-headed and very ruthless person. In order to protect himself, he will do anything. From the fact that he followed Ayuko to Kumagai City, it can also be seen that he has already felt Seeing that Ayuko is getting closer to the truth, she came to monitor Ayuko's every move. She came to see Fukuyama, which should be a great threat to the passenger. The passenger definitely didn't want her to come to see Fukuyama. She said that she would come today , but it has not yet appeared, from this point of view, it may be obstructed by fellow travelers." "The only place she might go before coming to the police station is Onuma," Uxo said. "What if they went to Onuma?" "If the companions told her to go to Onuma before going to the police station, she would most likely go." "You can think so." If Ayuko's companions tell her to go to Onuma before coming to the police station with her, it means that he has a sense of crisis.For a while, everyone was surrounded by this uncertain and uneasy atmosphere.