Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Missing Paperweight

The police's door-to-door investigation undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to Youcheng.For many years, after five passes and six generals were killed, it was hard to get out of the siege to get to where it is today. However, it has never suffered such a heavy blow in the past.Now, an unprecedented sense of crisis has hit the whole body, and Youcheng is soberly aware that perhaps this will be the biggest crisis and challenge in the second half of his life. If he is not careful, he will lose everything. Maybe I thought too seriously.Youcheng suddenly had a self-comforting dissonance in his heart.

The criminal police don't have any real evidence now, they are just trying to find out the truth based on subjective assumptions.If he fell for the trap so easily, wouldn't he be digging his own grave? At the same time, a strong voice of admonition sounded in his ears. ——The police have insufficient evidence and can’t do anything to me. Is it appropriate for me to ignore it? Another voice immediately raised the above question. ——The criminal police's inference is completely correct. Maybe they have found out that they are Xiangzi's backstage sponsors, and the police estimate that Tsumura was killed by a falling object.In addition, they actually determined that the behind-the-scenes sponsor was the perpetrator of the Tsumura case.

What the hell is going on here?The police have no evidence at all, all of these conclusions are all subjective conjectures, right? ——The police did not find similar items among Xiangzi's belongings. Perhaps the item is still in a corner that has not been searched. If the sponsor behind the scenes is the perpetrator, there should be fingerprints on the object. Suddenly, Youcheng recalled the words of the two detectives.That night, it was I who inadvertently threw the hotel's commemorative souvenir - a bronze paperweight - at Xiangzi.When Xiangzi screamed and dodged, the paperweight flew across the balcony and fell straight down. With a "snap", the paperweight seemed to hit the ground object heavily.Afterwards, Xiangzi quickly went downstairs to check, and when he returned, he said that he could not find the paperweight!If the paperweight is still at the scene of the incident, it should have his fingerprints on it.

Recalling so far, Youcheng realized that the whereabouts of the paperweight is crucial. So, is it possible that Hoshiya hid the paperweight in a corner of the scene at that time?Or did she fail to find it, and the item was still in the so-called blind spot of the police search?If it was hidden intentionally, what is Hoshiya's intention? Could it be that she wants to use this as a bargaining chip to threaten herself in the future?Anyway, once the paperweight falls into the hands of the police, it means that he is completely finished.Therefore, I should think of a way to act first. Danger!That is a trap set by the police, and you must not fall into the trap yourself!

——Whether he is a trap or not, in short, if the police find the paperweight first, then they will be doomed! Just now the sharp words of the criminal police sounded again: If your fingerprints are confirmed on the paperweight, it will prove that you are the murderer of Tsumura. ——How can you be so careless?If the paperweight has your fingerprints and Tsumura's blood on it, there's nothing to lose.How do you explain that Hoshiya's relic still has your fingerprints on it?Once the relationship with Hoshiya is exposed, it will be impossible to clean up the mess... The warning sounds in my ears sounded like waves, and an unprecedented sense of crisis rushed to my face.Logically speaking, the possibility of the paperweight escaping the eyes of the criminal police should be very slim.If the police really haven't found it so far, it means that the paperweight may still be at the scene of the incident.

At the same time, Youcheng recalled the surroundings of the scene.On the side of the apartment building is a parking lot, the ground has just been asphalted.Apart from flower beds, small pools, sewers, drip troughs, and stone wash basins, there seemed to be nowhere to hide things. The police must have searched for these places long ago. There seems to be no blind spots on the scene that are easy to be overlooked?There seems to be no place to hide things in the parking lot... --Oh, right! In an instant, Youcheng had a sudden inspiration - the car!Cars in the parking lot.At that time, would Xiangzi hide the paperweight recovered from the scene in the car?

Xiangzi may not necessarily be put in her own car, as long as the windows are open or the doors are unlocked, any car in the parking lot can be put in. Maybe Xiangzi planned to put it in the car temporarily and then go to pick it up later, or she wanted to avoid the police's search. Of course, if it is not placed in the car, there is another possibility.Residents’ bicycles and strollers are still parked in the parking lot, some of which have not been used for a long time, maybe Xiangzi will hide the paperweight in the bicycle basket.If this is the case, it may become a blind spot in the search that even the police can hardly imagine.

By the way, Xiangzi himself has a small bicycle, and there is a basket in the front of the car. If you put things in the basket... At the beginning, the bicycle must have been disposed of by the police along with the inheritance.Anyway, it's worth looking around, and checking out another bike's basket and stroller along the way.Choose to sneak past late at night when there are few people, and it is estimated that the problem will be solved in a few minutes.It seems that we have to act first, otherwise the paperweight will be powerless if it falls into the hands of the police. While Youcheng was meditating alone, a strong impulse kept agitating him.Although instinct told him that this trip might be an adventure, the extreme temptation to find out the whereabouts of the paperweight finally prevailed, and even the strategies honed in the past were completely useless at this moment.

The next day, it was a dark and windy night for a month. For the sake of safety, Youcheng chose to start operations at 0:00 midnight.Every household in the royal high-end apartment has turned off the lights and gone to bed, and the surroundings are quiet.At this moment, most of the residents have gone home, and the rest usually return at dawn.For Youcheng, who used to come to have a tryst with Hoshiya late at night, the life rules of the apartment residents are already clear. Youcheng sneaked into the parking lot of the apartment without any trouble. There are three light sockets at the entrance, but the lights cannot illuminate the entire parking lot, and the inside is still too dark to see clearly.After a short pause, Youcheng walked straight in, and sure enough, there were eight bicycles and three baby carriages parked inside, as well as several tricycles.Just as You Chengmao leaned forward and approached, he suddenly noticed a white figure jumping out of a stroller.Frightened, Youcheng stopped in a hurry, only to realize that he had awakened the little white cat in the stroller.

If Xiangzi deliberately hid the paperweight, then the bicycle basket and the baby carriage should be the most likely ones.Looking around, Youcheng quickly found the target. Xiangzi's bicycle was still parked there intact. It is estimated that her half-brother didn't notice it when he came to deal with the funeral.However, when he thought that the apartment he gave to Xiangzi was robbed by his brother for nothing, Youcheng couldn't help but feel a little pain in his heart. Overjoyed, Youcheng stepped forward with a flashlight and saw that the car basket was being tightly covered by a tarpaulin.Unexpectedly, when Youcheng was about to lift the tarp, a strong light shone towards him.

In an instant, Youcheng quickly covered his face with his hands instinctively. Although he realized that he was in a dangerous situation, the incident happened too suddenly and there was no time to judge. "Mr. Youcheng, what's your business here at this time?" A familiar voice came from behind the strong light beam, but Youcheng couldn't remember it all at once, but he clearly realized that He was indeed in a predicament. Immediately afterwards, a figure slowly walked towards him. "Sir, I really didn't expect that we could meet here!" When the other party approached, Youcheng took a closer look and found that it turned out to be a criminal policeman whom he had seen at the New Orleigh Hotel yesterday. "You, you..." Youcheng was startled, his tongue was so stiff that he couldn't control it. "You seem to be looking for something? Mr. Youcheng, there is nothing here. We have searched bicycles, baby carriages, etc., and we haven't found even a small stone." Sugawara said with a smile after reporting his name . "I, I..." Youcheng was so nervous that even his voice lost his tune. "Sir, I think you must know what this place is? If I remember correctly, you said yesterday that you had never been to Shoko Hoshiya's apartment, and you insisted that you had nothing to do with her? Well, I think May I ask sir, why did you choose to sneak into Miss Hoshiya's apartment complex at midnight? Besides, how did you know that this car is Miss Hoshiya's?" "Ah, ah... I accidentally got lost and came in by mistake." Youcheng managed to squeeze out a word. "Oh? So, you stumbled here at midnight and fiddled with Ms. Hosoya's bicycle when you had nothing to do?" Sugawara sarcastically said mercilessly.Suddenly, Youcheng was so frightened that his limbs trembled, and he slumped down on the ground inadvertently. Considering Youcheng's current identity and status, Sugawara and others made an exception and did not escort him to the search headquarters, because this might attract the attention of media reporters. Instead, they decided to take him to a nearby child welfare office. Center conducts inquiries. Perhaps in return for the police's extra favor, Youcheng quickly admitted his underground lover relationship with Shoko Hosoya.According to Youcheng's confession, the two had a relationship after Xiangzi went to work in a foreign country for a year.Then Youcheng privately took part of the political funds to buy a high-end apartment in Dashan Town for Xiangzi, and finally realized the golden house Zangjiao. "Once the scandal is exposed, in a sense, it will be a fatal blow to me, so we have been cautious and secretive. At the beginning of the period, our relationship was quite harmonious. However, since she After she was pregnant, she kept getting into trouble with me and kept forcing me to claim the baby in her womb. Every time the conversation between the two of them broke up badly, she refused to listen to persuasion and insisted on giving birth to the baby. That night, Xiangzi was not emotionally stable. During the fierce quarrel with me, she picked up the paperweight. Just as I ran up to snatch it from her, she threw the paperweight out. The paperweight flew across the balcony and fell Going down, maybe Tsumura was hit at that time. "At the same time, Xiangzi flew downstairs to check the situation. When she came back, she said that the paperweight seemed to have knocked someone down, but fortunately no one saw it. She also told me not to say anything to the outside world. She will handle anything in the future. dealt with it, and then asked me to leave in a hurry. The sudden change made me confused, and I was afraid that if I continued to stay, the relationship between the two would be exposed, so I followed her advice and left quickly. Later, I heard that the police were in After the doping was found in the Tsumura house, we changed the direction of the original investigation. We are glad. You know, we have nothing to do with doping. Yesterday, when the two of you mentioned the falling object, you said that you have not found any falling objects. object, so I thought, the paperweight is probably still in a blind corner of the scene, so I came to look for it tonight.” "Then why do you care so much about the paperweight?" "When I was fighting with Xiangzi, I also came across a paperweight, which may have my fingerprints on it. In addition, when she returned, she said that she hadn't found the paperweight. Logically speaking, that possibility would never exist. And it has been I was worried that if the paperweight fell into the hands of the police, it would definitely cause trouble." "But we searched the place up and down, but we didn't find any paperweight, and it wasn't among Miss Hoshiya's belongings either." "I also find it incredible. Back then, when Xiangzi returned to the house, he really didn't have a paperweight in his hand." "Could it be you who threw the paperweight down?" "No. It was Xiangzi who threw it at me, and the paperweight flew out as soon as my body flashed." After hearing Youcheng's above confession, the police suddenly felt helpless. After all, Hoshiya, who was the only witness, had died long ago, and no other evidence could be found. Youcheng generally admitted his lover relationship with Hoshiya and the situation before and after the paperweight fell, but firmly denied that he was the murderer of Hoshiya. "I will never kill Xiangzi. It is very painful for her to be pregnant. How could I not even have this reason? Besides, I am very aware of the consequences of killing people." Youcheng reaffirmed his position firmly, And stated that he had nothing to do with the marijuana cigarettes found in Hosoya's sports car. However, Youcheng was unable to provide objective evidence of his alibi, but insisted that he was at home on the night of the crime. Regarding the situation explained by Youcheng, there are two completely different opinions within the search headquarters. The opposite side believes that the most fundamental reason why Youcheng is extra cautious about his underground lover relationship with Shoko Hosoya is that he is afraid of losing his position as a member of parliament, the protection of his father-in-law, and his family in name.If the scandal with Xiangzi was made public, he would lose everything in an instant.Youcheng must have accidentally dropped the paperweight and killed Tsumura. Xiangzi used this to threaten Youcheng to insist on giving birth to an illegitimate child.Forced into desperation, Youcheng had the evil idea of ​​killing people to silence him.Everyone understands the truth that death does not prove itself, and then Youcheng put all the responsibility on Xiangzi alone. In this regard, Zhengfang retorted that if Youcheng committed murder, it would be impossible to explain the photo taken in the background of Youcheng's official residence left in Hoshiya's bag.As for whether he was at home on the night of the crime, in other words, whether there was an alibi, Youcheng's wife and the old servant at home can testify.It is generally believed that the testimonies of relatives are not reliable. Even so, for Yucheng, who is determined to conceal his relationship with Hoshiya's lover, if he really killed someone, it is absolutely impossible to turn to his family members for perjury.From this perspective, the testimonies of Mrs. Youcheng and the maid are credible. The views of both sides have certain truths, and they insist on each other without giving in.However, if we follow the opposing point of view, it is still difficult to arrest Youcheng based on the current situation. Although Youcheng's act of breaking into other people's apartment building at night and checking the bicycle basket of the deceased can prove the relationship between the two, it cannot confirm the cause of Tsumura's death and whether he is directly related to the case.Although it is more likely that Youcheng dropped the paperweight by mistake, it is impossible to verify after Hoshiya's death.Taking a step back, even if the above situation is verified, it can only be defined as negligent death. If Youcheng is to be convicted at present, at best it can only be judged as illegal intrusion into residential buildings.Moreover, the search headquarters had no intention of exposing Youcheng's private life. For this reason, under the premise of insufficient evidence, the police finally released Youcheng. "Where is the paperweight?" After Youcheng left, Sugawara tilted his head and muttered. "Yes, I also find this incident incredible." Colleague Serizawa echoed from the side.Although Sugawara tried his best to insist on the righteous point of view and let Youcheng go, he couldn't feel relieved at the moment, and he always felt blocked in his heart. "Well, after something falls, there is no reason why it will disappear for no reason." "We have searched the scene several times like a carpet, and it is impossible to miss even a thin needle." "I also investigated the vehicles in the parking lot on the night of the incident, and there were no foreign vehicles at all that night." "After careful inspection of Hoshiya's belongings, I didn't find anything." "In this way, do you think there are other possibilities?" From a physical point of view, it is impossible for a paperweight to disappear suddenly, unless someone uses it as a murder weapon before taking it away.However, Youcheng's confession shows that Tsumura did not die of deliberate murder.As long as the perpetrator does not take it away privately after going downstairs to check, the things should be at the scene of the incident. Only by finding the missing paperweight can the mystery of Tsumura's death be truly solved. "Could it be that we made a relatively large miscalculation in the detection of the Tsumura case?" "Oh, you think so too? Actually, I have already felt this way." Sugawara and Serizawa discussed face to face, and both expressed their inner doubts. "If there is a mistake, where is the problem?" "Why don't we go back to the scene and have a look." At dawn on July 1, Tsumura's body was found outside the parking lot by residents of the Royal Condominium.A forensic examination determined that Tsumura died after suffering a blunt force blow to the back of the head.Stimulants were subsequently found in the house of the deceased, and the police deduced that this might be a drug-related homicide.However, subsequent investigations found nothing.Immediately afterwards, the Sugawara criminal police raised the claim of falling objects. Just as the police focused their investigation on the residents upstairs at the scene of the crime, Shoko Hosoya, who was the most suspected, was killed in a sports car in a roadside parking lot on July 18. , and then the police found a marijuana cigarette butt in his sports car.After the police investigate, they suspect that there is a powerful sponsor behind Hoshiya, so Youcheng Zhengzheng enters the police's sight.According to Youcheng's confession, Tsumura was crushed to death by a paperweight that fell from the building.However, Yucheng completely denied the police's killing and silence, and insisted that he would never kill Hoshiya. "Looking at the previous investigations, it seems reasonable, but there are still a few obvious doubts." "First of all, if Tomounari is not the murderer, then there must be someone else who killed Hoshiya." "Who actually smoked the marijuana cigarettes found in the Hoshiya sports car? Neither Hoshiya nor Tomosari have a bad habit of using drugs. This is also one of the doubts." "In addition, why did the paperweight that was supposed to be there disappear for no reason? I always feel that the paperweight is related to the first two doubts." "Let's analyze the possibility of the paperweight disappearing for now." 1. Hidden by Hoshiya.However, we can basically deny this hypothesis after a thorough carpet-like search of the site and inspection of its relics. 2. Throwed away by Hoshiya as trash.Like the previous hypothesis, this can also be ruled out, because we have also looked for possible places to throw it. 3. Youcheng took away privately.However, based on the analysis of the fact that Youcheng broke into the apartment at night and fell into a police trap, it can also be denied. 4. The paperweight is in a blind spot where the police failed to search.This possibility is almost non-existent, because we have almost searched the scene and the whole area. "The paperweight happened to fall into the balconies or windows of other residents during the fall. This assumption cannot be established, because it would not have hit Tsumura at all, and other residents would have protested." "Wait a minute... Do you think about this possibility? The paperweight did not hit Tsumura, in other words, Tsumura was not actually killed." Suddenly, Sugawara thoughtfully brought up the above-mentioned unique the opinion of. "Ah? Is there such a possibility?" "Perhaps Tsumura was killed by a blunt object attack, but I suspect that the marks on the ground should be left after the paperweight fell and hit it. Think about it, whether it was attacked by a blunt object or was hit by a paperweight, Tsumura's brain Both will leave similar wounds. Perhaps it is the possibility that these two different properties have the same outcome that misleads us." "What's going on here?" Serizawa asked in bewilderment. "That is to say, someone had planned to get rid of Tsumura long ago. Just when the ambush was successful that night, a paperweight fell from upstairs. It is estimated that the real murderer was taken aback. The murderer fled in a hurry because he was afraid that the residents would come down to check the situation. Afterwards, just as Yumi explained, Hoshiya went downstairs, and after she found Tsumura lying in a pool of blood, she decided that the paperweight they dropped accidentally killed him." "Oh? So, how do you explain the whereabouts of the paperweight? Could it be that it was taken away by the murderer?" "If this is the case, then things can be consistent with each other. Of course, it is also possible that the murderer happened to hit Tsumura with a falling paperweight when he was waiting for an opportunity. There is no way to determine whether the death was a murder or an accident. In any case, if the murderer happened to be present when the paperweight fell, he could have taken the paperweight away." "However, I have a question. Why did the murderer take away the paperweight? If he ignores it, wouldn't he be able to mislead the police?" "I can't answer this question at the moment. There may be certain reasons. For example, the murderer may panic after killing someone. If the paperweight does not hit someone, the murderer thinks that leaving it at the scene will not help." "By the way, if the paperweight hit Nakatsu Village directly and then fell to the ground, it's unlikely that such a big hole would be left on the ground." "Well, it is necessary to go to the scene to do an experiment to verify it. However, we don't know exactly which layer the object fell from and what kind of object it is, so this experiment is very difficult to do." "If the murderer is really someone else, the motive for the killing may be related to doping." "Well, that makes sense. Marijuana cigarettes were found in Hosoya's sports car back then." "If the murderer who killed Tsumura happened to be caught by Hoshiya when he fled the scene, the murderer would decide to kill him later..." "If that's the case, then all problems are solved. In short, the murderer must be a person who used stimulants and marijuana regularly." "As for the clue of drugs, I have gone to the pharmacy to check, but I found nothing." "You don't have to go through this channel to take drugs. There are also people who buy and use them secretly. It is impossible to find such people through public investigation." "If the murderer can really be found out from drugs, to a certain extent, it is thanks to Mr. Youcheng." "Yeah, I didn't expect him to come to the door by himself, and it actually provided a certain reference value for us to solve the case." Overjoyed, Sugawara shook his head triumphantly. Through the interrogation and investigation of Youcheng, the police learned the approximate shape and weight of the paperweight.In addition, the friend said that it was a souvenir for the completion of the XX Hotel, made of bronze, and weighed about 200 grams.If such a thing fell from the seventh floor where Hoshiya lived, the impact would not be underestimated. Today, Hoshiya's house has long been emptied.After the apartment building administrator unlocked the door, Sugawara and the others came to the outdoor balcony. In general, the impact force of an object when it falls to the ground is directly related to the height of the drop and the thickness and hardness of the ground.The faster the speed and the heavier the object, the greater its destructive power.Double the speed and triple the destructive power; double the weight and double the destructive power accordingly. The energy of a specific object falling from a specific height is calculated as follows: the falling height X the acceleration of gravity X the weight of the object.The height from the ground to the seventh floor is 18 meters. When the 200-gram paperweight falls to the ground, the energy generated is about 35.7 joules, and the speed reaches nearly 19 meters per second.Therefore, the impact force of the paperweight is equivalent to that produced by impact at a speed of 68 kilometers per hour. If a paperweight with such impact hits the fragile brain, it can even directly penetrate the skull.If the victim is hit while walking, the paperweight may rebound and fall to the ground. After repeated experiments with plastic dolls, the two Sugawara confirmed that the weight and area of ​​the traces left on the ground are directly affected by the degree of contact between the falling object and the doll.When the contact surface is large, that is, when the hit area is large, most of the impact force is applied to the doll, and the traces left after it bounces back to the ground are relatively light, and the impact area is relatively large.Of course, the reverse is also true. Through experiments, the two Sugawara roughly figured out how the paperweight hit the human body and then hit the ground. Unfortunately, based on the traces on the ground at the scene, it is still impossible to confirm whether the falling object actually hit Tsumura in the first place. Sugawara's proposal on the possibility of suicide in the Tsumura case fundamentally denied the theory of falling objects that he had previously proposed.Although some people agree with this proposal, no one has been able to give a reasonable explanation for the murderer's motive for killing.As a result, a series of cases seem to have become more complicated and confusing.