Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Neglected Accomplice

Although he has a general understanding of the search records of Amari's murder six years ago from the Ogami Criminal Police Department, Naoki Kitamura still finds it difficult to calm down.The content described by Dashang is roughly consistent with what Beicun currently knows, and it was basically reported by the media six years ago. However, there is one thing that is different from the reports of the year.The police investigation report hinted that there may have been several criminals involved in the Ganley case, but there was no mention of this in the media reports. Beicun really wanted to borrow the police search records, but the search document records, known as criminal excerpts, usually need to be kept for ten years. Before that, they were classified as confidential and could not be borrowed by outsiders.

For this reason, Kitamura decided to go directly to the criminal police who was in charge of investigating the case at the time to find out the situation.Dashang agreed to help, and two days later, he introduced a man named Qiushan to Beicun.It is said that this person is the criminal policeman of the former Yoyogi Police Station. After retirement, he is currently working as the security section chief of a supermarket. After Kitamura made a phone call, the two agreed to meet at Akiyama's house when the next day happened to be Akiyama's rest day.The next day, Kitamura came to Akiyama's old residential area at the end of Setagaya on time.

Akiyama's friendly face was simple and dull, just like a secretary of the township government.A certificate of commendation from the police chief was pasted on the crossbar, from which we can vaguely see Akiyama's glorious past. "Oh, I'm sorry to welcome you as a distinguished guest! I've been eagerly looking forward to your arrival since I learned from the Ogami Criminal Police Department of the Shinjuku Police Station." Akiyama greeted Kitamura with a smile on his face. into the house.The freckles on his face are faintly visible, and the white beard is sparse. Perhaps because of the dentures, he has a particularly neat set of teeth.

The room is very small. In addition to the TV, there are bookshelves and wardrobes in the house.The already narrow space was divided into two halves by a sliding door, and the other half seemed to be occupied by Akiyama's wife, but there seemed to be no children at home. Probably out of professional habits, Beicun unintentionally looked at the bookshelf.Unexpectedly, I was really surprised at a glance.All of his early works, including his debut work, were actually displayed on the bookshelf.Obviously, Akiyama must be his loyal book fan. "Mr. Akiyama, I am really honored that you love my book so much." Kitamura said a little embarrassedly.

"Mr. Kitamura, I have been a fan of your books since your first novel came out. I originally had a complete set of your works, but two or three of them were lost after being lent out. Since then, Mr. Fan Your works are always in and out." Akiyama replied sincerely.In fact, even though Akiyama's words were purely polite flattery, Beicun's words were quite flattering. To be able to meet such a target and understand the situation, it seems that it is really thanks to the criminal police officer.In a sense, for book fans, the writers they admire are just like emperors and gods in the field of works.Even if it does not reach this level, since the readers have already stepped into the writer's works, it is very easy for both parties to find a common language and communicate very conveniently.

"If I have the two books you are missing, I will bring them to you later." "Thank you so much! I have always dreamed that you would give me a book, sir, and I must regard it as a treasure in my family. Sir, please forgive me for speaking boldly. Your works are rigorous from beginning to end, quite It has momentum, and it often portrays the sadness and ugliness of human beings in a three-point manner, and it can often pay attention to ordinary people living at the bottom of society, which I especially like." Being praised in person like this, Beicun immediately felt uneasy.It was not easy to break away from the above-mentioned topic, and talked about serious business with Akiyama.

"Dashang-jun has already told me the purpose of your trip, sir. I heard that the material for your debut novel came from the taxi driver who was killed. You really deserve to be sir. You are still thinking about this case. In fact, when we The investigation of the case was also in vain, and even the search headquarters was disbanded. Therefore, I have always been worried about this. As a criminal policeman, I am really ashamed to let go and retreat when I failed to solve the case. Ah!" Akiyama lowered his head guiltily, and continued: "Don't worry, sir, as long as I know, I will give you everything, please ask whatever you want."

Just as he was talking, Akiyama's wife came over with a tea set and a fruit bowl. "Ma'am, you're welcome!" Beicun hurriedly turned to Akiyama's wife. "I have roughly learned the outline of the incident through the media, but it is said that several people may have participated in the crime." After Akiyama's wife retreated to the next room, Kitamura continued to pick up the topic. "While it cannot be determined, the possibility does exist." "What kind of situation would it be if several people committed the crime together?" "First of all, let's talk about the method of killing. Ganli died after being beaten to the back of the head with a blunt object. You must know that there is a plastic plate behind the taxi driver's seat to prevent gangsters from attacking from behind. However, Ganli was still attacked in the back of the head. died."

"In this case, if you want to attack from behind, you need the assistance of an accomplice. At that time, the accomplice must hold the victim's head tightly, immobilizing it, and then another criminal can pick it up. The victim was hit on the back of the head with a blunt instrument." "Then, is there a possibility that the victim made an unannounced attack while he was asleep?" "That is also possible. In addition, we have made another assumption about the case of accomplices." "Another situation?" "Yes. That is to say, another passenger chose the co-pilot position when getting on the bus."

"Oh? So, including the two passengers in the back seat, it is possible that three people committed the crime together?" "Yes, it is entirely possible." The number of passengers in a large taxi is limited to five, so a maximum of two people can sit in the co-pilot position.In the case of full load, the interior space of the car is relatively narrow, and it will affect the driver once running a long distance. "At the beginning, were there any traces of fighting in the car?" "Basically nothing was found. After investigation, the police believed that perhaps Ganli was killed before he had time to resist."

"And what searches did the police carry out?" "Because the victim was a taxi driver, the police determined that the case was committed by roving sex criminals. Since there were no witnesses at the scene of the crime, all investigations were unsuccessful. After the police visit, it was confirmed that the victim was honest , the company has a very good mass base, and the interpersonal relationship is quite harmonious, so the possibility of revenge killing is ruled out. In the end, the police had to characterize the matter as an ordinary taxi robbery." In fact, Kitamura has already learned about the above situation. "If it's true that the three committed crimes together, the business funds of more than 12,000 yuan were divided, and each person got less than 5,000 yuan." "Yes, it is precisely because of the above reasons that our police did not determine that several people committed a joint crime. If it is for such a small amount of money to kill people impulsively, it would be too uneconomical, right? If there are really three criminals , then I don’t think they would do such a stupid thing.” After bidding farewell to Akiyama, Kitamura returned home with heavy steps.Fortunately, the investigator who was in charge of the case was a fan of his book, so he knew some details of Ganli's case.However, there is still nothing about the new information about the prisoner. Generally speaking, today is a waste of time. The next day, Kitamura decided to go to the Anxin Transportation South (Taxi) Business Office, where Amari used to work in Fangnan Sijo Lane, Suginami District, to learn more about the situation. When he learned of Beicun's intention, the director of the business office looked at Beicun suspiciously.Therefore, Beicun hurriedly reported his family name, but he didn't expect that the other party didn't respond, which showed that the other party had never read his work at all.The desk is littered with bikinis and manga magazines.Six years have passed, and perhaps several groups of people have changed here.Because judging from the director's indifferent expression, he seemed to have no impression of Ganli. Although the reception of Beicun was extremely unfriendly, the director finally called an old taxi driver. "Oh, so you want to know about Mr. Ganli? I know, I know. When I first came, he took me out of the car for the first time. He is so enthusiastic, he is just like our taxi driver A role model in China." Finally, he met someone who knew about Ganli's situation, so Kitamura mustered up the courage to inquire about Ganli's murder. "After hearing that Ganli was killed, everyone was very sad and donated money to his widow. Mr. Ganli was so unlucky that there was no witness at the time of the incident. The criminals are really disgusting, and they even operate a taxi. Corrupt officials and rich people are everywhere in the world. Why not look for them and focus on Ganli, who is honest and responsible? Unfortunately, it is said that the case was finally closed and the police failed to find out. The murderer was caught." The old driver sighed sadly and indignantly. "Do you know how much cash Ganli had with him when he was killed?" "The business money of the day can be calculated from the meter." "Is it calculated by accumulating the expenses of different passengers?" "One day's business expenses are roughly divided into two parts. The starting price of the taxi is multiplied by the number of customers, and the price is calculated at 80 yuan per two kilometers." "In addition to the business money, does the driver also bring cash? For example, change for passengers and so on." "This problem can be said to vary from person to person. However, the economic conditions of taxi drivers are generally very ordinary, and it is unlikely that they will bring much money with them." "What about you?" "At most, I would take thirty hundred-yuan coins and fifty ten-yuan coins with me. The total would be about three thousand and five hundred yuan. The 10,000-yen-yen banknote really makes me laugh and cry, and it feels like it’s just for change.” "Then do you know how much money Mr. Ganli usually prepares before leaving the car?" "He usually brings more than 10,000 yuan, because at that time, customers often paid the fare with 10,000 yuan bills." "After Amari was murdered, do you still have the car meter records that reflect the sales amount of the day?" "Usually, the driving daily report recorded by the driver himself and submitted to the company will be kept for one year. Since Ganli was killed while driving, the daily report of that day may have already been sent to the police. At present, there is no one in the company. Operating records from six years ago." "According to the police's speculation, Ganli was killed at around 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, so according to your estimation, how much business money would he have before he was killed?" "At that time, the starting fare for a taxi was 380 yuan. The day Ganli was killed was June 23, and there were very few passengers on that day. Everyone went home early. I think no matter how powerful Ganli is, it is impossible to make much money before 11 o'clock in the evening." According to the police's search records, Ganli's business money that day was about 12,000 yuan.It is estimated that this is calculated based on the driver's "Driving Daily" and the readings of the meter.If we just infer from the above amount, it obviously does not include the tens of thousands of dollars that Ganli prepared.If they are calculated together, the total amount would be more than 22,000 yuan. Compared with the price level at that time, this amount has already exceeded the dividing line for car bandits to rob and kill people.But if several people commit crimes together, the per capita stolen money is less than 10,000 yuan, which has not reached the dividing line of killing at all.Unless Amari brought more than 40,000 in cash that day, Akiyama's conjecture that the three committed a crime together would be possible. "According to your opinion, is there such a possibility that the cash in the car on the day of Ganli exceeded 40,000 yuan, or even far more than this amount?" In order to verify his estimation, Beicun immediately began to ask the other party's opinion. "Of course, this possibility exists in theory. However, taxi drivers generally don't bring that much money when they leave the car. Because the social security was not very good at that time, everyone was worried that they would encounter robbers. Unless What does Ganli want to do personally, otherwise he would never have so much money with him.” The words of the old driver further confirmed Ganli's character. It seems that his colleagues respected him at the beginning, and there was no possibility of being killed by colleagues out of resentment.Perhaps it was on that rainy night six years ago that Ganli unfortunately encountered a demon on his way and lost his precious life. Every time he went to a hotel near the west exit of Shinjuku Station, Kitamura always hesitated for a long time on whether to take a taxi.Because if you walk there, you have to walk a long way, and if you take a taxi, the distance is not even the starting price, it seems a bit uneconomical. It's all right if you meet a reasonable driver, or else you'll be blindsided if you only take a taxi for such a short distance.Therefore, under normal circumstances, Beicun will choose to walk there. Anyway, sitting at the desk for a long time staring at the manuscript is not enough, just take this opportunity to exercise.However, if it is raining or if you have a lot of luggage, it is not easy to walk there. One midsummer afternoon in late August, Bei Cun and the editor agreed to meet at the Hilton Hotel.The scorching sun is shining in the sky, and walking on the street is as hot as entering a steamer.Unbearable, Beicun ran to the taxi stand on the side of the road. Immediately, a young driver greeted him, dressed neatly and with a friendly expression on his face.At first glance, it is unavoidable to give people a sense of trust. "I'm sorry, I have a relatively short journey. Please take me to the Hilton Hotel." "Sir, you needn't be so polite. We're in this line of business, and we're happy to go far or near." "It's such a hot day, you've been waiting for customers for a long time, and I'm just taking the starting fare. It's a bit embarrassing." "It's okay, what is this? Sir, just sit down." The young driver smiled with a row of neat teeth.As soon as you sit in the car, a pleasant cool breeze blows over your face.Beicun was about to pay a tip to the driver, but he didn't expect the change to fall into the car as soon as he took out his wallet from his pocket.When Beicun bent down to pick it up, he suddenly found a bulging black wallet on the undercarriage. Perhaps because the undercarriage was also dark, no one noticed it before Beicun got on the car. "Comrade driver, you lost your wallet." Bei Cun picked it up. "Ouch, maybe the passenger in front lost it. This is troublesome." The driver looked back. "Then what should we do?" Bei Cun muttered, while weighing the heavy black wallet, it seemed that there were a lot of things in it. "Hand it over to the police. Sir, since you found it, you should hand it over." The driver responded frankly. "But, this wallet is in your car after all. In this case, you should keep the lost property." Kitamura couldn't help thinking of the "Lost Property Storage Law". "Sir, why not deal with it like this. Anyway, on the way to the Hilton Hotel, we have to pass the Shinjuku Police Station, why don't we hand over the wallet there together." The driver suggested. "Yes, this is a good idea." Kitamura immediately agreed.As soon as Shinjuku Police Station was mentioned, Kitamura immediately thought of Detective Oshang, and if Oshang happened to be there, he would be able to meet him. After listening to Yoyogi Police Station's search headquarters about the investigation of the two cases of Tsumura and Hoshiya, Detective Ogami always felt panicked. It seems that the two cases have not yet been formally sorted out. Under normal circumstances, there is an unwritten rule within the police. Each police station regards what happens in its respective jurisdiction as a family matter, and hates other police stations to intervene halfway. However, Shinjuku Police Station and Yoyogi Police Station are geographically close to each other, and some people even dub the two police stations as neighbors next door. People often suggest that the two sides should strengthen mutual information exchange in order to improve the efficiency of handling cases . There is evidence that Hoshiya was the female companion Hei Jinke brought with him when he died suddenly in the tryst hotel. Is this situation related to Hoshiya's later murder?It is said that the lost black gold memo is not in Hoshiya's relics at all, so where is it? The place where the taxi driver was killed six years ago happened to be the place where Hoshiya was killed. What does it mean?The Yoyogi Police Department believes this is purely a coincidence.Is it appropriate to regard it as a coincidence?At present, the Yoyogi Police Department believes that the Tsumura case and the Hoshiya case are serial murders committed by the same person, and further investigations have been launched.Why did the Yoyogi Police Station not accept the information provided by the Shinjuku Police Station on black money and the murder of a taxi driver?In this regard, Dashang Interpol was extremely dissatisfied. After entering August, perhaps affected by the hot weather in the past few days, some people became restless, and violent incidents such as quarrels and fights continued to occur in the Shinjuku Police Station area.Recently, due to the strong wind and waves at sea, many young people gave up the idea of ​​going to the beach to escape the summer heat and returned to the city center one after another.The northern part of Shinjuku is a well-known entertainment venue in Japan, and the area around the west exit is concentrated in a large area of ​​high-rise buildings. According to statistics, there are about 2.5 million passengers every day recently, and the stranded population in this area at night has reached as many as 500,000. .From business elites to homeless people, there are almost everything in the vicinity. Under such circumstances, the police had no choice but to be busy maintaining law and order and traffic all day long, trying to minimize violent conflicts among people as much as possible. However, it is this hodgepodge situation that reflects the unique vitality of Shinjuku. If one day this area is not reorganized in an orderly manner, Shinjuku will change. Violence, theft, robbery, arson, rape, and sometimes even murder occurred frequently in this area.In short, the personnel composition in Shinjuku is extremely complex, and the overall security order is not optimistic. In summer, the area becomes increasingly restless.At this moment, Dashang Criminal Police had just returned to the police station after handling the pedestrian dispute case, and was already sweating from the heat. Beicun's sudden visit surprised Da Shang quite a bit. "Oh, it's such a hot day, sir, why did you come here?" Da Shang walked forward with a smile on his face.In the Shinjuku Police Station, Ogami is nicknamed "a wolf". He usually has a sullen face, and he is hardly seen smiling.Others can tell at a glance that Dashang likes the works of the writer Beicun very much, and to a certain extent, he can be regarded as Beicun's loyal book fan. "Actually, there's no need for you to come here on purpose. If you need anything, just call and I'll go over." Da Shang greeted politely while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "How can this be done? You police are so busy with work, if I call you out again, how can the common people let me go?" Beicun was modest and polite for a while, then drank the tea that was brought to him and continued: "Thanks to you for introducing me to Akiyama last time, thank you very much." "Where is it, I can't show you the original police search records. I feel sorry. Oh, by the way, did you learn anything new from Akiyama?" "Although he didn't learn anything new, he told me a lot. Mr. Akiyama believes that based on the circumstances of the murder of the driver Amari, there may be several people, or even three or more people involved in the crime." Immediately, Kitamura explained to Dashang the reasons why Akiyama made the above inferences. "Well, the analysis makes sense." Da Shang fully agreed. "Afterwards, I went to the taxi company where Mr. Ganli worked before his death, and wanted to find out how much cash was in the car when Ganli was killed." "Oh? Then the result of the investigation is...?" Da Shangrao asked with interest. "The company staff said that the business expenses before the murder can be roughly estimated from the meter, but I told the other party that I would like to know how much change the driver usually carries with him besides the business expenses." Kitamura stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. . "Did you ask later?" Osama continued to ask with concern. "I don't know the exact amount. However, I heard that taxi drivers usually prepare thirty hundred yuan coins and fifty ten yuan coins. Ganli often prepares tens of thousands of yuan, plus the ten thousand yuan before he was killed. With more than 2,000 yuan of business funds, the total is more than 20,000 yuan." "Well, not bad." Da Shang echoed. "A few days ago, I heard two taxi drivers talking about that if you encounter a robber with more than 20,000 in cash, you may be killed. Of course, if it is less than 20,000, the driver will generally not die. Worry. Perhaps this standard is the dividing line for robbers to kill people. However, when Ganli was murdered, there were only more than 20,000 yuan. The stolen money was even less. Although the prices at that time were lower than now, is it necessary for the three criminals to commit crimes together for a mere few thousand dollars?" "Your analysis makes sense. However, there are still people who commit murder under a lower standard. You know, the robbers kill first and then steal the money, and before they do it, they don't know the details of the money the driver is carrying with him. number." "The above situation will only happen if there is only one murderer? If there are three murderers, they will definitely consider how much they can get after the murder. No matter how impulsive they are, they should know that the taxi driver is not rich. Besides, when it comes to robbery, three people committing the crime together is much calmer than one alone, right?" "However, there are also extreme negative examples. Sometimes the more people there are, the more courageous they become, and the mentality of doing evil will become stronger when criminals get together. For example, when a red light is on, if several people rush through at the same time , so you’re not too scared, are you?” "Well, when a small group of lawbreakers see large sums of money, their courage will indeed increase." "These guys are often impulsive desperadoes who are quick to see money. But how can there be so much money in the taxi to make the criminals have evil thoughts?" "Suppose there happens to be one in the car?" "Even if there is, the passengers don't necessarily know it." "It is entirely possible that the place where the huge sum of money is placed in the car will be discovered by the passengers." "Ah? Will there be such a coincidence?" "Didn't I happen to encounter this situation just now when I took a taxi?" "Oh, that's right." Da Shang sighed with deep emotion, and suddenly felt the clouds dissipate and he saw the sun again. Immediately afterwards, Beicun continued to analyze: "Let's make an analogy for now. After the last group of passengers lost a huge sum of money on the back seat, the taxi driver didn't notice it in time, or the place where the huge sum of money was placed happened to be in the middle of the road. The blind spot of the driver's line of sight. The three passengers who got on the bus then found the huge sum of money at a glance. Passengers raised objections to this, but advocated that everyone should have a share. Then it is estimated that the two sides insisted on their own words and refused to give in to each other. As a result, the three passengers suddenly turned their faces and committed murder to rob a huge sum of money." "Well, sir, your reasoning is just like a professional criminal policeman, which is really awe-inspiring. However, if anyone loses such a huge sum of money, he should come to the police station to report the crime, but as far as I know, There seems to be no similar record six years ago." While being impressed by Kitamura's reasoning, Ogami quickly raised a rebuttal. "I also find it difficult to understand this at the moment. Didn't it happen before that someone picked up a huge sum of 100 million yuan, but no one claimed it? I remember that there was a lot of discussion about this at the time. Some people thought that this huge sum of money was a violent gang. Some people said that this huge sum of money may be illegal funds embezzled from stocks. In short, the money is not clean, so that the owner dare not publicly claim it.” "You mean it's possible that a large sum of black money was lost in the car that sparked the taxi robbery six years ago?" "Yes. If this inference is true, it can explain why the murderer chose to commit the crime in a roadside parking lot. Regarding the handling of the huge sum of money, it is obviously inconvenient to negotiate while the taxi is driving. It is estimated that the two parties decided to choose a passenger flow Negotiations at fewer venues, during which the three passengers were eager to get rid of Ganli when Ganli insisted on handing over to the bus. Perhaps in order to share more stolen money per capita, the three gangsters had the desire to get rid of Ganli from the very beginning Intend." "Well, I finally understand. But, what is the relationship between the taxi robbery case six years ago and the two cases of Tsumura and Hoshiya?" "Now let's assume that there are three criminals who robbed the taxi. If the case is related to Tsumura and Hoshiya, it is reasonable for them to be killed successively." "What? What did you say?" Shocked, Da Shang couldn't help standing up. "What I mean is that there were three people who participated in the robbery six years ago. At present, two of them have been killed. There is no doubt that the remaining one is the murderer!" "You mean that Tsumura and Hoshiya were both taxi robbers six years ago?" Ogami found it hard to accept Kitamura's bold assumption. "I think there is such a possibility. Six years have passed, and with the money he robbed, if the murderer has made a name for himself in society, it is completely reasonable." "Wait a minute. According to what you said, if the remaining one of the three robbers was the one who killed Tsumura and Hoshiya, why did he kill them six years later?" "After all, Tsumura and Hoshiya live in the same apartment. The two must have met before. Six years later, the two may meet another accomplice from six years ago." "Why did the other accomplice kill Tsumura and Hoshiya?" Ogami continued to ask curiously. "I don't know the details, maybe they are a threat to the other accomplice? If this person has money, status and reputation after six years, and the two of Tsumura are still living mediocrely at the bottom of society, The disparity in comparison will inevitably lead to a strong psychological gap. In this situation, in order to obtain a psychological balance for the benefit, the two of Tsumura are very likely to blackmail the other accomplice with the scandal of six years ago. Forced to do nothing, this People will be murderous." "Sir, I think that although your reasoning is a jumping thinking, it still has some truth. Right now, it may be really necessary to investigate whether there is a connection between the above three cases." "Anyway, I'll leave this up to you! Although I also think the above reasoning is a bit far-fetched, I always feel that it is definitely not a coincidence that Amari and Hoshiya were killed at the same place. As the police deduced, the murderer obviously knew the scene of the crime. The geographical environment in the area is very familiar. Also, you didn’t find anything that should be at the scene of the crime, right?” "Are you referring to the fallen objects at the scene of the Tsumura crime?" "Besides that, there is one more thing." "One more thing..." "Black Gold Memo!" "Then why did the murderer take it away?" "I don't know. However, the black gold memorandum that is supposed to be in the relics of Hoshiya has not been found at all. Perhaps the murderer is interested in the contents recorded in it." "Paperweight...the murderer took away the falling object again!" Inadvertently, Dashang revealed to Beicun that the falling object was the paperweight. "I think that after the paperweight fell from upstairs, Hosiya must have rushed downstairs to get it in shock. Maybe she and the murderer happened to meet downstairs, and the murderer told him that it was the paperweight that killed the man. In order to use it as a threat to control Hoshiya in the future, the murderer finally took away the paperweight." Kitamura's hypothesis is completely consistent with Sugawara's deduction. "What if the murderer left the paperweight at the scene of the crime and didn't take it away?" "If you throw it away, it will be taken back by Hoshiya. As long as you check afterwards, you will know immediately whether the paperweight killed Tsumura. If the paperweight did not hit Tsumura when it fell, as soon as Hoshiya gets the paperweight , you will understand that Tsumura died of homicide." "Listening to your explanation, it can just solve the mystery of the disappearance of objects at the scene of the crime." Inadvertently, Dashang's thinking completely caught up with the analysis of Beicun, a layman. "Officer Dashang, please convey my reasoning and judgment to the search headquarters anyway. Maybe my layman's analysis lacks strict logic, but as the saying goes, the authorities are confused, but the bystanders are clear." "Okay, I'll give it a try." Although I do lean towards Kitamura's point of view, it's hard to say how the search headquarters will react after learning about it.The authorities are obsessed, but bystanders are clear. Perhaps Beicun's views can really open up new ways to solve the case.After Beicun left, Dashang thought deeply by himself.