Chapter 7 second quarter

Takehachi Sochii returned to Tokyo. Reported the details of the business trip to Iizaka to the editor-in-chief Yamazaki.Yamazaki listened with narrowed eyes.From time to time, cross-examine what matters. It was also the time Okase Shohei spent at his mother's grave that aroused Yamazaki's interest.In particular, Okase spent a long time in the cemetery before meeting with the abbot; and after leaving the temple, he went to the cemetery alone... In order to clarify this point, Yamazaki asked several times. The stonemasons who originally participated in the construction of the mausoleum and are still working there have never left, which particularly caught Yamazaki's attention.

"Before meeting with the abbot, Okase stayed in front of his mother's grave for a long time. It must be because a mason was disturbing him nearby!" Yamazaki deduced after thinking deeply. "Interference? What disturbed him?" Takehachi Suzui said, looking at Yamazaki's greasy face. "I think Okase didn't just go to visit the grave, he has another purpose." "Is it for the money he hid?" "Yes, yes, for that. Please note that the mason has been there for a long time. There is nothing he can do with the mason present." "What does Okase want to do?"

"Please think about what happened after the stonemason left! Okase was murdered more than two hours ago, and the judge inferred from the autopsy that he was killed at 8 pm that day. Even if there is an error of one hour, it is enough for two hours." "This is unreliable! How do you know without witnesses?" "No, I can know." "..." "You still remember! Okase was arrested by the police for dereliction of duty and his mother's death! Okase's mother died two months before he was arrested. This is the third year that he started squandering public funds. He is a shrewd person, knowing that sooner or later he will show his feet, so he began to try to hide the huge sum of money. Even if he committed a crime, he can only hand over the remaining part."

"It's understandable..." "At that time Okase Masahira's mother died, the funeral was held, and the mausoleum was built later. Generally speaking, the construction of the mausoleum was at least forty-nine days after the death, or a year later, but Okase died after his mother died. The mausoleum was built in the next 21 days, and the masons worked overtime." "Ah! That's how it is." Hearing this, Takeuchi Sochii understood the thoughts of editor-in-chief Yamazaki, and felt that it made sense. "Did Okase hide the money in his mother's grave?"

"Yes. There are also the tombs of his ancestors. Therefore, although the police and prosecutors conducted various investigations, they did not find out where the cash and stocks were stored. He wanted to get the cash after serving his sentence." "Where is it hidden?" "Under the headstone there is the burial for the urn. Fifty bundles of million-dollar bills in two suitcases, put in the grave of his mother and ancestors, covered with stone slabs, no one will notice. No one." One would think that the tomb had become a vault." "But is that possible? What about the urns of his mother and ancestors?"

"A urn cannot be put in a suitcase. The two urns were disposed of by Okase before he was arrested. Either he paid for them to be sent to a distant temple, or buried in the ground. Okase has nothing to do when he dies. understood." "Maybe that's why Okase dawdled in front of his mother's grave!" "I thought so. But the masons were working near him the first time he went, and he didn't get what he wanted. Just imagine opening a slab that heavy and taking a suitcase out of it, and it would be noticed right away. He must be Presenting flowers, praying silently with palms together, dawdling and waiting for the stone worker to leave. But the stone worker did not leave. Okase went to the temple to meet the abbot because he had no choice but to pass the time by talking to the abbot."

"Then he finished talking with the abbot, and when he returned to the cemetery, the mason had already left, so he achieved his goal?" "I think so." Takehachi Sukui remembered the stone chips he found under his feet when he was standing in front of the tomb. It might have been stone chips that Okase knocked off while moving the stone cover.Although the young monk swept it over, there were still some left.Takehachi Sochii told Yamazaki all of this. "Hmm. Exactly." Yamazaki nodded repeatedly, but he was not happy because his presumption was correct, but rather melancholy.

"The money was stolen. It was too late when we noticed. Someone earlier than we knew. He followed Okase Masahira. That person didn't know where the money was hidden before. If he knew, he would have been there first." When he knew Okase Masahira took out the suitcase containing the money from under the tombstone, he took him into the woods and killed him there. Maybe he threatened Okase with a dagger or something, so he went into the woods obediently .It is presumed that Okase died at 8:00 p.m., which I doubt. I think the time of death may be earlier." Takehachi Sochii deeply sympathized with Yamazaki's Fenzhe. He had seen stone chips at the scene, so this feeling was deepened.

But, in addition, he thought of one hundred bundles of million-dollar bills, of which fifty bundles were to be placed in the cave under his mother's tombstone; Can I get off?Surprising, but he didn't say it. "Who followed him from Tokyo?" "Then I don't know." Yamazaki Jiro looked more and more melancholy: "The money has been robbed, and there is no need to find out. We were a step late, and that guy returned to Tokyo leisurely with a suitcase full of banknotes. You must be having a sweet dream right now!" Yamazaki finally revealed his original intention, his purpose was to find the money hidden by Okase Masahira and take it for himself.But now that he has been taken away by others, he is discouraged.

"Mr. Editor-in-Chief!" Takehachi Suzui said, "No newspaper office knows that Okase Shohei hid money in his mother's tomb. These are just our inferences. How about making it our headline?" "No, no, the inference has not been confirmed, it can only arouse the vigilance of money thieves." "That's okay, he's a murderer, and the police are looking for him!" "Can you catch it?" Yamazaki Jiro tilted his head and said, "I think he will be caught soon." "Mr. Editor-in-Chief." Takehachi Suzui provocatively said, "I'm afraid the police don't know that there is money hidden in the tombs of Okase's ancestor and his mother! So there is no way to know that the criminal who killed Okase escaped with a huge sum of money, so it can be deduced We are the only ones out of this level, which means we are one step ahead of the police.”

"Oh!" Yamazaki Jiro's eyes lit up. "I've been keeping an eye on him, so I know that no one has ever come to him. His uncle will never know his nephew's secret and rob him of his money. His uncle is an honest man, not to mention he stays at home all the time. " "As you said, that guy Okase won't tell his uncle. So it can be concluded that the person who followed him was someone who was related to him before he was imprisoned. He knew that Okase hid the money and was in Okase Seto has been loving him since he got out of prison." "So there's someone else besides me watching him around that grocery store." "It is very likely that the person followed him from Ueno Station on the same train." "It's a pity I couldn't follow along." "That time he got off the car at Kagura Hill, which shows that he has a foothold there. It's a pity that he didn't figure it out." Yamazaki said regretfully, "Okase Masahira has only been there since he was released from prison. He has never been anywhere, and no one has come to him... Ah! Wait a minute." Yamazaki suddenly remembered something, and just as Takeuchi Sujii was about to speak, he stopped him with gestures. Yamazaki fiddled with his hands, nodded frequently, and thought to himself.He suddenly raised his head, his eyes glowing with excitement: "You said that when you followed him to the racetrack in Fuchu, he talked to a man who looked like a stable boy!" "Yes." He had reported this to Yamazaki then, and he remembered. "Okase got some information from the stable attendant and bought a 10,000-yuan betting ticket. As soon as the race was over, he went back from the racetrack. Is that right?" "yes." "This is strange. Why did the person who inquired about the horse race just buy a betting ticket and then go back? It's too much fun!" "That's right! But, if you bought a ticket for a particular horse and you didn't win, it's possible to go back." "No, there's nothing like that. When I was young, I bought betting tickets. It's not something you can just buy once and walk away. He heard the information from the stable clerk he knew, and he couldn't just gamble once or twice. Let’s ask for advice again! The more you lose, the more you want to make money, this is the mood of betting on horse racing.” Yamazaki said with a bit of excitement: “In addition to asking the stable attendant about the horse racing situation, he also talked with the stable attendant. Said something else." "What else could it be?" "Hey! What's the name of the stable attendant?" "He had a pocket on his back with the words 'Mogi' on it, maybe that was his name." "No, that's the trainer's name! Let's go to the racetrack again. You know the stable boy's face. Go and see." The racetrack in Fuchu.The sun was shining brightly on the lawn, and the Himalayan fir towered high in the blue sky. Because there was no competition, it was very quiet. There was an office in the distance, and they walked towards the stables.There were many long stables lined up in which the horses were tied. It happened to be the time for the horses to exercise, and several horses were being led for a walk by the stable attendants. "There will be a horse race in Fukushima in June!" Yamazaki asked. "Yes, that's what I saw on the poster when I arrived at Fukushima Station." But where was the stable of the horse trainer Moji?Then came a young man in breeches.They questioned the young man, and the young man said: "There is no horse trainer named Moji here in the mansion!" "But one of the stable attendants has Suekichi's name on the pocket!" Sokui Takehachi interjected. "That's the name of the stable attendant! There is indeed a stable attendant named Suekichi." "Which stable is he in, please?" "At Westfield's. It's the third house from here." The two of them walked in the direction indicated by the young man. There were six horses without bits, walking in a circle.There were half a dozen stablemen tending the horses, and one of them might be Sueyoshi.But at a distance, I can't see clearly.Takehachi asked the young man standing at the door of the stable again.The young man replied: "From the front, the third person is Sue Kichi." The man was walking a sorrel horse.Yamazaki stepped forward: "Excuse me, are you Mr. Sueyoshi?" It was a dumpy man in his thirties with a red face. "I'm Sueyoshi." He looked at Yamazaki and Takehachi Sukui behind Yamazaki. "I want to ask you something." Yamazaki swept away his usual arrogant expression and looked humble and polite. "Do you know Mr. Okase?..." "Okase?" The stable attendant thought for a while: "Yes, we met once." "I just wanted to ask about Okase. Okase was killed in Fukushima, did you know?" "I saw it in the newspaper!" "Have you known Okase before?" "Who are you?" Moji asked back. "That's the case. I'm..." Saying that, Yamazaki took out his business card, and then Takehachi Sukui also took out his business card and handed it over.Sueyoshi looked at the business card alternately. "What can I tell you about Mr. Okase?" He showed a surprised look. "It's nothing. We're friends of Mr. Okase, and it's a pity that this happened to him. We're trying to find some clues so that we can find his killer. Besides, we're journalists, so it's against our business related." Sueji listened silently. "Someone saw Okase talking with you at the racetrack, so I wanted to come to you to find out." Sueji rolled his eyes, but didn't answer immediately. "What did you talk about? Please tell me if you can." "Ah! That's it, I remember. He came to ask me about the horse races, and which horses were better, so that I could decide to buy tickets for the races. I said Mindenisi was more promising. But It doesn’t make sense. In fact, it’s useless to ask me, if we can find out, wouldn’t we all be rich!” Suekichi laughed.