Chapter 54 Section 54

When Kusanagi returned to his room, it was already early morning of the next day.It was unbearably stuffy in the room.Kusanagi threw his shirt on the bed and turned on the air conditioner.He loosened his tie, took a can of beer from the refrigerator, and took a sip standing up.A refreshing feeling spread from the throat to the whole body.Kusanagi let out a long sigh of relief and sat down on the sofa. After unbuttoning his shirt, Kusanagi picked up the top on the bed.He took out his cell phone from his pocket and looked through the contact book. "Glass Pu Resort Hotel" - the hotel where Tang Chuan stayed tonight.This was a call from Yukawa during the day, and when he heard that the Kawahata couple was going to surrender, Kusanagi asked for his phone number by the way.

Not long after answering the phone call, the Kawahata couple seemed to surrender themselves.However, Kusanagi only heard the news in the evening.At that time, Duo Liang called to inform him. "The couple said it was an accident. They said that the boiler had incomplete combustion, and the exhaust gas flowed into the guest room. In order to cover up the truth, the boss dragged the body away and threw it away. However, the situation described by the boss There are still many things that don’t make sense.” Duo Liang’s voice was full of vigilance, “Although the county police promised me that they would notify me as soon as they found out the situation, I think our side I guess we have to provide them with some information. How is the situation on your side?"

Kusanagi reported to Tatara that he found out where Senba lived and went to see Senba himself, but still failed to find out much about Tsukahara's death. "Okay. Then tell Glasspool about this." "Understood." Although Kusanagi answered like this, he felt a kind of guilt in his heart.Regarding the possibility that the Kawabata family was related to the Senba case, he did not mention it in front of Tatara.Although Kusanagi himself didn't know how this matter would affect the future situation, he felt that it would be better to keep this matter as secret as possible for the time being.

Kusanagi called the Glass Police Station and told Chief Wonsan that he had found Xianbo.After listening to Kusanagi, he would send the detailed information by fax, and Wonyama expressed his gratitude.But Kusanagi could tell that Wonyama's words of thanks were just superficial. Afterwards, Yuanshan said: "This matter has caused you a lot of trouble, but it seems that the matter has been roughly settled. We found the accomplice of the Kawabata couple. That person is a friend of their daughter, and it is said that this is the Someone helped Kawahata and his wife dispose of the corpse. There is nothing in this person’s confession that contradicts the facts, so this case is almost ready to be settled.” Yuanshan’s tone felt very relaxed.

Kusanagi still felt a little uneasy.Judging from what he and Utsumi Kaoru investigated before, it felt like this incident was by no means a simple accident. After discussing with Kaoru Utsumi, she also agreed with Kusanagi.So, what to do next? "I think we need to go back and start from the beginning of everything." Kaoru Utsumi put forward his opinion. agree.Kusanagi said.So, the two set off for Ginza.The purpose of the two trips is to find the glass-flavored restaurant where Shigeharu Kawabata and Setsuko met 30 years ago. Soon, the store appeared in front of them.Perhaps because of walking all day, both of them felt pain in the soles of their feet.Sweat wet underwear, always make people feel uncomfortable.It's just that maybe everything can be found out after going there.However, there was no sense of accomplishment in my heart.Like their tired bodies, their hearts were equally heavy.

Kusanagi sighed softly and took out his phone.After dialing the number of "Glispu Resort Hotel", it took a long time for someone to answer the phone.Hearing that the person who answered the phone was the service staff of the hotel, Kusanagi asked the person to transfer to Yukawa's room.After waiting for another minute, the voice of "I'm Yu Chuan" came from the other end of the phone. "I'm Kusanagi. Are you asleep?" "No, I'm waiting for your call. I know you will definitely call me." "How is the situation on your side? From what I know, the accomplice has appeared now, and it feels like the whole case is almost coming to an end."

"That's right. Judging from the current situation, it is estimated that the police will not continue to investigate further. No, to be precise, they should not be able to go any further. Because they can no longer see any hope." "So did you see anything?" "I'm just making some inferences now. As for whether the inferences are correct or not, it's up to you to confirm. I guess you probably called me because of this, too?" Kusanagi pouted, and opened the manual. "We found the snack bar where Setsuko Kawabata worked. Although the store is no longer in the original place, it is still open. And the owner is still alive."

"Then you should have inquired about the situation at that time?" certainly.Kusanagi said. The store is located on the side streets of Ginza 8-chome.Next to the white wood lattice window, there is a small sign that says "Spring Day".It feels like I don't want those who just pass by to find out.People who frequent this store are probably regular customers. "Well, 70% to 80% of our customers here are regular customers. Those regular customers will also bring some new customers, and the new customers will continue to attract new customers. Our store has been supported by this method until now. Speaking of which, We are always grateful to those regular customers," says owner Tsutsuo Ukai.Snow-white hair, neatly cut.Although the boss is nearly seventy years old and has many wrinkles on his face, he doesn't even have a single piece of fat all over his body.Rather than being thin, it feels more appropriate to say that he has a good figure.It is said that today's goods were bought by him himself.

It's past eleven o'clock, and it's time for the store to close.Kusanagi and Utsumi Kaoru sat in a corner of the shop, drinking oolong tea while waiting for the shop to close.The last guest who went back seemed to be a regular customer, and before leaving, the guest had a friendly chat with the pelican behind the counter. There are three tables and a long counter in the store, and it is estimated that it can only accommodate thirty people at most.In addition to Ukai, there are also two waitresses in charge of serving food. Ukai himself is also a glass-born person.He left his hometown and came to Tokyo in his teens to become a chef.After several periods of studying under famous chefs, he opened the glass restaurant "Kasuga" at the age of thirty-four.It is said that when he first opened, he didn't even hire anyone, and relied entirely on himself and his wife to run the business together.

"Our store used to be in Nanchome. Do you know Sony Avenue? At that time, the whole store was small and could only accommodate ten people. Later, thanks to the help of those regular customers, the number of customers coming to the store increased a lot, so we Just move the store here.” In the previous place, he had been in business for about twenty years. "According to this, when Setsuko Karasaki was working here, the store hadn't moved here yet?" After hearing Kusanagi's question, Ukai nodded affirmatively.Kusanagi told Ukai when he first entered the store that he came here to ask him about the joint situation.Seeing that Ukai seemed to want to know what the police were investigating, Kusanagi told Ukai that he was investigating someone's relationship.As for who that "someone" was, Ukai never asked.

"Setsuko started working here about two or three years after we opened. Soon after the opening, my wife and I felt that there were not enough staff in the store, so we decided to hire someone to help. At that time, our couple had been thinking about Who should we hire? After learning about this, a regular customer told us that he knew a female escort who liked cooking, and that female escort also wanted to give up her previous job. After hearing this news, I My wife and I asked that regular customer to bring someone over. This person was Setsuko at that time. I was very satisfied with Setsuko's performance, and my husband was full of praise for her, saying that she must come to help. At that time, Setsuko herself was planning to resign from the job of accompanying wine, so she agreed. She really helped us a lot at that time. Not only has a good memory, but also she is clever. The general guests, my wife and I You can rest assured to let her cook." However, Setsuko Karasaki only worked in Ukai's shop for three years.After that, she decided to get married.Ironically, the person Setsuko married turned out to be a regular customer of the store. Ukai also remembered the situation about Kawabata Shigeharu. "I heard from him that his family opened a hotel in Glasspool. Although he is only a salaryman himself, he often misses the taste of his hometown food, so he often comes to visit me. After getting married, the two of them Kouzi also came here a few times. Later they had a child soon, and I heard that the young life was pretty good. I don’t know how the couple are now. In the first ten years after marriage, they They also send me New Year’s cards every year.” "Apart from Mr. Kawahata, were there any guests who were familiar with Ms. Setsuko Karazaki at that time?" Kusanagi asked lightly. "Of course there is. After all, Setsuko was young and beautiful at that time, and she was also very good at attracting business. It is estimated that many guests at that time came for her." Ukai narrowed his eyes. "Then, has this person been here?" Kusanagi showed Ukai a photo of Xianbo when he was arrested that year, "Maybe he was younger than the photo at the time." "Uh..." Ukai opened his eyes wide. "Of course I remember. Isn't this Mr. Xianbo? I mentioned him just now." "Did you mention him just now?" "He is the regular customer who introduced Setsuko to work. His wife seems to be from glass, so he often visits us." Kusanagi and Utsumi Kaoru looked at each other. "Before you came to work in this store, were Ms. Setsuko and Mr. Senba the relationship between the customer and the lady at the counter?" "Yes. Senba-san was originally a part-time worker, but because he is very capable, he later opened his own company. Ever since he was a part-time worker, Senba-san seems to like playing. He introduced Setsuko to us. Afterwards, he also brought a few table hostesses to our place. At that time, our store was also open until one o'clock at night." Kusanagi showed Ukai again the photo of Nobuko Miyake.Ukai frowned and stared at the photo for a while, before saying, "Couldn't this be Rie?" "Yes, that's her." Kusanagi replied.Muroi of "KONAMO" once told Kusanagi that "Rie" is Nobuko Miyake's stage name. "Really? You said Rie. She was pretty at the time, but she looks a lot older in this photo." As he spoke, Ukai tilted his head, "Uh, no. That's three years old. It happened ten years ago, and she should be older now." "This photo was taken fifteen years ago." "Really? That's no wonder. Rie was working as a lady in the same shop as Setsuko at the time. Well, I really miss those days." This is a big gain.If Setsuko and Nobuko Miyake had been colleagues before, then after Setsuko got married, it is very likely that they still have contacts. "But later, Mr. Xianba and Rie suddenly disappeared. What happened? Mr. Criminal Police, do you know the situation?" "It's because we don't know, so it's so hard." "Could it be Mr. Xianbo who committed something?" "Uh, can't you?" Kusanagi said vaguely.It seems that Ukai didn't know about the killing of Nobuko Miyake.Kusanagi didn't think it was necessary to tell him about it, so he deliberately didn't make it clear. So, is there a male-female relationship between Xianbo and Nobuko Miyake? "Uh, probably not." Ukai replied very simply, "On the contrary, I think he should like Setsuko more. As I said just now, Mr. Xianba came to patronize us because his wife was born in glass. shop, but until the end, he never brought his wife to our place. He did it probably because he didn't want his wife to see Setsuko. Well, in the end, this is just some wild guesses on my part .” Hearing that Ukai mentioned that he still has photos from that time, Kusanagi immediately said that he hoped to see the photos.The photo was tucked into the first few pages of a neatly arranged photo album.A small counter, with their backs to the counter, stood two women and a man.It can be seen at a glance that the man is Ukai from more than 30 years ago.The body shape and hairstyle in the photo are no different from the current him. "The person on the right is Setsuko." Ukai said. The woman on the right has a pair of red phoenix eyes and looks very young.Although the bridge of the nose is high, it seems that when the expression is serious, it will give people a feeling of depression, but the round face and the smile on the face cover up this.In the photo, Setsuko was wearing a kimono with a maple pattern of red leaves and a front shirt over it. "It's really a beauty." Kusanagi couldn't help sighing.Hearing Kusanagi's exclamation, Ukai burst out laughing. "I'm not wrong, right? Now you should understand why I said that many customers came to our store for the festival, right? The red leaf kimono on her was given to her by my wife Yes, and that pattern almost became her signature afterwards." The woman standing on the left of Ukai has an oval face, which can be considered a beauty, but standing with Setsuko, she seems to be much older. "This is my wife." Ukai explained. "My wife is three years older than me, and she works very hard. Without her, there would be no 'Chunri' today. Uh, no, without her, I don't think I would even be able to open a shop." I heard from Ukai that his virtuous wife passed away from pancreatic cancer at the end of last year. After listening to Kusanagi's explanation, Yukawa still didn't say a word. "Yukawa," Kusanagi called him, "what do you think?" A sigh came from the phone.Afterwards, I only heard Tang Chuan murmur: "It really is so." "I'm afraid you have already noticed it? The reason why Mr. Tsukahara cares so much about the Xianba case. And what is the relationship between the Kawahata family and this case. After listening to what I just said, you can't be aware of it. Isn't it?" "Well, there are some guesses." There was a subtle silence.Kusanagi could guess that there must be a slight wry smile on Yu Chuan's face at the moment. "As a member of the Metropolitan Police Department, you probably can't speak too clearly. In that case, let me explain it for you. Xianbo is not the real culprit in that case, he is actually doing it for someone Humans are to blame. Is that probably your point of view?" Kusanagi frowned.In front of Yu Chuan, no one can hide anything.For the one I love so much, even if I take the blame for her, I will go through fire and water, and I will not hesitate to do it. There have been such "desperate" people around Tang Chuan.So, he knows this kind of people better than anyone. "I don't think there is any basis for this view?" "That's not necessarily the case. After obtaining Xianba's confession, Mr. Tsukahara still felt that what Xianbo said was not true, so he continued to carry out the search operation alone. According to ordinary people's point of view, since the murderer is Mr. Tsukahara He caught it with his own hands, so he shouldn't engage in such extravagant things and slapped himself. But Mr. Tsukahara couldn't sit idly by at that time. What's the reason? That's because he arrested the murderer himself , That's why he couldn't let go. Although the truth didn't come to light in the end, and Xianbo was convicted, Mr. Tsukahara didn't give up. After Xianbo was released after serving his sentence, he found Xianbo again. The purpose of sending him to the hospital for treatment was to ask Xianbo the truth of the matter. Perhaps Mr. Tsukahara did this in the hope of redeeming his sins. Although Xianbo did this voluntarily, But it is undeniable that this is an unjust, false and wrongly decided case.” Kusanagi clutched the phone tightly in his hand and remained silent.He found it difficult to refute.What Tang Chuan said was exactly the guess in his heart. "Kusanagi," Yukawa called him on the phone, "I have something to ask you."