Chapter 28 Section 4

Saturday in a week. At around 7 o'clock in the morning, Riko Ino went out to take out the garbage and saw the neighbor's "Crown" car coming out of the garage.The owner of the house, Satoshi Abe, and his wife, Fumiko, were driving the car.It wasn't until the car drove away that Fumiko saw Riko standing there, and greeted her softly. "Where are you going, sir?" Lizi asked. "Going to play golf in Izu. A friend invited him to go, and he won't be back until tomorrow night." "Is that so, Madam is watching the door at home alone?" "Yeah. So, I want to go to the street to buy something, and I haven't gone out for a long time."

"That's fine. But only men have such good things, and we..." Hearing what Riko said, Fumiko just smiled and nodded before leaving and going home.However, Lizi clearly felt that she smiled unnaturally. Inside the Crown Hotel in Shimoda, Izu.Takao Kasai, the front desk clerk, received a call from room 212.It was a double room, but the person who checked in was a man in his forties. "Hello, this is the front desk..." Before he finished speaking, a woman's terrified cry came from the microphone: "It's not good! Please take a look." The scream made Kasai frown involuntarily, and immediately asked: "What's the matter?" Then, the woman's scream shook his eardrums again, this time, her words made Kasai's expression change : "It's terrible! After drinking beer, they... my husband and Mr. Abe collapsed."

Fifteen minutes later, the criminal police from the Shizuoka County Police Department rushed to the hotel after receiving the report.Under the guidance of the front desk clerk Kasai and the hotel manager Kubo, the criminal police came to room 212 of the crime scene. There were two bodies at the scene.One fell to the floor and the other lay on the bed.The man lying on the bed looked as if he was asleep with his head on the pillow and covered with a quilt, and he was facing the wall.The man who fell on the floor kept an expression of pain and struggle. There are two beer bottles and three glasses on the table.One bottle is already empty and the other is halfway through.One of the three glasses was almost empty, one was a third full of beer, and the other was tipped over, spilling its contents on the table.

"Do you have an accommodation registration card?" A detective with a crew cut and a dark complexion asked Kasai.Kasai and Kubo probably didn't want to look at the corpse, so they stood in the corridor. "Yes, here..." Kasai took out two accommodation registration cards from his pocket and handed them to the detective. "Well, Satoshi Abe, do you work at Akane Industry? He must be from Tokyo, right? Do you know who is Abe?" "I know, the person lying on the bed must be Abe. This room is registered by Abe." "So, what about the other person?" "I have never seen this person. He seems to be Mrs. Manabe's husband."

"Really? Ahh..." The criminal policeman nodded while looking at another registration card. "Akiko Manabe, the roommate is Koichi Manabe. Well, it's really rare to have a wife whose name comes first." "Ah..." Kasai tilted her head and said, "Actually, only the madam was the only one registering. She said her husband would be here in a while." "According to what this lady said, the upside-down man here is Manabe Koichi?" "Yes." Kasai said as if shrinking her neck. "You mean you were drinking beer and suddenly collapsed in pain?"

"Yes." Kasai replied.Manager Kubo stood aside with a pale face. "Are these beers from the refrigerator in this room?" the detective asked, looking at Kubo's face. "Yes." Kubo's voice trembled. "When was it added to the refrigerator?" "It should be this morning. I'll go and call the person in charge of this work." "Then please." Hearing what the detective said, Kubo immediately walked towards the elevator.After watching his figure disappear, the detective turned to Kasai again. "Where is the lady now?"

"Ah, she—the next room is empty, she's waiting there." Saying that, Kasai pointed to room 213. The criminal policeman nodded and gestured to the tall policeman standing beside him with his eyes, and the latter knocked on the door.There was a small sound from inside, so the criminal police pushed open the door. Sitting in the room was a woman in her thirties.Her half-length hair was dyed brown, and she wore heavy makeup.The slightly slanted eyes seem strong at first glance, but they are restless and bloodshot. The detective first introduced himself as Komura, and then asked the other party: "Is it Akiko Manabe?"

The woman nodded silently. Akiko sat on a chair in the room, Komura sat down across from her to facilitate the conversation, and the young policeman stood aside. "Are you here for a trip this time?" Komura asked. "Yes." Akiko Manabe replied in a low voice. "I heard from the receptionist that your room is not 212?" "Yes. Our room—is 314." "Well. Sorry to bother you at this time, can you tell me about the situation at that time?" "Yes." She still replied in a small voice. "First of all, I would like to ask, did the man in room 212 come here with your husband and wife?"

After hearing the policeman's question, Qiuzi wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, "This...to answer this question...you must first talk about something related to this." She replied in a hoarse voice. "Please tell me in detail." Komura put his feet together and made a posture to listen to her carefully.The young policeman stood beside him, taking out his notebook to record. "Actually, this trip here was suggested by my husband. He said it would be nice to go to Izu once in a while to relax." "When did this happen?" "A week ago. I was surprised because he had never said that before."

At this moment, Police Officer Komura suddenly thought of an unrelated question: It has been many years since he took his family on a trip. "So your husband handles everything about the trip?" "No, I booked this hotel. However, it was my husband who said it was a good hotel. There is nothing else to do because we came by car." "Why does your husband say this hotel is nice?" Qiuzi shook his head when asked by the policeman Komura: "I don't know why, he just said that he lived here before and everything was good." "Oh, is it." Detective Komura nodded his jaw and gestured for her to continue talking.

Qiuzi closed her eyes slightly, as if trying to calm herself down, and exhaled deeply. "So, we set off from home this morning. On the way, my husband told me that Mr. Abe's family will also come this time." "The Abe you're talking about is the man who died on the bed, right? Abe's family... means..." "Mr. Abe and his family also come as a couple." "Couple? So, did Mr. Abe's wife also come here?" However, according to the testimony of the front desk clerk, Satoshi Abe came alone. "It should be like that, but..." Qiuzi supported his right cheek with his palm, twisting his neck. "Can you talk about the relationship between Mr. Abe and you?" Detective Komura changed the subject. Qiuzi straightened her back slightly. "Mr. Abe's wife, Fumiko, and I were good friends in college." Then he continued, "We have been dating for nearly twenty years. During this time, we both got married, and now our two families are very close." "Is there anything else to do besides that?" "Nothing special. Our husbands have similar interests, so we often go golfing together." "Did you two often travel together before?" "Well. About once or twice a year." "Then, please return to the topic just now." Komura looked at each other and said, "Abe and his wife are also going on a trip together. Your husband told you in the car. Why didn't he tell you before that?" "My husband—" As she spoke, Akiko closed her mouth as if she was thinking about something, "The Abe family also decided to go on a trip together yesterday, so he didn't have a chance to tell me." "Oh?" This is a bit unreasonable, Komura thinks there is a problem. "Is there any chance to say such a thing? This is a bit strange." "I think so too, but that's what my husband said..." Qiuzi lowered her head and wrapped her handkerchief around her palm. "Okay, let's leave it at that for the time being." The detective said, "The Abe and his wife are also traveling together. It was suddenly decided yesterday. Has there been a similar decision before?" "No, never." "Why did it happen this time?" "It was said that there were so many people. My husband made a sudden decision yesterday. He called Mr. Abe and invited them to go on a trip. Hearing that the other party agreed to go together." "yes?" Komura nodded, but there were many questions in his heart.Why did Koichi Manabe invite the Abe couple the day before departure?Why didn't you tell your wife before you left?However, Qiuzi couldn't answer any of these questions. "Then, please continue. Your husband told you in the car that the Abe and his wife are going on a trip together?" "Yes...that, then, come to the hotel to check in." "Please wait." Xiaocun reached out to stop Qiuzi.Because he remembered Kasai's words. "Madam is the one who registered. According to the front desk clerk, your husband wasn't there at the time." "Yeah, when he was about to arrive at the hotel, he stopped the car and got off alone. He said that there was an acquaintance nearby, and he made an appointment to meet at the restaurant opposite." "acquaintance?" Komura couldn't help raising his voice.He felt more and more strange. "What acquaintance?" "have no idea." Qiuzi said bluntly, "I asked him about it at the time, but my husband only said he was a casual friend." "What's the name of the restaurant you're talking about?" "It's the shop called 'OWAITO' on the way here. Ah, it's this one." Saying that, Qiuzi took out a matchbox from the handbag next to her and put it in front of Komura, "This is the store." Komura took the matchbox. Very simple picture.There is a map printed on the back, and it is indeed near the hotel. "Why is this in Madam's hands?" Komura asked while holding a matchbox. "My husband gave it to me when we broke up in front of the restaurant. He told me to call him when I booked the room and then come straight to the room and it has a phone number on it." "So, your husband already had this matchbox in his hand before he entered this restaurant?" Qiuzi didn't seem to understand what the criminal police meant, but he still nodded. "Well, yes. That's how it is. Been here before, I suppose." "Seems." Komura looked at the matchbox, then handed it to the police officer standing next to him, and then turned his gaze to Qiuzi, "So, Madam went to the hotel alone and registered at the front desk?" "Yes. Then I went into the room alone and called the restaurant." "What did your husband say then?" "He said the business was over and he was going to the hotel now." "It's going fast." Komura observed Akiko's expression and said.But the expression on her face didn't change, she just said "That's right". "Then your husband was in the room soon?" "We'll be there in about ten minutes." "and then?" "He asked me Mr. Abe which room they lived in. I asked the front desk and I knew it was in 212. My husband said he wanted to go and have a look and then went out." "Did your husband go alone?" "Yes. I was going there too, but he said he was just going to say hello and come back..." Komura folded his hands on his chest, feeling something was wrong again. Qiuzi continued: "After a while, the phone in the room rang, and I picked up the phone. It was my husband calling. He said he was in Abe's room and wanted to sit there for a while, and let me go too. So I said I went in. When I went in, I saw my husband drinking beer alone, Mr. Abe was asleep on the bed, and Fumiko was not in the room." "Wait a minute, when you went to that room, Abe Satoshio was already lying on the bed?" Qiuzi seemed to swallow a mouthful of saliva. "Yes. At that time, I also asked my husband, and he said that Mr. Abe should sleep for a while when he was a little tired. I asked where Fumiko was, and he told me that he went shopping." "Anything else changed?" "No, but I feel like something is wrong." Then she rubbed her hands together as if suddenly feeling cold. "Was your husband already drinking beer?" "Yes, and let me drink a little too." "And took out the glass and poured you beer?" "En." Qiuzi nodded his jaw. "Did you drink?" "do not have this……" She closed her mouth and lowered her head, picked up the handkerchief on her lap, and wiped the corners of her eyes. "I was about to drink, but at this moment, my husband suddenly cried out with a painful expression on his face. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn't answer but struggled in pain...then he didn't move. Just And so he dies." She opened her handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "Then you called the help desk?" She nodded. "Madam, please think again." Komura looked down at her face and said, "Before your husband showed a painful expression, was there nothing unusual? Or did your husband have any abnormal behavior?" Qiuzi took the handkerchief away from her face.Both eyes are red, even the nose is red.She just tilted her head like that. "Oh, I think he's just drinking beer." "Did your husband pour that glass of beer himself?" "yes……" After saying this, Qiuzi suddenly raised his eyes and looked into the distance. "What's wrong?" Komura asked.She turned to him dully. "At that time, I saw that there was too much beer in the glass... I just... just poured some into his glass. At that time, he was taking side dishes from the refrigerator." A trace of doubt flashed in Xiaocun's mind, but on the other hand, it also made him feel that although the core of the case was hazy, he could see it clearly. He controlled this emotion and asked again: "After drinking that glass of beer, did your husband show a painful expression?" "Um...is there something in that beer?" "I think maybe." Suddenly, an indescribably complicated expression appeared on Qiuzi's face. She realized that maybe she was the one who deserved to die, and now her husband died for her. "I understand what you said." Officer Komura stood up, "Maybe we need to start an investigation as a homicide case. We will do our best to find out the truth as soon as possible." Qiuzi bowed his head deeply to express his gratitude. "Please. If anyone planned this murder, please arrest him." "I promise." Officer Komura looked at her and replied.But in his mind, he was considering where to start the case.