Chapter 34 Section 34

Kazuo Tomita has neatly parted hair, and wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that seem to be heavily prescribed.He looked at Nanao, nodded slightly, then sat down on the iron chair, looked at the time first, and then said "my surname is Tomita".Timing is probably his habit. "I'm sorry to bother you during your busy schedule." "I heard from the secretary that Nanao-san wants to inquire about the Arima Motor Compensation Agreement." "Actually, I am investigating the victims of their defective cars. Mr. Lawyer, you have been entrusted to negotiate with Arima on behalf of the victim group."

"Because one of the victims worked for the company I was a consultant for." "I've heard that too. So, is there an agreement on compensation for the victims?" "The case that the cause of the accident was determined to be a defect in the Arima car is all over." Tomita responded with a rigorous statement, playing his legal professional qualities. "Is the victim dissatisfied?" Hearing Nanao's question, Tomita leaned forward slightly, put his hands on the coffee table, and interlocked his fingers. "I heard from Mr. Mochizuki that it seems that the employees of Arima Motors were harassed, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes." Nanao replied vaguely. Tomita snorted. "I don't really believe that the police of the Metropolitan Police Department were dispatched because employees were harassed, but there is no rush to pursue this. As far as the conclusion is concerned, there is no one who wants to take revenge on Arima from the victim group, at least I think not come out." "yes?" "Everyone's degree of victimization is different, and the amount of compensation is also different, but no matter which case, compared with similar cases in the past, the compensation proposed by Arima is close to the highest amount. As for dissatisfaction, I can't say enough, but At least no one came to complain to me. The only exception is Mr. Mochizuki, because money can’t buy back human life. Isn’t that why you went to visit Mr. Mochizuki? Although I don’t know what you are investigating.”

Nanao smiled wryly, "What you said is absolutely correct." "Since you have met Mr. Mochizuki, you also know that Mochizuki and his wife are not in the mood to embarrass Arima. They only want to stand up from the grief of losing their beloved daughter. They are groping for how to live in the future, and they have no energy left. Think about revenge." Nanao nodded, and he himself got the same impression.Mochizuki and his wife have the motivation to revenge Shimabara, but that's all.This crime is not something an old couple can do. "You said that the cause of the accident was determined to be a defective Arima car, and a compensation agreement has been reached, so how to deal with the case that has not been determined?"

"This aspect is not the only one. When this issue surfaced, we were indeed contacted by various people, saying that the content was nothing more than a recent car accident, and it was determined that it was caused by a defective Arima car. They hoped that we could provide assistance. But , the vast majority is wishful thinking of the parties involved, or they are coveting the compensation and fabricating the facts. As long as they talk on the phone, they will know, because they can't correctly explain the vehicle number or the condition of the car accident at the time. Almost, even the type of car wrong."

"So, is there any case that was found to be caused by Arima's defective car, but it was not adopted?" Tomita pondered Nanao's question for a moment, then shook his head. "Probably not. Besides, Arima's attitude is very cooperative. They are trying their best to save the company's image." "That's it." "I'm sorry, I can't help you." Tomita Masashi said, this sentence does not seem to be teasing Nanao. "Where, your words are very valuable. I'm sorry for wasting your time." Nanao stood up. After leaving Tomita Law Firm, Nanao walked into a self-service coffee shop. There was no ashtray in the office just now.

Nanao was drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette, wisps of light smoke spit out with a sigh. Maybe the idea of ​​anticipating mistakes is growing in my heart.The threatening letter received by the Teito University Hospital was a cover-up, and the real target of the gangster was Soichiro Shimabara. When this idea flashed in his mind, he was very excited, but as the investigation progressed, the possibility seemed to be getting lower and lower.Needless to say Tomita, his suspicion of Mochizuki has long since been ruled out, and the other victims had no motive to threaten Shimahara's life.

The phone rang, it must be Sakamoto again.He couldn't help frowning, Sakamoto must be doing some boring investigation work alone, and it's time to accompany him. However, the caller ID was not Sakamoto's number, and when he picked it up, it turned out to be Tomita. "About what happened just now, I think of a case. I heard that someone made a strange phone call." "What's the situation?" "It was answered by someone from the firm. The caller asked if he could join the victim's group if he was victimized because of Arima's defective workshop."

"Indirectly? Is it a car accident?" "We thought so too, but it doesn't seem to be the case. It is said that the faulty car stalled and caused traffic obstruction." "Oh..." Nanao remembered what Kosaka told him.The problem with the defective car is that the IC that controls the engine is malfunctioning, characterized by high revs, but the opposite can also occur, that is, stalling. "So, how does your firm answer?" "It may be difficult to seek compensation from Arima in this situation, but it is inconvenient to make a conclusion without knowing the details, so we asked the other party to come over, but the other party hung up the phone without leaving a name."

"Is it a woman?" "No, I heard it was the voice of a young man. How is it? Is there any reference value?" "I don't know yet, but thank you, it may be a big reminder." "That's good." Tomita's voice was more cordial than when we met just now. Nanao took out the folded document from her pocket, which was the information provided by Kosaka.He opened the file and browsed through the reports on it. Is this the one... The content of the report pointed out that because the defective car stalled on a small road, the nearby traffic was paralyzed, and there was such a note:

An ambulance behind the defective car was about to take the patient to the hospital. After judging that the road conditions could not pass smoothly, the driver had to take a detour... Nanao picked up the phone and prayed that Kosaka would not go on a business trip, but fortunately his prayer was fulfilled. "I want to ask you for a favor." Nanao immediately asked Kosaka who answered the phone. The place they agreed on was the coffee shop where they met a few days ago.Nanao looked at the clock from time to time, waiting for Kosaka. He looked at the empty cup of coffee, and when he was considering whether to order a second cup, Kosaka pushed the door and walked in, followed by a thin, long-haired man. "Sorry to keep you waiting. It took me a while to catch him." Kosaka apologized and sat down.The long-haired man also nodded and sat down beside him. "Where, I suddenly asked you." The waiter came over, the two ordered coffee, Nanao also ordered a second cup by the way. Kosaka introduced the long-haired man, whose surname was Tian Qi, who was in charge of running social news. Nanao took out the copy and put it on the table. It was a report about the faulty Arima car that stalled and blocked the road, forcing the ambulance to detour. "The person who wrote this report is..." "It's me." Tian Qi nodded and said, "It was very congested at the time, because the place where the defective car stopped was just in front of a small bridge, but the bridge couldn't cross the river." "That's why the ambulance detoured?" "Yes. At that time, the car was carrying a woman with a serious head injury. Every second counted. The driver who chose that road can't be blamed, because there is usually no traffic jam on that road, and there is no way to reach the hospital if you cross the river. Of course, there are other seats. You can go over the bridge, but then you have to go around. In the end, you still have to go around.” "So, what happened to the seriously injured woman?" Nanao's question made Tazaki and Kosaka look at each other.Kosaka smiled triumphantly, looked at Nanao and said, "I expected that Mr. Nanao would ask these questions, so I asked him to bring some materials." "I was also curious about the ambulance, so I did some research, but unfortunately it was not adopted." Tian Qi said, "The seriously injured woman was not saved." Nanao could not help but straighten her back. "Did in the hospital?" "Yes. The woman is a writer. While interviewing at the construction site of the building, she slipped and fell from a scaffold ten meters high and injured her head. Although she was sent to an ambulance immediately, she met us just now. Speaking of the situation." "Was she still alive when the accident happened?" "It seems to be. People who were present at the time also said that although she lost consciousness, she was still breathing. Of course, the situation is very serious." "And when it was sent to the hospital?" "I haven't died yet. I had an emergency operation, but I can't recover. However, it is said that if I was sent to the hospital earlier, I might be saved." "Does she live with her family?" "No, she lives alone in Ogiki, and her hometown is in Shizuoka. When I contacted her family, I heard that her mother happened to be packing up her belongings in her apartment, so I went to Ogiki to interview her mother. How pitiful!" Tasaki took out his photo and business card from his pocket.The name "Kanhara Haruna" was written on the business card, without any title, and the address was indeed in Ogiki. That photo looks like it was taken at a ski resort, there are three men and three women, all wearing ski outfits, the weather is fine, and the snow-capped mountains in the background are beautiful. "The woman in the middle is Kamihara Haruna." Tazaki said, "This is a photo of the college club. I borrowed it from her mother to remake it. I can't seem to find a recent photo." "It looks beautiful." "I remember she seemed to be four years out of college." In other words, he was about twenty-six years old.Nanao was calculating in her head. "Does her family know why the ambulance was late?" "Well, her mother knew." "Then what did the other party say?" Tasaki shrugged. "bad luck." "Bad luck? That's it?" "Her mother said that misfortunes never come singly. At that time, she was caught in a traffic jam caused by a defective car. The child was really unlucky." "Don't you hate horses and cars?" Hearing Nanao's question, Tazaki murmured, crossing his hands on his chest. "I also wanted to learn more about this aspect, but her mother's reaction was flat. Falling from a height of ten meters made her mother terrified, and she felt as if she had resigned herself to her fate. Even if she was sent to the hospital earlier, she would probably have saved her life." Don’t come back. Or if there was someone to save but die in vain because of someone’s fault, this kind of thing is too painful to think about, so I decided not to think about it.” Nanao nodded.He couldn't say why, but he could understand the mentality. However, in this way, other doubts arise—who is the man who called Lawyer Tomita?According to Tasaki, it would not be the family of Haruna Kanbara. Nanao told Tian Qi about this, but he couldn't figure it out either. "Mr. Kosaka told me this incident, and I also found it very strange. When I was sorting out the report on the damage to the defective car, I contacted the family of Haruna Kanbara again. They said that Haruna Kanbara had no direct connection with that, so they declined. interview. So I thought, there’s no way they’re going to call Lawyer Tomita.” "So it's another case?" "No way? This should be the only major problem caused by the stalled car. If there are others, we should get the news." What he said was true, and Kosaka next to him also echoed in a low voice. "Does Kanbara Haruna have a boyfriend?" Nanao asked. "It seems to be. Her mother said she saw it in the hospital." "What is your name?" Tasaki frowned and shook his head. "She refused to tell me. And asking so many questions is really an invasion of privacy." Nanao sighed, drank the lukewarm coffee, and stared intently at Haruna Kanbara in ski suit, she smiled happily.