Chapter 20 Section 8

The agreed meeting place was a tea room in a hotel near the Shuitian Temple.The man in the black uniform behaved elegantly, and he led Kato and Nishizaki to the corner seats neatly. Kato looked at the price list and couldn't help being startled. "Look, a cup of coffee is actually 1,000 yen!" "The hotel is naturally so expensive, there should be free refills." "Oh, then at least two more." Kato looked around and found that most of them were business bosses in suits and leather shoes.Kato was also wearing a suit, but it looked very different from what they were wearing.There are also many foreigners.Sitting in a place like this is always uncomfortable.

"Why did you choose this kind of place?" "They said they happened to come here because of business, and they said it was a shop they often come to." "I often come to this kind of shop where a cup of coffee costs 1,000 yuan? Is the salary of the jewelry store staff so high?" "I don't know. I heard that single women have some money. In addition, maybe life was more luxurious in the bubble economy era, and that habit has not completely changed." "It's not easy for anyone to marry such a woman." "I think so too. But she's pretty, so someone should want her."

"It's really beautiful, but I don't like it. It looks mature and stable, but sometimes it looks weak and weak. It's hard to see her true thoughts." "Kato, don't worry, people won't be interested in you." Just as Nishizaki teased, the coffee was served.Kato feels that the aroma and color are different from those in ordinary coffee shops, and it is really delicious when you taste it. "Here we come." Nishizaki whispered, turning his gaze to the hall. Xin Haimeidong, who was wearing a white suit, was walking here, her walking posture was as graceful as a model, and she exuded a firm temperament.Kato thought again, is she really just an ordinary employee?

She noticed the policeman and stepped forward with a smile on her lips. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." "It's okay, we just arrived." A woman in a black dress walked over.Meifu ordered royal milk tea.Kato noticed that she didn't hesitate at all, and it seemed that it was her favorite drink here. "I'm sorry to ask you to come out when you're so busy." Kato sat down and bowed his head. "It's nothing, I'm not busy today." "I heard that the store will open tomorrow." "Hmm. That kind of thing happened, I think we have to work hard to restore the store's image." She stared intently at Kato's eyes, eyes that were drawn involuntarily.Kato quickly reached out to pick up the coffee.

"That's right, I'm taking up your time today because I want to confirm a very subtle issue, and it's also for this reason that I asked you to set a location." Kato remembered the situation when Hamanaka was arrested.At that time, the woman seemed very timid, but today she seems to have no scruples.Could it be that the mood has been adjusted in just a few days? "I searched Hamaka's house a few days ago and found various things. When I was interrogating Hamaka with these things, I heard something unexpected." The royal milk tea was served.Mifuyu thanked her and took a sip.Kato didn't notice that she wavered in the slightest.

"According to Hamaka," Kato continued, keeping an eye out for any changes in Mifuyu's expression, "his goal is only you, and it's not just a unilateral pursuit. He has a special relationship with you." Mifuyu's expression didn't change, more precisely, it was like putting on a mask without any expression.For a long time, she stared at Kato's face, blinked her eyes twice, and said without expression: "What do you mean?" "That's what it means, you are his lover." "Me?" Meidong clutched her chest, "How is that possible?"

"You mean he's lying?" "Of course! Why do you say that about me?" "It wasn't us, it was Hamaka who said it. To confirm this, I called you out." "Nonsense. Me and the person in charge of the floor..." Meifuyu let out a long breath while shaking her head, "Mr. Hamanaka really said that?" "yes." "It's unbelievable." She kept blinking her eyes and bit her lips tightly, "I have nothing to do with Mr. Hamaka, just ordinary subordinates." "But Bangzhong was very specific. He said that shortly after you were transferred to the third floor, he had a relationship with you. The meeting place was the NeoTower Hotel, which is located in Dongyang Town, which is also close to your home. He said that you go there every time. Open the room, wait in the room, and then he will go."

"Stop talking." Meidong snapped, "I've never been to that kind of place!" From Kato's point of view, she seemed really angry, not acting, but Hamaka, who claimed to have a relationship with her, didn't seem to be lying either.Who is hiding the truth? "If it's a lie, why did Hamaka say that?" "I don't know. I just entered Huawu, so I don't know much about Mr. Bangzhong." "Has Bangzhong approached you proactively? In other words, has he pursued you?" "Well..." Meifuyu's expression changed, as if she just noticed something.

"Have you thought of any clues?" "It's not a clue either." "Any small thing is fine, can you tell us? If it is found out that it has nothing to do with this case, I will never ask such questions in the future, and I will never make you feel uncomfortable again. We don't want to interfere with your private life at all." Meifuyu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Not long after I changed my current job, I once had tea with Mr. Bangzhong twice. After get off work, he said he had something to discuss with me." Having said that, she nodded, "Ah , By the way, that store may be..."

"what?" "The hotel in Toyo Town you mentioned just now." "NeoTower?" "Maybe it's there. Stopped by on the way home to take me. I don't know the name of the hotel." "Have you had tea there?" "Ok." "Just tea?" "Yes." Meifuyu's expression softened a bit, "While drinking tea, I listened to him talk about the store's policy and other things, that's all." "Let me repeat, did he pursue you at that time?" "This..." She tilted her head slightly, "Maybe there is."

"What's the meaning?" "He invited me to the bar and said he wanted to talk further." "You didn't accept the invitation?" "It's too late, and it's not pleasant to drink with people you don't know well." "Oh." Due to his working relationship, Kato has always been quite confident in distinguishing the truth from falsehoods of other people's speech, but he can't grasp Xinhai Mifuyu.She's either telling the truth, or she's a brilliant actress. "Have you ever heard similar things from female colleagues, that they were also invited by Bangzhong?" "I don't know." She shook her head, "I just came to the store not long ago, and no one has spoken to me intimately." "Ok." Just as Kato was thinking about the next question, Mifuyu suddenly said, "Excuse me, why did Mr. Hamanaka steal my letter?" "Well..." Kato was a little hesitant to say it, but if she didn't answer, she would definitely not be convinced. "This is what he said all the time, saying that you seem to have another man, and he wants to find out who the other party is." "Ah?" Meidong frowned, "Is that man sick?" "Anyway, it's different." Kato said with a wry smile, "Even if he's telling the truth and really has some kind of special relationship with you, it's not normal to steal other people's letters." "I have nothing to do with that person." Mifuyu stared at Kato sternly. "We understand your opinion, and we will seriously discuss it when we go back. Maybe there are other things I want to ask you, and then please assist us in our work." "I'm telling the truth." Just as Kato was about to reach out to pick up the bill on the table, she quickly snatched it one step earlier. "You don't have to worry about it, because I am the one appointed to meet here." "No, it can't be like this." "I want to stay a little longer to adjust my mood." "Oh, really..." Kato scratched his head, "You're welcome." After leaving the hotel, Kato asked Nishizaki: "What do you think? Do you think she is lying?" "It's hard to say, but..." Nishizaki looked back and whispered, "She is a powerful woman." "I agree." Kato grinned. Before returning to the headquarters, the two went to the NeoTower Hotel.White high-rise buildings stand out against streets filled with homely restaurants and grocery stores. Kato took out a photo in front of the service desk-the photo on Xin Haimeidong's resume borrowed from Huawu, and asked if anyone had seen it. The hotel staff with thirty-seven hairs asked several people around him, and then returned to Kato. "Nobody ever said they'd seen her." "Are there any guests named Xin Hai Mifuyu or Hamanaka Yoichi? That's how it is written." Kato showed a note with their names on them. "Wait a moment." The staff operated the computer swiftly, wrote a note and returned, "Mr. Yoichi Hamanaka has lived here twice." "Oh? When?" "Pingcheng five years, that is, the year before last, I lived there twice in October." "The year before last..." "There is no one named Xin Hai Mei Dong in the records." This is not surprising, the real name of the person who engages in extramarital affairs is strange. Kato took out another photo, this time of Yoichi Hamaka. "This guest, I think I have seen it several times." The clerk said while looking at the photo. "About when?" "Well, it should be this year." He seemed unsure. "Have you ever been with a woman?" "Uh, I can't remember." The staff shook his head in embarrassment. Kato nodded, remembering everything is impossible. Back at the police station, Kato immediately called Hamaka to the interrogation room.Hearing that Shinkai Mifuyu denied the relationship with him, Hamaka lifted his butt from the chair and shook his head vigorously. "She lied. She even said it had nothing to do with it. How could that be? Mr. Police, please believe me." Bangzhong's eyes were full of begging. "But you said she was always the one who checked in, but no one in the hotel remembered her." "There are so many guests, I guess I forgot." "But people remember you. You are the one who checks out, right? In that kind of hotel, most of the people who go through the procedures at the service desk are men. Don't you think it's unnatural that they can remember you but not Xin Haimeifu? " "Even if you say that..." "I heard that you lived in that hotel before. The fall of the year before last. Who did you go with?" Bangzhong's distorted expression suddenly lost his energy, as if someone had suddenly stabbed him in the gut. "That...it doesn't matter." "It doesn't matter. We have nothing to do with you whether you are a veteran of playing with women, who you had an affair with, or who spoiled a few female shop assistants. What we want to know is who did the stench incident. Now that we have found this thing, of course We need to find the person who wrote this." Kato said, putting a copy of the document in front of Bangzhong——the threatening letter received by Akiko Hatayama, "Quickly confess, did you start the process for each female clerk in turn? Offensive? Shinkai is one of them, and so is Akiko Hatayama. No one submits, and you get so annoyed that you do that." "No, no. I didn't do that kind of thing. Please call Mifuyu and let me tell her directly." Kato looked down at the pleading Hamanaka, and asked himself soberly in his mind, does he look like he is acting?