Chapter 49 Section 35

Three days had passed since Tachibana Naoko was killed.On this day, I returned to the workshop after lunch and saw that someone was waiting for me on the note.Judging by the clumsy handwriting, it must be a note left by that frivolous clerk.No matter what she sends recently, she uses paper to send, and I can't wait for this method. Recently, I try to avoid contact with other people, and repeat the same work silently in a space surrounded by machines. I only have to talk to the monitor when I discuss with him before and after work. His instructions were to answer as briefly as possible when asked.

The squad leader thinks I'm a weirdo and I'm not good at communicating, but I haven't made any mistakes in my work, and my efficiency is far higher than that of previous workers. He treats me impeccably. There is a simple hall at the entrance of the main entrance of the factory, where you can chat with visiting colleagues.It was lunch break time, more than 20 tables were empty, and I saw my guest at a glance—of course, even in the crowd, I would not mistake him—Officer Kurata. "Hope I didn't interrupt your meal." He looked into my face. "It seems to be in a hurry." I looked back at him like a hound, and sat down in front of him. "I ran to such a smelly place on purpose."

"It's not too urgent. I wanted to visit you at night, and I wanted to see where you work, so I came here." "Oh?" I leaned on the chair and crossed my arms, "What do you want from me?" "Is that so..." He took out his notebook and opened it, stared at me for a while and said, "Do you feel uncomfortable?" I shook my head: "No." "Oh, that's good...it seems that my complexion is not very good." "It's probably because I'm tired from work. I've been a little busy recently." "It's better to take it easy." His eyes returned to the notebook, "You know Naoko Tachibana, the one who works as an assistant in the Tang Yuan Research Office of the Faculty of Medicine of Donghe University."

I nod.This is the expected question, and I am not surprised: "What's wrong with her?" "Disappeared two or three days ago." "Missing..." I think the word sounds strange, probably because I know where she is, "Where is it?" "Yes. Her parents in her hometown reported the case two days ago. Her mother said that at noon two days ago, Professor Tang Yuan called her and said that her daughter didn't go to college, and no one answered her calls at home. Does she know the situation. Her mother hurried to her apartment, but there was no one there. She thought she was going on a trip, but there was no sign of preparations, and it was strange to leave without saying hello to anyone. Her mother told everyone she could think of After calling around, no one knew her whereabouts. I heard that her mother wanted to wait another night before calling the police, but she couldn't sit still because of worry, and ran to the police station late at night."

"Then," I said, "it's not necessarily that something happened." "You can't ignore it. It may be involved in some incident. Especially she is related to that significant operation, and her whereabouts are unknown now. That aspect must be considered. The situation is quite troublesome. I am responsible for this matter because I am more or less right. The situation is understood." He didn't say she might have been killed. "What do you want to ask me?" I tilted my head and raised my chin slightly. "First the clues. Can you think of anything about her disappearance?"

I slowly turned my face away: "I can't possibly know where she's going, right?" "Even if you don't know, I think you may have heard something from her. I heard that she has been taking care of you during your hospitalization, and you have met many times in laboratories and other places after you were discharged, didn't you?" I nodded slightly, his words elusive to me.He must have asked Tang Yuan, those guys should know that Naoko often sees me alone.But judging from what he just said.He doesn't seem to know yet.Did you pretend to be stupid when you knew it, or didn't hear about it from Tang Yuan?If it's the latter, why didn't Tang Yuan say anything?

"The last time you saw her was..." He changed the way he asked the question.I said it was the day I went to Saga’s house, it’s been a long time.He recorded it, saying, "Can you recall anything else she said to you besides your treatment?" I said a few irrelevant things, and then asked: "Didn't you ask Dr. Tang Yuan about her recent situation?" "Of course I asked. But he didn't have any clues. He said that he only knew that she came to the university as usual the day before, and worked as usual until she returned home around six in the evening, and then disappeared."

It turned out that Tang Yuan was playing dumb.Why on earth would he do this?If I tell the truth, I will definitely be suspected.Why is he covering up? "Sorry, I can't provide any clues." "Really?" He didn't seem to doubt much, and put the notebook into the inner pocket of his suit with a little regret, "Then I'll ask someone else." "Do you think something will happen to her?" "How should I put it?" He scratched his head, "I think she might appear suddenly, and I think there might be the worst possible outcome. I don't know either."

I nodded silently, knowing that I had been right by his last guess.