Chapter 22 Section 3

At dinner time, the thunder continued, and I even felt that the thunder was getting closer and closer, almost overhead.The rain continued, bean-sized raindrops beating the ground and buildings. The dining room is next to the living room.A slender table can accommodate ten people sitting around, and we sat down one after another. The doorman serves the food.According to the mayor, when the committee meets, he is always on hand to help with chores.No wonder he is so handy when it comes to serving big plates of snacks. "There is a guy who is the president of a watch company. He said that if there is a lack of people in the preservation committee, please tell him." Kibe said while chewing pickled shrimp, "He also said that if he can become a member of the committee. He would like to donate a Clock Tower."

Birds of a feather really flock together, this guy seems to be the same type as Kibe.I smiled at Xiaolu who was opposite me, and blinked secretly. "Why does the president of the watch company want to be a committee member?" Kaneko asked. "It's a masterpiece. I heard it's for publicity." "publicity?" "Yes. For example, using computer stunts to shoot a video: a mummy wearing a watch, opening his eyes, stretching a long waist. After that, he looked at the watch and said: Ah, it has been a hundred and fifty years , my watch is still so punctual. Screen switch: Please let me store your memory for you, XX brand quartz watch—how about it?"

"Mummy..." Dr. Tsukimura widened his eyes and said, "How did that person know about the mummy? Did you tell him about the basement?" Kibe opened his mouth wide, realized that he had made a slip of the tongue, coughed quickly, and said, "Ah, this, I didn't tell all about it, I only mentioned the mummy. So, that person knew about the mummy. " Dr. Tsukimura looked helpless, but he didn't complain, just shook his head slightly, and took a sip of white wine. "That's embarrassing," said the Mayor, fork in hand. "Didn't we agree? We can't tell anyone about the basement."

"Didn't I tell you? I didn't tell everything. It doesn't matter. That man is reliable, I promise. Everyone is so worried. Let him join the preservation committee. He has money and many connections." "Except for him, you didn't tell anyone else, did you?" the mayor asked directly, ignoring Kibe's words. "No, please trust me." However, there was no reason to believe this person's words, and everyone remained silent, and the atmosphere became awkward. "Mr. Tsukimura, when will the official investigation of the basement begin?" Naomi Doi asked Dr. Tsukimura beside him.

"We want to find the stolen items first." Dr. Tsukimura glanced at me and the mayor, and then said, "If we can't find it, we will start the investigation from the second half of next week." "In the first stage, is there an investigation on the mummy?" Jin Jin asked. "The overall investigation of the basement will also be carried out at the same time, but the investigation of the mummies will be prioritized." "It's to investigate who the mummy is." When Kibe said this, the doorman and Miss Fumi brought salad and fish.The two split up and placed the plates in front of everyone.

"Check the DNA, can't you figure out who the ancestor is?" It sounds like what Naomi Doi said. "This solution should be feasible." Dr. Tsukimura agreed, "Investigations in this area have already been arranged for professional research institutions." "If you can find out, you can also identify who the descendants of the pioneers are?" "This is unlikely." Kaneko disagreed with Kibe, "There is no evidence that the mummy is the pioneer. According to Dr. Tsukimura, the mummy was killed. That is to say, there is another person besides the mummy. That guy could be a Blazer, too."

"The pioneers are murderers?" The mayor's eyes widened. "This is a new saying." "There's no evidence that the Blazers are necessarily good people." "No, the pioneer should not be what you think." Jin Jin retorted, "The pioneer does not refer to a certain person, but a symbol. It is the general term for the founder of this small city. In this sense, the mummy is regarded as There is nothing wrong with being a pioneer. Of course, the murderer who killed the mummy may also be one of the pioneers. The pioneer cannot be a specific person. Therefore, I think that for the time being, the descendants of the mummy are regarded as the descendants of the pioneers. No problem."

"We don't know the mummy's life experience and character at all. If he is a big villain, should his descendants be titled?" "What's the matter, no one knows anyway." "What if one day we find out the true identity of the mummy?" "It's okay to think about that issue at that time." "By then it will be too late." "Okay, okay," the mayor came forward to mediate again, "We still don't know anything about the mummy. It's meaningless to argue at this time. Let's discuss it when we have new discoveries and new data. Anyway, the latest data Or the information is only known to a few of us."

Kibe and Kaneko said nothing, and started eating with displeasure on their faces. Naomi Doi looked at me, and said with a chuckle, "How about it, Mr. Detective, can you infer anything through this kind of conversation?" "Well, of course," I replied, "it is ideal to observe human nature through conversations at the dinner table." "Then you join in, and I'll observe." Kibe said, swallowing the broccoli. During dessert and coffee time, the mayor looked around the crowd and said, "After dinner, according to the usual practice, please go to the living room and continue drinking."

"Okay." Jin Jin was the first to stand up. "If you don't drink some scotch, your tongue won't work," Kibe said. Xiaolu poked me with her elbow, chuckled and said, "Everyone likes to drink." "Isn't it bad to have no alcohol?" "No, except you." "Then you and I have some juice." Just when we were talking and getting up, there was a deafening sound, and the whole building seemed to shake.All light disappeared in an instant. Everyone screamed at the same time. "The power is out." This is the voice of Dr. Tsukimura.

"Looks like lightning struck a nearby utility pole," Jin Jin said of the lightning strike. "Please wait where you are, it's okay." This was the mayor's voice. Not long after, a light came in.The doorman appeared with a flashlight. "Replace with home generators," the mayor ordered. "Miss Fumi has gone." The doorman replied. Soon we heard the sound of an electric generator, like an internal combustion engine.After a while, the lights came on. Everyone was in the same position as before the lights went out.Xiaolu still kept getting up from the table. "It's okay, let's go." The mayor said to everyone. Going to the living room, a round table that did not exist before is placed in the center, with seven chairs.There is also a table a little farther away, with a ready list of drinks, including brandy, scotch, bourbon and so on.There are also fruit juices, mineral water and a variety of glasses, as well as a refrigerator filled with plenty of ice. Members of the Preservation Committee will sit on their own dedicated chairs, and Xiaomidori and I have to sit on the chairs of the deceased Yuichiro Mizushima and Shunsuke Hida.Put those two chairs together. I pulled back the chair and was taken aback. "WED" has an "X" painted on it, exactly the same as the wood panel behind the door of the room, but when I first saw this chair, there was no "X" on it.Who painted it?I want to see how the chair engraved with "TUE" is, but Xiaolu has already sat on it, so I can't check it. "I'll have a glass first." Kibe said as he began to mix Scotch whiskey.Everyone gathers around the table.Xiaolu and I drank juice as agreed.The juice was not iced, I added an ice cube to the glass.Little Green did as well. Kibe, Doi, and the mayor drank Scotch, Dr. Tsukimura chose brandy, and Kaneko drank bourbon on the rocks. "Although the mayor said that, I still insist that many things should be dealt with before identifying the identity of the mummy." Kibe shook the glass of whiskey with ice in his hand, repeating the old saying, "For example, the ownership of the memorial hall. It now belongs to The city has it." "certainly." "Once the mummy is identified, what will his descendants think about ownership? They will likely demand that the memorial be taken back." "It's possible." Jin Jin, holding a pipe in his right hand and a glass in his left, agreed, "Since the mummy was found in the memorial hall, if he does live in the basement, it doesn't mean he can be called the master of the whole building." what." "why?" "This is my personal feeling - that basement is less like a living space and more like a dungeon. Even the entrance is cleverly hidden, which is confusing." "I feel the same way. That guy must be imprisoned." Kibe said, taking a sip of whiskey with ice, "What's Tsukimura-sensei's opinion?" "That basement is not like a normal living space, that's for sure." She stroked a glass of brandy with her well-tanned palm. "You mean, the basement is part of the home? In other words, the descendants of the mummy will claim to take back the ownership." For some reason, Jin Jin sneered. "Even then, as a city government, we will try to keep the basement as it is," the mayor said.He probably didn't want to drink much, the whiskey and ice cubes on the table had already melted. "This will lead to a lawsuit." Jin Jin said, "In order to keep the memorial hall as my own, I don't hesitate to spend a little time." "Then we can only be prepared to fight to the end." The mayor was very firm. At this time, I found that Kibe looked a little strange.To be precise, his face.In an instant, Kibe gritted his teeth, scratched his head, his face contorted. "Ah, what's the matter?" Doi Naomi next to her shouted in a panic. Kibe was already unable to answer her question.He seemed to be twitching, his whole body fell back, and he fell from the chair.Now he seemed to be unable to feel the pain of falling. When everyone was stunned, small white foam appeared from Kibe's mouth.Then his stomach gradually swelled, and he twitched on the ground two or three times like a fish out of water, and then he didn't move at all.His eyes were wide open, the white eyes rolled, and the white foam flowed down his cheeks to his neck. Doi Naomi yelled. "Mr. Kibe!" The mayor hurriedly stood up from his seat, trying to help Kibe up. "Don't touch him!" I stopped the mayor, approached Kibe, felt his pulse, and looked at his pupils.The results are obvious. "already dead." Jin Jin also screamed. "Why did it suddenly...was it a heart attack?" the mayor asked me. "No, probably not." I glanced at the large glass on the table, and Kibe had already drunk more than half of the whiskey.Xiaolu probably saw my sight and reached out to get the glass. "Don't touch it!" I yelled.She hastily withdrew her hand. I hold the glass carefully through a handkerchief to prevent fingerprints from getting on it.When I sniffed it, there was only the smell of Scotch whiskey, and there was nothing unusual at first glance. "How?" Naomi Doi seemed to see my intention and asked. "I don't know. There are many colorless and odorless poisons." "Poison..." Jin Jin straightened his body, "Why is there poison?" He glanced at his glass. The quartz clock strikes the time.The originally tense atmosphere became more tense and suffocating. "He's still here to scare us at this time." Jin Zi muttered. "Huh?" Dr. Tsukimura said, moved his chair to the wall and stepped on it.The chiming quartz was just above her seat. I understood her actions immediately.The chiming pigeon of the quartz clock has something in its beak, like a folded note. Dr. Tsukimura stretched his arms to remove the note, jumped off his chair and opened it. Judging by the look in her eyes, what was written on it. "Look." Dr. Tsukimura handed me the note in his hand. It neatly reads: Sin is in the book of the dead. This is the message from the murderer.The quartz clock ticked nine.The murderer had expected the victim to die before then. "What's going on here? It seems that Mr. Kibe was killed!" The mayor's breathing became disordered. "But..." Naomi Doi shook her head, "Who killed it?" "The Book of the Dead...what do you mean?" I murmured. "Mr. Kibe wrote a book, "The Business of Winners". Could it be that one?" Dr. Tsukimura replied. "Does anyone have that book?" "That kind of book... only the author himself will have it." As soon as Jin Zi finished speaking, I ran up the stairs. Kibe's room was in the corner opposite my room.There was no lock on the door.I pushed open the door and looked around.Kibe's room also had two beds, one of which was used for storing luggage, and a soft hardcover book with a gorgeous cover lay on it.I quickly picked it up and opened it. "Did you find anything?" Xiaolu, who ran in after me, asked.The mayor, Kaneko and Dr. Tsukimura ran in one after another. "No, not yet..." I was talking when I found the bookmark stuck in the book.written on it. Bewildered by the curse, he became a prisoner of the forbidden book. "The Forbidden Book..." "What's written on it?" Hearing the mayor's question, I silently handed him the bookmark. The mayor raised his head after only one glance, and asked, "What does this mean?" "Let me take a look too." Kaneko squinted at the mayor's hand, Dr. Tsukimura and Naomi Doi also stretched their necks. I scratched my matted hair, walked around the room, suddenly thought of something, and looked at the door.There was an identical plank hanging there. And, also, it has "THU" engraved on it, with an "X" drawn on it.