Chapter 5 Section 5

It was already the third day after the incident to find out the identity of the male deceased.A woman professes that he might be her lover. The woman's name is Miyamoto Kiyomi, who lives in Saitama Prefecture and says she is a freelance worker.According to her, she filed a search request with the Saitama prefectural police because her lover was missing, and the police took out a photo and asked her if she was the person. The young searcher from the Shakujii Station and Kaga took Kiyomi to the underground morgue. As soon as she saw the corpse, she made a hiccup-like sound, and then cried, "Why did this happen..." .Kaga asked her if she was this person, and she just cried, "How could it be, how did you become like this...".

After finally calming her down, she was taken to a reception room in the corner of the criminal department, where she was questioned.However, she was still very excited, and cried as she spoke, and it took a lot of effort to understand the general situation. Qingmei said that the man's name is Toshiyuki Kazama and he is 25 years old.After graduating from the local art university, I didn't have a regular job, so I studied while working part-time.At this time, I met Qingmei, who had just graduated from college and determined to become an actress. In the past two years, Kazama went to New York alone to learn painting.After living there for a year, I returned to Japan.He seems to like life there very much and plans to go again in the future, and he has been saving money for it.On the day of the incident, there were only two days before he went abroad again.

"Going to New York in two days?" Kobayashi asked, Qingmei replied "yes", wiped her tears with a wet handkerchief, and folded it again. "It seems like I'm going to go for about a month this time." "So that's the case, how did you find out that his whereabouts are unknown?" "We made an appointment to meet again before he went abroad, but I waited and waited and he didn't contact me, so I took the initiative to call him. But no one answered, I thought it was strange, but that person often He did some unreasonable things, so I thought he was staying at his friend's house."

"But he still didn't show up on the day of departure, didn't you think it was strange?" "Although I find it strange, I guess the flight may have been changed, and he left before. I never thought that he would be killed..." Speaking of this, Qingmei choked up again, and it took a few minutes before she recovered to the state of being able to speak. "Then why didn't you report the crime?" Ota asked. "When he arrived in the United States, he would have called me immediately, but he didn't. So I felt a little uneasy, so I went to his residence to check, and found that the door was full of newspapers. If he went to the United States, the newspaper should cancel the subscription, so I I became suspicious..."

"And then you reported the case to Saitama County?" Kiyomi covered her eyes with a handkerchief and nodded. Ota and Kobayashi glanced at each other and tilted their necks. "what 's the truth?" "When was the last time you saw him?" Kaga asked Qingmei, she put away her handkerchief and thought for a while, "It should be three days before his scheduled departure date." That is, the day before the incident. "At that time, he really planned to go abroad in three days, right?" "Yes, of course." "Have you brought enough living expenses over there?"

"Needless to say, he wouldn't go anyway if he didn't have money." "How much deposit did he bring?" "Well, I'm not very clear about this...about two million." Hearing this, Kaga looked at the two seniors, if Kiyomi was telling the truth, then Kazama Toshiyuki didn't have money worries. "Did he say he had to do something on the last day he met you?" Xiao Lin asked. "Just cancel the newspaper subscription, go say goodbye to everyone or something." "Did he say anything about going to the ballet?" Immediately, she opened her eyes wide, as if she had forgotten her grief, "I don't know anything about ballet."

"How could that person go to a place like the ballet troupe... I don't think he has even heard of the name Gaoliu ballet troupe." "Is he not at all interested in ballet?" Kaga asked her, she shook her head, not at all, and replied. "I studied ballet for a while because I wanted to be an actor, but I never heard of him having anything to do with ballet." Kaga looked at the other two investigators one by one again, they also had puzzled expressions. On the same day, several people from Kaga went to the residence of Toshiyuki Kazama in Kichijoji.As Qingmei said, his mailbox was full of newspapers, and the parts that couldn't fit were piled aside.

There are obvious signs of cleaning in the room, and there are suitcases and sports backpacks lined up side by side in the corner.The appraisers began to collect fingerprints in the room, and Kaga and the others investigated the items in the bag. In addition to clothes, the suitcase also contains painting tools, books and daily necessities, etc.In the schoolbag, passports, driver's licenses, and envelopes containing $3,800 were randomly stuffed.Neither bag looked fully packed. The investigators then thoroughly inspected the room, looking for anything that would suggest a connection between Kazama and the Takayanagi Ballet or Saito Ha Ryuko.

"Director, look at this." The detective who was fumbling in the desk drawer handed Kobayashi a small piece of paper. "This is the ticket to the ballet." Kobayashi was talking to himself, and handed the things to Ota.Kaga watched from the side, printed on the thin blue paper: "Swan Lake audience at 6:00 p.m. **** on March 15, 198*****Hall Sponsor: Gaoliu Ballet, GS Seat Floor, No. 15, Row 9" "This is last year's date." Ota said. "yes." "But Kiyomi said that Toshiyuki Kazama is not interested in ballet." "But that doesn't seem to be the case."

Kobayashi handed the tickets to other investigators. However, nothing else was found that would suggest his connection to the ballet.Not only Saito Ye Ryuko, but also no items that prove that it is related to other members. Moreover, the identification team's report on fingerprints came out that night, and the report showed that in Toshiyuki Kazama's room, no fingerprints of anyone related to the case were found—that is, no fingerprints matching those of members of the ballet troupe were found. Except that Kazama Toshiyuki had seen the performance of the ballet troupe - this is the only connection between the two.

From the second day onwards, intelligence collection was carried out around Toshiyuki Kazama.The place where he works seems to be a design studio in Shinjuku, and he also worked as a waiter at Kichijoji snack bar for a while.The investigators began to investigate from the people who had been in contact with him at that time. Kaga and Ota visited the ballet troupe again that day. They first met Shizuko Takayanagi, but she insisted that she had never heard of this name. "It doesn't matter if it's not related to ballet, but you don't have any impression of the surname Kazama?" Ota was a bit unwilling to give up, but Shizuko suddenly straightened up and sat up, closing her eyes and shaking her head a few times. "I've never heard of that name at all. I can't possibly know a thief or something, can I?" "However, according to our investigation, it seems that Kazama didn't sneak in for theft. You really can't think of anything?" "I can't think of it." Jingzi was decisive. Walking out of the reception room, Ota turned his head and showed a wry smile. "The attitude is extremely cold." "Maybe it's retaliation for us not releasing Saito Ye Ryuko. Other investigators also said that the attitude of the members is getting worse day by day." "Forget it, we were originally unpopular professions." I called the office, and Ota walked into the office after talking.Now the staff in this room are back to work. While waiting for Ota, Kaga looked in the direction of the practice room. Although they had been training in groups all the time, it seemed that only one person was dancing during lunch break.Taking a closer look that it was Mio Asaoka, Kaga quietly opened the door and walked in, sitting on a round stool in the corner. Wei Xu played a song on the tape recorder and danced to it.Although Kaga has heard this piece of music, he doesn't know who composed it.There should be no mistakes in classical music, but Kaga doesn't have the knowledge in this area. But even Kaga like that was fascinated by her dancing.Her body is almost like a kaleidoscope, rather than following the beat of the music, it is better to say that it is completely integrated with the music, showing colorful changes.Sometimes it is like flowing clouds and flowing water, and sometimes it seems to be playing something with the whole body.Spinning, jumping, tiptoeing, every movement seems to be telling someone.Then look more closely, and find that her movements are surprisingly in place.There is absolutely no deviation from the axis when spinning, and there is no unnecessary movement when switching to the next movement. Just thinking of having this kind of technique and physical strength, and the effort to maintain it, Kaga was once again amazed. Unexpectedly, Weixu's hands and feet stopped suddenly, as suddenly as a mechanical puppet stopped.The music on the tape was still playing, but she walked over to the tape recorder and pressed stop.Then he raised his head with an expression that looked like he had just realized Kaga's existence. "Are you here?" "Well, that's what happened just now, why did it stop suddenly?" When Kaga asked her, Weixu lowered his eyes without saying a word, his expression seemed very disturbed, he picked up the towel hanging from the horizontal bar and put it on his shoulders, at this moment Kaga walked towards her. "It was such a wonderful dance, I watched it full of emotion." Before he could say anything, he stopped and stared straight at his face. "Emotional?" "Well, how can you not be moved? You can see such a vivid dance with your own eyes." She saw Kaga's serious face when she spoke, and after a while she blinked and said "Thank you", her face obviously relaxed a lot. "What did you dance just now?" Kaga's question might be too simple, she tilted her head to show that she didn't understand. "Is that a scene from 'The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest'?" This question made Wei Xu nod his head again and again. "Yes, the solo part of Princess Floria." Kaga didn't quite understand. "When is the performance?" "Next Sunday, at Plaza Hall in Tokyo." Kaga took out a notebook from his pocket and wrote it down. "You said you've seen 'Swan Lake,' right?" she asked. "Yeah, you were wearing black at that time, right?" "I'm playing O'Till the Black Swan." "Yes, that's right, I think you dance very well. I'm surprised how you can dance to that level... I won't lie to you." Wei Xu looked down, and then turned his eyes back to Kaga, his expression became melancholy. "Excuse me, hasn't Ye Liuzi been released yet?" This time it was Kaga's turn to look away. "Because there are still many things we don't know very well, but then again--" He took out a photo of Kazama Toshiyuki and put it in front of Wei Xu. "This man is the deceased. Have you heard the name Kazama before?" She shook her head immediately, "No." "Most of us now suspect that Toshiyuki Kazama may want to steal something other than cash, so I want to ask you, what is the most important thing in this ballet company? That is, if it is stolen, it will be dangerous s things." With a sluggish expression, Wei Xu only turned his eyes to the direction of Kaga, met his eyes and immediately returned to the original direction.Seems to be thinking about Kaga the way she is. Yet she finally shook her head. "There is no such thing as being dangerous to be stolen. There should be nothing in this place." "That's it." Kaga said, "You're right." "If you have to say it," she said again, "it should be a dancer. No matter where the dance troupe is, the dancer is always the most important." "I see." Kaga nodded. "Perhaps it is true, you are precious to the ballet company." "But it can't be stolen." "what a pity." After speaking, Kaga looked at her again, "You are indeed the treasure of this dance troupe." Then Wei Xu smiled a little, closed his eyes, and shook his head gently. "Is that true?" At this moment, Kaga felt another world in her heart. Hearing Dodo's knock on the door, they turned their heads and saw that Ota made a gesture.Then he bowed to Kaga and Mio. She moved her slender chin and nodded, and said "goodbye" softly. Walking out of the ballet troupe, Kaga and Ota inquired about the situation with the relevant stage staff of the ballet performance. They were mainly responsible for the stage equipment and lighting.Considering that Kazama Toshiyuki is a future painter, he was particularly looking forward to the role of stage art, but he didn't get any important clues. "Why do you bother?" Instead, he was met with such sarcasm and ridicule. "It must be self-defense. It doesn't matter what kind of person is killed, right? Please release Saito-kun quickly!" On the other hand, although Kazama's investigation has progressed, there is still no connection with the Takayanagi Ballet.After investigating some people who are close to him, their testimonies are that it is difficult to imagine that Kazama will have anything to do with ballet or ballet troupe, and they have never even heard him mention similar topics. And when it comes to his affairs, many witnesses will conclude that, "It's absolutely unimaginable that he sneaked into someone's house to steal something, is it a mistake?" And I also heard the following words from the teacher in the school where Kazama graduated: "He is a child with a strong sense of justice." These are the words of the head teacher in high school. "In short, he can't see anything unhealthy or unreasonable. If he encounters it, no matter who the other party is, he will fight against it. It's a little bit too tough, but usually he is a well-behaved kid with a sense of humor." Friends and professors in college also said the same thing, and the views of people around Kazama Toshiyuki have not changed much until now. The investigators were confused.The more in-depth investigation, the more I found that Toshiyuki Kazama had nothing to do with the fact that he illegally broke into the Takayanagi Ballet. Then, when Kaga discovered that it was the only connection point between Takayanagi Ballet and Kazama Toshiyuki, it was already the fifth day after the incident. Gaoliu Ballet often sends some outstanding dancers abroad for training, and the venue is the New York Ballet.And this ballet company is very close to the apartment where Kazama used to live. That said, there's a good chance he had contact with members of the High Willow Ballet while he was in New York. "There is another thing that caught my attention." Kaga looked at Kobayashi and Ota, and said, "That is the ballet ticket we found in Kazama's room earlier, the date was March last year, and It was not long after that guy came back from New York. Kazama, who is obviously not interested in ballet at all, why did he suddenly have a whim? I personally think that the reason should be traced back to the time he lived in New York." His opinion was agreed by Kobayashi and the others, and they used this as the search target.The first thing to do is to screen out the actors of the Gaoliu Ballet who may have contact with Kazama in New York.This investigation was carried out immediately, and two possible characters were identified, one was Konno Takehiko and the other was Oda Yasunari. And if you ignore the condition from the year before last to last year, there are still a few people who deserve attention, and Akiko Takayanagi is among them.But Saito Yeliuko and Asaoka Mio have never been to New York, they just have the experience of studying in London. For Konno and Oda, a more rigorous surrounding investigation was carried out.If they had known each other, there was a good chance they would have bumped into each other somewhere after returning from Tokyo. And if that's the case, an investigation in New York becomes essential.As a major crime city in the world, it is unknown how much they will respond to our request. In short, we should first ask the police station over there for help in the investigation. Everything that comes to mind must be thoroughly investigated. Kaga and Ota joined the surrounding investigation task force and ran back and forth for many days.During this period of time, many Japanese people went to New York for the purpose of work and study. According to those people, most Japanese only gather with their own people when they get there, so it is natural to wonder whether someone will know Kazama benefit.Of course, this is not the only clue they based on. They also screened out a list of people related to art, but the number is also very large. "That city is full of charm." A skinny young man who claims to be a printmaker, only his eyes are shining on his dark face, "That city is full of inspiration for young people with great ambitions. I can't wait to absorb all the essence and bring it back But it is difficult to achieve it in our own country. It is like trying to use a vacuum cleaner to suck up all the sand in the desert. So everyone came to the conclusion that you must have ambitions here; It can be said that this city will gradually make everyone forget the pressure that people have to have goals, and they can expect different stimuli every day. These people also have their own ideas, and they especially hope to stay in this land forever.” This passage made Kaga nod with emotion, and then asked, "Why did you go back to Japan?" Then he showed a look of unspeakable concealment. "Inspiration is all over the place, but I can't figure it out. After realizing this, sometimes I want to escape from this place, so I come back. I am in such a situation now. After a while, I feel Until I found the answer, I traveled far away for inspiration again, and so on and on.” "What a magical city." "As you said." Did you see this man in that city, Kaga showed him the picture of Kazama.The young printmaker said he didn't pay much attention to the Japanese when he went to New York. Of course, there are various impressions of New York. Some people have the same opinion as this printmaker, and some people just describe it as a very amazing city. "My brother was swallowed by New York." A woman who just received her brother's obituary three days ago spoke in a calm tone.Kaga really wanted to meet that 'brother'. "My brother went to New York six years ago to study painting. He came back after two years of preparation, but he didn't come back after a long time. In the end, he wrote in a letter, 'I hope you will be I’m not coming back’. The last time I received a letter from him was last summer. Then just three days ago, I received a call from his Japanese roommate saying that he committed suicide in his room.” "What was the cause of suicide?" "I don't know." She shook her head, "Dad went to claim the body, maybe he heard something about it. But I don't think he had any motive for committing suicide." And then she's chanting again: He's been swallowed by New York. Was there any mention of names like Kazama Toshiyuki in the letter from his brother, Kaga asked.She answered no. Of course, it is impossible for Kaga and the others to say such meaningful words. Some of them only said something similar to 'New York is such a great street', and there were many people who didn't have any content in their words. .Judging from the ratio, there are more such people.It's just that the questions they raised about Kaga all have one thing in common: they don't know a man named Toshiyuki Kazama. "Only the police who have hoped on the other side of the ocean, although how far they can seriously investigate is still a big question mark." Ota looked towards the direction of Tokyo Bay and tilted his coffee cup.Today I am finally going to the Hamamatsu neighborhood, where Toshiyuki Kazama's friend lives.Although the friend knew about Kazama's trip to New York, he knew nothing about his life there. "How about we send investigators over here?" As Kaga said, the corners of Ota's mouth turned up slightly, like a smile. "If that's the case, would you apply for it?" "certainly." Then Ota smiled silently. "The Japanese criminal police are really happy to go to the ocean, it's like a special edition of the criminal police TV series." "Do you still watch criminal police TV dramas?" "Look, I often watch it, it's very interesting. Because the case must be solved within an hour, clues will appear one after another." "It's so different from reality." "completely different." Ota lit a cigarette and slowly exhaled it towards the ceiling. "What do you think of that ballet company?" "I always feel a little suspicious, but I can't tell what's unnatural." Mio Asaoka's face appeared in Kaga's mind for some reason. "I also feel the same way. Usually ballet companies are slightly different from people in the general society. Although Shizuko Takayanagi is the daughter of a chaebol, she is not married. She is a weirdo who puts her mind on ballet." "Akiko is an adopted daughter, right?" "It's her cousin's daughter, because Shizuko Takayanagi took a fancy to her outstanding ballet talent, so she recognized her as a goddaughter. It seems that she has been educated since she was a child, so now Akiko has become the pillar of the Takayanagi Dance Troupe. But there are similar She is not the only one who grew up. Konno Takehiko and Saito Ye Ryuko are also the same. They have been trained in the direction of ballet since they were young. Speaking of which, their world is created through the connection between each other, and they cannot be the same as art. Connecting people in disparate worlds." "It sounds a bit extreme." "This is not extreme, you will understand one day. I also understood this because I had contact with another ballet company. Speaking of which, you seem to be very close to Mio Asaoka?" "Because she looks pretty decent." "I didn't say there's anything wrong with it, anyway, you'll understand later." Ota stood up with the receipt, and Kaga drank the cold coffee in one gulp, and he had to go to the third shop for the rest of the day. After that, they will go to Shibuya. To see "Beauty in the Sleeping Forest".