Chapter 21 Section 1

About 20 minutes before the agreed event, Kaga went to the seat by the window and sat down, then ordered a cup of royal milk tea from the waiter who brought the water.After the waiter responded, he asked, "What happened last time?" When the self-defense case happened last time, Kaga and Ota came to this store to take notes.A few hours before the incident, Toshiyuki Kazama monitored the movements of the Takayanagi Dance Troupe at this store. The waiter seemed to remember Kaga's face. "This matter is a bit difficult." He smiled wryly, "I also trouble you to provide such useful information."

"Well, hey, it seems that the dance troupe has been having a lot of cases recently." "Seems." "It seems to be? Mr. Police, aren't you investigating?" "Well, the words are good...I want to drink black tea." Urged by Kaga, the waiter took the tray and ordered with the boy at the counter.Then I walked back again, probably because there were no other guests, so I was very free. "Hey, I heard that the murderer is in that dance troupe. I saw it in the newspaper before." She was talking about Jingzi, and it had been three days since she committed suicide.

"You seem to be interested in the case." "Because it doesn't happen that often, and I think those fake actors are disgusting." "Do they come to this store often?" "Come on, come every day, can I sit here?" She pointed to the seat in front of Kaga and asked. "Someone is coming later, you can sit until she comes." "Who's coming, girlfriend?" she said, sitting down. "It's the ballet troupe you hate." After hearing this, she had an expression as if she had eaten something spoiled, and then she moved her face closer to Kaga.

"By the way, the murderer who committed suicide comes here every day." "Is it daytime?" "Yeah, it's kind of weird to think about it now." Just as she was about to start the conversation, the man at the bar called out "Xiaoxue".The waiter got up to serve the royal milk tea, and told the man that she wanted to answer the police's questions. If there were any guests, she would serve her first, and then walked back.Putting the black tea in front of Kaga, he also sat down. "What's so strange?" Kaga urged her to continue. "When she comes for lunch during the day, she never orders food, only drinks."

She circled her long hair with her right hand and said. Kaga thought, this is a matter of course, she pays so much attention to her daily diet, if she eats something outside, all previous efforts will be wasted. "But there are a lot of people like this. Even if you don't dance ballet, you have to be restrained when you eat. However, since the director died, she has changed suddenly. Sandwiches, minced meat spaghetti, and so on. It's delicious. It's not a coincidence, it's something after that case." "Ok……" This is worth pondering, Kaga thought. If there is such a thing—probably—then Yasuko’s motive for killing Oda is more reasonable to understand as resentment. Originally, Yasuko reshaped his body out of reverence for Oda. Once this reverence turned into If you don't hate, you probably won't continue to go on a diet.

"Generally speaking, you shouldn't have an appetite after killing someone, but she turned it around. Sure enough, there are a lot of strange people there." "Well, this can be used as a reference." "Don't you write it down?" "Ah, I'll write it all down." As Kaga opened the notebook, the waiter stood up in satisfaction. Adding a box to record something, glanced at the watch. 6:25, 5 minutes to go.On the notebook that was opened, it was scribbled "Coffee Shop Nakano at 6:30".Kaga guessed that he would tell Nakano Taeko what the waiter said later.

I contacted Taeko at Kaga, Shibuya Police Station this afternoon, and made an appointment to meet her at the "Net Bar", saying that I had something to talk about. "In this case, can we have a light meal together?" She replied, "Anyway, I plan to go out for dinner tonight. If I'm in that bar, I might meet Yagyu and the others." OK, Kaga replied.It is true that his dinner needs to be settled outside, but meeting Yagyu and the others is not so good. After Yasuko committed suicide, she always wanted to talk to Taeko, because she was the one who told Kaga that some dancers were under the influence of Oda and began to diet excessively.And Yasuko is a model among these dieters, and he really wants to hear Taeko's opinion on Yasuko's suicide case.

The investigation of Yasuko's trip to the United States four years ago was not going very smoothly. According to reports from New York, it took a lot of effort to find out who hosted Yasuko and Akiko at that time.They only stayed for half a year, and some changes have taken place in the current and then members.I heard that John Thomas, the movement director who taught them at that time, also transferred to work in other dance companies. After learning about these things, Kaga became more convinced of the correctness of his reasoning. Sure enough, the attempted murder of Yagyu was one of Yasuko's means. After this case happened, the search in New York was concentrated until two years ago.For her, it doesn't matter how much she checks about what happened two years ago.

It's just——Kaga had to admit that this raised a big question, what is the relationship between this case and Kazama Toshiyuki?Or simply has nothing to do with the Kazama case?It just happened to happen right after each other in the same dance troupe at the same time? Kaga thinks this is impossible, there must be some kind of connection. The Shikamijing police also tried their best to find the connection between them. Kaga understands their feelings very well. In a few days, Ye Liuzi's detention period will expire, and it can no longer be extended. But for her treatment Now the police are also extremely difficult. First, the relationship with the Oda case has not been ascertained, and second, the motive for the crime is also very unclear.

Kaga felt that there was no need to worry about her running away anyway, and it would be okay to release her after keeping the punishment. Taeko Nakano appeared after the royal milk tea was finished.Wearing a jacket with shoulder pads, she walked towards Kaga imposingly. "Hello--" In the middle of his greeting, he suddenly found Mio Asaoka walking in behind her. She was wearing a bright pink dress that highlighted her waistline.The earrings are coral shaped. She also looked very surprised when she saw Kaga, Taeko followed Kaga's gaze and looked back at Wei Xu, "I asked her to come with me."

The tone seemed cheerful, "It's okay, shall we go together?" Seeing that Kaga couldn't answer for a while, Wei Xu's expression was slightly apologetic, and he said, "Teacher, is this the person you want to meet? If that's the case, I'd better go back. It wouldn't be good to delay you." "There won't be any delay, right?" Taeko asked Kaga's consent. "Anyway, please sit down first." Kaga let the two sit down, Wei Xu still lowered his head after sitting down.Kaga caught a glimpse of the waiter in front of the bar looking at him with hostile eyes. "I see," he said, "Miss Asaoka should come too." Let me tell you, Taeko tapped Wei Xu with her elbow, Wei Xu raised her head and asked, "Is it all right?" "It's okay." Kaga nodded and said, in fact, he couldn't think of a reason to refuse to eat with Wei Xu, "What do you want to drink?" "No, I've already booked a seat elsewhere." Saying that Taeko stood up. After driving for about ten minutes, the taxi arrived at the restaurant recommended by Taeko Nakano.It was an Italian restaurant, located in the middle of the residential area, it looked like a white church from a distance.If you don't hang the signboard, you can't tell what kind of shop it is.Entering the restaurant, Taeko gave her name, and the waiter took them to the table closest to the wall. Kaga didn't understand Italian food at all, so he ordered the "recommended course" written on the top of the menu.Taeko looked very sophisticated, and carefully ordered from cold cuts to desserts one by one, two of which were not ordered. "You eat so much." Kaga said to Taeko. "I like to eat, although I have been ridiculed by Oda." "I guess so." She would say Oda's name because it was for Kaga's sake, so that he could change the subject, and Kaga accepted her kindness. "The waiter at the coffee shop just said something very interesting to me." After Kaga finished speaking, Taeko and Weixu said in unison: "Waiter?" He told them what he heard in the coffee shop, but they didn't seem surprised, and then waited for him to say something with urging eyes. "When I searched Yasuko Mori's room, I deeply felt her reverence for Oda, and Yasuko's efforts to win his favor so far. However, the biggest question we face now is: what kind of What is the reason that made her want to kill the idol she admired so much?" "The biggest question." Taeko repeated mechanically, maybe because she didn't want to express her opinion on the topic she was talking about, Wei Xu kept staring at the wall lamp hanging on the wall. "My head hurts just thinking about it," Kaga said. "It should be, I really sympathize with you." "Actually, I called you here today because I want you to tell me about Yasuko Mori, what kind of dancer she is, what status ballet has for her, and what happened to her because of Oda's existence." The changes—that's about it." Taeko shrugged, made a grimace, moved her body closer to Wei Xu and said, "Wei Xu, do you hear that? The questions he asked are really difficult, Mr. Kaga's questions are always like this." "I believe that if it is you, you will definitely be able to answer it." Speaking of which, the waiter brought white wine and poured them one by one.After he left, "To answer this question, we have to start with Jingzi's great achievements." She asked for Wei Xu's consent and said.Wei Xu nodded slightly. "Then please start from then on." Kaga said, "Speak slowly, there is still a lot of time." She said, the taste of the food is not bad, and she took a sip of the wine after speaking. "She entered our school from Iwate when she was in high school. The first time I saw her, I thought she was very inconspicuous. To be honest, I felt like a very ordinary child. However, when she started training, we all saw her. I was dumbfounded, and we all lamented that there is such a moving girl in the world! You are so wise, anyway, we all believed that she would become a great actress." "I've also heard this from Teacher Gao Liu Jingzi." Wei Xu added. "Because she became a topic of discussion for a while, but in fact she also won various domestic competitions smoothly and easily with her strength. At that time, although Akiko Takayanagi of our team was already hailed as the future female number one Compared with her, her talent is on par with her. After joining the troupe, her solidity and stability were generally recognized, so she got a very good role. However, when she was about 20 years old, her dancing skills were not as good as slowly lost." "Why is that?" Kaga asked. Taeko thought for a while and asked: "Have you heard of the Lausanne Ballet Competition?" Never heard of it, he replied. "It is a competition for a group of teenagers who are learning ballet. If they win the competition, they will have the opportunity to study abroad in ballet schools. I heard that they can also get scholarships. Of course, this is accepted worldwide. Signed up, so there are only a dozen or so people who can stay until the end to compete." While listening, Kaga reached for his glass.The waiter began to serve cold dishes, and Taeko picked up a shrimp and put it in her mouth, "It's delicious, Weixu should also eat some of this shrimp." I don't need it anymore, Wei Xu looked at the palms placed under the table, there was a gold ring on the middle finger. "She won't eat this child." Taeko pointed at her with a fork and said. "As mentioned before, she's not losing weight either, that's how she usually is, right?" Wei Xu nodded a little embarrassed. "Maybe he has a small stomach," Kaga said. "I think so," Wei Xu replied, "Eat a little and you will be full immediately." "So you don't have to worry about getting fat. It really makes all the women in the world jealous. You can still wear such an eye-catching dress." "Is it weird to dress like this?" Wei Xu's expression seemed a little disturbed. "No, it suits you very well." Kaga said hastily, "Very cute, full of charm, and the coral earrings are also very beautiful." While paying attention to Taeko, Wei Xu thanked her. "Can't you praise me?" Taeko made a serious face. "You are so beautiful." Kaga showed a embarrassed look, "Because you are too beautiful to describe in words, but please can you continue the topic just now, talking about the ballet competition." "I want you to praise me first, but if you think about it, let me spare you. I just talked about the Lausanne game, right?" Please, Kaga repeated. "The Lausanne competition is said to be held every year, and it seems that these dancers have become talented every year. However, looking back on the results so far, it is found that these children who won prizes in the Lausanne competition have since become examples of famous dancers. Maybe you don’t believe it, there are only a few poor ones, do you know why?” Kaga replied that he didn't know, it was impossible for him to know. "Of course there are various reasons. The biggest reason is the change in body shape, especially for girls. Because when they competed in Lausanne, they were all only about 16 to 17 years old, and they had not yet fully developed into the figure of an adult woman. The same is true of gymnastics competitions. If the body is small, it will naturally be light, and the difficult movements can be performed well. However, when the body becomes an adult, it is impossible to do this. Every part of the body begins to protrude, and the subcutaneous fat also disappears. It started to thicken, and gradually I couldn’t dance according to my own ideas. But this is my real body. If I want to survive as a dancer, I have to contend with my mature body. The winner of the award in Lausanne At that time, they stood on the stage in their own temporary figures." "That is to say, Yasuko Mori's outstanding dancing posture in the past is also her temporary figure." "Well, so to speak." "After the body became more feminine, did you not dance well?" "Yes, to put it more bluntly, the magic on the body has been lifted." However, there are people who still have magic in their bodies, she said, looking at Wei Xu beside her.After realizing that he was talking about himself, Wei Xu didn't say a word, his expression slightly unnatural. "But everyone came here like this." Taeko Nakano said, "so in order to overcome this, the only way out is to exercise. After developing into an adult body, you have to lay the foundation again from the beginning. Previously, the body in a young age The exercises I have done are applied to the adult body to complete the technical movements. Only in this way can everyone become a professional dancer. Of course Yasuko knows this, so she trains harder than others, and it is only natural that she has achieved results. As long as If you continue like this, you will definitely become a first-class dancer." "Did she not hold on?" "She persisted." Taeko shook her head while holding the wine glass, "But she went astray. It was Akiko's existence that misled her." The main courses were brought to the table in turn, and the conversation paused for a while.Wei Xu started to eat the noodles one by one, and Kaga felt that it would be dawn after she finished eating. "Contrary to Yasuko, Akiko is steadily moving towards the No. 1 ballerina step by step." Taeko said again, "As I said before, she has outstanding dancing skills, and she also has a body shape that is very close to Oda's ideal. But even so, I don’t think Yasuko needs to be too concerned about this. Even if her body is contrary to Oda’s ideals, she just needs to follow the path she firmly believes in. If this is the case, Oda will definitely have to admit it. But she didn't do that, she started dieting like so many other actors, trying to get closer to Akiko's figure." Having said that, Taeko sighed and took a bite of the dish, and Kaga followed suit.Wei Xu put down the noodles and began to eat the steamed fish. "But she lied to herself in the end," Taeko said, "In fact, deep down in her heart, she must have resisted imitating her former opponent Akiko, and if she didn't do so, she couldn't get Oda's appreciation. I think she often She will fall into this dilemma. She obviously has extraordinary skills, but she gradually fails to show them, and sometimes she will suddenly make inexplicable mistakes. It is because she lied to herself that she dances, and her distorted heart will feel like this form." "Why didn't you stop her from going on a diet?" Kaga asked. "Of course we want to stop it, but it's a pity that she won't listen. She must be afraid that if she stops here, she will definitely be spurned by Oda. She has reached the point of madness and can't move." After finishing speaking, she kept shaking her head, "She has persisted until now. If you want me to describe what kind of dancer she is, I can only say that she is a poor dancer." As for Yasuko's motive for killing Oda, Taeko Nakano said that she has no clue at all.Even if it was Oda who caused Yasuko to suffer so much, she did it voluntarily, so it is only because she can accept it.Kaga thinks it is true, but when asked whether there is a relationship between Yasuko and Oda that surpasses the teacher-student relationship, Taeko gave a different point of view from Konno and the others. "I don't know how Oda feels about her, but Yasuko should be in love with him." - she said bluntly while drinking coffee after the meal. "Why do you think so?" Kaga asked. "You think, she approached him with such reverence that it was natural to think that this feeling turned into love. And it was love for him that made so many sacrifices to win his favor, didn't it?" Taeko wanted to ask Weixu for permission again, but Weixu couldn't find a suitable answer and just tilted her head. "When I heard that the murder weapon was found in Yasuko's room, I became more certain of this idea." Taeko looked at Kaga, "Normally, she would throw this kind of thing away immediately, but because she loves Oda, she is reluctant to put it away. Throw it away. The murder weapon is also a souvenir." Is that right?Kaga couldn't figure it out. After walking out of the hotel, Taeko immediately hailed a taxi. She thought she was going to take it by herself, but it was not the case. She told Kaga to take Weixu back. "Miss Nakano, what about you?" "I want to have a few drinks now before going back." "I see." Kaga thanked Taeko, let Wei Xu go in first, and then got into the car himself. The car drove towards Fujimidai, and after a while, Mio spoke: "Isn't it okay if we don't find out the motive?" Ok?Kaga asked again, and replied, "Yeah, what's wrong?" "I think," she said, "Jingzi committed suicide in order to atone for his sins, so I don't think we should continue to pursue other people's secrets..." "We don't like to do this either," Kaga replied. "If you don't find out the truth, you will never be freed from this case, and you won't be able to save Saitoha Ryuko." "That's right...that's exactly what I said." Wei Xu looked out of the window and said softly, I'm sorry. After Kaga returned to his apartment, he saw a few messages on the answering phone. One was a call from a friend from the police academy. It had been a long time since he wanted to compete with him, and it was about a kendo competition.In the current police station, no one can fight better than Kaga. The other call was from my father. "I declined the blind date for you. Your aunt seems to be very worried about whether you can find someone by yourself. Although I don't really believe it, I still said to her, 'Since I have said so, I should be able to find someone'; The traffic accident with my friend's son, although there was a little dispute, it was finally resolved. Don't worry, goodbye." The tone was still rigid as always, and the recorded information was not content.After retiring from the police force, my father lived alone in the old house, maybe too lonely, and became a bit weird. It turned out that I was worried that I couldn't find my partner... I can find it easily, he said to himself.