Chapter 16 Section 3

It has been two weeks since Yayoi called Kusanagi last time.During these two weeks, Kusanagi did not help her with anything, because the criminal in a case was arrested, and he was busy investigating and collecting evidence. "I'm sorry, I wanted to visit you, but I've been very busy recently..." Kusanagi made an excuse, "Did the police not tell you anything new?" "Well, I asked them once and got some vague answers." "yes?" In fact, he also thought it would be like this.Police generally think of missing persons only when they find an unidentified dead person.

"Mr. Kusanagi, I have been to Takano's house several times." Yayoi said hesitantly. "Did you find anything?" "I can't say that I found anything, but there is a rather strange thing..." "By strange you mean..." "Those guys were out every night and were very punctual at the same time." "Wait a minute, Mrs. Kanzaki, do you monitor their house every night?" Yayoi was silent, only the slight sound of breathing came from the phone. "Please don't mind, I don't want to blame you," Kusanagi hurriedly explained, "I just want to know why you care so much about that family."

"Because of... intuition." "intuition?" "You may think it's ridiculous. Someone actually talks to the criminal police about things like intuition." "I didn't mean that..." "I went to the nursing home in Hachioji where my husband last went. There, I met an old lady who talked to my husband that day. She said that my husband said a lot about her, which made her very happy; After hearing this, I concluded intuitively that it is impossible for him not to go to Gao Ye's house on the way back, because when he goes to the nursing home, he will definitely think of Ms. Gao Yexiu."

This time it was Kusanagi's turn to fall silent.Yayoi's words are very convincing, and her judgment is indeed derived from intuition. And these are not really unfounded, perhaps it can be said that it is a theoretical intuition, if Yu Chuan heard this, he would probably not be able to bear it. "You just said that they go out at the same time every night, right?" Kusanagi asked, "Do you know where they go?" "I know the place, but I feel a little scared, so..." She hesitated. Kusanagi sensed her thoughts and also understood her intention of making this call.

"Got it," he said, "I have time tomorrow night, let's go and have a look." At 7:30 the next night, Kusanagi and Yayoi were sitting in a red car.This is the private car of the Kanzaki family, but she said that Toshiyuki rarely drives this car. "He used to drive around in his car all the time when he was working, and he didn't want to drive by himself when he was on his body rest day." Kusanagi could see from her face that she no longer had much hope for her husband's survival. The two parked the car on the side of the road.There are many old Japanese-style houses lined up on the opposite side of the road, which look like Chinese architectural style.Save the third house from the left, which is Takano's house. It doesn't look spacious from the outside, and Kusanagi probably only left or right.

According to Yayoi, there are now two couples living here, one is Takano Hideo's nephew and the other seems to be the eldest brother of her niece and daughter-in-law's family. At least, that's how they introduced it to the neighbors nearby. "However," she said, "the neighbors in the neighborhood spoke very badly of them. When he first moved here to live with Gao Ye, their attitude was not bad. After Gao Ye's death, their attitude changed immediately. Almost didn't even say hello." "How did those four people live with Gao Ye?" "Gao Ye told the neighbors that her nephew and his wife were fired by the company and kicked out of the staff dormitory to join her. As for the other couple, she probably said they were her relatives."

"Oh." In Kusanagi's view, these words were not convincing, "You just said that they were fired from the company, so what are they doing now? Are they still unemployed?" Yayoi nodded: "According to the neighbors, they hang out all day long, not only the person who claims to be Takano's nephew, but also the other man." "Are they also unemployed and homeless?" "The strange thing is," Yayoi tilted her head slightly, "They don't seem to worry about money, and the clothes they wear are not cheap." "Oh?" "They don't look like they're looking for work either. Anyway, all four of them are staying at home all the time."

"Didn't you say they'll..." "Yes," she fixed her eyes diagonally, "all four of them will come out after 8 o'clock." Kusanagi looked at his watch, it was almost 8 o'clock. Three minutes to eight, a fat man emerged from the house in a white open-collar shirt with a protruding belly.After that, a woman came out, about thirty or forty years old, very thin, with heavy make-up. The two waited in front of the house for a while, and the other two also appeared. The two who came out last were both short in stature. The man was wearing a sports suit with his long hair tied up in the back, and the woman was wearing a denim jacket and wearing A skirt that is about to drag the floor, both of them look about 30 years old.

"When I went to their house, the man in the white shirt came out to receive me." Yayoi whispered. "They don't have cars, do they?" "That's right. The four of us are always wandering around together, and I wanted to follow them several times, but because they've seen me..." "I see, you wait for me here first." Kusanagi got out of the car and quickly followed the four people. Two couples of men and women are walking towards the station, with the young couple walking in front and the middle-aged couple following behind.Kusanagi found that they hardly talked. Although they were together every day, they didn't seem to be close. Perhaps it was because they were together all day that there was nothing to talk about.

At first, Kusanagi wondered if they went out at the same time every day, maybe to eat.But Yayoi denied this judgment. She said that once, she saw them ordering sushi takeaway, and they came out on time at 8 o'clock. But it's not like going to some kind of cultural training class—— Kusanagi thought, keeping a cautious distance from the four people in front of him. Walking and walking, the four of them came near the shopping street.At this time, there were very few shops still open, and the four of them were still walking at the original speed. Suddenly, they stopped, exchanged a few words, and then prepared to enter a barbecue restaurant next door.

Dare to come out for dinner. It looked like they wouldn't be able to get out for a while.Kusanagi looked around, thinking about how to pass the time. However, the whereabouts of the four people changed, only the man in the white shirt and the younger couple entered the barbecue shop, and the older woman continued to walk forward. Kusanagi didn't hesitate, his eyes were behind her. A woman strokes her long curly hair as she walks down a shopping street.She would sometimes cast her gaze at the bookstore by the side of the road, but she didn't intend to stop, Kusanagi sensed that something was about to happen. But-- When the woman walked to the game hall, she walked in without stopping.Kusanagi was a little puzzled, but followed closely. She walked back and forth in the store a few times, sat down in front of a machine in the middle, bought steel balls, and started playing pinball. Kusanagi found a place where he could see her and sat down.In order not to make people suspicious, he also played.He hasn't played for a long time. He thought, is this woman here waiting to meet someone?No one approached her though, and she seemed really absorbed in enjoying the pinball machine.In this way, 1 hour passed. The woman looked at her watch and stood up reluctantly.It seems that she has lost all the steel balls.While watching others play, she walked towards the exit.Kusanagi hurriedly followed. The woman returned along the same route, and didn't mean to detour elsewhere.She finally returned to the door of the barbecue shop just now.She opened the door and looked inside, but she didn't intend to go in. Then three people walked out of the store.The man in the white shirt picked his teeth with a toothpick as if he had drunk beer, his face looked red.He asked the woman something, and the woman shook her head.Could it be that she was asking about her pinball record?A smile crept across his face. The four of them walked towards home with the same lazy pace as when they came.No special intentions can be discerned from them.Kusanagi could only see their outing in this way: the three of them were there to fill their stomachs.One is for the pinball machine.But why come out at 8 o'clock every night?Is this slowly a habit? And so they went home.Kusanagi watched the four people enter the house and returned to Yayoi's car. He described the whole story to Yayoi. "I don't think it's an intentional action. The only thing I don't know is what they did in the barbecue restaurant, but I think they just went to have a meal." He turned to look at Yayoi, and found that Her face was frighteningly pale, "What's wrong with you?" Yayoi licked her lips and slowly turned her head towards him. "While you were following them, I went to their house secretly." "And then?" Kusanagi was a little uneasy. "I'd love to go inside and have a look, but the doors inside are locked." "You're such an idiot." "But I heard," she took a deep breath, and said each word after a while, "a voice came from inside..." "Huh?" Kusanagi widened his eyes. "It's like the sound of furniture hitting the wall, or the sound of someone running back and forth..." "Is anyone talking?" "did not hear." "Then what do you do?" "I think it might be my husband." "..." "I tried knocking on the window. He might be imprisoned inside but he didn't answer. In the end, even the original voice couldn't be heard. The curtains were drawn tightly, and there was no way to see what was going on inside." Kusanagi felt his heart beating faster.Could it be that other than these four people lived in that house? "Mr. Kusanagi, do you think it's my husband inside? Is he under house arrest? He can't make a sound when those people are there, and only struggles to call for help when they go out?" Yayoi was a little excited, and her words lacked calmness, but it can't be said that she was completely cranky. "I see, just wait for me." Kusanagi got out of the car again and walked towards Takano's house. There was a wooden fence around the house, and he couldn't see what was going on inside even if he stood on tiptoe.He adjusted his breathing, sorted out the thoughts in his brain, and came to the door.There was a plastic bell on the door, and he pressed it. After more than ten seconds, the door opened.Probably because of the loose structure, Menga dagada shook it.A man showed his face, it was the young one. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late," Kusanagi tried to put on a friendly expression, and stepped into the door, "I want to confirm with you about something." "What?" The man frowned, showing a suspicious expression. Kusanagi showed him the police certificate, and the man's face became even more gloomy. "We received a call from a neighbor saying that someone in your house was making noise and disturbing the people." "There's no noise here." "Really? But some people say they heard it." The man's expression changed obviously, and Kusanagi seemed to be able to hear the sound of his blood fading. "I think someone made a mistake, please don't say unfounded things." "Can I go in and have a look?" "Why do you have to do this?" The man showed anger, "Is it okay to just take a look? Soon." "I refuse your request." At this time, a voice came from inside: "It's okay." A man in a white shirt appeared behind the young man, and he showed a flattering smile to Kusanagi. "Let him see that it doesn't matter, it will save time." The young man lowered his head like a wilt, without making a sound. "Excuse me." Kusanagi entered the room. Several kinds of shoes were scattered in the place where the shoes were taken off, obviously more than four pairs.But Kusanagi didn't take a closer look, because he knew that if they really put someone under house arrest, they wouldn't put his shoes here. The interior of the house is longitudinally slender. After entering, the front is the stairs, and beside the stairs is the corridor leading to the inside.Kusanagi walked along the corridor. The right side of the corridor should be facing the yard, but now, it is tightly covered by wooden cased windows.There are four glass doors on the inside of the casing window, and there is a bar lock on the overlapping part of the two doors.Because there are four glass doors, there are two locks.But one of them might be broken and not locked. On the left side of the corridor are two adjacent Japanese-style rooms.There were two women inside, the older one was leaning on a low dining table with one arm, smoking a cigarette, and the younger one was sitting with her knees tucked in, watching an old 14-inch TV.Both of them raised their heads and looked at Kusanagi with hostile eyes. "Why is this man here?" the older woman asked. "It's the police," replied the man in the white shirt. "It is said that someone nearby reported something to them." "Hmm..." For a moment, the woman's eyes met Kusanagi's, but then turned to the TV.Kusanagi noticed that she was wearing a rosary on her wrist.Is she a devout believer? Kusanagi looked around the room.The walls with peeling skin and faded tatami mats are telling the age of this home, and the short tea cabinet looks old. Two vases were placed upside down next to the tea cabinet, and the mirror frame inlaid with colored paper was also placed flat on the tatami.They should have all been placed on the tea cabinet, which can be judged from the shape of the dust left on the top of the tea cabinet.Kusanagi wondered why they didn't put these things back in place, but he remained silent as there was no reason to ask. In the Japanese-style room next to it, there are old wardrobes and Buddhist altars on display.The tatami mats were dusty and very dirty.What is strange is that there are no lights in this room, and the Japanese fluorescent lamps that should have been hung from the ceiling were removed and placed in the corner. "Why don't you put the lights on?" Kusanagi asked. "Ah, we were going to install it, but something went wrong." The man in the white shirt explained. There is a small window in the room with tea-colored curtains drawn, it is estimated that Yayoi heard the noise from this window. Kusanagi checked the kitchen and went up to the second floor.There are also rooms on the second floor, and the quilts are not stacked. "How is it? Is there any problem?" After descending the steps, the man in the white shirt asked. "It seems to be all right. Can you give me the phone number here? Also, if you can, please give me the name of each of you." "Don't use the name, we haven't done anything bad." The man sneered. "Then report the name of the head of the household. In the past, the head of the household was Hideo Takano, but who is it now?" "It's me." The young man said beside him. Kusanagi took out his notebook and asked his name.The young man said his name was Masaki Takano.It sounds like he is indeed Takano's nephew. "What is the relationship between the other people and you?" "My wife, and... friends and couples." "Friend?" Kusanagi repeated, "You live with a friend?" "We're just living here temporarily," said the man in the white shirt. Kusanagi wanted to ridicule that this "temporary" is really long, but he held back. -------------------------------- Note: