Chapter 15 Section 7

Yukawa threw the popcorn he got out of nowhere into his mouth, while Kusanagi was beating on the steel table next to him. "No matter how you look at it, I think that man is suspicious, and it can't be anyone else." He finished speaking in one breath, and drank the instant coffee in one gulp.Although the rusty taste of the tap water in his coffee was unbearable, he had no time to complain. "But the other party does have an alibi." Tang Chuan stood by the window and said while drinking coffee.Today, on a particularly rare occasion, he opened the window.Whenever the wind blows in, the blackout curtains, the hem of the white coat and his slightly brown hair all flutter gently.

"Don't you think that's weird? On the very day that Kakimoto Shinichi disappeared, he went on a trip abroad." "If it's just a coincidence, it can only be said that he is really lucky. If there is no such certificate, you may have detained him?" "But I can't do that just yet." "What the hell is it?" Tang Chuan held the cup and leaned his body out of the window.The afterglow of smoking was reflected on his face.Then he put the popcorn in his mouth again. When investigating Shiwang's innocence certificate, Kusanagi found that his statement was completely correct. The company staff who traveled with him also said that at 8:30 a.m. on August 18, they met with Shiwang at Narita Airport .If it is said that he sneaked back to China halfway, there is no such sign.

But from the perspective of motivation, no one is more suspicious than Shi Wang. According to the broker who contacted him to buy horses, Shiwang did propose to buy horses, but he didn't talk about specific things, and it was the first time he heard about buying horses in partnership. According to the investigation of the people around Shiwang, Kusanagi found that this summer he was overwhelmed by the debts of several financial institutions, but just after the summer, he paid off all the debts at once.The result of Kusanagi's reasoning is that he may have used part of the 10 million Kakimoto Shinichi put with him to pay off the debt.

But so far, Shiwang hasn't shown any flaws, because he has no time to commit the crime, which makes the police helpless. "Did you help me investigate that matter?" Tang Chuan turned around, "About Lei." "Ah, of course I have investigated this matter," Kusanagi took out a notebook from his coat pocket, "But, what is the relationship between them? This case and—— Lei?" "Don't talk about this first, talk about the results of your investigation!" "Why? It's disgusting to investigate without even knowing the purpose." Kusanagi opened the notebook. "Then, let's start with June."

"Just start in August." Tang Chuan said expressionlessly. Kusanagi kept staring at his friend's face which was obscured by the reflection: "Shouldn't summer start in June?" "Yes, but it will be fine from August." Kunikawa seemed not to mind his friend's complaints, and brought the cup to his mouth with a blank expression. Kusanagi sighed again, and turned his attention to the notebook: "In August, the entire Kanto region was struck by thunder." "Just say west of Tokyo, which is west of Tokyo where Gourd Pond is located." Kusanagi put the notebook on the table: "Then why didn't you say that at first? Isn't it easier to investigate that way?"

"I'm sorry," Yukawa said, "Go on." Maybe Kusanagi was really angry, and while whining, he opened the notebook again: "August. Near the Gourd Pond, there are only two days of thunder on the 12th and 17th; in September, the 16th and—" "wait a moment……" "What's the matter this time?" "You seem to say it's the 17th, are you sure? It's August 17th, right?" "Ah, that's right," Kusanagi glanced at the notebook several times and confirmed, "So what?" "Well, it's the 17th, August 17th, and then the lightning strike will be September 16th."

Tang Chuan put the cup on the table next to him, put his left hand in the pocket of his white coat, walked slowly, and scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "Hey! What's going on? Can't you ask?" Kusanagi wandered back and forth in the room and asked. Suddenly, Yu Chuan stopped, and the hand scratching his head also stopped, his eyes stared at the sky, motionless like a puppet. Then he laughed again under his breath.This was too abrupt, for a moment, Kusanagi even felt that he had a strange convulsion. "How many days did that person travel?" Tang Chuan asked.

"what?" "It's the person you think is very strange. How many days have you been in China?" "Oh, two weeks." "Two weeks! That means it was early September when he returned to Japan?" "yes." "Have you considered the possibility of him committing crimes after his return? Doesn't that remove the obstacle of his alibi that has been bothering you?" "I thought of that too, but it seems impossible." "Is it judged from the time after death of the deceased?" "Well. According to the judgment of experts, judging from the degree of decomposition of the corpse, the deceased must have been killed around August 25 at the latest. It is impossible after September."

"That's it," Tang Chuan sat on a nearby chair, "You mean it's impossible to be killed after September, no wonder, he shook his shoulders lightly and smiled, "So that's the case, it must be That's it. " "What's the meaning?" Hearing Kusanagi's question, Yukawa raised his legs and crossed his hands on his knees. "Officer Kusanagi, you seem to have made a big mistake. No, it's a bit too serious a mistake. You fell into the trap set by the criminal." "what happened?" "Let me tell you something useful," Tang Chuan pushed the glasses back to their original position with his fingertips, "The killing time is before August 17."

"what?" "That's right, it's a lie that the victim was alive on August 18."