Chapter 24 chapter 2

"The case happened exactly ten days ago. At five o'clock in the evening, the guest came. Let's call him 'A' for the time being, the A of the English alphabet." Tang Chuan shook his head while taking out the manual, and said, "Let's just say the real name, it's easier to understand. I read newspaper reports that the victim was named Kiyotake Haraguchi, aged forty-five, and his occupation should be." Fujimura shrugged and sat down on another bed: "In this case, I will tell you everything using my real name. As I said just now, Mr. Haraguchi arrived at around five in the afternoon. After finishing the accommodation After the formalities, I let him live in this room. Although there were vacant rooms on the second floor at the time, he said he wanted to live on the first floor when he made the reservation."

"Is there any reason?" "I don't know, because at that time it was Kinko who was in charge of making an appointment. Besides, there's no need for us to ask him why?" "That's right, go ahead." "Besides him that day, there were two other guests in the hotel. One was a man, and the other was a father and son. Dinner was scheduled between six o'clock and eight o'clock, in the lounge just now I had dinner, but Mr. Haraguchi did not appear until it was almost eight o'clock. I was not at ease, so I wanted to take a look at the room. When I came, I found that the door was locked. I thought he was asleep, so I knocked on the door. No one answered the door. I raised my voice and called him again, but there was still no sound. I was a little worried, so I used the master key to open the door, but I didn't expect the door to be chained. That is to say, Mr. Haraguchi should have been inside the house at the time. Then why didn't he respond when I called him? I started to panic, worried that he had fainted in the house. So I went around from the outside to the south side of the house, thinking maybe I could see through the window See what's going on inside the house."

"And then you found out the windows were locked too?" Hearing Yukawa's question, Fujimura nodded: "You are right. The lights were not turned on in the room at the time, and the curtains were drawn, so I couldn't see what was going on in the room. So I decided to go back to the lounge first and wait Look, Mr. Haraguchi never showed up. I couldn't sit still any longer, so I came to the door again. There was still no response. I was going to use the master key to open the door like before, but this time I felt There was someone in the room: I heard a sound like turning over. Now I was relieved and went back to the lounge. Although it is stipulated that dinner is served until eight o'clock, I don't intend to get too stuck on the time. I plan to I served Mr. Haraguchi dinner after he got up. But at a few minutes before nine o’clock, the father and son who went out to set off fireworks came back and told me that the window in Mr. Haraguchi’s room was open. I hurried over to have a look, and sure enough, the window The window is open, and Mr. Haraguchi is gone." Fujimura said and cast his gaze to the window.

"What was wrong in the house at that time?" "I didn't find anything special. The small travel bag he brought was still on the bed. Judging from common sense, it can only be said that Mr. Haraguchi should have left the room through the window and went somewhere. So I went to the nearby I searched for a circle, but after all, this place is located in the deep mountains, and the surrounding area was pitch black. After waiting for about an hour, Mr. Haraguchi did not come back, and finally decided to call the police. The police acted just after dawn, and then they found it in the place just now Mr. Haraguchi who fell off the cliff."

"Well, how did the police judge? It was written in the newspaper that the possibility of accidental death or suicide is very high." "I don't know the specific details, but it is said that the police speculate that the possibility of suicide is more likely. I heard that Mr. Haraguchi was heavily in debt. He came here alone for a trip. Looking at the fact that I hope to live on the first floor, I guess he is already ready to jump through the window." "Has the police considered the possibility that he may have been involved in any crime?" "It's probably not completely unconsidered, but I guess they think this possibility is very small. In order to kill Mr. Haraguchi, someone sneaked into this kind of deep mountain quietly, and after killing him, he quietly To leave—I don't think it's possible."

"Aren't there a few villas around here?" "There are, but they are basically unoccupied empty houses. Only people from the management company come to visit occasionally, and it was the same on the day of the incident." "That is to say, you were the only one in the hotel at that time?" "That's right. And the rest of the residents were with us all the time, so you don't have to consider the possibility of homicide." "That's it." Tang Chuan looked at the records in the manual and said puzzledly, "Can I ask you another question? This question is very important."

"Please say." "After listening to your narration just now, I don't understand what makes you feel incredible. This room did seem to be a secret room at one time, but that was because there were people in the room. The reason fell down the valley—isn't it as simple as that?" "Fujimura pondered. What Yukawa said was indeed reasonable, and so was the judgment made by the police. "But I always feel that something is wrong." "What's wrong?" "When I came to this room for the second time, there were indeed people in the room. But when I came for the first time, I didn't feel that there was anyone in the room."

"Why are you so determined?" "Because the heating was not turned on in the house at the time." "Heating?" "The weather was extremely cold that day. Even lying in bed, most people would want to turn on the heating. However, when I opened the door for the first time, what I felt was a gust of cold air, and there was no sound of the air conditioner running. When I came to open the door for the second time, the heater was turned on. So I speculate that when I came to check for the first time, there should be no one in the house." Yukawa looked at Fujimura's face, stretched out his fingertips and pushed up the glasses frame.

"Did you talk to the police..." "I never said that." "why?" "Because I can't justify myself. Because I was the one who told them that the door of this room was locked from the inside. If I went to tell them that I didn't think there was anyone in the room at that time, they would definitely treat me as a crazy person." .” "Although this is not the case, it is estimated that they will explain that you had an illusion at the time. Maybe it will make you doubt all the testimony you provided." "That's right? I don't want to end up like this. So in the current situation, I can never tell the police what I think."

"So you discussed it with Kusanagi, didn't you? No wonder he pushed this matter on me. That guy is too lazy to think about killing people in a secret room. I guess he is interested in this kind of thing. Non-homicide cases, and the question of whether it is a secret room is not of interest." "I know that I have caused you trouble, but I really have no one else to ask for. I also thought about not being too entangled in this, but there is always a knot in my heart. It may be purely I think too much." Yu Chuan smiled faintly and closed the manual. "Okay, I'll just enjoy the beautiful scenery in the mountains leisurely and think about it. I was busy writing a thesis a while ago, and I just want to relax."

"With your words, I feel relieved. Anyway, there are no other guests these two days, so you can treat this place as your own home. However, I'm sorry, there is no hot spring here. But we will let you taste our carefully crafted hot springs. Cooked dishes." Fujimura said and stood up, "Also, I have another request." "What request?" "Please don't tell Kuniko that this is why I came to you. What I told her was that you came to see me because you heard that I quit my job to open a hotel." Tang Chuan showed an unrelieved expression for a moment, but then immediately nodded and said: "Since you think it's better to say so, then so be it, I don't care." "Sorry. Please, please." Fujimura bowed with one hand in front of his face. -------------------------------- Note: