Chapter 5 Section 5

Mashiba Ayane let go of Hiromi Wakayama, wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, and whispered "Sorry". "I've been trying not to cry, but when I saw you, Hiromi, I suddenly couldn't hold back anymore. I'm fine now, I'm really fine." Looking at Ayane with a forced smile, Kusanagi felt sad, and he really hoped to let her be alone as soon as possible. "Teacher, is there anything I can do for you?" Hiromi Wakayama looked up at Ayane and asked. Ayane shook her head: "It's enough for you to come and accompany me. Besides, my mind is blank now. Come in first, I have something to ask you."

"Ah, well, Mrs. Mashiba," Kusanagi quickly said to them, "We also have something to ask Ms. Wakayama. The scene was messy last night, and we couldn't communicate with her properly." Hiromi Wakayama looked very confused, her eyes dodged a little.Perhaps she was thinking that she had given such a detailed account of the circumstances of the discovery that there was nothing more to offer. "Of course, detectives can also join us." Ayane seemed completely unaware of Kusanagi's intentions. "Ah, no, let us police talk to Ms. Ruoshan alone first."

After hearing Kusanagi's words, Ayane blinked in confusion, and asked, "Why? I also want to hear Hiromi's story. That's why I called her?!" "Madam, Mrs. Mashiba," said Mamiya, who came to her side at some time, "I'm sorry, but our police also have routine matters to deal with. Could you please leave this matter to Kusanagi and the others? Maybe you think It's unreasonable for us to do this, but if we don't follow the rules, it will inevitably cause a lot of trouble in the future." After hearing his obvious scene, Ayane showed a trace of displeasure on her face.But she still nodded in agreement: "Understood, then where should I avoid it?"

"Well, ma'am, please stay here, we have something to ask you." Mamiya looked at Kusanagi and Utsumi Kaoru, "Take Ms. Wakayama to a place where you can talk with peace of mind." "Yes." Kusanagi replied. "I'll bring the car over here." Kaoru Utsumi opened the door of the entrance and walked out. About twenty minutes later, the three of Kusanagi sat at a table in the corner of a home-cooked restaurant.Kaoru Utsumi sat beside him, and Hiromi Wakayama sat across from them with his head bowed solemnly. Kusanagi took a sip of coffee and asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not so good..." "After all, I witnessed the corpse with my own eyes. I think you have suffered a lot." Wakayama Hiromi didn't respond, just lowered her head and bit her lip. I heard from Utsumi Kaoru that as soon as she got home last night, she burst into tears.Although it was an extramarital affair, seeing the dead body of the man he loved was a huge blow, and it was naturally extraordinary. "We want to ask a few things that we didn't have time to ask last night, can we?" Wakayama Hiromi took a deep breath: "I don't know anything... I don't think I can answer any of your questions."

"No, it won't. Our question is not difficult, if you will answer it truthfully." Wakayama Hiromi glanced at Kusanagi, with a fierce look that could be called "glaring". "I'm not lying." "That's good. Let me ask you. You once said that you found the body of Mr. Mashiba Yoshitaka at around eight o'clock last night. Before that, the last time you visited Mashiba's house was when you had a house party on Friday. .Do you remember correctly?" "That's right." "Are you really remembering correctly? People often experience confusion in their memory due to severe blows and blood flow. Please calm down first, and then recall carefully. From the time you left on Friday night to last night , have you really never been to Mashiba's house again?" Kusanagi asked Wakayama Hiromi's long eyelashes.He emphasized the word "seriously".

After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth: "Why do you ask me this? I have already said that I remember correctly. What reason do you have for being so pestering?" Kusanagi smiled slightly: "I'm the one asking the question now, right?" "But……" "You can take my words as a simple proof. But as you said just now, since we are so entangled in asking, then please answer our questions carefully. To put it bluntly, if you easily overturn it later Testimony, we'll have a hard time." Wakayama Hiromi kept silent again.Kusanagi felt that she was calculating various pros and cons in her mind.She should be considering the possibility of the lie being seen through by the police, and she is weighing whether it is beneficial for her to tell everything here.

But it seemed that because the balance in her heart refused to stop swinging, she remained silent for a long time. Kusanagi became a little impatient: "When we arrived at the scene last night, there was a coffee cup and two saucers in the sink. We asked you if you knew anything, and you said you didn't. But later we found the tea set It has your fingerprints on it. When on earth did you touch those tea things?" Wakayama Hiromi's shoulders slowly rose and fell in accordance with the rhythm of her breathing. "During the two days on Saturday and Sunday, have you seen Mr. Mashiba? Of course it is Mr. Mashiba who is alive."

She rested her elbows on the table and pressed her hands to her forehead.Perhaps she was thinking of how to lie for herself, but Kusanagi firmly believed that she could expose her lie. She took her hand from her forehead, looked at the ground, and nodded. "You're right. I'm so sorry." "You met Mr. Mashiba, didn't you?" She paused for a moment, then answered, "Yes." "when?" She still didn't answer the question right away.Kusanagi couldn't help becoming anxious, scolding her in her heart for not crying when she saw the coffin.

"Do I have to answer this question?" Hiromi Wakayama raised her head, looked at Kusanagi and Kaoru Utsumi, "This has nothing to do with the case, right? Aren't you invading other people's privacy?" He looked like he was about to cry, but there was real anger in his eyes and a sharp tone in his tone. Kusanagi recalled what the senior once said: No matter how fragile a woman looks, once she gets involved with extramarital affairs, she will become very difficult. Unable to waste time like this, Kusanagi decided to play the second card in his hand. "Mr. Mashiba Yoshitaka's cause of death has been found out, and he died of poisoning."

Hiromi Wakayama looked a bit panicked. "Poisoned..." "We detected toxic substances from the coffee left on site." She opened her eyes wide: "how could this be..." Kusanagi quietly leaned forward and stared at her face: "Why did you say 'how could'?" "But……" "When you drank it before, there was nothing unusual, right?" She blinked and nodded slightly hesitantly. "This is the crux of the problem, Ms. Wakayama. If Mr. Mashiba poisoned himself and left evidence, we don't need to go through a lot of trouble. Because this case can be classified as suicide or accident. But from the current situation From the point of view, this possibility is very small. We can only assume that someone has malicious intentions and poisoned Mr. Mashiba’s coffee. And the same poisonous substance was also found on the used filter paper. The most convincing explanation at present is Someone put poison in coffee grounds." Wakayama Hiromi showed obvious embarrassment, and shook his head again and again: "I don't know anything." "In this case, I hope you can at least answer our question truthfully. You once drank coffee at Zhenchai's house, which is an extremely important clue. The murderer... No, it is not yet possible to determine whether the title 'murderer' is appropriate, but yours The testimonies are critical to our conclusions about when this person poisoned the coffee." In the end, Kusanagi said "What do you think", and straightened his back and looked down at her.Before she took the initiative to speak, Kusanagi had no intention of saying anything else. Wakayama Hiromi covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wandering around the table.Finally, she said, "It's not me." "Hey?" "I didn't do it." She shook her head and said with a confiding look in her eyes, "I didn't poison you. What I said is the truth, please believe me." Kusanagi and Kaoru Utsumi looked at each other involuntarily. Indeed, Wakayama Hiromi is one of the suspects, and can even be said to be the most suspicious object.She has a chance to poison.And if she and Mashiba Yoshitaka are in an extramarital relationship, the possibility of love turning into hatred is very high, and the possibility of killing her first and then pretending to be the discoverer is not out of the question. However, at this stage, Kusanagi hopes to try his best to eliminate such preconceived views and contact her.He shouldn't have expressed doubts about her in his words, he just asked when she had coffee with Mashiba Yoshitaka.But what about what she just said?It can also be understood that because she is the murderer herself, she sensitively figured out the meaning of the criminal police's words, so she couldn't help but want to clear herself first. "We are not suspicious of you." He smiled at her, "As I said just now, we just want to find out when the murderer committed the crime. Now that you have admitted that you have met Mr. Mashiba and worked with him If you have had coffee, tell us when, by whom, and how you made it." Wakayama Hiromi's white face showed a distressed expression, and Kusanagi still couldn't tell whether she was simply hesitating to tell the truth about the extramarital affair. "Miss Wakayama." Utsumi Kaoru called her suddenly. Hiromi Wakayama was taken aback and raised her head to look at her. "We have already imagined the relationship between you and Mr. Mashiba Yoshitaka." Utsumi Kaoru continued, "Even if you deny it now, we will investigate this point in the future. Many people will be asked about this in the process So please think about it carefully. If you tell us the truth now, I think we are willing to take some measures within our capacity. For example, if you hope that we will not mention this matter to others, we will cooperate." After speaking in a relaxed tone like a civil servant talking about formalities, Utsumi Kaoru glanced at Kusanagi and lowered his head slightly, perhaps apologizing for his ultra vires behavior just now. However, her suggestion seemed to have touched Wakayama Hiromi's heart.Perhaps the factor of being a woman also played a huge role. She bowed her head deeply, raised her head, blinked her eyes, and sighed: "Will you really keep it a secret for me?" "As long as this matter has nothing to do with the case, we will not casually bring it up to anyone. Please trust us." Kusanagi said clearly. Wakayama Hiromi nodded: "As the two of you said, Mr. Mashiba and I do have some special relationship. Not only last night, I have been to his house on Saturday and Sunday." "When was the last time you went?" "Saturday night, it was around nine o'clock in the evening." Hearing this, as soon as Mashiba Ayane returned to her natal home, they had a happy tryst. "Did you make an appointment before?" "No. At that time, I had just finished work in the quilting classroom. Mr. Mashiba called me and asked me to go to his house tonight." "And then you went, didn't you? And what happened next?" Wakayama Hiromi hesitated for a moment, then looked at Kusanagi as if she was going all out: "I stayed at Mashiba's house that night, and I left the next morning." Kaoru Utsumi beside Kusanagi began to record, but there was no expression on her side face.But there must be her own understanding.Kusanagi thought to himself, after the questioning is over, I will ask her again. "When did you two have coffee?" "I made it yesterday morning. Ah, but we also drank it the night before." "Saturday night? That means you've had coffee twice in total, right?" "yes." "And you cooked it on Saturday night?" "No. When I arrived on Saturday night, Mr. Mashiba had already cooked it and prepared a cup for me." Hiromi Wakayama lowered his head and continued, "This is the first time I saw him make coffee by hand. And at that time he also He said that he hadn't cooked it himself for a long time. "He didn't use the saucer at the time, did he?" Kaoru Utsumi asked looking up from his notebook. Wakayama Hiromi replied: "Yes." "So, you made the coffee yesterday morning?" Kusanagi reconfirmed. "Because the coffee Mr. Mashiba made the night before was a bit bitter, I hope I can make it this time. When I was making coffee yesterday morning, Mr. Mashiba was also watching." She turned her gaze to Utsumi and said, "At that time, I used The ones on the saucer are the two in the sink." Kusanagi nodded: so far her words are not inconsistent. "Let me ask one more question, on Saturday night and Sunday day, do you all make the same coffee that Zhenchai's family usually uses?" "It should be. The coffee powder in the refrigerator that I brewed directly. I don't know what kind of coffee Mr. Mashiba made on Saturday night, but I think it should be the coffee powder." "Have you ever made coffee at Mashiba's before?" "The teacher occasionally asked me to cook it a few times. The method was also taught by the teacher. I made it according to the method she taught me yesterday morning." "Did you notice anything when you were making coffee, such as the position of the container has been moved, or the brand of coffee is different from usual?" Wakayama Hiromi closed her eyes gently, and shook her head: "I didn't pay attention. I think everything should be the same as usual." Then, she opened her eyes, tilted her head and said with a puzzled face: "And the case It has nothing to do with the situation at the time.” "what do you mean?" "Because," she retracted her chin and looked up at Kusanagi, "the coffee was not poisoned at that time. If someone poisoned it, it should have been done later, right?" "Having said that, it cannot be ruled out that the murderer set a trap." "Trap..." She muttered with a puzzled look on her face, and then said, "I didn't notice anything." "What did you do after the coffee?" "I went out right away. I'm going to teach quilting at the Bunka School in Ikebukuro on Sunday." "What time is the teaching time?" "Nine to twelve in the morning, three to six in the afternoon." "Where have you been during the period?" "After cleaning the classroom, I went to have lunch and then came back to prepare for the afternoon class." "Have you had lunch outside?" "Yes. I ate it in a noodle shop on the dining floor of the department store." She frowned and said, "I remember I was only away for about an hour, and I shouldn't be able to run back and forth between the classroom and Mashiba's house." Kusanagi smiled wryly and made a soothing gesture. "We are not investigating your alibi, please rest assured. You said yesterday that you called Mr. Mashiba after class. Regarding this, do you have anything to correct?" Wakayama Hiromi looked away from Kusanagi's face slightly unhappily. "I did call him. It's just for a slightly different reason than I told you yesterday." "I remember you told us yesterday that you called because his wife was not at home and you were worried about his inconvenience, right?" "Actually, when I left his house in the morning, Mr. Mashiba told me that he asked me to call him after class." Kusanagi looked at Hiromi Wakayama with drooping eyelids, then nodded his head two or three times: "He was going to invite you to have dinner, right?" "It seems so." "In this way we can understand. We have been wondering before, even if he is the husband of your very respected teacher, he shouldn't deserve your attention. And even if he didn't answer the phone, there is no need to go to his house. .” Wakayama Hiromi shrugged, and said with a tired face: "At that time, I also thought it would be suspicious. But I couldn't think of other excuses for a while..." "Because Mr. Mashiba didn't answer the phone at that time, you were a little worried, so you went to his house. Is there anything else you need to correct about this incident?" "No, it's gone. What happened afterwards is just like what I said yesterday. I'm sorry, I lied to you before." She said dejectedly. Kaoru Utsumi kept taking notes beside Kusanagi, Kusanagi glanced at her, and then observed Hiromi Wakayama again. There was nothing suspicious about what she just said.No, it should be said that the doubts left by yesterday have been basically resolved now.But we can't give full trust to Wakayama Hiromi because of this. "We told you before that there is a great suspicion of homicide in this case. We also asked about it yesterday. You replied that you didn't know very well, and that you knew that Mr. Mashiba was your teacher's husband. Besides, I don’t know anything about other circumstances. Now that you have admitted your special relationship with Mr. Mashiba, do you have any other information that you can provide us for reference?” Wakayama Hiromi frowned and said: "I don't know too well, I really can't believe that he was poisoned and killed." Kusanagi noticed that the "Mr. Mashiba" in his mouth had become "him". "Please carefully recall the recent conversation between you and Mr. Mashiba. If this case is homicide, it is obviously a premeditated murder. That is to say, there must be a specific motive. In this situation Under the circumstances, the victim should have a strong feeling. Even if the victim conceals it intentionally, he often leaks it unintentionally." Wakayama Hiromi pressed her temples with both hands, and shook her head: "I don't know either. His work has been going smoothly, and it seems that there is nothing particularly worth worrying about, and I haven't heard anyone bad about him." "Think about it again, okay?" Hearing this sentence, she stared at Kusanagi with a sad look in protest and said: "I've thought about it a lot, I was crying and thinking all night last night, why this happened. I I thought that he committed suicide and died as if he was killed by someone. I thought about it a lot, but I still couldn’t figure it out. I also thought about the relationship between myself and him many times, but I still don’t understand. Mr. Interpol , in fact, I am the one who most wants to know why he was killed." Kusanagi noticed that her eyes were bloodshot, and the eye circles turned red in an instant. Kusanagi thought, although she is a third party, she does love Mr. Mashiba deeply. At the same time, he is also wary: if it is just a show, then she is really a great guy. "Since when did you have a special relationship with Mr. Mashiba Yoshitaka?" Hearing his question, Wakayama Hiromi opened her red eyes wide: "I don't think this has anything to do with the case." "Whether it has anything to do with the case or not, we will naturally judge, it is not up to you. We also said just now that not only will we not disclose this matter to unrelated people, but once we find out that this matter has nothing to do with the case, from now on we will I will not ask you any more questions about this." She pursed her lips into a single word, took a deep breath, picked up the teacup and took a sip of the black tea that was probably cold. "It started three months ago." "I see." Kusanagi nodded. Although he wanted to ask her about the details of her relationship, he finally held back, "Does anyone know about the relationship between you?" "No, no one should know." "But haven't you two eaten together? Haven't you been seen by others?" "About this, we are very careful. We never go to the same restaurant twice. And he often eats with women he knows at work or bar girls, so even if someone sees us together, it will not Do you have any special ideas?" It seems that Mashiba Yoshitaka is a complete playboy.Perhaps besides Wakayama Hiromi, he has other mistresses.If this is the case, then the lady in front of him will also have the motive to kill Mashiba Yoshitaka, Kusanagi said in his heart. Utsumi Kaoru stopped writing, raised her head and asked, "Did you go to a love hotel when you were dating?" Kusanagi involuntarily turned his face away, staring at the profile of the female detective who asked directly in an extremely routine tone.Although he thought about asking the same question, he never wanted to be as straightforward as her. Wakayama Hiromi's face showed her inner displeasure. "Is this important to the investigation?" Her voice sounded sharp. Kaoru Utsumi replied without changing his face: "Of course it is important. In order to solve this case, we must investigate all aspects of Mr. Mashiba Yoshitaka's life in as much detail as possible. We must investigate as clearly as possible where and what he did before his death." Clearly. It may be possible to learn all kinds of situations by asking various people. But for now, there is indeed a gap in Mr. Mashiba's actions. We don't ask what he and you did at the time , but at least I would like you to tell us where he was at the time." "Just ask her by the way, what did they do at that time?" Kusanagi originally wanted to insert this sentence, but held back. Wakayama Hiromi pouted with displeasure: "Most of us go to ordinary hotels." "Is there a fixed one?" "We often go to three, but I don't think you can confirm it, because he used a false name when he went." "Just in case, please tell us which three companies they are." Kaoru Utsumi was ready to record. Hiromi Wakayama said the names of the three hotels with a resigned expression on her face.These three are all first-class hotels located in the capital, and they are of grand scale.It is unlikely that the staff will remember the appearance of the guests if they do not stay one after another. "Is there any rule on the day we meet?" Utsumi Kaoru asked further. "No, usually send text messages to each other to confirm whether the other party is convenient that day." "What about the frequency?" Wakayama Hiromi tilted her head and said, "Probably once a week." Kaoru Utsumi stopped taking notes, looked at Kusanagi and nodded slightly. "Thank you for your cooperation, let's stop here today." He said. "I don't think I have anything more to tell you." Kusanagi smiled at the sullen Hiromi Wakayama, and picked up the bill on the table. On the way from the restaurant to the parking lot, Wakayama Hiromi stopped suddenly. "Excuse me……" "what?" "Can I go back?" Kusanagi felt caught off guard, and turned to look at her: "Aren't you going to Zhenchai's house? Didn't your teacher ask you to go there?" "But I feel very tired now, and I'm not feeling well. As for the teacher, please ask the two criminal police to tell you." "OK." Anyway, the questioning is over now, Kusanagi and the others are fine. "Then let us take you back?" Utsumi Kaoru said. "No, there's no need. I'll call a taxi and go home. Thank you for your kindness." Wakayama Hiromi stepped forward with his back to Kusanagi and the two.A taxi with empty lights on just passed by, she raised her hand to stop the car, and got in.Kusanagi watched the taxi drive away. "She probably thinks that we will mention Mrs. Mashiba's involvement in it?" "I don't know, but I think he told us those things just now, probably because he didn't want us to see her face Mrs. Mashiba pretending to be nonchalant." "Perhaps it is." "But what about the situation over there?" "there?" "Mrs. Zhenchai, did she really not notice that her husband was having an affair?" "Well, she probably didn't notice it." "Why do you think so?" "Don't you know from her attitude just now? Didn't she still hug Hiromi Wakayama and cry?" "Really?" Kaoru Utsumi said, looking at the ground. "What are you doing? If you have anything to say, just say it." She raised her head and looked at Kusanagi and said, "Seeing that scene, I suddenly thought: Maybe she was crying in front of everyone on purpose, in front of this person who can't cry in public." "What did you say?" "Sorry, just treat it as nonsense, I'll go and drive the car over." Kusanagi stared blankly at the back of Kaoru Utsumi running towards the parking lot.