Chapter 19 Chapter Nineteen

About the situation of Maehara's family, they told Kobayashi and Ishigaki when they returned to the office. "Another bold reasoning as always, Kaga-kun." This was Ishigaki's initial thoughts.Although it was Matsunomiya's report, the superiors clearly understood who was following the Maehara family. "But it's not strong enough." Ishigaki continued. "Each of these ideas is interesting, and the idea that the dead bodies were packed directly into cardboard boxes because the killer didn't use a car is certainly interesting. But what about the big picture? Then searches of homes would It became difficult."

"Especially," added the Chief. "If the killer doesn't have access to the car, then that raises a big question mark." "I understand." It was Kaga who answered. "You mean to tell how the murderer brought the victim home?" "That's right, in this type of crime, there are overwhelmingly cases of forcibly abducting victims by car. Even if the criminals initially deceive the victim with rhetoric and walk a certain distance with them, in the end almost all of them will be taken away by car The victim. If you don't want the victim to escape, this is a matter of course. Naturally, there are also some cases where the criminal did not use a car. In this case, the scene where the body is located is often the first scene. Because those places are originally sparsely populated places, So there is no need to deliberately transport the corpse to another place for abandonment. Your reasoning is that the murderer did not use a car, but lured the victim to his home or lair, and then killed him there. Why did the murderer do this? If the victim had told her parents, the killer would have been caught quickly."

Ishigaki's analysis is indeed calm and theoretical, but Kaga also has his own thoughts on this. This idea is based on the fact that the victim and the murderer knew each other in the first place. "I am more concerned about the fact that the victim went home first and then went out again without her mother's consent. According to the investigation so far, the purpose of her going out cannot be determined, but we may as well assume that she is to see the murderer. If so, then she would not have too much resistance to going back to his residence with the murderer, and the murderer might be naive enough to think that even a little bit of misdeeds would not cause the victim fierce resistance."

Although unable to fully agree with Kaga's point of view, Ishigaki still expressed the following opinion. "Okay, then you two will go to the victim's parents again tomorrow to thoroughly investigate whether their daughter knows such a person. If we can find clues related to the former family, we will act immediately." "Yes." Accepting the instructions of the section chief, Matsumiya replied with great momentum. He realized again that Kaga Kyouichiro was a great detective.After just working with him for a day, you have to be impressed by his insight.Song Gong finally understood why Kobayashi said that this would bring him a beneficial experience.

He thought, how happy Longzheng would be if he heard what happened to him and his partner Kaga during the investigation.Matsunomiya really wanted to tell his uncle Kyouichiro how powerful he was as soon as possible. Of course, it would be ideal if he himself could go with him. The hospital where Longzheng lives is in Ueno. It was past eleven o'clock at night when Matsumiya got there, and he walked in through the night-time entrance.A security guard who had met him several times was in a duty room not far from the door. Song Gong greeted him, and the middle-aged security guard nodded silently.

He walked through the dimmed hallway and took the elevator.After arriving on the fifth floor, he went to the nurse's office first.Tokiko Kanemori was recording something with a pen, and she wore a dark blue cardigan over her overalls. "Excuse me, can I go and see him?" he asked through the window. Tokiko Kanemori smiled first, and then looked a little noncommittal. "I think he's asleep." "It's okay, I'll go back as soon as I see him." The other party nodded. "Then please." Songgong bowed to her, left the nurse's office, and walked towards Longzheng's ward.No one else was moving in the corridor, which made his footsteps audibly louder.

Long Zheng was indeed asleep, and he could still hear his faint snoring when he listened carefully.After confirming this, Matsumiya breathed a sigh of relief.He pulled the folding chair over to the bed and sat down.Longzheng's bony neck was rising and falling regularly. On a small table nearby, the shogi board still lay quietly.Because of the dim light, he couldn't see how the battle was going.Of course, he may also be confused when the room is bright, because Matsunomiya can't play shogi. He thought that he might not be able to come for a while, and tomorrow's investigation should become more formal, so he had to be mentally prepared to spend the whole night at the training station.

Matsumiya hoped that his uncle would last until this case was concluded, because even he himself didn't know if he could come again before then, let alone Kaga who was reluctant to come to visit the sick. Looking at Longzheng's peaceful expression while sleeping, he recalled the past more than ten years ago.It was hot in July, and he was a freshman in high school.One day, he met his cousin, Kyoichiro Kaga, for the first time. Matsunomiya had heard about this cousin from his mother Katsuko, but had never had the chance to meet him before.It wasn't until he and Katsuko went to play alone at Takashi's house in Mitaka that his cousin was there occasionally, when he was living in a rented apartment in Ogikubo.

"Take care of me." When he was introduced, Kaga only said this sentence, and left soon after finishing his own business.He has become a policeman, so he must be very busy - this is Songgong's understanding at the time.But he also noticed that the father and son rarely talked, and didn't even look at each other. Afterwards, Songgong hardly saw this cousin whose age was much different from his own.The reunion after a long time was when Longzheng moved. Because the house he lived in before was old, Longzheng decided to move to a rental apartment run by the same owner. Songgong and Kezi also went to help him move. At that time, they dug out a lot of trophies, the number of which made Songgong dumbfounded.Those are Kaga's kendo competitions, and even the championship trophy of the national competition qualifiers.

"Your brother Gong is amazing. You have good academic performance. You have made a lot of contributions after becoming a policeman." Katsuko would go on and on about Kaga, partly to make Takamasa happy, but she could also tell from her tone that she was proud of her nephew. Kaga came when they were packing things separately, but Longzheng was not there. Maybe Kaga came here deliberately while his father was out.He walked to Song Gong's mother and son, and saluted. "I'm really sorry, Auntie, and Mr. Xiuping, thank you for your hard work." "Don't be so polite, besides, we have always been taken care of."

Kaga smacked his lips. "These things should be done by hiring people, but now they are entrusted to you, aunt, it's shameful." It sounded like he was blaming Longzheng. "By the way, ah-gong, what should I do with these things? Do you want them delivered to your home?" Kezi asked about the trophy as if to change the subject. Kaga shook his head. "It's useless, tell the moving company and let them deal with it." "Throw it all away? Ah, but your father has carefully preserved it until now, so let's send it to his new home." "No, it's just getting in the way." Kaga pulled the trophy box in front of him, grabbed the pen next to him and wrote the word "handling" on it. Then he also packed a lot of things into the boxes, which were all classified under the "processing" category.It seems that the purpose of his visit this time is to make his things completely disappear from this home—that is, from Longzheng's side. After he left, Longzheng came back, and Songgong felt that this was some kind of tacit understanding. Longzheng seemed to have noticed the big box with "handling" written on it, but he didn't say a word.Kezi told him that Kyouichiro had come, and he only briefly agreed. Back at their own apartment, Matsunomiya asked his mother about Takasho and his son, and what he wanted to ask was whether there was any conflict between them. "Every family has scriptures that are difficult to recite." At that time, Kezi only answered him with this sentence.Although Song Gong sensed that his mother knew the inside story, he didn't ask any further questions.Even if the uncle he respected had some unspeakable secrets, he was always afraid to know them. Afterwards, Matsumiya and Kaga had no chance to meet each other for a long time, and when they met their cousin again, Matsumiya was already studying in university, and the place was in the hospital.When he heard that Longzheng fell ill, he rushed over with Kezi.It was a shogi player who lived near Longzheng's house who was friendly with him. They also agreed to play chess that day, but when Longzheng didn't come, he went to his house and found out He squatted in the kitchen unable to stand up. That's an angina attack.While waiting for Longzheng who was undergoing treatment, Songgong was very anxious. He really wanted to go into the treatment room to talk to Longzheng. Kaga also came, and he nodded emphatically when he heard Kiko say he had angina pectoris. "That's okay. I'm still thinking that it would be dangerous if I had a myocardial infarction. There should be no problem now. Auntie and Shuhei-kun, please go back first. Be careful on the road." "Brother Gong, aren't you worried?" Hearing Matsumiya's question, Kaga looked straight at him. "I originally thought that if it was a myocardial infarction, I would have to consider a lot of problems. But angina is not a serious problem, and it can be greatly improved by taking medicine." "That being said—" At this moment, a nurse came over and said that the emergency treatment was finished.After taking the medicine, the pain in the chest of Longzheng has disappeared, and the symptoms have also been significantly relieved. Hearing that it was possible to visit Longzheng, Songgong and Kezi went to the ward together.However, Kaga did not follow, he said he wanted to hear the doctor explain the situation. They entered the ward and found that Longzheng's condition was indeed fine.Although his face was not pretty, his expression did not reveal any pain. "Since the past, I have occasionally felt pain in my chest. I should have seen it sooner." He said with a smile. Kezi didn't mention that Kahe was coming, so Song Gong didn't say anything.Because he thought he would show up in a while anyway, so there was no need to tell Longzheng first. However, Kaga still did not enter the ward. Later they asked the nurse, and the answer was that he went back directly after hearing the introduction from the doctor in charge of treating Longzheng. This time Songgong was really angry, he poured out his anger to Kezi. "It's too much for him to do this. Why did he go back without even looking at uncle?" "Ah Gong came here during a break from work, so I must have to hurry back." Kezi calmed his emotions. "Even so, what's the point of not saying hello? That's his own father." "Isn't this because of a lot of things that happened in the past?" "What the hell is it?" Facing the irritated Songgong, Kezi finally spoke, it was about the past of Longzheng's wife. Since he had a son, Longzheng was naturally married.Songgong originally thought that his uncle lost his wife when he was young, but Kezi told him that his aunt ran away from home more than 20 years ago. "She left a note, so it must not have been an accident or kidnapping. There are rumors that she eloped with another man, but there is no evidence. Your uncle is busy with work and has been away. He went to Shinshu for summer training organized by the dojo where he learned kendo." "Has uncle gone to find her?" "I think he went to look for it, but I don't know the details. Later, there was a estrangement between the father and son. Although Ah Gong didn't say anything, he seemed to think that the mother's departure was caused by the father, because you Uncle is a person who doesn't care about his family at all." "My uncle doesn't care about his family? But he is so kind to us." "At that time, he had already quit his job as a police officer, and for your uncle, his concern for us may also be mixed with some kind of confession, because he is not a competent husband and father." These words surprised Matsumiya, and he finally understood why there was such an unnatural atmosphere between Kaga and his son.However, Matsumiya still feels aggrieved for Takashi, he thinks that Kaga is making a big fuss over his mother's performance of running away from home. "Did he still fail to find his wife in the end?" Song Gong asked. "Five or six years ago, there was news that his wife had passed away. I heard that she lived alone in Sendai before, and it was Ah Gong who went to retrieve her remains." "Brother Gong went there? What about uncle?" "I don't know exactly how, but Ah Gong seemed to insist on going alone, and then I felt that their father-son relationship became more tense." "How did his wife die?" "I don't know the inside story when it comes to being sick. Ah Gong won't tell me, and it's not convenient for me to ask about such things." "But you can't blame uncle, can you?" "That's what I said, but it may be difficult for Ah Gong to let go of the past in his mood. Fortunately, they are father and son after all, and they will understand each other one day." Matsumiya felt that Kezi's words were a little too optimistic. Longzheng's condition recovered very well, and he was discharged from the hospital not long after.Although he had to go to the hospital regularly, it did not affect his return to his usual daily life. Songgong often went to see him when he was in college, and they often discussed about Songgong's studies and future development direction.Longzheng is like his own father to Songgong, and he told Longzheng first after he decided to pursue a career as a police officer. At that time, Takashi was sitting by the window where the sun was shining, playing shogi. Maybe it was because Matsunomiya didn't understand the rules of shogi. While drinking with his uncle, he talked to him about his future dreams.Longzheng seemed very happy that his nephew chose the same path as himself, and listened to him with narrowed eyes. Although Longzheng's room was neatly organized, at worst, it was monotonous and boring.Matsumiya never heard the phone ring, and no one came to visit. "Haven't you played shogi with the people around you recently?" Matsunomiya said looking at the chessboard placed in the corner of the wall. "Yeah, I haven't downloaded it recently, everyone seems to be very busy." "Why don't I learn how to play shogi, so that I can be my uncle's opponent." Hearing what Songgong said, Long waved his hand in front of him. "Forget it. If you have this little time, you might as well learn how to play with computers. It will be more beneficial to you. It would be ridiculous if the police today lacked computer knowledge. I don't really need a chess opponent." Now that uncle said so, Songgong couldn't ask him to teach him.And even if he learned it elsewhere, Longzheng probably wouldn't give him any good looks. However, with the increase of age, Longzheng's wrinkles gradually deepened, and his body, which was maintained by years of exercise, became thinner and thinner.Watching all this happening, Songgong always felt inexplicable anxiety, he didn't want his benefactor to become a lonely old man. Since Kaga is unreliable, he will take care of his uncle by himself - Matsumiya has made a decision in his heart.Longzheng fell ill again, and Kezi, who happened to visit him, saw him bedridden with a high fever.Although he himself said it might be a cold, it didn't look like it to Kezi, so she called an ambulance. Later, Song Gong rushed to the hospital and learned from the doctor that it was cancer. The doctor told them that it was originally gallbladder cancer, but the cancer cells had spread to the liver and duodenum. The direct cause of the fever should be the inflammation of the bile duct.At the same time, they were announced that the cancer had reached an advanced stage, and surgery was impossible, and the heart disease made Longzheng's body weak, which made things worse. Naturally, this matter was also reported to Kaga through Katsuko, but surprisingly, even so, he still did not come to visit the doctor.He only told Kezi that he would pay for the medical expenses, and he could ask someone to take care of Long Zhengyun. Matsumiya really couldn't understand Kaga's thoughts. No matter what kind of quarrels there were in the past, in the final stage of their parents' lives, as children, they should instinctively want to take care of them. Songgong, who was immersed in thousands of thoughts, noticed that Longzheng's breathing became rapid.Soon came the sound of coughing, which made Songgong panic.He just reached out to ring the bell to call the nurse, but Longzheng opened his eyes slightly, and at the same time, his cough stopped. Longzheng made a soft sound of surprise. "Is it important?" "...It's Shuhei. Why are you here?" "I'm coming to see you." "How's work going?" "Today's work has been done, and it's twelve o'clock now." "Then go back quickly. If you don't take more rest while you can, the detective's body will collapse." "I'll be back in a minute." Songgong hesitated whether to tell Longzheng that he was partnering with Kaga in this case, but he was afraid that Longzheng would be emotionally fluctuated after hearing this. After all, he couldn't be indifferent to his son's matter. But when Songgong was thinking about it, Longzheng snored regularly again, and it didn't look like he would cough again. Song Gong stood up quietly, I will definitely bring Brother Gong——he secretly made a promise to Long Zheng in his heart. -------------------- Notes: