Chapter 4 fourth quarter

As the investigation progressed, the whereabouts of Yosuke Kirihara on the day he was killed gradually became clear. After leaving his house at around 2:30 on Friday afternoon, he first went to the Sankyo Bank Busi branch to withdraw one million yuan in cash, went to the nearby Saganoya to eat herring soba noodles, and left after 4:00. The problem is after that.The clerk's testimony noted that Kirihara appeared to be walking in the opposite direction of the station.If this is true, it is very likely that Kirihara did not take the tram, and the reason why he walked to Busi Station was purely to withdraw cash.

The members of the task force continued to investigate around the bus station and the corpse scene.As a result, the trail of Yosuke Kirihara was found in an unexpected place. A man who looked like Yosuke Kirihara had been to a chain cake shop called "Heyin" located in the shopping street in front of Fushi Station.He asked the clerk "do you have a pudding with a lot of fruit on it".He should be referring to mixed fruit pudding, which is Harmony's signature product. Unfortunately, the mixed fruit pudding was sold out at that time.He asked the clerk where he could buy the same thing.The young saleswoman told him that there was also a Harmony on the avenue, suggested that he try it there, and took out a map to point out the location.At that time, he confirmed the location of the store and said something like this: "After a long time of trouble, it turns out that there is also one here! It's very close to where I'm going, so I'd better ask about it earlier."

The store guided by the female clerk is located in Oesai 6-chome.Investigators rushed to the store and confirmed that a man who looked like Yosuke Kirihara had visited on Friday evening.He bought four servings of mixed fruit pudding, but it is not known where he went after that. There's no way he'd bought four servings of pudding just to meet a man, and investigators agree that Kirihara must be meeting a woman. The police soon found out a woman named Nishi Bundai, her name was registered in the register of Kirihara pawn shop, and she lived in the seven chome of Jiangxi. Sasagaki and Koga then went to visit.

Among the disorderly dense buildings made of iron plates and ready-made wooden boards, there is a house called "Yoshida Apartment".The smoked gray exterior wall is covered with deep black stains, and the traces of cement smear snake like snakes on the wall, which must be severely cracked. Xibendai lives in Room 103.Due to the close proximity to the building next door, there is almost no daylight at all on the first floor.Rusty bicycles parked on dark, damp passages. Sasagaki looked around the washing machines placed in front of each door.On the third door from the front was a piece of paper with "Nishiben" written on it with a marker.Sasagaki knocked on the door.

There was a voice of "coming" from behind the door, like a girl.But the door did not open, but asked aloud, "Who is there?" It looks like a child is watching the house. "Is your mother here?" Sasagaki asked through the door. The person inside did not answer, but asked again: "Who is it?" Sasagaki looked at Koga and smiled wryly.I was probably told by the adults that if you are someone you don't know, you must never open the door.Of course, this is not a bad thing.Sasagaki raised his voice so that the girl behind the door could hear him, but not the neighbors. "We are the police. We have something to ask your mother."

The girl was silent, Sasagaki interpreted it as being at a loss.Judging by the voice, she was either a primary school student or a middle school student.Children of this age are naturally nervous when they hear the police. There was a sound of unlocking, and the door opened, but the chain was still hanging.A girl's face with big eyes was exposed through the crack of the door about ten centimeters, the skin on the snow-white cheeks was as delicate as porcelain. "My mother hasn't come back yet." The girl's tone was very firm. "Go shopping?" "No, go to work."

"When does she usually come back?" Sasagaki looked at his watch, it was just after five o'clock. "It should be soon." "Oh, let's wait here then." Hearing what Sasagaki said, she nodded slightly and closed the door.Sasagaki reached out to take out a cigarette from the inside pocket of his coat, and whispered to Koga, "A very sensible child." "Yes," Koga replied, "and..." Halfway through the young detective's speech, the door opened again.This time the chain is untied. "Can I see that?" the girl asked.

"what?" "Certificate." "Oh." Sasagaki couldn't help smiling after understanding her purpose. "Okay, here's a look." He took out his ID and turned to the page with the photo ID. After comparing the photo with Sasagaki's face, she said "Come in" and opened the door wider. Sasagaki was a little surprised. "No, uncle can just wait here." She shook her head. "Wait outside, and people nearby will find it strange." Sasagaki and Koga looked at each other again, wanting to smile wryly, but held back. Sasagaki said "Excuse me" and walked into the room.As can be imagined from the outside, the compartments inside are too narrow for a family to live in.As soon as you enter the door, there are about five stacks of wooden floors, and there is a small counter.Inside is a Japanese room, with at most six stacks.

A rough dining table and chairs set up on the wooden floor.Under the greeting of the girl, the two sat down on the chairs.There are only two chairs, and the girl seems to live with her mother alone.The dining table was covered with a pink and white checked plastic tablecloth, with cigarette burns on the edges. The girl sat down in the Japanese room with her back against the closet and began to read a book.There is a sticker on the back cover of the book, which seems to be borrowed from the library. "What are you looking at?" Koga asked her. The girl silently showed the cover of the book, and Koga leaned over to look at it. "Oh..." A voice of admiration came out, "Reading such a difficult book."

"What book?" Sasagaki asked Koga. "." "Huh?" Sasagaki was surprised now, "I've seen the movie." "I've seen it too. It's a really good movie. However, I never thought about reading the book." "I haven't read a book recently." "Me too. I haven't even read comics since the finale of "Little Boxer"." "Really? Finally, even "Little Boxing King" is over." "May is over this year. After "Giant Star" and "Little Punch," there's nothing to watch."

"Isn't that great? It's really not appropriate for an adult to read comics." "That's true." When Sasagaki and the others were talking, the girl continued to read without looking up, probably thinking that it was a stupid adult talking nonsense to pass the time.Perhaps Koga also felt this, so he didn't speak again.His hands seemed to be flustered with idleness, and he tapped the table with his fingertips, making a dunk sound.The girl looked up with displeasure, and he had to stop his fingers. Sasagaki looked around the room nonchalantly.There are only the most basic furniture and necessities of life, and there is nothing that can be considered a luxury.There are neither desks nor bookshelves.Although there was a TV by the window, it was a very old model and had to be installed with an indoor antenna.He could imagine that the TV was probably in black and white, and after turning it on, it took a long time for the picture to appear, and most of the images that appeared would have several obtrusive horizontal lines. Not only are there few things, but this place is obviously a women's residence, but there is no bright and delicate atmosphere.The whole room was dark, apparently not just because of the old fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Two stacked cardboard boxes were placed next to Sasagaki, he lifted the cover of the cardboard box and looked inside.It is stuffed with rubber frog toys, the kind that can jump when pressed, and is often sold at night markets during temple fairs.It seems to be a family foundry of the Western era. "Sister, what's your name?" Sasagaki asked the girl.He would usually call her Little Sister, but felt that it didn't apply to her. Still keeping her eyes on the book, she replied, "Nishimoto Yusui." "Yuesui. Well, how do you write it?" "The snow of snow, the ear of rice." "Oh, Yukiho, what a good name, isn't it?" He asked Koga's approval. Koga nodded yes, the girl didn't respond. "Yukiho, do you know there is a shop called 'Kirihara Pawnshop'?" Sasagaki asked. Xuesui didn't answer right away, she licked her lips and nodded slightly. "My mother sometimes goes." "Well, it seems to be. Have you met the owner of that store?" "I've seen it." "Has he ever been to your house?" Hearing this question, Xuesui tilted her head and replied, "I seem to have been here before." "Did you come here when you were at home?" "Maybe. I don't remember, though." "What is he here for?" "I have no idea." Pressing the girl here is probably not the best policy.Sasagaki felt that there would be many opportunities to ask her questions in the future.He looked around the room again, without any specific purpose.However, when he saw the trash can next to the refrigerator, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.On the top of the pile of garbage is the wrapping paper with the "harmony" trademark printed on it. Sasagaki turned to look at Yukiho, and met her eyes.She immediately shifted her gaze and returned to the reading posture. Sasagaki's intuition told him that she was looking at the same thing. After a while, the girl suddenly raised her head, closed the book, and looked towards the entrance. Sasagaki pricked up his ears and heard the sound of someone walking in sandals.Koga seemed to notice it too, and opened his mouth slightly.The footsteps were getting closer and stopped in front of the door.There was a metallic thud at the door, as if a key was being reached.Xuesui walked to the door and said, "The door is not locked." "Why don't you lock it? It's too dangerous." At the same time as the words sounded, the door opened.In came a woman in a light blue blouse, about thirty-five years old, with her hair tied back.Nishibunyo immediately noticed Sasagaki and the others.She looked panicked, looked at her daughter, and then at the two strange men. "They're the police," the girl said. "Police..." Wen Dai showed timidity on his face. "I am the Osaka Prefectural Police. My surname is Sasagaki. This is Koga." Sasagaki stood up to say hello, and Koga stood up to greet him. Wen Dai was obviously very disturbed, his face was blue, and he looked at a loss, holding a paper bag and forgot to close the door. "We are investigating a case, and we want to ask Mrs. Nishimoto something, so I came to disturb you. Sorry, I entered the house while you were out." "Investigate the case..." "It seems to be about the uncle at the pawnshop." Xuesui said beside him. For a moment, Wen Dai seemed to gasp.Based on the expressions of the two of them, Sasagaki was sure that they already knew the news of Kirihara Yosuke's death and had discussed it in private. Koga stood up.Said: "Please sit down." Wen Dai's frightened face did not decrease at all, and he just sat opposite Sasagaki. This is Sasagaki's first impression of a woman with regular features.There are slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but if she dresses up well, she will definitely be classified as a beauty, and she belongs to that kind of iceberg beauty.Xuesui obviously looks like her mother. There should be quite a few middle-aged men who would fall for her, Sasagaki thought.Yosuke Kirihara is fifty-two years old, so it is not surprising that he is tempted. "Excuse me, sir..." "Passed away seven years ago. An accident while working on a construction site..." "Oh, that's pathetic. Where are you now?" "I work at an udon noodle shop in Imazato." She said the name of the shop is "Chrysanthemum House", and the working hours are from Monday to Saturday, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. "Are the udon noodles in that store delicious?" Koga asked with a smile, probably to ease the other party's emotions.Wen Dai just tilted his head with a stiff expression and said "I don't know". "Uh, you know about Mr. Yosuke Kirihara's unfortunate death, right?" Sasagaki cut to the point. "Yes," she whispered back, "very surprising." Xuesui walked around behind her mother, walked into the six-story room, and sat down against the closet as before.After observing her movements, Sasagaki turned his gaze back to Wendai again. "Mr. Kirihara is likely to be involved in something. We are investigating his movements after he left his house during the day last Friday. It turns out that he seems to have come to the house, so let's confirm." "No, that, my side..." "The uncle from the pawn shop has been here," Xuesui interrupted Wen Dai's hesitating words, and interjected, "It's that uncle who brought the harmony pudding, isn't it?" Sasagaki knew very well how embarrassed Bunyo was.After her lips trembled slightly, she finally made a sound. "Ah, yes. Mr. Kirihara was here on Friday." "About what time?" "I remember it seems to be..." Fumyo looked to Sasagaki's right, where there was a double-door refrigerator with a small clock on it. "I think . "What did Mr. Kirihara come to you for?" "I think he's fine. He said he came here because he was nearby. Mr. Kirihara knows very well that our mother and daughter are in financial difficulties, so he will come here sometimes, and I will ask him for advice on many things." "He came nearby? That's strange." Sasagaki pointed to the wrapping paper of the Heyin Cake Shop in the trash can, "Is this brought by Mr. Kirihara? Mr. Kirihara originally planned to buy it at the shopping street in front of Fushi Station. That is He said that he was already planning to come here when he was near the bus station. It is a distance away from the bus, so it stands to reason that he should have planned to visit the house from the very beginning, so the inference is more reasonable." "That's what I said, but Mr. Kirihara has said that, and I can't help it. He said he came nearby and came by..." Wen Dai said with his head down. "I understand. Let's just treat it like this. How long will Kirihara-san stay here?" "Six o'clock...I think it was almost six o'clock." "It's almost six o'clock, are you sure?" "It should be right." "So Kirihara-san was here for about an hour. What did you talk about?" "What did you talk about... just gossip." "There are also many kinds of gossip, such as the weather and money." "Oh, that, he mentioned the war..." "War? The Pacific War?" Yosuke Kirihara served in the army during World War II.Sasagaki thought he was talking about this matter, but Fumyo shook his head. "It's a foreign war. Mr. Kirihara said that this time the oil will definitely rise again." "Oh, the Middle East war." Apparently referring to the fourth Middle East war that started earlier this month. "He said that Japan's economy will be unstable again now. Not only that, the price of oil-related products will also rise, and they may become scarce in the end. In the future world, no one will be richer and more powerful than anyone else." "Oh." Looking at Bunyo with his head down, Sasagaki thought, these words might be true.The question is why did Kirihara say this to her specifically?Sasagaki imagined that Kirihara might be implying: I am rich and powerful, for your own sake, you'd better follow me.According to the records of Kirihara's pawn shop, Nishi Bundai never redeemed the pawned things.It is very likely that Kirihara has spotted her troubles. Sasagaki glanced at Yukiho. "Where was your love then?" "Oh, she's in the library... isn't she?" she confirmed to Yusui. Xuesui hummed. "Oh, that book was borrowed back then. Do you often go to the library?" He asked Xuesui directly. "Once or twice a week," she answered. "After school?" "yes." "Is there a fixed day to go? For example, Monday, Friday or Tuesday, Friday or something like that." "No." "Won't mom be worried? My daughter hasn't come back, so I don't know if she went to the library." "Ah, but, she will definitely be home after six o'clock." Wen Dai said. "That's when you came back on Friday?" He asked Xuesui again. The girl nodded without speaking. "After Mr. Kirihara left, you stayed at home?" "No, that, I went out to do some shopping. Go to 'Marukane House'." Marukana Supermarket is just a few minutes away. "Did you meet someone you know at the supermarket?" After a little thought, Fumyo replied, "I met Mrs. Kinoshita, the mother of Yukiho's classmate." "Do you have her contact information?" "There should be." Wen Dai picked up the address book next to the phone, opened it on the dining table, and pointed to the place where "Minoshita" was written, "This is it." Watching Koga copy down the phone number, Sasagaki continued to ask, "When you went shopping, did your daughter come back?" "No, she hadn't come back then." "What time did you get back from shopping?" "It was probably just past seven-thirty." "Where was your daughter then?" "Well, it's back." "Haven't you gone out since then?" "Yes." Wen Dai nodded. Sasagaki looked at Koga, and asked with his eyes: Should we stop here first?Koga nodded slightly. "Sorry for interrupting you for so long. I may still have questions to ask in the future, please help me when the time comes." Sasagaki stood up. Wen Dai sent two criminal policemen to the door.Taking advantage of Yukiho's absence, Sasagaki asked another question: "Mrs. Nishimoto, this question may be a bit presumptuous, but please don't mind too much?" "What's the problem?" Uneasiness immediately appeared on Wen Dai's face. "Has Mr. Kirihara ever invited you to dinner, or asked you out to meet?" Sasagaki's words made Wendai's eyes widen, and she shook her head vigorously: "Never." "Well. I was thinking, why is Mr. Kirihara treating you so well?" "I think he sympathizes with us. May I ask Mr. Police, did the police suspect me about the murder of Mr. Kirihara?" "No, no, it's nothing like that. I just want to make sure." After paying his respects, Sasagaki walked away.When he turned the corner and couldn't see the apartment, he said to Koga, "It's suspicious." The young detective also agreed, saying, "Indeed." "I asked Bundai Kirihara if he came here on Friday. At first she seemed to answer that she didn't come. But because Yukiho reminded her about the pudding, she had to tell the truth. Yukiho also wanted to hide Kirihara's past. No matter, but because I noticed the wrapper of the pudding, she decided that lying would be a problem." "Yeah, that girl looks smart." "Bundai came home from get off work at the udon noodle shop, around five o'clock, when Kirihara arrived. And Yukisui happened to go to the library and came back after Kirihara left. I always feel that the timing is too coincidental." "Could Wendai be Kirihara's mistress? When the mother is with the man, the daughter spends time outside." "Maybe. However, if you are a mistress, you can get a little money, so there is no need to be a domestic worker." "Maybe Kirihara is pursuing her?" "possible." The two rushed back to the task force set up in the West Busch branch. "It may have been done on impulse." After reporting to Nakazuka, Sasagaki said, "Kirihara may have shown Fumyo the one million yuan he just got out of the bank." "So, kill him for that money, eh? But if it's done at home, she can't get the body to the building," Nakazuka said. "So she may have made an excuse to meet him in that building. They probably wouldn't have walked there together." "The autopsy showed that even a woman could have caused the wounds on the body." "If it was the Wen Dynasty, Tong Yuan would not be wary." "Let's confirm Wendai's alibi first." Nakazuka said cautiously. At that time, Sasagaki's impression of Bundai was very close to a black area, and her timid attitude was also suspicious.The presumed time of death of Yosuke Kirihara was from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. last Friday, and Bunyo had a chance at that time. However, the results of the investigation brought completely unexpected news to the task force——Sibendai has an almost perfect alibi.