Chapter 6 Chapter 04

(one) There was silence for more than ten seconds.During this time, everyone stopped moving like puppets.There was the sound of fireworks being set off in the distance. "Hahaha." Fujima laughed softly. "What is the truth, calling the police, it's like a TV show. Okay, although I don't know what Mr. Namiki is talking about, let's make it clear. It's just..." Having said that, he faced Tsukumi. "That matter has nothing to do with the teacher, does it? It's unreasonable to implicate the teacher in our own family affairs. I think the teacher should go back to the rented villa and only leave the children there. Worry."

Guan Gu raised his hand and said, "I agree." "It's rare that all the staff are here, so I can't let the teacher go first. And if Jin Jiu sees that the teacher is not here, I will be very troubled." "But teacher..." "I think..." Shunsuke interrupted Tengwen. "The teacher is the key to mastering the whole incident." Under Shunsuke's gaze, Tsukumi kept blinking, and then looked at Fujima uneasily.Fujima's calm smile just now turned into a serious expression. Shunsuke strode up to Tsukumi's side.The cram school teacher seemed to be intimidated by his aura, and shrank slightly.

"Tsujiu saw Teacher, what did Lilizi tell you?" "What are you talking about?" "She should have said something to you, no, it shouldn't be that simple. You were probably intimidated by her, right?" "You said I was intimidated by her? It's ridiculous. What's more, we just met for the first time, how could..." Jin Jiujian shook his head, showing a complex expression mixed with wry smile and confusion. "Maybe it's the first time you and Miriko have met, but she has known you for a long time. And not only did she know you, but she also watched you." After speaking, Shunsuke took out the photo from his jacket pocket and held it in front of Jin Jiujian's eyes. "Well, is this you? It seems to be in some family restaurant."

Looking at the photo, Tsukumi raised his chin.Before he could speak, Shunsuke continued: "Mileko used to work in a credit agency, and this kind of thing is easy for her. Originally, the person she investigated at the beginning was not you, but Minako. Because I suspect that Minako is having an affair , I want to find out who the other party is. Miliko listened to my instructions and started to track Minako's daily life. As a result, she accidentally discovered something wrong when she was monitoring people who were close to Minako, that is, in the process of your exchanges. It's an ordinary thing. That's this photo." Shunsuke brought the photo to Jin Jiu once again.Tsukumi averted his eyes.

"What does that photo represent?" Fujima asked sharply. Shunsuke looked at Fujima, and walked towards the bar without saying a word.Although the Sakazaki couple were sitting there, he didn't look at them, but picked up the brochure on the bar. "You should know what this is. This is the school profile of Xiuwenguan Middle School. It is the school that you want to send your son to no matter what means you use." He opened one of the pages and picked it up for everyone to see. "Here are the headshots of the staff of this school. They are not teachers but staff. Among them, I have seen two people. It is not that I have seen it with my own eyes. It is these two." At this time, he used his other hand Hold up the photo just now. "This is the picture of Mr. Tsukumi meeting the staff of Shubunkan Middle School. The cram school teacher met privately with the staff of the school he applied for... This is an unimaginable scene. How is it, Mr. Tsujiu? Can you explain it is What's the matter?"

Tsujimi's fingers were entangled on the table, but he didn't answer.So Fujima rushed to speak: "That can't be generalized. Mr. Namiki may think that there is some improper transaction, but I think it is normal for cram schools to use various channels to collect information." "Pipeline? What's going on, please ask Jin Jiu to see the teacher and explain it clearly." Shunsuke stared at Jin Jiujian closely, but the young cram school teacher remained silent. "There are other photos." Junjie took out other photos. "In addition to the staff of Shubunkan Middle School, Minako is also in this picture. The teacher of the cram school, the staff of the school applying for the exam, and the mother of the examinee secretly met. I think the meaning of this kind of gathering is difficult for people to think in a healthy direction. ? I think this should not be my personal biased opinion."

"Then you can ask Minako!" The person who spoke was Yasuko Seki.But she didn't dare to look into Shunsuke's eyes either. "Even if I ask, she won't tell the truth, so I'm going to ask all of you here. Because it seems that you are jointly responsible for the lies you tell. " Guan Gu sighed deeply, then patted the table and said, "Why don't you explain clearly what you want to say?" "Then let me make it clear." Shunsuke stared at Guan Gu, then looked at Jin Jiujian again. "In the process of investigating Minako's affair, Miriko discovered an unexpected fact. That is, you and the staff of Shubunkan Middle School have a connection, and you use this relationship to mediate for the parents to enter the school through the back door. She used this to intimidate You, maybe what you want is money, or maybe you want to know who Minako is like. After dinner on the first day, she told me that everything will be resolved in two hours. I guess in those two hours Here, she intends to meet with you to make various deals. But you don’t want to make deals with her, what you think in your heart is how to solve this sudden danger and obstacle...that is, the woman high-ranking Miliko.”

"Slow down!" Jin Jiujian said with his eyes wide open, "Are you saying I killed her?" "See you, Teacher Tsujiu!" Fujima shouted loudly. Junsuke smiled coldly. "No wonder Mr. Fujima is nervous. What you said now means that you already know the fact that Lizi is dead. But logically speaking, you are completely unaware of her being killed." Tsukumi bit his lip and looked at the floor. Shunsuke looked around at everyone. "Seeing that Sensei was threatened by Miriko, Tsujiu killed her in order to protect himself... But the actual situation should not be so simple! But the only thing I can be sure of is that the person who killed her was not Minako."

"Why can you be so sure?" Fujima asked. "My motive for suspicion is very simple. You are not blood-related family members, why are you willing to work together to conceal this matter? Even the biological parents certainly don't want to be involved in the disturbance after the incident, so I really don't understand You guys would actually help dump the corpse and help protect the murderer. Mr. Sakazaki’s reaction at the beginning is reasonable.” Shunsuke looked back at the Sakazaki couple sitting in front of the bar. "It's normal to get angry because you don't want to help do something stupid. It's the other person's reaction that's the problem."

"But we finally agreed to help..." Shunsuke shook his head and denied Sakazaki's words, he said: "That's why it's even more strange. How could Mr. Sakazaki, who was so emotional, agree to help so simply. I have to think that there are other truths behind this incident. !" Shunsuke reached into his pants pocket and took out the crumpled tissue.Spread out the tissue paper, there are some faint red marks in the central part.In order to let everyone see more clearly, he raised his hands up. "Do you know what this is?" No one answered.So Shunsuke put the tissue paper on the table and pushed it in front of Fujima Kazue.

"You should know, right?" Kazue looked at Shunsuke, his nostrils swelled. "why me?" "Because you said that you cleaned the room. You were the one who cleaned up Li Zi's blood. To be honest, there is something suspicious about it. Usually the blood on the carpet is not so easy to remove, but the carpet in that room was almost completely restored. Due to the recent There are a lot of convenient cleaners newly released in the market, as long as you wash and wipe immediately, you may be able to wash everything completely. So I believed it at the beginning. However, I happened to move the bed yesterday, and found that there was still a little blood, which was red. I Wipe it with a tissue, and it's what you see in front of your eyes." One stared at the tissue paper, then at her husband.Fujima kept staring at Shunsuke. "It's very strange!" Junjie said, "The blood stains on the carpet usually turn dark red after more than a day; but the blood stains in the room are still very fresh, and wiped with a water-soaked tissue, the blood stains turn red." It fell off easily. I immediately thought it wasn't blood. Because of my work, I know the paint very well, so I can see through it at a glance." Pointing to the tissue paper on the table, he continued: "It's watercolor, it's the children The watercolor paints used. Of course it can be easily wiped off this way.” Fujima took out a cigarette, rudely placed the ashtray on the table, and started smoking.The others continued to remain silent. "No." Minako said, "You misunderstood. I can understand that you don't want me to be a prisoner, but I killed him. That red watercolor... probably got on the carpet at other times." "Shut up." Junsuke raised his voice. "Do you think this argument works? Take a closer look at Mr. Fujima and the others. They are already listening to me with a certain level of awareness. Everything is over, and there is no need to act anymore." "Regardless of whether we are awakened or not, you should continue talking." Fujima sighed. "Okay, I'll keep going. Since the blood is fake, what about the body? It's a pity the body is real. Riko is dead. But why is the fake blood necessary? I think it's to make the killing scene more interesting." It must be in that room. Of course it was aimed at me, the only means of camouflage used to deceive me. Lizi was killed elsewhere, and then transported to that room by your hands." Shunsuke put his hands in front of Guan Gu, and then moved his face closer to him. Guan Gu stepped back and said, "What are you doing?" "You carried the corpse twice that night." Junsuke held out two fingers. "It's actually the second time to transport the corpse to the lake with me. You have already transported the corpse before." "What evidence do you have for saying that?" Guan Gu's half of his cheek twitched. Shunsuke stepped back and stood by the door.He pointed to the wall next to it, which was pasted with pictures drawn by children. "Please look at Zhang Tai's picture. It is about this villa. There are cars parked in the parking lot. Among them, the square SUV belongs to Mr. Guan Gu. It is very clear to everyone. The car is facing the Stopped in the direction of the villa. But that night..." Junsuke put his hands on his waist. "While carrying Lizi's body, Mr. Guan Gu's car was parked facing the direction of the road. In other words, where did you use that car before?" Guan Gu groaned and wriggled uncomfortably, but still tried his best to put on a smiling face. "That's all the evidence... that night, so I used that car a few times, right?" he asked his wife's approval.But Guan Gu Yasuko didn't respond for a while, with an expression of about to cry. "There is another doubt. It is the boat by the lake." Junjie said, "When we moved the corpse, there was only one boat that could be used immediately. At that time, I thought it was a coincidence, and I even felt lucky. If all the boats were upside down , it is necessary to turn over the hull first. Fortunately, there is a small boat that allows us to row away immediately after we carry out the operation of destroying the identity of the corpse. After Mr. Fujima and I threw the corpse into the lake, we docked the used boat I left by the lake. However, on the way back to the hotel when I was taking Minako back to the hotel, I went around to look at the scene. The boat we used was turned upside down and buckled upside down. It is impossible for a boat rental company to come at that time It's sorted out. I mentioned this to Mr. Fujima, but for some reason he doesn't seem to care much. It's strange that Mr. Fujima, who has thought about the disposal of corpses so carefully, has such a reaction. But if you think about it this way Can be coherent." Junjie took a step forward, raised his right index finger and said, "At that time, there was another person who helped. In order to make the corpse disposal plan go smoothly, he secretly provided support. He probably went to the boat rental first. , help us turn the boat over? It’s just that we can’t see him. To be correct, I’m the only one who didn’t notice it. Because in your explanation to me, that person is set to not know the whole incident. That is to say ..." Shunsuke stared at Tsukumi's eyelids. "You are the one who is helping behind the scenes, Mr. Jinjiu. You first go around to the pier where the boat is rented out and help us arrange the boat; after we have finished dumping the corpse, restore the boat to its original shape." "No, I..." Ignoring the hesitant Tsukumi who wanted to refute, Shunsuke went on to say, "Arranging and tidying up the boats is not a big job. We can do it alone. But Tsukumi-sensei must be involved in some way. The ranks of assistance. On the other hand, it is necessary to use some form to let Tsujiu see the teacher to help. This is because all the people who know the truth really join the criminal action, and the unity between each other will be enhanced. It is also to prevent Teacher Du disclosed the possibility to the police because of fear afterwards." Shunsuke walked around the table while looking at everyone's faces.He turned around slowly, and after returning to the original place, he said: "You guys have any objections you can raise. If anyone can give a reasonable explanation for the doubts I raised, please also speak. In short, according to the present I can't continue to help, and I don't want to help you. As I said, I will only go to the police. As a result, of course I will be convicted; but that doesn't matter. Instead of being lied to as As an accomplice, I would rather choose to be prosecuted for abandoning the corpse. To put it in a whimsical way, maybe the judge will give me a lighter sentence at his discretion." Finally he raised his voice and asked, "How is it going?" The female relatives sitting around the table were all downcast, and Guan Gu and Jin Jiujian also had painful expressions on their faces.Minako didn't move, Sakazaki held her head, and Sakazaki Junzi stared at a certain place in the air in a daze.Only Fujima was expressionless, he seemed to look up at the ceiling thoughtfully, and then let out a long sigh. "Is it still ending like this...?" He gave up in a tone. "Why did you say 'still'?" Shunsuke asked. "At the beginning there were two proposals, one simple and the other complicated. I wanted to choose the simple one, but Minako objected. She said that this would definitely succeed. No one could speak against her, so we unanimously agreed to choose the complicated one." "At this point, please don't use such oblique words anymore." "I'm sorry, that's it. I just want to add that a few people, including me, actually advocated telling you all the facts from the beginning." "It sounds like an excuse at all. But since you've said that, I think it's good to make it clear now." "If you don't say anything, will you call the police immediately?" "That's right." "In this case, we have no way out." Fujima turned his gaze from Shunsuke to everyone. "It seems that it is impossible to hide it any longer. Can I tell Mr. Namiki the truth?" No one answered, Fujima asked repeatedly: "Is it okay for me to say it? Minako, it should be okay to say it?" "If everyone agrees." Minako replied with her head down. Fujima coughed, and turned his gaze to Shunsuke again. "Since such an inference can be made, it means that Mr. Namiki may have discovered the truth. First of all, I want to confirm this." "So what if I say it..." "It's a matter of psychological preparation. It's hard to explain without first knowing how prepared Mr. Namiki is. Anyway, the situation is very delicate." Junsuke folded his hands on his chest and murmured.He looked at the people around him, except for Fujima, everyone lowered their eyes. "Let me just say it directly. Rather than reasoning, I should say imagination. I have an imagination." "That's okay." Fujima nodded. "If Minako is not the murderer, I would like to know who she is scapegoating for. Is it the object of her affair? But in this way, it is impossible for everyone to come forward to help cover up the incident. It is possible for everyone to cooperate so much. Who would Kumi-sensei work hard to protect together? Thinking of this, there is only one answer that can satisfy all the conditions. By saying this, you will know the truth of what I imagined. It can only be said to be a wild delusion , but I can't think of an answer other than that. The people who killed Miriko were the members who took part in this trip, but not the people who are here now." "Yes, you are right." With a smile on Fujima's face, he announced calmly, "The murderer is a child." (two) For a moment, a complete silence enveloped the entire room, and no one made any movements.There was no sound of clothes rubbing against each other or breathing. The first thing to come out was the slight crunching of the floorboards.That's because Shunsuke started to move. "Who is it?" he asked Fujima, his voice lowered. "Or whose child should I ask? Is it the same as my reasoning?" "Oh, how did you reason?" "The murderer is..." Shunsuke continued, "Children. That is to say, the four children did it together, so you all became accomplices without hesitation." "I see." Fujima nodded and said, "Mr. Namiki who can make such a beautiful reasoning, it's no wonder that he came to such a conclusion in the end." "Aren't you right? Aren't all the kids involved?" "Before I tell you the answer, maybe I should start from the beginning. Let me explain exactly what happened." "Well, I don't want to know too briefly. Anyway, tonight is still long, and there is plenty of time." "Then first, let's ask Tsukumi-sensei to start talking, because the whole incident started from the conversation between him and Miko High Order." Being named by Fujima, Tsukumi looked a little confused.He asked in a low voice, "Is this okay?" "Mr. Namiki has seen through to this extent. You should give up. After telling the truth, we will try to express our thoughts." Hearing what Fujima said, Tsujiu saw his eyes lowered, and was silent for a while.It wasn't long before he raised his head to look at Junjie, and clenched his hands leaning on the table. "At the beginning, Gao Jie chatted with me in a casual way. I didn't think that she was Mr. Namiki's friend, so I was unsuspecting. But gradually I found that she came to talk to me not by chance, but with obvious intentions Surprisingly, she knows everything about me and everyone. Not only that, but she also knows that everyone wants to send their children to Shubunkan Middle School." "And..." Junjie said, "She even knows about you using special channels to contact the staff of Xiuwenguan Middle School and helping parents mediate through the back door admission, right?" "It's not correct to say that you enter the school through the back door, but forget it. Because the high-ranking lady said that too. The photo she showed me is the same as this one." Jin Jiujian picked up the photo on the table, it was him A photo of meeting two staff members of Shubunkan Middle School in the cafeteria. "It's just different from this photo...how should I put it? It's not just a photo of the staff of the cram school, the private middle school, and the scene where the parents of the candidates meet. Some of the photos she took out captured more decisive screen." "Decisive... that is to say..." Shunsuke licked his lips and changed his words, "Is it a photo showing some kind of money exchange?" Tsukumi looked at Fujima.Fujima said: "Maybe you will think it's dirty. But being a parent is willing to give everything for your children. When you hear that you can get in the exam with money, even though you know it's wrong, you still take this step. Just like Mr. Namiki As I said, in the photo that Ms. High Order showed to Tsukumi-sensei, my wife handed out an envelope containing money. The same is true of Mr. Sekiya's house..." "Jingzi also took the money and went out, and that scene was also photographed." Guan Gu said in a desperate tone. Shunsuke asked Minako, "Did you give the money too?" "No, I haven't..." Minako shook her head lightly. "Minako doesn't seem to have given the money yet, but does she plan to do so?" Fujima said. After Minako seemed a little hesitant, she raised her chin high. "My family hasn't given it yet." Junko Sakazaki said, "But I heard Mr. Tsujiu said that there is such a method, so I started to think of a way." Shunsuke sighed and shook his head slowly. "We made a special trip to the place where Miriko lives in Tokyo. We actually wanted to collect other evidence she might have. But I really can't figure it out. I have already engaged in this kind of study training. Why do I ask you to enter the school through the back door? Don't you agree? Do you believe in children's learning ability and hard work?" "It's because I saw the children working so hard and wanted to help them." Guan Gu Jingzi's eyes were red and swollen. "If you fail the ranking, wouldn't all your hard work go to waste? That would be a pitiful child." "The books you have read will never be wasted." Shunsuke's words made Guangu sneer. "It's common sense that the books you read for the exam can only be used for the exam." "So you just..." Shunsuke closed his eyes lightly after speaking, took a deep breath before looking at Jin Jiujian again. "Is that kind of back door certain? In other words, is it guaranteed to pass the exam with money? I heard that people in this society often use nice words to cheat money." "I can't say it's absolute." Jin Jiujian said with a heavy expression, "I think it can be said that there is probably no problem. As I said just now, this is not the same as going through the back door. The exam will still be held as usual. The judgment of whether or not is also carried out as usual. This cannot be intervened no matter how much money is spent." "So to say……" "I have to increase the score in the test." Tsujimi said, "As long as you get a good score in the test, you can get on the list. In order to get a sure method, this is the purpose of introducing the staff of Shubunkan Middle School to you." "The exact method?" Junsuke tilted his head in thought. "Could it be a leak..." "That's right." Tsunade nodded painfully. "The staff in the photo, especially the male, are the ones in charge of administering the test papers." "Using this position to enrich your own pockets. But this kind of thing happens everywhere, so it's not surprising..." Junjie murmured: "But if this is the case, as long as one person spends money, it will be settled? Or Is it okay for everyone to jointly buy a copy of the test questions, and then take turns to look at it?" "The other party also thought of this, so they didn't simply give a copy of the test questions. If they did this, they would leave evidence. The other party's method was to gather the candidates and their parents who had paid the money in a certain house in the city the night before the exam. In the restaurant, the exam questions are announced on the spot. They cannot be copied out by hand, nor are the answers given, and parents and candidates must answer immediately on the spot, so there is no time to help others answer.” "I see. Does Miriko even know this?" "No, she probably didn't know so much. She just used the words "to enter the school through the back door". Anyway, she felt from the pictures of money giving and receiving in the photos that there was some improper transaction. She smiled and said at the time that she would It’s not out of the question to hand over the photos to the media.” "What condition did she offer not to publish the photos to the media? Is it also money?" "No, she didn't ask for anything at the time. Just said she had the information." "Didn't you make any request?" Junsuke tilted his head thinking, "Why?" "This should be a method of intimidation, Mr. Namiki." Fujima said, "If you say the words of requirements or conditions, it is a crime. And it is very likely that you will be exposed because of this. First, you have caught the opponent's weakness, and then Take the time to observe how the other party plays cards. You can see that she is so beautiful, but she is actually a cunning expert. Maybe she learned this kind of skill when she was working at the credit bureau." Shunsuke gritted his teeth and stared fiercely at Fujima, but turned his gaze back to Tsukumi without saying a word. "Then you two separated like this?" "No, she said she wanted to talk more, so we decided to meet after dinner." "Where?" "Do you know that there is a small open space next to the rented villa? There are oak trees planted there, with hammocks hanging from the trunks. We made an appointment to meet there at nine o'clock." "Nine o'clock? But you invited her to dinner first?" "I didn't ask her to come here. When I finished talking with Ms. Senior, Mr. Guan Gu came over. As soon as Mr. Guan Gu heard that she was Mr. Namiki's subordinate, he asked her if she would like to have dinner together .” "At that time, I didn't know that there was such a process between Teacher Jinjiu and her." Guan Gu defended himself. "Then when did you know about this?" "Before the dinner was about to end, Mr. Tsujiu only told me and Mr. Sekiya about this matter." Fujima said, "I was shocked, so I decided to listen to what she had to say first, and not let other people know about it for the time being. .I think telling everyone about this before deciding what to do is just making people uncomfortable. But when we talked about it, we were standing in the corner of the courtyard." He looked at the backyard. "Maybe we were too careless and thought no one was around." "You mean...?" "It appears that someone overheard what we were saying." "Is it a child?" "should be." "who?" "I'll know one day. Mr. Tsukumi, please continue." Fujima held out his hand to Mr. Tsukumi. "I think Mr. Namiki still remembers that at nine o'clock that night, I had a small class with everyone. After that, I went to the place I made an appointment with the high-ranking lady. It was the open space with oak trees just mentioned .” "Please wait a moment, I have to speak before that." Guan Gu raised his hand slightly. "I left here before Tsujiu saw the teacher, because I wanted to peek at what the teacher and the high-ranking lady were doing. But I couldn't go directly to the place where they were dating, so I stayed in the rented villa first before going out. I peeked in the shadow of the trees not far away, and saw her sitting beside the oak tree in a daze, but Mr. Jin Jiujian had not appeared for a long time. I thought it was strange, when I was about to go back here, I saw Mrs. Jin Jiujian walking away I asked him why, and he said he was looking for a shoe. We talked about this strange thing, and walked to the place where the senior lady was waiting. But I fell behind a little on the way, and soon saw Jin Jiu saw the teacher running back in a panic. The teacher looked unusual, so I hurriedly asked him what was wrong? As a result..." Guan Gu looked at Jin Jiujian and asked him to continue. Jin Jiujian kept looking directly at the table, and said, "She's dead. She's lying beside the oak tree, with blood on her head..." Shunsuke let out the air that was trapped in his chest. "Why didn't you call the police immediately?" "I thought about it, but before that, Mr. Guan Gu discovered something." "There are shoe prints." Guan Gu said, "There were some shoe prints left at the scene. And after careful observation, I knew something serious happened!" "Those shoe prints are..." "That's right, Mr. Namiki, you know that too, right? The children all wear the same type of shoes, the kind of sneaker prints." "There is a stone next to it, the size of a dodgeball, with blood stains on it." Guan Gu spoke without any cadence. "I can see that someone secretly hit her head with a stone from behind her. The question is who did it? The shoe prints left at the scene clearly show who the murderer is. No..." He shook his head and said, "Maybe it's not who? It's not correct, it should be what kind of person it is. Anyway, I didn't know what to do, so I called Mr. Fujima over on my mobile phone." "It turns out that the real murder scene was under the oak tree." Shunjie whispered to himself. "When I ran to the scene, I was at a loss." Fujima smiled wryly. "At first I was very confused, and I also thought that I should call the police. I couldn't think of any other way. But after listening to Mr. Guan Gu and Mr. Tsujiu, I realized that I should not make a sudden decision." "Because you know the murderer is a child?" Fujima nodded, the smile no longer on his face. "Except for the shoe prints, after listening to the two of them, I feel that there is no other possibility. At that time, there was no one around there, and the body of the high-ranking lady was not raped or robbed. Signs. We don’t want to believe it, but we have to accept the fact.” "Although he is a boy in the sixth grade of elementary school, he is actually quite strong. The high-ranking lady is sitting, so even a child can throw the stone with all her strength. And she is sneaking up from behind, maybe the high-ranking lady Miss found nothing and was beaten to death." Guan Gu said flatly, "Sometimes they are crueler than adults, we all know that." "So you decided to move the body away?" "At that point in time, I didn't actually decide what to do next. I just thought it was impossible to go on like this, so I asked Mr. Guan Gu to drive the corpse. Of course, I also removed the shoe prints on the scene and covered them with mud. So that the blood stain left by the high-ranking lady is not so obvious." Fujima finished speaking and looked in the direction of the door. "When I was moving out the corpse, I asked the car to be parked backwards in the parking lot in order not to be seen by others. I didn't expect Mr. Namiki to find this mistake, and the clue was the picture of Shota..." "When did you decide what to do?" Shunsuke asked. "It should be said that when the corpse was moved, I already had a vague concept. But I still have to explain the whole situation to the wives first." "There were..." "My husband and wife, the Sekiya couple, and Minako and Tsukumi-sensei. Junzi was there, but fell asleep after taking the medicine. I didn't wake her up because as few people as possible know the secret." "So have you decided what to do with the corpse?" "Yes, everyone agreed that this is the only way to do it. But when it was really necessary to implement it, something unexpected happened." Fujima kept staring at Shunsuke, and then said, "Mr. Namiki, you called in from outside , Said that he would return to the villa soon." "So that phone call was so shocking to you." "Of course it's very shocking. Ms. Senior is your mistress. This is vaguely known from her conversation with Mr. Tsukumi, so I don't think you will accept our opinion. It's just that we have to avoid it anyway. You're going to call the police when you're angry. But how do we make up a situation where you have to help cover up the incident even though you don't want to? During the time you've been here, we've been thinking hard I was exhausted and sweated profusely. Minako herself was the one who came up with the disguise plan in the end." Shunsuke looked at his wife.She raised her head slightly, glanced at her husband secretly, and then immediately lowered her head. "I think this plan is great. Although Mr. Namiki has plans to divorce, he probably doesn't want to become a murderer too much at this stage. And if the motive for the murder is the conflict between his wife and mistress, the incident will expose your own society. The status will also be greatly affected. Therefore, I think there is no other way to ask you to help discard the corpse." "So you moved the body to our room and painted fake blood on it." "We asked Mr. Jin Jiujian to come back to the rented villa to bring watercolors. But it was too much, and it was a mistake to wipe it off completely, but we can't deny that we underestimated you too much." Speaking of this, Fujima stood up suddenly, bowed deeply to Shunsuke and said: "We have no malicious intentions, we just made this move to conceal the incident. I dare not ask you to forgive, but at least I hope you can understand." Guan Gu hurriedly followed suit, and their wives followed suit. "Your acting skills are really brilliant, I was completely deceived. And Minako's play is also the same." Shunsuke talks to his wife, but Minako remains calm. "What happened to the murder weapon?" he asked. "What happened to the stone that fell on the real scene?" A weak smile appeared on Fujima's face. "It was thrown into the bottom of the lake with the corpse. Mr. Namiki let it sink together, didn't he?" "Right in those stones used as weights..." "When you and Mr. Guan Gu wrapped the corpse in plastic sheets, didn't I say to pick up stones? Actually, I didn't pick them up alone. At that time, Mr. Tsujimi was also helping outside. The stones of the murder weapon were mixed together at that time .” "No wonder... how can so many stones be found in such a short period of time, I still feel puzzled." "Mr. Namiki, your reasoning is correct. Behind our actions at that time, there was Mr. Tsukumi as a backup, so it went so smoothly." "It's the hero behind it." Shunsuke walked to the bar and stood behind the Sakazaki couple. "When the two of you heard about these things just now and were arguing to leave here, did Mr. Fujima, who asked you to stay no matter what, explained anything?" "Once the child is involved, there's nothing we can do about it." Sakazaki said in a low voice, "Fujima said that he wanted to deceive Mr. Namiki who doesn't know the truth, and we are actually very uncomfortable..." "Because it involves the child...?" Shunsuke returned to the center of the living room, looked at everyone again, and finally fell on Fujima. "I probably know the whole incident. Although there are many surprises, they are not far from my imagination. It's just that the most important point is omitted in your statement. Everyone try not to touch it as much as possible, and even some过于谨慎叙述经过之嫌。但是如果没有听到这个最重要的部分，我难以认同。我想你们应该也很清楚我指的是什么吧？” 藤间发出一声长叹，同时垂下了肩膀。 "I know." “那可以告诉我吗？最重要的这一点。”俊介拉高音量说，“我知道凶手是孩子。但究竟是四个当中的哪一个？还是跟我一开始说的一样，他们全部一起犯案的？” 藤间按摩了一下眼尾之后，视线逐渐往关谷夫妇、一枝、美菜子杜坂崎夫妻的脸上移动，但是没有人敢正视他。最后藤间眼神无力地看着俊介。 “不，不是全部一起。凶手只有一个人。” "one person……" “关于这一点关谷先生的说法可以参考……”藤间将箭头指向关谷。 关谷搔搔头，皱着眉说：“刚刚我也说过了，我比津久见老师先一步离开这里，准备到他和高阶小姐见面的地点埋伏。但是因为时间还早，便到租来的别墅绕了一下。就在走出那里的别墅时，”关谷说到这里暂停了一下，深吸了一口气。“孩子们放在鞋柜里的运动鞋只剩了三双，我很确定；但是当时并没有想太多。直到事后回想，才意识到这一点具有很重要的意义。” “原来如此。”俊介睁大了眼睛说，“英里子被杀，表示凶手在那个时间点不在别墅里。而只剩下三双运动鞋则表示至少还有三个人留在别墅里。” “那个凶手……”藤间说，“偷听到晚餐后我跟关谷先生及津久见老师之间的说话内容。他认为突然出现的高阶英里子是个障碍，便决定要杀死她。惟一的机会只有津久见老师出现在约会场所之前；为了争取时间，必须要想办法拖延住津久见老师……” “难怪！”俊介击掌说，“一只鞋才会不见了……” “那是犯人干的好事，目的是要拖延津久见老师离开这里的时间吧。” 俊介将手移到头上，把头发乱抓一通。“怎么会这样？小孩居然会……” “就像关谷先生说的吧，他们比大人要残酷许多，而且富于心机。要采取什么行动时，也比大人能够冷静地计划。”藤间肩膀下垂地，丧气说话。 “然后呢？”俊介凝视着地板问，“凶手是谁？不要再卖关子了。四个小孩之中究竟是谁杀死了英里子？” 他的声音在客厅里回响，大家都沉默不语。连藤间也一脸痛苦地低着头。 “藤间先生！”俊介叫唤。 藤间慢慢地摇摇头说：“我不知道。” "what?" “我不知道呀，真的。凶手是四个孩子中的谁吧，但我不知道是哪一个。在这里的家长们也不清楚谁的小孩是凶手。” 三） “旁边有一颗石头，像躲避球一样大小的石头，上面沾着血迹。”关谷说话的语气没有任何抑扬顿挫。“一看就知道有人偷偷从她背后用石头砸她的头。问题是谁干的？言留在现场的鞋印清楚显示凶手是谁。不……”他摇摇头说，“也许说谁并不正确，应该说是什么样的人吧。总之我不知如何是好，便用行动电话叫藤间先生过来。” “原来真正的杀人现场，是在柞树下面。”俊介低声自言自语。 “跑到现场时，我也不知所措。”藤间露出了苦笑。“一开始头脑很混乱，我也觉得应该报警。因为脑子里想不出还有其他什么办法。可是听了关谷先生和津久见老师的话后，我才想到不能遽下决定。” “因为你知道了凶手是小孩子吗？” 藤间点头，脸上已没有了笑容。 “除了鞋印之外，听了他们两人的话，也觉得除此之外没有其他可能了。那个时间在那附近根本就没有什么人影经过，而且高阶小姐的尸体也没有被强暴或被抢劫的迹象。虽然很不愿意相信，但我们只有接受这个事实。” “虽说是小学六年级的男生，其实力气还蛮大的。高阶小姐是坐着的，所以就算是小孩也能使尽力量甩出石头吧。而且又是从背后偷偷靠近，说不定高阶小姐什么都没发现便被打死了。” 关谷语气平淡地表示，“有时他们比大人还要残酷，这是我们都知道的。” “于是你们就决定要把尸体搬走了？” “在那个时间点，其实并没有决定接下来要怎么做。只是觉得这样子下去是不行的，所以我才拜托关谷先生开车搬运尸体。当然也将现场的鞋印给清除了，用泥土掩盖好让高阶小姐留下的血迹不那么明显。”藤间说完看着门的方向。“在搬出尸体时，为了不让人看见，我要求车子倒着停进停车场里。我没想到并木先生会发现这个失误，而且线索竟然量章太的图画……” “确定要怎么做是在什么时候？”俊介问。 “应该说搬运尸体时，已经有了模糊的概念吧。但还是得先跟太太们说明整个情况。” “当时在这里的有……” “我们夫妇和关谷夫妇，还有美菜子和津久见老师。君子也在，但是吃了药睡着了。由于考虑到知道秘密的人越少越好，就没有叫醒她了。” “所以你们便决定该如何处理尸体了吗？” “是的，大家都同意只能这么做了。但是真的要实行时，却发生了意想不到的事。”藤间一直盯着俊介，然后说，“就是并木先生你从外面打电话进来，说马上要回到别墅来。” “原来那通电话对你们是那么具有冲击性。” “当然很具有冲击性。高阶小姐是你的情妇，这是从她和津久见老师的交谈中隐约知道的，所以我认为你应该不会接受我们的意见。只是我们无论如何得避免万一你生气就要报警的情况发生。然而我们要如何编出一个状况，能让你尽管不太愿意却还是得帮忙隐瞒事件呢？在你回来这里的那一段时间里，我们可说是肠枯思竭、冷汗直流。最后想出那个伪装计划的人则是美菜子自己。” 俊介看着妻子。她微微抬起了头，偷偷瞄了丈夫一眼后，又立刻低下头去。 “我觉得这个计划很棒。虽然并木先生有离婚的打算，但现阶段应该也不希望太大成为杀人犯。而且如果杀人的动机是妻子与情妇之间的冲突，事件曝光你自己的社会地位也会大受影响。所以，要让你帮忙弃尸，我认为除了这个办法之外别无对策。” “于是你们将尸体搬到我们住的房间，还涂上了假的血迹。” “我们请津久见老师回租来的别墅拿水彩过来。但还是做得太过火了，没有完全擦干净固然是一枝的失误，却也不能否认我们太小看你了。”说到这里，藤间突然站了起来，对着俊介深深一鞠躬说：“我们没有恶意，只是为了想将事件隐瞒下来才出此下策。不敢要求你原谅，但至少希望你能理解。” 关谷赶紧也照着做，他们的妻子也跟着低头。 “你们的演技真是精采呀，我可完全被骗了。还有美菜子你编的剧也是。” 俊介对妻子说话，但美菜子依然文风不动。 “凶器怎么了？”他问，“掉在真的现场的石头呢？” 藤间脸上浮现无力的笑容。 “跟尸体一起丢进湖底了。并木先生还是迩让它一起沉下去的，不是吗？” “就在那些用来当重物的石头里……” “你和关谷先生用塑胶布包裹尸体时，我不是说去捡石头吗？其实并非我一个人捡来的。当时津久见老师也在外面帮忙。凶器的石头就是在那时混在一起的。” “怪不得……那么短的时间里怎么能找来那么多的石头，我还觉得纳闷呢。” “并木先生你的推理一点都没错。当时我们的行动背后，都有津久见老师在当后援，所以才能进行得那么顺利。” “算是背后的功臣啰。”俊介往吧台走去，站在坂崎夫妇的背后。“两位听到了刚刚的这些事情吵着要离开这里时，无论如何要你们留下来的藤间先生是否做了什么说明呢？” “事情一旦牵扯到孩子，我们也没办法呀。”坂崎小声地说，“藤间说要欺骗不知真相的并木先生，我们其实也很不好受……” “因为牵扯到孩子……吗？” 俊介回到客厅中央，再度看着所有人，最后将视线落到藤间身上。 “整个事件我大概知道了。虽然有许多意外之处，但跟我的想象相差不远。只不过你们的说词里遗漏了最重要的一点。大家都尽可能地不去触碰，甚至有过于谨慎叙述经过之嫌。但是如果没有听到这个最重要的部分，我难以认同。我想你们应该也很清楚我指的是什么吧？” 藤间发出一声长叹，同时垂下了肩膀。 "I know." “那可以告诉我吗？最重要的这一点。”俊介拉高音量说，“我知道凶手是孩子。但究竟是四个当中的哪一个？还是跟我一开始说的一样，他们全部一起犯案的？” 藤间按摩了一下眼尾之后，视线逐渐往关谷夫妇、一枝、美菜子杜坂崎夫妻的脸上移动，但是没有人敢正视他。最后藤间眼神无力地看着俊介。 “不，不是全部一起。凶手只有一个人。” "one person……" “关于这一点关谷先生的说法可以参考……”藤间将箭头指向关谷。 关谷搔搔头，皱着眉说：“刚刚我也说过了，我比津久见老师先一步离开这里，准备到他和高阶小姐见面的地点埋伏。但是因为时间还早，便到租来的别墅绕了一下。就在走出那里的别墅时，”关谷说到这里暂停了一下，深吸了一口气。“孩子们放在鞋柜里的运动鞋只剩了三双，我很确定；但是当时并没有想太多。直到事后回想，才意识到这一点具有很重要的意义。” “原来如此。”俊介睁大了眼睛说，“英里子被杀，表示凶手在那个时间点不在别墅里。而只剩下三双运动鞋则表示至少还有三个人留在别墅里。” “那个凶手……”藤间说，“偷听到晚餐后我跟关谷先生及津久见老师之间的说话内容。他认为突然出现的高阶英里子是个障碍，便决定要杀死她。惟一的机会只有津久见老师出现在约会场所之前；为了争取时间，必须要想办法拖延住津久见老师……” “难怪！”俊介击掌说，“一只鞋才会不见了……” “那是犯人干的好事，目的是要拖延津久见老师离开这里的时间吧。” 俊介将手移到头上，把头发乱抓一通。“怎么会这样？小孩居然会……” “就像关谷先生说的吧，他们比大人要残酷许多，而且富于心机。要采取什么行动时，也比大人能够冷静地计划。”藤间肩膀下垂地，丧气说话。 “然后呢？”俊介凝视着地板问，“凶手是谁？不要再卖关子了。四个小孩之中究竟是谁杀死了英里子？” 他的声音在客厅里回响，大家都沉默不语。连藤间也一脸痛苦地低着头。 “藤间先生！”俊介叫唤。 藤间慢慢地摇摇头说：“我不知道。” "what?" “我不知道呀，真的。凶手是四个孩子中的谁吧，但我不知道是哪一个。在这里的家长们也不清楚谁的小孩是凶手。” (Four) 俊介茫然地伫立在原地，然后眨眨眼睛，嘴巴几度开了又闭上。终于他问妻子说：“是这样子吗？” 她机械化地点点头，好像已经失去全身的力量。 “不……可是……还是说……”俊介变得口吃，“你们是否不自觉地想保护谁呢？明明不知道凶手是谁，怎么会有必要隐瞒整个事件呢？” “我们知道凶手，”藤间说，“就是小孩。是我们的小孩中的某一个。” “你是说不知道是谁也无所谓吗？不管是谁都要保护吗？你们之间就是得那么团结吗？”说到这里俊介停住了，嘴张得很大却没有出声。他吸了一口气，就这样屏着气态看着众人。包围在他身旁的人都很悲伤地看着他。 他用力吐了一口气。 “是这样子吗，原来如此。原来是这么回事呀。” “你能了解我们的心情了吗？”藤间问。 “你们根本就不信任自己的孩子，只是怀疑自己的小孩可能是真凶，所以你们不想知道真相。就算不知道真相，为了隐瞒整个事件也愿意不惜一切，是吗？” 俊介弯身在美菜子面前，抓着她的肩膀前后摇晃。 “你也是一样吗？你也不相信章太吗？你认为或许是他杀了人吗？” 她的黑色眼珠转动，焦点对准丈夫。 “你认为我不信任章太吗？” "if not?" “可是……”她说，“除了我之外大家也都一样。大家都相信自己的小孩，不认为小孩会做那种事。可是在座有人的这种信念被推翻了，你认为我没有办法认定那个人不是我自己吗？” “但是……应该知道吧，至少知道自己的儿子是不是凶手。” 于是美菜子悲悯地凝视着丈夫，脸上浮现淡淡的微笑。 “我以为我知道，可是在座的所有人也是一样。我很明白你的主张，但是事实就是事实。事到如今就像是俄罗斯轮盘一样，总有人会中弹，每个人的机率是一样的。” “所以你们就放弃去确认子弹落到谁家吗？”俊介摇摇头说，“我不懂。” “你应该不会懂吧，我一开始就这么认为。” “为什么你会这么认为？只因为章太不是我的亲生儿子吗？” 美菜子闭上眼睛，然后又慢慢地张开并动着嘴唇说：“是的。” 俊介叹了口气，转头看着旁边。 “刚才我有件事我没有说实话。”藤间说，“我说因为高阶小姐是你的情妇，所以认为你应该不会帮助我们。其实不是那样子的。而是我认为就算我们说出真相，你也无法理解我们的心情。我猜你一定会要求将凶手找出来。” 俊介又是一阵摇头。然后他摩搓脸颊，抱住了头。 “我真的不懂。如果有四分之一的机率确定自己的儿子是凶手，这才开始会想办法隐瞒事件，难道一般人的做法不是这样吗？” “一旦知道就太迟了，并木先生。”藤间一枝平静地说话，“假如知道自己的儿子不是凶手，谁还会帮忙犯罪呢？就是因为不知道，所以才会拚命合作。”她低沉的声音听起来分外响亮。 俊介站起来，继续摇着头。走到门口时他回头说：“我再说一次，我不能理解。实在没办法配合。很遗憾，不能满足各位的期待。” “怎么会这样？”关谷说时站了起来，但是藤间抓住了他的手。 “现在再怎么强迫并木先生也是毫无意义的。不是钢铁般的团结意识，是没办法穿越这次的事件，不是一开始就说过了吗？” “可是……”关谷说到这里低下了头。 “请吧，并木先生。”藤间伸出手。“你可以按照你的判断行事。我们该说的都说了，接下来就交给你决定。” “我打算去报警。” 于是藤间抬起了下巴，然后点头说：“那也是没办法的事。” “告辞了。”俊介走出客厅。 (Fives) 回到分配给他们的房间后，俊介并没有立刻行动，而是坐在床上，动也不动地好一会儿。房门无声地开了。美菜子进来后，反手关上房门。俊介看了妻子一眼，不说一句话地起身整理行李。 “你……你很轻视我们吗？”妻子呻吟般地询问。 丈夫没有停止手的动作，摇头说：“不知道，对我而言。” “也……也许吧。” “为什么没有坚定的信念呢？不肯相信自己的孩子吗？难道认为章大会做那种事吗？不过只是为了考试，会去杀人吗？这种事不用想也知道。”说到这里他无力地挥挥手。“可是再多说什么也没有用了。即使所有的父母都相信自己的小孩，但其中还是有人会遭到父母的背叛呀。” “因为大家都有内疚。” “内疚？什么意思？” 美菜子坐在床上，按摩着自己的肩膀。 “刚刚藤间先生他们说的话，有一些谎言存在。” “哪一个部分？” “关于泄漏试题的报酬……” “报酬？你是说钱吗？” “除了钱以外的……报酬。” “除了钱以外还有别的吗？”说完俊介回过头睁大了眼睛。 美菜子一直盯着地板看。 “不会吧……”他语尾模糊了。 “是的，没错。”美菜子低着头继续说，“泄题的学校职员并非只有一个人，包含负责人一共三名。一名女性和两名男性。当然握有实权的人是男性们。” “对那些男性吗？” “是的。”美菜子点头说，“考生的母亲们会提供自己的身体。就是所谓的签约金。” “津久见居中斡旋这种事吗？” “他没有强制，而是暗示。他威胁说，如果没有签约的话，说不定到时候会产生变化。” "that guy!" “津久见老师也是听从对方的指示，又不是他高兴这么做的。” “妳也……”俊介咽下口水说，“签约了吗？” 美菜子慢慢地摇头说：“我还没有。” “还没有？” “我下不了决心。老实说我很想得到考试题目，就算是付钱我也愿意。不过你不必误会，和你结婚之前我有一些存款，我不希望造成你金钱方面的困扰。可是一旦被要求出卖身体时，我便跨不出去了。” “我想这很正常。那么你算是保留现况啰？” She nods. “可是已经到了该回复的时候了。” 俊介张开嘴，重重吸了一口气。 “所以那个保险套就是为了这事吗？你决定提供自己的身体了吗？” “不是决定了，我还在犹豫。应该说曾经很犹豫。我想拖到最后再做决定。带着保险套的话，万一发生那种事也不必担心会怀孕。但尽管如此我还是因为犹豫而决定放弃。” “这是怎么回事？”俊介将手放在额头上。“只能说你们疯了。” “没错，我们的确是疯了。不过是入学考试，花大钱也就算了，居然还要提供妻子的身体！”美菜子的声音里带着些微的嘲讽的意味，而且是颤抖的。 “慢点，那么下面那些人的太太们……” “我没有详细问过，本人也没有提起。我想大概已经签过约了，至少一枝和靖子是。” 俊介发出呻吟。 “不只是本人，真不知道他们的先生有没有神经呀！” “他们原则上……”美菜子微微地侧着头说，“应该不知道有这种事吧？” "How to say?" “关于私下取得试题的作业，通常会被叫去的是考生母亲。在津久见老师的安排下，母亲们跟修文馆中学的职员见面。交易的内容当场谈，包含刚刚说的那种契约也会有所暗示。这时对方会很亲切地建议，最好不要让先生知道。” “所以说先生们并不知道啰？” “原则上吧。”美菜子皮笑肉不笑地说，“但其实是知道的，这种事根本藏不住。夫妻之间是不会谈的，而是保持沉默的理解。” "Is that so?" “刚刚不是说到英里子拿出来的照片有金钱授受的画面吗？我想其实不是。实际上是签约时的证据照片吧？” “签约？噢……”俊介连摇了两、三次头。“应该是太大们被修文馆中学的职员带进宾馆时被拍到了。原来如此，我懂了。毕竟金钱授受的画面哪有那么容易被拍到呢？” “知道有那种照片，藤间先生和关谷先生也慌了。” “那是当然的吧。我已经说过很多次了；谁会做出奉献自己妻子的举动呢，他们怎么可能平心静气，不动声色呢？” “是你的话会怎样？”美菜子问，“如果我做了那种事，你不会平心静气吗？” “这……”说到一半，俊介瞪着自己的妻子说，“你是什么意思？” “我想我做什么事情你都不会在意吧。因为……”她抬起眼睛看着丈夫说，“你不是希望我有外遇吗？这样你就能正式提出离婚了。” 俊介没有答话，而是叹了一口气坐在旁边的椅子上。 “每个家庭都一样。孩子到了六年级的时候，夫妻之间的爱意早就荡然无存了。可是藤间先生或关谷先生他们并没有想过要离婚，如果太太做那种事他们心里还是会抗拒的。不可能平心静气的。我想就算都结束了，心中还是会留下芥蒂。所以他们为了逃