Chapter 52 Chapter Six

that's it-- Not long after, I came to the third floor of the ward building and visited ward 303. As Dr. Ishikura said, the Kamiya detective who was hospitalized for acute appendicitis surgery was really bored waiting for the time to be discharged from the hospital.When Mr. Kamiya saw me who came unexpectedly, he seemed to see an old friend and showed a very welcoming attitude. "Oh, you're here!" The detective in pajamas sat up from the bed very energetically, while scratching his gray hair, he talked endlessly, as if he could go drink and talk together now. "Suddenly felt unbearable pain at work, so I had to go to the doctor right away, and the diagnosis was just simple appendicitis. I was so ashamed. But the appendicitis was already quite serious at that time, and it would be dangerous if I didn't perform an operation immediately, so I had to be admitted to the hospital urgently for an operation. .Ah! Appendicitis at this age is such a headache. Fortunately, I can leave the hospital tomorrow. What about you? Have you had any experience with appendicitis?"

"I'm lucky, the cecum is still obediently staying in the stomach." "It's better not to be careless—huh? By the way, why did the great writer of mystery novels come to see me suddenly? There must be something wrong?" Detective Kamiya's eyes became sharp immediately, he stared at my face and said: "Could it be for that incident?" "Well, exactly for that event." I nodded and answered honestly. "I heard about that incident from Dr. Ishikura of the Department of Neurology. It is about the dismemberment incident at the Deep Mud Hill Shrine."

"You want to know something about that incident?" "Well—exactly." "I see—then, please sit down." The ward is not spacious.I walked cautiously to the bed, said "excuse me", and sat on the folding chair beside the bed. "What's the reason why newspapers and TV didn't report the incident at all? Was there a plot that violated news reporting norms?" I ask this question first.But the criminal policeman answered "No" with a serious face, and then said: "It comes from the self-restraint of the media industry." "Because the act of crime is too scary, too weird?"

"No, it's not that—" The criminal policeman scratched his gray head and said: "It is a fact that the corpses that have been dismembered are burned, but whether this is a homicide is a question. In short, this question is very delicate, so..." Is it "subtle" again?It is the same as what Dr. Shicang said just now.but…… "I heard that the murderer has been caught?" "Yes. The murderer will be caught soon." "Then... who is the murderer? Why did he do such a thing? Also, I heard that the corpse was cut into fifty parts?" "That's right."

The criminal policeman still had a serious face, nodded and said: "When he took the corpse cut into fifty parts and burned it in the garbage dump in the shrine, he was discovered, so he was quickly arrested. Although the corpse had been burned to a half-cooked state, after confirmation, it was indeed It's fifty parts, that's right." Just this part of the plot is enough to show that this incident is really weird. "The murderer is—" The detective continued: "It's surprising. The murderer turned out to be the abbot of that shrine. His name is Masaju Doba."

"Double field?" "The 'do' of Midosuji, the 'bazaar' of the place—is a young abbot not yet forty years old. After his father's sudden death a few years ago, he inherited the position of abbot. According to those around him According to the statement, he is a very honest and good person who can distinguish right from wrong." "Oh." The fact that the murderer was the abbot of the shrine was surprising, but it made me feel like my expectations had been dashed.So, what about ＊＊＊＊＊＊?Is it unrelated to this incident? "But why did that gentleman do that?"

"That's the troublesome question." The detective's eyes sharpened—I think so. "After receiving the report from the discoverer, the police immediately dispatched the police officers from the nearest police station to investigate. It is said that when the police arrived, Mr. Tang was in a very abnormal mental state." "It's not normal...you mean Mr. Doba's mentality is not normal?" "It can be said that he is crazy. I don't know if it can be summed up in this sentence. In short, he was in a very excited state at the time. I heard that it took a lot of effort to finally control his excitement."

Maybe it's... yes!He was possessed by *＊＊＊＊＊.Will it be like that? According to Kamiya detective's description, I naturally thought in that direction.But I was also quick to tell myself "that's not it".I remembered what Dr. Ishikura said earlier, he said that * * * * * is not the same thing as the evil spirit of water or fire, and it is not something that can do bad things. "When the police wanted to arrest him on the spot, it took him some time to calm him down because he was very agitated. But when he calmed down, no one understood what he said. He no longer resisted, and his emotions were no longer so. Excited, just saying over and over: I have to cut that into fifty parts anyway. He keeps saying that..."

"Do you know the identity of the deceased?" I try to ask. "What is the age and sex of the deceased?" As a result, the policeman frowned and kept his mouth shut for a while before answering: "Unclear - DNA testing is still in progress." "How are the fifty parts cut? Can you explain clearly?" "You want to hear it?" "--um, yes." "You may feel uncomfortable after listening to it, but let me say it! Anyway, there is no reason not to say it." Notes: