Chapter 22 Chapter 20 Diary

Sasaki probably knows where Ishizaki's diary is kept?Totsukawa looked at that part of the record again. It was very short, and did not point out that he had seen the diary, only said "I heard that there is a diary". "Only in this way, I don't know." Totsukawa thought so.However, Sasaki said that there was that diary in a definite tone. Since Ishizaki was not married, the diary was in his hands when he was alive, so who will have the diary after death? Ishizaki's hometown is in Matsue. He is from the same hometown as Diet Member Horie. If Ishizaki's parents were still alive when Ishizaki died, the diary would probably be brought back to Songjiang by his parents along with other relics, right?

Totsukawa decided to go to Matsue again. He and Kamei detective took the plane and the Sanin Main Line to Songjiang. Compared with the Horie family, the Ishizaki family is much smaller, because Ishizaki's father is only a county councilor, so his house is naturally not an official residence allocated by the government. Ishizaki's parents are dead, and he is currently living with his uncle. Ishizaki's uncle is sixty-seven years old and a county councilor. Totsukawa and Kamei detectives asked Ishizaki's uncle, is Ishizaki's diary kept here? "Nephew's diary?"

The other party muttered to himself and said, "80% is not here." "But twenty years ago, when he died in Tokyo, didn't his parents bring all his belongings back here?" Totsukawa asked. "Yes. My brother even brought back the table used by his dead son, but he didn't see the diary, and my sister-in-law only found photos and letters, but didn't see the diary." "But, some people say that he left a diary!" Kamei detective said. "Then, it must have been taken away by someone else," said the other party. "Who took it?"

"I don't know about that. I heard from my brother that there was a woman who liked his son very much and cared about him very much. My brother once gave that woman a souvenir. Although my brother didn't say what kind of souvenir it was, I thought it might be a diary. Maybe I gave it to that woman as a souvenir." "Can you tell us the woman's name?" Totsukawa asked. However, the other party had a puzzled expression on his face. "I don't know either, because my brother didn't tell me, and I didn't ask—" "totally no idea?" "yes."

"I don't even know if she's from Tokyo or here?" Detective Kamei asked, staring at the other person's face. The other party had a puzzled expression on his face. "Sorry, I really don't know." "Did Brother Ling meet that woman?" Ten Tsukawa asked. "I seem to have met once or twice, and my brother said that the woman is indeed a very good girl." The other party said. "Besides, is there anything else about that woman? Anything is fine." Totsukawa pressed. "there is none left." The other party said, and after thinking for a while, he said: "That's right! I remembered. When my nephew was arrested on suspicion of murder and my brother was in a low mood, that woman comforted my brother in every possible way, saying that Ishizaki was innocent and would definitely be arrested. Acquitted."

"comfort?--" While Totsukawa was muttering to himself, Detective Kamei whispered, "Twenty years ago, wasn't there a woman who came to protest Kosakai?" (So ​​to say--) Totsukawa thought about it, and hurriedly bid farewell to the other party and left. Going outside, Totsukawa said to Detective Kamei: "I remembered that there was indeed a woman who protested to Kosakai, but now I can't remember the name of that woman for a while." Kosakai once said that when he arrested Ishizaki twenty years ago, a woman protested to him. Kosakai said that the woman said with a serious face that Ishizaki was not a murderer.

"Old Turtle, do you remember that woman's name?" "I don't remember it anymore, maybe it was mentioned in Sasaki's notebook." "Okay! Let's go back to Tokyo and go through Sasaki's notebook again." That day, they rushed back to Tokyo. Back at the search headquarters, they quickly took out the two notebooks and read them carefully. They thought that they might have been negligent for a while, so they didn't remember this matter. They focused on the pages following Ishizaki's arrest twenty years earlier. Sure enough, it was mentioned in the notepad.

Haruko Matsumoto, twenty-one years old. She protested to the Kosakai Police Department, saying that Ishizaki was wronged. She also said that her father had been helped by Ishizaki. However, there were only these few words, and nothing about that woman was mentioned again after that. (Matsumoto Haruko——) It was only then that Totsukawa remembered that the woman's name was indeed that.Twenty years ago, she was twenty-one years old, and twenty years later, she should be forty-one years old today. I am afraid she is married, has children, and may be dead. If you are already married, your surname should also be changed, so how can you find her?

Besides, there was no picture of that woman. The only clue is that she loves Ishizaki very much, and her father has been helped by Ishizaki. However, with these two clues, can she be found? "We started the investigation with Ishizaki's friends." Totsukawa said. Perhaps it would be easier to find this way, because although Ishizaki died twenty years ago, he can start investigating from the university he graduated from. The next day, they went to K University where Ishizaki graduated, and checked the roster of graduates in the year Ishizaki graduated from the Academic Affairs Office.

Thankfully, the roster of graduates not only has addresses and phone numbers, but is updated from time to time. "Many students who graduated this year have become famous." The dean said proudly. Ishizaki was in his twenties when he graduated. Twenty years later, all the graduates in the same class are in their forties. It is not surprising that they have become celebrities, not to mention hardcore members of society. After Totsukawa and Kamei detectives photocopied a roster of graduates, they returned to the search headquarters and called one by one. If the other party said they knew Ishizaki, they planned to meet each other.

Some people have already forgotten about Ishizaki, probably because twenty years have passed since the incident? A total of seven people said they still remember Ishizaki. Totsukawa and Kamei detectives first went to visit Hiroshi Yabe. Yabe is currently the head of the secretary section of a commercial company. Totsukawa and detective Kamei went to visit him at the company. Totsukawa thought that if Ishizaki was still alive, he would probably be the same age as this person, right?One side said: "I want to talk to you about Ishizaki." "As I said on the phone, I really miss him very much." Yabe said with a sincere expression. "After graduating from college, do you still see each other often?" "Yes. We often take his Porsche for a ride. Among the classmates who graduated in the same year, he is the only one who owns a Porsche. I am so envious of him." "Brother Yabe was also in his twenties at that time, right?" "yes." "Have you ever drank together?" "Yes. We used to drink and eat together. Since he died, we haven't had such a good time." Yabe said with a smile. "Are you talking about women while drinking?" "Of course, because we were all young people then!" "What kind of woman does Ishizaki like?" "This is a bit unbelievable." Yabe suddenly said with a puzzled expression: "Because he never said what kind of woman he likes, or which woman he likes, maybe he already has someone he likes in his heart." From the looks of it, Yabe doesn't seem to know that Ishizaki has homosexual tendencies. "So, you don't know who that woman is?" Totsukawa asked. "Yes. Because I haven't seen—" After Yabe said that, after thinking for a while, he said: "A friend told me that when he went to Ishizaki's funeral, he saw a young woman. Maybe that woman was Ishizaki's girlfriend." "What's your friend's name? Where does he live?" Kamei detective asked. "It's Kajiyama who works at the Ministry of Construction." This person is also one of the seven. Totsukawa and Detective Kamei then went to visit Kajiyama. They meet at a cafe in Jianshe Province.Although both are in their forties, but due to thinning hair, he looks older than Yabe. Kajiyama himself seems to have noticed this, so he smiled and said to Totsukawa: "Recently, my hair is getting less and less, and I'm afraid I will become bald in the near future." "No way!" Totsukawa said. "As we said on the phone, we want to talk to you about Ishizaki." "After the phone call, I immediately found the photo of Ishizaki." Kajiyama took out two photos from his pocket and placed them in front of Totsukawa and Kamei Detective. One is a photo of climbing a mountain, and there are five young people in the photo. Every face is full of youthful breath. "This is me, this is Ishizaki." Kajiyama pointed to the photo and said. Ishizaki is very young, and Kajiyama has lush hair, and they are all handsome. The other is a picture of him wearing a school uniform. Ishizaki and Kajiyama in the photo are also very young. "This is a photo taken when I was in my twenties," Kajiyama said. "I heard that when you went to Ishizaki's funeral, you saw a young woman?" Detective Kamei asked. "Yes. Since Ishizaki was not married at the time of his death, and I haven't heard that he had a girlfriend, it makes me feel strange." "What kind of woman is it?" Totsukawa asked. "It's a young woman in her early twenties." Kajiyama said, "She's not tall." Just like that, I still don't know who that woman is. "I want to know the woman's name and address." Totsukawa said. "During the funeral, Komata was in charge of receiving the funeral. Perhaps he knew about it." After Kajiyama finished speaking, he pointed to a person in the photo and said, "This is the person." "We also want to meet Komata," Totsukawa said. They first called Komata who opened a small cafe in Shinjuku, and then rushed to Shinjuku West Exit to meet Komata. The cafe is located on the fifth floor of the residential building. Komata is wearing a gorgeous sweater. "Yes, I am responsible for receiving the funeral ceremony." Komata said to Totsukawa with a smile. He was probably happy to talk about the past? "I hear you saw a young woman then." "yes." "Do you know her name?" "I don't know. I took a picture of her and I'll show it to you." Komata finished speaking and showed Totsukawa the photo album from twenty years ago. "Your photography skills are pretty good!" While praising Totsukawa, he was flipping through the photo album with Detective Kamei. It's a black and white photo. There are almost fifty. There are not only photos of the participants, but also photos of the funeral scene. In addition, there are photos of the funeral committee members. "It's this person." Komata said, pointing to a photo. It is a picture of a young woman. His face was plain, and his face was full of sadness. (Could this woman be Matsumoto Haruko?) Probably? Because apart from this woman, Ishizaki has never heard of a girlfriend. "Can I borrow this photo?" After Totsukawa said that, after looking at the other photos, he asked Komata again: "Are all the people who participated in the public festival signed?" "Have." "Does this woman have an autograph too?" "I think so." "Who owns that autograph book now?" "I have given it to Ishizaki's family," Komata said. In that case, it was with Matsue Ishizaki's uncle. After Totsukawa and Kamei detectives returned to the search headquarters, they immediately called Matsue and asked Ishizaki's uncle if the autograph book was still there. Can't hear the other party's voice, probably looking for the autograph book? "Still." The other party said. Totsukawa asked the other party to mail the autograph book. It was the afternoon of the next day when Totsukawa received the autograph book. Totsukawa and Detective Kamei flipped through the pages. The name "Matsumoto Haruko" appears on the third page. However, there is no address. Haruko Matsumoto loved Ishizaki deeply, and when Ishizaki was arrested, she protested to the Kosakai Police Department. "Where is she now? What is she doing? If she is still alive and has Ishizaki's diary, maybe this is the key to our solution to this incident." Detective Kamei said. Totsukawa stared at Haruko Matsumoto's signature and her picture. "Maybe she's dead or maybe." "Why? I wish she was alive." "That corpse of Otaru!" Totsukawa said. "Otaru?" "Yes. Twenty years later, Sasaki went to Otaru. His daughter also went to Otaru. Sasaki went to Otaru to investigate the working girl who died in the canal twenty years ago." "You think that working girl is Matsumoto Haruko?" Kamei detective asked sadly. "I think that possibility is very high. If Matsumoto Haruko is still alive, wouldn't Sasaki take the initiative to contact him when investigating the incident twenty years ago?" "Do you want to make sure?" "I think we have to go to Otaru. Before leaving, I want to meet with Sasaki Kimiko, because she has been to Otaru, maybe she knows what it is." Totsukawa said. They took Matsumoto Haruko's photo and autograph book to meet Ji Jianzi. As soon as Totsukawa mentioned Otaru, Ji Jianzi's eyes lit up immediately, and said: "The police department is finally investigating the incident in Otaru." "What is your father investigating at the Otaru Canal? Is he investigating the working girl who died in the canal twenty years ago?" "Yes. My father was investigating the circumstances of the discovery of the body." "Do you know what that woman's name is?" "I don't know, because she was listed as an unidentified deceased by the police." Ji Jianzi said. "Have you checked with the police over there?" "I read the newspapers from 20 years ago in the library. My father seemed to do the same thing, but after reading the news on the day the body was found, I still don't know the identity of the woman." "Does your father know her?" "I don't know—" Ji Jianzi said. "Did the news on the day the body was found mention the characteristics of the deceased?" Totsukawa asked. "Yes, the news mentioned that the deceased was short, like a working girl, with a height of 157 centimeters and a weight of 50 kilograms." "What about the facial features?" Detective Kamei asked. "what?" "My father was killed mostly because of investigating her. We want to know who she is?" Kamei detective said. "Who is she? Is it related to the incident?" Ji Jianzi stared at Detective Kamei with wide eyes. Detective Kamei stared at Totsukawa wondering if he should say something. Totsukawa did not answer Kamei detective directly, but said to Ji Jianzi: "We are also considering going to Otaru." "If that's the case, I also want to go together. I have been there once and followed in my father's footsteps. It will definitely be helpful to you." Ji Jianzi said firmly. Totsukawa pondered.To be honest, it would be more convenient for them to let Ji Jianzi go with them, but in this way, she might be in danger. "I think it's better for you to stay in Tokyo. If you feel uneasy alone, I can send a criminal policeman to protect you." Totsukawa said. "Why don't you let me go with you? I will never affect your investigation work." Ji Jianzi said in surprise. "Because we don't want you to be in danger, the other party even dares to attack the criminal police, let alone ordinary people, let us investigate this time." Tojinchuan said. The next day, Totsukawa and Detective Kamei took an all-day flight from Haneda Airport at 8:10 am to Sapporo. "It seems that she has given up her mind." Detective Kamei said this to Totsukawa after the plane took off. "This is the best, because I don't want her to be in danger." Totsukawa said. Arrived at Chitose Airport at 9:35. The two of them immediately took the express train "Ozora No. 2" departing at 9:46 at Chitose Airport Station to Sapporo. Then change to the Hakodate Main Line in Sapporo. "Daozora No. 2" arrived in Sapporo at 10:16. Then, take the ordinary car at 10:34 to Otaru, and it was already 11:27 when we arrived in Otaru. "She's here, too. It's a pain in the ass." Just as Detective Kamei said, Ji Jianzi smiled at the two of them across from the ticket gate. Totsukawa also smiled wryly. After passing through the ticket gate, he said to Ji Jianzi, "Didn't I tell you not to come?" "There is no other way. I couldn't stay in Tokyo with peace of mind, so I came to help you." Ji Jianzi nodded slightly. She said so, and it was inconvenient for Totsukawa to say anything more. He understood her mood very well at the moment. It was natural for her to be unable to settle down before the real murderer of her father was caught. "You and Detective Kamei go to the library you went to last time, and check the newspapers from twenty years ago again." Totsukawa said to Ji Jianzi. After Kimiko and Detective Kamei took a taxi to the library, Totsukawa went to the Otaru Police Station. After greeting the director, he brought up the drowning case twenty years ago. Although the director was transferred five years ago, and the detective in charge of investigating that incident has retired, fortunately, the investigation report from that time is still preserved, so the director showed it to Totsukawa. Since there was a suspicion of homicide, the investigation followed this clue, and a photo of the drowned woman's body was posted on the report. Totsukawa compared the photos he brought with the photos on the investigation report. Since it's a picture of a dead person, it looks a little different. Especially for those who drowned, their faces were swollen, making them even more unremarkable. At first glance, they seem to be two different people. However, Totsukawa carefully compared the same parts. Since the deceased's eyes were tightly closed, the eyes could not be compared. The nose is a bit similar, because they are all small noses. The eyebrows and ears are also similar. Could it be Haruko Matsumoto who was found dead in the canal twenty years ago? According to the results of the investigation, scars were found on the back of the deceased's head. Therefore, it is believed that the deceased was suspected of homicide, but it may also be caused by a collision after falling into the canal. If this was a homicide, she must have been punched in the back of the head and thrown into the canal. Totsukawa asked the director where is the person who made this investigation report? The director said that the criminal policeman who made the report was named Baba. He has retired and currently runs a coffee shop with his wife near Otaru Station. Totsukawa went to the cafe to visit the racecourse. It's a small cafe. Dachang is sixty-two years old, but he looks good, so he looks five or six years younger than his actual age. There were no customers in the store, so Totsukawa was able to talk freely with Baba. Totsukawa handed the business card to Baba, and as soon as he mentioned the drowning incident 20 years ago, Baba immediately said: "A while ago, a person from Tokyo also talked to me about the same thing." "Is that person Sasaki?" "Yes, it is indeed Sasaki." "What did Sasaki ask you for?" "What kind of woman is the deceased! The situation when the body was discovered! The investigation situation twenty years ago! It seems that they are trying to determine whether the deceased is someone they know." "What conclusion did Sasaki reach?" "I don't know because he just nodded and listened to me." "I also want to ask the same question. I heard that until the end, nothing that could prove the identity of the deceased was found. Is this true?" Totsukawa asked. "Yes. I can't find it at all. This is really unpredictable. Therefore, I wonder if this is a murder?" "Do you suspect that the deceased's belongings were taken away by the murderer?" "Yes. If it is a suicide, generally speaking, one or two things that can prove the identity of the deceased should be found on the body of the deceased. But this time not only can't find it, even the clothes of the deceased are cheap, so I just The identity of the deceased has not been investigated." "You said that the deceased was a working girl, because the deceased was wearing ordinary clothes?" "Yes. Not to mention clothes, even watches and rings are cheap, and they are very young, so I think so." "Didn't the deceased stay at the hotel in Otaru?" "Yes. I have checked all the hotels in Otaru, but there is no record of the deceased staying." "I see." "If she was killed, she might have been knocked unconscious elsewhere before being brought and thrown into the Otaru Canal," Baba said. "Please look at this photo." Totsukawa handed over the photo of Matsumoto Haruko to the horse farm.