Chapter 23 Chapter 21 The Testimony of the Dead

"This woman?" "Her name is Matsumoto Haruko, and it was a photo taken twenty years ago." "I see. You suspect that the woman who died in the Otaru Canal is this person?" Machang asked while looking at the photo. "Yes. I think Sasaki probably thinks the same way, so he came to you." "Is it this woman?" The horse farm is so thoughtful.It's really hard to draw conclusions, because it looks very different from the face of the drowned person, and it was twenty years ago. "Honestly, I don't know if it's this woman, but it looks a bit like it," Ma Chang said.

"Twenty years ago, did anyone call to find out if the deceased was his daughter?" "No, but I got a strange phone call." "What phone number?" Totsukawa asked. "It's a man's voice. I asked the person who was responsible for the incident to listen to me. The other party suddenly said that the deceased committed suicide. Everyone was already dead. It would be too cruel to investigate the cause of her suicide. Call me Don't investigate any further." "How do you answer that man?" "I said that if you know the identity of the deceased, please tell me, and the other party will hang up the phone without answering."

"You think it was just a prank?" "No, I don't think so, so I asked all the criminal police to investigate." "Is it the voice of a young man?" "Yes, I think about thirty." "How long has this incident been investigated?" "One month, since the identity of the deceased could not be found out, the case had to be closed by suicide." Ma Chang said. "In this month, don't you know anything?" "I only know the results of the autopsy. The interesting thing is not the estimated time of death, but the fact that the food in the stomach is exactly the same as the bento."

"You mean the bento box at the station?—" "Yes. That's why I wondered if she would eat bento on the train and be murdered as soon as she arrived in Otaru?" Baba said. If so, it is not surprising that there is no record of her staying in any hotel in Otaru City. "During the search, did a female businesswoman turn up?" When Totsukawa asked, Baba immediately asked, "Oh! Are you referring to the old lady who met Sasaki?" "Yes. Is it very likely that she witnessed the murder?" "In fact, the search headquarters announced its disbandment when no evidence of homicide was found. It was only after the disbandment that witnesses were found, but they did not see the murderer killing her, only the deceased. Since this clue is of little value, we also Just give up."

"She was killed after meeting Sasaki, right?" "Yes. She committed suicide by hanging. Her name is Tadako Ito. She is seventy years old. Since I was retired at the time, I was not involved in the investigation of this incident, but I heard that this incident was closed as a suicide." "But she died suddenly after meeting Sasaki, isn't it a bit suspicious?" "You suspect that her death is related to the incident twenty years ago?" "yes." "I think so too. It would be great if I could know what she was talking about with Sasaki. The problem is that I don't know, and I'm not a criminal police officer anymore." Baba said with a smile.

Totsukawa thought of Sasaki who was killed in Inokashira Park. He was killed just to call him. Sasaki had just returned from Otaru when he was killed, so he must have found out something from Ito Tadako before he wanted to call and tell him? "What did she see twenty years ago?" Totsukawa asked. "You think she clearly remembers what happened twenty years ago?" Ma Chang asked puzzled. "Generally speaking, she should have forgotten all about it. But she was a traveling merchant who went out to do business every day. She was fifty years old at the time, and her hands and feet should still be very flexible. I think she probably went out at the same time every day, and took the same bus. In this kind of routine life, seeing something special one day will definitely leave a deep impression on her. Therefore, other things are forgotten, and only this thing remains in her mind. "

When Totsukawa said that, Baba looked embarrassed. Maybe he felt that the other party was blaming him? Seeing this, Totsukawa couldn't ask further questions, so he had to thank the racecourse and leave. Totsu River to Otaru Canal. In the past, boats went back and forth frequently, but now there are no boats, leaving only the beautiful scenery, which looks very quiet. There are several couples walking along the paved sidewalk along the canal. Twenty years ago, this canal drowned a woman. Could that woman be Matsumoto Haruko? If so, why did Haruko Matsumoto come here? While Totsukawa was thinking this, someone called him from behind as he was walking on the sidewalk.Looking back, it turned out to be Detective Kamei and Ji Jianzi.

"Let's go get coffee!" Totsukawa took them to a luxuriously decorated cafe nearby. "How did you find out?" Totsukawa asked them both. "I can't find out whether the woman in the corpse canal is Haruko Matsumoto. However, I think it is very likely to be her." Detective Kamei said. "I think so too." Totsukawa also nodded. "If it's Haruko Matsumoto, what should we do?" Ji Jianzi put the coffee brought in front of her and asked Totsukawa. "The first question that comes to my mind is why did Haruko Matsumoto come here twenty years ago?"

"Could this be her hometown?" Ji Jianzi said. "No. If this is her hometown, someone should come forward to identify the corpse, but no one comes forward, so this should not be her hometown. Even if this is her hometown, will she be killed after returning to her hometown?" Totsukawa said while thinking. "Could it be that Matsumoto Haruko came here because he wanted to do something for Ishizaki?" Kamei detective said. "Maybe?" Totsukawa said.He has realized that it is not an easy task to find out this matter. What did Haruko Matsumoto do in Otaru?

Totsukawa thought of several possibilities. First, she came to visit people in Otaru. This person either lived in Otaru, or made an appointment to meet her in Otaru. Second, she came to Otaru to investigate things.If she came to Otaru to prove Ishizaki's innocence, then she must be looking for evidence that could prove Ishizaki's innocence. "However, it will be difficult to find out about this matter twenty years later." Totsukawa said. If the evidence is a person, it has grown by twenty years; if it is a thing, twenty years later, it may have been lost. "But, my father should find out something here before returning to Tokyo." Ji Jianzi said.

"I know this, but until now, we don't know what your father has found out. After your father met the traveling businessman Ito Dadako, Ito was killed by someone pretending to commit suicide. Maybe she witnessed Matsumoto Haruko being pushed down the canal, but she I can no longer testify." Totsukawa said. It seems that apart from investigating why Matsumoto Haruko came to Otaru 20 years ago, there is no good solution. "Let's start the investigation from the two aspects of people and things." Kamei detective said. "Old Turtle, what are you going to do?" "If it's a person, it must be someone related to Ishizaki, who lived here twenty years ago." "But if there is a relationship, it would be too indifferent." "I think it should be someone who can prove Ishizaki's innocence." "What kind of person is it?" "Ishizaki appeared at the murder scene, so there is no alibi, and no one can prove Ishizaki's alibi." "It's getting more and more confusing. If Ishizaki's friends come forward and say that he is a good person and won't kill people, it can't be used as proof of his innocence." Totsukawa said. "It's really difficult." Detective Kamei was also deep in thought. Silence fell over them again. "It would be great if I could know where Matsumoto Haruko lived twenty years ago." Totsukawa said with a sigh. If I could visit her family or her friends, maybe I could learn something. However, at present, Totsukawa's understanding of her is really limited. Although there is a photo of her, but we only know that she was in her early twenties twenty years ago, she was short, and her father had received help from Ishizaki. Today, twenty years later, maybe her father is dead. "Look up the phone book from 20 years ago, and call the person surnamed Matsumoto." Detective Kamei said. "Ask the other party if there is a daughter named Chunzi?" "yes." "I don't think it's very useful to do this, because the address will change in twenty years! And it's not necessarily that she is from Tokyo. Even if you call all the phone numbers in Tokyo, you may not be able to find her." "So, what should we do about it?" "Go back to Tokyo and meet Ishizaki's friend. If he helped Matsumoto Haruko's father, maybe he did it with his friend." "So, shall we go back together?" "No, I'll go back to Tokyo alone. You and Ji Jianzi stay here. After I tell you the reason why she came to Otaru, you can find out where she went to Otaru." Totsukawa said. The next morning, Totsukawa took the plane from Chitose Airport back to Tokyo alone. After breakfast at Haneda Airport, he considered who would be the best person to visit. If Ishizaki really helped Haruko Matsumoto's father, he must have helped him as the secretary of Diet Member Horie. Then, it would be better to visit the person who served as Horie's secretary with Ishizaki twenty years ago. The question is, will that person tell Mr. Horie about Totsukawa's actions? Once Horie's supporters know about it, they will definitely put pressure on him. Therefore, he could not inquire about the supporters of the former Horie member of the Diet. The person who was originally Mr. Horie's secretary but was fired later is the best candidate. Totsukawa started looking for that kind of person. (It would be great if you could find it.) Totsukawa returned to the search headquarters, thought about it, and came up with a plan. The dead member of the Horie Congress had a strong support club, and now that organization should support Master Horie.Totsukawa called the support club. "I'm reporter Tanaka, and I'm currently writing the deeds of Diet Member Horie. I want to talk to his secretary. Can you tell me the secretary's name and address?" Totsukawa said. The other party told him the names and addresses of the seven secretaries without thinking. "Is there anyone else? I think seven people seem to be a little less." Totsukawa said. "There are two other people, but both of them betrayed Mr., such people will never have anything good to say, so it is best not to interview these two people." The other party said. Although Totsukawa wanted to ask the names and addresses of those two people again, he thought that if he did so, the other party would definitely refuse to answer, so he adopted a roundabout tactic. "How can a human being eat everything from inside to outside?" Totsukawa said, "I really regret that my husband passed away without becoming the prime minister, but there is nothing to do about it." "Thank you. Fortunately, the young master Horie who participated in the political circle this time is not only quite like a father, but also better than blue. We are looking forward to him becoming the prime minister in the future." "It will definitely come true." "He is very smart and has lived in the United States. He not only has an international reputation, but also speaks intimidatingly in English. Politicians in the future must communicate with politicians from other countries in English. His language will definitely not be a problem." The other party said in a showy tone. "Those two secretaries who eat inside and out, after being fired by the former member of the Horie Congress, Master Horie probably won't use them anymore, right? They must be living a hard life now?" "That's a matter of course. One of them opened a tax office near the scripture hall, but I heard that the credit is not good, so there are not many clients." "I see, I see." After saying that, Totsukawa hung up the phone, but suddenly he hated himself. This is the reaction every time he tells a lie. After he calmed down, he went to look for the person near Jingdou Station on the Odakyu Line. There are two tax offices near the station. Totsukawa went to visit those two offices. The owner of the first house was a thirty-seven-year-old young man, and Totsukawa immediately knew that it was not this person, because twenty years ago, this young man was only seventeen years old, and it was impossible for him to become the secretary of the former member of the Horie Diet. The owner of the other house was Hiranuma, fifty-six years old. Totsukawa showed the police ID to the other party. As soon as the name of the former member of the Horie Diet was mentioned, Hiranuma smiled wryly and said, "I don't want to talk about Horie." "What I want to ask is not Horie himself, but his secretary." "A group of secretaries?" After muttering to himself, Hiranuma said with a light smile, "Those people are very powerful." "You said that they are powerful, do you mean that all the secretaries are very powerful?" "No, they are all excellent. They just competed fiercely for favor. I was not their opponent, so I was dismissed from my job as a secretary." "When you were fired, Ishizaki was also the secretary, right?" "Yes. Because I'm very impressed with him." "I heard that Ishizaki once helped a man named Matsumoto, do you remember this incident?" Totsukawa asked. "Matsumoto?" Hiranuma asked after muttering to himself, "Does the Matsumoto you mentioned have a daughter?" "Yes. His daughter's name was Matsumoto Haruko, and she was in her early twenties." "If that's the case, I think it's Matsumoto Shinkichi." Hiranuma said. "What kind of person is he?" "He opened a small bakery in Shangbanqiao." "Why did Ishizaki help him?" "Matsumoto is from Shimane Prefecture. The couple opened a small bakery in Kamibanqiao, and their daughter works in the company. His business was pretty good at first, but since the appearance of a big bakery, his business has plummeted, so I came to look for it. Ms. Horie from my hometown to discuss." "I see." "Mr. Horie just happened to go to the United States, and Ishizaki met Matsumoto. He usually just listened to it, but he discussed it seriously with Matsumoto." "What was the result of the discussion?" Totsukawa asked. "Ishizaki told me this. In the name of Mr. Horie, he put pressure on Shangbanqiao's cooperative treasury to lend money to Matsumoto, and then drove with Matsumoto to attract customers." "Why is Ishizaki so enthusiastic about helping Matsumoto?" "I don't know, maybe it's a personal reason, or maybe it's because Matsumoto came to Mr. Horie." "I heard that Ishizaki respects Diet Member Horie?" "Not only Ishizaki, but all the secretaries respect Horie-san," Hiranuma said. "Ishizaki isn't special?" "You mean Mr. Horie?" "Yes. No?" "I am in my thirties, and the other secretaries are also in their thirties and forties. Only Ishizaki is in his early twenties. Since Mr. Horie's son is also in his twenties, I think that Mr. Horie will hire him, in addition to asking him to help him deal with himself. In addition to other things, you want him to help your son?" Hiranuma said. (Sure enough.) While thinking this way, Totsukawa said, "But, didn't Master Horie live in America for a long time?" "Yes. That's why Ishizaki often goes to America." "Didn't he go to the United States to investigate society and politics?" "This is also one of the reasons, but I think the biggest reason is that Mr. Horie was worried about his son, so he asked Ishizaki to visit him." "But, isn't Master Horie already in his twenties?" "Although he is in his twenties, he is still a child in the eyes of his parents." "Mr. Hiranuma, are you familiar with Master Horie?" "I'm not familiar, because we don't see each other often. However, I heard that he was smart and responsive since he was a child." Hiranuma said. "Let's bring the topic back to Songyuan. Is Songyuan still running a bakery in Shangbanqiao?" "I have no idea." "Have you met his daughter?" "I saw it once, when she came to visit Ishizaki." "Is it this person?" Totsukawa showed the photo to Hiranuma. "I can't say for sure, because it was twenty years ago." Hiranuma said with a shrug. Totsukawa went to Kamibanqiao.He took the tram bound for Akabane from Ikebukuro and got off at Itabashi.He went to the police station in front of the station to inquire about the address of "Matsumoto Bakery". "That bakery doesn't exist any more now," the policeman at the police station said, and called the office in the shopping street and the district office to inquire, only to find out that the Songyuan Bakery had closed down eight years ago. Totsukawa was taken by the police from the police station to the former site of Matsumoto Bakery, which has now been converted into a seven-story building. There is a long-established pawnshop nearby, and Totsukawa asked the owner of the pawnshop about Matsumoto Bakery. The owner of the pawnshop, surnamed Kitano, is sixty years old this year. "The bakery was run by a couple who worked very hard and were very sincere," Kitano said. "Do you remember Matsumoto's daughter?" "I remember. She was a well-bred girl, but her whereabouts disappeared suddenly. The Matsumotos originally wanted to end the business and return to their hometown, but they continued to do business because they were worried that their daughter would not be able to find them when she came back." "Did the Matsumotos move back to their hometown eight years ago?" "Yes. Because Mr. Matsumoto died of illness, Mrs. Matsumoto sold the house and moved back to her hometown." "My hometown is Shimane Prefecture?" "Yes. I also received a New Year's card from Mrs. Matsumoto this year. She is really a nostalgic person." "Can you show me that New Year's card?" Totsukawa asked. Kitano took out a New Year's card from inside and handed it to Totsukawa. The address is Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. Totsukawa wanted to meet Mrs. Matsumoto, so he borrowed the New Year's card from Kitano. Early the next morning, Totsukawa took a plane from Haneda Airport to Izumo.After arriving at Izumo Airport, take a taxi to Izumo City. Since it was early October and the weather was very warm, the airport and Izumo City were crowded with people who went to Izumo Taisha Shrine.About seven or eight minutes walk from Izumo Station, there is a small pastry shop with a "Matsumoto" nameplate on the storefront. The storefront is about five meters wide. The first floor is the storefront, filled with all kinds of snacks, and the second floor is the residence. Totsukawa entered the store and shouted loudly, and a short woman came down from the second floor. That woman is in her sixties, with a bit of white hair, probably Fumiko Matsumoto? After Totsukawa showed the police ID to the woman, the woman frowned and said, "What's the matter?" "I want to know about your daughter." "daughter?" After Wenzi finished speaking, his complexion changed drastically and he said, "My daughter is not at home." "Is your daughter's name Matsumoto Haruko?" "Yes. She is not at home, please go back." Wenzi said in a firm tone. "Since when has she been away?" "long, long ago." "Was it twenty years ago?" Although Totsukawa knew it was cruel to ask such a question, he had to ask it in order to solve the case. Wen Zi fell silent. "Can I talk to you about something? It's not convenient to talk in the store." Totsukawa said. After thinking about it, Wenzi said, "Please." Totsukawa was taken up to the second floor. There are two rooms on the second floor, one with six pings and the other with three pings.There was a table in the corner of the room in Liuping, and a picture of a young woman was placed on the table. It's a photo of Matsumoto Haruko in her early twenties. Chunzi's mother must have known that Chunzi was dead. The question is, does Wenzi know the truth about Chunzi's death?If you know, would you like to tell him?