Chapter 32 fourth quarter

As soon as Yabe returned to the Metropolitan Police Department, he immediately received a report that Mariko Tajima had found her diary at the hotel where she was staying. Yabe read Mariko's leather-bound diary in delicate handwriting twice. "how?" The experienced detective Takimi who found the diary said: "I think this diary can fully confirm the testimony of Kazuhiko Iseki." "Yes." Yabe put the diary on the table and raised his bloodshot eyes. "This diary can indeed confirm Kazuhiko Iseki's testimony. If it is true that what is written in this diary, Kohei Tajima resents his wife for having an affair with Iseki. On the surface, he agrees to divorce, but in fact he wants to kill his wife and then commit suicide."

"I think that what is recorded in this diary is true." Detective Takimi said.His slender face glowed red in the light of the fire. "However, it may be somewhat exaggerated to say that he wants a divorce." "The question is to what extent is the exaggeration? If it affects this incident, we must investigate it. Who should we send to investigate the Kokubo Pharmacy mentioned in this diary?" "I'll go." "Very well, I'll go too. If this pharmacy sells poison to Kohei Tajima as Mariko Tajima thinks, it can prove that Iseki is innocent." After Yabe said, he stood up from the chair.

Since Kokubo Pharmacy is located near Inokashira Park, I found it right away. As recorded in the diary, it was a small dark pharmacy. A middle-aged man came out to greet them. Yabe recalled that the diary described the boss in this way: "Instead of It’s better to say he’s a construction worker than a boss.” Yabe also thinks so. Yabe first took out his police ID to show the other party, and at that moment, Yabe saw a slightly embarrassed look on the other party's face. "Do you still remember that this woman came to your pharmacy four days ago?" Yabe showed the middle-aged man the photo of Mariko Tajima.

The boss of the pharmacy tilted his head as if he didn't know how to answer for a moment, and after a while, he nodded reluctantly. "That day, this person should have come." This time, Yabe took out Tajima Kohei's photo and showed it to the other party. The other party shook his head. "No, I haven't seen this person. The woman said all kinds of inexplicable things that day, which made me very troubled, because she insisted that this person had come to the pharmacy, but in fact, this person did not come." "Really?" "Of course it's true, because only this woman came to the pharmacy that day, so there must be no mistake."

Yabe smiled because he could clearly see that the other party was lying. Judging from the fact that the other party looked a little embarrassed when he saw the police certificate, he must have done something shameful. "Do you even want to lie to us?" Yabe changed his tone of voice and stared at the other person's face. "Whether this person has come, you will know as soon as you investigate, how? If you insist that this person has not come, we will start an investigation, and you will not regret it when you are reported to the police station." "..." "How? Has this man come?"

"Yes." The pharmacy owner whispered. "Why did you lie to this woman that you didn't come when she came to ask?" "Because this man asked me not to let anyone know that he was here." "So, you were bought by this man? Didn't he come to buy cold medicine?" "Then..." The other party tilted his head again and said. "Sorry." The pharmacy owner said in a low voice, then lowered his head and said, "Because I sold something that shouldn't be sold." "What are you selling him?" "yes……" "You didn't sell him potassium cyanate, did you?"

"Why do you think that?" "Did you really sell him potassium cyanate because two people died? And why did you sell him potassium cyanate?" "Yes, because..." "for money?" "No, it's not for money. I'm not the kind of person who sells such dangerous goods for money. I sold it to him because he repeatedly emphasized that painting requires potassium cyanate. Although I don't know how to paint, I I know Mr. Tajima, because I have seen his photos, and since he is a famous painter, I don’t think he can lie, so I sold him the potassium cyanate on hand.”

"Potassium cyanate is needed to paint, how do you say that?" "He said that mixing potassium cyanate into the paint would make the painting more glossy." "Do you believe what he said?" "Yes. Because he's a painter, and I asked him to sign." "Signature? Why should he sign it?" "For the sake of caution, when I sell drama drugs, I always ask the buyers to sign the autograph book. In this way, if the drama drugs are misused, it has nothing to do with me." "Let me see this man's signature." "OK."

The owner of the pharmacy took out a black-leather autograph book, the size of a college notebook, on which was written in white ink: "Signature book for drama drug buyers". Kohei Tajima's signature is on the third page, and the first line of that page is signed by Hayashi Yusuke, who seems to be a doctor, and the word "morphine" is stamped with a rubber stamp. The second line is Tajima Yukihei's signature: "Tajima Yukihei No. XX, Nakameguro, Meguro-ku." Tajima's signature is slightly tilted to the upper right corner. The occupation column is "painter", the remarks column is "painting materials", the same handwriting as the signature, and the words "potassium cyanate" are stamped with a rubber stamp.

"I didn't lie, did I?" The pharmacy owner seemed a little uneasy looking at the faces of Yabe and Takimi detectives, but they didn't answer. "Can you lend us this autograph book for two or three days?" Yabe asked. "Yes. But, what will happen to me? Will I be guilty?" the pharmacy owner asked with a pale face. Yabe said coldly: "At least thanks to your sale of potassium cyanate, two people have died. You should reflect on this matter. I think the Department of Health will summon you in the near future."