Chapter 17 third quarter

When I left the mental hospital, the air in the mountains, which was almost dusk, was even more chilling. The sun sets earlier in mountainous areas than in cities.It was just 4 o'clock, and the sun was covered by thin clouds just now. Now there is a little light again, but it has lost the scorching heat of the day. The wind in the mountains is also bitingly chilly. This time, Tachibana Yosuke and Sugihara Keiko walked out from the main entrance of the mental hospital and walked slowly downhill.This road is very spacious, allowing two cars to cross each other smoothly. "Maybe this is the right way of the hospital." Tachibana Yosuke whispered to Sugihara Keiko.

However, Keiko Sugihara did not answer, she felt that she was falling into an abyss, and an indescribable sense of loneliness was surrounding her.She has been sticking to what Horikoshi Sanae said: the testimony that the culprit was a female driver.Maybe she was hoping for something, but she really didn't want Zhenbi Xiumin to be the driver who caused the accident. However, when Sugihara Keiko listened to the statement of the incident by the police officer in charge of handling the case from the Takamori Police Station, and with the explanation from Dean Komiyayama, she began to think that the driver who caused the accident was probably Zhenbi Xiumin is gone.When I return to Fukuoka in the future, I will check the date again. What will be the result?

In the search at that time, perhaps the Xiaogongshan Hospital had been affected?It is certain that the answer given by the dean of the mental hospital at that time was also vague.Maybe it was for Zhenbi Xiumin, or for his introducer—namely, Kaga Senkichi?In any case, the result is: Zhenbi Xiumin escaped the law safely. However, today, four years later, Horikoshi Sanae somehow found out that the murderer of that year was Hidetoshi Mabi.If this is the case, then Horikoshi Sanae has become Mabi Hidetoshi's most dangerous enemy.The photos taken by Tachibana Yosuke must be related to Horikoshi Sanae's sudden death; that is to say, it was Mabi Hidetoshi who lured Horikoshi Sanae to the edge of the cliff, and then pushed her into the sea lethal!

Thinking of this, in Sugihara Keko's mind, I once again recalled Zhenbi Xiumin's voice and smile, it was the night I met him, he was beside me, silently holding the steering wheel, hugging Xizi's shoulders, Pointing at the appearance of the pier; in the hotel, listening to the roar of the sea, on Zhenbi Xiumin's face, floating with a sad expression... It's not so much possession as it is his tenderness that fills Sugihara Keiko's empty body.Zhenbi Xiumin's face full of firm belief became a force to attract women, so that Sugihara Keiko would pursue him for a long time, longing to see him...

"Isn't there blood full of human warmth flowing under his appearance?" Keiko Sugihara couldn't believe it. "But, wait a minute." Tachibana Yosuke suddenly muttered, breaking the long silence between the two.At this time, the two of them had already distanced themselves from each other. I am sure he will publish his reasoning again. "Finding the connection between Hidetoshi Mabi and Sanae Horikoshi was a huge leap, because Mabi didn't know Sanae." It seemed that Yosuke Tachibana had already sorted out his thoughts, and he continued. "If Sanae knew that the driver who caused the accident was Mabi Hidetoshi and threatened him, so Mabi Hidetoshi made up his mind to kill Horikoshi Sanae, then he would know Sanae." Tachibana Yosuke seriously Analyzing, "However, why did Horikoshi Sanae use the pseudonym of Miss Boiled Water?"

"This is because: Horikoshi Sanae knew Mabi Hidetoshi, but Mabi Hidetoshi didn't know Horikoshi Sanae!..." Sugihara Keiko said as a matter of course. "If that's the case, everything will be clear." Tachibana Yosuke nodded and said, "However, after Mabi Hidetoshi saw Horikoshi Sanae, she should be killed immediately, but in fact, it is not like this. And why?..." "This..." Sugihara Keiko was also at a loss when asked. "Is it just because Mabi Hidetoshi doesn't know Horikoshi Sanae? To be precise, Mabi Hidetoshi has never met Horikoshi Sanae. But Mabi Hidetoshi should know her real name!..." Tachibana Yosuke tilted his head and speculated "Besides, for Sanae, she's been with Xiumin Zhenbi for such a long time. You should know that there will be danger!..."

"Could someone have told them!..." Sugihara Keiko said solemnly. "Yes!..." Tachibana Yosuke nodded immediately. The two stopped at the same time. "We should investigate this person as soon as possible." Tachibana Yosuke nodded bitterly, "Behind the meeting between Zhenbi and Sanae, there must be a middleman who is quietly affecting the development of the incident." Tachibana Yosuke walked slowly, he was narrowing the distance with Sugihara Keiko. "The middleman urged Horikoshi Sanae to meet her under the name 'Plain Boiled Water', in order to get Mabi Hidetoshi to kill Horikoshi Sanae!..."

"So, this middleman is from Zhenbi Xiumin's side!..." Sugihara Keko asked in surprise. "Yes." Tachibana Yosuke nodded affirmatively, "Then, he had a conflict with Zhenbi Xiumin, so he killed him..." However, Keiko Sugihara thought: The middleman who used such a delicate relationship must have a certain degree of intimacy with both parties; therefore, it is possible for this person to direct this tragedy through the incident four years ago.From the point of view of "it was this middleman who helped Mabi Hidetoshi kill Horikoshi Sanae", Horikoshi Sanae may also be his enemy.What kind of person would this be?

It was learned from Dean Gongshan that Zhenbi Xiumin went down the mountain alone many times during her hospitalization.During his lurking period, he learned that his wife was having a difficult labor, so he drove down the mountain. Who got into the car on the way?From Horikoshi Sanae's testimony after the accident, it seems unlikely that there were two people in the other party's car.So, that is to say, one is the victim Sanae and the other is the perpetrator.Who is hiding at the intersection of these two? There was silence again between Yosuke Tachibana and Keiko Sugihara.The mountain road is also surrounded by loneliness. From time to time, small light yellow calamus flowers appear in the bushes, which seems to be telling the arrival of early summer.From time to time in the mountains, there were a few warblers singing.

Gradually, the front view opened up.A white concrete building appeared in front of him.A little farther away from it, you can see a hotel-like house.From the advertisement posted on the cement wall, we know that this area is "Chuiyu Hot Spring".As soon as we got here, a strong smell of sulfur immediately came to our nostrils. Along the canyons and rivers, several hot spring hotels have been built on the old dam that has been built for many years.Among the stone walls, there are still a few poor carnations and other unknown wild flowers blooming.From the bottom of the canyon river, you can also hear the sound of the waterfall.There seems to be no trace of people here.

Yosuke Tachibana and Keiko Sugihara stopped in their tracks unknowingly because they saw a hotel like a farmhouse built with thick tree trunks, with the word "Yushima" on the door. Gold lettering. This is where Horikoshi Sanae had been working before the accident.They came here by chance, and a kind of nameless emotion arose spontaneously from Sugihara Keko's heart. "Take a break? Do you want to eat?" Tachibana Yosuke asked in a very kind tone. Having said that, Sugihara Keiko remembered that she hadn't had lunch yet. They came to the small room on the second floor.This is just opposite to the top of Wuhatake on the west side of the Five Mountains of Aso Volcano. Around the mountain peak, surrounded by a faint floating cloud, the evening glow was dyed orange by the setting sun.Although these look magnificent and magnificent, they can't help showing a simple and homesick atmosphere.At first glance, this magnificent scenery is motionless, like a static world. A fast food waiter in his fifties brought refreshments for them. "Are the mountain flowers here still beautiful? The weather is warm and late this year, and the flowers bloom late, right?" The waitress laid tea sets and plates on the table while accosting them.She didn't wear makeup, she looked like a real peasant woman. "Have you been working here for a long time?" Sugihara Keiko asked after sitting down. "This store is my home!..." The rural woman replied with a smile. "Then you must know Mrs. Horikoshi Sanae?" Yosuke Tachibana hurriedly interrupted and asked. The woman glanced at Keiko Sugihara in surprise, nodded immediately, and asked her, "The guest also knows Mrs. Sanae?" "Ah, let's just know each other." "How is she now?" Sugihara Keiko was silent.The woman lowered her head and said to herself: "Her life is too hard. Her husband is also a very kind gentleman, but he didn't die at that time, he died because of the delay in rescue. Since then, Sanae My wife seems to be a different person, we used to have a very good relationship, but since she went to Fukuoka, she hasn't even written a single letter!..." After the woman left, Yosuke Tachibana also sat down and took out the camera. Tachibana Yosuke took a sip of tea, then stared at the bottom of the cup. "Behind Hidetoshi Mabi and Sanae Horikoshi get together, there must be a middleman!..." Tachibana Yosuke brought up the topic just now.Keiko Sugihara also returned to this topic. "But, what kind of person is this person?" Sugihara Keiko asked himself inexplicably. "I thought about two conditions just now." Tachibana Yosuke said. Yosuke Tachibana put down his teacup, stared at Keiko Sugihara and said.Since entering this hotel, it was the first time that Tachibana Yosuke looked at Sugihara Keko so seriously. "The intermediary is X. First of all, X must be a witness to the car accident." "Aren't there no witnesses?" Keiko Sugihara asked puzzled. "It is true that no one reported the incident to the police, but it cannot be said that there were no witnesses." "How could this happen!..." Sugihara Keiko sighed with emotion. "This person thinks that calling the police is worse than not calling the police. The latter is more profitable. That is to say, he found the perpetrator through the license plate number - Mabi Hidetoshi, and then he wanted to join hands with Horikoshi Sanae and stand on a neutral position. On the way, he forced Hidetoshi Mabi to come forward." Yosuke Tachibana reasoned in this way, "However, X changed his mind halfway, and he told Sanae Horikoshi the truth, and while prompting Sanae to take revenge on the murderer and kill Hidetoshi Mabi Once again, I caught Zhenbi Xiumin's weakness and extorted money from him." "Afterwards, there was a quarrel between them, and X killed Zhenbi Xiumin?" Keiko Sugihara asked Tachibana Yosuke. "Exactly!..." Yosuke Tachibana nodded affirmatively. "It's also a little unreasonable." Keiko Sugihara stared at Yosuke Tachibana and said. "If this is the case, there is no need for X to team up with Horikoshi Sanae from the very beginning. He can completely blackmail Mabi Hidetoshi by himself. Even if he wants to drag the victim, he will do so at the end, as a last resort. This is the right way to do it. Moreover, if X is an eyewitness, it is impossible to spend four years to find out Zhenbi Xiumin's phone number. He should start as soon as possible, which is reasonable." Hearing this, Tachibana Yosuke also nodded, agreeing with Sugihara Keiko's conclusion: "Well...so, there are still no witnesses?" Yosuke picked up the teacup again. "Then, there are only Hidetoshi Mabi and Sanae Horikoshi at the scene of the accident. That's the second hypothesis." "In that case..." Keiko Sugihara looked at Yosuke Tachibana strangely. "That is to say, Horikoshi Sanae must have found the murderer—Hidetoshi Mabi through some method recently. However, if the prosecution is to be prosecuted now, the statute of limitations has passed, or it is no longer easy to find evidence. Therefore, Horikoshi Sanae decided to threaten Mabi Hidetoshi." Tachibana Yosuke analyzed with dancing, "However, Horikoshi Sanae also thought that if she was alone in this matter, the possibility of success would be extremely low, so she entrusted X. X as Horikoshi Sanae's 'agent' threatened Zhenbi Xiumin to hand over the money, and then reasoned down, it was the same as the previous assumption." "That is to say, X asked Mabi Hidetoshi to kill Horikoshi Sanae, and he went to blackmail him..." Keiko Sugihara muttered with emotion. "Yes, he designed an excuse to let the two meet. In this case, it is not surprising that Hidetoshi Mabi doesn't know Horikoshi Sanae. Although we don't know, how this X said to Horikoshi Sanae, However, he must have a well-thought-out plan." Yosuke Tachibana nodded with a wry smile, Keiko Sugihara listened to Tachibana's analysis with a horrified expression. "When Mabi Hidetoshi met Horikoshi Sanae, he wanted to kill Horikoshi Sanae right away, but the first time the plan fell through because he recognized the wrong person. So, half a month later, he made the same excuse again, this time really Bi killed Sanae. So, this time, X became the only person who could threaten Zhenbi Xiumin. I think the quarrel was the fuse that led X to kill Zhenbi Xiumin." Regarding the second hypothesis, Sugihara Keiko also believes that there is no contradiction.But, did Hidetoshi Mabi really kill Horikoshi Sanae under the plan of X?Because in Sugihara Keko's heart, there is still the good impression left by Zhenbi Xiumin that night. When Mabi Hidetoshi was determined to kill Horikoshi Sanae, didn't he think in his heart that this was the conspiracy of the mysterious X between the two of them? With the help of Mabi Xiumin, X gets rid of Horikoshi Sanae, but won't Mabi Xiumin also fall into X's trap?Xizi thinks that Zhenbi Xiumin is not such a simple-minded person. Another point, after Horikoshi Sanae's death, is this X so sure that he can kill Mabi Xiumin before he is killed by Mabi Xiumin? Thinking of this, Sugihara Keiko had another major question: Why is Zhenbi Xiumin's body in her room? ! When she was about to speak, there was a voice from outside the sliding door, it was the housewife just now who brought the food. Among the meals delivered by the hotel, there are many wild vegetables like Wei Lai and coltsfoot.Tachibana Yosuke made another accusation: "Is the sashimi frozen?" But the housewife did not answer.Maybe it was just a question about the incident, but her expression was still a little stiff. After the meal, the sky outside has become darker, and the magnificent scenery just now has been lost on the top of Wumao Mountain. After leaving "Yushima", the two walked quickly towards the parking place.They came to a three-way intersection, which was a very rare wide field. Looking down at the basin formed by the old crater and the long and huge "screen" formed by the outer ring mountain from here, it is obvious that the power of nature is so incredible. In the sky without the sun, there are still a few floating clouds, so it still contains a blue color similar to sage grass, shining with mythical brilliance.Illuminated by its color, the slope of the mountain seems to be covered with a layer of camel hair color. In the ups and downs of this magnificent color, it gradually forms a clear difference with the outer ring mountain, and the distant Kyushu mountain range, linked together.At the foot of the mountain a little farther away, you can still see the flickering lights. Tachibana Yosuke and Sugihara Keiko stopped in amazement and looked at this masterpiece of nature fascinated.Maybe it's because of the terrain, there is no wind here, and the cool air after sunset is more obvious. "Anyway..." After they looked at the beautiful scenery that could not be seen in the city for a while, Yosuke Tachibana spoke again, as if his mood had been withdrawn from the natural beauty. Tachibana Yosuke stared at Sugihara Keiko, and said seriously: "There must be a third party between Mabi Hidetoshi and Horikoshi Sanae. There is no need to doubt that. Then, it can also be considered that this person killed Zhenbi Xiumin. Therefore, I think the focus of the next step is to find this person." "But, how to find it...?" Sugihara Keiko asked helplessly, her eyes were still deeply attracted by the beautiful scenery. "It seems impossible to find it from the incident four years ago, but there is still a way after all. For example, this person should have obvious contact with these two people, find the two people If you connect the dots, can't you find out who the person is?..." Yosuke Tachibana said confidently, "Especially before April 19th when you met Hidetoshi Mabi, and before May 5th when Horikoshi Sanae died, This person must have secretly met Mabi Hidetoshi and Horikoshi Sanae!..." "I'm going to meet Mabi Hidetoshi and Horikoshi Sanae, are you preparing to kill Sanae?" "Yes!..." Yosuke Tachibana nodded with certainty, "Besides, before killing Hidetoshi Mabi, this person must have been secretly. He has met Hidetoshi Mabi and Sanae Horikoshi himself!..." "It turns out that there are so many scams in it!..." Thinking of this, Sugihara Keko couldn't help turning his eyes away from admiring the scenery. "But why did that bastard Zhenbi Xiumin come into my room?" Sugihara Keko finally couldn't help asking the question that just came to mind. "Well... maybe only that mysterious person knows." This time, Yosuke Tachibana turned his eyes to the distance again. Just at this moment, a thought flashed in Sugihara Keko's mind: Zhenbi Xiumin noticed that she was looking for him everywhere, would she think that because of this, she would also become his threat.From this point of view, it seems that the incident of being almost hit by a car in Shiga Island can be explained. The man driving the car at that time was indeed wearing a pair of sunglasses, could it be Zhenbi Xiumin? ... So, when the plan failed, Zhenbi Xiumin once again came to Sugihara Keiko's room with a cruel plan. Unexpectedly, this became the perfect opportunity for the third party to kill Zhenbi Xiumin? That night, Zhenbi Xiumin was wearing shoes, turned over and fell to the ground.The door to the scene was locked, of course, but the glass windows were open.Therefore, it can be considered that the murderer who killed Zhenbi Xiumin should have entered and exited through the window. Because Xizi Sugihara really forgot to close the window that day, and this is because: In those days, she was disturbed by Zhenbi Xiumin's affairs, disturbed and disturbed, so she forgot to close the window.Before going to bed, check whether the windows and the door are closed. This is a habit she has developed in celibacy for many years. But, that day, were the windows plugged in?Let her recall it now, Sugihara Keiko is not sure.Assuming she did plug the window, then someone got the key to the apartment and used it to get into the room.After the murder, in order to prevent Xizi from noticing the door, he opened the window a little. If you want to match a key, you can do it in three minutes in a nearby specialty store or department store.In other words, this person got the key to Sugihara Keiko's house within a short period of time. This is simply too scary! Thinking of this, Sugihara Keko's heart couldn't help beating violently: Four or five days before the incident, she had indeed forgotten the key in the Kyushu TV station's office.That day, when Xizi went home to take out her bag, she didn't find the key; the next day, she found it in a drawer. Was it a planned theft? Is this the reason, or is it coming in and out of the window?Keiko Sugihara was also uncertain. It can only prove that the third person is indeed close to him, or that he has a direct relationship with the people around him. Thinking of this, Sugihara Keiko couldn't help shivering, soaking from his feet to his whole body... Tachibana Yosuke remained silent, but took off his jacket and put it on Sugihara Keiko's shoulders.