Chapter 9 Chapter nine

Mioka lay on the bed, tossing and turning. It shouldn't be. He played a full eighteen holes on the golf course during the day, and he would have been snoring a lot in normal times.What's more, I climbed a high wall at night, and walked along the long ramp all the way to Kurama Station.In an emergency, Ajika's body performed exceptionally well, but he didn't feel exhausted afterwards.Logically speaking, in order to restore his strength, his body should use its natural mechanism to let him fall into a deep sleep. But he was not asleep.His body was as heavy as a stone, but the nerves of his brain were clear, and the sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears, making Mioka toss and turn.The more this is the case, the clearer the mind becomes, and the eardrum keeps ringing...

The window began to whiten.It's five o'clock.He got out of bed and opened the curtains—in the black silhouette of Kyoto, the tall towers of a certain temple were like the minaret of a mosque, glowing with cool milky white. Its daybreak.Mioka finally looked forward to this moment. He approached the phone and dialed a number in Tokyo.Through the receiver next to his ear, he seemed to be able to feel the atmosphere in the other party's house.The telephone rings in the house with regularity.After the bell rang ten times... "Hello..." The middle-aged woman answered the phone in surprise and sleepiness.When she was woken up by the ringing of the phone, she must have checked the clock too—it was five past three in the morning.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your rest early in the morning. I'm Mioka, the special manager." "Ah, it's Mr. Executive..." The middle-aged woman immediately woke up. "Is Dashi here?" "Ah, yes, I'll let him listen to the phone." The wife of the Minister of Road Construction hastily switched the phone to standby mode, and the beautiful music of the music box came to her ears.After forty seconds, the music stopped abruptly. "Executive? I'm Oishi, good morning." Oishi Kenkichi's panicked voice came from the other end of the receiver.The hoarse voice proved that he was dragged up by his wife.

"Morning, sorry to wake you up early in the morning." "Where is there, what happened? Where are you now?" Dashi's voice was full of anxiety.He thought that if the executive called early in the morning, something must have happened. "I'm at K Hotel in Kyoto." "Ah, that's right..." "There's nothing weird about you there?" "No... what is a strange thing"? Dashi didn't know why, so he asked back. "It's just a change in the situation, such as business." "No, please don't worry...but...do you know something, manager?"

"No no." "Oh..." Mioka could imagine Oishi's confused expression, "Sorry, I called you early in the morning..." "That... executive?" Dashi said suddenly. "..." "That... haven't you met Teacher Jushi? Has that matter been finalized?" "Oh, you said that golf club. There's no time to talk to the teacher about that. Everyone's there." "But wouldn't there be a banquet after that? Didn't you talk to the teacher in the corridor? Shouldn't you have the teacher's clear approval?"

"Oshi... the banquet was canceled, and it was the teacher who canceled it on his own initiative." "what?" "Cancelled. And Sue Kichi joined the Nanyuan Club." "Mr. Sueyoshi from Koto Construction?" "I didn't introduce it. He petitioned the teacher himself." "Oh?……" Mioka called Oishi early in the morning, not because of this.Mioka couldn't figure out what he was thinking more and more. "Hello?" Kenkichi Oishi, Minister of Road Construction, called the silent Mioka through the receiver.No, Mioka was not silent, but gasped heavily.Oishi heard Mioka's breathing, perhaps aware of the seriousness of the situation.After all, this was the first time he had received an early morning call from Mioka.

"Executive, what happened?" Dashi said worriedly. "Oishi..." Mioka finally spoke out. "what?" "I seem to be caught in a trap." "What? Trap? How do you say that?" "..." Ajika was overwhelmed with emotion, and was at a loss for words for a moment. "Could it be that... the teacher broke the contract? This time the project is not assigned to our company? Everything is his strategy?" Dashi's tone immediately increased by an octave. "No, it's not that far yet..." "It hasn't arrived yet?... What's going on? What kind of trap is it?"

The so-called trap - Ajika still couldn't say it.Miyoko Sawada, who has a special relationship with Doaki Koshi, ran into the corpse at the corpse hotel.The matter is too serious and complicated, and it is impossible to explain it clearly on the phone.And he is too excited now, even if he said it, he would definitely not be organized, and he would not be able to correctly convey his situation to Dashi. "Oishi, I can't say anything now." "Oh...then...could there be someone else in your room?" "What? Is there someone else in the room?" Hearing this, Wei Gang hurriedly grabbed the receiver and looked around.

"...No, no one else." "Is that so... are you okay?" "what are you worried about?" "I always feel that today's executives are different..." "..." "Executive, when are you coming back to Tokyo?" "I'll check out right now and take the first Shinkansen back. I'll talk to you when I get back." "I see." "But we can't meet at the head office. There's always people coming and going in the office. Hmm... better not meet in Tokyo." "Huh? See you in Tokyo?" Dashi asked again in surprise.

"Hmm..." A thought flashed in Mioka's mind: it would be too dangerous to go directly back to Tokyo.So where exactly should they meet?Ajika pulled out a map of the Tokaido Line. "Oishi, did anyone come to see me when I was away?" Mioka took a break from checking the map. "Then... that's natural. Because you were on a business trip, they said they would come to see you when you came back. I personally received several guests." "No, not a business guest." "Is it someone who came to you because of a private matter? If it's a phone call, it should be handled by the switchboard or the general affairs department. Those who come directly to the company should also be sent back by the reception."

"Has anyone come to ask something strange?" Mioka worried about the police agent. "Strange thing?" Dashi was a little confused.Ajika did not dare to say the word "policeman". "Anyway, did anyone come to see me on some strange personal matter?" "No, I haven't heard of it." It seems that the police have not yet come to the door.But just because they didn't come yesterday, there's no guarantee they won't come today. "By the way, are there any latest reports on the dead body on the roof of the Shenbang Building in Tokyo's newspapers?" Mioka wanted to continue asking this question.But he was afraid to hear the answer to the question.The progress of the search disturbed him.Besides, if he asked Dashi, Dashi would ask him back, "Executive, do you have anything to do with this matter?" Even if Dashi didn't ask, he would feel suspicious. "Oishi, this time I came here, I finally found out the details of Mr. Jushi." Mioka suddenly changed the subject again, saying whatever came to mind.He felt that his spirit was on the verge of splitting. "The details of the teacher? How do you say this?" "That's why the teacher has such a good relationship with the senior bureaucrats of the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies. It's an unexpected discovery." "Really? Are you serious?" The executive changed the subject again and again, which made Dashi very puzzled.However, what Mioka said more or less aroused his interest, and the voice on the other end of the phone was obviously much higher-pitched. "...That's really a big gain! Manager, no one else knows this secret! What's going on?" "It's not clear on the phone, let's talk about it when we meet." Wei Gang decided to act cautiously. "I see, manager, where should we meet?" Dashi changed the topic again, this time his attitude towards the meeting was much more positive. "Hmm..." Mioka took out the map of the Tokaido Line again.The Shinkansen "Hikari" only stops at Nagoya. "Echo" stopped at more stations. How about going to Atami?Find a secluded hot spring hotel and have a good talk with Oishi.If you think there are many people in Atami, go to Yugawara, Atagawa, etc... No, no, those places are no different from Atami.God knows if I will run into acquaintances there.Shall we go to Hamamatsu?Few people from Tokyo go to Hamamatsu to play.Besides, Hamamatsu is right between Kyoto and Tokyo.Mioka thought so. "How about going to Hamamatsu?" Mioka said to Oishi. "Are you in Hamamatsu? I see. Where are you going to meet in Hamamatsu? The station?" Dashi replied, while ordering his wife to bring a pencil and white paper. "The station... can't do it..." "Huh? How about finding a hotel or hotel or something?" "It's better not to be in Hamamatsu City." With this kind of mental state, he must not be able to calm down in the noisy city. "Let's find a place like a hot spring." "The hot springs near Hamamatsu... There are Kanzanji Temple on the north side of Lake Hamana and Gamagori near Toyohashi." "Then Kanzan Temple." "Okay, so which hotel in Kanzanji should I go to?" "I've never been to Guanshan Temple, are you familiar with it?" "I have only been there two or three times. Five years ago, in the north of Sanri, there was a bypass project 20 kilometers away from the county seat. We were responsible for it. I went to supervise the work at the time. I went to the surrounding hotels to eat Lunch... Specialist, we were also encouraged by you to stand out from the bidding of eight companies and finally received the project. Thinking about it now makes me feel refreshed. Thanks to you, our company at that time Everyone is united and motivated, no, it is the same now. Specialist, I hope you can also go to the Jinling Lake project site to take a look. You must win more than five districts in the entire construction area! "Active" is our company's style.Specialist, this style of work is also created by you!Specialist, let us work together this time!I will also concentrate on this project, please encourage me! " Dashi recalled the scene at that time and was impassioned. "Oishi, it seems that you are more familiar with the hotel at Kanzan Temple. Which one do you think is better?" Mioka did not follow Dashi's intoxication. "I'm sorry...then...well...how about going to Hucui Pavilion? It's a Japanese-style hotel. It's not very big. It's right next to the lake, so it's easy to find. The lake by the lake is green and green, and the pavilion the pavilion." "Fine then. See you there." "Okay, then what time should I go there?" "Now...is it 5:30? I leave the hotel at 6:30 and take the Echo Number after 7:00." It is estimated that I will arrive in Hamamatsu around 9:30.I will definitely be able to arrive at Hucui Pavilion in Guanshan Temple around 10:30. " "Okay, then I'll pack up right away, and I'm going to Guanshan Temple. I should be there around ten o'clock." "Dashi, this meeting is a secret between us. You must not tell others. Other directors and cadres can't tell. I know that asking you to go out suddenly will affect your work, but today you can find An excuse to ask for a day off." "I understand, I was going to do this." The loyalty of his subordinates satisfied him.The thirty-minute phone call finally came to an end. He stood up and lay down on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.The lamp next to the telephone was still on.The sky outside the window is also getting brighter... The phone call with Dashi just now was exactly the same as the one Jin Mi called last night.This worried Mioka. How is this going?Even the conversation flow is so similar.Which hotel to meet is also designated by the other party, and the time to arrive at the hotel... Ajika shuddered.However, the meeting place and time with Kinya were designated by Kinya, but the meeting with Oishi was different, at least it was Mioka who decided to meet in Hamamatsu, and it was Mioka who proposed to go to the hot spring hotel.Only the hotel "Hucui Pavilion" was proposed by Dashi.This is very different from the meeting between Jin Mi. Ajika was still staring at the ceiling. As long as we meet Dashi, we can sort out this trap together with him.They can eliminate all suspicious characters one by one, and every time they exclude one, they will be one step closer to the truth. Thinking of meeting Oishi, Mioka felt a surge of courage.In times of crisis, only this confidant can be relied on. While shaving his beard, Ajika suddenly wanted to call home.It's five fifty-five.If you don’t leave the hotel before 7:00, you won’t have time to arrive at Hucuige Hotel in Guanshan Temple before 10:30. The family should still be sleeping... No way, he just wanted to call home. The phone kept ringing, the same call to Oishi.Mioka imagined the living room with the telephone, extending all the way to the bedroom of his wife and children... Three or four minutes later, his wife answered the phone.This is also the same as the call to Oishi, except that there was an hour difference. "Oh, it's you?" The wife was a little surprised, but immediately regained her composure, and didn't panic because the call was early in the morning. "Is nothing wrong?" "Ah? You called early in the morning just to ask this? Nothing happened?" The wife was woken up by the phone, a little unhappy, her voice was very old, as if phlegm was choking in her throat. "Didn't the Metropolitan Police Department come to inquire about the situation?" Wei Gang asked courageously. "No..." The wife remained calm.She thought the Metropolitan Police Department was here to inquire about her husband's company.But to Mioka, his wife's slowness was a relief.It seems that the police have not yet come to the door. Thinking about it carefully, everyone knows Wei Gang's whereabouts. The police really wanted to find him, and they had already found out the hotel where he stayed from the company.There were so many things that his mind was confused. "I'm still in Kyoto, I'll go back tonight." "Oh, what time is it?" "I still have some things to do here, and I guess I won't be home until after eleven o'clock." He wanted to go back as late as possible. "That's right." The wife replied without a trace of emotion. Ajika felt a chill in his heart. "Is Poppy's hair trimmed?" he asked casually. "Bobby" is his collie. "not yet." "I'll cut it tomorrow morning. Don't cut it." "Oh, I see." His wife seemed to be saying: I called from Kyoto early in the morning just to talk about these boring things? "so be it." My son and daughter probably haven't woken up yet.It's useless to ask. "Come back after eleven o'clock tonight, right? Do you want me to prepare any supper?" "Well...then let's make some cold noodles. Put them in the refrigerator for a while!" "Oh, I see." His wife hung up the phone and cut off Mioka's connection with the family. Mioka hurriedly packed his luggage, and turned the dial twice with one hand. "Good morning, this is the front desk." "I want to check out, please have the bill ready. Also, send a doorman over, I need some golf clubs, and arrange a car for me to go to the station." He didn't want to stay in this hotel any longer . "I'm very sorry... There are more guests checking out now, and the car is tight... It may take some time..." "How long will it take?" "Thirty minutes to forty minutes..." Mioka did not expect so many people to check out in the morning.There seemed to be a lot of people in the lobby too. A sense of crisis surged in his heart——Maybe Yusuke Sueji is waiting in the lobby! Suddenly, there was a sound at the door, and Ajika was startled. Someone came in with a morning paper. Ajika picked up the morning paper and spread it out nervously.Fear made his fingers useless.Will the headline on the social page read: "The strangled woman's body was found in the Guichuan Hotel, and the man accompanying her is missing"? He secretly prayed that everything was just his imagination, closed his eyes, and opened the newspaper.Open your eyes and take a look - the headline is not what you think, but another unrelated incident.The photo also captures the bustling scene of the beach in Tango Coast. what happened?Was everything yesterday just a dream? impossible.How could it be his own hallucination?When he went out, he was still wearing aqua blue socks bought by his wife.But what is on my feet now is the cheap one I bought yesterday at Demachiyanagi's shop.And the shoes—the sides of the soles were covered with mud.This is evidence of him galloping down the path as he escaped from the hotel. It didn't appear in the morning paper... Could it be that the body hasn't been found yet?Mioka judged so. The Momijiso hotel staff probably didn't go to room 208 until morning.Seeing that there was no movement in the room for a long time, the staff would knock on the door, and only then did they find the body.Perhaps, he was knocking on the door now... The hands of the clock pointed to six forty. If the body had been found after two in the morning, it would not have appeared in the morning papers.The deadline for the morning paper should be at one or two o'clock in the morning. There is a TV in the room.The news starts at seven, beginning with political news.The local news won't be until seven-fifteen at least.He didn't have time to wait, and he didn't have the courage to watch... The phone rang, and a spasm swept through Mioka's body. "This is the front desk. I kept you waiting for a long time. The lobby is relatively empty now. You are welcome to come down anytime." "Send a doorman..." "Someone has been sent over." Before long, the doorbell rang.A tall, dark-skinned doorman in his mid-twenties stood outside the door.He picked up the golf bag in the corner, picked up the suitcase in one hand, and followed Wei Gang into the elevator. "Did you sleep well last night?" the doorman asked, leaning against the wall when there were only the two of them in the elevator. "Why do you ask that?" Wei Gang asked involuntarily.Even a small doorman wants to inquire about his whereabouts? "No... I just thought that you went to play golf yesterday, you must be very tired..." The doorman didn't seem to know that he went out last night, maybe he just came to work this morning.The housekeeping director who was on duty yesterday should also be off today. However, there is a good chance that Sueyoshi Yusuke is standing somewhere in the lobby.When paying at the front desk window, he might quietly approach Mioka behind him and say, "Professor, you are leaving..." The elevator came to the lobby, Ajika stood in the corner of the lobby, looked around, but did not find the head covered with white hair.He paid the rent according to the figure displayed on the window monitor.The Director of Housekeeping is not in the office. When counting the money, he felt a breeze blowing behind him, so he immediately turned his head, intending to give the person a hard look.But the white-haired head was not behind him.He stuffed the invoice that the employee handed him into his pocket.