Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

"At around 6:40 p.m. on June 28, why did you and Mioka leave Hucui Pavilion in Kanzanji Hot Spring and go to Feiliu Pavilion, a hotel in Futamata, Tenryu City?" Afterwards, the police asked Oishi Ken Ji asked. "It's like this. I saw Mr. Mioka lying on the tatami mat and carefully wiping the floor with a ball of yukata. I was startled and rushed over to ask: 'Mr. Manager, what's wrong with you?' "He seemed startled too, stopped immediately, and looked at me with a look of horror. After a while, he said: 'Oh, so it's Dashi.' "After that, he took a long breath. When he found out that it was me, he seemed relieved a lot.

"'Did you knock something over? Shall I get a waiter to clean it up?' "'No, I can't have the waiter. I have to wipe it myself, no one else knows where to wipe it.' "'Huh? Is something glued on?' "'It's something that the eyes can't see, so it's troublesome. I've wiped the teacups, tables, paper doors, and pillars once, and the tatami mats three times, but I still feel that they haven't been wiped clean. It's really troublesome... ' "'What the hell are you wiping? How clean the floor is!' But Mr. Mioka didn't answer me, he just muttered something. Early that morning, he called me from Kyoto to my house, and suddenly offered to stay with me. Hucui Pavilion. His series of actions are very abnormal. I didn't expect Mrs. Mioka's neurasthenia to be so severe, so I wanted to take him back to Tokyo immediately, but Mrs. Mioka would definitely be terrified Yes, and I also have to bear certain responsibilities for accompanying Mioka's manager, so I want to observe for a while, and return to Tokyo when his condition stabilizes."

"The waiter said that she put the evening paper next to Mioka's pillow while he was taking a nap in the room. When you returned to the hotel from Shizuoka, did you see the evening paper?" "Maybe there is...but I was too busy looking at the special manager at the time, so I didn't notice it." "In that evening paper, there was a report that the Momiyoko Hotel in Kurama Kibunecho, Sakyo District, Kyoto City found the body of Miyoko Sawada and was strangled to death. The secretary of the Enkai Office, the office is located in Marunouchi, Tokyo, do you know this Miyoko Sawada?"

"I haven't met her, but Wei Gang is a member of the Nanyuan Club and often goes to that office, so I heard the name of Mr. Jushi and Miss Sawada mentioned by the manager." "The evening paper on the 28th said that after Miyoko Sawada entered Room 208 of the Hongyezhuang Hotel on the 27th, another man entered the room. After that, this person disappeared. The search department believes that this person is an important insider of the case. You are searching for his whereabouts, and the fingerprints of an unknown man were found in the room. You saw Mioka wiping the tatami with his yukata, and you heard him say that he wiped the teacups, tables, paper doors and pillars, and you didn’t think that he was Fingerprints?"

"I also guessed one or two, but I haven't read the evening paper yet. I don't know that this incident happened in Kyoto. I just think that he has a nervous breakdown and is not normal..." "Then?" "The manager of Weigang seems to be very concerned about the situation in the room. I feel that if this continues, his nerves will collapse, so I asked the foreman of Hucui Pavilion to change the room. Unexpectedly, the manager of Weigang said that he hates Kanshan Temple Hot Spring I want to go elsewhere. Mr. Yamane, the owner of Hucui Pavilion, heard this and saw that I was in a difficult situation, so he offered to take us to Feiliu Pavilion in Futamata. He also owns that hotel. He said that there is a view over there. Tianlongchuan, the scenery is very nice."

"Heitaro Yamane, the owner of Lake Green Pavilion, also testified that it was proposed by him." "I told Mr. Mioka, if you don't like this hotel and Kanzanji Onsen, then let's go to Futamata's hotel? If the weather is good, we will drive north tomorrow and then take a boat along the Tenryu River Go down the river, let you relax and relax. Ajika's manager also agreed and said: "That's it." Mr. Yamane happened to ask the manager of Hiryuke for something, and the three of us took the car prepared by the hotel , went to Ermata.We set off at 6:30 and put our luggage in the rear compartment. "

When leaving Hucui Pavilion, it started to rain lightly. It usually takes about 40 minutes by car from Kanzanji Onsen to Futamata, but because of the rain, it took them nearly an hour. Drive along the coast of Hamana Lake to Kega, and take National Route 362 to the east. Before arriving at Kega, the car was driving on the county road, and the water surface inside Hamana Lake could be seen on the left.Because of the rain, the surface of the lake in the twilight was covered with a layer of pale smog. "It's still sunny before five o'clock today, and the weather in the mountains looks like a baby's face. When the weather is good, the scenery on the lake is still good." Sitting in the passenger seat of Hucui Pavilion, Yamane Heitaro looked back at Ajika Talk to Dashi.Shan Gen, who is in his fifties, has a baby face, but his hair is all white.He always talks about light topics to adjust the atmosphere, which shows that he is still very warm to the guests.

After driving into the ramp of the platform, the lake is no longer visible.In addition to the rain, the surrounding area looked particularly dark.There are many places under construction on the county road, and yellow cranes and other work vehicles are parked on the road, and the half-dug red soil is exposed on the slope. National Highway No. 362 is built along the Ermata Line of the railway, all the way to the east, passing Jinzhi, Dutian and Gongkou along the way.The car lights illuminate the lonely towns and barren fields, and some dark factories can be seen from time to time. "This area is Mikatahara. Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu fought a battle here. It is a famous ancient battlefield. A wise man like Ieyasu is no match for the Tiger of Kai. He fled back to Hamamatsu Castle after losing the battle. Already." The hotel owner Heitaro Yamane turned around and continued.He wanted to raise the interest of the guests through these stories.

Halfway through a winding mountain road.The circular light was drawn into white lines by the rain that hit the woods and grass. "Oh, it's raining heavily. The water level of Tianlongchuan and the dam must have also risen." "Dam? Is there a dam near here?" Hearing the word "dam", Mioka suddenly raised his head and asked. "The dams in Tenryugawa should be the Akiba Dam and the Sakuma Dam, right?" Dashi interjected. "No, it's the newly built Funaki Dam, downstream of the Akiba Dam, three kilometers north of Futamata Honmachi." Yamane replied.

"That's right. Speaking of which, the Shunmei Dam is indeed nearby." Mioka and Oishi said in unison.After all, they are from the construction company. They have all heard of the Chuanming Dam, and they immediately remembered it when the hotel owner mentioned it.Of course, they also know which company contracted the project, and the specific details of the contract are also clear. "Oishi, when the rain stops tomorrow, should we go to the dam for reference?" Mioka said suddenly.The reason for the "reference" is that Rixing Construction is one of the designated bidders for the toll sightseeing road on the mountainside by Jinling Lake, and Jinling Lake also has a dam.Rixing Construction also plans to enter the dam project in the future, but the recent trend in the power industry is "fire dominates water and follows", and dam projects are becoming less and less.

"Okay! It shouldn't rain again tomorrow." Dashi replied. "Did Ajika offer to visit the Funaki Dam the next day?" the police confirmed to Dashi afterwards. "Yes, Mr. Yamane, who was sitting in the passenger seat, should have heard it too. I thought to myself at that time, as expected of Mioka's executive, I have a nervous breakdown, and I was still thinking about business matters. When I heard about the dam", Immediately it was back to normal, which was amazing.According to this trend, the neurasthenia will definitely improve immediately, so instead of floating on Tianlong River by boat tomorrow, it is better to visit the dam, not only to see the Chuanming Dam, but also to let the executive see the autumn leaves Dam and Sakuma Dam!Then I told the executive about my thoughts, and the executive also had the same intention and said, okay. "It's just that the attitude wasn't particularly positive at the time." "how do I say this?" "I always feel that he is thinking about something. So Mr. Yamane said, if the two of you are interested, I will invite some local geisha to come to Feiliu Pavilion to add to the fun tonight?" I thought, we have changed hotels temporarily. I rejected the geisha who was going to Hucui Pavilion, and it would be inappropriate to refuse again, so I agreed to Mr. Yamane's proposal. " The group arrived at Feiliu Pavilion in Futamata around 7:30. Feiliu Pavilion is on the west side of the town, built on the stone wall on the bank of Tianlongchuan, it is very large, and there is a mountain on the opposite side. At around 8:30, Mioka and Oishi took a bath and sat down in the ten-fold room.Mioka ordered the waiter to buy a pair of gloves.From time to time, raindrops made a sound on the window.After a while, three geisha walked into the room. It was raining heavily outside, and it was so late, and three geisha could be summoned temporarily. This was because of the face of Yamane, the owner of the two big hotels, Hucui Pavilion and Feiliu Pavilion. "There are no geisha here at Futamata. Two are from Kanzanji, and one is from Hamamatsu. There is another one who will arrive in a while." Yamane said triumphantly. The two from Kanzan Temple were middle-aged geisha in their mid-thirties, and the one from Hamamatsu was younger, in their mid-twenties. Mioka doesn't drink well, but Oishi doesn't.The geishas took out shamisen and sang folk songs from Shizuoka Prefecture such as "Ina Festival", and the room suddenly became lively.Mioka also had a smile on his face.He actually drank a lot of wine.Oddly enough, he didn't take off his gloves all night.Oishi has been helping Wei Gang to be sloppy.Mioka shook his head from time to time, as if trying to clear the gloom in his mind. Finally a geisha opened the paper door and walked in.She sat in the corner of the room in a courteous manner, bowed her head and said "good evening" before raising her head.She looked to be about forty-five, with a slender face and slender eyes.She walked towards Mioka with his back leaning against the pillar, bent over, and sat across from him, smiling. Ajika looked at the geisha's face in horror.He stared wide-eyed, confused, as if ghosts were reflected in his pupils. "Kinya..." Mioka murmured from trembling lips. "Why did Mioka call her Jinya"? "The police officer asked Dashi. "Kanami is a geisha in Karino Onsen in R County. On the evening of the 25th, I went to stay at Fengzhuang in Karino Onsen with four people including Mioka, the director of design section Hirayama, and the surveyor Ohara. The executive held a dinner party and invited a few geisha to help, and Jin Mi was one of them." "Did Ajika spend a good night with Kimmy that night?" "...It's like this...I hope you can keep it a secret." "The geisha from Hamamatsu City who came to Futamata Hiryukaku last time is called Wenji. Does she look alike like Kanami?" "No, I don't think so at all." "As soon as Wei Gang saw Wen Ji, he called out Jin Mi's name. Isn't it because they look alike?" "That's the fault. I stared at Wenji for a long time. Her eyes and mouth may be similar to Jin Mi, but it's not enough to be mistaken. I thought it was something wrong with Wei Gang's eyes. Woolen cloth." "That is to say, you think his neurasthenia has not recovered yet?" "yes." At that time, Mioka whispered to Oishi beside him: "I'm a little tired, I'm going back to my room first, you guys have a good drink." "Then shall we go eat?" "No, I want to go straight back to my room and sleep." "Executive, are you alright?" Oishi looked at Mioka in panic. Ajika waved his hand as if to say "I'm fine".After that, he quickly escaped from the house, trying not to look at Wen Ji as much as possible. The rain was getting louder and louder. "Didn't you go to Tongma where Ajika is?" "The manager said that he was tired and wanted to go back to his room to sleep, and he drank a lot of wine that day, so he must have slept soundly. I might wake him up when I went. Besides, it was raining so heavily outside, I I didn't expect him to go out at all..." "how about you?" "The young geisha Wenji from Hamamatsu went back after ten o'clock. The two geisha from Kanzanji Onsen said that it rained too much at night and didn't want to go back in the rain, so the three of us, together with Mr. Yamane, the owner of the hotel, Playing dominoes until after seven o'clock the next morning, of course we didn't gamble..." Around 6:30 am on June 29th. The Chuanming Dam in Chuanming, Tianlong City was recently completed.Two guards patrolled along the east bank of the dam in a jeep.The heavy rain of the night before had abated.The rain has caused the water level of Tianlong River to rise, and the task of the guards is to confirm the rising trend of the river.There is a lot of rainfall in the upper reaches of the mountains, but the dam can adjust the water level by opening gates and other measures, so the water level in this area has been kept at about 14 to 5 meters. The Funaki Dam is located on the lower reaches of the Tenryugawa River, and the upper reaches are the Akiba Dam and the Sakuma Dam. National Highway No. 152 is just beside Tianlong River, all the way to Iida City, Nagano Prefecture.Behind the guardrail of the national road, there is a small platform for visitors to overlook the man-made lake, surrounded by trees and bushes.The boat of the power plant is also hitched here.The total length of Dam Lake is about eight kilometers, and the area is about two hundred meters wide. The opposite bank is a mountainous area covered by natural forests.When the weather is good, the scenery is still good.It’s just that the road is too close to the lake, and it’s dangerous even when it’s not raining. In order to prevent pedestrians from getting close to the lake, a sign with the word “Danger” is hung on the guardrail. The jeep responsible for patrolling is driving slowly along the national road.Suddenly, a guard pointed to the observatory next to him and said to his colleagues: "Look, there seems to be something strange floating on the water!" The slope of the observatory is covered with trees, and the bottom third has been flooded.Trees that were not flooded had half of their branches submerged in water. The "strange thing" is white and hooked on branches above the water. The two guards in raincoats got out of the jeep, climbed over the guardrail, and walked to the end of the terrace to take a closer look—the white thing turned out to be a white shirt under a black coat.The muddy water of the lake was unbearably muddy. Police officers from the local police station arrived at the scene one hour later, at around 7:40, after receiving the alarm from the guards.The body was caught between the pine and maple branches overhanging the water, and was not washed into the middle of the artificial lake. The deceased was about 50 years old, about 1.65 meters tall and weighed about 80 kilograms.The police immediately set up a tent on the platform to keep out the rain, spread a mat on the ground, and put the corpses salvaged from the water on the mat. The deceased did not wear a tie, but he was well dressed, with both shoes in place.The inner pocket of the jacket contained a wallet and a business card holder, and there were more than 82,000 yen in the wallet.The other two pockets contained other items.It can be inferred from the business card that the deceased is most likely Masahiro Ajika, the executive director of Nissei Construction Co., Ltd., whose headquarter is located in Tokyo. After the specially hired forensic doctor examined the body, it was judged that the deceased died of drowning.He drank a lot of water.No trauma.There was a button missing from the jacket, but it was probably snagged by a branch while floating on the water.He was relatively fat at first, and the front of his jacket looked tight, and the buttons were easy to fall off.The death, which occurred six to eight hours before the autopsy, was almost certainly a suicide. Eight hours ago, that is, at midnight that day.And six hours ago it was two o'clock in the morning.It is presumed that the body was launched into the water during this time. Police found a soggy paper package in the right pocket of his jacket.When I opened the thick coated paper, I found that it was a poster with the words "Go to the cool Kurama Mountain in summer! Goma for health care and evil!" printed on it.Inside the paper bag was a pair of socks and a box of matches from Futamata Hiryuke. Police found a pair of gloves in the left pocket.Gloves are still new.A broken Fulang artificial flower was also found.Apart from the wallet and business card holder, that's all that was found on the body. The police are discussing whether to conduct an autopsy.Even if the deceased committed suicide, as long as there are doubts, an administrative autopsy can be performed. The matchbox of Feiliuge was found in the body pocket, so the police called Feiliuge.The call was made around 8:30.The waiter who answered the phone said that Mr. Mioka of Sunstar Construction did stay in their hotel last night, so she went to Mioka's "Kiriya" to check the situation and asked the police officer to wait for a while. Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Mr. Ajika is not in the hotel, and I don't know when he disappeared... May I ask what the police officer can do for him?" Anxiety. "Who are you?" asked the policeman who called. "Ah, I'm sorry, my name is Kenkichi Oishi, and I'm the director of road construction at Nichisei Construction. I came here on a business trip with Mr. Mioka, and we lived together at Hiryukaku yesterday." "We found an unidentified corpse at the Funaki Dam. He was carrying Mr. Mioka's business card. We are not sure if he is the Mr. Mioka you know. Could you please come and confirm What about the corpse?" "Okay, where exactly are you at the dam?" The police officer explained in detail the location of the body: "It's about five kilometers away from the hotel where you stayed." At around nine o'clock, Oishi Kenji took a taxi to the investigation site.It only takes ten minutes to drive five kilometers along the national highway, but Dashi still needs to make some preparations before going out, and it must have taken a lot of time to call a car. Dashi walked into the tent under the leadership of the police officer.The corpse lay motionless on the straw mat.As soon as Dashi saw the face of the corpse, he jumped on it and shouted loudly: "Executive!" He really wanted to grab the dead man's chest and shake him awake.But he knew he couldn't do that.Dashi's hands were raised in mid-air, trembling unceasingly. At this time, the rain had stopped, and there was still a trace of white mist on the top of the mountain on the other side. The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and a ray of sunlight shone through the gaps in the dark clouds.After all, it was the summer sun, with intense heat.The sunlight illuminated Mioka's yellowed face, making him particularly solemn, like a sacred painting. The hair and face of the corpse had been wiped clean by the police, but the shirt, suit, trousers and shoes below the neck were covered with mud, which contrasted sharply with the pale complexion. Suddenly, someone patted Dashi on the shoulder.Dashi looked up, and found that the person who came had a flat, wrinkled face, and a pair of eyes narrowed into slits.He looked to be in his forties and wore a wide-brimmed rain hat and a cheap raincoat.Through the collar of the raincoat, you can see a crooked tie, which is not new at first glance.The rain hat and coat were faded in many places, forming large and small spots. Dashi stood up and found that the man's head only reached his shoulders because he was bent over.His face was flattened, and his body seemed boxy. "I'm Yatabe from the Criminal Division of the police station." Shallow eyebrows, slender eyes, flat nose, thick lips.The jaw is horizontal, as if it had been cut with a knife.There are deep nasolabial folds on both sides of the nose. Yatabe, the inspection chief of the Criminal Section, took out a business card with wet fingers and handed it to Oishi. Dashi also took out his business card and handed it over.Yatabe took the business card respectfully and looked at it while holding it away from his eyes. "Mr. Dashi." He opened the collar of his raincoat and carefully put his business card into the inside pocket of his jacket, "May I ask who the deceased is..." Oishi nodded deeply twice: "That's right, it's our company's Mioka executive." Another middle-aged criminal policeman also nodded dejectedly: "That's really... please forgive me." "It happened so suddenly, and I'm also at a loss... Officer, no, Officer Yatabe, did Mr. Mioka drown?" Oishi asked looking at the man-made lake of the dam full of gray-brown lake water. "Yes, he was hooked by the branches over there and kept floating on the water. At 6:30 in the morning, the guards of the dam discovered it during their patrol." Yatabe detective's voice was like the water outside the tent. It was muddy, but there was a strange sense of transparency in his voice. "Did he commit suicide?" Seeing the police officers around him standing idly, Dashi presumed that the examination of the corpse was over.The special forensic doctor also went back.Many truck drivers and bus drivers saw the police cars and wanted to stop to see the excitement, so the busiest ones now were the police officers standing on both sides of the aisle to maintain order.The sirens blared incessantly. "It seems to be." Yatabe inspector replied. "Did he throw himself into the river? Did he jump from here?" "No, it should have jumped upstream. Although this is a dam man-made lake, it is still part of Tianlongchuan. The rain from last night to this morning made the water flow much faster, so the water overflowed to It’s on the shore. He should have jumped into the river upstream, was washed up here, and was caught by a branch. It’s a pity that the rain washed away the footprints, and it’s hard for us to judge the details.” The criminal police looked at the pond on the ground and the grass washed down by the rain. "When did the forensic doctor say Mr. Ajika died?" "The autopsy results said it was between midnight and two o'clock this morning." "From midnight to two in the morning today?" Oishi recalled that he was playing dominoes with a geisha. Before Mioka's family arrived from Tokyo, the body was temporarily sent to the mortuary of the Futamata Police Station.Police officers from the police station contacted Mioka's family. Oishi borrowed the phone from the police station to report the unfortunate news to the senior management and superiors of the head office.It took over an hour back and forth.The president of Rixing Construction is on a business trip abroad. After Dashi finished contacting, under the leadership of the police officer, he came to the reception room next to the director's room.He sat down on the chair with a tired face. "It's really hard work for you." After the other police officers brought tea, Detective Yatabe came in.Dashi was downcast and lacked energy. "Mr. Dashi, you haven't had breakfast yet, you must be hungry? We don't have anything good here, but we still have toast and milk. Look..." Dashi shook his head: "I...can't eat anything..." "Is that so... Well, I can understand your feelings too. But... Do you know the reason why Mioka-san committed suicide?" "I've been thinking about this issue too, but I just can't figure it out... Ajika's executive has no motive for suicide, and the company is developing very well..." Dazzling sunlight streamed in through the windows of the reception room.The weather has fully recovered. "Could it be family troubles?" "Ajika's family problems... I don't know very well either." "Mr. Mioka's luggage should still be in Hiryukaku, right? When we called Hiiryukaku just now, they said that Mr. Mioka lives in Tongma, right?" " "Yes, but he only brought a suitcase." "Will the suicide note be in that suitcase?" "This... I don't know." "When Mrs. Mioka comes from Tokyo, let her open the suitcase and take a look. By the way, when did Mr. Mioka go back to his room to sleep last night?" "It seems to be less than ten o'clock..." "The person from Feiliu Pavilion said on the phone just now that someone unlocked the back door of the hotel from inside, and this door is not far from Tongma. I'm afraid Mr. Mioka was the one who unlocked the door and went out. But what I don't understand is , Why did he walk five kilometers to Chuanming Dam in the middle of the night? There must be no taxis in the middle of the night, right? So he should have walked there. Of course, this needs to be investigated in detail..." "Professor Wei Gang is a person in the construction industry through and through. In fact, on the 25th, we took two subordinates to inspect Jinling Lake in County R, because a new road will be built there. Jinling Lake There is also a dam there. Maybe Mr. Mioka was attracted by the dam, who made him think about construction, so he chose the nearby Funaki Dam as the place where he committed suicide..." "I see..." Yatabe detective nodded, then tilted his head and said, "But... there are still many things that don't make sense..." "Oh?" "Mr. Mioka didn't have an umbrella. If he didn't take a taxi, it means he walked five kilometers in the pouring rain. No matter how much he wanted to commit suicide, he would at least hold an umbrella when he left the hotel, right?" Ajika Masahiro's body was sent to a public hospital in Hamamatsu City for an administrative autopsy.The chances of homicide are slim.But even suicide, manslaughter, and accidents require an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.Administrative autopsy and judicial autopsy are two relative concepts, the latter is to investigate criminal methods and causes of death. The head of the Yatabe Family Protection and Inspection Department of the Criminal Division of the local police station came to the Funaki Dam in Tenryu City in person to examine the body of Masahiro Mioka.He had doubts about the actions of the dead man.In the middle of the night, it was raining heavily again, but when Wei Gang left the hotel without an umbrella, he braved the heavy rain and walked a full five kilometers to Daba Lake. Why? According to the forensic examination results, Ajika died between 0:00 and 2:00 in the morning of the same day, which means that he left Furyukaku Hotel in Futamata an hour and a half ago.Of course, he didn't tell his subordinate Dashi when he went out, nor did he greet the people in the hotel, but slipped out through the back door, and he didn't bring an umbrella when he went out.In the middle of the night, the shops were closed, and he couldn't go to the shop to buy an umbrella.The umbrella should not have been washed away by the water when he threw himself into the river. Afterwards, the police conducted a careful search of Dam Lake and the lower reaches of Tianlongchuan, but no umbrella was found, which shows that he did not hold an umbrella at all. It's really strange, Wei Gang is a foreigner, why did he brave the heavy rain and walk five kilometers on foot?Oishi Kenkichi, Mioka's subordinate, said that the manager of Mioka was a construction industry person through and through. When he heard that there was a dam nearby, he chose to end his life in the dam.But…… Oishi said that it was not Mioka who chose the Futamata Hiryuke near the Funaki Dam, but the idea of ​​Yamane Heitaro, the owner of Lake Green Pavilion in Kanzanji.He is also the boss of Feiliu Pavilion. "Early that morning, Mr. Mioka called your home from the K Hotel in Kyoto, saying that he had something important to discuss with you, and hoped to meet you somewhere between Kyoto and Tokyo, right? Is it you or him that you want to meet at Kanzanji Lake Green Pavilion?" Officer Tatsuji Yamazaki, the head of the criminal section, asked Oishi after hearing the report from the Yatabe detective. "It was Mioka who proposed to meet between Kyoto and Tokyo, but it was me who proposed to meet at the hotel in Kanzanji, because Hamamatsu is in the middle of Kyoto and Tokyo, and I think that if you want to stay for one night, the hotel is the best place to meet. Maybe Yamadera Hot Springs would be better..." Dashi Road Construction Minister replied. "What exactly does Ajika-san want to discuss with you?" "This... I can't say, after all, it's about the company's secrets... But I can feel that Ajika's manager is really worried, and the voice on the phone is weak, as if he is a little nervous. Kanzanji Hot Spring is a very secluded place. I also hope that the executive can take a good rest." "On June 28th, that is, around 6:40 p.m. yesterday, Mioka and you left Hucui Pavilion in Kanzanji Hot Spring and moved to Feiliu Pavilion in Eromata, Tenryu City. Why?" "It's like this..." Oishi explained. While Mioka was taking a nap, Oishi went to Shizuoka City to visit his business partners.However, when he returned to Hucui Pavilion, he was surprised to find that Ajika scrunched up the hotel bathrobe and wiped every corner of the room desperately. Mioka was fidgeting in the room, and Oishi thought that his neurasthenia would get worse if this continued, so he asked the shopkeeper to change the room, but Weigang proposed to change to a hotel.So the hotel owner Heitaro Yamane suggested that he has another hotel under his command, which is next to the Tenryu River in Futamata. The scenery is good, and he can take them there if the two have no objections. So the hotel owner Yamane, Wei Gang and Oishi set off for Hucui Pavilion together. When we left Hucui Pavilion, it started to rain.The three of them drove to Feiliu Pavilion, and it took nearly an hour on the way. "Did Mioka say in the car that he was going to visit the Funaki Dam tomorrow?" asked Yamazaki, the Criminal Section Chief.The head of the class is a middle-aged man with a thin body, and he speaks with a local accent, which sounds very gentle. "I said that Mr. Yamane, who is sitting in the passenger seat, should have heard it too..." It was Mioka who proposed to meet Oishi somewhere between Kyoto and Tokyo, so Oishi chose Kanzanji Onsen as the meeting place, but it was Yamane, the owner of the inn, who proposed to transfer to Hiryukaku Hotel in Futamata, Tenryu City Heitaro.It was Mioka himself who was interested in the Funaki Dam.Yamane's testimony was also mentioned in Oishi's testimony. Oishi didn't think there was anything strange about Ajika's suicide.That night, he played dominoes with Yamane and two geisha from Kanzanji Onsen all night without leaving the room. But the Yatabe detective always felt that something was wrong: Ajika was a stranger, why did he walk five kilometers in the heavy rain to commit suicide?Mr. Yamazaki also has the same opinion.It stands to reason that if you want to commit suicide, you will choose a day with good weather to die. This is in line with the psychology of suicides, isn't it? "Although Mioka is a foreigner, there is a wide national highway connecting Futamata to the Shunmei Dam. People who know a little about the Shunmei Dam will not get lost." The police officer of the criminal section said to the section chief. Seems to disagree with Yatabe's opinion. "But... who would walk such a long way in the rain?" "Weigaoka has nowhere to go, and he can't die a day later, so he committed suicide in the rain." The policeman said. Mr. Yamazaki asked Oishi about the four things he found in his coat pocket. "I found this from Mr. Mioka's pocket. Do you know what it is?" He handed the artificial flower of Gerbera to Oishi. "I don't know..." Dashi looked at the hard fake flowers made of plastic and shook his head. "What about this pair of gloves?" Then, Yamazaki showed the gloves again. "Oh, after Mioka's agent went to Futamata's Hiryuke, he asked the waiter to buy it at a nearby store." "Mr. Yamane said that Mr. Ajika had been wearing gloves when he was in Hiryuke, and he didn't take them off when he was eating. You also think it's strange, don't you?" "Yes, I thought it was due to neurasthenia, but those geisha must be suspicious, it's summer after all..." "Mr. Mioka asked the waiter to buy a pair of gloves when he arrived at Hiryukaku in Futamata. When he was in Kosuikaku in Kanzanji Onsen, he wiped things desperately with his yukata... Do you think these two things are related? ?" "I think it's all because of his nervous breakdown." "But why would the neurasthenic Mr. Ajika do this?" "He should be wiping his fingerprints, right? When he was in Hucui Pavilion, he was wiping his fingerprints with a bathrobe. After arriving at Feiliu Pavilion, he asked the waiter to buy gloves immediately, so as not to leave his fingerprints in Feiliu Pavilion." "Please look at this again." Yamazaki handed the poster and a pair of water-blue socks to Oishi.The poster has been dried, and it says "Go to the cool Kurama mountain in summer! Goma for health and evil!" "This is a poster hanging on the tram between Demachiyanagi and Mount Kurama in Kyoto," said the criminal section chief. "...These socks seem to belong to Mr. Ajika. We should be able to confirm when Mrs. Ajika arrives. But why did Mr. Ajika, who committed suicide by throwing himself into the river, put such things in his pocket?" "This... I don't know..." Dashi looked at the poster, then at the socks, puzzled. Chief Criminal Officer Yamazaki took out the evening paper of June 28, which contained a report that a body was found at the Momijisou Hotel in Kurama-Kifunecho, Kyoto City. Secretary of the Nanyuan Club Office hosted by Tang Ming.The section chief asked Oishi, do you know this Miyoko Sawada?Detective Yatabe was also present at the time, and he was also the squad leader involved in the search. Oishi said that he had never met Sawada, but Mioka, who often went to Nanyuanhui, would always mention the names of Koshido Akira and Sawada Miyoko. The criminal section chief told Dashi that the evening paper on June 28 also said that the whereabouts of the man who entered Room 208 of the Hongyezhuang Hotel on the 27th was unknown. The police believed that he was an important insider of the case and were searching for his whereabouts. And the man's fingerprints were found in the room. "Although Mr. Mioka wiped off the fingerprints in the room of Kosuikaku and wore gloves all the time in Futamata's Hiryukaku, his efforts were in vain." After a while, Section Chief Yamazaki said to Oishi again: "It's like this, the Kyoto City Police Department just contacted us, saying that they found the same fingerprint as Room 208 of the Hongyezhuang Hotel in Room 921 of the K Hotel in Kyoto City. We compared the fingerprints collected from the remains during the on-site investigation with the fingerprints found in Kyoto, and found that they were completely consistent." "Ah..." Dashi lowered his head and closed his eyes. The section chief looked at his watch, and asked the detective Yatabe next to him, "When will Mioka's autopsy end?" "It should be soon. In another hour, Terada, who participated in the autopsy, should be back with the autopsy report." "I hope Mrs. Mioka can arrive soon." The section chief said to Oishi. "The police department has already contacted her, and it shouldn't take long." Police are awaiting the results of the autopsy and the arrival of the deceased's widow. "Just now you said that the Kyoto police found fingerprints in the K Hotel room where Specialist Mioka stayed, but why did they know that Specialist Mioka was the one who escaped from the Kifune Hotel?" Oishi raised his head and asked. “哦，是这样的，因为晚报上刊登了那篇报道，K酒店就向京都警署提供了情报，说二十七日晚上七点半左右，味冈先生把钥匙寄存在前台之后，一个人打了辆车出门去了。然后有个女人在七点四十五分打了通外线电话找味冈先生，前台的员工知道他出门了，就告诉那个女人说味冈先生不在，那女人就说，要是等会儿味冈先生打电话来酒店，就转告他说她去红叶庄酒店等他，酒店就在鞍马线贵船口站附近，很好找的，还告诉酒店员工说她的名字叫金弥……” “什么？金弥？……” “是的，那个女人在留言的时候就是这么说的。一小时后，也就是八点半多的时候，味冈先生从公用电话亭里打了个电话去前台，前台就把这段留言转告他了。味冈先生道谢之后挂断了电话。第二天，前台员工看了晚报，才知道红叶庄酒店出事了，就把电话的内容汇报给了警局。于是警方去房间里采集了指纹。案发当晚，红叶庄旅馆员工看见了进入208号房的人的穿着打扮，他是个中年男子，衣着的特征也与味冈先生完全吻合。” “泽田美代子小姐的死亡时间是……” “法医推测她是二十七日晚上九点到十点死的，当然她的情况属于司法解剖。” 其实，京都警署在电话里还说了些其他情况，只是山崎刑事课长没有告诉大石罢了。红叶庄的员工是凌晨一点四十分报警的，而派出所的鉴识人员是二十八日凌晨两点半开始调查的，那时被窝里的尸体还有一丝余温。大学附属医院在解剖的时候也参考了这一证词，推测死亡时间为九点到十点之间。 “九点到十点……这包括味冈先生在红叶庄的那段时间吗？” “包括。工作人员说，味冈先生是九点左右进房间的。” "..." 山崎课长继续说道：“现场调查的结果显示，那人走近房间之后，脱下自己的衣服，换上了旅馆的浴衣，在死者身边躺下过。这是从被窝的情况推测出来的。浴室的热水龙头一直开着。一点四十分，一名员工路过门口，发现有蒸汽从里头溢出来，于是想从前台打个电话提醒客人关上龙头，不料房里的人不接电话。工作人员就亲自打开房门，这才发现了尸体，而且之后来的那名男性客人不见了。他勒死女子之后，翻过后院的围墙逃走了。刚才我说的这些，二十八日的晚报上都提到了。不用说，那名行踪不明的男子，就是味冈先生。二十八日清晨，味冈先生之所以会一反常态，给在东京的你打电话，而且语气非常慌乱，就是因为他在红叶庄酒店杀死了泽田美代子，所以心神不宁了吧。” “请等一下。”大石打断了山崎课长滔滔不绝的推理，“……课长先生，您刚才说打去K酒店前台的那通电话，是一个叫金弥的女人是吧？可味冈专务去了红叶庄酒店之后一看，等在那儿的不是金弥，却是泽田美代子。” 山崎“嗯”了一声。大石歪着脑袋问道：“他们只有一段露水情缘，也许专务听不出那究竟是不是金弥本人的声音呢？” “您的意思是，有人装作金弥给味冈先生打了个电话，把他骗去红叶庄酒店了？” “我也说不好……” 这时，一名年轻警员走进房间，将一张纸片递给课长。山崎看了一眼，便把纸条递给了旁边的矢田部。矢田部看完后把它塞进了口袋里。 “刚才京都市警局又打电话来了，”课长对大石说道，“二十七日晚十点四十分左右，有个光脚穿鞋的中年男子走进鞍马线终点站出町柳车站前的一家杂货铺里，买了双黑色的袜子。据说那名男子身材很胖……话说味冈先生的遗体也穿着黑色的袜子呢，也就是说用海报包起来的那双袜子，很有可能就是他自己的。这一点等味冈夫人从东京赶来了就知道了……可那又意味着什么呢？” 山崎课长说完，朝身边的矢田部看去。 矢田部班长一直坐在两人旁边，绷着扁平的脸，一言不发地听着课长与大石之间的对话。在课长的示意下，矢田部站起身，走去上司面前说道：“事情会不会是这样的呢？味冈先生在红叶庄酒店杀死泽田美代子之后，才回过神来，发现自己已犯下滔天大罪，吓得心慌意乱。他光顾着逃跑，虽然换回了自己的衣服，但还是忘了穿袜子。就在他要逃出房间的时候，他注意到自己把水蓝色的袜子放在房间角落里了，但他已经没时间把袜子穿上了，就干脆把袜子塞进了口袋里，毕竟他当时一心只想快点逃跑嘛。之后他在贵船附近的车站坐上了鞍马线电车，来到出町柳站。那时他已经忘记了口袋里装着袜子了。我也经常这样，一旦被其他事情分散了注意力，就会忘记自己口袋里的东西，还会一通乱找呢。况且那时他刚杀了人，受了很大打击，心里一定很乱。他肯定以为自己把袜子忘在酒店房间里了，所以他就光着脚跑去出町柳站前的杂货店里，买了双黑色的袜子。” 不只是山崎，连大石都竖起耳朵听着矢田部的推测。 “那为什么他跳进大坝湖水的时候，口袋里还装着那双袜子呢？难道他离开京都之后，也一直随身带着那双袜子，至死都没想起来吗？这也太离谱了吧……” “他没有忘记。因为他用鞍马山的观光海报把袜子包起来了。” “那又是为什么呢？” “大石先生说了，味冈先生有些神经衰弱，”矢田部警官瞥了一眼大石，又看着课长，继续说道，“他之所以会神经衰弱，就是因为他杀了人，觉得很自责。他回到K酒店之后，发现自己在行凶现场穿的袜子就在口袋里，而这双袜子成了自己罪行的象征。于是他投河自尽的时候，就把自己罪恶的象征，也就是这双袜子放进了上衣口袋里，当作是陪葬品。” “哦……原来如此……”听完矢田部的推测，山崎课长点了点头。可他立刻反问道，“可他为什么要用鞍马的观光海报包袜子呢？” “因为案发地点就在鞍马贵船町，所以海报也是他罪过的一种代表。” “可这份海报应该是吊在车里的吧？莫非是味冈先生从电车上扯下来的吗？” “这种观光海报不仅在电车里，市内各处都会贴，因为这种吊在车里的海报既可以吊，又可以贴。京都警署只要详细调查，就一定会发现这张海报是从哪儿揭下来的。” "Ok……" 山崎用手撑着脑袋，眼睛则看着天花板。这时一名三十多岁的警员走了进来：“课长，解剖结束了。” 解剖报告中，味冈的死亡时间与法医在现场作出的推测完全一致。 解剖时，法医会检查溺死的尸体的肺里进了多少水。味冈不仅肺部进水，连十二指肠里也都是水。 尸体体内的水中，检测出了细微的水草、浮游生物、沙子等异物，其成分与船明大坝湖水的成分吻合。六月二十八日下午四点左右，天龙川上游天降大雨，河水水位猛增，水流速度也变快了，河里混进了不少泥土沙石，变得特别浑浊。 不进行解剖就无法得到这些详细信息。不过法医在现场检查尸体的时候，从尸体口鼻冒出的泡沫，足以判断出他的确是溺水身亡。 解剖报告的要点如下： 尸体除了一般溺死者的特征之外，肺、胃、小肠内均有浸水。肺叶膨胀，肺的前缘盖住心包，没有收缩。口鼻溢出泡沫液。尸体冰冷，立毛状态明显，尸斑呈鲜红色，上皮褶皱膨胀，以上皆为溺死的典型特征。尸体左手掌心与右侧膝关节表皮有轻微擦伤，确认有活体反应。但这些创伤极有可能是死者自杀后，在水中挣扎时撞到其他物体所致，故解剖时无法判断伤口是否产生于死者丧命前。但尸体发现地点的周围情况提供了重要线索。比如，要是死者投河自尽时河底沉有许多树枝，伤口就有可能是那时刮到树枝造成的，水里也有可能出现被雨水冲来的上游的树枝或其他漂浮物，伤口也可能是死者撞到这些东西造成的。总之，伤口存在活体反应，可以确认是死者挣扎时造成的。其他信息仍需要进一步调查。 法医在报告的结尾向警方提出了忠告。这一注意事项，也考虑到了二十八日下午四点开始的那场雨让天龙川的水量增加。二十九日午夜十二点到凌晨两点，上游来的汹涌浊流带着许多折断的树枝冲了下来。那天早上，当地派出所警员赶到现场的时候，也看见大坝湖面上漂着许多树枝。 “要是死者投河自尽时河底沉有许多树枝，伤口就有可能是那时刮到树枝造成的。”那名法医之所以要求警方注意这一点，是因为他住在静冈市，距离二俣很近。他经常来船明大坝附近游玩，知道国道旁边的台地长满松树和灌木丛，而且岸边有三分之一的树都被水淹了。如要投河自尽，就极有可能选择那里下水，而警卫发现尸体的时候，尸体也的确漂浮在岸边的树枝之间。 为了确认遗体，味冈的妻子从东京赶到滨松市，在公立医院的太平间里见到了丈夫惨不忍睹的尸体。之后她来到天龙市二俣的警署，一边哭，一边对山崎刑事课长说道：“我也不知道我丈夫为什么会自杀……公司的事情他从来不跟我说，我也不清楚，可跟我一块儿来的市川先生（日星建设的常务市川重三）说，最近公司的业务开展得很顺利，没什么事情会让他愁到非自杀不可啊。家里也没什么事情要让他操心的。他平时很疼孩子。二十八日早上六点多，他从京都的酒店打了个电话回东京的家里，他以前出差的时候，从来不会这么早给家里打电话的。他问我家里一切安好吧，还说他现在还在京都，今晚会回来，只是还有些事要办，估计十一点多到家。他还问我波比的毛剪了没有。哦，波比是我们家养的柯利牧羊犬。我说还没剪，他就让我别剪，说明天早上他自己来剪。我问他要不要帮他做点夜宵吃，他说做点冷面吧，放在冰箱里冰一冰。所以我觉得他肯定没考虑过自杀。要是他有自杀的念头，还会说要给狗狗剪毛吗？还会让我准备冷面吗？” 山崎听完味冈夫人的话，提问道：“请允许我冒昧地问您一件事……请问您丈夫有没有情妇之类的……” “完全没有！他从不让我为这种事情烦心。” “您丈夫从京都打电话给您的时候，除了您刚才说的那些，还提到了些什么？” "Uh……" 味冈夫人的脸上闪过犹豫的神色。其实味冈问过一个奇怪的问题，“警视厅没有上门打听情况吗？”当时她不以为然地回答说“没有啊”。她决定不把这件事告诉警方。一个不凑巧，就会对自己的丈夫不利。她下定决心之后，脸上的犹豫就不见了。 “他就说了这些。” “但您丈夫没有按照原定计划在二十八日回家，而是在飞流阁住下了。出乎意料的惨剧就发生在那天半夜。他有没有联系你说那天晚上他有事回不了家？” “他没有直接跟我说，但公司秘书课的人告诉我说他还要多住一晚，据说是和他一起住在馆山寺旅馆的大石先生向公司汇报的。以前他也经常因为工作的关系晚回家两三天。秘书课的人在电话里说，我丈夫把高尔夫球包忘在新干线回声号"里了，大石先生已经跟车站那边联系好了，他们会直接把包送到东京站去，再让秘书课的人去取。他们拿到之后，就把包送到我们家来了。 " “您丈夫是不是很喜欢那套球杆啊？” “是啊，那是美国的名牌，都是手工制作的，他平时可宝贝了。” “他是去京都打高尔夫球的，可坐车的时候居然把那么贵重的球杆忘在了车厢里，莫非有什么事情分散了他的注意力不成？” “这……我也不知道……” “那位大石道路建设部长一直陪着您丈夫从馆山寺温泉的湖翠阁旅馆到二俣的飞流阁，他说味冈先生有点神经衰弱。他从京都给您打电话的时候，口气是不是有些不对劲？” 味冈夫人沉默了片刻。“警视厅没有上门打听情况吗？”丈夫的声音在耳边回响。 “话说回来……好像是有点奇怪。” "How to say?" “平时他不会一大早就给家里打电话的。” “哦……还有其他不对劲的地方吗？” "Gone." “夫人，您听过泽田美代子这个名字吗？” "No." “那其他人有没有跟您提过她呢？” “没有，我没听说过，她是谁啊？” “哦，没事，您不认识就算了。” “课长先生，我丈夫绝对不是自杀的。决定要自杀的人，怎么会告诉我第二天早上回家来要给狗狗剪毛呢？又怎么会让我给他准备冷面当夜宵呢？他一大早打电话回家的时候，我的确觉得有些奇怪，可他要是真的有心自杀，难道不应该在那通电话里跟我最后道别一下吗？但我想来想去，都不觉得他当时是在跟我道别啊。”夫人突然抬高嗓门说道。 “夫人，”一直竖起耳朵、沉默不语的矢田部提问道，“请问您丈夫是左撇子吗？” 夫人露出惊讶的神色。她抬头看着其貌不扬的中年刑警回答道：“不是啊，他不是左撇子，平时做事都用右手。” "Oh, thanks." 陪同夫人来到警署的市川重三常务作证说，味冈专务是公司的顶梁柱，深得社长的信赖。他强调最近公司的经营状况很好，绝不会因为公司的事情自杀。专务的自杀可能会引起金融机构和生意伙伴对公司状况的担忧，但市川常务的话并不是为了打消他们的疑虑而说的谎话——他说的是实话。 是否应该将遗体交给家属？警方内部产生了分歧。 味冈并非失足落水。支持“自杀说”的警员们认为： 一、味冈处于神经衰弱状态。长时间高强度工作的中年男子经常会出现这一病症。 二、味冈在二十八日半夜到二十九日凌晨之间从二俣飞流阁的后门溜了出去，而门口没有留下他被第三者强迫的迹象。旅馆工作人员也没有听见喊声或争吵声。即便所有人都睡着了，只要有这样的响声，就应该会有人听见。而且后门门口也没有争斗的痕迹，基本可以排除有第三者存在，或是被第三者喊出去的可能性。 三、味冈冒雨沿着国道走了五公里前往大坝湖畔。 四、现场调查的结果和验尸报告中并没有出现他杀的证据。 虽然没有支持他杀的证据，但一部分警官还是对“自杀说”产生了疑问，他们认为： 一、味冈的确是主动从飞流阁后门出去的，当时也没有第三者在场，但冒雨走五公里路前往自杀现场这一点极其不合常理。 二、没有目击者看见味冈在国道上行走，无法证明他是自己走去的。 三、没有遗书。 四、死者的妻子称，二十八日早晨死者曾打电话回家，嘱咐妻子不要给狗剪毛，等他回来了让他自己剪，还让妻子准备冷面当夜宵，可见他并无自杀之意。 五、味冈的精神错乱状态，极有可能与发生在京都市鞍马贵船町红叶庄酒店的泽田美代子事件有关。他在馆山寺温泉的湖翠阁时，拼命擦拭房间的各个角落，也许是在清理指纹，而转移到二俣之后，他又一直戴着手套，这也证明他不想留下指纹。 六、验尸报告称尸体左手手心与右侧膝盖关节部位表皮有小擦伤，而且出现了活体反应。但没有证据能够证明那是他投河自尽时被现场的树枝刮到的，或是撞到水中异物导致的。