Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

That night, Yatabe came to Karino Onsen from Kyoto. "North country hot spring village" is distributed along the Naka River stream, and Karino Onsen is one of them.It is about four kilometers from the station to the hot spring hotel street, and you can take a special bus.Yatabe took a taxi and asked the driver, "Is there a hotel called Fengzhuang here?" " "Yes, our best hotel here. Are you going there?" "Yes, it's troublesome." Yatabe recalled the testimony of Kenkichi Oishi, director of road construction at Nichisei Construction. Kinya is a geisha from Karino Onsen in R Prefecture.On the night of June 25th, the team of Ajika, myself, the head of the Design Division Hirayama, and the surveyor Ohara stayed at the Fengzhuang Hotel in Karino Onsen for one night...

The taxi drove into the hot spring hotel street.A row of willow trees is planted on the bank of the river, and a small bridge with vermilion railings is erected on the river.The taxi stopped in front of the imposing gate of the Maple Hotel.The waiter came out of the room and asked Yatabe, "Do you have an appointment?" After a long time, the waiter took Yatabe to a narrow room.It was like the cheapest room in Fengzhuang.Yatabe didn't make an appointment, and he didn't look good, so the hotel naturally didn't take him seriously. Since Yatabe arrived late, the waiter didn't serve dinner until nine o'clock in the evening.Yatabe took out a five thousand yen bill and handed it over.The waiter stared wide-eyed, and thanked him respectfully—it's really a person who can't be judged by his appearance.

"Is there a geisha named Kanami here?" Yatabe asked the waiter to pour the wine. "Yes, I have." "Can you let her come? Did she go to other places to accompany the guests?" "What a coincidence, Jin Mi is not here today..." "Not here?" "Yesterday she traveled to Hakone with other geishas. They go out every year." "Oh? Did you go to Hakone? Are all the geisha who go on tour?" "Yes, Huajiang, Umemaru, Teruha...seven or eight geisha who are relatively close, they usually save some money, and they will travel when they are free."

When Yatabe heard that Jinya was not in the hot spring, his heart skipped a beat, but the waiter said that she went out with other geisha, which reassured Yatabe a lot.It seems that Jin Mi was not taken away by someone.Since she was walking with other geishas, ​​her safety was guaranteed. "Now is the most leisure time for our hot springs. It will be busy again in ten days, so they take advantage of this time to travel." No wonder Yatabe, who didn't make a reservation, was able to live in the room. "Guest, are you familiar with Jin Mi?" The waiter in his forties smiled and looked at Yatabe.

"Oh, I haven't seen her, I just heard about her. Since I'm here this time, I want to see her." "Well, she plays the instrument very well. It's a pity." Yatabe's coat was hanging on a hanger.He took out a thin booklet from his pocket—it was the geisha directory he had asked for from the geisha management office yesterday.He turned to the page with Wen Ji's photo and asked the waiter, "Do you think this person looks like Jin Mi?" The waiter took the list and looked at it again and again. "It's not very similar... only the eyes and mouth are somewhat similar."

"How about the overall feeling?" "Well...their faces are all thin and long, and they are somewhat alike. They are about the same age." "yes……" "Is this a geisha from Hamamatsu?" The waiter looked at the cover of the list. "Yes, there are far fewer geishas there than here." "Are you from Hamamatsu?" "It's not Hamamatsu, but it's near Hamamatsu." When Yatabe registered, he wrote that he was a "company employee" in the "occupation" column. "When will Jin Mi and the others come back?"

"This...they just set off yesterday, at least they won't be back until the day after tomorrow." "Then do you know which hotel in Hakone they are staying at?" "That's not clear to me." "Then can you help me inquire with others?" "Oh, oh, why do you care about them so much?" "Yeah, when I want to go back, I'll stop by Hakone and meet Kim Mi. Hehe, I'm just kidding." "Then I'll call Jin Mi's house and ask." The tip of 5,000 yen was not in vain.The waiter left the room. After eleven o'clock, Yatabe called the criminal section chief Yamazaki's house.The telephone in this room is also direct, so you don't need to go through the terminal, and you don't have to worry about being eavesdropped by the people in the hotel.

"I went from Kyoto to the maple hotel in Karino Onsen. It is the hotel where Mioka Oishi and others stayed with Kaniya on the 25th." "Well, that's really hard work for you. Did you find any clues?" Yamazaki's voice was exceptionally clear, as if talking to him face to face. "Not yet. By the way, section chief, I have an urgent matter to ask you. Now Jinmi is in a hotel called Takiyamakaku in Hakone Yumoto. I hope you will send someone to protect her safety as soon as possible. " "What? Kim Mi came to Hakone?" "Seven or eight of their close geisha travel once a year. They set off for Longshan Pavilion yesterday. It is said that they will not return until the day after tomorrow. We must find Jin Mi before they come back, and put her under the protection of the police, and absolutely People around her must not be aware of the police action."

"Okay, I'll figure it out." Mr. Yamazaki responded very quickly.Yamazaki understood that it was Kinya who called Ajika to the Momijisou Hotel in Kifune-cho, Kurama on the phone.Perhaps the prisoner's claws are stretching towards her.It was necessary to arrange for people to protect her safety when she was with other geishas.The most dangerous time was when she came back from Hakone.The farther she was from Karino Onsen, the greater the danger. "I'll make arrangements for Kanami. By the way, by the way, I've found out about the passenger sitting next to Mioka on the Shinkansen to Hamamatsu."

"Oh? Have you found out your name and identity?" "That's not true, it's just that the driver of that car said that the person sitting next to Mioka was a young woman." "Is that person really suspicious?" "Judging from the captain's words, it's not without suspicion." Ajika left his golf bag on the luggage rack of the Shinkansen.Through the Lost and Found Office at Tokyo Station, we can learn that the Shinkansen departed from Shin-Osaka Station at 7:14 am on June 28 and arrived at Hamamatsu Station at 9:24 on the "Echo", and Mioka's seat was in the green car No. 12.

"Mioka's seat is 6A in compartment 12. When the conductor checked the ticket, the next stop happened to be Hamamatsu, so he called the arrival time in the car. He remembered that there was a fat man in the car. Middle-aged gentleman. Then there is the golf bag that Mioka forgot on the luggage rack. Recently, the bus captain is very careful about luggage left on the luggage rack of the Shinkansen." In order to prevent someone from planting a bomb in the car, the captain will broadcast in the car: "Every passenger, if you find luggage that other passengers have forgotten, please send it to the captain's office." That's why the captain found out that Mioka was staying in Hamamatsu Golf bag standing. "...Mika got off at Hamamatsu Station, and then the driver asked the woman next to Mioka, the female passenger sitting on 6B, if she knew who owned the golf bag. She shook it She shook her head and said she didn't know. She looked about 27 or 28 years old, about 1.6 meters tall, with long hair, and wearing a light beige sleeveless top. She wore sunglasses, and her face was relatively long. She should have taken off her glasses She's a beauty." "Wow, the captain remembers it so clearly?" "After the police asked, he remembered it. This shows that he had a little impression of that woman in the first place." "How is this going?" "The female passenger got on the train in Kyoto. As soon as she got on the train, she took out a ticket for the Shinkansen to Tokyo on the day, saying that she was too late to go to the window to buy a ticket for the green car, and hoped that the captain would let her make up the ticket .The bus captain helped her make up for the designated ticket for the green car, and told her that if you want to go to Tokyo, the light number is "faster than the echo number". But the female passenger said that she was not in such a hurry." "Hmm... Could it be that she decided to take that train because she saw Mioka on the Echo"? " "It should be. After that, the female passenger saw that there was an empty seat, so she proposed to sit in that seat—it was 6B next to Mioka, the seat next to the corridor. There was no one in the car, so the captain satisfied her. desire." "really……" "When the bus captain passed by in the carriage, he always looked at the two seats. The female passenger was either looking down at a book or dozing off. The fat gentleman next to her was neither reading a newspaper nor a magazine. Restless. Neither of them said a word. The golf bags were on the luggage rack above their heads." "That's the woman!" Yatabe whispered into the receiver, "...wrapped the socks that Mioka forgot at the Momijiso Hotel with Kurama's sightseeing poster, and put the paper bag next to the golf bag on the luggage rack It must be her! She probably released it while Mioka was going to the toilet!" "Maybe……" "Chairman, I understand! That woman came to the Hongyezhuang Hotel one step ahead of Mioka, and pretended to be Miyoko Sawada, so that the staff remembered her. She has been to room 208, so she was able to get Mioka to stay in the hotel." Socks in the room. Before Mioka saw the corpse fleeing in a hurry, she must have been hiding somewhere to peek!" "Then how did Miyoko Sawada get into Room 208, and how was she killed?" "Sawada Miyoko was not killed in Room 208. She was killed elsewhere, and then the prisoner moved into the room. The Kyoto Police Station was fooled by the prisoner, and even the time of death was wrongly estimated." "Ah? What did you say?" The section chief raised his voice, and the voice on the other end of the phone kept trembling. "I will report to you in detail when I return to the office. My guess is roughly like this..." Yatabe told Yamazaki the conclusion he reached after inspecting the Momijiso Hotel.Through the receiver, he could hear Yamazaki breathing heavily. "...But there are still many things that don't make sense. Tomorrow I will go to the Jinling Lake that Wei Gang and the others inspected, and I will think about it along the way." "I will too. By the way, the National Railways checked the ticket used by the woman wearing sunglasses, and found that it was sold from the traffic commune office in Marunouchi on June 22. It was from Tokyo to Tokyo. A round-trip ticket to Kyoto." "The 22nd? That's two days before Ajika went to Kyoto to participate in the Nanyuan Club Golf Club!" "That's right, where do you think the traffic commune in Marunouchi is located?" "This……" "It's on the first floor of the Shenbang Building." "What? Shenbang Building? Isn't it the building where the economic research institute of Koshidoaki is located?" This time it was Yatabe's turn to shout. "We were notified by the Tokyo side. I have sent Yamada from our class to Tokyo this afternoon. In the evening, Yamada called to report that the staff of the traffic commune office in the Shenbang Building testified that he came to buy tickets on the 22nd. Yes, it's Miyoko Sawada." "What? Miyoko Sawada?" "After all, Miyoko Sawada also works in the same building, and the staff at the business office all know her, so they won't mistake her." In other words, Zetian went to the traffic commune and bought a ticket for the accomplice who disposed of his body. Could it be that the woman in the sleeveless blouse sitting next to Mioka on the "Echo" is someone who works in another business organization under Koshido Akira? "Section Head, hearing this, I am getting more and more worried about Jin Mi who is in Hakone. Please send someone to protect her as soon as possible!" "I see, Yatabe." "If I'm free, I'll definitely go to Hakone myself, but I have to go to Jinling Lake tomorrow... I can only ask you." This tense phone call finally came to an end. It's almost twelve o'clock.The sound of messy footsteps continued from the corridor to the door.The men's voices were mixed with the woman's coquettishness. "Taxi! Taxi!" shouted endlessly.The banquet is over.The men seemed to be going out.There is always a place for them to relax in the hot spring town late at night. Yatabe, who lived in a small room, changed his mind and decided to go out for a walk.He wears clogs with the name of the hotel on it—no attendant sees him out. There is a straight road on both sides of the small river, which is quite prosperous.Between the ryokan and the specialty store, there are several dimly lit shops that contrast sharply with the brightly lit specialty shops.The entrance of the store is decorated with red and blue light bulbs, and there are signs of strip clubs and nightclubs at the door.Men in hotel yukata walked up and down in front of the store, stopping every now and then.The solicitors walked back and forth on the road, and their deep laughter was endless. There are more such shops in the small alleys.Outside the small movie theater, there is a signboard for pornographic movies.There are also strip clubs, erotic baths and raunchy bars in the small alleys.Yatabe walked through the door of the store alone, and was stopped by a middle-aged woman and a young man outside the store.The man looked like a local underworld. "This guest from Fengzhuang, we have a lot of good girls here, would you like to come in and take a look?" They can tell which hotel the guest is staying at just by the style of the yukata.Fengzhuang is a first-class hotel, and the guests staying in Fengzhuang will naturally attract attention. He walked for more than 30 minutes, and finally returned to Fengzhuang.The doors were closed and the lights were out.He could only enter the house through the side door next to it—a sleepy old man looking at the shoe cabinet opened the door for him. There were not many lights left in the corridor.Yatabe walked into the bathroom, grabbed a towel, and walked downstairs to the large bath.It was extremely hot tonight, and Yatabe was sweating after only thirty minutes of walking. There are three people taking a bath in the large public bath.The bathroom is so spacious that it is almost like no one else.Various strange stones are placed on the wall, and tropical plants are also decorated. The three guests glanced at Yatabe, and chatted on their own. One of the guests actually started to swim, causing bursts of water splashes.The water is not too hot.Yatabe stretched his body against the ledge protruding from the wall.The swimmer swam near Yatabe, turned his head suddenly, and swam back in a backstroke—he seemed to be a pretty good swimmer. He was naked and also felt that the backstroke was unsightly, so he turned his body back as he swam.His two friends also watched his "twirl stroke" with a smile. Yatabe was also watching him swim.For a while, the back is out of the water, and for a while, the belly is out of the water.Yatabe didn't even notice that a lot of water splashed on his face. The male guest of "Spin Swimming" looked smug. "Hey, stop making trouble!" one of his friends said, "It's disturbing other guests." The swimming man rose to his feet in the hot water. "Really..." he said to himself, bowed his head to Yatabe in the corner of the bath and apologized, "I'm sorry to trouble you." "It doesn't matter." After the three guests left, Yatabe came to the shower.He didn't wash his body, but just sat on the small bench with his hands on his knees and remained motionless. Late at night.No new guests came to the bath, only the hot water gushing from the faucet kept ringing. One step closer to the truth. Why is the body of Miyoko Sawada found in the Momijiso Hotel in Kibune, Kyoto so "fresh"? She was strangled to death elsewhere, but why was the body still warm when it was found? The murderer can use the bathtub in the room to warm the body.But the problem is that only shallow spots appeared on the back of the corpse during the autopsy.Three hours after a person dies, there will be corpse spots. After Miyoko Sawada was killed, she was moved into Room 208 of Hongyezhuang Hotel after five or six hours, and the autopsy was carried out four or five hours after that, which means that Miyoko Sawada was already dead at the time of the autopsy It has been more than ten hours - this is the biggest problem facing Yatabe.The corpse spots on the back must have appeared after her body was lying on her back in the bed.In other words, before her body was moved into the room, there were no corpse spots. is it possible?Before the body was moved into the Momijiso Hotel, Miyoko should have been dead for five or six hours. However, Yatabe has already found clues to solve this question, but the clues are not enough, and there are still things that cannot be explained clearly.If you don't understand these things, you won't be able to blow away the haze in your mind. Yatabe sat in the shower for a long time.He felt a little cold, so he stepped into the bathtub and soaked for a while. He buried his whole body in the bath.Suddenly, he thought of something and started to swim. Anyway, there was no one else in the bathing place.While swimming, he imitated the male guest to rotate his body.But Yatabe's swimming level is not that high, and it didn't take long for him to sink to the bottom of the bath. The helpless Yatabe had to half-bend and spin around in place, imagining that he was spinning in the water. Later, a guest opened the glass door leading to the dressing room - seeing Yatabe's appearance, he was too scared to move for a long time. "Our group here"? " The chief of the criminal section of the police station in charge of Karino Onsen replied casually.At nine o'clock in the morning, he came to the office on time.Unexpectedly, before the chair was warmed up, a middle-aged criminal policeman from afar from another county came to him to find out the situation.Instead of "gangster", the section chief used the word "group". "We are not a big city here, just one group, called Huatong Group."It's in the real estate industry. " The head of the Criminal Section with a concave face seemed to be treating a tooth decay.He licks his molars with his tongue from time to time, and makes a "hissing" sound when he inhales.And when he exhaled, he could smell the medicine embedded in his teeth. "Is it a big organization?" Yatabe asked while drinking the coarse tea given by the police station. "It's not big, there are only thirty people in total." "Last night, I went shopping in Onsen Town, and found that there are strip clubs, sex shops, nightclubs, bars and so on. All the sex industry that Onsen Town should have." "It can't be helped, after all, we have to attract tourists..." "Has the Huatong group participated in the operation of these stores?" "No, it's just that the owners of those shops have some connections with the group. But the Huatong group didn't do anything bad. If they did, the police would definitely not stand by. Hiss—" said the criminal section chief. "Is the Hualiu Alley in Hot Spring Town related to the Huatong Group?" "The relationship is not as deep as you think. In the past, the people in the group would be the jerks of young hot spring geisha, but now there are very few. As long as they don't do anything out of line, the police can't intervene, after all, they are you I love the love I want, and it's not breaking the law." The head of the class said nonchalantly. "Where is the organization above the Huatong group?" "Three years ago, it was the Hachiman group in Kansai." "That's a big group." "But now the Huatong group has belonged to the Asahi group in Kanto." "Asahi group? I've never heard of this group..." "It's a small organization." "The Huatong group must have had trouble when they came to Kanto from Kansai, right? Didn't anyone fight with pistols or Japanese knives?" "No, no, our police have been closely monitoring them, hiss..." "That's really admirable. However, the territorial struggle between the two major factions of the Kanto and Kansai is raging in major cities and hot spring towns..." "Recently, the group of people in the group has also become smarter, and they won't show up. When our Huatong group here took refuge in Guan Dongxu's group, there was no bloodshed. It must have been negotiated to make peace. At that time, I hadn't I was transferred here, although I heard about it, but I don’t know it very well, my predecessor should know more details. But he has already resigned and returned to his hometown in Chiba.” "In the matter of the Huatong group, the Asahi group in Kanto was able to negotiate on an equal footing with the Hachiman group, a large organization in Kansai. It can be seen that the Asahi group has a lot of background." "Maybe it's the so-called political compromise." " "A political compromise..." Seeing the middle-aged criminal policeman tilting his head and looking puzzled, the section chief explained: "Oh, the team is much smarter now, unlike before. If the police intervene for no reason, it would be bad to take over the whole organization, so they Such conflicts will be avoided as much as possible." "Is this also a political trick?" "Yes, yes, they will take care of the overall situation now." "Where is the Asahi group in Kanto?" "It seems to be from Tokyo. There are several such organizations in Tokyo, but I don't know exactly which district of Tokyo the Asahi group is in... Are you here to investigate the Huatong group here?" "No, it's not..." "That's right, there is nothing wrong with the Huatong group now. First, they don't sell drugs, second, they don't open casinos, and third, they don't engage in intimidation and violence... Hiss..." The bus from Karino Onsen via Jinling Lake to Fuchu Town, J County departs at eleven o'clock.Yatabe had to wait for a full hour at the bus stop. He didn't want to wait so long, he wanted to take another look at Karino Hot Spring.Before he knew it, he walked to the next bus stop.Walking and walking, and went to the next station. This hot spring township is long.After the end of the hotel street, low roofs and small houses immediately appeared around.Compared with the luxurious hotels, the shopping street looks much shabby. Suddenly, he saw an antique shop with the words "Ono Antique Art Shop" written on the signboard.Yatabe walked into the dim shop, and the large pots and blue and white porcelain pots covered with red patterns came into view.Quivers, sword guards, Hinamatsuri dolls, ancient clocks, Buddha statues, poles, badminton rackets... There are also wine glasses with the words "Triumph Memorial" printed in gold and Echizen-yaki kettles.The shopkeeper, in his fifties, looked down at the newspaper. Yatabe was about to leave, but found a large iron plate on the roof of the shop.The iron plate is too big, and it is easy to be ignored.Black letters on a white background on the iron plate, with a row of large characters written: National District House of Representatives Member Takao Yuji Liaison Office Yatabe suddenly remembered that the Senate election would be a year later.As the general election approaches, "liaison office" signs with candidates' names written in large characters will become more and more common. Takao Xiongji is one of the powerful members of the Conservative Party.Before World War II, he served as an internal affairs bureaucrat, has been active in the police circle, and once served as the minister of self-government. Takao Yuji is a member of parliament elected by constituencies across the country.Those who voted for him are mainly distributed in several prefectures around Tokyo, but the nationwide election still needs to be promoted across the country.Of course, there are several focus areas.Karino Onsen has his "liaison office", which shows that R County is one of his key areas. Oh, so this is the base of Takao Yuji—Yatabe looked up at the signboard with Takao Yuji's name on it.Usually he can only see his name in the newspaper. The shopkeeper, who was reading a newspaper in a dimly lit antique shop, would pull votes for candidate Takao Yuraku after the election started.It's a pity that Yatabe still has difficulty linking this moldy antique shop owner with the election campaign. He suddenly remembered that the criminal section chief of the police station told him just now that when the Huatong group of Hot Springs had defected from the Kansai gang to the Kanto gang, the Kansai Hachiman group and the Kanto Asahi group had reached a "political" compromise. Of course, the head of the Criminal Section only compared the handshake between violent gangs to "political compromise", and did not compare the compromise of violent gangs with politics.It was only after Yatabe saw the signboard on the roof of the antique shop that he realized that Yuji Takao, member of the Senate, was paving the way for the election campaign, and then he thought of what he had just heard. Yatabe walked towards the next bus stop.He had already left the small town, and the paddy fields and dry fields had increased, and the surrounding area became more and more deserted.Presumably this is the end of Karino Onsen. A group of workers is demolishing a house on the side of the road.Seeing this, Yatabe slowed down and finally stopped. Maybe it is to rebuild a house, which is also a common thing. A khaki-colored curtain was erected in front of the house, with the words "Nakahashi Group" printed in black on each side.Construction companies put up such screens to prevent dust and hazardous waste from demolition. The original house seemed to be two stories high, and the curtains were drawn very high.What is used to support the curtain is not wooden piles, but several interlocking one-meter-long steel pipes. If there was a problem with the gas or water pipes under the road, square khaki tents would be erected out of steel pipes.The construction site of the building will use a larger screen. Now, the roof of the house beside the road has been removed, and it has long since lost its original shape.The lower half of the room was hidden by the curtain and could not be seen. There are two trucks parked on the side of the road in front of the house, and more than a dozen workers are moving the old pillars, boards and walls that have been removed from the house to the trucks. The yellow truck is specially used for construction sites, and the three big characters of "Zhongqiao Group" are written on the body of the car in black paint.Workers all wear yellow helmets and uniform gray uniforms. It stands to reason that the work of demolishing a house should be done by ordinary manual laborers, but this house was actually demolished by a construction company called "Nakahashi Group".Two trucks took up half of the road, and other vehicles could only go on the other half, so the road was a bit congested.A worker holds a small red flag to maintain order. Although the old houses were screened to keep the dust from flying outside, when workers moved the walls and timber onto the trucks, they still kicked up the dust, making passers-by very uncomfortable. Vehicles can only pass on half of the road, and the roadside is dusty, which makes Yatabe stop involuntarily.He glanced at the busy construction site and found an old signboard folded in half and thrown on a mountain of old timber.The signboard reads "Hot Spring · Liugetsu Hotel". It seems that the house they are demolishing is a hot spring hotel called "Liu Yue". This hot spring hotel is small.Judging from the curtain outside the house, including the second floor, the total area is only 80 square meters, which is very shabby. Compared with Fengzhuang where he stayed last night and other nearby hotels, it is really a world of difference. This kind of small hotel often appears at the end of the hot spring town.Large hotels located in prosperous areas are more expensive, and guests who want to save money will deliberately choose such small hotels to stay.This Liuyue Hotel must be cheap too. Why demolish the house?Do you want to rebuild a big hotel?Or was it poorly managed and had to transfer the land to others?Yatabe felt that the latter was more likely.With such a recession, how could a small hotel located at the end of the hot spring town attract customers, and how could it be transformed into a big hotel?Besides, if it really needs to be remodeled, the signboard of "Liuyue Hotel" won't be broken and thrown away - the old signboard is the treasure of the hotel.Yatabe thought that this small hot spring hotel was closed. However, the person responsible for demolishing the house is not an ordinary construction team, but a professional construction company. What's going on?Yatabe always felt that it was a sledgehammer.Could it be that the person who bought this land contracted the project to the Zhongqiao Group?But what kind of big buildings can be built on such a small piece of land? At this time, Yatabe suddenly thought that maybe the Nakahashi group bought the Liuyue Hotel and planned to transform it into their group's office, so they personally went out to demolish the house. After all, it is a hot spring hotel, so there must be corresponding hot spring facilities.There are also large water pipes that draw spring water underground.Yatabe thought: A construction company office with a hot spring is really a luxury. It will be a while before the bus leaves.He could have walked slowly to the next station, so he could watch them demolish the house leisurely. In hindsight, it might have been God's will.Normally, he would not have any interest in the construction site, and would not take a second look. Yatabe approached the worker who kept order. "May I ask what is going to be built here?" The man wearing a helmet holding a small red flag in one hand gave Yatabe a white look. "God knows." His tone was as cold as a glass of boiled water.Logically speaking, the people at the construction site should know what's going to be built here next.He looked down on people who asked questions, so he played stupid.His face was expressionless, only a pair of eyes sparkled. "I used to stay at this Liuyue Hotel... I was going to stay here today, but when I came here, I found out that the hotel was gone. I was really shocked..." Yatabe pretended to be surprised.You are ruthless, don't blame me for being ruthless. Hearing this, the expression of the man holding the red flag softened a lot.He looked at the suitcase in Yatabe's hand and said, "Liugetsu Hotel is closed." He looked helpless. "That's such a pity. I really didn't expect this place to be closed... The proprietress is nice and the price is moderate. It's the most suitable for poor people like us." Yatabe said.The workers were silent. "Are you going to build a new hot spring hotel here?" The lips under the helmet were tightly shut.After letting the vehicles in one direction pass, he waved a small flag to direct the vehicles in the other direction. "Master, do you know? Is it going to build a new hot spring hotel? If it is true, then I would like to come and stay here in the future." The other party "concentrated" directed the passing vehicles, ignoring Yatabe's question. "Is it not a hotel to be built here, but another building?" "..." "Master, if you know, can you tell me?" "Uncle," the answer came from behind, "Don't ask such silly things, go aside." Another man in a helmet glared back at Yatabe.He seemed to be a supervisor on a construction site, with nothing in his hands.He was tall, with humped shoulders, and looked to be in his thirties.With a flat nose, he stared at Yatabe and said, "It's busy here, hurry up!" He pursed his thick lips and his voice was hoarse. The workers who were responsible for carrying the old timber seemed to be following the orders of the foreman, throwing large chunks of timber indiscriminately, setting off waves of dirty dust. Yatabe quickly shrank his neck, and walked away dejectedly.It's not uncommon for construction workers to be a little rough, but why wouldn't they answer their own questions?Wouldn't it be enough to answer casually?I always feel that they are not pleasing to their eyes from the very beginning.Their hostility has been expressed through indifference and harsh words, as obvious as the "No Misfits Entered" sign. The more indifferent they were, the more Yatabe wanted to investigate.He walked a few steps, looked back, and found that the tall man in the helmet was staring at him just now... Turning a corner, he found a small food store on the side of the road.If you enter this store, you will not be seen by the people on the construction site. "Liuyue Hotel suddenly closed. We were also very surprised that it happened so suddenly." Yatabe bought a small bottle of whiskey in the store.The proprietress spoke naturally and straightforwardly. "No, their business is not that bad...there is a recession these years, and the business of every hot spring hotel is not doing well. Instead, a big hotel with style will borrow a lot of money from the bank, but a small hotel like Liuyue Hotel because of the price It’s cheap and can attract a lot of customers. They often buy from our store, so I know their situation better. The hot spring water over there is very hot, and the reputation is also good.” "Then why did you close the door?" "Because someone bought it at a high price! Liu Yue's proprietress is a widow who is nearly 60 years old. She didn't want to open a hotel for a long time. She asked for a waiter. I didn't expect someone to buy that house at a high price. So two weeks ago, she took the money and went back to the countryside to retire. The next day, the construction company put up a curtain outside the house, and the demolition of the house started three days ago. "Will the person who bought that house plan to build a new hotel?" "Where would it be! Who would build a new hotel in such a recession, and the location there is so remote. A construction company called Nakahashi Group paid for it, saying it was going to transform it into their own." office. " "Ah, it really is..." Yatabe guessed right. But why are the workers of the Nakahashi group so indifferent?Could it be because Yatabe said that he was a guest of Liugetsu Hotel... or did the president of the Nakahashi group buy this place and use it as his own office, so he felt embarrassed and told the workers not to talk nonsense? Since the proprietress said that the other party "paid a high price", it means that the Nakahashi group bought this small hot spring hotel at a price above the market price.Are they so anxious to build their own office?It seems that the construction company's business is really good. "Where is the head office of the Nakahashi group?" "I don't know, but since they want to build an office there, maybe they will use it as the head office." "That is to say, the Nakahashi Group is a local construction company?" "Not really, it's just that their president Yasuo Nakahashi has been doing projects near here before, and made some money, and the company's scale has grown." "Oh……" Yatabe walked to the next station and got on the bus. For some reason, the Nakahashi Group, which bought a small hot spring hotel at a high price and demolished the house on the side of the road, lingered in his mind. The bus runs along the north shore of Jinling Lake.The south bank is at the foot of the mountains, and there are only narrow forest roads, while the road on the north bank is beside the slope of the mountain. On the mountainside of this mountain, a "Highland Sightseeing Line" connecting the hot spring villages of J County and R County will be built, and other construction companies such as Sunstar Construction, where Masahiro Mioka works, hope to participate in this project.Of course, the project has not yet started.Through the car window, Yatabe looked at the mountain shadow on the lake. Many people in the bus came for the view of the man-made lake, and they got off at the halfway station.There are also many small restaurants convenient for tourists to visit near the station. The road is built along the shore of the lake, winding and winding.The lake view at each corner is different and varied, which is worth seeing. 转过一个弯之后，巴士突然停了下来。那里并不是车站。定睛一看，原来前方站着四五个挥舞着小红旗的工作人员。 “要炸路啊？”车里的乘客伸长了脖子说道。 炸药被引爆之前，车辆无法通行。炸药好像装在了满是岩石的山坡斜面上。 “这是要扩路吗？”矢田部向那位乘客问道。 “不，要在前面造一条隧道。这年头车子越来越多了，可这边的路弯弯曲曲的很不好走，所以要开条直道，这样就不会堵车了。隧道虽然短，但开通之后路况就好多了。” “哦……是游客变多了吗？” “因为有私家车的人越来越多了啊！以前只能坐巴士来的人，现在都能开自家车出来旅游了。再加上现在买车还能分期付款，再怎么修路，都追不上私家车增加的速度啊。就该让汽车生产商负担三分之一的修路费用，他们的责任大着呢！” 聊着聊着，前方传来一声巨响。不过车里的人看不见四散的岩石。红旗降了下来。 工作人员摆摆手，示意巴士通过。巴士缓缓开动。 转过弯，矢田部才看见距离道路五十米距离的隧道工地。开阔的工地上停着推土机、起重机、卡车等黄色的车辆。 隧道工程刚开始不久，刚才那次爆炸，终于在山坡的斜面上开了个口子。斜面的一半露出岩体，炸碎的石头堆成小山，推土机铲个不停。 见状，矢田部突然提着行李箱站起身，朝驾驶座走去。 “麻烦停一下车。” 司机回过头来。 “请让我在这儿下车吧，我有些事要办。” “这可不行啊，公司规定不能在路上上下客的。” 车上没有检票员，一切操作由司机完成。 “拜托了，我实在是有急事，等到了下个车站再折回来就太远了，麻烦您了。” 在矢田部的苦苦央求下，司机无可奈何地按下开门的按钮。 矢田部来到隧道工程现场。太危险了，他只能站在远处。崖壁上工人们在挖石头，下面则是轰鸣着的推土机。起重机搬起巨大的岩石块。工人们正在安装新的炸药。车子上、栅栏上都写着建筑公司的名字——“藤濑组”。 崖壁上的岩体接近暗绿色。 矢田部看了看崖壁的颜色，又看了看起重机正在搬运的岩石块的截面——总体呈暗绿色，但中间也有条纹，颜色变化多端。他蹲下身，捡起一片碎石，又从口袋里掏出名片盒，与其中的小石子进行比对。名片盒中的小石子，就是死在船明大坝人造湖里的味冈正弘的鞋子里发现的那颗。 “干什么呢！多危险啊！”头顶传来吼声。 抬头一看，头戴黄色头盔的男子正吹胡子瞪眼。 “对不起，请问这边的石头是不是五色石啊？”矢田部先道了个歉，随即问道。 “才不是五色石呢……”工人冷淡地回答道，一脸的不耐烦，和两小时前在刈野温泉拆柳月旅馆的中桥组的工人如出一辙。 “可我觉得它的颜色和五色石很像啊。” “也许看着像吧，但那不是五色石。” 矢田部把名片盒递给工人，让他看了看里面的小石子。 “我这儿有一颗五色石，请问这片工地里有这样的石头吗？” 工人低下头，看了看名片盒说：“这是辉绿凝灰岩啊。虽说是凝灰岩，但算是变种的凝灰岩吧，就是俗称五色石"的东西。 " 他好像是个技术人员，给出的答案与天龙市高中的理科老师完全一致。他看上去非常年轻。 他用手指捏起小石子，对着阳光，对矢田部说道：“这石头比较小，也许很难看清，不过你看，在阳光下这个部分会变红是吧？所以它才叫五色石"。你在这儿捡到的石头是不会有这种颜色的，因为这里的石头是普通的凝灰石。 " "Oh……" 矢田部举起手中的石头对着阳光，它的颜色果然没有变化。 “喂！要炸了！”远在崖壁上的工人喊道。 “太危险了，你快来这儿躲躲吧。” 技术员将名片盒还给矢田部，一把抓住他的手臂，大步流星地把他拉去了转角处。红旗再次举起，五辆私家车被拦了下来。不久，爆炸声响起，地动山摇一路传到了湖面，岩石应声落下。 矢田部放下堵住耳朵的手。红旗降下，等候已久的私家车缓缓发动。起重机和推土机又开工了。 “这附近就没有五色石了吗？”矢田部没有离开，继续问道。这位年轻的技术员好像是现场监工，在百忙之中一直陪着矢田部，真是个好人。 “不，辉绿凝灰岩在这附近还挺多见的。” “什么？很多见？” “嗯，只是我们工地没有罢了。辉绿凝灰岩多见于秩父古生层与中生层中，从飞騨、越前这一带到加贺都有。不过其他地方就没有了。” 他的话与天龙市的高中老师完全一致。 “那这片工地现场附近的岩石里，会不会混着一些五色石呢？”矢田部问道。 “不，不会，这一带虽然有很多五色石，但地质层不对的话，就不会出现五色石。” “小碎片也不会有吗？” “要是那个岩石层里没有五色石，自然不会有五色石的碎片啊。”他笑了，头盔下露出一排健康的牙齿。这时他突然回过神来，问道：“您是在调查什么事情吗？” “不，就随便问问……” 矢田部差点就道明真身了，可他还是没有说出口。要是让对方起了戒心就不好了，而且要是“警方来调查”的消息传开了就更麻烦了——建筑行业的世界小得很。 金铃湖畔居然没有五色石。那船明大坝湖发现的味冈的鞋子里，为什么会出现五色石呢？ 二十八日深夜到二十九日凌晨，味冈被人从二俣的飞流阁搬运至船明大坝湖，用的就是卡车之类的车辆。座位附近堆了各种道具，空间狭窄，所以右手被人绑住的味冈才会用左手挡住脸，并在左手手心留下擦伤的痕迹。矢田部觉得那辆卡车应该是建筑工地用的卡车。 味冈在前往京都之前，曾与大石等人一起来到金铃湖畔，视察将要建设收费观光道路的山坡。味冈鞋子里的五色石是“碎石”，而碎石与建筑工地有着千丝万缕的联系，所以矢田部猜想，金铃湖畔的工程与这颗五色碎石有着某种关联。 当然，收费道路工程还没动工，所以那边自然不会有工地。可矢田部就是无法轻言放弃。他总觉得湖畔肯定有某个工地，开凿出了混有五色石的碎石。他抱着死马当活马医的心态，决定来这里跑一趟，说不定就能发现把味冈从飞流阁带去船明大坝的那辆车。那辆车应该是从工地现场直接开去飞流阁后门的。 矢田部带着些许希望来到金铃湖畔，在车上见到隧道工程的工地，心中激动不已。收费道路的工程虽然还没开始，但隧道的工程已经开工了。 然而，年轻的现场监工的一句话，给矢田部泼了一盆冷水——这个工地没有五色石。他说得应该不会有错。要是这一带没有一片五色石，就没有任何意义。 要是这里有五色石，一切推测都说得通了。刚才工人们使用炸药炸开了岩石。推土机铲起岩石的碎片，倒在卡车上。到处都是碎石。味冈正是坐在这样的卡车里，才会有五色石的碎片进到他的鞋子里…… 矢田部还以为他的推论会得到证实，可是唯独缺少了最重要的“辉绿凝灰岩”。情况令人绝望。 “上村先生！”附近传来喊声。 现场监工回过头，一位工人大声说道：“上村先生，事务所有人找您呢！” “知道了！”年轻的现场监工点了点头。头盔在头上滑动，发出细微的响声。 “那我就告辞了。”他没有忘记与矢田部告别。 “您要回事务所了吗？”矢田部还想和他多聊一会儿。 “嗯，有人来叫我了。” “请问您的事务所在……” “就在一百五十米开外的地方……对了对了，就在巴士车站旁边！” “这样啊，那正好，我跟您一块儿走过去吧。” “好啊，您请。”现场监工上村爽快地答应了。 年轻的他穿着长靴，走得飞快。他避开来往的车辆，沿着湖岸边的路走着。矢田部紧紧跟着他。 矢田部有许多话要问，可是半天没开口。他听说工地没有五色石之后，突然不知道该说什么了。 夏日的阳光洒在平静的湖面上，对岸的群山也倒映在湖面上，留下浓浓的影子。水鸟在影子上飞快地划过，留下一道白色痕迹。 “您是从哪儿来的啊？” 上村看了看矢田部的行李箱。其实他也是没话找话罢了。三辆私家车接连开过。 “我是从静冈县的天龙市来的。” 矢田部老实回答道。 其实他是想看看对方的反应，可上村居然面不改色。没有被头盔罩住的下颚晒得黝黑，反射阳光。 “静冈县啊，静冈县也没有辉绿凝灰岩呢。”上村猜出这位初次谋面的人想找五色石，自言自语道。 “是啊，听说骏河和三河一带是没有的。”矢田部回忆起高中老师的回信来。 “辉绿凝灰岩是凝灰岩变质而成的，所以比较特殊，只有中部地区的西北部到北陆地区才有。” 上村不清楚矢田部寻找五色石的目的，只能有一句没一句地闲扯。 忽然，他用手指着前方的蓝色两层建筑物说道：“那就是我们的事务所。” 那是工地常见的临时屋，不是很大。 “我们这儿人越来越多，屋子都不够用了，所以又扩建了一下，不过从这里是看不见的。” 再怎么扩建，临时屋终究是临时屋。 两小时前，矢田部刚看过建筑公司拆除温泉旅馆的现场。不，他已经在这儿耗了半个小时了，准确来说应该是两个半小时前吧。 于是，矢田部终于开口了。 “来这儿的路上，我在刈野温泉附近看见有家建筑公司买了家温泉旅馆，要把它改造成他们的事务所。带温泉的事务所，可真够奢侈的啊……” 也许是因为天热的缘故吧，上村用手指抬了抬头盔。 “啊，我知道，那是中桥组吧？” “您果然知道……” “因为我们是县内的小型建筑公司，对同一个县的同行总会了解一点的。” 跑车在两人身边飞速驶过。车里年轻人的歌声，伴随着车子掀起的旋风飞过。 “中桥组的社长中桥泰夫原本是当劳工介绍人的，我们这一行管这种人叫拉壮丁的"。”头戴黄色头盔的年轻技术员向矢田部介绍道。 "Oh……" “拉壮丁的”——这个词矢田部还是头一回听说。内行人用的暗语真是令人大开眼界。 “那些拉壮丁的一般都会带着工人来往于各个建筑工地，再召集当地农村的壮丁当临时工，所以很少会在同一个地方待很长时间。不过那个中桥组在我们县做了个工程，就决定把据点安在这里，不拉壮丁，改做自己的建筑工程了，这样的例子还真少见。” “拉壮丁的这么赚钱吗？” “这是种野蛮的工作，只要你想赚，总能赚得到的。” “想赚？……” “我可不是针对中桥组哦，大部分拉壮丁的都是这样。他们的利润都是从劳工的工资里抽来的。要是劳工辞职逃跑了，他们就赚得更多了。” "how do I say this?" “比如一个工人干了十五天活逃走了，但他只领了五天的工资，那剩下的十天工资就归拉壮丁的了。要是工资是一天五千日元，那一个人就能赚出五万日元来。要是逃了五个人，不就能赚出二十五万日元了吗？” “可工人辞职的时候，不会结清另外十天的工钱吗？” “按规定那部分工资是不能结的。拉壮丁的和工人的合同都是一个月一签，要是工人忍受不了辛苦的工作逃跑了，那就要他们自己负责，拉壮丁的没有支付工钱的义务。要是中途辞职的工人想问上头要回工钱，会被包工头和他的心腹会计、监工骂个狗血淋头。” “要是工人辞职头子能赚到钱，他们肯定拼命剥削工人吧？” “以前那样的监狱房间"虽然很少见了，但工地的工作对临时工来说的确非常辛苦，况且最近农村的年轻人越来越像城里人了，身体越来越差啦。也难怪啊，插秧啊、拔草啊、收割啊，不是用化肥就是用机器，几乎不用他们自己出力。城里的那些失业者就更别提了。 " “那工人要是辞职逃跑了，工地就不会人手不够吗？” “所以拉壮丁的一直在到处拉人啊，而且能提前领工资"是个很诱人的条件，所以工地上的劳工总是来了走，走了又来。每换一批人，拉壮丁的就能靠他们赚到不少钱。 " "..." “即便只是抽头，也能赚到不少钱啊。工人每天能拿到五千日元的工资，其实已经被拉壮丁的抽走三千日元了。所以只要拉到十个工人，一天就能赚到三万日元啊。” "Oh……" 建筑工程，尤其是道路的建筑工程，需要大量劳工。但建筑公司不会亲自出面征集劳工，于是便催生出了“拉壮丁”这种行业。而藤濑组的技术员上村，又把其中的“猫腻”透露给了矢田部。 他会把这些告诉萍水相逢的矢田部，说明他是个正义感十足的青年。 “我能提个问题吗？”两人走到藤濑组的临时事务所附近时，矢田部问道。 "Please say." “像中桥组那样从拉壮丁的发展到建筑公司的例子很多吗？” “不，我很少听说。毕竟拉壮丁的就是拉壮丁的，在建筑业分工还是很明确的。况且还有资金的问题。建筑行业既有大公司，也有小公司，那些小公司简直就是泡沫公司"，冒个泡就没影了。但中桥组从一开始就成了我们县的中等建筑公司了。它刚成立不久就有了这么大的规模，我们都很吃惊。没想到一个拉壮丁的中桥组能赚这么多钱……” “可您刚才不是说拉壮丁的的确很能赚吗？” “他们虽然能赚，但花的钱也多，这就是他们的世界。毕竟他们跟黑道有些关系，浪费的钱也多。所以一个拉壮丁的组能发展成县内的中等规模的建筑公司实属不易……我们都觉得很不可思议呢，莫非他们找到了个大财主？” “大财主？” “就是援助中桥组的资本家啊。我们也四处打探来着，可是他们的财主好像不在我们县里。拉壮丁的总是到处跑，要是他们的财主是县外的人，我们肯定查不到啊。” “可中桥组买下了刈野温泉尽头的一家小温泉旅馆，要改造成事务所。他们的出资人在县内的可能性会不会很大？” “不，出资人肯定不在我们县里。建筑业是个小世界，一查就知道了。要是中桥组不是靠自己的利润发展起来的，那就肯定有人在暗中支援，只是我们没查清那人是谁罢了。” "Oh……" “况且，中桥组把事务所安在刈野温泉附近也很奇怪。因为中桥组完全没必要在县内设置事务所啊。我听说他们正在木曾那边扩路呢。中桥组不仅承包了许多中部地区的工程，还参加了关西、北陆、关东、近畿地区的公共事业的投标。” “投标？建筑公司能参加其他县的投标吗？” “不管是国家的公共事业，还是自治体的公共事业，都是指定投标制。不管你是不是这个县的公司，只要你有资格，就能参加投标。那些大型建筑公司都是如此，他们在全国各地设置分公司或办事处，参加全国的指定竞标。” “那中桥组会不会是在拉壮丁"的时候打通了人脉，取得了竞标的资格啊？ " “他们的路子再宽，也没法轻易参加各县的公共事业投标啊。毕竟各县都有各自的指定公司团体，新的公司很难参与进去。县政府官厅和建筑公司团体都有默契。不过，要是新公司有大腕议员当靠山，就是另一回事了。当然县议会的议员还不够硬，必须得是国会议员才行。不过我实在想象不出一个拉壮丁的中桥组会有这样的关系啊……” 矢田部忽然想起，在刈野温泉的古玩店屋顶上看见的那块大招牌：全国区参议院议员高尾雄尔联络事务所。 高尾雄尔是位著名的议员，应该不会和“拉壮丁”起家的中桥组有关。矢田部赶忙把宣传选举的招牌从脑中抹去。 两人走到临时事务所门口。写有“藤濑组隧道工程现场事务所”字样的招牌挂在门上。上面还写着事务所的电话号码。 “那我就告辞了。”上村停了下来，把手放在头盔上行了一礼。 矢田部也弯下腰，本想致谢，眼睛却不由得朝事务所的方向看去。 两层楼高的事务所旁边，又扩建了一栋新的临时建筑。刚才上村说，现在人多了，原来的房子太挤，所以才扩建了一下。不过新楼还没造好，印有“藤濑组”字样的几十张幕布将建筑物团团围住，前面则用钢管搭起脚手架。路旁放着一排栅栏，印有虎纹，也写着“藤濑组”三个字。 这一幕与刈野温泉尽头拆除旅馆的工地太像了。唯一不同的是幕布上的文字，一个是“中桥组”，一个是“藤濑组”。矢田部看出了神。 “我刚才说的就是这个，这就是扩建的新楼。”上村正要进屋，察觉到矢田部的视线后，赶忙解释道。 “嗯，我也想起来了。” 矢田部抬头望着包围建筑物的幕布，仿佛包裹箱子的大包装纸。幕布前用钢管搭起脚手架，一部分架子上还铺着木板，有工人站在上面干活。 “现在脚手架都不用木头搭了，改用钢管了呢。” 刚才在温泉旅馆那边也有一些钢管脚手架没有拆除。 “是的，每根钢管大概都是一米长。修路、修煤气道和水管的时候，不是会用钢管在路上拉幕布吗？用的也是这种管子。钢管跟钢管之间的连接部分是可以伸缩的，叫管架"。 ”头戴头盔的上村微笑着解释道，“有了管架，就能根据需要，自动调节钢管的长短了。 " “哦，那真是太方便了。” 矢田部朝钢管脚手架望去。 脚手架上铺着木板，人就站在木板上工作。为了防滑，木板上还铺了一层席子——席子比木板大，边角耷拉在木板外面。 “对了，你看马路边上摆着的那些栏杆，那叫安全防护栏"。”头戴头盔的年轻技术员耐心地解释道。可惜矢田部的注意力都被钢管脚手架吸引去了。 矢田部上了巴士。 转弯之后，藤濑组的工程现场事务所就不见了。道路沿着人造湖畔建造，一个弯接一个弯。私家车在狭窄的道路上超过了巴士，扬长而去。 道路终于离开了湖畔。闪闪发光的水面消失了，取而