Chapter 17 Chapter Seventeen

The phone rang from a distance, getting louder and louder.Yatabe was woken up.It was very dark in the room.The phone was on a small table in the corner of the bedroom.Yatabe lifted the thin quilt violently.Golden light leaked in through the cracks in the rain windows. "Morning." It was Mr. Yamazaki's voice. "Ah, class principal, good morning." Yatabe glanced at his watch—it was only half past seven. "Didn't you wake up?" "Excuse me……" "I must have been tired yesterday. I want you to sleep more, but there are some things I want to inform you earlier."

"Have you found out what I asked you to check last night?" Yatabe was originally kneeling on the ground, but when he heard this, he sat down on the tatami, swept the note paper on the table last night to his hand, and grabbed a pencil. "Well, at nearly midnight last night, I contacted the person in charge of the management of Hannan Golf Club. I wanted to contact you immediately after inquiring, but then I thought you must have fallen asleep, so I delayed until today. Alas, actually I have to wake you up anyway." "It's okay, it's okay..." "Taifu Nakahashi, who came from County R, arrived yesterday and stayed at the hotel on the mountain attached to the club. The golf match is held today."

"Huh? Today?" The site director of the road expansion project of the Nakahashi team and the helper in the staff dormitory said that the president Taifu Nakahashi left for Hannan a few days ago.If the golf meeting was held today, why did he leave so early?Yatabe was very surprised. Could it be that Nakahashi took a detour to do other things before arriving in Kannan yesterday? "Golf competition? . . . a collective competition?" "Well, there are twenty people in total. But they don't all live in that hotel. The only one who lives there is Taio Nakahashi, and the remaining nineteen people went directly to the club at ten o'clock this morning."

Because the middle bridge is the farthest away.The rest must all be from Tokyo or a few nearby prefectures. "Who is the host?" "It's an organization called Nanyuanhui. The representative is Jushi Tangming." " "Kosedo Akira...ah, is it that Kosedoaki?" Yatabe shouted in surprise. "That's right, wasn't Miyoko Sawada, who died at the Momijisou Hotel in Kurama Kifunecho, Kyoto, the secretary of the Tomei Economic Research Institute? The director of that research institute is Koshido Akira." "This..." Yatabe hesitated to speak.

"The Dongmei Economic Research Institute is in the Shenbang Building in Marunouchi, Tokyo. The strangled body of Yanagihara Kosuke was also found in the mechanical room on the roof of that building." "Exactly." Yatabe coincided with Yamazaki, but he was so surprised that he couldn't speak for a long time. "Didn't the people from the Metropolitan Police Department say that Masahiro Mioka, who died in Funaki Dam Lake, often went to and from the huge Dongmei Economic Research Institute. Yatabe, I always feel that the investigation of these three parties needs to be investigated. We went together..." "Tripartite investigation" refers to the Metropolitan Police Department, the local police station of Kurama Kifune, and the police station where Yamazaki and Yatabe are located.

Yatabe recalled the words of the investigator sent by the Metropolitan Police Department. ...Dongming Economic Research Institute is a place to sell dog meat. It is actually an organization called "Nanyuanhui", directly led by Jushi Tangming, and it is an organization that conducts bid-rigging in the construction industry.Although it is bid rigging, it is not such a detail as to determine the bid amount.Jushi Tangming is quite popular with the top officials of the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies, and Nanyuanhui is a high-level intermediary organization.All people are very strict and refuse to disclose details.

Not only that, but Yatabe also remembered the ridiculously large signboard he saw in the shopping street of Karino Onsen - "National District Senator Takao Yuji Liaison Office". "Chairman, besides Taifu Nakahashi, who else has gone to the Nanyuan Club's golf club?" "That's not clear. When I asked the person in charge of the country club, I just found a reason. I didn't say that I was a policeman. If I asked those people, I would definitely be suspected." "I see. What time does the golf club end today?" "Oh, he told me this. He said it would end around four o'clock in the afternoon, so they will have lunch in the club's cafeteria. The meals for twenty people have already been reserved."

"What about after the golf club?" "They will leave the club, and the person in charge of the club will not know what will happen next." Too. Mioka got on the "Echo" Shinkansen in Kyoto, and when he got off at Hamamatsu Station, he left his golf bag on the luggage rack.His subordinate Oishi Road Construction Minister said Mioka had been to golf courses near Kyoto.If I had known this, I should have asked him more about the golf club.Yatabe regretted it.The investigators from Kyoto did not mention the relevant situation either.Even if the two police stations are investigating the same case, they will insist on "secrecy".

From this point of view, the Nanyuanhui Kyoto Golf Club that Mioka participated in and the golf club held in Kannan today should be the same event. "Chairman, Echo", have you found out the woman wearing sunglasses in seat 6B of car No. 12, that is, the seat next to Mioka? " According to the captain's short observation, the woman was twenty-seven or eighty-eight years old, about 1.6 meters tall, with long hair, wearing a light beige sleeveless top, and a long face. She should be a beautiful woman. Her ticket was bought on June 22, two days before Mioka left for Kyoto.It was Miyoko Sawada who went to the transportation commune to buy tickets at the Shenbang Building.

"That woman wearing sunglasses? Not yet. If she really pretended to be Miyoko Sawada and entered Room 208 of the Momijiso Hotel before Mioka, then she would be an important insider of the case. She seems to be in Tokyo, and we are beyond our reach." , We can’t find it. But we don’t have conclusive evidence at present, and we are embarrassed to ask the Metropolitan Police Department to assist in the investigation. However, I also have my own considerations.” Yatabe understood what the section chief meant.Section Chief Yamazaki also wanted to conduct a "separate investigation" and did not want to notify the Metropolitan Police Department.

"I know." Yatabe said firmly.He believed that the headmaster would have a solution. "By the way, how is Kinya from Karino Onsen?" "I asked Takiyama Pavilion, and said that she and six other geisha friends will stay there for two days." "I'll stay for two more days...that means they will leave tomorrow?" "That's right, the hotel said that they didn't behave abnormally. They went to the nearby golf driving range to practice their swing during the day, and stayed in the room honestly in the room drinking and chatting at night." "Can Jin Mi still play golf?" "Yeah, hot spring geisha can order it these days." "Is that so..." Yatabe swallowed, "Is Hakone far from Kannan?" "It's quite a long way from Tangben to Hannan, but it doesn't take too much time to drive to Shiguo Mountain Slope. The west side of the mountain range on Shiguo Mountain Slope is Hannan." "Is there a road? It is the driveway from Shiguo Mountain to Hannan." "I haven't been there, and I don't know very well, but from a geographical point of view, there should still be roads. Isn't there a paved road along the foot of the mountain from the slopes of Jukoku to Izu Nagaoka?" "I see." Yatabe's voice was stronger this time, "...I'll check out and go back to the police station. I found a lot of clues here, and I want to report to you as soon as possible." "Okay, I'll wait for you, you can come back by taxi." "what?" "Take the Chuo Expressway! Drive from Ena to Iida, and then take National Route 152 back to Futamata. It's much faster than tram buses, and you don't have to change trains. I'll reimburse you for the fare." After eight o'clock, Yatabe finished the breakfast provided by the hotel and hurriedly took a taxi.It's sunny today, with a strong sun beating down from a narrow sky, and it's bound to be hot in the afternoon. The sky is "narrow" because it is surrounded by mountains.The taxi headed east along the highway, and the surrounding mountains were getting higher and higher. When the young driver heard that Yatabe was going to Futamata in Tenryu City, he was overjoyed.It is difficult to get such a long-distance business recently. "How long will it take?" "Well... it shouldn't take an hour to get to Iida. After the tunnel is opened, it's really much faster. It can't be compared with the time when we went over mountains and mountains. The expressway is good." "We'll be in Iida in less than an hour?" "Yes, and then take National Highway No. 152 from Iida to Futamata. It's about 70 kilometers, one and a half hours is enough, and the total is about two and a half hours." Two and a half hours - if you take trams and buses, you also need to count the time for waiting and changing buses, which is indeed much slower than taxis. However, what Yatabe cares about is not time, but "route".If the truck was going to Futamata from the place with the diabase tuff, it must have passed the Chuo Expressway where the taxi was driving. Perhaps Section Chief Yamazaki's original intention was to let Yatabe go back earlier, but Yatabe still felt the weight of that sentence.Now is not the time to snooze and wander off.He stared at the sunlit road and objectively examined the surrounding scenery. There are many trucks loaded with wood such as cypress and cedar on the highway, which is very local.A huge trailer almost the size of a freight train. "If you hit that kind of big guy, you will be finished." The driver shrank his neck and distanced himself from the big trucks, as if he wanted to escape from this place of right and wrong as soon as possible. Several trucks came from the opposite lane.A yellow mixer truck circled the foot of the mountain and appeared in Yatabe's field of vision.The mixing drum rotates slowly like an electric globe.The mixing truck had already left, but Yatabe still turned around and looked through the glass window behind the car for a long time.The trumpet-shaped bucket is facing the sky, just like the chimney of a steam locomotive. "It's scary enough for such a big car." The taxi drove into Iida City.The urban area located in the plateau basin is uneven, with ramps everywhere. Small villas in the basin can be seen from the highway.Houses were scattered among the trees.Garden full of trees.A hammock hangs between two trees.The brown body lay in the white net, taking a nap comfortably. "Ah!" Yatabe shouted after the taxi drove past the villa. Yatabe's heart was pounding, and an ominous feeling crossed his mind. The hammock used to take a nap inspired Yatabe to put the dead body into the constantly rotating mixing truck for long-distance transportation without hurting the dead body.He found the last key to solve the mystery of corpse removal.That's right, it must be that way. The mind troubled by problems is finally liberated.His thoughts flew to another matter - everything is a natural transformation of consciousness. It is said that Kim Ya is now in Hakone.However, is she really still in Yumoto's Takiyama Pavilion at this moment? What Mr. Yamazaki said on the phone this morning was about "last night".Although the geisha group will also live in Takiyama Pavilion today, but that is just their "plan" after all.He didn't know if things had changed this morning. Today, Nanyuan Club will hold a golf club at Hannan Golf Course.Yatabe in the taxi looked at his watch.Five past nine.The people who participated in the club should have arrived one after another.It would take another one and a half hours for him to return to Futamata's police station. The taxi drove past the towering stone walls of the old Iida Castle site and entered the shopping street. "Master driver, please stop." Yatabe said.Taxis are parked on the side of the road.There are three bookstores next to it. "I want to take a break, can you wait for me for ten minutes?" "Oh, I see, take your time and don't worry." Yatabe rushed into the bookstore and grabbed a thick book of train timetables.The names and telephone numbers of major hotels across the country are on the back of the timetable.It is much faster to check the book directly than to call the public phone to check the number.On the page of Kanagawa Prefecture, there is Takiyamakaku in Hakone Yumoto.He wrote down the hotel's phone number in his notebook, and walked quickly into a nearby public phone booth. He threw five or six hundred yuan coins into the phone and dialed the number on his notebook. "Hello, welcome to Yumoto Takiyamakaku." The coin fell into the phone, and the operator's voice came from the other end of the phone. "You have a Miss Jin Mi from County R, can you ask her to listen to the phone?" "Miss Jin Mi? Could you please tell me her name?" The operator thought "Jin Mi" was a surname. "I don't know her real name. I only know that she is a geisha from Karino Onsen. She came with six or seven geishas." "Please wait." The music of the music box played for a full two minutes. "Hello?" Another woman answered the phone. "Ah, is this Miss Jin Mi?" "I'm not Miss Jin Mi, who are you?" Looks like she's the geisha who came with Kim Mi. "She'll know when she comes to answer the phone." After a moment of silence, the other party said, "Sister Jin Mi is not here." "What? She's not here? Did she take a bath or go for a walk?" "No, she is in a hurry. She went out alone more than an hour ago." "Going out?" Yatabe yelled, glancing at his watch. "yes." "Do you know where she has gone?" "I don't know. Someone came to pick her up by car. She said she would come back in the evening, maybe she went to Atami to play." "Does Miss Jin Mi know the man who came to pick her up?" "It's not a man, it's a woman. You must know each other, otherwise Miss Jin Mi wouldn't go with her." "How old is that woman?" "Who are you?" the woman asked. "To be honest, I'm a policeman from Tenryu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. I belong to the Criminal Division. My surname is Yatabe." "Police?" The woman's tone changed from questioning to surprised. "I'm sorry to scare you, but don't worry, Miss Jinmi didn't do anything bad... Ah, that's right, are Miss Hanae, Miss Umemaru, or Miss Teruha here?" These three names were told to him by the waiter at Karino Onsen Fengzhuang.At that time, he copied the name in a notebook. "I am Umemaru." The other party replied unhappily. "Ah, you are Miss Umemaru." "Yes, but why do you know our names?" "This is what I found out. Don't worry, I'm just asking around casually. What I want to investigate has nothing to do with you." In order to stabilize the other party's emotions, Yatabe said something contradictory. "Excuse me, have you seen the woman who took Miss Jin Mi out?" "This...you wait." Her voice was far away from the receiver, as if she was asking someone else for something.Her partners seemed to be in the room too, and some voices could be heard through the earpiece, but they were not clear. "Hi, I'm Huajiang." "Ah, it's Miss Huajiang." "Just now Xiaomei told me that you are a policeman from Tianlong City?" "Yes, my surname is Yatabe, and I'm a criminal police officer." "Mr. Criminal Police... Could it be that something happened to Miss Jin Mi?" "No, no, Miss Jin Mi has nothing to do with the case, but I just want to ask you about some things. May I ask how old is the woman who came to pick up Miss Jin Mi? Does her appearance have any characteristics?" "We haven't seen that person." "what?" "Sister Jin Mi was called out by a phone call. After answering the phone call, she told us that she suddenly had to go out for something, and a woman would pick her up by car, and she would come back in the evening." "Did she say where she was going?" "No... We thought she went to Atami and Yugawara with acquaintances. It would be very convenient to drive to the slope of Shikoku, and then go to Atami or Yugawara." "Then Miss Jin Mi was on the phone, were you by her side?" "Sister Jin Mi shared a room with Xiaomei, but when she called, Xiaomei happened to be playing mahjong in our room, so she didn't hear the call. Later, sister Jin Mi came to our room and told us to go out. Then I left..." "Did she look flustered when she came into your room? How was her face?" "She seemed to be in a hurry. As for her face... I didn't see clearly. I was too busy playing mahjong, so I glanced at Miss Jin Mi. Everyone said together, be careful on the road..." "Then what kind of clothes is Miss Jin Mi wearing?" "A Shiozawa silk kimono with a cross pattern on a white background, with a dark blue summer belt." According to Huajiang's words, it can be judged that the outside call to Jin Mi should have passed through the hotel's terminal.However, the other party must have used a pseudonym, and the operator probably did not eavesdrop on the call.The most urgent task is to find witnesses, find out where Jin Mi met the woman who came to pick her up, and what model of car she was driving.Sadly, none of these things can be done over the phone. Yatabe was more worried about Kaneya who left the hotel an hour ago.He became more and more anxious. At this time, he suddenly had an idea.Although this idea is not perfect, but now it can only bite the bullet.time does not wait. The question is, can he convince the geishas to help.Although he has revealed his identity as a policeman, they have never met before. "Hello, Miss Huajiang?" "I am here." "To be honest, I am very worried about Miss Jin Mi who is going out..." "Ah? Worried? Why?" Huajiang's surprised voice came from the receiver.After knowing Yatabe's identity as a criminal police officer, her reaction was even greater. "We don't have any definite information yet, but it's very likely that Miss Jin Mi was kidnapped." "What? Kidnapping?" Her tone was not so much skeptical as it was frightened. "Yes, it's very likely." It had to be so emphatically to persuade her to help. "Then... do some bad guys want to kidnap Sister Jin Mi for a ransom? She won't be sold by thieves, right?" "It could be worse...she could be silenced." "Silence? Is someone going to kill Miss Jin Mi?" "Don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case. I really can't explain it on the phone..." "Aren't you a policeman? Hurry up and save Miss Jin Mi! Tell all the nearby policemen to find someone!" "Of course we will send all the police force to search and rescue, but I need your help more now." "You want us to help?" "Yes, this is the best way." "If I can help Miss Jin Mi, let me do anything. Tell me!" The geishas of Karino Onsen gathered around Hanae's receiver, listening to the conversation between Hanae and Yatabe with bated breath.Yatabe also felt the worry of the geisha through the handset. "May I ask how many ladies from Karino Onsen are there in the room?" "Six, Umemaru, Teruha, me, Xiaonu, Chunruo and Suzuka." "I want to ask everyone to go out together." "where to?" "There is a station called Kannan between Atami and Mishima, please wait for me at the waiting room of Kannan Station around 12:30." Yatabe glanced at his watch, "It is now 9:30, there are still three hours, enough for everyone I got my makeup done. It takes 30 minutes to take a taxi from Yumoto to Odawara, and it takes about 30 minutes to take the Tokaido Line from Odawara Station to Kannan Station. Counting the waiting time for the bus, it takes less than an hour and a half." After discussing with the companions around for dozens of seconds, Huajiang replied: "Okay, everyone agrees." Her voice was extremely excited. "That would be great, please. I'll be at the station at half past twelve." "What should I do next?" "Let's talk about it after we meet... Ah, that's right, it's lunch time at half past twelve. There is a golf course near Hannan Station. Let's go to the restaurant there for lunch. My treat." "Sister Jin Mi has been kidnapped, do you still have time to eat?" "Don't worry, just let me handle Miss Jin Mi's affairs, as long as you all do what I say, then Miss Jin Mi will be safe." "Okay, we'll do it." "When I arrive at Hannan Station, I will explain to you in detail... Ah, by the way, you have never seen me, nor my police ID. Just listening to the voice on the phone, you may suspect that I am a fake." "..." "After I hang up, please call the Tianlong Police Department immediately, find the Chief of the Criminal Section Yamazaki Police Department, and ask him if there is an inspection chief named Yatabe Huqin under him.Yatabe Nursing "Did you hear me clearly? You tell him that Yatabe asked you to do this, and let him tell you whether you can do it." "I believe you, but I'll call to be on the safe side." There was a hint of a smile in Huajiang's voice. "Just call, it's okay. After confirming that I'm not a fake, please go to the waiting room of Hannan Station before 12:30, please." "Ok." "Thank you so much, thank you so much. See you then." This long phone call is finally over. Yatabe hastily dialed another number. "Section Chief, it's me. I'm in a public phone booth in Iida City." "Have you found any clues yet?" Seeing that Yatabe did not return to the police station immediately, Yamazaki thought he had made a new discovery. "Is such that……" He briefly reported on his conversation with the Karino Onsen geisha at Takiyamakaku. "I see, we are still a step late in protecting Jin Mi... If they call the bureau, I will testify for you." "I have one more thing to ask you, that Wen Ji..." "Ah, that Hamamatsu geisha." "Please send someone to ask Wenji to go to Hannan Station before 12:30, and ask her to wear a kimono instead of a foreign dress. It is best to wear a Shiozawa silk kimono with a cross pattern on a white background, and a dark blue summer belt. .If not, find something similar instead." "You still want to call Shang Wenji?" "I'll go back to the office and report to you carefully, but it will take some time on the way, so I can only trouble you to arrange it first, time waits for no one!" When Yatabe walked out of the public phone booth, he was sweating profusely, as if he had just been drenched by a thunderstorm. He wiped his sweat, looked at the hands of his watch by the way, and calculated the time needed from Hamamatsu to Kannan in his mind.I don't know if I can make it before 12:30... He waited for a while, then got into the phone booth again.I could barely breathe. Section Chief Yamazaki answered the phone. "I'm Yatabe, what does Wenji from Hamamatsu say?" "Ah, Wen Ji agreed. She said that there is no white cross-pattern dress, but she will choose a Shiozawa silk kimono that is closest to white and wear it with a dark blue sash. She said that she should be there before half past twelve. The waiting room of Hannan Station. She also asked me what's the matter, and I didn't know how to answer, so I just found a reason to prevaricate." "It's really troublesome for you...By the way, there is something urgent to trouble you. I have about an hour and a half to go back, but I don't have time to go to the office to report to you. After all, I have to go back before half past twelve. Go to Hannan Station..." "Yeah, time is really tight..." Yamazaki also noticed the urgency of time. "So before I get to the police station, can you help me prepare a police car to park at the gate? Then I can take the police car directly to Hamamatsu after getting off the taxi. The national highway from Futamata to Hamamatsu is very congested..." "okay, I get it." "Before then, please apply for a few more arrest warrants." "Arrest warrant? For whom?" Yatabe announced several names. "Okay." The section chief on the other end of the phone said with a raised voice. "After the arrest warrant is ready, please get into the police car, the section chief, and take the two young police officers from the section with you." "Let's go to Hannan together?" "Yes . . . ah, one more thing. Please ask the nearest concrete factory, any factory, for help." "How to say?" "So..." Yatabe expressed his thoughts. "Okay, I'll go ask." "It's troublesome. We can take the Echo from Hamamatsu to Mishima, and I will report to you in detail along the way.It took about an hour on the road, enough time for me to make things clear. " The next stop at Mishima Station is Kannan, but the Shinkansen will naturally not stop at such a small station. "Then let's do this. This will keep me busy for a while." "Sorry, please." Yatabe walked out of the telephone booth for the second time and rushed towards the taxi, his head covered with beads of sweat. The driver who was dozing off was awakened by the sound of Yatabe knocking on the window. "To Futamata in Tenryu City, the sooner the better." The driver puts his foot on the gas pedal. The air conditioner is on in the car.Yatabe felt that the seats in the taxi were unusually cool.He stopped sweating, and his hot head gradually cooled down. "Guest, did you just run away?" "what?" "I see you are panting..." There is no phone booth where the taxi is located. "Oh, I went to two or three stores to check. Driver, can you drive faster?" "It's going to be speeding soon! There are so many black cats waiting to catch speeding around here..." "I'll explain it to you if I got caught." "Huh?" The driver looked at the passenger's face in surprise through the rearview mirror. Today's taxi seems to be driving very slowly, and there are too many red lights.However, the driver's driving skills were good, and he repeatedly overtook on National Highway 152, but after all, he didn't have the guts to run a red light, so he could only stare blankly at the traffic light. The taxi drove into Shizuoka Prefecture and continued south.There is a prefectural road in Mizuki-cho, and you can take National Route 151 to Toyohashi on this road.The intersection on the national highway hit a red light again, and two heavy trucks were blocked in front of it. Yatabe was desperate.He looked out the window. Roadside is under construction, is a reinforced concrete house.It seemed to be a building of the Nonghyup, four stories high.Scaffolding was set up outside, and construction workers stood on the scaffolding and worked.If the building is low, the scaffolding will naturally be low.The scaffolding on the roadside does not use old-style wooden piles, but new-style steel pipe scaffolding, some places have two floors, and some places have three floors. This is called "steel pipe scaffolding", and each steel pipe is about one meter long.When repairing roads, gas channels and water pipes, don't you use steel pipes to draw curtains on the road?This is the same tube used.The connecting part between the steel pipe and the steel pipe can be stretched, which is called "pipe frame".With the pipe rack, the length of the steel pipe can be automatically adjusted according to the needs. The words of Uemura, a young technician from the Fujise Group Field Engineering Office, who was working on the shore of Jinling Lake, resounded in Yatabe's mind.The scaffolding at the lakeside construction site is covered with wooden boards, and a layer of straw mats is spread on it to prevent the construction workers' feet from slipping.The edges of the straw mats stick out of the boards—everything is exactly the same as the construction site of the Nonghyup before us. I see!Yatabe almost cried out. He also saw steel pipe scaffolding at the construction site by Jinling Lake, but he didn't realize how important it was at the time.In fact, victory is at hand. He found a few straws in the backyard of Hongyezhuang Hotel in Guichuan.The straw had fallen near the oak tree in the backyard, so Yatabe thought it had fallen from the mats used to protect the trees in winter.However, how can it be possible to find straw mats that are only used in winter in the hot summer?When he found the straw, he also felt a little suspicious, but he didn't think much about it... How careless I was!Yatabe really wanted to punch himself in the head. The walls of Hongyezhuang Hotel are more than two meters high.To move Miyoko Sawada's body into Room 208, the wall had to be climbed over.The corpse was not thrown in - a corpse dropped from a height of more than two meters would definitely leave traces, but the corpse was intact. The puzzle was finally solved.Prisoners set up scaffolding inside and outside the walls!Just use a one-meter-long steel pipe to build the stairs.And the new steel pipe can freely adjust the length. Prisoners can use a cart to take the dismantled steel pipes to the scene and park them on the road leading to the pommel horse. Of course, the parking location must be some distance from Hongyezhuang.There are more than a dozen steel pipes tied together on the car, as well as wooden boards and straw mats. Then, along the small river outside the wall of Hongyezhuang, the prisoners moved the materials to the side of the wall and set up stepped scaffolding.There will be no noise during the whole process, and there is no need to worry about being heard by the staff of Hongyezhuang Hotel or nearby residents. After the outer scaffolding was set up, the prisoners laid planks, climbed over the wall, and came to the backyard of the hotel inside the wall.Before climbing over the wall, he threw in the steel pipes needed for the scaffolding from the outside one by one.The untended courtyard was overgrown with weeds, muffled the sound of iron pipes falling.Then he built steel pipe stairs on the inside of the wall, and laid wooden planks and straw mats. After that, the prisoner carried Miyoko Sawada's body to the wall, walked up the stairs made of steel pipes, climbed over the wall, and then took the stairs into the backyard. Naisho, who pretended to be Zetian and entered Room 208 from the front desk, had already opened the window to the backyard for the prisoner.The two put the body in a bathtub filled with hot water, changed her into a hotel bathrobe, and stuffed her under the covers.The people in the room locked the windows as they were, and the mysterious woman hid in the dark. The inmates returned to the yard and removed the steel pipe scaffolding.As long as the pipe frame at the joint of the steel pipes is pulled out, the scaffolding will turn back into individual steel pipes.He threw the steel pipes over the wall one by one.That path is also covered with weeds, so it doesn't make any noise.The prisoner climbed up the fence, used the same method to dismantle the scaffolding outside the fence, and transported the steel pipes, planks, and straw mats back into the car.The car is parked far away.After Mioka escaped from the room, the prisoner had to help his girlfriend out of the hotel—— It turned out that this is how the straw under the tree in the backyard came from. Yatabe was so focused on solving the puzzle that he didn't care to enjoy the scenery outside the window.Before I knew it, the taxi had arrived near the Chuanming Dam. The taxi arrived at the gate of Futamata Police Station—the police car had been waiting at the gate for a long time. "Master driver, just park next to that police car." "what?" "I'm really sorry for making unreasonable demands along the way. This trip has worked hard for you." Yatabe and Yamazaki sat face to face in the non-reserved compartment of the "Echo" bound for Tokyo. "I'll apply for the arrest warrant you want." The section chief took out an envelope from his pocket. Yatabe took out the arrest warrant from the envelope, and looked at the name of the arrested person and the suspect content.He nodded, thanked the section chief, and handed the envelope back.The flat Chinese character face couldn't hide the excitement. "By the way, the concrete factory also agreed to help. There is a branch of the project in Izu, and they promised to show up as scheduled." "You must have been busy for a long time, I really trouble you..." Yatabe bowed his head in thanks. "There is also the geisha Wenji in Hamamatsu. I didn't see her on the platform of Hamamatsu Station, so I asked Okawa to go to the telephone booth at the station and call her home. She seemed to take the previous Echo" and left. " The section chief brought three subordinates: Okawa, Yoshioka and Ueda. "That's it... It seems that the preparations are going well." The big stone in Yata's chest fell to the ground, and he took out a crumpled cigarette case from his pocket. He had already reported the content of the preparations to Yamazaki, and also showed the police officers the diabase tuff fragments he had requested from the Chubu Concrete Manufacturing Company. "It's pretty smooth right now, the next step is the key." After listening to Yatabe's words, Yamazaki looked at the sky outside the window, as if he was predicting the development of the situation.The clouds are overwhelming, and it will rain at any time. "Yeah, I feel like I'm on pins and needles." Before Yatabe transferred to Futamata, he was already an adventurous investigator. "When foreign films are shown here, some people will say good luck to you." " Yamazaki had never seen Yatabe so nervous, so he quickly made a joke.It's no wonder that the plan they are implementing was conceived by Yatabe alone, using the manpower and material resources of the entire Criminal Division.Not only that, Yamazaki also told Yatabe that for today's operation, the director specially greeted the search section of the prefectural police station.Of course, these formalities are the responsibility of the head of the department.However, the matter is of great importance, no matter how seasoned and cunning an old detective is, he will be as nervous as a rookie. "Anyway, we still have forty minutes to arrive at Mishima. Please briefly describe your investigation process in Kyoto and Karino Onsen." "Okay, it's like this..." When Yatabe began to narrate, the train happened to pass through the fields near Kakegawa, cross the iron bridge of Oigawa, and pass through the darkness of Nihonzaka Tunnel in an instant.The train is about to arrive at the station, where you can overlook the scenery of Shizuoka City.Yatabe is also almost finished.He couldn't talk in too much detail, otherwise he wouldn't be able to finish it in a day and a night. "I understand the general situation." Yamazaki, who was listening quietly, sighed softly. "You think it was a mixing truck that moved the corpse. The mixing drum was filled with hot spring water from the Liugetsu Hotel in Karino Onsen, and Sawada Miyoko’s body was put in. They used the dismantling of the Liugetsu Hotel as a cover, and pulled up the curtain needed for the construction to cover up a series of actions. Even if someone saw the concrete mixer truck parked next to the construction site, they would not be suspicious. You mean that, right? " "That's right. Afterwards they demolished the Liuyue Hotel. Maybe that was the scene of the crime. The hotel is gone, and the evidence is gone... The Nakahashi Group will build their own office there. The original hotel has long been It's gone." "Well... However, if you fill the mixing drum with hot water and put the corpse in, the corpse will bump around under the influence of the water flow, leaving marks of bruises and abrasions. But the Guichuan Hongyezhuang Hotel found that There is no wound on the body, so what's going on?" "This problem has troubled me for a long time," Yatabe stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray of his seat. "When I was at the Umezawa Plant of Chubu Concrete Manufacturing Company, the head of the Manufacturing Section let me visit the internal structure of the mixer truck. At last The trouble is that there is a kind of fan blade in the mixing drum for stirring. When the mixing drum is filled with hot water, the fan blade will stir the hot water, and it stands to reason that the body of Miyoko Sawada who is floating in the water should hit The hard metal fan blades are right. Besides, the fan blades are still rotating, which should leave more obvious scars... The prisoner wanted to slow down the cooling of the corpse as much as possible, so I thought that the prisoner might pour water into the mixing drum. In this way, the real time of death can be confused. Of course, the hot spring water will gradually become colder, but it is better than pouring cold water at the beginning. Once they arrive at Hongyezhuang Hotel, the prisoners put the dead body Get in the tub and keep warm again." "Uh-huh……" “问题是，为什么尸体没有碰伤？在我打车去饭田市的时候，看见那一带的别墅后院里装着吊床，有人躺在上面睡午觉。我一看就明白了：犯人把尸体装在睡袋一样的东西里，两头扎紧，再用长绳把睡袋的两头系在搅拌筒两端。搅拌筒里有的是地方可以系。” 窗外是日本平原的茶田。厚厚的云层逐渐变稀，天空明亮了起来。 “哦……尸体被睡袋裹着，而睡袋的两头绑在搅拌筒两端，即使搅拌筒旋转，也不用担心尸体会在逆流的作用下到处乱撞。” 山崎在脑海中想象出搅拌筒内的情景。 “没错，光把尸体放进去，筒中的水会因为扇叶的旋转产生逆流，尸体也会受到影响，到处乱撞留下外伤。只要使用吊床睡袋"，就能防止外伤，而且睡袋在水流的影响下也会不停旋转，避免尸体的血液因为重力的原因沉积在一处。搅拌筒是由油压泵马达驱动的，旋转速度也是可以调节的，不用担心装有尸体的睡袋会过度旋转，所以尸体在搅拌卡车里的时候没有出现尸斑。 " "I see." “搅拌卡车就这样开到了京都贵船的红叶庄酒店附近。至于到达酒店的时间……应该是假扮泽田的神秘女子通过前台，进入208号房之后，也就是八点二十分左右吧。” “那个神秘女子不仅假扮泽田美代子骗过了前台，还帮助犯人把搅拌车里的尸体搬进了208号房是吗？” “是的，我稍后会提到这件事。总之泽田美代子的尸体被运到酒店附近了。那里有条小河，犯人打开混凝土的排泥口，把搅拌筒里的水倒进河里，那个口子自然而然就成了排水口"。车子应该停在与红叶庄酒店有些距离的地方，那里远离人家。而筒里的温泉水已经变凉。之后，犯人从搅拌车的漏斗形入口——他们管它叫仓斗"，工作人员打扫卫生的时候也是从那儿进去的——他从那个入口走进搅拌筒，解开睡袋两头的绳子。接着他抱着尸体走出搅拌筒，绕去红叶庄酒店后，翻过围墙进入后院。这些事情应该发生在八点到八点半之间。那里地处偏僻，晚上又特别冷清，没有行人也没有车辆通行，周围的人家很早就会紧闭门窗，况且搅拌卡车应该停在小河的下游，远离人家，所以没有人会听见停车放水的声音。” “嗯……原来如此。” “犯人抱着泽田美代子的尸体进入红叶庄酒店的208号房。等候已久的神秘女子与犯人一起把尸体放进浴缸里，用热水把尸体泡暖，再把她塞进被窝。犯人逃之夭夭。之后，日星建设的味冈专务一无所知地走进房间，见到泽田美代子的尸体大吃一惊，翻墙逃跑了。第二天凌晨一点四十分左右，酒店工作人员察觉到208号房的异样，打电话报警，两个半小时后法医前来验尸。这时，距离犯人将尸体搬出搅拌筒已有七小时左右，所以尸体出现了淡淡的尸斑，而警局的鉴识课和负责解剖的法医也因此搞错了死亡时间。京都警局的刑警们一直以为红叶庄酒店就是案发现场，整个调查方向都错了。他们完全没注意到，尸体是从其他地方搬来的。” "Ok……" 山崎把手臂支在窗框上，用手撑着脑袋闭目养神。窗外是清水港的白色集装箱。天更亮了，浅浅的阳光洒在地上。看来只有滨松才是阴天。 山崎睁开双眼说道:“你说犯人抱着尸体翻过了红叶庄酒店的围墙，那堵墙大概多高？” “两米一。” “两米一？抱着尸体，怎么可能翻得了这么高的墙？一个人还说得过去，就像味冈那样，奋力一跃，够到墙头，再翻过去……” “课长，犯人自有方法。” 问得好！矢田部露出得意的微笑。 关键就是自己在建筑工地看见的钢管脚手架。把木板铺在用钢管拼接而成的脚手架上，再铺上一层草席，防止工人脚底打滑。 犯人利用钢管脚手架，在红叶庄酒店的围墙内外搭出两个临时的梯形楼梯——这就是矢田部的推测。 “红叶庄酒店后院里种着几棵栎树，我在树根附近发现了稻草屑，应该是从草席边角掉下来的，这就是最好的证据。我一开始还以为那是冬天为了保护树木而裹在树干上的草席，但冬天留下的稻草不可能一直留在后院里。再说了，那院子平时虽然没人打理，可半年都不打扫一次也太说不过去了。如果犯人使用了钢管脚手架，一切谜团都能迎刃而解——那肯定是从铺在脚手架上的草席上掉下来的。” “等等。”课长打断了矢田部的演说。 "what?" “照你的推测，围墙内侧应该会留下小洞才对啊，就是把铁管插进地里时留下的洞。” "..." “修马路底下的煤气管、水管的时候，就会用这种铁管拉起幕布，把工地围起来。这和梯形管架的道理是一样的，两者都需要把钢管打进地面。我家附近经常施工，一会儿修煤气管，一会儿修水管，才刚把马路填好，马上又开挖了。多亏了那些效率低下的施工，才能让我好好观察铁管是个什么样子——铁管是深深嵌在地里的。围墙内外应该也会留下十几个类似的洞口，否则就没法搭出楼梯来。你看见洞口了吗？即便犯人事后把土填上了，洞里的土应该也会比周围的土软，用手一按就知道了。” 矢田部沉默了。 他和京都警署都没有查得那么仔细。恐怕地上已经没有洞口了，肯定被犯人填平了。他没有注意到这一点——太大意了。 “我太大意了……”矢田部低头说道。百密一疏，矢田部也是人，不免有些疏漏。不过他好歹也是个老手，脸上总有些发烫。 “最好尽快去现场调查一下，好掌握确凿的证据。” 然而，课长没有回答，而是再次把手撑在窗框上，闭上双眼。列车离大海越来越远，伊豆半岛西海岸的群山隐约可见，没多久又躲进了附近的高山背后。 山崎睁开眼说道：“矢田部啊，我有另一种猜测。他的确借用铁管翻过了墙，但并没有搭楼梯，所以我们现在回到现场，也不会找到小洞。” "how do I say this?" “围墙后头不是有条小河吗？” “对，就在围墙后头的小路边上。大概五米宽，水流还挺急的。” “河底呢？” “都是上游冲下来的石子，大概有拳头那么大吧。” 矢田部想起自己坐在河岸边时看到的情景。河水清澈见底，连河床上的石头也能看得一清二楚。 “那只要把铁管打进河底，就不会留下小洞了。” “原来如此，这样的确不会留下痕迹……” “是吧！犯人没有把铁管打进地面，而是打进河底了！只要打得够深，就能搭起一座高台，水流湍急一些也不碍事。” “高台？” “和工地的脚手架是一个原理，犯人毕竟是建筑行当的人，搭个高台简直是小菜一碟。高台大概有个五米吧，比红叶庄酒店的围墙高多了。” "and then?" “在高台上绑上绳子——说不定是光滑的钢丝绳。长绳的另一头丢进围墙里，在后院的栎树树干上绕几圈绑紧。但是直接绑在树上的话，树皮就会剥落，犯人的手法就会被警方识破，所以他在树干上包了几层草席，再把绳子绑在草席上。你看见的稻草，应该就是从那草席上掉下来的。” "what……" “绳子的一头绑在高台上，一头绑在栎树树干上，这样就有倾斜角度了。犯人在钢丝绳上装两个滑轮，把装有尸体的睡袋吊在滑轮上，让尸体借着绳索的倾斜度慢慢滑进红叶庄酒店，来个软着陆"。他再迅速取出睡袋里的尸体，搬进208号房，最后取下栎树树干上的草席和钢丝绳，迅速拆除钢管高台……只要是建筑业的老手，就能迅速完成一系列工作。 " “列车即将到达三岛。”车长在广播中喊道。 山崎课长、矢田部与另外三名刑警在三岛站下了车，从新干线月台往出口处的楼梯走去。走到半路，“回声号”就发车了。 列车后部的指定席车厢从矢田部身旁驶过。他停下脚步，回过头，目送着“回声号”朝东京驶去，逐渐消失在视野中。 “怎么了？”山崎凑过来问道。 “哦，我突然注意到一个疑点……” “什么疑点？” 列车驶远之后，矢田部又走了起来，但他光顾着说话，走得很慢。 “就是那个在绿色车厢里坐在味冈旁边的墨镜女。那班列车是六月二十八日上午七点四十分从新大阪站发车的。她预先买好的，是去东京的车票吧？” "right." 矢田部点了点头，低头望着自己的脚尖继续说道：“要去东京，一般人应该会选择光号"吧？ " “嗯。”山崎想了想回答道。 “问题是那张特急车票，是被害者泽田美代子在二十二日那天，也就是乘车六天前，亲自去东京神邦大楼的交通公社买的预售票。可这张票后来到了那个墨镜女手里……” “嗯，应该是有人让泽田美代子去交通公社买票后，又把这张票交给了墨镜女。” “我不知道那个人是把票直接交给墨镜女的，还是通过中间人转交的，但车票应该就是这么到她手里的。” 山崎也越走越慢。 “预售车票是从京都到东京的？” “让泽田去买车票的人，预料到味冈会坐回声号"在京都和东京之间的某个车站下车，但不确定具体是哪个车站，所以只能姑且买张到东京的车票。 " 两人在月台上漫步，不一会儿就走到了出口处的楼梯。两人走下楼梯，发现一片供人候车的休息大厅。红黄两色的椅子固定在墙边，还有小卖部，人员稀少。 矢田部看了看手表说：“哎呀，已经一点零五分了。我跟艺妓小姐约十二点半在函南站见面，她们肯定等得不耐烦了吧……上田啊，你去站里找个电话，打去函南站找刈野温泉的花江小姐，让她们再等一个小时。” "Okay, I'll go now." 年轻的刑警拔腿就跑，矢田部赶忙喊道：“滨松来的文吉小姐应该也在那儿，你让花江小姐帮忙转告一下，让她也多等一会儿。文吉小姐穿着白底和服，系深蓝色腰带，很好认的。打电话的时候别忘了道歉啊！” 矢田部与山崎并排坐在固定椅子上。另外两名刑警也坐下来。 在下一站换乘东海道本线就能到函南了，但列车要四十分钟之后才来，上车之后周围都是乘客，说话不方便。他们决定打车过去，但这样一来谈话又会被司机听见，所以矢田部才想在这个有座位的地方把该说的都说完。 “为什么让泽田买票的人知道味冈不会直接回东京，而是会选择中间的一站下车呢？” “会不会跟味冈的部下——日星建设的道路建设部长大石谦吉有关？” 大石道路建设部长称，六月二十八日早晨五点多，住在京都K酒店的味冈给东京的大石家打了个电话。 那时，电话里的味冈听上去很反常，有些神经衰弱的迹象，好像在烦恼着些什么。 “也就是说，让泽田美代子去买回声号"预售票的那个人，知道味冈得了神经衰弱，也知道他要和大石见面商讨要事，所以不会直接回到东京，而是会选择中途的某一站下车。而且他也知道味冈神经衰弱的原因——他在京都贵船的情人酒店红叶庄酒店和泽田美代子的尸体睡了一会儿……这人的计划相当周密啊。 " “味冈在电话里问大石说，有没有可疑的人来总公司找我？"那是在打听警方的动向吧？ " “唯恐警方怀疑自己是杀害泽田美代子的真凶？” “不，应该不是，他是二十七日晚上见到泽田美代子的尸体的，第二天早上就给大石打了电话，距离他目击尸体不到七个小时。他询问自己出差期间有没有可疑人物去总公司找他，肯定另有原因。” “啊，是哦……莫非味冈担心的，是刑警？” “神邦大楼屋顶不是发现了柳原孝助的尸体吗？他肯定是担心警方怀疑到他头上！不是有个女员工作证说，六月十日下午四点十五分左右，一个五十多岁的胖绅士跟她一起坐电梯上了七楼吗？” “嗯……可味冈为什么要担心警方怀疑自己呢？” “恐怕味冈是个懦弱胆小的人，还有些神经质。这也在幕后黑手的预料之内……” 就在这时，跑去给函南站打电话的上田回来了。 “函南站候车室的花江小姐接电话了，可她说她等不了一个小时。” “啊？等不了？” “她在电话里怒气冲天地说：都已经迟到快一个小时了，再让人干等一个小时怎么行，警察也不能这么不讲道理啊！"……” “这样啊，”矢田部苦笑道，“不怪她，毕竟是我拜托她们去函南站等我的，还说要请她们去高尔夫球场的餐厅吃午饭呢，她们肯定都饿着肚子……课长，我们赶紧打车过去吧，剩下的过会儿再说。” 矢田部催课长站起身。 一行五人挤进三岛站前一辆出租车里。开到函南站大概要三十分钟。 出租车驶过三岛神社门口，沿着商店街后的小路往东驶去。 “船明大坝发现的被害人原计划二十八日晚上回到东京，这一点他的妻子可以作证。” 矢田部不舍得浪费出租车上的三十分钟，但他害怕被出租车司机听见，不敢接着候车室的话题继续说，只得换了个新话题。这些话被司机听见了也没有大碍。 “是啊，他离开京都的酒店之前，是准备当晚深夜回家去的。也就是说他认为和大石在馆山寺温泉的会面花不了多少时间。然而情况有变，他在馆山寺住不下去了，只能搬去二俣的旅馆。” 听到课长的话，矢田部压低嗓门说道：“这件事情也存在疑点，这和被害者被带去船明大坝一事有关。” “我说……”司机突然发话了。 矢田部抬头看着司机的背部。 “那是哪儿的艺妓啊？真够闲的，还有闲心到处跑……” "what?" 矢田部吓了一跳，可山崎却笑着对矢田部耳语道：“他肯定是把被害者（gaisha）错听成艺妓（geisha）了。咱还是别说了。” 然而司机并没有停下的意思。 “最近可真是不景气……伊豆的温泉艺妓都抱怨最近没生意呢，哪儿还有心思出远门啊。” “是吗……”矢田部随声附和道。说完之后，他就意识到问题所在。 全国各地的温泉，生意都不好做。刈野温泉旅馆的服务员也没说他们的生意有多好。 可金弥和其他六个艺妓，居然跑到箱根汤本旅游来了，而且还一连住了好几天，这究竟是怎么回事？刈野温泉枫庄的服务员说，她们平时一起攒钱，用作旅行资金。然而，这笔钱肯定不够支付她们的房钱和其他花销——攒钱攒出来的旅游，绝不可能如此铺张。 莫非她们不仅有自己攒的钱，还有其他人暗中援助……