Chapter 41 Chapter Sixteen

In the end, few of the facts learned from this interrogation go beyond our guesswork.Not only that, but since I didn't tell you about the looking glass, in a sense the police know less about the case than we do.For example, we know the exact time of the murder—around 10:35, but they can only infer from the time when the maid saw Nagayoshi and Matsunaga acting panicked and sneaky, it is likely that the murder happened at that time. Therefore, the police decided to search for the whereabouts of the suspect Matsunaga first.In fact, at that time, it was not even confirmed whether a homicide occurred. It was only based on the coincidental facts such as the blood stains in the locker room, the disappearance of Nagayoshi, and Matsunaga's suspicious hasty check-out, which made people naturally suspect it.But in the face of this situation, anyone would think that searching for Matsunaga's whereabouts is the top priority.

Fortunately, Kono was familiar with the inspections in the village. Later, through this channel, we learned a certain degree of the actual progress of the search and the progress of the case. However, after the interrogation at the lakeside pavilion was over, the police immediately ordered to track down Matsunaga's whereabouts, but nothing was found.Based on what I and the hotel manager described about their attire when they checked out, I asked the residents of the villages and towns along the road one by one, and the tracing operation was mainly based on this.It's unbelievable that no one fits the "suit, suitcase, etc." criteria at all, and no one has ever seen these two people, and they seem to have evaporated.Even so, Matsunaga's other characteristics are only obesity and a mustache in the middle part. If they hide their suitcases elsewhere and make elaborate disguises, it is not impossible for them to escape secretly.

Needless to say, the biggest hindrance to their escape was the two conspicuous suitcases.They must have quietly disposed of the suitcase on the way.Of course, the police also expected this. The search criteria for suspects became wider and wider, but they still could not get satisfactory results. In the next few days, the police specially hired local villagers. Not to mention the nearby mountainous areas, even the bottom of the lake was overturned inch by inch (the lake near the shore is very shallow and the water quality is clear, as long as you sit on a boat and look carefully, you can see the bottom of the lake at a glance) , still nothing.In the absence of any progress, we all had a thought in our minds that this murder case is likely to become an unsolved case.

However, the above statements are only superficial facts. In fact, there is another very puzzling and strange incident behind the facts. Going back to the second day after the murder, the night after the police interrogated the Hupan Pavilion, although the peeping mirror escaped temporarily and was not found, I was still extremely worried and planned to take advantage of the dark night and wind to get the device They are all withdrawn and then destroyed.That night, I fidgeted with anxiety, waiting for the moment when everyone was asleep. When the police investigated the area around the bathing place, I was so nervous that I broke out in a cold sweat.Even if it is covered by trees, as long as you go under the eaves and look up, the gray tube will definitely attract suspicion.Fortunately, the criminal police had been checking the ground that day to see if there were any suspicious objects or footprints, and they didn't pay attention to the top at all, so the unimaginable device was saved from exposure at a critical moment.

But tomorrow the police will definitely conduct a more rigorous search, and I can't always get away with it.In any case, it has to be dismantled tonight, otherwise I really can't rest assured. Due to the murder case, the whole hotel was noisy that night. Normally, the rest time was early, but the noise did not stop that night. Fortunately, everyone went into the room to rest after the discussion until after twelve o'clock. , this time the hotel is considered quiet.Even so, I still hold the attitude of being cautious and wait patiently until one o'clock in the night.During this period, I checked the spy mirror from time to time to pay attention to the movement in the locker room.When I was finally about to climb out of the window and carry out the secret mission, my eyes glanced at the mirror inadvertently again. Although it was only for a moment, I did see a terrible object wriggling in the mirror.

It was still a close-up of the man's hand, exactly the same as what I saw last night.There is a scar like a scar on the back of the hand, from the thick fingers to the wide palm, there is no difference from the impression of last night. The hand appeared suddenly, and disappeared without a trace while I was still in shock.It was neither a dream nor an apparition.Because it was too unexpected, I was so scared that I couldn't help but stare at the mirror that had no image for a long time, and I couldn't move for a long time.