Chapter 43 second quarter
Walk through Kasumi-cho, which is famous all over the country as "Qiangqiang Hengcho", go under the city electricity and the Kansai Main Line Railway Land Bridge, cross a main street, and walk for about ten minutes, and you will be Toda Yukaku.There are many snack bars near Kasumi-cho. Using Tokyo as a metaphor, this place is like a valley area with many cheap hotels, and the price of food is surprisingly cheap.A piece of watermelon is five yuan, a skewer of pork cutlet is four yuan, and a plate of nigiri sushi is twenty yuan. Such a cheap price is not comparable to that of the valley.In front of each store, there are young girls loudly attracting customers.What sets this place apart from the valley is that even a well-dressed gentleman can eat on a plate without shame.
Although the Onitsuke police department is not interested in a string of pork cutlet skewers with four circles, he is very envious of the people in Kyoto and Osaka who don't put on airs and don't put on airs when it comes to food.
However, crossing the street and stepping into the corner, the surrounding atmosphere is completely different.As you walk inside, the cleanly swept streets without a scrap of paper, and the purposefully plain exteriors of buildings that avoid bright colors all seem to say, "This is the nationally famous Toda Yukaku. , everyone, please don’t miss it.” In simple terms, it’s a feeling of trying to inflate one’s worth.
The Flower Street in the morning was almost deserted.Apart from a tricycle and a woman with a Japanese-style hairstyle on the tricycle, the only thing that passed by the ghost was a garbage truck sent by the cleaning department of the city hall to collect garbage.Thanks to the simple map drawn by Xincang Mitsuo, which is both accurate and quite essential, Guiguan did not get lost, and found the "Old Pine" directly. After a while, it was easy to find the place I was looking for.
When looking across the road, you can see a two-story mansion on the opposite side.It is located at the crossroads, which looks a bit like the entrance of a Kabuki theater, with a roofed entrance, facing the corner of two roads.With this as the center, located on the left and right sides of the house, two corridors equipped with frosted glass extend straight out at a 90-degree angle, and the passage below is equipped with a row of corridors that look like "Komazhi" in Kanto. sharp-pointed wooden fence.
This should be used to prevent guests or ladies from escaping, Guiguan explained to himself.
Same as the first floor, the second floor also has a corridor running through it, and there are handrails along the corridor.On the eaves, at a distance of about two meters, there is a round outdoor lamp with a milky white glass cover. This lamp is incompatible with the merchants who do this kind of business, giving people a dull and dull impression. .Onitsuke took out the photo from his jacket pocket and began to compare it with the appearance of the building in front of him.It can be found that the woman in the photo is standing in front of the entrance of "Old Pine", facing slightly to the front left.So the photo also captured part of the latticed door in the porch behind her, as well as the wooden framed glass door and guardrail in the corridor on the first floor, and even the road extending far to the rear, as well as the Mercury parked on the road. .
The reason why Nishinohata Kosuke cherishes this photo is not yet clear, what is certain is that the scenery in the photo is where Onika is standing now.Now Guiguan finally understands why the woman in the photo wears that gorgeous kimono so sloppily. She is not a woman from a good family, but a woman who sells her soul.
Oniguan Police Department went to the entrance and looked up, and saw a wooden plaque engraved with "Dream Palace".This should be the name of this brothel, but this large and heavy plaque looks very majestic and majestic, even if it is hung in the National Currency Shrine, it is very suitable.If you are someone who is emotionally delicate enough to stand in front of the shrine, you will be grateful, and maybe you will be moved to tears when you see the signboard of this brothel.
Generally speaking, in order to allow customers to visit in secret, brothels or love hotels will pay more attention to setting up side doors to allow them to enter and exit from the side.But Guiguan looked at the left and right sides of the house, but still couldn't find anything like a side door, so he had no choice but to go in through the gate.
Through the thick wooden lattice door, the inside of the house can be seen at a glance.Since there was a suspicious man looking around there just now, it should be very clear from the inside.As soon as Gui Guan opened the door, a middle-aged woman stood there before he could make a sound.She wore peppermint plasters, now barely visible, on both temples, and looked down at the ghost with suspicious eyes.
"I've already purchased life insurance, so don't worry about it."
Judging from her aged appearance and haughty tone, she should be the bustard here.Guiguan handed over the business card first, and she stood up silently after reading it.Is the lady here exhausted due to the heat and is currently taking a nap?The house was as quiet as a monastery.
"Ah, I really don't know Taishan." She seemed embarrassed, and her face instantly changed into a smile.It is more correct to say that it is barely propped up rather than replaced.
"I want to ask you something, the building in the photo is yours, right?"
She took the photo, knelt on the dais with the hem of her bathrobe pressed down, and nodded quickly.
"Yes, indeed."
"Do you know who the woman in the photo is?"
"Yes, she is Yayoi who used to stay at this shop. Did something happen to her?"
The Onitsuki Police Department is not familiar with the language sense of the Osaka dialect, so it is impossible to make an exact judgment, but from the tone of her reply, she seems to be very surprised that Yayoi will be wanted by the police.
"It's hard to talk here, please come to my room."
"That's right, so please don't bother me." Guiguan police department readily accepted.
She waited until the ghost took off his shoes before offering him slippers and leading him down the corridor.There are three thick red carpets on the ground, one climbs up the big staircase in the front, and the remaining two extend to the corridors on the left and right sides.Gui Guan's feet were like stepping on a sponge, each step sank into the carpet.The corridor on the first floor is lightning-shaped, with countless corners. At the corners, some are made of white gravel with stone lanterns on them, and some have small vermilion bridges across them, decorated with lovely Black pseudo-orb.At night, these lanterns and the bulbs of the paper lamps will light up, adding a dreamy atmosphere to the hallway.The inside of this store is the opposite of the exterior, full of Japanese style everywhere, everything is so fancy, but so luxurious.
Soon, they came close to the inner stairs, and beside the stairs, you could see the entrance of the room with noren curtains.It seemed to be her room.It was a peaceful Japanese room with a size of four pings. There was an ebony tea set cupboard with a beckoning cat on the front, as if the owner of the room was showing off his extraordinary taste.On the Oki bed in the corner, water trays with uniped lilies are lined up, and the shamisen in the bag is also leaning on the Oki bed.This place is completely different from the gorgeous impression of the corridor. As soon as you enter, you will feel the plain and quiet atmosphere.She handed the Okinawa Uchiwa fan and summer seat cushion, pressed the switch of the electric fan, and opened the tea cabinet in Tsugaru Nuri to start making tea.
"A cup of tea, please."
Oniguan Police Department nodded slightly.This cup of tea is Gyokuro, so of course both the tea soup and the cup are lukewarm.When invited to drink tea, it doesn't matter if the tea brought out is so hot that it will burn people. The water temperature is so low. When drinking it, I always feel as if I will be infected with some strange disease, which makes people in a dilemma.
"This teacup is really beautiful." Oniguan Police Department had no choice but to praise the teacup.
"You can see that this teacup belongs to Gu Kutani. My husband likes it, so he collected a lot of it, but then he either gave it away or broke it. Now there are only these."
The old bustard raised the teacup in front of his eyes, stared at it, and said with emotion as if remembering his deceased husband.The harsh expression at the beginning also became kind and approachable while drinking tea and chatting.It is not uncommon for a woman to be so enraged that she has a headache and even borders on hysteria when she is carrying the livelihood of so many people.Onikan began to view the woman with sympathy.
There was still silence in the brothel.
"...Back to the topic just now. May I ask that Miss Yayoi, is she no longer here?"
"Yes. She came to our shop around the 23rd year of the Showa era, and she stayed for four years. She is not here now."
"Is Yayoi a flower name?"
"Yes, since the Tokugawa era, there will be a prostitute named Yayoi in every generation. Yayoi who is two generations behind her is still in our shop."
Her voice became high, as if proud of the shop's long history from the Tokugawa era to the present.
"Yayoi in this photo, what's her real name?"
"Hmm... what's her name? The staff turnover was very fast in the 24th and 5th years of the Showa era. I can't remember the name at that time. What's the name... It seems to be Saito Sakuko or Sakiko, but then I don't know if it's his real name or not."
"Any photos or letters or something?"
"Is this..." Under the persistent questioning of the Guiguan Police Department, the old bustard pressed the headache plaster with his fingers as if he had a headache.
"You may not know that people who do business like ours will force themselves to forget those who have quit their jobs and are already doing good. Even if we happen to meet on the road, it doesn't matter if the other party greets us. If they don't, we will Deliberately pretend not to know each other, and look away. This is the etiquette that my colleagues who work here and I have to observe when dealing with sisters who have retired. If my lady wants to behave, she will send all the photos and letters. After tidying up and even burning them, we will help her to look around for anything she missed. So, I don’t have any photos or letters of hers, so I’m sorry to make you waste your time.”
After hearing her explanation, Gui Guan was convinced. Indeed, this practice couldn't be more suitable for the world they live in.However, without knowing the real name and appearance of this Yayoi, it is impossible to determine her true identity, and it is impossible to know the relationship between her and Kosuke Nishinomata. To find out the truth of the case, we must find a way to meet Yayoi just work.To put it a bit exaggerated, Yayoi holds the key to solving the mystery of the Nishi-no-hata case.
"As far as I know, women usually like to take pictures with their friends. Does anyone have a picture of her?"
The bustard shook his head immediately.
"But that's not the case with the kid. She hates being photographed so badly that she shakes all over when she sees a camera, so I don't even have a picture of her... Right."
She looked at the photo in Guiguan's hand, and said in a tone as if she remembered something: "This photo was secretly taken by a customer when she was not paying attention. She was very angry when she found out, and scolded the other party severely... Another time, she found out that the man who came to play had a hidden camera, so she pulled out the negatives in the camera and burned them all."
Onigiri Police Department nodded with a bitter expression.The woman named Saito Sakuko or Sakiko consciously concealed her identity.As soon as he thought that there might be a secret involved in a crime, Guiguan became more interested in this matter.
"She should have left a transfer certificate at the district office, right?"
Just look at that, and you can find out where she has moved to. When Guiguan thought of this, his voice became high-pitched.
"She didn't go through the transfer procedures at the beginning, she came here alone."
"Did she not receive the rice ration?"
"Yes, we are near Qiangqiang Yokocho, where there is plenty of rice and food to buy, even if you don't accept rations, you can still live well."
Everything just happened to allow Yayoi to successfully conceal her identity.No, the fact may be just the opposite. Yayoi may choose to work in Toda Yukaku just because there is Qianqian Yokocho nearby.
"Is there no question of prepayment when leaving your store?"
The ignorance of the Oniguan police department made the bustard couldn't help laughing.She explained to him that now, unlike before the war, there is no advance payment agreement between the madam and the prostitutes, and those women come to work voluntarily, so they can leave whenever they want.Hearing what the procuress said, Gui Guan remembered: I seem to have read related reports in the newspapers.
"Did she leave when she said she wanted to be good?"
"That's right."
"Does the so-called Congliang mean that she is going to get married?"
"Well. I didn't hear the word 'marriage' from her mouth, but I think that may be the reason."
"When a prostitute is working, it should be possible to have feelings for a client and then get married. Excuse me, does this woman named Saito have a sweetheart?"
"Is this..." The bustard put his finger on the headache plaster again, his eyes lost in thought.
"I'm not bragging. The guests who come to our place are all first-class. The governor of a certain county, the minister, or some wealthy dude, etc., are mostly distinguished guests. But Those people are very cautious in their words and deeds in order to save face, the ladies in my family have never had a relationship with a guest."
She may be right, but if it wasn't for love, she should have returned to her hometown, lived a down-to-earth life, and then got married like an ordinary woman and became a housewife.But judging from her evasive behavior, Gui Guan couldn't easily agree to the assumption that she would directly enter into married life after her admission.
After the Onigiri Police Department asked her about her age, appearance, and personality, she wrote down the old bustard's answer in a notebook.Saito Sakuko or Sakiko, if her claimed age is correct, she should be thirty years old this year.She was a slender, good-looking woman with a small red mole on the lobe of her left ear.Although mysteriously concealing her true identity, she has a cheerful personality, not as gloomy as her peers.
"Once, she used fluent English to talk to a GI who got lost here, so it was rumored that she might have been a street girl before. In short, she is a crisp, smart, and smart child .”
The bustard added a few words of praise.From the fact that she took out the film of the guest's camera and burned it completely with fire, it can be judged that she is such a clean person.However, it is useless to hear more about this kind of thing. Without knowing her correct name and address, it will not be of any substantial help to the investigation.The ghost has to find a way to find out her whereabouts.
Falling, falling... When Guiguan was thinking, a new plan suddenly popped up in his mind.Although he didn't think this plan had much hope, he had better ask anyway.His plan was to ask Yayoi how she sent her luggage when she left here.
For women working in the sex industry, making new clothes is their only pleasure.She also stayed in the fire cave for several years, making new clothes should be her only happiness, so she must have ordered five or six kimonos.So, what to do with those clothes after leaving the workplace?Women are particularly obsessed with clothes, and it is impossible to sell all those kimonos to second-hand clothing stores.In this way, she should put the clothes in the suitcase and take it away by herself, but if the quantity is too large, she is likely to pack the clothes and use them in consignment or ask the freight company to help deliver them.To ask someone to send your luggage, of course you have to fill in the correct name and address.If her handling method is as Guiguan expected, and the record is kept in the freight company or the baggage check-in office of the station, it is not impossible to find her whereabouts.Of course, the main premise is that the record has survived.
"When Yayoi left here, did you have any luggage?"
"Luggage...? By the way, she asked the old man who heated the hot water in the bathroom to help her buy a willow suitcase and put a bunch of kimonos in it."
"It shouldn't be possible for her to carry that suitcase?" It seemed that things were going in the direction Gui Guan expected, he suppressed his emotions and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah, she seems to have sent it back in consignment. I remember she asked the old man to help her carry the luggage."
The bustard's tone lacked confidence.It has been six or seven years since this incident, and after that, she watched the same scene countless times. After many memories overlapped, this incident naturally gradually blurred in her heart. up.
"Is that old man there?"
"Unfortunately, he has gone mad because of syphilis in his head..." The procuress replied full of sympathy but with an ambiguous ending.
Onigiri Police Department felt quite disappointed at that moment, but after thinking about it calmly, it was not very difficult to figure out where they would send their luggage.If it was to be sent to a distant station, then Yayoi would have called a taxi from the very beginning.Since she asked an old man to help her carry her luggage, it meant that they went to a station or freight company that was relatively close.The nearest station to Toda Yukaku is the Tennoji Station of the National Railways, which is the station that Onikari saw on his way here just now.
"Is there a freight company near here?" Ghost Guan Police Department asked.
"Huh?" Omitting the question laid out in the middle, the hostess asked back in a puzzled tone even though she understood what he was talking about.
"...Is it a transportation company? There is a service office of Kinki Transportation Company about ten minutes away by car. Although there are many others, most of them are far away, and you have to go to Osaka Station to find..."
Sure enough, if you want to transport things out from here, it is the fastest to go to Tianwang Station.The place where the old man who boiled hot water and Saito walked with their luggage should be Tennoji Station.
Oniguan Police Department formally took a sip of the cold tea from the teacup, apologized to the procuress for taking up too much time, and got up to leave.
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