Chapter 2 first quarter
Amagi and son A met again four days later, and it was also the day after the serial murderer called "true KILLER" by son A committed another crime.To be precise, it was not a coincidence, but Amagi was unilaterally named.
After the search meeting, the section chief summoned Amagi and appointed him as A's bodyguard.The job is to assist Mr. An Yun to arrest the criminal, and to respond to her various requests as appropriately as possible.All in all, it's the job of a guard.When Tiancheng inquired, it turned out that A Zi named him to take up the position, and he also told the section chief that the criminal policeman with a gloomy personality would do.
"Although I don't understand it very well, it seems that she likes you very much. You should be honored to be photographed by the unparalleled dark cloud son."
The chubby head of the section with the nickname Yueting was stroking a small beard with an annoying smile on his face.Speaking of which, until now, the section chief was responsible for the safety of child A, but now he has let go of most of his psychological burden.Although I can understand the feeling of wanting to raise a glass to celebrate, but... Amagi walked to the lounge designated by the section chief with melancholy steps while thinking so.
"Hey, sad detective, what's the matter, it's gloomy as before."
Tiancheng pushed open the door, only to see son A greeted him like a confidant he had known for ten years, with a radiant look on his troubled face.
"What, what's the matter with 'Sorrowful Detective'?"
Anyway, I must have picked up the nickname after hearing the word "worry" in my name from the section chief, but let's investigate for now.
"It wouldn't be interesting if the detective didn't have a nickname. Especially for a gloomy person like you, it can be regarded as a part of communication."
"What's the teacher's nickname?"
"It's easy to think of the BOSS, it's PACK."
PACK?For a while, Tiancheng couldn't understand how A's brain circuit was formed.
"...But 'Sorrowful Detective' sounds long and awkward, doesn't it?"
"That's right, problems will arise in critical moments."
Son A really seriously folded his arms and began to think.As if being lured by her, the young man who was accompanying him also folded his arms.
"Then it's better to shorten it a little bit, Mr. You. That's it. Mr. You."
"Hey, you can call it whatever you want. It's inexplicable, Mr. You or something."
"Okay, pet names are like symbols, so you just need to be full of love when naming them. Speaking of which, Mahoro KILLER looks like an ape next to the corpse this time."
"Well, it's a handmade monkey doll from Seto that is sold by Zhaoyueyuan, which is Shin among the twelve branches. It is about 10 centimeters long and the size of a palm."
"It's the Year of the Ox this year, and you still sell monkeys? It's really an outdated shrine."
Said Azi who was shaking a gorgeous Chinese fan.Due to the rain yesterday, the room was very stuffy.In addition to the initiative of the "environmental protection starts with me" movement mentioned in the urban environmental declaration not long ago, the air conditioner was not turned on.LPG vehicles have also begun to be widely used in public vehicles other than patrol cars.
"No, this is the same thing as the previous mouse, a thing from a long time ago, an antique from ten years ago."
"Ten years, rats, cows, tigers and rabbits..." Mr. A counted and confirmed while counting the fingers wearing the broad bean emerald, "Such an ancient thing has been preserved until now, so it is impossible to know Do you have the buyer's name?"
"It's just a small gadget of around 500 yen. In terms of Zhaogetsuin, it is said that it can sell about 10,000 pieces a year. After the first three days of the first month, all shops will start to sell at a reduced price."
"Then Mahoro KILLER is really cautious. But this time, the leftovers have returned to the animal series, and they are still one of the twelve zodiac just like the mouse back then. Sure enough, my hypothesis..."
"You mean the hypothesis that the remaining items are closely related to Ganzhi."
Mmm, son A nodded with satisfaction.
True Horo Killer is a serial murderer who will scare the citizens of True Horo City about every half a month for the past six months.On the evening of March 20, Saori Kujo, a 25-year-old OL, was strangled to death by her on her way home from Ayitetsu Kamo-ri Station.Starting from this, on the evening of April 3rd, an 18-year-old high school girl was beaten to death with a blunt object on her way home from a convenience store.At dawn on April 16, a male college student was crushed to death in the woods in the same way.On May 3rd during Golden Week, a primary school boy was strangled to death in an open space in Yugui Xintian.On the 27th of the same month, a 32-year-old commune member was stabbed to death in an abandoned hut in Shihui Town.On June 18, a 65-year-old woman was strangled to death in Dako Park.On July 10, a 39-year-old housewife was stabbed to death with a knife on her way home from shopping.During the summer vacation, on July 27th a 20-year-old college student living in neighboring Jiuyin City was crushed to death in Maikuhama. At the climax of the Wangzhou Fireworks Conference, he was assassinated from behind.On September 4th, another OL was strangled to death, and then yesterday, September 26th, in the middle of the night.The eleventh victim was a 45-year-old hardware store owner who was crushed to death with a blunt object on his way back from the custom shop.
Since the victims could not find any common characteristics, they should be dealt with as indiscriminate homicides. However, these eleven cases, regardless of the scene, time, gender, age, and method of killing, were all out of order. It is considered to be the same murderer.There are three main reasons: First, homicides occur regularly with a cycle of half a month.Second, there are other meaningful things left beside the corpses.Third, the prisoner burns the victim's left ear every time.
However, whether it was done by a single prisoner is still unclear.In the past three months, even under the strict vigilance of the police and the Citizens' Volunteer Corps, the criminals still eluded the public, and cases continued to occur. Therefore, opinions that the criminals consisted of multiple people gradually increased.In fact, there was an indiscriminate murder incident eight years ago. At that time, the two criminals used Mahoro City as a stage, kept changing the location of the crime, and played croquet with the victim as a ball for fun.A total of 15 people were killed at that time. For the police officers who experienced the pain at that time, it is still physically and mentally traumatized to this day. Therefore, the older the criminal, the more strongly he advocates multiple prisoners.
Of course, it is impossible for the media not to hype the case of Masoro KILLER, and Anyun Azi also issued a declaration of arrest in his column with great fanfare: I swear that I will definitely protect the law and order of Masoro City.Bet on your own reputation, you must cooperate with the police to arrest the criminal.A month ago, the local newspapers also published the news of "Finally, even An Yun'er is about to go out!!!".It can be said that after the famous phantom thief of the end of the century who was active in the neighboring county—Phantom Thief Beecham committed the "Leminkinen Black Jade Theft", it set off another great report.
"This year's draft has managed to be completed last week, so I can spend all my thoughts on catching Maguro KILLER."
Amagi remembered that son A had expressed the following views on the case.
Confident, she once eloquently discussed her reasoning about Ganzhi on TV programs.
In the original case, on the right side of the corpse was a puppy puppet about 50 centimeters in size, a brown dog with a pink tongue sticking out.Since the scene was located in a barren place exposed to the wind and rain in the wilderness, although it was unnatural for the doll to fall, the police believed that the doll might have been bought by the victim at that time, so they did not take it seriously.However, in the second case, there was also a black pit bull next to the corpse, so the possibility that the criminal left behind the object suddenly became higher. (In addition, since the two left ears had burnt marks, the police believed that the two cases were committed by the same criminal.) And as if to give people the feeling that a doll is sleeping with the corpse, the head of the corpse is also covered. Lie face up.
In this way, just as everyone began to discuss the meaning of the animal left abruptly next to the corpse, and the relationship between the two, the third case occurred.This time it was no longer an animal, and what fell next to the corpse of the college student was the square-edged wood sold in the building materials supermarket.
Afterwards, the animal puppet of the lamb did not appear again until the sixth case. From then on, son A began to claim that if it was limited to animals, the dropped items were all related to Ganzhi.And as if to echo her deduction, the ninth case dropped a rat.And like the monkeys in this case, they are all mascots related to Ganzhi.
As a result, in five of the eleven cases, the items left behind were all animals, and all of them were related to Ganzhi.As for the other differences: the fourth case is a diorama model of Mount Chisuda towering over the city.The fifth case is also the same Mahoroya model.All of them are carefully assembled finished products.The seventh and eighth cases are the white board and the red middle in mahjong, respectively, as if to cause confusion and ridicule.However, the next one is not the hair character in the Sanyuan card, but the mouse in the Ganzhi, and the tenth case is the left foot of the mannequin.
The diorama models of Mt. Chisuda and Mahoro Valley are two of the four models released in March in cooperation with the local company Miyato Hobby in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the city's founding, and have received wide acclaim.Each has sold more than 2,000 boxes, and the other two are Maikuhama and Blue Dark Forest.
Mahjong tiles and cloth dolls are very common market items, and it is impossible to lock specific buyers.Among them, only the numbers on the soles of the mannequins revealed that it was one of the ten mannequins stored in Bertochka's workshop warehouse.However, because the workshop was not locked, the doll was discarded like a waste product, and it is not clear when it was stolen.And the mannequins of the warehouse seem to have become known as a mysterious "spot" after decades of exposure to shattered windows.
In short, no matter which leftover items are used, it is difficult to trace the source and lock the murderer.It may be more effective to trace the information expressed in those small objects left behind.This kind of illogical and chaotic remarks also circulated in private.The culprit of the commotion is A's Ganzhi theory.
"However, not all of the remaining items are related to Ganzhi."
"I know this very well!"
The eyes said: "Who do you think I am." A Zi gave Tiancheng a sharp look and continued:
"But if it's limited to animals, then it's all related to Ganzhi."
"But whether it's a mouse or a monkey, maybe the Ganzhi or something is just placed next to the corpse to add evidence to Teacher A's reasoning, in order to take the opportunity to mislead."
"No matter what the situation is, the prisoner will burn the left ear of the deceased. Although I don't know the reason now, I remember that it was raining at the time of the sixth case. I was afraid that the corpse would get wet and the fire would be extinguished quickly. The prisoner He also deliberately dragged the corpse for 2 meters, and set the ears on fire after moving it down the slide. If you are so particular about this, then the small props should also have their specific meaning.”
"But what is the similarity between the Ganzhi and Sanyuan cards and the landscape model? This time it is a leg of a mannequin that 'comes here'."
"If you can understand... Ah, I thought of it. Maybe it has something to do with China. It must be like this. Aren't Ganzhi and mahjong both originated from China?"
Very proud, son A suddenly realized.Nodding his head twice, he looked completely intoxicated with his own talent.Seeing this, the young man immediately booed from the side: "Teacher is really amazing!" No, he seems to be sincere, and I am too unscrupulous to judge the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.
"And what about the left foot of the landscape model and the mannequin?"
"Well, well, landscape models may be related to landscape paintings, which happen to be models of mountains and rivers. And landscape paintings were also introduced from China, which is consistent with the previous inference. Well, it must be Like this. The left foot of the mannequin can be traced along this line. A search in the encyclopedia may find some connection. The motive of the prisoner is too subtle to be grasped. Since "The Green Murders" Isn't it common?"
Maybe he really has a discerning eye, but based on this calculation, the prisoner should have left a landscape painting instead of a landscape model.After thinking about it, Tiancheng still couldn't open his mouth. After all, he didn't have a strong hypothesis that could completely refute A's theory.
"Next, I want to ask you something. What did the police do yesterday? I heard that a large-scale siege net was laid last month."
"There are security personnel deployed in dozens of places, but the real KILLER took advantage of the loopholes, and there is absolutely no way to deal with him."
The authorities have established an alternating rotation system of three shifts, patrolling every night, and increasing the participation of female police officers as bait to launch sting operations.Although he was also a member of the police, Amagi added as if he was staying out of the matter.These are all secrets that must not be divulged to the accompanying reporters.However, neither the victim nor the scene has any rules at all, and even the appearance and characteristics of the prisoner have not yet been grasped.Ambush under such conditions still has its limitations.Colleagues who have accumulated a lot of fatigue and tension are now full of discontent.
"This time the deceased was killed on the way home from the custom shop. Although I didn't notice it, it's not incomprehensible, but isn't Xi Laijin near the place where the elementary school student who died during the Golden Week was killed last time?"
"The staff is tight, and the result can only rely on luck."
"Now it's completely off target. Isn't the deviation value of your person in charge a bit low?"
I remember that in the author's introduction, it was recorded that Azi graduated from Dongda University, so she looked at Amagi with contempt and said.
Then, when son A asked two or three sharp questions one after another, a girl in her twenties, holding a paper cup in each hand, leaned on her right shoulder, pushed the door in and said, "Auntie, I bought some juice. Orange juice is okay. After searching for a long time, there is no vending machine with cans here. Here." A light green two-piece sweater with white bottoms.After noticing Amagi, he cast a suspicious look.The deja vu eyes and mouth make people feel the close blood relationship between her and son a.
"Auntie, who is this?"
"The gloomy detective I mentioned earlier was the one who got in my way last time."
"Ah, so it's the gloomy, house-like person that my aunt joked about." After the girl put down the paper cup, she looked at Tiancheng from the bottom up like she was weighing everything.The pupils with blazing eyes.Fluttering and blinking eyelashes.
"...Well, it's exactly what my aunt said. She looks like the kind of person who will never make it."
"Don't be so blunt." Son A simply interrupted the girl and said to Tiancheng, "This is my niece, Mizuyo. Although she is a college student, she also serves as my assistant in her spare time. She I'm also very interested in reasoning, sometimes even sharper than me. Wasn't there a case where a pinball shop employee was strangled to death half a year ago in Takisakamachi, and it was deduced that the victim had pigtails in the first place? It is Zhudai."
"It just happened that I was keen on Mongolian Khoomei singing, and I came up with it in a flash of inspiration." Zhudai pretended to be modest, and then said, "Then You, please take care of me. My major is social point drawing. The indiscriminate murder case this time seems to be a very suitable topic for extracurricular practice. I also plan to write this for my graduation thesis next year. Of course, if the case is not resolved, it will not be a topic."
"That is to say, if you don't solve it within next year, you won't be able to graduate?"
"That's the thing. So I look forward to the results of your police, and of course I look forward to my aunt."
Tsubasa silently lowered his head and took a step back.The pearl earrings are slightly placed on the ears.Standing side by side with the handsome and handsome young man, he waited behind A son.With child A as the vertex, it forms a triangle, just like the reincarnation of Mito Komon, Sasaki Suzaburo and Omega.Indeed, Tsuyoshi and the boy looked handsome and beautiful standing side by side.Although I don't know what kind of thoughts are exchanged between the two and son A, they complement each other quietly.
"Tamayo, now I'm asking about the case. Although I still don't get the point, I guess I won't get anything this time."
"I also heard this information for the first time at the meeting just now."
"Is it just because of this? When I said before that I wanted to borrow you, the head of PACK was very happy to agree. With an attitude of giving it unconditionally, I don't expect you to be useful at all."
If I can get rid of you, anyone will be willing to offer me their hands.Amagi swallowed the ridicule in his heart.And as A son said, he is not expected to contribute at all.
"So it's Teacher A, why did you choose me? I will only become a burden and a burden."
"That's what you said yourself, Mr. You."
Tsuyoshi who was behind A son burst out laughing. There was an evil smile on A's thick lips.explained:
"It's gloomy and introverted, and the section chief's evaluation is not very good. I was a little concerned about why a person with no merits like you can serve as a criminal policeman in the first section for so long, and then I asked someone to inquire about it. Then Oh, just figured out the secret—you sometimes have a flash."
"Teacher, a flash of inspiration or something, what is going on."
Seeing the young man asked respectfully.
"Pete egg detective—I remember the middle-aged detective Nakagawa who looked like a Russian egg baby and an egg boy said this—according to him, Amagi has acted several times in the past as if he knew who the murderer was. In a difficult situation It was like a bright light in the dark, illuminating the front. This incident seems to be well-known among colleagues. It’s just that they all thought it was a mistake and ignored it. At this time, a thought flashed in my mind: You may be a potential detective."
As expected of An Yun's son, not an idler.However, it didn't quite hit the mark, which is a pity.Amagi kept his vigilance while controlling his facial expression so as not to reveal his flaws. For him, he was already used to hiding his feelings.
"What's a potential detective?"
"It's not conscious. It's a detective who will only use his detective talent and sensibility when certain conditions are met. It's similar to Tatoshi and Sumikawa Felt that appear in my works."
"I have this ability?"
"There should be no mistake. In most cases, this kind of ability should be in the majority of civilians, and it is rare among professionals, but there are exceptions. Due to the potential detective ability, your brain is not always in a state of operation, so if you and all-weather If my brain is active and I join forces, I think we will be able to arrest the strongest enemy? Masaki Killer. Do you understand?"
To promote the prisoner as the strongest, this kind of weak speech is not like A's style.Does this prove that she also has her own difficulties?
"Am I a potential detective? But I don't really feel it at all."
"It's natural not to be self-aware. Because of the occasional activation of the ability, even I would mistakenly think that it was just a sideways attack. This is completely different from an ordinary detective like me. Well, You-kun is as gloomy as usual. That's fine. After all, I don't know the conditions for the activation of the hidden ability. If it is activated, it will be a pie in the sky, and I just look forward to it. Uncharacteristically competitive might only have the opposite effect."
"Will it go so smoothly?"
"Well, it's OK to leave it all to me. It won't hurt you."
Son A nodded and said.It's funny but it's enviable to sit on a tower full of misunderstandings.
Child A's reasoning might not have missed the point, but, no matter how you say it, Tiancheng doesn't have as strong reasoning ability as she commented.It is actually his wife, Geng Zi, who has the ability to be a detective. Among the cases heard by A Zi, it was Geng Zi, not Amagi who made brilliant reasoning.However, she is not the "potential famous detective" that Azi said, but rather the ordinary detective that Azi claims to be.However, his character is a little self-willed, plus he likes to be awkward and black-bellied.Even if Amagi desperately begged repeatedly, she would only give advice to her husband when she was personally in a good mood.Seemingly taking pleasure in seeing her husband's anxious and confused expression, she replied that she didn't know if she knew it.Amagi sometimes even thinks that, for Geng Zi, the murder in reality might just be part of the game.
"By the way, I forgot to ask a few days ago, why did you decide that the man at that time was Mahoro KILLER?"
"It was also mentioned in the program I hosted. A week before the tenth case, someone witnessed several times a suspicious man hovering near the mannequin warehouse. It is said that he was wearing a peaked cap and sunscreen. Glasses, a man in his forties wearing a plaid jacket and a hunter's attire."
"I see. Is he the man who appeared in front of Ayukawa Department Store? But the witnesses may just have a suspicious impression in their minds. As for whether it is related to the case... well, let's investigate for now. "
"How should I put it? Isn't your police's 'for the time being' the same as searching for a stolen vehicle, and it can be regarded as the same meaning as 'do nothing'."
"Okay, you're right...then, teacher, have you seen the man with the hunting hat again?"
This is really asking for a dead end.A son shook his head and looked at Tiancheng with dissatisfaction in his eyes.Tiancheng's head tightened as if he had been hit by Zhang Fan unexpectedly.
"If you had worked harder at that time, you would have been able to find out the truth of the matter thoroughly. What a pity. Of course, I also reported the key points to the PACK section chief. According to my reasoning, the possibility that the man is a prisoner is very high. .”
From the first time the word "reasoning" comes out of the mouth of ordinary detective A Zi, who is the chief of the 365th Police Department and also claims to have a long-term brain activation, he can only listen attentively.
"On this point, Zhuyo and I have the same opinion. The reason is that the man is wearing very distinctive clothes. This time the prisoner stubbornly sticks to the form of the crime. For example, after the murder, he will leave small objects related to China, burn his left ear, etc. In this case, he should have a very personal style of dressing. Because no matter what kind of weird behavior is a conscious behavior, but it is not intended to attract the attention of a specific group of people. Further speaking, it is a kind of "interpretation" Inside me' distorted signal."
"It's true that the British-style hunter's attire is rare in this country... Then, why did the prisoner burn the left ear of the dead person? If this represents any information, what is it trying to convey?"
"What an irresponsible question. It's a pity that I have no idea about this question. How did the police think about it?"
Instead, he was beaten up by son A, which is just as it should be.
"Well, although I think there is some deep meaning... To be honest, I don't know at all."
Amagi scratched his head and said.Not hiding something, at least he wasn't told why.
"Maybe it has something to do with Wuer Fangyi."
This is a hypothesis that was fleetingly presented at a conference three months ago or so, and then disproved.Try to speak out to see the situation, A's words may diverge thinking.But she rejected it immediately.
"In that case, there should be something similar to scriptures left on the body of the corpse. The prisoner did not burn both ears but only the left ear, which does not match the story itself. Besides, there are no legends about the escaped Heira family around Mahoro City. "
"Leaving aside the Heike family, I haven't even heard of rituals or strange rituals."
"Unlike your police, I have investigated things of this magnitude from the very beginning. However, the ritual of burning the left ear that I can imagine has never been found in Maapporo City or neighboring prefectures. Although Ercheng Mountain is located in Nara, it is In fact, it has nothing to do with ears. There is also a custom of using rice balls to plug children's ears to drive away evil spirits, but there is a subtle difference between burning and plugging. Speaking of the possibility of being closer, it is the ear mound of Fangying Temple gone."
"Erzhong?" Amagi leaned out and asked.As soon as he entered the 30cm warning circle, A son's strong body fragrance came over his face, but now he was used to it, so there was no pressure.
"Want to know? Let me tell you. The so-called ear mounds are the tombs built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi when he sent troops to North Korea. He took the ears of enemy soldiers back to the country and buried them. At that time, the soldiers cut off the ears of the enemy's dead. As evidence of killing the enemy. But in this case, there is another difficulty in explaining the current case: if the ear was burned at that time, there is no way to bring it back to the country. And this is a more reliable idea so far .”
"But that's not the reason why the prisoner is obsessed with burning his ears."
However, son A, who thought it was too early to sigh, continued:
"The practice of replacing heads with ears may have existed in wars from ancient times to the present. The ear mounds of Fangying Temple are an example. The enemy is just an unknown soldier, so there is no need to take the head of the other person back. Check it out below If you look at the relevant detailed documents, especially the battle that took place in Mahoro City, you should be able to find some clues."
"Will there be such a record?"
"There will always be some fragments of words that are not recorded in the textbooks. For example, the burnt down of the black city, the battle of the black soil, and so on. As a real person, you will know things of this level Bar?"
“Social studies have never been my strong suit.”
"Well, no wonder you look like the kind of person who is out of touch with society, hmm."
Once she makes a slip of the tongue, she will be ruthlessly complained about, but A's sarcasm is very direct, which may be better than that of the PACK class leader.And she has no real power in her hands.
"Hey, Tiancheng, what kind of wind is blowing today. You, who are usually taciturn, chat so enthusiastically with others. Could it be that you fell under Teacher Anyun's pomegranate skirt?"
Maybe he had been spying on the reception room for a while, but his partner Soga Yu suddenly appeared and greeted Amagi and the others obsequiously.Contrary to the usual indifference, he said loudly and flatteringly:
"As expected of Teacher An Yun, you have great insight. Maybe my partner can grow under the care of the teacher."
The flattery was obvious at a glance, but Azi laughed "hehehe" very usefully.
Speaking of Soga, who was five years older than Amagi, like Amagi, he couldn't get along with other colleagues and was reticent, so the two were forced to form a partnership.It sounds like a broken pot with a rotten lid.Even so, two partners may not necessarily be more compatible than others, but one plus one equals two.
Because of their names, people call them Melancholy.Just like Amagi's "worry", Zeng Wo's "depression" also makes people have to fully question his parents' taste.It's just that the word "depression" is too difficult for children, and it seems that they have never been bullied because of this in elementary school.After all, I can't even write myself.
"Senior Zeng, come over to listen to Teacher A's advice?" Zeng I responded to Tiancheng's temptation, pointing at his bald head.
"Thank you for your kindness. Compared with thinking at the desk, on-site forensic investigation is more in line with my temperament. And the doctor said to me, 'Your brain cells have stopped growing, and you will only continue to die in the future.' This time I just want to Come over to visit Xia Tiancheng for a while, see if you have made any mistakes again, and if you have done a good job, that's all."
Soga patted Amagi on the shoulder and continued:
"But maybe it's unfounded to worry about. It's better to say that the speech is smoother than usual. In the final analysis, it is thanks to the blessing of Teacher Anyun."
"Is that too much talk?" Son A asked Zeng Wo in surprise.
"Well, it's usually difficult to open the mouth. I wonder if his mouth is sealed by a waterproof zipper. This kind of miserly speech is a habit worse than that of banks."
"That's really bad."
Although I feel that the current Soga has already spoken with the weight of the usual three days, but Amagi did not specifically refute this point.
"The cooperation with you will come to an end for a while, and I will feel lonely for a long time after that."
Zeng I said in a teasing tone that it was difficult to tell the truth from the fake.Looking at him with a sad face every day, it's like losing everything in a horse bet. Only at such times is he very good at talking poorly.
"Probably I will too." Amagi replied without confidence.
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