Chapter 2 scar

In the cafe, the woman is counting the money in her hand carefully with her head down.Her delicately manicured fingers flicked lightly, stirring up Tahara Koji's hidden desire for women again.Perhaps, he saw some kind of animal need in the white, slender fingers. "That's right, seven. Thank you for your hard work!" the woman said, "However, to be honest, the bid can be higher..." She put seven 1,000-yen bills into her handbag, One side raised his head.The color of the lipstick is in style with the black sunglasses. "Hey, that's weird." Tian Yuan thought, this outfit doesn't look like an ordinary salaryman's wife.

"Well, but I also spent a lot of effort to get the store to offer a good price. After going to three pawnshops, I sold it at the one with the highest estimate." "Wow, ran to three houses? That's too hard for you! To be honest, I've grown up so much, I haven't been in a pawn shop yet." "Oh, then of course you don't know how hard it is to pawn things at a pawn shop." The waiter brought their lemonade. "By the way, I'll return this to you." The woman handed a piece of paper to Tian Yuan.This was written by Tian Yuan two days ago as proof of accepting the watch.The watch was pawned by Tahara on his behalf.

"Ugh!" Tian Yuan took the ball of paper and looked at it, then threw it under the table. "If you need to send something to the pawn shop in the future, just call my company, and I will come right away." "Well, okay." The woman nodded slightly.However, she didn't seem to be listening to Tian Yuan's words, but was absent-minded.Because he was wearing sunglasses, Tahara couldn't see her eyes clearly.The woman purses her lips elegantly and sucks on the straw. "It's only been three years, but this girl has learned a lot!" Three years ago, when Tian Yuan left this place, he also heard rumors that she attempted suicide because of this, but now she can't be seen at all. There was an unbearable past.

The woman's lips left the straw and raised her head.Maybe he found himself being stared at, so he asked, "What's wrong?" "Ah, it's nothing...you're so beautiful!" "Hee hee..." The woman smiled foolishly, as if enjoying the satisfaction of being praised.Seeing her take out the cigarette case from her bag, Tian Yuan quickly struck a match for her. An unbearable sense of anxiety hit Tian Yuan's heart.He knew exactly where this anxiety came from. Two afternoons ago, in the room of an ordinary house, the feeling he once experienced was now revived, and it was this feeling that made him fidget.

"That's it for today, I have other places to go." Regardless of Tian Yuan's psychological changes, the woman snuffed out the cigarette butt that was almost exhausted in the ashtray. "Oh? You're busy, there's nothing you can do! When will you be free again..." Tian Yuan stood up reluctantly. "Well. Let's see the opportunity..." The woman grinned. The next morning, Tian was detained by the police on suspicion of theft.The police suspected that he had stolen a watch from Ms. Seiko. Early this morning, Tian Yuan was woken up from his sleep by two police officers.

"Did you go to a pawnshop to pawn a watch a few days ago?" After getting an affirmative answer, the policeman asked him how he got the watch. "I was entrusted by a woman to go to the pawn shop for her... What's the matter?" "Then let me ask you, what is this woman's name?" the policeman asked bluntly. "Why do you ask that? Am I obliged to answer?" "It's embarrassing for us to ask such a question. However, I still advise you to assist us in solving the case. Let me tell you, that watch is stolen." "Stolen goods?" Tian Yuan was very surprised by the policeman's answer, he couldn't help but thumped in his heart, "Could it be...she stole this watch?"

"Well, why don't you come with us, we have a lot of questions to ask you." After finishing speaking, two policemen approached Tian Yuan. After arriving at the police station, what surprised Tahara even more was that the person who reported the case to the police station was actually Seiko himself! "How could such a thing happen?!" Tahara almost cried out, "I was entrusted by this woman named Seiko to pawn this watch, how could she pawn the watch and report the theft? ? Could this be a mistake?" "What?!" The inspector named Xiao Ye took notes for Tian Yuan.Hearing what Tian Yuan said, he couldn't help showing a look of surprise.In order to prevent mistakes, Ono checked the report record again, and after confirming that it was accurate, he said, "Don't fool people! How can anyone in this world ask someone to pawn things while reporting the theft?"

"Although what you said is correct, what I said is also the truth! It is very likely that something went wrong. But the solution to this problem is also very simple, as long as you confront the eyes of Seto, it will be clear!" Tian Yuan said. full of confidence.He couldn't understand how this could have happened, but he was sure that something must have gone wrong, or something unreasonable and weird! Assuming that the person who reported the crime was not Lai Yanzi, but someone else, then it would be clear that Lai Yanzi was a thief.Although this is a bit unacceptable as a guess, judging from the current situation, it is still quite possible that Seo Kanko is the victim.

"Even if you're telling the truth, let me ask you, when did she give you the watch?" "Yes..." Tian Yuan recalled carefully.Obviously, this is a question that can be answered without much thought, but he still wants to give the time as accurately as possible. "It was three days ago, that is, around three o'clock in the afternoon on the fifth." Ono looked up the case file again, then slowly raised his head, with a sneer on purpose. "The reporter said that the time of discovery of the theft was around 5 pm on the 5th, and the time of reporting was 9 am on the 6th. That is to say, the reporter gave you the things first, and then reported the theft to the police station ——Do you think this is in line with common sense? Assuming that this order is reversed, it is reasonable to report the crime first, and then find that the things are not stolen, but forget to go through the registration cancellation procedures..."

"No!" Tahara interrupted Ono's words reflexively.He also thought of another possibility while listening to Ono's analysis. "After she gave me the watch, she forgot about it..." As soon as the words came out, Tian Yuan himself realized that this possibility did not exist.Because even if Seikoko forgot that she had entrusted Tahara to pawn the watch, how could she come to the cafe to get the money after pawning the watch?You know, the cafe where we met was designated by Seiko Koko. "Why, isn't that what I said?" Ono lit a cigarette and said while watching the rising smoke ring, "That is to say, you were a cosmetics salesman and entered the victim's house. The place is empty, and you stumble upon an expensive watch. At this moment, a voice rings in your ear: "Do you like this watch? Take it to the pawn shop for some money." So, you Followed it up..."

"Please don't play tricks like this, I'm not a child! First of all, I'm not an alcoholic, and I don't have auditory hallucinations..." Tian Yuan thought, I don't know what your intention is?In the beginning, I was asked to admit the facts that were easier to accept, and then I was forced into a new trap after I had no way out. In the end, I had to admit the so-called criminal facts that the police had imagined for me in advance... "I'm not joking, and I don't mean to induce a confession. The victim said it was stolen, but you said it was entrusted to pawn. To resolve this contradiction, I have to rack my brains!" Ono's face was slightly red, probably It was a bit embarrassing to be told by Tahara to induce a confession. Seeing this, Tian Yuan thought to himself, it seems that this man is not an unreasonable police officer. "I understand. But no matter what, please ask Seikoko again. As long as she is indeed Seikoko, she will understand that she made a mistake when she hears my name." Ono felt that this request seemed acceptable, so he summoned a young policeman and whispered a few words—probably he was telling Seiko to come. Afterwards, Ono continued to ask questions, the intention of course was to get words out of Tian Yuan's mouth.But Tian Yuan talked about him from left to right, and just didn't give a positive answer.He thought that as long as he got the echo from Seiko, the truth would be revealed. After about ten minutes, the young policeman came in and whispered something in Ono's ear.After listening to the young policeman's report, Ono remained silent and just stared at Tian Yuan with both eyes. It should be a well-trained relationship. After staring at it for a few seconds, Ono's eyes suddenly became sharper, and he stared at Tian Yuan for nearly a minute.Not to be outdone, Tian Yuan insisted on facing Ono's gaze, but finally couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "How about it, what's the result?" "As I said just now, Seokan Zi said that she has never heard of Tian Yuan." "What?! Is there really such a strange thing? We met yesterday, and I gave her a total of 7,000 yen." Tian Yuan couldn't control his emotions, so he said these words, even though he knew that the words he said casually didn't mean much.He felt that Ono's face on the opposite side gradually became blurred. "Your statement is full of loopholes. I have no choice but to issue an arrest warrant." Ono said as he took out a piece of paper from the desk drawer. On the afternoon of the 5th, Tahara met Seo Kanko on the street.It was very hot that day, and he happened to buy ice water from the cold drink shop. "Ah, Mr. Tahara!" Seiko exclaimed affectionately.At this moment, Tahara didn't recognize her as Seiko Koko, and even thought she was one of his clients, because her appearance was very different from when she was working as a waitress in a cafe three years ago.Due to his occupation, Tian Yuan has to deal with countless housewives all day long. "Oh, it's Mickey!" Tian Yuan blurted out and called her former nickname.At the same time, he also remembered the past when he dated her and finally dumped her. "Long time no see! What are you up to?" Photon looked up and down.Her eyes finally landed on Tahara's feet.Because he has to run around all day, Tian Yuan wears a pair of ugly but sturdy shoes.He looked a little embarrassed. "Well, the original company closed down, and now I'm working on selling cosmetics." "Really, it must be very hard, right? Where is the company?" Tian Yuan took out his business card, thinking of selling products to Photon. "Ah, how about going to my house for a while? Anyway, there's nothing to do now, right? Because it's a residential area, maybe we can develop some new customers." Photon said and walked side by side with Tian Yuan.Tian Yuan felt that the photon in front of him had a passion that he had never seen before, and he became more generous.Judging from what she said "home is in a residential area", she should have been married. As they walked together, Tahara tried to remember her real name. He finally remembered that no one had called her by her name three years ago.In the cafe where she used to work, her companions called her "Miqi", and Tahara followed suit.They usually use the second-person pronoun "you" when talking to each other. After walking for about five minutes, I arrived at the residential area where Photon's home is located.Together they walked up the stairs of the third house number of the house closest to the entrance of the complex. "On the fourth floor. Going up and down the stairs every day, alas, I'm really tired." Walking on the concrete stairs, Photon, who was one step ahead, turned around and said to Tian Yuan.Her buttocks wrapped in a tight skirt twitched sensually with each flight of stairs.Tian Yuan suddenly felt a kind of desire in his heart being stirred up.He shook his head and tried his best to tell himself that this kind of expectation was pure fantasy, wishful thinking and impossible to realize.Although some of his colleagues talked about the "adventure" of being lured into bed when visiting a single woman's family in a showy tone, in reality, Tahara has never encountered it, and he has never even experienced such an atmosphere. "Although speaking, she can be regarded as my ex-girlfriend, but..." To his surprise, this seemingly vague expectation was finally realized. After Mitsuko welcomed Tahara into the living room, she didn't draw the curtains, but just opened the windows.Maybe it was because of the fourth floor, there was a gust of cool wind blowing in from the window from time to time, and Tian Yuan could not help but unbutton his shirt. "It's so hot today! I'm sorry, I don't know if I'm being impolite if I dress like this?" Photon said after taking off only a thin purple skirt. "I don't think it's impolite, it's okay." "Well, it's not a stranger, is it?" Tahara didn't know how to answer.Whenever he mentioned the past, he would spontaneously feel a sense of self-blame. I remember that after Tianyuan stopped going to Guangzi's cafe, she would call Tianyuan's company every day, and Tianyuan set her caller number to "the owner is not present". "What does your husband do?" Tian Yuan asked an innocuous question.Because judging from the layout of the room, it looks like the ordinary houses he usually goes to when he is on a sales pitch, but they are clean and tidy, and it can be seen that life is very comfortable. "Well, he's just an ordinary clerk. By the way, he looks a bit like you, Mr. Tahara, and he's about the same age, right? But, he's a miser who values ​​money more than anything else. As long as he has a little The rest of my money will be invested in the stock market, so my money is always tight." Tian Yuan thought to himself that the room looked exceptionally clean, probably because he didn't add much to it.He looked around the room again. After entering the bedroom, Tahara immediately saw a mattress that could sleep two people.Originally, this was nothing special, but it reminded me once again that Photon was someone else's wife. However, Mitsuko misunderstood Tahara's gaze. "Ah, by the way, the ventilation may be better over there!" Photon walked over and folded the mattress into a sofa, and then asked Tian Yuan to sit down. Sitting here is indeed much cooler.The sweat from rushing outside just now disappeared after a while. Photon took out beer and ham.Under the influence of alcohol, Photon's skin immediately turned red.It's still the same as three years ago, but the drinking capacity is obviously much larger, drinking cup by cup faster than Tahara. "Oh, it's so refreshing!" After finishing the three bottles of beer, Photon stood up and sat down beside Tian Yuan.Tahara moved away reflexively, but Photon seemed to have already calculated it, and rushed towards him impartially. The arm that turned red under the influence of alcohol hooked Tahara's neck. "Curtains, are you okay?" Tian Yuan thought of this in an instant.He smelled the perfume from Guangzi's body... Inspection Minister Ono tilted his head, listening to Tahara's confession.He didn't think Tian Yuan was lying.Because every time he suddenly interjected and asked to test whether he was telling the truth, Tian Yuan could take the conversation calmly and even describe the details vividly.However, Seo Kanko, who reported the case, said that he had never seen Tian Yuan before, and it was the first time he had even heard of the name.What is going on here? "Well, I understand everything you just said. But what about the most critical watch?" Ono asked again, picking up the pencil. "That's right." A slightly embarrassed look appeared on Tian Yuan's face. "When I was about to leave, I took out two or three cosmetics from my bag to express my gratitude to her. I didn't expect her to be very happy and said that my cosmetics were almost used up. So..." According to Tahara, it is difficult for Mitsuko to buy cosmetics because her husband usually pays close attention to money. In this way, there is the following conversation—— "Actually, you just need to use some private money..." Tian Yuan opened the bag of cosmetics, and his tone of voice became a bit mocking.Maybe it's a professional habit, as soon as he picks up the bag, his speech becomes pretentious. "Where did I get the money from my own house? It's hard to save a little money!" "Well, if you want to save money, you have to have spare money first. But it's okay, if life is so hard that you have to go to a pawnshop, it's called miserable..." Tian Yuan said this, originally to comfort her, but he didn't expect this It seems to have inspired the photon. "Ah, yes. Pawning is also a way." Then, she took out a women's watch with M·S engraved on the back from the drawer of the tea cabinet. "M.S... I don't know what your real name is?" Tahara looked at the watch and asked, "My name is Mickey, so I used an M?" "You're so stupid!" Mitsuko glared at Tahara, and then thought for a while, "Isn't it called Mitsuko, but I changed my surname to Seme later." The English initial of "Seme" is S.) Hearing this, Ono interrupted: "The drawer of the tea cabinet? How could the watch be placed in that place?" "Well, I couldn't see it clearly because her body was blocking it. It felt like it was taken out of a drawer." Probably to recall the situation at that time, Tian Yuan looked at the ceiling with his eyes thinking hard. "That watch didn't stop?" "Yes, I also felt strange at the time, and asked her if it would be inconvenient to pawn the watch. She immediately said, it's okay, I still have one." "There is another piece? Have you confirmed it?" "That..." Tian Yuan tilted his head, "I didn't pay attention to that." Ono nodded and wrote down the "number of watches" in his notebook.If Guangzi's husband is really frugal as he introduced, it is impossible to buy two watches for his wife.Even for the wives of ordinary salarymen, it is a problem to own more than two watches. Ono checked again the text in the "Status at the Time of the Victimization" column on the report - "The time when the watch was found stolen was 5 pm. It was to check the time reported on the radio, but there was nowhere to be found. Usually it is The one on the sewing machine was gone, so I searched everywhere, but I couldn’t find it. Also, after noon, I went out for about an hour, and I remember locking the door, but I’m not sure.” Tea cabinets, sewing machines... Ono thought, there is an inconsistency here.It was also odd that the watch wasn't on.But after thinking about it, it is indeed inconvenient for housewives to wear watches on their hands when cooking and washing. Ono lit a cigarette.As if infected, Tahara also took out a cigarette from his pocket.Ono didn't stop, but handed him the matches on the table. For those suspects with solid evidence, Ono has always been tough; now facing the suspects, his attitude has softened, because he has been shaken in his heart: Maybe what Tian Yuan said is true? If what Tian Yuan said was true, Ono thought, then he had to find out the real intention of Seiko Koko's report. However, it still makes sense logically to combine Seiko’s report and Tahara’s explanation—Mitsuko’s husband Seme sounds like a delicate person. When he came home from get off work, he found his wife’s When the watch disappeared, he asked questions. Photon couldn't tell her husband that "the watch has been pawned", so she had to lie, saying that she met a thief. However, there are many other things in the house, just a watch was stolen, which cannot be justified.It proved that Tahara's statement was reasonable. "And..." Tian Yuan said. "Well, what else?" "I just remembered that when the relationship between her and me turned bad, she had thought of suicide, but she didn't die." Ono didn't answer, just nodded, meaning to let him continue talking.Ono felt that Tahara was calm and calm in his statement, and he was basically sure that he was innocent. "I think it's very likely that she has always resented me for throwing her away, and she did this kind of thing in order to get revenge on me." "Hmm..." Ono responded with smoke rings from his mouth.He thought that although the "revenge theory" put forward by Tian Yuan is very similar to the plot in the novel, it is not impossible.If Yan Ziyan really had attempted suicide as he said, then for such a violent woman, the possibility of revenge would be even greater.At least, doing so will not hurt yourself, much easier than suicide. "Is that right... By the way, have you noticed any conspicuous features on Seiko?" "What does it mean?" "I mean, she said that she even heard your name for the first time, but you emphasized that the two of you used to be boyfriend and girlfriend and even had skin-to-skin relationship with her. So, if you know that Seiko is physically A birthmark or something in a hidden part can prove the truth of your claim!" "Oh, birthmark..." Tian Yuan slightly closed his eyes. "Could this kid be recalling the naked appearance of Seiko?" Thinking of this, Ono coughed dryly on purpose. "Ah, yes!" Tahara cried out as if responding to Ono's dry cough, "I heard that she had an appendectomy last year!" "Really?" Ono quickly wrote down the matter. After completing the detention procedures for Tahara, Ono left the police station.He planned to go directly to Lai Yanzi and listen to her statement of the case. Now Ono has leaned towards Tahara's innocence.If he had never met, how could he know that she had undergone appendicitis surgery?Tahara said this with confidence, which is enough to prove his innocence.Similarly, if there was indeed a scar on Seiko's stomach, it would prove that she was lying. Thinking of this, Ono became more confident in his steps.This is not a rush to obtain evidence of criminals, but an investigation to clear the charges of a suspect.Looking back on my nearly 20 years of police career, this is the first time I have traveled around with such a purpose.However, when he was approaching the residential area where Ziyan Zi's house was located, he encountered another difficulty: whether Ziyan Laise had surgical scars on his stomach, how could it be confirmed? In that residential area, every household should have bathing facilities, and it is impossible to go to the public bath to take a bath, that is to say, you cannot go to the "bantai" (translator's note: the person sitting at the entrance counter of the Japanese bath) in the public bath.Also, you don't know the name of the doctor who operated on her, so this lead is pretty much hopeless. "Is there a simple and easy way to understand it?" After much deliberation, he still couldn't think of a good way. As soon as you enter the gate of the community, you will see four residential buildings in front of you.The exterior walls of the building are off-white and look old. "The third house number of the first house." Ono followed the address mentioned by Tian Yuan and walked up the concrete stairs.There are two families on each floor of this house number, from the first floor to the fourth floor, and this staircase is shared by eight families.There are many steps in the stairs, and Ono is a little out of breath walking. "Running up and down the fourth floor every day is really exhausting." This is what Seikoko said to Tian Yuan. "It's really tiring." Ono thought.When Tian Yuan made his confession, he thought it was credible.If he hadn't climbed the stairs with Seiko, he wouldn't have known about it. The two houses on the fourth floor are No. 145 and No. 146 respectively. At the gate of No. 145, there is a nameplate of "Seme". Ono pressed the bell on the door.He heard a bell ringing in the inner room, but no one answered. "Not at home?" Ono hesitated for a moment, then turned the doorknob with his hand, and the door was locked. At this moment, the door of No. 146 on the opposite side opened, and a young woman about twenty-six or seventeen years old walked out with a shopping bag in her hand.After the woman closed the door of her own room, she glanced at Ono suspiciously. "No wonder." Ono thought, the neighbor had just been burglarized, so it's normal to be suspicious when seeing a stranger. In order to dispel the suspicion of the other party, Ono showed his police officer card. "Ah, you've worked hard! What's the matter?" It appears that the young woman was unaware of the burglary at Seme's house.Is this because most people who live in the apartment don't care about the neighbors' affairs, or is it because Seiko deliberately keeps the neighbors from knowing?If the latter, why?Ono faintly had such doubts. "That's right!" Ono suddenly had an idea.He produced a photograph from the breast pocket of his open shirt and showed it to the young woman.It was a photo of Tian Yuan that had just been developed by the Appraisal Department. "Do you know this person?" "Huh?" The woman frowned and looked at the photo. "I seem to have seen it somewhere...is that the most wanted criminal in the country?" "No, no, it's not that powerful, I just want to find out..." "Sorry, let me take a closer look." The woman kept looking at the photo from different angles.Suddenly, she let out an exaggerated "ah", with a childlike expression on her face that was extremely inappropriate for her age. "Why, have you seen this man?" "Well, but..." "It doesn't matter if you're really not sure—where have you seen this person?" Ono asked anxiously. Standing in front of the door, she opened the milk crate beside the door and took out the key inside. Of course, Ono's inquiry was not to find Tian Yuan, so there was no need to be so urgent. He just suddenly had a strange illusion. "This person looks familiar...but I just can't be sure..." "Okay, it's okay! I just want to have one more circumstantial evidence as a reference." "Well, but you have to keep what I say a secret for me..." The woman was a bit cautious than Ono expected. "Okay! I agree to your request." "Actually, two or three days ago, I saw this man with Mrs. Seme..." "Oh, where did you see that?" "It's right here." The woman pointed to the "Tajimi" nameplate hanging on the door of her house. "At that time, I was about to go shopping, and I just saw Mrs. Seme also opened the door of her house, and two people came out, Mrs. Seme and the man in the photo. However, Mrs. Seme quickly retracted into the room I went. At that time..." "What happened at that time?" "How should I put it...Maybe I'm wrong or maybe..." The woman hesitated to speak.But judging from her expression, it seems that she wants to tell everything she knows.Therefore, Ono didn't make a sound, but urged with his eyes. "Hmm... Mrs. Seme is wearing a close-fitting thin skirt... It's strange, that man is just a guest, but..." "Oh, that's it. What time was it then?" Xiaoye thought, although this matter is close to each other, it's better to ask. "It should be around three o'clock... maybe not three o'clock?" The woman replied with a frown. "Thank you so much!" Ono bowed slightly. Seeing that his wife had returned the gift, Taji went downstairs and left.The brisk footsteps from the woman's sandals touching the ground made Ono sigh, how nice to be young! Ono was prepared to wait for a long time, but within five minutes, the person he wanted to see appeared.When he saw the person, he sighed again: "You are so young!" Seiko Koko was wearing a large patterned blouse on the upper body and a tight skirt on the lower body. She looked about the same age as Mrs. Tajimi.But facial makeup seems to be better than Mrs. Tajimi, which suits Ono's taste.In contrast, Mrs. Tajimi looked a little fancy. Seiko also looked at Ono with wary eyes. "I'm full of resentment." Seeing this look, Ono couldn't help but think so.This judgment is only based on my own years of experience, and there is no special factual basis, but most of them can guess correctly. "Are you Mr. Seme's wife? I'm investigating the stolen watch..." Ono showed his police officer ID. "Ah, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting!" The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible. Standing in front of the door, she opened the milk crate beside the door and took out the key inside. "Put the key in such a place? You are so careless." Ono is now sure that the watch was not stolen.Otherwise, how could it be possible to do such a careless thing after being stolen just now? "I'm sorry," Seto said with a blushing face, "because I lost the spare key... I'm afraid that when I leave home, he just comes home and won't be able to get in..." "Huh? Are you talking about your husband? Isn't his off-duty time fixed?" Ono asked.Isn't it strange that Seganko's husband doesn't come home at a fixed time if he is a company employee? "Ah, that's right. He is the marketing director of the company. Sometimes he will go home early if he finishes his work outside early." After Seiko opened the door, Ono followed her into the room. "The room is in a mess..." Saiyan Ziyan said and placed a cushion in front of the small square table.As soon as Ono was seated, he served a cup of barley tea.Then she fanned it with a round fan in her hand, as if waiting for Ono to speak. "It's a bit presumptuous to say. Ma'am, do you know this person?" Ono said and took out Tahara's photo. Seiko took the photo with his eyes.What Ono wants to see most now is the expression on her face when she looks at the photos.She will almost certainly reply "I don't know", but what about the expression, what will it be like? However, as if he had seen through Ono's intentions and tried his best not to let the change of emotion show, Seo just glanced at it, said "I don't know" lightly, and put the photo on the table. "Really, that's strange! Someone saw this man named Tian Yuan was with his wife." Ono said while taking out a cigarette from his pocket, but kept his eyes fixed on Seiko's face. Seiko's expression began to change a lot.This is a simple expression of surprise, but it seems that there is some kind of complicated emotion mixed in it. "Ah, who is this man?" "I can't tell you yet. If there is a court, he will probably be a witness." There was an imperceptible shadow in Lase's eyes. "Witnesses in court?" "Yes. Perhaps you already know that this man named Tian Yuan sent his wife's watch to the pawnshop. The statement obtained by the police after arresting him is that you entrusted him to pawn it." "What? How could I entrust someone I've never met to go to a pawnshop to pawn things?" "Yeah, this is really incomprehensible. Now my wife has been insisting that the watch was stolen. I don't know how the prosecution will judge this, but if Tian Yuan is sued and the court decides, the defender will definitely search for it. The evidence proves that the watch was sent to the pawn shop by the wife, and he will let people who have seen the two of you together testify in court; and if it is proved that Tian Yuan and the wife know each other, the prosecution will be in a very favorable position .” Seikoko stopped shaking the hand of the fan just now to look at the photo, but now it started shaking again.Perhaps touched by what she said just now, her movement of shaking the fan was much slower than before. "Well, what else did this man named Tian Yuan say?" "To put it simply, he said that he and his wife have known each other for three years. We met by chance on the road this time, and my wife invited him to sit at home, and received your kind hospitality after coming to the door. Before leaving, my wife entrusted him with a watch as a pawn... " Ono deliberately used the word "hospitality" in a special way.The word, he thought, was a bit vague in this respect, but it was better than saying it outright. But Seto's gaze didn't know whether it was because his brain was unresponsive or something else, he didn't seem to understand this metaphor, and his expression didn't change at all. "Anyone will say this kind of nonsense, it's made up, and the method is too clumsy..." "You're right. If it's a fabrication, this man named Tian Yuan is really an idiot. But we think his statement has strong credibility." "Really? I don't quite understand..." Seto's eyes completely stopped the hand that was shaking the fan, while the other hand kept stroking the neckline of the blouse. "Okay, ma'am, I'd better tell you everything. These are not what I said, but what Tahara said. Please don't misunderstand..." As he spoke, Ono briefly introduced Tahara's confession . "It's unbelievable, what a mess, it's still a confession..." After listening to Ono's words, Seiko shrugged his shoulders exaggeratedly, and his voice raised half a scale, "There is a little evidence for this kind of thing ?" "Well, there is indeed no evidence yet. However, let's assume that what Tian Yuan said is true, and everything is reasonable. Madam wants to buy cosmetics and fashion, and needs money at her own disposal, so she asked Tian Yuan to help pawn the watch. , but I couldn’t hide it in front of my husband. In order not to make him angry, I reported to the police that my watch had been stolen. But I didn’t expect that the watch was found so quickly..." Ono now tends to think that Tian Yuan is innocent, and he plans to solve the case along this line of thought.After seeing Seto Kanzi, there was indeed no evidence to shake his understanding. The remaining problem now is how to persuade her to admit that she had reported a false case. "So, in this way, this man named Tian Yuan is innocent?" “啊不，现在还不能完全这么说。只是，让我说起来的话，夫人现在处于非常不利的地位。” “怎么？”濑目光子蹙起了眉头。 “也就是说，如果夫人回答对田原这个人哪怕是有点儿认识的话，事情就好办多了！可是您却说，这个人您完全不认识，连姓名也没听说过，是不是？”小野再一次寻求确认般的问道。这是不是有点儿坏心眼？他曾这么反省过。但他马上告诉自己，为了得到最好的结果，采取这个多少有点儿逼迫的办法也是不得已而为之。 ... “您还坚持原来的说法吗？” “是的，我说的都是事实，为什么要改变呢？”濑目光子有点儿生气了，嘴唇抿得紧紧的。 “是吗？不过这样一来，就像我刚才说的，被告一方只要证明夫人和田原原本是认识的这一点，就可处于十分有利的地位了。而这一点如果得到证明，哪怕是你们之间说了一句话，夫人您也会被裁定是说谎。 “这个我明白，我觉得那不可能得到证明。”不知怎的，濑目光子的口气一下变得强硬起来，以致于小野忽然怀疑自己的判断是不是真的错了。尚被羁押在拘留所的田原对自己的供述抱着绝对的自信；而眼前的濑目光子也是自信十足。而且，看上去绝不像是故意表演出来的。 “您说不可能得到证明？我看未必。如果让我做田原的辩护人的话，证人可是不少。首先，可以找到两三个证明夫人和田原早在三年前就已认识的人；接着，在出事的那天，有一个人看见夫人和田原在一起；最后，咖啡馆有一两个女招待曾目睹田原将七千日元典当的钱交给夫人。光是这些就有足够充分的证据了！” “真是莫名其妙！怎么可能有这些人？当然你要栽赃诬陷又另当别论……” “这个女人是不是精神有毛病？”小野忽然这么想。刚才多治见夫人还说亲眼看见他俩在一起的。只要夫人在法庭上作证，法官应该就能对他们的关系作出清晰的判断。面对态度强硬的濑目光子，小野甚至有了当场说出多治见夫人姓名的冲动。 “干吗要诬陷您呢？就在刚才，我已经见过这样的人了，她应该会在法庭上作证的吧。” “真让人不可思议！全都是无中生有啊！奇怪的是，根本不存在的事，怎么会有目睹的人……”说到这里，濑目光子忽然停住了口。 “她是想起什么事了？”小野也屏住了呼吸。可是濑目光子接着说出的话令他失望之极。 “难道是有什么人装扮成我的样子？” “不可能吧？哪有长得那么相像的人！再说，就算是十分相像，也不至于连阑尾炎……” “怎么？”濑目光子一下变得面红耳赤起来，像是受到了很大的冲击。 “我的意思是，假设田原自己走上证人席，证实您的腹部留有手术刀疤的话，结果会怎么样呢？这种事情，不是关系很亲密的人应该不会知晓，您说对吗？所以，就此一点，也能证明夫人和田原是有着某种特殊关系的吧。” 一说到阑尾炎手术的事，濑目光子就好像霜打的茄子，一下子蔫掉了。她的视线落在了裙子上，牙齿咬着下嘴唇。 “还有，”小野乘势追击，只是尽量将语气放柔和。“在法庭上，辩护人也会将夫人作为证人来讯问。这是将您看作辩护人一方的证人来进行的。此时，夫人就是一个'有敌意的证人'，辩护人在讯问时往往会采取诱导性讯问的方式来套你的话。” “啊？”濑目光子抬起了头。她可能一时无法理解小野口中说出的一连串法律术语。于是，小野用通俗的语言进行解释。 “辩护人会问：'某月某日你没见过被告，是吗？''你也没请被告到自己家，并穿着单件内衣请他喝啤酒？''你没有把手表交给被告，请他代你送到当铺典当？'就是这样一个接一个地把问题抛给你。你已经宣过誓，所以只能老老实实地作出回答。如果发现有不合常理的地方，还会被更激烈地步步逼问。所以不能作伪证，不然万一出现破绽，就有可能被追究伪证罪。总之——”小野下结论般的继续说道，“遇到出色的辩护律师，连我们这样的人，站在证人席上也是绷紧神经，不敢有丝毫的疏忽。” 听到这里，濑目光子抬起头来，眼里落下了泪珠。 “啊，赢了！”小野想，这下可以为田原洗清冤屈了！ “那……今天所说的一切，您能不能做到不向外透露出去？”濑目光子用手绢擦了擦眼睛问道。 “当然可以。还有，虚报假案也只是触犯了轻微犯罪法，我可以替你争取减轻到不予追究，所以……”小野说这话时语气平静，内心却为自己追查的嫌疑人现在马上就要自行坦白而激动。 “嗯……我还得啰唆一句，这事也不要让我丈夫知道……那块表无论怎么处置都不要紧，我只是不想让我丈夫知道这件事……”濑目光子用右手手指摩挲着裙边请求道，她的声音低到几近于无。 “好的。那我再问一声：手表确实不是被盗，而是给了田原？” “是的。”濑目光子弯下身子，将脸伏在桌子上。虽然没有出声，但她的肩膀在剧烈地抽搐。 田原接到释放的通知后，并没有感到特别高兴。因为他觉得这本来就是理所当然的事。 小野来到拘留所迎接他。 “你辛苦了！这么热的天，一定够戗吧？”小野改变了说话的用词。将原本应该说的“对不起”说成了不合时宜的“辛苦了”，田原还是觉得很受用。 “刚才濑目光子来讯问室了，因为要她写个悔过书……怎么样，要不要去见见她？” “哦……”田原犹豫着。他倒并不怎么想去见那个女人，只是对她报案感到好奇，想知道她这样做的真实意图是什么。“好吧，那就在小野先生的见证下……” “见证这个说法怪怪的，不过，我也算是个相关者吧……” 两人兴高采烈地说着话，走出了拘留所。 讯问室在二楼的北端，小野拉开玻璃门，田原紧跟在后，首先映入眼帘的是大花纹上衣。 “你好。”听到田原的招呼声，坐在椅子上的女人回过头来。 “啊！”田原不由得吃了一惊，搞错人了！他连忙在房间里环视，可是并不见还有其他人在。 “怎么了？”小野奇怪地在田原和女人身上来回扫视。 “小野先生，这是怎么回事儿？是不是在玩儿什么把戏？” “嗯？我不明白你在说什么，你们俩不认识？那又出问题了！”小野的口气也变成了责问的意味。 “但这位是……”田原又一次端详了女人后问道。 “怎么，你说什么？她不是濑目光子吗？” “是的，可是我说的那人……”田原感觉自己脑子一片混乱，不知道该如何表达才好。 “嗯？别慌，你慢慢说。站着也不是个事儿，来……”小野似乎明白了田原为什么会慌神，他从房间一角搬来了一把椅子，请田原坐下。 “首先我问你，你说的濑目光子是眼前的这位吗？” “不！眼前的这位给人的感觉时髦多啦！”田原心直口快地说出自己的感觉。眼前的这个女人比他认识的濑目光子，也就是米琪，可是恬静优雅得多了。 “这就奇怪了！濑目小姐刚才还承认说，是她委托田原先生把手表送去当铺的。” “不可能！我可从没拿过眼前这位的任何东西，连见都是第一次见到啊！” “那……”这会儿，濑目光子插了话，“那我收回先前说的话吧！” “收回？收回哪部分？”小野连忙取出记录案卷。 “所有。我是在被逼无奈之下，才承认小野先生说的一切，这些都是错的……” “等一下！你刚才说都是被逼无奈才承认的，我既没对你施加刑讯逼供，也没威逼利诱……”小野用辩解的口吻说道，“夫人您倒说说，一开始您为什么要承认，这也许可以为我今后如何做好侦查工作提供参考……” “这……当时我只是觉得再怎么坚持都无济于事才认下来的。” 也许是再没任何可顾虑的事了，濑目光子用沉静的口吻作了解释—— 当初一开始听小野说的话，她是很镇静的，因为都是自己没经历过的事，只要好好调查一下，就会真相大白。然而，当小野说到上法庭的时候，她就开始动摇了。特别是提到要在法庭上公开争辩自己同一个名叫田原的陌生男子有没有肉体关系的时候，她就更受不了了。虽然觉得自己是清白的，但还是担心最后会是什么样的结局。旁听的人当中会不会真有人相信自己和田原有着不洁的关系？特别是那个十分隐私、理应不会有多少人知道的阑尾炎手术的伤疤，如果拿到法庭上来讨论的话，怀疑他俩关系暧昧的人就更多了。当然她也想到，不管旁听席上的这些人怎么看，都不会影响到自己的人生。但问题是，如果自己的丈夫在场，或者事后听到传言，他会怎么想？“你和那个被告发生过肉体关系？”“没有！”即使你很坚决地否定，也难免会在他的心中留下无法消除的阴影。要是这样的问题被反复询问，或者被告人田原到处炫耀和女人的关系如何如何，那还有谁相信自己的清白呢？丈夫内心有一半是相信妻子的，但是另一半呢，不是正相反吗？ 这是再清楚不过的事了！ 这么想下去，她就觉得，还是认下田原说的话，不要把这事弄到法庭上去的好。尽管要她承认与田原有肉体关系这一实际并不存在的事有点儿难以接受，但这样认下后，知道此事的不过就是警察局里的人。相比在公开的法庭上否认，让旁听席上的人将信将疑，还不如认下后，防止扩散到警察局范围之外来得划算。除此之外，还有什么更好的办法不给丈夫带来疑惑呢？ “所以，那只是我用贞操的名声来息事宁人而已。”说完这一席话，濑目光子终于露出了明媚的笑容。 “你可想得真远！否定自己不贞，反而会招致更多的人怀疑自己是否贞洁；而认下了呢，却能保护自己，这真是个奇妙的想法……” “是的，如果让丈夫产生哪怕是一丁点儿的疑心，就会在他心头留下伤痕，而这个伤痕只会越来越深……”说到这里，也许让她想起了什么，濑目光子的脸颊微微泛红，小野听后不住地点头。 “可是，请等一下！”田原大声嚷道，他还有一个疑点没解开。“那给我手表的人究竟是谁呢……” “哦，对了！夫人，您的邻居多治见夫人叫什么名字？”小野向濑目光子问道。 “啊，应该是叫美树子吧……” “美树子？那米琪很可能就是美树子了！”（译者注：日语中“米琪”和“美树子”的发音相似）田原想起当时自己是何等粗心，没有仔细看清门外的名牌，就听信了她的话。 小野有点儿自夸地说：“这就很清楚了！那个住宅小区一号楼第三个门牌的四楼，就住着濑目和多治见两户人家。而多治见夫人看了田原的照片后就说，曾经见到此人和濑目夫人在一起。实际上呢，你们俩现在才刚刚第一次见面，是吧？如果真是这样，那就是多治见夫人说了谎。想一想她为什么要说这个谎，就基本上可以断定是她偷了表。对了，还有你，夫人，你将家门的钥匙藏在牛奶箱里很不安全啊。这件事的发生，很可能是这把钥匙惹的祸。” 被这么一说，濑目光子也只得老老实实地点点头。 “但是，她为什么要冒称濑目光子呢？”田原说出了他最后一个疑问。难道她料到濑目光子会因为受不了困扰而作出虚假的陈述，才胆敢冒用人家的姓名？如果真是这样，那实在是太可怕了！ “啊，对了，对了！”濑目光子兴奋地叫了起来。“我一直在为自己小时候阑尾炎手术留下的伤疤怎么会让人知道而感到奇怪，现在想起来了，好像是前年吧，多治见夫人也做过这样的手术！” 听到这里，田原从椅子上站了起来。他想起自己曾经好奇地反复抚摸过多治见美树子身上的那条刀疤。“刀疤……一开始在她的心头留下刀疤的不就是我吗？”想到这里，田原不由得叫了一声，“小野先生！”他想拜托小野，在接下来的办案中多多关照多治见美树子。